1 . 阅读短文，按照题目要求用英语回答问题。

For many teenagers, a job is a way to earn a little extra money. For me, it is more than that.

At the age of 16, I was offered my very first job as a shopgirl in a clothing store. On the first day, my manager was training me how to fold and organize platform after platform of clothes. The work seemed overwhelming, and everything had to be done in an accurate way. I got so impatient because I couldn’t get it right the first couple of times. After about ten tries, I had the clothes folded perfectly. Then it took me thirty minutes to get them all looking uniform. Now, I fold and organize clothes every day, and I’m able to do them well. Through this experience, I’ve learned to be patient.

Helping customers and establishing connections with them is one of the things I love most about my job. About two months ago, I helped a woman who was looking for a dress. She told me exactly what she was picturing—a blue dress with long sleeves and a lace neck. We didn’t have any such dress, and when I explained that to her, she wasn’t very happy. Instead of getting annoyed, I tried getting to know her a bit better and asked what the dress was for, so I could find other items in her size that could work. We shared our love of the Netflix fashion show, and she ended up buying $200 worth of new clothes, having found other items she liked. This experience has taught me to be more open with strangers.

Every job has its share of frustrations and challenges; to do well you must learn to deal with them. I’ve learned this from my own experience, and it has helped me in other aspects of my life as well.

1. What was the author’s first job? (no more than 5 words)
2. What is the meaning of the underlined word in Para. 2? (no more than 3 words)
3. How did the author manage to meet the customer’s needs in Para. 3? (no more than 15 words)
4. How has the author’s work experience changed her in personality? (no more than 10 words)
5. What job would you like to do? How can you help people in your work? (no more than 20 words)

2 . An unpleasant smell floated into my nose as the bowl of fried stinky tofu（臭豆腐） settled onto my grandmother’s dinner table. I immediately sat back. The smell ruined my appetite, and I pushed the dish away.

“It’s supposed to stink. Just give it a try!” my grandmother said.

Holding my breath, I unwillingly took a bite. To my surprise, the tofu beneath the fried skin was warm, soft, and mouthwatering. Since then, whenever I visited my grandmother’s house, I would rush to the kitchen for the stinky tofu with excitement. Thus, stinky tofu became more than a household tradition. It became my favorite dish.

Along with the stinky tofu, I would meet my Uncle Chan on every visit. As an immature boy, I never understood my uncle’s condition of Down syndrome（唐氏综合征）.

He was an unfriendly and terrible creature in my eyes. He constantly walked around the house, talking to himself. Whenever he was within view, I would run away in fear.

However, one day, my view of my uncle suddenly changed. I was just getting out of my bed when I heard soft steps approaching. It was my uncle. My muscles froze. He slowly sat next to me and touched my face gently, as a mother would stroke （抚摸）a baby.

A wide smile emerged from his blank expression. How beautiful his smile was! I could not help but smile back. My fear disappeared gradually, and my muscles relaxed. For the first time, I could see softness and warmth in his eyes.

My uncle very much resembles stinky tofu. Stinky tofu smells unpleasant on the outside,   yet   feels   warm   and   soft   in   the   inside.   Like   stinky   tofu,   my   uncle’s   Down syndrome made me keep my distance at first. Yet, I learned that deep inside, he is harmless and has a loving nature.

Some people tend to look down upon disabled people and regard them as unfit for a regular life. As I was able to see through the outer surface of the tofu, these people are unable to see through the surface of prejudice（偏见）. As a result, they judge the disabled with one glance.

The outside and inside of the stinky tofu exist as two extremely different worlds. Perhaps that is what makes it such a tasty dish. Not only is it delicious, stinky tofu offers a valuable lesson: never judge people at first glance, for true beauty comes from the inside.

1. Why did stinky tofu become the author’s favorite dish?

A．It was related to family tradition.

B．It turned out to be quite delicious.

C．Grandma encouraged him to try it.

D．His appetite for food had increased.

2. What did the author think of his uncle at first?

A．He was a quiet person.

B．He was an energetic guy.

C．He was an immature man.

D．He was a strange creature.

3. The author’s attitude towards Uncle Chan changed when .

A．Chan’s footsteps woke up the author

B．Chan showed his friendliness to the author

C．Chan displayed his love towards his mother

D．Chan’s blank expression made the author smile

4. The comparison between stinky tofu and the author’s uncle serves to _.

A．highlight the nature of Uncle Chan

B．analyze the family relationship

C．describe a childhood memory

D．introduce a traditional Chinese food

5. What does the author mainly want to tell us in the passage?

A．We shouldn’t judge by appearances.

B．A person’s taste changes over time.

C．Blood is thicker than water.

D．You are what you eat.

3 . People in communities have slowly been pushed apart through the years, mostly because people simply aren’t taking the time to say a simple “hello”. After considering this phenomenon, I decided I was going to _______the way I was doing things.

