Samuel Osmond is a 19-year-old law student from Cornwall, England. He never studied the piano. However, he can play very difficult musical pieces by musicians such as Chopin and Beethoven just a few minutes after he hears them. He learns a piece of music by listening to it in parts. Then he thinks about the notes in his head. Two years ago, he played his first piece Moonlight Sonata（奏鸣曲）by Beethoven. He surprised everyone around him.
Amazed that he remembered this long and difficult piece of music and played it perfectly, his teachers say Samuel is unbelievable .They say his ability is very rare, but Samuel doesn’t even realize that what he can do is special. Samuel wanted to become a lawyer as it was the wish of his parents, but music teachers told him he should study music instead. Now, he studies law and music.
Samuel can’t understand why everyone is so surprised. “I grew up with music. My mother played the piano and my father played the guitar. About two years ago, I suddenly decided to start playing the piano, without being able to read music and without having any lessons. It comes easily to me ---I hear the notes and can bear them in mind---each and every note,” says Samuel.
Recently, Samuel performed a piece during a special event at his college. The piece had more than a thousand notes. The audience was impressed by his amazing performance. He is now learning a piece that is so difficult that many professional pianists can’t play it. Samuel says confidently,” It’s all about super memory---I guess I have that gift.”
However, Samuel’s ability to remember things doesn’t stop with music. His family says that even when he was a young boy, Samuel heard someone read a story, and then he could retell the story word for word.
Samuel is still only a teenager. He doesn’t know what he wants to do in the future. For now, he is just happy to play beautiful music and continue his studies.
1.What is special about Samuel Osmond?
A. He has a gift for writing music.
B. He can write down the note he hears.
C. He is a top student at the law school.
D. He can play the musical piece he hears.
2.What can we learn from Paragraph 2 ?
A. Samuel chose law against the wish of his parents.
B. Samuel planned to be a lawyer rather than a musician.
C. Samuel thinks of himself as a man of great musical ability.
D. Samuel studies law and music on the advice of his teachers.
3.Everyone around Samuel was surprised because he _________.
A. received a good early education in music
B. played the guitar and the piano perfectly
C. could play the piano without reading music
D. could play the guitar better than his father
4.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. The Qualities of a Musician
B. The Story of a Musical Talent
C. The Importance of Early Education
D. The Relationship between Memory and Music.
书面表达
假设你是Abby，是学校英文报社“知心学长”栏目主编。一位叫Sophia的学妹来信反映自己有“拖延”的坏习惯。即使她有很多如做作业、弹琴等重要的事要做，也总是不由自主地把时间花在看电视、玩手机等琐事上，为此她非常苦恼。请用英文给她回信，提一些建议。
内容包括：1．拖延的本质；2．改正的建议。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3．文章的开头和结尾已给出，不计人总词数。
参考词汇：procrastination n．拖延，耽搁
Dear Sophia，
I am glad to hear from you. ________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
In a word, don't spoil yourself. Although you have a long way to go, the first step is very essential. Good luck!
Yours,
Abby
短文改错
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。每处错误仅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.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Last week we held a discussion on which we should do for our school before we graduate．The students in our class have different suggestion．Some students thought that we can collect money to buy some books for the school library or everything else for the schoo1．Other students argue that there’s not necessary to spend money．We can study hard and make our school feeling proud of us．
In my opinion, we don’t have to spend money. We can do something meaningfully without money. For an example，we can do some voluntary work to beautify the school and try to get better results in the coming exams so that our school will proud of us．
根据下列句子单词首字母或所给汉语注释，在横线上写出空缺处各单词的正确形式。（每空只写一词）
1.After the police arrested him, they went to the thief’s house to （追回）the stolen jewelry.
2.Some adverts about __________（环境）protection cater for our conscience or our desire to be respectable citizens.
3.Though he has retired, still he reads newspapers every day to keep himself i of the latest news.
4.Oh, I’ve put on weight recently. I should eat less and take exercise on a r basis.
5.As we know, Wardian cases improved the __________ （存活） rates of plants transported long distances.
6.In the center of the b of flats, there is a small courtyard where I can plant some flowers.
7.In France the children place their shoes by the fireplace, a tradition d back to when children wore wooden peasant shoes.
8.I was quite annoyed the other day, with Xiamen Airline c me extra for the overweight luggage.
9.The young girl has been __________（提拔）from an ordinary office clerk to a manager due to her excellent performance.
