What makes a gift special？Is it the price you see on the gift receipt？Or is it the look on the recipient's face when they receive it that determines the true value？What gift is worth the most？
This Christmas I was debating what to give my father．My dad is a hard person to buy for because he never wants anything．I pulled out my phone to read a text message from my mom saying that we were leaving for Christmas shopping for him when I came across a message on my phone that I had locked．The message was from my father．My eyes fell on a photo of a flower taken in Wyoming，and underneath a poem by William Blake．The flower，a lone dandelion standing against the bright blue sky，inspired me．My dad had been reciting those words to me since I was a kid．That may even be the reason why I love writing．I decided that those words would be my gift to my father．
I called back．I told my mom to go without me and that I already created my gift．I sent the photo of the cream-colored flower to my computer and typed the poem on top of it．As I was arranging the details another poem came to mind．The poem was written by Edgar Allan Poe； my dad recited it as much as he did the other．I typed that out as well and searched online for a background to the words of it．The poem was focused around dreaming，and after searching I found the perfect picture．The image was painted with blues and greens and purples，twisting together to create the theme and wonder of a dream．As I watched both poems passing through the printer，the white paper coloring with words that shaped my childhood．I felt that this was a gift that my father would truly appreciate．
Christmas soon arrived．The minute I saw the look on my dad's face as he unwrapped those swirling black letters carefully placed in a cheap frame，I knew I had given the perfect gift．
1.The idea for a special gift began to form when the author was ______ ．
A. doing shopping B. having a debate
C. reading a message D. leaving for Wyoming
2.The author's inspiration for the gift came from ______ ．
A. a photo of a flower B. a story about a kid
C. a call from the mother D. a text about Christmas
3.The author made the gift by ______ ．
A. searching for the poems online
B. drawing the background by hand
C. painting the letters in three colors
D. matching the words with pictures
I felt excited, curious and nervous at the same time. I was excited because I would be skipping（跳级）two grades. I was curious because I didn't know how high school students were taught.
However, I was most nervous at the idea that I would be doing high school homework. I had just walked into the class when the bell rang. This wasn't a good start. But the kid in front of me looked very friendly. Luckily, since it was the first day of school, my teacher talked for about half of the period and we just had the rest of the period to start the class. I didn't know what he was saying at first, but when I saw the problems on the paper, I knew what to do. The next day, the kid said hi and I said hi back. We got into a conversation. It seemed that whenever I was talking to my friend, everyone stopped staring at me. Then the class started. It was easy. But I was still uncomfortable because I couldn't look around without meeting others' eyes, so I just kept my eyes on the whiteboard and on my textbook. However, my friend didn't show up the next day, and the eighth graders just kept on staring at me. I didn't know why.
The next day everything changed. My friend was back to school. I was praised for my homework. Everyone stared at me less. Some started to be a little friendlier towards me. I felt at home at last here. My teachers also seemed pretty nice.
1.If the author didn't skip, he should study in ______ .
A. the sixth grade B. the fourth grade
C. the seventh grade D. the eighth grade
2.What may make the author curious? ______
A. What his old friends are doing
B. What the eighth graders' homework is
C. How he will do his high school homework
D. How high school students study
3.Why did the author always keep his eyes on the whiteboard and the textbook? ______
A. To pay attention to his teachers
B. To avoid meeting others' eyes
C. To follow his teachers' teaching
D. To attract his teachers' attention
4.According to the passage, we know that the author ______.
