Like many new graduates, I left university full of hope for the future but with no real idea of what I wanted to do. My degree, with honors, in English literature had not really prepared me for anything practical. I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world somehow, but I had no idea how to do that. That’s when I learned about the Lighthouse Project.
I started my journey as a Lighthouse Project volunteer by reading as much as I could about the experiences of previous volunteers. I knew it would be a lot of hard work, and that I would be away from my family and friends for a very long time. In short, I did not take my decision to apply for the Lighthouse Project lightly. Neither did my family.
Eventually, however, I won the support of my family, and I sent in all the paperwork needed for the application. After countless interviews and presentations, I managed to stand out among the candidates and survive the test alone. Several months later, I finally received a call asking me to report for the duty. I would be going to a small village near Abuja, Nigeria. Where? What? Nigeria? I had no idea. But I was about to find out.
After completing my training, I was sent to the village that was small and desperately in need of proper accommodation. Though the local villagers were poor, they offered their homes, hearts, and food as if I were their own family. I was asked to lead a small team of local people in building a new schoolhouse. For the next year or so, I taught in that same schoolhouse. But I sometimes think I learned more from my students than they did from me.
Sometime during that period, I realized that all those things that had seemed so strange or unusual to me no longer did, though I did not get anywhere with the local language, and I returned to the United States a different man. The Lighthouse Project had changed my life forever.
1.According to the Paragraph 2, it is most likely that the author
A. discussed his decision with his family.
B. asked previous volunteers about voluntary work
C. attended special training to perform difficult tasks
D. felt sad about having to leave his family and friends
2.In his application for the volunteer job, the author
A. participated in many discussions
B. went through some interviews and presentations
C. wrote quite a few papers on voluntary work
D. faced strong competition from other candidates
3.On arrival at the village, the author was
A. asked to lead a farming team
B. sent to teach in a schoolhouse
C. received warmly by local villagers
D. arranged to live in a separate house.
I fell in love with England because it was quaint (古雅)—all those little houses, looking terribly old-fashioned but nice, like dolls’ houses. I loved the countryside and the pubs, and I loved London. I’ve slightly changed my mind after seventeen years because I think it’s an ugly town now.
Things have changed. For everybody, England meant gentlemen, fair play, and good manners. The fair play is going, unfortunately, and so are the gentlemanly attitudes and good manners—people shut doors heavily in your face and politeness is disappearing.
I regret that there are so few comfortable meeting places. You’re forced to live indoors. In Paris I go out much more, to restaurants and nightclubs. To meet friends here it usually has to be in a pub, and it can be difficult to go there alone as a woman. The cafes are not terribly nice.
As a woman, I feel unsafe here. I spend a bomb on taxis because I will not take public transport after 10 p. m. I used to use it , but now I’m afraid.
The idea of family seems to be more or less non-existent in England. My family is well united and that’s typically French. In Middlesex I had a neighbor who is 82 now. His family only lived two miles away, but I took him to France for Christmas once because he was always alone.
1.The writer doesn’t like London because she ______.
A. is not used to the life there now
B. has lived there for seventeen years
C. prefers to live in an old-fashioned house
D. has to be polite to everyone she meets there
2.Where do people usually meet their friends in England?
A. In a cafe. B. In a restaurant.
C. In a nightclub. D. In a pub.
3.The underlined part “it” (in Para. 4) refers to______.
A. a taxi B. the money
C. a bomb D. public transport
4.The writer took her neighbors to France for Christmas because he ______.
A. felt lonely in England
B. had never been to France
C. was from a typical French family
D. didn't like the British idea of family
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.
