E

    Martin Murray is a school boy and he is fifteen years old. He used to be a problem child. He used to give his mother many p1 . However,after his father'sdeath,Martin's life became much more difficult. His mother couldn’t afford to payfor her c 2 education. She had to work,and so she was not often at home.

    His mother tried her best to look after him. Unfortunately,Martin still caused trouble. He was not in studying and he often got into trouble with the police. L4,his mother was very patient and didn’t give up trying to help him. In the end,she made a difficult d 5to send him to a boy’s boarding school. Martin hated it and caused a lot of trouble. One day,he told his teacher he wanted to leave the school. Even the teacher agreed that Martin was wasting his time.

    The head teacher said it was necessary for Martin to talk with his mother. Martin called his mother,but to his surprise,this conversation changed his life. “It was exactly what I needed”，he said. “I k6 how much my mother had given me. She also told me that even though my father was not with us,he was watching me and would always take p7  in everything good I do. That's when I decided to change. ”

    Now Martin has really changed. He w 8 hard and gets “A. s” in all subjects. He is now one of the b9 students in his class. His mother helps him to feel good about h 10 . And as he says, “It's very important for parents to be there for their children. 

1.  2.

3.  4.

5.  6.

7.  8. 

9.  10.

D

     When I was one year old,because of my illness my parents made their decision and my life began as how it is now. My right leg was cut off by doctors.

     After the operation,I learned to walk with an artificial limb. I had no personal memory of this as I was too young,but my mother told me all of that. Then I learned to run with my artificial limb. I used to walk around,play on the playground and get stand in my artificial limb. In the kindergarten,my classmates felt strange. I was often asked why I wore a “wooden leg”. And I always asked my mother why my leg was as such and why I was different But all that didn’t stop me from taking part in Sports Day!In Primary 2,I took part in an egg balancing race. After the race and,I ran to my mom and proudly said I won 3rd place!She asked me ,“How many students took part in that race,Mark?” I said

,“Three!”

根据短文内容，回答下面的问题。

1. When was the writer's right leg cut off by doctors?

2. Why didn't the writer remember what happened to his leg?

3. How did the writer's kindergarten classmates feel about him?

4. How many students took part in the egg balancing race?

5. How did the writer feel about the result of the race?

C

     I told my friend Graham that I often ride two miles from my house to the town center but unfortunately there is a big hill on the way. He replied, ^You are fortunate.He explained that I should be glad of the extra exercise that the hill provided.

     My attitude to the hill has now changed. I used to complain about it but now I tell myself the following. This hill will exercise my body. It will help me to lose weight and get fit. It means that I will live longer. This hill is my friend.

     Problems are there to be faced and overcome. The most important to succeed in life is our attitude towards adversity. From time to time we all face hardships,problems,accidents,difficulties and so on. We cannot choose the adversity,but we can choose our attitude towards it.

     Douglas Bader lost both legs because of a flying accident when he was 21 in 1931. He decided to fly again and later became a hero. He said ,“Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you can't do this or that. Make up your mind,then you can have a go at everything.

     Great people in history chose their positive attitude. They took on the challenge. They won.

() 1. It's from the writer's house to the town center.

   A. two miles

   B. two kilometers

   C. twenty miles

   D. twenty kilometers

() 2. The writer used to think the big hill was to him.

   A. lucky   B. good

   C. important   D. bad

() 3. The underlined word “adversity” means “ ” in Chinese.

   A. 失败   B. 逆境

   C. 顺境   D. 胜利

() 4. What can we learn from Douglas Bader?

   A. Don’t listen to others.

   B. How to be a hero.

   C. How to get on well with others.

   D. Make up your mind to do what you want to do.

() 5. What is the best title for this passage?

   A. How to climb mountains.

   B. Exercise makes you live longer.

   C. Face adversity with a smile.

   D. The story of Douglas Bader.

B

    Although I was never a thin girl,I was always fit because I played basketball from the 5th grade right through college. But after graduation,I got married and gave up playing basketball. Then I started eating too much. In 10 years,my weight increased from 175 to 245 pounds. What was even worse,my son picked up a bad eating habit.As a four-year-old boy,he liked having French fries because he often saw me put those things into my mouth.

     I read an article in my husband’s health magazine. It said that being too fat can shorten a person's life by five to ten years. That was scary. I didn't want to leave my son because of my poor eating habits. After that,every time I wanted to have French fries,I would think that I could be here a little bit longer if I just ate better.

