—Look! How long ______ like this?

—More than 20 days! It’s usual here that rain pours without stopping in May.

A．did it rain                             B．is it raining

C．has it been raining                       D．doesn’t rain

Martin Smith who, at 22, is one of the male nannies(保姆) admits that it will be some time ____ male nannies are totally accepted.

A．since             B．until              C．before            D．after

If someone falls off the ladder and gets seriously hurt, you’d better leave him _____ he falls and try to get help.

A．before           B．when             C．where            D．what

_______ after the race that he didn’t know what to say before so many reporters.

A．So excited the champion was              B．So excited was the champion

C．So the champion was excited              D．So was excited the champion

An agreement was made in June when both sides met for the first time in 21 years, ______ by another meeting for further cooperation.

A．following          B．to follow          C．having followed     D．followed

As soon as I saw the cat in our yard, I knew he was a stray (流浪儿). He looked  36 —a wounded warrior with a badly scarred body.

I started putting out food for him each day, but he wouldn’t come near me if other people were  37 . Winter came, and he still wouldn’t  38  us. Then, one day, a car hit him so we took him to the vet’s.

After a week, we were eager to bring him home to  39  our family. But when we went to take the cat home, the vet told us we should put him to  40  immediately because the cat was so fierce and mean that he would  41  become tame , let alone a pet.

But I have always had  42  in love’s power to  43  even the wildest beasts. I told the vet, “I want to take him home.” We  44  him Paws.

Three days went by, and we only knew Paws was  45  the bed because when we walked past it we heard deep growling.

I wanted to somehow let him know he was  46  and loved. So I put on a hard hat and a pair of welding gloves. I  47  under the bed toward Paws, with my face to the  48  and only the top of my head facing him. I  49  out to stroke (抚摩) him gently over and over again.

He growled and tried to  50  and bite me. It was scary—but I knew he couldn’t  51  me, so I just kept going. Slowly, he began to  52 . Then I slid out from under the bed and left the room.

Several hours later, I noticed a cat on the bed. It was Paws—all  53  on the pillows! I couldn’t believe it.

That dear cat became the  54  of our household. Although Paws finally died of cancer, his legacy(遗赠)—my  55  and firm belief in the power of love — lives on.

1.                A．cute           B．strong          C．fierce    D．smart

2.                A．around         B．in             C．out  D．away

3.                A．love           B．attack          C．refuse    D．trust

4.                A．please         B．join            C．see  D．satisfy

5.                A．death          B．sight           C．observation   D．sleep

6.                A．simply          B．hardly          C．easily D．gradually

7.                A．sense          B．interest         C．faith D．feeling

8.                A．comfort        B．convince        C．protect   D．tame

9.                A．named         B．appointed       C．accepted D．made

10.               A．on            B．beside         C．under D．inside

11.               A．hopeful        B．pitiful          C．careful    D．safe

12.               A．hid            B．slid            C．sheltered  D．slept

13.               A．bed           B．sky            C．floor  D．feet

14.               A．turned         B．reached        C．pulled D．picked

15.               A．play           B．scratch         C．lick   D．push

16.               A．hurt           B．bother         C．avoid D．betray

17.               A．get angry       B．give up         C．run away  D．calm down

18.               A．stepped out     B．stood out       C．stretched out   D．stuck out

19.               A．hope          B．love           C．support   D．comfort

20.               A．normal         B．noble          C．strange    D．continued

I looked at my beautiful Christmas tree and sighed. It was time. The New Year was a week old and my tree still stood in the corner of our room with its collection of memories proudly displayed in a shower of colorful lights. I’d procrastinated（拖延，耽搁）long enough.

I got up, went to the garage and dragged all the boxes into the room. The garland(花环)was the first to come down. The tree looked naked(光秃秃的)already. I took the large ornament（装饰物）off next. They made a large pile on our bed. An hour later, our bed was covered with Christmas memories. Each pile contained an ornament along with its matching brothers and sisters from sets purchased many years ago.

I prepared the boxes and carefully placed ornaments in their protective packaging, pausing every few minutes to admire a favorite. “Hey, little Santa!” I held the Santa from my childhood. “Thanks for being my friend for almost fifty years.” He was a little ragged but still gives me a flood of wonderful memories. “Until next year, my dear friend.”

