Anthony Horowitz was miserable as child. He was, as he put it, “not very bright” and couldn’t win the attention of his very wealthy parents, who preferred his “clever” older brother. At age 8, Horowitz was sent away to an abusive boarding school in his native England, even though he screamed and pleaded(恳求) with his parents year after year not to send him. “The thought was, It’ll be good for him,” he recalled.

It was not. Horowitz did badly in his studies, had few friends and was bullied (欺负) for five years. “My teachers couldn't have had a lower opinion of me,” he said. “I wasn't even smart enough to rebel . The one thing I remember from the very earliest age was this desire to write. When I was 10 years old, I remember asking my parents to get me a typewriter for my birthday because I wanted to be a writer.”

Now, at age of 55, Horowitz is one of the world's most successful children's book authors. His Alex Rider series has sold more than 5 million copies, and the eighth book featuring the young spy, Crocodile Tears, came out this month.

The Alex Rider books tell the adventures of 14-year-old Alex Rider, an agent for the British intelligence agency M16.

Horowitz said he doesn't try to write for kids; it just comes out that way. “I have a feeling it's to do with purity and simplicity. I give as little information as is necessary to describe the room, the character in the room, and get on with the action,” he said.

The style has also made Horowitz a successful writer of television shows for adults in Britain because, he says, writing books for kids is a lot like writing television for grown-ups: In both cases, it's all about entertaining people with a good story.

Now, Horowitz couldn't be happier with his life. He sums up his success: “…you can be anything you want to be if you just believe in yourself. I do believe it completely.”

In the boarding school, Horowitz’s teachers           .

    A．often criticized him B．showed great concern for him

    C．taught him how to write stories  D．thought little about his ability

Which of the following is true of Anthony Horowitz?

    A．He was the beloved child of his family.

    B．He benefited a lot from boarding school.

    C．He emphasizes the plot rather than character in stories.

    D．Although he is successful, he isn’t very happy.

What advice does Horowitz have for readers?

    A．Confidence is the key to success.    B．Hardship teaches valuable lessons.

    C．Interest is the best teacher.    D．Industry is the parent of success.

In which section can you most probably read the passage?

    A．Campus Trends        B．Culture & Leisure

    C．Our World        D．Science Life

“How can I learn English well?” This is a question many students ask. In my opinion, the most effective way is to learn lessons by heart. If you can recite the text and write it out, you’ve learned it fairly well. And if you can tell, in your own words, what the lesson says you’re a very successful learner indeed. Your English will be quite perfect.This is a difficult task. However, if you try to learn by heart only part of each lesson, you’ll find it not half so hard as you might have thought. Learning this way, you will make rapid progress. Of course, writing is also necessary. It helps you a lot on our way to success in English. Equally important is to feel the language. You should be able to laugh at jokes and be shocked at bad news. When using English, try to forget your mother tongue. Instead of helping you, your own language gets in your way. So, never try to see English through translation.

1.In the writer’s opinion, the most effective way in learning English is ____.

A．to practise speaking, writing and feeling it

B．to forget your own native language

C．to translate everything into his own language

D．to memorize the English words and grammatical rules

2.“Instead of helping you, your own language gets in your way.”This sentence means that memorizing your own language can ________.

A．help you to study English well              B．stop you mastering English

C．make English easy to learn                 D．help you notice mistakes

3.Equally important is to feel the language. “to feel the language” here means________.

A．to get a knowledge of English by touching

B．to be able to read and write English

C．to translate English into your own by imagining

D．to be able to experience the rich sensation of the language

信息匹配 

阅读下列材料，从所给的六个选项(A、B、C、D、E、F)中，选出符合各小题要求的最佳选项。选项中有一项是多余选项。

首先，请阅读以下某理财论坛提供的几条省钱建议：

A

Use cash. Instead of paying things with credit cards, use cash for non-bill spending such as eating out, gas and groceries. Spending cash makes the spending more real, and there’s an added advantage of knowing when you’re out of cash.

B

Small weekly savings transfers. I got this idea from my friend, who automatically deducts(扣除) $20 a week from his check to savings. I decided that I could live with the deduction of $40/week without really feeling it — it’s a relatively small transfer that I barely notice, and I save about $2,000 a year!

C

Stay at home. Going out makes you spend money unnecessarily. You eat at restaurants, go to the mall, and stop at the gas station for snacks. It’s hard to avoid spending when you’re on the road. Instead, stay at home and find free entertainment. It’s also a great way to bond with your family.

D

Don’t get catalogs(商品宣传册). Their announcements of sales or cool new products make it very tempting(引诱人的) to buy something you don’t need. Instead, stop getting the catalogs, and you’ll spend less.

E

Keep a 30-day list. If you have an impulse(冲动) to buy something you don’t absolutely need, put it on a 30-day list. You can’t buy anything but necessities — everything else goes on the list. When the 30 days are up, you can buy it — but most likely, the strong urge to buy it will be gone, and you can evaluate it more calmly.

F

Cook at home. I know it seems more difficult than eating out. But it doesn’t have to be hard. Make home-made pizza with a ready-made crust, some sauce, cheese and veggies. Put some spices on something and throw it in the oven while you cook some brown rice. Not only is this much cheaper than eating out, but it’s healthier.

阅读下面几位消费者的情况介绍，并为他们匹配合适的建议。

1. Mr. And Mrs. Brown are a newly-married couple who work in the same company. They don’t earn much in their work, but they have to spend a larger part of their income to pay for their rent and daily necessities. Furthermore, they seldom eat at home because neither of them cooks well. Therefore, they have to pay a lot more extra money for food.

