One day, I heard an American boy say to a Chinese girl student, “You speak very good English.” But the girl answered, “No, no. My English is very poor.” The foreigner was quite   16    at the answer. Thinking he had not made    17    understood or the girl had not   18    him clearly, he said, “Yes, indeed, you speak very well.”   19    the girl still kept saying, “No.” In the end the American boy could not understand and didn’t know   20    to say.

What’s wrong with the girl’s answer? She didn’t   21   a compliment (恭维) in the same way as the American people do. She should answer, “Thank you” instead of “No”. She   22   understood what the American boy had said, but she thought she should be modest. In the   23   , people will feel proud and  24    when they are praised . So if someone says the   25    you have cooked are very delicious, you should say, “Thank you.”

In our country we think being modest is a virtue (美德) and being proud is a bad thing , but in my opinion, being confident does not   26   being proud, so sometimes you should be confident   27   being modest.

   28   you are modest and say, “No, I’m afraid I can’t do it well”, while working in a western country, the others may think that you really cannot do it. If you often say “No”, you will certainly be looked down upon by   29  . When asking for a job, if one says something like “Yes, I can certainly do it” instead of “Let me have a try”, he or she will   30    get it. So in the west, you should be brave to show your self-confidence.

1.A. excited        B. surprised    C. relaxed          D. frightened

2.A. itself     B. herself      C. himself          D. themselves

3.A. heard      B. watched      C. listened to      D. looked at

4.A. Though     B. Although     C. Or               D. But

5.A. when       B. which        C. what             D. how

6.A. receive        B. accept       C. refuse           D. disagree

7.A. hardly     B. really       C. rarely           D. badly

8.A. east       B. south        C. west             D. north

9.A. dutiful        B. modest       C. shameful         D. confident

10.A. dishes        B. cups         C. glasses          D. bowls

11.A. think     B. say          C. ask              D. mean

12.A. as soon as    B. as well as   C. instead of       D. in spite of

13.A. Unless        B. Until        C. Whether          D. If

14.A. another       B. the other    C. the others       D. others

15.A. fail to   B. expect to    C. succeed in       D. believe in

Oxford graduates sell faces to pay ￡50,000 university debts

    Business is growing for two graduates who decided to pay off ( 偿清) their university debts by selling advertising space on their faces .Ross Harper and Ed Moyse, both from Oxford , are selling advertising space for hundreds of pounds a day and have earned more than ￡25,000 since setting up business last October.

Anyone can buy the advertising space , from businesses to individuals or groups, on a day-to-day basis, through the pair’s website, buymyface .co. uk. The logo (标识) is then seen by people as they go about their daily business. The pair sold their first face ads to friends and family for just ￡ 1 a day, but as need has increased, so has the daily price , which has reached an amazing ￡400 by now, the end of May. So far , the main customers have been Paddy Power , the online betting agency ( 网络博彩企业), and accountancy firm ( 会计事务所)Earnest & Young , which is now the website ‘s official sponsor ( 赞助商).

Moyse and Harper said , “ It’s our special way of paying off our student debts. We’ve seen so many students unsuccessfully applying for jobs , only to find one that they never really wanted. It’s just something a bit different and has taken off quite nicely.”  ( 236 words)

1.Why do the two Oxford graduates sell advertising space on their faces?

   A. To raise money for their friends.            

B. To earn money for their family.

   C. To pay off their university debts .          

D. To pay for their online betting

2.Where can people buy their advertising space ?

   A. At Oxford University.                    

B. At the website buymyface. co.uk.

   C. At the accountancy firm.                  

D. At the online betting agency.

3.How much money do they earn every day on average (平均) so far ?

   A. Just ￡1 .           B. About￡100 .           C. Over ￡400.             D. Up to￡500.

4.From the last paragraph we can learn that Moyse and Harper _____________________.

   A. are satisfied with their special job           

B. have paid off their debts already

   C. are ready to apply for another job           

D. never really wanted to do face ads

A Simple Scientific Experiment

1.In the first part of the experiment the cotton wool is most probably used to ______________.

   A. keep the air dry                            B. keep the tube wet

   C. make the nails rust                          D. keep the tube clean

2.What are necessary steps to make sure the water in the tube is air free?

