1 . An earthquake can strike without warning. But many injuries and deaths from this kind of natural disaster can be prevented if people follow these safety tips.

If you’re inside a building, stay there! One of the most dangerous things to do in an earthquake is to try to leave a building.     1     Drop down onto the ground. Get under an object that is not easily damaged. Hold on to it until the shaking stops. You can also get to a corner formed by two walls with your arms over your head. If you’re in bed when the quake hits, stay there and protect your head with a pillow.

    2     Don’t take shelter under trees, streetlights, telegraph poles or tall buildings. If you are driving stop as quickly as possible and stay away from overpasses, buildings, bridges or anything else that might fall or collapse over you.     3    

If you are trapped in the ruins, cover your mouth with a handkerchief or a piece of clothing. Use your cellphone to call for help if possible. Don’t shout.     4     Tap on a pipe or the wall so rescuers can find you.

Be prepared for aftershocks    5     However, sometimes they even happen months later. Therefore, if you are not in a safe position after the first shock, you should move quickly but carefully to a safer place.

A．Don’t move about or kick up dost.

B．If you’re outside, go to an open space.

C．Shouting can cause you to breathe in dust.

D．Don’t park your car under a tree or any tall object.

E．Take a good hold of your cellphone in the building.

F．They can happen in the first hours after the earthquake.

G．Most injuries happen when people inside buildings try to get out.

2 . Unsolved Mysteries About the Earth

◆Mystery 1: Where did all the water come from?

Water covers 70 percent of the earth’s surface and earns it the nickname “the blue planet”. And where did it come from? The most popular scientific theory states that the H₂O arrived in the form of several violent asteroids (小行星)filled with ice. Another suggests that the water actually has been around since the earth’s formation. However it happened, though, it’s certainly worked out well for the earth’s life forms.

◆Mystery 2: What about all the oxygen?

Another thing is the planet’s oxygen. Tiny creatures released oxygen as a waste product, filling the atmosphere with it. After that, the level of oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere went wildly up and down until it finally calmed down around 540 million years ago. Since then, it’s remained at about the breathable level we experience today. But what caused it to be suddenly steady?

◆Mystery3: What caused the Cambrian(寒武纪)Explosion?

The Cambrian Explosion refers to the explosion of complex life that occurred on the earth about 540 million years ago. Before then, life had consisted mostly of bacteria. But at the beginning of the Cambrian period, complex creatures began developing at a rate never before seen. Suddenly, advanced life forms had brains eyes and bones. Most creatures alive today can trace their blood back to the Cambrian period.

◆Mystery 4: Will we ever be able to predict earthquakes?

We still haven’t been able to come up with a way to accurately predict earthquakes, which is practically significant. We can certainly try, but our current technology cannot predict them exactly. We know that earthquakes start when rocks crack underground and send earthquake waves toward the surface, but we haven’t figured out why they happen, or how to predict them.

1. What was created later by tiny creatures on the earth?

A．Water.

B．Ice.

C．Bacteria.

D．Oxygen.

2. Which of the following talks about the earth’s advanced species?

A．Mystery 1.	B．Mystery 2.
C．Mystery 3.	D．Mystery 4.

3. What do we know about Mystery 4?

A．It is the oldest mystery of the four.

B．It is a matter that has practical significance.

C．It is the most difficult to solve of the four.

D．It has already been solved.

3 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

In the beautiful city of San Francisco, it was spring. The flowers were blooming, the sun was shining, and the birds were singing their beautiful song. In a nearby basketball stadium, there was a basketball championship going on. Jesse like his elder brother Timmy, was one of the best in the competition; he scored most of his team's points, but his team did not like that. Jesse never passed the ball. His coach always told him that it was a team game and not a one-man show.

“Jesse, pass the ball more, ” insisted Coach Tyler.

“Coach, I am good; I can win this whole tournament by myself if I want to, ” responded Jesse.

“Jesse, you need to learn to respect the game! ” said Coach Tyler.

“I don't need to respect anything,” said Jesse.

“Okay then, and I don't need you in my team, Jesse. Get out of here! ” said Coach Tyler.

“Fine! ” replied Jesse angrily.

