阅读短文，按照题目要求用英语回答问题。（请注意问题后的词数要求）

My name is Clara. I still remember that chilly December day, sitting in science class. I’d finished a worksheet early and picked up a TIME for Kids magazine. A piece of news caught my eye: NASA was holding an essay contest to name its Mars rover(火星探测器).Before I even knew anything else about it, a single word flooded my 11-year-old mind, Curiosity.

    I couldn’t want for the bell to ring so I could get started on my essay. That afternoon, I raced home, sat down at the computer, and typed until my fingers ached. “Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone’s mind...”

    Five months later, my mom received a phone call, and immediately, a wide smile spread across her face.

    On August 5,2012,at 10:31 p.m, the rover named Curiosity touched down safely on the surface of Mars, and I was honored to have a front-row seat in NASA.

    Curiosity is such an important part of who I am. I have always been fascinated by the stars, the planets, the sky and the universe. I remember as a little girl, my grandmother and I would sit together in the backyard for hours. She’d tell me stories and point out the stars, Grandma lived in China, thousands of miles away from my home in Kansas, but the stars kept us together even when we were apart. They were always there, yet there was so much I didn’t know about them. That’s what I love so much about space.

    People often ask me why we go to faraway places like Mares. My answer is simple because we’re curious. We human beings do not just hole up in one place. We are constantly wondering and trying to find out what’s over the hill and beyond the horizon.

1.How did Clara get the new about the essay contest?( no more than 10 words)

2.Why did Clara have a front-row seat in NASA?( no more than 10 words)

3.What does Clara remember about the time spent with Grandma?( no more than 15 words)

4.What does the underlined phrase “hole up”mean?(1 word)

5.In your opinion, why is curiosity important?( no more than 20 words)

完形填空（共15小题，每小题1分，共15分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。将正确选项答案涂在答题纸上。

I was wandering through the streets when I caught sight of a tailor’s shop.I wanted very much to get a new suit and throw off my old    36   .But … I had nothing in the world but a million-pound note.I went in    37    asked if they had a cheap    38   .The fellow I spoke to    39    no answer at first,looked me up and down,noticed that I was almost in rags,   40    said, “just a minute.”

I waited till he    41   his work.Then he took me into a dark back room.He looked through the suits and    42   the cheapest one for me.I put it on.It didn’t fit,   43    it was new and I was anxious to have it,so I said:

“Could you wait a few days for the money?I haven’t any small change on me.”

The fellow looked at me    44    and said, “Oh,you haven’t?Well,of couse,I know that gentlement like you carry only    45    notes.”

I was    46    and said, “My friend,you shouldn’t judge a stranger always by the clothes he wears.I’m quite   47     to pay for this suit.But I’m afraid you can’t change the note.”

“Why do you think we can’t change your note?   48    the contrary,we can!”

I handed the note to him and said: “Oh,very well,I apologize.”

He    49    it with a smile,and then as he looked at the note,his smile froze.   50    the note in his hand,he stood there,unable to talk or move.

36.A.way         B.friend            C.watch       D.clothes

37. A.and         B.but              C.so         D.when

38. A.cloth        B.clothing          C.suit        D.suits

39. A.make        B.makes           C.making       D.made

40. A.have finished  B.had finished       C.will finish   D.is finishing

41. A.have finished   B.had finished       C.will finish   D.is finishing

42. A.choose        B.pick             C.find       D.selected

43. A.so           B.or              C.but         D.and

44. A.warmly        B.hardly          C.coldly       D.kindly

45. A.large         B.small           C.some       D.strange

46. A.mad         B.sorry            C.hurt       D.welcome

47. A.anxious        B.able            C.tired       D.worried

48. A.To           B.For            C.In          D.On

49. A.receiving      B.to receive       C.received       D.will receive

50. A.Holding        B.To hold        C.Held       D.To be held

Everyone wants to win a first-place blue ribbon, to be the best in something. Even kids in Kindergarten want that blue ribbon. In sports, I was never a blue-ribbon person. In a race, I was always  36 . In baseball I was likely to be  37  on the head or drop the ball. During the spring of my kindergarten year, our class had a field trip to a park in a town about twenty miles away. Making that drive now is no big  38  but when you’re six and you’ve lived in a town of 300 people all your life, going to a big town of a couple of thousand people is really something.

