After five years away in my hometown, I find that the neighborhood which I used to living in has changed a lot. The Sichuan Restaurant and the older fish shop across the street from our middle school were gone. There exist now a park that has a small river running through. The factory at the corner of Friendship Street or Zhongshan Road has been moved out of the city, and sports center has been built in their place. The market at the corner of Friendship Street and Xinhua Road has been given way to a supermarket. Besides, the bookstore next to our middle school is still there.

单词拼写

1. When it comes to my p              of all the branches in maths, I particularly favor the study of geometry.

2. I have retired. So my schedule is quite f              —I could arrange to meet with you any day next week.

3. Some high schools require c__________________ service to give the teenagers a taste of real world and create a habit of volunteering.

4. With competition in the job market getting fiercer, many students realize a college degree is not enough to g                a good career.

5. Starbucks offers customers free WiFi a_____________ in order to compete with other businesses.

6. The prime minister traveled through the hardest-hit towns, expressing s__________________ to victims in the earthquake.

7. I strongly recommend to you the book Tuesdays with Morrie《相约星期二》, a most remarkable piece of l_________________.

8.  It is evidently no use separating couples in love because teenagers always have the o______________ reaction to what adults say.

9. The year of 2012 w_______________ the celebration of Xiaoshi High school's 100th anniversary

10. Some universities plan to a______________ the old admissions system. Instead, interview recruiting system(面试招生制度) will be carried out widely.

Hilary Smith belonged to a good family. But by the age of twenty , he had spent all the money the good old family had. He then had some trouble with the bank and was put in prison. He escaped from the prison and ran to Australia without delay.

Hilary did not like Australia,and Australia did not like Hilary. What he could do seemed to be one of two things: die or work. Then he remembered that he was not alone in the world. He had an aunt.

She was his father’s only sister,but his father used to say she brought no glory to the family. Hilary, of course, tried to discover what she had done. It seemed that she had failed to marry a nobleman. Instead, she had chosen a husband who was connected with “trade”. Of course as soon as she became “Mrs Parks” , her brother considered her dead. Later on, Mr Parks died and left her a lot of money; but that did not bring her back to life in her brother’s opinion.

Hilary discovered his aunt’s address. Fortunately she remained faithful and honest to him even after she fell ill. So Hilary’s star shone again, and soon he moved into her house and lived as comfortably as a sailor who had just reached harbour. He had only about a sixpence in his pocket.

One thing was soon clear: his aunt was seriously ill, and nothing could cure her illness. Hilary was very worried. Fate had found a home for him, and was now going to throw him out of it. There was only one thing that could save him: her will.

“Will? ”  She said, “yes, I have made one. That was when I was a girl and had not much money. I left all my money to some religious people.”

“Didn’t you make another will when you were married?” Hilary asked.

His aunt shook her head. “No,” she said in a low voice, “There was no need, When I finally had a lot of money I found I had no relations.”

On the next day he went to the public library and examined a book of law. It told him what he already believed. When a woman is married, an earlier will loses its value. A new will must be made. If no new will is made, the money goes to the nearest relation. Hilary knew that he was his aunt’s only relation. His future was safe.

After a few months had passed , Hilary’s problems became serious. He badly needed money. He had expensive tastes, and owed a lot of money to shopkeepers. They trusted him because his aunt was rich; but the debt was terrible.

Unfortunately his aunt did not want to discuss money matters at all. In the end they had a quarrel about the small amount of ten pounds. Hilary was not very angry. He began to wonder about a new problem. Was it kind to want his aunt to live any longer? Was it not better for her to die now? While he was considering what to do, his aunt told him that she was going to send for her lawyer. So she was going to make a new will, Hilary thought. She might leave all her money to someone else. Soon he reached a clear decision. He must do a great kindness to the poor old woman.

One night when the old servant who had been nursing his aunt went off, he doubled the amount of some medicine. The total amount was too great and it could just put her to sleep forever.

“Thank you,” his aunt took the glass from his hand with a grateful look. “I want, more than anything, to sleep, and never to wake up again. Is that what you wish, Hilary? Don’t blame me if I have some doubts about what you intended to do. Sick people get these ideas, you know. One thing I ought to explain to you. Mr. Parks never married me. He already had a wife and couldn’t marry again, That made your foolish father very angry with me... Well, if I am alive tomorrow I shall make another will in your favour. If I die tonight, you’ll get nothing... No, Hilary, don’t try to take the glass away. If you do that, I shall know; and I don’t want to know. Goodnight, Hilary. ”

Then, very carefully, she raised the glass to her mouth and drank.