At school Jesse's friends Zack, Christopher, and De'Aaron were trying to calm down Jesse, who was still angry about what happened the previous day. Jesse was usually good in school, but after he was kicked out of the team, his attitude changed. He started doing poorly; he got in trouble and failed classes. Jesse tried to join other basketball teams, but he could not because their list was filled or he was too young or too old. Finally, Jesse was recommended a team by Zack.

“Thanks, bro, ” said Jesse happily.

“No problem, Jesse, ” responded Zack. Five months later...

Jesse started passing the ball more, but he still averaged 26.4 points per game. Jesse enjoyed how he played, but he did not like that he was coming off the bench. Jesse proved that he was a star on the court, but still the coach said that he was better coming off the bench. “Coach, I think I have shown that I can start next game, ”said Jesse calmly. “No, Jesse, you are not good. ” responded the coach. “But...” said Jesse before the coach interrupted him. “No, Jesse! ”Jesse started getting mad. “Coach, you need to start me. I’m the best in this team,” said Jesse arrogantly(傲慢地). “Jesse, how about you just leave? ”bellowed(吼叫) the coach.

注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右。
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:

Jesse left.

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Paragraph2   

Jesse went back to the stadium.

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5 . We humans love to make comparisons. On the market, we  _________ to find the best ones. In the classroom teachers compare their students to the model. And parents compare their child to his or her peers to _________ an idea of what is normal.

_________, comparisons of any kind come with a sting (剧痛) for everyone. When parents make it clear to anyone that their child is _________ to all other children in all ways, they put their child under pressure. Some children will obey when they are pressured to _________ their parents' need for perfection; others may _________, trying to be just like any other kid, or, better still, to be just who they are. In other cases, parents who compare their child to other children might end up _________ their child is somehow "deficient (有缺点的)". And, again, they pressure their child to be _________enough.

A most disturbing _________ of all this comparing is that it pushes children into the destructive world of competition. "In a competitive culture, a child is told that it isn't enough to be good—he or she must  __________  others," writes Alfie Kohn, a parenting expert.

According to Kohn, research doesn't support the theory that competition brings success. One after another, researchers have concluded that children don't learn better __________education is changed into a competitive struggle. Competition prevents a child's ability __________ not only educationally but socially, too.

So, __________ competition, cooperation! Instead of  __________ other people's children, parents need to pay close attention to their own, learn who they are, discover their interests and talents, and teach them how to cooperate with others. They will need role models to __________ them.

1.

A．see

B．touch

C．sell

D．compare

2.

A．get

B．use

C．share

D．explain

3.

A．Therefore

B．Otherwise

C．However

D．Besides

4.

A．harmful

B．superior

C．responsible

D．thankful

5.

A．express

B．prove

C．create

D．satisfy

6.

A．disappear

B．wait

C．resist

D．rest

7.

A．denying

B．deciding

C．predicting

D．concluding

8.

A．honest

B．good

C．patient

D．polite

9.

A．process

B．result

C．purpose

D．method

10.

A．defeat

B．accept

C．recognize

D．choose

11.

A．since

B．until

C．when

D．unless

12.

A．losing

B．progressing

C．showing

D．reducing

13.

A．apart from

B．because of

C．instead of

D．as for

14.

A．shouting at

B．laughing at

C．looking at

D．striking at

15.

A．guide

B．force

C．invite

D．expect

6 . Astronauts traveling in space meet forms of radiation(辐射)that are uncommon on Earth. Some of this radiation has been shown to be harmful to human health. It is linked to cancers and heart problems. Yet a new American study suggests the radiation does not shorten astronauts' lives.

Researchers studied nearly 60 years of health records and other data about male astronauts from the United States. They then compared this data with information about a group of men who are in good health, richer than most Americans and receive good health care-professional athletes. The study found that neither group has higher rates of dying at a young age. In fact, both groups generally live longer than other Americans.

Astronauts are usually well-educated, earn more money and are in better physical conditions than the average Americans Some earlier research has linked being an astronaut to a lower risk of early death, the researchers noted. The findings were reported in the medical journal Occupational&Environmental Medicine.

Much of the existing research on mortality rates(死亡率) in astronauts has not yet explored the mental and physical demands of this job. There also has not been a lot of research on whether astronauts show what is known as the "healthy worker effect". This effect leads people with employment of any kind to have fewer medical problems than people who are unable to work, said Robert Reynolds.

