Wouldn’t it be great if you could just look up at the sky and read the weather forecast right away? Well, you can. The forecast is written in clouds. If you can read that writing, you can tell something about the atmosphere. With some practice, you can become a pretty good weather forecaster. Who knows, you might even do as well as meteorologists（气象学家）.
Meteorologists use much more information than just the appearance of the clouds to make their forecast. They collect data（数据）from all over the world. Then they put it into powerful, high speed computers. This does give the meteorologists an advantage, because they can track（追踪）weather patterns as they move from west to east across the country. But you have an advantage, too. You can look at the sky and get your data directly. A meteorologist uses a computer forecast that’s several hours old to make a local forecast.
What are you seeing when you look at a cloud? “A picture of moisture(水汽)is doing in the atmosphere,” says meteorologist Peter Leavitt. There’s moisture throughout the atmosphere. Most of the time you don’t see it, because it’s in the form of an unseeable gas called water vapor. Sometimes, the temperature of the air gets cold enough to cause the waster vapor to change to liquid water. It’s called condensation(凝结), and we see it happen all the time (for example, when humid air from the shower hits the cold glasses of a mirror). When enough water vapor condenses（冷凝）, droplets(小滴）come in the air. These droplets scatter(分散) light. A cloud is seen.
Watching clouds over a day or two tells you a lot more than a single cloud about the weather to come. Changes in clouds show changes in the atmosphere. You should begin to notice patterns. Certain clouds, following each other in order, can signal an approaching storm. But don’t take our word for it; see for yourself.
1.According to the passage, an ordinary person might read the weather forecast as well as meteorologists _________.
A. with some simple practice looking up at the sky
B. with the help of the high-speed computers
C. through complex (复杂的) instruments
D. by visiting a weather station
2.Meteorologists can make their weather forecast .
A. by using information of the appearance of the clouds only
B. by collecting data from parts of the world
C. by collecting and analyzing（分析）the data
D. by watching the sky
3.According to the passage, your advantage in weather forecast is that .
A. you have a high-speed computer
B. you observe the sky and get your data directly
C. you have more instruments at home
D. you can track weather patterns as they move from west to east across the country
4.This passage mainly tells us about how to .
A. train ourselves as meteorologists
B. be an assistant to a meteorologist
C. forecast the weather by ourselves
D. broadcast the weather forecast
It was 8:35 am. My girls and I were rushing through the front door of the school as I yelled, “Hurry up! The bell was about to…” RIIIIIIIING! The girls froze and their eyes widened. My shoulders sagged(下垂). We were too late.
We were often late for school last year, and every time we ran breathlessly into the attendance I heard myself making silly excuses to Beth, the long-suffering secretary: our alarm didn’t go off; there was so much traffic; it was my husband’s fault; the dog…I didn’t know-something about the dog!
As time passed by, my lying became a habit, and it raised a red flag for me. Lying - even in the form of “harmless” excuses - means we’re ashamed. Shame is different from guilt. Healthy guilt is fair and helpful. But shame can be dangerous. Nothing ruins the connection between two people more quickly than shame and lies do. Anyone trying to live a healthy and honest life must avoid shame at any cost. I was trying to live a healthy and honest life, but my excuses were keeping me from reaching my goal. So I vowed（发誓）to do something different .
The next time we were late, I went to the attendance office. When Beth asked me to fill in a form with the reason for being late, I told the truth. “These days, we are very tired and disorganized,” I wrote. Beth looked down at that form, and the slowly looked up at me. She gave us a warm and big smile and her blue eyes twinkled. She started laughing. So did my kids and I.
We’re all imperfect human beings. We make mistakes. Everyone does make mistakes. However, it’s OK to tell the truth about them. It’s OK to forgive ourselves and promise to try again.
1.By writing Paragraph1, the author wants to show that .
A. her daughters were not easy to deal with
B. she didn’t have an organized lifestyle
C. her daughters didn’t like going to school
D. she lived a lazy life with her daughters
2.What do we know about the author from Paragraph2?
A. She lived an extremely busy life.
B. She liked complaining about life.
C. She liked making fun of other people.
D. She liked making excuses for her lateness.
3. We learn that as time went by, the author .
A. found that other people liked lying to her
B. realized the harm of lying and wanted to change
C. found that shame had a positive effect on her life
D. realized that she could no longer live a healthy life
4.The last paragraph shows when we make a mistake we should .
A. blame it on different things
B. never let others know it is our fault
C. never forgive ourselves for making it
D. forgive ourselves and try harder next time
As weather cools across the United States, a growing number of Americans visit farms. They harvest fruits, enjoy hay wagon rides and walk in the fields. These people are called “agri-tourists.” They improve the economy of rural areas and help farmers increase their profits.
School children are walking in a corn field maze. The corn is cut into tricky passageways that make it difficult to find a way out. The children are from Yorktown Elementary School in Bowie Maryland. They have traveled to Montpelier Farms in Prince George’s County which is also in Maryland. The farm is about 40 kilometers from The White House.
Debbie Pierson is the student’s teacher. “We go on these kind of field trips so that the children will have a hands-on experience of what it’s like to be on a farm,” Pierson said.
In Loudoun County Virginia, there are farms where grapes are grown for use in making wine. Many of the farms let people visit, and drink the wine that is made there. Bill Hatch owns the Zephaniah Farm Vineyard. He holds wine tastings in his home. “We are doubling the number of visitors to our farm every year. We have an average of 250 people on a weekend,” Hatch said.
