I’m sorry I got caught in the traffic；_________, I could have been here sooner．

He doesn’t have interest in cooking．__________, he’s getting tired of it．

What I Want for You and Every Child in America

Dear Malia and Sasha,

I know that you've both had a lot of ___（31） these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have．But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't ____（32）for all the time we've been apart．I know ____（33）I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey．

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me-about how I'd___（34） my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want．But then the two of you came into my____（35） with all your curiosity and mischief （捣乱） and those smiles that never____（36） to fill my heart and light up my day．

I want all our children to go to schools_____（37） of their potential-schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill （灌输） in them a sense of_____（38） about the world around them．I want them to have the chance to go to college____（39）their parents aren't rich．And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own_____（40）and retire with dignity．

I want us to____（41） the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer．And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach _____（42）the divides of race and region, gender and religion that_____（43） us from seeing the best in each other．

That was the_____（44） your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for_____（45） because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean_____（46）．

She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better and that the_____（47）work of perfecting our union falls to each of us．It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to_____（48）we know America should be．

These are the things I want for you, to_____（49）in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach．And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have．That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure．

I am so proud of both of you．I love you______（50）you can ever know．And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise （自信）, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House．

Love, Dad

Jeffery Deaver looks more like a brainy villain （反派人物） in a James Bond movie than a "00" agent in Her Majesty's secret service．Best known for his thrillers starring criminalist （刑事专家） Lincoln Rhyme, Jeffery Deaver has a new mission: Bring Bond into the 21st century in a new 007 novel．

The yet-to-be-named book is cryptically （隐秘地） referred to as "Project X" by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd．, which owns the rights to Fleming's work．Most of the details surrounding Project X, to be published in May, are being kept under wraps, but under gentle coaxing （用好话劝诱） Deaver begins to spill his guts．"The novel," he says, "is set in the present day, in 2011．Bond is a young agent for the British secret service．He's 29 or 30 years old, and he's an Afghan war vet．" That in itself is big news．After all, if Bond were aging in real time — he first appeared on the screen in 1953 — the now doddering （老态龙钟的） 007 would be nearly 90．

But first up: a new stand-alone Deaver novel, Edge （Simon & Schuster, $26．99）, to be published Tuesday．It's about a federal agent who risks his life to protect a Washington police detective from a man hired to extract information from him using any means at his disposal （任由个人支配的）．

Sipping coffee while seated on a leather chair in a sitting room decorated with portraits of his dogs and show ribbons, the mild-mannered author who writes about murderers and serial killers talks about his career and the solid fan base that has allowed him to pursue writing full time since 1990．"I may not sell as many books as John Grisham（although he has sold a cool 20 million）, but I have a very loyal fan base," says Deaver, 60, who wrote some of his novels while working as a Wall Street lawyer．Deaver's initiation into the Bond family — more than 100 million 007 novels have sold worldwide — could significantly raise his profile （知名度）．

Other novelists have written Bond novels since Ian Fleming's death in 1964 — including Kingsley Amis, John Gardner and, most recently, Sebastian Faulks — but they all took place in the original era．Deaver is taking a new approach．"There's no more Cold War to fight," says Deaver, so his new Bond, of the Fleming estate, will fight "post-9/11 evil．" "I want to stay true to the original James Bond, who many people don't know much about," he says, referring to the secret agent Fleming portrayed in 14 novels, and not the movie Bond．"People know Daniel Craig, they know Pierce Brosnan, they know Roger Moore and Sean Connery, all of whom brought a great deal to the stories of 007．But the original Bond was a very dark, edgy （另类的） character．"

1.Which of the following is NOT true about Jeffery Deaver?

2.Which statement best explains the meaning of “spill his guts” in Paragraph 2?

3.Who was the author of 007 novels?

4.What do you know about the new 007 novel from the passage?

WASHINGTON — President Obama and his wife, Michelle, handed out Halloween treats to area children and military families at the White House Sunday evening．

Local students between 6 and 14 years old, along with children from military families, were invited to celebrate Halloween on the North Lawn．

The president and first lady, along with Mrs．Obama's mother, Marian Robinson, spent about 30 minutes passing out goodie bags．Obama wished each child a happy Halloween as he distributed the treats, pausing occasionally for hugs or to comment on costumes．

Later, the military families continued the celebration inside the White House．

The first couple joked to assembled reporters about children walking the long driveway in order to work off （消化掉） the snacks．"This is the Let's Move method of trick-or-treating （不给糖就捣蛋）," Obama said, referring to Mrs．Obama's campaign to combat childhood obesity （肥胖）．

The goodie bags contained a box of White House M&Ms, a cookie made by pastry chef （点心师） Bill Yosses, and dried fruit．

As they made their way across the lawn, the children meet a vast range of costumed characters ranging from a spooky Frankenstein （科学怪人,小说《弗兰肯斯坦》的主角） to the Scarecrow from "The Wizard of Oz．" Music from a jazz band dressed in pirate gear rang out across the White House grounds．

Multicolored pumpkins and gourds lined the driveway — individually, in gravity-defying stacks and as part of a large mound over 5 feet tall．Pumpkin-headed scarecrows （稻草人） made of cornstalks loomed over the path with menacingly raised arms．Under the White House portico, a mobile resembling bats flying through clouds fluttered around a lantern．

Some of the local trick-or-treaters were students at Bancroft Elementary, which helps tend the first lady's White House garden, and Tubman Elementary, which has a relationship with the White House chefs．

After trick-or-treating ended, the Obamas stood near the front door, welcoming the military families inside, helping children climb the short flight of steps and thanking parents for their service．

1.What is the news report mainly about?

