2 . Australians are pretty bold (大胆的) when it comes to humour. Not afraid of saying something insulting (冒犯的) in the name of a good laugh, they generally don’t hold back. This is always done in fun, however.

You get yourself a haircut before going to meet your new Aussie friend. You’re expecting to be praised, but what you hear is, “Did ya have a fight with a lawnmower (割草机)?” You might take this as an insult, but it’s just your friend’s way of saying that you’ve had a haircut.

Your friend comes knocking at your bedroom door one morning to tell you’re late for class. You were up studying late the night before and you look a mess. Your friend thinks you need to put a brush through your hair before leaving, but instead of just saying so he says, “Wow. Your hair looks like a bush pig’s arse.” He’s trying to be nice.

Australia is one of the cultures on this planet where making fun of someone is a sign of friendship. If you find yourself being made fun of lots, it could be that you’ve scored yourself a whole lot of new friends. Consider yourself lucky — these insults are all part of building a relationship.

Australians also use a lot of sarcasm (讽刺). You foolishly say something that’s obvious. For example, “A six pack of beer is named after the number of beers you get in the pack, the number being six.” A normal answer would be, “That is the most obvious statement I’ve ever heard”, but an Australian would say, “Really? You’re so clever.”

Now let’s say your teacher tells you that there will be a test the following day. Australians might say, “Great. I can’t wait to add preparing for a test to my already long to-do list. Thank you for this gift.”

1. What does the author advise you to do when you are laughed at by an Australian?

A．Accept it readily.

B．Fight back bravely.

C．Mind your behaviour.

D．End the relationship.

2. What do Australians want to express by saying “Thank you for this gift” in the last paragraph?

A．Dislike.	B．Worry.
C．Gladness.	D．Thankfulness.

3. How is the text mainly developed?

A．By telling stories.

B．By making comparisons.

C．By providing examples.

D．By examining differences.

4. According to Paragraphs 2 and 3, Australians try to be humorous 　　　.

A．by telling funny jokes

B．by making fun of friends

C．by laughing at themselves

D．by showing unfriendliness

3 . The Spring Festival ________ at the start of the lunar year.

A．celebrates

B．celebrated

C．is celebrated

D．was celebrated

5 . You will pass the exam easily ________ you study hard.

A．if

B．where

C．why

D．how

6 . Nowadays the Internet plays ________ very important role in our daily life.

A．a

B．an

C．the

D．\

7 . Want to see your work published and win some cash along the way? Then read on. The national Spark a Story writing contest is calling in all young storytellers!

●Who can participate?

The contest is open to students in grades 9, 10, 11 or 12, or those who are being home-schooled in the United States.

●Deadline and requirements.

You’re able to send your short story up to October 7th. It will be judged on creativity, originality and overall quality of writing. Your story must be original works and shouldn’t be longer than 5000 words. There is no minimum length requirements.

●How can I send my short story?

*Online at http://learn.hmhco.com/hmhsparkamind

*Send your short story as a PDF or Microsoft word document to Sparka@hmhco.com

*Send your short story via U.S. Mail to:

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

222 Berkeley Street

Boston, MA 02116

●What will I win?

The best stories will be published next year. Winners will receive a free copy of the book and $100 cash.

1. Who is this passage intended for?

A．Students.

B．Teachers.

C．Parents.

D．Editors.

2. How many ways can you use to send your short story?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．Five.

3. In which section of a newspaper can you read this passage?

A．Sports.

B．Science.

C．Education.

D．Fashion.

9 . 假设你是李华，上周你的英国好友Peter发来电子邮件，想让你分享做家务的一次经历。请你给他回一封电子邮件，内容包括：
1. 你做家务的过程；
2. 你的感受。
注意：1. 词数100 左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Peter,

How are you! Knowing that you are interested in my experience of doing housework, I’m willing to share it with you.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

10 . It is important for humans ________ the environment.

A．protect

B．protecting

C．protected

D．to protect