My parents have certainly had their troubles, and as their child I’ll never know how they made it to 38 years of marriage．They loved each other, but they didn’t seem to like each other very much．Dad was too fond of his beer, and he talked down to Mom a lot．When she tried to stand up to him, a fight would unavoidably follow.

It was my dad’s disease that began to change things．The year 1998 was the beginning of a remarkable transformation for my family．My father, Jim Dineen, the always healthy, weightlifting, never-missed-a-day-of-work kind of dad, discovered he had kidney (肾) disease.

The decision to go ahead with a transplant for my father was a long and tough one, mostly because he had liver damage too．One physician’s assistant told him, “According to your file, you’re supposed to be dead.” And for a while, doctors mistakenly thought that he would need not just a kidney transplant, but a liver transplant too．Dad’s future hung in midpoint.

When the donor testing process finally began in the spring of 2003, numerous people, including me, my uncle Tom, and my mom, came back as matches of varying degree．But Mom was the one who insisted on going further．She decided to donate a kidney to my father．She said she was not scared, and it was the right thing to do．We all stepped back in amazement.

At last a date was chosen – November 11, 2003．All of a sudden, the only thing that seemed to matter Dad was telling the world what a wonderful thing Mom was doing for him．A month before the surgery, he sent her birthday flowers with a note that read, “I love you and I love your kidney! Thank you!”

Financially, the disease was upsetting to them．So my sister and I were humbled and surprised when, shortly before his surgery day, Dad handed us a diamond jewelry that we were to give to Mom after the operation．He’d accumulated(积累) his spare dollars to buy it.

At the hospital on the day of the transplant, all our relatives and friends gathered in the waiting room and became involved in a mean euchre (尤克牌游戏) tournament．My family has always handled things with a lot of laughter, and even though we were all tense, everybody was taking bets on how long this “change of conduct” would last in my parents.

We would inform Dad that if he chose to act like a real pain on any particular day after the operation, he wasn’t allowed to blame it on PMS just because he’d now have a female kidney.

The surgeries went well, and not long afterward, my sister and I were allowed to go in to visit．Dad was in a great deal of pain but again, all he could talk about was Mom．Was she okay? How was she feeling? Then the nurses let us do something unconventional．As they were wheeling Mom out of recovery room, they rolled her into a separate position to visit Dad．It was strange to see both my parents hooked up to IVs and machines and trying to talk to each other through tears．The nurses allowed us to present the diamond jewelry to Mom so that Dad could watch her open it．Everyone was crying, even the nurses.

As I stood with digital camera in hand, I tried to keep the presence of mind to document the moment．My dad was having a hard time fighting back emotion, and suddenly my parents unexpectedly reached out to hold each other’s hands.

In my nearly 35 years of existence, I’d never seen my parents do that, and I was spellbound．I snapped a picture and later rushed home to make sure I’d captured that enormous, life-defining moment．After so many years of disagreement, it was apparent to me that they finally understood how much each loved the other.

1.From the first paragraph we can learn that _________.

A． Dad was fond of drinking

B． My parents got along well

C． Dad often beat Mom

D． Mom never obeyed Dad

2.The underlined part “Dad’s future hung in midpoint” in Para.3 suggests that _________.

A． Dad's life journey was on half way

B． Dad came to a critical moment in his life

C． Dad’s future was decided by doctors

D． Dad faced a tough decision in his life

3.Before the surgery, which of the following words can best describe the feeling of the families?

A． Worried and negative.

B． Anxious and helpless.

C． Nervous but optimistic.

D． Relaxed and positive.

4.Which of the following is TRUE according the passage?

A． Dad bought a diamond jewelry to Mom for their wedding anniversary.

B． Dad asked the nurse to visit Mom soon after the operation.

C． Despite a lot of pain, Dad was eager to know Mom’s condition soon after the operation.

D． On the day of the transplant, the families involved in a mean euchre tournament to relax themselves.

5.What’s in the writer’s photo?

A． Everyone was crying, even the nurses.

B． His parents were trying to talk to each other.

C． Dad watched Mom opening the gift.

D． His parents were holding each other’s hands.

6.What’s the best title for the passage?

A． Dad’s disease B． Mom’s decision

C． The Gift of Life D． The photo of hands

Essay is optional and no penalties(处罚) for wrong answers．These changes will take place in SAT college exam．The changes include the use of some words more commonly used in school and on the job instead of the words such as “prevaricator” and “sagacious”.