I don’t remember too much about it. But there was one that I will never forget —the __39__ race. The parents tied our feet together. One little boy got me for a  40  . He was the second most   41 boy in our class so he usually won at everything and I knew that with me tied to him he didn’t have a chance. And I’m sure he knew he was in trouble. The gun sounded and we were off. Some couples were falling and stumbling all around us,  42   we stayed on our feet and made it to the other side.  43  , when we turned around and headed back for home, we were in the lead! Only one couple had a chance to win, and they were a good several yards behind us.

A few feet from the finish line, disaster struck: I tripped and fell. We were   44  enough that my partner could have easily dragged me across the finish line and won. But he didn’t. Instead he stopped,   45   down and helped me up — just at the other couple crossed the finish line. As a result, we received a small red ribbon for coming in second.

I still remember that moment when the young boy decided that helping a friend get on her feet was more important than winning a blue ribbon. And 13 years later, I still have that little ribbon because it’s a   46   that a friend like this boy is one who really   47  .  

1.                A．last            B．first            C．quick D．successful

2.                A．touched        B．felt            C．hit   D．beaten

3.                A．question        B．event          C．one  D．deal

4.                A．one-legged      B．two-legged      C．three-legged   D．four-legged

5.                A．partner         B．helper          C．supporter D．competitor

6.                A．tallest          B．youngest        C．athletic   D．handsome

7.                A．but            B．therefore       C．however  D．and

8.                A．Obviously       B．Unbelievably     C．Secretly  D．Undoubtedly

9.                A．strong          B．brave          C．clever    D．close

10.               A．lay            B．slowed         C．moved    D．reached

11.               A．warning        B．reminder       C．gift   D．notice

12.               A．depends        B．counts         C．supports   D．worthy

--Mary, have you got my email? I sent you a birthday card yesterday.
---Oh, really! I haven't ＿＿＿my mailbox yet.

Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B,C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

I hadn’t even got a chance to enter the store before an African American woman approached me and asked if I would help her return an item. The item she has _____ was intended for her daughter, but she had already received a similar one. The lady _____ to exchange the item for something else in the store but she was told she needed an ID or the deal could not take place.

I went to the ____ with the woman so we could use my ID. The sales associate immediately started ______ her of asking the first random person she saw to help her. Although that was ___ , I didn’t understand why it mattered. After all, not everyone is given the opportunity to ____ an ID in this country.

Then, we asked to speak with a manager, who explained that there was no way to return the item without a receipt and then went on to say the woman could not ______ she purchased the item.

“If I , a young white female, were to enter the store and request you to make an exchange without a receipt, I would not be _____ the privilege--- as I have proof from the past.” I said. He must have realized at that moment what he had done, because he _____ to exchange the item.

There are many valuable lessons in the story. The first is to help a stranger in need. I hesitated when the woman asked for my help, but ______ in my hand I asked myself, “ Why not? What valid reasons do I usually have?” I had none, so I helped her.

The second lesson is not to judge a book by its ______. The woman looked poor, but she _____ the same treatment as anyone else does.

1.A. purchased????????????? B. shown????????????? C. lost????????????? D. mended

2.A. managed????????????? B. wanted????????????? C. refused????????????? D. promised

3.A. counter????????????? B. department????????????? C. market????????????? D. window

4.A. warning????????????? B. informing????????????? C. reminding????????????? D. accusing

5.A. wrong????????????? B. true????????????? C. reasonable????????????? D. meaningful

6.A. leave????????????? B. pay????????????? C. find????????????? D. obtain

7.A. answer????????????? B. prove????????????? C. support????????????? D. admit

8.A. ordered????????????? B. asked????????????? C. denied????????????? D. given

9.A. agreed????????????? B. prepared????????????? C. failed????????????? D. remembered

10.A. totally????????????? B. gradually????????????? C. hardly????????????? D. quickly

11.A. design????????????? B. cover????????????? C. content????????????? D. price

12.A. deserved????????????? B. required????????????? C. received????????????? D. appreciated