For Chinese students the end of their senior year is filled with studying and stress as they prepare for the college entrance exams in June. But for American high school seniors the experience couldn't be more different. The end of senior year is a celebration of their time in high school and involves parties, games and fun.

Senioritis(高年级倦怠症) is a commonly used expression. It means seniors have a disease which makes them unable to do work. This starts in April when seniors find out whether they have been accepted to university.

Unwilling to do school work, seniors have plenty of other activities to focus on.Many schools have a "Senior Show", in which only seniors are allowed to perform. Some seniors sing or dance but many of them perform skits (滑稽短剧), where they make fun of their favorite teachers or their friends. For example, a group of boys may dress up and imitate（模仿） a group of their girl friends. It is all very light-hearted.The "Senior Show" is usually a part of Senior Week, which is a week specifically dedicated (专用的) to seniors. During this week, seniors usually get academic or athletic awards they have won over their high school careers. The seniors also vote for one of their male and female classmates who they believe is the best-looking or funniest or most involved, etc. These are then published in the yearbook.

The yearbook is an important part of high school for seniors. It is usually dedicated to them and has all their pictures and some words from them in it. Then seniors go around and get it signed by their friends so they can always remember their time together.

Of course during all of this time, seniors are preparing for the Senior Prom（正式舞会）, which is an important moment in American culture. It is the most important dance in a young American's life.

The end of senior year is a truly special and wonderful time for American students. It's something they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined sentence in paragraph 1?

A. For American high school seniors, things are quite different.                  

B. It doesn't make difference at the end of the senior year.

C. For American high school seniors, it is the best time of the year.

D. It is the period filled with stress and workload.

Why are seniorities unable to do work? 

A. Because they have a "disease".

B. Because they are busy for the university.

C. Because it is illegal for them to work.

D. There's too much for them to learn in high school.

What activities that seniors would like to do according to the passage? 

A. School work.             B. Voting for the film star.

C. Singing or dance contests.   D. Senior Show and Senior Prom.

Which is NOT true according to the passage?           

A. All students are allowed to perform in the Senior Show.

B. The yearbook is a reminder for the seniors.

C. Seniors elect the Prom Queen at the end of the Senior Prom.

D. Senior Prom is the most important dance for the seniors .

What will most probably be talked about in the next paragraph of the passage? 

A. Activities on the sports field.

B. The graduation ceremony where they receive their high school diploma.

C. Their favorite film stars.

D. The health of seniors.        

For the past six weeks I have been having online writing classes. I had never taken an online class before, so I did not know what to expect. Now I am about halfway through the courses, and I am doing three courses, where I am practicing writing.

These creative writing classes have been somewhat similar to those I took in a middle school. There are weekly readings where we have to discuss our thoughts, and we comment on each other’s work. But there are some differences. In my middle school, I had one novel writing class where we all sat in a circle twice a week and discussed each other’s work. Each person had a copy of the story but the author of the story was always anonymous(匿名的). This allowed people to give honest opinions since there was no face to connect the story to.

The creative article course is held in a computer lab and all of our work is done online. Every week, two people read their stories aloud to the class, and then we spend a few minutes discussing them, and then post comments on the online discussion board. Still, the main benefit of an online class is that I can choose when to turn in my homework. This allows me to choose how to manage my time.

 I think taking three creative writing courses at one time may have been a little too ambitious, but I am studying a variety of writing styles and I think I am becoming a better writer for it.

How long do the online writing classes that the author is taking last for in total?

A. About twelve weeks.               B. About two months.

C. About six months.                  D. About six weeks

What do the author’s online classes and school classes have in common?

A. Students have classes in a computer lab.

B. Students sit in a circle twice a week.

C. Students write novels every day.

D. Students discuss their reading every week.

Why was the author of the story anonymous during the discussion?

A. Because students didn’t want their work popular.

B. Because in this way students could express their real ideas freely.

C. Because students didn’t know each other at all.

D. Because it took students less time to finish the discussion.

What is the main advantage of taking online writing classes?

A. Students needn’t have face-to-face talks.

B. Students can hand in their homework late.

C. Students can arrange their time as their like.

D. Students needn’t do any homework.

For thousands of years, the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub. Traditionally, the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town, where the people gather together to socialize and exchange news.
As a result, British pubs are often old and well preserved. Many of them have become historic sites. The most famous example is the pub in the city of Nottingham called “The Old Trip to Jerusalem”, which dates back to the year 1189 AD and is probably the oldest pub in England.
However, British pubs are not just for kings and queens; they welcome people from all classes and parts of society. On a cold night, the pub’s landlord or landlady can always find a warm place for you by the fire. There is always honest and hearty food and plenty of drink available at an affordable price.
That’s how things used to be. Things are beginning to change. It is said that the credit crunch(信贷紧缩) is causing 39 British pubs a week to go out of business. People do not have enough 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 2005 the UK government started to allow pubs to stay open after 1l pm. Previously, with 1l pm 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 long-term health problems for people and problems with violent crime for communities.
In order to save their businesses, pubs are trying to change with the market. 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.
【小题1】The passage mainly tells us something about ______.

For thousands of years, the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub. Traditionally, the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town, where the people gather together to socialize and exchange news.
As a result, British pubs are often old and well preserved. Many of them have become historic sites. The most famous example is the pub in the city of Nottingham called “Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem”, which dates back to the year 1189 AD and is probably the oldest pub in England.
However, British pubs are not just for kings and queens; they welcome people from all classes and parts of society. On a cold night, the pub’s landlord or landlady can always find a warm place for you by the fire. There is always honest and hearty food and plenty of drink available at an affordable price.
That’s how things used to be. Things are beginning to change. It is said that the credit crunch(信贷紧缩) is causing 39 British pubs a week to go out of business. People do not have enough 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 2005 the UK government started to allow pubs to stay open after 1l pm. Previously, with 1l pm 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 long-term health problems for people and problems with violent crime for communities.
In order to save their businesses, pubs are trying to change with the market. 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.
【小题1】. The passage mainly tells us something about       

For thousands of years, the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub. Traditionally, the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town, where the people gather together to socialize and exchange news.
As a result, British pubs are often old and well preserved. Many of them have become historic sites. The most famous example is the pub in the city of Nottingham called “The Old Trip to Jerusalem”, which dates back to the year 1189 AD and is probably the oldest pub in England.
However, British pubs are not just for kings and queens; they welcome people from all classes and parts of society. On a cold night, the pub’s landlord or landlady can always find a warm place for you by the fire. There is always honest and hearty food and plenty of drink available at an affordable price.
That’s how things used to be. Things are beginning to change. It is said that the credit crunch(信贷紧缩) is causing 39 British pubs a week to go out of business. People do not have enough 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 2005 the UK government started to allow pubs to stay open after 1l pm. Previously, with 1l pm 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 long-term health problems for people and problems with violent crime for communities.
In order to save their businesses, pubs are trying to change with the market. 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.
【小题1】The passage mainly tells us something about ______.