Snow falls in the Earth’s extreme North and South throughout the year. However， the heaviest snowfalls have been reported in the mountains of other areas during winter. Snow is even known to fall near the Equator (赤道)，but only on the highest mountains.

Snow contains much less water than rain, but much of the water the world uses comes from snow. Melting snow provides water for rivers, electric power stations and agricultural crops. In the western United States, mountain snow provides up to seventy-five percent of all surface water supplies.

Snowfall helps to protect plants and some wild animals from winter weather. Fresh snow is made largely of air trapped among the snow crystals (晶体). Because the air has trouble moving, the movement of heat is limited. Snow also influences the movement of sound waves. The surface of the snow takes in, or absorbs, sound waves. As snow grows older or if there have been strong winds, it can become hard and flat. Then, the snow，s surface will help to send back sound waves.

Snow may be beautiful, but it can be deadly. It is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people. Many people die in traffic accidents on roads covered with snow and ice or from being seriously stuck in the winter storm. Others die from heart attacks caused by too much physical activity out in the cold.

People may not be able to avoid living in areas where it snows often. However, they can avoid becoming victims of snowstorms. People should stop driving and stay at home until the storm has passed. People living in these areas should carry emergency supplies in their vehicle. These include food，emergency medical supplies，and extra clothing to stay warm and dry.

1.Mountain snowfall _____.

A．is heavier than that in the South and the North Poles

B．has never occurred near the Equator of the earth

C．brings less of the water the world uses than rain does

D．provides up to seventy—five percent of water supplies worldwide

2.Snow protects plants and wild animals from cold weather by _____.

A．supplying much more air                  B．limiting heat movement

C．absorbing strong winds                   D．sending back sound waves

3.Snow can be deadly mainly because it can _____.

A．cause road accidents

B．make people stuck in winter storms

C．lead to heart attacks

D．make people victims of snowstorms

4.What will the text probably tell us following the last paragraph? _.

A．How to drive during snowstorms

B．Where we can get emergency supplies

C．How to prevent heart attacks out in cold

D．Why we should stay warm and dry in winter

Children today would rather toy with new technologies. The role of children has changed as well as that of teens. The world has truly evolved (进化）throughout the years.

Today，a typical day in the life of a five year old is entirely different from what it once was. A few decades ago children used to work. They did the kind of work parents do today. Today there are shows on which children are putting pounds of makeup on and have flashing things all over their bodies. This makes a child want to paper over all of their imperfections. They think they have to look perfect all the time.

Teens have changed as well. My grandma got married when she was thirteen. Girls who had an arranged marriage had no time to play because they were expected to cook, clean，take care of the kids, and do housework every single day. Today，we go to school every morning, maybe participate in some after-school activities, and possibly go to work for extra cash. Then we go home and do homework, and eat. After all of this we have to find the time to socialize by texting, talking on the phone, or logging on to social networking sites. We enjoy ourselves a lot.

The generation before us complains about how they did not have the things we have now. They say we are not appreciative and do not value life or just do not care about our futures anymore. Let's make a change! The youth have the power to work on whatever they believe in and make a difference in the world. Take advantage of your resources. It is never too late to make a positive change in our world.

1.The role of children and teens has changed mainly because _____.

A．new technologies are developing and widely used

B．they don't have to work hard as their parents did

C．their world has truly evolved

D．they look perfect all the time

2.The underlined phrase (in the 2nd Para. ) probably means to _____.

A．put up with        B．make up for        C．put aside          D．cover up

3.We can learn from the text that nowadays teenagers _____.

A．do housework as their parents did

B．are having a social life in richer ways

C．are seldom satisfied with what they have

D．don't appreciate and value life

4.The author's attitude towards changes of teen’s life is _____.

A．critical            B．neutral            C．optimistic          D．complaining

It may seem to be a hard task to trace back the history of rap music, though you often see the informal music associated with highly informal dance style. As far as the origin of rap music is concerned, most people agree that it is from Afro-American and Latino Street culture of New York City. Not only in this city but in the surrounding areas there is the influence of African people and their culture.

