In my bag I always carry the same essential items: my keys, my purse, some loose change, my mobile phone and my little blue vocabulary notebook. This year I am living abroad in Germany and I am trying to learn as much German as possible. I always knew that living abroad would be a great way to learn a foreign language but one thing I didn’t realize was how many new words and phrases I would come across every day! I see and hear new words everywhere; the announcements in the train station; menus in cafes; on social media; on the local newspaper and of course from my German-speaking friends.

At first I was slightly upset by the large amounts of German I didn’t understand. Speaking German in Germany is definitely very different from that in the classroom; I kept on looking up new words and by the end of the day I had forgotten most of them already. It was very frustrating. After a month of worrying that I would never be able to improve my language skills, I went to the stationery shop and bought a small notebook which easily fit into my handbag or even into my back pocket! I set myself the goal of writing five new words or phrases a day into my little blue book and soon enough it became one of my most valuable language-learning tools.

I don’t have any rules about which words I write down. Most days I write down words that I learn from my colleagues at work, words that I don’t understand in reading or words that I have learned from seeing them in context. For example, I have learned the names of many fruits and vegetables from looking at their labels in the supermarket (a very unexpected source of vocabulary!) and I have learned many words that I have heard on TV or on the radio. It doesn’t even matter if I know how to spell a new word straight away. If I hear a word but I don’t know how to spell it, I write down how I think it sounds and look it up later.

My little blue vocabulary book is now like my close friend. We go everywhere together. Setting this small daily goal has made me feel much more in control of my language teaming and I am already seeing an improvement. I will continue to use it for the rest of my stay in Germany and also when I return to university at home in September.

1.What can we conclude from the first paragraph?

A. New words are all around you in a foreign country.

B. Walking in the street is a good way to learn a language.

C. Life is really hard for anyone to live in a foreign country.

D. The author is skilled in learning a second language.

2.What was the author’s response when facing difficulty?

A. He felt helpless and hopeless. B. He was terrified.

C. He didn’t take a negative attitude. D. He set a high goal for himself.

3.What words will the author put down in the notebook?

A. The words that his teacher explained in classes.

B. He has no rules about which words to write down.

C. He asked his friends to tell new words and phrases.

D. The words he noticed in the shop or supermarkets.

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

A. Learning German. B. My experience. C. The handbag. D. My notebook.

With freezing temperatures on the way, now it is the time to take steps to protect your four-legged family members from the cold, wet weather San Antonio winters often bring. With a few simple measures, you can ensure your pets stay happy and healthy throughout winter.

What is the best way to protect your pets during freezing cold weather? Bring them inside. Pets (especially cats) are safer indoors. Can’t have your pets inside the house? Purchase a dog house or give your pet a safe, warm place to rest.

Certain pets are more vulnerable (易受伤害的) to cold temperatures than others. Short-haired dogs, very young or old dogs and all cats should not be left outside during winter months. Short-haired dogs may benefit from a sweater while outside.

Pets that spend much of their day outdoors will need some extra food throughout the winter months. That’s because they use up more energy trying to stay warm. A few extra kibbles probably won’t hurt but make sure your pets are getting daily exercise if they’re easy to gain weight. Always provide fresh, clean water regardless of the season. Check water daily and clean bowls regularly.

Be mindful of your pets while winterizing your car. Antifreeze (防冻剂) is deadly to pets that are attracted to its sweet taste. Store all chemicals out of reach, especially if are going to bring your pets into the garage on cold nights. It is necessary to warm up the car before you head out with your pet. A warm engine can be a welcome spot for a cold cat and the noise should scare them away before your start the engine.

San Antonio’s Animal Care Services wants to remind people that the City of San Antonio has laws that protect pets from neglect, including exposure to freezing weather conditions. Animal Care Service warns that if you find any pet around being left in the freezing cold weather, you can call the City’s 311 Customer Service line.

1.If you have a short-haired dog, you’d better ________ in winter.

A. keep it inside all the time B. keep it company

C. dress it in a sweater D. pay more attention to it

2.What does the underlined word “kibbles” Paragraph that ________.

A. Workouts B. Signs C. Pet food D. Dog tips

3.We can learn from the fifth paragraph that ________.

