Dear Xiaohua:
I’m very glad to receive your letter. From your letter, I know you have shown 【小题1】  great interest in inventing new things. That’s great. As for how to be an inventor, there is no quick answer to   【小题2】  .
Coming from different cultures and having different backgrounds, inventors do not seem to have much   【小题3】  common. But creative thinking,   【小题4】  is greatly valued, is perhaps the basic skill an inventor should have. In order to explore new possibilities, you will have to learn to break   【小题5】 from old thought patterns. When you get stuck, try to look at the problem in   【小题6】 many ways as possible. Each new   【小题7】may improve your understanding.
More importantly, always keep it in your mind  【小题8】  success is no accident. It is the result of a long process of trial and error. Above all, the main task for you is to study hard and try to learn more knowledge. This, of course, will lay a solid foundation.
Hope your future invention will make a difference.
Good luck.                                       
Yours,
Wang Li

Everywhere man is altering the balance of nature．He is facilitating the spread of plants and animals into new regions, sometimes deliberately, sometimes unconsciously．He is covering huge areas with new kinds of plants, or with houses, factories, slag-heaps and other products of his civilization．He exterminates some species on a large scale, but favors the multiplication of others．In brief, he has done more in five thousand years to alter the biological aspect of the planet than has nature in five million．
Many of these changes which he has brought about have had unforeseen consequences．Who would have thought that the throwing away of a piece of Canadian waterweed would have caused half the waterways of Britain to be blocked for a decade, or that the provision of pot cacti for lonely settlers’ wives would have led to Eastern Australian being overrun with forests of Prickly Pear? Who would have prophesied that the cutting down of forests on the Adriatic coasts, or in parts of Central Africa, could have reduced the land to a semi desert, with the very soil washed away from the bare rock? Who would have thought that improved communications would have changed history by the spreading of disease-sleeping sickness into East Africa, measles into Oceania, very possibly malaria into ancient Greece?
These are spectacular examples; but examples on a smaller scale are everywhere to be found．We make a nature sanctuary for rare birds, prescribing absolute security for all species; and we may find that some common and hardy kind of bird multiplies beyond measure and ousts the rare kinds in which we were particularly interested．We see, owing to some little change brought about by civilization, the starling spread over the English country-side in hordes．We improve the yielding capacities of our cattle; and find that now they exhaust the pastures which sufficed for less exigent stock．
【小题1】The following examples except _______________ reflect man altering the balance of nature．

A．man is covering huge areas with new kinds of plants

B．man is facilitating the spread of animals into new regions．

C．man is killing some species on a large scale

D．man is getting to know the importance of keeping the balance of nature．

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to __1__ the house－building business to live a more __2__ life with his wife and __3__ his extended family. He would miss the paycheck(工资) each week, but he wanted to retire. They could __4__. 

The employer was __5__ to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favour. The carpenter said yes, __6__ over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He used bad workmanship and __7__ materials. It was an unfortunate way to __8__ a dedicated(献身的)career.

When the carpenter finished  his work, his employer came to __9__ the house. Then he handed the front－door __10__ to the carpenter and said, “This is your house... my __11__ to you.”

The carpenter was shocked!

What a __12__！ If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

__13__  it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting __14__ than our best into the building. Then, with a shock, we __15__ we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we would do it much differently.

But, you cannot __16__. You are the carpenter, and every day you hammer a nail, place a board, or build a wall. Someone __17__ said, “Life is a do－it－yourself project.” Your __18__，  and the choices you __19__ today, help build the “house” you will live in tomorrow. Therefore, build __20__！

1. A. continue　　　  B. start　　　C. leave　　　D. find

2. A. leisurely       B. lonely     C. orderly    D. friendly                 

3. A support        B. share      C. enjoy     D. care                  

4. A. go off             B. get by

C. pass on            D. work away

5. A. polite         B. nervous   C. proud     D. sorry                   

6. A. but           B. while     C. which       D. before         

7. A. perfect        B. inferior   C. superior    D. tough                  

8. A. satisfy      B. improve     C. meet      D. end                      

9. A. buy        B. repair       C. inspect    D. sell                  

10. A. roof      B. window      C. key      D. design                   

11. A. gift       B. promise      C. salary    D. words

12. A. disappointment      B. shame         

C. pleasure             D. success        

13. A. So       B. Yet          C. As       D. Such                    

14. A. worse     B. more        C. rather     D. less                     

15. A. realize    B. explain       C. think      D. admit                   

16. A. step forward         B. go back

C. come out            D. look around

17. A. never     B. again        C. once     D. nearly            

18. A. attitude   B. experience    C. skill      D. advantage       

19. A. learn       B. take       C. see        D. make                   

20. A. badly  B. wisely      C. early         D. confidently             

第一节 完形填空
You’ve just finish you’re a-levels and you’ve got a place at university, but you’d really like a break from the academic world. Why not think about taking a year out? While most students go     1         from school to university, more and more people today are choosing to spend a year at “the university of life”  2      . There are lots of things to choose from. You could work in a bank or do community work. You might even do something challenging, such as  3      an exploration（探险）to the Amazon rainforest. The experience will  4      your horizons and teach you new skills. It may also give you the chance to earn some money, which will be very helpful when you  5      start your studies. If you are interested in taking a year out, you must make sure that the university will  6       your place for you till next year. Most are quite happy to do this,  7        they find that year-out students are  8        experienced, confident, and independent. But don’t forget: it’s a year out not a year  9        . Your university will want to know what you’re going to do. They won’t be very pleased if you just want to do _10        for a year. So what would do with a year out?
(   ) 1. A. easily            B. simply             C. fast           D. straight
(   ) 2. A. last              B. first               C. at last         D. at first
(   ) 3. A. participating       B. joining            C. attending      D. expecting
(   ) 4. A. broaden           B. spread            C. improve       D. raise
(   ) 5. A. hopefully          B. willingly          C. eventually     D. happily
(   ) 6. A. hold             B. leave             C. occupy        D. remain
(   ) 7. A. however           B. though           C. as             D. when
(   )  8. A. less             B. much             C. even           D. more
(   )  9. A. in              B. off               C. away          D. through
(   ) 10. A. nothing          B. something          C. anything       D. everything

Long long ago, there was a small village. This village had a  36   tradition. At the beginning of every year, any boy who had reached the age of majority (成年) was given land and money to build a home. The boy had to  37  his home before winter. If his home failed to endure the cold weather in winter, the villagers could not  38   him in any way．
One _39_, Paul and Marc reached their majority. They  40  their land and money and decided to search nearby villages for ideas on building their homes．In each village, they found the nicest  41  and talked to the owners. Each owner gladly offered  42 ．
After Marc saw several homes, he  43  the best ideas and went back to his own land. Paul, _44_, continued collecting more ideas. Soon he had so many great ideas that he began to  45  some of them. But he always believed he could find even better ideas in the next village．
Marc began building his home. He had several false starts,  46   his home gradually rose from his land. By fall, Marc had finished his home. It wasn't perfect, but it was strong and he could  47  it later. Paul enjoyed all the beautiful homes and 48  with home owners. The first snow came and Paul, realizing he was running out of time, 49   back to his land. He built the best home he could in the time he had, but it was 50  .The first winter storm destroyed his home and he froze to  51 ．The villagers mourned for him．
Marc  52  the winter．Each year, Marc searched for other good ideas he could use to make his own home look better. He became a leader in the village, 53  a family, and lived a happy, content life．
We all build and improve our own mental homes. It’s  54   and fun for us to search for ideas from other mental home owners, but we only improve our own mental home if we actually  55  the best ideas．