We grew up with the familiar toy bricks (积木) that gave us the imagination to build towers and castles. Generations have been attracted by this toy that lets children and adults alike create anything and everything. But with over 200 millions sets being sold a year in over 100 countries, the question remains — where did Lego actually come from?
Lego was born from the creative mind of Danish carpenter (木匠), Ole Kirk Christiansen, back in the early 1930s. He established a small business in Denmark. He and his team built a variety of household goods like ironing boards along with wooden toys. The Lego name was adopted in 1934, formed from the Danish words “Leg Godt” or “play well”, which means “I study” or “I put together” in Latin.
Christiansen’s company continued to make wooden toys until 1942 when fire struck — the entire Lego factory burned to the ground. Unwilling to give in, the factory was rebuilt and the production line restarted soon after. By 1954, Christiansen’s son, Godtfred, had become the junior managing director of the Lego Group. It was during his conversation with an overseas buyer that he was struck by the idea of a toy system.
For over 30 years, the Lego Company made only toys and related goods. Then, in 1968, the company opened its first Legoland in Denmark. Combining the Lego building bricks with a computer, the Robotics Invention System 1.5 is now the most advanced toy in the Lego Company, which is targeted at users aged twelve and above, and that includes any parents or grandparents that want to join in.
Now the Lego Company is expanding its production lines to include lights, cameras and so on. Lego Company has done a lot to entertain many children around the world.
1. The author presents the text by ________.
A. telling an interesting story
B. showing the process in different stages
C. introducing a practical method
D. describing many different activities
2. Which of the following is NOT true about the Robotics Invention System 1.5?
A. It is the most advanced toy in the Lego Company.
B. It combines the Lego building bricks with a computer.
C. It is intended for users aged twelve and above.
D. It is the most expensive toy invented since 1968.
3. What is the correct order of the following events in the development of Lego?
a. The entire Lego factory burned to the ground.
b. The company and its products adopted the name Lego.
c. The company opened its first Legoland in Denmark.
d. Godtfred had become the junior managing director of the Lego Group.
A. cadb B. cbad C. abcd D. badc
4. What can we learn from the text?
A. The Lego Company expands its production lines with computers.
B. The author thinks highly of Lego, which entertains many children.
C. The name Lego means “I put together” in the Danish language.
D. Lego enjoys the greatest popularity among children of 12.
Bullis School Visual (视觉的) and Performing Arts Program is designed to advance a student’s ability through artistic expression. Students will choose their Majors (主修课) and Minors (辅修课) and will commit to each of these courses for the academic year.
Courses are listed as follows:
● Majors: Band, Choir (合唱团), Dance, Theater
● Minors: Painting, Music Ensemble (合唱), Visual Arts
Arts course meetings will vary according to the term:
● Fall Term: 3 Majors - 4 classes / course / week;
1 Minor - 2 classes / course / week
● Winter Term: 2 Majors - 3 classes / course / week
● Spring Term: 2 Majors - 3 classes / course / week;
2 Minors - 2 classes / course / week
Descriptions of Majors:
●Band: This class is designed to help students progress towards proficiency in a range of musical instruments. An audition (试听) will only be required for students who are not current members of the band. Members of the band will be expected to take a weekly lesson with a private instructor.
●Choir: Choir is a mixed vocal ensemble devoted to the study and performance of music from a wide range of traditions. The course is for students who want to learn to respond to different musical styles. The course also focuses on developing vocal skills.
●Dance: This course is designed for students who have had little or no dance background. Students have the opportunity to explore the principles of dance skills, develop awareness and control the body.
●Theater: The primary goal of this course is to introduce students with greater experience to the art of acting. More specifically, it allows students to recognize their own personal responses to a given situation and use these reactions to create individual and unique characters.
1. In which course might you receive personal training?
A. Band. B. Choir.
C. Dance. D. Theater.
2. All the following descriptions about the courses are true EXCEPT that ________.
A. Dance is designed for learners who want to improve their skills
B. Choir is very helpful in developing students’ vocal skills
C. an audition will not be open to members of the band
D. Theater helps students create individual and unique characters
3. Where can we most probably read this text?
A. In a personal diary.
B. In a science report.
C. In an educational magazine.
D. In an art textbook.
There are the two simple words, “if” and “what”. These two words can be used in many sentences and questions by themselves, but if you put them together, it forms a serious question, “What if…?”
This question will bring you back to a certain time in your life when you made a choice. You may not be happy with that choice today and often think about why you did it, but you made the decision because it was the best choice at that specific moment in your life. Now, years later, you start to think about that specific choice you made. You mentally struggle with yourself and consider if you could choose again, what would you do? Would it be totally different?
I truly believe if you want something very much, you can do it and achieve it , because “Where there is a will, there is a way.” You can correct the mistakes of your decisions for the past, go out and find happiness in the right decisions for your future. It is never too late to do anything in life.
【写作内容】
1. 以约30个词概括上文的主要内容。
2. 以约120个词就“人生努力永不晚”谈一谈你的看法，内容包括：
(1) 你对人生努力的理解；
(2) 举一个“大器晚成”的例子；
(3) 你对实例的评价或看法。
【写作要求】
1. 作文中可以使用实例来支持你的论点，也可以参照阅读材料的内容论述，但不得直接引用原文中的句子；
2. 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称。
【评分标准】
概括准确
，语言规范，内容合适，篇章连贯。
根据以下所给的信息，介绍苹果公司的最新产品苹果智能手表。
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参考词汇：蓝宝石屏幕 Sapphire screen 预定 pre-order 导航navigation services
【写作要求】
只能用5个句子表达全部内容。
【评分标准】
句子结构准确，信息内容完整，篇章连贯。
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Ever since Canadian psychiatrist Michael R. Phillips, who works in China, released his report saying China’s suicide rate from 1995 to 1999 reached 0.023 percent, the country has been ranked among those with the highest suicide rates in the world. But Jing Jun, a professor of sociology in Tsinghua University, challenges that view and presents the true picture through his nationwide research.
