Most artists have a favorite material they like to work with．For 28-year-old Kristen Alice, it happens to be garbage．The eco-friendly designer uses her incredible talent to transform garbage like empty drink bottles and candy wrappers into charming dresses that sell for thousands of dollars．
Kristen says the idea came to her after she saw how much vaster she and her three college roommates generated on a daily basis．The Fine Arts student began to dream about transforming the deserted bags and packages into beautiful garments．
Her first dress’ made from plastic bags and rolled magazines was strange, fun and even charming．However, she only made it to test her creativity．
The young designer did not consider starting a commercial venture（企业）until she spent a week working at Couture Fashion Week in New York City．There she observed the excitement generated by new and vintage（复古的）looks and decided to see if her unusual idea would result in as much enthusiasm．She began by creating a line of 12 garbage-inspired dresses．They were a huge success．
Today her company that has offices in Palm Beach, Florida and New York City, produces a wide variety of dresses ranging from cocktail dresses to ball gowns （礼服）．Kristen, of course, doesn't search garbage cans for her material anymore．Instead, she seeks it from companies that have produced more than they need and are planning to throw away the extras．
However, if you think the garbage-inspired dresses come cheap, think again．The price for ready-made creations retails（零售）from $500 to $1,500．Though that may appear expensive, the designer says she has no shortage of customers．In fact she now even has garbage-inspired clothing for men that includes jackets, ties, trousers and even board shorts! While most of the clothes are strong enough to resist multiple wears, whether they can be cleaned is a little unclear:
1.What made Kristen think of using trash as her favorite material?
A．Her poor living conditions at college．
B．The education from her parents not to waste anything useful．
C．Her roommates' advice of using garbage to replace ordinary material．
D．Her consciousness of environmental protection and trained eyes．
2.Kristen decided to start a commercial venture because ．
A．she just wanted to test her creativity．
B．she was inspired by the enthusiasm caused by new and vintage dresses．
C．she was driven by the huge profits brought by new fashion．
D．she found there were no unique-looking but affordable clothes in New York．
3.The last two paragraphs are mainly about _ .
A．the success of Kristen's career
B．the advantages and disadvantages of the garbage-inspired clothing
C．what clothing Kristen mainly designed
D．where Kristen got garbage for her clothing
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A．New Use of Garbage
B．A New Trend of Fashion
C．A Talented and Ambitious Fashion Designer
D．Transforming Trash into Wonderful Garments
Dear Miss Manners，
Friends of mine lost their home in a house fire．It was terrible．Another friend set up a "go fund me" type page for friends and funnily to donate and help the couple．Many friends, including me, helped with money, meals, lamprey and their dog while 'they were getting back on their feet．
Last week, they sent thank-you notes．My roommate received one addressed to her and I did not The notes were not in modularized; it was a printed one-size-fits-all message．My roommate realized I didn't receive a thank you, so she sent a private message to the couple just letting them know I had been left out．I didn't know she had done this until later．
The next day, I got a text message apologizing and saying that I had been left out because their friend who addressed the notes must have missed me!（Miss Manners, they didn't even address the notes themselves!）It was accompanied by a picture of the thank-you note, which was texted to me with- the message, "Here is a thank you just for you. "
I was a little annoyed．I helped them in their fume of need and didn't get a second thought．I have not responded to her text message．Is it fair of me to consider this friendship over? Should I tell her that I am upset, or should I accept that this rude thank you was better than nothing?
1.For what purpose did Mary write the letter?
A．To start a public donation for the unlucky couple．
B．To teach us how to see the true colors of friendship．
C．To tell us to loam a lesson from her story
D．To ask for advice on how to deal with her annoyance．
2.From the letter we can infer that ．
A．the couple lost their car in the fire so they had to go everywhere on foot．
B．so far Mary hasn't received a thank-you-note addressed to her．
C．Mary's roommate sent the couple a message to blame their carelessness．
D．the couple left Mary out by accident when they wrote the thank you notes．
3.What does Mary think of the couple she helped?
A．careless B．considerate
C．unbelievable D．unreliable
4.The letter is most likely taken from .
A．a diary B．a brochure
C．a newspaper D．a report
书面表达（满分20分）
假如你是李华，你的美国朋友Tom来信询问最近中国各地，尤其是北京，雾霾天气严重的情况。请你给Tom写封邮件。内容包括：
1. 对雾霾天气的情况描述
2. 雾霾对健康，生活及交通等的影响
3. 你的看法或建议
要求：100字左右（已给出部分不计入字数）
雾霾天气: the hazy weather
Dear Tom,
I’ve received your letter and thanks for your concern. __________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Best wishes
Yours，
LiHua
课文填空（共5小题：每小题1分，满分5分）
Mao Zedong wrote a poem in which he dreamed of “walls of stone to 1. back clouds and rain till a2. lake rises in the 3. gorges”. Now his dream has come 4.. The power of the Yangtze River, which is the world’s third 5.river, has been harnessed by the Three Gorges Dam.
1.In the terrible earthquake, many buildings were completely d________________.
2.As far as I am c__________, spending too much time on computers is unnecessary.
3.Unfortunately, burning coal causes serious air pollution and increases g__________ warming.
4.A truck went out of control and c_____ into a bus, causing 3 injuries.
5.If something is free of c_______, it doesn’t cost anything.
6.Our English teacher John always ______ (强调) the importance of vocabulary.
7.I intended to go to Jiefangbei, but the subway was going in the _________(相反的) direction.
8.While our country is rich in natural ________(资源), we should spare no effort to protect our environment.
9.Hearing Tom’s cry for help, many people helped to fight against the criminal _________(勇敢地)
10.As is known to all, she is one of the most __________(有影响的) figures in local politics..
If Confucius were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake，there would be a lot of candles．He’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out．
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day，few people in the United States will give him a passing thought．It’s nothing personal．Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes．
But this doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about Confucius．In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China．
In the past two decades，the Chinese study programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities．More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries．These schools teach both Chinese language and culture．The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art，history and philosophy．Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the old Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy．Students in the United States，at the same time，are racing to learn Chinese．So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States．Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers．
So the old thinker’s ideas are still alive and well．
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West．
As for the old thinker，he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West，even if his birthday is．
1.The first paragraph is mainly intended to_________．
A. provide some key facts about Confucius
B. prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations
C. show great respect for the old thinker
D. attract the readers’ interest in the subject
2.The reason why few Americans remember Confucius on his birthday is probably that______．
A. they don’t care about Confucius at all．
B. they consider their own national heroes more important．
C. he has bee a bridge between foreigners and China.
D. they don’t pay much attention to the birthdays of famous people．
3.We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students________．
A. were not interested in Chinese studies before
B. take an active part in Chinese petitions
C. have a great interest in studying Chinese
D. hope to make money in China
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. Old Thinker with a Big Future
B. Huge Fans of the Chinese Language
C. Chinese Culture for Westerners
D. Forgotten Wisdom in America DDCA
