In 1880, fourteen-year-old Matthew Henson loved to hear sailors tell tales of their exciting lives at sea. The travel, the adventure, the danger, and the steady pay were all attracting young Henson. One day, he found a job as a cabin boy on a beautiful ship called the Katie Hinds. For the next five years, Henson sailed around the world. With the help of the ship’s captain and other members of the crew, Henson learned mathematics, navigation, history, geography, and many other subjects. By the time he left the Katie Hinds in 1885, Henson was well educated and had become an excellent seaman.
Unable to find work anywhere else, Henson took a job in a hat shop in Washington, D.C. One day in 1887, a man came in to buy a hat. The man, Robert Peary, asked the owner if he knew anyone with experience at sea. Peary would soon travel to South America for the U.S. government. He needed experienced men to accompany him. The shop owner knew about his young employee’s skills and experience on ocean journeys, so he introduced Peary to Henson.
Using his map-reading and sailing skills, Henson proved himself to be a worthy and smart seaman. Peary soon made Henson his assistant（助理）, and they became close friends. One day Peary told Henson about his real dream: to be the first man to stand on “the top of the world” at the North Pole. He asked Henson to help him make his dream come true. Over the next five years, the two explorers made two trips together to the Arctic. However, they were not able to reach the pole either time. The cold, wind, and ice were worse than either of them had ever imagined.
In 1908, Peary and Henson were ready to make their final attempt at reaching the North Pole. Both men were over forty years old. The years of hardship in the arctic cold had made them suffer a lot. This would be their last chance. With four Inuit（因纽特）guides, they made a mad rush straight across the ice toward the pole. Peary’s feet were injured and he had to be pulled on a dogsled. In April 1909, Henson’s instruments showed they were standing at the North Pole. Together Henson and Peary planted the American flag in the snow.
In later years, Robert Peary and Henson were greatly honored for their achievements. Today, the two friends and fellow explorers lie in heroes’ graves not far apart in the Arlington National Cemetery.
1. In paragraph1, the author shows how Henson became ________.
A. a wonderful seaman
B. an educated captain
C. a good shop assistant
D. a successful learner
2. Paragraph 2 mainly tells us ________.
A. why Matthew Henson went to the hat shop
B. how Matthew Henson met Robert Peary
C. why Matthew Henson stopped working on the Katie Hinds
D. how Robert Peary knew Matthew Henson had sea experience
3. The following statements are TRUE except ________.
A. Henson proved himself a better seaman than Peary
B. Peary wanted Henson to help him realize his dream
C. Before their final attempt, they made two trips together
D. After they died, they were highly respected by people
4. The story between Henson and Peary could best be compared to ________.
A. treasure hunters looking for fortunes
B. sailors seeking power over others
C. soldiers fighting for their freedom
D. fighters exploring an unknown land
Malka and Shaindle are sisters. Although they live an hour's drive from each other and don’t see each other often, they are in touch. Malka has a large family. Shaindle, however, has had difficulty having children.
Malka had just given birth to another son. Shaindle , married three years and still childless, was receiving fertility(生育) treatments. Involved with work, doctor’s visits, and medical treats, she was unable to make the trip to visit her sister after she had given birth.
Malka knew her sister’s problem and was quite understanding. Shaindle and her husband Feivel would be at the haptismal (洗礼) ceremony，of course.
On the day of the haptism, Shaindle and Feivel arrived early, earlier than Malka and her family. Malka’s mother-in-law, Yehudit, was already at the hall. “Hello,” said Shaindle cheerfully, never thinking what was about to happen.
Yehudit turned to her angrily and said, “What a selfish sister you are! Never once did you see fit to visit Makla this entire week! No wonder you have no children!”
Shaindle went into shock at her words. She turned away, her eyes filled with tears. The accusation（控诉） had cut Shaindle like a knife. She was psychologically bleeding. Poor Shaindle couldn’t calm down. It took a while before she could regain her calmness. She couldn’t look at Yehudit; it was just too painful for her to do so.
The minute the words had escaped Yehudit’s mouth, she knew she had crossed a red line. She had stepped on very raw toes and felt regretted for her words –but it was too late. Her attempts to apologize were ineffective. The celebration had suddenly turned sour in just a matter of seconds. After all these years, the memory of that happening lingers on …
1. Shaindle didn’t visit her sister after her sister gave birth because______________.
A. she was jealous of her sister
B. she lived far from her sister
C. she was too busy to visit her
D. she didn’t feel quite herself
2. The underlined part “stepped on very raw toes” probably means_____________.
A. make fun of somebody
B. hurt somebody deeply
C. meet somebody by accident
D. be impolite to somebody
3.We can learn from the last paragraph that_____________.
