1 . Last year I attended the annual autumn saffron (藏红花) harvest festival on a trip in Italy, known as the sagra. Giovannina Sarra and her family ________ me at their home. Early the next morning, we ________ among the fields and participated in the harvest.

Saffron , taken from the stigmas (柱头) of the saffron flower, is a(n) ________ crop. Also called red gold, it is a(n) ________ from Spain, first introduced into the region around the 13th century. Saffron is ________ in the hours just before ________, while the petals (花瓣) are closed. This helps protect their precious stigmas and makes the flowers easier to ________, especially preferred by the acquirers (收购商). Later, on the same day, the stigmas — three ________ strings per flower — are separated from the petals. It’s a delicate ________ that takes hours with a skilled and ________ hand. In the evening, over an open wood fire, the stringlike stigmas are ________ to make saffron powder to add to the richness of the color and the flavor, which brings considerable income.

Now sitting at a mouth-watering plate of Risotto alla Milanese, a dish cooked with saffron, I ________ the freezing morning with Sarra and her family. There’s no ________ that it is the families like the Sarras that stick to the many ________ that have survived from generation to generation. ________ more people will join them.

1.

A．interviewed

B．accompanied

C．hosted

D．recognized

2.

A．fell behind

B．fanned out

C．sat around

D．hung around

3.

A．profitable

B．tropical

C．unavailable

D．unaffordable

4.

A．technology

B．patent

C．investment

D．import

5.

A．harvested

B．stored

C．watered

D．monitored

6.

A．noon

B．sunrise

C．dusk

D．midnight

7.

A．bloom

B．tend

C．grow

D．sell

8.

A．frozen

B．sticky

C．tiny

D．wet

9.

A．object

B．issue

C．adventure

D．process

10.

A．rough

B．careless

C．patient

D．sweaty

11.

A．boiled

B．dried

C．fried

D．warmed

12.

A．recall

B．remind

C．cherish

D．record

13.

A．doubt

B．evidence

C．reason

D．chance

14.

A．wonders

B．platforms

C．traditions

D．relations

15.

A．Fortunately

B．Immediately

C．Gradually

D．Hopefully

2 . 本周以环保为主题的英语教学结束后，为提升同学们的环保意识，英语老师要求班上各位同学用英语写一篇以Please Protect Our Living Environment 的文章来倡导大家行动起来，保护我们的生活环境。
内容包括：
1.你身边的环境问题;
2.相应的解决办法。
注意：1.词数80左右;
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . Plant biologists have found a way that may enable poor farmers to do away with the need to purchase expensive hybrid seeds every year. Researchers at the University of California report that they have solved a long-standing problem of hybrid seeds by making exact clones of the hybrid plants from seeds.

For long, many crops have been grown from high-yielding, anti-disease or climate-tolerant hybrid seeds. But the seeds of hybrid crops do not produce plants with the same qualities during reproduction and hence farmers cannot save the seeds for the next growing season. They end up paying for new hybrid seeds each sowing season. The discovery, long sought by plant researchers, could make it easier to grow desirable high-yielding crops and make them available to the world’s farmers. Farmers could thus replant seeds from their own hybrid plants and enjoy the benefits of high production year after year, the scientists report.

While the discovery would help farmers, it would also impact the commercial interest of the hybrid seed industry. Siddiq, a former Deputy Director General in the Crop Science Division of the ICAR, said at first sight, this might seem like a setback for hybrid seed companies but there would be plenty of things they can still do. “Rice is grown over such a vast climatic and geographical range that specialized hybrids would have to be developed for each region,” he said. The companies, he said, would continue to improve their hybrids. “It will be interesting to see how all this plays out in the years to come.”

Currently, the high costs of producing hybrid seeds are a major barrier to farmers in developing countries, especially South Asia and Africa. Siddiq said if efficiently used, this method could potentially be a game-changer for poor farmers, who would need to purchase hybrid seeds just once and plant the progeny(后代) seeds from their own harvest in the following seasons.

