We couldn’t forget the historic moment on Oct.11, 2012, when the first Chinese Nobel laureate, Mo Yan, won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature. Minutes after the award was announced, millions of Chinese expressed pleasure and pride for Mo Yan on the Internet. So a Chinese getting the Nobel Prize for literature did really increase the national pride.

On Dec.11 (Monday) in Sweden Mo was given the Nobel diploma, medal and a document confirming the prize amount. In his speech at the ceremony, Mo said receiving the prize felt like a fairy tale, but of course it was true and that literature was useless compared with science. Mo's award filled the blank left by Chinese literature in the world literary history. Meanwhile, Monday's Nobel awards ceremony set off another buying rush on Mo's works among Chinese readers.

1.Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize for _________.

A．history           B．Literature         C．peace            D．physics

2.Which of the following words can best describe our Chinese feeling when hearing the news?

A．Calm             B．Relaxed           C．Proud            D．indifferent

3.The underlined word “laureate” in Paragraph 1 most probably means _________.

A．loser             B．winner            C．fan              D．superstar

4.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．It was hard for Mo Yan to believe he was awarded the prize.

B．Mo Yan thinks Literature is useless.

C．Mo Yan was given the Nobel Prize, medal and a document.

D．Mo Yan’s works were more popular after his receiving the prize.

An enjoyable trip

On October 28th, we began our exciting trip to the world-famous sand island—Fraser Island, which is said to be the world largest sand island and it is one of the world cultural heritages (遗产). We were really amazed by the spectacular view there.

The road to the island is really tough and bumpy. The bus driver, who was also our guide was a very strong man. He was optimistic (乐观的) and helpful. I found he was all smiling on the way though the ride was not very smooth. We stopped for several times because the cars in front of us were blocked by sand. The road was completely sand about 50 centimeters high. We were thrown back and forth like taking a rollercoaster (过山车). All of us couldn’t help laughing when we were shaken from side to side. It took us more than an hour to arrive there. I guess this road is one of the most impressive things.

The beach is so wonderful and terrific! This was my first visit to the seaside. The broad sea made me speechless. We were really thrilled by the amazing view. We couldn’t stop taking so many pictures. The bus ran along the beach with the sea water on one side and bushes on the other side. The view outside the bus was really fantastic! The driver told us there were dingoes (野犬) in the bush. When we were sitting on the bus, we kept on searching the faraway bush for a dingo. Unfortunately, we didn’t see one.

The lake is the next destination we went to. This lake which is ringed by white sand beaches lies peacefully on the hill, which is 18 meters above the sea level. The crystal clear water from the rainfall is sparkling (闪光). Male students jumped into the lake without taking off the clothes. They played with water like small children. Nowhere else in the world can you find such a wonderful fairly land.

The forest is the last place we visited. Those towering rainforests grow on sands. There are many varieties of species. Some trees are so tall and have a history of 500 years. Some gum trees are quite strange because their barks (树皮) fall. The driver told us that this was because they wanted to protect themselves from worms or fires. This forest is home to many animals. We could hear bird singing when we were walking in the shade from the trees.

The tour to Fraser Island makes a deep impression on us. It provides us magnificent views. It is well worth a visit.

In the old days of publishing, getting your manuscript into the hands of an editor often meant mailing the unsolicited finished product to the offices of literary agents or editors, where it would receive a cursory look from an editorial assistant — or none at all.

A modern version of the slush pile is the online “writing community,” a Web site where aspiring novelists can post their ideas, writing samples or manuscripts and open them to comments and reviews from strangers. On Tuesday Penguin Group USA, the publisher of Tom Clancy, Kathryn Stockett and Nora Roberts, will unveil its own venture, Book Country, a Web site for writers of genre fiction. In its initial phase Book Country will allow writers to post their own work — whether it’s an opening chapter or a full manuscript — and receive critiques from other users, who can comment on points like character development, pacing and dialogue. Later this summer the site will generate revenue by allowing users to self-publish their books for a fee by ordering printed copies. (The books will bear the stamp of Book Country, not Penguin, and the site is considered a separate operation from Penguin.) The site will also explain the business of finding an agent, marketing and promoting a book, using social media and handling digital and subsidiary rights.

Penguin hopes the site will attract agents, editors and publishers scouting for new talent, and allow writers to produce work with more polish and direction than they could otherwise. The project has been spearheaded by Molly Barton, the director of business development for Penguin and the president of Book Country. “One of the things I remember really clearly from my early editorial experiences was this feeling of guilt,” Ms. Barton said in an interview. “I would read submissions and not be able to help the writer because we couldn’t find a place for them on the list that I was acquiring for. And I kept feeling that there was something we could do on the Internet to really help writers each other.”

1. How did an author send unsolicited finished products to editors in the old days of publishing? _______________________________________________

2. The online “writing community” is where aspiring novelists post their ideas and ___________________________________________________________________________

3.The site uses social media and digital and subsidiary rights to _______________________.[来

4.What’s the real purpose of Penguin creating the web site? _______________________________________________

-----Did you enjoy your holiday in London,Betty?

------         .We couldn`t have chosen a more pleasant place.

A．Sounds great       B．Not at all          C．Never mind        D．Absolutely

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出可以填入空白的最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该项涂黑。
I was 9 years old when I found out my father was   36 ．It was 1994, but I can remember my mother’s words as if it   37  yesterday: “Kerrel, I don’t want you to take food   38  your father, because he has AIDS．Be very careful when you are around him．”
AIDS wasn’t  39  we talked about in my country when I was growing up．From then on, I knew that this would be a family   40 ．My parents were not together anymore, and my dad lived alone．For a while, he could take care of himself．But when I was 12, his condition worsened．My father’s   41  children lived far away, so it   42  to me to look after him．We couldn’t afford all the necessary medication for him, and   43  Dad was unable to work, I had no money for school supplies and often couldn’t  44  buy food for dinner．I would sit  45  feeling completely  46  , the teacher’s words muffled（压低）as I tried to figure out   47  I was going to manage．
I didn’t share my burden with anyone．I had seen how people reacted to AIDS．Kids __48__ classmates who had parents with the disease．And even adults could be cruel．When my father was moved to the hospital, the nurses would leave his food on the bedside table even though he was __49__ weak to feed himself．I had known that he was going to die, __50__ after so many years of keeping his condition a secret, I was completely unprepared when he reached his final days．Sad and __51__, I __52__ a woman at the non-profit National AIDS Support．That day, she __53__ me on the phone for hours．I was so lucky to find someone who cared．She saved my life．
I was 15 when my father died．He took his secret away with him, having never spoken about AIDS to anyone, even me．He didn’t want to call attention to __54__．I __55__．