Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez passes away at 87.
Nobel Prize winning Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez passed away on April 17 in his home in Mexico City at the age of 87, local media reported.

Colombian Ambassador(大使)to Mexico Jose Gabriel Ortiz confirmed(确认) the news.
The author of the famous novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude(孤独),” an outstanding work of literature(文学) that introduced the world to magic realism(魔幻现实主义), had been checked into a hospital on April 3 to be treated for the serious disease.
Garcia Marquez, who worked as a reporter for many years before dedicating himself to writing fictions, had been living in Mexico City since the 1960s.
A master(大师) of magic realism, along with Latin American writers Julio Cortazar, Juan Rulfo, Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa, Garcia Marquez, wrote many well-known novels, such as “No One Writes to the Colonel” and “Autumn of the Patriarch.”
“One Hundred Years of Solitude,” his masterpiece(杰作) published in 1967, has been translated into 35 languages and sold more than 30 million copies. (Xinhua, April 18, 2014)
小题1:Where can we possibly read the passage?

A．In a movie poster.	B．In a sports magazine.
C．In a newspaper.	D．In a comic book.

小题2:What happened to Gabriel Garcia Marquez on April 17?

A．He won the Nobel Prize.

B．He died in Mexico City.

C．He celebrated his 87th birthday.

D．He met the Colombian Ambassador.

小题3:What was Garcia Marquez before he started writing fictions?

A．A Nobel Prize winner.

B．A master of magic realism.

C．A reporter.

D．An ambassador.

小题4:What’s the meaning of the underlined words “dedicating himself to”?

A．奉献给	B．全神贯注于
C．坚持	D．竭尽全力于

小题5:Which of the following is the most famous novel written by Garcia Marquez?

A．Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out.

B．No One Writes to the Colonel.

C．Autumn of the Patriarch.

D．One Hundred Years of Solitude.

A new plan for getting children to and from school is being started by a local government in Eastern England. This could end many parents’ worries fearful for their children’s safety on the roads. 
Until now the local government have only been prepared to provide bus services for children living more than three miles from their school, or sometimes less if special reasons existed. Now it has been decided that if a group of parents ask for help in organizing transport they will be prepared to go ahead, as long as the arrangement will not lose money and children taking part will attend their nearest school.
The new plan is to be fired out this term for children living at Milton who attend Impington School. The children live just within the three-mile limit and the local government said in the past that they would not undertake to provide free transport to the school . But now they have agreed to offer a sum of money for a bus service from Milton to Impington and back, a plan which has the support of the school’s headmaster. Between 50 and 60% parents have said they would like their children to take part . Final calculations have still to be carried out, but a government official has said the cost to parents should be less than ￡20 a term. They have been able to arrange the service at a low cost because there is already an agreement with the bus company for a bus to take children who live further away to  Impington . The same bus would now just make one more journey to pick up the Milton children. The official said they would get in touch with other groups of parents who in had asked if transport could be provided for their children to see if they would like to take part in the new plan. 
小题1:What is the aim(目的) of the plan?

A．To prevent the students’ road accidents

B．To relieve the traffic pressure

C．To save time for the parents and students

D．To help the parents save money

小题2:How can the local government arrange the new bus service at a low cost? 

A．By letting the bus run in the morning only.

B．By limiting the number of the students

C．By getting the support from the headmaster

D．By linking the new bus service with the existing one

小题3:Which of the following is possible if the plan is carried out? 

A．The bus company will make much more money

B．The children can choose whatever school they like

C．The parents can get rid of their worries

D．The students in Impington School can have free bus rides

小题4:This passage is most probably _____ 

A．a personal letter.	B．an advertisemen
C．headmaster’s report.	D．a newspaper article

Big schoolbags have been a serious problem for students for a long time. Maybe your schoolbag is too         to carry, and it troubles you a lot        you want to find a book out to read. Now an e-­textbook will         you.
It is said that e-textbooks are going to be        in Chinese middle schools. An e­-textbook, in fact, is a small          for students. It is much        than a usual schoolbag and easy to carry. Though it is as small as a book, it can       all the materials (材料) for study. The students can read the text page by page on the        , take notes with the pointer (屏写笔). Or even “        ” their homework to their teachers by sending e­mails. All they have to do is to press a button.
Some people say e-­textbooks are good, but some say they may be        for the students' eyes. What do you think of it?
小题1:A. light             B. heavy        C. useful        
小题2:A. till              B. after            C. when
小题3:A. trouble           B. prevent       C. help    
小题4:A. used              B. kept             C. invented 
小题5:A. computer          B. radio            C. pen      
小题6:A. heavier           B. lighter          C. cheaper      
小题7:A. hold              B. build            C. discover     
小题8:A. blackboard            B. desk           C. screen       
小题9:A. find out          B. hand in          C. get back     
小题10:A. helpful              B. famous       C. bad

