A romantic message-in-a-bottle discovered by a mother and daughter at a Scottish beach has sparked（触发） a mystery about whether it could have travelled 5,000 miles across the seas from China.

Nicola MacFarlane, 41, and daughter Lucy, four, from Portobello, near Edinburgh, were looking for driftwood（浮木） on Portobello Beach when they came across an old glass bottle containing a note inside written in Mandarin. Now the family are trying to work out if the letter has managed the extraordinary journey across the Philippine Sea, into the Indian Ocean and through both the South Atlantic and the North Atlantic Ocean’s before washing up on the shores of Great Britain.
It was written on Chinese Valentine’s Day or Qixi Festival as it is more traditionally known, lunar July 7, 2012, so it sent off as recently as six days ago because it followed the modern calendar, which celebrated the occasion on August 23. Nicola was still excited to read about the Chinese love story after having it translated.

“I really do hope that it is from China but even it is from nearer to home, it’s still a lovely gesture and an inspiring find. It’s a love story regardless of where it came from. Nicola, who runs a beach art business in Portobello, added: “I’m always at the beach looking for bits of driftwood but I’ve never come across anything like this before. We knew it was Chinese, but we had no idea what it said.’

Unable to read the Mandarin text, Nicola turned to the internet and her Australian friend, Julie Gould, whose daughter attended a Chinese school in Sydney.

Several hours later Julie returned with the news that it was in fact a love letter.

The translated letter reads: “Da Hai(Ocean), I hope no-one will get this bottle, as we just wish you can hear our voice, and get your blessing. Today is the Chinese Valentine’s Day, we pray that our relationship will last forever and we will have a long happy life together…”

Nicola said: “It sounds to me like the couple are in love but cannot be together so they have sent the message to tell the world of their love.”

1.When did Nicola and her daughter come across the message-in-bottle?

A. On July 15, 2012. B. On August 29, 2012.

C. On August 31, 2012. D. On September 2, 2012.

2.What were Nicola and her daughter probably doing when they found the bottle?

A. They were walking on the beach.

B. They were washing hands and feet.

C. They were looking for the driftwoods.

D. They were lying on the beach resting.

3.The underlined word “Mandarin” probably means “ ” .

A. Scottish B. British

C. English D. Chinese

4.We can learn from the passage that Nicola__________.

A. thinks the letter was written to show love

B. had expected to get something unusual

C. knows a little Chinese

D. found the bottle was from a nearby place

Salvation Army Angel Program

Angel Tree collects gifts for children and families in need. Participate by selecting an angel from any Angel Tree at all Cyprus Credit Union location or any Utah Macy's Department store. Shop for your angel, then return your new, unwrapped gift to the same Angel Tree. Gifts must be returned before December 14. For more information, call (801) 988-5678 in the Salt Lake area,(801) 374-2588 in the Provo area.

Utah Association for People with Intellectual Disabilities Holiday Gift Box Program

The program serves primarily low-income adults with intellectual disabilities who don't qualify for other programs because of age limits, said Joyce Whalen, the association's board president. To donate, visit the association at 1326 S.2100 East from 9am to about 5:30 pm to choose an ornament(装饰物) that provides information about an individual who will benefit from the program. Shop for new items and return them by December 14. Donations of generic items, such as towels, socks and hygiene（卫生） products also accepted, as are monetary（货币的） donations. For more information, call 801-440-1674.

Utah Foster Care Foundation's Giving Tree Program

The program seeks new gifts and cash donations to fulfill the holiday wishes of more than 1,000 children in state-licensed foster homes." Many of the children in care have been removed from their biological homes because of neglect or abuse," said Nikki Mackay, the foundation's director. " Christmas can be a difficult time for them." To learn how to support the program, call 877-505-5437.

Utah State Hospital Forgotten Patient Program

The program provides Christmas gifts for hundreds of patients with mental illness. In the history of the program--which may go back as far as 60 years, organizer Shawna Peterson said, "we've never had a forgotten patient." And she doesn't want this year to change that. To support the program, contact Peterson at 801-344-6088.

1.After you buy an angel, you should ________.

