I was on vacation, and in my mind, vacation does not mean setting my hotel room alarm clock for 6 am. But when you’re in Aruba and hoping to reserve a beachside palapa（简陋草棚）, that’s exactly what you do.
Tourists begin lining up at the crack of dawn to secure these umbrella-like wood structures that are covered with dried and woven palm leaves. They then place towels on chairs and call them theirs for the day, whether they remain there or not. I knew nothing of this beach code of ethics on my first day in Aruba. I saw an empty chair covered with a towel and took it. It was a big mistake.
For many visitors, a week bathing in the sun is the only activity they wish to pursue. It sounded good to my girlfriend, Barbara, and me after Boston’s awful winter. Six more inches of snow was predicted on the day we left. The sun, the sand, and the beach seemed just about right.
Aruba’s slogan is “One Happy Island”, and it doesn’t take long to understand why. Aruba is said to be on “island time”. Translation: No one is in a rush to do anything. When in Aruba, you go with the flow, however slow and lazy that might be.
Cooling trade winds, white sandy beaches, turquoise（蓝绿色）waters, and dazzling sunsets are all good reasons to visit. But this 20-mile island offers more than lazy days walking on the beach. There is amazing night life, casinos, golf, scuba diving（水肺潜水）, fine dining, shopping, and a great national park.
But our first day was spent as you’d expect, swimming in the sea and enjoying cool drinks. Our drink of choice quickly became the Coco Loco. It’s as refreshing as it sounds.
1.Tourists get up at 6 am because they _____.
A. want to see the sunrise early
B. need to check out early
C. want to have fun longer
D. need to reserve a beachside palapa
2.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 refer to ?
A. Using whatever chair you like.
B. Waiting in a long line for a palapa.
C. Taking up a chair by placing a towel on it.
D. Covering a palapa with woven palm leaves.
3.Paragraph 4 shows life in Aruba is very _____.
A. relaxing B. expensive
C. frightening D. disappointing
4.What did the author do on his first day there ?
A. He went shopping.
B. He swam in the sea.
C. He went scuba diving.
D. He visited a national park.
As a child, I always thought about what the college admissions process would look like for me. I dreamed of the day when I’d get my first acceptance letter, and go on to learn as much as I could about many things as possible.
However, as I got older, my fears of going to college augmented. I’m a senior now, and the college admissions process isn’t exactly what I dreamt of when I was 7 years old. There are deadlines to meet, majors to choose, and how am I going to pay for all of this ? My mind plays tricks on me, convincing that my roommate will hate me and that my classes will be horribly boring and that each day will begin at five in the morning. To be honest, while I have many reasons to be excited for the next journey in my educational pursuits, I’m also scared to death.
I’ve invested hours upon hours studying for AP tests, SATs and ACTs. My peers and I sacrificed our Friday night football games, school dances and field trips to do better in studies in school. But is it all worth it ? What if the promise of college ends up being disappointing rather than a relief ?
In a year from now, my whole life will change. I’ll be a legal adult. My dorm might be in Paris, Los Angeles or Chicago. I’ll be doing my own laundry, cooking my own food and paying for things on my own. I’ll meet entirely new people and say goodbye to others. But isn’t that also the joy of life ? I want to experience joy, heartbreak, first times and new adventures.
College freaks me out, but you know what scares me more ? I must leave my life inside a comfort zone. It’s a big, bright and beautiful world, and I think it’s finally time for me to walk in it with the confidence at this time, I’ll be doing it right.
1.When the author was little, he _____.
A. considered going to college scary
B. didn’t study hard to prepare for college
C. often asked college students about college
D. often imagined what college would be like
2.What does the underlined word “augmented” in Paragraph 2 mean ?
A. Increased. B. Spread. C. Survived. D. Disappeared
3.From Paragraph 3 we learn the author _____.
A. didn’t like outdoor activities
B. prepared very hard for college
C. didn’t like being with his friends
D. considered going to college worthless
4.What makes the author frightened the most ?
A. Going to college.
B. Living far from home.
C. Experiencing heartbreak.
D. Leaving his comfort zone.
If you haven’t played games with an 80-year-old couple, you’re missing out. Each week, my best friend and I hang out with senior citizens. Volunteering at a retirement village provides us with a great opportunity to meet new people and enrich the lives of the people we meet. We have learned so much from talking with senior citizens, and we are blessed to have this opportunity to reach out to those in our community. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing the faces of the elderly light up when we walk into the room.
Though my school only requires 10 community service hours, I have continued to volunteer throughout high school. While our 10-hour requirement is a good start, schools should require more volunteer hours. Volunteering offers students an irreplaceable way to help their communities and expand their knowledge of the world.
