1 . We love letters. Just as John Donne, a poet, _________ it, “Letters, to me and my friends mean _________ greetings; they get souls together. Thanks to letters, friends who are _________ speak.” He wrote these words nearly 400 years ago. Today, in the age of instant text message, social media, and email, they _________ ring truer than ever, because writing or receiving a letter has become such a _________ event.

A UK-wide survey undertaken by Sunday Times suggests that one in four of us has not _________ a letter for at least 10 years. That’s ten years without the bitter-sweet _________ of pacing the floor waiting for the _________; ten years without recognizing the handwriting on the envelope and eagerly _________ the letter to read its content.

We ____________ not get them any more, but we still love handwritten letters. In the same survey, one third of ____________ people interviewed say that they ____________ the content of sentimental (充满情感的) letters. Shouldn’t we make ____________ to give our friends and families what they will treasure forever? Ann Bickley went online in 2013 and offered to handwrite a letter to anyone who ____________ her. Her website received 50,000 ____________ in its first three months. Five years later, she is still the main ____________ behind one-million-lovely-letter.com and has personally written 4,000 letters offering hope and ____________ to strangers.

The thought behind a letter ____________ as much as its contents. “I never tell anyone that ____________ is going to be OK,” Ann Bickley says, “I am letting someone know that there is someone in the world who ____________ them.”

Who wouldn’t love to receive a letter like that? Let’s get writing!

1.

A．made

B．put

C．helped

D．managed

2.

A．rather than

B．less than

C．more than

D．other than

3.

A．absent

B．active

C．amused

D．admirable

4.

A．also

B．yet

C．already

D．still

5.

A．popular

B．common

C．rare

D．simple

6.

A．received

B．sent

C．written

D．rejected

7.

A．success

B．pleasure

C．concern

D．calmness

8.

A．engineer

B．doctor

C．police

D．postman

9.

A．seizing

B．tearing

C．hiding

D．carrying

10.

A．can

B．must

C．may

D．shall

11.

A．American

B．Chinese

C．Australian

D．British

12.

A．forget

B．change

C．remember

D．notice

13.

A．money

B．room

C．history

D．time

14.

A．contacted

B．interviewed

C．consulted

D．admired

15.

A．guests

B．visitors

C．friends

D．partners

16.

A．force

B．strength

C．source

D．energy

17.

A．effort

B．comfort

C．surprise

D．experience

18.

A．educates

B．guides

C．matters

D．rewards

19.

A．nothing

B．anything

C．something

D．everything

20.

A．looks after

B．cares about

C．struggles for

D．agrees with

2 . We’ve all been there: in a lift, in line at the bank or on an airplane, surrounded by people who are, like us, deeply focused on their smartphones or, worse, struggling with the uncomfortable silence.

What’s the problem? It’s possible that we all have compromised conversational intelligence. It’s more likely that none of us start a conversation because it’s awkward and challenging, or we think it’s annoying and unnecessary. But the next time you find yourself among strangers, consider that small talk is worth the trouble. Experts say it’s an invaluable social practice that results in big benefits.

Dismissing small talk as unimportant is easy, but we can’t forget that deep relationships wouldn’t

even exist if it weren’t for casual conversation. Small talk is the grease(润滑剂) for social communication, says Bernardo Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast. ＂Almost every great love story and each big business deal begins with small talk,＂ he explains. ＂The key to successful small talk is learning how to connect with others, not just communicate with them.＂

In a 2014 study, Elizabeth Dunn, associate professor of psychology at UBC, invited people on their way into a coffee shop. One group was asked to seek out an interaction(互动) with its waiter; the other, to speak only when necessary. The results showed that those who chatted with their server reported significantly higher positive feelings and a better coffee shop experience. ＂It’s not that talking to the waiter is better than talking to your husband,＂ says Dunn. ＂But interactions with peripheral(边缘的) members of our social network matter for our well-being also.＂

Dunn believes that people who reach out to strangers feel a significantly greater sense of belonging, a bond with others. Carducci believes developing such a sense of belonging starts with small talk. ＂Small talk is the basis of good manners,＂ he says.

