任务型阅读。
Happiness at Christmas Time
It was that time of the year again: bright lights, gifts, snow and carols (颂歌). It was Christmas. Since my younger days, Christmas has been a time of happiness and surprise. Being in the US hasn’t changed much. The holiday itself matters to everyone here, even if they are not religious (笃信宗教的).
There were some religious events. For us it was lessons and Carols, the yearly event in which the whole school listens to readings from religious books and Christmas songs. Since the event is formal, there is a dress rule. This year, for example, I looked through my whole locker to find a black dress suitable for the event. The event was very pleasant. The choir (合唱团) sang the carols beautifully, the organ (风琴) was played beautifully and we got to sing some Christmas songs ourselves. Lessons and Carols has been an important part of Groton’s traditions for many years. Even for townspeople, it has always been a must during this season.
Another thing that brings me surprise and joy is the tradition of Secret Santa. This year, each person in the dorm had to give three gifts and receive three. My Secret Santa was very kind to me: I got cookies, a fantastic drawing and the warmest scarf. I tried very hard to guess who my Secret Santa was, but she hid herself well until the last minute when everyone announced who they had bought gifts for in the gift-exchanging event. It was so much fun!
Besides all the happiness Christmas brought me in the US, I was also given a prize: a Christmas break, which meant that I could go home. On the plane back to China, I began thinking about my past year. It was a good year except my struggles. It was my first whole year abroad, and I was shaped into a better person –that was the Christmas present I gave myself.
Christmas for the writer | |
In general | Christmas has been a time of happiness and __1.__ for her since her younger days. The holiday is _2._ to everyone in the US. |
__3.__ and Carols | It is a yearly event in which the whole school listens to readings from religious books and Christmas songs. The carols were _4._ beautifully, the organ was played beautifully and the writer and her friends got to sing some Christmas songs _5.__. It has also always been a must during this season for many townspeople. |
The tradition of Secret Santa | __6._ in the dorm had to give three gifts and _7.__ three. Her Secret Santa was very kind to her: she got cookies, a fantastic drawing and the __8._ scarf. |
Christmas __9.__ | She had the chance to __10.__ back to China. She thought the past year had been good except all her struggles, and she had been shaped into a better person. |
词汇运用
根据句子意思，用括号中所给汉语提示或英语单词的适当形式填空。在答题卡标有题号的横线上，写出空缺处所填单词的正确形式。（每空一词）
1.What an （令人惊叹的）photo you have taken!
2.Each of the (获胜者) in the competition can get a special gift.
3.We can learn a lot about （真实生活的）events from the documentaries.
4.–What have you learnt from their ___________ （对话）?
--I’ve learnt a lot about how a TV programme is made.
5.People didn’t know how he became (富有的) overnight.
6.He often tells us some stories full of (mystery).
7.Baozi and Zongzi are both (tradition) Chinese food.
8. The operation was （success）performed, and the patient would get well soon.
9. If you want the machine to work well, you must have it checked (week).
10. Are you ready for the (come) holiday?
American magician David Blaine left the glass box in which he had lived for 44 days without food on October 19. Hundreds of people came to watch the end of his starvation experiment, which had become one of London’s main tourist attractions.
Looking thinner and darker, 30 year-old Blaine was taken out of his box over the River Thames (泰晤士河) and sent to hospital at once. Doctors said he had to eat food slowly, or he would risk losing his life. He had been drinking only water since September 5.
Blaine was brought up by his grandparents in Brooklyn, New York since he was born. He first became known as a street magician in the early 1990s. He soon found himself doing magic tricks in bars for the likes of American actor Leonardo DiCaprio and his super model friends.
Over the last ten years Blaine has become famous with a combination of breathtaking magic and clever tricks aimed at getting a lot of attention.
In 1999, he was buried in a coffin (棺材) for one week and, in 2000, he spent 62 hours in a giant block of ice. Last year he stood on the top of a 25-meter pillar (柱子) in the center of New York for 35 hours before jumping into a pile of boxes.
“I think a lot of people are unable to accept that they’re able to do what they can do,” he said. “They don’t realize we can survive. The human being is an amazing creation.”
But he seemed to have suffered from spending so long in the glass box. He said that sometimes he was unable to see, had serious back pains and lost his sense of taste.
1.The underlined word “starvation” means ___________ in Chinese.
A. 疼痛 B. 冷冻 C. 魔术 D. 饥饿
2.Having spent such a long time in the glass box, he suffered (遭受) the following EXCEPT that________.
A. he became blind
B. he had serious back pains
C. he lost his sense of taste
D. he was in weak health
3.Which of the following can best describe David Blaine?
A. Mad. B. Brave. C. Crazy. D. Creative.
4.Which of the following is NOT TRUE of David Blaine?
A. In Blaine’s opinion, people can create a wonder.
B. Blaine was born and brought up in England.
C. Blaine was sent to hospital at once after he was taken out of his box.
D. Blaine once performed magic tricks for the famous actor and his friends.
Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the lake behind his house. He ran out of the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks and shirt as he went.