College Board officials said the change is needed to make the exam better representative of what students study in high school and the skills they need to succeed in college and afterward．The new exam will be rolled out in 2016, so this year’s ninth graders will be the first to take it, in their junior year．The new SAT will continue to test reading, writing and math skills, with an emphasis on analysis．Scoring will return to a 1,600-point scale last used in 2004, with a separate score for the optional essay．For the first time, students will have the option of taking the test on computers.

They also said many students who are terrified they will be tested on lots of SAT words currently can ask for help: practicing with flashcards．They know flashcards are not the best way to build real word knowledge that lasts, but when the SAT rolls around they become the royal road．Students stop reading and start flipping.

The essay will be changed in other ways, too．It will measure students’ ability to analyze and explain how an author builds an argument and it will also be up to colleges whether the essay will be required．Each exam will include a passage drawn from “founding documents”: such as the Declaration of Independence or from discussions they’ve inspired．Instead of testing a wide range of math concepts, the new exam will focus on a few areas, like algebra, thought to be most needed for college and life afterward．A calculator will be allowed only on certain math questions, instead of on the entire math portion(部分).

Jim Rawlins, the director of admissions at the University of Oregon, said the changes will potentially help the students but it will take a few years to know its influence, after the students go on to college．He said some colleges are still dealing with questions about the changes made in 2005, such as how to consider the essay portion．The criticism of the SAT is that students from wealthier families do better on the exam because they can afford expensive test preparation classes.

The SAT was taken last year by 1.7 million students．It has historically been more popular on the coasts, while the other main standardized college entrance exam, the ACT, dominated the central U.S．The ACT took over the SAT in total use in 2012, partly because it is taken by almost every junior in 13 states as part of those states’ testing scheme(方案).

ACT president Jon Erickson said when hearing of the SAT changes, his reaction was that they could’ve been talking about the ACT now．“I didn’t hear anything new and different, so I was a little left wanting, at least at the end of this first announcement,” Erickson said .

Bob Schaeffer, education director at the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, or FairTest, said it is laudable(值得称道的) that the SAT will provide free test preparation, but it is unlikely to make a dent in the market for such preparation．He also said the new test is unlikely to be better than the current one．His organization has a database with institutions that don't require ACT or SAT scores to make admissions decisions.

1.We can learn from the third paragraph that flashcards_________.

A． will become the only way to test words

B． can help students get ready for SAT words

C． can help students memorize the words forever

D． are the best way for the students to get high scores

2.SAT exams will be less required in 2016 with the purpose of _________.

A． getting more students interested in the entrance exam

B． making it easier for students to be admitted into colleges

C． offering chances for the students to be tested on every subject

D． testing the students better on the knowledge and skills they’ve learnt

3.The change in the 2016’s SAT college entrance exam include the following EXCEPT that _________.

A． students will use calculators if they get stuck in certain math questions

B． some words that are uncommonly used won’t appear in the exam

C． students will be given the chance to take the test on computers

D． students will be tested on a wide range of math concepts

4.According to Jim Rawlins, _________.

A． the changes are mainly aimed at students from the rich family

B． the changes will force students to give up writing essay

C． the changes will probably have some bad influence

D． the changes will be of no benefit to students

5.Which of the following statements is TRUE about the ACT ?

A． It is more popular in the coastal cities.

B． More than 1.7 million students took it last year.

C． Jon Erickson felt worried about the SAT changes.

D． It has been the most popular college entrance exam so far.

Their love _____ quickly over the months that followed after they met in a dating show．

A． was developed B． developed

C． had developed D． would develop

The girl, when _____ why she _____ in the exam, just lowered her head and kept silent．

A． questioned; was cheated

B． being questioned; was cheating

C． questioned; had cheated

D． being questioned; has cheated

Before stepping onto the stage of the Voice of China, the singer Yao Beina took a deep breath to _____ her courage．

A． set up B． hold up

C． keep up D． take up

–Why？This is simply a common bike!

–_____ sir．It’s our special offer today．

A． Don’t mention it

B． Let me see

C． So it is

D． Neither do I

So absurd _____ that_____ saw him stared at him．

A． did he look; anyone

B． he looked; no matter who

C． did he look; whoever

D． he looked; who

Experience the newly opened Grand Canyon（大峡谷）West Skywalk in Colorado．Departing from Grand Canyon's South Rim by Airplane to Grand Canyon's West Rim, you will land and take a ground tour to the Skywalk! Walk on air for 70 feet over the edge of Grand Canyon West．

This Skywalk has been open since March 28, 2007．Daily visitorship to the Skywalk has been over 4,000 people．Please be patient to enjoy your moment on the Skywalk．

