An emperor was almost eighty years old and knew it was time to choose his successor(接班人). Instead of choosing one of his children, he decided on something different. He called all of the young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, “It is time for me to choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you.”

The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued, “I am going to give each one of you a seed today. One special seed. I want you to plant it and come back one year later with what you have grown from this seed. I will then judge the plants, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!”

One boy named Ling received a seed like the others. He went home and planted the seed in a pot, watering it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.

A year finally went by and all the youths brought their plants to the emperor. Ling thought he should be honest about what had happened. So he took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the plants grown by other youths. They were beautiful, in all shapes and sizes.

When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. Suddenly, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. “My name is Ling,” he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, “Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!” Then the emperor said, “One year ago today, I gave you all boiled seeds which would not grow.”

1.Why did the emperor decide to choose his successor?

A. He was growing old.

B. He was tired of his position.

C. He wanted to do different things.

D. He wanted to do some tests.

2.Whom will the emperor consider to choose from as his successor in his country?

A. His children. B. All of his relatives.

C. All the young people. D. The bravest fighters.

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A. The other youths felt angry about what Ling had done.

B. Ling destroyed his seed by boiling it in the hot water.

C. Ling was afraid of being punished for his failure in planting.

D. The one who planted the most beautiful plant would be the king.

4. From the text we know that Ling was ______.

A. clever B. honest

C. famous D. energetic

He is not just a classical music superstar. He is a global superstar. Only 27 years old, the Chinese pianist Lang Lang has become an inspiration to tens of millions around the world.

Among his dazzling long list of titles, Lang considered UNICEF goodwill ambassador the most special one.

"Being a UNICEF goodwill ambassador is the best decision I have made and will definitely be the best experience in my life," Lang said in a recent interview with Xinhua at the UN headquarters in New York. "I love children very much, and playing piano for them is my favorite," Lang said, beaming with delight.

Named this year by Time magazine as one of the 100 World's Most Influential People, the pianist said he hoped music could "bring children happiness and enlighten their life."

Three months after his nomination (提名), Lang went to Tanzania with the UNICEF team to visit children threatened by malaria(疟疾) and AIDS.

Although the southeastern African country's underdevelopment and harsh living conditions surprised Lang who landed the continent for the first time, he was touched by local children's passion for music.

"Most of the kids had never seen a piano before," Lang said. "When I played Chopin's nocturne or waltz to them, those who were too shy to talk to me suddenly became active and began to share with me about their dreams. How amazing it is!" "Music can bring hopes to the kids and open their mind," he said.

Following his visit to Africa, Lang began to organize fundraising concerts for children. Now it has become his routine to do 15 to 20 fundraising concerts every year.

Except for his efforts on fundraising, Lang also established his own international music foundation last year to assist young talents to play piano.

So far Lang has chosen five children from the United States and Germany, providing them with scholarships and opportunities to perform at world-class music halls, he said.

In December, he will start the selection in China where he would like to "focus more on physically challenged kids, like blind kids."

1. The best title of the passage is______.

A. Lang Lang and His Music

B. UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

C. An Unforgettable Visit to Africa

D. Lang Lang’s Fundraising Concerts

2.As a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, Lang Lang’s work is mainly to ______.

A. help children who are in great need

B. hold more concerts for children in the world

C. assist young talents from different countries play piano

D. create more beautiful music for the people of the world

3.Why did Lang Lang go to Africa 3 months after his nomination?

A. To finish his plan of global performance.

B. To experience the local music there

C. To help those children facing serious diseases.

D. To create new music of different styles.

4.What moved Lang most when in Africa?

A. The poverty of Africa.

B. Children’s passion for music.

C. Children’s gifts for music.

D. The deadly diseases in Africa.

Nobody can avoid making a mistake at some point in their life. We might as well accept that something will go wrong and we will be to blame. It is therefore wise to work out some strategies for apologizing, and the best way to apologize is by letter.

We all say or do something that we wish we hadn’t said or done. You may say something that accidentally hurts someone, or you may provide a service which doesn’t come up to the standards that a client or customer expected. You may feel that it was a genuine mistake which couldn’t be avoided. Rather than dwell on the mistake, you should quickly try to remedy(补救) the problem. An effective letter of apology is an important part of that process.

For the content of the letter, just remember TABS－Timing, Action, Briefness, Sincerity.

The time of a letter of apology is important－it must be sent as soon as possible. Any delay in sending the letter will only worsen the problem. In this case “Better late than never” is not the best motto! The longer you wait before writing a letter of apology, the more it will seem that you have been forced into writing it.

Although it is important to recognize what has gone before, it is also essential to detail the action you plan to take to correct whatever you did wrong.

A letter of apology should be brief and the word “sorry” should appear no more than twice. Indicate that you are aware you are using it a second time “once again, I am so sorry for…” or “as I said earlier, I am really sorry about…”

1.What’s the passage mainly about?

A. Advice on making fewer mistakes.

B. Strategies for making an apology.

C. Advice on writing a letter of apology.

D. Importance of a timely letter of apology.

2.The underlined part in Paragraph 2 means you ______.

