When Jane Austen (1775--1817) wrote her novels in England, she was writing about a   21  that most of us would not recognize.

But today Austen’s books are in great   22   than ever. In the last ten years, five or six novels have been   23   into Hollywood films, while her books continue to be bestsellers. So why is Austen still   24  ?

Richard Jenkyns, a professor of English at Oxford University argued that her novels still  25  people because they  26  the same issues today as they were when she wrote them.

Her novels are about women   27  to find a perfect husband, but also  28  issues surrounding marriages, friendships and the family. “The plots are fairly timeless about human interaction   29  are familiar to us,” Jenkyns says.

The most famous book Austen wrote is Pride and Prejudice, a   30   story between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. At first the two   31  do not get on. They   32   fall in love, but still have to   33   opposition to their relationship from their families.

All of Austen’s books are   34   to read, making them popular with children and adults,

  35  they work on different levels so people can take  36  they need from them, author Kate Henry says.

“You can choose to see the politics and feminism(男女平等思想) in them,  37  you don’t want to take on those issues you can turn a blind eye to it,” she says.

  38  is often hailed(赞扬) as the greatest romance writer in the English language, so it is surprising she remained  39  . “Maybe she was too much of a romantic, waiting for a    40

man,” Henry says.

Now let’s talk about doing well by doing good—many people who have ever been volunteers for the community find their place in relative jobs or even make their way to be corporate(团体的)leaders.

Consider the case of Kimberly Mulcahy. Throughout her career, Mulcahy has actively volunteered in her community, profession and industry. Though she put in long hours as Vice President at a Fortune 500 company, she also found time to professional and community organizations.

Then last year, the unexpected thing happened. The company where she’d worked for more than 20 years was bought out and she was laid off.

On hearing the news, those who she served were quick not only to offer her support—but actual jobs! In the end, Mulcahy was hired by a PR agency—she used to work as a director of her industry association. And she brought with her several accounts based on relationships she had formed through volunteering.

Volunteering was a godsend(天赐之物)to Todd, who has been a mid-level manager at the same company for many years. After he was out of work, he felt old and disappointed. But Todd knew he needed a change. Todd became involved in community service. He joined his town’s volunteer fire department and was soon appointed to the finance committee.

Sometimes volunteering helps you bring passion to your work, other times it can turn your life’s passion into your work. Cape Cod Baseball League President Judy Scarafile is a registered pharmacist(药剂师)whose love of the game led her to volunteered as league publicist(宣传员), secretary and deputy commissioner woman to hold the top post.

Whether you are to enter the workforce, build your resume, or follow your passion, volunteering is good for the soul and the career.

By saying “doing well by doing good” in Paragraph 1, the author wants to_____.

  A．encourage us just to do it, and it will be better

  B．encourage us to try as hard as possible

  C．tell us not to give up

  D．tell us that people who have volunteered their way into

Which of the following is NOT true about Mulcahy according to the passage?

  A．Mulcahy put in long hours as Vice President at a Fortune 500 company.

  B．Mulcahy becomes a famous football player.

  C．Mulcahy brought with her several accounts based on relationships she had formed through volunteering.

  D．Mulcahy was hired by a PR agency.

Which of the following words can best describe Todd?

  A．Learned         B．Lucky        C．Rude          D．Realistic

Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

  A．Volunteer Work Can Boost Your Career.

  B．Mulcahy’s Voluntary Work Experience.

  C．It’s a Good Chance to Be a Volunteer.

  D．Volunteer Work.

       Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. “Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting creatures,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative meaning.

So it seems contradictory to talk about habits in the same context as innovation (创新). But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously developnew habits, we create parallel paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.

       Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try, the more creative we become.

       But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the brain, they’re there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately press into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads.

       “The first thing needed for innovation is attraction to wonder,” says Dawna Markova, author of The Open Mind. “But we are taught instead to ‘decide’, just as our president calls himself ‘the Decider’．” She adds, however, that “to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities.”

       “All of us work through problems in ways of which we’re unaware,” she says. Researchers in the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the ability to approach challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally, collaboratively (合作地) and innovatively. At the end of adolescence, however, the brain shuts down half of that ability, preserving only those ways of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.

