When you get in your car, you reach for it. When you're at work, you take a break to have a moment alone with it. When you get into a lift, you play with it.

Cigarette? Cup of coffee? No, it's the third most addictive thing in modern life, the cell phone. And experts say it is becoming more difficult for many people to curb their longing to hug it more tightly than most of their personal relationships.

The costs are becoming more and more evident, and I don't mean just the monthly bill. Dr. Chris Knippers, a counselor at the Betty ford Center in Southern California, reports that the overuse of cell phones has become a social problem not much different from other harmful addictions: a barrier to one-on-one personal contact, and an escape from reality. Sounds extreme, but we' ve all witnessed the evidence: The person at a restaurant who talks on the phone through an entire meal, ignoring his kids around the table; the woman who talks on the phone in the car, ignoring her husband; the teen who texts messages all the way home from school, avoiding contact with kids all around him. Jim Williams, an industrial sociologist based in Massachusetts, notes that cell - phone addiction is part of a set of symptoms in a widening gulf of personal separation. He points to a study by Duke University researchers that found one-quarter of Americans say they have no one to discuss their most important personal business with. Despite the growing use of phones, e - mail and instant messaging, in other words, Williams says studies show that we don't have as many friends as our parents." Just as more information has led to less wisdom, more acquaintances via the Internet and cell phones have produced fewer friends," he says.

If the cell phone has truly had these effects, it's because it has become very widespread. Consider that in 1987, there were only l million cell phones in use. Today, something like 300 million Americans carry them. They far outnumber wired phones in the United States.

1.From the first two paragraphs, we can know ________.

A. cell phones have become as addictive as cigarettes

B. cell phone addiction is good for building personal relationships

C. people are longing to have their own cell phones

D. cell phones are the same as cigarettes

2.Cell phone addiction has caused the following effects EXCEPT_________

A. a barrier to personal contact

B. fewer friends

C. an escape from reality

D. a serious illness

3.The underlined word "curb" in Paragraph 2 means________.

A. ignore B. control C. develop D. rescue

4.The example of a woman talking on the phone in the car supports the idea that__________.

A. women use cell phones more often than men

B. talking on the phone while driving is dangerous

C. cell phones do not necessarily bring people together

D. cell phones make one - on - one personal contact easy

5.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. Cell phones are the New Cigarettes

B. Cell phones are harmful to the Society

C. The New Report about the Cell phone

D. The Disadvantages of the Cell phone

Like many men at some point, I dream about opening a bar. I plan to call it Work Out. It will cater to married women in need of a little fun. On Friday nights, they will be able to come here and enjoy themselves.

See, I have a gift for business. I am, as my wife Zsa Zsa likes to note, “A man with a million ideas, none of them very good.” Speaking of Zsa Zsa, she is fed up with this plain little life I’ve made for us——too many kids, too many chores, mind – numbing debt. The other day, she said she thought we needed a new family car. “Sure. How about an 87 Lincoln?” I said, and saw my dear Zsa Zsa age about 20 years, and become her mother right before my eyes.

Yes, money is our madness. Last year, we thought we had found a little cushion when I published a book about the life here in suburban America. It sold 12 copies——six of them to my mother. Four other copies went to various aunts and uncles, who used them for martini coasters (杯垫), then sold them at yard sales. The two remaining copies went to perfect strangers. (I think I owe you dinner, whoever you are. Call me, OK? We’ll arrange something.)

When the book didn’t take off, I wrote a TV show. Then I penned a short novel based on the earlier TV idea that didn’t sell. Currently, I am at work on a set of encyclopedias(百科全书). In a month, I plan to sell them door-to-door.

Such is the life of a writer, sending off the most personal thoughts possible to his hard drive. I am a writer, but also the breadwinner in my family. I’m at the keyboard at 6 almost every morning, hoping to tap out one idea——just one——that will take us up the hill, to the mountain, to the top.

1.According to the passage, the author is leading a/an______ life.

