As Christmas is coming, there are presents to be bought, cards to be sent, rooms to be cleaned. Parents are  with difficult jobs of hiding presents from curious young children. If the gifts are large, this is sometimes a real . On Christmas Eve, young children find the  almost unbearable(难以忍受的). They are  between the wish to go to bed early so that Father Christmas will bring their presents quickly and the wish to  up late so that they will not  the fun. The wish for gifts usually proves stronger. But though children go to bed early, they often lie  for a long time, hoping to get a short look at Father Christmas.
  Last Christmas, my wife and I  managed to hide a few large presents in the storeroom. I feared the moment when my son, Jimmy, would  me where that new bike had come from, but  he did not see it.
  On Christmas Eve, it took the children hours to go to sleep. It must have been nearly  when my wife and I went quietly into their room and began  stockings. Then I pushed in the  I bought for Jimmy and left it beside the Christmas tree. We knew we would not get  sleep that night, for the children were  to get up early. At about five o'clock the next morning, we were woken by loud sounds coming from the children's room - they were shouting excitedly!  I had time to get out of bed, young Jimmy came  into the room on his new bike, and his sister, Mary,  close behind pushing her new baby carriage. Even the baby arrived, he moved  the hands and knees into the room dragging a large balloon behind him. Suddenly it burst. That woke  up completely. The day had really begun with a bang(巨响).

【小题1】
A.facedB.metC.filledD.pleased
【小题2】
A.questionB.matterC.problemD.business
【小题3】
A.joyB.excitementC.presentsD.parents
【小题4】
A.pulledB.dividedC.separated  D.torn
【小题5】
A.getB.stayC.standD.wake
【小题6】
A.loseB.breakC.missD.leave
【小题7】
A.awakeB.wakeC.asleepD.sleep
【小题8】
A.hopefullyB.busilyC.gladlyD.successfully
【小题9】
A.answerB.tell     C.askD.search
【小题10】
A.sadlyB.unluckilyC.possiblyD.fortunately
【小题11】
A.morningB.midnightC.eveningD.daybreak
【小题12】
A.fillingB.sewingC.mendingD.preparing
【小题13】
A.presentB.stockingC.bikeD.tree
【小题14】
A.1ittleB.someC.enoughD.much
【小题15】
A.sorryB.sureC.gladD.eager
【小题16】
A.BeforeB.AfterC.UntilD.Since
【小题17】
A.runningB.laughingC.shoutingD.riding
【小题18】
A.walkedB.movedC.followedD.jumped
【小题19】
A.withB.onC.overD.by
【小题20】
A.himB.herC.meD.us


B
In this age of cell phones, text messages and computer keyboards, one Scottish school has returned to basics.It's teaching youngsters the ignored art of writing with a fountain pen.There is no clicking of keyboards in most classrooms at the Mary Erskine and Stewart's Melville Junior School, although there is a full range of facilities (设施)for computer lessons and technology isn' t being ignored.The private school' s headmaster believes the old-fashioned pens have helped strengthen the academic (学术的) performance and self-esteem (自尊)of his 1,200 pupils.
"The pens improve the quality of work because they force the children to take care, and better work improves self-esteem", headmaster Bryan Lewis said." Proper handwriting is as relevant today as it ever has been." Students as young as 7 have been instructed to give up their ball point pens and begin to deal with its more artful predecessor.By the time they reach grade five, at age 9, they are expected to write mainly with fountain pens.Lewis said the school's 7- and 8-year-olds use fountain pens for 80 percent to 90 percent of their work, returning to pencils for such subjects as math."I don't see fountain pens as old-fashioned or out of date.Modern fountain pens are beautiful to use? it's not like in the old days of broken metal points and dirtying writing paper," Lewis said."We have a particular writing style and we have developed it very carefully and found a way that allows left-and right-handed people to write without dirtying paper."
Some people in wealthy nations argue that handwriting is becoming less important because of the growing use of cell phone text messaging and typing on computers, but the school disagrees."We talk of the paperless office and the paperless world, but this is not true," Lewis said."You still need to have proper handwriting skills."
60.The Scottish school in the passage _____.
A.does not think highly of modern technology
B.values fountain pens more than anything else
C.pays special attention to the use of fountain pens
D.takes an action which is considered to be stupid by a great many people
61.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Schools in Scotland all encourage using pens.
B.Fountain pens today are much more expensive.
C.Lewis thinks the idea of the paperless world impractical.
D.The left-handed can't benefit from the new fountain pens.
62.The underlined word "predecessor" in Paragraph 2 refers to _____.
A.the pencil     B.the fountain pen      C.the keyboard  D.the ball point pen
63.The headmaster Bryan Lewis holds the view that _____.
A.children should be required to use pens when they are five
B.using pens may slow down students' speed of writing
C.pens have helped to build up students' self-respect
D.handwriting skills are more important than typing skills


