Mom’s birthday present? It may be a difficult thing for some people, but for me, it is an easy thing. Mom loved flowers, so every year I sent her flowers. Actually she had a bed of irises (鸢尾花) in the backyard of her small, Indiana farm. They were beautiful. “Take some,” she said, “Dig some up and plant them on the side of your own house.”

But in my yard they became lacking in energy. A year passed, then two, but not one flower appeared. I cut back all their green leaves. I was tired of seeing them so lonely. Finally, I dug the irises up and threw them away.

About that time Mom died unexpectedly. My sister and I sold the farm. I never went back to see the irises. I just couldn’t bear seeing another family living in our home—Mom’s home. Autumn came, then winter. The following spring, as Mom’s birthday approached, I struggled with the question of how to remember her. I stared out the window and saw a few stubborn irises in my side yard sprouting (发芽), —tall, thin but flowerless. Because of seeing them, I decided to order flowers as I always did on Mom’s birthday, and send them to my sister. I wished so badly I could still send flowers to Mom. But that was impossible.

In the morning of Mom’s birthday, I was in my car ready to work. Something in the yard caught my eye. The irises! One had bloomed with flowers, big, showy and purple, as lovely as they ever had been on Mom’s farm. I smiled and turned my eyes upward. I could no longer send flowers to Mom. But somehow, she’d been able to send them to me.

1.According to the first paragraph, Mom ________.

A. wanted to give the author some flowers

B. didn’t like the presents from the author

C. lived with the author on an Indiana farm

D. got different birthday presents from the author every year

2.At first, the irises in the author’s yard ________.

A. all died quickly

B. didn’t bloom at all

C. grew as well as on Mom’s farm

D. grew better than those on Mom’s farm

3.What troubled the author?

A. She didn’t know how to grow irises.

B. She regretted they had sold Mom’s farm.

C. She didn’t know what to do in memory of Mom.

D. She couldn’t bear others living in Mom’s home.

4.After seeing the irises sprouting, the author________.

A. decided to send flowers to her sister on Mom’s birthday

B. dug them out because they were flowerless

C. decided to send them to Mom after they bloom

D. ordered flowers for the people living in Mom’s home

5.What can be learned from the last paragraph?

A. All the irises in the author’s yard bloomed.

B. The author went to see the irises in Mom’s yard.

C. It was Mom who took care of these irises in the author’s yard.

D. The author thought the blooming irises were gifts from Mom.

In Egyptian myth, Apophis was the ancient spirit of evil and destruction, a demon (恶魔) that was determined to throw the world into darkness forever. A fitting name, astronomers reasoned, for a threat now rushing towards Earth from outer space. Scientists are monitoring the progress of a 390-metere wide asteroid (小行星) discovered last year, which is potentially on a collision (碰撞)course with the planet.

NASA has estimated that Apophis has an outside chance of hitting the Earth in 2036. If it did hit us, thousands of square kilometers would be directly affected by the explosion but the whole of the Earth would see the effects of the dust sent into the atmosphere. At a recent meeting of experts in Near-Earth objects (NEOs) in London, scientists said it could take decades to design, test and build the required technology to deflect the asteroid.

The Apophis asteroid is placed at four out of ten on the Torino scale—a measure of the threat caused by an NEO where 10 is a certain collision which could cause a global disaster. This is the most possible danger of any asteroid in recorded history and it has a 1 in 37 chance of hitting the Earth.

Alan Fitzsimmons, an astronomer from Queen’s University Belfast, said, “When it does pass close to us on April 13, 2029, the Earth will deflect it and change its orbit. There is a small possibility that if it passes through a particular point in space, the so-called keyhole, the Earth’s gravity will change things so that when it comes back around again in 2036, it will collide with us.” The chance of Apophis passing through the keyhole, a 600-meter patch of space, is 1 in 5,500, based on current information.

There is no shortage of ideas on how to deflect asteroids. The Advanced Concepts Team at the European Space Agency has led the effort in designing a range of satellites and rockets to nudge asteroids that are on a collision course for Earth into a different orbit.

1.The best title for this passage would be ___________.

A. Apophis Asteroid, a Possible Destroyer of Earth

B. Apophis, a Good Name for Dangerous Asteroid

C. Our Planet Will Be Ruined in 2036

D. Scientists Study Apophis Asteroid

2.The name Apophis mentioned in the passage indicates that the asteroid is _________.

A. powerfulB. mysteriousC. boringD. destructive

3.The underlined word “deflect” in Paragraph 2 probably means _________.

A. destroy the quality of

B. change the direction of

C. measure the size of

D. look into the truth of

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. If Apophis hit the earth, its impact would be enormous.

B. No way to deal with Apophis is available at present.

C. Apophis is the first dangerous asteroid in recorded history.

D. It is uncertain whether Apophis will hit the earth in 2036.

5.What would the passage talk about if it continued?