A. pets need more water in winter B. pets are always being curious

C. chemicals send an attractive smell D. it’s better not to take pets in the car

4.It can be concluded from the passage that ________.

A. Animal Care Service offers tips to protect pets in winter

B. whoever abuses pets will be sentenced to prison

C. many pets can’t survive the freezing winter

D. San Antonio sees numbers of homeless pets

As any parent knows too well, sometimes a little white lie is the only way to make a naughty child quiet. Indeed, parents have shared the top white lies they’ve told their children. While some of them are amusing, others are somewhat cruel.

“Father Christmas is watching you,” “Carrots will make you see in the dark” and “Your pet has gone to live on a farm” are among the top white lies parents tell their children. The top 20 list of little lies that adults use shows that four in five parents have told their children something that isn’t true. The threat of Father Christmas is on the top, with 62 percent of parents employing St. Nick to keep their kids under control. The second on the list is: “We’ll see”, which any little one knows really means “no”.

The majority of British people say that they lie to their children to protect their innocence, to save them from being upset or to stop them behaving badly. The top white lie told to kids about their pets is “your pet has to live on a farm in the countryside”, which is employed after one dies or has gone missing. On average, parents think that children are ready to start learning about death at the age of seven and a half.

One 62-year-old recalled that when he was four, his cat ran away, because it kept having its tail pulled. It was 53 years later that it was revealed that the cat had actually been given away to stop it from scratching the furniture. One respondent (应答者) said that he still remembered that when he was young, he believed his father’s statement that the entire world used to be in black and white before colour photography came along.

Forty percent of parents say that they would definitely lie to their children to keep up their belief in Father Christmas, and over all say they’d certainly tell the truth about a pet dying. However, one in ten parents say they’ve replaced their children’s dead pet with a one looking the same to cheat their children into believing it was still alive and well, found the study by Blue Cross pet charity.

1.The threat of Father Christmas which is used to control children shows that .

A. some children fear and respect Father Christmas

B. Father Christmas is more important than parents

C. children should learn more about festivals

D. Father Christmas does live in the world

2.What can we conclude from Paragraph 4?

A. Children don’t understand why their parents tell white lies.

B. Parents’ white lies may do harm to their children.

C. Children don’t really mind their parents’ white lies.

D. Parents’ white lies may leave a deep impression on their children

3.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A. Parents’ different understandings of while lies.

B. Parents’ different attitudes to telling white lies.

C. Parents’ different worries about white lies.

D. Parents’ different white lies.

When your friends suddenly stop talking to you, it can leave you confused on what to do next. 1. However, basically, your friends are either really upset with you, or it has nothing to do with you at all. But how can you tell? What’s more, what should you do?

Find out if they have shut all their friends out or just you. It’s important to figure out if your friends have moved on from everyone, or just you. If it’s just you, then you probably did something at some point. 2. They try to get their forgiveness.

Reflect on yourself. Have your friends been upset with you for a while? Would you get it if they were? Not all people yell or scream when they’re upset. 3. If you fail to hear exactly what they’re saying, or you keep doing the same thing over and over again, they may move on and completely shut you out.

Communicate in a different way. There’s always the possibility that your friends haven’t shut you out completely, but they are bored with a certain form of communication, like texting or chatting online. 4. If so, trying a different method to reach your friends could make things better.

5. If you can’t get responses from your friends, consider reconciling (和解) with them at some point in the future. Send them a note—Let them know you care about them and leave the door open for them.

A. Give them a helping hand.

B. So sometimes they take a break from it.

C. If you feel it was something bad, apologize for it.

D. Let your friends know you’re open to friendships.

E. There are many reasons why your friends might shut you out.

F. Your friends may not answer your calls or emails suddenly.

G. Some people will talk to you calmly about something you did.

Saying thank you can have positive effects on your health and the well-being of others.

I once witnessed kindness from complete _______ last year and it really impressed me. It was a sunny afternoon. It _______ me at first that my partner fall unconscious on the ground suddenly on our way to the office. Soon I realized that I had to calm down and call _______ services. Within minutes, a police car and ambulance arrived, _______ with police and nursing staff. My partner was rushed to the _______, where he received the care that he _______.