Reynolds said, "The challenge has always been to understand if astronauts are as healthy as they would be had they been otherwise comparably employed but had never gone to space at all. To do this, we need to find a group that is comparable on several important factors."

1. How did researchers carry out their study?

A．By doing interviews.	B．By analyzing some factors.
C．By comparing different data.	D．By doing experiments in the lab.

2. What can we team from the text?

A．All radiation is harmful to human health.

B．Athletes tend to be poorer than most Americans.

C．Healthy worker effect makes working people healthier.

D．Research has explored the mental and physical demands of being astronauts.

3. What can be inferred from Reynolds' words?

A．They are determined to face the challenge.

B．The research is almost impossible to conduct.

C．Several important factors hold back the research.

D．Astronauts are healthier than they haven’t been astronauts.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Astronauts--Healthy or Otherwise

B．Astronauts Are as Healthy as Athletes

C．Radiation Affects Astronauts' Health

D．Astronauts--- Well-Educated and Well-Paid

7 . Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”

Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real talk I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice---flipping(掷) a coin. Heads--the commander, the tails-- the peanuts guy.Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.

Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quiet! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?

Obviously, my grade was awful. Disheartened but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No new grades. I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance. Consequently, I devoted myself to my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the six grade. Justice is sweet!

1. What did the author’s classmates think about his report?

A．Controversial (有争议的)

B．Ridiculous

C．Challenging

D．Boring

2. Why was the author confused about the task?

A．He followed the advice and flipped a coin

B．He was unfamiliar with American history

C．He forgot his teacher’s instruction

D．He was new at the school.

3. The underlined word“burning” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．eager

B．ready

C．ashamed

D．annoyed

4. In the end, the author turned things around ________

A．under the guidance of his headmaster	B．by redoing his task
C．through his own efforts	D．with the hep of his grandfather

8 . Almost all calligraphy(书法) lovers agree that writing characters with a brush and ink on straw paper offers a way to communicate with not only history and culture, but also oneself. But now Chinese character handwriting is under threat from computers and mobile phones.

A college graduate looking for a job was reportedly turned down by a company because he wrote 24 characters incorrectly in a 400­character handwritten resume. A survey by HorizonKey, covering people from 12 major cities in China, found that nearly one third of those interviewed often experience “character amnesia(遗忘)”， with 94 percent saying this is a problem for them.

The main reason is that most Chinese rely too much on the pinyin­based Chinese language input method, which is replacing the tradition of writing characters stroke(笔画) by stroke. The software will conveniently choose the right characters according to the context or word frequency, as there are dozens of characters with the same pronunciation in Chinese.

Education is another problem. In college, most homework and papers are printed out, instead of handwritten. And few teachers use chalk and blackboards, with Microsoft's PowerPoint the most­often used software to teach knowledge to students.

The number of electronic devices in the classroom is thought to be another reason why students are easily satisfied with just a poor knowledge of the Chinese language and characters. It is quicker to look up a character in an electronic dictionary, but traditional printed dictionaries offer more detailed information on the usage and meaning of the characters. Students pay more attention to remembering a character's pronunciation, but not the other knowledge related to it, which e­dictionaries rarely provide.

Another worry is the “pollution” of Chinese characters by Internet language. Young people regard using Internet language as cool and fashionable. After they learn to use these expressions, they automatically include them in their writing.

1. With the example of a college graduate, the author shows ________.

A．that practicing can improve writing

B．why certain people are poor writers

C．that there are differences in students' writing

D．why Chinese character handwriting is in great danger

2. By saying “...those interviewed often experience ‘character amnesia(遗忘)’”， the writer means those interviewed ________.

A．are not good at handwriting

B．can't write characters accurately

C．show no interest in handwriting

D．find jobs much more difficultly

3. What phenomenon is described in Paragraph 5?

A．Dependence on electronic devices.

B．Advantages of electronic dictionaries.

C．Mastery of knowledge of the characters.

D．Disadvantages of published dictionaries.

4. What's the writer's attitude towards the Internet language?

A．Favorable.	B．Uncaring.
C．Disapproving.	D．Friendly.

9 . 假如你是李华，学校最近要组织一次英语演讲比赛，主题为“垃圾分类益处多”。请你根据此话题写一篇演讲稿。要点如下:
1.你的观点；
2.你的建议。
参考词汇:垃圾分类garbage classification
注意:
1.词数80左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯
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