My parents and two older brothers arrived in Queens from Cuba in 1967, squeezing into a one-bedroom apartment that got even more cramped when I showed up two years later. Suspicious of everyone and unable to communicate in English, my parents weren’t about to let their kids hang out in the streets. And since they both worked, we boys spent a lot of time at home.
The main public library on Merrick Boulevard was the first place I was allowed to visit on my own. I started going there when I was eight. Everything I needing was located on what seemed to me an endless single floor. Wandering around that building aimlessly on a Saturday afternoon offered a sense of freedom I’d never experienced before.
Once my father dropped me off, it didn’t really matter what I did so long as I could explore. I find it interesting that people today say that libraries are no longer about books; they weren’t really about books for me back in the 1970s, either. It was more about being around other people who looked like they were being productive-turning pages, making copies, patiently waiting for items. All this was attractive to me.
I felt a certain level of dignity and self-respect at the library. I didn’t borrow books from the library despite spending practically every Saturday of my childhood there. I certainly went over hundreds and hundreds of them during my walks around the building- sports, politics and the solar system were my favorite sections. But I felt no great need to bring books home. We had no room for books in our apartment anyway. I felt like a poor kid when I read books at home. I felt like everyone else when I read books at the library.
1.The underlined word “cramped” in Paragraph I probably means “________”.
A. dangerous B. shabby C. messy D. crowded
2.What did the author appreciate most about the library?
A. The atmosphere it provides. B. The books he could explore.
C. The productive people in it. D. The seemingly endless floor.
3.The author didn’t borrow books from the library because ________.
A. he had finished reading all the books he preferred
B. he felt like reading at the library to enjoy freedom
C. he didn’t want to lose his dignity and self-respect
D. he was too poor to afford the cost of borrowing books
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. How a Public Library Set Me Free
B. Culture Shock Is Never a Barrier
C. My Aimless and Boring Childhood
D. A Building Shaped a Nation’s Spirit
Today’s travelers may explore faraway cultures and countries by booking a round-the-world (RTW) trip through a global airline alliance (联盟). If you’re planning an extended business trip, a long vacation, or a year off, an RTW airline fare may be just the ticket.
RTW tickets can be purchased in economy, business class, and sometimes first class, depending on the alliance. Ticket prices can range from approximately $2,500 to $23,000, depending on class of service, mileage, routing(路线), and number of stops. They typically average between $3,000 and $5,000, although a simple two-or-three-stop RTW ticket might cost as little as $1, 500. Booking an RTW ticket through a global airline alliance allows you to piece together routes on member airlines to create one continuous trip.
Where to begin? Here are some tips:
●Start planning at least six months in advance to ensure the routes you want are available.
●To save on costs, visit destinations in their off seasons.
●If you fly west to east, your flights will be speedier due to tailwinds.
●If you plan to travel extensively within a continent, you can combine your RTW ticket with an airline alliance’s regional travel passes.
●You can often save a significant amount by originating your RTW trip in a country outside the U.S.
The alliances have various price tiers. The SkyTeam global airline alliance, for example, allows you fly up to 26,000 miles with as many as five stopovers of 24 hours or more. Fly between 29,000 and 38,000 miles, and you can stop over up to 15 times. You can plot your journey with SkyTeam’s “Round the World” planner or call a member airline for assistance.
Sometimes RTW tickets are discounted. SkyTeam, for instance, recently offers 10% off RTW, economy- class ticket. Check SkyTeam’s website for current offerings.
1.What can we know about an RTW trip through a global airline alliance?
A. It is only intended for international trade.
B. Its price is fixed according to class of service.
C. The lowest price of an RTW ticket is $1,500.
D. Customers can choose their routes and stops.
2.Which of the following is NOT a tip recommended by the author?
A. Plan your trip in advance.
B. Never include the U.S. in your trip.
C. Visit destinations in their off seasons.
D. Combine an RTW ticket with regional travel passes.
3.The SkyTeam global airline alliance recently offers customers ________.
