The name “cowboy” conjures up many different images from movies, songs and TV. These imagined cowboys range from white-hat-wearing heroes to gun-shooting hooligans(流氓).But, cowboys are actually real people from US history.?

When the US Civil War ended, many soldiers had no place to call home. So, they began to drift to the country's rural West. Ranchers(农场主) hired these men to take care of the cattle and work around the ranch. When the ranch owner wanted to sell the cattle, the cowboys would round up the herd from the open prairie(牧场) and drive the cattle miles to the market.?

With the invention of barbed wire(铁丝网),the cowboy era(1865-1890) began to come to an end. But people in the East had always been curious about their lifestyle. Many country/western songs during this time tried to capture the true cowboy spirit. Newspapers published cowboy tales in serial form and adventure novels followed. The bigger the fiction, the better the sales. These novels often portrayed cowboys as cruel and violent men. Cowboys carried the bad reputation for many years afterwards.

When movies began to be popular in the 1920s,the cowboy image changed again. Now, a cowboy became the great white knight(骑士) that loved his horse more than the beautiful ladies he rescued. As the cowboy of the “Old West” spent more time with his horse than the ladies, this era's image was not entirely false.

Then, in the 50s,Hollywood began producing so-called “spaghetti westerns(意大利西部片)”.They earned the nickname because Italian companies financed the films and TV shows. This started the decade's “Cowboy Craze”.While this didn't last long, it made modern country/western music, fashion and dance extremely popular.?

In recent years, with the help of musicians, radio stations and bars, cowboy nostalgia(怀旧情绪) has returned. Even though his image is still changing—somewhere between ballad singing country boy and bar?room fighter—there's one thing for sure, you can't keep the cowboy down.?

The purpose of this story is to _______.

A. introduce cowboy movies and novels?

B. introduce various productions associated with cowboys?

C. show the cowboy's everlasting charm　?

D. inform us about the cowboy's spirit?

Before they became cowboys, they _______.

A. served in the army    B. worked as bar-room fighters?

C. owned ranches      D. were adventurous explorers?

During “the cowboy era” mentioned in the story, _______.?

A. the cowboy often came to the rescue of ladies in newspaper tales?

B. the distant Wild West appealed to people in the East?

C. cowboys were shown as cruel and violent men on the silver screen?

D. country music started the cowboy craze which swept the whole country

By saying “you can't keep the cowboy down”,the writer means that _______.

A. cowboys are real people in history   B. cowboys still fascinate people?

C. you can't make cowboys unhappy     D. you can't grasp the cowboy spirit?

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（ \ ）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出其修改后的词。
注意：1． 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2． 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Last Sunday I saw a worst storm in years． It came sudden and went on for over three hours． After lunch, I went into my room to have a rest． The air was hotter, and all is quiet． Then a strong wind started to blow into my room． Pieces of paper on my desk flew high into the air and some flew out the open window． As I ran out to catch them, big drop of rain began to fall． When I came back into house, it was raining harder and harder． I tried very hard to close the window． Then I heard a loudly crashing sound from the back of the house． When I ran out of my room to find out what had happened: a big tree had fallen down and broke the top of the backroom．

第三部分阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）

第一节：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A  teenage girl is fighting for her life today after being struck by lightning as severe thunderstorms swept across Britain. The girl was one of four teenage girls from London who were hit by lightning in the Parade Ground area of Hyde Park during a storm.  Earlier, Joseph Wharton, 14, died as he was struck by lightning while camping in his friend’s backyard in the West Midlands.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said the girl remained in serious condition at St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington. She had stooped breathing by the time the first paramedic arrived on the scene just two minutes after the strike at 5:40 p.m. yesterday.

The other three girls hit by the bolt all had injuries, and were taken to University College Hospital. Their conditions were not serious, the spokesman added. The strike lifted the girls into the air and then dropped them to the ground, a witness reported.

A spokesman for the London Ambulance Service said paramedics risked their lives to treat the girls. “The storm was still overhead and lightning was still coming down while they were treating the patients,” he said. “All staff involved acted very professionally in providing fast treatment to these patients in very difficult circumstances.” Scotland Yard said the incident was being looked into by officers from the Royal Parks’Operational Command Unit.

Joseph Wharton of Byland Way, Bloxwich, was hit during the extended thunderstorm which struck the region yesterday morning. He was pronounced dead at Walsall Manor Hospital.

