Sir William Osler has a few words for you: “In the Life of a young man the most essential thing for happiness is the gift of friendship.” Truer words were never spoken. For what more could you ask than comradeship during the peaks and valleys of life? To whom else but a close, valuable friend can you show off your successes and complain about your failures or losses?
What is a “good friend”? How is he best described? Well, it has been my observation that although many will cry with you, few can sincerely rejoice (欣喜) with you. Therefore, in my opinion, a good friend is one who can enjoy your successes without envy; one who can say, “That was wonderful! You can do it again, even better if you want!” and mean it. Nothing taxes a friendship more than the prosperity of one and not the other. Even the closest of friendships often cannot resist such pressure and fail. No wonder many minor friendships go down day by day for the same reason.
A person of good character and sound moral, of honor and humor, of courage and belief is a friend to be sought and treasured — for there are few. Too often we hear, “If you can count your good friends on more than one hand, consider yourself blessed.”
What makes a friendship last? Well, I don’t know all the answers, but one of my observations is that most good friends usually have similar tastes. They generally like and dislike many of the same things. There also usually seems to exist a similarity of personality types — especially in the fundamental values of life such as honesty, sincerity, loyalty, and dependability. More often than not, birds of a feather do fly together. I don’t think it matters a lot whether one prefers jazz or hockey to another’s Mozart or ballet. Much other matters far more: relying, sharing, giving, getting, enjoying; a sympathetic ear always there; criticism when it can help; praise — even if only because it would help. With not many people on this earth will you find this much in common. When you find one, hang on to him, for a good friend found is a rare treasure.
1. The function of Paragraph 1 is to introduce _____.
A. a famous saying 
B. the topic for discussion
C. a famous person 
D. two different attitudes
2. What is the meaning of the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2?
A. People don’t have to pay taxes to develop friendship with others.
B. Success of one person can promote his friendship with others.
C. Friendship can be affected by the difference in success between friends.
D. Nothing can affect friendship because it has gone through the peaks and valleys of life.
3. What is the main idea of Paragraph 3?
A. One is lucky to have many friends.
B. A friend should have a good character.
C. We should count our friends on more than one hand.
D. A true friend should be treasured because there are few.
4. According to the passage, which of the following plays the LEAST important role in a long-lasting friendship?
A. Hobbies.                            B. Tastes.
C. Personality.                          D. Sympathy.

Many of us already know about several American superstitions（迷信）. Having a black cat cross your path, walking under a ladder, and breaking a mirror are all bad luck. In addition, there are many other superstitions that are worth knowing. Understanding them will keep you safe from evil spirits —if you believe in such things —and impress your American friends when you mention them.

Like the superstitions in other cultures, American superstitions often involve the things important in daily life, such as health, numbers, and marriage. For example, have you ever had a cough that would not go away? According to one American superstition, you should take a piece of your hair and put it between two slices of buttered bread. Next, feed this hair sandwich to a dog and say, “Eat well, you hound, may you be sick and I be sound.” This will trick the evil spirits and help your cough. It will also raise some eyebrows if you try it.

In American superstitions, the number three is very important. Often, Americas will say, “All things come in threes.” Three is lucky because it represents the traditional family: mother, father, and child. Therefore, gifts, letters, and guests will often arrive at your home in groups of three. However, it is also possible for bad events, like accidents and funerals, to come in threes as well.

Another time people pay attention to superstitions is when they get married. During a wedding, brides must wear or carry “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”. The old and borrowed things will bring luck to the person who gives them to the bride. The new and blue things will bring good fortune to the bride herself. The next time someone you know is getting married, be sure to recite this phrase.

As it would be unlucky to discuss one more superstition, we will wind things up here. Keep your fingers crossed, and stay lucky!

1.The passage is most probably entitled        .

    A. American’s Bad Luck                 B. Cross-culture and Superstitions

    C. American Superstitions               D. Daily Life in Superstitions

2.The underlined sentence in the second paragraph “It will also raise some eyebrows if you try it.” means        .

    A. when you try it, the dog will raise its eyebrows.

    B. you will make people surprised when you try this trick

    C. only if you raise your eyebrows can the trick work

    D. you will believe in the trick after you try it

3. In American’s view, the number three is a(n)         number.

    A. lucky                B. unlucky          C. special              D. ordinary

4. On the wedding, the bride often uses old and borrowed things so as to          .

    A. save some money for the wedding         

B. bring good luck to the people who give them to the bride

    C. give the good luck to the bride herself

    D. pass the bad luck to others

5. After reading the passage, we may feel it is written in a         tone.

    A. formal               B. serious          C. humorous         D. critical

单词拼写（共10 小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
【小题1】_________ (星期四)is the day of the week after Wednesday and before Friday.
【小题2】The article has been_________ (删除) before I could read.
【小题3】 He knows nothing about our new plan because he has been ___ (缺席) from work for days.
【小题4】She always ________ (抱怨 ) about her husband.
【小题5】We’re looking forward to _________ (收到)your reply as soon as possible.
【小题6】Girls and boys should be treated _________ (平等地) in seeking employment.
【小题7】The building was_______(毁坏)in the war, and it was rebuilt in 1960.
【小题8】The custom has been kept up for ______ (十年).
【小题9】He is lucky to win a_______(奖学金)to study further at Stanford.
【小题10】 Measures have been taken to clean the _________ (受污染的) rivers.

