1 . As a boy growing up in India, I had longed to travel abroad. I used to listen to the stories my father would tell me about his stay in Canada and tours to Europe in the 1970s, with great interest.

My big moment finally came in the summer of 1998 when I was able to accompany my parents to Europe, where my father was to attend a meeting. We planned to travel to Belgium, Netherlands and West Germany.

I have clear memories even today of going to Mumbai airport at night all excited about finally going abroad. I had heard several great things about Lufthansa till then but now I finally got to experience them first hand, during the flight to Frankfurt. We flew business class and even today I can remember the excellent service by the Lufthansa crew (工作人员). The flight was really smooth and thoroughly enjoyable, even for someone like me, who is especially afraid of flying.

After spending almost two weeks in Europe, we took the Lufthansa airport express from Dusseldorf to Frankfurt airport, for our return flight. What a journey that was! All along the Rhine (莱茵河), it was simply an unforgettable experience. I had a sombre feeling on the flight back to Mumbai as it marked the end of a wonderful vacation, but the Lufthansa crew members were able to change it into a most enjoyable experience yet again, with the quality of their service.

Being the first airline to take me abroad, Lufthansa will always hold a special place in my heart. Even today, I continue to enjoy flights on Lufthansa and simply cannot dream of choosing any other airline. Flying, in general, for me, has always been a terrible and painful experience. Flying on Lufthansa, however, is something I always have and always will look forward to.

1. Which country does the author live in now?

A．India.	B．Canada.
C．Belgium.	D．Germany.

2. What made the author so interested in travelling abroad?

A．Growing up in India.

B．Once staying in Canada.

C．Once travelling to Canada with his father.

D．His father’s stories about his travelling experiences.

3. Which of the following is true about the author’s trip to Europe in 1998?

A．The author travelled with one of his parents.

B．Both their going and return were by air.

C．They travelled in spring that year.

D．They stayed in Europe for nearly two months.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that Lufthansa is ________.

A．a city in India

B．a city in Europe

C．an airline company

D．a travel agency

2 . Without the new paints and the new technique, we would not be able to see so many great __________ (杰作) for which this period is famous. (根据汉语提示单词拼写)

3 . To lead a better life is the Party’s __________ (commit) to the people. (所给词的适当形式填空)

4 . The sound that woke Damian Languell at 8:15 am was so loud that he assumed it came from inside his house. As he got up to investigate, he heard another sound, this one coming most definitely from outside. Looking out of his bedroom window, he spied a tree engulfed (淹没) in smoke about 500 yards away. A car was wrapped around the tree’s base, its engine on fire.

Grabbing buckets of water, Languell and his girlfriend ran to the crash site. The wreck looked worse up close. The car, a 1998 Buick, was split nearly in two, and the tree was where the driver’s seat ought to have been, as if planted there. No one should have survived this crash, and yet there was 16-year-old Quintin Thompson, his terrified face pressed against the driver’s side window, in visible pain. Languell tried putting out the fire with his buckets of water with no success. When the flames got into the front seats, he realized he had to get the boy out of there.

In an act that a police report described as showing “complete disregard for his own safety”, Languell opened the Buick’s back door and crawled in. Thompson was struggling to get free, Languell says. “That’s when I noticed how bad his legs were.” Using a pocketknife he’d had the foresight to bring with him, he sawed through Thompson’s seat belt.

Now that Thompson was free, Languell pulled him out a back window of the vehicle, then dragged the teen to safety before the entire car was engulfed in flames.

Although Thompson suffered multiple fractures (骨折) to his legs, spine, and face, a social media post described him as “looking great, smiling, and joking.” Languell thinks about that day often. “My heart goes out to Thompson. When you are that close to that level of hurt, you feel it so directly.”

1. When Damian heard the big sound, ______.

A．he called 911 immediately

B．he stayed inside his house

C．he woke up his girlfriend

D．he got up to see what happened

2. When Damian rushed to the crash site,　　　.

A．the police had arrived

B．the whole car was completely in flames

C．Thompson was terrified and painful

D．Thompson was smiling and joking

3. We can describe Thompson as 　　　.

A．brave	B．lucky
C．simple-minded	D．warm-hearted

4. What played the most important role in Thompson’s survival?

A．His own bravery and persistence.

B．The several buckets of water.

C．The timely arrival of the police.

D．The pocketknife Damian carried with him.

6 . Population data for European mountain birds have been for the first time combined in a recent study, with worrying results: the abundances of mountain-specialist birds has declined by as much as 10% in the 2000s.

Ecological communities in mountain areas include species not found in any other habitats. These species are also very susceptible to climate change, as global warming is reducing their liveable habitats. In principle, species may relocate further up the mountains, but closer to the top their habitat inevitably shrinks.

According to the new article, the abundance of European mountain birds has in fact declined in line with climate change projections.

The recently released study examined the population trends of 44 bird species in the 2000s in the mountain and fell regions of Fennoscandia, Great Britain, the Alps and the Iberian Peninsula. A decline was seen in 14 of the observed species, while eight of them saw significant increase.

“On average, population decline among the species studied was 7% over the 13-year research period, making the situation of mountain birds distinctly worse compared to, for example, European forest birds, whose numbers did not change during the same period,” explains Aleksi Lehikoinen, an Academy of Finland research fellow at the Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus (part of the University of Helsinki), who headed the study.

The situation is the direst for species that only inhabit mountain regions and are unable to live in other European environments. For these species, known as mountain specialists, the numbers dwindled by as much as 10% during the monitoring period.

1. What can we get from the passage about European mountain birds?

A．They are newly found species.

B．They can be found at any place of the world.

C．The number of the birds has decreased greatly.