Few days later, my partner got better, and I wrote thank-you notes to those _______ police and nursing staff and baked for them. When I _______ the cakes to them the next day, they thanked me for the gifts. Thanked me? All I’d done was baking, but they’d _______ a life. I drove away feeling relaxed and ________, partly because I’d done a good deed, but ________ because I was amazed that there are so many ________ people. They do a lot of great things; ________, they expect nothing in return.

Research has shown that sharing thoughts of gratitude (感恩) and performing acts of kindness can ________ your mood and health condition. I think it is probably ________ I felt happier than usual then.

“We know from studies in the literature that gratitude does have a good ________ on how you feel, and that it ________ life satisfaction.” says Willibald Ruch, a psychology professor at the University of Zurich who researches the effects of character strengths ________ gratitude and humour. “It’s ________ the top five causes of happiness.” he adds.

You can ________ positive changes in your own life by choosing to embrace gratitude.

1.A. friends B. colleagues C. strangers D. students

2.A. attracted B. panicked C. pleased D. confused

3.A. food B. telephone C. emergency D. parking

4.A. shared B. begun C. covered D. filled

5.A. hospital B. factory C. company D. office

6.A. learnt B. needed C. provided D. admitted

7.A. annoying B. helpful C. interesting D. wealthy

8.A. lent B. sold C. delivered D. arranged

9.A. controlled B. raised C. saved D. lost

10.A. anxious B. disappointed C. sad D. happy

11.A. mostly B. finally C. necessarily D. similarly

12.A. poor B. selfless C. energetic D. smart

13.A. instead B. otherwise C. however D. therefore

14.A. destroy B. discover C. improve D. explain

15.A. whether B. when C. where D. why

16.A. influence B. challenge C. impression D. balance

17.A. wastes B. expects C. increases D. reduces

18.A. instead of B. such as C. due to D. except for

19.A. among B. off C. over D. about

20.A. supply B. make C. avoid D. demand

There’re so many things that 1. (farmer) can benefit from. You have a better environment if you live on the farms. 2. (live) on a farm can give you the peace of mind you’ve always wanted 3. at the same time let you appreciate nature more. You can have a better view 4. the sky. You can have fresher foods when you are on the farm. These are just some of the many beautiful things that you can find on a farm.

Farming 5. (know) to be a physical job. It 6. (require) a lot of physical work such as planting, watering, harvesting and so on. It is probably a requirement to be 7. (physical) fit to be a farmer.

Farm life is 8. (good) than city life. On the farms there is fresh air, while in the city there is 9. (pollute). The city life is just so busy and noisy. If you want to have a more peaceful environment, move to 10. countryside.

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。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：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），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。

My fire department captain, Mike, who is always ready to serve for others, has a brain disease. Last week, we raised money for him and his family to help them with medically expenses. Many people also came to us to write message to Mike on a white board. Beside, we downloaded many photos of friends, encouraged words, and beautiful photos of our area onto a digital device. We make a video with all the things. Yesterday, we went to the hospital and gave a board and the video our captain. Our goal is: unless he gets discouraged or feels lonely, he can play the video to remind him of all the people who love and care for us.

美国学生Lucy在互联网上登出启事notice，希望结识一位中国朋友，以便学习中国的语言、文化。假设你是新华中学的李华，请在看到这则启事后，用英文给Lucy发一封电子邮件，主要内容包括：

1、你怎样得知她的愿望；

2、你愿意成为她的朋友；

3、你打算如何帮助她；

4、你盼望她的回复。

注意：

1、词数100左右；可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

2、开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数。

Dear Lucy，

I’m Li Hua, a 17-year old middle school student, coming from China.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Looking forward to your reply soon.

Yours,

Lihua

Goodreads recommends the following books you want to read for the event to come.

1.The Lyrics: 1961-2012

By Bob Dylan

Simon & Schuster,$60

What it's about: This heavy,well-timed publication contains lyrics by the songwriter who just won the Nobel Prize in Literature,from his first album,Bob Dylan,through Tempest.

What's to love: The times may be changing,but Dylan's fans are a constant,traditional devotees who will want this epic collection for their shelves,to sit beside those beloved old large papers.

