1 . For the past 15 years, my family has gone Christmas caroling（唱圣诞歌）in my neighborhood. It's our _________We aren't good at it, but we love doing it. It's the one _________of the year when we can see some of our neighbors that we don't see _________, and in general, do something fun.

This year, for an obvious _________—the epidemic, and the fact that it happened to be raining slightly, we didn't go so that we could try to be as _________as we can. I did, however, go door to door （ masked and gloved） to _________a note so no one would stay up _________us. We sometimes show up _________some years and some neighbors with kids usually stay up specifically for us. I made the note _________to let our neighbors know that we were thinking of them this year.

It was really __________. For my family, this is the __________of the season, and we just didn't feel like Christmas without caroling. We had no idea of how our neighbors felt, but we did hope they __________us, which didn't make us feel any __________, though.

For the past 15 years we went door to door caroling, and this year, for the first time __________we didn't go, but our neighbors came to us. __________across our yard, they sang Christmas songs to us. They took __________against the rain and printed out the lyrics （歌词）of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", and __________whoever they could. They decided to sing to us this year. It was __________. I'm still emotional.   

I was crying, my dad was trying to hold back his __________, and my mother was also weeping. It brought the Christmas __________we all needed.

1.

A．decision

B．promise

C．tradition

D．favour

2.

A．way

B．time

C．risk

D．challenge

3.

A．regularly

B．exactly

C．secretly

D．obviously

4.

A．topic

B．tip

C．chance

D．reason

5.

A．wise

B．safe

C．patient

D．creative

6.

A．hide

B．leave

C．understand

D．take

7.

A．standing for

B．looking after

C．depending on

D．waiting for

8.

A．unexpectedly

B．soon

C．late

D．suddenly

9.

A．purposely

B．generously

C．confidently

D．sensitively

10.

A．heartbreaking

B．amusing

C．exciting

D．moving

11.

A．advantage

B．trouble

C．meaning

D．opinion

12.

A．preferred

B．ignored

C．missed

D．helped

13.

A．better .

B．healthier

C．luckier

D．calmer

14.

A．still

B．even

C．yet

D．ever

15.

A．Dressing up

B．Spreading out

C．Watching over

D．Hiding away

16.

A．posters

B．pillows

C．blankets

D．umbrellas

17.

A．warned

B．gathered

C．taught

D．recognized

18.

A．amazing

B．puzzling

C．frightening

D．tiring

19.

A．sufferings

B．regrets

C．thanks

D．tears

20.

A．goal

B．rule

C．spirit

D．view

2 . Ways to Start Out the New Year

♦ Let go of the past.

Don’t set your expectation(期望)based upon a past unhelpful year. It's so easy to let your expectation for good to happen in a New Year fall low because of some bad things that happened during the last year. You must learn to let go of what happened and leave it in the past. Anyway, that year has already gone.     1    

♦ Don't fear change, but hug it.

Heading into a brand New Year can often bring about many new opportunities. It may be time for you to start stepping out of your comfort zone and trying something new.     2    If nothing changes then nothing changes. Without change, you might run the risk of repeating the same old year again.

♦     3    

Make a great effort to do more things that bring joy into your life and a smile to your face. Fill up your joy tank so that you can be ready to face whatever the New Year brings.     4    And then you won't forget to plan some activities that will give you a good time and plenty of belly laughs along the way.

♦ Keep moving forward.

No matter what last year brought, it's important to keep moving forward. If last year was great for you, then keep moving forward.     5    There may be ups and downs along the way, but the mindset (心态)to move forward will keep you on the journey to something good.

A．Make sure that you don't get so busy.

B．The start of a new year can be exciting.

C．Plan to do more of what makes you laugh.

D．Don’t get in a hurry to make a New Year plan.

E．Don’t be afraid to take the risk with a new adventure.

F．If last year was bad for you, also keep moving forward.

G．So it’s time to start expecting better days with the upcoming year.

3 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式,并将答案填写在答题卡上。

Speakers often use the word "even" to show disappointment or surprise. Imagine a young child     1    expects a phone call from a family member — perhaps an uncle     2    a grandparent. The phone call never comes. The child might say the following: "What     3    (be) wrong with him? He didn't even call me on Christmas day." "Even" means that the child thought     4    (real) was going against their expectations.

Here, the child is disappointed. He or she could have expressed the same idea in a much     5    (long) statement, such as: "I was expecting him to call on Christmas Day, but I didn't hear     6    him. Why didn't he give me a call?"

"Even" stresses the     7    (child) dissatisfaction because it emphasizes that the family member did not try to call.