After you have experienced the one and only Grand Canyon Skywalk Glass Bridge, you will return to the Grand Canyon West Airport and take your Airplane for a flight back to the South Rim of the Canyon．This is a tour never to be forgotten as you will have walked on air over the Grand Canyon．

Tour Itinerary（行程）

1.This advertisement is for ____．

A． Grand Canyon West

B． the Skywalk

C． Grand Canyon

D． Grand Canyon South

2.The package fee does NOT cover the cost of ____．

A．

B．

C．

D．

3.The Grand Canyon Skywalk Bridge is made of glass because ____．

A． it looks stranger

B． it is cheaper to build

C． it gives you a better view

D． it looks more beautiful

4.According to the Tour Itinerary, the route is ____．

A． South Rim→West Airport→Guano Point→Eagle Point→West Airport→South Rim

B． South Rim→Guano Point→West Airport→Eagle Point→West Airport→South Rim

C． South Rim→West Airport→Eagle Point→Guano Point→West Airport→South Rim

D． South Rim→West Airport→Eagle Point→West Airport→Guano Point→South Rim

Today we are going to talk about important transition words in English．We will focus on how to usetransition words to link ideas together．Some common transition words are and，furthermore，in addition to，not to mention，and in the same way．

We don’t always get a second chance to achieve our dreams．But some people are lucky，like Matthew McConaughey．Once almost unknown，the actor has recently found himself back on the list of the best actors in HollywooD． His new movie Interstellar is just another sign that his career reinvention has been an incredible success．“The film relies on McConaughey’s performance to hold together the emotional story of a father and his daughter against the background of space travel and the end of the world，”Forbes commenteD．

But only years ago，the Texas native was often the butt of jokes（笑柄）about being too handsome．In 1993，after meeting with director Richard Linklater，McConaughey starred in Dazed and ConfuseD． And a Hollywood career was born，mostly in romantic comedies．For a long time，the whole world believed McConaughey was just a handsome guy with comic talent．

But McConaughey stopped starring in that type of movie，and began to use his looks differently．Slowly he built up his reputation as a serious actor．In 2013，McConaughey was offered to play an AIDS activist in Dallas Buyers CluB． The role saw the normally muscular actor losing 50 pounds in order to appear sick．His performance won him an Oscar for Best Actor．

The actor gave thanks to someone he has always looked up to as a hero during his Oscar acceptance speech．When he was 15，the actor said，he decided that his hero would be himself in 10 years．But 10 years later，he pushed the deadline ahead another decade．Then 10 years later，another decade．“My hero’s always 10 years away，” he saiD． “I’m never going to attain that．That keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing．”Or perhaps constantly chasing the chance to be his own hero has given him a second chance to follow his dreams．

1.Why was McConaughey often the butt of jokes in his early career？

A． He was limited to handsome roles．

B． He was unknown to the audience．

C． He played in romantic comedies．

D． He was handsome and emotional．

2.What role won Mc Conaughey an Oscar for Best Ac tor？

A． A caring father．

B． An AIDS activist．

C． A serious buyer．

D． A strong hero．

3.What can we learn about McConaughey？

A． He was born in HollywooD．

B． He has become a hero of his own．

C． He wasn’t famous until recently．

D． He isn’t content with his achievements．

4.Which of the following can be the best title？

A． McConaughey，a Romantic Comed ian

B． McConaughey，a Man Making a Hit

C． McConaug hey，a Man Daring to change

D． McConaughey，Handsome and Talented

根据短文的内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Article writing has been a way of conveying information through the weB． If you’re a writer，being able to let them stay on your article for more than two seconds is already a success．Your writing style can create more readers for your content if you know how to catch the attention of readers．1.

Be Direct-to-the-Point

Website writing differs from print writing．People do not want to spend much time on a website because they want to get the information they neeD． 2.

Be Informative

Articles for web content are briefly written．They flesh out the information without decorations．Be sure that your articles are not confusingly wordeD． _3.__Make sure you organize your facts logically so that your reader can effectively process them．

Be Con versational

4._Be conversational so that readers can grasp what you mean in your article．With quality content，engage your readers so that your article will have that personal and human touch．

Be Connected

Most article writers just place sentences that state a certain fact to form a paragraph．However，in readers’hopes，these writers fail to establish a human connection．5.So it is important to make the connection smooth and not abrupt．

A． Stay away from decorations when writing online content．

B． Most readers like to read articles that“speak”to them．

C． Connection will allow the readers’minds to effectively process what is written．

D． Get to your point directly so that your readers can process the information．

E．Here are some important points to consider before writing online．

F．Article writing is a fun way of establishing a connection with a reader and a writer．

G．Complex sentences tend to wrongly lead your reader and make them confuseD．