From my earlier memory of Mother, it seemed quite natural to think of her as different, nor of everyday things as Father was. In those days he was a young-looking man. He did not hesitate to make friends with children as soon as they were able to talk to him and laugh at his stories. Mother was older than he was. She must have been a woman of nearly forty, but she seemed even older. She changed little for a long time, showing no indication of growing old at all until, towards the end of her life, she suddenly became an old lady.
I was always inquisitive about Mother’s age. She never had birthdays like other people, nor did anyone else in our family. No candles were ever lit or cakes made or presents given in our house. To my friends in the street who talked delightfully about their birthday parties, I would repeat my mother’s words that such celebrations were only foolish.
“Nothing but deception,” she would say. “As though life can be marked by birthdays. It’s deeds, not years, that matter.”
Although I often repeated her words and even prided myself on not having birthdays, I once could not help asking Mother when she was born.
“I was born. I’m alive as you can see, so what more do you want to know?” she replied, so sharply that I never asked her about her age again.
In so many other ways Mother was different. Whereas all the rest of the women I knew in the neighboring houses took pride in their housewifely abilities, their new furniture, the neat appearance of their homes, Mother regarded all those things as of little importance. Our house always looked as if we had just moved in or were about to move out.
1.How did Father impress the author?
A.He liked writing stories. B.He talked a lot.
C.He was a very young man. D.He was popular with children.
2.Before the end of her life, Mother ______.
A.looked quite young B.looked like an old lady
C.looked younger than she was D.looked like a 40-year-old woman
3.What does the underlined word “inquisitive” (in Paragraph 2) probably mean?
A.Certain B.Curious.
C.Cautious. D.Confident.
4.What do we learn about Mother?
A.She was lazy. B.She was strict.
C.She was proud. D.She was special.
One of the latest trends(趋势) in American Childcare is Chinese au pairs. Au Pair in Stamford, Conn, for example, has got increasing numbers of request for Chinese au pairs from aero to around 4, 000 since 2004. And that’s true all across the country.
“I thought it would be useful for him to learn Chinese at an early age” Joseph Stocke, the managing director of a company, says of his 2-year old son. “I would at least like to give him the chance to use the language in the future,” After only six months of being cared by 25-year-old woman from China, the boy can already understand basic Chinese daily expressions, his dad says.
Li Drake, a Chinese native raising two children in Minnesota with an American husband, had another reason for looking for an au pair from China. She didn’t want her children to miss out on their roots.” Because I am Chinese, my husband and I wanted the children to keep exposed to(接触) the language and culture.” she says.
“Staying with a native speaker is better for children than simply sitting in a classroom,” says Suzanne Flynn, a professor in language education of Children. “But parents must understand that just one year with au pair is unlikely to produce wonders. Complete mastery demands continued learning until the age of 10 or 12.”
The popularity if au pairs from China has been strengthened by the increasing numbers of American parents who want their children who want their children to learn Chinese. It is expected that American demand for au pairs will continue to rise in the next few years.
1.What does the term “au pair” in the text mean?
A.A mother raising her children on her own
B.A child learning a foreign language at home
C.A professor in language education of children
D.A young foreign woman taking care of children.
2.Li Drake has her children study Chinese because she wants them ________.
A.to live in China some day B.to speak the language at home
C.to catch up with other children D.to learn about the Chinese culture
3.What can we infer from the text?
A.Learning Chinese is becoming popular In America
B.Educated woman do better in looking after children
C.Chinese au pairs need to improve their English Skills.
D.Children can learn a foreign language well in six months.
Since the first Earth Day in 1970, Americans have gotten a lot “greener” toward the environment. “We didn’t know at that time there even was an environment, let alone that there was a problem with it,” says Bruce Anderson, president of Earth Day USA.
But what began as nothing important in public affairs has grown into a social movement .Business people, political leaders, university professors, and especially millions of grass-roots Americans are taking part in the movement. “The understanding has increased many， many times,” says Gaylord Nelson, the former governor from Wisconsin, who thought up the first. According to US government reports, emissions (排放)from cars and trucks have dropped from 10.3 million tons a year to 5.5 tons .The number of cities producing CO beyond the standard has been reduced from 40 to 9. Although serious problems still remain and need to be dealt with, the world is a safer and healthier place. A kind of “Green thinking” has become part of practices.
Great improvement has been achieved. In 1988 there were only 600 recycling programs; today in 1995 there are about 6,600. Advanced lights, motors, and building designs have helped save a lot of energy and therefore prevented pollution.
Twenty –five years ago, there were hardly any education programs for environment. Today, it’s hard to find a public school, university, or law school that does not have such a kind of program. “Until we do that, nothing else will change!” say Bruce Anderson.
1.According to Anderson, before 1970, Americans had little idea about ___.
A.the social movement B.recycling techniques
C.environmental problems D.the importance of Earth Day
2.Where does the support for environmental protection mainly come from?
A.The grass –roots level. B.The business circle.
C.Government officials. D.University professors.
3.What have Americans achieved in environmental protection?
A.They have cut car emissions to the lowest.
B.They have settled their environmental problems.
C.They have lowered their CO levels in forty cities.
D.They have reduced pollution through effective measures.
4.What is especially important for environmental protection according to the last paragraph?
A.Education. B.Planning
C.Green living D.CO reduction
Arriving in Sydney on his own from India, my husband, Rashid, stayed in a hotel for a short time while looking for a house for me and our children.
During the first week of his stay, he went out one day to do some shopping. He came back in the late afternoon to discover that his suitcase was gone. He was extremely worried as the suitcase had all his important papers, including his passport.
He reported the case to the police and then sat there, lost and lonely in a strange city, thinking of the terrible troubles of getting all the paperwork organized again from a distant country while trying to settle down in a new one.
Late in the evening, the phone rang. It was a stranger. He was trying to pronounce my husband’s name and was asking him a lot of questions. Then he said they had found a pile of papers in their trash can(垃圾桶) that had been left out on the footpath.
My husband rushed to their home to find a kind family holding all his papers and documents. Their young daughter had gone to the trash can and found a pile of unfamiliar papers. Her parents had carefully sorted them out, although they had found mainly foreign addresses on most of the documents. At last they had seen a half-written letter in the pile in which my husband had given his new telephone number to a friend.
That family not only restored the important documents to us that day but also restored our faith and trust in people. We still remember their kindness and often send a warm wish their way.
1.What did Rashid plan to do after his arrival in Sydney?
A.Go shopping B.Find a house
C.Join his family D.Take a vacation
2.The girl’s parents got Rashid’s phone number from_________.
A.a friend of his family B.a Sydney policeman
C.a letter in his papers D.a stranger in Sydney
3.What does the underlined word “restored” in the last paragraph mean?
A.Showed B.Sent out
C.Delivered D.Gave back
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A.From India to Australia. B.Living in a New Country
C.Turning Trash to Treasure. D.In Search of New Friends.
假定你是李华，你的英国朋友Henry来信询问你校即将举行的英语辩论赛情况。请给他回信，内容包括：
1．辩论赛时间、地点；
2．辩论赛主题：动物保护；
3．奖品设置。
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。
As we all know it, health is very important to us students. Here are some tips how to grow up healthily.
Some students at school were too addicted to phones and computers, who does harm to their health. Therefore, you are strong advised to get rid of them. In addition, sparing some time to build up your body on a regular basis to make you energetic and relaxing. Above all, attach importance on making friends and communicating with others. Taking active part in various voluntary activities can also be of great beneficial.
I hope that the suggestion above will make a difference.