A. got along well with his new class very soon
B. felt sorry about having skipped two grades
C. had one friend in his class all the time
D. got used to others' stares in the classroom
假定你是李华， 原本你和来校交流的美国学生 Peter 约好周日去看粤剧（Cantonese Opera），可是因为你要代表班级参加英文诗歌朗诵（recital）比赛，不得不取消安排．请你给 Peter 写一封邮件，说明情况．内容包括：
1．表示歉意并说明原因；
2．重新安排时间；
3．推荐一两个周末休闲活动．
注意：
1．词数 100 左右；
2．可以适当增加细节，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 Peter，
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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 is my first day as a student reporter of our school newspaper． I'm excited and eager to go out on a story on my own， and I can't because I'm not experience enough． To be a good reporter， I think I need to be curious， ask many different questions and get all the informations I need． Beside， it's important for me to know if someone is telling a truth． And while interviewing people， I have to listen to the answers careful and prepare the next question depend on what people say． If possible， I will record the interview in case of I'm accused of printing lies． Anyway I will try my best do my job as good as I can．
语法填空
Last year I won a prize in a competition． I1.（award） a journey to AD 3008． Worried about the journey， I was nervous and2.（certain） at first． Luckily， my friend and guide， Wang Ping， was very understanding and gave me some green tablets 3.helped a lot． Well-known for their expertise， his parents' company，4.（call） "Future Tours"， transported me safely into the future in a time capsule．
I can still remember5.moment when I lay relaxed in the comfortable seats after a calming drink as the capsule swung 6.（gentle） sideways． During the journey， the air seemed thin as if7.（it） combination of gasses had little oxygen left． The new surroundings were difficult for me to tolerate， so Wang Ping suggested me putting on a mask which made me feel much better． In no time， I was back on my feet again．
When8.（arrive） at a strange-looking house， I was shown by Wang Ping into a large， bright clean room， whose wall was made9.trees． Later I found that their10.（leaf） provided the room with much-needed oxygen． After a while Wang Ping left． I had a brief meal and a hot bath． Exhausted， I slid into bed and fell fast asleep．
It was a rainy day， and I had no desire to drive up the winding mountain road． But my daughter Carolyn had ________that I come to see something at the top of the mountain． So here I was，________making the two-hour journey through fog． By the time I saw how thick it was near the peak， I'd gone too far to_______．
After parking the_______， we walked along a path that was________with pine needles．
Gradually， the peace and________of the place began to fill my mind． Then we turned a corner - and I gasped（倒吸气）in _______． From the top of the mountain were________of flowers flowing across valleys． A mass of color - from the palest pink to the deepest yellow to the most ________red - shone like a carpet before us． It looked as though the________had spilled gold down the mountainside．
Who ________such beauty？ How？ As we ________the house in the center of the field， we saw a sign that _______： "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking．" The first answer was：
"One________- Two Hands， and Very Little Brain．" The second was： "One Plant at a Time， Started in 1980．"
I was so moved that I could scarcely_______． "She started almost 40 years ago，" I finally said， "probably just the beginning of a（n）_______， but she kept at it．" The________of it opened my eyes to the world of the _______． "Imagine，" I said， "if I'd had a vision and worked at it， just a little bit every day， what might I have _______？" Carolyn smiled． "Start tomorrow，" she said． "________yet， start today．"
1.A. insisted B. suspected C. preferred D. appointed
2.A. automatically B. absolutely C. unwillingly D. faithfully
3.A. rush out B. turn back C. pull over D. move on
4.A. taxi B. car C. bike D. bus
5.A. damp B. firm C. thick D. mild
6.A. absence B. significance C. convenience D. silence
7.A. amusement B. gratitude C. fright D. amazement
8.A. rivers B. bunches C. pairs D. branches
9.A. abstract B. vivid C. consistent D. severe
10.A. storm B. wind C. sun D. volcano
11.A. created B. imitated C. predicted D. conveyed
12.A. quitted B. possessed C. approached D. transformed
13.A. wrote B. read C. called D. appeared
14.A. Adolescent B. People C. Genius D. Woman
15.A. see B. smile C. sleep D. speak
16.A. idea B. doubt C. guess D. joke
17.A. judgment B. wonder C. contribution D. trend
18.A. steady B. concrete C. possible D. contradictory
19.A. accomplished B. opposed C. risked D. strengthened
20.A. Later B. Closer C. Faster D. Better
