读写任务 (共1小题,满分25分)
阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。
A Little Hero
A group of Italian soldiers led by a captain were advancing slowly toward the position of the enemy. They arrived at a farmhouse, in front of which sat a small boy, cutting a branch of a tree with his knife.
"What are you doing here?" asked the captain. "Why didn't you leave with your family?"
　　"I don't have any family," said the boy. "I'm an orphan. I used to work for the family that lived here. They've gone, but I stayed in order to see the fighting."
　　"Have you seen any Austrians pass by here?"
　　"Not within the last three days."
　　"Do you think you could climb that tree and tell me whether you see anything of the Austrians in the distance?"
　　"Sure!"
　　In a few minutes the boy was at the top of the tree.
　　"Look straight ahead," cried the captain, "and tell me what you see."
　　"Two men on horseback - nothing else."
　　"How far away?"
　　"About a mile and a half. They're standing still." ….
　　"They're shooting at me," said the boy. "but don't worry. Let me tell you what's to the left. Well, there's a church and I think I see... "
　　 A third bullet passed, and the boy was seen to fall suddenly from the tree, dead.
　　"Poor boy!" said the captain, covering the boy's body with a national flag and saying, "He died like a soldier and we must bury him like a soldier."
Soon it was covered with flowers. He gave his life to his country.
【写作内容】
学校最近组织了一次中美学生交流活动，你参加其中的“童年生活”讨论。听完Joe讲的故事“A Little Hero”之后，你准备写一份发言稿，题目是“After Listening to ‘A Little Hero’”，内容要点包括：
1. 以约30个词概括你听完A Little Hero的故事；
2. 然后以约120个词谈谈你的童年生活，内容包括：
(1) 对自己童年生活的感受；
(2) 你的童年以及现在的生活和故事中那位小英雄的童年生活有什么不同？
(3) 作为一位高中学生，你未来的理想是什么？
【写作要求】
1. 在作文中可以使用自己亲身的经历或虚构的故事，也可以参照阅读材料的内容但不得直接引用原文中的句子；
2. 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称。
【评分标准】
概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，篇章连贯。

　　A flag is more than a piece of cloth． It stands for a nation's people --- their land, history, and ideals． Iceland's flag, for instance, stands for features of the land． Red is for the fire of Iceland's volcanoes． White is for ice． Blue is for the mountains． On India's flag, the blue wheel stands for peace and progress． The white stripe behind it is for truth． The black stripe on the flag of Malawi stands for the Negro people of that African land． The red stripe represents the blood they shed to free themselves from foreign rule．

　　When the people of any nation see their flag flying, they feel proud． They love and honor the flag as the symbol of their country．

1．The flag of Iceland is_______．

A．red and white B．blue and green

C．black, white, and red　　 D．red, white, and blue

2．The white stripe on India's flag stands for_______．

A．ice and mountains B． peace and progress C．waterfalls　　D． truth

3．India's flag stands mostly for the________．

A．features of the land B．riches of the soil

C．ideals of the people D．history of the country

4． Of the flags the writer mentions, Malawi's flag is the only one that has a______．

A． green bar B． black stripe C． blue wheel D． red cross

5． The red on Malawi's flag reminds the people of_______．

A．the many volcanoes in their land B．the beauty of their countryside

C．their fight for freedom D．their need to make progress

6． The writer says that when people see their flag they feel________．

A．peace B．pride C．love　　D．Both B and C

7． The most important thing about a flag is_________．

A．what it stands for　　 B． when it is used

C． what it is made of　　D． how big it is

阅读理解

　　Sailors used to speak of a “Jack”when they meant a flag which was set near the bow of a sailing ship. The flag showed the country to which the ship belonged. The Union Jack became the flag of Great Britain. Australia's flag has the Union Jack in the top left hand corner together with the stars of the Southern Cross. They have kept this small part of Britain on their flag because their country was first settled by people from Britain.

