John Denver has got international fame as a pop star, songwriter, actor and environmental activist ( 环境保护者). Songs like Take Me Home, Country Road, Rocky

Mountain High and Annie's Song have become very popular. But less than thirty years ago, John Denver was a young man with little more than a fine voice, a guitar, and a dream. Growing up in conservative (保守的) family, he was not believed to drop out of college and head to Los Angeles, where the music scene was flowering. Nor was he believed to succeed.

In Take Me Home, John Denver talked about the story that shaped his life, with the story of the rich inner journey of a shy Midwestern boy. With honesty and cleverness, he wrote about his childhood, the feeling of moving to Los Angeles as the 60s came, his first lucky breaks, his first songwriting success with leaving on a Jet Plane and finally got a world fame.

He also wrote about his relationship with his first and second wife, as well as his parents, his children, his partners through his life and his friends.

Honest and rich in the book that only a natural-born storyteller could write so well, Take Me Home is very good from the beginning to the end. It's like spending a few days with a good friend.

1.This passage is probably about         .

A．a book written by John Denver	B．the life and cause of John Denver
C．how to write pop songs	D．what Los Angeles was like

2.Take Me Home is a name of       .

A．a famous book	B．a folk song in Los Angeles
C．a wonderful movie	D．a pop song by John Denver

3. From this passage, we can conclude that       .

A．John Denver's family didn't want him to leave college

B．he often had trips when he was a shy boy

C．he moved to Los Angeles with his parents

D．his family believed he would succeed

4. John Denver wrote his songs about many things except        .

A．his first success in songwriting

B．his family members including his parents, his wives and his children

C．the problems of environment

D．his life in los Angeles

 

 

第二节 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。

When I was a teenager, my dad did everything he could to advise me against becoming a brewer(啤酒制造者). He didn’t even want me anywhere near a vat(酿酒用的桶). So I did as he asked. I got good grades and went to Harvard.

In the second year, I began to realize that I’d never done anything but go to school. So, at 24 I decided to drop out (辍学)for some time. Obviously, my parents didn’t think this was a great idea. But I felt strongly that one can’t wait till he is 65 to do what he wants to in life. Having worked for 2 years, I went back to Harvard to continue my study.

After graduation, I got a highly-paid job in Boston. After working there five years, I wondered, “Is this what I want to be doing when I’m 50?” At that time, Americans spent good money on beer in low quality. Why not make good beer for Americans? I thought.

I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. When I told Dad, he was astonished, but in the end he supported me. Six weeks later, at the Great American Beer Festival, my Sam Adams Boston Lager（淡啤酒） won the top prize for American beer. In the end I was destined(注定) to be a brewer. My advice to the young is simple: decide by yourselves not your seniors what you should do for a life when you are young. 

【写作内容】

1． 用大约30个词概括原文内容。

2． 然后用大约120个词表达自己对如何解决“孩子的个人志向与家长愿望之间的矛盾”的看法，内容包括：

（1）说明家长尊重孩子志向的重要性。

（2）用自己或他人的事例说明应该如何解决孩子的个人志向与家长愿望之间的矛盾。

【写作要求】

1．作文中可使用自己亲身经历或虚构的故事支持你的观点，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。

 

I had the meanest mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal (谷类食物), eggs or toast. While others had Cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different from other kids' too. But at least I wasn't alone in my sufferings. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.
My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. She insisted if we said we'd be gone an hour, then we be gone one hour or less—not one hour and one minute. And she always insisted upon us telling the truth. Now you can see how mean she was.
The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and up at eight the next morning. We had to wash dishes, make beds, and learn to cook. We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath, while the other kids always wore their clothes for days. I believe she laid awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us.
Through the years, things didn't improve a bit. We could not lie in bed, “sick” like our friends did, and miss school. Our marks in school had to be up to par(达到正常水平). Our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother, being as different as she was, would settle for nothing less than ugly black marks.
As the years rolled by, we were one by one put to shame. We were graduated from high school. With our mother behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout.
My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Out of four children, a couple of us attained some higher education. And whom do we have to blame for the terrible way we turned out? You're right, our mean mother. She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults.
Now I am trying to raise my three children. I am filled with pride when my children think I am mean because, you see, I had the meanest mother in the world.
【小题1】What does the sentence “But at least I wasn't alone in my sufferings.” mean?

A．The author's mother was only mean to her.

B．The author's mother suffered her.

C．The author's mother was mean to her sister, brothers and her.

D．The author wasn't alone because of suffering.

【小题2】Why was the author's mother mean to her children?

A．Because she wanted her children to be top students in school.

B．Because she wanted her children to bring home colored report cards like her friends did.

C．Because she wanted her children to drop out.

D．Because she wanted her children to do their best at school and be educated and respected citizens.

【小题3】Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Some of the children weren't able to go to college because of their mean mother.

B．Mother didn't let the author tell lies.