He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator (短吻鳄) was getting close. The mother in the house was looking out of the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In great fear, she ran toward the water, shouting to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy made a U—turn to swim to his mother. It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. The mother caught her little boy by the arms just as the alligator pulled his legs. That began an unbelievable tug-of-war (拔河比赛) between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother did her best not to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard their screams, rushed from his truck and helped them.
Luckily, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were seriously scarred（疤痕）by the terrible attack of the animal. And on his arms, were deep scars where his mother’s fingernails dug into his arms in her effort to pull the son she loved.
The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted the legs. And then, he said to the reporter, “Look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mum wouldn’t let go.”
1.________ was in the middle of the lake.
A. An alligator B. The boy C. Mother D. Father
2.The underlined part “the two” in the second paragraph refers to .
A. the son and the alligator
B. the mother and the son
C. the driver and the alligator
D. the mother and the alligator
3.From the passage we can infer (推断) ________.
A. the son was proud of his scars on his legs
B. the son was proud of his scars on his arms
C. the mother was unwilling to let the alligator go
D. the mother was stronger than the alligator in fact
4.What’s the best title of the passage?
A. A Terrible Attack
B. The Scars on the Legs
C. The Scars of Love
D. An Unforgettable Tug-of-war
If you’ve been joining in chat room conversations, or trading e-mail with net pals(网友), you have become one of the millions who write in a special, short form of English.
Throughout the world, every night children and their elders are “talking” online — many of them are talking at the same time.
It’s fast: trying talking to six people once. It’s convenient: three or four words per exchange. It takes cleverness, concentration and quick fingers.
And it requires very simple language. There’s neither time nor space for explanations. Why waste valuable time telling six friends you have to leave for a moment to take care of your little brother when BRB (=be right back) will do?
Want to enter a conversation? Just type PMFJI (=pardon me for jumping in).
Interested in whom you’re talking to? Type A/S/L, the common request to know your pal’s age, sex and location. You may get 15/M/NY as a reply from your pal.
If something makes you laugh, say you’re OTF (=on the floor), or LOL (=laughing out loud), or join the two into ROTFL (=rolling on the floor laughing).
And when it’s time to get back to work or go to bed, you type GTG (=got to go) or TTYL (=talk to you later).
People want to write as fast as possible, and they want to get their ideas across as quickly as they can. Capital letters are left in the dust, except when expressing feeling, as it takes more time to hold down the “shift” key and use capitals. Punctuation is going too.
1.When people are online, they talk by ______.
A. using body language
B. drawing some strange pictures
C. making phone calls
D. making use of a special short form of English
2.The sentence “There’s neither time nor space for explanations” means that ______.
A. people should use words properly
B. people should know what time it is when they are talking
C. people online have to express themselves in a simple way
D. people should communicate in a funny way
3. If you get 17/F/NY as an answer to your A/S/L, it means ______.
A. the people on the other end is 17 from New York and he is fine
B. you are talking to a girl who is 17 and lives in New York
C. you are talking to 17 girls who are from New York
D. the people you are talking to is a 17-foot tall New York girl
4.Which of the following is a way to save online time?
A. People seldom use capital letters or punctuation marks.
B. Many people draw pictures.
C. People only use the mouse instead of the keyboard.
D. People never use the “shift” key.
News One: 29 October, 2015
The government of China plans to end its one-child per family policy (政策) and instead let families have two children. The plan was announced Thursday after high-level meetings in Beijing. China, which has the largest population, made the one-child policy in 1980. The government allowed only a small number of couples to have two children for so many years. For example, some couples in the countryside could have two children.
News Two: 05 October, 2015
The first of the 2015 Nobel Prizes has been announced. Sweden’s Nobel Prize committee says the Nobel Prize for medicine will go to scientists from Ireland, Japan and China. William Campbell from Ireland and Satoshi Omura from Japan share the prize for their discovery of the medicine avermectin (阿维菌素). The Nobel committee praised their work on what it calls a “novel therapy.” The treatment fights disease caused by parasites（寄生虫）. The prize for medicine is also going to Chinese researcher Tu Youyou. She discovered Artemisia. Artemisia is a drug (药物) that has greatly made the number of people who die from malaria (疟疾) smaller.
News Three: 09 December, 2015
Oil prices have fallen to their lowest levels since 2009. Brent crude oil, one of several kinds of oil on the world market, dropped below $40 a barrel（桶） on Tuesday. However, the main group of oil producing countries has been unable to reduce the oil production.
1.How long did China’s one-child policy last?
A. 38 years. B. 36 years. C. 25 years. D. 65 years.
2.Who got the Nobel Prize for medicine?
A. Tu Youyou from China.
B. William Campbell from Ireland.
C. William Campbell from Ireland and Satoshi Omura from Japan.
D. William Campbell from Ireland, Satoshi Omura from Japan and Tu Youyou from China.
3.What can we know from News Three?
A. There is only one kind oil on the world market.
B. Main oil producing countries will produce less oil.
C. Oil prices on Tuesday are the lowest in history.
D. Main oil producing countries will still produce as much oil as before.