As more people visit farms, more farmers are adding activities in which visitors can take part.
Malcolm Baldwin owns WeatherLea Farm and Vineyard in Loudoun County. Six years ago, he began letting people be married at his farm. They can also sleep at the farm overnight. Mr. Baldwin says the money he makes from these activities let him keep his small farm operating. “But without the animals, and without the vines, the wedding business wouldn’t be as profitable (有利可图的), because people like to see the vines. They like to see the animals and without which I don’t think this will be a popular place,” Baldwin said.
1.We can infer from the first paragraph that people always go for field trips in _______.
A. Spring B. Summer C. Autumn D. Winter
2.The underlined word “maze” in the passage is similar to “_______”.
A. puzzle B. trip C. house D. activity
3. On Malcolm Baldwin’s farms, visitors can ________.
A. taste the wine made in the USA
B. raise and hunt animals
C. do wedding business
D. have fun as well as bring him money
Every month, Julia and her cousins would go to visit their grandparents. They would be excited because their grandfather would give them a few coins. Then they would buy toys or sweets. The grandparents commented that, behaving like this, the children would never learn to manage their money. So they planned a special test, in which the children would have to show, over the course of a year, just what they could manage to get with those few coins.
Some thought that they would save their money, but Ruben and Nico continued spending it all on sweets. So they give up saving.
Monty decided to manage his money by exchanging it: buying and selling things, or betting (打赌) it with others. Soon he surprised the whole family. He had accumulated (积聚) lots of money. However, Monty was not very careful, and he got involved in more and more risky deals. A few months later he became penniless after a losing bet. Alex, had a will of iron. He saved the money and at the end of the year he had collected more money than anyone. Even better, with so much money, he managed to buy sweets at a reduced price, so that on the day of the competition he was presented with enough sweets for much more than a year. And even then, he still had enough left over for a toy. He was the clear winner, and other children learned the advantages of knowing how to save and how to wait.
There was also Julia. Poor Julia didn’t enjoy the competition, because even though she had had a wonderful secret plan, she had spent her money without giving her plan enough time to work. However, she was so sure that her plan was a good one, that she decided to carry on with it, and maybe change the expressions on her relatives’ faces, who had seemed to be saying “What a poor girl shel is. She couldn’t manage to save anything”.
When she was about to complete the second year of her plan, Julia surprised everyone by turning up at the grandparents’ house with a violin and a lot of money. She did it really well.
1.Who saved nothing at the end of the first year?
A. Ruben, Julia and Alex B. Ruben, Nico and Monty
C. Ruben, Monty and Julia D. Ruben, Nico and Alex
2.Why did the grandparents plan a test on the children?
A. Because they wanted the children to learn to spend money.
B. Because they wanted the children to learn to save money.
C. Because they wanted the children to learn to manage money.
D. Because they didn’t want the children to buy toys and sweets any more.
3. From Monty’s story, the children learned ______________________.
A. to save and to wait.
B. to buy and to sell things
C. to set a achievable goal.
D. to be careful and self-disciplined
4.The underlined sentence in the fourth paragraph means ______________.
A. Julia will bring disasters to herself and her family.
B. Julia is not good at managing money.
C. Julia is too stupid to do anything well.
D. Julia has so many secrets that nobody likes her.
为了了解中国的中学生在校的学习生活情况，美国时代杂志向中国各地征集稿件。为此你采访了佛山市博雅中学的学生李华，以下为采访内容。请你用英文整理一下该采访记录。
【写作内容】
采访时间 上周
采访对象 李华，佛山市博雅中学学生
采访主题 提高成绩是不是中国中学生唯一关注的事情
采访结果 博雅中学学生的普遍情况
1.共识：个性与品质更重要
2.学会倾听，相互关心
3.有机会组织和参与课外活动，从而学会均衡学习与其他事情
李华本人的情况
1.从前只顾学习
2.现在能够跟不同人相处，对困难境况做出最佳反应
【写作要求】 只能使用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，篇章结构连贯。
完成句子和句型转换 （共20个空；每空1分，满分20分）
1.The dish is mainly made up of rice and vegetables.
The dish mainly _______ _______ rice and vegetables.
2.It was reported that the police charged him with stealing in the supermarket.
It was reported that the police ________ him ________ stealing in the supermarket.
3.The minister argued to support the proposal to make cuts in military spending.
The minister argued ________ _______ _______ the proposal to make cuts in military spending.
4.When I go out, Mother will stand at the window and wave to say goodbye to me.
When I go out, Mother will stand at the window and wave to ________ me ________ .
5.你能让我搭便车到加油站去吗?
Will you please be kind enough to ______ me a _______ to the gas station?
6.与普通的看法相反，许多猫并不喜欢牛奶。
________ ________ popular belief, many cats dislike milk.
7.就自然资源来说，它是西欧最贫乏的国家之一。
_______ _______ ______ natural resources, it is one of the poorest countries in Western Europe.
8.众所周知，中国是个发展中国家，属于第三世界。
As we all know, China is a developing country at present, ________ ________ the Third World.
9.作为一个跨国公司的总裁，他对在美国做生意熟门熟路。
As CEO of an international corporation, he's _______ ________ doing business in the US.
