The March sisters tried to be good but had their share of faults. Pretty Meg was often displeased with the schoolchildren she taught; boyish Jo was easy to become angry; golden-haired schoolgirl Amy liked to show up; but Beth, who kept the house, was loving and gentle always.

　　The happy days passed and darkness came when a telegram arrived for Mrs. March. “Your husband is very ill,” it said, “come at once.” The girls tried to be brave when their mother left for the front. They waited and prayed. Little Beth got scarlet fever(猩红热)when she was taking care of a sick neighbor. She became very ill but began to recover by the time Marmee was back. When Father came home from the front and at that joyful Christmas dinner they were once more all together.

　　Three years later the March girls had grown into young womanhood. Meg became Mrs. Brooke, and after a few family troubles got used to her new state happily. Jo had found pleasure in her literary efforts. Amy had grown into a young lady with a talent for design and an even greater one for society. But Beth had never fully regained her health, and her family watched her with love and anxiety.

　　Amy was asked to go and stay in Europe with a relative of the Marches’. Jo went to New York and became successful in her writing and had the satisfaction of seeing her work published there. But at home the bitterest blow was yet to fall. Beth had known for some time that she couldn’t live much longer to be with her family, and in the springtime she died.

　　News came from Europe that Amy and Laurie, the grandson of a wealthy neighbor, had planned to be married soon. Now Jo became ever more successful in her writing and got married to Professor Bhaer, and soon afterwards founded a school for boys.

　　And so the little women had grown up and lived happily with their children, enjoying the harvest of love and goodness that they had devoted all their lives to.

【1】The members of the March family were Father March, Mrs. March and their ________．

A. five daughters B. four daughters

C. son and four daughters D. son and five daughters

【2】Who was the most successful in career(事业)among the March girls?

A. Amy. B. Beth. C. Jo. D. Meg.

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

A. The March Family. B. The March Parents.

C. The March Girls. D. The March Relatives.

【4】It can be inferred from the passage that the March family had ________．

A. a lot of rich relatives B. wealthy neighbors

C. more girls than boys D. both happiness and sadness

要点如下：

1. 表示理解并给予安慰；

2. 提出建议并给出理由。

注意：词数100左右（开头已给出，但不计入总词数）。

Hi, Lauren,

I’m sorry to learn that you are having such a bad time.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Wang Min

During the opening ceremonies, after the official greetings from the government leaders, people who attend the festival begin to march smartly before the viewing stands, and white camels transport their riders across the sands. Horsemen from different nations display their beautiful clothes and their fine horsemanship. One following another, groups of musicians and dancers from all over the Sahara take their turn to show off their wonderful traditional culture. Groups of men in blue and yellow play horns and beat drums as they dance in different designs. On their knees in the sand, a group of women in long dark dresses dance with their hair: their long, dark, shiny hair is thrown back and forth in the wind to the rhythm of their dance.

The local and visiting Italian dogs are anxious to run after hares. The crowd is on its feet for the camel races. Camels and riders run far into the distance, and then return to the finish Line in front of the cheering people.

Towards the evening, there comes the grand finale of the opening day, an extremely exciting horserace. All the riders run very fast on horseback. Some riders hang off the side of their saddles（马鞍）. Some even ride upside down—their legs and feet straight up in the air—all at full speed. Others rush down the course together, men arm in arm, on different horses. On and on they went. So fast and so wonderful!

【1】The Sahara Festival is a festival which _____.

A. has a very long history in North Africa

B. is held in the same place on the same day

C. is attended mainly by the people in the Sahara

D. is celebrated mostly by travelers from different countries

【2】Before the races begin, _____ take part in the activities during the opening ceremonies.

A. musicians, dancers, horses and hares

B. camel riders, musicians, dogs and hares

C. horsemen, dancers, camels and dogs

D. musicians, officials, camels and horses

【3】The underlined word “finale” in the fourth paragraph most probably means the _____ of the opening day.

A. first part B. last part C. middle D. whole

【4】This passage mainly tells readers _____.

