1 . Music to My Ears
Robby was 10 for his first piano lesson in my class. Much as he tried, he ______even the basic rhythm. However, he dutifully reviewed the pieces that I required.
Over the months he tried and tried while I ______and encouraged him. At the end of each lesson he'd always say, "My mom's going to hear me play some day." ______   it seemed hopeless.
I only knew his mother from a ______   as she waited in her aged car to pick him up. Then one day Robby stopped coming. I was secretly ______   that he stopped because of his lack of ability.
Weeks later I informed the students, including Robby, of the coming recital（独奏）. To my _____, Robby asked me if he could be included. I told him he really did not qualify because he had _______ out. He said his mom had been sick and unable to take him to lessons but he was still ______   .
“I've just got to play!" he _____. Something inside me let me allow him to.
Then came the recital night. The gym was _______   with parents. I put Robby up _______, thinking that I could save his poor performance through my “curtain closer（谢幕）.”
The recital went off smoothly. Then Robby came up on stage. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair was ______. "Why didn't his mother at least make him comb his hair for this special night?" I thought.
Robby pulled out the piano bench and began. I was not _______   for what I heard next. His fingers were _______   on the keys. Never had I heard Mozart played so well by people of his age. After he ended, everyone was ________ their feet in wild applause.
In _______   I ran up on stage and put my arms around Robby. "I've never heard you play like that, Robby! How did you _______   it?"
Robby explained, "Well, Miss Hondorf…remember I told you my mom was sick? …________ she had cancer and passed away yesterday. She was born deaf, so tonight she could hear me play in heaven. I wanted to make it special."
There wasn’t a _______   eye in the house. That night I felt he was the teacher and I was the pupil, for it was he who taught me the meaning of perseverance and ______.1.

A．had

B．lacked

C．showed

D．got

2.

A．learned

B．checked

C．listened

D．played

3.

A．And

B．But

C．So

D．Or

4.

A．conversation

B．performance

C．distance

D．picture

5.

A．guilty

B．anxious

C．glad

D．sad

6.

A．surprise

B．relief

C．pleasure

D．satisfaction

7.

A．stepped

B．worn

C．run

D．dropped

8.

A．acting

B．practicing

C．performing

D．recording

9.

A．insisted

B．suggested

C．complained

D．threatened

10.

A．packed

B．lined

C．piled

D．covered

11.

A．least

B．most

C．first

D．last

12.

A．cool

B．messy

C．neat

D．dull

13.

A．eager

B．concerned

C．prepared

D．grateful

14.

A．hesitating

B．crawling

C．touching

D．dancing

15.

A．over

B．under

C．in

D．on

16.

A．chaos

B．return

C．silence

D．tears

17.

A．find

B．feel

C．make

D．like

18.

A．Gradually

B．Suddenly

C．Frequently

D．Actually

19.

A．bright

B．curious

C．dry

D．wet

20.

A．love

B．talent

C．regret

D．courage

2 .

There was a boy who was walking home from school when he saw a large, tempting (attracting) apple on one of the branches of an apple tree hanging out over a tall fence. The boy wasn’t much of a fruit-eater,_______a bar of chocolate if given the choice,_______, as they say, the forbidden fruit can be tempting. Seeing the apple, the boy wanted it. The more he looked at it, the_______he felt and the more he wanted that apple.

He stood on tiptoe,_______as high as he could, but even at his tallest_______he was unable to touch it. He began to_______up and down, as high as he could, at the_______of each jump stretching his arms to get the apple. Still it remained out of_______

Not giving up, he thought, if only he had something to_______on. His school bag wouldn’t give enough height and he didn’t want to__________the things inside, like his lunch box, pencil box, pencil case, and Gameboy. Looking__________, he hoped he might find an old box, a rock, or,__________luck, even a ladder, but it was a tidy neighborhood and there was nothing he could use.

He had tried everything he could think to do.__________seeing any other choices, he gave up and started to walk__________At first, he felt angry and disappointed thinking about how hungry he had become from his__________, and how he really wanted that apple. The more he__________like this, the more unhappy he became.

__________, the boy of our story was a pretty smart guy, even if he couldn’t get what he wanted. He started to say to himself, “This isn’t__________I don’t have the apple and I’m feeling sad as well. There is__________more I can do to get the apple— that is unchangeable —but we are supposed to be able to__________our feelings. If that is the case, what can I do to feel better?

