Mark Twain，an American writer, published more than 30 books, hundreds of

short stories and essays and gave lectures around the world throughout his career. 

Mark Twain left school when he was twelve. He had little school education. Thou

gh he had little school education, he became the most famous writer of his time

. He made millions of dollars by writing. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Cl

emens, but he is better known all over the world as MarkTwain, his penname. 

Mark Twain was born in 1835 and he was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not

expected to live through the first winter. But with his mother's tender care,

he managed to survive. As a boy, he causedmuch trouble for his parents. He use

d to play jokes on all of his friends and neighbors. He didn't like to go to sc

hool, and he constantly ran away from home. He always went in the direction of

the nearby Mississippi. He was nearly drowned nine times. After his father's d

eath in 1847, Mark twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him wit

h food and clothing. Then, he worked as  a river-boat pilot (领航

员)and later joinedthe army. But shortly after that he became a miner. During t

his period, he started to write short stories. Afterwards he became a full-time

writer.

In 1870, Mark Twain got married. In the years that followed he wrote many books

including Tom Sawyer in 1876, and Huckleberry Finn in 1884, which made him fam

ous, and brought him a great fortune. Unfortunately, Mark Twain got into debts

in bad investments（投资） and he had to write

large numbers of stories to pay these debts. In 1904, his wife died and then on

e of their childrenpassed away.At the age of 70, his hair was completely white.

He bought many white suits and neckties. Hewore nothing but white from head to

foot until his death on April 21, 1910.

1. When Mark Twain was a little baby,          .

A．his mother thought he would die

B．he was as active as other boys

C．he was not strong enough

D．he was always in hospital

2. In his childhood,        .

A．Mark Twain learned a lot at school

B．Mark Twain often went swimming with other boys

C．Mark Twain often played games with other boys

D．Mark Twain’s mother often worried about his safety

3. In order to make a living, Mark Twain       .

A．often ran away from home.

B．first worked for a printer.

C．wrote stories in the beginning.

D．joined the army after he worked in a mine.

4. In the later years of his life, Mark Twain      .

A．continued writing until his death.

B．wrote many stories and earned a lot of money.

C．must have been very sad because he lost his wife and one of his children.

D．lent too much money to others.

The light from the campfire brightened the darkness, but it could not prevent the damp cold of Dennis’s Swamp (沼泽地) creeping into their bones. It was a strange place. Martin and Tom wished that they had not accepted Jack’s dare. They liked camping, but not near this swamp.

         “So,” Martin asked as they sat watching the hot coals. “How did this place get its name ? ”

         “Are you sure you want to hear it ? It’s a scary story,” warned Jack.

         “Of course!” cried out Tom. “If there were anything to be scared of, you wouldn’t have chosen this place!”

         “Ok, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” said Jack, and he began this tale.

         “Way back in time, a man called Dennis tried to start a farm here. He built that cottage over there to live in . In those days, the area looked quite different ---- it was covered with tall trees and the swamp was a crystal-clear river. After three hard years, Dennis had cleared several fields and planted crops. He was so proud of his success that he refused to listen to advice.

         “ ‘You are clearing too much land, ’ warned one old man. ‘ The land is a living thing. It will hit back at you if you abuse it. ’

         “ ‘ Silly fool,’ said Dennis to himself. ‘If I clear more land, I can grow more crops. I’ll become wealthier. He’s just jealous!’”

         “Dennis continued to chop down trees. Small animals that relied on them for food and shelter were destroyed. He was so eager to expand his farm that he did not notice the river flowing slowly towards his door. He did not notice salt seeping to the surface of the land. He did not notice swamp plants choking all the native plants.”

         “What happened? ” Martin asked. It was growing colder. He trembled, twisting his body closer to the fire.

         “The land hit back ---- just as the old man warned, ” Jack shrugged. “Dennis disappeared Old folks around here believe that swamp plants moved up from the river and dragged him underwater. His body was never found.”

         “What a stupid story, ” laughed Tom. “Plants can’t …” Before he had finished speaking, he screamed and fainted (晕倒). The other two boys jumped up with fright, staring at Tom. Suddenly, they burst out laughing. Some green swamp ivy (常春藤) had covered Tom’s face. It was a while before Tom could appreciate the joke.

1.The underlined word “dare” in Paragraph 1 is closed in meaning to ________.

A. courage                           B. assistance                        C. instruction                       D. challenge

2.Why did Jack tell Tom and Martin the story?

A. To frighten them.

B. To satisfy their curiosity.

C. To warn them of the danger of the place.

D. To persuade them to camp in the swamp.

3.Why did Dennis ignore the warning of the old man?

A. The old man envied him.

B. The old man was foolish

C. He was too busy to listen to others.

D. He was greedy for more crops.

4.Why did Tom scream and faint?

A. He saw Dennis’s shadow

B. He was scared by a plant

C. His friends played a joke on him.

D. The weather became extremely cold.

5.What lesson can we learn from the story of Dennis?

A. Grasp all, lose all.

B. No sweat, no sweet.

C. It is no use crying over spilt milk.

D. He who makes no mistakes makes nothing.

Tourism probably started in Roman times. Rich Romans visited friends and family who were working in another part of the Roman Empire. But when the empire broke down, this kind of tourism stopped.

   In the early 17^th century, the idea of the “Grand Tour” was born. Rich young English people sailed across the English Channel（英吉利海峡）. They visited the most beautiful and important European cities of the time, including Paris in France, and Rome and Venice in Italy. Their tours lasted for two to four years, and the tourists stayed a few weeks or months in each city. The “Grand Tour” was an important part of young people’s education---but only for the rich.

