Jason had been watching the X Games on TV. Athletes from all over the world were competing in the most amazing sports. Just then his grandmother walked into the room. “I want to be extreme. Would you really let me do that? You always worry about my safety!” said Jason.

“You will have to follow some rules,” said his grandmother. “You can only ride in the park — never on the streets. You have to promise to wear a helmet (头盔). If you hurt yourself too much, I have the right to take your skateboard away. Is it a deal?”

“You bet!” Jason was so excited that he jumped off the sofa. A week later he had a board and a helmet.

On Saturday, his grandmother dropped him off near the park. He was happy to have a grandmother who let him try new things.

Kids in the park were moving quickly up and down the ramps (坡道). They flew into the air and landed as easily as birds. When he watched the X games, Jason felt like he was doing the tricks himself. But watching these kids up close, he knew that none of it was going to be easy. He felt a little bit scared.

Very slowly he carried his board to the ramp. Taking a deep breath, he put his right foot on the board. He kicked off with his left foot. For a few seconds he glided (滑行) along, just waiting to fall. Then he came to a stop. Kicking off again, he waited for the worst to happen. Again, he stayed up. The third time he kicked, lost his balance, and fell hard on his left knee.

It hurt, but it was no big deal! Why had he been so scared? Now he felt calm because things had gone wrong, and he was fine!

Next time he kicked off harder and went fast and farther. “Excellent!” said a girl as she passed him. “Extreme!” laughed Jason to himself. “Not quite.”

1.Jason’s grandmother agreed to let him try skateboarding unless _____.

A．he finished his homework                 B．he liked the sport

C．he observed some rules                  D．he won a bet

2.Jason jumped off the sofa because _____.

A．he was allowed to go skateboarding

B．he was angry at his grandmother

C．he was going to play outside

D．he was given a board and a helmet

3.The girl praised Jason for his _____.

A．skill              B．honesty           C．courage           D．kindness

I was eleven years old, waiting for my exam at Saraswati Vidyalaya, my school in Nagpur. “No. 12, please come forward.” Kirti, a very fat girl from my class, stepped ahead. I heard my classmates laughing and so I tried to stop them with my eyes. But my good intentions were mistaken. The next morning, my teacher, Mrs. Kamble, told me, “Ashwini, I’ve received a complaint about you.” I was shocked. The girl I was protecting thought I’d been laughing at her.

I tried to explain but the teacher refused to hear me out. She punished me by making me stand by the door. I knew I was right. Such punishment to a class topper was simply unheard of. But, slowly, my pride disappeared. Instead of being angry, I understood the other students who have been punished at times. For the first time, I felt humbled (谦逊的).

Three years later, I was in the math class. Mr. Prabhuraman, wrote an equation (方程式) — one he’d taught us the day before — on the blackboard. “Anyone who doesn’t know how to solve this,” he said, “please leave the class at once.” I knew I could solve only the first two steps. But my pride made me stay there. Unfortunately, the one who was asked to solve it was me. I just stood there, chalk in hand, trying not to look foolish. I prepared myself for a good talking-to (斥责), but Mr. Prabhuraman told me kindly, “Go back to your seat.”

Today, two decades later, those incidents have made me think. One teacher punished me for something I didn’t do; the other forgave me for something I did wrong. Both experiences had an effect on me. They remind me that no matter what you accomplish (完成), you must always be humble.

1.When the very fat girl appeared, Ashwini _____.

A．took no notice of her                    B．laughed at her

C．said hello to her                        D．tried to stop others making fun of her

2.After receiving a complaint, Mrs. Kamble _____.

A．said nothing about it                     B．was disappointed

C．felt very angry                          D．tried to find out the truth

3.Why did Ashwini refuse to leave the class?

A．He felt it would make him lose face.

B．He could work out the equation.

C．His teacher believed in his ability.

D．His teacher never asked him any questions.

4.The text is a story about _____.

A．how to communicate with others

B．how to get along with teachers

C．the ways to protect others

D．the danger of pride

We do not know when man first began to use salt, but we do know that it has been used in many different ways throughout history. Historical evidence shows, for example, that people who lived over 3,000 years ago ate salted fish. Thousands of years ago in Egypt, salt was used to preserve (保存) the dead.

Stealing salt was considered a major crime (罪行) during some periods of history. In the eighteenth century, for example, if a person was caught stealing salt, he could be put in prison and his ears could be cut off.

In the Roman Empire, one of the most important roads was the one that carried salt from the salt mines to Rome. Guards were stationed along the route to protect against salt thieves, and they received their pay in salt, thus bringing the English word, salary. Any guard who fell asleep while on duty was thought to be “not worth his salt”, and as a result he would get a little less salt on his next payday. The expression, “not worth his salt”, is still used today in English.

In the modern world salt has many uses beyond the dining table. It is used in making glass and airplane parts, in the growing of crops, and in the killing of weeds (杂草). It is also used to make water soft, to melt (融化) ice on roads and highways, to make soap, and to fix colors in cloth.

Salt can be got in various ways besides being taken from mines underground. Salt water from the ocean, salt water lakes or small seas can be used to make salt. Yet, no matter where it comes from, salt will continue to play an important role in the lives of people everywhere.

1.According to the text, salt can be used in the following EXCEPT _____.

