Dear Laura,

Thanks for your message. Yes, I’m having  a great time on my exchange program in France. It’s even  better  than I thought it would be. I was a bit nervous before I   arrived  here, but there was no reason to be. My host family is really nice. They go out of their way to  make  me feel at home. And you  wouldn’t  believe how quickly my French has improved! I’m very comfortable  speaking  French now. Although I still make lots of mistakes, it doesn’t bother me like it used to. My  biggest  challenge is learning how to behave at the dinner table. As you can imagine, things are really different from the way they are at home.  For example, you’re not supposed to  put  your bread on your plate. You’re supposed to put it on the table! I thought that was pretty strange at first, but now I’m used to it. You’re not supposed to eat  anything  with your hands except bread, not even fruit! (You have to cut it up and eat it with a fork). Another thing is that it is very rude to  say  you’re full. If you don’t want any  more  food, you should just say, “It was delicious.” Also, it’s rude to put your hands  in  your lap. You should always keep your hands ,but not your elbows, on the table. I have to say, I find it difficult to  remember  everything, but I’m gradually  getting  used to things and don’t find them so strange any more. I’ll write soon and  tell you more about life in France. Hope you’re having a good school year.

Wang Kun

1.How was Wang Kun before  she arrived in France?

_____________________________________________.

2.Why did she have no reason to be nervous?

______________________________________________.

3.How has her French improved?

________________________________________________.

4.What  is  one particular challenge she is facing?

________________________________________________.

5.What does she find surprising?

_________________________________________________.

 

阅读理解
A man fell out of his plane and fell back into it again. Two people rowed(划) a small boat from New York to England in 56 days. One person was so big that he wouldn’t fit in any hospital room. Would you believe these stories? Well, they may sound strange, but they did happen. James Cornell has more strange but true stories like these in a book called Very Strange People.
Here is part of the contents(目录) of Very Strange People. The contents lists the names of the chapters(章) or parts of the book. It also tells on what page each chapter begins.
Chapter                                                            Page
One       A Dog’s Life  ..........................................3
Two      A Lucky Pilot(飞机师)  ................... ..............14
Three    High Wire Act(走钢丝)  .................... .............33
Four   Fat Men  ............................................... 41
Five     Over the Falls  .........................................43
Six      A House without an end  ................... .............53
Seven    Row, Row, Row Your Boat  ................. ..............60
Eight  The Tower Builder  ....................... ..............85
【小题1】 In 1918, Captain Hedley fell off his plane in the sky, but soon he fell back into it again! You may read about this story in Chapter _____.

A．2

B．3

C．4

D．6

【小题2】 One morning in New York City, people saw a man walking on a rope between two tall buildings. You may read this story in Chapter _____.

A．1

B．3

C．5

D．6

【小题3】 The Earl feeds his dogs better than most people do. This story may begin on Page ______.

A．3

B．33

C．1

D．53

【小题4】 Sarah thought she would die as soon as her house was finished. So she kept on adding more and more rooms. Her story may appear on Page _____.

A．3

B．43

C．53

D．85

【小题5】 In Chapter 4, Robert could not enter any hospital room because of _____.

A．his illness

B．his height

C．his friend

D．his size

A young father was visiting an old neighbor. They were standing in the old man’s garden, and talking about children. The young man said,“How strict should parents be with their children?”

　  The old man pointed to（指着）a string (细绳) between a big strong tree and a thin young one.

　 “Please untie (解开) that string.” said the old man. “But first pull the string tight so that（以便于）the young tree is straight again.” The young man did so. He untied the string and only found that the young tree bent（弯）over to one side.

　 Then the old man said,“There, it is the same with children. You must be strict with them. But sometimes you must untie the string to see how they are getting on. If they are not yet able to stand alone，you must tie the string tight again. But when you find that they are ready to stand alone，you can take the string away.”

1.The story is about ____________.

　　    A. how to take care of young trees　   

B. how strict parents should be with their children

C. how the young father should get on with his old neighbor

2. The young man untied the string ________________.

　　    A. in order to throw it away   　　

B. so that both of the trees wouldn’t grow straight

　　    C. and found that the young tree bent over to one side

3.When could the string be taken away?

　　    A. When the old man left.　   　　

B. When the young man untied it next time.

　    　C. When the young tree grew strong enough.

4. At last the old man told the young man ________________.

　　    A. that he should be strict with his children if they could not 

stand alone

　　    B. that he should always be strict with his children

　　    C. that he should be hard on his children

5.We learn that the big strong tree and the thin young one are like _________.

A. the young father and the old neighbor    　　

B. parents and their children

　　     C. the old neighbor and the children of young father

 

1--- Bill, can I get you anything to drink?

--- _________.

A. You are welcome                   B. No problem

C. I wouldn't mind a coffee              D. Doesn’t matter

 

词语填空。用方框中所给单词的适当形式填空，使短文通顺、正确、连贯(每个单词限用一次)。

danger  high  other  hundred  also  foot  in  them  that  climb

 Some people say the 1.you climb, the harder you fall. Those people probably wouldn’t be rock climbers.

There are about nine million rock climbers in the United States. Some do it just for fun. 2.compete (竞赛). Rock climbing can be 3., but there are many ways 4.can protect climbers. They hope to challenge 5.through climbing.

There are several kinds of rock climbing. Traditional 6.is done outside. Climbers use ropes and equipment to climb many 7.of meters up. Sport climbing is similar. There is 8.indoor climbing. Rock walls made of wood or concrete(混凝土) have places for climbers’ hands and 9..

Nowadays, many American teenagers take part 10.the activity of rock climbing. It is a great way to build their confidence and strength.