In the 18^th century, tourism began to change. For example, people in the UK started to visit some towns, such as Bath to “take the waters”. They believed that the water there was good for their health. So large and expensive hotels were built in these towns.

In the 19^th century, travel became much more popular and faster. When the first railways were built in the 1820s, it was easier for people to travel towns, so they started to go for holidays by the sea. And some started to have holidays in the countryside as cities became larger, noisier and dirtier.

Traveling by sea also became faster and safer when the first steamships were built. People began to travel more to faraway countries.

The 20^th century saw cars become more and more popular among ordinary people. Planes were made larger, so ticket prices dropped and more people used them.

Thus tourism grew. In 1949, Russian journalist Vladimir Raitz started a company called Horizon Holidays. The company organizes everything---plane tickets, hotel rooms, even food----and tourists pay for it all before they leave home. The package tour and modern tourist industry was born.

The first travel agency in China was set up as early as 1949. But tourism did not take off until 1978. In 2002, the industry was 500 billion yuan and became an important part of China’s social development.

In the early times, the travelers _____.

   A. all came from Roman    B. were very young and strong 

   C. had lots of money       D. traveled by boat

Which is NOT true about “Grand Tour”?

   A. It was a long journey.    B. The young men learned a lot from it.

   C. Those who took the tour weren’t rich.    D. Most of its destinations were in Europe.

_____ played the most important role in the tourism development.

  A. Education     B. Money     C. Transportation     D. People’s ideas

Modern tourism was born _______.

  A. in 1949    B. in Roman times  C. in the early 17^th century   D. in the early 19^th century

The underlined phrase “take off” in the last paragraph means ______.

  A. a plane rising into the air    B. develop very fast 

  C. remove hats and clothes     D. bring down the prices

第三部分：写作（共三节，满分55分）
第一节：单词拼写（共10小题，每小题1分，满分10分）
根据下列各句句意和空白之后的汉语提示词，在答题卡指定区域的横线上写出对应单词的正确形式，每空只写一词。
66．They ordered Chinese food, and when it arrived they ate ________ （饥饿地）．
67. The smell is very __________(熟悉的)to everyone who lives near a bakery.
68. In the _________ (二十) century, country music became more and more popular in America.
69. A small child has to learn to keep his ____________(平衡) before he can walk far.
70．The tablets should be taken ____________（两次） a day．
71.He looked at us in____________(惊讶地) .
72. ____________(基本上)， I agree with your plans, but there are a few small points I’d like to discuss.
73. I’ve never  __________ (品尝) the figs(无花果), but I’ve heard they’re nice.
74.His style of writing is rather ______________(独特的).
75. Finally the Red Army finished the world-famous Long March by ___________（克服）countless difficulties.

Life on Mars could become a reality and it could happen in your lifetime.

A welcoming planet

Scientists say Earth’s neighbor Mars, a bright red planet about half Earth’s size, is the most likely to support human life. Mars even has frozen water on its surface.

Since the late 1990s, NASA has been exploring Mars using remote-controlled vehicles（装置）. Most recently Curiosity, a car-size vehicle, traveled through space on an unpiloted spacecraft(航天器) and landed on Mars in August 2012. Directed by NASA scientists , the vehicles move on the surface, taking pictures , collecting and analyzing soil, and looking for signs of life.

But what about human explorers? Plans are already in the works to send astronauts to Mars as soon as the mid-2030s.

_____________________________________

But before you start packing your bags, let’s consider the challenges. For starters, Mars is far away. Just getting there could take up to 10 months.

Scientists already know that time away from Earth’s gravity harms the human body. Bones and muscles get weaker. The body produces less blood. What damage would months and months of living in space do?

And then there is the matter of water, oxygen, food and fuel. Scientists will have to find solutions to these problems, or the first humans on Mars won’t survive very long in their new home.

Tiny Dangers

There’s another tinier risk. It’s so tiny that you can’t even see it: germs.

Some scientists believe that our germs could pollute the whole planet of Mars. Potentially killing Martian life before we have the chance to discover it. Worse, there is a small but terrifying chance that any microscopic life already there might be harmful to us .

Worse still, if any of those Martian germs(火星细菌) were brought back to Earth, the result could be disastrous. Animals, plants, and people could be wiped out.

Worth the $$$?

A more practical concern is the cost. The price could approach $ 1 trillion(万亿). How can we justify spending that much when so many problems—poverty, disease—could use the cash here on Earth?

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the “A welcoming planet” part?

A. Mars is a little bigger than Earth.       

B. There are flowing rivers on Mars.

C. People haven’t been to Mars so far.  

D. Scientists have discovered signs of life on Mars.

2.Which of the following can best fill in the blank in the passage?

A. Living in space.                         B. Limited resources.

C. Extreme conditions.                    D. Interesting challenges.

3.By “Tiny dangers” the author means ________________.

A. there is no serious danger                  

B. people won’t be in any danger

C. it’s difficult for people to realize the danger   

D. the danger may be caused by very small things 

4.Which may cause the biggest danger?

A. Martian germs may be different from those on Earth.  

B. Martian germs may be brought back to Earth.

C. People may carry germs to Mars.                  

D. There may be germs on Mars.

5.Which section of a newspaper is the passage most probably taken from?

A. People        B. History        C. Science         D. Business