A. enjoyable B. wealthy

C. hard D. comfortable

2.By saying “Sure. How about an 87 Lincoln?”, the author_______ .

A. promised it to his wife

B. was showing off their fortune

C. thought his wife would like it

D. was just joking

3.What was the result of the book the author mentioned in the 3rd paragraph?

A. It didn’t sell well at all

B. He sold it door – to – door.

C. He made a lot of money from it.

D. It was really a cushion for his family.

4.What does the underlined word “cushion” mean ?

A. Comfortable seat. B. Financial help.

C. Unexpected success. D. Best-selling book.

5.From the account above, which of the following statements is true?

A. He has a real gift for business.

B. He isn’t serious enough about life.

C. He is a hard – working writer.

D. His wife is satisfied with their plain life.

Driving to a friend's house on a recent evening, I was attracted by the sight of the full moon rising just above my friend’s rooftops. I stopped to watch it for a few moments, thinking about what a pity it was that most city people, myself included usually miss sights like this because we spend most of our lives indoors.

My friend had also seen it. He grew up living in a forest in Europe, and the moon meant a lot to him then. It had touched much of his life.

I know the feeling. Last December I took my seven-year-old daughter to the mountainous jungle of northern India with some friends. We stayed in a forest rest-house with no electricity or running hot water. Our group had campfires outside every night, and indoors when it was too cold outside. The moon grew to its fullest during our trip. Between me and the high mountains lay three or four valleys. Not a light shone in them and not a sound could be heard. It was one of the quietest places I have ever known, a bottomless well of silence. And above me was the full moon, which struck me deeply.

Today our lives are filled with glass, metal, plastic and fiber-glass. We have televisions, cell phones, pagers, electricity, heaters and ovens and air-conditioners, cars, computers.

Struggling through traffic that evening at the end of a tiring day, most of it spent indoors, I thought: before long, I would like to live in a small cottage. There I will grow vegetables and read books and walk in the mountains And perhaps write, but not in anger. I may become an old man there, and wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled and measure out my life in coffee spoons. But I will be able to walk outside on a cold silent night and touch the moon.

1.The best title for the passage would be______.

A. Touched by the moon

B. The pleasures of modern life

C. A bottomless well of silence

D. Break away from modern life

2.The writer felt sorry for himself because________.

A. there was too much pollution

B. he failed to see the fullest moon

C. he didn’t adapt to modern inventions

D. there were too accidents on the road

3.What impressed the writer most in the mountainous jungle of northern India?

A. No modern equipment B. Complete silence.

C. The nice moonlight D. The high mountains

4.Modern things (Paragraph 4) are mentioned mainly to______.

A. show that the writer likes city life very much

B. tell us that people greatly benefit from modern life

C. explain that people have fewer chances to enjoy nature

D. show that we can also enjoy nature at home through them

5.The author wrote the passage to_______.

A.A. express the feeling of returning to nature

B. show the love for the moonlight

C. advise modern people to learn to live

D. want to communicate longing for modern life

You know eating fruit and vegetables does good. But do you know it can also make you look good? People who increased their intake over just six weeks developed a healthy glow and appeared more attractive, researchers found. Scientists at St Andrews University found eating them slightly increased yellow and red pigments in the volunteers' skin. They monitored the food intake of 35 people and took pictures of their faces, arms and hands using a sensitive camera at the start, and after three and six weeks. Increasing their intake of greens by 2.9 portions a day was found to make the person look healthier and an extra 3.3 portion could enhance their attractiveness, when their photographs were rated by others.

Fruit and vegetables are rich in carotenoids (类胡萝卜素)，which are known to protect against cell damage from pollution and UV rays, and can also prevent age-related diseases including heart disease and cancer. But while it was known eating extreme amounts of certain vegetables such as carrots could turn skin orange ，it was not known a small increase was perceptible(被觉察）to others - and was seen as appealing.

