One day a rabbit ran into an elephant. "Hello," said the rabbit. "Fine day, isn’t it?" The elephant stopped to look down at the tiny(小的) creature and shouted. "Leave me alone. I don’t have the time to waste on someone so small." The rabbit was shocked by the elephant’s words. Then he decided to ask the whale(鲸鱼) what she thought about the elephant’s rudeness. But the whale laughed at this tiny animal. The rabbit said, "You think that I am weak, but in fact, I am strong! I can beat you at Tug-of-War (拔河比赛)." The whale looked at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Very well, little one. Go and get a rope," she said. The rabbit ran off to find a strong and thick rope. Then he went to the elephant, "Elephant, I will beat you at a game of Tug-of-War." The elephant laughed loudly, but agreed to challenge the tiny animal. He tied the rope around his huge waist. The rabbit took the other end and ran away. He called back to the elephant, "When I say 'pull’, you start pulling. "The rabbit took the other end of the rope to the whale, "Tie this to your tail and when I say 'pull’，you swim." The whale tied the rope to her tail after laughing at the rabbit’s foolishness. Then the rabbit called out "PULL!" The elephant and the whale began pulling. After a while, they were too tired to continue. The elephant and the whale never knew how such a tiny creature could beat them. But from that day on, they said "hello" to the little rabbit with great respect whenever they met.

1.Why did the rabbit want a game of Tug-of-War?

　  A. He wanted to show he was the best.

  　B. He knew that he could do well in this game.

 　 C. He wanted to get respect from the elephant and the whale.

  　D. He wanted to prove he wasn’t the tiniest animal.

2.What do you think of the rabbit according to the story?

  　A. Smart and brave.              B. Tiny and stupid.

  　C. Pride and naughty.             D. Poor and weak.

3.Why did the elephant and the whale lose the game?

　　A. They didn’t prepare for it.

　　B. They were not as strong as the rabbit.

　　C. They were too impolite to the little rabbit.

　　D. They actually fought with each other but not the rabbit.

4.Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?

　　A. The elephant was pleased to talk to the rabbit at first.

　　B. It was the whale who suggested having a game of Tug-of-War.

　　C. The rabbit was stronger than both the whale and the elephant.

　　D. The whale and the elephant began to respect the rabbit from then on.

读写任务 (共1小题,满分25分)
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。
A Little Hero
A group of Italian soldiers led by a captain were advancing slowly toward the position of the enemy. They arrived at a farmhouse, in front of which sat a small boy, cutting a branch of a tree with his knife.
"What are you doing here?" asked the captain. "Why didn't you leave with your family?"
　　"I don't have any family," said the boy. "I'm an orphan. I used to work for the family that lived here. They've gone, but I stayed in order to see the fighting."
　　"Have you seen any Austrians pass by here?"
　　"Not within the last three days."
　　"Do you think you could climb that tree and tell me whether you see anything of the Austrians in the distance?"
　　"Sure!"
　　In a few minutes the boy was at the top of the tree.
　　"Look straight ahead," cried the captain, "and tell me what you see."
　　"Two men on horseback - nothing else."
　　"How far away?"
　　"About a mile and a half. They're standing still." ….
　　"They're shooting at me," said the boy. "but don't worry. Let me tell you what's to the left. Well, there's a church and I think I see... "
　　 A third bullet passed, and the boy was seen to fall suddenly from the tree, dead.
　　"Poor boy!" said the captain, covering the boy's body with a national flag and saying, "He died like a soldier and we must bury him like a soldier."
Soon it was covered with flowers. He gave his life to his country.
【写作内容】
学校最近组织了一次中美学生交流活动，你参加其中的“童年生活”讨论。听完Joe讲的故事“A Little Hero”之后，你准备写一份发言稿，题目是“After Listening to ‘A Little Hero’”，内容要点包括：
1. 以约30个词概括你听完A Little Hero的故事；
2. 然后以约120个词谈谈你的童年生活，内容包括：
(1) 对自己童年生活的感受；
(2) 你的童年以及现在的生活和故事中那位小英雄的童年生活有什么不同？
(3) 作为一位高中学生，你未来的理想是什么？
【写作要求】
1. 在作文中可以使用自己亲身的经历或虚构的故事，也可以参照阅读材料的内容但不得直接引用原文中的句子；
2. 作文中不能出现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。