Many of us already know about several American superstitions（迷信）. Having a black cat cross your path, walking under a ladder, and breaking a mirror are all bad luck. In addition, there are many other superstitions that are worth knowing. Understanding them will keep you safe from evil spirits —if you believe in such things —and impress your American friends when you mention them.

Like the superstitions in other cultures, American superstitions often involve the things important in daily life, such as health, numbers, and marriage. For example, have you ever had a cough that would not go away? According to one American superstition, you should take a piece of your hair and put it between two slices of buttered bread. Next, feed this hair sandwich to a dog and say, “Eat well, you hound, may you be sick and I be sound.” This will trick the evil spirits and help your cough. It will also raise some eyebrows if you try it.

In American superstitions, the number three is very important. Often, Americas will say, “All things come in threes.” Three is lucky because it represents the traditional family: mother, father, and child. Therefore, gifts, letters, and guests will often arrive at your home in groups of three. However, it is also possible for bad events, like accidents and funerals, to come in threes as well.

Another time people pay attention to superstitions is when they get married. During a wedding, brides must wear or carry “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”. The old and borrowed things will bring luck to the person who gives them to the bride. The new and blue things will bring good fortune to the bride herself. The next time someone you know is getting married, be sure to recite this phrase.

As it would be unlucky to discuss one more superstition, we will wind things up here. Keep your fingers crossed, and stay lucky!

The passage is most probably entitled        .

    A. American’s Bad Luck                 B. Cross-culture and Superstitions

    C. American Superstitions               D. Daily Life in Superstitions

The underlined sentence in the second paragraph “It will also raise some eyebrows if you try it.” means        .

    A. when you try it, the dog will raise its eyebrows.

    B. you will make people surprised when you try this trick

    C. only if you raise your eyebrows can the trick work

    D. you will believe in the trick after you try it

In American’s view, the number three is a(n)         number.

    A. lucky                B. unlucky          C. special              D. ordinary

On the wedding, the bride often uses old and borrowed things so as to          .

    A. save some money for the wedding         

B. bring good luck to the people who give them to the bride

    C. give the good luck to the bride herself

    D. pass the bad luck to others

After reading the passage, we may feel it is written in a         tone.

    A. formal               B. serious          C. humorous         D. critical

Nodira, 18, lives in the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan. She was born with a rare disease and is now paralyzed(瘫痪) from the waist down. Her life is confined to a wheelchair but her dreams know no such boundaries. Her hopes for the future include attending university, riding in her father’s car and being able to walk like other children.

Nodira, which means ‘unique’ in Uzbek, is one of five children in a poor family. Every morning, after reciting her prayers, Nodira feeds the hens and goats from her wheelchair. The rest of her day is spent knitting for other people and helping her mother with the household chores.

Nodira has never been to school because it is too far from her home and inaccessible for her wheelchair. A local teacher used to come and tutor her at home and, as a result, she was able to finish third grade. After that, her parents moved to another town and the tutor could not visit as much.

Despite the many difficulties in Nodira’s life she is lucky to be living with her family. The stigma(羞辱) attached to the children living with disabilities, combined with the lack of wheelchair access in schools and the economic difficulties faced by many Uzbek families, have led many parents to place children with disabilities in special institutions.

These days, Nodira does homework exercises at home and reads as much as she can. Still, it is unlikely that she will be able to finish her primary education, much less attend university. While missing out on an education is a great disappointment to Nodira, her greatest wish, for a true friend, can still come true. “What I want more than anything is a friend who also has a disability,” she says. “Somebody will not feel sorry for me or make fun of me, and will understand what my life is like.”

The underlined sentence in the first paragraph probably means “_____”.

A. her dreams will help her desert her wheel chair

B. her dreams are never limited by her disability

C. she often dreams of moving freely without a wheel chair

D. she never dreams of recovering from her disability

Nodira does all the following every day EXCEPT _____.

A. give food to some animals 

B. to make clothes from woolen or cotton thread

C. drive cars designed for the disabled  

D. help with the housework

The underlined word “tutor” in the 3rd paragraph can be replaced by “_____”.

A. educate         B. visit        C. treat             D. comfort

What Nodira wants most is ______.

A. to go to university                              B. to walk on her own feet

C. to finish her primary education         D. to find a true friend