　　Australia's flag is the same color as the Union Jack--red, white and blue. The act of joining together is called a“ Union”. The Union Jack was the name of the flag made when England, Scotland and Ireland joined together to make one country.

　　It all began in 1707 when England and Scotland joined together to become one nation. A flag was made using two crosses--one for the patron saint of each country. The word “patron” means protector. Many centuries before the English had taken St George as their patron saint, his emblem (标志 ) was a red cross on a white background. The Scottish patron saint was St Andrew. In memory of him, they used a white cross on a blue background. This cross was shaped like the letter “X”. The new flag was a mixture of both flags with two sets of crosses. When Ireland joined England and Scotland in 1800,another cross was added. St Patrich's cross of Ireland was red and also shaped like an “X”. All three flags now made up the Union Jack.

(1)The Union Jack is a kind of ________ and contains

[　　]

A. flag; three crosses

B. ship; four crosses

C. flag; two crosses

D. ship; three crosses

(2)How many crosses were there in the flag before Ireland joined England and Scotland?

[　　]

(3)Why does Australia have the Union Jack in its flag?

[　　]

A. Because Australians respect the English.

B. Because the Union Jack is colorful.

C. Because people from Britain settled in Australia first.

D. Because people from Britain brought the Union Jack to Australia.

(4)Which of the following is not true?

[　　]

A. The emblem (象征) of the English was a red cross on a white background.

B. The Scottish used a white cross on a blue background in memory of St Andrew.

C. Australia's flag is the same color as the Union Jack.

D. The Irish used a red cross on a blue background in memory of St George.

(5)The colors of the flag of Great Britain now are ________.

[　　]

A. red, black and blue

B. white, yellow and blue

C. red, white and black

D. red, white and blue

The flag, the most common symbol of a nation in the modern world, is also one of the most ancient. With a clear symbolic meaning, the flag in the traditional form is still used today to mark buildings, ships and other vehicles related to a country.

The national flag as we know it today is in no way a primitive artifact. It is, rather, the product of thousands of years’ development. Historians believe that it had two major ancestors, of which the earlier served to show wind direction.

Early human beings used very fragile houses and boats. Often strong winds would tear roofs from houses or cause high waves that endangered travelers. People’s food supplies were similarly vulnerable. Even after they had learned how to plant grains, they still needed help from nature to ensure good harvests. Therefore they feared and depended on the power of the wind, which could bring warmth from one direction and cold from another.

Using a simple piece of cloth tied to the top of a post to tell the direction of the wind was more dependable than earlier methods, such as watching the rising of smoke from a fire. The connection of the flag with heavenly power was therefore reasonable. Early human societies began to fix long pieces of cloth to the tops of totems (图腾) before carrying them into battle. They believed that the power of the wind would be added to the good wishes of the gods and ancestors represented by the totems themselves.

These flags developed very slowly into modern flags. The first known flag of a nation or a ruler was unmarked: The king of China around 1,000 B.C. was known to have a white flag carried ahead of him. This practice might have been learned from Egyptians even further in the past, but it was from China that it spread over trade routes through India, then across Arab lands, and finally to Europe, where it met up with the other ancestor of the national flag.

1. The underlined word “ vulnerable” in paragraph 3 means _______.

　　A. easy to damage　　                B. likely to be protected

　　C. impossible to make sure of　　       D. difficult to find

2.The earliest flags were connected with heavenly power because they _______.

　　A. could tell wind direction　　         B. could bring good luck to fighters

　　C. were believed to stand for natural forces D. were handed down by the ancestors

3.What does the author know of the first national flag?

　　A. He knows when it was sent to Europe.  B. He doubts where it started.

　　C. He thinks it came from China.   　　  D. He believes it was made in Egypt.

4.What will the author most probably talk about next?

　　A. The role of China in the spread of the national flag.

　　B. The importance of modern flags.

　　C. The use of modern flags in Europe.

　　D. The second ancestor of the national flag.