Rap is a vocal (口头的) style in which the performer speaks rhythmically and in rhyme, generally to a beat. The term of rap music is the same with hip-hop music typically-consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap. If we see it carefully, then we will definitely notice that the music usually is sung at higher pitches (调). Most of the time rap music is associated with chorus. Though rap music was primarily an American music style with African influence over its music and lyrics, recently it has been spread to almost the entire world.

There is hardly any country or nation where rap music cannot be seen in some form or another, and it is one of the most popular music styles among the youngsters. However, when it comes to its history, it is believed that hip-hop or rap music started in the early 1970s，and gained much popularity throughout the world during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The history of rap music and hip-hop music is full of controversies (争议) and bans, as the lyrics sometimes relate to drugs and crime; even most famous pop stars and hip-hop musicians and singers were found to be associated with the controversies in their life. For that reason, no matter how popular this music style was or still is, it has always had a bad reputation in the eyes of mainstream society.

1.The passage is mainly about _____.

A．when rap music started                   B．how rap music develops

C．what rap music is like                     D．why rap music is popular

2.The characteristics of rap music are _____.

A．solo, rhymes，beats and pops

B．speaking, rhythms，beats and solo

C．repeating, speaking, pops and chorus

D．speaking, rhymes, beats and chorus

3.Rap music is now one of the music styles mostly run after by _____.

A．the teenagers in Africa

B．all kinds of people in the world

C．the youngsters all over the world

D．the young people in the US

4.Rap music is often not well thought of by the mainstream because _____.

A．it comes from the lower class

B．it has a short history

C．it is associated with crimes and drugs

D．its music is full of controversies

My grandma whom we all called Nanny was a solid, first-generation, Italian immigrant. She came to this country with her family on a tiny ship during World War I when she was only 8 years old. During the trip she survived stormy seas，little food, and an attack by a German U-boat. After getting here，her large family worked hard to build a new life in America. They never had much money but were rich in love.

One day，when I was about 5 or 6 years old, my parents and brothers went on a trip. It was just me and Nanny in the house for the weekend. Nanny seemed so happy to be taking care of me all by herself. She made me a special breakfast that first morning. However, all I could do was to complain about how the food was not how Mom always made it. Nanny quietly put down the plate and went into the living room. I followed a minute later and saw that she had tears in her eyes. It was the first time I had ever seen my strong and proud grandmother cry and I was the one who had caused it.

I walked over to Nanny, climbed on her lap, and for the first time in my short life I did something else too. I apologized without being told to and asked Nanny to forgive me. She smiled, rubbed my head, and told me I was a good boy even though I didn’t feel like one then.

That memory just like my Nanny’s love will stay in my heart forever. It is a sign of both strength and wisdom. Asking for forgiveness helps us to learn, to grow, and to love.

1.Nanny，s family immigrated to America mainly because _____.

A．they suffered starvation in their homeland

B．they wanted to start a rich life in the new land

C．they tried to get away from the terrible climate

D．their country was in war and they needed peace

2.The boy complained to Nanny that the food _____.

A．wasn't cooked the way his mom did

B．was served a bit later than usual

C．was prepared in a special way

D．was just to his parents，taste

3.When seeing Nanny crying in the living room, the author felt _____.

A．surprised          B．ashamed          C．shocked           D．annoyed

4.The author mainly wants to tell us that _____.

A．forgiveness can be beneficial to people asking for it

B．hardships can make children more indifferent

C．grandparents are more tolerant than their grandchildren

D．family ties can sometimes be misused

Ottawa is the capital of Canada. It is the second largest city in Ontario and the fourth largest city in the country.

The Centre Block is the main building on Parliament Hill (国会山). It is also the location of several ceremonial spaces, such as the Hall of Honor and the Memorial Chamber. The present Centre Block is the second iteration of the building，after the first was destroyed by fire in 1916，and it is one of the most recognizable buildings in Canada.

Downtown Ottawa is the commercial and economic centre of the city. Most of the buildings are office towers. While most of Ottawa’s high tech industry is based elsewhere, it has a significant presence in the downtown core. The downtown also contains a number of apartments, hotels, and the older single family homes and townhouses along its edges.