2.Taylor Swift: This Is Our Song

By Tyler Conroy

Simon & Schuster,$28

What it's about: An elegant fanzine celebrating all things about Taylor Swift,especially the pop star's countless fans. What's to love: Mom and/or Dad,the fan of Taylor Swift,will think you're pretty cool if he or she discovers this temple to Taylor under the Christmas tree (even if it is a book).

3.Misty Copeland

By Gregg Delman

Rizzoli,$39.95

What it's about: Star-figure female ballet dancer Misty Copeland strikes a pose(95,to be exact) in photos taken between 2011 and 2014,in the casual setting of dance studios.

What's to love: Since becoming the first African American woman to be named a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre,Copeland has become a cultural phenomenon,and Delman's arresting pictures capture（捕捉）her muscular power and elegance.

4.@ NatGeo: The Most Popular Instagram Photos

By National Geographic

National Geographic,$19.95

What it's about: National Geographic's popular Instagram account(nearly 63 million followers) comes to book form in this title filled with eye-popping images from around the world.

What's to love: Here's proof that NatGeo's talented photographers have conquered social media while maintaining the usual quality of their work.And for fans of more traditional coffee-table-size books,check out National Geographic's Wild,Beautiful Places:Picture-Perfect Journeys Around the Globe ($40).

1.Which author is noted for literature achievements?

A. Bob Dylan. B. Tyler Conroy.

C. Gregg Delman. D. National Geographic.

2.For what event are the books most probably recommended?

A. New Year's Day. B. Christmas Day.

C. One's anniversary. D. Literature awards.

3.How much would a photographer normally spend on his favourite books listed?

A. $39.95. B. $19.95.

C. $59.9. D. $99.9.

4.Which book would a pop star's fan probably buy?

A. The Lyrics: 1961-2012 .

B. Taylor Swift: This Is Our Song.

C. Misty Copeland.

D. @ NatGeo: The Most Popular Instagram Photos.

There is a lot to learn about the creations of Beatrix Potter—not only is she the author and illustrator of one of the world's most famous children's books,The Tale of Peter Rabbit,but also a pioneering conservationist with the spirit of a scientist.

"Potter grew up as the daughter of a wealthy Victorian family,but along with her brother who filled an entire floor of their large house in London with all sorts of animals,"said Anne Lundin,a retired professor for the UW-Madison School of Library and Information Studies.

"As an adult,she was a frustrated botanical illustrator and scientist.That field was not open to her because she was female,"Lundin said.Potter was urged to tum the charming illustrations and stories she wrote in letters to children into books.She wrote 23 books in all—a body of work that has inspired plays,ballets,films and an astonishing amount of merchandise.

"The Tale of Peter Rabbit is probably the most famous children's book in the world,which was published in 1902 and has really stood the test of time.It's been translated into 36 languages.The parents and grandparents will share it with the next generation,"said Lundin.

Potter also made a mark on the world through her land conservation."In many ways,she was like Peter Rabbit, venturing into a world of adventure and risk.She withdrew from London as soon as she started making some money on her books to the Lake District and became an extremely important farmer and conservationist.She preserved and passed on 15 farms and over 4,000 acres,which were given back to the country as gifts in the 20th century,"said Lundin.

Even though she was born 150 years ago,she was amazingly modern—her embracing of the natural world, commented Jennifer Blatchley Smith,an artistic director of the show Peter Rabbit Tales to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Potter's birth.

1.What helped Beatrix Potter to write The Tale of Peter Rabbit successfully ?

A. Her life and work experiences.

B. Her specialty in animated（动画）pictures.

C. Her success in becoming a botanical scientist.

D. Her interest in animals in childhood alone.

2.What does the word "frustrated" in the third paragraph mean?

A. Disappointed. B. Devoted.

C. Motivated. D. Inspired.

3.What is Beatrix Potter?

A. A botanist and artist.

B. An extremely important farmer and successful scientist.

C. A writer,conservationist and farmer.

D. An artistic director.

4.Why does the author write the article?

A. In celebration of Potter's 150th birthday.

B. In honour of Potter's new contributions.

C. In praise of Potter's spirit of selflessness.

D. In support of Potter's book promotions.