Li Ping，a Junior One student at High School was quite busy over the last winter vacation，not just with homework .Li，together with ten other classmates made a      group to call on people to join the Clean Your Plate Campaign(光盘行动).
The      students went to many restaurants and told the people the importance of      food. “Excuse me，do you know that 20 million people around the world still haven’t got enough to        ? Could you please not     food ?”They would say this kind of thing hundreds of times every day．   
      ,the activity has got the support of many people．In a restaurant in Chengguan District，the owner gives the guests who have eaten all the food they ordered a ticket．People can enjoy a       meal when they have ten tickets . More than 50 restaurants in Lanzhou have begun to offer          dishes and encourage their guests to take leftovers(剩菜)home.
Wasting food is a serious problem around the     ，not only in China. It's said that 1.3 billion tons of food ends up as waste last year. This is as    as one third of all the food in the world．The UN Environment Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization held a“ Think ,Eat，Save”program in January,2013 to help reduce food waste.
小题1:

A．volunteer

B．band

C．dance

D．sport

小题2:

A．ten

B．eleven

C．twelve

D．thirteen

小题3:

A．planting

B．cooking

C．buying

D．saving

小题4:

A．eat

B．wear

C．spend

D．sleep

小题5:

A．buy

B．waste

C．order

D．sell

小题6:

A．Luckily

B．Rudely

C．Unluckily

D．Quietly

小题7:

A．delicious

B．sweet

C．free

D．rich

小题8:

A．1arger

B．smaller

C．cleaner

D．cheaper

小题9:

A．city

B．country

C．world

D．restaurant

小题10:

A．often

B．expensive

C．many

D．much

"My dear dad, where are we going?" This has become the most popular question recently. It's a line from the theme song of Hunan TV station's reality show Where Are We Going, Dad?
"All of my classmates are big fans," said NingYun, 14, from Guangxi. "On Fridays, we remind each other: don't forget to watch it tonight! "
In the show, five pairs of fathers and kids go to strange places and finish interesting tasks. It's all about growing up. Fathers learn to cook and comfort their kids. The kids learn about teamwork and being independent (独立). Yet, growing up needs courage. In the show, 4-year-old Kimi finds it  hard to finish his work alone. "When I saw Kimi looking for his dad, I burst into tears," said Chen Yufang, 13, from Guangxi. "It reminded me of my first night at the school dormitory (宿舍). I really  felt the pain of growing up that night. "
When people see the fathers trying to help their kids, it also hits a soft spot in their hearts.
Tian Xiaofeng, 14, from Jiangsu, said his father is like Guo Tao in the program. "He is strict. And I was sad about it," he said. But now he sees it in a different way. "Guo Tao's son looks determined. I think his parenting style works. And I guess my father just wants me to be like that," he said.
On the journey of life, kids learn to grow up and adults learn to be better parents.

Maybe we can plan a trip with our parents.
Shall we go?
小题1:What is the most suitable word to replace the underlined word "determined" in the passage?

A．absent-minded

B．smart

C．out-going

D．strong-minded

小题2:When could we see five fathers and their children on TV?

A．On Friday nights.

B．On Saturdays.

C．Every night.

D．Only on Sundays.

小题3:What's the best title for the article?

A．Where are we going, Dad?	B．Fathers and their children.
C．A popular reality show.	D．Growing together.

Early in the third century, China's Han Dynasty fell apart. From the dust stood three kingdoms: Wei, Shu and Wu. They fought against each other in order to unite all of China. Centuries later, their struggle was developed into one of China's most well-known novels :  Romance of the  Three Kingdoms.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms was written by Chinese writer Luo Guanzhong in the late 14^th century. As China's greatest historical novel of all time, it ispopular among Chinese people. While recently, the Frenchcartoon series of this novel has been published in countries .including France, Belgium and Switzerland. Why does this novelattract so many people? The colorful characters are probably oneof the reasons. There are about l, 000 characters in the novel.
Instead of giving an introduction of every historical figure, the
novel underlines their special personalities. Zhuge Liang is smart
and well-read. Cuan Yu is brave and faithful. Cao Cao is cruel
(残酷) but brilliant  (杰出) . Every character is lively, just like
people in today's world.
Scheme (策略) is an important part of the novel. Some
famous schemes, like the Empty Fort Strategy and Borrowing
Arrows with Thatched Boats, are told through storytelling, which
makes it easy to understand. Nowadays, people also use these
schemes in modem business and management.
Young readers also like the novel because they can find their favourite part in it. Boys are excited about the descriptions of war scenes. The brotherhood of Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei touches them as well. Zhou Yu, commander-in-chief of Wu, who is not only good at fighting skills but also an expert at music, catches girls' eyes. Which is your favorite part? Why not read the novel and find out yourself?
小题1:When was the novel Romance of Three Kingdoms written?

A．In the 3rdcentury.	B．In the 4th century.
C．Around the 14th century.	D．In modem times.

小题2:What is Cao Cao like in the novel?

A．Cold-blooded and clever.

B．Smart and well-read.

C．Brave and faithful.

D．Very good at fighting skills and music.

小题3:From the second paragraph, we learn that_______.

