Most Americans have great respect for their flag and every school day begins with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Stars and Stripes. Written in 1892, this pledge is recited in schools before classes begin and it serves as a sign of unity and identity for the various groups of people who have come from so many different lands and cultures.

Students stand at attention with their right hand over their heart, face the flag which is displayed in the classroom before them and begin, “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.” Even the immigrants who come from distant lands must recite this pledge to the flag when they become eligible for citizenship.

The American flag is also known as “Old Glory” and over the years has evolved to its present form of fifty stars and thirteen stripes. The stars represent the fifty states and the stripes stand for the original thirteen colonies.

The first version of the flag with its stars and stripes appeared in 1777, but only had thirteen stars. As each new state joined the union, a new star was added. The last star to be added was in 1960 after Hawaii became the fiftieth state. In the future if another state joins the Union, another star will be added to the field of blue. The number of stripes, however, remains consistent and never changes.

The design of the flag may have altered over the years, but the colors, red, white and blue, have remained constant. In 1782 the Congress of the United States proclaimed that red stood for hardiness and courage, white stood for purity and innocence, and blue for justice and perseverance.

It was the flag which inspired the creation of the national anthem: “The Star Spangled Banner” in 1812. President Wilson in 1916 and later President Coolidge in 1927 suggested in proclamations to fellow countrymen that a special day be set aside to honor the flag. In 1949 the American Congress gave official recognition of June 14 as Flag Day.

According to the passage which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892.

B. Another name of the American flag is “Old Glory” or “The Stars and Stripes”.

C. The design of the flag has stayed the same over the years.

D. June 14 was set aside as Flag Day to honor the flag from 1949 on.

What is the purpose of the Pledge of Allegiance?

A. It opens the school day.              B. It is recited in all schools.

C. It is a sign of unity and nationalism.    D. It makes someone eligible for citizenship.

What do the fifty stars on the flag represent?

A. Purity and innocence.               B. Truth and honesty

C. Bravery and courage                D. The fifty states.

The colors of the American flag ________.

A. have changed from time to time.       B. have always been red, white and blue.

C. used to be only red and white.         D. used to be red and blue.

The best title of the passage would be ________.

A. “Old Glory”: the American Flag       B. The Pledge of Allegiance

C. American National Anthem           D. Flag Day

The Touchstone

  When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for very little money.

The book wasn’t very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the “Touchstone”! The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold.

The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.

So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold - throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea.

The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months. One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along he still threw it away.

So it is with opportunity. Unless we are careful, it’s easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand, and it’s just as easy to throw it away.

The man bought the book because _____________.

  A. he wanted to read it            B. it was very interesting

C. there was a secret in the book     D. he wanted to find the touchstone

We can learn from the passage that the touchstone is _________.

A. pure    B. cold      C. magic      D. big

Why did the man throw the pebbles into the sea?

A. Because he didn’t want to get the same pebbles.

B. Because he didn’t want others to pick them up.

C. Because he didn’t like their ordinary looks.

D. Because he didn’t like the cold feelings.

What does the author want to tell us in the passage?

A. We should offer opportunities in our life.

B. We should seek for opportunities in the world.

C. We may seize opportunities when we are watchful.

D. We may discover opportunities when forming habits.

根据对话内容，从对话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。

— What a tiring evening!

　　 — Oh, it's good to sit down after all that standing.

　　 —   1  

　　 — I don't think I've ever felt so tired in my life.   2____

　   — And the heat. _3______

　　 — We shouldn't have accepted the invitation in the first place.

　　 — ____4   We've only been to a party.

　　 — You're right. We must be getting old.

　　 — Come on. ___5    We'd feel better.

　　A．I'm not that tired.

　　B．Let's have some coffee.

　　C．What 's more, I didn't sleep well last night.

　　D．But we shouldn't have felt so tried.

　　E．A good night's sleep will put you right again.

　　F．I could just sit here for ever and ever, and never get up.

　　G．All that silly talk, and the drink and the cigarette smoke

A healthy heart is very important for giving life to the full, at_________ age you are or whether you are a male or female.

  A. what        B. which            C. whatever         D. whichever

In the past month, cruel snowstorms hit some European countries and America ,      _________great transportation problems in these countries.

A．causing B．caused   C．to cause D．having caused

My father came to the United States as a Ukrainian immigrant (移民) when he was 14 years old. Unable to speak English but willing to do anything to succeed, he learned the language, became a barber, and opened up his own business in a small town. He put my sister and me through college during a time when most people thought that women didn’t need an education and that they should be satisfied with getting married and having children. He gave us values and ambition. But this story didn’t really start until my father was 60 years old.