55.        From the story, we learn that Hilary’s aunt was         .

A. bad-tempered and lonely                            B. kind-hearted and wise

C. careless about money                       D. cruel to her niece

56.        Why did Hilary’s father consider his aunt dead?

A. Because they lost contact with each other after her marriage.

B. Because she married a businessman with a wife against his will.

C. Because she broke away from the family for a better life.

D. Because he thought she was a shame to the family

57.        The underlined sentence “He must do a great kindness to the poor old woman” in paragraph 11 suggests that Hilary Smith          .

A. was determined to put his aunt’s life to an end

B. decided to do his aunt a favor to call in a lawyer

C. made up his mind to take good care of his aunt

D. would help his aunt to donate all her money to religious people

58.  Which of the following is the focus of the story?

A. Hilary’s aunt’s money.                          B. Hilary Smith’s debts.

C. The intended murder.                          D. Hilary’s aunt’s marriage.

59.        When Hilary read the law book, Hilary learnt that          .

A. Hilary’s aunt is not allowed to make a new will

B. the money will go to Hilary after his aunt dies without a new will

C. Hilary’s aunt must leave the money to the religious people after she dies

D. Hilary must look after his aunt till her death because he is the only relation

60.  Which detail from the story is the climax(高潮) of the story?

A. Hilary escaped from the prison.

B. Hilary quarreled with is aunt about ten pounds.

C. Hilary’s aunt drank the medicine her nephew prepared for her.

D. Hilary’s aunt made a will to leave all her money to someone else

Today’s amazing newspaper headline!

First family of four to walk to the South Pole wearing Mickey Mouse ears and clown’s shoes.

    No, not really. It isn’t true. I invented it. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see it one day soon. It seems that every week someone becomes ‘the first’ or ‘the youngest’ or ‘the oldest’ or even ‘the first married couple’ to do something that doesn’t seem to be very useful to the rest of humanity.

This year I've seen headlines saying ‘The youngest person to sail the Atlantic alone’, ‘The youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest’, and ‘The first people to fly around the world in a hot air balloon’. Why do they do it? Don’t they have better things to do with their time and money? And why should I be interested anyway? Human beings have already climbed the highest mountains, sailed across the oceans and flown around the world. People have already reached the most remote parts of our planet. Many of these things were done a long, long time ago. There just isn’t anything left to explore nowadays. I suppose there’s still a lot of the universe left, and the bottom of the oceans is still a bit of a mystery, but you need a lot of technology to explore areas like that. So, those people who feel the need for adventure can only do things that have been done before. So they have to try and do it in a new way, or be ‘the fastest’ or ‘the youngest’ or ‘the oldest’ to do something that isn’t really new at all.

What is so great about climbing Mount Everest these days anyway? It’s become a popular tourist trip.

People pay thousands of dollars to be taken up the mountain by the local Sherpas, who lead the way and carry the bags. At any one time there are about a thousand people either climbing up or on their way back down. As a result, Everest is covered with rubbish and the Sherpas have to make special trips up the mountain to pick it up. The climbers are often inexperienced and when they get into trouble other people have to risk their lives to bring them down to safety. Helicopter crews have been killed trying to reach people who were stuck on the mountain.

In January 2003 a helicopter carrying two British men crashed into the sea near Antarctica. I'm not quite sure what they were trying to be ‘the first’ or ‘the youngest’ to do. The Chilean navy picked them up after a nine-hour rescue mission that cost tens of thousands of pounds, all paid for by the Chilean and British taxpayers.

Talking of taxpayers, many Australians are getting a bit fed up with record breakers. A lot of people trying to break sailing or rowing records get into trouble in the seas around Australia, so the Australian navy has to send ships to save them. There have been a lot of difficult, time-consuming rescue missions in recent years costing the Australian government millions of dollars. I suppose we can’t just leave them to drown, but personally, I think we should give the bill to the people who are rescued. Perhaps they would think twice about doing it if they had to pay for expensive insurance premiums（保费）. Then I wouldn’t have to read about them in the newspapers either.