1. What problem do the researchers aim to solve?

A．Farmers’ income.	B．Farmers’ costs.
C．Hybrid seeds’ cloning.	D．Hybrid seeds’ climate tolerance.

2. What is the disadvantage of the present hybrid seeds?

A．They have a pretty long growth cycle.

B．They tend to be affected by various diseases.

C．They have stricter requirements for sowing time.

D．They fail to reproduce plants with the same quality.

3. What’s Siddiq’s attitude to the commercial interests of the hybrid seed industry?

A．Hopeful.

B．Concerned.

C．Doubtful.

D．Anxious.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．The future of the hybrid seed industry.

B．The drawback of cloning hybrid seeds.

C．A method of cloning hybrid plants from their seeds.

D．A means of promoting the specialized hybrid seeds.

4 . 语法填空

Xie Xiaohua, a special education teacher has won the heart of hundreds of children with special needs and is called Mom Xiaohua by many of them.

“It is my greatest happiness and     1     (fulfill) to care for them as they grow up,” said 49-year-old Xie, who     2     (work) at Yiyuan County Special Education School for the past 27 years.

Fully aware     3    the difference between special education and general education, Xie provides     4     (specialize) care for each student according to their physical condition. In 2013, Xie’s workload became heavier after she     5     (assign) to work at the school’s rehabilitation(康复) center.     6     (ensure) every child received scientific and targeted rehabilitation training, she worked out specific plans for them. For children with mental handicaps, Xie     7     (patient) coached them to master basic skills of taking care of themselves in daily life. She also spent lots of time training children with hearing and speech impairments to work on their pronunciation, which often caused her to develop     8    swollen throat.

Several years ago, the school launched a campaign of offering door-to-door education to students     9     could not attend school because of severe physical disabilities. Xie was among over 30 teachers     10     (task) with tutoring those students. “Although we do feel exhausted sometimes, we feel our work is valuable after witnessing their progress, even just a little bit,” Xie said.

5 . Children returned to school after a big wildfire in Northern California. But the influence is so huge that it will be some time before the life of students there returns to normal.

Eight schools were lost to the wildfire. Government officials were not sure how many of their nearly 3,500 students would report to temporary (临时的) schools. Some families have left California. Others are staying with friends. It is too far for some of them to drive to one of those schools every day.

There are not enough classrooms for middle and high schools. So for the l3 days before the start of the traditional winter break in the school year, students will learn through independent study. They will be given homework online and be able to visit a special drop-in center in Chico, California. Children going there can get help from teachers or visit other classmates.

Loren Lighthall, a spokesman for one school there, said studying will be less important than dealing with pain and reconnecting with friends. “They don’t have their school, they don’t have their work, they don’t have their friends, they don’t have books and we’re asking them to do homework?” Light hall said. “It’s less important at this point. We’re going to do it. But what is important now is to deal with the pain left.”

Search members have stopped looking for the lost in burned cars and houses. But they remain available whenever there is need for help.

1. What does the underlined “those schools” in the second paragraph refer to?

A．The schools being built.	B．The online schools.
C．The 8 schools lost to the fire	D．The temporary schools.

2. Why do the students have to learn through independent study?

A．Because there aren’t enough classrooms for them.

B．Because the traditional winter break is coming soon.

C．Because the students want to start a new way of study.

D．Because the teachers ask them to do their homework online.

3. What does Loren Lighthall mean by his words?

A．Students should go to school immediately.

B．It is important to deal with the pain.

C．Students should be given much homework.

D．It is not necessary to study after the fire.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Life of students in North California has come to normal.

B．Search members have not stopped looking for the missing.

C．The wildfire in North California influences students greatly.

D．Classrooms are prepared for students affected in the wildfire.

6 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。

Catherine was a mother of three and after her husband died three years ago, she had to step out and earn money to make ends meet.