A camera measured changes to the skin's redness, yellowness and lightness, and found it significantly changed in people who naturally increased their intake. These changes were not evident in three weeks. Using light sensors, the researchers showed these red and yellow hues were linked with the levels of carotenoids in their skin. There are hundreds of carotenoids but those thought to have the most dramatic effect are lycopene(番茄红素)-which gives tomatoes and red peppers their red colour - and beta-carotene found in carrots as well as broccoli, squash, and spinach. Skin colour is also affected by chemicals called polyphenols（多元酚)，found in apples, blueberries and cherries, which cause blood rush to the skin surface.

1.What do we know from the research?

A. If you take in a little more fruit and vegetables, you will obviously look more attractive in three weeks.

B. The researchers took the pictures of the 35 people in the research at different stages.

C. Increasing your intake of greens by 2.9 portions a day can greatly improve your health.

D. People who increased their intake of greens by 3.3 portions a day were found the most attractive after six weeks.

2.Which of the following is NOT the function of carotenoids？

A. They can protect against cell damage from pollution and UV rays.

B. They can prevent heart disease and cancer.

C. They can prevent age-related diseases.

D. They can keep you in good health.

3.Which of the statements is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A. We've already known eating extreme amounts of carrots can turn skin orange.

B. We knew in the past that eating a few more carrots could make us look appealing.

C. The research showed the improvement in skin is linked with the levels of carotenoids in it

D. Among hundreds of carotenoids, lycopene is thought to have the most dramatic effect on the skin.

4.We can infer from the passage that _____

A. Skin's redness, yellowness and lightness make a person look more healthy and attractive.

B. Carotenoids have the same effect as lycopene.

C. It is carotenoids that give tomatoes and red peppers their red colour.

D. Both beta-carotene and polyphenols affect skin colour by causing blood rush to the skin surface.

5.Which can be the best title of the passage?

A. Eating fruit and vegetables does good .

B. Fruit and vegetables are rich in carotenoids.

C. How to become attractive.

D. Eating fruit and vegetables makes you look good

阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。请将答案填涂在答题卡标号相应位置上。

首先，请阅读以下各类网站的信息：

A. www.bbc.co.uk--- the latest information about Britain and from around the world is just a click away at this site. Contains separate section for education, film, sport and business to give the most up-to-date news about any topic as it happens. And best of all, all online services are free!

B. www.chinablog.com --- this is the perfect site for anyone interested about what people in China are thinking about today. Chinablog already hosts the weblogs (blogs-opinion web pages that allow readers to also post comments about the article featured) of over 50,000 people and is growing every day. For a monthly fee of $10 join chinablog and share your opinions with the world.

C. www. alternet.com --- this is a new news and current affairs website containing articles from over 80 different progressive news web-sites from around the world. If you think the major media outlets are not giving you the full story then surf over to altennet.com to find out what's really going on in the world. And if you don't agree with what we say feel free to post a comment saying why.

D. www.youtube. com --- is a website containing literally millions of video clips posted by the site's users. The videos range from people personal home movies to clips from the latest TV show, news reports, and sports events. Viewing video clips is totally free of charge but to upload your own videos registration (also free) is required. Use the site's powerful search engine to find whatever you're looking for in seconds.

E. www, chinadaily.com.cn---The website of China's official English language national newspaper, chinadaily.com.cn has all the stories you will find in China Daily plus much, much more. There are sections on sport, traveling in China, entertainment and news plus our free archives (档案) allows you to search for any article that we have published in the last 10 years.

F. www.myspace.com --- is a free social networking website that allows member to get to know each other and communicate through combination of photos,, webblogs, user profiles, e-mail, web forums, and groups, as well as other media formats. Myspace is a very active site with over 10 million members, and additions and new features are being added all the time.

请阅读下列人物的信息，然后匹配人物与其拟选择的网站；

1.Jessie was out last night and missed the big football match that was shown on TV. He already knows the result of the match but he would like to see the highlights of the game online.

