---I wonder how much Sarah is paid.

---Don’t ask her.The issue of women’s pay is _________ at the moment.

A. a wet blanket B. spilt milk

C. a sleeping dog D. a hot potato

完形填空

请认真阅读下面短文, 从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中, 选出最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A PRANK (恶作剧) is naughty behavior that is at most scolded if it gets too much. This is three Chinese students studying in California in the US described what they had done.

Zhai Yunyao, Yang Yuhan and Zhang Xinlei, all 19, called it a “prank” when they took their classmate Liu Yiran to a park where “Liu was … beaten, spat (吐痰) on, with cigarettes and forced to eat her own hair during a five-hour attack”, the Associated Press.

However, their “prank” in March 2015 was a crime in the US. The punishment was years in prison for kidnapping and assault (攻击). Zhai was to 13 years in prison, Yang to 10 years and Zhang to six years on Feb 17. They will be sent back to China serving their sentences, reported The Los Angeles Times.

The bullying (欺凌) case has caused quite a discussion in China where school bullying is not 42 but is seldom considered a crime. According to a survey done by China Youth Daily in July last year, 73.3 percent of the 1,002 said they had experienced or seen bullying cases at school.

However, offenders (冒犯者) receive proper punishment. In most of the cases, offenders only get criticism from schools. Offenders under 14 have no criminal . Those aged between 14 and 16 usually get a light punishment only when they serious crimes like murder and rape (强奸), according to China’s laws.

“The articles about protecting minors (未成年人) have started to get punishing school bullies,” commented an article in Bandao Metropolis Daily. “Some bullies even use the laws as a shield (挡箭牌) for their violent .”

In , the US is quite tough on bullying.

A(n) of 46 of the 50 US states now have their own anti-bullying laws, according to the US Department of Education. Bullying, according to those anti-bullying laws, not only direct physical contact like hitting, but also verbal assaults like name-calling.

Also, judges in the US have the right to minor offenders as adults if the cases are serious or if they have criminal records.

China could learn from the US, its legal system to stop bullying, some people have suggested. Huang Zhiyuan, a procurator (检察官) at the Henan People’s Procuratorate, advocated lowering the criminal age in Procuratorate Daily. Li Fangchao of China Daily advised China to make a anti-bullying law.

A more profound (深刻的) message the case showed to us is that “the common tolerant toward bullying should be changed”, commented Jiaxing Daily. “When teenagers do something wrong, we should tolerate and help them when necessary. But all of these have a limit.”

1. A.what B. where C. how D. why

2.A. forced B. burned C. thrown D. punished

3.A. committed B. described C. commented D. reported

4.A. actually B. really C. badly D. terribly

5.A. taken B. sent C. put D. sentenced

6.A. while B. before C. after D. on

7.A. often B. rare C. regular D. common

8.A. respondents B. consultants C. assistants D. accountants

9.A. a few B. few C. many D. none

10.A. opportunity B. challenges C. worries D. responsibility

11.A. murder B. commit C. act D. take

12.A. rid of B. along with C. in the way of D. out of

13.A. behavior B. belief C. mistake D. bully

14.A. conclusion B. disbelief C. a word D. contrast

15. A. number B. group C. total D. quantity

16. A. includes B. contains C. confirms D. indicates

17.A. think B. play C. treat D. punish

18.A. improving B. correcting C. benefiting D. changing

19.A. terrific B. clear C. related D. specific

20.A .reaction B. attitude C. understanding D. consideration

阅读理解

请认真阅读下列短文, 从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中, 选出最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

While Andrew was getting ready for work one Friday morning, he announced to his wife that he had finally decided to ask his boss for a salary raise. All day Andrew felt nervous and anxious as he thought about the upcoming showdown. What if Mr Larchmont refused to grant his request? Andrew had worked so hard in the last 18 months and landed some great accounts for his company. Of course, he deserved a wage increase.

The thought of walking into Larchmont’s office left Andrew weak in the knees. Late in the afternoon he was finally courageous enough to approach his superior. To his delight and surprise, the ever-frugal（一向节俭的）Harvey Larchmont agreed to give Andrew a raise!

Andrew arrived home that evening—despite breaking all city and state speed limits—to a beautiful table set with their best china, and candles lit. His wife, Tina, had prepared a delicate meal including his favorite dishes. Immediately he figured someone from the office had tipped her off!

