1 . Like many military wives, I had to stand the long separations until my husband retired. Though I supported his chosen career, I _________ every moment away from him.

To _________ our separations, I wrote letters every day. I made up dozens of small _________ for him which I secretly put into his bag, so that he could_________ them when he was out to sea. To this day those notes are still _________ to us.

_________ in 1996 my husband retired from the Navy. But the only job _________for my husband was six-and-a-half hours away in Norfolk, Virginia.

We spent eight months_________. That was our hardest separation, perhaps because we had _________ planned to be apart again. He__________ to apply for jobs in the area where we hoped to live. We expected we would soon be able to be __________ again.

One day Louie called me with the good __________. He found a job in southwest Virginia. We were excited ! There was only one small__________. Louie would have to live in a camper(露营车),__________ our daughters and I lived in a little house an-hour-and-a-half away. My daughters were __________enough to take care of themselves, so I left them and stayed with Louie.

Louie and I spent a __________ three-and-a-half weeks together. One morning after he left for work, I sat __________ in the camper trying to remember any possession that was as priceless as the __________we stayed together. I couldn’t __________a single thing. Then all of us moved into that camper and lived there for a year. It was pure joy! I’ve learned in that year that the greatest __________ I have is the time I ’ve spent with the ones I love.

1.

A．spent

B．enjoyed

C．hated

D．missed

2.

A．deal with

B．prepare for

C．think of

D．fight against

3.

A．stories

B．gifts

C．letters

D．notes

4.

A．receive

B．discover

C．consider

D．write

5.

A．precious

B．satisfactory

C．strange

D．necessary

6.

A．Once

B．Again

C．Soon

D．Finally

7.

A．convenient

B．common

C．ready

D．available

8.

A．easily

B．separately

C．normally

D．happily

9.

A．already

B．just

C．never

D．always

10.

A．continued

B．began

C．managed

D．liked

11.

A．rich

B．young

C．close

D．together

12.

A．news

B．job

C．chance

D．skill

13.

A．shame

B．mistake

C．fault

D．problem

14.

A．if

B．so

C．while

D．though

15.

A．clever

B．old

C．strong

D．beautiful

16.

A．long

B．simple

C．wonderful

D．busy

17.

A．patiently

B．alone

C．sadly

D．calmly

18.

A．plan

B．promise

C．time

D．place

19.

A．depend on

B．think of

C．care about

D．focus on

20.

A．treasure

B．present

C．luck

D．feeling

2 . When Matty Sallin was working on a degree in art and technology at New York University, he got an interesting assignment in electronics class: Create something for the household. He decided to create an alarm clock.

“Everybody has to deal with these every day, and they are extremely unpleasant!" he says. He asked different people what they’d like to wake up to instead of a clanging, noisy alarm. A lot of them said, "The smell of bacon.”

So Sallin and two classmates invented a new kind of alarm clock: a wooden box with a pig face and a digital clock that uses the smell of cooking bacon rather than sound to wake someone up. He explains, “There’s no danger of burning, because it uses halogen light bulbs（卤素灯泡）instead of a flame for cooking and turns off automatically after ten minutes.”

Just a few easy steps are required to set the “alarm.”

“What you do is to put a couple of frozen pieces of bacon in the night before,” says Sallin. “If you set the alarm for 8:00, it will turn on at 7:50 and slow cook for ten minutes under the halogen bulbs,” he says. Then the bulbs turn off and a fan blows the smell out through the pig nose.

“So instead of an alarm or a beep or a radio, you smell yourself awake,” says Sallin. “Then you can open the door on the side and pull the bacon out and eat it.”

When Sallin was a kid, he spent a lot of time making drawings of inventions. “I wanted to make an elevator in my back yard and a special tree house,” he says. “But I never really thought I’d be called an inventor!”

1. Why did Sallin choose to create a new alarm clock?

A．His classmates had no alarm clocks.	B．His alarm clock in use was out of fashion.
C．Many people disliked the noisy alarm.	D．Many people had difficulty in waking up.

2. In what way is Sallin’s alarm clock special?

A．It wakes people up with the smell of bacon.

B．It warns people of the danger of burning.

C．It can also be used as a lamp.

D．It is very small in size.

3. The pig nose on the alarm clock is used _______.

A．to cook the bacon	B．to let the smell out
C．to sound the alarm	D．to blow the flame.

