In late summer or early fall the large, yellow seed heads of sunflowers will be ripening. If gardeners can keep off the birds and other wildlife trying to eat the seeds, they can have a large harvest. The bright yellow blooms will make a rainbow garden, brightening up any space.

However, planting the sunflower seeds is a skilled job. Plant seeds no deeper than the full length of itself. Smaller sized sunflowers can be spaced a foot apart. Larger varieties will need to be spaced as far apart as three feet. This allows ripe plants enough space for the seed heads to ripen without knocking the ripe seeds off before gardeners have a chance to harvest them.

Most sunflower seeds, especially those with eatable seeds, are large enough to handle without the need for seed sorters. This is why sunflowers make an excellent choice for a children's garden as well. Gardeners will want to mix plenty of soil fertilizers into the ground as sunflowers tend to be heavy feeders.

Sunflowers can be slow starters and the tiny new plants don't seem to grow very rapidly. Gardeners should protect the new plants as they begin to grow. Once they get going, sunflowers are able to out-grow many weeds, making them easier to grow in the home vegetable garden than many other plants.

Most pests and diseases are not a bother to the sunflower, however, more than one gardener has said that their lovely looking plants were ravaged overnight by hungry squirrels, mice or birds. To preserve their harvest, gardeners can cover the ripening seed head with stockings or net cloth to help keep the destroyers off the seeds.

Planting sunflower seeds is easy and can help even the smallest gardener feel successful in their gardening attempts.

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A. How to plant sunflowers. B. Different kinds of sunflowers.

C. Ways to preserve sunflowers. D. Tips on making your garden bright.

2.Why should enough space be left between sunflowers?

A. To prevent birds from eating sunflower seeds.

B. To offer the sunflowers enough sunlight.

C. To protect the ripe seed heads before harvest.

D. To help the sunflowers grow stronger.

3.Why do children love to grow sunflowers in their garden?

A. They want to decorate their garden with sunflowers.

B. The seeds are easy to plant and unnecessary to sort.

C. Sunflowers don’t need too much soil fertilizer.

D. Tiny new sunflowers can grow very fast

4.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “ravaged” in Paragraph 5?

A. Destroyed. B. Covered.

C. Surrounded. D. Removed.

A wagging(摇) tail is a form of dog communication. Dogs wag their tell us something about how they’re feeling.

There are probably few people who haven’t seen a dog wagging his tail, and most of the time it’s obvious what the dog is trying to tell you with this kind of body language. It is important, however, that you pay attention to how the dog is holding his tail when he’s wagging it.

Is it relaxed and moving back in forth? Is his body moving along with the wagging? Or is the tail high and moving quickly back and forth while the dog’s body remains fairly erect and stiff (竖直僵硬的)? Where the tail is and the way a dog holds his body while he’s wagging it can give you a clue about what he is trying to communicate.

Most people look at a dog with a wagging tail and assume he is happy. Most of the time this is true, but there are times when a dog wags his tail right before he becomes aggressive. If a dog is wagging his tail and the rest of his body seems relaxed or is moving along with the wagging, you are dealing with a happy and comfortable dog.

If a dog is holding his body erect and stiff while wagging his tail, however, he may be telling you that he’s feeling territorial or uncomfortable with something that is going on around him. In this case, the dog’s tail will be held high and moving back and forth rapidly. This discomfort can be a sign to attack.

This is one reason people sometimes report that a dog was wagging his tail right before he bit someone. So if you come across a dog you don’t know who is wagging his tail, check out what the rest of his body language is telling you before you approach.

1.In what situation do we know a dog is happy?

A. When we have a close look at him.

B. When we try to communicate with him.

C. The dog wags his tail and his body remains relaxed.

D. The dog moves his body along and holds his tail high.

2.A dog’s tail holding high and moving back and forth rapidly shows he may be ________.

A. aggressive B. frightened C. friendly D. relaxed

3.What are people expected to do when meeting a strange dog?

A. Train him to be friendly. B. Judge him by his body language.

C. Ask the owner for help. D. Approach him slowly.

4.What is the best title of this passage?

A. Signs of a Dog’s Bites

B. A Special Communication

C. A Pet Dog — Human’s Friend

D. Dog Feeling Expression —Wagging Tail

Ebola is a dangerous virus that can cause people to get very sick and even die. The virus is causing the biggest problems in western Africa, where it has spread quickly.1. But it can get worse and cause life-threatening symptoms, such as bleeding and trouble breathing.

