Most people know that listening to music...

    It feels like every time my mother and I start to have a conversation, it turns into an argument. We talk about something as simple as dinner plans and suddenly, my mother will push the conversation into World War III. She’ll talk about my lack of a bright future because I don’t plan to be a doctor. And much to her disappointment, I don’t want to do any job related to science, either. In fact, when I was pushed to say that I planned to major(主修) in English and communications, she nearly had a heart attack.

“Why can’t you be like my co-worker’s son?” she bemoans all the time. Her co-worker’s son received a four-year scholarship and is now earning 70,000 dollars a year as an engineer. I don’t know what to answer except that I simply can’t be like Mr. Perfect as I’ve called the unnamed co-worker’s son. I can’t be like him. I’m the type of person who loves to help out in the community, write until the sun goes down, and most of all, wants to achieve a career because I love it, not because of fame (名声) or salary.

I understand why my mother is worried about my future major. I’ve seen my mother struggle to raise me on her small salary and work long hours. She leaves the house around 6:30 am and usually comes home around 5 pm or even 6 pm. However, I want her to know that by becoming a doctor, it doesn’t mean I’ll be successful. I’d rather follow my dreams and create my own future.

1.Which of the following topics does the writer’ mother mainly want to talk about?

A.The writer’s studies. B.The writer’s future job.

C.Dinner plans. D.Wars around the world.

2.We can infer from Paragraph 1 that the writer’s mother ____________.

A.doesn’t want the writer to major in English.

B.doesn’t think the writer should be a doctor.

C.gets along very well with the writer.

D.doesn’t think working in the science field is a good idea.

3.The underlined word “salary” in Paragraph 2 most probably means _____________.

A.scholarship. B.reputation.

C.money. D.power.

4.Which of following statements is probable TRUE about the writer?

A.He wants to be like his mother’s co-worker’s son.

B.He wants to find a job in his community in the future.

C.He doesn’t think his mother’s co-worker’s son is perfect.

D.He wants to do something he really likes in the future.

1.If you want to buy a new jacket, you’ll have to go to _______.

A.3031 No.3 Road B.5300 No.3 Road

C.9020 Bridgeport Road D.1100 Chesnut Street

2.If you want to go out for dinner on Sunday, you can call up the number _______.

A.22785161 or 22706030 B.22706030 or 33562367

C.77364431 or 22785161 D.33562367 or 22785161

3.You don’t have to pay on Monday if you go to _______.

A.Skyline Hotel B.Lansdowne Park Shopping Center

C.New York Museum D.Garden Restaurant

4.If you want to enjoy yourself on Sunday mornings, you can go to _______.

A.Lansdowne Park Shopping Center B.New York Museum

C.Garden Restaurant D.Coffee Shop

5.Visiting New York Museum, you can know _______.

A.the history of American native people B.the history of New York

C.the art of America D.the art of New York

阅读以下文章，并撰写文章的概要。

The famous classical pianist, Kong Xiangdong, surprised his fans last week by giving a concert combining classical music with Chinese folk music. Kong explained that he tried this because he wanted to create something new." As a musician, playing the same music in different cities of the world is very boring, "says Kong. He also feels that playing Chinese folk music on the piano can help bring it to the rest of the world.

Music has always been part of Kong's world. As his mother was a great music lover, he lived with music from birth. But it wasn't always easy for the young Kong Xiangdong. His mother couldn't buy him a piano until he was seven. She had to draw piano keys on a piece of paper so that he could learn to play as early as possible. The 5-year-old Kong would practice on the paper piano as his mother clapped the rhythm. He was made to practice the piano so much that, at times, he thought about giving up. However, he didn't quit, and he became a great pianist. In 1986,at the age of 18,he became the youngest prize winner in Moscow's Tchaikovsky International Competition. He went on to win awards in competitions across the world.