A．the colorful characters in the novel attract many people

B．the novel has the most characters of all the Chinese novels

C．the novel clearly introduces the personalities of the characters

D．China was a powerful country during that time

小题4:What can readers find in this novel according to the story?
①Business and management.
②Descriptions of war scenes.
③Famous schemes.
④Love between historical figures.
⑤Brotherhood of Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

A．①②③

B．②③⑤

C．③④⑤

D．②④⑤

Six people are talking about two pie shops in a TV program.
Lily: I’ve been going to Pie House for twenty years. Now Marie’s son is taking care of the business, and he makes pies as good as his mother’s. I enjoy my stay there as before. My family also like the pies. We feel relaxed while staying there.
◇◇◇
Olive: I went to Pie Corner once. Their pies were great, too. But I feel more comfortable at Pie House. I am used to the taste there, which makes me feel happy. I’m really a fan of Pie House.
◇◇◇
Ned: Uncle Roy used to work for my mom. Later he opened Pie Corner on the next block after he got married. At the beginning, it’s not easy for him, but it is becoming more and more popular especially among young people. They think Pie Corner can often give them a surprise.
◇◇◇
Marie: Roy was already quite avant-garde when working with me. I mean he had different, sometimes even strange, ideas about pies. There were times I thought his pies wouldn’t taste good, but they turned out magically delicious. He is really creative and can always make new pies, which attract many people.
◇◇◇
Lee:  Ned has done quite well with Pie House. His pies make you feel warm. But if you want to try something interesting, you should go to Pie Corner.
◇◇◇
Chuck: The two pie shops are really different from each other. If eating Roy’s pies is like taking an exciting trip, then Ned’s pies are just like a sweet home you go back to after a long trip. Which one to go to depends on what you like.
小题1:What do we know about the six people?

A．They all have been to both pie shops.

B．They all talked about what the pies taste like.

C．Some of them are the shopkeepers of the pie shops.

D．Some of them talked about how the shopkeepers treated their workers.

小题2:Which is true about the pie shops?

A．Pie House is a family business.

B．Pie Corner is next to Pie House.

C．Pie Corner has a longer history than Pie House.

D．Pie House gives people a place to stay for the night.

小题3:What does ‘avant-garde’ mean in the reading?

A．Having a new and surprising way of thinking.

B．Trying to find out where the problems come from.

C．Trying to act like someone who knows everything.

D．Having many exciting life experiences.

Survey: What’s your favorite restaurant?
Lola Lopez	Jim Janssen
“I’m an actress. There’s a small French restaurant near my apartment. It’s my favorite. The service is great. The food is always cooked well and served beautifully. And the atmosphere is very romantic…”	“I’m a high school student. I’m interested in fast food. Chicken, burgers, fish, French fries — I love it all. My mom says I should eat healthier food but it tastes so good! Also, I’m not rich and the price of fast food is just right for me.”
Gina Mangino	Raul Sanchez
“I’m a housewife. With three kids, I look for a place that has good food at a reasonable price. I look for a place that’s comfortable for children and serves the food quickly. That’s why I like Sam’s Chinese restaurant.”	“I’m a doctor. I can’t remember the last time I ate out… maybe that’s because my wife and I really like to cook. Instead of eating out, we look through a cookbook and cook at home.”

小题1:Jim Janssen is ______.

A．an actress

B．a doctor

C．a student

D．a housewife

小题2:______ likes a French restaurant very much.

A．Lola Lopez

B．Jim Janssen

C．Gina Mangino

D．Raul Sanchez

小题3:Gina Mangino likes the restaurant which ______.

A．offers fast food	B．serves the food quickly
C．offers cookbooks	D．serves the food beautifully

请阅读下面这篇文章，根据所提供的信息，完成信息卡，把答案写在答题卡指定的位置上。

Life in China Every day, News on TV, radio and online brings you stories from across China. Have you got a story about life in China? If you do, please put your story here.

Since the winter last year, the haze(雾霾) has happened a lot of times. It has done great harm(伤害) to our daily life. More and more people have to go to see the doctor because the serious disease caused by the haze. Many traffic accidents happened and quite a lot of flights have to be put off just because of the haze weather. On Oct.30, 2013, in 16-car chain collision (连环相撞) on the highway in Tangshan, many people were hurt and some even died. Beijing International Airport canceled or put off nearly 76 flights on Oct.6, 2013 as the result of the weather. (Wu Hai, Shantou)

It’s reported that 293 pedestrians(行人)die of traffic accidents every day in China. I myself ever experienced a very terrible accident. Early last Thursday morning, I was walking on my way to school as usual. A little boy ran past me. He ran so fast when crossing the street that he didn’t notice a speeding car came round the corner. I was scared and shouted to him to stop, but it was too late. The boy was knocked down by the car. I hurried to the boy, crying for help. The boy was taken to the hospital as soon as the policemen and doctors arrived. Later, I learned the boy died because he lost too much blood.(Li Lan, Guangzhou)

Information card

Main ideas of the two stories	The first story is about air pollution, the second one is about 小题1:____.
Harm that the haze does to our daily life	It may cause 小题2:__and traffic accidents. Many flights have to 小题3:___.
The number that pedestrians die of traffic accident every day	小题4:____
The reason why the little boy died	He小题5:__ and was hit by a speeding car.