My _______came one morning when I was in the community library. I passed by a girl who_______ her books out of her locker. Thinking like most that someone else would help her pick them up, I continued my way. However, when I had to_______ because I stupidly forgot my book, I noticed she had just finished packing them up by herself and no one had stopped to _______her.

“OK,” I thought to myself, “this is where I should have changed.”

My best opportunity came a few days later when I saw a man _______by himself waiting for the library to open, so I sat down next to him and began a _______. It was difficult to get started, and even harder when I had to say goodbye, almost every _______ from my new friend had a tone (语气) of doubt in it. And who could blame him?

People aren’t used to making an _______chat with a stranger. But a change, no matter how__________ it is needed, doesn’t just happen. It takes people like us to make it possible. I__________ you to take a small step out of your comfort zone and try to make someone’s day a little brighter. Together, we can really make society come __________ as a whole.

1.

A．change

B．explain

C．learn

D．show

2.

A．trouble

B．doubt

C．wish

D．opportunity

3.

A．took

B．dropped

C．got

D．pulled

4.

A．come out

B．stand by

C．go back

D．turn up

5.

A．please

B．greet

C．help

D．praise

6.

A．sitting

B．walking

C．riding

D．running

7.

A．discussion

B．lesson

C．report

D．conversation

8.

A．joke

B．response

C．cry

D．story

9.

A．unchangeable

B．unprepared

C．unforgettable

D．unfinished

10.

A．desperately

B．frequently

C．simply

D．widely

11.

A．allow

B．warn

C．order

D．advise

12.

A．later

B．straighter

C．closer

D．slower

4 . [1] Ashley Power’s mother bought a computer for her when she was eight. When she was thirteen, she was surfing the Internet regularly, but she couldn’t find anywhere for teenagers to meet and talk. And one day she thought, “If I had my own website, I’d make it a really interesting site for teenagers.”
[2] So, when Ashley was sixteen, she launched her own website, called Goosehead. She had no idea how big a success it would be, but three years later, the site was the most successful teen site in the USA! It was getting 100,000 hits every day, and Ashley had about 30 employees.
[3] After a few years, the website closed down. Then Ashley, who lives in Los Angeles, was asked to write a book called The Goosehead Guide to Life. The book is about how to design a website and start a business. It begins with a section called “All About Ashley,” where Ashley tells readers what it is like to be the boss of a company when you are only sixteen. “I was so happy. But it was crazy in a lot of ways. I got very stressed. I mean, I was only sixteen — I didn’t even have a car! If you were sixteen and you had your own company, you’d be stressed, too!”
[4] In an interview Ashley gave advice to teenagers who wanted to start their own business, “Just be strong and have your dreams and work hard at them. And don’t listen when _______, because I heard ‘no’ a lot. Just keep going until you hear ‘yes’!”
1. For what purpose did Ashley create GooseHead? (no more than 10 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
2. What is the main idea of Paragraph 2? (no more than 6 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
3. According to paragraph 3, what did Ashley do after GooseHead closed down? (no more than 10 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
4. How did Ashley feel as a young boss of a company? (no more than 5 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
5. Fill in the blank in Paragraph 4 with proper words.
_______________________________________________________________________________

5 . A boy was walking home from school when he saw a large, tempting (诱人的) 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 (脚尖), _______ as high as he could, but even as 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 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 always get what get he wanted. He started to say to himself, “This isn’t ____________. I don’t have the apple and I’m feeling miserable as well. There’s ____________ more I can do to get the apple — that is unchangeable — but we are supposed to be able to ____________ our feelings. If that’s the case, what can I do to feel better?”

1.

A．preferring

B．offering

C．receiving

D．allowing

2.

A．so

B．then

C．but

D．or

3.

A．sadder

B．angrier

C．hungrier

D．tastier

4.

A．expanding

B．stretching

C．swinging

D．pulling

5.

A．strength

B．length

C．range

D．height

6.

A．jump

B．look

C．walk

D．glance

7.

A．tip

B．stage

C．top

D．level

8.

A．hope

B．hand

C．sight

D．reach

9.

A．put

B．stand

C．get

D．hold

10.

A．break

B．shake

C．take

D．strike

11.

A．up

B．forward

C．down

D．around

12.

A．for

B．with

C．on

D．of

13.

A．After

B．Through

C．Without

D．Upon

14.

A．back

B．away

C．up

D．down

15.

A．wishes

B．beliefs

C．efforts

D．goals

16.

A．thought

B．imagined

C．tried

D．claimed

17.

A．Therefore

B．However

C．Moreover

D．Otherwise

18.

A．skillful

B．cheerful

C．harmful

D．helpful

19.

A．something

B．anything

C．everything

D．nothing

20.

