Have you ever received a gift that was so clearly not your taste that you wondered if perhaps it had been handed to you by mistake? Worse, have you ever given a present and watched your friend look as though she had opened the wrong box? Maybe she responded with a polite “Why, thank you,” but you knew you had missed the mark. Why do presents sometimes go wrong? And what do your choices (good and had) reflect about your personal qualities?

Choosing the right gift is an art, I believe. It calls for empathy－the ability to put yourself into someone else’s head and heart. We’re all able to do this; in fact, we’re born with a kind of natural empathy. After the earliest period of childhood, however, it needs to be reinforced（加强）－by our parents, teachers, friends .When it isn’t, we’re not able to understand other people’s feelings as sharply. This can show in the gifts we select, and so can many other emotional（情感的）qualities.

Think back to the presents you’ve given over the past year, the time and effort you put into your selection, how much you spent, your thoughts while you were shopping ,and your feelings when the receiver opened the package. Keep in mind that what you choose displays your inner world. Of course, you may express yourself differently with different friends, relatives, and other people you know.

We live in a society where exchanging presents is an important part of communication. Ignoring the tradition won’t make it go away. If you really dislike such a tradition, tell your friends ahead of time.

1.The underlined expression “you had missed the mark” means “you had failed to     ”.

A. make her feel better

B. keep your friendship

C. receive a present in return

D. get the expected effect

2.Which of the following is the main idea of the second paragraph?

A. Natural empathy needs to be reinforced.

B. Emotional changes influence one’s choice of gifts.

C. Selecting the right gift is an ability people are born with.

D. Choosing gifts requires one to understand the receivers.

3.In the third paragraph, the author tells us that        .

A. attention should be paid to the receiver’s responses

B. one learns from what he did in the past

C. the choice of girls reflects one’s emotional qualities

D. one should spend more time choosing gifts

4.The best possible title for this passage is “　　　”.

A. Ways of Choosing Gifts

B. An Important Tradition

C. Exchanging Presents

D. Message in a Gift

The young boy saw me, or rather, he saw the car and quickly ran up to me ,eager to sell his bunches（串）of bananas and bags of peanuts. Though he appeared to be about twelve, he seemed to have already known he bitterness of life. “Bananas 300 naira. Peanuts 200 naira.” He said in a low voice. I bargained him down to 200 that for the fruit and nuts. When he agreed, I handed him a 500 naira bill. He didn’t have change. So I told him not to worry. He said thanks and smiled a row of perfect teeth.

When, two weeks later, I saw the boy again, I was more aware of my position in a society where it’s not that uncommon to see a little boy who should be in school standing on the corner selling fruit in the burning sun. My parents bad raised me to be aware of the advantage we had been afforded and the responsibility it brought to us.

I pulled over and rolled down my window, He had a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts ready. I waved them away. “What’s up?” asked him.

“I…I don’t have money to buy books for school.” I reached into my pocket and handed him two fresh 500 naira bills. “Will this help?” I asked. He looked around nervously before taking the money. One thousand naira was a lot of money to someone whose family probably made about 5,000 naira or less each year. “Thank you, sir.” he said. “Thank you very much!”

When driving home. I wondered if my little friend actually used the money for schoolbooks. What if he’s a cheat（骗子）?And then I wondered why I did it. Did I do it to make myself feel better? Was I using him? Later, I realized that I wondered why I did it, Did I do it to make myself feel better? Was I using him? Later, I realized that I didn’t know his name or the least bit about him, nor did I think to ask.

Over the next six months, I was busy working in a news agency in northern Nigeria. Sometime after I returned, I went out For a drive. When I was about to pull over, the boy suddenly appeared by my window with a big smile ready on his face.

“Oh, gosh! Long time.”

“Are you in school now?” I asked.

He nodded.

“That’s good,” I said. A silence fell as we looked at each other, and then I realized what he wanted. “Here,” I held out a 500 naira bill. “Take this.” He shook his head and stepped back as if hurt. “What’s wrong?”  I asked. “It’s a gift.”

He shook his head again and brought his had form behind his back. His face shone with sweat（汗水）. He dropped a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts in the front seat before he said, “I’ve been waiting to give these to you .”

1.What was the author’s first impression of the boy?

A. He seemed to be poor and greedy.

B. He seemed to have his age.

C. He seemed younger than his age.

D. He seemed good at bargaining.

2.The second time the author met the boy, the boy    .

A. told him his purpose of selling fruit and nuts

B. wanted to express his thanks

C. asked him for money for his schoolbooks

D. tried to take advantage of him

3.Why did the author give his money to the boy?

A. Because he had enough money to do that.

B. Because he had learnt to help others since childhood.

C. Because he held a higher position in the society.

D. Because he had been asked by the news agency to do so.

4.Which of the following best describes the boy?