A. unlimited-stopover trips B. only economy-class tickets
C. a discount on certain tickets D. a new website for assistance
假定你是李华，你的美国朋友David作为交换生曾在你家居住。近期你校要举办以“ Foreigners Tell Chinese Stories”为主题的英语征文活动。请写一封邮件邀请他参加。要点如下：
1.截稿时间：2017年2月1日；
2.字数要求：500左右；
3.投稿邮箱：chinesestory2017@126.com。
注意：1.词数：100左右；
2.开头结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear David，
Yours,
Li Hua
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一下作文。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：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及修改均仅限一词。
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Recently, a famous basketball player has caused public angry by writing on the Great wall. In the fact, this happens in many place of interest. I had some suggestions to solve this problem.
First, make more posters to inform the public the damage of graffiti(涂鸦). Besides, punishments, such as a fine, is necessary to tourists with so bad behaviors. Also, I think it’s helpfully to put up some boards along the tourist attractions that tourists can leave messages.
I’m sure with our efforts, more and more people will become concerning about protecting cultural relics.
Whenever Prince George steps out for an engagement,like on the royal tour of Canada,or poses for 1.(office) photographs,he only ever wears shorts,2.has long confused roya
l watchers.
According to William Hanson,3. expert in ceremony,there’s a very good reason for this—and it has nothing to do 4. fashion,but rather a royal tradition that 5..(date) back to the sixteenth century.A new born baby would 6..(dress) in a gown for their first year or two.Then he was “breeched(穿裤礼)” and wore articles of clothing like shorts.The usual custom is that a boy graduates to trousers around eight years old.
With time 7.. (change),middle class boys began to wear trousers but they were considered suburban(土气的) by the upper.Hanson explains,“8.. is a very English thing to dress a young boy in shorts.”The British upper are always keen to h
old on to tradition,and this also 9..(silent) marks them out from “the rest”.However,as for William and Kate,the 10..(decide) to dress George in shorts is more likely down to tradition than a class issue.
Honest Thanks
I sat down at my desk and started writing. I wrote an emotional letter of gratitude. I put the notecard into the ___________, sealed it and stuck the stamps on it, but when it came to actually placing the letter into the mailbox … I ___________.
The letter was to a schoolmate with whom I kept in contact via Facebook _______. She had inspired me to live a(n)_______life—for example, by_______more.
Her volunteer efforts weren’t_______—she wasn’t building wells in Uganda, but_______she was doing small, local good deeds, such as serving as a crossing guard. These were things I could do, too. She made me _______ I could make a difference here at home. I felt I should let her know how her_______positively influenced my life. I could have easily sent her an e-mail, ________that seemed a bit lame for such an important thank you, That’s why I ended up________the letter. But now I stood before the mailbox, unable to place the envelope inside. What was________me? Why was this so ____________to do? I guess I felt strange because it wasn’t like she was my best friend, I just knew her, “People don’t ____________do this,” I thought to myself. However, ________thinking it over, I still felt a(n)________to let her know how grateful I was. Finally, I put the envelope in the mailbox.
Weeks later I received her reply. She was________a tough time and my letter meant the________to her, She didn’t know she had such a(n)________on others. Not only did this letter make her happy, but her response to it increased my____________of happiness, I decided to write a gratitude letter to someone each month, Cultivating gratitude is a great skill to practice, Life is too short not to do it.
1.A. envelope B. drawer C. handbag D. pocket
2.A. sighed B. froze C. panicked D. smiled
3.A. usually B. formally C. occasionally D. secretly
4.A. different B. tough C. enthusiastic D. rich
5.A. enjoying B. volunteering C. exercising D. travelling
6.A. essential B. meaningful C. ordinary D. huge
7.A. once B. also C. still D. instead
8.A. accept B. realize C. admit D. prove
9.A. words B. thoughts C. example D. emotion
10.A. and B. but C. so D. or
11.A. editing B. receiving C. answering D. handwriting
12.A. stopping B. urging C. encouraging D. confusing
13.A. boring B. pleasant C. hard D. cool
14.A. directly B. constantly C. equally D. normally
15.A. until B. after C. while D. before
16.A. desire B. ambition C. fear D. curiosity
17.A. going through B. going for C. going against D. going over
18.A. earth B. world C. dream D. future
19.A. comment B. honor C. influence D. concern
20.A. search B. appreciation C. level D. experience