①Leave half a tube of water in it              

②Boil the water for some time

③Put some clean iron nails in the tube           

④Add some oil to the water

  A. ①②                  B. ①③                 C. ②③                D. ②④

3.We can conclude from the experiment that only ____________ makes iron rusty.

A. dry air       B. cotton wool           C. ordinary water         D. air-free water

“The only thing holding you back is yourself. Never say never”, said a rising 17-year-old singer, Justin Bieber, who was just an ordinary boy in Canada a few years ago.

After the accident of falling from the 18^th floor and lying in the snow for three hours, my hands were frozen and my spinal cord (脊髓)was seriously injured. All the doctors and professors in the famous hospitals in Beijing told me that there was little chance for my hands and my body to recover (康复).

After half a year of medical treatments and recovering exercises, I could not make any more progress for over a year. What was worse , I suffered a lot from depression (绝望). On top of this, I suffered from insomnia, making every minute of the night seem to last forever. Hopelessly, mom and I came back to my hometown, which is small town in Guangdong.

At that time, I thought that I would never be able to walk again. I would never love and be loved. I would never be able to earn even a penny. I would never be able to repay the kindness I got from my parents and many nice people. Life was meaningless.

Now two years has passed. My hands are 80% recovered. I can even type faster than a healthy person! Up to now, I have worked for a law firm as an interpreter for half a year already. Although I don’t earn as much as before, I am able to pay for the food and clothes I need. What’s more, I even have extra money to buy thanksgiving presents for my parents and my boyfriend. Through my blogs (博客) , many people get to know me and like me. I can bring happiness to them. I can help those who are still suffering from depression and the pain of illnesses by chatting with them….You see, I am living a meaningful life and I am happier than ever I could have dreamed.

So, my friends, never say never. As long as you are alive, there is always hope and possibilities. It is never too late to take action to realize your dreams.     (382 words)

1.What’s the writer’s present job?

  A. A singer.              B. A typist .               C. A professor .     D. An interpreter.

2.What does the underlined word “insomnia” in the third paragraph mean in Chinese?

  A. 失眠                B. 失忆                  C. 麻木           D. 低烧

3.All of the following words can be used to describe the writer’s present life EXCEPT___________.

   A. helpful              B. meaningful              C. painful         D. hopeful

4.According to the passage, which of the following statements about the writer is TRUE?

   A. She gets a lot of help through her blogs.         

B. She is in love with a young man at present.

   C. She got medical treatment soon after the accident. 

D. She had no job and earned little before the accident.

Ever thought of moving to a new country? How about starting a new country? Patri Friedman is planning to do just that. He left Google years ago to set up the Seasteading Institute. And his dream is to build seasteads-----floating micro-nations in the middle of the ocean.

So, what will life on a seastead be like? Probably a bit like life on a cruise liner (游轮), but much larger, with shops, gyms, swimming pools, schools and other areas. In fact, the early seasteads may actually be specially-rebuilt cruise liners. But as science advances, Friedman believes they’ll become more like floating cities, with several hundred people.

Seasteading raises a lot of questions. First of all, how will the new countries make money? The Seasteading Institute has suggested several money-making ideas, including ocean-based theme parks, casinos (赌场) and fish farming. There’s also the questions of safety. With storms, typhoons and pirates (海盗) , the high seas are a dangerous place. However, the Institute says that it can stand bad weather and prevent crimes with its well-designed systems.

So, is this just a day dream? Well, maybe not. One of the people behind the project is Peter Thiel. He founded PayPal and was one of the first investors (投资者) in Facebook. So far, he’s donated $ 500,000 to the project.

And Friedman isn’t wasting any time. He recently announced the creation of the Poseidon Award. This will be given to the first seastead with fifty people. Friedman is hoping to hand out the award in 2015.

1.Where did Friedman use to work?

   A. In Facebook.          B. In Seastead Institute .   C. In PayPal.         D. In Google.

2.A future seastead may be most likely to look like ___________________.

   A. a cruise liner          B. a floating city         C. a theme park       D. a fishing farm

3.What can we infer from the passage?

