You may think that sailing is a difficult sport, but it is really not hard to learn it. You do not need to be strong. But you need to be quick. And you need to understand a few basic rules about the wind. First, you must ask yourself, “Where is the wind coming from? Is it coming from ahead or behind or from the side?” You must think about this all the time on the boat. The wind direction tells you what to do with the sail.

Let’s start with the wind blowing from behind. This means the wind and the boat are going in the same direction. Then you must always keep the sail outside the boat. It should be at a 90° angle (角度) the boat. Then it will catch the wind best.

If the wind is blowing from the side, it is blowing across the boat In this case, you must keep the sail half way outside the boat. It should be at a 45° angle to the boat. It needs to be out far enough to catch the wind, but it shouldn’t flap (摆动). It shouldn’t look like a flag on a flagpole. If it is flapping, it is probably out too far, and the boat will slow down.

Sailing into the wind is not possible. If you try, the sail will flap and the boat will stop. You may want to go in that direction. It is possible, but you can’t go in a straight line. You must go first in one direction and then in another. This is called tacking. When you are tacking, you must always keep the sail inside the boat.

1.What should you consider first while sailing?

A. Wave levels. B. Size of sails.

C. Sailors’ strength. D. Wind directions.

2.What does the word “It” underlined in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A. The boat. B. The wind.

C. The sail. D. The angle.

3.What do you have to do when sailing against the wind?

A. Tack the boat. B. Lower the sail.

C. Move in a straight line. D. Allow the sail to flap.

4.Where can you probably find the text?

A. In a physics textbook. B. In a tourist guidebook.

C. In a popular magazine. D. In an official report.

Icelanders have a beautiful tradition of giving books to each other on Christmas Eve and then spending the night reading. This custom is so deeply rooted in the culture that it is the reason for Christmas Book Flood, when the majority of books in Iceland are sold between September and December in preparation for Christmas giving.

“Books get attention here.” Says Baldur Bjarnason, a researcher who has written about the Icelandic book industry.

The small Nordic island, with a population of only 329,000 people, is extraordinarily literary (文学的). They love to read and write. According to a BBC article, “The country has more writers, more books published and more books read, per head, than anywhere else in the world… One in 10 Icelanders will publish a book.”

It seems there is more value placed on physical, paper books than in North America, where e-books have grown in popularity. One bookstore manager said, “The book in Iceland is such an enormous gift-you give a physical book. You don’t give e-books here.” The book industry is driven by the majority of people buying several books each year, rather than the North American pattern of a few people buying lots of books.

It sounds like a wonderful tradition, perfect for a winter evening. It is something that I would love to incorporate (吸收) into my own family’s celebration of Christmas.

1.What do Icelanders do on Christmas Eve?

A. They give books to each other and read books.

B. They buy a lot of books to read.

C. They check the mailboxes and send cards to friends.

D. They get together and sing Christmas songs together.

2.How many people in Iceland can be described as writers?

A. 329,000 B. 32,900

C. 3,290 D. 3,290,000

3.What is the difference between Icelanders and North Americas on buying books?

A. People in Iceland never buy e-books.

B. People in North America never buy physical books.

C. A few people buy a large number of books in North America.

D. In Iceland, everyone buys a large number of books each year.

Why do people travel? There are many reasons one can think of when asked questions like this.

To travel far enough to meet yourself

Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere. 1. You find out your abilities. When you are offered a different lifestyle, you can find out what you are made of. The farther you go from your home, the nearer you come to your true self.

2.

If you look back at all the amazing memories of your life, you will realize that most of them were out of your comfort zone. Travelling is dangerous, full of life threatening possibilities and will not always be comfortable, but at the same time, it gives irreplaceable memories.

To slow down and relax

A wise man once said that never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. Money is worth nothing if you cannot spend it on a little adventure. While we are deeply involved in making money, we forget that time is going through our fingers. 3. The feeling of being away from your workplace is pure happiness. The feeling of not having to worry about the never ending piles of files is pure joy. 4.

To celebrate life

Life is short and the world is wide. One day you might wake up and realize that you don’t have time to do everything that you have always wanted to do, anymore. Once in a while, make time to appreciate the fact that you are alive, young, free and healthy. 5.

A. To become a storyteller

B. Travelling lets you discover yourself

C. To break through your comfort zone.

D. So, go travelling to celebrate life itself.

E. You can relate to the world and connect to others.

F. And the feeling of being away from your boss for a few days is pure pleasure.

G. Escape life for a little while because experience is far more valuable than money.

In America, in 1988, Samuel sent his son, Armand, to school. Samuel hugged the boy and looked him in the ______，“Have a good day, and remember, I’ll always be there for you.”

Hours later, a ______ earthquake happened. Samuel tried to discover what ______ to his son, but he couldn’t get any ______, Samuel then headed for the ______. When he reached the area, what he saw brought ______ to his eyes. Armand’s school was a pile of debris (残骸). Other parents were standing around ______.