2.

Ebola does not spread like colds or the flu because it does not float through the air. Ebola also doesn’t spread through food or water, like some other viruses. Instead, Ebola spreads when someone touches the body fluids (such as spit) of a sick person.

3.

An outbreak is when many people are getting sick with the same illness around the same time. You may have heard of a flu outbreak, which is when lots of people get sick from the same types of flu virus. When an outbreak happens because of a virus, more people could get sick because there is a lot of that virus around.

Where did Ebola come from?

Scientists aren’t sure how the first person gets Ebola at the start of an outbreak. 4.Tropical animals in Africa believed to carry the virus include great apes, chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, fruit bats, porcupines, and forest antelope.

What do kids need to do about Ebola?

Ebola is making many people sick in Africa, but no matter where you live, it’s always a good idea to wash your hands well and often. 5.

A. Why do I need to wash my hands?

B. How do people catch Ebola?

C. Ebola symptoms can start with fever and headache, kind of like the flu.

D. But they think that people may pick up the virus by touching or eating infected animals.

E. It’s very important that infected people get treatment right away.

F. Keeping hands clean can help protect you from common illnesses like colds and the flu.

G. What is an outbreak?

Steven knew he was a good but not great web designer and was about to go on an interview at a marketing firm in the city. He_________well and went over the checklist(备忘录) needed to make a good first_______. Seven was appointed the 3rd in the interview room and was waiting his_______

In the waiting room a gentleman entered and asked Steven “Are you_______ about the job interview?” Steven replied “No. I’m very confident. ” The man then asked him_______he was so confident. Steven then said that he had been_______ for quite some time now and _______ he was qualified for the job. The man was impressed with his answer and their_______ continued. Fifteen minutes passed before Steven was_______for the interview. The man thanked Steven and they________ phone numbers.

Steven did not get the job. He was a little________ but his spirits stayed________

A week later his cellphone________. The man replied “Hey it’s Tom, we’ve met at the Marketing Firm”. Steven remembered the interview and Tom________his deepest thanks for the conversation they had in the waiting room. Being ________, Steven asked “But how did I help you”? Tom replied, “You did not________ help me but you’ve answered a question I was asking________ for over 5 years ” Steven asked “What was it?” Tom answered “________… I had none. Your talk gave me confidence to ask this woman I’ve been dating for 5 years to________me” and she said “YES!!!” Without your words I would have never even asked and my life would be________ today. So I just wanted to call and say ‘thank you’ one million times.”

1.A. started B. prepare C. knew D. spoke

2.A. decision B. choice C. experience D. impression

3.A. turn B. mark C. job D. boss

4.A. nervous B. happy C. sad D. lonely

5.A. how B. when C. why D. whether

6.A. studying B. living C. staying D. standing

7.A. wondered B. felt C. decide D. remembered

8.A. telephone B. debate C. explanation D. conversation

9.A. called off B. called for C. called in D. called on

10.A. exchange B. took C. found D. dialed

11.A. impatient B. disappointed C. worried D. relaxed

12.A. usual B. low C. silent D. high

13.A. sounded B. failed C. rang D. responded

14.A. expressed B. accepted C. received D. deserved

15.A. careful B. puzzle C. fortunate D. satisfied

16.A. probably B. secretly C. easily D. directly

17.A. himself B. yourself C. myself D. itself

18.A. Confidence B. Appreciation C. Success D. Luck

19.A. refuse B. marry C. forgive D. admire

20.A. smooth B. innocent C. convenient D. different

I will never forget watching my son play soccer in his middle school. My son was not a star player. In fact, he didn’t have the opportunity to play for long in each game 1.the rules at that time made sure everyone should participate in the game. In one game, with the score tied and time2.(run) out, he was playing a defensive position. The other team’s star player got3.ball but my son was in his way. Somehow, when they met, the result was that the star player 4.(fall) on the ground and my son got the ball. He ran with5.and had a clear path to the goal. His coach jumped up and down6. (yell) “go” and most of the parents yelled for victory. When my son kicked the ball several yards towards the goal, he7.(sudden) stopped and went back to the star player, helping him up. When we all got 8. (enthusiasm) about the game and forgot about basic values of fairness and fun, my son helped a player of the other team. Deeply 9. (touch) after the game, I hugged my son with10. (proud). I was so glad that my son knew there was something more important than thinning.