50.        The writer invents the newspaper headline in Paragraphs 1&2 to _________.

     A. persuade readers of a new theory              B. remind readers of an important event

     C. get readers interested in the topic        D. entertain readers with his humor

51.  By saying “It’s become a popular tourist trip”, the writer actually means that ___________.

     A. it's impossible to climb up Mountain Everest without help

B. Mount Everest is now covered with a lot of rubbish

C. climbing Mount Everest has already lost its true meaning

     D. people without experience may get in trouble or even danger

52.        Which of the following is the reason why many Australians dislike the record breakers?

     A. A great number of people try to break records in the seas around Australia.

     B. They have to pay for the costs of rescuing the record breakers.

     C. The Australian navy was not something intended for rescue work.

     D. The record breakers should pay for their insurance premiums themselves.

53.        The writer’s purpose of writing this article is to______________.

     A. explain the reasons why modern people prefer to adventure

     B. criticize the newspaper headlines that get readers shocked

     C. complain about all the high taxes people have to pay

     D. question the necessity of what record breakers are doing

54.        Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

     A. It’s All Been Done Before             B. Adventures Around the World

     C. What’s Record Breakers’ Life Like    D. Rescue Costs and Insurance

Multitasking

People who multitask all the time may be the worst at doing two things at once, a new research suggests. The findings, based on performances and self-evaluation by about 275 college students, indicate that many people multitask not out of a desire to increase productivity, but because they are easily distracted (分心) and can’t focus on one activity. And “those people turn out to be the worst at handling different things,” said David Sanbonmatsu, a psychologist at the University of Utah.

Sanbonmatsu and his colleagues gave the students a set of tests and asked them to report how often they multitasked, how good they thought they were at it, and how sensation-seeking (寻求刺激) or imperative (冲动) they were. They then evaluated the participants’ multitasking ability with a tricky mental task that required the students to do simple mathematical calculations while remembering a set of letters.

Not surprisingly, the scientists said, most people thought they were better than average at multitasking, and those who thought they were better at it were more likely to report using a cellphone while driving or viewing multiple kinds of media at once. But those who frequently deal with many things at the same time were found to perform the worst at the actual multitasking test. They also were more likely to admit to sensation-seeking and impulsive behavior, which connects with how easily people get bored and distracted.

“People multitask not because it’s going to lead to greater productivity, but because they’re distractible, and they get sucked into things that are not as important.” Sanbonmatsu said.

Adam Gazzaley, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not a member of the research group, said one limitation of the study was that it couldn’t find out whether people who start out less focused tend toward multitasking or whether people’s recognizing and understanding abilities change as a result of multitasking.

The findings do suggest, however, why the sensation-seeker who multitask the most may enjoy risky distracted driving. “People who are multitasking are generally less sensitive to risky situations.” said Paul Atchley, another researcher not in the group. “This may partly explain why people go in for these situations even though they’re dangerous.”

46.        The research led by Sanbonmatsu indicates that people who multitask           .

A. seek high productivity constantly

B. prefer handling different things when getting bored

C. are more focused when doing many things at a time

D. have the poorest results in doing various things at the same time

47.        When Sanbonmatsu and his colleagues conducted their research, they          .

A. assessed the multitasking ability of the students

B. evaluated the academic achievements of the students

C. analyzed the effects of the participants’ tricky mental tasks

D. measured the changes of the students’ understanding ability

48.        According to Sanbonmatsu, people multitask because of their           .

A. limited power in calculation                        B. interests in doing things differently

C. inability to concentrate on one task          D. impulsive desire to try new things

49.        From the last paragraph, we can learn that multitaskers usually        .

A. drive very skillfully                                    

B. go in for different tasks

C. fail to react quickly to potential dangers

D. refuse to explain the reasons for their behavior

The blockbuster film Titanic has brought millions of dollars and thousands of people to the theaters and continues to touch people today in their homes. Why is this film so successful? It is a combination of many different things. Among these are many different elements. Looking at some of these elements will show how the director and others involved were able to create an emotionally charged movie that appealed to millions.

The film uses one thematic（主题的）element called—The Truth of Human Nature. The two main characters seem to represent noble people. Most of the other characters in the film are shown as non-tolerant, rude and cold-hearted people. The element of focusing on the two main characters' love and emotion seems symbolic of an ideal state.

The film also addresses issues concerning different classes. This is done in a few different ways. The most noticeable way is that the lower class people remain locked in the basement as the ship goes down. Throughout Titanic, the lighting is very important. The poor, lower class people are always shown in very warm-coloured light that gives them a sense of life and happiness. On the other hand, the rich, upper class are always shown in a flat light portraying the feeling of hardness and coldness. By using these techniques, they show the issue of class segregation（种族隔离）, and they create stereotypes. The main characters are able to break free of these stereotypes and be together. This is the solution to the segregation problem.

As you can see, Titanic took a lot of thinking and preparation to film in a manner that would create emotion and bring to the surface the issues and story of the great ship.

