Dennis Sinar, 51, a doctor from New York, is quick to explain why he took a year- long break from his job. “ I was pretty burned out after practicing medicine for 26 years. I needed a recharge.” So he took a “ gap year”, from July 2011 to June 2012, to explore things like ancient buildings, and traditional Eastern medicine, in locations including Alaska, Nepal and Romania.

“ Taking a break from work is an excellent way for adults to go into a new career or refresh an old one,” said Holly Bull, president of Princeton,N,J. “ In recent years, mid-career breaks have been gaining more interest,” she said. A report on adult gap years published this year by a market research company also desbribed the potential American market for gap years as a “ sleeping giant.”

“ A gap year is a challenge for the older individual to step out of comfort zone and take a risk. I enjoyed that side most.” Said Dr.Sinar, who kept a daily blog about his experience. His time studying Eastern medicine at his old job, although he works fewer days. “ I use those experiences to provide my patients with more care,” he added. “ And I listen better than I did before.”

Geoge Garrian, chairman of the Department of Leadership and Human Capital Mangement at New York University , certainly agrees with Dr. Sinar. He said a gap-year experience could be worthwhile for employees and companies. For employees, investing in themselves and improving skill sets is a move that will benefit throughout their career. He added that returning employees feel refreshed and have given more thought to their career. For companies, offering unpaid leaves makes good sense for attracting and keeping talented employees.

1.Dr. Sinar took a gap year because he ______.

A. had lost his old job

B. wanted to refresh after 26 years’ work

C. had a desire for travelling

D. became interested in historical research

2.The phrase “sleeping giant”( in 2nd paragragh) indicates that_____.

A. it’s too early for people to accept the concept of gap year.

B. the effect of gap year policy remains to be seen

C. it’s difficult to foresee the gap year market

D. more American people will accept the gap year policy

3.What’s George Garritan’s attitude toward the “ gap year”?

A. positive B. Doubtful C. Uninterested D. uncertain

4.What’s the passage mainly about?

A. How an adult plans a mid- career gap year

B. Why a gap year is worthwhile for adults

C. Whether a gap year is popular with adults

D. Why a gap year is challenging for individuals[

For many years, machines have been doing work that people once did， including some difficult jobs. Search and rescue operations in dangerous environments are often seen as the first areas that will employ high technology robots. But there is another area where they may soon take jobs traditionally held by human beings： the restaurant industry.

Teams from around the world competed in early June at the DARPA Robotic Challenge Finals in California. A team from South Korea and its robot called DRC-Hubo，won the first place in the competition. The second and third place winners were from the United States. The robots were required to drive a vehicle, climb up steps and do mechanical work. Such ac­tivities are easy for humans to perform，but more difficult for machines. Not all of the com­petitors were successful. The failures showed how difficuit it is to design effective walking machines.

Akihiro Suzuki works at Yaskawa Electric，a company that develops robots. He says ro­bots cannot do everything a human can，but they are able to work without becoming tired. He says robots cannot taste food，change heating levels or seasonings to get the best flavor (风 味）.But he says if a food can be easily prepared，a robot can repeat the same movement to re­produce the same meal.

One Japanese woman who saw the robots working wanted to bring them home. Masayo Mori says she would like to have a husband who could work like a robot. Suzumo Machinery showed its sushi (寿司）maker robot. It performs the often difficult work of wrapping the popular Japanese food. Hiroshi Monden is an official with the company. He says people all o­ver the world now eat sushi，but there are not enough skilled workers to prepare it. He says his machine can help anyone make sushi.

1.In Paragraph 1，the author tells us .

A.robots just do difficult jobs

B.robots are sometimes dangerous

C.robots are widely used in our life

D.robots are gradually replacing humans

2.Why did some teams fail at the DARPA Robotic Challenge Finals?

A.Their robots cannot be applied at home.

B.Preparing food is really difficult for robots.

C.Their robots can just repeat the same movement.

D.They failed to design effective walking robots.

3.We can infer from the last paragraph that .

A.Japanese men are lazy

B.robots are popular in Japan

C.Japan has advanced high technology

D.robots usually take the job of making sushi in Japan

4.In which column can we probably see the text?

A.Education. B. Culture. C. Health. D. Science.

1.Why do people who live in Dobson Ranch need to take care of their homes?

A.To ensure that no one complains about how the area looks.

B.To make the neighborhood look as good as possible.

C.To keep the property worth as much as possible .

D.To be good neighbors.

2.What does Fred Deacon think about the rules at Dobson Ranch?

A.He agrees to them.

B.He thinks they require too much.

C.He would like to discuss them later.

D.He feels that they are not severe enough.

3.For the invitation to the monthly meetings， Fred Deacon responds that .

A.he will attend regularly

B.he will attend with his wife

C.his wife will attend alone

D.neither he nor his wife will attend very often

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

As a child grows up,you may wonder how you can teach him to become a

respectful adult.__ 1.__A child who learns to respect not only learns to receive

respect from others,but also learns to respct himself.

※Show him respect

This is the best way to teach your child how to respect others. Listento your

child attentively and he will learn to listen to you, understanding how important

this is in communication.

※ _2.___

The more you say “ please” and “ thank you” to your child, the more likely he will learn to use them. Politeness then becomes a normal part of any conversation

※Agree to disagree

__3.__ Explain your decision so that he will understand you and expect “ respectful” responses. Disagreeing with you doesn’t necessarily mean disobedience(不服从)

※ Control your desire to overreact

When a situation arises, stay calm and keep in mind that you are supposed to be modeling correct behavior._ 4._

※ Paise, praise, praise!

