2 . My family moved into our home nine years ago. We spent a lot of time and energy in the yard to get it looking like the way it does today. In front of the house, the rocks appear to be just thrown up onto the dirt as if someone were in a hurry to finish. We called this area our “rock garden”. Denise and I would also plant some flowers between the rocks, just to bring some color to the area.

Last summer I found, in the rock garden, a tiny little plant that I could not immediately identify. I knew I didn’t plant it and Denise said she didn’t either. We decided to let it continue growing until we could figure out what it was.

Weeks passed and as I made my way back to the strange plant, it appeared to be a sunflower. It looked thin and tall with only one head on it. I decided to baby it along and weed(除杂草)around it. As I pulled rocks from the area to get to the weeds, I noticed something unusual. The sunflower had not started where I saw it begin. It actually had begun under a big rock and grown under and around it to reach the sun.

That’s when I realized that if a tiny little sunflower didn’t allow a big rock to stand in its way of developing, we too have the ability to do the same thing. Once we believe in ourselves like that little sunflower, we can attain the same nourishment(养分)for growth as well.

Stand tall like the sunflower and be proud of who and what we are, then the environment will begin to support us. We will find a way to go under or around any “rocks” in order to achieve our goals.

1. What can we know from the first paragraph?

A．The author finished building his house hurriedly.

B．The family has lived in this house for 9 years.

C．The author’s house is made of rocks.

D．The family don’t like gardening.

2. The author let the tiny plant continue growing to ______.

A．see how long it could live

B．see how big it could grow

C．find out what it actually was

D．know if his wife had planted it

3. The author found it unusual that ______.

A．the strange plant turned out to be the sunflower

B．the sunflower grew under and around a big rock

C．the sunflower had only one head on it

D．the sunflower was very thin and tall

4. Which of the following can best describe the sunflower?

A．Confident.

B．Devoted.

C．Delicate.

D．Modest.

5. We can conclude from the passage that ______.

A．rocks cannot prevent us from success

B．the sunflowers are able to grow everywhere

C．we should take good care of the rock gardens

D．we can get over difficulties if we trust ourselves

3 . One of my neighbors used to have a beautiful tree in her front yard. Her dad had planted it for her _________ it was nothing more than a little branch and several years later it started to _________ towards the sky at an amazing speed. Soon it blessed her with cooling _________ in the summer and glorious, golden leaves in the fall.

When the two-day snowstorm struck our town, heavy snow _________ the tree’s branches that were still full of leaves. The weight split that lovely tree down the _________. It was so sad seeing half of it _________ on the ground after the storm. When I talked to my neighbor later, she said that the damage had been too much and that the _________ tree would have to be cut down. _________, she had saved a few seedlings from it that she hoped to _________ in the future.

Still, it was a shock to drive by her house the other day and see __________ but a stump (树桩) in her front yard. I missed that tree. I missed its branches, its leaves __________ in the afternoon sun. I missed seeing its limbs (树枝) reach towards the heavens. I thought that the stump would be a sad __________ of its loss for a long time to come.

My wonderful neighbor had another plan, __________. When I drove by her home today I saw a tiny bird feeder sitting on that stump and a colorful songbird having its __________. It was such an affirmation (肯定) of life. It was such a joy to __________. I could feel my heart __________.

Life by its very nature is a __________ bag. It hands us both beauty and tragedy, love and loss, __________ and pain. What we do with it, however, is up to us. We can let it __________ us in two, or we can use even its hardest times to make our __________ stronger and our hearts more loving. We can spend it complaining or we can use it to help others.

1.

A．unless

B．when

C．until

D．because

2.

A．circulate

B．chase

C．shoot

D．stand

3.

A．wind

B．shade

C．quality

D．system

4.

A．fell on

B．took apart

C．got through

D．broke down

5.

A．top

B．middle

C．bottom

D．root

6.

A．dancing

B．spreading

C．trembling

D．lying

7.

A．abnormal

B．bare

C．sick

D．entire

8.

A．Originally

B．Doubtfully

C．Thankfully

D．Particularly

9.

A．replace

B．renew

C．replant

D．remove

10.

A．everything

B．something

C．anything

D．nothing

11.

A．falling

B．shaking

C．floating

D．shining

12.

A．story

B．expectation

C．reminder

D．view

13.

A．though

B．therefore

C．still

D．otherwise

14.

A．rest

B．baby

C．date

D．dinner

15.

A．see

B．solve

C．approach

D．realize

16.

A．beat

B．smile

C．hurt

D．sink

17.

A．mixed

B．changeable

C．separated

D．stable

18.

A．sorrow

B．wealth

C．pleasure

D．wonder

19.

A．split

B．pull

C．benefit

D．attach

20.

A．connections

B．families

C．bodies

D．souls

4 . In October, I told the eight-year-olds in the religion class I teach in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, about my plan. “I’d like all of you to do extra jobs around the house to earn some money,” I said. “Then we’ll buy food for a Thanksgiving dinner for someone who might not have a nice dinner otherwise.” I hoped they could experience a sense of their own power to effect change.

Early in Thanksgiving week, they arrived in class with their hand-earned money. And now they couldn’t wait to go shopping. At last we headed toward the checkout, pushing a cart filled with turkey and all the decorations. Then someone spotted a“necessity” that sent them racing a pot of chrysanthemums(菊花).

It was more reasonable to use any extra money to buy food. After all, I pronounced, “You can’t eat flowers”. But the children insisted and placed the purple plant into the cart.

An agency had given us the name and address of a needy grandmother who had lived alone for years. Soon we were arriving at her house. Between the laughing and those purple flowers, I wasn’t sure that any lesson about giving and receiving was getting through.

