I wandered into the small store where I usually buy milk, when the store owner received a call from a customer. The customer and his wife had shopped there several months earlier.
He noticed that his wife really liked one thing in the store, so he wanted to buy it as a surprise.
But the customer was in Tennessee, far away from the store which was in Maine. What’s more, he had been to the store several months earlier, and it was difficult to believe that the store owner would remember him, or what he was looking for.
The store owner took a few close-up photos with her camera, and e-mailed them to the customer on the computer. The customer looked at the photos, decided which one he wanted. They talked and discussed a price over the phone. She took care of the credit card transaction（交易）online, and promised the gift would be shipped out that afternoon.
The store owner was really smart. She was willing to push herself to find new ways to make the transaction actually happen. And it did work. However, it was the first time she had ever done it.
I was amazed that the store owner discovered a creative solution that could lead to a new way of doing business. I was impressed by what she did—so easily, but how difficult it is for many of us to make that leap （飞跃，跳跃）. I’m not just talking about technology, but about learning how to adapt to change.
Most people hate or fear change unless they get to know exactly what change needs to be made. However, we should realize that challenge and opportunity go hand in hand.
1.According to the passage，which of the following is TRUE?
A. The owner often did business by using her camera.
B. The owner and the customer discussed the price on the computer.
C. The gift was sent out by train that afternoon.
D. The customer had ever been to the store before.
2.The author was impressed by the store owner because .
A. she was a successful businesswoman
B. she managed to find a new way when facing change
C. she was always ready to help others
D. she told the writer how to run a store
3.What’s the correct order of the store owner’s solution?
a. taking a few close-up photos with her camera
b. taking care of the credit card transaction online
c. talking about the price of the gift with the customer
d. e-mailing the photos to the customer on the computer
A. bcda B. bacd
C. abcd D. adcb
4.Which of the following words can best describe the store owner?
A. Confident. B. Humorous.
C. Honest. D. Creative.
Something Fun
A person is on trial for murder in a court room in Oklahoma. There is strong evidence indicating that he is guilty（有罪的）. However, the body is not found.
In the defense’s (辩护方) closing speech, the lawyer, knowing that his client (委托人) is guilty and that it looks like he’ll probably be seriously punished, decided to play a clever trick.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury (陪审团), I have a surprise for you all,” the lawyer says as he looks at his watch. “Within one minute, the person assumed dead in this case will walk into this court room,” he says and he looks towards the court-room door. The jury, somewhat surprised, looks at the door eagerly. A minute passes. Nothing happens.
Finally the lawyer says, “Actually, I made up the previous statement. But you all waited with expectation. I, therefore, put it to you that there is a reasonable doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed and insist that you pass a judgment of not guilty.”
The jury, clearly confused, back off to discuss.
A very few minutes later, the jury returned and one of them pronounces a verdict (裁决) of guilty.
“But how?” asks the lawyer in surprise. “You must have had some doubt; I saw all of you stare at the door.”
Answers the jury member, “Oh, we did look. But your client didn’t.”
1.Why was the person on trial according to the passage?
A.Because he couldn’t pay off the debts.
B.Because he probably killed somebody.
C.Because he didn’t pay the tax in time.
D.Because he planned to cheat the jury.
2.Why did the lawyer come up with the trick?
A.To find the body. B.To frighten the jury.
C.To help his client. D.To save himself.
3.Why did the jury look at the door eagerly?
A.The lawyer’s words must be true.
B.They expected his family to come in.
C.They were surprised and cheated by the lawyer.
D.They thought the person on trial was escaping.
4.What did the jury member’s answer mean in the last paragraph?
A.They firmly believed that nobody was killed.
B.The behaviour of the client gave him away.
C.The jury still needed more evidence to prove it.
D.The lawyer’s words were worth thinking about.
◇ Shape
According to their website, Shape is a magazine for American women with active lifestyles. This women’s health magazine covers everything from diet and exercise to psychology. What is great about Shape is that it knows that it must cover a lot more than Fitness to give women all the information they need to stay healthy. Besides all the great features included in their print magazine, they also have an easily accessible website that anyone can use.
