Life is full of surprises and you never know how things will turn out.

Sir John Gurdon is a good example of this. As a boy, he was told he was hopeless at science and was at bottom of his class. Now, aged 79，the very same Gurdon shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine with Japanese stem cell (干细胞) researcher Shinya Yamanaka.

Like so many scientists, Gurdon shows us where the power of curiosity and perseverance(坚持) can lead.

When he was 15 in 1948，Gurdon ranked last out of the 250 boys at his high school in biology and every other science subject. Gurdon’s high school science teacher even said that his dream of becoming a scientist was “quite ridiculous”.

In spite of his teacher’s criticisms(批评), Gurdon followed his curiosity and kept working hard. He went to the lab early and left later than anyone else. He experienced thousands of failures.

“My own belief is that we will, in the end，understand everything about how cells actually work，”Gurdon said.

In 1962, Gurdon took a cell from an adult frog and moved its genetic (基因的) information into an egg cell. The egg cell then grew into a clone of the adult frog. This technique later helped to create the sheep Dolly in 1996，the first cloned mammal(哺乳动物) in the world.

In 2006，Gurdon’s work was developed by Yamanaka to show that a sample(样本) of a person’s skin can be used to create stem cells. Using this technique, doctors can repair a patient’s heart after a heart attack.

“Luck favors the prepared mind,” Gurdon told the Nobel Prize Organization. “Ninety percent of the time things don’t work, but when they do, you have to seize(抓住) the chance.”

1.Who won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine?

A. Sir John Gurdon

B. Shinya Yamanaka

C. Sir John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka

D. Gurdon’s science teacher

2.What does the underlined word “ridiculous” mean?

A. 荒谬的 B. 无畏的 C. 荒废的 D. 无知的

3.In what order are the following events mentioned in the passage.

a. create the sheep Dolly

b. take a cell from an adult frog

c. use a person’s skin to create stem cells

d. move a frog’s genetic information into an egg cell

e. grow into a clone of the adult frog

A. b-a-c-d-e B. b-d-e-a-c C. b-d-a-e-c D. b-c-d-a-e

4.According to the passage, which statement is TRUE?

A. Sheep Dolly was the first cloned animal in the world.

B. Gurdon ranked first at his high school in biology.

C. It’s impossible for the doctors to repair a patient’s heart after a heart attack.

D. According to the science teacher, Gurdon was not a gifted student.

5.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Ninety percent of the time things don’t work.

B. Luck favors the prepared mind.

C. Life is full of pleasure.

D. How to know cells actually work.

We can make mistakes at any age. Some mistakes we make are about money. But most mistakes are about people. “Did Jerry really care when I broke up with Helen?” “When I got that great job, did Jerry really feel good about as a friend? Or did he envy my luck?” When we look back, doubts like these can make us feel bad. But when we look back, it’s too late.

Why do we go wrong about our friends or our enemies? Sometimes what people say hides their real meaning. And if we don’t really listen, we miss the feeling behind the words. Suppose someone tells you, “You’re a lucky dog.” Is he really on your side? If he says, “You’re a lucky guy.” or“You’re a lucky gal.” That’s being friendly. But “lucky dog”? There’s a bit of envy in those words. Maybe he doesn’t see it himself. But bringing in the “dog” bit puts you down a little. What he may be saying is he doesn’t think you deserve your luck.

How can you tell the real meaning behind someone’s words? One way is to take a good look at the person talking. Do his words fit the way he looks? Does what he says square with the tone of voice? His posture(体态)? The look in his eyes? Stop and think. Spend some time thinking about the real meaning of what people say to you, and you may save another mistake.

1.The questions in the first paragraph tell us that the speaker ___________________.

A. feels happy because his friends were nice to him

B. feels he may not have “read” his friends’ true feelings correctly

C. thinks it was a mistake to have broken up with his girl friend Helen

D. is sorry that his friends let him down

2.From the example “You’re a lucky dog”, we can learn that ______________.

A. the speaker of the sentence is friendly

B. it means the same as “You’re a lucky guy.” or “You’re a lucky gal.”

C. sometimes the words used by the speaker give a tip to the feeling behind the words

D. the word “dog” shouldn’t be used to describe a person

3.The passage tries to tell you how to ___________.

A. avoid mistakes about money and friends

B. bring the “dog” bit into our conversation

C. be friendly to other people

D. avoid mistakes in understanding what people tell you

4.What is important in listening to a person?

