Thirteen, for me, was a challenging year. My parents divorced and I moved to a new town with my father, far from my old family and friends. I was terribly lonely and would cry myself to sleep each night. To ease my sadness, my father purchased an old horse for me at a local auction. I named him Cowboy.
Cowboy was undoubtedly the ugliest horse in the world. But I didn’t care. I loved him beyond all reason.
I joined a riding club and suffered rude comments and mean snickersabout Cowboy’s looks. I never let on about how I felt, but deep inside, my heart was breaking. The other members rode beautiful, registered horses.
When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse is judged on appearance, we were quickly shown the gate. No amount of preparation and love would turn Cowboy into a beauty. My only chance to compete would be in the speed events. I chose the jumping race.
One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons. Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show. She didn’t need to. I came in next to last.
The stinging memory of Becky’s smirks(得意的笑) made me determined to beat her. For the whole next month I woke up early every day and rode Cowboy five miles to the arena. We practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home totally exhausted.
All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came. I sat at the gate and sweated it out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the course and finish in first place.
My turn finally came. I put on my hat, rubbed Cowboy’s neck and entered the arena. At the signal, we dashed toward the first fence, jumped it without trouble and raced on to the next one. Cowboy then flew over the second, third and fourth fences like a bird and I turned him toward the finish line.
As we crossed the line the crowd was shocked into silence. Cowboy and I had beaten Becky and her fancy horse by two seconds!
I gained much more than a blue ribbon that day. At thirteen, I realized that no matter what the odds, I’d always come out a winner if I wanted something badly enough to work for it.
1.The underlined expression “shown the gate” (paragraph 4) most probably means “_________”.
A.told how to enter the arena B.shown how to make the horse beautiful
C.removed from the competition early D.told to enter the timed-speed events
2.Why was the writer not confident of victory?
A.He was an inexperienced rider.
B.He believed he was unpopular with the crowd.
C.He had not practiced enough.
D.He thought his horse wasn’t as good as the others.
3.What did the writer learn from his experience?
A.Life can sometimes be unfair.
B.Anything is possible if one tries hard enough.
C.A positive attitude will bring success.
D.One should not make judgments based on appearance.
4.The best title for the story is ________.
A.A Run to Remember B.A Horse’s Tale
C.Neck and Neck D.A Difficult Age
The editor of the new Cool Camping Britain guide chooses some of his favorite new finds in England, Wales and Scotland.
Cleadale, Isle of Eigg, Inner Hebrides
Is this Britain’s most beautiful campsite? From the grassy point looking seaward to the mountains, it’s not hard for campers to see how the island inspired The Lord of the Rings author’s fantasy landscapes. The campsite itself is as wild and wonderful as its setting.
Open April — September, from ￡5 per tent per night.
Swattesfield, Thornham Magna, Suffolk
Deep in the wilds of north Suffolk, this seven-acre campsite has only been open for a few years, with two fields separated by a lake and surrounded by woodland. The position is perfect. It’s a great place to do nothing but get into nature. You can put up your tent in the bottom field or the woodland beyond.
Open Easter —October, from ￡10 per tent per night.
Pleasant Streams Farm, near St Austell, Cornwall
This site, by a lake, is all about simple pleasures. Located in the former mining village, it has a summerhouse（凉亭）with books and games for a rainy day. There are many animals including pigs, hens, goats and ducks on the farm and a pub just a 10- minute stroll away. There’s very little to do here, no bells and no whistles. Campfires are encouraged.
Open Easter — September, from ￡10 per tent per night.
Troytown Campsite, St Agnes, Isles of Sciily
Its only campsite, Troytown, couldn’t be in a more remote position. Isolation is its greatest advantage — so bring plenty of books to read and don’t expect a phone signal. But at least one of life’s necessities is available. Lying on the hillside overlooking the bay and near the island of the Gugh, it might just win the prize for best beer garden view in England.
Open March-- October, from ￡7. 50 per tent per night,
1.Which of the following is TRUE about Cleadale, Isle of Eigg, Inner Hebrides?
A.It has been open for a few years. B.A beautiful lake surrounds it.
C.It offers the longest service. D.The rent of a tent per night is the lowest.
2.Which place can you choose if you like a simple farm life?
A.Cleadale, Isle of Eigg, Inner Hebrides.
B.Swattesfield, Thornham Magna, Suffolk.
C.Pleasant Streams Farm, near St Austell, Cornwall.
D.Troytown Campsite, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly.
3.In Troytown Campsite, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, you can’t ________.
A.contact others by phones B.view the bay from the hillside
C.get everyday necessities D.relax yourself by reading
假设你是南阳一中的李华,英国友好学校将派教师来你校参加为期一周的暑期交流活动。活动期间，英方教师Chris将做一个有关西方艺术的讲座，现就讲座内容征求你校学生的意见。请根据以下提示给Chris写一封电子邮件：
(1)你喜欢的讲座话题(从音乐、美术、舞蹈中任选其一)；
(2)选择该话题的原因及关于该话题你感兴趣的内容；
(3)希望从中有何收获。
注意:(1)词数不少于 100;(2)可适当加入细节，使内容充实、行文连贯
Dear Chris,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
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。每处错误仅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.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
There is an old man live next to my door. He lives alone. Occasional his children will come to visit to him. When we asked him the reason for which he didn’t move to live with his children, he said he didn’t want to trouble them because their different lifestyles. The man likes to sit in front of the shop, that people chat excitedly every day. Once he helped the woman carry heavy food home. Besides, whenever someone ask for informations, he knows everything. He is surely a good person. And we were willing to look on her as our friend.
根据首字母提示和句意，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
1.Whom would you like to have ______ the children?（逗乐）
2.With key ______in this field, the company gains an advantage over other companies.（突 破）
3.Word comes ______the princess will get married to a violinist.
4.There are just two rooms on the second floor, the ______of which belongs to me. （凌乱）
5.I ______felt fortunate to have cooperated with such an experienced expert. （难以置信）
6.It was the first time that the company ______its cars from the market.（撤回）
7.______a terrible accident, she becomes scared of driving a car.（目击）
8.Great significance should be attached to ______natural resources.（保存）
9.Her speech was greeted with thunderous ______.（掌声）
10.Speed is restricted ______30mph around a school.
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。
Dogs are desperate for human eye contact. It’s hard for most people to resist a flash of puppy-dog eyes. Dogs split off from 1. (they) wolf relatives. A paper has found that dogs’ faces are structured for complex 2. (expression) in a way that wolves’ aren’t. There are two muscles 3. work together to widen and open a dog’s eyes, causing them to appear 4. (big), and objectively cuter. 5. for wolves neither muscle was present. When dogs work these muscles, humans respond more positively. This isn’t simply 6. accidental love story, where the eyes of two species just so happen to meet across a crowded planet. Like all the best partnerships, this one more likely 7. (result) from years of evolution and growth.
For a species to change quickly, a pretty 8. (power) force must be having effects on it. And that’s where humans come in. We connect 9. (close) with animals capable of exaggerating the size and width of their eyes, 10. (make) them look like our own human babies.