1.

A．offering

B．preferring

C．receiving

D．allowing

2.

A．so

B．then

C．or

D．but

3.

A．sadder

B．hungrier

C．angrier

D．tastier

4.

A．stretching

B．swinging

C．expanding

D．pulling

5.

A．strength

B．height

C．length

D．range

6.

A．jump

B．look

C．walk

D．glance

7.

A．tip

B．stage

C．level

D．top

8.

A．touch

B．hand

C．reach

D．sight

9.

A．put

B．stand

C．get

D．hold

10.

A．shake

B．break

C．take

D．strike

11.

A．up

B．forward

C．around

D．down

12.

A．with

B．for

C．on

D．of

13.

A．After

B．Without

C．Through

D．Upon

14.

A．away

B．back

C．up

D．down

15.

A．wishes

B．beliefs

C．goals

D．efforts

16.

A．imagined

B．tried

C．claimed

D．thought

17.

A．Therefore

B．Moreover

C．However

D．Otherwise

18.

A．skilful

B．helpful

C．cheerful

D．harmful

19.

A．something

B．nothing

C．anything

D．everything

20.

A．express

B．forget

C．change

D．describe

3 . 完形填空
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A,B,C,D四个选项中选出最佳选项
Editors of newspapers and magazines often go too far in supplying readers with facts. Last year a reporter ____ by a well-known magazine wrote an article on the president’s ____ in a new African republic. When the article arrived, the editor read the first sentence and then refused to ____ it. The article began like this, “Hundreds of steps lead to the high ____ surrounding the president’s palace.” The editor ____ sent the reporter a telegram directing him to find out the ____ number of steps and height of the wall.
The reporter set out to get these important facts at once, but it ____ him a long time to send them back. Meanwhile, the editor was growing____, for the magazine would soon be ____ He sent the reporter two urgent(加急的) telegrams, but received ____ reply. He sent another, yet the reporter again ____ to reply. The editor unwillingly published the article ____ it had been written. A week later, the editor at last ____ the reporter, who told him in the letter that not only had he been arrested(逮捕)but he had been sent to ____ The poor man had been seized by the police while ____ the 1804 steps leading to the 15-foot wall around the palace.1.

A．answered

B．sent

C．wanted

D．taken

2.

A．hometown

B．office

C．palace

D．family

3.

A．publish

B．rewrite

C．sign

D．talk about

4.

A．palace

B．wall

C．country

D．prison

5.

A．quickly

B．later

C．hurriedly

D．immediately

6.

A．exact

B．large

C．small

D．unknown

7.

A．took

B．spent

C．got

D．found

8.

A．glad

B．fast

C．anxious

D．happy

9.

A．sold

B．sent

C．shown

D．printed

10.

A．no

B．much

C．one

D．any

11.

A．managed

B．failed

C．had

D．ought

12.

A．until

B．like

C．when

D．as

13.

A．met with

B．looked for

C．came across

D．heard from

14.

A．a hotel

B．prison

C．the palace

D．the office

15.

A．counting

B．going

C．measuring

D．drawing

4 . 阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A.B.C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并将答案填写在答卷上。
One Saturday, I went shopping with my daughter, Helen, and son, Brandon. The car was filled with the children’s laughing and singing. As we _______ up, we saw a truck with a big sign on it that _______ “Petting Zoo.” The kids jumped up and asked, “Daddy, can we go?” “Sure.” I said, giving them _______ a quarter (25 cents) before walking into the shopping center. They ran away and I felt free to take my time looking for _______ I needed. There are a hundred little baby animals of all kinds in the _______ zoo. Kids pay their money and stay there with the animals they like _______their moms and dads shop.
Several minutes later, I _______ and saw Helen walking along behind me. I was surprised to see she _______ to shop rather than play with the animals. And I thought the children had to wait till the parents came to _______ them up. I came up and asked what was wrong.
She ________ at me with those big brown eyes and said sadly. “Well, Daddy. it cost 50 cents. So, I gave Brandon my ________.” Then she said the most ________ thing I ever heard. She repeated the family motto “________ is action!” She had given Brandon her quarter, and ________ loves little animals more than Helen. She had watched what both my ________ and I did for years around the house after we had said “love is action!” And now it had become a ________ of her lifestyle.
Then we went back to the petting zoo. We stood ________ Brandon go crazy petting and feeding the animals. I had 50 cents ________ a hole in my pocket. I never ________ it to Helen, and she never asked for it. Because she know the whole family ________: Love always pays.1.