2.From the passage, we know that ______ do not necessarily appear when people celebrate Halloween．

3.When celebrating Halloween at the White House, the Obamas did the following EXCEPT______．

4.The passage is mainly developed by ______．

Why do 33% of the households in the USA have cats? And how do you explain why there are 16 million more pet cats than dogs? Yes, kittens are adorable （讨人喜欢的）．Yes, they can grow up to be good mousers and are very entertaining to watch．And yes, cats are independent and don't require as much care as dogs．But research shows cats can also be caretakers for us and our families, improve our health and teach us and our children to be kinder, gentler souls．

Theodora Wesselman is 94 and has lived the past two years with her elderly cat, Cleo, at TigerPlace, a retirement community in Columbia, Mo．Their enduring friendship is a classic example of how humans and animals can become family and look out for each other．

Wesselman visits other residents, and her children stop by, but Cleo is her best friend, she says．They've been together nearly 21 years．

"She sleeps on her own pillow right beside mine," Wesselman says．"In the morning, she pecks on my cheek to wake me up．It's really sweet．I pet her, tell her I love her and take her to the kitchen to prepare her food．"

Research shows that being able to care for a pet improves our morale （士气;精神状态）, helps validate us and encourages us to take care of ourselves, says Rebecca Johnson, director of the University of Missouri's Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction．The body of research is leading more retirement communities and universities to roll out the welcome mat for pets．

1.According to the context, where do you think the sentence “They start and end the day together” should appear in the passage?

2.Which of the following words best describe the author’s attitude towards keeping pet cats?

3.Why does the author take 94-year-old Theodora Wesselman as an example in the passage?

4.What does “to roll out the welcome mat for pets” in the last paragraph imply?

EBay will launch an online group gift-buying service today designed to make it easier for several people to chip in, buy and pay for gifts using their social-network and e-mail contacts．

EBay North America Vice President Christopher Payne says it is going to be a major step forward in social commerce, which is the still-small practice of selling products through social networks．Online retail experts aren't as certain, but eBay says the new tool makes it easier for friends and relatives to chip in （凑钱） for gifts because it eliminates the headache of collecting contributions．It can also be used for family members to pitch in to buy, say, an expensive child seat for a mother．

Anything on eBay that's available immediately, rather than up for bid, can be purchased this way starting today at groupgifts．eBay．com．If members of an extended family wanted to buy a gift for one member, one person would choose a gift — or have one recommended by eBay — and invite family members to chip in using Facebook or e-mail．Those who wanted to join in would choose an amount to contribute （or agree to pay a requested amount） and pay using either PayPal or a credit card．They could also add a personal note．

If enough people don't chip in, the organizer can ask people to contribute more or choose a less expensive gift．

"I see myself using this most in cases when I typically might not buy someone what they want because of price," says Nitzan Shaer of Boston, who was part of an online test of the site．

EBay, with its 200 million products, millions of sellers and mobile commerce proficiency, is a logical place to pull together the products, groups of buyers and payment tools, Payne says．

At least 12 sites, such as FrumUs．com and eDivvy．com, facilitate （便于,利于） group purchases but don't sell products．Although a handful of retailers, including Victoria's Secret and 1-800-Flowers, sell products through Facebook, Payne says he expects social commerce will take off as rapidly as shopping using mobile devices．EBay did more than $600 million in sales on mobile devices last year and expects mobile sales to increase to $1．5 billion this year．

Although one in five consumers surveyed said they'd used Facebook for shopping in the past year, 88% said they would not be buying holiday gifts through a social network, mobile phone or smartphone．Of these, 26% were reluctant because of security or privacy concerns, and 20% were unclear about the benefits of using phones or Facebook to shop．

1.What procedure should be followed if your extended family intends to buy your grandpa an 80^th birthday gift?

①Asking family members to contribute more money if enough members don’t chip in

②Choosing a gift at groupgifts．eBay．com

③Paying using PayPal or a credit card

④Contributing or agreeing to pay a requested amount of money via Facebook or e-mail

2.Where can we most probably read this text?

3.What does “it” mean in the 2^nd paragraph?

4.It can be inferred from the text that ______．

阅读下列各小题，根据括号内的汉语提示，用句末括号内的英语单词完成句子，并将答案写在答题卡上的相应题号后。

1.It’s universally acknowledged that never __________ （我们能期待） a bluer sky unless we create a less polluted world．（expect ）

2.We breathed a sigh of relief at last．Had she known about the risks, she _____（也许没完成）with the operation．（go）

3.________ （急需钱）, he tried to persuade her to marry him, but she changed her mind and declined．（desperate）

4.With ________（所有人抛弃）him, he went abroad and asked for shelter．（desert）

5.My dog is too fat．It’s evident that I ________（不该喂）him with so much food．（feed）

6.______ （给我印象最深的） is the beauty of the white clouds floating in the blue sky．（strike）

7.I was very nervous because it was the first time that I ________ （受邀请） an opening banquet．（invite）

8.We wonder ________（是什么）caused so many strange things to happen．（it）

9._______ （毫无疑问）that honeybees communicate information of the feeding place to each other by dancing．（doubt）

10.It’s likely that such a question, if it can be called a question, ________ （你提的）, can’t be answered by any human beings．（raise）

假如你班将举行一次英语班会，主题为“How to be strong and healthy”。请你根据下面提示写一篇发言稿。

注意：1。字数100左右；

2．生词：零食：non-staple food   卫生：hygiene

3．开头已给出．可适当发挥。

Dear friends,

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I can’t advise you what to do and what not to do — it’s a matter of _________.

       A. conscience                B. comprehension          C. awareness                 D. identification