2.Robert is a university student studying political science and has a great interest in news and politics from around the world. However, he feels that mainstream news sources do not provide balance analysis of most of these stories so he is looking for a site with a different perspective(角度) where he can also voice his own opinions about the topics discussed.

3.Killah is a student planning to travel to China in the summer and wants to find out more about the country, its people and interesting places to visit. Being on a limited budget however, he has no money spare to pay for this kind of information.

4.Jordan is a business analyst with a large financial company. In order to write a report for the general manager he needs the latest data about the performance of the London Stock Exchange.

5.Bluey is a man of many opinions and is interested in what people think about his ideas. He therefore wants to start his own blog where he can tell the world what he thinks and where he can get feedback on his ideas from the readers. However, Bluey is currently unemployed so he can't afford to play for the privilege.

鲁甸8.3大地震发生之后，你的奥地利笔友Tom发来电子邮件，向你了解地震的有关情况。请你根据下列提示给Tom 回一封电子邮件。

［写作内容］

1．地震发生的时间、地点；

2．地震的影响；

3. 各界反应。

生词；里氏6.5级 measure at 6.5Ms

山体滑坡hill slide 通信telecommunication

［写作要求］

只能用5个句子表达全部内容。

［评分标准］

句子结构准确，信息内容完整，篇章连贯。

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

阅读下面李明的竞选演讲稿，然后按要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。

Dear fellow students:

I am Li Ming from Class Two, Senior Three. Today I am very glad to stand here and run for the post of chairman of the Students’ Union of our school. I think I am a very active person and always ready to help those who need help. Furthermore, I have the experience to have been the monitor of our class for 3 years and keen on the service for you, so I am sure I am qualified for it.

If I am lucky enough to win the election, the first thing I will do is to enrich our students’ after-class activities. Owing to the efforts of our school, now more and more students have got involved in various after-class activities. I think they have benefited us a lot, because after a whole day’s heavy work, it is great to have a relaxation from the activities, which will not only improve our social ability but also make us healthier. However, not all of us have realized that yet.

Also I will do something to improve our study activities. So please give me a chance and vote for me. Believe in me. I am your best choice!

That’s all, thank you!

［写作内容］

1．以约30个词概括以上演讲的主要内容。

2．以约120个词发表你的看法，内容包括：

（1）你是否赞成李明当选学生会主席并说明理由；

（2）你是否赞成他提出的加强课外活动的建议，为什么？

（3）谈谈你最喜欢的课外活动及其对你的影响。

［写作要求］

1．作文中可以使用亲身经历或虚构的故事，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不得直接引用原文中的句子。

2．作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称。

［评分标准］

概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，语篇连贯。

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Last summer I was a volunteer at a shelter for the homeless, a place for homeless people to sleep at night. I wasn’t working that summer and was ____ only two classes in summer school, so I had some free time.

Three nights a week, I ____ in the kitchen of the shelter along with four other volunteers. We planned and ____ for 45 people hot meals with vegetables, chicken, fish and fruit. The homeless people____ this good food because many of them usually didn’t eat well.

I ____ this volunteer work, making ____ with the four volunteers in the kitchen. One was a very nice elderly housewife, one a movie actor, another a young teacher, and the other a college student, like me.

I talked to a lot of the homeless people at the shelter. Their life stories ____ me with sympathy. Some of them had ____ with alcohol or drugs while others only had bad ____. One woman worked for almost 30 years for a small company, and then she lost her job. She wanted to look for a ____ job, but couldn't find one, for she was too ____. She could do nothing but sell her furniture—sofas, chairs, and tables so that she could pay for her food. The woman ____ on job hunting, but she ____ couldn't find one. She had no money for her ____ and had to sleep in her car. Then she had to sell her car. Alone, ____， and homeless, she finally came to the shelter.

