My name is Ben Mansury. I’m fifteen years old and study in a middle school. In school, I never join in any group discussion or stage (舞台) program. So, I never knew what stage nervousness was.

Our community (社区) has a weekly “Students Ideas” program. About two years ago, I received a(n)____from the chairman of our community. He invited me to the “Students Ideas” talk the next morning to speak to the group.

The time between his call to the next morning was like several weeks for me. The whole night, I could not sleep. Many____were coming. One of them was to call the chairman, with regret, and tell him that I could not come. But finally, I thought, if I missed this____, the community would never invite me again to any of their programs. So, I decided to go.

I reached the hall in time. When my turn came and I started, my heartbeat increased and my mouth went dry. I wasn’t even able to____the words on the paper properly. I had no idea where I was standing and what I was talking. That was the day when I____my biggest weakness: public speaking.

After I finished, I met with the chairman and____what happened to me. He said that this happens to everyone. It is very____He suggested that I should come again the next week.

I____a talk carefully. This time when I gave the talk, I was somewhat comfortable but not confident (自信的). Afterwards, I met with the chairman again and told him about the improvement I____I had made. He was kind enough to invite me again.

For around one month, I practiced a lot for my talk. This time I was feeling comfortable and both the chairman and my neighbors thought I did a good job.

I learned that everything is____if we take the first step, as the saying goes: A journey of thousand miles begins with first step.

1.A. letter B. call C. card D. email

2.A. topics B. regrets C. thoughts D. words

3.A. man B. group C. stage D. chance

4.A. read B. spell C. see D. recite

5.A. had B. forgot C. realized D. improved

6.A. asked B. checked C. explained D. wondered

7.A. useful B. successful C. difficult D. common

8.A. wrote B. prepared C. gave D. finished

9.A. knew B. felt C. believed D. hoped

10.A. easy B. great C. helpful D. possible

This is part of a book’s table of contents.

Chapter One: North America
The Fox and the Raccoon ..... 1
Song of the Mountains ......... 4
Little Feather Meets Bear ..... 7
Chapter Two: South America
Kuma and the Big River......... 10
The Smallest Monkey ............ 12
Three Tree Frogs ................... 15
Chapter Three: Africa
Marumbi Saves the Day....... 18
The Jumping Fish ................ 22
Father Lion and His Son ...... 25

Chapter One: North America
The Fox and the Raccoon ..... 1
Song of the Mountains ......... 4
Little Feather Meets Bear ..... 7
Chapter Two: South America
Kuma and the Big River......... 10
The Smallest Monkey ............ 12
Three Tree Frogs ................... 15
Chapter Three: Africa
Marumbi Saves the Day....... 18
The Jumping Fish ................ 22
Father Lion and His Son ...... 25
 

1.Chapter One is about ____.

A. North America B. South America C. Africa D. Asia

2.If you want to read The Smallest Monkey, you can turn to page ____.

A. 4 B. 7 C. 12 D. 25

3.If you are reading page 22, which story are you reading?

A. Song of the Mountains. B. Kuma and the Big River.

C. Three Tree Frogs. D. The Jumping Fish.

Dolores Huerta has worked hard most of her life to help other people. She has helped change things so that farm workers can have a better life.

Dolores grew up in California. She was a good student and liked school. After she finished high school, she went to college and studied to be a teacher. After she became a teacher, Dolores noticed that many of her students were not getting enough food to eat. Some of them wore very old clothes. Dolores wondered how she could help them.

Dolores decided to stop teaching so that she could spend more time helping the farm workers and their families. One thing she wanted to do was to get more pay for farm workers so they could buy their children the things they needed.

Dolores knew that many farm workers moved often from one place to another to help pick different kinds of fruits and vegetables. She began talking and writing about these workers. Even people who lived far from California read what Dolores wrote.

Getting higher pay for the farm workers was not easy. Dolores worked hard to make sure that farm workers got good pay for their work. She knew that nothing would change unless people made new laws to help the workers. Through all her hard work, new laws were made that gave farm workers good pay.

Dolores Huerta has worked for more than 30 years in many different ways to make life better for working people. She has shown how much one person can change things.

1.Dolores became a ____ after she left college.

A. farmer B. teacher C. worker D. lawyer

2.Dolores gave up her first job because ____.

A. she found it was too boring for her

B. the work condition was too bad

C. she wanted to do more for others

D. she got little pay for her work

3.How did Dolores help farm workers?

A. She gave them food and clothes.

B. She helped them teach their children.

C. She helped them got more pay.

D. She made new laws for them.

The high school diploma (文凭) is losing its value quickly, as a growing number of students graduate (毕业) from school without the math and reading skills that colleges and companies require, according to a new report.

