1 . 阅读短文，按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
My name is Clara. I still remember that chilly December day, sitting in science class. I’d finished a worksheet early and picked up a Time for Kids magazine. A piece of news caught my eye. NASA was holding an essay contest to name its Mars rover (火星探测器). Before I even knew anything else about it, a single word flooded my 11-year-old mind: Curiosity.
I couldn’t wait for the bell to ring so I could get started on my essay. That afternoon, I raced home, sat down at the computer, and typed until my fingers ached. “Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone’s mind…”
Five months later, my mom received a phone call, and immediately, a wide smile spread across her face.
On August 5, 2012, at 10:31 p.m., the rover named Curiosity touched down safely on the surface of Mars, and I was honored to have a front-row seat in NASA.
Curiosity is such an important part of who I am. I have always been fascinated by the stars, the planets, the sky and the universe. I remember as a little girl, my grandmother and I would sit together in the backyard for hours. She’d tell me stories and point out the stars. Grandma lived in China, thousands of miles away from my home in Kansas, but the stars kept us together even when we were apart. They were always there, yet there was so much I didn’t know about them. That’s what I love so much about space.
People often ask me why we go to faraway places like Mars. My answer is simple because we’re curious. We human beings do not just hole up in one place. We are constantly wondering and trying to find out what’s over the hill and beyond the horizon.
1. How did Clara get the news about the essay contest? (no more than 10 words)
2. Why did Clara have a front-row seat in NASA? (no more than 10 words)
3. What does Clara remember about the time spent with Grandma? (no more than 15 words)
4. What does the underlined phrase “hole up” mean? (1 word)
5. In your opinion, why is curiosity important? (no more than 20 words)

2 . 完形填空（共20小题）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从1-20各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

One summer day my father sent me to buy wire for our farm. At 16, I liked _______ better than driving our truck, _______ this time I was not happy. My father had told me I’d have to ask for credit at the store.

Sixteen is a _______ age, when a young man wants respect, not charity. It was 1976, and the ugly_______of racial discrimination was _______ a fact of life. I’d seen my friends ask for credit and then stand, head down, while the store owner _______ whether they were “good for it.” I knew black youths just like me who were _______ like thieves by the store clerk each time they went into a grocery.

My family was _______. We paid our debts. But before harvest, cash was short. Would the store owner _______ us?

At Davis’s store, Buck Davis stood behind the cash desk, talking to a farmer. I nodded ________ I passed him on my way to the hardware shelves. When I brought my ________ to the cash desk, I said ________, “I need to put this on credit.”

The farmer gave me an amused, distrustful ________. But Buck’s face didn’t change. “Sure, ” he said ________. “Your daddy is ________ good for it.” He ________ to the other man. “This here is one of James Williams’s sons.”

The farmer nodded in a neighborly ________. I was filled with pride. James Williams’s son. Those three words had opened a door to an adult’s respect and trust.

That day I discovered that the good name my parents had________brought our whole family the respect of our neighbors. Everyone knew what to ________ from a Williams: a decent person who kept his word and respected himself ________   much to do wrong.

1.

A．something

B．nothing

C．anything

D．everything

2.

A．and

B．so

C．but

D．for

3.

A．prideful

B．wonderful

C．respectful

D．colorful

4.

A．intention

B．shadow

C．habit

D．faith

5.

A．thus

B．just

C．still

D．ever

6.

A．guessed

B．suspected

C．questioned

D．figured

7.

A．watched

B．caught

C．dismissed

D．accused

8.

A．generous

B．honest

C．friendly

D．modest

9.

A．blame

B．excuse

C．charge

D．trust

10.

A．until

B．as

C．once

D．since

11.

A．purchases

B．sales

C．orders

D．favorites

12.

A．casually

B．confidently

C．cheerfully

D．carefully

13.

A．look

B．stare

C．response

D．comment

14.

A．patiently

B．eagerly

C．easily

D．proudly

15.

A．generally

B．never

C．sometimes

D．always

16.

A．pointed

B．replied

C．turned

D．introduced

17.

A．sense

B．way

C．degree

D．mood

18.

A．earned

B．deserved

C．given

D．used

19.

A．receive

B．expect

C．collect

D．require

20.

A．very

B．so

C．how

D．too

3 . 第三部分 阅读理解
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出一个最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

The key to happiness is how quickly you can get back your focus on what’s important.

—Anonymous

Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here's what happened. I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car’s back end by just inches!

The driver of the other car, who almost caused a big accident, started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!" And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call "The Law of the Garbage Truck."

Many people are like garbage (rubbish) trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they'll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You'll be happy with what you did.

I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets? It was that day I said, "I'm not going to do anymore."

Successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day. What about you? If you let more garbage trucks pass you by, you'll be happier. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, Love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don't.

1. What happened one day when the author was taking a taxi?

A．The taxi almost hit another car.

B．The taxi driver was injured.

C．The author scolded the driver of the other car.

D．The author learned a lesson from the driver of the garbage truck.

2. How did the taxi driver respond to the behaviour of the driver of the black car?

A．He yelled back at the driver.

B．He sent the driver to the hospital.

C．He was friendly towards the driver.

D．He dumped some garbage in front of his car.

3. What does the taxi driver think of people according to Paragraph 3?

A．Many people like to drive garbage trucks.

B．Many people dump garbage wherever they like.

C．Many people are warm-hearted to make others happy.

D．Many people tend to be very much depressed.

4. What can we infer from Paragraph 4?

A．The author used to have a lot of garbage trucks.

B．The author used to complain a lot.

C．The author used to have a lot of money.

D．The author used to be a good manager.

