Anne is six years older than me. Growing up, we were very poor, and my mother worked evenings at a factory in a small town. Not seeing my mother much, Anne looked after me and my younger sister. During those hard years, Anne was always there for me, not only as a big sister, but as a mother and my best friend.
When I was seventeen and had no money, I thought my only chance of going to college was if I could win a scholarship. I had an important interview for such an award. Anne at that time was struggling, surviving on a part-time job as she put herself through the local community college after serving in the army. I told her of my interview. I asked her advice on what to wear and showed her my best outfit (装束) and how I planned to be careful, how I sat so that the hole in the bottom of my shoes would not be seen, but I wasn’t sure what I would do if it rained.
Anne suggested that we go shopping, and we took the bus to the JCPenney store. We found a beautiful pair of leather shoes on sale. She told me to try them on, but I thought it was just for fun as neither of us had ever owned anything that expensive before. But Anne handed me the boxed shoes and said, “Here, I’ll buy these for you.”
“But . . .” was all I could say.
“You deserve them,” she replied. “This interview is important. I want to see you get that scholarship.”
I was speechless as I knew this was a lot of money for her, and she would probably have to eat nothing but noodles for at least a month.
I went to the interview and crossed my legs so that my beautiful new shoes shone with pride. I won the scholarship and became an engineer. Although they were nice leather everyday shoes, I didn’t wear them much because they were so special. Now, after 20 years have passed, I still have that pair of shoes with me, and I just wear them on those occasions when I need to feel special.
1.When the author was 17, Anne _____.
A. was serving in the army
B. was continuing her study
C. was a salesgirl at the JCPenney store
D. was working in a small company
2.The author went to the interview _____.
A. accompanied by Anne
B. wearing a pair of worn shoes
C. with confidence
D. with great anxiety
3.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. An important interview
B. A special pair of new shoes
C. Memories of poor childhood
D. Lifelong gratitude to a friend
假设你是红星中学高三学生李华，请根据以下四幅图的先后顺序，介绍你在寒假期间参加“丝绸之路文化行”敦煌站的活动过程，并以“Silk Road Travel”
为题，给校刊“英语角”写一篇英文稿件。
注意：1．词数不少于60;
2．开头已给出，不计入总词数。
提示词：莫高窟the Mogao Caves
Silk Road Travel
This winter vacation I went to Dunhuang to explore the Silk Road with my classmates．
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书面表达
假设你是红星中学高三学生李华，请给你的美国同学Jim 写一封电子邮件，告知周末你不能参加他的生日聚会，希望他谅解。邮件的内容包括：
1．表达歉意;
2．说明理由;
3．告知已准备了生日礼物。
注意： 1．词数不少于50;
2．开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Jim，
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Best wishes，
Li Hua
信息匹配（共1小题）
They Just Can't Help It My theory is that the female brain is mainly built for empathy — the ability to understand other people — and that the male brain is mainly built for building systems．____ For example，women are more likely to read magazines on fashion and parenting，while men will choose magazines that feature computers and sport．
You may think that these preferences are influenced by the way people are taught to behave when they are growing up．However，this is not the case．A new study carried out at Cambridge University shows that newborn girls look longer at a face，and newborn boys look longer at a mobile．1.____ It has also been observed (that girls are better at noticing signs of changes in other people's feelings．Boys，however，seem to enjoy building toy towers and playing with toys which have clear functions．2.____ People whose jobs are in the construction industries are almost male．Math and engineering，which require high levels of systems-thinking，are also male-chosen disciplines．Why do men and women have the difference? Actually women have four times as many brain neurons (神经) that connect the right and left part of their brains．Because of it，women have a better ability to multitask than men．3.____ Men tend to focus on a limited number of problems at a time．They will separate themselves from problems and view tasks as independent from one another．
Some people may worry that I am suggesting one gender (性别) is better than the other，but this is not the case．My theory says that males and females differ in the kinds of things that they find easy，but that both genders have their strengths and weaknesses．_4._ It is not true．The study simply looks at males and females as two groups，and asks what differences exist，and why they are there．
A．Generally speaking，there are clear differences．
B．Their preference for building systems may change over time．
C．You can see the same kind of pattern in the adult workplace．
D．They will consider many sources of information at the same time．
E．It is important to stress that the female brain may be built more for empathy．
F．That suggests certain differences between male and female brains are biological．
G．Others may think the theory creates a belief of what a particular type of person is like．
D
Is It Worth Buying Organic Food?