A. don’t have to take the mistake you made seriously

B. don’t waste time worrying about what happened

C. forget about what happened

D. analyze who was at fault

34. 3.What can we learn from Paragraph 4?

A. It’s important to apologize timely.

B. A mistake is not always easy to clear.

C. People are always unwilling to apologize.

D. People should think twice before apologizing.

4.What will be discussed following the last paragraph?

A. The sincere tone of the letter.

B. The proper length of the letter.

C. An apology email, choice of the 21st century.

D. The importance of saying “sorry” more than twice.

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。选项中有两项为多余选项。

You already know that you should wake up early to become more productive, and perhaps you have also heard that you shouldn’t check your email first in the morning. While this advice is good and well-documented, there is also another kind of productivity advice that is as effective as well. 1.

1. Work when there is a distraction(分心) around

Your environment doesn’t have to be 100% quiet if you want to get work done. Let’s say that you are working from home and you have kids. Let’s also assume that you don’t have a quiet workspace in your home to do your work. Naturally, you could decide to do work during the quiet hours. 2. .

2. Drink coffee before taking a nap

3. Then take a caffeine nap. Combining coffee and napping time can have a big improvement in one’s personal productivity. Drink a cup of coffee, take a 20-minute nap right afterward and wake-up refreshed.

3. 4.

It’s so funny to think that the places that seem like the last ones in which to get anything done are the best for productivity. I’m talking about trains and when I travel alone, I look forward to getting work done there. In fact, I have done a lot of work during my trips when I’m moving from one place to another.

4. Close the curtains

Closing the curtains can improve your productivity. I might do some work at the dining table where there is a window to the left of me. Since I can see the nearby parking space through the window (and the people and moving cars as well), the movement might catch my attention, so the simplest way to prevent the distraction is to close the curtains.5.

A. Work in a train.

B. Focus on one thing at a time.

C. Have a mobile Internet access with you.

D. But not all of the tasks have to be done then.

E. Try these tips and see how they work for you.

F. Want to improve your afternoon productivity?

G. That way I can put all of my attention to my work.

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Dear Little One,

Recently, your mother and I were searching the Internet. And Google returned a list of the most popular in the world. High at the was “How to keep him interested.” It made me . I scanned several of the countless about how to be sexy, when to bring him a beer, and the ways to make him feel and superior. And I got .

Little One, it is not, has never been, and never will be your to “keep him interested.” Your only task is to know deeply in your soul—that you are of interest.

you can trust your worth in this way, you will be attractive in the most important sense of the word: You will a boy who is both capable of interest and who wants to his one life putting all his interest in you.

I want to tell you about the boy who doesn’t to be kept interested, he knows you are interesting.

I don’t if he can’t play a bit of golf with me—as long as he can play with your children and you. I don't care if he puts his elbows on the dinner table -- as long as he his eyes on your smile. I couldn’t care how he votes—as long as everyday he treats you with great .and elects you to a place of in your home.

In the end, Little One, if you a man like that, and he and I have else in common, we will have the most important thing in common: you.

Your eternally interested guy,

Daddy

1.A. writers B. searches C. idioms D. notes

2.A. table B. bottom C. top D. site

3.A. upset B. bored C. delighted D. comfortable

4.A. newspapers B. copies C. pictures D. articles

5.A. foolish B. ugly C. smart D. homeless

6.A. angry B. excited C. happy D. cool

7.A. deal B. job C. study D. position

8.A. proud B. informed C. worthy D. warned

9.A. If B. Though C. Whether D. Unless

10.A. stop B. attract C. hug D. miss

11.A. cost B. take C. spare D. spend

12.A. need B. wish C. dare D. agree

13.A. though B. while C. because D. so

14.A. care B. kno C. realize D. think

15.A. opens B. focuses C. catches D. meets

16.A. higher B. more C. less D. larger

17.A. confidence B. pride C. satisfaction D. respect

18.A. sympathy B. honor C. memory D. fun

19.A. come across B. get though C. set aside D. leave behind

20.A. everything B. anything C. something D. nothing

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 am so tired of winter. First it was all the snow and now it's just rain, rain, rain. It 1.(seem) like the cold and rain have been here so long that I can 2.(hard) remember what the sun looks. It has been wet and miserable for weeks and weeks.

All I want to do is climb into bed, crawl under the covers, 3. hide from the world until spring is really here. 4.official first day of spring is in less than a week, but you wouldn't know it at all from the weather.

I have been feeling so bad lately and think it has a lot to do with the 5. (depress) weather this month. March is just the 6. (bad) month in my opinion.

Today I got thoroughly wet7. my way home from work. It started to pour when I was walking to my car, which 8. (park) at the end of the lot. Why do I always forget 9. (bring) an umbrella with me?

I had a hard time 10. (drive) home. I was wet and the traffic was terrible. But I am home now and happy that the day is over.

