The clock struck(敲) eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly at a huge pile（堆） of those trouble things
—books.
I was going to have my exam the next day. “When can I go to bed?” I asked myself. I didn’t answer. And I could not. The clock struck twelve. “Oh, dear! Ten more books to read before I go to bed!” We students are the most wretched ones in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.
The clock struck one. I was quite hopeless now. I forgot all I did learn. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed（祈祷）, “My god, please let me pass the exam tomorrow. I will work hard next time, Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the books, I fell asleep.
【小题1】The word “wretched” in Line 6 means _______.

A．very happy

B．forgetful

C．unlucky

D．hopeful

【小题2】What do you think happened to the writer?

A．He was late for the exam.	B．He passed the exam luckily.
C．He failed in the exam.	D．He fell asleep during the exam.

【小题3】The best title for the passage is _______.

A．The Night Before The Exam	B．Working Far Into Night
C．A Slow Student	D．Going Over Lessons

On Thanksgiving Day, a teacher asked her class of first-graders to draw a picture of something they were thankful for. She thought that these children from poor families actually had little to be thankful for. And she found most of them drawing pictures of flowers or tables with food. The teacher was very surprised to see the picture Douglas handed in. It’s a hand, a simple hand.
But whose hand? The class were very interested in the strange picture. “I think it must be the hand of God that bring us food,” said one child, “A farmer,” said another, “Because he grows beautiful flowers.” Finally when the others were at work, the teacher went over Douglas’ desk and asked whose hand it was. “It’s your hand, Teacher,” she said quietly and shyly.
She remembered that she had often taken Douglas, a dirty lonely child, by the hand while having a class break. She often did that with the children. But it meant so much to Douglas. Perhaps this is everyone’s thanksgiving, not for the material things we get, but for the chance, in whatever small way, to give to others.
【小题1】When did the story happen?

A．On Christmas Day.	B．On Teachers’ Day.
C．On Mother’s Day.	D．On Thanksgiving Day.

【小题2】Why did Douglas draw the picture?

A．He was good at drawing it.

B．His teacher asked him to draw it.

C．He wanted to show his thanks to the teacher.

D．He hoped to get a prize in drawing.

【小题3】What do you learn about Douglas from the passage?

A．He was a lonely child.	B．He was very active in class.
C．He always kept his hand clean.	D．He often answered questions loudly.

【小题4】According to the passage, which of the following is an opinion (意见；主张；看法), but not a fact?

A．The teacher went over Dauglas’ desk and talked to him.

B．Different people show their thanksgiving in different ways.

C．The teacher often took Douglas by the hand after class.

D．Most of the students were drawing the pictures of flowers or tables with food.

任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
阅读下列短文，根据短文中的信息完成文后表格。（每空一词）

Studying abroad is an amazing experience, especially when you come to Australia as an overseas high school student. You can have a lot of fun here, especially on holidays.
There are many festivals in Australia. The most important one is obviously Christmas. Each year, the summer holidays at every high school last about two months from the beginning of December to February,  which covers the Christmas time. Since it is a long holiday, most overseas students love to fly back to their home countries to spend the time with their fami­lies and friends, but a few students still stay in Australia during the holiday to get part-time jobs. It is quite easy to find a part-time job at Christmas. Students often take part in another major social activity. They go to the beach to have fun in the sunshine. The summer in Australia is from December to February, so going to the beach in December is very popular among Australians.
Easter in March is another important holiday in the year. It actually combines(使结合) “Good Friday” and “Easter Monday”. Almost every shop closes on Good Friday. And people usually go to see Easter Show.
The Chinese New year is not a public holiday in Australia, so every Chinese student still continues to go to school to study and do his or her normal duties.

【小题1】 in Australia
When does summer begin in Australia?	In  【小题2】
In which season is Christmas in Australia?	In  【小题3】 .
What’s  【小题4】  activity in December in Australia?	【小题5】to the beach and  【小题6】 sunshine.
What do people do on Good Friday and Easter?	People   【小题7】 go shopping, but 【小题8】 go to see Easter show.
What do Chinese students do during the spring festival in Australia?	They   【小题9】  to do their   【小题10】 things.

Shopping in Singapore is really a pleasure for tourists. The Great Singapore Sale is held every year, usually during the summer months. Singapore’s famous shopping stores welcome a great number of visitors from all over the world. Their shopping hours last till midnight. During this time, nice and cheap goods are on sale for tourists to choose from. Tourists can also try delicious foods there and experience the Singaporean nightlife.
Certain stores offer discounts of up to 70 percent or even higher if people use their credit（信用）cards. For tourists that hold a special Tourist Card, they can enjoy a lot of benefits(好处), such as discounts on watches, jewellery and cosmetics (化妆品). The card also gives discounts when you visit local attractions such as Singapore Zoo.
It is well worth checking out in the different shopping districts of Singapore during this 8-week Shopping Marathon. Orchard Road is surely the best place for shopping in the city. A large number of restaurants and clubs can be found in this area. Marina Bay includes both big department stores（百货商店） as well as small shops, so everything you would want to buy can be found here.
Advice for tourists planning to enjoy this festival of shopping: travel light and take a comfortable pair of shoes with you, for you are sure to do a lot of walking and return with your bags much heavier.
【小题1】 You will see the Great Singapore Sale if you go to Singapore in ________.

A．January

B．August

C．May

D．November

【小题2】We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．the Great Singapore Sale is held twice a year

B．the Shopping Marathon lasts for more than two months

C．Orchard Road is Singapore’s best shopping street

D．Marina Bay is a lonely street with small shops

【小题3】Why are tourists advised to travel light if they want to enjoy the shopping festival?

A．They will buy many goods and have to do lots of walking.

B．It is not safe for them to take heavy bags with them.

C．There is heavy traffic in the shopping districts of Singapore.

D．Travelling with too many things is not allowed in Singapore.

Chinese people call the Spring Festival“Nian”. But do you know that Nian
was once the name of a monster(妖怪)?
　　A long time ago, the monster Nian lived in the mountains. It ate
animals. But in winter, it could not find food. So it came to villages and
ate a lot of people. People were so afraid of Nian that they locked their
doors before evening came during the winter. One day, an old man came to a
village. He told people there that Nian was afraid of three things——the
color red, fire and noise. He told people to play drums and gongs, make
big fires and set off fireworks(放鞭炮)to make Nian go away.
　　On a moonless, cold night, Nian went to the village again. As soon as it
opened its big mouth, people made loud noises and made fires. Nian was
really afraid and ran away. wherever it went, there was noise and fire.
When Nian was tired and could not run anymore, people killed the monster.
　　After that, on the coldest day of winter, people beat drums and gongs,
and set off fireworks to celebrate the death of the monster of Nian. They
put up red lanterns and have a big dinner without sleeping during the
night.
　　In the morning people greet each other happily. So now we have the
Spring Festival.
【小题1】 From the story, Nian seemed to be       long, long ago.
A exciting     B  interesting    C boring   D terrible
【小题2】 The monster Nian ate people in winter because it          .
A  wanted to make people afraid    B  had no food to eat
C  celebrated the Spring Festival    D liked to eat people in a village
【小题3】Nian was afraid of          .
A red    B fire   C noise    D  A, B and C
【小题4】 The monster Nian wasn’t killed until          .
A it had eaten all the animals  B  the old man came to a village
C it was too tired to run away  D people knew what it was afraid of
【小题5】 What is the best title for the passage?
A How the Spring Festival Came  B What People did During Nian
C How People Celebrated Nian  D What the Spring Festival was