◇ Women’s Day
Women’s Day is not only specifically a women’s health magazine, but also includes a little of what Shape has, along with more information on other parts of life: family, money, travel and style. Many of the articles in Women’s Day deal with specific diseases that are common to women, such as heart disease, breast cancer and others.
◇ Women’s Health
From tips to recent health news to articles about world affairs, Women’s Health has everything that you expect in a women’s health magazine. Another great feature is that Women’s Health has a great website full of information, as well as articles from past magazines that you can check out. This is a great resource, since it lets you get to see articles well at the office.
◇ Fitness
This magazine covers important topics such as physical fitness, health & beauty, and mental health. It offers something new in each issue, and it’s always easy to understand.
The workouts are clearly presented with good photos to illustrate (说明) every movement, and almost all can be done without making a trip to the gym.
1.What’s the purpose of writing the text?
A. To describe some famous websites.
B. To introduce some health magazines for women.
C. To predict the best-selling writers.
D. To advertise some fashion magazines for women.
2.How is Women’s Day different from the others?
A. It gives people a lot of health information.
B. It provides information on family life.
C. It includes many articles about women.
D. It deals with many life problems.
3.What makes the information in Fitness easy to understand?
A. Good examples. B. Illustrative pictures.
C. Interesting stories. D. Important topics
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
Once there was a little girl named Emily. Although her singing was very pleasant to hear, lacking of courage, she never dared to sing in front of strangers.
One summer, the neighborhood where she lived would hold a singing competition. Her best friend, Lucy, came to invite her to participate in the competition, but Emily said, “ I’m afraid to take part in it.” Her mother said, “ it’s okay, just do it bravely.” Emily followed her mama’s advice and decided to give herself a try. The day came. Emily and Lucy went to the competition site. But she was too timid (胆小的) to walked onto the stage. She had been waiting until others finished singing. She shakily forced herself to stand on the stage. She started to sing, but her voice was so low. What’s worse, she was so nervous that she forget the lyrics (歌词) after singing a few words. Being laughed at by others, embarrassed and shy, she ran away from the stage.
Some naughty boys ran after her and said, “ Emily, coward (胆小鬼)! Emily, coward! ” Emily didn’t argue with them. What she wanted was to go back home as quickly as she could. Finally, she rushed into the house, hugged her mom and cried sadly.
“Well, my poor girl. Don’t cry. Tell me what happened to you.” asked her mom. Emily looked up at her mother and told her what she had experienced.
Listening to her, her mom cupped her face and said, “it doesn’t matter, girl. As long as you practice singing more in front of strangers, you will become braver little by little. So, my girl, don’t be beaten by a failure. You can go out to practice singing every day. No matter who is listening to you, go on singing and never stop. I believe there will be a harvest for you. ”
注意：1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
Paragraph 1:
Emily listened to her mother carefully and followed her mom’s suggestion.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
Going on singing, she walked into the park, where many people were singing and dancing.
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假定你是高三学生李华，你的澳大利亚朋友Lucy发邮件问你未来的职业规划。请你回复邮件，内容包括：
1.你的职业规划；
2.选择该规划的理由；
3.询问对方的意见。
注意：1.词数80词左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
The Financial Times gave part of my job to a robot named Amy last week. For years I have been making podcast version(播客)of my column, 1. now I am faced with a tough competition.
To be fair, Amy does something going for her. She has a great voice, smooth as velvet. Her2.(two) advantage is that she's practically free. She is part of a new service from Amazon that turns text3.speech, costing-nearly nothing. Even more4.(impress) is her speed. Less than two seconds after receiving my5.(write) text, which means when I just start to read, "Yesterday the Finan…", she has already finished.
Yet once I got over my distress and listened to her work, I felt6.(good). I know it's early days for her, but at the moment Amy is no match for me. Listening to her is not like listening to7.non-English speaker read aloud, but to someone without brain, or heart, or sense of humor. Her8.(deliver) is so poor that I don't even understand. Amy never reads with understanding, never9. (know)when to pause, and never does irony. She continues to get it wrong.
Finally, I'm not afraid Amy is about to steal my job. Only people possess human touch. It is the heart-to-heart communication10.makes us special, beautiful and irreplaceable.