The high school graduation exams that most states (州) require students to pass before they graduate remain far too easy. Most of the exams generally test eighth-or ninth-grade level work.

Today, even high school graduates who are going to have blue-collar (蓝领) jobs need to study the math, research and writing courses. But in high school, only students who are going to college are now required to take these courses.

“If you want a good job with a good pay, it’s a high-skill job,” said Michael Cohen, a leading member of the America Diploma Project.

The project suggests that all graduates master a wide range (范围) of skills. “A high school diploma should mean something to a company and university,” said Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, who is Achieve’s co-chairman.

In Taft’s state, about 30% students who go directly to college from high school have to take________of English or math, he said. It’s easy to see that the present high-school graduating standards are not preparing students for college education.

And with high-skilled jobs increasingly headed overseas to places like India and Ireland, states need to act, he said.

To prove why math and reading skills matter, the report includes real-life examples of problems students meet in college and that workers must solve each day on the job. ?

Some states are taking actions to upgrade the high school diploma. In Texas, all high school students, starting with the 2008 graduating class, will have to take the college-prep curriculum (大学预备课程) - unless a parent agrees to an easier course load. Other states are planning similar moves.

The report includes examples of reading and math skills that high-school students should have. Project leaders say they hope parents will use those examples to judge (评定) the coursework at their kids’ high schools.

1.Why is the high school diploma losing its value quickly?

A. Because the number of high school students is growing fast.

B. Because high school students fail to reach the standards.

C. Because the graduation tests are easier than it should be.

D. Because difficult courses are not required in high schools.

2.Remedial classesin Paragraph 6 mean classes____.

A. for good learners to study quickly and better

B. for slower learners weak in the subject

C. for learners to be taught one by one

D. for learners to reach a higher standard

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A. Colleges require higher math and reading skills than companies.

B. It is easier for companies to find high-skilled workers in India.

C. Math and reading skills help little for workers to solve daily problems.

D. Parents ask high schools to offer college-prep curriculum in Texas.

4.What can be the best title for the passage?

A. High School Diploma Means Little

B. Give Students More High-skill Jobs

C. Math and Reading Skills Really Matter

D. Judge Coursework at High Schools

People are very social animals. We need to talk with and do things with other people. We often understand ourselves better when we discuss our ideas and activities with other people. We need to make meaningful connections with friends and family. These connections help us forget our failures and worries. We can focus (集中) on things that are important: the people we care about.

Your community is the area near your home. It’s where you work, play and go to school. It is the neighborhood where your family makes connections with other people. It’s the places you feel like you belong (属于) to.

Communities grow and change over time. Families move from one city to another because of work or family situations. Older people often move to smaller homes or vacation areas after their children have grown up. Their children move out to start families of their own. New families move in when others leave.

Basic services, such as police, fire, post office, health and public schools are in almost every community. Businesses provide services to the community, too. Stores sell things that people need. Restaurants sell prepared food. Offices provide lots kinds of skilled work.

The job of the city government is to listen to the people of the community and help them connect. Some people may move on, but the community remains.

1.Are people very social animals?

2.What can these connections help us forget?

3.Why do older people move to smaller homes or vacation areas?

4.What does the passage tell us?

根据中文意思完成句子。

1.今天有雨，你最好带把伞。

It’s going to rain today. You ____ take an umbrella.

2.我的爸爸和妈妈都喜欢读书。

Both my father and mother ____.

3.别说话了，上课的时间到了。

Stop talking. ________ class.

4.我的电脑出问题了，你能帮我修一修吗？

____________ my computer. Can you help me repair it?

5.对于学生来说，花大量的时间进行英语阅读是有必要的。

____ a lot of time reading English.

假设你叫林洋，收到了你的笔友Susan的一封信，请你给她写一封回信。在信中回答她的问题，提出你的建议，并就此事谈谈你的看法。

Dear Lin Yang,

I have a problem these days. My mother doesn’t allow me to watch TV even on weekends. She says as a middle school student, my job is to study. After I finish my homework, she says, I should read books and watching TV is bad for me. But I think I need a rest and watching TV helps me learn a lot too.

Do you have the same problem? What do you think of my mother’s decision? What should I do?

Yours,

Susan

— Susan, do you have to tell me?

—Sorry, I don't.

A. enjoyable everything B. everything enjoyable

C. enjoyable anything D. anything enjoyable

Paul and I the farm. We had a good time there.

A. visit B. visited C. will visit D. are visiting

I'm hard-working and I to do a good job in the test.

A. expect B. choose C. help D. stop