“Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell.”

This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown person who lived in Rome in AD（公元） 53 wrote it.

We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives. But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?

Picture this. You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. How happy do you feel?

Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave up feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity（电） often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they live simpler lives.

One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10 and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave（微波炉）, computer or mobile phones.

The grandmother, Lyn, said, “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes.” The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a “trendy（赶时髦的）, beer-drinking granny”, to one who cooked things.

1.The writer uses the quote（引号） at the beginning of the story to ________.

A. tell us a truth about our lives

B. tell us what life was like long time ago

C. point out what causes such a thing to happen

D. point out some problems we will meet in the life

2.In the passage the writer describes a picture to show that new inventions _______.

A. have speeded up our lives B. have improved the quality of our lives

C. may make people feel very happy D. may bring people some trouble

3.The family chose to spend some time in a 1940s house because _______.

A. they loved to live simple lives

B. they wanted to know how people lived without modern inventions

C. they were troubled by modern inventions

D. living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them

4.According to the passage, which id NOT right?

A. People who live far away from noisy cities often seem to be happier.

B. An unknown Roman was sure that the quality of life would get better.

C. The family had some changes when they lived in a 1940s house.

D. With the improvement of our lives, we often feel stressed and tired.

5.The passage is mainly about ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­________.

A. problems with technology

B. improvements of our lives with technology

C. changes happening to technology

D. the importance of technology

根据括号中所给的汉语写出单词，使句子意思完整正确。

1.There’s something wrong with my computer. I have to （重启） it.

2.Simon wants to have a robot with four small （轮子）.

3.I want to go to the bookshop. Could you （借） me your bike?

4.The young mother told her child not to play with the （锋利的） knife.

5.Everyone should try to be _________（有礼貌的） and helpful to others.

根据句子意思，用括号中所给单词的适当形式填空。

1.If I have a robot, I want to make him _________(do) the homework.

2.Someone attacked him with a knife and he bled to ________(die).

3.Tom _________(have) a walk with his dog every afternoon.

4.We spend half an hour ________(read) English every morning.

5.On _______(child) Day, every child will be happy to get the beautiful presents.

下列各句A、B、C、D中有一处错误，请在不改变句子意思的前提下，将正确答案写在题后的横线上。

1.It’s kind for you to help me with the housework.

A B C D

2.It’s too hot. Why not stay at home and watch TV instead of play football.

A B C D

3.Although he was very tired, but he still cleaned the classroom before he left.

A B C D __________

4.The naughty boy talked so many that he couldn’t hear the teacher.

A B C D

5.There are twenty more trees to be plant. We have to keep on working.

A B C D

根据短文内容，从下面方框中选择适当的单词或词组填空，使短文内容完整正确。

I want to have a robot to help Mum with the daily work. I think that life is 1. when you have a robot, but Dad says that robots are just computers and can catch a 2. easily. When this happens, you can have a lot of 3. with it. Instead of helping you, it will make a 4. at home. It will 5. over lamps and furniture. And then you will decide to return it to the robot shop.

根据短文内容，按要求答题。（回答81—85题时，不得超过八个单词。）

A forest fire that burned 55 square kilometres was finally brought under control on Wednesday morning. The fire started on Sunday in Black Bear State Park and quickly spread to nearby areas.

On Monday, police evacuated（疏散） the small town of Lawson and ordered the people to leave their homes. The fire destroyed 20 homes in the area and caused heavy damage to 40 others.

Nobody was hurt. Officials said the damage to homes and cars was between $l million and $2 million. The government declared the town a disaster (灾难) area. The fire spread quickly in the hot, dry weather. Fire fighting was difficult because of strong winds. Firemen from 55 fire departments in the state joined the National Fire Service to put out the fire. Some kept fighting for 24 hours. Fire engines and helicopters dropped water onto the fire. In order to control the fire, firemen cleared a way around the fire.

Police closed King Road to traffic on Tuesday because of heavy smoke. Thousands of tourists had to drive an hour north to Queen Road to pass the fire area.

Some people did not follow the police order. Paul Grayson sent his wife and two children to safety, but he stayed. As the fire came within 50 feet of his house, he started thinking, “Am I foolish? Did I stay here too long, just for a house?”

1.When and where did the forest fire start?

2.What did the police order the people to do?

3.Why was fire fighting difficult?

4.How did the firemen drop water onto the fire?

5.What kind of person do you think Paul Grayson was?

根据短文内容及首字母提示，填写所缺单词，将答案按序号填入下面表格内。

Reading books is a good hobby for all kinds of reasons.

First, reading books is f 1. . You can always keep yourself interested and help you to have an enjoyable time if you like reading. This is especially u 2. when the weather is bad. It is a relaxing hobby too. You can really become lost in a book.

Next, you can read a book a 3. : in a car, in a waiting-room, on a plane, in bed —even in the bath. All you n 4. is a book! Reading is a convenient hobby as it is easy to stop and then start again.

A 5. good reason for reading books is that it is useful. If you read as a hobby you will get better and better at it. This m 6. that you will read faster and will become better at understanding what you read. As your reading improves, you will probably find your schoolwork becomes much e 7. . Many school subjects depend on（依靠） good reading and, as you read, you learn more and more.

Some people say that reading is out of date（过时）. This is not t 8. . You have to be able to read to use a computer and, the better you read, the better your computer skills will be. Reading is never out of date!

Good readers are most likely to be good w 9. , too. They are usually good at spelling as well, and have more things to write about. Reading books is a wonderful hobby, one of the best. W 10. other hobby could be more useful, or more enjoyable?

根据汉语提示和要求写一篇短文。

要点：

1、现在越来越多的人喜欢养宠物，宠物正受到很多人的青睐。

2、养宠物有什么好处？

3、养宠物应该注意什么？

注意：

1、词数80—100左右，须包括以上要点。

2、条理清楚，语句规范通顺，字迹工整。

Every year, ________ kids in Africa die of hunger, what can we do for them?

A. ten thousands              

B. thousand of                 

C. thousands of

—I’m still hungry. May I have _______ cake?

—Sure, here you are.

A. another                       

B. the other                       

C. others