B
Some schools in the United States offer Chinese language classes with government support from China.
Saint Mary’s School is a private college preparatory school in Medford, Oregon.
Carly Irvine is in her fourth year of learning Mandarin(普通话).
CARLY IRVINE: “Since China and America are working so closely and our relationship is growing more and more, I think it will be very important in the future to know Chinese.”
Saint Mary’s also teaches Spanish, German and Latin. It added Mandarin in two thousand five. Two years ago, it became the first school in the country to join the Confucius Classroom program.
The program pays about half the costs of a teacher sent to a school in the United States. China’s Education Ministry also provides books and other materials.
Saint Mary’s principal, Frank Phillips, says knowing Chinese will help students in a world where China is quickly gaining economic power.
Zheng Ling, a teacher at Saint Mary’s, came from China in two thousand eight.
ZHENG LING: “People do not know much about China, especially the latest development. So I think this is a chance for them to know more about China, what China is really like. It’s quite different from what it was twenty years ago.”
The Confucius Classroom program is in about forty countries, including more than fifty American schools and universities.
A recent report said more schools in the United States are teaching Chinese and Arabic, although the numbers are still low.
45. How many American schools and universities have the Confucius Classroom program?
A. 4.                                   B. 20.                          C. 40.                          D. 50.
46. Which of the following is true about Saint Mary’s School?
A. It is a public college preparatory school.
B. It added Mandarin in two thousand six.
C. It became the first school in America to join the Confucius Classroom program.
D. It also teaches Spanish, German and French.
47. How does Carly Irvine think learning Chinese?
A. Helpful.                   B. Useless.                    C. Unnecessary.             D. Terrible.
48. What’s the passage mainly about?
A. Some US Students Learn Mandarin with China’s Help.
B. China is quickly gaining economic power.
C. Saint Mary’s School.                                 
D. Carly Irvine.

Frankenstein is one of the world’s most famous horror stories. It’s about a doctor who creates a new man from the body parts of dead people and brings it to life. But the experiment goes wrong and the monster(怪兽) kills the doctor and many others. The story has been read by millions since it was first published and in the last hundred years it has been made into dozens of movies. Many people are surprised to learn its writer was a 19-year-old woman, called Mary Shelley.
Mary was born into a rich London family in August 1797. She was educated by her parents and when she was 13 she decided to become a writer. In 1812, she met the famous writer Percy Shelley and they soon got married. Sadly for Mary, their first child died soon after birth in Italy. In her diary, Mary wrote about a dream:“I dreamt that my little baby came to life again---that it had only been cold and that we rubbed it before the fire and it lived.”
In 1816, Percy Shelley and 19-year-old Mary visited the poet Lord Byron at his home in Switzerland. Because of the bad weather they stayed indoors reading horror stories. On night, Byron asked everyone to write their own story. Mary thought of her dream and wrote the story of Frankenstein
Frankenstein was published when Mary was 21, and became a huge success. Many people didn’t think a 19-year-old woman could write so well and believed her husband was the real writer.
Although famous, Shelley’s life was full of sadness. Only one of her four children lived and in 1822 her husband died in a swimming accident. Mary was broken-hearted and decided not to marry again. She devoted herself to her child and continued to write until her death in 1851.
【小题1】Where was Mary Shelley when she wrote the story Frankenstein ?

A.In EnglandB.In ItalyC.In SwitzerlandD.In France
【小题2】In which order do the following take place?
a. Bad weather made everyone stay indoors reading horror stories.
b. The story Frankenstein was first published.
c. Mary wrote about a dream in her diary.
d. Mary met the famous writer Percy Shelley.
e. Movies based on the story of Frankenstein were made.
A.a,c,b,e,dB.d,c,a,b,eC.c,a,b,d,eD.b,a,d,c,e
【小题3】How old was Mary Shelley when she died?
A.43B.48C.51D.54

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