阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上涂黑。

The Keeper of the River

An old man had been working for many years for a town．His job was to clear away natural waste from the pool water in the hills, which made up the lovely river flowing through the town nearby．Quietly and    , the old man guarded the hills,     the leaves and branches, and cleaned up the dirt that would have      and polluted the fresh flow of water．The town soon became a popular attraction for tourists．Elegant swans （天鹅） floated along the clear river and the view was so beautiful    words．

Years passed．One evening the town    met．As they reviewed the budget, one man's      caught sight of the salary     being paid to the seldom seen keeper of the river．He asked, "Who is the old man? Why do we    to employ him? No one in town ever     him． For all we know, the strange keeper of the hills isn't doing his job．His position isn't     any longer．" Then they voted to      the man．

     For several weeks, nothing changed ．．．

By early autumn, the trees began to     their leaves．Small branches broke off and fell into the pools of the hills,     the flow of the shining water．One afternoon, someone noticed a slight yellowish-brown     in the river．A few days later, the water was much     . Within another week, an oily something covered some sections of the water along the banks, and a terrible      was soon sensed．Swans left, and so did the      . The only thing that was now visiting the village was disease and sickness．

Quickly , the     town committee called a special meeting．Realising their huge mistake in     , they rehired the old keeper of the river again, and within a few weeks, the river began to clear up．Swans and tourists came back again and new life returned to the small town in the Alps．

Never ignore the seeming smallness of a task, job, or life．They may all make a     .

1.A．regularly  B．suddenly     C．casually       D．seldom

2.A．assumed  B．opposed      C．removed     D．conveyed

3.A．rejected  B．poured        C．selected      D．blocked

4.A．beyond    B．despite        C．within D．after

5.A．sympathy B．employment        C．masterpiece        D．committee

6.A．eye  B．care    C．hand   D．spirit

7.A．list   B．privilege      C．skill     D．concept

8.A．donate     B．continue     C．stop    D．fail

9.A．decorates         B．swears         C．shares          D．sees

10.A．negative         B．urgent         C．necessary   D．complex

11.A．find        B．fire      C．support       D．forget

12.A．lose        B．avoid  C．expand        D．admit

13.A．pulling   B．speeding     C．slowing        D．pushing

14.A．fish         B．color   C．flower          D．leaf

15.A．aliver     B．cooler          C．warmer       D．darker

16.A．sound    B．smell   C．wave   D．light

17.A．managers       B．players        C．villagers       D．tourists

18.A．embarrassed B．accepted     C．focused       D．delighted

19.A．depression     B．voyage         C．judgment    D．amusement

20.A．suggestion      B．difference  C．platform      D．devotion

   As many as one in five US teenagers have some degree of hearing loss, according to researchers.

They say the problem is growing.

   Teenagers really don’t pay attention to how much noise they are exposed (暴露) to, Josef Shargorodsky of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston told Reuters. “Often people won’t notice it, but even slight hearing loss may affect language development,” said Shargorodsky, one of the researchers.

    The study compared surveys from the early 1990s and the mid-2000s. Each included a few thousand teenagers. In the first survey, about 15 percent of teenagers had some degree of hearing loss. Some 15 years later, that number had risen by a third, to nearly 20 percent.

    “This certainly is big news,” said Alison Grimes, an ear doctor. Hearing loss is very common in old people, Grimes said, but she added that it was worrying to see it happen in the younger age group.

    In babies and young children, hearing problems are known to slow language development. The science is less clear for teenagers, but it is easy to imagine how being hard of hearing could affect learning, said Grimes,.

    The reasons for the rise are still unclear. When researchers asked teenagers about noise exposure – on the job, at school or from activities, for example – the teenagers didn’t report any change. But Shargorodsky said that might not be true. “We knew from before that it is difficult to ask this age group about noise exposure – they underestimate (低估) it.” Few people would call it noise when they listen to music on their MP3 player, for example. “There is a difference between what we think is loud and what is harmful to the ear,” said Grimes.

    Although it’s not clear that the MP3 players cause teenagers’ hearing loss, Grimes said it was still a good idea to turn down the sound and take short breaks from listening.

