Shaquille O'Neal was chosen in 1996 as one of the 5 0 Greatest Players in NBA History．He was __1__ as the 1999-2000 Most Valuable Player by media（媒体）．He was in All-Star ten times．O'Neal is a great basketball player，and he IS also a successful __2__．

Shaquille O'Neal is a big man，more than 7 feet tall and 310 pounds，and a big basketball star．Here are some facts about this __3__ player．He was born on March 6，1972，in Newark，New Jersey．His nickname（绰号），Shaq is taken from his given name，__4__ means “little warrior（勇士）” in Arabic．__5__ a child，he did not want to play basketball or be a rap singer．He wanted to be a break dancer（跳街舞者），__6__ when he was 13，he started playing basketball for an American team in Germany，where he was living __7__ his family．His parents had to __8__ the young basketball player in his daily life because he was too young at that time．In Germany，he met Dale Brown，the trainer of the basketball team of Louisiana State University（LSU）．This connection with Trainer Brown __9__ Shaq to choose LSU __10__ he finished high school．Then at the age of 20，Shaq __11__ the Orlando Magic，an NBA team．Shaq is now Number 34 with the Los Angeles Lakers and has signed（签订）a __12__ contract for $123 million，or “a hundred mil” as Shaquille calls __13__ in his rap song It Was All a Dream．

Shaquille O'Neal is the greatest __14__ of an NBA player who became a rapper．He has made four successful rap albums（专辑）．It Was All a Dream is one of his rap songs．In the song he tells people．how he felt when he became successful．

__15__ amazing（惊奇的）success story he has had．

1．A．reached                   B．caught                 C．held                       D．picked

2．A．dancer                   B．rap（说唱）singer C．trainer                    D．movie star

3．A．rich                   B．famous            C．strange               D．young

4．A．that                    B．which                   C．who                 D．whom

5．A．As                     B．When               C．While                D．since

6．A．so                     B．then               C．but                  D．or

7．A．from                  B．with                    C．by                  D．for

8．A．look at                B．look over            C．look after             D．look up

9．A．had                   B．made              C．let                   D．guided

10．A．after                B．while               C．before               D．since

11．A．played                B．joined                   C．left                   D．took part in

12．A．seven-year          B．seven years         C．one year              D．seven-years

13．A．them                B．it                       C．one                  D．its

14．A．example              B．name               C．story                  D．singer

15．A．How an              B．What a             C．What an              D．How

We know that trees are useful in our everyday life. They   1   us many things, such as wood, oxygen(氧气), rubber, medicines and many other things. They can   2   tell us a lot about our climate. The following are the reasons. If you cut across a tree, you can   3   that it has many rings. Most trees grow one   4   ring every year. Because of this reason, we know   5   a tree is. A tree over a hundred years old means that it has more than a hundred   6  . When the climate is dry(干燥的) or very cold, the trees do not grow very much and their rings are usually   7  . When it is wet and   8  , the rings are much thicker. If the rings are suddenly very thin or suddenly very thick, this means that the    9   changed suddenly. If we look at the rings on the trees, we can   10   about the climate for a hundred years. We can see how our climate is changing today.

1.                A．give           B．ask            C．get  D．tell

2.                A．too            B．as well          C．either    D．also

3.                A．hear           B．feel            C．see D．look

4.                A．new           B．old            C．young    D．short

5.                A．how tall        B．how old         C．how long D．how far

6.                A．leaves          B．apples          C．rings D．trees

7.                A．big            B．thin            C．thick(厚的)    D．long

8.                A．cold           B．cool            C．hot D．warm

9.                A．climate         B．things          C．people   D．life

10.               A．think          B．talk            C．learn D．change

On New Year’s Eve, people in Italy throw out all the old things. So there are chairs, beds, clothes and plates in the streets. In Spain, the new year comes in more quietly. In the evening people come together to the streets. Each holds(拿着) grapes(葡萄). When twelve o’clock comes, people start eating the grapes.
In Japan, people eat noodles(面条) on New Year’s Eve. This food is said to bring long life(生命). Early the next morning, some families climb Mount Fuji(富士山). There they watch the first sunrise(日出) of the new year.
1. This story is about New Year’s Eve in ________.
A. Italy            B. Spain            C. Japan            D. A,B and C
2.People in Spain welcome New Year by ________ after twelve.
A. eating grapes                   B. eating noodles  
C. throwing the old things         D. watching the sunrise
3.People in both Spain and Japan ________ to bring the New Year.
A. Throwing things away         B. sing and dance
C. eat some food                   D. climb a mountain
4.Japanese climb Mount Fuji to _________.
A. look at the stars             B. look for New Year’s wishes 
C. see the sun coming up           D. have a rest
5. The people in ________ hope to get long life from their New Year’s food.
A. Japan         B.China   C. Spain     D. Italy

看，几个同学正在用英语对话呢，猜猜他们说了什么，完成对话，首字母填空，看谁猜的最准确。

Li Ming: Excuse me, Wu Dong. Whose black dog is this? Is it y_1._? 

Wu Dong: Let me h_2._ a look. Oh, no, it’s not m__3._.

Li Ming: Li Lei, look at the dog b_4.__ the tree. Is it yours?

Li Lei: S__5.__, it isn’t mine. My dog is black and w____6._. I think it looks l_7._ Ma Lin’s.

Li Ming: W_8._is Ma Lin?

Li Lei: He is my friend. Look! He’s over there. L_9._ go and ask him.

Li Ming: Ok, Let’ s go.

Li Lei: Hi,   Ma Lin. Is that dog yours?

Ma Lin: Oh, yes, it’s mine.

Li Lei: It’s a lovely dog! D_10._ lose it.

Ma Lin: Yes, thank you.

Much meaning can be carried, clearly, with our eyes, so it is often said that eyes can speak. Do you have such kind of experience? In a bus you may look at a stranger, but not too long. And if he notices that he is being stared at, he may feel uncomfortable.

The same in daily life! If you are looked at for more than necessary, you will look at yourself up and down, to see if there is anything wrong with you. If nothing goes wrong, you will feel angry toward others’ stare（盯着）with you that way. Eyes do speak, right?

Looking too long at someone may seem to be impolite or even rude. But things are different when it comes to stare at the opposite sex. If a man look at a woman for more than 10 seconds and refuses to turn away from his looking, his purpose is obvious, that is, he wishes to attract her attention, to make her understand that he is admiring her.

However, the normal eye contact for two people during a conversation is that the speaker will only look at the listener from time to time, in order to make sure that the listener does pay attention to what his friend is speaking, to tell him that he is interested.

If a speaker looks at you continuously when speaking, as if he tries to control you, you will feel uncomfortable. We usually find a poor liar（说谎者）looking too long at the victim, because he believes that it is a sign of honest communication to look straight in the eye. Totally wrong!

In fact, continuous eye contact only happens between lovers, who will enjoy looking at each other gently for a long time, to show feelings that words cannot express. Obviously, eye contact should be done according to the relationship between two people and the proper situation.