Frequently, we speak about people being “color-blind” but very few of us are. Even those who describe themselves as color-blind are normally just color lack. A strongly, color-blind person will still be able to tell 20 different colors, compared to the 100 or so that normal-sighted people see.
Pingelap, a tiny island in the Pacific, is a beautiful spot but one that has a genetic trouble. It is known as Color-blind Island because so many people who live on this remote island can only see black and white.
Not being able to see colors is bad enough. But one islander, Herrol, who’s a fisherman, also struggles in full sunlight because all he sees is a painful burnt-out image. “I find it difficult to go outside in the sun,” he says, “because when it’s sunny I cannot see to do my work.”
But if being truly color-blind is rare, why is it that around 10% of the population of Pingelap live in a totally black and white world?
Well, we know that in 1780 the population of Pingelap was all but wiped out by a tsunami (海啸). As few as 20 people survived, one of whom was the king. It’s believed he had a genetic fault that causes colour-blindness and he passed this fault on to his many generations.
There is one advantage. Herrol can see well, really well, in the dark. So when it gets dark, Herrol and his friends get in their boats and hunt flying fish. They hang up flaming torches and the fish are attracted to the flames. “This type of fishing is fun,” Herrol says, “especially if we catch plenty. So even though it's hard work we enjoy it.”
1.What makes Pingelap special?
A. A mentally troubled island. B. A beautiful island.
C. A colour-blind island. D. A tiny island.
2.Which statement about Herrol is probably correct?
A. He doesn’t live in Pingelap any more.
B. He likes taking photos very much.
C. He is interested in burnt-out images.
D. He may stay at home when it’s sunny.
3.About one-tenth of people in Pingelap are seriously color-blind because ________.
A. the king’s genetic fault played a role
B. the king had an unlucky marriage
C. the king made a serious mistake
D. Pingelap often suffers from tsunamis
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. The advantage of color blindness B. The island of color blindness
C. The disadvantage of Herrol D. The history of Pingelap
假如你是遂宁某中学的高二学生李华，你的美国朋友Tom一周前给你发电子邮件，询问你寒假里的打算，但你因准备期末考试未能及时回复。请根据以下要点给他回封邮件：
1. 未及时回信的原因；
2. 你的寒假计划
（结合生活实际，就图画内容，任选三方面，谈谈自己的寒假计划）
注意：1. 词数：120左右；
2 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3. 邮件的开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Tom,
How is everything going?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
I am looking forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
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：在缺词处加一个漏子符号（∧）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。
Dear Mr. Smith,
In you letter, you asked me about the Chinese Spring Festival. Now I’d like tell you something about it.
The Chinese Spring Festival came on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, when is usually in late January or February. There is a name for each year, such as the dog, the monkey, the tiger and one of the twelve animals, and this year is the year of the dog.
After the Spring Festival, the Chinese people usually give their houses a good cleaning. On the eve of the Spring Festival, all the member of a family will get together, eating dumplings, fish and meat and parents may give children some luck money in red paper. On the first day of the New Year, there is dragon dances and carnivals. People usually go to visit at their relatives and friends, which is a good way to express their best wishes to the coming year.
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入 1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
New York, 10 November 5:27 pm, yesterday. Biggest power failure in the city's history.
Thousands of people got1.(stick) in lifts. Martin Saltzman spent three hours between the 21st and 22nd floors of 2.Empire State Building. "There were twelve of us. But no one3.(panic). We passed the time telling stories and4.(play) word games. One man wanted to smoke but we didn't let him. Firemen finally got us out."
"It was the best night we've ever had," said Angela Carraro,5.runs an Italian restaurant on 42nd Street. "We had lots of candles on the tables and the waiters were carrying candles on6.(they) trays. The place was full and all night, in fact, for after we had closed, we let the people stay on and spend the night here. Business was7.(good) than usual."
The zoos had their problems like everyone else. Keepers worked through the night. They used blankets8.(keep) flying squirrels and small monkeys warm. While zoos had problems keeping warm, supermarkets had problems keeping cool. "All of our ice cream and9.(freeze) foods melted," said the manger of a store in downtown Manhattan. "They were worth $50,000."
