While I was in 9th grade, I built a circuit (电路装置) for the traffic system of our city. After getting the first prize. I got this valuable advice from my father; “Do whatever interests you, and don’t let the work challenge you, make sure you are challenging that work.”

I have always preferred the projects which are challenging and related to real life problems. I clearly remember building a shipping program several years ago. I divided the whole project into several small sections. When I understood it clearly, used my brainstorming skill on it, and gave some basic ideas. Then I asked my professor for help before jumping into coding (编码). At first, I did not know how to ask questions correctly and always asked the question “How do I do it?” As I  kept working and discussed with my professor, I became more comfortable and those “how ”questions soon turned into “what if I do this and that” types of questions.

It took me four days to write the code. The desire to solve the problem kept me sleepless all nights brainstorming in even greater details. Every time I saw my program running smoothly, I exploded with joy. I still remember the last day of my work. I was getting some problem and didn’t know what to do. At that moment, a man came in to clean. He has headphones, and he was dancing while cleaning the room. Seeing this, I burst out laughing. That moment calmed me. I regained energy and interest and started to work again, and soon I fixed the problem.

My success in the project proved that breaking up a large problem into small parts could help find a possible solution. Discussing the problem with others was also very beneficial. Now I have gained the confidence to attempt any kind of project.

According to the passage, the writer was interested in          .

      A．developing traffic systems      B．doing challenging projects

       C．winning great prizes D．writing different codes

The writer asked the question “how do I do it” at first because         .

       A．he had no clear idea about his program B．he was too shy to express himself

       C．he wanted to be understood easily   D．he preferred this kind of question

We learn from the passage that the writer’s shipping program         .

       A．would benefit people a lot      B．was done together with others

       C．was difficult and needed patience   D．cost much money and energy

What would be the best title of the passage?

       A．Do It Yourself       B．No Pains, No Gains

       C．Learning with interest     D．Practice Makes Perfect

　　When I was about 12,I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings.

　　Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

　　He listened to me quietly, then he asked.” Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”

　　I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin),but a good number I could--and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to a fairly clear picture of myself.

　　I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it.” That’s just for you,” he said.” You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”

　　Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.

68.Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?

A. Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend

B. The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had

C. My Father

D. My Childhood

69.What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?

A. Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me.

B. She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer.

C.I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on.

D. Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious.

70.Why did her father listen to her quietly?

A. Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true.

B. Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while.

C. Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment.

D. Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth.

71.What did the father do after he had heard his daughter’s complaint?

A. He told her not to pay any attention to what her “enemy” had said.

B. He criticized(批评) her and told her to overcome her shortcomings.

C. He told her to write down all that her “enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true.

D. He refused to take the list and have a look at it.

Increasingly ,over the past ten years ,people—especially young people—have become aware of the need to change their eating habits ,because much of the food they eat ,particularly processed foods ,is not good for the health .As a result ,there has been a growing interest in natural foods :foods which do not contain chemical fertilizers ,widely used in farming today .

    Natural foods ,for example ,are vegetables ,fruit and grain which have been grown in soil that is rich in organic(有机的)matter . In simple terms ,this means that the soil has been nourished by unused vegetable matter ,which provides it with essential vitamins and minerals. This in itself is a natural process compared with the use of chemicals and fertilizers , the main purpose of which is to increase the amount—but not the quality—of food grown in commercial farming areas .

    Natural foods also include animals which have been allowed to feed and move freely in healthy grassland for cattle .Compare this with what happens in the mass production of poultry (家禽):there are battery farms ,for example ,where thousands of chickens live crowded together in one building and are fed on food which is little better than rubbish .Chickens kept in this way are not only tasteless as food; they also produce eggs which lack important vitamins .

    There are other things of healthy eating which are now receiving increasing attention from experts on diet .Take ,for example ,the question of sugar .This is actually a non-essential food! Although another natural food ,such as honey ,can be used to sweeten food if this is necessary ,we can in fact do without it .It is not that sugar is harmful in itself .But it does seem to be addictive : the quantity we use has grown steadily over the last two centuries and in Britain today each person consumes an average of 200 pounds a year !Yet all it does is provide us with energy ,in the form of calories .There are no vitamins in it ,no minerals ,and no fibre .

    It’s very important that nowadays fibre is considered to be an important part of a healthy diet .In white bread ,for example ,the fibre has been removed .But it is present in unrefined flour and of course in vegetables .It is interesting to note that in countries where the national diet contains large quantities of unrefined flour and vegetables ,certain diseases are comparatively not often seen .For this reason ,the importance is placed on the eating of wholemeal(没有去麸的面粉)bread and more vegetables by modern experts on “healthy eating”.

People have become more interested in natural foods because            .

    A．they want to keep fit

    B．they want to taste all kinds of foods

    C．natural foods are more delicious than processed foods

    D．they want to return to nature

Chickens raised in poultry farms are all of the following EXCEPT that            .