4. What do we know about Sallin?

A．He decides to make more alarm clocks.

B．He has a special gift for clock designing.

C．He always forget the time.

D．He showed an interest in invention at an early age.

3 . It was realized that if an apparatus (装置) could be designed to send out radio waves all the time and record the echoes from any approaching airplanes, it would be a wonderful method of defense in the last war.

Scientists set about solving the problem and radar was invented. An apparatus was made which sent out waves in pulses, and the presence of a distant airplane was shown on the screen (this is what we have in a television set). In this way radar station could detect the approach of enemy aircraft.

After the war radar was put to peaceful uses. It is now installed at airports to guide airplanes down safely in fog. It is fitted to ships so that they are warned of obstructions (障碍物) ahead, such as icebergs. It guides ships into port. It provided airplanes and ships with a magic eye, with which they can see far into the distance, in the dark or in fog.

1. What does “the last war” in the first paragraph refer to?

A．the World War I	B．the World War II
C．The Oct. Revolution	D．the Chinese Liberation War

2. For what purpose did scientists first invent radar?

A．To help find their enemies.	B．To guide ships into port.
C．To send out sound waves.	D．To help airplanes land safely.

3. The invention of radar _________.

A．has nothing to do with the reflection of sound waves.

B．is exactly the same as the reflection of sound waves

C．is on the basis of the reflection of sound waves

D．is by changing sound waves into radio waves

4. From the passage we may infer that radio waves can ________.

A．only be reflected from airplanes

B．be reflected from anything not far away

C．be reflected from almost everything

D．only be reflected from anything made of metal

4 . My brother and I often fight with each other over small things. One day our father said to us, “Tomorrow we will take part in the Ray Home Sports Day. Both of you must go with me. Perhaps you can learn something from those children.” My brother laughed, “Dad, Ray is a home for physically disabled children. What can we learn from them?”

“You will see,” our father said.

Our father works as a volunteer at Ray. The children there have problems with their hands, speech, walking or hearing. Every day, he spends hours helping them to move or exercise their legs or arms.

The following day, he took us to Ray Home. When we got there, we found a nice place to sit down. Finally, the sports began. There was a 50-meter race to see who could run fastest. All the runners were physically disabled. As the race started, all the children moved as fast as they could. Just then, one of the girls fell over and hurt her leg. She began to cry at the top of her voice.

All the children stopped to help the poor girl. Then they all held hands and finished the race together. My brother and I were surprised to see this: the children weren’t interested in winning the race－they were more interested in helping each other to finish the race.

1. Why did the father take the writer and his brother to Ray Home?

A．The father wanted them to do something at Ray.

B．The father asked them to help the children at Ray.

C．The father wanted them to take part in the Sports Day.

D．The father wanted them to learn something from the children.

2. What does the father often do in Ray Home?

A．He works as a teacher there.	B．He helps the children there.
C．He watches the games there.	D．He does sports with his sons.

3. Why did all the children stop in the 50-meter race stop?

A．All the children were disabled.	B．A little girl fell over and got hurt.
C．They stopped to laugh at the girl.	D．They didn’t want to finish the race.

5 . How to Talk to Your Parents

You need to talk to your parents about some things.     1    You might be surprised if you give them a try.

    2     Try to talk to your parents a bit every day about little things — the dog, your baseball game, what’s for dinner. This keeps you connected, so moving on to a big topic isn’t so difficult.

Know what you want to accomplish. Do you have some bad news to break to you parents?    3     Or do you just want them to listen to you, without offering any advice? Try writing down for yourself what you want from the conversation. That will help you let your parents know what you need

Pick the right time and place. It’s not a great idea to give your parent bad news when they’re rushing off to work. Talking in the car when you’re doing errands (差事) can be a good time.     4     Go for a run, cry, or hit a punching bag or pillow first.

Find other adults you trust. In some cases, it just may not be possible to talk to your parents. Maybe your mom can’t be there for you because she has her own troubles. Or your dad is not even willing to listen.     5     In that case, find another adult you trust like a favorite aunt, a teacher, or a counselor. The most important thing is to have a reliable adult that you can turn to when you need to talk.

A．But maybe you don’t like to turn to them for personal or social advice.

B．Listen when your parents talk.

C．And if you’re angry, wait until you cool off.

D．Do you need their permission to do something?