A. Brave and polite.

B. Kind and smart.

C. Honest and thankful.

D. Shy and nervous.

     An environmental group called the Food Commission is unhappy and disappointed because of the sale of bottled water form Japan. The water is angrily argues in public, has traveled 10,000“food miles” before it reaches Western customers. “transporting water halfway across the world is surely the extremely stupid use of fuel when there is plenty of water in the OK.” It is also worried that we are wasting our fuel by buying prams（对虾）from Indonesia(7,000 food miles) and carrots from  South Africa(5,900 food miles).

Counting the number of miles traveled done by a product is a strange way of trying to tell the true situation of the environmental damage done by an industry. Most food is transported around the world on container ships that are extremely energy efficient（高能效的）. It should be noted that a ton of butter transported 25 miles in a truck product transported hundreds of miles by sea. Besides ,the idea of “of miles” ignores the amount of fuel used in the production. It is possible to cut down your food miles by buying tomatoes grown in Britain rather than those grown in Ghana; the difference is that the British one will have been raised in heated greenhouses and the Ghanaian ones in the open sun.

What the idea of “food miles” does provide, however, is the chance to cut out Third World Countries from First World food markers. The number of miles traveled by our food should, as I see it, be regarded as a sign of the success of the global（全球的）trade system, not a sign of damage to the environment.

1.The Food Commission is angry because it thinks that     .

A.OK wastes a lot of money importing food products

B. some imported goods cause environmental damage

C. growing certain vegetables cause environmental damage

D. people waste energy buying food fro other countries

2.The phrase “food miles” in the passage refers to the distance        .

A. that a food product travels to a market

B. that a food product travels from one market to another

C. between UK and other food producing countries

D. between a Third World country and a First World food market

3.By comparing tomatoes raised in Britain and in Ghana, the another tries to explain that      .

A. British tomatoes are healthier than Ghanaian ones

B. Ghanaian tomatoes taste better than British ones

C. cutting down food miles may not necessarily save fuel

D. protecting the environment may cost a lot of money

4.From the passage we know that the author is most probably         .

A. a supporter of free global trade

B. a member of the Food Commission

D. a supporter of First World food markets

D. a member of an energy development group

     Silence is unnatural to man. He begins life with a cry and ends it in stillness. In between be does all he can to make a noise in the world, and be fears silence more than anything else. Even his conversation is an attempt to prevent a fearful silence. If he is introduced to another person, and is number of pauses occur in the conversation, he regards him- self as a failure ,a worthless person, and is full of envy of the emptiest- headed chatterbox（喋喋不休的人）.He knows that ninety nine percent of human conversation means no more than the buzzing of a fly, but he is anxious to join in the buzz and to prove that he is a man and not a waxwork figure（蜡塑人像）.

The aim of conversation is not. For the most part, to communicate ideas; it is to keep up the buzzing sound. There are, it must be admitted, different qualities of buzz; there is even a buzz that is as annoying as the continuous noise made by a mosquito(蚊子).But at a dinner party one would rather be a mosquito than a quiet person. Most buzzing, fortunately, is pleasant to the ear, and some of it is pleasant even to the mind. He would be a foolish man if he waited until he had a wise thought to take part in the buzzing with his neighbors.

     Those who hate to pick up the weather as a conversational opening seem to me not to know the reason why human beings wish to talk. Very few human beings join in a conversation in the hope of learning anything new. Some of them are content if they are merely allowed to go on making a noise into other people’s ears, though they have nothing to tell them except that they have seen two or three new plays or that they had food in a Swiss hotel. At the end of an evening, during which they have said nothing meaningful for a long time. They just prove themselves to be successful conservationists.

1.According to the author, people make conversation to               .

A. exchange ideas

B. prove their value

C. achieve success in life

D. overcome their fear of silence

2.By “the buzzing of a fly”(Para.1),the author means “              ”.

A. the noise of an insect

B. a low whispering sound

C. meaningless talks

D. the voice of a chatterbox

3.According to the passage, people usually talk to their neighbors          .

A. about whatever they have prepared

B. about whatever they want do

C. in the hope of learning something new

D. in the hope of getting on well

4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A. To discuss why people like talking about weather.

B. To encourage people to join in conversations.

C. To persuade people to stop making noises.

D. To explain why people keep talking.

　　此题要求改正所给短文中的错误。对标有题号的每一行作出判断：如无错误，在该行右边横线上画一个勾，如有错误（每行只有一个错误），则按下列情况改正：

　　此行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉，在该行右边横线上写出该词，并也用斜线划掉。

此行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（A），在该行右边横线上写出该加的词.

