阅读下面的短文, 然后按照要求写一篇 150 词左右的英语短文。

Every morning, when I drive past the street corner, I can always see the big sign standing outside the gas station.

The sign lists the price of gas per gallon (加仑). However, in the past few months, the price never seemed to decrease. One day, it went from US$2.85 to US$3.55 per gallon.

The car is one of the most popular forms of transportation in southern California; people even say, “We can not live without cars!” “We don’t get any benefit from the increasing prices at all,” complains my friend Raymond. “I might choose to ride my bicycle from now on! I will leave the car at home; maybe I should give it away to the museum since we are not going to use it anyway.”

According to scientific predictions, we will run out of gasoline in 50 years. People will not be able to drive cars, take planes or even sail ships. When the time comes, hardly anything will function normally.

In this case, governments will have to provide funds (基金) to research departments to develop new forms of energy on which cars can run. One idea, for example, is that people in California will be able to drive solar- powered cars since it is extremely sunny most of the time.

In other states, there are people developing new forms of fuel involving alcohol mixed with gasoline or new hybrids (混合物) like gasoline plus corn oil. Who knows what forms of new energy people will be using in the future? Without problems showing up, there will be no new solutions. Society needs to move forward. Sometimes, we need these challenges to motivate (激发) us to achieve great things.

[ 写作内容]

1. 概括短文的内容要点, 该部分大约 60 词;

2. 以 “Is the high price of gas a bad thing?”为话题, 谈谈你的同学的不同看法和发表你的观点, 至少包含以下的内容要点, 该部分大约 90 词:

a) 以你同学家用车为例, 谈谈你的同学对该问题的不同看法;

b) 你是如何看待这个问题的, 发表你的看法;

c) 你的家人如何对待油价高企。

Once in Japan there lived two frogs, one of whom made his home near the town of Osaka, while the other lived in Kyoto.  36 , they didn’t know each other. Bothof them liked to see a little of the world: the Kyoto frog wanted to visit Osaka, and the Osaka frog wished to go to Kyoto.
So one morning they  37. However, the journey was more  38  than they had expected, for they didn’t know much about traveling. Half-way between the two towns, at the top of a mountain, the two frogs  39  each other! Soon they fell into  40 .
“What a(n)  41  we are too small, ” said the Osaka frog. “Otherwise, we could see both towns from here, and  42  if it is worth our going on.”
“Oh, that is easily  43 ,” replied the Kyoto frog. “We have only got to stand up on our hind (后面的) legs, and hold on to each other  44  we won’t fall down, and then we can both look at the towns we are  45  to.”
This idea  46  the Osaka frog; he stood up and put his front paws on the  47 of the other frog, who had risen also. There they both stood, stretching themselves as  48  as they could. The Kyoto frog turned his nose towards Osaka, and the Osaka frog, towards Kyoto, but the  49  frogs forgot that when they stood up, their eyes were in the backs of their heads, and that  50  their noses pointed to their destinations, yet their eyes looked at the places  51  which they had come.
“Dear me!” cried the Osaka frog. “Kyoto is  52  like Osaka. It is certainly not worth such a long journey.”
“If I had known that Osaka was only a  53  of Kyoto I should never have traveled all this way,”  54  the frog from Kyoto. Then they started off for their  55  again.

阅读短文，回答后面的问题。

For many of us, cartoon strips are simply one of our pastimes. The popular Japanese manga(漫画) provides us with an escape from reality into a world of fantasy, adventure and romance. With much less text and pictures running for pages, it fits perfectly into today's fast, throwing away city lifestyle.

But Tsai Chih-chung, a famous Taiwanese illustrator (漫画家), doesn't agree. He believes cartoons can be a bridge connecting traditional Chinese culture and wisdom with the modern world in a much wittier and more acceptable way.

He has interpreted Lao Zi, Confucius, Mencius, Zhuang Zi and Sun Zi and made their works accessible to a global audience. He has also produced two books about Zen (禅宗), introducing oriental philosophy. His cartoons are humorous yet full of wisdom and are admired as an easy way to learn Chinese classics.

After avoiding the public for ten years, Tsai made a comeback in late April with seven new works. But does his age, 61, work as a gap between him and his young readers? Tsai doesn't think so. The topics he has covered range from philosophy in a time of individuality to the learning and memorizing techniques used at school. "Every child is a genius and has the potential beyond his own imagination," he said.

If popular Japanese manga is purely for entertainment, Tsai's work, to a large extent, is to light the power of thinking in a light-hearted way. Tsai uses different forms of water to refer to people. In his eyes some people are like an ocean, some are like vapor (水蒸汽), while others may be ice or rain. But in essence they share a similarity – human being's forever chasing for the true and the good. "The person who thinks over life issues is not necessarily a scholar or a philosopher," he said. "I've dedicated my whole life to thinking and individual freedom, not making a living."

1. What is the main idea of the first paragraph in the passage?

A. Japanese manga is a simple way of killing time.

B. What Japanese manga is mainly about.

C. Japanese manga presents a world of fantasy, adventure and romance.

D. Why Japanese manga is so popular.

2. The underlined word “it” in paragraph 1 refers to___________.

A. much less text                                B. Japanese manga

C. pictures running for pages               D. an escape from reality

3. In Tsai Chih-chung’s opinion, cartoon ___________.

A. connects traditional Chinese culture and wisdom.

B. helps connect Chinese classics with modern world.

C. uses a wiser and acceptable way to draw cartoons.

D. builds up a bridge between cartoons and illustration.

4. What is the main difference between Japanese manga and Tsai’s works in this passage?

A. His works are mainly designed for a pure time killer for all.

B. His works are more popular with young readers in China now.

C. His works are to inspire people to think in a cheerful way.

D. His works are much more interesting and instructive.

5. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE about Tsai Chih-chung?

A. He thinks some people are like ocean, some like vapor, while others like ice cream.

B. He says that one who thinks over life is either a scholar or a philosopher.

C. He values more thinking and personal freedom than making a living.

D. Tsai devoted his life to creating cartoons in order to make money.

书面表达（满分25分）
假设你班在“珍爱生命，拒闯红灯”教育活动中，召开了一次主题班会，请你根据下面的内容提示，用英语写一篇短文。
行人（passer-by）闯红灯的危害: 妨碍交通，影响车辆的正常行驶， 容易引发事故，危及他人和自身的安全 ……
对行人闯红灯的处罚措施: 批评教育，让其意识到闯红灯的危害， 当场给予警告并罚款
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯
参考词汇：jaywalk 乱穿马路