Some believe that forcing students to volunteer is defeating the purpose of volunteering, because it’s not volunteering if you are required to do it. However, sometimes students need an extra push to reach out to their communities. It’s because some students don’t know the benefits of volunteering. After they start volunteering, they’ll realize that volunteering can benefit them a lot and they will want to volunteer more.
Through volunteering, I’ve learned many valuable life skills. Besides teaching valuable life skills, volunteering may lead to a part-time job opportunity as well. If students prove their reliability（可靠性）and hard work ethic while volunteering, employers may take that into consideration and offer them a job. My best friend got her summer job after volunteering several summers at the Boy Scout camp.
There are various other benefits of volunteering. Besides making a difference in people’s lives, students develop communication skills and acceptance of others. What’s more, reaching out to others who are less fortunate teaches us to be grateful for what we have.
All in all, volunteering is an extremely rewarding activity which should be required.
1.From Paragraph I we learn the author _____.
A. volunteers to enrich her own life
B. volunteers mainly in order to meet new people
C. enjoys volunteering at the retirement village a lot
D. does various types of volunteering work
2.Which of the following statements would the author most probably agree with ?
A. Every student should help the old in community service.
B. High schools shouldn’t force students to volunteer.
C. 10 community service hours are enough for most students.
D. High schools should require more community service hours.
3.By mentioning her best friend in Paragraph 4, the author shows that volunteering leads to ______.
A. hard work ethic B. better reliability
C. better employers D. part-time work opportunities
4.What would be the best title for the passage ?
A. Why should high school students volunteer ?
B. Why do high school students like volunteering ?
C. How long should high school students volunteer ?
D. What should high school students volunteer to do ?
Here are two places that you may want to pay a visit to.
Sark, Channel Islands
This is one of the few places in the world where tradition still stands and the traditional ways are fully respected. The roads here remain not cemented（铺水泥）, and are not even paved, and they are completely dark at night as there are no street lights. The residents of Sark are not allowed to drive cars, and if they do, they have to keep them outside Sark. The transportation you can use in Sark includes your legs, bicycles or a horse-drawn carriage. There are no motor vehicles here.
There are many activities you can enjoy here during the day, but when the night comes, the only thing you can do outside is look at the sky, which is really great. Because of the lack of artificial lights, the stars are very clearly visible.
Hyderabad, India
This southeastern city of India was the city where one of the wealthiest people in the world lived, Mir Osman Ali Khan. Now this city is the place where many global IT brands hold their head offices. But it hasn’t lost its historic looks, as it remains surrounded by ancient boulders（大圆石）, and the modern houses recently built are surrounded by traditional gardens and lakes. From the great hotel Taj Falaknuma Palace you can see the Old City where the old Indian tradition is well preserved.
The best time to travel to Hyderabad depends on whether you are going for the city itself, or you wish to go to some of the festivals that take place here. The Hyderabad Literary Festival takes place from the 23rd to the 26th of January, while a festival celebrating various cultures, the Deccan Festival, happens from February 25 to March I.
1.Sark on Channel Islands would most probably attract those who _____.
A. want to go hiking in a mountain
B. are interested in exciting nightlife
C. want to enjoy a very quiet holiday
D. want to visit a city with a long history
2.If you go to Sark on Channel Islands, you can _____.
A. try driving on unpaved roads
B. go everywhere on a motorbike
C. use a horse-drawn carriage for free
D. enjoy the beautiful starry sky at night
3.Why hasn’t Hyderabad lost its historic looks ?
A. Because many old buildings remain there.
B. Because an ancient place still remains there.
C. Because many buildings that are like old ones are built there.
D. Because traditional boulders, gardens and lakes remain there.
书面表达
昨天，你们对800名中学生的未来理想职业进行了一次调查，请根据以下表格，写一篇英语短文：
职业 | 百分比 | 原因 |
老师或医生 | 40% | 能帮助人 |
演员或歌手 | 20% | 能出名，受人崇拜 |
做生意 | 30% | 能挣大钱 |
你想从事什么职业及原因 | ||
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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。
I was not good in math in the first year of junior high school. Having been failed so many times in math exams, I was anxious about the subject. Every time I tried hardly to work out a math problem, I was afraid of making mistakes, that really made me feel helpless. Unluckily, I met a math teacher in the second year. She told me that I didn’t need to worry about making mistakes, because I could find out my shortcomings through my mistake. She always encouraged me to try again whenever I make a mistake. Thanks to my teacher’s encouragement, I became interesting in math and made rapid progresses. My experience proves that failure is the mother of success and we can learn a lot from our mistakes.