A. post it to where you bought

B. open its package to examine it

C. send it to families in need for yourself

D. bring it back in its original form

2.If you want to help adults with intellectual disabilities, you should call_____.

A. 801-440-1674 B.801-988-5678

C. 877-505-5437 D. 801-344-6088

3.The underlined phrases "biological homes" in the third program refers to ______.

A. homes where they are just brought up

B. homes where their natural parents live

C. homes where they learn biology

D. homes where are related to bacteria

4.From the last program, we can infer that ______.

A.the patients often forgot to come to the hospital

B.the patients are often forgotten to be looked after

C.the patients are being taken good care of

D.the patients had a poor memory in the hospital

The National Gallery

Description:

The National Gallery is the British national art museum built on the north side of Trafalgar Square in London. It houses a diverse collection of more than 2,300 examples of European art ranging from 13th-century religious paintings to more modern ones by Renoir and Van Gogh. The older collections of the gallery are reached through the main entrance while the more modern works in the East Wing are most easily reached from Trafalgar Square by a ground floor entrance

Layout:

The modern Sainsbury Wing on the western side of the building houses 13th- to 15th-century paintings, and artists include Duccio, Uccello, Van Eyck, Lippi, Mantegna, Botticelli and Memling.

The main West Wing houses 16th-century paintings, and artists include Leonardo da Vinci, Cranach, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bruegel, Bronzino, Titan and Veronese.

The North Wing houses 17th-century paintings, and artists include Caravaggio, Rubens, Poussin, Van Dyck, Velazquez, Claude and Vermeer.

The East Wing houses 18th- to early 20th-century paintings, and artists include Canaletto, Goya, Turner, Constable, Renoir and Van Gogh.

Opening Hours:

The Gallery is open every day from 10am to 6pm (Fridays 10am to 9pm) and is free, but charges apply to some special exhibitions.

Getting There:

Nearest underground stations: Charing Cross (2-minute walk), Leicester Square (3-minute walk), Embankment (7-minute walk), and Piccadilly Circus (8-minute walk).

1.In which century’s collection can you see religious paintings?

A. The 13th. B. The 17th.

C. The 18th. D. The 20th.

2.Where are Leonardo da Vinci’s works shown?

A. In the East Wing. B. In the main West Wing.

C. In the Sainsbury Wing. D. In the North Wing.

3.Which underground station is closest to the National Gallery?

A. Embankment. B. Leicester Square.

C. Piccadilly Circus. D. Charing Cross.

At a primary school in a small town in the east of South Carolina, second-grade teachers Garneau and Lynne are convinced that separating elementary-age boys and girls produces immediate academic improvement in both genders（性别）．

David Chadwell, South Carolina’s expert of single gender education says, “Boys and girls learn, hear and respond to their surroundings differently．We can teach boys and girls based on what we now know．”

Male and female eyes are not organized in the same way, he explains．The organization of the male eye makes it sensitive to motion and direction．“Boys understand the world as objects moving through space,” he says．

The male eye is also drawn to cooler colors like silver and black．It’s no accident that boys tend to create pictures of moving objects instead of drawing the happy colorful family, like girls do in their class．

The female eye, on the other hand, is drawn to warmer colors like red, yellow and orange．To attract girls, Chadwell says, the teacher doesn’t need to move as much as in boy’s class．Using descriptive phrases and lots of colors in presentations or on the blackboard gets their attention．

Boys and girls also hear differently．“When someone speaks in a loud tone, girls understand it as yelling,” Chadwell says．“They think you’re mad and can shut down．” Girls are more sensitive to sounds．He advises girls’ teachers to watch the tone of their voices．Boys’ teachers should sound more forceful, even excited．

A boy’s nervous system causes him to be more cautious when he is standing, moving, and the room temperature is around 69 degrees Fahrenheit．Stress in boys, he says, tends to increase blood flow to their brains, a process that helps them stay focused．Girls are more focused when seated in a warmer room around 75 degrees Fahrenheit．Girls also respond to stress differently．When exposed to threat and conflict, blood goes to their guts（肠道）, leaving them feeling nervous or anxious．

These differences can be applied in the classroom, Chadwell adds．“Single gender programs are about making the best use of the learning．”

1.What is David Chadwell’s attitude toward separating elementary-age boys and girls while learning?

