For Canaan Elementary’s second grade in Patchogue, N.Y., today is speech day, and right now it’s Chris Palaez’s turn. The 8-year-old is the joker of the class. With shining dark eyes, he seems like the kind of kid who would enjoy public speaking.
But he’s nervous. “I’m here to tell you today why you should … should…” Chris trips on the “-ld,” a pronunciation difficulty for many non-native English speakers. His teacher, Thomas Whaley, is next to him, whispering support. “…Vote for …me …” Except for some stumbles, Chris is doing amazingly well. When he brings his speech to a nice conclusion, Whaley invites the rest of the class to praise him.
A son of immigrants, Chris stared learning English a little over three years ago. Whaley recalls(回想起) how at the beginning of the year, when called upon to read, Chris would excuse himself to go to the bathroom.
Learning English as a second language can be a painful experience. What you need is a great teacher who lets you make mistakes. “It takes a lot for any student,” Whaley explains, “especially for a student who is learning English as their new language, to feel confident enough to say, ‘I don’t know, but I want to know.’”
Whaley got the idea of this second-grade presidential campaign project when he asked the children one day to raise their hands if they thought they could never be a president. The answer broke his heart. Whaley says the project is about more than just learning to read and speak in public. He wants these kids to learn to boast(夸耀) about themselves.
“Boasting about yourself, and your best qualities,” Whaley says, “is very difficult for a child who came into the classroom not feeling confident.”
1.What made Chris nervous?
A.Telling a story. B.Making a speech.
C.Taking a test. D.Answering a question.
2.What does the underlined word “stumbles” in paragraph 2 refer to?
A.Improper pauses. B.Bad manners. C.Spelling mistakes. D.Silly jokes.
3.We can infer that the purpose of Whaley’s project is to _________.
A.help students see their own strengths
B.assess students’ public speaking skills
C.prepare students for their future jobs
D.inspire students’ love for politics
4.Which of the following best describes Whaley as a teacher?
A.Humorous. B.Ambitious. C.Caring. D.Demanding.
根据写作要求，阅读短文内容，写出一篇连贯完整的短文。词数不少于60。
The Youngest Skier To The South Pole
On Friday December 9th, a 16-year-old skier, Ameba Hempleman-Adamsreached the South Pole with her father after skiing 97 miles and spending 17nights on the ice. On the final day they skied 14 miles and afterwards Ameba said she felt “elated and tired” on reaching the South Pole.
“The biggest challenges were the freezing cold and eating only dried food. The best bit has been experiencing what Dad does on expeditions (探险). It’s the first time I’ve been on a difficult long journey with him and now I know what it’s like. The trip brought me closer to Dad, but I also had to put up with his snoring (鼾声) which was terrible.”
She added, “Would I do it again? I’m not sure. I’ll have to think about that after a few nights’ sleep! At times it’s been really hard: I’ve got aching shoulders, and my back’s been sore from pulling my sledge (雪橇), I’ve got blisters (水泡) on my feet from the boots and I’ve got a cold burn on my nose from my sunglasses. 43 ”.
She said the most extraordinary part of the trip had been the breath taking scenery and the sense of isolation in the Antarctic landscape. “I’ve really missed my friends while I’ve been away and want to thank them for all their messages of support.”
Friends and relatives who posted comments on Ameba’s expedition website paid tribute (致敬) to her positive attitude which, they said, would be an inspiration to others.
Her father, David, said “Ameba has done amazing well. I’m proud of her. She showed real determination. She was tough and she pulled her sledge the whole way. It was a special experience to share those 97 miles with her.”
假如你是建华中学的学生王新，在网上看到了Ameba的故事，决定给她写封邮件，交流分享你的想法。内容包括：1. 你对她的旅行有何看法并说明原因；2. 分享你的旅行经历。
Dear Amelia,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Wang Xin
根据写作要求，参考短文内容，写出一篇连贯完整的短文。词数不少于60。开头已给出。
Help Hermit Crabs
Hermit crabs are nature’s recyclers. They eat waste and help keep oceans and shores clean. Unlike other crabs, the hermit crab has a thin outer shell over its soft tail. This makes the hermit crab easy prey for hungry predators (天敌). Hermit crabs stay safe by living in old seashells. A hermit crab is picky (狡猾); it tries on many shells until it finds one that fits just right. In recent years, however, many hermit crabs have had trouble finding their perfect homes. What is the problems There are not enough shells to go around!
One reason for the seashell shortage is that ocean water is not as clean as it once was. This has caused chemical changes to sea water. Some sea animals, like snails, are affected by these changes. Now there are fewer snails making shells. People visiting the beach often take shells home as souvenirs (纪念品). This is another problem. Other people even take shells for their own pet hermit crabs! They do not realize that hermit crabs in the wild need those shells too.
Now people are working to solve this hermit crab housing shortage. They are teaching beach-Boers to leave seashells where they belong--at the seashore! Some people even make fake seashells that they hope the hermit crabs will like. For example, a group called Project Shelter invited people who visited their website to create different designs for hermit crab shells.
These designers had a lot to consider. What kind of material should be used to build a seashells. The material must be light enough for the hermit crab to carry, but strong enough to protect the crab from predators. The man-made shells could not contain glue or any other substance (物质) that might harm a hermit crab. Another challenge with building a hermit crab home was the opening to the shell. Too big would mean the crab would not feel safe. Too small would be uncomfortable, and the crab would not want to move in.
The Project Shelter shells are placed in the wild for hermit crabs to find. Lucky hermit crabs can move into these new dream homes.