    A．they are fed on food which is little better than garbage

    B．they live in very crowed condition 

    C．the eggs they produce lack vitamins 

    D．they are allowed to move about and eat freely 

According to the passage,_________.

    A．people need sugar to give them energy

    B．sugar is bad for the health

    C．the use of sugar is habit forming

    D．sugar only sweetens food, but provides us with nothing useful

完形填空（共20小题，每题1．5分，共30分）

       A White – bearded ancient man was walking over the hills and valleys of the world．On his back he carried a bag which moved uneasily as if something was trying to escape from it, but he   21   it between his shoulders and walked on．

       He was Father Time, traveling forever, and the bag he   22   was filled with Tomorrows, all struggling to get out．

       Each   23   at twelve o’clock, he opened the bag and   24   a Tomorrow, just one, with its wings of   25   , and its shining feathers rose with hope．All the rest were kept   26   by Time’s strong hands and pushed   27   in the bag．

       Down flew the Tomorrow   28   its lovely feathers, but as it touched the   29   , off fell its blue wings and it changed to a（n）   30   white bird which could not fly．It had become a Today．Everyone knows that Today isn’t as   31   as Tomorrow, for Today can be held in one’s   32   , accepted, unloved, but Tomorrow is full of mystery（神秘）and beauty．It is   33   by all the world．Even those with   34   hope sigh, “Tomorrow may bring a（n）   35  ．Tomorrow’s life will be different．”

       Everybody tried to   36  the Tomorrow before it fell to the ground．They thought if they   37   beforehand what the Tomorrow carries, they could   38   for it．So they put great nets on the trees, seeking to catch one   39   it changed his feather．Yet although they tried every means, the birds   40   and flew to the ground as Todays．

A．relaxed  B．worried    C．excited     D．settled

A．bore      B．placed      C．laid   D．lifted

A．dawn     B．morning   C．night D．afternoon

A．got     B．fetched     C．took      D．flew

A．blue       B．pink      C．black     D．white

A．out     B．off        C．away     D．back

A．along     B．deep      C．far        D．over

A．shaking  B．moving     C．beating     D．striking

A．earth      B．floor     C．tree       D．grass

A．lovely  B．ordinary   C．beautiful   D．especial

A．bad      B．wonderful C．common   D．familiar

A．hands   B．mind     C．heart     D．head

A．noticed B．seen      C．forgotten  D．desired

A．little    B．some     C．much     D．few

A．shock   B．suggestion C．change      D．advice

A．keep    B．catch     C．hold      D．protect

A．expectedB．watched  C．guessed     D．knew

A．wait     B．long      C．prepare     D．look

A．as     B．when     C．before      D．after

A．refused B．escaped     C．struggled  D．fought

When I was an education official in Palo Alto, California, Polly Tyner, the president of our school board, wrote a letter that was printed in the Palo Alto Times. Polly’s son, Jim had great difficulty in school. He was classified as educationally disabled and required a great deal of patience on the part of his parents and teachers. But Jim was a happy kid with a great smile that lit up the room. His parents acknowledged his academic difficulties, but always tried to help him see his strengths so that he could walk with pride. Shortly after Jim finished high school, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. After his death, his mother submitted this letter to the newspaper.

Today we buried our 20-year-old son. He was killed instantly in a motorcycle accident on Friday night. How I wish I had known when I talked to him last that it would be the last time. If I had only known I would have said, “Jim, I love you and I’m very proud of you.”

        I would have taken the time to count the many blessings he brought to the lives of the many who loved him. I would have taken the time to appreciate his beautiful smile, the sound of his laughter, his genuine love of people.

       When you put all the good qualities on the scale and try to balance all the irritating phenomena such as the radio which was always too loud, the haircut that wasn’t to our liking, the dirty socks under the bed, etc., your angry feelings won’t amount to much. 

        I won’t get another chance to tell my son all that I would have wanted him to hear, but, other parents, you do have a chance. Tell your young people what you would want them to hear as if you knew it would be your last conversation. The last time I talked to Jim was the day he died. He called me to say, “Hi, Mom! I just called to say I love you. Got to go to work. Bye.” He gave me something to treasure forever. 

       If there is any purpose at all for Jim’s death, maybe it is to make others appreciate more of life and to have people, especially family members, take the time to let each other know just how much we care. 

According to the passage, we know that ________. 

A. Jim kept to himself

B. Jim did very well in his studies

C. Jim’s parents were patient with him

D. Jim failed to finish his high school.

The underlined word “irritating” in Paragraph 4 means _________.

A. annoying  B. aggressive   C. impatient    D. thrilling

By writing the letter printed in the Palo Alto Times, the mother intends to ______________.

A. mourn her son’s sudden death in a traffic accident

B. remind people to be cautious of motorcycles

C. advise people to take the chance to express their love in time

D. appreciate more of life than ever before

What can be the best title of the passage?

A. Love your Family             B. Do it Today

C. Walk with Pride              D. Appreciate Smiles