A．drove

B．drew

C．dressed

D．dragged

2.

A．wrote

B．said

C．expressed

D．warned

3.

A．either

B．neither

C．each

D．every

4.

A．who

B．when

C．that

D．what

5.

A．feeding

B．caring

C．petting

D．nursing

6.

A．which

B．while

C．where

D．whether

7.

A．turned over

B．turned out

C．turned away

D．turned around

8.

A．chose

B．checked

C．hesitated

D．refused

9.

A．bring

B．put

C．pick

D．wake

10.

A．looked up

B．looked down

C．looked through

D．looked over

11.

A．pet

B．coat

C．quarter

D．candy

12.

A．successful

B．beautiful

C．harmful

D．awful

13.

A．Trust

B．Understanding

C．Honesty

D．Love

14.

A．anyone

B．no one

C．everyone

D．someone

15.

A．wife

B．mother

C．father

D．children

16.

A．pile

B．pair

C．puzzle

D．part

17.

A．seeing

B．watching

C．noticing

D．feeling

18.

A．digging

B．making

C．burning

D．hiding

19.

A．paid

B．delivered

C．offered

D．afforded

20.

A．motto

B．message

C．model

D．matter

5 . 阅读下列短文，从每小题后所给的四个选项（A.B.C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并将答案填写在答卷上。
     Many pets got separated from their families almost two years ago, when Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast. A New Jersey family was one of them. They lost their dog. He got away from their backyard during the storm.

Chuck James said that his family searched for the brown-and-white dog named Reckless for months after the October 2012 storm. Reckless was a cute dog which brought much pleasure to the whole family, and the youngest daughter Tiffany loved him most. They played together, watched TV together, ate popcorn together and Reckless even saw Tiffany off when she headed for the kindergarten every morning. Chuck James kept searching for the lovely dog in every possible way, but no luck.

“We reported him missing and called the shelters from time to time, just hoping they had him,” James said. “We always kept our hopes up, but finally it was time to move on.”

James said the family had planned to get a new dog. The dog was to be a tenth birthday surprise for their eldest daughter, Ally. The family of five went to the Monmouth County SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) to adopt a new animal. When James and his wife walked close to the first cage, they saw a familiar face inside.

“He was a little bigger than I remembered because they had fed him well,” James joked. “But then he was lying on my wife’s feet and I knew it was him. It was unbelievable. I know this dog is meant to be with our family.”

     When SPCA officials asked if they could prove the animal was their dog, a friend sent a selfie showing the family, with their dog before Sandy hit the East Coast.

“We’re all so happy to have him back.” James said. The family is living in hotel while their home is being repaired. This weekend, the James went on camping trip with Reckless to celebrate the dog’s return

1. What happened to the James when Super Storm Sandy hit the East Coast?

A．Their house lay in ruins after the storm.

B．Their pet dog Reckless went missing.

C．Their pet dog Reckless was adopted by another family.

D．They found their pet dog Reckless badly injured.

2. Having searched for Reckless for months, the James found him in ____.

A．an animal hospital	B．one of their friends’ houses
C．the Monmouth County SPCA	D．the backyard which was under repair

3. The meaning of the underlined word “selfie” is closest to “______ ”.

A．document

B．credit card

C．text message

D．picture

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．A dog got separated from his family in a storm.

B．A lost dog found his way home with difficulty.

C．A family looked for a new dog but found the old one instead.

D．Dogs are always devoted friends of human beings.

6 . 你听说过波兰首都华沙(Warsaw)一词的由来吗? 这里有一个美丽的传说。
Long long ago,there was a young man.His name was Wars.He lived in a little house near the River Vistula.He went there fishing every day for a living.
One day he saw a beautiful girl in the river.The girl's name was Sawa.From then on,the young man and the beautiful girl met every day.They fell in love with each other.When Wars asked Sawa to marry him.Sawa was very sad.She told him that she was mermaid (美人鱼) and she couldn't marry man.But she said she would give him something when they met again.
The next day,Wars went to the river and met Sawa. Sawa was waiting for him with a sword in herright hand and a shield(盾)in her left hand.She told Wars that they wouldn't meet again.She gave the sword and the shield to him.She said he would be successful with the sword and the shield and become a great hero.Then she went away.
Wars missed Sawa very much.He always remembered his first love.What the mermaid had told him came true.Wars became a great hero.He got the land by the River Vistula.There he set up a city. He called it Warsaw.
1. Wars was a ___________when he met Sawa for the first time