1. What phenomenon is described in the first paragraph?

A．Addiction to smartphones.

B．Inappropriate behaviours in public places.

C．Absence of communication between strangers.

D．Impatience with slow service.

2. What is important for successful small talk according to Carducci?

A．Showing good manners.	B．Relating to other people.
C．Focusing on a topic.	D．Making business deals.

3. What does the coffee-shop study suggest about small talk?

A．It improves family relationships.	B．It raises people’s confidence.
C．It matters as much as a formal talk.	D．It makes people feel good.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Conversation Counts	B．Ways of Making Small Talk
C．Benefits of Small Talk	D．Uncomfortable Silence

3 . 下面短文中共有10处错误，错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在此符号下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
          2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分
College students have a little ways to pay their college fees. Many students have their parents to pay the fees. Some students may apply to a bank loan and others will try to find part-time jobs in and out of the campus. Apart from this, many good student can win a scholarship. By this way they can pay at least part of the fees. As to me, I will let my parents pay half of their fees because they are rich enough. Beside my study, I will take up a part-time job by teach some high school students math, physics, chemistry and English, as I’m very good at these important subjects. Of course I will also work very hard at my lessons in order to I can easily win a scholarship.

4 . It was raining. I went into a café and asked for a coffee. _________ I was waiting for my drink, I realized that there were other people in the place, but I sensed _______. I saw their bodies, but I couldn’t feel their souls _________ their souls belonged to the _________.

I stood up and walked between the tables. When I came to the biggest computer, I saw a thin, small man _________ in front of it. “I’m Steve”, he finally answered after I asked him a couple of times what his name was. “I can’t talk with you. I’m _________”, he said. He was chatting online with somebody—probably someone he didn’t know—and, _________ , he was playing a computer game—a war game. I was_________.

Why didn’t Steve want to talk with me? I tried _________ to speak to that computer geek (怪人), ________ not a word came out of his mouth. I touched his shoulder, but no reaction. I was __________. I put my hand in front of the monitor, and he started to shout, “ __________!” I took a few steps back, wondering if all those people in the café were looking at me. I __________, and saw nobody showed any interest.

________ , I realized that the people there were having a nice conversation with their machines, not with people. They were more __________ having a relationship with the __________, particularly Steve. I wouldn’t want to __________ the future of human beings if they preferred sharing their lives with machines ____________ with people.

I was worried and I sank in my thoughts. I didn’t even ________ that the coffee was bad, __________ Steve didn’t notice there was a person next to him.

1.

A．Before

B．Since

C．Although

D．While

2.

A．pain

B．loneliness

C．sadness

D．fear

3.

A．because

B．when

C．until

D．unless

4.

A．home

B．world

C．net

D．café

5.

A．sleeping

B．laughing

C．sitting

D．learning

6.

A．busy

B．thirsty

C．tired

D．sick

7.

A．first of all

B．just then

C．at the same time

D．by that time

8.

A．surprised

B．delighted

C．moved

D．frightened

9.

A．once

B．again

C．first

D．even

10.

A．but

B．so

C．if

D．or

11.

A．excited

B．respected

C．afraid

D．unhappy

12.

A．Shut up

B．Enjoy yourself

C．Leave me alone

D．Help me out

13.

A．walked about

B．walked out

C．raised my hand

D．raised my head

14.

A．From then on

B．At that moment

C．In all

D．Above all

15.

A．interested in

B．tired of

C．careful about

D．troubled by

16.

A．computer

B．soul

C．shop

D．geek

17.

A．tell

B．plan

C．imagine

D．design

18.

A．other than

B．instead of

C．except for

D．as well as

19.

A．pretend

B．understand

C．insist

D．realize

20.

A．as if

B．just as

C．just after

D．even though