A．Supportive B．Worried

C．Concerned D．Uninterested

2.To engage boy in a class, the teacher ______．

A．must have a moving object in this hand

B．needs to wear clothes in warm color

C．has to speak politely

D．had better move constantly while teaching

3.Which of the following shows the organization of the passage?

（ ?= Paragraph 1 ?= Paragraph 2 ?= Paragraph 3 …．．． ?= Paragraph 8 ）

4.Which of the following students is most likely to be focused?

A．A boy sitting in a warm room

B．A standing boy who is faced with stress

C．A girl standing in a cold room

D．A girl who is facing a lot of pressure

Everyone wants to perform well at school.Add these tips to your life and you should be on your way to being a top student!

1. I cannot stress how important it is to pay attention to what your teacher is teaching you. Take part in class discussions if you have something worth adding. Pay attention during class, especially during lectures.

Taking notes is important .You don’t need to write down every single word your teacher says but write down what he or she writes on the board，or any special fact you think you might need for a test. 2. This away it will help you learn more effectively by actually thinking about what you are writing.

Don’t skip school .You will be missing out on stuff. 3. However , you will have more work and you have missed lectures, Also, try not to be late for class. It' s most likely that your teacher won’t appreciate it and you will get yourself behind.

4. If you have an “I don’t care about school or this class" attitude, then teachers will be less willing to help you with problems or offer you extra credit. The same goes for lazy attitude. Have a respectful attitude to the teacher and other students. Try not to laugh when other students make mistakes.

Always ask questions. 5. If you don’t understand，ask someone. Read your textbook and notes，and then if that fails ,seek help. Ask a teacher，friend，classmate, parent, etc. Get a tutor if you need one.

A. Be prepared.

B. Write in your own words.

C. Pay attention to everything the teacher says.

D. Staying organized will be helpful.

E. There is no shame in needing some help.

F. It is true that you could make up the work.

G. Keep a good attitude towards things.

When I was 17 years old, I left my comfortable home in a wealthy Midwestern suburb to live as a foreign exchange student in a lower-middle-class neighborhood in a foreign country. I in an apartment with no elevators, no dishwashers and one washer for 300 . The tile(瓷砖）floors were always and the rainy winter days there seemed endless. I to wash my clothes by hand in the bathtub and water was so costly, I trained myself to my waist-length hair in less than five minutes.

At that time there were no cell phones and the Internet didn’t exist so far six months I had no at all with my family or friends in the US. I had no relatives there so I to face the fact that my to adapt and create a life for ,was one hundred percent up to me. At age seventeen my need for friends was and not knowing a soul was, needless to say, a bit stressful.

To to my stress, I didn’t speak the and had no familiarity with the monetary（货币的）system nor the transportation system. One more that created stress was my family. Of all the families in the city I lived, I was with the ones who spoke the least (or worst) English.

Living abroad and developing in a foreign language required persistence and determination. I made many mistakes the way. Now I’ve transformed my memories into my medals of honor (荣誉勋章). They’re the treasured stories that offer wisdom, provide me with insights into friends and family and provide me with the that I can surpass future challenges.

1.A. moved B. lived C. turned D. took

2.A. places B. names C. children D. families

3.A. warm B. empty C. tidy D. cold

4.A. tried B. asked C. learned D. forced

5.A. although B. since C. unless D. once

6.A. wash B. comb C. arrange D. adopt

7.A. contact B. quarrel C. letter D. chance

8.A. turned B. needed C. pretended D. stopped

9.A. imagination B. ability C. question D. career

10.A. myself B. other C. another D. none

11.A. impossibleB. hopeless C. beneficial D. strong

12.A. adapt B. apply C. add D. reduce

13.A. truth B. language C. fact D. word

14.A. scene B. shortage C. fault D. challenge

15.A. own B. former C. host D. guest

16.A. occupied B. housed C. compared D. chosen

17.A. fluency B. trouble C. habit D. fame

18.A. over B. along C. in D. during

19.A. harmful B. beautiful C. hopeful D. stressful

20.A. advantage B. confidence C. promise D. future

When you treat people and things in a kind， (consider) ，and polite way，you are being respectful. Respect very important home, at school, and everywhere you go. you show respect, you show that you care other people’s feelings or that you care for belongings, buildings, streets and nature.

