Home to me means a sense of familiarity and nostalgia(怀旧). It's fun to come home. It looks the same. It smells the same. You'll realize what's changed is you. Home is where we ran remember pain, live, and some other experiences; We parted here; My parents met here; I won three championships here.

If I close my eyes, I can still have a clear picture in mind of my first home. I walk in the door and see a brown sofa surrounding a low glass-top wooden table. To the right of the living room is my first bedroom. It's empty, but it's where my earliest memories are.

There is the dining room table where I celebrated birthdays, and where I cried on Halloween-when I didn't want to wear the skirt my mother made for me. I always liked standing on that table because it made me feel tall and strong. If I sit at this table, I can see my favorite room in the house, my parents' room. It is simple: a brown wooden dresser lines the right side of the wall next to a television and a couple of photos of my grandparents on each side. Their bed is my safe zone. I can jump on it anytime - waking up my parents if I am scared or if I have an important announcement that cannot wait until the morning.

I'm lucky because I know my first home still exists. It exists in my mind and heart, on a physical property(住宅) on West 64th street on the western edge of Los Angeles. It is proof I lived, I grew and I learned.

Sometimes when I feel lost, I lie down and shut my eyes, and I go home. I know it's where I'll find my family, my dogs, and my belongings. I purposely leave the window open at night because I know I'll be blamed by Mom. But I don't mind, because I want to hear her say my name, which reminds me I'm home.

1.Why does the author call her parents' bed her "safe zone"(Paragraph 3)?

A．It is her favorite place to play.

B．Her needs can be satisfied there.

C．Her grandparents' photos are lined on each side.

D．Her parents always play together with her there.

2.What can be learned from the passage?

A．The old furniture is still in the author's fist bedroom.

B．The author can still visit her first physical home in Los Angeles.

C．The author's favorite room in her first home is the dining room.

D．Many people of the author's age can still find their first physical homes.

3.Sometimes when she feels lost, the author will _______.

A．Open the window at night

B．lie down in bed to have a dream

C．try to bring back a sense of home

D．go to Los Angeles to visit her mom

4.What is the author's purpose of writing this passage?

A．To express how much she is attached to her home.

B．To declare how much she loves her first house.

C．To describe the state of her family.

D．To look back on her childhood.

Life is filled with challenges. As we get older we 31 realize that those challenges are the very things that 32 us and make us who we are .It is the same with the challenges that come with 32 .

When we are faced with a challenge, we usually have two 34. We can try to beat it off, or we can decide that the thing 35 the challenge isn’t worth the 36 and call it quits. Although there are certainly 37 when calling it quits is the right thing to do, in most 38 all that is needed is 39 and communication.

When we are committed to something, it means that no matter how 40 or how uncomfortable something is, we will always choose to 41 it and work it trough instead of running away from it. Communication is making a 42 for discussion and talking about how you feel as opposed to just saying what the other person did wrong. 43 you can say to a friend, “I got my feelings hurt.” 44 “You hurt my feelings,” you are going to be able to solve the problem much faster.

In dealing with the many challenges that friendship will bring to you, try to see them for 45 they are: small hurdles you need to jump or 46 on your way through life. Nothing is so big that it is 47 to get over, and hurt only 48 to make us stronger. It is all part of growing up, it 49 to everyone, and some day you will 50 all of this and say, “Hard as it was, it made who I am today. And that is a good thing.”

1.A．seem to              B．come to                 C．hope to          D．try to

2.A．design              B．promote                C．direct                     D．shape

3.A．confidence        B．pressure                C．friendship       D．difficulty

4.A．opportunities               B．expectations            C．choices          D．aspects

5.A．demanding         B．deserving               C．predicting       D．presenting

6.A．comment             B．loss                     C．trouble                    D．expense

7.A．spans                 B．times                   C．dates            D．ages

8.A．cases                  B．fields                   C．parts             D．occasions

9.A．assessment            B．commitment           C．encouragement          D．adjustment

10.A．doubtful             B．shameful               C．harmful          D．painful

11.A．keep                B．control                 C．face             D．catch

12.A．space               B．plan                    C．topic             D．room

13.A．If                    B．As                       C．While           D．Unless

14.A．other than          B．rather than             C．or rather                 D．or else