A．keeping dead bodies

B．punishing thieves

C．protecting crops

D．making industrial products

2.In the Roman Empire many people were employed as guards to _____.

A．protect the city of Rome

B．watch people carrying salt

C．prevent thieves from stealing salt

D．carry salt from the mines to Rome

3.The expression “not worth his salt” used today refers to the one who _____.

A．fails to do his work well

B．should not be paid in salt

C．doesn’t want to work at all

D．should use less salt

4.The main purpose of the text is to tell readers _____.

A．how salt was found and got

B．salt is important in people’s life

C．salt was difficult to get in the past

D．what salt brings to the English language

Johann Gutenberg, who worked as a goldsmith (金匠), took what had already been discovered, and created a small invention that changed history. He created a machine that allowed him to move small blocks of letters in such a way that written material could be printed and mass-produced. Few people could read before Guttenberg made the invention, but once books became less expensive, more Europeans could read and write.

Block printing existed long before Gutenberg. The Chinese had been using wood blocks to print books as early as 868, but a new set of woodcuts (木刻印版) had to be made for each book. Producing one book was not easy; producing all kinds of books was more difficult.

Writing ink dates from about 2500 BC in Egypt and China. Gutenberg used an oil-based printing ink that would last longer than other inks used in his time. We don’t know much about Gutenberg because he was not famous during his lifetime. He was born in Germany about 1400. In 1448, Gutenberg developed signatures for each number, letter, and punctuation mark (标点符号). He then built the molds (模型) to hold the signatures in place. Gutenberg published the first mass-produced book: a 1,282 page Bible. To this day, more copies of the Bible have been printed than any other book.

Copies of Gutenberg’s invention spread throughout Europe, but the German goldsmith did not get rich from his invention. Some officials denounced the invention of printing because they feared that it would spread bad ideas. By 1500 there were 1,700 printing presses in Europe. The presses had already produced about 20 million volumes (册) of 40,000 different books.

1.What happened after Johann Gutenberg’s invention?

A．People could afford to read books.

B．People became interested in inventing.

C．It was still difficult to print all kinds of books.

D．Punctuation mark began to be used in printing.

2. Compared with block printing in China, Johann Gutenberg’s method _____.

A．was difficult to run

B．needed harder paper

C．used a new kind of ink

D．was put into use earlier

3.The underlined word “denounced” in the last paragraph means _____.

A．fought against                          B．accepted

C．laughed at                             D．supported

4.What is the best title for the text?

A．A famous 1,282 page Bible

B．The life of a famous inventor

C．An invention that changed history

D．The development of printing

Scientists often see the first ten years of a child’s life as the “window of opportunity.”   1.  And studies show that the following activities can benefit their brain greatly.

 2. 

Free playtime has always been an important part of “being a kid”, but it is also important to a child’s development. “Free play” not only helps kids develop different skills, it also helps them develop into happy healthy adults in the future.

Read with kids

Reading has long been known to improve children’s intelligence.   3.  For parents who don’t have much time, just surrounding your kids with books goes a long way too.

Put kids to bed early

 4.  Preschool children should get at least eleven hours of sleep and kids up to age 12 should try to get at least ten hours of sleep.

Learn a second language

Early studies in this field have shown that bilingual (双语的) kids can perform better under pressure. Young children can learn new languages with nearly perfect fluency (流利) and pronunciation.

Praise good effort not intelligence.

Your kids may be smart but you should mainly praise the effort they put into tasks. Kids, who are praised on intelligence, often feel it is a fixed quality, and mistakes or failures badly hurt their self-confidence. Kids who are praised on effort often focus more on learning.   5.    

A．Play some helpful games.

B．Give them enough playtime.

C．And they are not afraid to fail and try again.

D．Kids still need time away from the TV to do homework.

E. Kids who read often develop earlier writing and number skills as well.

F. Everything at this time is very important to the development of a person’s brain.

G. Studies show that kids with regular bedtimes are better at languages, math and reading.

My father is now in his late forty but he looks young for his age. He is very strict with me, especial in my studies. Besides, I know he loves me deeply in his heart. Once I had failed to do well in my math exam, I was afraid that it would make my father angry and disappointing. On contrary, he said I had tried my best and offered him a few words of encouragement. He told me that there is no need to feel bad about one and two failures and the most important thing is to learn anything from failure and never give up. Today is Father’s Day and I want to say thank you for my father.

假如你住在一个涉外小区。社区委员会请你帮忙根据以下提示用英文写一封电子邮件，将周末社区邀请居民参加“乡村耕作活动”的细节传达给住户。

注意：

1. 词数：100左右；

2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

3. 参考词汇：居民resident;  社区委员会the committee of our community

4. 开头结尾以给出，字数不计算在文章之内

Hi,everyone!

To get close to nature and do more exercise , ________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

Everyone is welcome to attend!

— Could I have another cup of coffee, Daddy?

—_____ It will be hard for you to go to sleep tonight if you do.

A．Better not.        B．Why not?          C．What for?         D．As you wish.

Zhang Heng, one of _____ best-known Chinese astronomers, showed a strong interest in _____ astronomy as a child.

A．the; the           B．the; 不填         C．不填; the          D．不填; 不填

Without gravity, we _____ walk on the ground as freely as we do now.

A．couldn’t         B．mustn’t          C．shan’t           D．needn’t