The National Gallery of Canada is one of Canada，s premier art galleries. The Gallery has a large and varied collection of paintings, drawings, sculpture and photographs. Although its focus is on Canadian art, it also holds works by some noted American and European artists.

The Rideau Canal is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America. At the very beginning，the purpose of the Rideau Canal was military, as it was intended to provide a secure supply and communication route between Montreal and the British naval base in Kingston. It remains in use today primarily for pleasure boating, with most of its original structures remained. The locks on the system open for navigation in mid-May and close in mid-October.

1.What does "iteration" probably mean in the 2nd paragraph? _____.

A．Repair            B．Design            C．Copy             D．Landmark

2.In the core of Downtown Ottawa, we could see _____.

A．a large number of tall towers

B．head offices of Ottawa’ s high tech industry

C．a number of apartments and hotels

D．the older single family homes and townhouses

3.Collections in the National Gallery of Canada are mainly _____.

A．paintings and drawings                   B．sculpture and photographs

C．works by Canadian artists                  D．artwork by Americans and European

4.Which of the following is true about the Rideau Canal? _____.

A．It is the oldest canal system in North America

B．It was originally for the military purpose

C．The original structures remain never changed

D．People can only go boating from May to October

I was assigned to take care of this patient a couple of weeks ago and began to grow closer to her. Communicating with her was  1  because everything she wanted to say to me had to be written on a notepad. As a nursing graduate, I was able to  2  her mind by observing even a slight  3  in a patient's facial expression.

One day, when I was checking the patient，she  4  me on the shoulder to show me a note，"Do you think I could be let go  5  the hospital in a month to see my niece get married?，，Taking her hand in mine, I told her that I could not  6  her，because I did not want to leave her a  7  sense of hope.  8，I made her believe that I would be there with her every step of the way on her journey toward  9 . Hearing that, the patient gave me a  10  and a hug.

Day by day, I built her  11  by walking around the floor with her. As I did this, I could see before my own eyes that her health was  12  improving and able to walk more steadily. On her last day in hospital, just before her niece’s  13 ，she wrote me one last note, “I couldn’t have done this  14  you; I love you.” After kissing goodbye, I had a strong sense of achievement. I realized that moments like this were  15  I woke up early for  16  in the hospital and spent long hours with her. I truly felt, and her  17 confirmed, that I was an  18 part of this woman’s recovery. My experience with this patient shows me that this career allows me to touch the  19  of people in ways that people in other  20  will never get to experience.

1.                A．difficult         B．funny          C．simple    D．interesting

2.                A．see            B．know           C．read     D．feel

3.                A．worry          B．change         C．pain D．excitement

4.                A．tapped         B．hit             C．knocked D．struck

5.                A．of             B．to             C．in   D．from

6.                A．disappoint       B．promise         C．comfort   D．trust

7.                A．false           B．strong          C．right     D．good

8.A. Therefore       B. Besides          C However           D. Furthermore

9.                A．death          B．success         C．destination    D．recovery

10.               A．surprise        B．stare           C．smile D．whistle

11.               A．future          B．strength        C．hope D．confidence

12.               A．slowly          B．completely      C．rapidly    D．finally

13.               A．presence       B．visit            C．wedding   D．presentation

14.               A．without         B．behind         C．except    D．beside

15.               A．what           B．why           C．when     D．how

16.               A．work           B．school          C．office     D．exercise

17.               A．expression      B．note           C．feeling    D．treatment

18.               A．irrelevant       B．insignificant     C．instructive D．important

19.               A．fortunes        B．shoulders       C．lives D．tears

20.               A．hospitals        B．areas          C．lands D．fields

_____ these experiments were successfully completed would we think of

going into humans.

A．If only            B．So that            C．Only if            D．Even if

According to the rules and regulations, all payments _____ be made in cash in the shopping center.

A．shall             B．can              C．must             D．should

A huge amount of environmental damage has been _____ by the destruction of the rainforests.

A．brought up        B．brought about      C．brought down      D．brought out

_____ her leg the last time, Brenda decided not to go on the school skiing trip this year.

A．Breaking          B．Broken            C．To break          D．Having broken