Next to his plate Andrew found a beautiful lettered note. It was from his wife. It read: “Congratulations, my love! I knew you’d get the raise! I prepared this dinner to show just how much I love you. I am so proud of your accomplishments!” He read it and stopped to reflect on how sensitive and caring Tina was.

After dinner, Andrew was on his way to the kitchen to get dessert when he observed that a second card had slipped out of Tina’s pocket onto the floor. He bent forward to pick it up. It read: “Don’t worry about not getting the raise! You do deserve one! You are a wonderful provider and I prepared this dinner to show you just how much I love you even though you did not get the increase.”

Suddenly tears swelled in Andrew’s eyes. Total acceptance! Tina’s support for him was not conditional upon his success at work.

The fear of rejection is often softened and we can undergo almost any setback or rejection when we know someone loves us regardless of our success or failure.

1.Which of the following statements about the story is FALSE?

A. Andrew was afraid that his request would lead to disaster.

B. Andrew had worked very hard and done his part for the company.

C. Andrew’s boss agreed to his request.

D. One of Andrew’s colleagues had told his wife the good news.

2.Why did Tina prepare a grand dinner for Andrew that day?

A. She was confident of his getting a pay raise.

B. She believed that her husband was the best in his company.

C. She meant to show her support to her husband.

D. She wanted to express her gratitude for his devotion to the family.

3. We can conclude from the text that ______.

A. we should never be afraid to ask for what is due to us

B. work hard and you will be rewarded

C. many fears turn out to be unfounded

D. unconditional love brings courage and strength

阅读理解

请认真阅读下列短文, 从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中, 选出最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Andrew Carnegie was a 19th century steel tycoon (大亨) who became one of the 20th century’s most famous philanthropists (慈善家). His life story is one of the most famous rags-to-riches accounts in United States’ history.

Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, on November 25, 1835. The son of a weaver, he came with his family to the United States in 1848 and settled in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. At age thirteen, Carnegie went to work as a bobbin (线轴) boy in a cotton factory. He then moved rapidly through a succession of jobs with Western Union and the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1865, he resigned to establish his own factory and eventually organized the Carnegie Steel Company, which started the steel industry in Pittsburgh. At age sixty-five, he sold the company to J. P. Morgan for $480 million and devoted the rest of his life to his philanthropic activities and writing, including his autobiography.

Many people of wealth have contributed to charity, but Carnegie was perhaps the first to state publicly that the rich have a moral responsibility to give away their fortunes. In 1889 he wrote The Gospel (福音) of Wealth, in which he asserted that all personal wealth beyond what was required to supply the needs of one’s family should be regarded as a trust fund to be administered for the benefit of the community.

Carnegie set about giving away his fortune through innumerable personal gifts and through the establishment of various trusts. In his thirties, Carnegie had already begun to give away some of his fast-accumulating funds. His first large gifts were made to his native town. Later he created seven philanthropic and educational organizations in the United States, including Carnegie Corporation of New York, and several more in Europe.

One of Carnegie’s lifelong interests was the establishment of free public libraries to make available to everyone as a means of self-education. There were only a few public libraries in the world, in 1881, when Carnegie began to promote his idea. He and the Corporation altogether spent over $56 million to build 2,509 libraries throughout the English-speaking world.

After this program was ended in 1917, the Corporation continued for about forty years an interest in the improvement of library services. Other major programs in the Corporation’s early history included adult education and education in the fine arts.

During his lifetime, Carnegie gave away over $350 million. He died in Lenox, Massachusetts, on August 11, 1919.

1.Carnegie became wealthy by ________.

A. his investment in weaving industry

B. starting his steel business from nothing

C. his father’s financial support

D. his philanthropic activities

2.What is the correct order of events related to Carnegie?

a. He sold his company. b. He organized the Carnegie Steel Company

c. He worked in a cotton mill. d. He came to the United States

e. He wrote The Gospel of Wealth

A. c, d, e, b, a B. d, c, b, e, a

C. c, b, a, d, e D. d, b, a, e, c

3.Carnegie established public libraries in order to ________.

A. become famous

B. realize his dream

C. improve library services

D. help people educate themselves

阅读理解

请认真阅读下列短文, 从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中, 选出最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

FROM dogs and cats to pandas and penguins, lists of adorable animals can be very varied. However, when it comes to scary animals, the answers are often more or less the same – snakes and spiders are among the most dreadful ones for the majority of us.