A. To notice his tone, his posture and the look in his eyes.

B. To listen to how he pronounces his words.

C. To check if his words go well with his manner, his tone of voice and his posture.

D. Don’t believe what he says.

5.If you follow the writer’s advice, you would ____________.

A. be able to get the real meaning of people’s words

B. avoid any mistakes while talking with the people who envy you

C. not lose real friends who say things that do not please you

D. be able to observe people as they are talking to you

1.If you want to make a Christmas plan together with your children, which book do you prefer?

A. First Festival: Christmas B. The Not- So- Wise Man

C. Star of Wonder D. My Very First Christmas Book

2.Which number would you dial if you want to order a book for your 2-year- old child?

A. 020 -8874 3566 B. 020- 8521 3745

C. 020-3478 3366 D. 020- 8571 2008

3.If your child wants to read stories of animals, whose book will be your choice?

A. Beth Webb B. Pat Alexander

C. Elizabeth Goudge D. Lois Rock

4.The book about a fairy story may cost you _________.

A. ￥18.99 B. ￥15.99 C. ￥12.99 D. ￥10.99

5.What’s the main purpose of the poster?

A. To introduce Jesus Christ.

B. To tell children how to celebrate Christmas.

C. To advertise the books.

D. To raise money for children aged 0—12.

阅读下列短文，根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出适当的选项补全短文，并将选项的编号依次填人下边表格内。

Alex Smith， a fifteen-year-old boy， studied in an American boarding school (寄宿学校). In this school， students could go into town after school in the afternoon.1.

One afternoon， Alex walked to the town. He looked about at the shops and then went to a cinema.2.It was eight o'clock. He was a little worried， He walked back to the school as fast as possible.

When he arrived， he ran quickly to the main entrance (入口). It was locked. He looked up at the window of his dormitory(寑室). It was on the third floor. The window was open.3.But the door was also locked. Then he saw another open window on the first floor. It was the window of the teachers' office.4.Alex quickly climbed into the room. Just then， he heard someone opened the door. He had to hide under the sofa at once. One minute later， a teacher came in.5.Under the sofa Alex had to lie on the floor.

E. But it was quite dark and he went round the school building to another door.

1.The new bike is a birthday g______ from mum. I like it very much.

2.Though he has many friends, he sometimes feels l______.

3.To be h________, I don’t like those who often make fun of others.

4.Do you k______ in touch with each other by email?

5.He n_______ gives up and always tries to find ways to deal with the problems.

6.The paint hasn’t been dry. Don’t t________ the door.

1.我花了两天时间做了一架模型飞机。

________ _________ me two days _________ _________ a model plane.

2.怀特先生给我们的建议真有用!

_______ ________ advice Mr. White gave us!

3.他一有消息就告诉你。

He will tell you _______ _______ ________ he _________ the news.

4.你买的书明天就会送到你家。

The books you bought _________ _________ ___________ to your house tomorrow.

5.二十年后再次相聚，他们都激动得说不出话来。

They were ________ ________ _________ _________ a word when they met again 20 years later.

6.我不明白她为什么总是迟到。

I don’t understand ______ ________ ______ _______ late for school.

7.妈妈不让我晚上外出。

Mum ________ ________ _________ ________ out at night.

马上就要毕业了, 班里的同学都在讨论应该如何庆祝初中毕业。以下是你的三位朋友的想法和理由。请用英语简要介绍他们的打算，并谈谈自己独特的想法。

为父母煮一餐饭;

感谢他们的付出

--Tom

做义工;

证明自己长大了，有能力帮助他人

---Cathy

举行聚会; 放松心情、开心一下

--Jane

…….;

……

--You

注意：

1．词数在80左右。（短文的开头已给出，不计入总词数）

2．短文必须包括所有内容要点，可适当增加细节。行文连贯，表达清楚，书写规范。

3．不得透露学校、姓名等任何个人信息，否则不予评分。

提示词：义工volunteer(n.)

These days, students in our class are discussing how to celebrate our graduation.______________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Bob has got good exam results. His parents are proud of his ______.

A. success B. chance C. idea D. dream

Bill thought ______ necessary to work with friends and share different ideas.

A. it B. they C. them D. him

I think it is _____ for a man to pull the plane with his teeth.

A. important B. necessary C. easy D. impossible