The organization representing British universities has expressed concern about the potential effect of tuition fees（学费）after figures showed a drop of more than 6% in student applications with less than a month to go before the deadline for 2013 applications.
Data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) showed there were 265,784 university applications by UK-based candidates up to 17 December, 6.3% down on the parallel period in the admissions cycle the year before. While this is less than the 8.4% year-on-urea fall seen in earlier Ucas figures, released in mid-November, the coming January deadline makes it ever more likely that the total 2013 applicant figure will see a second sizeable fall following the introduction of annual fees of up to ￡9,000.
Nicola Dandridge, the chairman of Universities UK, said: “However, we must be concerned about any drops in the numbers applying to university and in particular; we must look closely at how the increase in graduate contributions in England may be affecting the decisions of promising students. However, the December figures show a drop in numbers across the UK, suggesting that it is not only a question of tuition fees in England putting off from applying.”
A report of the Uncas figures to mid-December shows a 6.5% fall for applicants in England and 11.7% for those in Wales, with smaller drops of 3.9% for Scotland and 0.5% for Northern Ireland. Scottish students at home institutions pay on fees, while those from Northern Ireland have fees capped to ￡3,575 for Northern Irish universities.
Dandridge added: “No one should be put off applying to university because of worries about finance.”
“It is important that no one is put off applying to university because they do not have information about the student support available to them. Most new students don’t need to pay directly. There will be more financial support for those from poorer families and everyone will make lower loan repayments than they do now once they are in well paid jobs.”
【小题1】A drop of more than 6% for 2013 applications is probably the effect of         .

Were you born in the 1990s? Do you think you are different from older generations? As there has been considerable discussion about “the post­1990s” in newspapers and on the Internet recently, people including the group themselves, have begun to look at some things that help shape their culture. Do you find them true?
1. Jay Chou　He is not handsome. When he hums no one can understand him. But the 28­year­old Taiwan singer has stolen the hearts of many boys and girls who  were born in the 1990s. They are crazy about him. Huang Kaiqin, a 16­year­old Shanghai student, said，“I love him! I love everything from his lyrics to his melody(旋律), and to his attitude toward the life. ”
2. PSP　Its full name is Play­ Station Portable and it's a Sony product for game fans. Teens love it because PSP is better than the Game Boy in terms of pictures, controls and choices of games. With a PSP you can also play MP3 or MP4, watch movies and so on.
3. Naruto　Among all the popular cartoons and comic books, the Japanese manga series has been this generation's favorite read. Naruto, who was orphaned at birth, grows from being a naughty boy to a powerful ninja (日本武士). Naruto teaches readers that honor is very important and not to give up, even if something is hard to achieve.
4. iPods　MP3s are not in any way, shape or form. But the iPod is amazing because it is a complete library of music in your hand. Post­90s are always excited about the latest product.
5. Tuzki　Tuzki, the white and hairy baby rabbit, was not born until January this year. But Tuzki's popularity has been spreading quickly among post­90s who like QQ and MSN. Wang Lin, a college student, created the cool little rabbit.
6. Chat lingo　On the Internet, the chat lingo is cool and convenient. But one day, teachers notice a new generation of errors entering their students' essays.  Words such as “3Q”，“ORZ” and “b4” confuse adults but are part of teens' everyday lives.
【小题1】Which of the following is WRONG? 

The organization representing British universities has expressed concern about the potential effect of tuition fees（学费）after figures showed a drop of more than 6% in student applications with less than a month to go before the deadline for 2013 applications.

Data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) showed there were 265,784 university applications by UK-based candiates up to 17 Decemeber, 6.3% down on the parallel period in the admissions cycle the year before. While this is less than the 8.4% year-on-uear fall seen in earlier Ucas figures, released in mid-November, the coming January deadline makes it ever more likely that the total 2013 applicant figure will see a second sizeable fall following the introduction of annual fees of up to ￡9,000.

Nicola Dandridge, the chairman of Universities UK, said : “However, we must be concerned about any drops in the numbers applying to university and in particular, we must look closely at how the increase in graduate contributions in England may be affecting the decisions of promising students. However ,the December figures show a drop in numbers across the UK, suggesting that it is not only a question of tuition fees in England putting off from applying.”

A report of the Uncas figures to mid-December shows a 6.5% fall for applicants in England and 11.7% for those in Wales, with smaller drops of 3.9% for Scotland and 0.5% for Nortern Ireland. Scotiish students at home insitiutions pay on fees, while those from Nothern Ireland have fees capped to ￡3,575 for Northern Irish universities.

Dandridge added: “No one should be put off applying to university because of worries about finance.”

“It is important that no one is put off applying to university because they do not have information about the student support available to them. Most new students don’t need to pay directly. There will be more financial support for those from poorer families and everyone will make lower loan repayments thatn they do now once they are in well paid jobs.”

1.A drop of more than 6% for 2013 applications is probably the effect of        .

A．the increased tuition fees

B．the approaching deadline

C．the concern from applicants

D．the difficulties with applications

2.Compared with the previous year, the fall in student applications is         .

A．3.9%             B．6%               C．6.3%             D．8.4%

3.Why is the fall for application the smallest in Soctoland and Northem lreland?

A．Because they have more financial support.

B．Because the tuition is much cheaper for them.

C．Because the education is better there.

D．Because the universities are free for them.

4.Which of the following is true?

A．The application for universities is on a rise continuously.

B．The fall for applications is due to family problems.

C．The education in Scotland and Northern Ireland is worse.

D．The rise of tuition fees has an effect on applications.

5.The last paragraph tells us that        .

A．everyone should apply to university

B．students may get financial supports

C．lower loan repayments is unavailable

D．most new students will not pay fees