In the beginning, she worked as a sales clerk at a store. But as her children grew older, she knew she must find a new job which could pay a higher salary (薪水). One day, Catherine was walking home after her shift (轮班) at the store when she spotted a construction site. Realizing that the money she would make by working there was more than her current salary, she thought she might be able to work there. She then approached the manager. After learning about her circumstances, the manager hired her on the spot. Then she left her job at the store and worked full-time at the construction site.

However, Catherine kept her new job a secret from her children. She thought they would feel embarrassed after learning their mother worked at a construction site. Every morning, Catherine would wake up and make breakfast for her children before dropping them at school. Then, she would go to the construction site and work until her shift ended. She would pick up heavy bricks on her shoulder to transport them from one part of the site to the other. One weekend, Catherine’s son, Peter, told her about an upcoming contest in school that required mothers to participate. In the competition, students would wear blindfolds (眼罩) and have to recognize their mothers without looking at them. “That sounds like such a cool event, Peter!” Catherine said. “I won’t go there with you, Mom,” Peter replied. When asked why, Peter said that he would have to touch Catherine’s hands to recognize her. “Everyone would look at them, but your hands are so ugly. They’re so hard and rough,” he added. Catherine felt terrible after hearing her son’s excuse for not participating in the competition, but couldn’t say anything in her defense. She had to stay quiet and keep working at the construction site to make ends meet.

Paragraph 1: A few weeks later, when Peter was returning home earlier one day, something unexpected caught his attention.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2: Later that night, Peter decided to apologize to his mother.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . 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。

Marine (海洋的) creatures have long attracted scientists. Recently, researchers described remains discovered in northeastern Spain,     1    belonged to a turtle named Leviathanochelys aenigmatica. Living during the Cretaceous Period, the ancient turtle nearly matched the largest turtle     2    record.

Leviathanochelys swam in     3     (risk) waters. Its enemies included mosasaurs and plesiosaurs, large water creatures up to 15 meters in     4     (long). Other nearby enemies were sharks and rays. “    5     (attack) an animal of the size of Leviathanochelys possibly only could have been done by large creatures in the marine context. At that time, the large ones in the European zone were     6    (main) sharks and mosasaurs,” said Oscar Castillo, the lead writer of the study that     7    (publish) in the Southern in Scientific Reports.

Scientists found the Leviathanochelys remains near the village of Coll deNargo in Catalonia’s Alt Urgell area.    8    hiker in the Southern Pyrenees saw the bones covered by the ground. To date, researchers     9    (find) parts of the back of the shell (壳), and most of the pelvic (骨盆的) area, but no skull or tail. The bones suggest the creature had a smooth shell similar to leatherback turtles, with the shell     10    (measure) about 2.35 meters long and 2.2 meters wide.

8 . When I had behavioral issues in elementary school, my teachers would punish me by sending me to my guidance counselor, Dr. Deborah Hawes, to do math and science projects. I would disrupt(扰乱) the class on purpose, knowing that I would be sent to her office for guidance. Dr. Hawes was enthusiastic about science and math. Her goal was to help every student realize the importance of these subjects, and how they relate to everyday living. As a result, she was able to persuade me to take part in science fair project competitions.

Surprisingly, I did pretty well at those competitions and received many awards through out the city at larger competitions. It was after the 8th grade that Dr. Hawes encouraged me to attend the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (CHSAS). This by far, is one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.

My time spent at CHSAS was what developed my strong interest in animal science and conservation (保护). It also inspired me to continue my education at Delaware State University (DSU), where I was awarded a partial scholarship. Then, I completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science at DSU in 2004, with internships (实习) at Purdue University, Michigan State University, and the University of Namibia in Africa. In 2008, I earned a Master of Science degree from Iowa State University while conducting research on turtle nests. In 2009, I became the Savanna District’s first-ever wildlife biologist. I was stationed at one of the most visited wildlife shelters in the nation.

I’m lucky because I’ve found what I really love to do and now I’m having a career in that field. I encourage you to try different things to know what you really like doing. You may never know your favorite unless you give it a try.