Organic food，grown without artificial chemicals，is increasingly popular nowadays．Consumers have been willing to pay up to twice as much for goods with organic labels (商标)．However，if you think paying a little more for organic food gets you a more nutritious and safer product，you might want to save your money．A study led by researchers at Stanford University says that organic products aren't necessarily more nutritious，and they're no less likely to suffer from disease-causing bacteria，either．
The latest results，published in the Annuals of Internal Medicine，suggest that buyers may be wasting their money．"We did not find strong evidence that organic food is more nutritious or healthier，" says Dr．Crystal Smith-Spangler from Stanford．"So consumers shouldn't assume that one type of food has a lower risk or is safer．"
For their new study，Smith-Spangler and her colleagues conducted a review of two categories of research，including 17 studies that compared health outcomes between consumers of organic against traditional food products，and 223 studies that analyzed the nutritional content of the foods，including key vitamins，minerals and fats．
While the researchers found little difference in nutritional content，they did find that organic fruit and vegetables were 20% less likely to have chemicals remaining on the surfaces．Neither organic nor traditional foods showed levels of chemicals high enough to go beyond food safety standards．And both organic and traditional meats，such as chicken and pork，were equally likely to be harmed by bacteria at very low rates．The researchers did find that organic milk and chicken contained higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids，a healthy fat also found in fish that can reduce the risk of heart disease．However，these nutritional differences were too small，and the researchers were unwilling to make much of them until further studies confirm the trends．
Organic food is produced with fewer chemicals and more natural-growing practices，but that doesn't always translate into a more nutritious or healthier product．The U．S．Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that "whether you buy organic or not，finding the freshest foods available may have the biggest effect on taste．" Fresh food is at least as good as anything marketed as organic．
1.The new research questions whether organic food __________．
A．should replace traditional food
B．has been overpriced by farmers
C．is grown with less harmful chemicals
D．really more nutritious and healthier
2.Smith-Spangler and her colleagues found that __________．
A．organic food could reduce the risk of heart disease
B．traditional food was grown with more natural methods
C．both organic and traditional food they examined were safe
D．there was not a presence of any forms of bacteria in organic food
3.Which of the following is relatively healthier according to the passage?
A．Organic chicken and pork．
B．Organic milk and chicken．
C．Traditional chicken and pork．
D．Traditional fruit and vegetables．
4.What is the author's attitude toward organic food?
A．Sceptical．
B．Neutral．
C．Unconcerned．
D．Approving．
A Good Night's Steep
Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life．While you're sleeping，your brain is forming new pathways to help you learn and remember information．Although we all know the importance of getting a good night's sleep，not all of us know the best way of getting it．A sleep expert，Phil Atherton，gave some top tips for getting the most out of the night，which will leave you ready for action in the morning．
According to Phil Atherton，not eating a large meal before bedtime is important for getting a good night's sleep．The time difference between eating and sleeping should be at least three hours．So you'd better avoid eating any food three hours before bed，as it will lower your blood sugar during sleep and help minimize damage from too much sugar floating around．
It's also important to find ways to prepare your body for sleep．You can follow a routine like trying not to expose yourself to too much artificial light within 1 hour before bed，as your brain uses light to help set internal "body clock"．Although it might seem unnatural to schedule your sleep，the purpose is to send a signal to your body and mind that it's time to sleep．
Another way to prepare your body for sleep is to get into a relaxed state by taking a bath or listening to soft music．Both of them will help to take the mind off the daytime pressures．
Having a suitable bed，especially a suitable mattress (床垫)，is necessary for a good night's sleep．Sleep is a personalized activity，and we all adopt different sleeping positions．Finding the mattress that suits you will reduce back pains that can result from a poor sleeping position．The bed should be four to six inches longer than its tallest user，allowing for space to move around．
The recent research is pretty clear that a good night's sleep in a major component of good health．Since the start of the 21st century，studies have linked a lack of sleep to many diseases，such as diabetes and obesity．Taking action now will lead to long-term benefits for you and those around you．
1.What does the author intend to tell us in the passage?
A．When to start a sound sleep．
B．How to get a good night's sleep．
C．What to do with sleep problems．
D．Why to form a good habit of sleeping．
2.According to the author，before going to sleep，you'd better __________．
A．free yourself from tension
B．check your blood sugar
C．relieve your pain in the back
D．record your biological clock
3.What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A．Not eating food．
B．Taking a meal．
C．Not sleeping well．
D．Having a good sleep．
4.Which of the following shows the organization of the passage?
A．
B．
C．
D．
CP: Central Point P: Point Sp: Sub-point (次要点) C: Conclusion