   A. Friedman is planning to move to a new country.   

B. Friedman is worried about the safety of seasteads.

   C. Friedman has got some supporters for his project.  

D. Friedman has already won the Poseidon Award.

4.Which of the following can be the best titles of this passage?

   A. Seasteading: a new idea of living               

B. Seasteading: a wild way of farming

   C. Peter Thiel: a man behind the project            

D. Patri Friedman: a crazy day dreamer

根据句意和汉语提示，在空白处填入适当的单词

1._____________(节日)like Christmas and Halloween are also popular in China now.

2.Pop star White Houston was found _______________( 死亡)on the eve of the Grammy Awards.

3.---What are the workers doing over there?

 ----- They are busy_______________( 建造 ) the BRT between Haizhou and Xugou.

4.Unluckily , the recent floods _______________( 摧毁) many farm-houses in the south.

5.Daniel did the exercises too________________( 粗心 ) , and it made his teacher very angry.

根据对话意思和所给首字母，写出完整正确的单词

As everyone knows, (1) e______________ fast walk or slow walk does good to the muscles and lungs of human. So people walk to build up their body, or to lose (2) w_____________. But only some of them know that taking a walk every day is also good for (3) p______________ man’s heart. Heart attack has become the first disease in the world (4) b_____________ more and more people suffer from it.

Taking a walk can improve the blood supply to our hearts. If you try to walk as (5) o___________ as possible, you’ll have a healthier heart.

从方框中选择恰当的词或短语并用其正确的形式填空。

1.The audience clapped and shouted with ___________________ when the performer appeared.

2.You’d not __________________ before the bus stops. Otherwise you may be hurt.

3.These days we _____________________________________ to get good marks in the exams.

4.My friends and I go to museums ________________________ to learn what we can’t get from textbooks.

5.I helped Susan with her lessons, for she ___________________ from school for a week.

6.UNICEF ______________________ poor kids in developing countries ___________ better education.

7.It’s __________________ for the young to argue with the elderly.

8.If you want to improve your spoken English, you should _________________________ your pronunciation.

9.The lady ________________by a young man ________ her handbag while she was walking alone.

10.Don’t do everything for teenagers. They are wise enough ________________________ their own problems.

在横线上填入所缺部分，使句子完整（注意：每空不止一个单词）

1.Unless you go along the river , you _____________________( 迷路) in the forest.

2._____________________________________________( 减少空气污染) is everyone’s duty.

3.The book Tiny Times written by Guo Jingming ________________________________( 值得一读).

4.----I called you just now , but got no answer.

  ---- Sorry。 I_____________________________________( 发送电子邮件)in the library then.

5.I think this journey is _________________________________________( 最愉快的经历).

请认真阅读下面短文，在短文后表格中的空白处填入适当的单词(注意：每空1个单词)。

CCTV cameras watch action

 In UK , Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras are everywhere. They help the police solve crimes and keep the streets safe. But that’s not all they do . They also catch people doing very stupid or smart things.

 One of the videos is of a British woman Mary Bale. She clearly doesn’t like cats. In 2010 she was caught on CCTV throwing one into a dustbin. The video shows Mary walking down a quiet street. All of sudden , she notices Lola the cat jump onto a fence. Mary stops to pickup Lola and drops her into a large dustbin . Lola was saved fifteen hours later. And Mary was arrested for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal . She was fined ( 罚款)￡250  and was not allowed to own pets for five years.

Another video shows “ Britain’s drunkest man” . He’s been at a party at London’s Savoy Hotel. And he’d obviously had a few too many glasses of beer. At about 2 a. m. , he was kicked out for being too drunk . So, he decided to walk home. On the way , CCTV cameras filmed him falling down stairs and crossing the roads madly… A Savoy Hotel waiter said, “ It’s amazing he didn’t hurt himself badly.”

Sometimes they also record smart events. Once a British band The Get Out Clause didn’t have any money to make a music video. So , they came up with an unbelievable idea. They set up their instruments ( 乐器) and played a song in front of eight CCTV cameras. And then, according to the English Freedom of Information Act , they asked for a copy of all the footages ( 视频) , which they edited. The result is that a totally new music video was made, and it didn’t cost them a penny.

                          Title: CCTV cameras catch action