So much is focused on what a child does wrong and how to correct it that his accomplishments are not celebrated enough.__ 5.__

A. Teach manners by using polite requests and responses

B. Respectful behavior is always accompanied by bad behavior as a child

C. Respect is necessary for a meaningful and successful life.

D. If he sees you lose your temper, he is more likely to respond that way in future

E. A child may act as he pleases, and he will live a happy life.

F. Seeing a child exhibit respectful behavior, make sure he knows how proud you are of him

G. Try to remember that a child won’t always agree with you.

完形填空

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。）

My father woke me up early one summer morning announcing. “ Get up. You are going with me to cut grass”.The idea____ my father actually thought I was big enough to help him in his ____ made me feel proud and ____. From sunup to sundown my father, my younger brother and I____ in the large yards in a rich part of Atlanta, Georgia. By the end of the day I was tired out, but felt good I had____ a hard day’s labour and had earned $6.

One day my father found some leaves I’d____ and pulled me aside. “ Clear away these leaves,” he said____, and don’t make me have to tell you to do it again.” The ____ was clear. Today I value the importance of doing a job ____ the first time. It will never____ to impress the person you are working for.

After two years my father told me and my brother that he felt we were ____enough to do lawns(草坪)on our own. Every Saturday,we____ out early in the morning with the same desire and drive we had gained while working ____ our father.

Taking care of lawns was not exciting____ high-paying, but that didn’t matter. It taught me that any job is a good job and that____ I was paid was more than I had before.

A newspaper reporter once asked me how someone ____ possibly live on a forty-hour-a-week minimum(最低的) pay. “ My father never worked just forty

hours a ____, and neither have I.” I replied. “ If you’re only working forty hours, you probably don’t want to do ____ better than you’re doing.”

In every job I’ve ____ ------ from doing lawns to washing dishes------ I have learned something that helped me in my next job. If you ____ hard enough, you can learn from any job you do.

1.A. what B. that C. which D.why

2.A. farm B. family C. business D. company

3.A. excited B.tired C.troubled D.unpleasant

4.A. played B. excised C. worked D.struggled

5.A. put out B.put down C. put away D.put in

6.A. collected B. cleaned C. missed D. noticed

7.A. finally B.usually C.unexpectedly D.firmly

8.A.news B.message C. information D.word

9.A.right B.quickly C.fast D.wrong

10.A.happen B.seem C. fail D. begin

11.A.strong B.old C. clever D.skilled

12.A.worked B. set C.turned D.figured

13.A. beyond B. without C. under D.like

14.A. and B.and yet C. but D.or

15.A.no matter now B.whatever C. no matter what D. however

16.A.must B.should C.may D.could

17.A.day B. year C. week D.month

18.A.some B.any C.little D.very

19.A.found B. lost C.held D.helped

20.A.see B.work C. try D.enjoy

阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

Americans love pets. In America, there are_1.__ families with pets than those with children. _2.__ is common that U.S homes have some sorts of pets , such as monkeys, snakers and even wolves. But Americans’ all-time favorites are cats and dogs, because dogs can offer__3._( protect) from thieves and unwelcome visitors and cats can help get rid of the home unwanted pests. Beneath keeping pets, there lies__4.__ basic American belief: Pets have a right to be treated well. In Houston, Texas, dogs can have their dinner__5.__( deliver) to their homes, just like pizza. Pets can even go with their owners on vacation. Besides, at least 75 animal welfare organiztions exist in American__6.__ can provide care and adoption services for__7.__( home) and ill-treated animals._ 8.__( pay) for the high-tech health care, people can buy health insure for their pets. Pets are as basic to American culture__9.__ hot dogs or apple pie. By now researchers__10.__( discover) that interacting with animals lowers a person’s blood pressure. Pets even encourage social relationships: They give their owners an appearance of friendliness, and they provide a good topic of conversation.

短文改错

假定英语课上英语老师要求同桌之间互相修改作文，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。每个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，在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1、每处错误及修改均仅限一词。

Manners are important to happy relations among people. No one liked a person with bad manners. Having good manners are seen by many people for a sign of cultural understanding and good taste.polite words are one of the example.When meet people,saying “Hello!”or “How are you?”and so on means you are very polite ,which will make that easy for you to communicate with others.Otherwise,they will hate getting on with you and your life will become difficultly.Only saying polite words can you get on well with others.

All in the all, it is polite words which will make your life become convenient.

书面表达

2015年两会前夕， 原中央台记者柴静自费制作的关于环境污染的纪录片《穹顶之下》引起强烈反响。假如你是李华，应用英语给21世纪英文报写一封信，表达你的观点。

内容包括：1. 阐述柴静所做的事对我们生活的影响

2. 面临环境污染我们能做些什么

注意：1. 词数100 左右

2．开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数

Dear editor,

After watching the movie Under the Dome, I was deeply moved by what ChaiJing did. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Best wishes!

Yours,

LiHua

--- Mum, do you mind if I invite some friends to my birthday party?

--- ______. It’ll be more interesting.

A．By no means B．Yes, of course

C．Don’t worry D．No doubt

Every school into the competition will have a chance to win $2,000 ______ of computing equipment.

A．price B．worth C．value D．cost