I became a magician by accident. When I was nine years old, I learned how to make a coin disappear. I’d read The Lord of the Rings and gone into the adult section of the library to be buried in fantasy literature but young enough to still hold out hope that you might find a book of real, actual magic in the library. The book I found taught basic techniques, and I tried to practice.
At first the magic wasn’t any good. It was just a trick—a bad trick. I spent hours each day running through the secret moves in front of the mirror. I dropped the coin over and over, a thousand times in a day, and after two weeks my mom got a carpet and placed it under the mirror to muffle (消音) the sound of the coin falling again and again.
One day I made the coin disappear on the playground. We had been playing football and were standing in the field behind the school. A dozen people were watching. I showed the coin to everyone. Then it disappeared. The kids screamed. Everyone went crazy.
A few years later, I staged an underwater escape in the river that flowed through the middle of the campus of the University of Iowa, where I went to school. I stood on a boat in the middle of the river wearing nothing but biking shorts. The sky was dead and gray, and the water was cold at the surface, and colder in the depths below.
Technically, I succeeded. I jumped into the water, sank to the bottom, and escaped from the locks and the chains before swimming to the surface. But it didn’t feel like a success.
1.What do we know about the author?
A. He became a magician in one day.
B. He found wonderful techniques in the library.
C. In order to become a magician he never stopped practising.
D. He looked through every section of the library to search for a useful book.
2.Why did the author’s mother bring a carpet home?
A. To encourage him to clean the house.
B. To make the sounds less noisy than before.
C. To have guests clean their shoes on entering the house.
D. To decrease the number of cleaning the house.
3.How did the author make the kids scream?
A. By playing football with them. B. By making the showing coin disappear.
C. By practising his techniques more frequently. D. By providing hands-on practice.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. The Magic Trick that Changed My Life B. A Nineteen-year-old Magician
C. What Can Give You a Magic Life? D. A Brief Introduction to a Magician’s Life
Kirby Wildlife Park — Keeper Experience
Due to the large number of inquiries from people interested in working with animals, Kirby Wildlife Park has set up the unique ‘Keeper Experience’ package. The fantastic experience is available to anyone over the age of 18 who is reasonably fit. We regret that for health and safety reasons, participants who are pregnant, in a wheelchair or suffering from illnesses cannot take part.
A typical day
9:15 Arrival
9:30 Health and Safety Briefing
10:00 Apes and Monkeys
While cleaning out the enclosure (围场) you will find out about how enclosures are enriched with novel items and new smells to stimulate (刺激) the animals’ senses and imitate their natural environment.
12:00 Lunch
14:00 Big Cats
On the highlight of most volunteers’ day, you will feed the cats and learn about their nutritional needs. The keeper will give you an introduction to how cat behaviour can be read to get an idea of their welfare and health.
16:30 Meet the Team
Meet more of the staff and learn how you can get further involved with work at the park. Learn about our animal adoption plan, what it takes to be a good keeper and where to obtain the right qualifications for a career in animal welfare.
Booking and cancellation
The Keeper Experience is available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year, and must be booked at least two weeks in advance. Full payment is needed when booking.
Cancellations must be made more than fourteen days before the event, or you won’t receive a full refund.
1.What kind of people can experience working with animals in Kirby Wildlife Park?
A. A boy over 18 sitting in a wheelchair. B. A man who is quite healthy.
C. A woman carrying a baby in her arms. D. A girl under the age of 18.
2.When can you know something about an animal adoption plan?
A. At 12:00. B. At 9:30.
C. At 10:00. D. At 16:30.
3.What is the requirement of cancelling a booking of the Keeper Experience?
A. The cancelling is available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
B. Anyone can cancel a booking throughout the year.
C. A booking must be cancelled over two weeks before the event.
D. You can cancel a booking with a full refund at any time.
假设你是李明，请你写一封信给校长，包括以下内容:
1. 目前学校体育设施(sports facilities)状况的不足；
2. 体育设施对学生的重要性；
3. 提出建议。
注意:
1. 字数 100 左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3. 开头已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Mr. President,
I am writing this letter to you to express my concern about the sports facilities in our school.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改:在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1. 每处错误仅限1词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
I've learnt from the notice that you're looking for an English editor for our school paper. I'm written this letter to apply to the position.
I'm Li Hua，Senior Three student in our school. In my view, I met your requirements. For one thing，I'm willing to devote some of my spare time to serve others. For another，I'm good at both English or Fine Arts. I'm either skilled in using computers. I would be glad when you could offer to me an opportunity for an interview.
I'm looking forward to your kind earliest reply at your convenient.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Dear Sir,
I’m Li Hua, 1. student from Class2, Grade 3. I’m writing to apply2. the position as a student volunteer.
I really want to catch this precious opportunity because, by 3.(offer) my service, I will be able to improve my organizational ability, communication skills as well as 4.(confident) in speaking English in public.
As an outgoing girl, I get along well with my classmates. 5., I have been elected as assistant to my English teacher because I have 6.a good command of English. 7.(successful), I 8. （lend）a helping hand to her in several English activities of my class, 9. have been appreciated by both teachers and classmates.
I am sure that I can perfectly live up to your expectations. I will be grateful 10. you could give me a kind consideration.
Looking forward to your reply.
Yours truly,
Li Hua
Several decades of years ago, I ran a service station and roadhouse on the main road between Melbourne and Adelaide. One very cold, wet night at about 3∶30 a.m., there was a______ on the front door of our house. A young man, wet from______ to toe, explained that he had______ out of petrol about 30 km up the road. He had left his pregnant wife and his two children______ at the car and said that he would hitchhike(搭便车) back.
Once I had_____a can with petrol, I took him back to his car where his two-year-old and four-year-old children were both______, saying that they were cold. Once the car had started, I suggested that he______me back.
Before leaving, I had turned the heater______ in the roadhouse, so that when we went in, it was nice and______.While the little ones played and ran_____ , I prepared bread and butter for the children, and hot chocolate for the______.
It was about 5 a.m. before they______ .The young fellow asked me how much he______ me and I told him that the petrol pump(加油泵)had______ $15.He offered to pay “call-out fee”, but I wouldn’t accept it.
About a month later, I received a______ from Interstate, a large bus company that we had been trying to______to stop off at our roadhouse for a long time. It_____out that the young fellow I had helped was its general manager, the most______person in the company.
In his letter, he thanked me again and_____ me that, from then on, all their buses would stop at my service station. In this______, a little bit of kindness was rewarded with a huge amount of benefits.
1.A. kick B. hit C. beat D. knock
2.A. shoulder B. finger C. hand D. head
3.A. used B. driven C. run D. come
4.A. behind B. away C. out D. over
5.A. poured B. supplied C. filled D. equipped
6.A. crying B. sleeping C. fighting D. quarreling
7.A. ring B. allow C. follow D. lead
8.A. off B. on C. over D. in
9.A. hot B. neat C. attractive D. warm
10.A. inside B. around C. along D. nearby
11.A. guests B. drivers C. adults D. customers
12.A. arrived B. left C. disappeared D. ate
13.A. paid B. gave C. offered D. owed
14.A. exhibited B. appeared C. shown D. calculated
15.A. letter B. call C. notice D. check
16.A. force B. get C. hope D. requite
17.A. turned B. pointed C. found D. worked
18.A. successful B. generous C. powerful D. serious
19.A. persuaded B. praised C. convinced D. informed
20.A. business B. lesson C. case D. aspect