However, most of us have never been bitten by a snake or a spider. So does this mean we are born with a fear of certain things?

Scientists have been actively looking into it for a long time. For example, studies have suggested that babies find live animals much more interesting than stuffed (毛绒填充的) ones. This interest continues even if those animals are snakes and spiders.

A study published in Psychological Science in 2008 seemed to show that snakes did have a different impact on babies. When scientists presented babies with animal videos along with random sounds of happy or frightened human voices, they found that babies looked at snakes for longer than any other animal however the voices sounded.

Now, a team from Rutgers University in New Jersey, US has tried to challenge the idea that babies are born with a fear of snakes and spiders. According to the BBC, the researchers measured babies’ physiological (生理的) responses as they watched videos of snakes and elephants paired with both fearful and happy voices.

Scientists then set out to surprise the babies to see how they would react. They presented them with an unexpected bright flash of light as they watched a video. As the BBC explained, a surprise like this would be more intense (强烈的) if the babies were already scared, just like when we watch scary films and jump more if we are already scared.

However, according to their findings, published recently in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, babies’ surprised responses were not bigger when watching a video of a snake, even when it was shown with a fearful voice. Their heart response was also lower, which also made it seem that babies were not scared.

“Children do not have an innate fear of snakes,” concluded the study. Even if previous studies had suggested that babies have different responses to snakes, it isn’t necessarily related to fear. “It’s possible that paying more attention to something might make fear learning easier later on. It leads to fear learning,” said research co-author Vanessa LoBue. She further explained that it was a good thing that humans didn’t have an inborn fear of snakes because it would make a young infant’s desire to explore new things less strong.

Instead, we have evolved to quickly learn to be afraid of something if it turns out to be dangerous.

1.What is the article mainly about?

A. How people’s fear of snakes and spiders has evolved.

B. Whether humans are born with a fear of snakes and spiders.

C. Why snakes and spiders are considered the most dreadful animals.

D. How babies react differently from adults to snakes and spiders.

2.What was the finding of the study published in Psychological Science in 2008?

A. The longer babies looked at snakes in the video, the less scared they were.

B. The fearful voices babies heard when watching snake videos doubled their fear of snakes.

C. Babies’ responses to the snake in the videos were greatly affected by the types of voices they heard.

D. Babies took more interest in snakes than the other animals in the videos regardless of which human voices they heard.

3. The underlined word “innate” in the second-to-last paragraph is the closest in meaning to ______.

A. from birth B. from learning

C. lasting D. immediate

4.How did babies react when the researchers from Rutgers University surprised them while they were watching a video of a snake?

A. They paid more attention to the snakes when they heard a fearful voice.

B. Babies’ heart responses changed slightly when they heard a fearful voice.

C. A fearful voice didn’t make their surprised response become more intense.

D. They became more scared when they experienced an unexpected bright flash of light.

5. According to Vanessa LoBue, since babies don’t have an inborn fear of snakes, ______

A. it would make it easier for them to learn fear

B. it would make them more willing to explore new things

C. it would lead them to stay away from dangerous things

D. it would encourage them not to be afraid of anything

阅读理解

请认真阅读下列短文, 从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中, 选出最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

FOR most people, life without plants is unimaginable. They feed us, clean up our air and brighten up our gardens. But what if someone told you that even our smartphones can benefit from plants?

Meet the scientists from the Freiburg University of Mining and Technology in Germany. According to reports from Reuters, they have come up with a way to take the important element germanium (锗) from plants.

The element was first discovered in Germany (hence the name) and was used to develop the first transistor (晶体管) because it can transport electricity very quickly. Nowadays, silicon-germanium alloy (硅锗合金) plays an important role in making computers, smartphones and fiber-optic cables (光纤电缆).

Although germanium can be found in soil around the world, it is difficult to extract (提取). In the traditional process, people take the material after zinc (锌) mining or burning coal. But the Freiburg scientists decided to fall back on the natural world.

Biology professor Hermann Heilmeier is one of the scientists who are using common plants for this uncommon process. “Different energy crops are being planted, for example, sunflowers, corn ... we want to use them for phytomining. In German we call it ‘mining with plants’.”