A．change

B．express

C．forget

D．describe

6 . When you are little, the whole world feels like a big playground. I was living in Conyers, Georgia the summer it all happened. I was a second grader, but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade. Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way.

It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie's basement. As I opened the basement door, before us lay the biggest room, full of amazing things like guns, dolls, and old clothes. I ran downstairs, and spotted a red steel can. It was paint. I looked beyond it and there lay even more paint in bright colors like purple, orange, blue and green.

"Stephanie, I just found us a project for the day. Get some paintbrushes. We are fixing to paint. “She screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work. We gathered all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard. There on the road in front of my house, we painted big stripes (条纹) of colors across the pavement (人行道). Stripe by stripe, our colors turned into a beautiful rainbow. It was fantastic!

The sun was starting to sink. I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car. It was my mother. I couldn't wait to show her my masterpiece. The car pulled slowly into the driveway and from the look on my mother’s face, I could tell that I was in deep trouble.

My mother shut the ear door and walked towards me. Her eyes glaring, she shouted, "What in the world were you thinking? I understood when you made castles out of leaves, and climbed the neighbors' trees, but this! Come inside right now!" I stood there glaring back at her for a minute, angry because she had insulted (侮辱) my art.

"Now go clean it up!" Mother and I began cleaning the road. Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful rainbow turn into black cement.

Though years have now passed, I still wonder where my rainbow has gone. I wonder if, maybe when I get older, I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away. I guess we all need some sort of rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful.

1. What did the writer want to do when his mother came home?

A．To introduce Stephanie to her.	B．To prevent her from seeing his painting.
C．To show his artwork to her.	D．To put the materials back in the yard.

2. In his mother's eyes, the writer ________.

A．was a born artist	B．worked very hard
C．was a problem solver	D．always caused trouble

3. The underlined word "rainbow" in the last paragraph refers to ________.

A．something imaginative and fun	B．the stripes on the pavement
C．the rainbow in the sky	D．important lessons learned in childhood

4. It can be learned from the passage that parents should ________.

A．encourage children to paint	B．value friendship among children
C．protect rather than destroy children's dreams	D．discover the hidden talent in children

7 . Born in America, I spoke English ,not Chinese, the language of my ancestors. When I was three, my parents flashed cards with Chinese _______ at my face, but I pushed them_______. My mom believed I would learn_______ I was ready. But the_______ never came.

On a Chinese New Year’s Eve, my uncle spoke to me in Chinese, but all I could do was_______ at him, confused, scratching my head . “Still can’t speak Chinese? ” He_______ me, “You can’t even buy a fish in Chinatown.”

“Hey, this is America, not China. I’ll get some_______ with or without Chinese.” I replied and turned to my mom for_______ . “Remember to ask for fresh fish, Xin Xian Yu,” she said, handing over a $20 bill. I _______ the words, running downstairs into the streets of Chinatown.

I found the fish ______ surrounded in a sea of customers. “I’d like to buy some fresh fish,” I should to the fish man. But he______ my English words and turned to serve the next customer. The laugh of the people behind increased _____ their impatience. With every _____, the breath of the dragons (龙) on my back grew stronger—my blood boiling— ______ me to cry out. “ Xian Sheng Yu, please.” “Very Xian Sheng,” I repeated. The crowd erupted into laughter. My face turned_______ and I ran back home ______ , except for the $20 bill I held tightly in my pocket.

Should I laugh or cry? They’re Chinese. I should feel right at______ . Instead, I was the joke, a disgrace (丢脸)to the language.

Sometimes, I laugh at my fish_______ , but, in the end, the joke is on _______ . Every laugh is a culture_______; every laugh is my heritage (传统) fading away.

1.

A．custom

B．games

C．characters

D．language

2.

A．ahead

B．around

C．along

D．aside

3.

A．when

B．before

C．unless

D．until

4.

A．success

B．study

C．time

D．attempt

5.

A．aiming

B．joking

C．nodding

D．staring

6.

A．cared about

B．laughed at

C．argued with

D．asked after

7.

A．right now

B．from now

C．at times

D．in time

8.

A．decision

B．permission

C．information

D．preparation

9.

A．repeated

B．reviewed

C．spelled

D．kept

10.

A．farm

B．stand

C．pond

D．market

11.

A．guessed

B．forget

C．doubted

D．ignored

12.

A．by

B．as

C．with

D．from

13.

A．second

B．effort

C．desire

D．movement

14.

A．forcing

B．allowing

C．persuading

D．leading

15.

A．bright

B．blank

C．pale

D．red

16.

A．open-mouthed

B．tongue-tied

C．empty-handed

D．broken-hearted

17.

A．service

B．home

C．risk

D．root

18.

A．trade

B．deed

C．challenge

D．incident

19.

A．it

B．us

C．me

D．them

20.

A．thrown

B．lost

C．divided

D．reflected