1 . I have worked as a keeper at the National Zoo for 11 years. Spot and Stripe are the first tiger cubs (幼兽) that have ever been born here. Globally, a third of Sumatran cubs in zoos don’t make it to adulthood, so I decided to give them round-the-clock care at home.

I’ve got two children — the younger one, Kynan, was extremely happy about the tigers arriving — but all of us really looked forward to being part of their lives and watching them grow. I wasn’t worried about bringing them into my home with my wife and kids. These were cubs. They weighed about 2.5kg and were so small that there was absolutely no risk.

As they grew more mobile, we let them move freely around the house during the day, but when we were asleep we had to contain them in a large room, otherwise they’d get up to mischief. We’d come down in the morning to find they’d turned the room upside down, and left it looking like a zoo.

Things quickly got very intense due to the huge amount of energy required to look after them. There were some tough times and I just felt extremely tired. I was grateful that my family was there to help. We had to have a bit of a production line going, making up “riser milk”, washing baby bottles, and cleaning the floors.

When Spot and Stripe were four months old, they were learning how to open doors and jump fences, and we knew it really was time for them to go. It was hard for us to finally part with them. For the first few days, Kynan was always a bit disappointed that the cubs weren’t there.

I’m not sad about it. I’m hands-on with them every day at the zoo, and I do look back very fondly on the time that we had them.

1. Why did the author bring the tiger cubs home?

A．To ensure their survival.	B．To observe their differences.
C．To teach them life skills.	D．To let them play with his kids.

2. What do the underlined words “get up to mischief” mean in paragraph 3?

A．Behave badly.	B．Lose their way.
C．Sleep soundly.	D．Miss their mom.

3. What did the author think of raising the tiger cubs at home?

A．Boring.

B．Tiring.

C．Illegal.

D．Risky.

4. Why did the author decide to send Spot and Stripe back to the zoo?

A．They frightened the children.	B．They became difficult to contain.
C．They annoyed the neighbours.	D．They started fighting each other.

2 . I was in the seventh grade, and we had moved to New Jersey in November. By then, everyone already had had their own friends, and no one wanted to talk to a new girl. To make things worse, they put me in “Section L”. I found out later that everyone called Section L “Loserville”. It was sort of an open secret that it was the section for troublemakers and not-so-smart kids. When I found out, I wanted to scream. I had always been a good student and had amazing friends, and now everyone thought I was a loser!

I did text my friends in Illinois almost every night, especially my best friend, Ana. At first my friends wanted to hear all about it. But then some stopped texting back once I said something about how miserable I was. One night when I was texting with Ana, I complained about another friend who had just done that.

Ana’s texts came really fast for the next few minutes and they surprised me. She said that she was tired of hearing about how bad everything was in New Jersey, too. She said she did not want to hurt my feelings but that I needed to stop feeling so sorry for myself all the time, I had to try to make things better.

The next day, I thought a lot about what Ana had said. She was right!

I wish I could say that everything changed overnight after that, but it didn’t. I was still stuck in “Loserville”, and some people were still mean to me, even though I tried to just stay out of their way.

But what did change was me—I stopped feeling so sorry for myself and did something about making friends. I signed up to make sets for the school play. I met a lot of new people there, and suddenly I had friends to say hi to in the halls!

I still miss Illinois sometimes, but life in New Jersey isn’t so hard anymore. Even though I couldn’t change my situation, I could change my attitude—and that made all the difference.

1. “Loserville” is a section for ________.

A．failures	B．good students
C．class secrets	D．newcomers

2. The writer complained all the time in the new environment because ________.

A．Ana didn’t text back to her	B．her friends hurt her feelings
C．she was unfairly treated	D．she was a good student

3. What made a difference in changing the situation?

A．She went back to Illinois.

B．She ended friendship with Ana.

C．She fought back with her classmates.

D．She began to make friends with others.

4. The best title for the passage can be ________.

A．Lasting Friendship	B．An Incidence at School
C．Say Goodbye to “Loserville”	D．Unhappiness in “Loserville”

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。

Learning Chinese calligraphy     1     (list) as one of the must-do things when I came to China. Now, I’m in the course of learning this unique art,     2     value is considered very high in China, even across East Asia today. It is not only     3     ancient artistic form of human language, but it also reflects Chinese traditions.

As someone who paints, draws, and loves all     4     (create) things, at first, I assumed I would be rather good at Chinese calligraphy. I was     5     (total ) wrong. Using thick brush tips to produce awkward brush strokes (笔画)     6     (be) very difficult for a beginner. I have no idea about the different types of calligraphy and the meanings     7     ( hide) behind each one. Also, I have to hold the paintbrush     8     a very specific way; unlike a pen or pencil, the paintbrush is held upright in the hand. I need to be extra careful when changing the angle or     9     (direct) of the brush, especially if I press too hard on the paper.

After taking the lesson, I now understand the difficulty of calligraphy and that it will take efforts and commitment     10     (master) this art form. Yet, I am grateful to learn such a special Chinese tradition.

4 . When I was a teenager, I was invited to a formal dance party. I was _________, but also nervous about what to wear. Mom suggested I wear high heels (高跟鞋).

“Mom, I don’t know if I can wear these,” I said, feeling _________. “Don’t worry, sweetie. Just take small _________ and keep your weight centered,” she suggested.

As I arrived at the party, I tried to be _________ and act like everything was fine. But _________ struck when I stepped onto the dance floor. I _________ my own feet, falling to the ground in front of everyone.

I quickly got up and laughed it off, pretending like it was _________. But deep down, I felt like a tomato, wanting to _________.

My friend Lilly helped me _________ that incident and managed me another high heels as a support so that nobody would understand my hesitation. But a little bit __________ continued in my mind.

When I returned home, I told Mom I felt like a complete __________ at the party. “It’s okay. You tried something new, and it didn’t go as __________. But that’s how we learn and grow. Don’t be too __________ on yourself and wear what you feel __________ in,” Mom said, giving me a hug.

From that day forward, I stuck to flat shoes. I learned to __________ my true self and not worry about what others thought.

1.

A．surprised

B．excited

C．relaxed

D．satisfied

2.

A．unsure

B．unsafe

C．unusual

D．unhappy

3.

A．breaks

B．turns

C．steps

D．attempts

4.

A．genuine

B．polite

C．serious

D．cool

5.

A．danger

B．injury

C．disaster

D．wonder

6.

A．landed on

B．tripped over

C．kicked up

D．ran into

7.

A．a hot potato

B．a big fish

C．no luck

D．no big deal

8.

A．fight

B．argue

C．disappear

D．struggle

9.

A．approach

B．avoid

C．prevent

D．identify

10.

A．patience

B．bravery

C．worry

D．anger

11.

A．fool

B．hero

C．stranger

D．dancer

12.

A．suggested

B．expected

C．promised

D．directed

13.

A．dependent

B．easy

C．careful

D．hard

14.

A．fashionable

B．tight

C．comfortable

D．special

15.

A．promote

B．accept

C．trust

D．refuse

7 . Where is the woman from?

A．Britain.

B．Russia.

C．America.

8 . What subject does the man like best?

A．History.

B．Biology.

C．Chemistry.

10 . What juice does the man order?

A．Lemon.

B．Apple.

C．Orange.