Others have used this method in the past with metals like gold and copper (铜). But in their study, the Freiburg scientists brought germanium from the soil into the roots and shoots of the plants, harvested them and then took the element from the plants. The process did not cost too much because germanium can be taken after plants are processed for use as biogas (沼气). So many of the costs are already covered in existing biogas plants.

However, there is still a lot of work to do before we can all experience the benefits. At the moment germanium can only be harvested in very small amounts, just a few milligrams per liter. Now scientists are working on different plants to improve this.

“As is so often the case, industry is still waiting because they want to see everything already working. Then they say, ‘We’ll have it.’ But of course we have to complete the step in between first,” said Professor Martin Bertau, head of industrial chemistry at Freiburg University.

1.We can learn from the article that germanium ______.

A. is mostly produced in Germany

B. can effectively transfer electricity

C. exists mostly in soil and water

D. is very easy to get from nature

2. What can we conclude from the article?

A. Germanium can be easily produced during the process of mining zinc or burning coal.

B. Sunflowers and corn are currently the most efficient plants to use when extracting germanium.

C. The process of harvesting germanium from plants isn’t costly because after harvesting, the plants can be used for biogas.

D. The new method for extracting germanium that the Freiburg scientists are trying is greener and cheaper than the traditional one.

3. According to the article, phytomining ______.

A. is a completely new method for extracting metals

B. has been widely used in extracting all kinds of rare metals

C. has different productivity depending on the type of energy crop

D. is now being tested on types of plants that it has never been tried on

4.Which of the following statements would Professor Martin Bertau agree with?

A. Many businesses have already started contributing money to this research.

B. Industry and science have stronger and closer connections than is generally expected.

C. People from related industries showed no interest in extracting germanium from plants.

D. Germanium has to be extracted from plants in large quantities before this type of extraction becomes industrialized.

任务型阅读

请认真阅读下列短文, 并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意: 每个空格只填1个单词。请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。

For thousands of years, the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub. In fact, until a place has a church and a pub，it isn’t really considered a community worthy of a name. Traditionally, the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town, since it is where people gather to give and receive news. In fact, the word ‘ pub' is short for public house.

That's how it used to be, but things are beginning to change. It is said that the credit decline is causing 39 British pubs a week to go out of business. People don’t have lots of spare money to spend on beer. Recently, the UK government banned smoking in all pubs, and that may also have affected the number of customers going to pubs.

This decline is happening despite the fact that in recent years the UK government has started to allow pubs to stay open after 11 p. m. Previously, with 11 p. m. as closing time, customers would have to drink quite quickly, meaning they sometimes got more drunk than they would if allowed to drink slowly. The British habit of drinking a lot very quickly is known as “binge drinking “, and it causes some long-term health problems for people and problems with violent crime for communities. The UK government is changing the law to discourage binge drinking, and regularly spends money on television advertisements to warn people of the problems of drinking too much.

In order to save their businesses, pubs are trying to change with the market. Now, there are a number of different types of pubs.

As you can see, British pubs now offer something for everyone. A lot of pubs used to be

working men' s clubs, meaning that women could not usually enter. Today, however, women can freely enter 99% of pubs without experiencing any problems. Perhaps things are changing for the better after all.

书面表达

请阅读下面短文，并按照要求用英语写一篇150词左右的文章。

Big or small, rejection affects us all. Harry Potter was rejected. So was The Twilight Saga. If authors J. K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer hadn’t kept trying with publisher after publisher, we’d all have missed out on some great adventures.

Rejection doesn’t have to be about the big thing like not getting into your top college, not making the team, or not getting asked to the prom (舞会). Everyday situations can lead to the feeling of rejection, too, like if your joke doesn’t get a laugh, if no one remembers to save you a seat at the lunch table, or if the person you really like talks to everyone but you.

Feeling rejected is the opposite of feeling accepted. But being rejected (and we will all be at times) doesn’t mean someone isn’t liked, valued, or important. It just means that one time, in one situation, with one person, things didn’t work out.

Rejection hurts. But it’s impossible to avoid it altogether. In fact, you don’t want to— people who become too afraid of rejection might hold back from going after something they want. Sure, they avoid rejection, but they’re also 100% guaranteed to miss out on what they want but won’t try for.