E．One of your parents may not even be around.

F．It’s tempting to dismiss your parents’ opinions.

G．Engage in small talk.

6 . A year after high school, I didn't know what to do. I was still one of those_______teenagers with no real timetable for the day. Then I _______to find Brief History of Time from a street vendor (小贩；摊贩). When I finished _______, for the first time I had a _______to spend my life on.

Years later, I was doing_______ in the Institute of Theoretical Physics where Stephen Hawking _______as the Research Director. One day at lunchtime, Prof. Hawking_______ and joined in on my table. I had imagined_______ him! Now he was sitting _______before me! I couldn’t help but________— reading his book, getting laughed at by friends, convincing my family that I wanted to “study black holes”... I gathered some________and told him that I joined physics because of his ________ and he was such an inspiration. At first, I wasn’t sure if he understood my thick accent. So I quietly continued my ________. But minutes later________a voice from his computer: “Thank You! I am very glad to see you here.”

It was only then that I________that during the pause he was writing, one letter at a time, while being spoon-fed. It’s how he had been doing unimaginable research almost his entire________. His ability to use his brain in such an incredible way despite a ________body has always inspired me not to be________by difficulties and to concentrate energy on things other than pains of life.

My work keeps me going: it’s my passion, it’s my life and it’s a great pleasure and motivation, which________me to contribute to society. My lifespan (寿命) might be________, but my achievements could be endless. I owe all this to him.

1.

A．cautious

B．curious

C．serious

D．purposeless

2.

A．tried

B．arranged

C．happened

D．managed

3.

A．listening

B．reading

C．searching

D．writing

4.

A．determination

B．goal

C．movement

D．reason

5.

A．business

B．deal

C．degree

D．research

6.

A．died

B．existed

C．reacted

D．served

7.

A．approached

B．dashed

C．overcame

D．passed

8.

A．coming about

B．coming across

C．coming along

D．coming around

9.

A．actually

B．constantly

C．luckily

D．suddenly

10.

A．consider

B．judge

C．predict

D．remember

11.

A．cash

B．courage

C．memory

D．shyness

12.

A．invitation

B．illness

C．book

D．speech

13.

A．meal

B．case

C．question

D．speech

14.

A．came

B．attached

C．drew

D．signaled

15.

A．recorded

B．agreed

C．believed

D．realized

16.

A．life

B．day

C．year

D．century

17.

A．brief

B．broken

C．harmful

D．rough

18.

A．influenced

B．forced

C．limited

D．threatened

19.

A．follows

B．advises

C．drives

D．allows

20.

A．admirable

B．boring

C．short

D．unusual

7 . I had an opportunity to teach at a five-star hotel in Nevis, a small island in the Caribbean Sea. After that, my friend Clayton and I flew into Panama City for a surfing outing at a surfing camp in the bay of Chiriqui, whose tourism is booming. To get there, we had to take my tennis bags on and off several buses and boats. After eight hours of travel we finally arrived. The camp was perfect, and the accommodations were not bad. We had an unbelievable week there!

On our return trip, when we got to the bus station, we learned that our bus had been delayed for 2. 5 hours. The sun was beating down on us.

As we walked over to the shaded area, a couple of kids started throwing rocks at me. I opened a can of tennis balls. They stopped and took an interest in the balls. I had a special racket (球拍) with me. I had the strings cut out and replaced them with a net, which is prefect for hotel teaching. I got them to throw the balls into the net. They seemed to enjoy that. Then an older boy got interested, to whom I gave another racket to hit the ball into the net of the catching racket. I showed him how to position and hold the racket. Soon, their bus arrived, and they were on their way.

But families from across the street came over and wanted their 10-minute tennis lesson，too. The other passengers waiting for the bus each got a lesson. Eventually, restaurant workers next door and the bus terminal clerk invited me to give them a lesson, too. They learnt well and were having a great time. And so was I. In what seemed like no time, our bus arrived. Satisfied with what I did, I changed my shirt, and made it back to Panama City.

1. Which can describe the bay of Chiriqui?

A．It develops depending on tourism.

B．It is famous for its tennis camps.

C．It offers cheap accommodations.

D．It is far away from Panama City.

2. Why did the author have a special racket?

A．To attract children.	B．To catch the rocks.
C．To help him to teach.	D．To hit the balls back.