假设你是交换生李华，在网上看到hermit crabs的文章。请你给当地居民写一封倡议信。
内容包括：1.介绍hermit crabs遭遇的困境；
2. 提出倡议并说明理由。
I am Li Hua.an exchange student from China. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
根据短文内容以及写作要求进行故事续写。请写出一篇连贯完整的短文。词数不少于60。开头已给出。
The big day had finally arrived. I had won the local speech contest (比赛), representing Madison Middle School. Here it was the state competition. I waited backstage for the host to announce My name.
Even though I had practiced much, I was extremely nervous. My heart was thumping, my palms were sweating, and my mouth was dry. “Calm down,” I told myself. Still, picturing an audience of teachers, parents and classmates made me want to disappear totally.
Mr. Patrick, who taught me to give speeches, reminded me, “You’ll do great. You’re prepared. You’ve come this far.”
Mr. Patrick was right. I was ready for this, and besides, I won first place in the earlier contests. Yet, when I pictured all eyes on me waiting for me to mess up, my heart was gradually sinking into my stomach.
“You can’t back out now,” I told myself as Mr. Nichols, the host, announced my name and the title of my speech, “My Hero.”
请你写出接下来主人公演讲的过程，以及演讲结束后激动的心情。
The big moment came.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
根据短文内容，回答问题，补全信息。
The Youngest Skier To The South Pole
On Friday December 9t"，a 16-year-old skier，Ameba Hempleman-Adams reached the South Pole with her father after skiing 97 miles and spending 17 nights on the ice. On the final day they skied 14 miles and afterwards Ameba said she felt“elated and tired" on reaching the South Pole.
“The biggest challenges were the freezing cold and eating only dried food.The best bit has been experiencing what Dad does on expeditions(探险).It's the first time I've been on a difficult long journey with him and now I know what it's like.The trip brought me closer to Dad，but I also had to put up with his snoring(鼾声)which was terrible.’， She added，“Would I do it again? I'm not sure. I'll have to think about that after a few nights' sleep!At times it's been really hard:I've got aching shoulders，and my back's been sore from pulling my sledge(雪橇)，I've got blisters(水泡)on my feet from the boots and I've got a cold burn on my nose from my sunglasses. ____43___ ”
She said the most extraordinary part of the trip had been the breathtaking scenery and the sense of isolation in the Antarctic landscape.“I've really missed my friends while I've been away and want to thank them for all their messages of support.”
Friends and relatives who posted comments on Ameba's expedition website paid tribute(致敬)to her positive attitude which , they said ,would be an inspiration to others.
Her father，David，said“Ameba has done amazing well. I'm proud of her.She showed real determination. She was tough and she pulled her sledge the whole way. It was a special experience to share those 97 miles with her.”
1.Who is Ameba Hempleman-Adams?
2.What biggest challenges did she meet during the trip?
3.What kind of person do you think Ameba is?Give at least one reason.
4.Choose and copy the complete sentence that should be filled in the blank.
A Except for those，it's been a really good journey.
B As a result，I had to give it up to go any further.
C Therefore，the only person I could care about was my father.
Fishy Weather Conditions
Laj amanu，Australia，is a dry little town，sitting right on the edge of the Tanami desert. Can you imagines How surprised were people when live fish rained down on them from a dark gray cloudy.It happens that there are similar cases in England and Honduras.
How do clouds make fishy.The simple answer is that they don't.There is a particular weather phenomenon(现象)called a waterspout.A waterspout is just like a tornado，only it forms above oceans，lakes，or rivers.Like a tornado，a waterspout moves in a circle at high speeds.When it moves above the water，it tends to carry the fish with it，as well as frogs or other small plants or animals.
Scientists couldn't work it out at first. To make matters stranger still，the fish in Honduras were very much alive when they rained down to the ground，but they were all blind.In England and Australia，it rained fish and snakes，and none were blind. It was difficult to puzzle out，but the blind fish gave them a place to start.
Scientists knew that some fish that lived in deep，underground caves with no light sources often lost their eyesight. So when blind fish rained down on Honduras，scientists began to connect some dots.Clearly，these particular fish were pulled from an underground water source by force.
It has rained fish on every continent，and each time，people have tried in various ways to explain this strange phenomenon.Historically，villagers thought the“fishes from the heavens”might be answers to prayers for food. Others suggested that floods overran river banks and oceans，leaving the fish on the city streets.No scientist had actually seen the rain as it occurred，only the fish left on the ground.But in 1990，a National Geographic team happened to be in Honduras when the Rain of Fishes began. They recorded what was happening and made history by finally proving that the fish really did fall from the sky.
This huge breakthrough wasn't just a spot of good luck. It changed thousands of years of myths and legends into true stories and provided scientific explanations for how fish came to live in deep caves. It explained ancient cave paintings and shed new light on how species have spread over time.It turned out to be a lot more than just a little fishy weather.
1.According to the passage，a waterspout__________ .
A.can make animals blind B.is difficult to catch on film
C.can carry items with it D.is a dangerous sea creature
2.The blind fish made the scientists start to think that__________ .
A.raining fish was a warning of natural disasters
B.animals changed to match their environments
C.the weather system differed from place to place
D.the waterspout theory seemed more possible
3.From Para. 5 and 6，we can learn__________ .
A.how species in the area changed over time
B.the importance of finding the truth behind the event
C.that the discovery cleared up many different scientific theories
D.how the understanding of waterspouts affected other areas of science
4.The underlined sentence in last Para. probably suggests that__________ .
A.waterspouts came to be a center of scientific research
B.the scientists were fortunate to have made their discoveries
C.hard work went into determining the cause for the raining fish
D.the scientists relied heavily on unusual events to drive their studies
5.The author writes the passage to__________ .
A.describe the magic phenomenon
B.explain what caused the fishy weather
C.persuade people to protect the environment
D.encourage people to do scientific research
