If you have failed in the past to try to make big changes in life, try again now, one tiny step at a time.

     Every year it's the same. As December comes to an end, you think about the new year and all the ways you want to improve your life. But as you start to write down your hopes for the new year, you think about the last year. You excitedly write down all the changes you are going to make, but by the end of January those ideas get lost in your busy life.

Here's a suggestion: Forget the too big, hard-to-achieve goals and just think about the small ones. “We often think that we have to do everything in big steps, even though it's so hard for us to reach it.” said Robert Maurer, who recently wrote the book One Small Step Can Change Your Life. “What we try to do is to begin with such a small step that we can’t find any excuse not to do it.”

     “Kaizen”, a Japanese word, is used to mean to change behavior and attitudes (态度). During World War II, American factory managers were able to increase productivity by trying small, continuous improvements instead of sudden changes. After the war, the idea was brought to a rebuilding (重建) Japan. It made Japan develop fast. The Japanese called it “kaizen”, which means “improvement”.

Maurer studied the idea and did some experiments with it. “Kaizen” could possibly help people succeed in doing everything.

1.At the end of December, people usually ___________ .

A. plan for the last year           B. fail to make big changes

C. try to lose their ideas           D. think about the new year  

2.Robert Maurer wrote a book to tell us ___________ .

A. we should do everything in big steps

B. how to find a small step without any excuse

C. we should try a lot of sudden changes

D. how to change one’s life with one small step

3. The underlined part “increase productivity” in the passage means “___________ “.

A. 增加成本      B. 提高待遇       C. 提高生产率      D. 增加出口量

4. The writer of the passage suggests we should ___________ .

A. take a tiny step to achieve big goals

B. make changes at the end of the year

C. do few experiments with “kaizen”

D. do things with hard-to-achieve goals 

5. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. You can't find any excuse not to reach a big goal.

B. You can achieve your goals if you are not too busy.

C. ”Kaizen” was brought to Japan during World WarⅡ.

D. Robert Maurer studied “kaizen” and found it helpful.

The Earth has warmed by about half a degree（0.50℃）over the last 100 years. It could be getting warmer on its own, but many scientists think that people are making the Earth warmer by making a greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is important.  Without it, the Earth would not be warm enough for us to live on. But just a little warmer than it is now could cause problems for humans, plants and animals.

Many of the things we do every day can change the Earth’s temperature by sending greenhouse gases into the air. We send greenhouse gases into the air when we watch TV, turn on lights, dry hair, play video games, wash or dry our clothes or drive cars. The rubbish from factories and homes also produces greenhouse gases.

     Even a small change in temperature can affect our weather. This can cause changes in the sea levels, the air, flooding, and our fresh water.

The change in the temperature can also cause changes in the living places for animals and plants, endangering many animals.

     Global warming is a big problem, and every little bit we do can help. We can save electricity. We can save energy in other ways such as by taking buses or walking rather than driving cars. We can recycle to reduce the rubbish and save natural resources such as trees, oil and metals. We can buy products that don’t do bad to the environment and we can turn to solar energy. Remember the little bit that you do will bring a better world.

1. Which of the following does not send greenhouse gases into the air?

A. Watching TV.                     B. Turning on a light.

C. Driving a car.                     D. Walking to school.

2. In this passage, the scientists are mainly trying to make the readers realize___________ .

A. the greenhouse effect is important

B. humans are making the earth warmer

C. the earth is getting warmer in 100 years

D. the earth could be getting warmer by itself   

3. Without the greenhouse effect，we would _____________ .

A. be safer                         B. not be able to live

C. have a cleaner earth                D. have a better world

4. The writer gives us advice on how to save energy in __________ .

A. Paragraph 2                      B. Paragraph 3     

C. Paragraph 4                      D. Paragraph 5

5. Global warming is a big problem but ___________ .

A. we can't do anything to help        B. we don't need to do anything

C. we can do something to help       D. we can do something to stop it

All big cities are quite similar. Living in a modern Asian city isn’t very different from living in an American city. 1.______

In many parts of the world, farmers and their families live in villages or towns. In the United States, however, each farm family lives on its own fields, often beyond (在……之外) the sight of any neighbors. Instead of traveling from the village to the fields every morning, American farmers stay on their land the whole week. 2.______ Their children ride on buses to large schools for all the farm families living in the area. In some areas, there are small schools serving a few farm families, and the children walk to school. Of course life keeps changing for everyone, including farmers. 3.______ And there are also modern machines for farming. All of these have changed the farm life.

4.______ Farmers usually had to deal with their own problems, instead of getting help from others. They learned to try new ways, and to trust their own ideas rather than (而不) followed the old ways.

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A. Today there are cars, good roads, radios and television sets.

B. The same can not be said about living on farms, however.

C. Many years ago, however, farming in America was often a lonely way of living.

D. They travel to the nearest town on Saturdays for shopping or on Sundays for church.

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

A. Life in the world also keeps changing.

B. Life in the United States keeps changing.

C. American farmers like their old ways.

D. American farmers have changed their lives.

用方框中所给单词的适当形式填空。（每小题1分，共5分）

1.It ____________ that their living conditions were not very good.  