3. What were the children doing at the shaded area when the author arrived?

A．Waiting for the bus.	B．Learning to play tennis.
C．Fighting for the shaded area.	D．Playing games with each other.

4. How did the author feel at the bus station in the end?

A．Embarrassed.

B．Confident.

C．Amazed.

D．Proud.

8 . 假定你是李华。为弘扬传统文化，你校特举办“翰墨书香”书法大赛，邀请外教 Peter 作英语书法组的评委。请写一封邀请函。要点如下：
1.书法比赛的目的；
2.书法比赛的时间及地点。
注意：1. 词数100左右。
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：翰墨书香brush and ink
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . Thailand is a country with a long and rich history. It is also one of those countries which have many traditions which modern times fortunately have not affected. Thailand is famous for its unique culture. It is well worth noting that Thai culture has been handed down from one generation to the next.

Thai Classical Dance

The inspiring culture includes local music and wonderful Thai dances. The dances of course have something to do with its deep-rooted Buddhist religion, fighting arts and beautiful clothing. Thai classical dance performances are generally performed by gracious (高雅的) Thai ladies wearing beautiful Thai local costumes. Most resort (旅游胜地) areas and many hotels frequently offer these Thai culture dance shows for foreign visitors.

Thai Greeting

The unique Thai gesture of greeting another person, the wai, is especially one of the great aspects of Thai culture. The wai is when a person joins both hands to either head or chest level while bending their head slightly towards his hands. This way of greeting is especially done when a younger person greets an older person and it indicates a sign of respect to their elders. Employees would also wai their managers even if the manager would be younger than themselves.

Bangkok

Bangkok is the culture center of Thailand and has been the Thai capital since the end of the eighteenth century. Observing Thai culture in Bangkok can be great experience as the combination of modern times and traditions have created a kind of unique atmosphere. Bangkok offers a package of Thai culture which is shown by numerous beautiful Buddhist temples and many examples of modern Thai architecture.

Bangkok National Museum

Another location in Bangkok where one can enjoy and see Thai culture is at the famed Bangkok national museum, which offers tourists an opportunity to view national treasures and unique Thai art pieces with its culture feature dating back as early as the late sixteenth century.

1. Thai classical dance is related to ________.

A．its living level and education	B．its history and architectural style
C．its customs	D．its religious belief

2. In Thailand a worker uses the gesture, the wai , to greet________.

A．his close friend.	B．a young stranger.
C．his younger colleagues.	D．his young boss.

3. What make Thai culture in Bangkok so unique?

A．The long history and fine weather of Bangkok.

B．The mixture of the modern culture and traditions.

C．A number of beautiful Thai Buddhist temples

D．Many examples of modern Thai architecture.

10 . A conversation is a meeting of two unique minds, and every person has something of value to share. Then what are the secrets of adding value to our daily casual conversations?

    1    

It’s easy to see when someone is only excited about hearing his own voice and it makes you doubt whether he’s listening to anyone else’s thoughts. If you have something valuable say, five minutes of listening won’t change that. What the other person says may not only change your original thoughts.     2    .

Ask a few questions

Another way to add value to a conversation is to ask questions.     3    . Questions don’t have to be smart. If someone told you about his new dog, something as simple as “How have the kids reacted?” can allow him to spend an extra minute explaining what the change has meant to him.

Offer proper suggestions

This is a step a lot of people miss.     4    . For example, if the other person mentions an ability or connection you have but isn’t sure how he could make use of it, feel free to offer suggestions about how you could see it playing out. As you start focusing on how you can add value to others, you’ll begin to build deep, lasting relationships.

Ask what you can do to help

There are two sides to this coin. You’ll immediately stand out in a crowd if you offer to help someone. But make sure you’re truly able to deliver on your promise. You’ll build a valuable relationship if you offer to help and follow through.

    5    . But it takes time to create good conversational habits. Pick one tip from the list and focus on practicing it in your daily conversations. You’ll never regret the time you take to create habits that bring value and meaning to your conversations with others.

A．It also can make your talk more valuable.

B．Don’t get too absorbed in “your moment”.

C．As you ask questions, keep the key points in mind.

D．Valuable conversations lead to meaningful relationships.

E．Ask at least one question before moving on to a new topic.

F．They will remember that you made the effort to help them.

G．But it’s very important in adding value to the conversation.