The big electric clock in the lobby of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in downtown Manhattan started ticking (滴答) again at 5:25 this morning. It was almost10.time.
At thirteen, I was diagnosed with kind of attention disorder. It made school______for me. When everyone else in the class was______on tasks, I could not.
In my first literature class, Mrs. Smith______us to read a story and then write on it, all within 45 minutes. I______my hand right away and said,“Mrs. Smith, you see, the doctor said I have______problems. I might not be able to do it. ”
She glanced down at me______her glasses, “you are no different from your classmates, young man. ”
I tried,______ I didn’t finish the reading when the bell rang. I had to take it______.
In the quietness of my bedroom, the story______all became clear to me. It was about a blind person, Louis Braille. He lived in a time______the blind couldn’t get much education. But Louis didn’t give up.______, he invented a reading system of raised dots（n. 点）, which______a whole new world of knowledge to the blind.
Wasn’t I the “blind” in my class, being made to learn like the “______” students? My thoughts______out and my pen started to dance. I______the task within 40 minutes. Indeed, I was no different from others; I just needed a______place. If Louis could find his way out of his______, why should I ever give up?
I didn’t______anything when I handled in my paper to Mrs. Smith, so it was quite a (an)______when it came back to me the next day- with an “A” on it. At the bottom of the paper were these______: “ See what you can do when you keep trying.”
1.A. curious B. narrow C. tough D. soft
2.A. feeding B. focusing C. acting D. relying
3.A. asked B. forced C. sent D. joined
4.A. raised B. rose C. signed D. hid
5.A. attraction B. memory C. affection D. attention
6.A. through B. across C. past D. over
7.A. and B. so C. but D. or
8.A. shelter B. home C. school D. hospital
9.A. quickly B. gradually C. naturally D. suddenly
10.A. which B. that C. where D. when
11.A. However B. Instead C. Besides D. Luckily
12.A. made up B. opened up C. turned out D. figured out
13.A. sightless B. outgoing C. sighted D. silent
14.A. spilled B. spread C. spat D. slid
15.A. created B. continued C. compared D. completed
16.A. distant B. dark C. quieter D. crowded
17.A. problems B. questions C. mysteries D. dreams
18.A. ignore B. expect C. share D. declare
19.A. fear B. awkward C. surprise D. attack
20.A. letters B. promises C. languages D. words
Not all English is the same
To many learners of English, it’s easy to think that all native speakers have no trouble communicating with one another.
1.
Well, it turns out that being a native English speaker from one country doesn’t mean that you’re able to perfectly understand a native English speaker from another country, and vice versa (反之亦然)
Take the UK and the US for example.
As a Briton, I grew up hearing American accents alongside British ones – on TV shows, movies and in songs.2. and how they would eat “cookies” instead of “biscuits”. And it took me a while to figure out that the “trunk” (n. 后备箱) of a car is what us Britons call its “boot”.
The confusion didn’t stop at just vocabulary –3. For example, when talking about shopping malls, Americans pronounce it “mawl” instead of “mal”. And for some reason that’s hard for Britons to understand, Americans remove the “H” sound from “herb”, pronouncing it “erb”.
These small differences may not change much in a day-to-day conversation between a Briton and an American.4. Recently, for example, an American friend told me that she liked my pants. “You can see them?” I asked, shocked. Pants means “underpants” to most British people, which explains my horror.
5. In the US, for example, a “bum” is a homeless person, while the same word in the UK is used to describe one’s backside（n.臀部）.
And, more amusingly, “trump” was only ever really used as a verb in the UK – meaning “to pass gas” – until the US’ current president came into the spotlight.
But as long as you can speak one version of English, it’s easy enough to understand any other – and any confusion just makes your day more interesting.
A. English is changing as it spreads around the world.
B. After all, English is English, isn’t it?
C. I soon noticed how Americans would put “gas” in their cars instead of “petrol” .
D. However, confusion can still happen every now and then.
E. There are different words that mean the difficult thing.
F. Some words can even be offensive (adj.无礼的) without you realizing it.
G. I discovered that many words are even pronounced differently.