5. According to the passage, what should you do if people “dump garbage” on you?

A．Ignore them and go on with our own work.

B．Try our best to persuade them not to do that again.

C．Tell them to dump the garbage in the right place.

D．Take over their work and carry the garbage to somewhere else.

4 . When I entered Berkeley, I hoped to earn a scholarship. Having been a Straight-A student, I believed I could _______ tough subjects and really learn something. One such course was World Literature given by Professor Jayne. I was extremely interested in the ideas he _______ in class.

When I took the first exam, I was _______ to find a 77, C-plus, on my test paper, ________English was my best subject. I went to Professor Jayne, who listened to my arguments but remained _______. I decided to try harder, although I didn’t know what that _______ because school had always been easy for me. I read the books more carefully, but got another 77. Again, I _______ with Professor Jayne. Again, he listened patiently but wouldn’t change his _______. One more test before the final exam. One more _______ to improve my grade. So I redoubled my efforts and, for the first time, ________ the meaning of the word “thorough”. But my ________ did no good and everything ________ as before.

The last hurdle (障碍) was the final. No matter what ________ I got, it wouldn’t cancel three C-pluses. I might as well kiss the ________ goodbye. I stopped working hard. I felt I knew the course material as well as I ever would. The night before the final, I even ________ myself to a movie. The next day I decided for once I’d have ________ with a test. A week later, I was surprised to find I got an A. I hurried into professor Jayne’s office. He ________ to be expecting me. “If I gave you the As you ________ , you wouldn’t continue to work as hard.” I stared at him, ________that his analysis and strategy (策略) were correct. I had worked my head ________ , as I had never done before. I was speechless when my course grade arrived: A-plus. It was the only A-plus given. The next year I received my scholarship. I’ve always remembered Professor Jayne’s lesson: you alone must set your own standard of excellence.

1.

A．take

B．discuss

C．cover

D．get

2.

A．sought

B．presented

C．exchanged

D．obtained

3.

A．shocked

B．worried

C．scared

D．anxious

4.

A．but

B．so

C．for

D．or

5.

A．unchanged

B．unpleasant

C．unfriendly

D．unmoved

6.

A．reflected

B．meant

C．improved

D．affected

7.

A．quarreled

B．reasoned

C．bargained

D．chatted

8.

A．attitude

B．mind

C．plan

D．view

9.

A．choice

B．step

C．chance

D．measure

10.

A．memorized

B．considered

C．accepted

D．learned

11.

A．ambition

B．confidence

C．effort

D．method

12.

A．stayed

B．went

C．worked

D．changed

13.

A．grade

B．answer

C．lesson

D．comment

14.

A．scholarship

B．course

C．degree

D．subject

15.

A．helped

B．favored

C．treated

D．relaxed

16.

A．fun

B．luck

C．problems

D．tricks

17.

A．happened

B．proved

C．pretended

D．seemed

18.

A．valued

B．imagined

C．expected

D．welcomed

19.

A．remembering

B．guessing

C．supposing

D．realizing

20.

A．out

B．over

C．on

D．off

5 . We all, at one time or another, have pretended to be a rock star, singing and dancing along to our favorite song. Most of us have done this in the privacy of our own room when we were kids and as adults, in the privacy of our homes. Me? I love to do that when I drive! I turn on the radio, find a song that I can sing along too and pretty soon my arms are in the air and I am moving along to the rhythm. Most of the time, I do this on my way to work.
　　Yes, that is true. I will be in my nice work clothes, jamming while driving or stopped at a traffic light. I get weird looks from some people and others laugh. Personally, I love to get lost in the rhythm of a song which leads me to share with you the importance of being silly!
　　The definition for the word silly, according to the dictionary is: stupid, foolish and nonsensical. I know many people do not want to look foolish. So they walk around all serious, which in all honesty, is foolish!
　　No one is perfect, I repeat: no one is perfect. I don’t care how educated, how thin, how beautiful, how simple, how frugal, how rich, and so on… No one is perfect! So why pretend to be something you are not?
Life is so short… You never know when this beautiful journey will be over, so why waste a single second on being so full of rigidity(呆板)? Here is a quote by Souza, that I think says it all and is a great recipe for life:
　　"Dance as though no one is watching you,
　　Love as though you have never been hurt before,
　　Sing as though no one can hear you,
　　Live as though heaven is on earth."
　　When we were kids, we had no idea of what limitations were and we had no care in the world so we could do things without worrying about how we appeared to others. However, as we grew up, we lost that childlike innocence.

So don’t lose the child that still lives within you. The next time you feel down, go turn on your favorite song, and sing and dance along like there is no tomorrow. Or watch something that makes you laugh. Laughter is the best medicine to whatever ails you and nothing is better than laughing so hard that your tummy hurts. Trust me, you will feel a whole lot better, and who doesn’t want to feel good?

1. According to the passage, what does the writer usually do?

A．He pretends to be a rock star.	B．He dances in his own home.
C．He sings songs while going to work.	D．He gets jammed on his way to work.

2. What do other people think of the writer?

A．They think that the writer is strange.	B．They look down upon the writer.
C．They believe that the writer is lonely.	D．No one is interested in the writer.

3. What is the writer’s opinion about the people who look very serious?

A．They are honest.	B．They are silly.
C．They are perfect.	D．They are educated.

4. The writer quotes Souza to show that _______.

A．life is a beautiful journey	B．life is full of rigidity
C．life is like a great recipe	D．life is to be treasured

5. The underlined part “the child” in the last paragraph probably refers to _______.

A．the writer	B．any child
C．the feeling of being a child	D．the time of being a child