10.These comments came in r to specific questions often asked by local newsmen.
11.Some cigarette advertisements are not aimed at mature audiences but instead t at children.
12.Another __________（潜在）dangerous sea animal is the jelly fish, which can cause severe pain to anyone who touches them.
13.If an alarm is s , do get out of the water as quickly as possible, as sharks are spotted nearby.
14.Many countries have a government organization to deal with customers’ __________（投诉）about ads.
15.Teaching as a career ____________（吸引）to many young people because of the long holiday.
完形填空
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B, C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
On a warm Monday, Jenny Neilson bought a sandwich and parked her car under some trees. Rolling down the windows to in fresh air, she settled back to enjoy her lunch. Suddenly she________ a big bald（秃顶的）man running through the parking lot. Before she came to what would happen, the man was there, shouting through her window, “Get out!”
Neilson .
Pulling open her door, the man seized her ________ the neck and hair, and threw her out of the car onto the ground. She screamed, ________ her purse and the keys.
Two reporters of the local newspaper, Robert Bruce and Jeff Jackson, just outside their office building on a________ , heard the screams and began running.
When they ________ Neilson’s car, the attacker had jumped into the driver’s seat and was ________ searching for the keys. Bruce opened the door, and he and Jackson dragged the man out. The attacker ________ back. But even in his cornered panic, he was no________ for the two athletic men.
Reggie Miller, a worker of the local newspaper, heard the screams, too. He rushed back to the office to ________ the police, and then ran back with some plastic ropes—used to tie up newspapers.
With his arms________ tight behind him, the prisoner looked up and said ________ , “I hope you guys feel good about yourselves—you just caught one of the most wanted men.” They ________ him and waited for the police.
Later, Bruce and Jackson were shocked to learn the man was the ________ carjacker（劫车者）and suspected murderer, whose ________ —but with a full head of hair—had been recently printed in their own newspaper.
Neilson considers herself lucky ________ she suffered injuries. She believes the story might have had a________ ending if those good people had not come to her aid. “Unfortunately,” she said, “many people would________ have done what they did, and that’s the real truth.”
1.A. bring B. let C. gather D. send
2.A. recognized B. watched C. noticed D. met
3.A. realize B. understand C. imagine D. conclude
4.A. escaped B. struggled C. refused D. obeyed
5.A. by B. around C. with D. on
6.A. burying B. forgetting C. offering D. grabbing
7.A. trip B. visit C. break D. holiday
8.A. started B. stopped C. entered D. reached
9.A. carefully B. madly C. disappointedly D. patiently
10.A. fought B. turned C. jumped D. shouted
11.A. match B. target C. equal D. companion
12.A. remind B. phone C. invite D. beg
13.A. rolled B. folded C. bent D. tied
14.A. angrily B. kindly C. coldly D. warmly
15.A. caught B. thanked C. comforted D. ignored
16.A. ordinary B. professional C. honest D. outstanding
17.A. picture B. background C. character D. story
18.A. and B. but C. though D. when
19.A. ridiculous B. similar C. strange D. different
20.A. sometimes B. never C. often D. forever
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，选项中有两项为多余选项。（答题卡上E涂AB；F涂AC； G涂AD)
How to Study Better
If you want to study better, you should pay attention to learning methods, study skills and study habits. Developing them can help you learn better.
Keep your study area tidy and organized. Papers, books, magazines, or pictures all over your work area may distract you from the work you have to do. 1. If there are too many icons on your desktop, it is difficult for you to find what you need immediately.
Maintain a quiet work area for yourself. Make sure your work area is free of distractions. There are too many distractions at home, such as a phone, music, TV, friends, or family members. Proper study space can usually be found in the public library, school library, or your bedroom. 2.
3. While learning, you need write, calculate and look up something. So it is very important and necessary to have all the necessary materials and tools that you need with you. In this way, you needn’t be busy borrowing them.
4. In addition to reading your textbook, it is helpful to read or view materials from other sources, such as newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and television programs. You can understand what you will learn in class better.
Never forget to take notes carefully in class. Taking notes carefully can help to grasp the key parts. 5. We can say that it is really a successful way to study.
A. A quiet place can help to improve study efficiency.
B. You should know how to schedule your study time.
C. The same is your computer desktop.
D. Try hard to learn knowledge as much as possible.
E. It is convenient to review them later.
F. Having necessary materials is very beneficial to study.
G. Get ready for class by reading extra materials ahead of time.