1. Why did the author intend to disrupt the class?

A．To get others’ attention.	B．To go against the teacher.
C．To spend time with Dr. Hawes.	D．To relieve the boredom with math.

2. What is the author’s attitude towards going to CHSAS?

A．Positive.

B．Doubtful.

C．Disappointed.

D．Careful.

3. What did the author’s experience of studying at CHSAS bring to him?

A．His interest in science and math.

B．His confidence in large competitions.

C．His chance of getting great internships.

D．His enthusiasm for studying animal protection.

4. What can we learn from the author’s story?

A．Well begun is half done.	B．Rome was not built in a day.
C．Finding what you love matters.	D．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.

9 . Last month, my husband and I decided on visiting Cape Cod, which is about three hours’ drive from Boston. Our daughter who_________close to Boston dropped us off at 8 am on her way to the office. We decided to return home on our own in the evening _________we thought we could catch a local train to home from Boston. We had a great time in Cape Cod and_________Boston in the evening. We found ourselves just going round in a maze (迷宫) of streets, with the station_________ in sight! The roads were _________with not many people walking around. And we were a bit embarrassed to ask strangers for _________. Eventually we saw a young guy coming towards us. We_________him and told him about our _________situation. On hearing it, he immediately _________ to take us to the station. When we got there, to our__________, the money ticketing machine was out of order. At that moment the young man took out his credit card. “Here you go,” he smiled and __________the tickets to us. We gave him the ticket money, but he__________. We both expressed our __________ for his help. After returning home, we told our friends about this and they all asked about his name. __________, we had forgotten to get his name in a great__________ at the time of our departure! But we’re determined to pass his kindness on.

1.

A．worked

B．studied

C．traveled

D．stayed

2.

A．but

B．as

C．if

D．though

3.

A．ate at

B．moved to

C．arrived in

D．waited at

4.

A．anywhere

B．somewhere

C．everywhere

D．nowhere

5.

A．dirty

B．empty

C．crowded

D．wide

6.

A．directions

B．advice

C．foods

D．time

7.

A．hugged

B．observed

C．caught

D．approached

8.

A．comfortable

B．dangerous

C．difficult

D．stressful

9.

A．remembered

B．prepared

C．agreed

D．pretended

10.

A．relief

B．disappointment

C．excitement

D．advantage

11.

A．threw

B．showed

C．sold

D．handed

12.

A．jumped

B．lied

C．admitted

D．refused

13.

A．thankfulness

B．sadness

C．seriousness

D．weakness

14.

A．Therefore

B．However

C．Meanwhile

D．Finally

15.

A．hurry

B．moment

C．chance

D．task

10 . A running chub is a community group made up of members that are interested in running. Some running clubs may focus on different types of running activities and require a certain level of expertise(专长) on the runner’s part.    1           

Often,running clubs include training with a coach in the cost. However, if they don’t offer to coach members and provide only a group environment, the clubs may provide a discount on personal trainers. Keep in mind that the size of the club affects the discounts and services the club can provide.     2    Their members can choose as needed.

Many running clubs are open to members of all ability levels.     3     Some chubs that allow a wide range of ability levels focus on fit mess for children to seniors and both walking and running are accepted.

Most running clubs have a website that often includes a mission statement(任务说明) for the club.     4     For example, one club’s mission is to not only celebrate and encourage the sport of running, but it is also to do fund-raising; if you want running only, the website can tell you a lot.

    5    Joining a running club that matches your interests can help you get fit and expand your social circle as well. Running clubs allow people living in the same community to share their interests and attend races and events together. Plus, many running club organizers have a lot of experience in running that can benefit other community and club members.

A．A running club comes with a ton of benefits.

B．However, smaller running clubs often charge monthly.

C．There are some tips to help you find the right running club.

D．However, some focus on just advanced runners or just beginners.

E．Others may include social functions and not just sports activities.

F．This can help you decide whether or not a certain group is right for you.

G．For example, larger clubs may include training in the cost of their membership.