There was a collection of handmade ones. My children made in the their first years of school, more than twenty years ago. Made by tiny hands, they are far from perfect in design, but every year they go on my memory tree－memories of young giggles(咯咯地笑)on Christmas morning and a smiling face when they handed them to me when I came home from work. “Look what we made, Daddy!”

“Oh! It is beautiful. Let’s find a special spot on the tree for it.” Every year since, they are displayed.

A few hours after I started, the filled boxes were back in the garage, the room was vacuumed(用吸尘器清扫)and I sat staring at a barren(空荡荡的)corner. The room seemed so empty. It took me two days of work to assemble(收集)and decorate my tree, but only a few hours to take it apart.

My tree is like a good marriage or a great friendship. Like the tree, they take a long time to assemble and decorate with memories, but can be torn down quickly.

Every year I have to put my tree away, but not my marriage or friendships. I take great care of those. They get to glow in the corner of my life for as long as I live. I get to analyze my tree and find memories for a few weeks every year. I can do the same with the loves in my life every day. Take great care of your friendships and your marriage. Once they come down, they aren’t as easy to put back together as a Christmas tree. Stand them in that special spot in the corner of your heart and admire their glow.

1.In the author’s eyes, the Christmas tree      .

A．is a collection of childhood memories

B．is a symbol of long-lasting relations

C．takes too much time to decorate

D．is full of out-of-date ornaments

2.To the author, a Christmas tree is similar to a good marriage in that      .

A．both take time to build but fall apart easily

B．both remind him of bittersweet memories

C．both need to be admired for some time

D．both get less attractive over the years

3.What is the main theme of the article?

A．We’d better put away Christmas decorations and recycle them each year.

B．Friendships and marriages should be valued and managed carefully.

C．Memories with friends and family should be cherished and relived.

D．We should decorate Christmas trees with personal stuff and recycle.

Dear Parents,

As we start the second half of the spring term, I thought it important to update you on some key developments.

Post-16 Collaboration(合作)

We have entered into an exciting new collaboration with Bassaleg Comprehension School, Duffryn High School, St Joseph’s High School, and Coleg Gwent—The Newport West Post-16 partnership. We will be working together to deliver nearly 40 different courses at other schools and likewise, students from other schools will study some subjects here. Information about the courses available to students can be found on the partnership website www. Newftartwest. corn. uk.

Uniform

I would take this opportunity to remind all parents that students are not permitted to wear non-school uniform cardigans (开襟羊毛衫) in Newport High School. It is the responsibility of parents to make sure your son or daughter wears the correct uniform to school. This includes completely black shoes. Over the next half term we will be working with students to develop a cardigan with the school logo which will provide an alternative to the current school jacket.

School Catering.

We are currently seeking a new company to provide school meals. Our new catering provider will be in place at the start of the summer term and will be working with students, parents and staff to provide improvements to our current provision. I look forward to keeping you updated on this development.

Some key dates for you to be aware of over the next half term are:

Thank you for your continued support.

Your faithfully,

Karyn Keane

1.Karyn Keane wrote the letter on behalf of ______.

A．Bassaleg Comprehensive School            B．Newport High School

C．St Joesph’s High School                  D．Duffryn High School

2.What can be learned about the new collaboration?

A．It involves four schools altogether.

B．Course information will be mailed to every student.

C．Students can choose as many courses as they want.

D．It allows students to learn at other schools.

3.When will the new catering company start working?

A．In May            B．In April            C．in March          D．In June

4.What do we know from the passage?

A．Students will develop a logo for the school.

B．All parents will be invited to school on 23rd March

C．Students won’t go to school on 1st April.

D．The letter was written at the start of the spring term.

People often view the “last” moments of an event positively simply because they signal the end of an experience, say experts.

University of Michigan researchers found that even if an experience is painful or negative, but ends on a good note, people will consider it to be positive.

“Endings are powerful,” said Ed O’Brien, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan.

O’Brien and colleague Phoebe Ellsworth, the Frank Murphy Distinguished Professor of Law and Psychology, conducted a chocolate tasting experiment with 52 college students to test the theory.

Volunteers could taste five different Hershey’s Kisses chocolates—milk, dark, cream, caramel and almond – but did not know in advance how many pieces they would eat or the type. Participants rated how much they enjoyed the chocolate and described each flavor so that the researchers could record the order in which the randomly (随机的) selected treats were eaten.

