In ancient Egypt，the pharaoh(法老)treated the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace，if he brought good news. However，if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news，his head was cut off.
Shades of that spirit spread over today’s conversations. Once a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing. As we walked light-heartedly out the door，picnic basket in hand，a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said，“Oh boy，bad day for a picnic. The weatherman says it’s going to rain.” I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report，for his smile.
Several months ago I was racing to catch a bus. As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Greyhound counter，the sales agent said with a broad smile，“Oh，that bus left five minutes ago.” Dreams of head cutting!
It’s not the news that makes someone angry. It’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s delivered. Everyone must give bad news from time to time，and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude. A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation does it in a caring way. A boss informing an employee he didn’t get the job takes on a sympathetic tone. Big winners know，when delivering any bad news，they should share the feeling of the receiver.
Unfortunately，many people are not aware of this. When you’re tired from a long flight，has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn’t ready yet？When you had your heart set on the toast beef，has your waiter merrily 
told you that he just served the last piece？It makes you as traveler or diner want to land your fist right on their unsympathetic faces.
Had my neighbor told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy，I would have appreciated his warning. Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left，I probably would have said，“Oh，that’s all right. I’ll catch the next one.” Big winners，when they bear bad news，deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded(被轰炸的)person is sure to have.
1.In Paragraph 1，the writer tells the story of the pharaoh to________.
A. make a comparison B. introduce a topic
C. describe a scene D. offer an argument
2.In the writer’s opinion，his neighbor was________.
A. friendly B. warm-hearted C. not helpful D. not considerate
3.What is the main idea of the text?
A. Helping others sincerely is the key to business success.
B. Delivering bad news properly is important in communication.
C. Receiving bad news requires great courage.
D. Learning ancient traditions can be useful.
Maybe it is true that we do not know what we have got until we lose it，but it is also true that we do not know what we have been missing until it arrives.
It takes an hour to like someone，and a day to love someone，but it takes a lifetime to forget someone. Giving someone all your love is never an assurance(保证)that they will love you back. Do not expect love in return；but if it does not，be content it has grown in yours. Do not rely on one's appearance；it can trick you. Do not rely on wealth；even that fades away. Rely on someone who makes you smile，because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.
There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them. Dream what you want to dream；go where you want to go；be what you want to be，because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.
The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past. You cannot go on well in life until you let your past failures and heartaches go off. May you have enough happiness to make you sweet，enough trials(考验)to make you strong，enough sorrow to keep you human，enough hope to make you happy. The happiest people do not necessarily have the best of everything；they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. Happiness waits for those who cry，those who appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives. Always put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that it hurts you，it probably hurts the other person，too.
When you were born，you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die，you are the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
1.In this passage，the writer wants to tell us ______.
A. what to do in our life B. where to go with other persons
C. how to treat our life D. how to get on well with other persons
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. If you give someone your love，you are sure to receive love in return.
B. We often don't know what we have lost until it happens someday.
C. It is wise not to rely on anybody because you are likely to be cheated.
D. If it takes you a short time to love someone，you will forget the person.
3.One should ______ the painful past according to the writer.
A. value B. remember C. consider D. forget
Mark Twain was a great writer. He was from the USA. He was born in 1835. He was also a famous speaker. He was famous for his sense of humour. Many people liked to listen to him talk because he liked to tell some interesting stories to make people laugh all the time.
One day Mark Twain was going to a small town because of his writing. Before he was going to leave, one of his friends said to him that there were always a lot of mosquitoes in the town and told him that he’d better not go there. Mark Twain waved (摇动) his hand and said, “It doesn’t matter. The mosquitoes are no relatives of mine. I don’t think they will come to visit me.”
After he arrived at the town, Mark Twain stayed in a small hotel near the station. He went into his room, but when he was just about to have a rest, quite a few mosquitoes flew about him. The waiters felt very sorry about that. “I’m very sorry, Mr Mark Twain. There are too many mosquitoes in our town.” One of them said to him.
Mark Twain, however, made a joke, saying to the waiter, “The mosquitoes are very clever. They know my room number. They didn’t come into the wrong room.” What he said made all the people present laugh heartily.
But that night Mark Twain slept well. Do you know why? That was because all the waiters in the hotel were driving the mosquitoes away for him during the whole night.
1.That day Mark Twain went to the town _____.
A. to see one of his friends
B. because he was told there were a lot of mosquitoes there
C. because he wanted to do something there for his writing
D. to see one of his relatives
2.The waiters felt sorry because _____.
A. they did something wrong to Mark Twain
B. their hotel was too small
C. the room was not very clean
D. there were quite a few mosquitoes in Mark Twain’s room
3.All the people present laughed heartily because _____.
A. the mosquitoes were very clever and they didn’t come into the wrong room
B. the mosquitoes knew Mark Twain’s room number
C. Mark Twain made a joke
D. Mark Twain gave the waiters some nice presents
4.From the story we know _____.
A. no mosquitoes troubled Mark Twain in the night
B. the owner of the hotel told the waiters to look after Mark Twain well at night
C. Mark Twain didn’t have a good rest that night
D. there were not mosquitoes in the hotel any longer
假定你是李华。你是学生会主席。你校将于5月25—30日在广州沙面举行龙舟赛 (Dragon Boat Race)。请根据以下内容给姐妹学校剑桥中学（Cambridge High School)写一封邀请信。
(1)写信目的
(2)活动时间、地点和意义
(3)回复时间：2017年4月15日前
注意：
1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节, 以使行文连贯；
3.开头语已为你写好。
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。
Getting rid of the bad habit of procrastination (拖延症) is now my goal in life. My first step was to set small targets what can be reached realistically. For example, I plan to set a timetable for my study. So after school, I will put finishing homework in the last place. Additionally, I will make a list of my important task including their due dates but follow my schedule strictly. I will avoid find excuses for putting them off. At same time, I will ask for my friends and parents to help me. By achieving this small targets, I have confident that I will overcome procrastination.
My doorbell rings at 11 am. On the step, I find an elderly Chinese lady holding the hand of a little boy. In her other hand 1.(be) a paper bag. She is the little boy’s grandmother, and her daughter, Nicole, bought 2. house next door last October. Nicole has 3.(obvious) told her mother that I am having a heart operation shortly, and the result is that her mother has decided 4.(supply) me with meals.
I know what is inside the paper bag — a bottle of hot soup and a 5.(contain) with a meal of rice, vegetables and meat. It’s become a daily occurrence.
Communication 6. us is somewhat difficult because she doesn’t speak English and all I can say in Chinese is hello. Once, she brought an iPad as well as the food. She pointed to the screen, 7.showed at message from her daughter telling me that her mother wanted to know 8. the food was all right for me.
So here we are, two grandmothers, neither of 9.(we) able to speak the other’s language but communicating one way or another (with some help from technology). The doorbell keeps 10.(ring) and there is the familiar brown paper bag, handed smilingly to me.