     One of my friends told me that an organization was offering a free course to help people lose weight,so I decided to join it. The teacher gave each type of food a certain number of calories? and how many calories we needed to eat a day. After I came home from the first class,I calculated the calories of food in my meal. If I wanted,I could have pizza every night. But when I learned that one piece had a lot of calories,I decided not to eat as many pieces as I wanted.

() 1. How many pounds in weight did the writer increase in 10 years?

   A. 50 pounds. B. 70 pounds.

   C. 120 pounds. D. 175 pounds.

() 2. The underlined phrase ^picked up" is similar to “ ” in meaning.

   A. formed   B. won

   C. chose   D. collected

() 3. According to her husband's health magazine,being too fat can

   A. help women give birth to babies

   B. shorten a person's life by years

   C. help people live a little bit longer

   D. be fit for playing some sports

() 4. The teacher of the free course told the students .

   A. to do sports every day

   B. to give up eating pizza

   C. how many calories of food they needed a day

   D. the types of food they could eat to lose weight

() 5. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

   A. The writer's son used to eat French fries every night.

   B. The writer's husband was not happy before she lost weight.

   C. The writer was on the cover of a magazine in January,2012.

   D. The writer gave up playing basketball after she got married.

A

() 1. What is mary's problems?

   A. She has too many hobbies.

   B. Her mom made her study all the time.

   C. She had a fight with her friend.

   D. She doesn’t have many friends.

() 2. What has Mary been doing this week?

   A. Studying. B. Hanging out with friends.

   C. Riding bikes outside. D. Staying at home.

() 3. What does the underlined word “ground” mean?

   A. To watch someone.

   B. To have fun with someone.

   C. To look after someone.

   D. To stop a child from going out.

() 4. Who set a good example for Andy?

   A. His mum. B. His teacher. C. His friend. D. His cousin.

() 5. What does Andy try to encourage Mary to do?

   A. To enjoy her life. B. To play outside.

   C. To study hard. D. To make money.

F

     One day,the star saw a lovely blue planet. The little star 3 her parents’ words.She flew off in order to have a better look at it. When she arrived in the blue planet,the people and animals thought she was a firefly and everyone wanted to catch 4 .

     She was scared and 5 herself under a piece of white 6 . Seeing the cloth moving,everyone thought she was a ghost and ran away. She walked on. Then she arrived at a mountain 7 a great monster lived. She tried to use the white cloth to scare the monster,too. But when she got 8 to the monster,she was surrounded by9 Luckily,she managed to escape from the fire and the monster.

      She wanted to go home,but she forgot the way. At the same time,her parents were 10 her everywhere. Then,when it was dark,her parents saw her light and took her home.

The little star decided that she wouldn’t go out on her own until she was much older.

() 1. A. risk   B. wait   C. taste   D. continue

() 2. A. old   B. hard   C. young   D. easy

() 3. A. remembered   B. forgot   C. increased   D. reduced

() 4. A. him   B. it   C. them   D. her

() 5. A. hid   B. appeared   C. stole   D. threw

() 6. A. quilt   B. stick   C. cloth   D. scarf

() 7. A. which   B. what   C. that   D. where

() 8. A. farther   B. closer   C. quieter   D. quicker

() 9. A. water   B. fire   C. ghosts   D. stars

() l0. A. looking for   B. looking at   C. looking after   D. looking out

E

     Most Western people believe 12 star signs and they think that one's date of birth d 1 his star sign. They also think that people born under different star signs have different characteristics. In t 2 opinion,if you were born on 16th May,you should be stubborn,hard-working and patient. You do not like change,and never give up e 3 .

     Is it completely right? I don't think so. A person's birthday can't be decided by h 4 . But his characteristics can be c 5 by the environment around him. I have a friend. He was born on 15th April and b 6 to Aries. According to the information about Aries,we know that people of Aries are sometimes too impatient and a little selfish. But my friend always d 7 things patiently,and he often thinks of others m 8 than himself and isn’t selfish at all. He isn’t interested in b 9 a leader but just does what he should do.

1.  2.

3.  4.

5.  6.

7.  8.

9.  10.

C

     The planet,where a year lasts 290 days,was first discovered two years ago. NASA scientists watched it with the Kepler space telescope for many years. The result offers the best hope for future human to live on the planet,although it is outside the Solar System.

     One of the key conditions for human to live on a planet is temperature. And the right distance from the main star can offer the temperature which is neither too cold nor too hot. “We have already come to a conclusion,it is true that Kepler 22b is a living place for mankind!” Bill Borucki,a researcher from NASA Ames Research Center,said like this.