    I was preparing to get married and my father was attempting to practice the polke, a must at any Ukrainian wedding. But he just couldn’t do it! He had lost mobility in his leg and was diagnosed with a brain tumor (肿瘤). After surgery, this energetic, hard-working man was forced to retire as a result of significant paralysis (瘫痪) in his right arm and leg. My dad had always worked two jobs and spent his spare time working around the house. Now that kind of life came to a sudden stop. Yet never once did he complain. He bought rubber balls and spent his days trying to regain his hand mobility by squeezing those balls over and over.

    After his last operation, he chatted with me pleasantly in the hospital room until a nurse flew into the room, waving her finger at me, and yelling, “You’d better tell your father to stay in bed. He is paralyzed and will never walk again. He needs to stop trying to get out of bed and accept the fact that he can’t walk now or ever. I am sick of picking him up and you’d better warn him to stay put!” My father smiled. He spent a great deal of time on the floor that year, but he eventually got up and walked.

    My father lived nineteen more years after that operation. He bought himself a motor scooter (小型摩托车) and spent years zipping around the streets of Philadelphia. He was proud, free, and always smiling.

In what way was the author’s father different from most other people in his times?

    A. He succeeded in migrating to the U.S.

    B. He learned the new language easily and quickly.

    C. He achieved his life goal by working as a barber.

    D. He had his daughters educated.

The underlined word “polke” in Paragraph 2 probably refers to        .

    A. a song           B. a dance          C. a musical instrument     D. a tool for painting

The author’s father used the rubber balls to         .

    A. kill his too much spare time         B. relieve himself from work pressure

    C. get his hand’s function back            D. recover from his operation

Which of the following can be used to describe the author’s father?

    A. Perfect.         B. Strong-minded.           C. Creative.            D. Impractical.

What can we learn from the text?

    A. Love can do wonders.             B. Failure is the mother of success.

    C. A father’s love is most valuable.       D. Never give up on your life.

Is there anything more important than health? I don’t think so. “Health is the greatest wealth.” wise people say. You can’t be good at your studies or work well when you are ill.If you have a

headache, toothache, backache, earache or bad pain in the stomach, if you complain of a bad cough, if you run a high temperature and have a bad cold, or if you suffer from high or low blood pressure, I think you should go to the doctor. The doctor will examine your throat, feel your pulse, test your blood pressure, take your temperature, sound your heart and lungs, test your eyes, check your teeth or have your chest X-rayed. After that he will advise some treatment, or some medicine. The only thing you have to do is to follow his advice.    

     Speaking about doctor’s advice, I can’t help telling you a funny story. An old gentleman came to see the doctor. The man was very ill. He told the doctor about his weakness, memory loss and serious problems with his heart and lungs. The doctor examined him and said there was no medicine for his disease. He told his patient to go to a quiet place for a month and have a good rest. He also advised him to eat a lot of meat, drink two glasses of red wine every day and take long walks. In other words, the doctor advised him to follow the rule: “Eat with pleasure, drink with pleasure and enjoy life as it is.” The doctor also said that if the man wanted to be well again, he shouldn’t smoke more than one cigarette a day. A month later the gentleman came into the doctor’s office. He looked cheerful and happy. He thanked the doctor and said that he had never felt a healthier man.“ But you know, doctor,” he said, “it’s not easy to begin smoking at my age.”

The writer thinks that_____.

A. health is more important than wealth        B. work is as important as studies

C. medicine is more important than pleasure    D. nothing is more important than money

The doctor usually tells his patient what to do______.

 A. without examining the patient           B. after he has examined the patient

C. if the patient doesn’t take medicine      D. unless the patient feels pain

The underlined part means “______”.

 A. he was feeling better than ever          B. he wasn’t a healthy man

C. he was feeling worse than before        D. he will be well again

From the last sentence of the passage, we learn the man_______ before the doctor told him not to smoke more than one cigarette a day.

A. was a heavy smoker                  B. didn’t smoke so much

C. didn’t smoke                        D. began to learn to smoke

Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The doctor usually tests his/her blood pressure when a person is ill.

B. The man told the doctor he couldn’t remember things.

C. The man thanked the doctor.   D. The man didn’t follow the doctor’s advice.

书面表达（满分35分）

以Anti-smoking in China 为题，写一篇英语短文，包括以下内容，

1. 禁烟的必要性，（即吸烟的危害，至少两点）

2. 禁烟的措施， 3. 禁烟的意义，（或者好处）

4. 关于禁烟的个人观点。

参考词汇： 禁烟 ban smoking

注意：

  1. 词数100左右，   2. 可以适当增加细节，使行文连贯。

Anti-smoking in China

________________________________________________________________________

How time flies! _______ we enter college!

     A. Before long                               B. It will be long before 

C. It will be long that                  D. It won’t be long before

The car is environmentally friendly because it uses electricity instead of gas. _____, it is less expensive.

  A. Besides    B. However  C. Instead  D. Therefore