A “blogger” is a person who writes on an Internet website called a “blog”. The word “blog” is a short way of saying “web log”, or “personal website”. Anyone can start a blog, and they can write about anything they like.

There are millions of blogs on the Internet today. They provide news, information and ideas to the people who read them. They contain links to other websites. And they provide a place for people to write their ideas and react to the ideas of others.

A research company called Perseus has studied more than 3,000 web logs. It says that blogs are most popular with teenage girls. They use them to let their friends know what is happening in their lives. The study also says that more than 100,000 bloggers stopped taking part in the activity after a year.

However, some people develop serious blogs to present political and other ideas. For example, the Republican and Democratic parties in the southern state of Kentucky recently started their own blogs. And American companies are beginning to use blogs to advertise their products.

At the same time, some long-standing blogs have ended. Last week, blogging leader Dave Winer closed his free blog service “weblogs.com”. He said the site became too costly to continue. He started the blog four years ago, and thousands of people had written on it. They are now upset because they did not know that the site was closed

One blog that is still going strong is called Rebecca’s Pocket. Rebecca Blood created the website in 1999. She wrote about the history of blogs on the site. That article led to a book called The Weblog Handbook. It has been translated into four languages so far.

Miss Blood says Rebecca’s Pocket get about thirty thousand visitors a month. She writes about anything and everything — politics, culture and movies. She recently provided medical advice. And she wrote about how to prevent being stolen from online bank accounts.

The text is mainly written to _______.

A. introduce an Internet website called “blog”  B. introduce a short way of saying “web log”

C. tell readers about blogs                   D. tell readers how to write blogs

From the text we can learn that blogs cover almost everything except _______.

A. different ideas     B. medical advice   C. advertisements      D. account passwords

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the text?

A. Politicians don’t use blogs at all.        B. A lot of bloggers no longer write or read blogs.

C. Those who like to use blogs are mostly teenage girls.

D. Dave Winer closed his “weblogs.com” because of the money shortage.

The reason why Rebecca’s Pocket is still going strong is that _______.

A. it was created by a woman             B. it is about the history of blogs

C. it provides useful information and advice

D. it has editions in at least four different languages

I have always loved kids. However, the children here at Shanti Bhavan are unlike any that I have ever met. They have a strong drive and determination and are thankful for the wonderful opportunity they have been given. While at Shanti Bhavan, I taught 3^rd graders writing, language, and literature, 8^th, 9^th, and 10^th graders public speaking, 9^th and 10^th graders basketball, and piano lessons. I found teaching the children was the most rewarding experience of my life. They are really fast learners and really have an interest in knowledge. It was easy to get on with such polite, well-mannered, and hard-working students. They dream big and I only hope that I can continue to be a part of helping them achieve their goals.

As far as my day-to-day living went, I was perfectly comfortable here and came to consider it as a second home. My room was clean and comfortable and the staff could not have been nicer.

In addition, I really appreciated the support of all the teachers. They were so welcoming and kind that it truly cleared away my fears and culture shock. They often gave me advice and befriended me and I owe much to them for their warmth.

I honestly feel that Shanti Bhavan is the most beautiful place on earth. It has love and learning, and I am very sad to be leaving. I am looking forward to my return to this newly found family as soon as possible. Thank you so much Miss Beena and Mrs. Law for all of your love and support. The experience that I worked with them will always come into my mind. This has been the greatest experience of my life.

50．What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A. Kids liked basketball lessons best.

B. Kids at Shanti Bhavan helped the author a lot.

C. The author is a fast learner and dreams big.

D. The author taught different lessons at the same time.

51．What does the author think of the students at Shanti Bhavan?

A. Generous B. Clever   C. Brave    D. Funny

52．Which of the following words can best describe the author’s day-to-day living at Shanti Bhavan?

A. Lonely   B. Simple   C. Disappointed D. Comfortable

53．Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The author will come back soon.

B. The author has decided to settle at Shanti Bhavan.

C. The author once felt uneasy at Shanti Bhavan.

D. The author was forced to come to Shanti Bhavan at first.

单词或词组拼写

根据下列句子中的汉语注释,在答题纸相应的位置上写出空缺处各单词或词组的正确形式.

1. Xie Lei told me that when I saw her waiting in a queue at a student        (食堂) between lectures.

2. When I miss my family, it is a great comfort to have a      (替代) family to be with.

3. I was       (麻木的) with shock when I saw the mark E on my paper.

4. More importantly, I am now a more        (自主的) learner.

5.By the time California       (选择) to become the thirty-first federal state of the USA in 1850, it was already a multicultural society.

6.       (意大利人) mainly fishermen but also wine makers, arrived in California in the late 19^th century.

7. The conductor could not control the situation and the tram      (滑动) down the hill dragging the horses with it.

8. Cloning plants is       (简单的) while cloning animals is very complicated.

9. So the chance of dinosaurs ever returning to the earth is       (仅仅) a dream.

10. It is a difficult task to      (从事)

11.         （在他看来），what other people thought was not the most important thing.

12.The customs and languages of the immigrants        (继续存在) in their new home.

13. There is a fascinating drive       (划出) for tourists.

14. But at last the determination and patience of the scientists       (回报) in 1996 with a breakthrough — the cloning of Dolly the sheep.