       The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us use our innovative and collaborative ways of thought. “This breaks the major rule in the American belief system — that anyone can do anything,” explains M. J. Ryan, author of the 2006 book This Year I Will…and Ms. Markova’s business partner. “That’s a lie that we have preserved, and it fosters (促进，培养) commonness. Knowing what you’re good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.” This is where developing new habits comes in.

Brain researchers have discovered that      .

       A．the forming of new habits can be guided

       B．the development of habits can be predicted

       C．the regulation of old habits can be transformed

       D．the track of new habits can be created unconsciously

The underlined word “ruts” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to       .

       A．zones              B．connections      C．situations       D．tracks

Which of the following statements most probably agrees with Dawna Markova’s view?

       A．Decision makes no sense in choices.

       B．Curiosity makes creative minds active.

       C．Creative ideas are born of a relaxing mind.

       D．Formation of innovation comes from fantastic ideas.

The purpose of the author writing this article is to persuade us       .

       A．to give up our traditional habits deliberately

       B．to create and develop new habits consciously

       C．to resist the application of standardized testing

       D．to believe that old habits conflict with new habits

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。

When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs．He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t saving lives, he was planting trees．

The good doctor had some interesting theories concerning planting trees．He believed in “No pains, no gains”．He never watered his new trees, which was beyond many people．Once I asked why．He answered that watering plants spoiled them, and that if you water them, each following tree generation will grow weaker and weaker．So you have to make things tough for them．He talked about how watering trees made for shallow roots, and how trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in search of water．I took him to mean that deep roots were to be treasured．

So he never watered his trees. He’d plant an oak(橡树) and, instead of watering it every morning, he’d beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. Smack! Slap! Pow! I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree’s attention.

Dr. Gibbs passed away a couple of years after I left home. Every now and again, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I’d watched him plant some twenty-five years ago. They’re extremely tall, big and strong now. Those trees wake up in the morning and beat their chests and drink their coffee black.

[写作内容]

1. 以约30词概括短文内容要点; 

2. 以约120词就 “个人成长需要艰难生活的磨砺””这一话题发表你的看法，并包含以下要点：

1) 你是否赞同Dr. Gibbs 的做法，为什么？

2) 叙述当前父母溺爱子女的现象和由此造成的后果；

3) 假如你是父母一方，你会如何磨砺自己的孩子？

[写作要求]

1.可以使用实例或其他论述方法支持你的论点，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不得直接引用原文中句子;

2. 文中不能出现考生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。

I believe that my country,Poland,is a perfect example for a place where food is particularly important.When we were little children,we began to understand how much a loaf of bread meant to our parents—to some it might sound silly but for me the custom of kissing bread before you started cutting it was simply amazing.It’s not so common nowadays to treat food that way,since you hardly ever bake your own bread.Besides,everyone would call you crazy if you tried to kiss every bread roll before you ate them!But though we no longer make our food from scratch(起点),some customs have been kept—that’s why I feel so sorry every time I have to throw any food away—even though I no longer live with my parents and nobody would blame me for this anymore!

Many people of our nation are still working as farmers,eating what they grow and harvest and therefore enjoying everything more.It’s widely known that you value more anything that needs your effort in the first place.In most homes in Poland,especially those of farmers,the whole family would try and have their meals together—extremely difficult now,but so rewarding(值得)!You can share other members’ troubles and successes,give your children some attention,or just sit down for a moment instead of rushing through life aimlessly.Furthermore,your body,and stomach in particular will be very grateful(感激) for such a time!

In Poland,a wedding,Christmas or even a birthday is celebrated with a great meal.Women in the house get together and cook,sometimes for a few days before the event,and the extremely good or unusual food will be remembered and widely talked about.

You cannot over-value the importance of food in the country.What’s more,almost everyone in Poland will be as interested in the topic as I am.

When the writer was a child,he/she ______.

A.found people were crazy about bread

B.began to realize the importance of food

C.thought that cutting bread was amazing

D.learned people hardly baked their own bread

The writer feels very sorry when he/she has to throw away any food because ______.

A.he/she makes food from scratch

B.his/her parents would blame him/her

C.some customs still have effect on him/her

D.many people are still working hard as farmers

From the text,we can learn that,in Poland,_______.

A.most meals can be interesting topics for a long time

B.the whole family often have meals together nowadays

C.it’s common for women to get together to cook for a few days

D.family members can know more about each other by having meals together