We finally pulled up in front of a small house in the woods. A woman with a tired face came to the door to welcome us. As my little group carried the boxes of food in, she oohed and aahed - much to her visitors’ pleasure. When Amy put the plant on the counter, the woman seemed surprised. She was wishing it was a bag of flour, I thought. The woman told the children about the animals that lived close by. “I share my food with the birds, ”she said.

We returned to the car. As we fastened our seat belts, we could see the kitchen window The woman inside waved goodbye, then turned and walked across the room, past the turkey, straight to the chrysanthemums. She put her face in the plant. When she raised her head, there was a smile on her lips.The children were quiet. In that one brief moment, they had seen for themselves the power they possessed to make another’s life better.

1. The author gave the students the task in order to _________.

A．help them focus on their family happiness.

B．let them experience their ability to help others

C．teach them the necessity of doing housework

D．get them to know how to be financially independent

2. What’s he author’s attitude to buying some flowers at first?

A．Positive

B．Negative

C．Cautious

D．Enthusiastic.

3. What did the children realize at the end of the visit?

A．They could help improve others’ life.

B．They could make a living by working.

C．It was necessary to do voluntary work.

D．Plants and birds could help lonely people.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．My Teaching Career	B．How to Help Poor People
C．The Importance of Giving	D．A Happy Shopping Experience

6 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写一段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

A few years ago, the company I worked for sent my wife and me to live in New York for a year. I’ve always loved running, so I was really happy when I found out I lived next to Central Park. This meant that every morning I could go for a run before I went to work.

Because a lot of people had told me to be careful of robbers in the park, so usually I didn’t take anything with me. How could they rob me if I didn’t have anything? But one morning, my wife gave me a S 10 bill and asked me to buy some bread on the way.

It was a beautiful morning and the park was quiet with very few people walking or jogging (慢跑) around. While I was running through the park, another jogger knocked into me. He apologized and continued running. For a while, I didn’t think too much of it. However, when I noticed the wide path where I was running, I thought was kind of strange. The warning of robbers in the park occurred to me. ”It could have been a robber!” I suddenly became alarmed, so I checked my pocket and found that the money was missing. Without thinking twice, I ran after that jogger. I finally caught up and held him by the arm. I shouted, “Give me the $10 bill! Now!” I am not usually a hot-headed (性急的) person, but I got really angry this time. I couldn’t believe the robbery was actually happening to me. Filled with anger, I shook my fist at him. This seemed to frighten him. He quickly put his hand in his pocket and gave me the money. Then he ran away as fast as he could.

I bought the bread and went home. As soon as I got home, I couldn’t wait to tell my wife my story. “You won’t believe what happened to me,” I started with pride. She immediately stopped me, “I know, you left the money for the bread on the kitchen table.”

注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。

Looking at the money on the table, I stood there, shocked.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . Directions: Write an English composition in 120-150 words according to the instructions given below in Chinese.
请结合生活实际，谈一下你对乔布斯过说的这句话“Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”的理解。
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . How often one hears children wishing they were grown up, and old people wishing they were young again. Each age has its pleasures and its pains, and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting his time in useless regrets.

Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities to make life difficult. If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after and loved, whatever he may do. It is impossible that he will ever again in his life be given so much without having to do anything in return. In addition, life is always presenting new things to the child — things that have lost their interest for older people because they are too well-known. But a child has his parents, he is not so free to do what he wishes to do; he is continually being told not to do things or being punished for what he has done wrong.

When the young man starts to earn his own living, he can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes, and his room, but has to work if he wants to live comfortably. If he spends most of his time playing about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry. And if he breaks the laws of society as he used to break the laws of his parents, he may go to prison. If, however, he works hard, keeps out of trouble and has good health, he can have the great happiness of building up for himself his own position in society.

1. According to the second paragraph, the writer thinks that _______.

A．only children are interested in life

B．life for a child is comparatively easy

C．a child is always loved whatever he does

D．if much is given to a child, he must do something in return

2. After a child grows up, he ________.

A．will have little time playing

B．has to be successful in finding a job

C．can still ask for help in time of trouble

D．should be able to take care of himself

3. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．People are often satisfied with their life.

B．Life is less interesting for old people.

C．Adults are freer to do what they want to do.

D．Adults should no longer rely on others.

4. The main idea of the passage is _________.

A．life is not enjoyable since each age has some pains

B．young men can have the greatest happiness if they work hard

C．childhood is the more enjoyable time in one’s life

D．one is the happiest if he can make good use of each age in his life

5. The paragraph following this passage will most probably discuss _________.

A．examples of successful young men

B．how to build up one’s position in society

C．pleasures and pains of old people

D．what to do when one has problems in life

10 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

I can well remember that I was once asked to deliver a speech titled “A Real Test in My Life” before the whole class at the age of 9! You can imagine how     1     (terrible) shy I was with so many eyes       2       (fix) upon me. I had no     3     (choose) but to prepare for it, though. First of all, I was to draft the speech, which was just a piece of cake for me, a good writer. But the hardest part     4     (lie) in my oral presentation from my memory— for to read from the paper was not allowed. The real moment began     5         I stood on the platform with my legs trembling and my mind blank. But my listeners were waiting patiently without any signs of rushing me. Gradually I found myself back,     6     (deliver) my speech with difficulty. After what seemed to be a hundred years, I found my audience applauding— I made     7    ! From then on, my fear of talking before an audience disappeared. Actually with my     8     (confident) building up, I now turn out to be a great speaker. Looking back, I know the greatest difficulty on our way         9     success is our fear. Overcome it     10     we will be able to achieve our goals.