Sometimes it is difficult to talk to taxi drivers. They must give all their attention to the road as they work out the shortest way to the place where you are going. However, passengers from Wangfujing were in surprise when they took a taxi. The driver just would not stop talking ―in English.

Organized by the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy, “Dare to Speak” examines if Chinese people will speak English in “real-life” situations. Matthew Knowles, an acting student from South Carolina at Beijing Film Academy, acted the part as the “driver”. He collected six passengers on Saturday morning, most of whom were female white-collar workers.

“Of course they were surprised at first, wondering why I’m driving a taxi, and wondering whether this is a real taxi, but then most of them were pretty willing to speak,” he said. Knowles said he was also surprised by his “passengers”. “Apart from my first ‘passenger’, who could speak very little English, all the rest spoke English very well, and it was fun to communicate with them,” he said, adding that some “passengers” were quite talkative.

The “foreign taxi driver” project was just one of the “Dare to Speak” activities, which have been going on since the end of October. Other projects included a foreign store owner near a high school in Beijing, a cook in a Shanghai university canteen. They were testing the willingness of Chinese people, especially students and white-collar workers, to speak to foreigners in English. Rong Xin, senior manager of IELTS (雅思) with the British Embassy, said they hoped to let IELTS takers in China know that communication is the most important goal of IELTS.

“We hope that more and more IELTS takers in China can realize the importance of communicating in English in real life, instead of just getting high test scores,” she said.

1. Why did Matthew Knowles drive a taxi?

A. He enjoyed chatting with people in English.

B. He played the role of a taxi driver in a film.

C. He took part in the project “Dare to speak”

D. He wanted to improve his Chinese while driving.

2.The Chinese may meet and talk to _______ in “Dare to speak” projects.

A. a white-collar worker

B. a high school student

C. a restaurant manager

D. a foreign store owner

3.The purpose of the project “Dare to Speak” is to _______ .

A. draw Chinese people’s attention to IELTS

B. remind language learners of the goal of learning

C. attract more foreigners to start business in China

D. give more chances for English learners in China

Zheng Pengyu: Interest is the best teacher. Classrooms that weren’t fixed could give students the chance to explore their interests. At the same time, they would be able to learn on their own because they would have to make their own decisions. All in all, the new system would be a good chance to inspire students’ passion for studying.

Sun Yao: Despite its benefits, I’m worried about whether the new system would work. Going to different classrooms would take up a big part of our break time and we would have less time to relax after class. Also, not all schools could offer so many diversified classes.

Shi Zhenghan: I support students learning in different classes. It would solve the problem of some students thinking the classes are too easy while some think they are too difficult. Teachers could also teach more effectively. What’s more, friendships built while in different classes might be a pleasant surprise.

Zhou Qingqing: In my opinion, studying in different classrooms might affect students’ psychological (心理的) development. They might find it difficult to develop deep and strong friendships with other students if they had to change classrooms constantly. They would also lose their sense of belonging to a certain class.

Hu Qile: I applaud the idea. It would help teachers set up special teaching plans for different classes. For students, making choices by themselves could encourage them to be responsible. Changing classrooms could also help relive the boredom of doing the same dull routine (惯例) every day.
Wang Xiaoqian: The new system might help with students’ individual development, but I still prefer the current system. Studying in one fixed classroom, students with different academic levels can help each other. Spending your senior middle school years with the same classmates is an unforgettable experience.

1.According to Sun Yao, which of the following sentences is TRUE?

A. The new system will work if great measures are taken.

B. All the schools can’t afford so many diversified classes.

C. Students will have more time to relax.

D. He supports the system because of its benefits.

2.Sun Yao holds a(n) _____ attitude towards the new system.

A. optimistic B. doubtful C. negative D. neutral

3.What is the passage about?

A. Schools should offer diversified classes to students.

B. Students find it difficult to develop friendship.

C. Different opinions about changing classroom.

D. Changing classroom can help with students’ individual development.

4.Which of the following can best replace the word “applaud” in paragraph 5?

A. hate B. oppose C. favor D. Benefit

Some futurologists have assumed that the vast upsurge(剧增) of women in the workforce may mean a rejection of marriage. Many women, according to this hypothesis, would rather work than marry. The converse(反面) of this concern is that becoming a multi-paycheck household could encourage marriage. In the past, only the earnings and financial prospects of the man counted in the marriage decision. Now, however, the earning ability of a woman can make her more attractive as a marriage partner. Data show that economic downturns tend to put off marriage because the parties cannot afford to establish a family or are concerned about rainy days ahead. As the economy comes to life, the number of marriages also rises.