此行错一个词：在错的词下划一横线，在该线在边横线上写出改正后的词。

注意：原行没有错的不要改。

Growing up is not easy. Sometimes all that need                             1.________

is someone to rely on. For many years, she was Mum.                     2.________

My mother was a career woman and had her own                        3._________

problems to take care, but when I need her, she                             4._________

was always there. Her strength came from anywhere                       5.________

I don’t quite know, somewhere very deep. She was                       6.________

so strong that she would never break down, even while I                              

went to her with all my little-boy problems and shout                       7.________

at her. Her strength made me stronger and gave to me                        8.________

courage to try things other thought were impossible. A                  9.________

helping hand is always stronger enough to lift you up.                      10.________

 受某英文报的委托，你最近对高中生的英语阅读兴趣做了一次调查。请根据以下信息，用英语为该报写一篇100词左右的短文。短文的标题及首句已为你写好。

调查内容：在新闻、故事、科普、学习方法四种英文文章中，学生最喜欢哪一种

调查范围：湖北省的10所中学

调查对象：高中生

调查人数：1200

调查方式：访谈

调查结果：（见下图）

Reading Interests of Senior Middle School Students

Recently, a survey has been done to find out the reading interests of senior middle school students.

做听力部分时，请先在试题卷上作答。听力部分结束前，你将有两分钟的时间将第1至第17小题的答案转涂到答题卡上，将第18至20小题的答案转写到答题卡上。

第一节（共5小题；每小题1.5分，满分7.5分）

听下面5段对话。每段对话后有一个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。听完每段对话后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段对话仅读一遍。

例： How much is the shirt?

A. £19.15.      B. £9.15.       C. £9.18.

答案是B。

1.Where will the man go for holiday?

A. France.          B. Egypt.           C. Austria.

2.Why did the man make the phone call?

A. His luggage was lost.        B. His plane was late.      C. His office was locked.

3.How much is a two-term course?

A. $50.     B. $90.         C. $120.

4.What does the man mean?

A. He will not cook dinner.

B. He isn’t good at cooking fish.

C. He prefers not to cook the fish.

5.When will the man probably get to London?

A. At 8 o’clock.       B. At 9 o’clock.       C. At 10 o’clock.

第二节（共12小题；每小题1.5分，满分18分）

听下面4段对话。每段对话后有几个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。听每段对话前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题5秒钟；听完后，各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间。每段对话读两遍。

听下面一段对话，回答第6和第7两个小题。

6.What can we learn from the dialogue?

A. The woman was badly hurt.

B. The car was terribly damaged.

C. The kids were seriously injured.

7.What was the woman thinking about?

A. Getting the car repaired.

B. Selling the damaged car.

C. Buying a second-hand car.

听下面一段对话，回答第8至第10三个小题。

8.What do we know about the man?

A. He wrote three essays last week.

B. He went to the beach with friends.

C. He drank late at a restaurant every night.

9.What did the woman do on Saturday?

A. She drove with a friend.

B. She watched movies.

C. She played tennis.

10.Which word can best describe the woman’s last week?

A. Quiet.           B. Enjoyable.           C. Unforgettable.

听下面一段对话，回答第11至第13两个小题。

11.On which day are the tickets available to the man?

A. October 3.           B. October 4.           C. October 5.

12.How much will the man pay if he books the ticket?

A. £35.         B. £36.         C. £37.

13.What can be inferred about the man?

A. He was angry with the woman.

B. He thought the price was reasonable.

C. He gave up the idea of booking the ticket.

听下面一段对话，回答第14至第17四个小题。

14.What is the relationship between the two speakers?

A. Writer and reader.

B. Teacher and student.

C. Interviewer and interviewee.

15.How long did it take Tina to write the story?

A. A whole day.     B. About two hours.     C. Ninety minutes.

16.What do we know about the story?

A. It’s about Fred.        B. It’s about a party.     C. It’s about success.

17.What can we learn about Tina?

A. She has just been back from abroad.

B. She had a party for everyone in her street.

C. She won a writing competition unexpectedly.

第三节（共3小题；每小题1.5分，满分4.5分）

听下面一段材料，将第18至第20三个小题的信息补充完整，每小题不超过三个单词，听材料前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题5秒钟；听完后，各小题将给出15秒钟的作答时间。本段材料读两遍。

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 The wild flowers looked like a soft orange blanket __________ the desert.

A. covering     B. covered      C. cover            D. to cover

 In __________ review of 44 studies, American researchers found that men and women who ate six key foods daily cut the risk of __________ heart disease by 76%.

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

 A man cannot smile like a child, __________ a child smiles with his eyes, while a man smiles with his lips alone.

A. so           B. but          C. and          D. for