A. Shaindle didn’t forgive Yehudit for many years
B. Shaindle burst out anger at Malka’s mother-in-law
C. Yehudit didn’t realize how her words could affect Shaindle
D. Shaindle couldn’t get rid of the bad memory for many years
4.The purpose of the passage is to tell us ___________.
A. words sometimes can really hurt us
B. sisters should care for each other
C. we should forget unpleasant things
D. two sisters’ different experiences
You may have seen a talking parrot on a TV show, in a movie, or even in someone’s home. The parrot has learned to copy sounds that people make. Birds are not the only animals that can copy the noises they hear. Dolphins, bats, and some apes also copy sounds. Now we can add elephants to this list of copycats.
Dr. Joyce Poole is a zoologist. She studies the sounds of elephants. While she was in Kenya, she would hear strange noises made by Mlaika after sunset. Mlaika was a 10-year-old African elephant.
Mlaika lived near a highway. Dr. Poole says, “I could not tell the difference between Mlaika’s call and the distant truck noise.” She and other scientists studied Mlaika’s sounds. It turned out that Mlaika was copying the sounds of the trucks driving by. Why would Mlaika copy trucks that she heard going by on the highway? Animals that are able to copy sounds may enjoy practicing new sounds. When they are kept outside of their natural environment, they may copy unusual sounds. That may be why an elephant would copy the sound of a truck.
“Mlaika was not the only copycat elephant,” Dr. Poole says. Calimero is a 23-year-old male African elephant. He spent 18 years with two female Asian elephants. Asian elephants make chirping sounds (sounds made by birds) to talk with one another. African elephants usually do not make chirping sounds. But Calimero now does. He is copying his Asian elephant friends. Dr. Poole says that elephants need to form bonds with their family and friends. She says, “They make sounds to communicate with each other. When they are separated, they use sounds to keep in contact.”
Parrots, dolphins, humans, and elephants show that being a copycat is one way that animals and people make new friends and keep old ones.
1.According to Dr. Poole, what does Mlaika copy?
A. The sound of people.
B. The sound of trucks.
C. The sound of Calimero.
D. The sound of birds.
2. From paragraph 4, we can know ________.
A. Calimero is a 23-year-old male Asian elephant
B. African elephants never make chirping sounds
C. Asian elephants make chirping sounds to talk with birds
D. Elephants make sounds to keep in touch with each other
3. According to the passage, animals like to be copycats because they need_______.
A. To keep in touch with nature.
B. To please people and other animals.
C. To make new friends and keep old ones.
D. To avoid danger from the outside world.
学校的各个学生社团 (associations) 正在纳新。面对众多的选择，你的朋友王林没了主意，写信向你求助。假如你是李越，你认为可以考虑参加篮球协会(the Basketball Association)或者英语俱乐部(the English Club)。请你用英语给王林写一封100词左右的信，推荐这两个社团，并分别说明推荐理由。
注意：信的开头和结尾已给出（不计入词数）。
Dear Wang Lin,
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Yue
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。
Nowadays millions of people of all age take pleasure in a hobby which is both interested and fun. And every year more and more people start a stamp collection of your own and discover an interest which can even last lifetime. Starting your collection of stamps was easy because they are nowhere. Holiday and birthday postcards and letters being sent by your friends and relatives can provide you for stamps from all over the world. But once you’ve taken collecting serious, you will probably want to join the Stamp Collectors’Club where exists to add more stamps to your collection.
阅读下面短文，在空格处填入适当内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式（三个词以内）。
One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried loudly __1.___ hours and the farmer tried to figure out ___2.___ to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed ___3.__ (cover) up anyway; it just wasn’t worth the effort to get the donkey back.
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel（铲）and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and __4.__(cry) horribly. Then, to everyone’s __5.__ (amaze), he quieted down. A few shovel loads _6.___(late), the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt __7.__ (hit) his back, the donkey was doing something surprising. He would shake ___8.__off and take a step up.
As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would do the same. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over __9.__ edge of the well and __10.__(happy) ran off!
Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.