Samuel found where Armand’s classroom ______ to be and began pulling a broken rock off the pile and put it to the side, and then grabbed another one.

One of the parents looking ______ asked, “What are you doing?”

“Digging for my son,” Samuel answered. The man then said, “You will make things ______! The building is unstable.” He tried to stop Samuel.

Samuel just kept ______. As time went on, one by one, the other parents left.

All through the night and into the next day, Samuel ______ digging. Parents placed flowers and pictures of their children on the ruins, ______ Samuel just kept doing. Suddenly, he ______ a faint cry. “Help! Help!” Samuel listened but didn’t hear anything again. Then he heard a muffled (闷声的) voice, “Papa?”

Samuel began to dig ______. At last, he could see his ______. “Come on out, son!” he said with ______.

“No,” Armand said. “Let the other kids ______ first because I know you’ll get me.”

All 14 children were alive. Samuel took his son in his arms and Armand said, “I told the other kids not to ______ because you told me that you’d ______ be there for me.”

1.A. eye B. ear C. nose D. mouth

2.A. weak B. rich C. common D. powerful

3.A. led B. devoted C. referred D. happened

4.A. car B. information C. coat D. trouble

5.A. bar B. home C. market D. schoolyard

6.A. tears B. smile C. coffee D. hands

7.A. crying B. promising C. talking D. drinking

8.A. seen B. used C. wanted D. responded

9.A. at B. on C. after D. down

10.A. better B. bigger C. worse D. more

11.A. speaking B. running C. working D. writing

12.A. stopped B. taught C. sang D. continued

13.A. so B. and C. but D. though

14.A. dug B. took C. heard D. robbed

15.A. sadly B. freely C. happily D. crazily

16.A. son B. mother C. father D. friend

17.A. belief B. relief C. anger D. excitement

18.A. put out B. get out C. take out D. pick out

19.A. pay B. waste C. worry D. glare

20.A. always B. never C. seldom D. sometimes

If you are planning a vacation on the beaches of the Baltic Sea, in north Poland, you’d better buy or build 1. (you) a space separator. The unique tool is clearly a must on those beaches, at least if you want to fit in with 2. crowd.

I was recently looking through Eastern-European pictures and news as I usually do, 3. I came across a collection of strange beach photos where everyone had a cloth wall surrounding their 4. (limit) space of sand. The cloth wall was everywhere, but I had never seen anything like it before. 5. (fortunate), except the title, “Polish Beach Introverts (性格内向的人),” there was no 6. (explain) as to why everybody was using it. So I did some research online. Finally, I found a Russian website talking about it.

According to the website, beach separators 7. (be) a part of Polish beach-going culture for a very long time, but have recently been getting a lot of attention online, since foreign tourists 8. (take) a vacation at the Baltic Sea started posting photos of separator-covered beaches 9. the Internet Actually, beach separators weren’t designed to protect their users from prying (窥探的) eyes. It’s no secret that strong winds are very common on the beaches of the Baltic Sea, so the separators allow beach-goers 10. (enjoy) sunbathing without having their things blown off.

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。作文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处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，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

There are various kind of theme parks in the world. Some parks are famous for having the biggest or long roller coasters. But the theme park you are probable most familiar with is Disneyland, at which can be found throughout the world. It can bring you into the magical world. No wonder tourism is increased wherever there is a Disneyland. Other theme park is Dollywood. Its main attraction is it’s culture. You can see beautiful bald eagles in the world’s largest bald eagle preserve. If you want experience the ancient days and great deeds of English knights and ladies, princes and queens, you can go to Camelot Park. And there you can learn what people in ancient England ran their farms and took care of their animals.

假定你是红星中学初三学生李华。

你的美国朋友Jim在给你的邮件中提到他对中国新近出现的一种共享单车“mobike”很感兴趣，并请你做个简要介绍。

请你给Jim回信，内容包括：

1. 这种单车的使用方法（如：APP查看车辆、扫码开锁等）；

2. 这种单车的优势；

3. 你对这种单车的看法。

注意：

1. 词数不少于80；

2. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

提示词：智能手机 smartphone, 二维码 the QR code

Dear Jim,

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

Where to Drink

Cafe San Bernardo

Join table-tennis and pool-playing port. Cafe San Bernardo has been running since 1912.

The Villa Crespo dive bar also offers up table football for ￡4 an hour. Service is efficient; with last orders at 5 am. The daily happy hour between 6 pm and 9 pm includes 60 minutes playing your game of choice, plus a half-bottle of red wine and a corn pie, for ￡9.

●Avenue Corrientes 5436, Villa Cresp09 54 11 4855 3956, ca fesanbernardo. com

M Salumeria & Enoteca

Trading only in wine with a story, sommelier(侍酒师）Mariana Torta chooses new ways on a daily basis, and keeps a list of around 250 labels. There's no wine menu-simply take your bottle from the shelf.