Volunteers were assigned to the “next” or the “last ” condition by chance.

In the “next” condition, the experimenter said “Here is your next chocolate” before offering each chocolate, including the fifth.

For the “last” condition, the experimenter said “Here is your last chocolate” before offering  the fifth chocolate.

These participants rated the fifth chocolate more enjoyable than volunteers in the “next” condition.

As predicted, participants who knew they were eating the final chocolate of a taste test enjoyed it more.

In fact, when asked to pick their favorite chocolate, the majority of “last” participants chose the fifth – even though the flavor of the fifth was randomly chosen.

They also rated the overall experience as more enjoyable than volunteers who thought they were just eating one more chocolate in a series.

O’Brien says these findings may have far-reaching implications. For example, the last book or film in a series or the last speaker in a symposium (研讨会) may receive unwarranted praise.

The last job applicant, meanwhile, may look more qualified.

1.Which of the following is TRUE about the experiment?

A．The majority of “last” participants chose the almond flavor as their favorite.

B．Some participants enjoyed the experiment more because the last flavor tasted better.

C．The result would be different if researchers had used another brand of chocolate.

D．Some participants didn’t know it was their last chocolate when offered the fifth one.

2.What does the underlined word “unwarranted” in the second-to-last paragraph mean?

A．Fake.             B．Unwanted.         C．Unreasonable.      D．Insincere.

3.Which of the following is the best title for the article?

A．“Last” is the best.

B．Why “last” matters most.

C．It is the last step that is the hardest.

D．He who laughs last laughs best.

Charlotte Hollins faces a battle. The 23-year-old British farmer and her 21-year-old brother Ben are fighting to save farm that their father worked on since he was 14. Although confident they will succeed, she is aware of farming’s many challenges.

“You don’t often get a day off. Supermarkets put a lot of pressure on farmers to keep prices low. With fewer people working on farms it can be isolating,” she said. “There is a high rate of suicide and farming will never make you rich!”

Like others around the world, Charlotte’s generation tend to leave the farm for cities.

Oliver Robinson, 25, grew up in Yorkshire. But he never considered staying on his father and grandfather’s land. “I’m sure Dad hoped I’d stay,” he said. “I guess it’s a nice, straightforward life, but it doesn’t appeal to me. For young, ambitious people, farm life is hard.”

For Robinson, farming doesn’t offer much “in terms of money or lifestyle”. Hollins agrees that economic factors stop people from enjoying the rewards of farming. He describes it as a career that provides “for a vital human need”, allowing people to work “outdoors with nature.”

Farming is a big political issue in the UK. The “Buy British” campaigns urge consumers not to purchase cheaper imported foods. The 2001 foot and mouth crisis closed thousands of farms, stopped meat exports, and raised public consciousness about the troubles on UK farms.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s 2005 campaign to get children eating healthily also highlighted the issue.

This national concern gives hope to farmers competing with powerful supermarkets. While most people buy food from the big supermarkets, hundreds of independent Farmers’ Markets are becoming popular.

“I started going to Farmers’ Markets in direct defiance(违抗) of the big supermarkets. I seriously objected to the super-sizing of everything－what exactly do they put on our apples to make them so big and red? It’s terrible,” said Londoner Michaela Samson, 31.

1.What are the challenges that British farmers face according to Charlotte Hollins?

a. loneliness                       b. thin profits

c. a lack of good equipment        d. long working hours but slow results

A．abc              B．abd              C．acd              D．bcd

2.Why did Oliver Robinson refuse to stay on the farm?

A．He hoped for a simpler life

B．He was fed up with a hard farm life.

C．Farm life was too demanding though he liked it.

D．He hoped for something challenging and rewarding.

3.What happened in 2001 to the British beef farmers?

A．British people ate more British beef.

B．To be a beef farmer became profitable.

C．Diseaes dramatically reduced the amount of beef available.

D．Foreign farmers stopped selling beef to Britain.

4.Which of the following is an advantage of Farmers’ Markets?

A．Lower prices.                          B．Flexible sizes.

C．Convenient location.                     D．Healthier food.

5.What can we conclude from the last two paragraphs?

A．Things are improving for independent farms in the UK.

B．Farming in the UK can now match the powerful supermarkets.

C．Most British people are doubtful of food in supermarkets.

D．Most British people have realized the problems facing farms and begun to help save them.