“Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton（骨骼）in the closet（衣橱）?” Jessica asked. “A skeleton in the closet?” her mother paused thoughtfully, “Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about. For example, if in the past, someone in Dad’s family had been arrested for stealing a horse, It would be ‘a skeleton in his family’s closet’. He really wouldn’t want any neighbor to know about it.”
“Why pick on my family?” Jessica’s father said with anger. “Your family history isn’t so good, you know. Wasn’t your great-great-grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?” “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners.” Gosh, sorry I asked. I think I understand now,” Jessica cut in before things grew worse.
After dinner, the house was very quite. Jessica’s parents were still quite angry with each other. Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read. When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Jessica’s closet. Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor, Jessica’s mother sank into a faint（晕倒）, walking only when Jessica put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead. She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.
“What happened? Where am I?” she asked. “You just destroyed the school’s skeleton, Mum,” explained Jessica, “ I brought it home to help me with my health project. I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad.” Jessica looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly. “They are both crazy,” she thought.
1.According to Jessica’s mother, “a skeleton in the clothes” means ______.
A. a family honor B. a family secret
C. a family story D. a family treasure
2.What can we learn about some Australian’s ancestors from Paragraph 2?
A. They were brought to Australia as prisoners.
B. They were the earliest people living in Australia.
C. They were involved in some crimes in Australia.
D. They were not regarded as criminals in their days.
3.Jessica’s mother fell down into a faint ______.
A. because she was knocked B. because she was frightened
C. because she was injured D. because she was surprised
4.Jessica’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because ______.
A. they were crazy B. they were overexcited
C. they realized their misunderstanding D. they both thought they had won the quarrel
It is not only praise or punishment that determines a child’s level of confidence. There are some other important ways we shape our kids—particularly by giving instructions and commands in a negative or positive choice of words. For example, we can say to a child “Don’t run into traffic!” or “Stay on the footpath close to me.” In using the latter, you will be helping your kids to think and act positively, and to feel competent in a wide range of situation, because they know what to do, and aren’t scaring themselves about what not to do.
Actually, it is all in the way the human mind works. What we think, we automatically rehearse. For example, if someone offered you a million dollars not to think of a blue monkey for two minutes, you wouldn’t be able to do it. When a child is told “Don’t fall off the tree,” he will think of two things: “don’t” and “fall off the tree”. That is, he will automatically create the picture of falling off the tree in his mind. A child who is vividly imagining falling off the tree is much more likely to fall off. So it is far better to use “Hold on to the tree carefully.”
Clearly, positive instructions help kids to understand the right way to do things. Kids do not always know how to be safe, or how to react to the warning of the danger in negative words. So parents should make their commands positive. “Sam, hold on firm to the side of the boat” is much more useful than “Don’t you dare to fall out of the boat?” or worse still “How do you think I’ll feel if you drown?” The changes are small but difference is obvious.
Children learn how to guide and organize themselves from the way we guide them with our words, so it pays to be positive.
1.Positive choice of words helps kids to ______.
A. do things carefully B. learn in different situations
C. improve their imagination D. build up their confidence
2.What can we infer from Paragraph 2?
A. One can’t help imagining what is heard.
B. A child will act on what is instructed.
C. A child will fall off the tree when told not to.
D. One won’t think of a blue monkey when given money.
3.Which of the following commands helps kids to be safe?
A. Fasten your seat belt.
B. Don’t play by the lake.
C. How do you think I’ll feel if you get hurt?
D. Don’t you dare to walk through the red light?
4.The main idea of the passage is that ______.
A. praise makes kids confident B. right instructions keep kids safe
C. positive instructions guide kids D. clear commands make kids different
My wife, daughter, and I moved into our home nine years ago and we spent a lot of time and energy in the yard to get it looking like the way it does today. We live on a corner, higher than street level, and the entire side of the yard is surrounded by a professionally built rock wall. The front of the house though is another story because instead of a wall along the sidewalk, the rocks appear to be just thrown up onto the dirt as if someone were in a hurry to finish.
We did the best we could with what we had to work with and called this area our “rock garden”. Whenever we had leftover flowers or plants, Denise or I would stick them out front, just to bring some color to the area. We would do all of the yard work on our own, even the tiring weed-pulling.
Last summer I had reached the end of the rock garden and found a tiny little plant that I could not immediately identify, I knew I didn’t plant it and Denise claimed that she didn’t either. We decided to let it continue growing until we could figure out what it was.
Weeks passed and as I made my way back to the mystery plant, it appeared to be a Sunflower with a tall skinny stalk（茎，杆）and only one head on it. I decided to baby it along and weed around it. As I pulled rocks from the area to get to the weeds, I noticed something unusual. The Sunflower had not started where I saw the stalk begin. It actually had begun under a big rock and grown under and around it to reach the sun.
That’s when I realized that if a tiny little Sunflower didn’t let a big rock stand in its way of developing, we too have the ability of doing the same thing. Once our environment begins to see that we believe in ourselves like that little Sunflower, we can attain the same nourishment（营养）and growth as well.
Stand tall like the Sunflower and be proud of who and what you are and the environment will begin to support you. You will find a way to go under or around your big obstacle in order to reach your desires.
1.We can know from the first paragraph that ______.
A. the author finished building his home hurriedly
B. the author’s family have lived in this home for nine years
C. the author’s home is made of rock walls
D. there is a wall along the sidewalk
2.The author found it unusual that ______.
A. the mystery plant turned out to be a Sunflower
B. the Sunflower had a tall stalk and only one head
C. the Sunflower grew under and around a big rock
D. the Sunflower had started where the stalk was seen
3.Which of the following best describes the Sunflower?
A. Brave and stubborn B. Confident and persistent
C. Optimistic and modest D. Mysterious and devoted
4.What can be inferred from this passage?
A. Human beings are able to remove obstacles
B. The universal truth made the sunflower survive
C. A big rock blocked out the sunlight of the sunflower
D. We can achieve success as long as we are self-confident
假定你是李华，你校将开展中学生科技创新（scientific innovation）活动。请给你的英国好友Peter发封电子邮件，告知相关内容并邀请他参加。内容包括：
1. 活动目的；
2. 活动时间、地点；
3. 活动内容。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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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。
Today, when I walked to home after school, I found the sunset was very beautifully. I stopped at the park and sit on a bench to appreciate the scenery. There was so many people at the park, most of whom were old couples, but they went for a walk. There was a special couple walk hand in hand, which caught my attention. The old woman couldn’t walk well because there was something wrong with her right legs. The old man took care of them carefully. They set good example to the young couples, showing that true love is. Against the sunset, they made up a beautiful scene.
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。
Jogging makes you burn fat and lose weight. In addition to increasing metabolism (新陈代谢), jogging is an 1. (effect) way to burn more calories, 2. helps you lose weight. If calories consumed in food are less than calories 3. (spend) during exercise and other daily activities, you will lose weight. It is impossible not to! Many people have learned how to lose weight by4. (start) a running program.
Jogging 5. (help) to reduce stubborn fat. A running program can really help to cut back 6. the last of your stubborn fat. Change can take a long time to come but 7. (eventual) it makes maintaining a healthy weight much easier.
If you suffer from poor appetite, jogging will improve your appetite. Along with all other 8. (form) of exercise – the harder you work, the more you will eat 9. (repair) your muscles and refuel them. When you start to run longer, you will start to eat to fuel your body, and may even find that you need to eat more food every day 10. you did when you were overweight.
