阅读与回答问题

Sixteen is a special age in the United States. There’s often a special celebration for a girl’s 16th birthday---a big party called Sweet-16. It is like a wedding reception(结婚晚宴) in the number of guests and gifts handed out.

About a month before the party, the girl’s family sends out invitations to the guests. They must buy a special present for the birthday girl and the girl guests find good dresses to wear. A sweet-16 present usually costs $40 to $60. This is about $20 more than the usual-cost of a birthday present.

The party itself is not held at someone’s house. The hostess rents(租赁) a reception hall for the event. Food, cake and a DJ are provided. Around 6’clock, guests arrive and meet the birthday girl. Then the girl and her father have a special father-daughter dance. After that, guests dance for about 30 to 45 minutes.

Then there is the most important part of the Sweet-16 party, the candle-lighting ceremony.

The sweet-16 hostess stands behind 16 unlit(未点燃的) candles and dedicates(献给) each candle to her friends, family, and anything that she feels is important to her. A lot of crying and hugging goes on at this time.

Afterwards, people sit and eat. Most guests begin leaving around 11 o’clock.

This school year, I have been to two Sweet-16s. I am one of the youngest students in my grade (My birthday is in December). I’ll have to wait another year before I can have my own special Sweet-16 party. I can’t wait for it!

1.Why is sixteen a special age for an American girl?

2.How much does a usual birthday present for a teenager cost in the USA?

3.What is the most important part of the Sweet-16 party?

4.How old is the writer?

5.What do you think of the Sweet-16 party in the USA? (请自拟一句话作答)

写作

陈园，朱红和王刚各喜欢不同类型的电视节目。请根据提示，对他们所喜爱的电视节目进行介绍，同时发表你自己对不同电视节目的喜好和观点。

注意：

1.文中不得出现你的真实姓名和学校名称；

2.语言通顺，意思连贯，条理清楚，书写规范；

3.词数：100左右，开头已经给出，不计入总词数。

参考词汇：获知国内外新闻 learn news at home and abroad

There are many different types of TV programmes now. Different people have their favourite programmes.

_____ Jack ______ Jim has been to China, but _____ of them knows much about China in fact.

A. Either; or; both

B. Neither; nor; both

C. Not only; but also; neither

D. Both; and; neither

---When did you go to bed last night?

---______________

A. Until 11 o’clock

B. since my mother came back

C. Until I finished my homework.

D. Not until my mother came back

— What's wrong with your uncle?

— We're sure _______ something is wrong with him, but we doubt _______ the disease can kill him.

A. if; whether B. that; that

C. whether; if D. that; whether

----Although he works hard, he makes___________..

----In that case, he should improve his method of study.

A. so little progress B. so few progresses

C. so much progress D. so many progresses

My Year Abroad

This month in Travelers Corner there are three teenagers’ experiences in year-abroad programmes.

Mariko Okada – Tokyo

My year abroad in the United States was a fantastic experience. I’m not a shy person, and I was very comfortable speaking to everyone. So I got lots of speaking practice. I also learned lots of interesting things about American culture. When I got home, my friends all said that I had improved so much! I hope to go back again in the future.

Carla Fonseca – Rio de Janeiro

I spent last year studying English in London. I’m from a small town, and London is a very big city. Sometimes I felt it was too big. There were so many people to talk to, but I always felt bad about my English. I missed my family, and I really missed my two cats. My roommate was always using our telephone, so I hardly had the chance for a nice long talk with my parents. I think it was a good experience for me, but I’m glad to be home!

Alvin Chen – Hong Kong

Studying in New Zealand was an interesting experience for me, but it was also lots of hard work! I had English classes six hours a day, five days a week——with lots of homework. I also kept a diary of my experience. I like to write, and I wrote two or three pages in my diary every day. On Saturdays, my home stay family took me to lots of interesting places and showed me so many wonderful things about the culture. I’m really glad I went!

1.All the three teenagers went abroad .

A. to study English B. to visit friends

C. to have a holiday D. to find a job

2.Who didn’t really enjoy the stay in a foreign country very much?

A. Mariko. B. Carla. C. Alvin. D. None of them.

3.Travelers Corner is most probably .

A. a sports club newsletter B. a science documentary

C. a travel magazine D. a news website

词汇运用。

根据句子意思，用括号中所给汉语提示或英语单词的适当形式填空。（每空一词）

1.Many people _______(更喜欢) driving to walking in the past, but now they have changed because of the bad traffic.

2.My grandma is in her （九十多岁），but she can still take care of herself.

3.There is something wrong with my computer. I’ll have it______. (修理) .

4.He is quite sure to win the _____ (国家的）championship.

5.Never do anything_______（违反）the law, or you will be punished.

6.After _____ ___ (graduate) from university, he chose to be a doctor

7.Although the ___ __ (pronounce) of Chinese is difficult for foreigners, they still keep on learning it.

8.May I introduce Peter, an old friend of ____________(we) to you?

9.I ________(simple) can’t understand why you are so crazy about playing computer games.

10.He reminded me to think_________(two) before making a decision .

Tari Apps（打车软件）can help us travel around more easily．____more and more people like using them．

A．Or B．So C．And D．But

There are no words to describe______ I miss my hometown.

A. how much B. how many C. how soon D. how long