A. how animals race on the first and the last days of the Sahara Festival

B. how people celebrate during the three-day Sahara Festival

C. what takes place at the closing ceremonies of the Sahara Festival

D. what happens on the opening day of the Sahara Festival

Fortunately, the researchers and students at the UTEC in Lima, Peru heard about it and came up with a【4】 (create)idea. They designed a lamp that can be powered by plants and soil, both of【5】can be found in the Amazonian rainforests where the village【6】(lie). Called Plantalamparas, the lights draws energy from a plant 【7】(grow)in the rainforests and uses it to light up an LED bulb. So far, the bulbs have been a huge success.

This is not the first time the students and professors of UTEC【8】(come)up with a clever approach 【9】a problem. In 2014,【10】(deal)with Peru’s severe air pollution they created a large advertising board that could be used as an air purifier(净化器)as well.

Much as in Canada, Thanksgiving in the United States was observed on various dates throughout history. From the time of the Founding Fathers until the time of Lincoln, the date Thanksgiving was observed varied from state to state. The final Thursday in November had become the date of custom in most states by the beginning of the 19th century. Modern Thanksgiving was first officially called for in all states in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln. Influenced by Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote letters to politicians for around 40 years trying to make it an official holiday, Lincoln declared the date to be the final Thursday in November in an attempt to raise a sense of American unity between the Northern and Southern states. However, a nationwide official Thanksgiving date was not realized until the 1870s. On December 26, 1941, President Franklin D. Rosevelt changed the national Thanksgiving Day from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday.

【1】What do Canada and the USA have in common about Thanksgiving?

A. They both have fixed dates of Thanksgiving in history

B. They both celebrate their Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November.

C. They both celebrated their first official Thanksgiving in the 1870s.

D. They both observed thanksgiving to raise a sense of unity of their countries.

【2】Who made American Thanksgiving Day celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November officially?

A. Abraham Lincoln. B. Sarah Josepha Hale.

C. Franklin D. Roosevelt.

【3】What is the passage mainly about?

A. The history of the dates Thanksgiving in Canada and America.

B. The first official Thanksgiving in Canada and America.

C. Modern Thanksgiving in Canada and America.

D. The customs of Thanksgiving in Canada and America.

Do’s and Don’ts of Donating

Giving up your unused or unwanted stuff is a great way to make space in your home for the items that you do enjoy on a regular basis. 【1】Here are 10 do's and don'ts of donating your belongings.

Do Prep Your Clothes

You've thoroughly cleaned out your closets and drawers, and have a mountain of clothing waiting to be donated．Before you bag up these pieces, inspect each one to ensure that they’re in good condition. Make sure all buttons are accounted for, and that you can't see any stains. 【2】

Don’t Donate Damaged Items

The number one rule of donating your stuff is to make sure that it' s in good, useable condition. Don’t pass along clothes or furniture with rips(裂口) or stains, chipped dishes, books that are missing pages, or games with lost pieces. 【3】Find a local company that will recycle these items instead.

Do Donate More Than Just Clothes

【4】 Stuffed animals, framed pictures, unused candles, small power tools, sports equipment, ornaments, baskets, blenders, dishes, glassware, utensils, silverware, pots and pans, curtains, blankets, toasters, mixers, pillows, towels, bed sheets, bikes, and exercise equipment are much sought after donations.

【5】

With a little common sense it's easy to figure out items that are ideal for donation．But unfortunately some people will throw away the contents of their home without a second thought. As a gentle reminder, it’s never a good idea to donate car parts, flammable products, construction materials, weapons, or explosives.

A．Nobody wants to inherit your damaged belongings.

B．Food donations are always in need.

C．Don’t Even Think of Donating These Items

D．Not sure where to start?

E．Don’t Donate Large Appliances

F．Clothes aren't the only household items that can be donated．

G．Wash the items to make them fresh and ready for their new owner.

【1】Scientists in China have made many scientific d_______in recent years,which has made us proud of China.

【2】When the deskmate called Mary was approaching him with a birthday cake in her hands,he stared at her with an a__________look on his face.

【3】At present,the houses are more and more expensive in Chengdu.Therefore,it is hard for o_______people to afford them.

【4】After discussing it for several days,they finally reached a c_______-that all the parents are supposed to be responsible for the accident.