To show how much respect you have for people and things，try (write) a fun respect poem. The easiest way to do this is to make a simple list of it means to be respectful at school.

First start by making quick list of how you can show respect at school. List poems seem to work best when they are written with a parallel structure; that is，when line begins the same way and follows the same pattern.

Next, take the best lines and put them together in a poem. Remember to keep the parallel structure following the same sentence pattern.

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌的作文如下。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或者修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(^)，并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处）不计分。

Our government is trying hard to build an energy-saving society. It is somebody’s duty to work hard and reach this goal. Besides, not everybody has realized the important of it. Take our school for example. Sometime we can see that lights and computers are still on after class. Some students even forget to turn on the tap after using it and have water run all the time. Our papers are printed on only one side, which causing much waste. It’s time we did something to avoid this kind of waste. Firstly, make sure that all the light and other electric facilities turned off when we leave the rooms. Try to form the habit of turning off the tap immediate after using it. What’s more, papers should be printed on both sides and reused if possible.

假设你是李华。你的两位朋友Tom与 Peter几天前产生了误会。10月19日是Peter生日，Tom想送他一个礼物来缓和关系，修复友情，特地发来邮件寻求你的建议。请你根据以下要点给Tom回一封邮件：

1、礼物选择；

2、你的理由；

3、其他和解建议。

注意：（1）、词数100左右 ；

（2）、可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯 。

（3）、开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

Dear Tom，

I’m glad to hear that you are considering making up with Peter.

Best wishes,

Li Hua

To American visitors, Iceland is a very interesting country, partly because it is different in so many ways from he or she is used to seeing at home. There are quite a few things that are not done, or that do not exist on the island---quite a few “No’s”.

There is no pollution, for instance, No dogs are permitted in Reykjavik, the capital. There is no television on Thursdays or during the entire month of July, and only three hours of black-and-white TV the rest of the time. There is no hard liquor(烈酒) on Wednesdays and no beer at any time. There is no handguns; only one jail of thirty-five cells（狱室）in the entire land---an admirable figure, even for a small country of 313,376 people.

There is no army, air force or navy. There is no tipping for anything. There are no large stores open on Saturdays or Sundays. Since Iceland is situated just under the Arctic Circle, there is no darkness in summer and no daylight in winter. But thanks to Culf Stream, the climate is rather mild, with temperatures ranging from 34 degrees to 52 degrees in July.

The rules on television liquor and guns are the result of government decisions. But the absence of pollution is due in great part to the fact that Iceland gets its power from the enormous geyser and the thousands of hot springs that come out of the ground. They provide all the energy needed by the country. In fact, Iceland uses only 3 percent of all its available power.

Iceland has been described as a democratic independent country where more fish are caught and more books published per person than anywhere else in the world. The Icelanders have always felt a particular love for literature. They composed their first books in the ninth and tenth centuries AD. These works were poems and tales about the kings, heroes, and heroines of Iceland and Norway. At first, the stories were memorized and passed from generation to generation. They were finally written down between1140 and 1220. The Icelanders have never stopped writing ever since. “Rather shoeless than bookless,” they proudly say.

1.American visitors enjoy visiting Iceland probably because_______.

A. no dogs are permitted in the capital

B. the police do not carry handguns

C. the climate is rather mild

D. it is very different from America

2.The following statements are true EXCEPT________.

A. there are no soldiers in Iceland

B. the Icelanders don’t drink beer

C. there is no tip of any kind

D. there are no crimes in Iceland

3.There is no pollution in Iceland mainly because_______.

A. Iceland uses only 3 percent of all its available power

B. the Icelanders use hot water from the ground below as their energy

C. it is located just under the Arctic Circle

D. it is a democratic independent country

4. “Rather shoeless than bookless” means_______.

A. they prefer not to have shoe or books

B. they would rather have shoes on than write books

C. they prefer travelling to reading

D. they regard books more important than shoes.