1.A.studying B．planning C．holding D．taking

2.A.helped B．raised C．appeared D．washed

3.A.ordered B．bought C．cooked D．accomplished

4.A.appealed B．required C．collected D．requested

5.A.wanted B．had C．owned D．enjoyed

6.A.decisions B．wishes C．friends D．amateurs（业余爱好者）

7.A.struck B．filled C．deposited(存放) D．provided

8.A.habits B．hardships C．difficulties D．problems

9.A.luck B．pain C．experience D．loss

10.A.challenging B．delicate（精致的） C．skilled D．new

11.A.old B．poor C．sick D．dishonest

12.A.went B．moved C．came D．worked

13.A.partly B．still C．almost D．extremely

14.A.block B．cottage C．building D．flat

15.A.afraid B．unbearable C．dull D．awkward

Six days of spring rain had created a wild river _1.___(run) by Nancy Brown’s farm．As she tried to drive her cows to higher ground, she __2.____(slip) and hit her head on a fallen tree trunk．Nancy was badly hurt and could only walk with great _3.___(difficult）．The water __4.___(rise)．Nancy’s pace got slower and slower．Finally, all she could do was to throw her arm around Lizzie’s neck and try to hang on．About 20 minutes later, Lizzie managed to _5.___ (succeed) pull herself and Nancy out of the water and onto a bit of high land．

It took rescuers another two hours to discover Nancy．_6.___ helicopter lowered a doctor, __7.____attached Nancy to a life-support lift．They raised her into the helicopter and took her to the school gym, _8.____the Red Cross had set up an emergency shelter．

When the flood subsided two days later, Nancy immediately went back to the highland．Lizzie was gone. __9.____was one of the 19 cows that Nancy lost．“I owe my life 10.____her,” said Nancy sobbingly．

Green invaders are taking over America. Not invaders from space, but plants! You might not think of plants as dangerous, but in this case they are threatening nature’s delicate food chain.

The invaders are plants brought here from other countries to make gardens and yards look pretty. Ever since people started to arrive on America’s shores, they have carried along trees, flowers, and vegetables from other places. Now there are so many of those plants, they are crowding out the native plants that have lived here since before human settlers arrived.

And that’s a problem, says Dr. Doug Tallamy. He’s insect expert at the University of Delaware. He explains that almost all the plant-eating insects in the United States are specialized, which means they eat only certain plants. Monarch butterfly caterpillars(幼虫),for example, dine on milkweed. If people cut down milkweed and replace it with another plant, the butterflies will not have the food source that they need to survive.

But the trouble doesn’t stop there. When insects can’t get the right plants to eat and they die off, then the birds don’t have enough bugs for their meals. Tallamy points out that almost all migrating birds depend on insets to feed their young.

“We cannot let the plants and animals around us disappear.” says Tallamy, “The way to preserve them is to give them food to eat. But when we plant non-native plants, we are clobbering the food chain, because then we don’t have the insects the birds need to live.”

Fewer of the right plants mean fewer bugs, and fewer bugs mean fewer birds. And that’s bad for the Earth, because we need a variety of living things to keep the planet healthy and beautiful.

The good news is, garden centers sell native plants. “Just Google ‘native plants’ and your location, and you can find out which plants really belong where you live,” says Tallamy

1.How did green invades arrive at America?

A.They fell down from space.

B.They floated to the America’s shores.

C.They were brought in from foreign countries

D.They has lived here since human settlers arrived

2.According to Dr.Tallamy, which of the followings about the insects in the US is NOT true?

A.Almost all the plant-eating insects in a place eat certain plants.

B.Monarch butterfly caterpillars can’t survive without milkweed.

C.If insects can’t eat the right plants, they will find another one.

D.The insects’ death will greatly affect the migrating birds’ survival

3.The underlined word “clobber” in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to _________.

A.protect B. damage C. create D. collect

4.We can know whether a plant is native by _________.

A.Googling on the Internet B. asking Dr. Doug Tallamy

C. looking up in books D. searching in garden

5.What is the best title of the pass age?

A.Green invaders——local living things

B. Green invaders——dangerous food chain

C.Green invaders——environmental protectors

D. Green invades——threat to local nature