In February 2006, Lydia Angyiou and her two sons were walking through their village in northern Canada. The sound of children shouting made her turn around. To her horror, Lydia saw a 700-pound polar bear behind her eyeing her seven-year-old son. Getting between the bear and her child, Lydia yelled at the children to run away. She then began hitting and kicking the animal as hard as she could. A neighbor who heard all the noise came and shot the bear. But everyone agreed it was Lydia who had saved her children’s lives. A local policeman described it this way: “… I guess when your back is up against the wall, we come up with super-human strength.”
Where does this “super-human strength”, courage and quick thinking come from? Experts say it comes from stress! In stressful situations, the body releases chemicals that prepare it to take action. These chemicals give people the speed and strength they need to fight danger or run away from it.
When we think of stress, we usually think of its negative effects. Studies, though, show that moderate levels of stress are actually helpful. In fact, the way we perform is usually affected by the amount of stress we feel.
Stress causes the brain to release adrenaline(肾上腺素) which in turn increases our energy and excitement. The chemical gives us clearer minds and helps us to do more. This is why some people say they work better under a deadline.
Adrenaline that is not released for long periods of time can cause us to increase and strengthen our abilities instead of weakening them. We sometimes turn out our very best work when we push ourselves to the limit. Stress can also make us more confident. Handling small amounts of stress now prepares us for handling serious situations in the future. Who knows? Today’s stress may even prepare for the next polar bear that comes along!
1.In the first paragraph, the case of Lydia Angyiou is mentioned to______.
A. introduce the topic to be followed
B. remind us of the unexpected danger of life
C. praise Lydia Angyiou for her bravery
D. show the importance of super-human strength
2.What does the policeman probably mean by saying “your back is up against the wall”?
A. You are helped. B. You are inspired.
C.You are confident. D. You are cornered.
3.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Brave Mother
B. The Cause of Stress
C. The Benefit of Stress
D. Super-human Strength
假定你是李华，你的美国笔友Tom，来信询问关于你的英语老师的情况。请你按照下列提示用英语写一封回信，介绍你的英语老师。
姓 名 | 王 梅 | 性 别 | 女 |
第一印象 | 热情洋溢，精力充沛 | ||
授课特点 | 清楚条理，严肃耐心 | ||
师生关系 | 严格、热心、友好、融洽 | ||
你的评价 | 良师益友…… | ||
注意：1. 不得简单翻译所给提示；
2. 适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 词数120左右。开头和结尾已写好，不计入总词数。
Dear Tom,
You’ve asked about my English teacher in your letter, and I’m writing to tell you about her. ____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Best wishes.
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。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：在错的词下面划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从11处起）不计分；
3. 错误类型不涉及单词拼写。
Zhou Kai, a senior school student, is very fit. He takes a lot of exercises. He is crazy in football and is captain of the class team at school. His mother always make sure his family eat very healthy. Fresh fruit and vegetables are a very important part of their diet. Live near the sea, they often have fish. He is not too heavy, so he never has to diet, and anything like that. Zhou Kai is such healthy a boy that he rarely gets a cold or flu. But in last week, he fall ill. That was because he was stupid enough play football in the rain.
Some say that madness and genius often come hand in hand. This is especially true 1. the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh.
Van Gogh is famous for his 2. (amaze) use of color and shape. Born in 1853, he was painting at a time when art was changing. A long time ago, artists tried to make their 3. (paint) look real like photographs. But later on, art became more about the artist’s own ideas. If you see 4. Van Gogh, it won’t look like the real world. It will look even more beautiful.
Some of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings are of natural scenes and flowers, such as sunflowers. He also painted many wonderful self-portraits, which 5. (bring) him a lot of fame. Van Gogh had a gift for painting; however, he was a troubled man. At one point, he cut off 6. own ear.
Van Gogh is now one of the world’s most famous artists. But he died at the age of 37, alone 7. poor. Almost nobody knew or cared about his art at that time. Although he was a great genius, he suffered 8. (great). Some say that his madness was 9. he paid for his art.
Actually, if Van Gogh had died at the age of twenty, no one would have connected him with failure or mental illness. 10. , he would have been remembered by those close to him as a dutiful son.
For most, getting your first car opens up a new world of freedom and allows you to go wherever you want, whenever you want. Getting a car did this for me, and it also brought my best friend and me . But then it tore us apart.
My best friend lives three minutes from my . Since her is in late summer, seven months behind mine, I basically became her when I turned 16 in December.
And so I her up for school and took her home. We made ice-cream , went shopping and to the movies ---- all in my car. I would drive to her house just to sit on her bed, read magazines and have a good laugh. I went to her house so that she gave me a to her house.
A week after I got my license，she was with me I had my first accident. She was there and me and we kept it a , since I didn’t want people to . From then on, through thick and thin, it was just me, my car and my best friend.
High school is a time of , but I couldn’t for a long time we became so distant(疏远) after being so close. My friend waited three months after her birthday to get her dream car：a green 2004 Beetle. With its , the passenger seat of my car became . Our car trips became less frequent I didn’t even drive down her street.
It’s funny how a car can change a relationship so much. I had wanted her to g a car, but once she did, I 60 it. I wanted her friendship back, even if it couldn’t be the same.
1.A. some B. any C. none D. all
2.A. closer B. farther C. luckier D. happier
3.A. neighbor B. school C. home D. family
4.A. holiday B. birthday C. course D. job
5.A. driver B. follower C. partner D. guide
6.A. picked B. woke C. called D. hurried
7.A. parties B. trips C. plans D. classes
8.A. happily B. often C. hardly D. seldom
9.A. phone B. door C. address D. key
10.A. while B. but C. after D. when
11.A. saved B. suggested C. advised D. comforted
12.A. favorite B. secret C. pride D. joke
13.A. help B. see C. know D. laugh
14.A. change B. disappointment C. excitement D. friendship
15.A. understand B. answer C. imagine D. believe
16.A. when B. where C. how D. what
17.A. beauty B. dream C. return D. arrival
18.A. broken B. crowded C. empty D. different
19.A. however B. until C. as D. before
20.A. enjoyed B. received C. regretted D. Lost
A good book can be satisfying. If reading is a habit you’d like to get into, there are some ways to develop it.
Realize that reading is enjoyable if you have a good book. If you have a difficult book and you are forcing yourself through it, it will seem like a task. 1.
Set time. You should have some time during every day when you’ll read for at least 5 to 10 minutes. 2. For example, make it a habit to read during breakfast and lunch and even dinner if you eat alone.
Always carry a book. 3. When I leave the house, I always make sure to have my car keys and one book at hand. The book stays with me in the car, and I take it into the office and to appointments and pretty much everywhere I go.
4. Find a place in your home where you can sit in a comfortable chair. Don’t lie down unless you’re going to sleep. There shouldn’t be a television or a computer near the chair, and no music or no noisy family members/ roommates. If you don’t have a place like this, create one.
Reduce television/ the Internet. If you really want to read more, try cutting back on time on TV or the Internet. 5. Still, every minute you reduce of the Internet/ TV, you could use for reading. This could create hours of book reading time.
A. Wherever you go, take a book with you.
B. Go to bookstores.
C. Have some good tea or coffee while you read.
D. Find a quiet place.
E. This may be difficult for some people.
F. If this happens, give up the book and find another one that you’ll really love.
G. It means you will read no matter how busy you are.