The increase in divorce rates follows to the increase in women working outside the home. Yet, it may be wrong to jump to any simple cause-and-effect conclusions. The impact of a wife’s work on divorce is no less cloudy than its impact on marriage decisions. The realization that she can be a good provider may increase the chances that a working wife will choose divorce over an unsatisfactory marriage. But the reverse is equally plausible(似是而非的). Tensions grounded in financial problems often play a key role in ending a marriage. By raising a family’s standard of living, a working wife may strengthen her family’s financial and emotional stability.

Psychological factors also should be considered. For example, a wife blocked from a career outside the home may feel caged in the house. She may view her only choice as seeking a divorce. On the other hand, if she can find fulfillment through work outside the home, work and marriage can go together to create a stronger and more stable union.

Also, a major part of women’s inequality in marriage has been due to the fact that, in most cases, men have remained the main breadwinners. A working wife may rob a husband of being the master of the house. Depending upon how the couple reacts to these new conditions, it could create a stronger equal partnership or it could create new insecurities.

1.It is said in the passage that when the economy falls_____

A. men would choose working women as their marriage partners

B. more women would get married to seek financial security

C. even working women would worry about their marriages

D. more people would prefer to remain single for the time being

2.If women find fulfillment through work outside the home,_____.

A. they are more likely to dominate their marriage partners

B. their husbands are expected to do more housework

C. their marriage ties can be strengthened

D. they tend to put their career before marriage

3.One reason why women with no career may seek a divorce is that_____.

A. they feel that they have been robbed of their freedom

B. they are afraid of being bossed around by their husbands

C. they feel that their partners fail to live up to their expectations

D. they tend to suspect their husbands loyalty to their marriage

4.Which of the following statements can best summarize the authors view in the passage?

A. The stability of marriage and the divorce rate may reflect the economic situation of the country

B. Even when economically independent, most women have to struggle for real equality in marriage

C. In order to secure their marriage women should work outside the home and remain independent

D. The impact of the growing female workforce on marriage varies from case to case.

On the day after Thanskgiving in the US, or Black Friday, lots of stores offer special discounts to mark the beginning of holiday shopping season. In China, a similar day falls on Nov. 11 when millions of Chinese shoppers go to Tmall.com and Taobao.com, two e-commerce websites operated by Alibaba.

The 11.11 Shopping Festival, as the event is now called, is also known in China as Singles Day. The shopping festival first started in 2009 and Alibaba said it chose the date because it was easy to remember. Last year, Tmall and Taobao together produced 19.1 billion in sales on that day, according to Alibaba. This year’s shopping festival kicked off with an even stronger start—sales hit 100 million yuan 55 seconds after midnight and reached 35 billion at the end of the day.

The shopping spree(狂欢) drew the attention of China’s leaders, as Premier Li Keqiang recently praised Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma, for creating a day for consumption. China is trying to lead the country’s economy to a slower, more sustainable（可持续的）growth model based on domestic (国内的) consumption instead of investment and exports. Online shopping is no doubt a growth point that will release spending potential. China had 564 million regular Internet users by the end of last year. It has surpassed the US to become the world’s largest e-commerce market, with its online sales over 1 trillion US dollars (6 trillion yuan) by 2020.

“The real-time nature of online consumption attracts millions of people to spend money and enjoy life. E-commerce opens a new channel for China to encourage domestic demand,” Liu Yin, vice-president of the China International Electronic Commerce Center said. More importantly, it promotes employment and the logistics (物流) industry with its sales model of “online purchasing plus express delivery”, he added. Convenience, choice and low prices have increased online shopping, but there are still some problems with the one-day shopping spree.

Some online shops, driven by the huge profits, took this opportunity to play price tricks. They raised prices to twice those of the originals in the early October and then offered discounts on Nov 11. Many consumers, driven by the advantage they could take, just went along for the ride. “They spend lots of time online to check what to buy and are happy to get what they don’t really need at a lower price,” wrote Jia Ge, an Internet analyst, on his Sina weibo.

1.In the US, a holiday shopping season refers to _________.

A. a spree in a holiday like Thanksgiving

B. one of the four seasons in a year like spring

C. a shopping spree when stores offer special discounts

D. a holiday when people can relax themselves by shopping

2. In this year’s 11.11 Shopping Festival, Tmall and Taobao produced ______in all.

A. 19.1 billion yuan B. 100 million yuan

C. 35.1 billion yuan D. 35 billion yuan

3. What Liu Yin said is mainly about _______.

A. the advantages of e-commerce

B. the advantages of express delivery

C. the development of online shopping

D. the development of logistic industry

4.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that _______.

