Sports are the base of my life, next to my mother who raised me when my dad left us. I have been into sports since I was six years old. I have known many coaches and heard hundreds of their tips, but they usually focused on drills to develop my skills and reach the next level of play.
When I was in Senior two, I met the new school basketball coach, Brian Pawloski. I thought I was certain to be selected for the school team since I had been in it the year before. I showed up to the tryouts and put out about 90% effort since I thought I’d make it with no problem. That was a big mistake.
Brian Pawloski is the hardest-working coach I have ever met. He didn’t expect 100% effort, he expected 200% effort. One example: he once made us do 40 suicide drills for the 40 lay-ups(投篮) we missed in a game. Some think this is crazy, but it isn’t. After this conditioning practice, as we were getting a cup of cold water to drink, I said, “Coach, that was the best practice I ever had.” I was completely sincere. This man was and is the person who influenced me most at my high school. He expects us to be excellent not just on the court but in the classroom. If I am not working on basketball, I am reading a book that he thinks will help us better understand life’s challenges, including Wooden, Coach, and The Screwtape Letters.
In the first two years I slacked off, not putting forth my full potential. Now, unlike the coaches of my youth, this man was interested in how we did off the court. He always made sure I kept up with my studies and was able to be trusted. I can honestly say that no other coach has given me so much advice on how to succeed in basketball, but more importantly, in life. My school is lucky to have such a great person to teach, coach and influence their students. I will always remember my high-school basketball days as one of the hardest times I have ever worked in my life not only in basketball but in my growth as an individual.
1.Different from other coaches, Coach Brian _____________.
A. concentrated on skill training
B. trained the team to the edge of death
C. expected the team to do well in their studies
D. asked the team to do more reading than training
2.The underlined phrase “slacked off” in the last paragraph probably means ______________.
A. paid no attention B. showed no interest
C. had less passion D. made less effort
3.In the author’s eyes, Coach Brian is ____________.
A. strict and helpful
B. hardworking and honest
C. skilled and cruel
D. professional and serious
Year of Giving
Yesterday I started the Year of Giving, my first day of a year-long journey into exploring the act of giving and the meaning of charity. I chose December 15 as the starting date, which marked three years since my mother died from heart disease. She was one of the most generous people that I have ever known. She always thought of others first and certainly serves as an inspiration to me.
I had a rather busy day yesterday, ironic (具有讽刺意义的) for someone who is unemployed right now. In the morning I went to the gym, and unsuccessfully got the phone call from the unemployment office for some job searching. Before I knew it, it was noon. I grabbed a quick lunch and rushed down to a meeting. On my way to Connecticut, I wondered if I would see someone that I would feel forced to give my first $ 10 to. I was running late and decided to do it afterwards.
After the meeting I had about half an hour to find the first person of my Year of Giving! I decided to check out DuPont Circle. I had met a guy there named Jerry once and thought he would willingly accept my $ 10. He wasn’t there, but I did see a man sitting by himself who looked really lonely, so I approached him. Now I had to figure out what I was going to say, I think I said something like, “Hi, can I sit down here?” “I would like to know if I could give you $ 10?” He asked me to repeat what I had said, I did, then he looked at me funny, got up and left.
I then started walking south where I spotted a man standing by the bus stop on Connecticut Ave. He appeared to be in his 60s. I don’t know what drew me to him, but I thought I would make my second attempt. I was a bit nervous and asked him which bus came by that stop. Then I explained that I was starting a year-long project to give $ 10 to someone every day and that I wanted to give my $ 10 for today to him. The gentleman, I later found out that his name was Ed, responded without hesitation that he could not accept my offer and that there were many people more deserving the money than him. This was exactly one of the things that I hoped would happen. People would think of others before themselves.
1.The author set the starting date on December 15 to ____.
A. help the charity B. remember his mother
C. make an explosion D. fulfill a wish of his mum
2.In the author’s first attempt to give away the money, ____.
A. he was considered ridiculous
B. he hesitated for a long time
C. he was forced to donate the money
D. he had no time to take action
3.In the author’s second attempt, the gentleman refused his offer because ____.
A. he didn’t need other’s help
B. he thought more for others
C. he didn’t care about money
D. he wanted to get more money
4.We can infer that the author was inspired by ____.