【5】When we use metals,it is important to know how they r_________with different substances,for example,water and oxygen.

【6】At the end of the game players traditionally e_____shirts with each other to show respect.

【7】He usually c______his son who is in college now by telephone.

【8】One night,at about midnight,I watched the night sky for about an hour with the stars shining like d_________.

【9】Most of us really appreciate Mrs Chen because her teaching is so well o____and clear.

【10】Ms Shen is a very enthusiastic woman,in whose class we speak a lot and have fun.So I don’t think I will be b_______in Ms Shen’s class.

Before you start trying to ask when this horrible act took place on U. S. soil, I should mention that this attack didn’t happen in reality, rather in my daughter’s carefully constructed Minecraft world. During an online journey with a few friends, a stranger came to her school and bombed the school she had carefully built. In a minute, her school was ruined. Sure, no actual property(财产)was damaged. But the emotional pain she felt was very much real. She thought this was a form of terrorism.

I shared this act of absurd online violence on my Facebook page, and fellow parents with Minecraft-loving children were just as shocked as I was. I had thought this was a unique experience, and my daughter was just unlucky that this happened to her. But, as it turned out, she was far from alone. The acts were performed by computer bullies(暴徒) known as “griefers”. The platform that my daughter was playing was the Minecraft: Pocket Edition(PE)version, which is popular with younger players. While she once only played in creative mode(模式), she began to play in the multi-player mode so that she and a few friends from school could build and create together. That multi-player choice made it possible for a stranger, one of these “griefers”, to do damage.

It was a painful lesson for my daughter that dangers happened suddenly. She understood we have to protect ourselves from bad people in the real world. Still, there was some goodness that came out of the ruins. Many fellow players of hers took the time to help her rebuild her school, which has been set up again. She is moved. Also, this experience opened her eyes.

【1】What was the result of the daughter’s school being blown up?

A. All the buildings but the dorms were ruined.

B. Many students were seriously injured.

C. Money needed to be seriously injured.

D. The author’s daughter felt hurt a lot.

【2】Before talking to other parents about the attack the author had thought that .

A. her daughter should be blamed for it

B. this attack was just a rare incident

C. danger happened all of a sudden on the Internet

D. her daughter was too lonely

【3】Which of the following is NOT true about the “griefers”?

A. They can help players build and create a new world.

B. They are performed by computer bullies.

C. They are likely to cause damage in the multi-player mode.

D. They disturb and cause sadness to game players.

【4】What did her daughter do after the incident?

A. Quit playing Minecraft.

B. Gave up multi-player mode.

C. Learned to defend herself against bad people.

D. Decided to rebuild her school independently.

During the summer I read the Australian news every day. Working at the embassy allowed me to escape the U.S. for six hours per day and learn about what was going on across the planet. After reading the daily Australian and U.S. news I usually helped prepare a PowerPoint presentation for school kids who visited the embassy as part of a school activity. Depending on whether an embassy event was going on, I would attend weekly meetings to listen in on planning and see what I could do to help. Usually there were smaller tasks to be done such as creating visitors' guides.

The most fantastic event in which I participated was the visit of the Australian prime minister. As the only American among countless Australian media and staff, I felt comfortable and was kept busy taking pictures and recording door-stop interviews at famous sites such as the Capitol. But as an intern, you will not be inside, exposed to top-secret information, when it comes to special events.

Government work is a useful addition to one's experience. As an embassy employee you will gain invaluable knowledge while spending your summer in a culturally diverse workplace.

【1】What is the author talking about?

A. Her embassy internship. B. Her trouble in finding a job.

C. Her foreign culture experience. D. Her preparation for future employment.

【2】Why was the author in the Embassy of Australia for three months?

A. To apply for a visa. B. To prepare to study in Australia.

C. To record musical Aussie accents. D. To appreciate Aboriginal art exhibits.

【3】What was the author forbidden to do when the Australian prime minister visited America?

A. Record door-stop interviews. B. Know top-secret information.

C. Take pictures of special events. D. Stand among the Australian staff.

【4】What can we infer about her daily routine at the Embassy?

A. It is tiring. B. It is boring.

C. It is exciting. D. It is relaxing.