15.A．what                B．who                    C．where           D．which

16.A．pass by              B．come across            C．get through      D．run over

17.A．unnecessary        B．necessary              C．impossible       D．possible

18.A．serves              B．means                  C．aims             D．attempts

19.A．opens               B．appeals                C．goes            D．happens

20.A．lock down on        B．look back on            C．look forward to          D．look up to

“Mama, when I grow up, I’m going to be one of those!” I said this after seeing the Capital Dancing Company perform when I was three. It was the first time that my dream took on a vivid form and acted as something important to start my training. As I grew older and was exposed to more, my interests in the world of dance certainly varied but that little girl’s dream of someday becoming a dancer in the company never left me. In the summer of 2005 when I was 18, I received the phone call which made that dream a reality: I became a member of the company dating back to 1925.

As I look back on that day now, it surely lacks any sense of reality. I believe I stayed in a state of pleasant disbelief until I was halfway through rehearsals (排练) on my first day. I never actually expect to get the job. After being offered the position, I was completely astonished. I remember shaking with excitement.

Though I was absolutely thrilled with the chance, it did not come without its fair share of challenge. Through the strict rehearsal period of dancing six days a week, I found it vital to pick up the material fast with every last bit of concentration. It is that extreme attention to detail (细节) and stress on practice that set us apart. To then follow those high-energy rehearsals with a busy show schedule of up to five performances a day, I discovered a new meaning of the words “hard work.” What I thought were my physical boundaries were pushed much further than I thought possible. I learned to make each performance better than the last.

Today, when I look at the unbelievable company that I have the great honor of being a part of, not only as a member, but as a dance captain, I see a tradition that has inspired not only generations of little girls but a splendid company that continues to develop and grow-and inspires people every day to follow their dreams.

1. How many years has the Capital Dancing Company existed when the author received the phone call from it?

2.How did the author feel when she look back on that day now?

3. Which of the following statement can best interpret the underlined sentence in paragraph 3?

4.What conclusion could be drawn from the passage?

请读懂下列句子，用下列方框中所给短语的正确形式填空。

1.Wang Bin's parents __________________ him, demanding that he should only do the reading

instead of surfing the Internet even in summer holidays.

2.I like to _________________ my high-school days, which are the happiest in my life.

3.We should cut our expense ___________________.

4.What's the matter with you? You_____________________ be happy.

5.He ______________________ every opportunity he could get and was successful.

It was June 15, and in two days I would be turning thirty. I was not sure about entering a new decade of my life and feared that my best years were now behind me.

My daily routine included going to the gym for a workout（ 锻炼） before going to work. Every morning I would see my friend Nicholas at the gym. He was seventy­ nine years old and in terrific shape. As I greeted Nicholas on that particular day, he noticed I wasn't full of my usual vitality（活力）and asked if there was anything wrong. I told him I was feeling anxious about turning thirty. I wondered how I would look back on（ 回顾）my life once I reached Nicholas's age, so I asked him, “What was the best time of your life？”

Without hesitation, Nicholas replied, “Well, Joe, this is my philosophical（哲理的）answer to your philosophical question：

When I was a child in Austria and everything was taken care of for me and I was nurtured by my parents, that was the best time of my life.

When I was going to school and learning the things I know today, that was the best time of my life.

When I got my first job and had responsibilities and got paid for my efforts, that was the best time of my life.

When I met my wife and fell in love, that was the best time of my life.

The Second World War came, and my wife and I had to flee Austria to save our lives. When we were together and safe on a ship bound for（开往）North America, that was the best time of my life.

When we came to Canada and started a family, that was the best time of my life.

When I was a young father, watching my children grow up, that was the best time of my life.”

“And now, Joe, I am seventy­ nine years old. I have my health, I feel good and I am in love with my wife just as I was when we first met. This is the best time of my life.”

1.When was the writer's birthday?

A．June 13           B．June 15           C．June 17           D．June 19

2.Why was the writer anxious?

A．He wasn't full of his usual vitality.

B．He didn't see his old friend Nicholas.

C．He was feeling anxious about turning thirty.

D．He didn't like his friend's answer about the best time.

3.What does the underlined word “ nurtured ” mean?

A．brought up        B．developed         C．trained           D．encouraged