第一节(共15小题;每小题2分，满分30分)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D) 中，选出最佳选项。

                                     A 

               After I mastered my first (协奏曲) at age 14 ,my parents decided to get me a nice violin. I tried out dozens of instruments before I found my match: a German violin. It was beautiful,but what I liked best about it was its voice. Confident and strong,it was everything I longed to be.

               I'm not sure how much that violin cost,but my parents made me promise never to let it out of my sight. They didn't understand that dragging a large violin case ran counter to my daily middle school task of being invisible (看不见的) .I was a strange,absent-minded kid. When I spoke up in class,my comments brought confused silence from teachers and wild laughter "from students. Like a deer in a wolf pack,I tried to be quiet and still. 

               In contrast,my new violin was aimobi shockingly loud. Together,we could drown out the rest oi my middle school orchestra — which was encouraged,since the other kids made sounds like cats 5 crying. For one glorious hour every day,I was showered with attention. Everyone wanted to hear what I had to say.

                Between classes,I bent under the combined weight of my violin case and a backpack filled with books. My posture suffered ,but my confidence grew. With my violin by my side,I found my voice. More and more,I contributed to class discussions and even made a couple of friends.

                Today,I'm just an amateur violinist with a regular day job. As I sit in my community orchestra,sometimes I feel jealous(嫉妒的) my fellow musicians’ instruments with their elegant voices. I may not be the best violinist around,but at least I'm still the loudest.

21. The underlined part “ran counter to” in Paragraph 2 probably means.

   A. was similar to

   B. went along with

   C. was the opposite of

   D. had something in common with

22. We know from Paragraph 2 that the author.

   A. did not fit in at school

   B. was an excellent student

   C. was strong and confident

   D. did not attend classes regularly

23. What kind of feeling is expressed in Paragraphs?

   A. Disappointment. B. Anger.

   C. Pride.          D. Regret.

24. What can we infer from the text?

   A. The violin changed the author in some way.

   B. The author hated the loud voice of his violin.

   C. The violin always made the author embarrassed.

   D. The author was the best violinist in his community orchestra.

将下面短文中的主动语态转换成被动语态。

             In America,before a baby is bom,friends throw a baby shower(产前派对) for the expectant parents.The friends usually hold the shower a month or two before the due date of the baby. The hosts invite friends to come and celebrate. Sometimes,the mother knows the gender of the baby. If so,friends select gifts for either a boy or a girl. If not,friends try to predict the gender of the baby. Some friends place bets on whether it is a boy or a girl. The parents will use the gifts from this event in the first year of the baby's life. The memories of this event will last a lifetime.

                                    B 

           Every day hundreds of people pass through the San Francisco Ferry Building,a place where a variety of products and services are available. The San Francisco Ferry Building is the place where commuters catch their ferries at. It is also a place whose people come to walk and watch the activity on the bay. The area in which people shop for food is also where people can find restaurants and shops.

           The Ferry Building began to be built at a time in 1875 there were no bridges. People had to take a train to the Berkeley or Oakland ferry terminals,there they would catch a ferry to San Francisco. When the Bay Bridge opened in 1936,the Ferry Building became an unnecessary place in that the ferries were left and forgotten. In the 1970s,when the traffic on the bridge made the commute difficult,the ferry boat service resumed. Now the Ferry Building serves as an activity center which San Franciscans shop,eat,catch transportation,and relax near the water.

下面短文中的定语从句各有六处错误，请找出并改正。

                                A 

             Creative engineers around the world have designed a number of cars they are powered by some unusual sources.

             We were amused when we learned about a car that it was powered by old French fry oil. But can you imagine a car that is powered by excrement (粪便) that you put in a toilet? The designers admit that it stinks (smells bad).

             One sporty group made a special car that was powered by pedals (leg power) . They also made another one which was powered by the arms of the four passengers. It was much like rowing a boat but without water.

             Another research group made a vehicle had a jet engine. It was fast but not very practical. The same was true for a wind-powered car,that worked very well but only on a windy day and only in one direction!

             There are a number of car designs which they run on solar power — only on sunny days and for short distances.

             One design who people have really,wanted is a hydrogen-poeered(氢动力) car. That is right!The dream car is one that will run on pure water and produce clean air.

用括号内动词的正确形式完成下面短文。

      In school,I was terrible at spelling. I remember

1. (ask) to spell the fourth day of the week.

      “W-E-N-S-D-A-Y”.

      “You seem 2. (forget) a few letters,”commented the teacher.

        I began to say the letters again, “W-H-E-N-S-D-A-Y”.

       “No,” she smiled. “The name Wednesday comes from Norse mythology. The day 3.(name) after the god Odin,also called Woden. So think of it as ‘ Woden's day’. In Old English,it was Wodnesdaeg,and in Middle English,it became Wednesdai. And now,it is Wednesday."

       “Why don't we pronounce all the letters?” I asked.

       “Well,the pronunciation seems 4.(simplify) but not the spelling. Perhaps in the future,the spelling will change too,but for now,plan5. (write) it like this (Wednesday) ,w she added.

       “Can’t we just call it Humpday?” asked a student in the back of the class.

       “I don't remember seeing that word in the dictionary, ” replied the teacher. “A word must 6. (accept) formally in dictionaries before we can confidently use it in our writing."

       “How does a word become accepted?”

       “As more people begin to use a word,it starts to appear more frequently in writing — newspapers, magazines and books — and in speech — conversation,newscasts,and lectures. The more frequently a word occurs,the more likely it is 7.(record) into a dictionary,” she explained.

       “So does that mean that we should start using ‘Humpday’ so that we can get it accepted?” asked the student.

        The teacher smiled, “You can try,but you’11 still need to be able 8. (spell) Wednesday correctly on your next spelling test.”

8. Wow!You appear (be) here many times. You even know where the best restaurant is.

7. Her circumstances had never been good enough for her hopes (realize) .

6. His decision (retire) surprised us all.

5. He was known  (work) for the International Olympic Committee before he retired.

4. These are the major questions (discuss) at tomorrow's meeting.