D．The number of the birds has increased greatly.

2. Why did the liveable habitats of the species reduce?

A．Air pollutions.

B．Global warming.

C．Human activities.

D．Competition with other species.

3. Which one is TRUE according to a recently released study?

A．All 44 bird species decreased.

B．Only 8 of the species declined.

C．14 of the observed species declined.

D．There was no change in the number of the bird species.

4. What does the word “direst” mean in the last paragraph?

A．Serious.	B．Useful.
C．Suitable.	D．Waterless.

7 . 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。续写的词数应为150左右。

A young man had bought an old house that was in bad shape, but he and his wife believed they could restore it. They immediately went to work. Their goal was to have the old building look best for New Year’s Eve get­together.

Just two days before New Year, however, a storm swept through the area, leaving a hole in the wall of the house. There was obviously no time to repair the damage before New Year.Then, the sad couple attended a local auction (拍卖) that afternoon. One of the items put up for bids was an old gold ­and­ ivory­ colored tablecloth. Seized by an inspiration, the young man was the highest bidder at $6.50. His idea was to hang the cloth to cover the ragged hole.

On the day before New Year, it was snowy. As the young man unlocked the house door, he noticed an old woman standing at the bus stop. He knew the bus wouldn’t be there within at least half an hour, so he invited her inside to keep warm.

When the woman walked in and saw the tablecloth, she rushed at it and said excitedly, “It’s mine. It is my tablecloth.” She told the surprised man its history and even showed him her name in one corner of the tablecloth. She and her husband had once lived in Vienna, Austria, and their village was hit by a deadly disease. So they decided to flee to Switzerland, but her husband told her to leave first, saying he had something urgent to deal with. A few days later, it was reported that the bus her husband took fell off the cliff (悬崖) and he was never to be found. Her husband was believed to have died. Touched by her story, the young couple asked about her address, planning to send the tablecloth to her after New Year. As the bus came, she left.

In the candlelight of New Year’s Eve, the tablecloth looked even more beautiful. As the man’s friends left the house, they thanked the man for his arrangement and mentioned how beautiful the house looked.

Paragraph 1:

One old gentleman stayed, admiring the tablecloth.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:

The young man drove the old man to that old woman’s home.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . When Bill Geske was diagnosed with cancer six years ago, his life was turned upside down. After being_________to the emergency room with severe stomach pain, doctors found a tumor in his left kidney and_________spots on his lungs. For treatment, Geske had the kidney removed and at the time the spots were dismissed.However, a few months later, he learned from doctors that the cancer had indeed_________．

The situation wasn’t good, and doctors estimated his_________to be no more than two years._________the emotional and physical pains, his personal and family life suffered.

“We have a family business.We have two children who were thrown into the middle of this chaos_________, and they’ve had to grow up very fast and handle the business, which they knew nothing about.” he said.

But_________all the chaos, there has been one constant: his wife Diane.

Whether it was accompanying him to every doctor’s_________or cooking his favorite meal, Diane always made sure her husband knew he had her full support.

“I really see what love is. My wife_________so much suffering. I’m so__________to have her fight with me and not against me.” Geske said.

The Geskes__________that their road has been far from easy—they call it “cruel” in fact—and sometimes they give in to the stresses of the illness.

But Diane has__________to learn how to cope with the more difficult times.“If he’s in a mood or having a__________day, I just leave him alone for a while” she said.She also said making time to focus on herself and a life outside of their relationship help keep their bond strong.While too many couples grow__________when one of the partners suffers from a serious illness like cancer, the Geskes grow together.The people that are there for you on your__________nights are the ones worth spending your brightest days with.

1.

A．limited

B．rushed

C．followed

D．invited

2.

A．similar

B．common

C．unusual

D．soft

3.

A．spread

B．arisen

C．declined

D．disappeared

4.

A．interval

B．survival

C．tolerance

D．reservation

5.

A．Free from

B．Apart from

C．Other than

D．Rather than

6.

A．intentionally

B．temporarily

C．unexpectedly

D．willingly

7.

A．through

B．beneath

C．towards

D．beside

8.

A．amusement

B．adjustment

C．arrangement

D．appointment

9.

A．bears

B．escapes

C．sacrifices

D．possesses

10.

A．regretful

B．lucky

C．desperate

D．determined

11.

A．deny

B．predict

C．advocate

D．admit

12.

A．failed

B．offered

C．grown

D．intended

13.

A．successful

B．normal

C．special

D．terrible

14.

A．firm

B．apart

C．united

D．together

15.

A．coldest

B．loneliest

C．darkest

D．longest

10 . 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。

It was a cold and cloudy afternoon. I was on the bus with my children, aged four and two,    1    (head) home when it started to rain. I realized this would mean a wet walk home     2     the bus stop.

    3     my house was only two blocks away, it was not a pleasant walk with one small boy asleep in the pram (婴儿车), the other in a raincoat and no umbrella for myself. A pick-up truck passed us on the road. I tried to thumb a ride but failed. My little boy woke up and began to cry. I was     4    (convince) that things might become worse and nobody would bother to help on such a terrible day. A few minutes later,     5    truck drove by, but to my surprise, I saw it moving back and the driver looking directly at us. A young man put the window down. “Hey, here’s an umbrella for you, please take     6    ,” he called out. I stood there    7    (astonish), barely believing that the man     8     existence was unknown to me only moments ago, could be so considerate. “Come on, give this to     9    (you) mummy,” he said to my older son. I accepted the offer and expressed my gratitude to him.

This man might have needed the umbrella for himself later during the day but preferred to give it to me. It was a lesson     10     it’s possible to give without expecting anything in return.