A. most online shops played price tricks on consumers to make huge profits

B. driven by the huge profits, many consumers bought what they didn’t really need

C. some prices of the goods were raised at first and sold at the original price on Nov. 11

D. many consumers were cheated by the online shops and bought unnecessary goods

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。选项中有两项为多余选项。

The Internet has opened up a whole new online world for us to meet, chat and go where we’ve never been before.

But just as in face to face communication, there are some rules of behavior that should be followed when on line. 1.. Imagine how you’d feel if you were in the other person’s shoes.

For anything you’re about to send: ask yourself, “Would I say this to the person’s face?” If the answer is no, rewrite and reread. 2.

If someone in the chat room is rude to you, your instinct (本能) is to fire back in the same manner. But try not to do so.3. If it was caused by a disagreement with another member, try to fix the situation by politely discussing it. Remember to respect the beliefs and opinions of others in the chat room.

4. Offer advice when asked by newcomers, as they may not be sure what to do or how to communicate. When someone makes a mistake, whether it’s a stupid question or an unnecessarily long answer, be kind about it. If it’s a small mistake, you may not need to say anything. Even if you feel strongly about it, think twice before saying anything. Having good manners yourself doesn’t give you license to correct everyone else. 5. At the same time, if you find you are wrong, be sure to correct yourself and apologize to those that you have offended（冒犯）.

It is not polite to ask others personal questions such as their age, sex and marital status. Unless you know the person very well, and you are both comfortable with sharing personal information, don’t ask such questions.

A. Everyone was new to the network once.

B. If you do decide to tell someone about a mistake, point it out politely.

C. It’s natural that there are some people who speak rudely or make mistakes online.

D. You should either ignore the person, or use your chat software to block their messages.

E. The basic rule is simple: treat others in the same way you would want to be treated.

F. When sending short messages to a person online, you must say something beautiful to hear.

G. Repeat the process till you feel sure that you’d feel comfortable saying the words to the person’s face.ww

完形填空

“It’s no use, Mum,” said Johnny. “I’m just no good at dancing.”

“You’ve got to keep trying. Tonight will be , dear. Try a turn with that pretty Lisette.”

Johnny . Every Saturday night used to be the best of the week. He and his parents went to the at the Club, where his hero, Alcide, played the accordion（手风琴）with the band. But lately everything had changed. Now that Johnny was older, he was to dance with a girl!

Johnny and his parents arrived at the Club, music had already started. Johnny got up his________to approach Lisette. “May I have this dance?” Johnny asked. “That’s all right,” said Lisette. Johnny struggled to keep up with Lisette’s steps, but he was always one beat behind her. Then Johnny heard his friend Pierre say, “Look! Johnny has two left feet!” .burst from the crowd. Johnny and ran outside, determined never to go to another dance.

The next Saturday, Alcide to Johnny’s house for some potatoes. He happened to hear Johnny playing the accordion. Alcide’s eyes . “Bring that accordion and play some songs tonight,” Alcide said. Then he drove off, leaving Johnny staring open- mouthed him.

At the Club, Johnny scanned the crowd for Lisette and her. The band played for a long time before Alcide said, “Dear friends, I got a for you tonight. Young Johnny is going to join us!” , Johnny stepped up on the platform, his eyes on the floor. He began to play, and the band behind him. When the song ended, he heard cheers. Johnny kept playing until the dance was . “You did a fine job tonight. Play with us again next Saturday night,” Alcide said. “Yes, sir!” said Johnny. he went outside, Johnny saw Lisette and her friends near the door. Lisette stepped , smiling. “You played really good tonight!” she said.

“Thank you,” Johnny blushed （脸红）. As he walked on, Pierre moved out of the way for him to pass.

Johnny patted his accordion. Come to think of it, in his whole life, he had never once seen Alcide out on the dance floor.

1.A. difficult B. troublesome C. different D. terrible

2.A. answered B. sighed C. smiled D. laughed

3.A. platform B. appointment C. meeting D. dance

4.A. expected B. invited C. allowed D. chosen

5.A. If B. Since C. Though D. When

6.A. spirits B. feelings C. strength D. courage

7.A. clumsy B. slow C. smooth D. small

8.A. Shouts B. Laughter C. Applause D. Cheers

9.A. went out B. broke away C. broke up D. turned out

10.A. ran B. walked C. cycled D. drove

11.A. widened B. rolled C. sharpened D. opened

12.A. off B. with C. for D. after

13.A. spotted B. searched C. sought D. caught

14.A. puzzle B. surprise C. story D. joke

15.A. Struggling B. Wandering C. Trembling D. Whispering

16.A. got round B. turned around C. joined in D. showed off

17.A. in B. out C. on D. over

18.A. Because B. As C. Until D. So

19.A. backward B. onward C. forward D. downward

20.A. still B. ever C. even D. almost

短文改错（共10小题；每小题1分，共10分）

下面短文中有10处语言错误。请在有错误的地方增加、删除或修改某个单词。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线（____），并在该词下面写出修改的词