Jing and his students took one year to set up the first national database on suicide rate to grasp the overall trend of suicides in China. They collected data from the Health Statistics Annuals of the World Health Organization (sample size 10 million), and the country’s Health Statistics Annuals (which cover 100 million people). The database covers 23 years, from 1987 to 2009. Jing calculates the suicide rate in China based on these data. Though the suicide rate was comparatively high in the early years, his study shows it has dropped in recent years, as opposed to the ascending trend in the rest of the world.
According to Jing’s calculation, China’s suicide rate had dropped to about 0.01 percent in 2004. In 2009, the figure dropped further to 0.007 percent, which is rather low compared with the global rate of 0.016 percent. Even if the “missing” suicides were added, China’s suicide rate in 2009 would still be below 0.008 percent.
Jing has found that one of the main reasons why the suicide rate has dropped was the steady and big decline in the number of suicides committed by rural women. In the early years, researchers generally agreed that the suicide rate among Chinese women was higher than among men, which is pretty rare in the rest the world. But the suicide rate among Chinese women, especially in rural areas, has declined remarkably in recent years. In fact, it is almost equal to that of Chinese men.
As a sociologist, Jing regards suicide as a social issue, and believes improvement of social policies will reduce the suicide rate even further. More people’s lives can be saved if the authorities adjust to social environment for the better, he concludes.
1.From Jing’s search, we can see ________.
A. China has been ranked among those with the highest suicide rates in the world
B. in the rest of the world suicide rate has been rising quickly in the last few years
C. different from Michael
R. Philip’s idea, the trend of suicides in China is declining
D. the suicide rate among Chinese women is lower than that of men
2.The data in Para. 2 is mainly to prove that ________.
A. the result from Jing’s research is believable
B. Jing’s research is more complicated than Michael R. Phillip’s
C. Jing has made great efforts to make the research
D. China’s suicide rate was comparatively low all the time
3.Why has the suicide rate in China dropped steadily according to Jing Jun?
A. Because the life level of Chinese people has improved a lot.
B. Because China’s government has adopted measures to reduce the suicide rate.
C. Because the number of Chinese women who commit suicide has declined.
D. Because the world environment affects the suicide rate in China.
4.In Jing’s opinion, what should be done to reduce the suicide?
A. Pay more attention to rural women.
B. Continue to improve social environment.
C. Set up more mental health centers.
D. Make policies to prevent suicides.
5.We can infer that the text is __
_____.
A. a news report
B. a research report
C. a description of suicides
D. an introduction to a professor
A month after Hurricane Katrina, I returned home in New Orleans. There lay my house, reduced to waist-high rains, smelly and dirty.
Before the trip, I’d had my car fixed. When the office employee of the garage was writing up the bill, she noticed my Louisiana license plate. “You from New Orleans?” she asked. I said I was, “No charge.” She said, and firmly shook her head when I reached for my wallet. 
The next day I we
nt for a haircut, and the same thing happened.
As my wife was studying in Florida, we decided to move there and tried to find a rental house that we could afford while also paying off a mortgage (抵押贷款) on our ruined house. We looked at many places, but none was satisfactory. We’d begun to accept that we’d have to live in extremely reduced circumstances for a while, when I got a very curious e-mail from a James Kennedy in California. He’d read some pieces I’d written about our sufferings for Slate, the online magazine and wanted to give us (“no conditions attached”) a new house across the lake from New Orleans.
It sounded too good to be true, but I replied, thanking him for his exceptional generosity, that we had no places to go back. Then a poet at the University of Florida offered to rent his house to me while he went to England on his one-year-paid leave. The rent was rather reasonable. I mentioned the poet’s offer to James Kennedy, and the next day he sent a check covering our entire rent for eight months.
Throughout this painful experience, the kindness of strangers has done much to bring back my faith in humanity. It’s almost worth losing your worldly possessions to be reminded that people are really nice when given half a chance.
1.The garage employee’s attitude toward the author was that of ________.
A. unconcern B. sympathy
C. doubt D. tolerance
2.What do we know about James Kennedy?
A. He was a writer of an online magazine.
B. He was a poet at the University of Florida.
C. He learned about the author’s sufferings via e-mail.
D. He offered the author a new house free of charge.
3.It can be inferred from the text that ________.
A. the author’s family was in financial difficulty
B. rents were comparatively reasonable despite the disaster
C. houses were difficult to find in the hurricane-stricken area
D. the mortgage on the ruined house was paid off by the bank
4.From Paragraph 4, we can know that the author’s new house ________.
A. was located in the University of Florida
B. was offered by a poet and the rent was expensive
C. was sponsored by James Kennedy with its 8-month rent
D. was well-equipped but the rent was low
5.The author learned from his experience that ________.
A. worldly possessions can be given up when necessary
B. generosity should be encouraged in some cases
C. people benefit from their sad sto
ries
D. human beings are kind after all