According to the researchers, in a US class of 40 students, about ____ students have some degree of hearing loss.

A. one              B. five             C. six           D. eight

Which of the following statements is true according to the article?

A. Slight hearing loss does not influence learning.    

B. Only a few old people have hearing problems.

C. Hearing problems can slow language development.  

D. Noise exposure is clearly noticed by teenagers.

About hearing loss, it can be inferred that ________.

A. the reasons for the rise have been found           B. MP3 players are to blame

C. listening to loud music may be a cause            D. noise is the main reason

The article was written to ______.

A. warn teenagers that loud music might be harmful

B. explain what kinds of noises might affect studies

C. suggest that teenagers shouldn’t listen to loud music

D. show how important hearing can be for learning

How to Release Creativity

According to most dictionaries. creativity is the ability to create. However, creativity is more than what is defined by the dictionary. It is an idea, a process, a thought。or a state of mind. One cannot learn to be creative because creativity is natural and unique to each individual. People should know that creativity doesn’t equal success. It equals the act of expressing. So. if at first the goal that is aimed for is not achieved, there is no need for worry or frustration.

Creativity can, however, be released by discovery. Some people need encouragement to help

release their creativity. There are quite a few ways to release it.

One way to release creativity would be to look for what can inspire you. Looking at the world and admiring the differences in people and places help. Creativity can be drawn from their beauty. A person can touch, taste, smell, hear, and see hundreds of different objects. Aromas from foods, textures of blankets, and sight of unusual objects can all give inspiration.

Many people are too concerned with how things should look. The focus should be on how it actually looks in the raw, to the human eye. Colors and shapes can be distorted(扭曲)by the mere fact that people want others to see it for what it is. It’s more difficult for someone to let go of all that and just let their creativity flow, unblocked.

Another way to get the creativity flowing is to research what other artists have done or are currently doing. Their cultures and biographies alone can be an inspiration. Examining their works can help some appreciate artistic expression. New techniques can even be drawn from their works.

Some people are even inspired by everyday events, like reading the newspaper or watching the news. Some can take other people’s situations and describe how it makes them feel. That is a way to release creativity. Controversial issues, such as War or abortion, can inspire writings like poems. They can be used to express death, loss, or tragedy. General topics such as religion or politics can branch off into many directions, sending creativity into overdrive.

Creativity is not about reaching a goal or being a perfectionist. It’s about being, feeling, and taking all that is inside and letting it out in one way or another. Creativity is not always expressed by paintings, drawings, or writings. One’s action is the main form to express creativity. Romance, for example, is a form of creativity. Love and emotion are inspired by one person for another. Taking something inside and then putting it back out into the world as another thing is the key of creativity. Knowing and loving someone so much that there is a need to express it is a very natural form of creativity.

Another form of expressing creativity is talking. Some people are more blessed in this area than in more obvious ones。such as painting or drawing. They Paint a “word picture”. Speeches can be centered around new ideas and thoughts. It can contain an of one’s being and transform it into either simple or complicated words.

Inspiration is vital to creativity. Even if it’s only a slight feeling or thought that inspires. Creativity can be released each time attempts are made to use the body as all outlet. Remember that creativity is not an art form, but that it forms art.

How to Release Creativity

The Mandarin Chinese word for “cha” is pronounced “t'e” in certain Chinese dialects(方言). Also the Malay word for the leaf is“the”. This word “the” was used to describe both the drink and the leaf. The Japanese character for tea is written exactly the same as the Chinese, though pronounced with a slight difference; so these may be the origins of our word tea in the western world.

Tea may have been discovered in 2737 BC by Shen Nong, a Chinese Emperor of the San Huang Period（3,000 - 2,700 BC）. He was a scholar, the father of agriculture and the inventor of Chinese herbal medicine. One summer day, while visiting a distant place, he and the court stopped to rest and his servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from the nearby bush fell into the boiling water, and made it a brown liquid. The Emperor was interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it very refreshing. The tree was a wild tea tree, and so, tea was created.

