Happy birthday! Do birthday really make people happy? Of course they do. Birthdays celebrate the day when we were born. Besides, that extra candle on the cake suggests another year of growth and maturity（成熟）—or so we hope．We all like to imagine that we are getting wiser and not just older．Most of us enjoy seeing the wonder of growth in others, as well．For instance, seeing our children develop and learn new things makes us feel proud．For Americans, like people in most cultures, growing up is a wonderful process．But growing old? That is a different story.
Growing old is not exactly for people in youth-oriented (以年轻人为中心)American culture．Most Americans like to look young, act young and feel young. As the old saying goes, “You’re young as you feel．” Older people joke about how many years young they are, rather than how many years old．People in some countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom．But Americans seem to favor those who are young, or at least “young at heart”．
Many older Americans find the “golden years” to be anything but golden．Economically, “senior citizens” often try just to get by．Retirement at the age of 65 brings a sharp decrease in personal income．Social security benefits usually cannot make up the difference．Older people may suffer from poor nutrition (营养), medical care, and housing. Some even have the experience of age discrimination(歧视). American sociologist(社会学家) Pat Moore once dressed up like an older person and wandered city streets．She was often treated rudely--even cheated and robbed．However, dressed as a young person, she received much more respect．
Unfortunately, the elderly population in America is increasing fast．Why? People are living longer．Fewer babies are being born．And middle-aged “baby boomers”(婴儿潮) are rapidly entering the group of the elderly．America may soon be a place where wrinkles（皱纹）are “in”．Marketing experts are already noticing this growing group of consumers．
1.Growing up is a wonderful thing because ________.
A. people can celebrate their birthdays.
B. people can become more and mature and wiser.
C. people can receive many presents.
D. people will feel younger at heart.
2.We can infer from the second paragraph that _________.
A. young people lack experience and wisdom.
B. American older people often joke about their old age.
C. American culture is very young.
D. different countries have different opinions on the old age.
3.The underlined sentence (in Paragraph 3) means “_________.”
A. the golden years can make the old earn lots of money and receive good medical care
B. the old people in America are probably leading a hard life without good nutrition, medical care or housing.
C. the old in America have to retire at the age of 65.
D. American social security benefits are not good.
4.From the last paragraph we know that the underlined word “in” can be replaced by _______.
A. serious B. bad
C. disappearing slowly D. growing fast
Habits, whether good or bad, are gradually formed. When a person does a certain thing again, he is driven by some unseen force to do the same thing repeatedly, then a habit is formed. Once a habit is formed, it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to get rid of. That’s why we should pay great attention to the formation of habits. Children often form bad habits, some of which remain with them as long as they live. Older persons also form bad habits as long as they live, and sometimes become ruined by them.
There are other habits which, when formed in early life, are of great help. Many successful men say that much of their success has something to do with certain habits in early life, such as early rising, honesty and so on.
Among the habits which children should not form are laziness, lying, stealing and so on. These are all easily formed habits. Unfortunately older persons often form habits which should have been avoided.
We should keep away from all these bad habits, and try to form such habits which will be beneficial for ourselves and others.
1.The last word, “them”, in the first paragraph refers to _________.
A. good habits B. bad habits
C. children D. older persons
2.Why should we pay attention to the formation of habits?
A. Because habits are of great help to every one of us.
B. Because a man can never get rid of a habit.
C. Because we are forced to do them again and again.
D. Because it’s hard and even not possible to throw away bad habits.
3._________ are formed little by little.
A. Good habits
B. Bad habits
C. Both good habits and bad habits
D. Either good habits or bad habits
One day, a poor man, who had only one piece of bread to eat, was walking past a restaurant. There was a large pot of soup on the table. The poor man held his bread over the soup, so the steam from the soup went into the bread, and gave it a good smell. Then he ate the bread.
The restaurant owner was very angry at this, and he asked the man for money, in exchange for the steam from the soup. The poor man had no money, so the restaurant owner took him to Nasreddin, who was a judge at that time. Nasreddin thought about the case for a little while.