●Open 11:00 am-11:30 pm, El Salvador 5777, Palermo Hollywood, 54 11 4778 9016, on Facebook

Negro Cueva de Cafe

Coffee has found its place in Buenos Aires. While LAB: Tostadores, The Shelter and Coffee Town are famous new places, Negro Cueva de Cafe is one of the best downtown* It serves Ecuadorian, Colombian and Brazilian beans9 and its attracting cakes include croissant.

●Open 9:30 am-7:00 pm, Suipacha 637, Microcentro, 54 11 4322 3000, negrocuevade-cafe. com

La Calle

Head to the Niceto Vega address and you'II be faced with a pizza. Don't worry, it's the right place. La Guitarrita is the front to "hidden" bar La Calle. Order the house cocktail, spe- cial candy, and prepare to sing until dawn with a high-energy young crowd.

●Open 8:00 pm-2:00 am, Niceto Vega 4942, Palermo Soho, 54 11 3914 1972, on Face- book

1.Which number should you call if you want to do some sports?

A. 54 11 4855 3956. B. 54 11 4778 9016.

C. 54 11 4322 3000. D. 54 11 3914 1972.

2.When can you go to M Salumeria & Enoteca?

A. All day. B. 1:00 am

C. 10:00 am D. 3:00 pm

3.What makes La Calle different?

A. Its having special candy. B. Its having no wine menu.

C. Its allowing you to play games. D. Its opening for the longest time.

4.What is the author's purpose in writing the text?

A. To show wine culture. B. To introduce some wine bars.

C. To help people choose drinks. D. To show how to enjoy yourself.

Teenager Christiana Tugwell and a small band of fellow school-age environmentalists have spent the past five months fighting proposals(提案) being put forward by the local developer, Countryside Residentials, to build 66 expensive separate houses in an area of woodland. They have received support at their protest(抗议）camp from other people who want to save the wood and the wildlife it contains. Christiana said:

"I began organizing the local campaign when I realized just how many local people were against the developments. They were writing letters of protest to the government but this was simply not enough So in order to p己it more pressure on the government and to raise national awareness, I started camping on the development site. I was the ring-leader and had to make some friends join me. They did not like sleeping rough and neither did I, but something had to be done. "

"My mum's first reaction was 'are you sure you want-to do this?' After the first week she sent some friends to try to make me come home. They said I'd get into trouble, but I was determined to stay. I even spent three nights at the camp on my own. Even though she wan-ted me home, mum was always supportive and even brought us vegetarian sausages. "

“Mum and I don't always see eye to eye on everything. But we agree that as long as what I want to do is not completely foolish, she lets me do it. She worries about possible violence from the people trying to drive us away and so do L I don't want to worry her, but stopping the development is more important. "

1.Christiana has spent the past few months

A. forming a small music band

B. travelling in the countryside

C. protesting the house development

D. fighting against a group of local people

2.Christiana started her campaign because .

A. she didn't share the local people's opinion

B. she felt the need to draw nationwide attention

C. she got some letters of protest from the local people

D. she was determined to go camping on the desired camp site

3.W y is Christiana's mum worried about her?

A. Christiana may have problems.

B. Christiana has got into trouble.

C. Christiana has made some new friends in danger.

D. Christiana has been determined to have things her way.

Ants are troublesome, best known for itchy bites and ruining picnics. But, a new species of crazy ant is taking over Texas. In some ways they appear to be worse than fire ants and there's no good way to stop them* These ants move fast and are plentiful in some areas.

The crazy ants first sprang in Pearland in 2002 and have been becoming more and more of a problem ever since.“An invasion of these can be so extreme that it's hard to call it just a nuisance," University of Texas entomologist Edward LeBrun told The Austin American-tatesman. “The ants have been known to crawl into and ruin televisions, appliances and other electronic devices. No one is entirely sure why," He said.

David Oi , a research entomologist at the Department of Agriculture, told The New York Times in 2013, the strange idea that the ants are actually attracted to the electricity itself can't be ruled out.

The crazy ants or Raspberry ants-yep, that's actually what they are called-are found in 23 Texas counties. The ants have very little venom（毒液）, but do cause a slight sting when they bite. Mostly, though, they're a hazard to electrical equipment.

They are a relatively new species in the region and little is known about how to control or kill the population. And, unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much that can be done about them right now. So, for the moment, the best advice is not to stay close to ant piles and groups. and hope that none make it inside to crawl around the electronics.

1.What do the ants do in Texas?

A. Bite some people. B. Damage local crops.

C. Destroy appliances. D. Pollute environment.

2.The underlined word "nuisance" in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to " ”.

A. story B. problem

C. visit D. failure

3.When meeting with ant piles, we'd better .

A. kill them all B. control them

C. drive them away D. stay away from them

4.What can we know from the text ?

A. The crazy ants first. appeared in Texas in 2013.

B. The crazy ants cause huge loss to the people in Texas.

C. The government is taking measures to deal with the ant.

D. David Oi is sure why the ants ruin electronic devices.