The first samples(样品) of tea reached England between 1652 and 1654. Tea was referred to as the China drink, tcha, chaw, tay, tee, and tea and was at first regarded more as a medicine than a fashionable drink. The original English pronunciation of the word tea was “tay” and can be traced back to around 1655 when the Dutch introduced both word and beverage（饮料）to England. The pronunciation “tee” also originated in the 1600's but only gained predominance（主导地位）after the late 18th century.

By 1650 the Dutch were actively involved in trade throughout the Western world. During that year Peter Stuyvesant brought the first tea to America to the colonists（殖民地定居者）in the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam （later re-named New York）.

1.The following information is true EXCEPT ________.

A. The Japanese write the character for tea the same way as we Chinese.

B. It was a Chinese Emperor who first found tea very refreshing.

C. The word “the” was used to describe only the leaf.

D. Tea was discovered quite by chance in history.

2.Paragraph 2 mainly tells us ________.

A. that Shen Nong, was a famous inventor of Chinese herbal medicine

B. why the Emperor was brave and dared to run risks

C. whether Shen Nong liked drinking boiled water outside the court

D. the way in which tea was created outdoors 

3.Which of the following information is FALSE according to the text?

① Tea was at first regarded just as a fashionable drink in England.

② Tea had different names during the early days it reached England.

③ The pronunciation “tee”originated in 1600.

④ Peter Stuyvesant introduced both word “tay” and beverage（饮料）to England.

⑤ The pronunciation“tee”became popular after the late 18th century.

A. ①②     B. ②③     C. ④⑤     D. ①④   

4.From Paragraph 3 we know ________.

A. that the leaf tea should be put in hot water for drinking 

B. that tea was called the China drink, tcha, chaw, tay, tee, t'e and tea in England

C. what the early situation of tea was like in the Western world  

D. that tea was first brought to America in the late 16th century

One day in 1965，when I worked at View Ridge School in Seattle，a fourth?grade teacher approached me.She had a student who finished his work before all the others and needed a challenge.“Could he help in the library？” she asked.I said, “Send him along.”

Soon a slight，sandy?haired boy in jeans and a T?shirt appeared.“Do you have a job for me？” he asked.

I told him about the Dewey Decimal System(杜威十进分类法) for shelving books.He picked up the idea immediately.Then I showed him a stack(摞) of cards for long?overdue books that I was beginning to think had actually been returned but were misshelved with the wrong cards in them.He said，“Is it kind of a detective job？” I answered yes，and he became working.

He had found three books with wrong cards by the time his teacher opened the door and announced，“Time for break！”He argued for finishing the finding job；she made the case for fresh air.She won.

The next morning，he arrived early.“I want to finish these books，”he said.At the end of the day，when he asked to be a librarian on a regular basis，it was easy to say yes.He worked untiringly.

After a few weeks I found a note on my desk，inviting me to dinner at the boy’s home.At the end of a pleasant evening，his mother announced that the family would be moving to a neighbouring school district.Her son’s first concern，she said，was leaving the View Ridge library.“Who will find the lost books？” he asked.

When the time came，I said an unwilling good?bye.I missed him，but not for long.A few days later he came back and joyfully announced，“The librarian over there doesn’t let boys work in the library.My mother got me transferred back to View Ridge.My dad will drop me off on his way to work.And if he can’t，I’ll walk！”

I should have had an idea such focused determination would take that young man wherever he wanted to go.What I could not have guessed，however，was that he would become a genius of the Information Age：Bill Gates，tycoon(企业巨头) of Microsoft and America’s richest man.

1.What was the author when the story happened?

A．A teacher.? B．A librarian.

C．A detective.? D．A student.

2.Why was the boy sent to the library by the fourth?grade teacher?

A．He failed to finish his work on time.

B．He challenged the teacher in the class.

C．He disturbed all the other students in the class.

D．He needed something to do to challenge himself.

3.What was the boy told to do on his first day in the library?

A．To rearrange the books according to the new system.

B．To put those overdue books back to the shelves.

C．To find out the books with wrong cards in them.

D．To put the cards back in the long?overdue books.

4.The boy got transferred back to View Ridge because ________.

A．he didn’t get along well with the librarian in the new school

B．he was not allowed to work in the new school’s library

C．he missed his old schoolmates and teachers

D．he had to walk a long way to go to school