15. From time to time people suggest that extinct animal like dinosaurs, can possibly be       (重生) through cloning.

Most of us spend our lives seeking the natural world. To this end, we walk the dog, play golf, go fishing, sit in the garden, drink outside rather than inside the pub, have a picnic, live in the suburbs, go to the seaside, buy a weekend place in the country. The most popular free time activity in Britain is going for a walk. And when joggers (慢跑者) jog, they don’t run the streets. Every one of them automatically heads to the park or the river. It is my firm belief that not only do we all need nature, but we all seek nature, whether we know we are doing so or not.
But despite this, our children are growing up nature-deprived (丧失). I spent my boyhood climbing trees. These days, children are robbed of these ancient freedoms, due to problems like crime, traffic, the loss of the open spaces and strange new ideas about what is best for children, that is to say, things that can be bought, rather than things that can be found.
The truth is to be found elsewhere. A study in the US: families had moved to better housing and the children were assessed for ADHD (多动症). Those whose housing had more natural views showed an improvement of 19%; those who had the same improvement in material surroundings but no nice view improved just 4%.
A study in Sweden indicated that kindergarten children who could play in a natural environment had less illness and greater physical ability than children used only to a normal playground. A US study suggested that when a school gave children access to a natural environment, the entire school would do better in studies.
Another study found that children play differently in a natural environment. In playgrounds, children create a hierarchy (等级) based on physical abilities, with the tough ones taking the lead. But when a grassy area was planted with bushes, the children got much more into fantasy play, and the social hierarchy was now based on imagination and creativity.
Most bullying (恃强凌弱) is found in schools where there is a tarmac (柏油碎石) playground; the least bullying is in a natural area that the children are encouraged to explore. This reminds me unpleasantly of Sunnyhill School, with its hard tarmac, where I used to hang about in corners dreaming about wildlife.
But children are frequently discouraged from involvement with natural spaces, for health and safety reasons, for fear that they might get dirty or that they might cause damage. So, instead, the damage is done to the children themselves: not to their bodies but to their souls.
One of the great problems of modern childhood is ADHD, now increasingly and expensively treated with drugs. Yet one study after another indicates that contact with nature gives huge benefits to ADHD children. However, we spend money on drugs rather than on green places.
The life of old people is much better when they have access to nature. The most important for the growing population of old people is in quality rather than quantity of years. And study after study finds that a garden is the single most important thing in finding that quality.
In wider and more difficult areas of life, there is evidence to indicate that natural surroundings improve all kinds of things. Even problems with crime and aggressive behaviour are reduced when there is contact with the natural world.
Dr William Bird, researcher from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, states in his study, “A natural environment can reduce violent behaviour because its process helps reduce anger and behavior that people might regret later.” Wild places need encouraging for this reason, no matter how small their contribution.
We tend to think human beings are doing nature some kind of favor when we are protecting nature. The error here is far too deep: not only do humans need nature for themselves, but the very idea that humanity and the natural world are separable things is damaging.
Human beings are a species of animals. For seven million years we lived on the planet as part of nature. So we miss the natural world and long for contact with non-human life. Anyone who has patted a dog, stroked a cat, sat under a tree with a glass of beer, given or received a bunch of flowers or chosen to walk through the park on a nice day, understands that.
We need the wild world. It is necessary to our well-being, our health, our happiness. Without other living things around us we are less than human.
【小题1】What is the author’s firm belief?

A．Find more effective drugs for them.

B．Provide more green spaces for them.

C．Place them under more personal care.

D．Engage them in more meaningful activities

A．They look on life optimistically.	B．They enjoy a life of better quality.
C．They are able to live longer.	D．They become good-humored

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意：请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。每个空格只填一个单词。

We all have goals that we are moving towards and making a great effort to achieve. This is a good thing. Or can it be bad? How many of us never reach our goals and yet we have tried so hard and really thought about nothing else? I believe the mistake most of us make is that we do not focus on our present situation.

Let me explain. Most of us see our present situation as a stepping stone that we use simply as a means of reaching our final destination. We don’t take time to truly appreciate where we are today and all the great things we already have in our lives. We should focus our attention on the journey and not on the destination, or we will miss the beautiful scenery along the way.

Let’s use our job as an example. Now most of us want a promotion. We have plans to become the manager or general manager in our companies. Unfortunately, most of us will never reach the goal, but will watch others achieve our goal instead.

What we should be doing is focusing on the job we are currently in now. Forget where we want to get to and just focus on the present. You see, what we can control is our performance in our current job. We can decide to be the best we possibly can in our current job. Now this may mean further education to have the skills we currently do not have. It may mean working harder to produce better results than our colleagues. It could simply be a change of attitude, such as stopping complaining and becoming a more devoted and supportive employee. By doing our current job to the best of our abilities, we in fact give ourselves the best chance of promotion.

So the best thing for all of us to do to achieve our goals is to just focus on what we have and where we are now. Do the best and be the best we possibly can in our current situations, and we will give ourselves the very best chance of reaching our goals in the future. We have heard the old sayings and they are true: “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”, “Patience is a virtue”, and so on.

Have patience, have appreciation of what we already have, and take time to help ourselves be the very best we can. Do these things and we will all reach our goals, but more importantly, we will enjoy our life every day.