July 4th, the Independence Day, is an important holiday of the United States of America. It’s the   1.  (nation) holiday to celebrate the anniversary of their declaration of independence from Britain. The first Independence Day celebration took place on July 4, 1777   2.  the thirteen colonies in America gained independence from Britain. In   3.  early 1800s the traditions of parades, picnics, and fireworks were established as the way  4.  (celebrate) America’s birthday. And although fireworks   5.  (ban) in most places because of their danger, most towns and cities usually have big firework displays   6. all to see and enjoy. Today families often celebrate Independence Day by   7.  (host) or attending a picnic or barbecue and take the day off and gather with relatives.   8.  (decorate) are generally colored red, white, and blue, the colors of the American flag. Parades are often in the morning,

 9.  firework displays occur in the evening at such places as parks or town squares. The year of 2010 marked the 234th anniversary of the United States declaring   10.  independence from Britain. Hundreds of thousands of visitors took part in the celebrations in the nation’s capital.

Dae Jon is the city in South Korea, where I was born and grew up. There was a public park there. It was a very popular place, and I have tons of precious (珍贵的) memories from times spent there.

Our teachers often took us to that park for a spring or fall picnic. When I learned martial arts (武术)—Tae Kwon Do, my master usually took us there to train us. There was a hill there which was not high, so I could reach the peak (山顶) within forty minutes even though I was very young. From the peak, I could see a lot of places if it was a sunny day.

There was a huge rock on the top called Eagle Rock because the shape of the rock looked like the head of an eagle. We spent lots of fun days there. We played hide-and-seek within the limited area, and we sometimes caught frogs and fish in the pond. When we felt thirsty, we enjoyed drinking cold spring water.

When I was a ten-year-old boy, I usually went to the park with my father to exercise early in the morning. It was quite dark, so I sometimes felt afraid, but after I got used to going there, I enjoyed breathing the fresh air and hearing the birds sing.

Recently, I went back to the park to remember my good times there. When I arrived at the entrance, I was surprised because it didn’t seem to be the same as I remembered it. Everything has changed in the thirteen years since I last saw it, but the good memories soon came back. I could almost imagine a boy playing there with a slight smile and shaking hands with me.

1.The writer went to the park with his teachers __________.

A. to read books                                                    B. to have a picnic          

C. to do morning exercises                                          D. to catch dogs

2.As a child, the writer did the following in the park EXCEPT __________.

A. practicing martial arts                           B. climbing the hill

C. swimming in the pond                                        D. playing hide-and-seek

3.How long has the writer not been there?

A. 10 years.                      B. 13 years.              C. 20 years.                      D. 23 years.

4.The writer went back to the park in order to __________.

A. meet his old friends

B. play with his old classmates

C. exercise with his father

D. remember his good times  

5.The writer was surprised when he got to the park because __________.

A. the park had changed a lot

B. his good memories didn’t come back

C. he didn’t see the boy with a slight smile

D. he couldn’t breathe the fresh air as usual

B
After the American Revolution won in 1787, the new government in the U.S.A. had to choose a capital city. The thirteen states quarreled about this. So the government decided to build a completely new capital. The land on the River Potomac was given the name District of Columbia (D.C). The new Capital was built on the north bank of the river. It was named after George Washington, the president of the U.S.A.
Washington D. C., a government city, is an important cultural (文化) center as well as a big tourist (游览) center.
Most capital cities have simply grown from small cities. Washington, however was planned as the capital of a great nation. It was designed by a French artist who first made a study of many capital cities of Europe. In general, his plan followed the plan of the beautiful French city of Versailles (凡尔赛).
61. When the new capital was built , America was made up of ____ states.
A. thirteen                           B. thirty         C. fifty                  D. fifteen
62. Washington D.C. is the name of _______.
A. an American president            B. America’s capital
C. a famous river                  D. a beautiful garden city
63. According to the passage we can conclude that America’s capital_____.
A. lies in the center on the country              B. came from a small city
C. was built by French workers            D. lies on the River Potomac
64. According to the passage we can infer that Washington D.C. is the center of America’s ______.
A. economy (经济), sports and culture B. culture, traveling and sports
C. politics, culture and traveling          D. politics, culture and economy

The fourth of July marks the anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence from Britain. During the summer of 1776, American colonists were deeply divided. Almost one in three was loyal to Britain. Yet most were increasingly angry about what they considered unfair treatment by the British government. By June, fighting had already taken place between colonial forces and Britain. The idea of independence was spreading.

Delegates (代表) from the thirteen colonies gathered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Continental Congress decided that a document declaring separation from Britain should be declared. Thomas Jefferson led a committee chosen to write it.

On July 4^th, 1776, the Continental Congress voted to approve the Declaration of Independence. It says that people have the right to change their government if it denies them their rights. It states that everyone has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit (追求) of happiness.

Today, the Fourth of July holiday is a time for friends and families to gather. They might play sports and eat hot dogs, hamburgers and other foods cooked outdoors. They might watch a parade in their community. At night, many people gather to watch fireworks bursting in the dark sky.

In Washington, D. C. this year (2011), thousands of people attended a concert with performances by musicians. There was also a huge fireworks show with more than two thousand five hundred shells exploding over the National Mall.

Another event that traditionally took place on the National Mall was the Smithsonian Folk life Festival. This year’s event celebrated the cultures of Mexico and Asian Pacific Americans. Visitors heard the music, eat the food and learn about the many traditions of these cultures.

The third subject of the festival was called “Smithsonian Inside Out”. Smithsonian experts had a chance to present their research and knowledge to the public.

1.Why was the idea of independence spreading before July 4, 1776? (No more than 10 words)

2.What right does everyone have according to the Declaration of Independence? (No more than 13 rds)

3.What does the Fourth of July holiday mean to Americans today? (No more than 10 words)

4.What happened at “Smithsonian Inside Out” this year (in 2011)? (No more than 12 words)

第一节 完形填空（共10小题；每小题2分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21～30各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
There was once a scientist. After a lot of practice and efforts, he learned the art of reproducing himself. He did it so   21   that it was impossible to tell the reproduction from the original.
One day while doing his research, he   22   that the Angel of Death was searching for him. In order to remain   23   he reproduced a dozen copies of himself. The reproductions were so   24   that all of them looked exactly like him. Now when this Angel of Death came down, she was at a loss to know which of the thirteen before her was the original scientist and
25  . She left them all alone and returned to the heaven.
But, not for long, for being an expert in human   26  , the Angel came up with a clever idea. She said to the scientist,   27   all thirteen of them, “Sir, you must be a genius to have succeeded in making such perfect reproduction yourself. However, I’ve discovered a flaw(缺陷) in your work, just one tiny little flaw.”
The scientist immediately jumped out and shouted, “  28  ! Where is the flaw?”
“Right here.” said the Angel, as she   29   up the scientist from among the reproductions and carried him off.
The whole purpose of the scientist and his reproduction failed as he couldn’t control his
30  , so he lost his life.
21．A．quickly                   B．perfectly                 C．actually                  D．really
22．A．realized                  B．remembered            C．acknowledged         D．complained
23．A．superb                    B．young                     C．aware                     D．alive
24．A．different                 B．familiar                  C．popular                   D．similar
25．A．confirmed               B．blamed                   C．confused                 D．frightened
26．A．history                   B．nature                     C．society                    D．system
27．A．addressing                     B．mentioning             C．encouraging            D．challenging
28．A．Unbearable             B．Suspectable             C．Fantastic                 D．Impossible
29．A．picked                    B．took                       C．caught                    D．hid
30．A．soul                       B．idea                        C．pride                      D．spirit