"Cultural difference" is a broad term． However， when living in America， you can experience the difference in culture when you compare various details of people's lives． 1. By seeing how American students treat their weekends in a New England boarding school， I have found some differences between American culture and my own．
If you’re picturing American boarding school weekend life as partying all the time， your description might be inaccurate﹣ at least at my school． Influenced by the diligent working culture in New England， a Saturday in Groton follows a half﹣weekday schedule． 2.There are often sports matches in the afternoon ﹣ either home or away﹣ and if not， there are still sports practices and rehearsals for drama and dance． 3.There isn't a chance to stay up all night on Friday night to party．
4.After a long week of school， everyone longs for entertainment． Back in China， I used to go to dinners or movies with my friends on weekend nights， and it's the same in Groton． Although it lies in a suburban area， there are always Saturday night dinner trips to restaurants in town， and sometimes the Student Activity Center even organizes movie trips to a mall nearby．
5. Unlike in China， where I had to spend my whole Sunday taking extra classes and doing homework， American students don't usually have extra classes and prefer to save homework for study hall in the evening． On Sunday mornings， I usually sleep until 11， have a light brunch， then hang out with my friends and have fun．
A.Sunday is a day for recovery．
B.Saturday night is the time for fun．
C.Therefore， looking at the weekend is interesting．
D.Classes on Sunday are more interesting in the US．
E.So basically everyone is busy all day on Saturday．
F.Classes start at eight in the morning and end at noon．
G.Students could spend half a day preparing for the parties．
The Federal Reserve System， also simply known as the Fed， is the central banking system of the USA． It is different from the usual central banks． The Fed performs the functions of the central bank but it isn't a slave to the federal government． This unique banking system was so designed just to prevent the risk that the federal government might take advantage of the central bank to stop the normal financial activities．
The Fed was established in 1913． It is composed of the Federal Reserve Banks located around the United States． It's governed by seven executive members whose term is as long as 1﹣years． They are appointed by the president， but the president doesn't have the right to dismiss them． To alleviate the president's influence upon the Fed， the president is only allowed to appoint two of the committee members in his four﹣year term．
Federal Reserve Banks are non﹣profit private hanks． They're organizations to carry out money policies． Their responsibilities are to issue money， manage the state treasury， adjust the currency circulation， see the operation of commercial banks and settle bills． Commercial hanks must hold stock in Federal Reserve Banks and keep some amount of money as reserve in one of the Federal Reserve Banks just to prevent the sponsors run away with all the bank savings．
The Federal Open Market Committee is its core managing organization． It's made up of twelve members， including seven executive members of the Fed． Chairman of New York Federal Bank and other four chairman of the Ⅱ Federal Reserve Banks in turn． Their voting result determines the policy trend．
The Federal Open Market Committee holds 8 meetings every year． If the economy is heated the Federal Open Market Committee decides to sell national debt and get in the dollars． In this way the loan interest rate will go up． Otherwise， it chooses to buy in national debt and release more dollars onto the market．
1.Why was the Fed designed to be independent of the federal government？
A.Just to give support to the government．
B.Just to cooperate with the government．
C.Just to limit the government's power．
D.Just to stop financial crisis in advance．
2.What does the underlined word "alleviate" in the second paragraph mean？
A.Promote．
B.Reduce．
C.Present．
D.Emphasize．
3.Which presents the basic function of Federal Reserve Banks？
A.Conducting monetary policies．
B.Keeping money for depositors．
C.Lending money to target users．
D.Monitoring the Fed's operation．
4.What will the Fed do if the economy turns down according to the passage？
A.To increase interest rates．
B.To buy in the national debt．
C.To raise the rate of reserve．
D.To sell more national debt．
Recently researchers at the University of Zurich are adding a new member to the drone （无人机） family． Unlike most drones whose application is to make selfies （自拍） or transport something， this drone was built with first aid workers and rescue efforts in mind． Disaster sites are rarely of logical shapes and sizes． So having a drone that could change its shape and size to fit through tight spaces on the fly could prove extremely valuable．
As is often the case in experimental robotic projects， researchers met some technical shortcomings at the beginning． The airplane mode of the existing aircraft， such as passenger planes helicopters and the common drones， couldn't meet the demand of different environmental features． Eventually， they turned to animals for inspiration﹣specifically how some birds can fold their wings to fly through narrow passages．