C．Mother asked the author to wear clean clothes.

D．The author could not miss school even if she was ill.

【小题4】The passage was written in a way of _______ tone?

A．humorous

B．hateful

C．ridiculous

D．critical

A group of eight public high school students  in Massachusetts, aged l5 to l7，designed and ran their own school within a school. They named their practice the Independent Project. They represented the usual range: two were close to dropping out before they started the project，while others were honors students.
Their guidance teacher was their adviser, consulting with them when the group encountered difficulties. Though they sought advice from English，math and science teachers， they were responsible for monitoring one another’s work and giving one another feedback. There were no grades, but at the end of the term，the students wrote evaluations of their classmates.
The students also designed their own course. In addition to some  regular courses，they each took on an ‘individual project’，learning to play the piano or to cook，writing a novel or making a video about domestic(国内的) violence. At the end of the term，they performed their new skills in front of the entire school. The last part of their self - designed course was to do a ‘collective project’ that had social significance. Because they felt the whole experience had been so life – changing，they ended up making a film showing how other students could start and run their own schools.
The project was a success. After returning to their traditional study，the students have high motivation and are doing well. One student who had failed all of his previous math courses spent three weeks teaching the others about probability. The lesson learned here is that if students are given the opportunity to take control or contribute significantly to their own learning they will become more accomplished，more engaged and more knowledgeable.
The students in the project are remarkable because they demonstrate the kinds of learning and  personal growth that are possible when teenagers feel ownership of their high school experience，learn things that matter to them and learn together.
【小题1】Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Some students might drop out of high school.

B．The teachers monitored the students’ homework.

C．The students themselves solved all their problems.

D．The teachers evaluate the students’ performances.

【小题2】The students involved in the Independent Project             .

A．didn’t need to learn common lessons

B．tended to escape from the whole society

C．were unwilling to share their experiences

D．focused on self-study and working together

【小题3】According Paragraph 4，we know that             .

A．the traditional study is better than the project

B．all the students had failed their math courses

C．the students have freedom to design their lessons

D．the project was mainly concerned with math courses

【小题4】The project made the students outstanding because             .

A．they are unusually talented

B．they have better backgrounds

C．they have supportive teachers

D．they are owners of their education

【小题5】What would be the best title of the text?

A．Structure the kids’ days to the minute

B．Let kids rule their own school within a school

C．Offer students few opportunities to do anything

D．Provide traditional education to the students

High school dropouts（辍学者）earn an average of $ 9,000 less per year than graduates. Now a new study dispels a common belief why they quit. It’s much more basic than flunking out（不及格）.

Society tends to think of high school dropouts as kids who just can’t cut it. They are lazy，and perhaps not two bright．So researchers were surprised when they asked more than 450 kids who quit school about why they left.

“The vast majority actually had passing grades and they were confident that they could have graduated from high school.” John Bridgeland, the executive researcher said. About 1 million teens leave school each year. Only about half of African-American and Hispanic（美籍西班牙的）students will receive a diploma（证书），and actually all dropouts come to regret their decision. So, if failing grades don’t explain why these kids quit, what does? Again，John Bridgeland："The most dependable finding was that they were bored.” “They found classes uninteresting; they weren’t inspired or motivated. They didn’t see any direct connection between what they were learning in the classroom to their own lives, or to their career aspirations.”

The study found that most teens who do drop out wait until they turn sixteen, which happens to be the age at which most states allow students to quit. In the US，only one state，New Mexico，has a law requiring teenagers to stay in high school until they graduate. Only four states: California, Tennessee, Texas and Utah, plus the District of Columbia, require school attendance until age 18, no exceptions, another researcher，says raising the compulsory attendance age may be one way to keep more kids in school．

“As these dropouts look back，they realize they’ve made a mistake. And anything that sort of gives these people an extra push to stick it out and it through to the end, is probably helpful measure.”

New Hampshire may be the next state to raise its school attendance age to 18. But critics say that forcing the students unwilling to continue their studies to stay in school misses the point－the need for reform. It's been called for to reinvent high school education to make it more challenging and relevant, and to ensure that kids who do stick it out receive a diploma that actually means something. 　

68. Most high school students drop out of school because          .

A. they have failing grades     

B. they take no interest in classes

C. they are discriminated against    

D. they are lazy and not intelligent

69. The underlined words “stick it out” probably means“         ”．

A. complete schooling                 B. solve the problem

C. love having classes                         D. believe in themselves

70. In the last paragraph, the writer is trying to          .

A. analyze the reason why students quit school

B. suggest raising the compulsory attendance age

C. raise awareness of reforming high school education

D. wish to make laws to guarantee no education

71. From the passage，we can infer the following EXCEPT that          ．

A. the grades of most dropouts at school were acceptable

B. about 500, 000 high school dropouts are black and Spanish

C. classes don't appeal to dropouts

D. on average dropouts cannot get good jobs