注意：1. 每句不超过两个错误；

2. 每处错误及修改均仅限一词；

3. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

In our daily life, we unavoidably come across many challenge now and then. I meet a big challenge when I was in high school. I was shocked to find which the physics teacher taught was totally beyond his understanding and I lost my confidence completely. Think I lacked a gift at physics, I stopped making efforts and my grades were poor. Fortunate, my teacher didn’t give me up. Instead of, she helped me analyze my problem and I realized I needed face challenges bravely. I regained my confidence, adjusted my approaches but worked hard. I improved my physics before long.

在学习、生活和工作中，学会与人合作是非常重要的。请你根据下表中所提供的信息，写一篇主题为“Being a Good Partner”的英文演讲稿。
演讲稿内容如下：

写作要求： 1．句子结构准确，信息内容完整、连贯。2．词数：100词左右。演讲稿的开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。3．参考词汇：cooperate  vi．合作 cooperation n. 合作
Good afternoon, everyone! The topic of my speech today is “Being a good partner”.

Thank you for your listening!

Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice．Gifts are easy—they’re given after all．Choice can be hard．

I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago．I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2300 percent per year．I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast，and the idea of building all online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30 years old，and I’d been married for a year．I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don’t and I wasn’t sure what to expect．MacKenzie told me I should go for it．As a young boy，I’d been a garage inventor．I’d always wanted to be all inventor，and she wanted me to follow my passion．

I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired．I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet．He took me on a long walk in Central Park，listened carefully to me，and finally said，“That sounds like a really good idea，but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job．”That 1ogic made some sense to me，and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision．Seen in that light,it really was a difficult choice，but finally，I decided I had to give it a shot．I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing．And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.

After much consideration ，I took the less safe path to follow my passion ，and I’m proud of that choice．For all of us，in the end，we are our choice．

1.What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?

A. His dream of being an inventor．

B. The support of his wife．

C. The greatly increasing usage of the Internet．

D. Millions of exciting titles,

2.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?

A. The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him．

B. He would be very excited if he tried it out．

C. Be would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try．

D. The decision to not try the online bookstore would terrify him．

3.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Cleverness and Kindness B. The Starting of Amazon

C. Following My Passion D. We Are What We Choose

4.We can know from the passage that_______．

A. the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author

B. the author wanted someone else to try the idea

C. the author might not regret if he failed the idea

D. the author might go back to his boss if he failed

We live in a techno logical society where most goods are mass-produced by unskilled labor. Because of this, most people think that craft(手艺) no longer exists.

One of the ways these people wrongly support their view is by pointing to 100-year-old homes which are still solid, and arguing that it is the craftsmanship that is responsible for their durability(持久性). “Homes in those days were well-built,” they say. No doubt these homes were well-built, but what these people have done is mix up the quality of material used in the house with the quality of the craftsmanship.

Homes today could be built to last just as long as those old homes if people were willing or able to pay the price. For example, more people can no longer afford solid oak stairways, although they were once fairly common in older homes. Nor can they afford the high labor cost of employing a carpenter to build the stairway. Yet if someone can pay the high cost, there are still plenty of carpenters around able to make those stairways. And not only would these carpenters know how to build them, they would probably do a better job than carpenters of old.

One thing the modern carpenter has which enables him to do a better job is much more advanced tools. Such tools as laser beams and power planes help them lay out a house better and make more precision cuts(精确切割)on the wood. Also, it is not uncommon any more to find carpenters with college degrees and carpenters with a solid knowledge of mathematics, which would enable them to deal with more difficult house designs.

The problem of modern quality, then, really boils down to the problem of material, for the modern carpenter is just as able to produce craftsmanship as the carpenter of fifty years ago, but only if given proper material.

1.Compared to the carpenters in the past, modern carpenters are__________.

A. more successful B. more learned

C. more imaginative D. more hardworking

2.What does the underlined word “they” (paragraph2) refer to?

A. Carpenters who are fond of oak stairways.

B. Carpenters who have college degrees.

C. people who think highly of carpenters of old

D. people who think that modern material is of low quality.

3.What does the third paragraph mainly discuss?

A. People in the past preferred to use oak to build stairways.

B. It is now expensive to employ a carpenter.

C. Modern houses last as long as the old one.

D. Good carpenters still exist in modern times.

4.What would be the best title for the text?

A. Is Craft Dead?

B. Craft, Back to Life?

C. History of Craftsmanship

D. Carpenters Today and Yesterday