A. true friendship B. his own kindness
C. generous donations D. human’s good nature
书面表达
假设你是李华，你的英国笔友Chris刚刚转学，感到一切都很陌生。他在邮件中向你询问如何尽快融入新环境，请你根据以下信息回信。
1．多跟同学交流沟通；
2．积极参加学校活动；．
3．向老师寻求帮助。
注意：1．词数100左右；2．可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；3．开头已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Chris，
I am sorry to hear that you are having trouble fitting in at your new school．
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Yours,
Li Hua
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。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。
It was a sunny day today and I went to Xishan Park for a spring outing. The moment I entered in the park, a variety of beautiful flowers and green trees come into sight. Attracted by the beauty, I couldn’t stop taking photo. As I wandered along the path, enjoy the beautiful view, I noticed something unpleasantly. Two schoolgirls jumped the fence to pick flowers. Obviously they didn’t realize that their behavior had done great damage on the beauty of the park. Without hesitation, I went up and stopped them politely. Quite embarrassing, the two girls came out immediately. Then we took pictures outside the fence. Seeing that, I smiled and something looked nicer in my eyes.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Discoveries about the nature of DNA in the 1940s made1. ________ possible for cloning experiments to progress. In 1944 the discovery 2.________ genetic information for each cell was kept in the cell’s DNA gave scientists new ways to attempt 3.________ (clone) animals.
The first cloned animal was a tadpole4. ________ was cloned in 1952. Thomas J. King and Robert W. Briggs believed, based on their clones, that young cells were more viable (可生长发育的) for the cloning process than adult cells.
The next successful cloning experiments also resulted 5.________ cloned frogs. John Gurdon cloned South African frogs in 1962. His experiments proved that the previous theory that adult cells were 6.________ (able) to be used in the cloning process was wrong. From 1962 to 1965, more frog clones were created from adult frog cells.
While animal cloning had been the focus of cloning experiments, the 1960s also saw7. ________ types of cloning. In 1964 F. C. Steward 8.________ (undertake) an experiment in which he took an adult cell from a carrot plant and successfully cloned the plant.
So far more than 20 different animals, 9.________ (include) dogs, cats, and the famous Dolly, have been cloned, 10. ________ human cloning research has been forbidden in many countries.
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。
As we know, it is important to be honest with children. But there are some things in this world that simply aren’t_________. Sometimes it makes sense for parents to_________to their children.
I still remember my three-year-old daughter’s face when we watched the_________that twenty children at Sandy Hook Elementary School had been killed. After a few minutes she_________and put her_________arms around my legs and said, “I love you, Momma.” I was still _________ whether or not to turn the TV off when she, _________, asked, “Momma, why aren’t those kids OK?” I just _________ that they were smart children, _________they did something wrong and got punished.
We’re not all_________of a little lie here and there. Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and Snow White are just a few examples of_________for parents to keep magic in the world. Magic, imagination and creativity are very essential in life, _________ for children. These stories battle against the negative aspects of the world and create _________ . In the end children will be able to_________ what is true and what was made to_________their lives. Out of five brothers and a sister I can happily report that not one of the children I grew up with was _________when we discovered who all those _________people really were.
In life, a parent is the _________of knowledge, and it is up to the parent to decide what knowledge to teach and when. There’s no_________ to tell children all about the truth. As they become_________ , they will have a better understanding of the world.
1.A. user-friendly B. kid-friendly C. reader-friendly D. teacher-friendly
2.A. agree B. talk C. lie D. react
3.A. news B. game C. discussion D. experiment
4.A. came out B. fell down C. called back D. reached up
5.A. long B. little C. thin D. strong
6.A. arguing B. researching C. considering D. questioning
7.A. in peace B. in danger C. in doubt D. in puzzlement
8.A. explained B. announced C. suggested D. apologized
9.A. so B. but C. or D. until
10.A. afraid B. tired C. guilty D. nervous
11.A. activities B. goals C. possibilities D. ways
12.A. especially B. probably C. gradually D. frequently
13.A. luck B. hope C. honor D. wealth
14.A. describe B. predict C. understand D. remember
15.A. save B. live C. start D. better
16.A. excited B. upset C. special D. curious
17.A. imaginary B. homeless C. strange D. generous
18.A. friend B. partner C. keeper D. advisor
19.A. time B. choice C. risk D. need
20.A. older B. cleverer C. braver D. busier