2. Mrs. Wang enjoys shopping very much because she is free all day long. Whenever she is wandering in the shops or stores, she will have a strong impulse and find it difficult for her to get back home with her hands empty. But it is quite often that she will find what she has bought is almost useless when she gets home.

3. Tony is a university student in New York, who is far away from his parents. He pays everything with his credit card. He finds it very cool for him to purchase with his credit card. However, he often finds his money has already run out in the middle of the month.

4. Miss Betty is a high school girl whose parents give her some money every week. As her parents don’t earn much money, she wants to save some money secretly so that she can buy a digital camera.

5. Miss Catherine is a young girl who is easily to be persuaded into buying something useless. She will get encouraged to buy something when she sees an advertisement. Her parents have warned her many times against doing such stupid things, but it doesn’t work much.

I truly learned what a best friend is in my first year in high school. Kate and I were good friends and we were inseparable. We spent every day together and always had a good    36  .

      Then basketball started and we were on the   37    team. After a few games,  38   , Kate got moved up to the Rose Cup full-time. I wouldn't admit it then, but actually I envied（嫉妒） her. Having  39   practice times, we started to see less of each other. Soon I started to hear that she was talking   40   my back.

      One night, I called Kate to tell her about my new    41   .To my   42   , the next day at school she told everyone I    43     her style because she had told me she wanted to get hers cut like this. At noon she handed me a letter and walked away    44      talking with me. I couldn't accept the   45  words on the paper. In great __46__ , I wrote right back to her.

      Over the next week, we exchange（交换） more   47    notes. I cried myself to sleep every night,   48      our friendship was over. One night my mom took me to Kate's home. Our moms looked at each other  49  . Kate's mom asked us questions but __50 _ of us responded(反应) .At last I let everything out. The huge burden in my mind was slowly lifted as we each talked about ___51____ we were feeling. It was all out. Suddenly Kate  52   from her seat, crossed the room and hugged me with tears. I will never forget that.

      It has been five months   53   we broke with each other. Last weekend we were out together again. It makes me happy that we are   54    to care about each other more. I now know that  55  I am asked about my friends, Kate will be at the top of the list.

1.  A. rest          B. time                C. example                D. party

2.  A. right            B. good                C. famous                  D. same

3. A. however       B. but          C. still                D. yet

4.  A. regular      B. free                C. different                 D. strange

5.  A. on            B. in               C. by                D. behind

6.A. haircut         B. clothes            C. necklace                  D. shoes

7.  A. joy          B. surprise         C. pleasure             D. sorrow

8. A. caught           B. gained             C. copied                 D. created

9.A. in spite of       B. instead of           C. except for               D. as well as

10. A. cruel       B. sad         C. disappointing        D. beautiful

11. A. anxiety           B. anger              C. surprise                  D. doubt

12.A. serious            B. dangerous            C. regretful                 D. hurtful

13. A. meaning          B. hoping             C. believing                 D. proving

14.A. happily           B. nervously        C. excitedly            D. surprisingly

15.A. neither               B. either           C. both                    D. none

16.A. what                B. how                C. which                  D. why

17. A. rose             B. raised           C. stood            D. got

18.A. if                   B. when                C. because                D. since

19.A. planning           B. pretending           C. learning                  D. arranging

20. A. whenever         B. whatever         C. however                D. whoever

“Mom, can I bake some bread?” We were 15, my best friend, Hanna, and I, determined to try our hands at creating some beautiful bread.

       “It’s not worth the trouble,” my mother said. “It takes lots of time and makes a big mess. Our bakery bread is delicious without all that effort.”

Begging was useless. Mom’s “no” meant “No!”

But several weeks later, opportunity knocked: My parents were going out for the evening. I immediately invited Hanna to be my partner in bread-baking crime.

We studied the recipe. That was easy. “Mix oil into flour then beat in four of the eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt.”

We were not good at breaking eggs. I tried to learn from my mother.

“Gradually add eight cups of flour. When dough (面团) holds together, squeeze it.”

We took turns working like that. “Is the dough ‘holding together’?” we asked each other.

I remembered my neighbor’s instructions: “If it’s too sticky, add some flour; if too dry, add water.”

We added water. Then more flour. Then more water. By then, the mass of our dough had grown very much.

“Place dough on floured surface and squeeze till smooth,” the recipe instructed.

We took turns burying our hands in the damp dough, pinching, squeezing, and feeling it leak between fingers.

“Clean and oil bowl, then return dough to bowl. Cover and let dough rise in warm place for 1 hour.”

This was good news --- we’d have a break. On dirtied kitchen chairs, we dreamed about our beautiful bread. “See?” we would tell my mom. “Isn’t it worth the work?”

Hanna and I couldn’t help glancing at the rising process every few minutes. But nothing was happening.

“Maybe something will happen in the hot oven,” I said.

Unfortunately, when we removed the loaves from the oven, they were like hard stones.

Mom was right; it takes time and effort. It sometimes makes a mess. But still it feels good, somehow, to be part of that long, ongoing chain of bread bakers. Since that night, both Hanna and I have learned to do it right.

To the writer, what her mother said was __________.

A. law                   B. rubbish                    C. advice                      D. warning

Which of the following can best describe the children’s feelings while making their first bread?

       A. Confident; hopeful; disappointed.          B. Curious; hopeful; disappointed.

       C. Interested; excited; satisfied.                   D. Worried; satisfied; proud.

Which of the following did the writer do without instructions?

A. Placed dough on floured surface.            B. Added eight cups of flour to eggs.

C. Returned dough to a cleaned bowl.          D. Placed the dough into the hot oven.

The passage mainly tells us ______________.

       A. the process of making bread                   B. the conflict between mother and daughter

       C. the first experience of making bread        D. the way of doing housework