"Even" does not always have a sad meaning. It can have a happy meaning too. Imagine a man     8    (name) Ted. Ted isn't a     9     (care) man. He always forgets to send letters to his parents. Ted's parents might have the following talk after they get a Christmas letter from him. "Did you see Ted's letter?" "Yeah, he even sent us a gift!" Here, the word "even" shows a pleasant surprise. Ted’s mother did not expect a gift from him. By     10    (say) "he even sent us a gift" , she is suggesting that Ted has gone beyond her expectations.

4 . The planets Jupiter (木星) and Saturn (土星) have been moving closer and closer to each other in the night sky. In fact, on December 21 , they appeared closer together than they have been in hundreds of years.

When two astronomical bodies appear close in the sky, as seen from Earth, it is called 4 conjunction (合相). Conjunctions can happen with any two bodies, such as planets, moons, stars and asteroids (小行星). When Jupiter and Saturn come together, it is called a "Great Conjunction".

Astronomers say these events between the two largest planets in our solar system are not rare. Jupiter passes its neighbor Saturn once every 20 years as they circle around the sun. But this conjunction is especially close: From Earth, the two planets will look to be just one-tenth of a degree apart. That is about the distance of one-fifth of a full moon.

If weather permits, they should be easy to see just after sundown. This just-in-time-for-Christmas sight promises to be one of the greatest of Great Conjunctions. What makes this modern Great Conjunction different is that it is happening at nighttime. The last time that happened was almost 800 years ago.

Saturn and Jupiter have been getting closer in the sough-southwest sky for weeks. Jupiter, which is bigger and closer to Earth, is much brighter. The two planets might look like one body if viewed with eyes alone. If sky watchers use telescopes they should be able to see the planets as separate. Saturn will be the smaller, less-bright body at Jupiter's upper right.

Even though they appear close, more than 730 million kilometers of space lies between them. Observers using telescopes will not only see Jupiter and Saturn in the same field of view, but also some of their brightest moons. Their next close pairing will happen on March 15, 2080.

1. What do astronomers think of planets getting close to each other?

A．Controllable.	B．Unimaginable.
C．Common.	D．Dangerous.

2. What makes this Great Conjunction special?

A．The time when it takes place.

B．The part of sky where it happens.

C．The distance between the two planets.

D．The brightness of the two planets.

3. Which of the following shows the right position of the two planets?

A．	B．
C．	D．

4. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．Two Planets Reach Especially near Earth

B．Jupiter and Saturn Come Together in the Night Sky

C．Conjunctions of Planets Excite Astronomers

D．Good Chances to Observe Jupiter and Saturn Appear

5 . I saw in my rearview mirror that a large SUV headed straight for my car at a breakneck speed. My heart and mind started racing, and panic (恐慌)instantly set in.

With fear in my voice, I started saying out loud, "Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!", making my friend who was with me immediately scared and puzzled. I was sure that within mere seconds, we were going to be knocked from behind by a careless vehicle clearly going over 100 miles per hour in heavy traffic.

Unable to change lanes or speed up because of cars on all sides, I just prepared myself for the impact. But thank goodness, the driver missed hitting my car by an inch as he went into the lane beside me, nearly hitting another vehicle, tires screeching (刺耳声)and burning, filling the air with clouds of smoke. He continued dashing in and out of traffic, causing more near-collisions, and then quickly disappeared into the distance.

As I sat there surprised, loosening my fingers from the steering wheel, my friend and I began to talk about what if we had been hit. How life could have been changed in an instant(瞬间)or even ended.

I thought about my precious children, my husband, my family and things undone. I wondered whether I would have regrets if that had been my last day. I began to consider if I was truly enjoying and embracing(拥抱) my life, even if it hadn't turned out the way I thought it would or should. I couldn't help but ask myself if I was by accident taking for granted the pure blessing of waking up every morning and being given another day, and if I was spending time being unhappy because of difficult circumstances instead of living with joy.

1. Why was the author stuck in panic?

A．The road was too crowded.	B．A rude driver attacked her.
C．She drove at too high a speed.	D．An accident seemed to happen.

2. How did the author deal with the dangerous situation?

A．She took no action.	B．She sped up her car.
C．She gave others a warning.	D．She drove into another lane.

3. What does the underlined word "it" in paragraph 5 refer to?

A．That day.	B．That car.
C．The author's life.	D．The author's family.

4. What does the author want to tell us in the last paragraph?

A．Behind bad luck comes good luck.	B．Love me, love my dog.
C．Live in the present moment.	D．Value our friends and family.