【写作内容】

1. 以约30个词概括上文的主要内容。

2. 以约120个词就“How to deal with rejection”这一话题发表你的看法，内容包括：

(1) 讲述一次你被拒绝的经历； (2) 你当时的感受； (3) 你认为应该如何正确面对拒绝。

【写作要求】

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。

【评分标准】

概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，语篇连贯。

____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

阅读理解

Christmas Eve was tomorrow. I hoped one of the packages that held a camera had already been placed under the Christmas tree. It was the only thing I wanted. I had been dropping hints to my parents. I love taking photos. My bedroom walls are covered with photos I had taken with my mom’s old camera. I’m always trying to capture (捕捉) those perfect moments in which you can hear the laughter or touch the beautiful scene, but my camera has always seemed to fall short.

I knew Mom had put a few presents under the tree this morning, so I went on a hunt in my mom’s room. I opened the door and found my Christmas present was lying unwrapped on the floor — a big pink cat. I felt so disappointed.

Mom seemed to notice that, and she tried to cheer me up. “Stacy, I got your present today. I am so excited to surprise you!” “I can’t wait,” I said. The next day I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to tell her.

“Mom, may I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure, dear. What do you need to talk about?” she asked.

And so it came — how upset I was that I was getting a cat.

“Stacy, that cat is for your sister Julia!” she said with a smile.

“Then what am I getting?” I asked.

She just smiled. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

The next morning, I happily got into the living room and sat next to the tree. I pulled out the box with my name on it and opened the wrapping paper to find ...

My camera! “Thank you!” I said to both Dad and Mom.

Dad picked up the camera and took a picture of Julia, Mom and me. It has become one of my favorite pictures. Just on that Christmas morning, I took lots of photos with my camera — my little sister making a face, my parents giving me a soft smile — and all of these photos have come to mean one thing to me: love.

1.The underlined phrase “dropping hints” in Paragraph 1 means _____.

A. talking often B. suggesting indirectly

C. sending presents D. taking pictures

2.Why did Stacy feel disappointed at first?

A. Her mother couldn’t understand her at all.

B. Her mother didn’t buy her any Christmas gift.

C. She didn’t find her present in her mom’s room.

D. She mistook her sister’s Christmas gift for hers.

3.We can infer from the passage that _____.

A. her mother bought Stacy a camera after discovering her disappointment

B. Stacy finally got her gift on Christmas Eve

C. Stacy thought it’s OK to have an old camera

D. her mother knew what gift Stacy wanted for Christmas

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. A Christmas gift as wished.

B. Love is more important than gifts.

C. A wonderful Christmas.

D. Love can not be bought.

阅读理解

What are you feeling right now as you start to read this? Are you curious? Hoping that you’ll learn something about yourself? Bored because this is something you have to do for school and you’re not really into it — or happy because it’s a school project you enjoy? Perhaps you’re attracted by something else, like feeling excited about your weekend plans or sad because you just went through a breakup.

Emotions like these are part of human nature. They give us information about what we’re experiencing and help us know how to react. We sense our emotions from the time we’re babies. Young children react to their emotions with facial expressions or with actions like laughing or crying. They feel and show emotions, but they don’t yet have the ability to name the emotion or say why they feel that way.

As we grow up, we become more skilled in understanding emotions. Instead of just reacting like little kids do, we can identify（定义） what we feel and put it into words. With time and practice, we get better at knowing what we are feeling and why. This skill is called emotional awareness.

Emotional awareness helps us know what we need and want, or don’t want! It helps us build better relationships. That’s because being aware of our emotions can help us talk about feelings more clearly, avoid or settle conflicts（冲突） better, and move past difficult feelings more easily.

Some people are naturally more in touch with their emotions than others. The good news is that everyone can be more aware of their emotions. It just takes practice. But it’s worth the effort.

Emotional awareness is the first step toward building emotional intelligence, a skill that can help people succeed in life.

1. How do young children react to emotions?

A. With laughter and shouts.

B. With signs and expressions.

C. With facial expressions and actions.

D. With gestures of different kinds.

2. From the passage we know that emotional awareness actually _________.

A. enables us to live in society more easily

B. lets people understand others better

C. brings about conflicts between people

D. smooths away difficulties in our life

3.Where is the passage probably taken from?

A. A science fiction. B. An advertisement.

C. A science magazine. D. A television show.