Then he took some money from his pocket. He held the coins next to the restaurant owner’s ear, and shook them, so that they made a dingling（叮当声）noise.
“What was that?” asked the restaurant owner.
“That was payment for you,” answered Nasreddin.
“What do you mean? That was just the sound of coins!” protested (抗议) the restaurant owner.
“The sound of the coin is payment for the smell of the soup,” answered Nasreddin. “Now go back to your restaurant.”
1.The poor man held his bread over the soup to _______.
A. make it heated
B. warm his cold hands
C. avoid paying the restaurant owner
D. make it smell and taste a little better
2.Why did Nasreddin make a noise with the coins?
A. To make the poor man relaxed.
B. To pay for the smell of the soup.
C. To make the restaurant owner happy.
D. To show that he was a rich person.
3. Nasreddin thought that the smell of the soup ________.
A. was worthless B. should be paid
C. was pleasant D. could be sold
4.The writer’s purpose in telling the story is mainly to _________.
A. show the restaurant owner’s greed(贪婪)
B. describe the poor’s unhappy life
C. show Nasreddin’s cleverness and humour
D. prove the value of the sound of coins
What do Tom Sawyer and Jumping Frogs have in common? Stories about both of them were created by one man: Mark Twain. Twain was four years old when his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, located on the west bank of the Mississippi. Twain grew up there and was fascinated with (使……入迷) life along the river——the steamboats, the giant lumber（木头）rafts, and the people who worked on them.
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is one of Twain’s best loved short stories, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is one of his most famous novels. Both these works are celebrated by events held during National Tom Sawyer Days, which originated in the late 1950s and became national in the 1960s. Children enter their frogs in the jumping contest during National Tom Sawyer Days. There’s also a fence painting contest to see who can paint the fastest. The idea for this contest comes from a scene in Tom Sawyer, in which Tom has been told to paint the fence in front of the house he lives in. It’s a beautiful day, and he would rather be doing anything else. As his friends walk by, he makes them believe that it’s fun to paint, and they join in the “fun”. By the end of the day, the fence has three coats of paint!
Although the story of Tom Sawyer is a fiction, it’s based on facts. If you go to Hannibal, you’ll see the white fence, which still stands at Twain’s boyhood home.
1.Which of the following statements about Mark Twain is TRUE?
A. He was born in Hannibal.
B. He enjoyed his life in Hannibal.
C. He spent most of his childhood on the Mississippi.
D. He often went rafting on the Mississippi with his parents.
2. Tom Sawyer Days were created ______________.
A. about forty years ago
B. in memory of a great writer
C. shortly after Twain’s death
D. to improve kids’ interest in reading
3.Who will win the fence painting contest?
A. Bob, painting the longest.
B. Julia, painting most carefully.
C. Jim, painting in the newest way.
D. John, painting in the shortest time.
4.From the white fence at Twain’s boyhood home, we know that ________.
A. the story of Tom Sawyer is based partly on Twain’s experiences.
B. the story of Tom Sawyer is based totally on Twain’s imagination.
C. Twain’s old house is painted by the fence painting competitors.
D. Twain’s old house is visited by people from all over the country.
书面表达
假设你是学生李华，得知好朋友William在学习中感到压力很大，学习效果甚微，请你给他写一封电子邮件，帮助他放松身心，提高学习效率。
内容要点：
1. 快乐学习，保持愉快的心情；
2. 积极参加体育活动，如打乒乓球、听音乐等；
3. 多与同学交流，互相鼓励。
注意：1.词数100左右，开头和结尾已经为你写好。
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear William，
Recently, I have heard that you feel stressed about study.
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Best wishes!
Li Hua
短文改错文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误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。
As we all know, travelling can be an excited experience. Let me give you some suggestion that you have to pay attention. You can find out more about your destination by surf the Internet before you set out. You needn’t take too many cash. Since it can be very convenient to pay in cash, using cheques is much more reliable. In additional, it will be wise of you to take an umbrella in case of it should rain. If you are to travel abroad, you’d better understand the cultural diversity. Keep it in mind that being politely in foreign countries can help you had a wonderful trip.