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(^ )，并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用(＼)划掉。

修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

I am a Canadian girl aging 17 and I’ m mad about music. It is one of the most important thing in my life. I listen music whenever I can. I have a minidisk player, with it I can have access to music whether walking in the street or ride on the bike. At home, there is a CD player in my room, but music is on all the time. I like rock music better of all and my favorite band is Rolling stones. It so happened that there had a live concert of Rolling stones last Sunday. I went there and it was a great fun. I am also fond of classic music and I especial enjoy Beethoven when I’m doing my homework.

为促使同学们更好的规划、利用好时间，你校英语学习俱乐部将举办一次以“Where does your time go”为主题的交流活动。假如你是成员之一，请你根据下面提示写一篇英文发言稿。

1. 简述你的时间安排。

2. 反思时间安排不当的地方。

3. 谈谈你对时间的认识和今后的打算。

注意：1. 词数100左右（开头已给出，不计入总词数）

2. 可适当增加细节，使行文连贯。

Hello, everyone. As a senior high school student, I always feel busy.

I grew up in a house where the TV was seldom turned on and with one wall in my bedroom entirely lined with bookshelves, most of my childhood was spent on books I could get hold of. In fact, I grew up thinking of reading as natural as breathing and books unbelievably powerful in shaping perspectives (观点) by creating worlds we could step into, take part. in. and live in.

With this unshakable belief, I, at. fourteen, decided to become a writer. Here too, reading became useful. Every writer starts off knowing that he has something to say, but being unable to find the right ways to say it. He has to find his own voice by reading widely and discovering which parts of the writers he agrees or disagrees with, or agrees with so strongly that it reshapes his own world. He cannot write without loving to read, because only through reading other people’s writing can one discover what works, what doesn’t and, in the end, together with lots of practice, what voice he has.

Now I am in college, and have come to realize how important it is to read fiction (文学作品)．As a. law student, my reading is in fact limited to subject matter—the volume (量) of what I have to read for classes every week means there is little time to read anything else. Such reading made it all the clearer to me that I live in a very small part in this great place called life. Reading fiction reminds me that there is life beyond my own. It allows me to travel across the high seas and along the Silk Road, all from the comfort of my own armchair, to experience, though secondhand, exciting experiences that I wouldn't necessarily be able to have in my lifetime.

1. What can be inferred about the author as a child?

A. He never watched TV

B. He read what he had to.

C. He found reading unbelievable.

D. He considered reading part of his life.

2.The underlined word "voice" in the second paragraph most probably means “ ”.

A. an idea B. a sound quality

C. a way of writing D. a world to write about

3.What effect does reading have on the author?

A. It helps him to realize his dream.

B. It opens up a wider world for him.

C. It makes his college life more interesting.

D. It increases his interest in worldwide travel.

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

A. Why do I read? B. How do I read?

C. What do I read? D. When do I read?

Boiler rooms are often dirty and steamy, but this one is clean and cool. Fox Point is a very new 47-unit living building in South Bronx, one of the city’s poorest areas. Two-thirds of the people living there are formerly (以前) homeless people, whose rent is paid by the government. The rest are low-income families. The boiler room has special equipment, which produces energy for electricity and heat. It reuses heat that would otherwise be lost to the air, reducing carbon emissions(碳排放)while also cutting costs.

Fox Point is operated by Palladia, a group that specializes in providing housing and services to needy, people. Palladia received support from Enterprise Community Partners (ECP), which helps build affordable housing by providing support to housing developers.

ECP has created national standards for healthy, environmentally (环境方面) clever and affordable homes which are called, the Green Communities Standards. These standards include water keeping, energy saving and the use of environmentally friendly building materials. Meeting the standards increases housing construction costs by 2%, which is rapidly paid back by lower running costs. Even the positioning of a window to get most daylight can help save energy.

Michael. Bloomberg, New York's mayor, plans to create 165,000 affordable housing units for500,000 New Yorkers. Almost 80% of New York City’s greenhouse-gas emissions come from buildings, and 40% of those are caused, by housing.. So he recently announced that the city’s Department of Housing and Preservation and Development (DHPD) , whose duty is to develop and keep the city’s supply of affordable housing, will require all its new projects to follow ECP’s green standards.

Similar measures have been taken by other cities such as Cleveland and Denver, but New York’s DHPD is the largest city developer of affordable housing in the country.

1.What is the purpose of describing the boiler room in the first paragraph?

A. To explain the measures the city takes to care for poor people.

B. To suggest that affordable housing is possible in all areas.

C. To show how the environment-friendly building works.

D. To compare old and new boiler rooms.

2.What is an advantage of the buildings meeting the Green Communities Standards?

A. Lower running costs.

B. Costing less in construction.

C. Less air to be lost in hot days.

D. Better prices for homeless people.

3.It can be learned from the text that, .

A. New York City is seriously polluted

B. people’s daily life causes many carbon emissions in New York City

C. a great number of people in New York City don't have houses to live in

D. some other cities have developed more affordable housing than New York City

4.What is the main purpose of this text?

A. To call on people to pay more attention to housing problems.

B. To prove that some standards are needed for affordable housing.

C. To ask society to help homeless people and low-income families.

D. To introduce healthy, environmentally clever-and affordable housing.