A．hero

B．fisherman

C．mermaid

D．soldier

2. Sawa couldn't marry Wars because _______________

A．Sawa was a mermaid	B．Sawa didn't love Wars
C．Wars was very poor	D．Wars didn't love Sawa

3. Sawa told Wars_____________

A．they would marry later

B．they would leave together

C．he would become a hero

D．he would get much money

4. The name of Poland's capital came from _________________

A．the name of a house

B．the name of a river

C．the name of a mountain

D．the names of Wars and Sawa

5. From this passage, we know that _____________

A．Wars lived in a big house near the River Vistula before he met Sawa

B．Sawa was kind but not pretty

C．Sawa gave Wars nothing but a sword

D．Wars named the city Warsaw to remember his first love

7 . Elizabeth Freeman was born about 1742 to African American parents who were slaves. At the age of six months she was acquired, along with her sister, by John Ashley, a wealthy Massachusetts slaveholders. She became known as “Mumbet” or “Mum Bett.”
For nearly 30 years Mumbet served the Ashley family. One day, Ashley’s wife tried to strike Mumbet’s sister with a spade. Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead. Furious, she left the house and refused to come back. When the Ashleys tried to make her return, Mumbet consulted a lawyer, Theodore Sedgewick. With his help, Mumbet sued(起诉) for her freedom.
While serving the Ashleys, Mumbet had listened to many discussions of the new Massachusetts constitution. If the constitution said that all people were free and equal, then she thought it should apply to her. Eventually, Mumbet won her freedom---- the first slave in Massachusetts to do so under the new constitution.
Strangely enough, after the trial, the Ashleys asked Mumbet to come back and work for them as a paid employee. She declined and instead went to work for Segdewick. Mumbet died in 1829, but her legacy lived on in her many descendants(后裔). One of her great-grandchildren was W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the founder of the NAACP, and an important writer and spokesperson for African American civil rights.
Mumbet’s tombstone still stands in the Massachusetts cemetery where she was buried. It reads, in part: “She was born a slave and remained a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal.”
1. What do we know about Mumbet according to Paragraph 1?

A．She was born a slave

B．She was a slaveholder

C．She had a famous sister

D．She was born into a rich family

2. Why did Mumbet run away from the Ashleys?

A．She found an employer

B．She wanted to be a lawyer

C．She was hit and got angry

D．She had to take care of her sister

3. What did Mumbet learn from discussions about the new consititution?

A．She should always obey her owners’ orders

B．She should be as free and equal as whites

C．How to be a good servant

D．How to apply for a job

4. What did Mumbet do after the trial?

A．She chose to work for a lawyer

B．She found the NAACP

C．She continued to serve the Ashleys

D．She went to live with her grandchildren

5. What is the test mainly about?

A．A story of a famous writer and spokesperson

B．The friendship between a lawyer and a slave

C．The life of a brave African American woman

D．A trial that shocked the whole world

8 .         It was one of those terribly hot days in Baltimore. Needless to say, it was too hot to do anything outside. But it was also scorching in our apartment. This was 1962, and I would not live in a place with an air conditioner for another ten years. So my brother and I decided to leave the apartment to find someplace indoors. He suggested we could see a movie. It was a brilliant plan.

Movie theaters were one of the few places you could sit all day and—most important—sit in air conditioning. In those days, you could buy one ticket and sit through two movies. Then, the theater would show the same two movies again. If you wanted to, you could sit through them twice. Most people did not do that, but the manager at our theater. Mr. Bellow did not mind if you did.

That particular day, my brother and I sat through both movies twice, trying to escape the heat. We bought three bags of popcorn and three sodas each. Then, we sat and watched The Music Man followed by The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. We’d already seen the second movie once before. It had been at the theater since January, because Mr. Bellow loved anything with John Wayne in it.

We left the theater around 8, just before the evening shows began. But we returned the next day and saw the same two movies again, twice more. And we did it the next day too. Finally, on the fourth day, the heat wave broke.