2.In the past twenty years, my hometown has developed ____________.

3.Our government has taken action to make the ____________ river clear again. 

4.There are several small chemical factories ____________ waste water into the river. 

5.At that time, China was the country with the ____________ population in the world.

根据中文提示，用词组的适当形式填空。每空一词。（每小题1分，共5分）

1.Trees can  ___________ the sand __________ (阻止)  moving toward the rich land. 

2.___________ __________ (多亏) the Great Green Wall, the land produces more crops.

3.My sister is always ___________ __________ (缺乏) money at the end of every month. 

4.We often                    (挨饿)because the boss didn’t give us enough food to eat. 

5.Many animals are  ___________ __________ (灭绝；绝迹) because of all kinds of pollution.

用方框中所给的单词的适当形式填空，使短文正确、通顺。每词限用一次。

   Many large cities have a subway system. The subway is called tube in London. In San Francisco, it is called BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). Some subway systems, like Chicago’s, are quite 1.____________. It opened in 1897. Others are more recent (近代的). For example, Mexico City’s subway 2.____________ in 1969.

Most subways are very modern and clean, but sometimes they get very3.____________. So people have to follow certain rules to make the trip more 4.____________. In London, when people use the tube, they must stand on the right so that people in a 5.____________ can walk on the left. They let passengers get off the train before others get on, and people are expected to give their 6.____________ to the old and disabled people.

 Some subways 7.____________ excellent services. In most subways, there is a station about every one kilometer. Trains 8.____________ at a station about every two minutes. Subways carry a lot of passengers. The number of people 9.____________ one way each hour in London can be about 30,000. However, in some other cities it is much higher. Hong Kong’s subway10.____________ the record of about 80,000 passengers an hour!

根据对话内容，选择恰当的句子补全下列对话。（每小题1分，共5分）

A. I will come back soon.

B. For a whole week.

C. Where did you buy it?

D. Why did you go to Qingdao?

E. I hope to visit it one day.

F. When did you go there?

G. Did you go there?

A: Hi, Lin Mei. You look so nice in the red skirt.

B: Thank you very much.

A: 1._________

B: In Qingdao.

A: Qingdao? 2._________

B: Last week. I went there with my family.

A: How long did you stay there?

B: 3._________ We went sightseeing in many places.

A: We all know the beaches of Qingdao are very beautiful. 4._________

B: Yes, when I was lying on the beach, I felt so cool and relaxed.

A: 5._________

B: I’m sure you will love it.

用恰当的词语填空，完成对话。每空一词。（每小题1分，共5分）

A: Hi, James! Come in, please.

B: Hi, What are you doing?

A: I’m looking for 1.______________ about Sydney on the Internet. I’m going to Sydney for my holiday.

B: Aren’t you lucky? Have you ever been there before?

A: No, but my father has been there. So I know there are many 2.______________ of interest there.

B: What time are you leaving?

A: I’m leaving at 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 26.

B: Will you go there by plane?

A: Of course. I have never 3.______________ in a plane before.

B: You must be very excited when you fly in a plane.

A: Really, I can’t 4.______________ for it.

B: How long will you stay there?

A: Two weeks. I’m sure I will have a 5.______________ time there.

B: You will.

根据短文内容，完成下面的句子，每空一词。（每小题2分，共10分）

     Do you like drinking Coke? As a symbol of American culture, Coca-Cola is liked by many people, especially young people around the world．But from now on, perhaps it will be difficult for students in the US to get it in school. A new agreement (协议) will stop almost all sales of high-sugar fizzy (起泡的) drinks in American schools.

     The agreement allows only juice, milk and water to be sold in primary schools and middle schools. It will help 35 million young people choose healthy drinks.

      Childhood obesity (肥胖) has become a big problem in America. A report shows that obesity has risen so fast in teenagers in the past 25 years. The main reason is that kids eat too much junk food and drink too much Coke.

     The UK has already used similar ways to fight obesity. A recent study shows that people in the UK are much healthier than those in the US. However, it's better late than never. Now American schools are trying to lead students to healthier lives.

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1.Coca-Cola is __________ by many __________ people around the world.

2.From now on, perhaps it won’t be __________ for students in the US to __________ Coke in school.

3. According to the agreement, only juice, milk and _______ are allowed to be sold in American _______.

4.A report __________ that teenager obesity has risen so __________ in the past 25 years.

5.People in the __________ are much __________ than those in the US.

将下列句子译成英语。必须用上所给提示词。（每小题2分，共8分）

1. 我爷爷亲眼目睹了福州的变化。( see, himself )

    ______________________________________________________________________________

2. 上海的人口比北京多。( population, than )

    ______________________________________________________________________________

3. 他说他以前从来没看过这么美的风景。( say, see )

    ______________________________________________________________________________

4. 你应该帮你妈妈做些家务。( ought, do )

______________________________________________________________________________