1.There were a_________________(大约) 1000 people in the park yesterday.

2.I have always been f____________(使着迷) by other cultures.

3.He is such a c____________(勇敢的) man that he doesn’t fear death at all.

4.The wind made the girl her woolen s________________(围巾) tightly around her neck.

5.The project was ____________(注定) to failure.

假定英语课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。每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 began to look for work after I finished the school last year. Now several month later, I still hadn’t found the job I was interested. Last Sunday morning I received a call from a man calling him Mr. Smith. He said to me in the phone, “I hear you do very well in your studies, but I may have a job for you.” When I entered his office I felt very nervous with a beaten heart. How I hope I would get through the job hunting talk and he would accept me as a lab assistant. But to my surprised, what he said was disappointed. He only needed a model.

假如你是校报编辑李华，拟招聘一名校报英文版编辑，请用英文以“An English Editor Wanted”为题写一则招聘启事。内容要点如下：

1．要求：擅长英语和画画；能熟练使用电脑；乐于为同学服务等；

2．工作内容：编辑学生的英文来稿；负责英语栏目设计等；

注意：1．词数100左右；

2．不要逐字翻译，可适当发挥。

3．参考词汇：栏目column; 编辑部editorial office

An English Editor Wanted

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Editorial Office

Protection Publications

To above prices, please add $3 for first book and $1 for each additional book for postage & handling. Foreign countries add $5 per book. Send orders to Quackwatch, P. O. Box 1747, Allen Avenue, NY 18105. The checks must be in US dollars. We cannot process credit card orders. Please use our order form from amazon.com and include your email address.

1.What do the four books have in common?

A. The contents. B. The means of cover packing.

C. The prices. D. The dates of publication.

2.What can you do to search for more information about the books?

A. Buy the brochure. B. Write to the author.

C. Telephone the sellers. D. Visit amazon.com.

3.How should a Canadian pay if he wants to buy all the four books?

A. Pay $69 in all. B. Pay $65 in total.

C. Pay for them by credit card. D. Pay for them in Canadian dollars.

4.For whom is QUACKERY AND YOU designed?

A. Those who order some medicine.

B. Those who hole special opinions.

C. Those waiting to see the doctor.

D. Those studying the science of medicine.

I was born and raised in England in a culture where privacy and “keeping yourself to yourself” were valued traditions. Speaking to strangers was not encouraged. People were most hospitable(好客的) and friendly.

However, I have been lucky enough to spend some time in both Italy and the US, where I found traditions of hospitality and politeness to be very different.

I experienced Italian hospitality first－hand on a crowded railway carriage travelling, one afternoon, from Genoa to Florence. Sinking gratefully into an empty seat, I was scolded in rapid Italian by a gentleman who was returning to this seat－it had not been “spare” after all. I apologized in English, and got up to allow him back into the seat. The gentleman obviously had no understanding of the English language, but he, too, realized my genuine(真诚的) mistake. He smiled and gestured for me to remain in the seat, and he himself remained standing in the corridor for the remainder of the journey. The other occupants of the carriage smiled and nodded at me and made me feel quite welcome amongst them. I feel that if this had been in England, a foreigner who made a mistake would not always be so kindly treated.

Transport also featured in the differences I noticed between English and American culture. I flew to New York on a plane with mainly English passengers. We sat together in near silence. Nobody spoke to me nor, as I expected, to anyone else they did not know. They felt it was not polite to interrupt someone else's privacy. However, when I travelled across the United States, whether by plane or Greyhound bus, I was never short of conversation. Conversation was going on all around me and whoever sat next to me was happy to introduce themselves and ask me about myself. They obviously felt it would have been rude not to speak to another person, whether they were strangers or not.

1.What do we know about the occupants when the author was travelling in Italy?

A. They were all on the side of the gentleman.

B. They all laughed at the author for his mistake.

C. They would not bear a mistake like the author's in public.

D. They all showed their understanding of the author's mistake.

2.How does the author finally believes the Italian people are?

A. Cold. B. Rude. C. Helpful. D. Hospitable.

3.Why did English passengers sit in near silence according to the last paragraph?

A. They were too tired to speak to anyone.

B. They were all strangers to each other

C. Privacy was a valued tradition in England

D. Everybody was deeply lost in thought

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

A. Different Ways of Hospitality and Politeness

B. My Unforgettable Travelling Experience Abroad

C. Co-understanding Each Other

D. The Importance of Privacy