     There are another two planets outside the system. In May,French astronomers identified Gliese 581d. In August,a team from Switzerland discovered another planet called HD 85512b. HD 85512b is 3. 6  times as large as the Earth while Gliese 58Id is about six times as large as the Earth. And the two planets are much closer to our earth than 22b. The closer one to us is Gliese 581 d,which is around 20 light years away.

() 1. People can live on the planet 22b because it has .

   A. land and water

   B. land and temperatures

   C. land,water and temperatures

   D. land,water,temperatures and the right atmosphere

() 2. On the planet 22b people will have days in a year.

   A. 600   B. 365

   C. 360   D. 290

() 3. The underlined word “identified” here means “ ” in English

   A. discovered   B. observed

   C. boarded   D. closed

() 4. Which of the planets is the closest to the Earth?

   A. 22b. B. Gliese 581 d.

   C. HD 85512b. D. None.

() 5. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

   A. The planet 22b is outside the Solar System.

   B. Both HD 85512b and Gliese 58Id are smaller than Earth.

   C. The planet HD 85512b was discovered by Swiss scientists.

   D. On the planet 22b,the temperature is neither too cold nor too hot.

B

     Thousands of years ago,the ancient people of Babylon and Egypt studied the stars in the sky and created the zodiac. It was first used to tell time. Later,many people used the stars to describe a person's character and to foretell what would happen in the future.

     A person's star sign is connected to his or her birth date. Some believe this sign can tell us about a person's character. For example,some think that a person born under the sign of Aries (between 21st March and 20th April) is adventurous. A person born under Cancer (between 22nd June and 23rd July) is kind and home-loving.

     In many countries in Asia,people believe the Chinese horoscope describes character and can foretell future events. In the Chinese horoscope,there are twelve animals. A person's animal sign is connected to his or her birth year. Each animal has a different type of character. People born in the Year of the Rat are friendly,but careful. Those born in the Year of the Monkey are smart and good at making money. The Sheep are shy and sensitive.

     In Asia,a person's blood type is also used to describe character. People with the blood type A are calm and serious,but they may be selfish. Type Bs are independent but may be lazy. ABs are honest,and type Os are talkative.

() 1. The ancient people first used the zodiacal signs to .

   A. tell time

   B. describe a person's character

   C. count numbers

   D. foretell what would happen to a person in the future

() 2. Your star sign is connected to and can describe .

   A. your birth date;your appearance

   B. your birth year;your character

   C. your birth date;your character

   D. your birth year;your appearance

() 3. What does the word “home-loving” probably mean in Chinese?

   A. 想家的   B. 爱家的

   C. 离家的   D. 无家可归的

() 4. According to the passage,if Simon was born in the year of the Monkey,he may be .

   A. foolish and often does everything carelessly

   B. friendly and often does everything carefully

   C. smart but not good at making money

   D. clever and can have ways to make money

() 5. According to the passage,reading your horoscope can be .

   A. difficult   B. dangerous

   C. interesting   D. boring

D

     Some people believe that some star signs get along better with each other than other star signs. Perhaps we should first start with those which are incompatible. Aries and Leo are not a good mix. Both of them are leaders.Aries is energetic and is not compatible with Leo because Leo is strong and confident. Also,Pisces and Taurus are not a good pair. Taurus is practical and will not be patient enough to wait for Pisces to stop daydreaming.

     Perhaps the best choice of friends for Taurus is Capricorn. Taurus can be stubborn and Capricorn is patient and would be prepared to wait for Taurus to change his or her mind. Aries should get to know Pisces.Aries is active but Pisces is gentle and easygoing. They are like yin and yang. Leo would be well matched with Libra. Leo likes to give gifts and Libra likes beautiful things.

     The perfect pair is Libra and Scorpio. Libra does not like to argue but love peace. Libra will never ask Scorpio to do energetic things. Sagittarius will enjoy listening to Gemini’s talk.

     Capricorn and Cancer could also be good friends. Cancer is kind and sensitive and gets on well with Capricorn who is shy.

     Virgo and Aquarius are a good match. Sometimes,however,there can be problems in their relation. Aquarius has many friends,and Virgo worries a lot,so meeting a lot of people can be stressful for them.

1. Who is the best choice of friends for Taurus?

2. Who would wait for Taurus?

3. What are Aries and Pisces like?

4. Who is the best pair?

5. What doea Virgo worry about?