A. An Egyptian myth about Apophis.

B. NASA’s study on NEOs.

C. How the keyhole influences Apophis.

D. What methods can be used to deflect the asteroid.

Can you believe everything that you read? It seems as if every day, some new articles come out about a new discovery about this or that. For example, water is bad for you, or good for you. The answer depends on which scientific study has just come out. People cannot decide which food items are healthy, how pyramids were constructed, and why dinosaurs disappeared. When we look for answers we sometimes can believe persuasive researches and scientists. But how trustworthy are they really? Here are two examples of scientific hoaxes (骗局).

As far back as 1726, Johann Beringer was fooled by his fellow scientists into thinking he had made an amazing discovery. The fossils of spiders, lizards, and even birds with the name of God written on them in Hebrew were unlike anything that had been found before. He wrote several papers on them and was famous for those only to have it revealed that they were planted by jealous colleagues to ruin his reputation.

When an early human being was discovered in 1912, scientists at this time were wild with excitement over the meaning it had for the theory of evolution. There were hundreds of papers about this Piltdown man over the next fifty years until it was finally discovered to be a complex hoax. The skull (头骨) of a man had been mixed with the jawbone of an orangutan (猩猩) to make the ape (猿) man.

The next time you read the exciting new findings of a study of the best scientist, do not automatically assume that it is true. Even qualified people can get it wrong. While we certainly should not ignore scientific research, we do need to take it with a grain of salt. Just because it is accepted as the truth today does not mean it will still be trustworthy tomorrow.

1.What does Paragraph 1 want to say?

A. Researchers and scientists are not perfect.

B. Something that we read may not be true.

C. Researchers and scientists know everything.

D. People don’t know whether water is good or bad.

2.What is the reason why Johann Beringer was fooled?

A. His fellow scientists wanted to make fun of him.

B. His workmates are eager to become famous too.

C. These scientists made a mistake because of carelessness.

D. His colleagues envied him and did so to destroy his fame.

3.The excited scientists thought that this Piltdown man ______.

A. was in fact a complex hoax

B. was a great scientific invention

C. contributed to the theory of evolution

D. had the skull like that of an ape

4.What does the underlined phrase “with a grain of salt” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A. Happily.B. Generally.C. Doubtfully.D. Completely.

5.What can we learn from the passage?

A. Hebrew is probably a kind of language.

B. Truths of science will never be out of time.

C. People believe scientists because they are persuasive.

D. We are advised to believe famous scientists.

阅读短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题。

When knowing his son got a C grade in the maths exam, the father was proud and cheerful. This is the tear-jerking moment when a proud father is captured on camera celebrating his son's exam result.

After setting up the hidden camera, the boy calls his father to the kitchen, telling him in a whisper 'I've just got something from school; I need you to come and look at it.' His father, who can be heard shouting from elsewhere in the house, asks 'Has something happened?', to which the naughty teenager, Aria, replies 'Yes! It's really important'. As his nervous-looking father approaches, Aria says 'Come and have a chat with me. Just come in, and read that', he says while passing over a piece of paper displaying the result.

After seeing his son has achieved a C grade in the maths exam, the man asks 'Is that veracious?,' before bursting into tears of joy. The pair hug before the disbelieving dad asks again, 'Are you sure? They've not made a mistake? I can't believe it; I just can't believe it!'

A mere year before the video was filmed, the schoolboy received an F in the subject. He explained，'In England you need a C to basically do anything with your life. I've never been amazing academically and have struggled through school. Neither me or my dad or my teachers thought I was going to get my C, for me it was tough. When I told my Dad who means the world to me this was his reaction...Enjoy'.

Still feeling happy from the news, his delighted father tells him 'You're set for life! You're set for life!'. The teen is seen smiling into the camera at the end of the video, seemingly as thrilled with the result as his emotional father.

1.Why does Aria call his father to the kitchen? (no more than 15 words)

2.What does the underlined word “veracious” mean in the 3rd paragraph? (one word)

3.In Paragraph 3, why does Aria’s father ask those questions? (no more than 10 words)

4.What does a C grade mean to a person in England? (no more than 15 words)

5.How do you like Aria’s father? Why? (no more than 20 words)

假设你是李雷，想寻找一位练羽毛球的球友，请你用英文在校内网站上写一个广告。

内容要点如下：

◇ 简介自己，特别是打球的水平（如球龄、成绩等）；

◇对球友的要求（与自己水平相当；周末有空闲等）；

◇给出联系方式（电话56221342；邮箱：luckylilei@hotmail.com）。

注意：

1. 词数不少于100；

2. 标题已给出，不计入总词数；

3. 可以适当增加细节以使内容充实、行文连贯。

参考词汇：羽毛球 badminton

A Badminton Partner Wanted

_______________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

—-I’m sorry, but I thought I could finish it in three days．

---- ．After all, you have tried your best．

A．That's not the point B．Certainly not C．Never mind D．Don’t mention it

Anyone in the lab has to the following dos and don’ts.

A．observe B．consult C．recognize D．direct

一Peter, have you got your new flat furnished?

一Yes．I some used furniture and it was a real bargain．

A．will buy B．have bought C．bought D．had bought

一I really thought I'd pass the driving test．

—Oh，well， , Bill．

A．you are wrong B．I agree with you C．best wishes D．better luck next time

My teacher is very nice．I'll never forget the he has done for me.

A．favour B．kindness C．help D．benefit