41.        The underlined word “blockbuster” in the first paragraph probably means “_______”．

A. something very successful                        B. a highly explosive bomb

C. something worth a lot of money                 D. a very touching love story

42.        In Titanic, the scene of the lower class people remaining locked in the basement as the ship goes down is used to ________.

A. criticize cold-hearted rich people

B. enlarge the scene of the film

C. criticize the reality of the unfair society

D. emphasize the condition of the poor then

43.        Why were different colours of light used in the film Titanic? ________

A. They were used to show the difference between the rich and the poor.

B. The director was determined to achieve good visual effect.

C. The social status was represented by the color of light in the past.

D. The use of light was the main technique the director made use of.

44.        What can we learn from the passage? _________

A. The segregation problem in the society can be solved by using the light.

B. Though love is the main theme of Titanic, it also reflects some social problems.

C. Because of the director's talents, the film Titanic achieved great success.

D. In the film Titanic there are two characters altogether.

45.        The writer mainly talks about ________ in this passage.

A. the process of shooting Titanic

B. the techniques used in the movie Titanic

C. the reasons for the success of Titanic

D. the outline of the movie Titanic

Sometimes people call each other “scared-cat”, but have you ever thought about this expression? When a cat is frightened, its heart starts beating faster, its muscles get tense, and there are changes in the chemicals in its blood- stream.

    Although the cat doesn’t   21   this, its body is getting ready for action.

    If the danger continues, this animal will do one of the two things. It will   22   itself, or it will run away as fast as it can.

  23  , when people are excited, angry, scared, or aroused by other emotions, our bodies also go through many   24   changes. Our hearts beat faster, and our muscles get tense. All of these changes make us more alert and ready to react. We, too, get ready to defend ourselves   25   run.

Human beings,   26  , have a problem that animals never face. If we give way to our feelings and let them   27  , we can get into trouble. Have you ever said something in anger, or hit somebody and regretted it later? Have you ever shouted at a teacher, told someone you were lonely, or said you were in love, and then  28   later you had kept your mouth shut? It isn’t always   29   to express your feelings freely.

Does this mean that it’s smarter always to   30   our feelings? No! If you   31   feelings of anger, sadness, and bitterness hidden away or bottled up inside, your body stays   32  . Physical illnesses can develop. It can actually be   33  for your health.

Feelings that you keep all bottled up inside don’t just   34  . It’s like you bought some bananas and stuck them in a cupboard. You might not be able to see them, but   35    you’d smell them. And if you opened the cupboard, you’d   36  little fruit flies hovering (盘旋) all over them. They’d be rotten.

You can try to treat emotions   37   they were bananas in the cupboard. You can   38    they don’t exist, but they’ll still be   39  . And at last you’ll have to   40   them. Just like those bananas.

21. A. mind               B. admit                  C. realize                 D. remember

22. A. save              B. help                    C. defend                 D. hide

23. A. Truly              B. Frequently            C. Similarly                D. Differently

24. A. chemical          B. physical                C. health                  D. ill

25. A. and               B. or                      C. but                     D. yet

26. A. therefore          B. but                     C. besides                D. however

27. A. take off           B. take on                 C. take over              D. take up

28. A. wished            B. hoped                  C. blamed                  D. shared

29. A. useful              B. right                     C. easy                     D. wise

30. A. handle             B. hurt                           C. hide                    D. prevent

31. A. keep             B. find                     C. control                 D. let

32. A. relaxed           B. tense                  C. same                  D. different

33. A. good             B. harmful                 C. helpful                 D. useful

34. A. go away          B. go on                  C. go up                 D. go out

35. A. long before      B. as usual               C. before long           D. right away

36. A. meet             B. observe                 C. catch                 D. see

37. A. as if               B. just as                  C. just after               D. even though

38. A. pretend           B. expect                 C. decide                 D. assume

39. A. in                  B. around                        C. over                  D. beyond

40. A. eat up             B. deal with                C. throw away            D. send out

-- What’s the matter with Tom?

-- Oh. His cell-phone was left in a taxi accidentally, never ______ again.

　 A. to find　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. to be found　　　　　　 C. having been found D. being found

      The excellent collection in Metropolitan Museum of Art _________more than 5,000 years of civilization from many parts of the world.

A. ranges               B. possesses                  C. covers              D. exchanges

      If parents have children help with housework in their daily life, the children will feel needed. ________, they will learn to take care of themselves.

      A. On the contrary     B. In other words       C. In the meantime      D. On the whole