What makes it distinguishing is that when faced with a narrow passage， it can change into an H shape． Or it can shrink itself into an O shape， arms folded into its body． And if that isn't enough it can also transform into a T shape， allowing an on﹣board camera on the central frame to， get as close as possible to its focal object． While the working concept model is impressive， the researchers aren't done with the folding drone yet They want to improve the structure of the drone so that it can fully fold in three dimensions （维度）， offering even mare shapes， And they want to create full auto operation﹣a drone that looks at the changing land features in， for example， an apartment building partly destroyed by an earthquake and changes its shape to meet is current needs． Researchers say their final goal is to give the drowse a high﹣level instruction such as "enter that building， inspect every mom and come back" and let it figure out by itself how to do it．Therefore， it's reasonable to hope the new drone will play an important supporting role in disaster rescue．
1.What was the new done initially designed to do？
A.To provide disaster relief．
B.To take air photography．
C.To convey a heavy load．
D.To send a message signal．
2.Where did the researchers get the inspiration？
A.From passenger planes．
B.From small helicopters．
C.From flying creatures．
D.From common drones．
3.What is the drone's biggest advantage？
A.It has a unique shape．
B.It can change its shape．
C.Its arms are flexible．
D.It can reach its target．
4.Which can be the best title for the passage？
A.A Drone： To Fold and Unfold in the Sky．
B.A Drone： To Transport Goods in the Future．
C.A Drone： To Make Selfies for Fun．
D.A Drone： To Make a Difference in Rescue．
Michael Surrell was the last person who should have run into a burning building because he had lung disease． But that didn't stop him． He was reading in sofa when his daughter phoned to say， "The house next door is on fire!" He went to investigate， only to see two women unable to control their emotions on their porch．
"The baby girl's on the second floor!" one of the women cried． At the words， Surrell immediately ran inside． It was completely dark there． Yet， because the house had a similar layout to his， he found the stairs and made it to the second floor． He turned to the right and was met by intense heat． He was already out of breath．
His throat and lungs burned as if he'd breathed fire instead of the smoke in the air． All he could hear was the crackling and popping of burning wood． Then he heard a soft but clear moan （呻吟）． He knew it was from the direction of the bedroom． Still unable to see， Surrell fell to his knees on the hot wood floor． He crawled toward the sound， feeling around for any sign of the girl．
Finally，he found the girl and caught her into his arms． He felt the heat of the flames on his cheeks． Turning， he fought through the smoke and ran blindly out of the house． Surrell put Tiara down on the porch． "You have to breathe for her，" Someone said to him． He started CPR﹣it was the first time that he'd ever done so． The women stood behind him， praying silently． After he gave five breaths， she opened her eyes and took a breath on her own．
Their eyes met． Surrell hugged her tight and said， "Uncle's got you．" Soon after， his throat closed off．
1.How did the two women feel when facing the fire？
A.Confident．
B.Curious．
C.Desperate．
D.Optimistic．
2.Why did Surrell know the moan came from the bedroom？
A.This house had a similar design to his．
B.He often went to see his neighbors．
C.Mr． Surrell had a very sensitive hearing．
D.He could see clearly in the house．
3.What can we infer from the fourth paragraph？
A.The girl was dead when she was found．
B.Surrell lost his sight because of the fire．
C.The girl wasn't breathing when taken out．
D.The women didn't care about the girl．
4.What is the passage mainly about？
A.A girl trapped in a burning house was saved．
B.It is tough to save a girl from a burning building．
C.Two women survived with a girl left in the house．
D.A man risked his life and saved a girl from fire．
If you are planning to take a trip across the United States， and are eager for a hotel， here are four economic ones for you to choose from．
Motel 6 Downtown
Neighboring the Golden Gate Bridge， it's one of the most popular motels in San Francisco with enough free parking spaces．
Check in： 3： 00 p． m． with passports and credit card．
Check out： before 12： 00 noon．
Price for 1 night per room： ﹩140 for two adults， free of charge for two children．
Pets not permitted in．
Tel： 77345984
The Opera Inn
Located in the art district， it's close to the Opera House， with chances to take part in various cultural activities．
Check in： 4： 00 p．m． with passports and credit card．
Check out： before 11： 00 am．
Price for 1 night per room： ﹩179 for two adults， free of charge for one child． No extra bed．
Pets not permitted in．
Tel： 77345244
Amsterdam Hotel
Located in downtown San Francisco， it's a clean and tidy cheap hostel， with only eight minutes' walk to the Chinatown．
Check in： 3：00 p． m， with passports and credit card．
Check out： before 10： 00 a．m．
Price for 1 night per room： ﹩ 106 for two adults， free of charge for two children．
Pets not permitted in
Tel： 72346654
Van Ness Inn
Neighboring the blue sea， it has a quiet beautiful environment． It's a best choice for those who are tired of the noisy downtown．
Check in： 1： 00 p． m． with passports and credit card．
Check out： before 11： 00 a．m．
Price for 1 night per room：﹩118 for two adults，﹩5 for one child
Pets not permitted in
Tel： 72346664．
1.Which do you choose if you want to enjoy free parking？
A.Motel 6 Downtown．
B.The Opera Inn
C.Amsterdam Hotel．
D.Van Ness Inn
2.How much should a couple with a child pay to stay in Van Ness Inn for two nights？
A.﹩482
B.﹩472
C.﹩236
D.﹩246
3.What is this passage intended to do？
A.To introduce hotels' rules．
B.To attract more customers．
C.To compare the prices．
D.To promote the local tourism．
假设你是李华，你所在社区将举办利用暑假到希望小学义务为学生辅导英语的活动。你希望参加此活动。请根据提示用英语写一封申请信:
1. 对此活动的认识；
2. 个人优势；
3. 你的计划。
注意:1、词数100左右；
2、可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3、开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Sir/Madam,
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