Still, to this day I can sing half the songs in The Music Man and recite half of John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart’s dialogue from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance! Those memories are some of the few I have of the heat wave of 1962. They’re really memories of the screen, not memories of my life.

1. In which year did the author first live in a place with an air conditioner?

A．1952.

B．1962.

C．1972.

D．1982.

2. What does the underlined word “It” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The heat

B．The theater.

C．The Music Man

D．The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

3. What do we know about Mr. Bellow?

A．He loved children very much.

B．He was a fan of John Wayne.

C．He sold air conditioners.

D．He was a movie star.

4. Why did the author and his/her brother see the same movies several times?

A．The two movies were really wonderful.

B．They wanted to avoid the heat outside.

C．The manager of the theater was friendly.

D．They liked the popcorn and the soda at the theater.

5. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．The author turned out to be a great singer.

B．The author enjoyed the heat wave of 1962.

C．The author’s life has been changed by the two movies.

D．The author considers the experience at the theater unforgettable.

9 . Although I love my life, it hasn’t been a lot of fun as I’ve been ill for 28 years.

Music has always been a great love of mine and, in my 20s, when my _______ was more manageable, I _______ ten years as a professional singer in restaurants, playing and singing folk songs. _______ that was years ago and times have changed. _______ I live with my mother on a country farm.

Two years ago, I decided that I would need to have some kind of extra work to _______ my disability pension (残疾抚恤金). _______ I needed to sleep in afternoons, I was limited in my _______. I decided that I would consider _______ to singing in restaurants.

My family are all musicians, so I was _______ when I went into our local music store. I explained that I wanted to sing again but using recorded karaoke music. I knew that discs were very expensive and I really didn’t have a lot of ________ to get started. And ________ you find only three to four songs out of ten on a disc that you can ________ use.

When I told the owner of the shop about my ________, he gave me a long, thoughtful ________. “This means a lot to you, doesn’t it?” he said. “Come with me.”

He led me ________ the crowded shop and to a bench with a large professional karaoke box on it. He placed his large hand ________ on his treasure and said, “I have 800 karaoke songs in here. You can take your ________ and I’ll record them for you. That should get you started. ”

I ________. Thanking him, I made a time with him to listen to all the songs and choose ________ that I could sing. I have come full circle with his help.

His ________ still warms my heart and makes me do just that bit extra, when I have the chance.

1.

A．loneliness

B．sadness

C．tiredness

D．sickness

2.

A．set

B．enjoyed

C．kept

D．shared

3.

A．Gladly

B．Eventually

C．Unfortunately

D．Surprisingly

4.

A．Now

B．Then

C．Sometime

D．Meanwhile

5.

A．add up to

B．make up for

C．get rid of

D．take advantage of

6.

A．If

B．As

C．Though

D．Before

7.

A．movement

B．condition

C．choices

D．positions

8.

A．reaching out

B．living up

C．getting on

D．going back

9.

A．recognized

B．interviewed

C．found

D．invited

10.

A．money

B．time

C．energy

D．knowledge

11.

A．thus

B．once

C．seldom

D．often

12.

A．actually

B．hardly

C．nearly

D．formerly

13.

A．job

B．family

C．idea

D．offer

14.

A．face

B．view

C．look

D．sight

15.

A．over

B．along

C．towards

D．through

16.

A．unhappily

B．lovingly

C．pitifully

D．gratefully

17.

A．pick

B．turn

C．role

D．step

18.

A．had to cry

B．ought to cry

C．should have cried

D．could have cried

19.

A．more

B．the ones

C．few

D．the rest

20.

A．courage

B．devotion

C．kindness

D．trust

10 . Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it. From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse. But if you get a closer look you will notice one of them is blind. Instead of     1     (abandon) him, his owner has made him a safe and comfortable barn to live in. And if you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell     2     (come) from     3     smaller horse. Attached to     4     (it) halter (缰绳) is a small, copper-colored bell assisting the blind friend to follow him.

    5     you watch them, you’ll find the horse with the bell always checking on the blind one, and that the blind horse will listen for the bell and then slowly walk to     6     the other one is, trusting he will not     7     (lead) astray (迷路地). When the horse with the bell returns to the barn each evening, he will stop     8     (frequent) to look back, making sure that the     9     isn’t too far behind to hear the bell．

Life does not throw us away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges. Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing bell of our acquaintances;     10     other times, we are the guide horse, who helps others to find their way.