He had been sleeping in a tent while staying with school friend Michael Lees at a house on nearby Cresswell Crescent.                            

West Midlands Ambulance Service said paramedics were called at 7:50 a.m. and unsuccessful attempts were made to revive the sports-mad teenager. A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said four or five people die each year as a result of lightning strikes in the UK.

1.All four girls  _______________.

A  were killed by the lightning             B  were seriously injured

C  were being treated at the same hospital    D  were lifted up and dropped to the ground

2  The underlined word “bolt” probably means  “ ______________”

A  thunder    B  rain     C  storm     D  lightning

3  Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A  The boy was killed after the four girls had been hit.

B  The paramedics began to treat the girls after taking them to the hospital.

C  First-aid was given to the girls during the storm.

D  The boy was hit by lightning in the Parade Ground area of Hyde Park.

4  It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A  many British people die from lightning strikes every year

B  the writer blames the government for the accident

C  the paramedics could also have been hit by lighting while aiding the girls.

D  Joseph had been playing in the open air before the strike

5  This passage is probably taken from a _______.

A  magazine   B  newspaper   C  science fiction     D  weather report

(2013·高考四川卷，B)On a sunny day last August，Tim heard some shouting.Looking out to the sea carefully，he saw a couple of kids in a rowboat were being pulled out to sea.

Two 12?year?old boys，Christian and Jack，rowed out a boat to search for a football.Once they’d rowed beyond the calm waters，a beach umbrella tied to the boat caught the wind and pulled the boat into open water.The pair panicked and tried to row back to shore.But they were no match for it and the boat was out of control.

Tim knew it would soon be swallowed by the waves.

“Everything went quiet in my head，”Tim recalls(回忆)．“I was trying to figure out how to swim to the boys in a straight line.”

Tim took off his clothes and jumped into the water.Every 500 yards or so，he raised his head to judge his progress.“At one point，I considered turning back，” he says.“I wondered if I was putting my life at risk.”After 30 minutes of struggling，he was close enough to yell to the boys，“Take down the umbrella！”

Christian made much effort to take down the umbrella.Then Tim was able to catch up and climb aboard the boat.He took over rowing，but the waves were almost too strong for him.

“Let’s aim for the pier(码头)，”Jack said.Tim turned the boat toward it.Soon afterward，waves crashed over the boat，and it began to sink.“Can you guys swim？”he cried.“A little bit，”the boys said.

Once they were in the water，Tim decided it would be safer and faster for him to pull the boys toward the pier.Christian and Jack were wearing life jackets and floated on their backs.Tim swam toward land as water washed over the boys’faces.

“Are we almost there？”they asked again and again.“Yes，”Tim told them each time.

After 30 minutes，they reached the pier.

1.Why did the two boys go to the sea?

A．To go boat rowing.

B．To get back their football.

C．To swim in the open water.

D．To test the umbrella as a sail.

2.What does “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．The beach. B．The water.

C．The boat. D．The wind.

3.Why did Tim raise his head regularly?

A．To take in enough fresh air.

B．To consider turning back or not.

C．To check his distance from the boys.

D．To ask the boys to take down the umbrella.

4.How did the two boys finally reach the pier?

A．They were dragged to the pier by Tim.

B．They swam to the pier all by themselves.

C．They were washed to the pier by the waves.

D．They were carried to the pier by Tim on his back.

There are some very good things about open education. This way of teaching allows the students to develop their own interests in many subjects. Open education allows students to be responsible for their own education. Some students do badly in traditional classrooms. The open classroom may allow them to enjoy learning. Some students will be happier in an open education school. They will not have to worry about grades or rules.

But many students will not do well in an open classroom. For some students, there are too few rules. These students will do little in school. They will not make good use of open education. Because open education is so different from traditional education, these students may have a problem of getting used to making so many choices. For many students it is important to have some rules in the classroom. They worry about the rules even when there are no rules. Even a few rules will help this kind of students. The last point about open education is that some traditional teachers do not like it. Many teachers do not believe in open education. Teachers who want to have an open classroom may have many problems at their school.

You now know what open education is. Some of its good points and bad points have been explained. You may have your own opinion about open education. The writer thinks that open education is a good idea, but only in theory. In actual fact, it may not work very well in a real class or school. The writer believes that most students, but of course not all students, want some structure in their classes. They want and need to have some rules. In some cases, they must be made to study some subjects. Many students are pleased to find subjects they have to study interesting. They would not study those subjects if they did not have to.

Title: Open Education