Because of Kong's talent and hard work, he became famous worldwide. But after years of performing, he felt that in some ways he had lost his identity. This is why he went back to his roots and rediscovered the beauty in Chinese folk music. He began experimenting with different styles and his Dream Tour Concert is the result.

Kong's new experiment in Chinese folk music is so important to him that he even changed his appearance. When he arrived at his concert last week, he had shaved off all his hair! Since his music style was new, he decided his hairstyle had to be new too!

Whether Kong is changing his appearance or transforming his music, he is a pioneer in music today. The concert last week was such a success that Kong's Dream Tour Concert is expected to run for the next two years in Beijing, Shanghai, and other main cities before going to Paris and New York.

根据提示，按照要求翻译句子

1.在老师的帮助下，我在英语学习方面取得了显著的进步。（with the help of)

2.上周我们到社区和居民分享节水的一些小窍门，这大大提高了人们的节水意识。（raise awareness,定语从句）

3.尽管实验几次都失败了，他们仍毫不气馁地继续进行。（despite)

4.举办这个活动的目的不仅是帮助我们学习古代中国的历史，还可以使我们承担起保护我们文化遗产的责任。(aim)

5.上周我们邀请李教授给大家做了一场讲座，从他那里我们对于中国的茶文化获得了更多的知识。（定语从句）

    As a teenager ,I was pretty lazy when it came to doing things for my family. I worked hard at school, and sometimes looked after my younger sister .Still ,I found myself regularly resisting the urge to__________out at home with even the simplest things.

Every Wednesday afternoon, for example, my mother__________ me to another town for a piano lesson. During my two-hour lesson, she’d rush to the nearby store and buy a week’s worth of __________.Given the fact that my mom had driven me twelve miles there, twelve miles back, _________for my lesson, and bought me a candy bar, you’d think I’d be very__________ to help her bring the groceries into the house. __________ I wasn’t. I generally just brought in an armload and left the__________for Mom as I ran to my room ,shut the door, and started studying.

Don’t get me wrong: even back in my room, I felt__________ about not helping my mother more. Deep inside, I wanted to change my_________.But I also realized that once I did change, there’d be no going back. _________ I took on more responsibility; my parents would start__________more of me. At age fifteen, I sensed that this one small change would __________ something much bigger: my personal change from a cared-for, spoiled(被宠坏的)child to a more__________,caring and giving young man.

I’ll never forget the Wednesday when I made a(n) __________to jump in and see what happened. Returning home from the__________,I disappeared into my room, as usual. But once inside, I felt that deep and burning__________.Throwing my school books on the bed, I suddenly opened my door and__________back to the garage to help my mother. How happy I felt that day!

Surely, over time, I continued to help out with more housework. The neat thing was, the more I helped out, the__________I felt about myself and my place in my family. As Mom and Dad realized they could__________on me more, our trips became far less stressful, too. In short, it was a win-win situation for everyone.

Sometimes the little things we put off doing the longest__________out to be the simplest things to complete. And feeling happy beats feeling guilty any day.

1.A.work B.cry C.start D.help

2.A.sent B.guided C.walked D.drove

3.A.groceries B.flowers C.fruits D.vegetables

4.A.paid B.fought C.applied D.planned

5.A.nervous B.unwilling C.confident D.grateful

6.A.So B.But C.Thus D.And

7.A.one B.other C.rest D.next

8.A.guilty B.curious C.excited D.doubtful

9.A.shape B.world C.career D.way

10.A.Unless B.Though C.Once D.Since

11.A.warning B.reminding C.informing D.expecting

12.A.tell B.mark C.express D.describe

13.A.responsible B.ambitious C.outgoing D.energetic

14.A.excuse B.statement C.decision D.appointment

15.A.duty B.store C.lesson D.holiday

16.A.anger B.shame C.delight D.pleasure

17.A.called B.looked C.handed D.headed

18.A.better B.smarter C.warmer D.stronger

19.A.live B.press C.count D.focus

20.A.make B.turn C.point D.bring