My friend had mentioned that her father had a lot of children’s toys that he was looking to give away. She knew I had a three-year-old daughter so she thought of me first. I told her I would it if I could get some nice things for my daughter, which I wouldn’t otherwise have been able to .

When I met her father, he began to explain that he was once too and that he would hate to things that could be very . At first, he thought of taking everything to the Salvation Army but then he to see if anyone he knew could use them first.

When he was me around, I saw a bed, a slide(滑板), a kitchen set and many other things that made me surprised. As my eyes were wide and beginning to tear up a bit, he told me not to feel guilty. He said I was him by getting rid of them.

As I was looking around, I did feel guilty, but I tried to remain more grateful than guilty because he told me to. Every time I tried to him for giving my daughter all these things, he would thank me right back and was grateful that these toys would be put to good use.

So, sometimes when we are helped by others, the others that helped us are helped as a side-effect. In the of charity, it makes sense to feel grateful, but guilt is just as normal, I know we could have lived without a slide, which is why I do feel guilty, but I am grateful all the same because my daughter enjoys all these nice things!

1.A. wear B. repair C. appreciate D. check

2.A. believe B. afford C. see D. spare

3.A. handsome B. young C. poor D. healthy

4.A. throw away B. hand out C. add up D. pick out

5.A. suitable B. expensive C. useful D. dangerous

6.A. continued B. forgot C. had D. decided

7.A. driving B. showing C. turning D. sending

8.A. helping B. saving C. troubling D. guiding

9.A. praise B. move C. call D. thank

10.A. wonderful B. cheap C. strange D. foreign

11.A. habit B. end C. eyes D. corners

12.A. sadly B. hardly C. secretly D. really

With the widespread use of the computer, many middle school and primary school students can type very fast. 1. , their handwriting is becoming worse 2. before. Wrongly written characters and untidy writing are the common problems. The biggest problem is3. they don’t think it is necessary to practice handwriting any more since typing can take the place of4. . To me, I always prefer handwriting 5. ______ typing. I think handwriting is 6. better way to express my feeling. 7. , Chinese characters are the important part of Chinese culture and typing can never take the place of it. Therefore as a Chinese, we should 8. stop practicing writing them to avoid the wrongly written character and the untidy writing.

I’ve loved my mother’s desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it as mother sat doing letters. Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pens and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be the most wonderful thing in the world.

Years later, during her final illness, mother kept different things for my sister and brother. “But the desk,” she said again, “is for Elizabeth.”

I never saw her angry, never saw her cry. I knew she loved me; she showed it in action. But as a young girl, I wanted heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter.

They never happened. And a gulf opened between us. I was “too emotional(易动感情的)”. But she lived “on the surface”.

As years passed and I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive me.

I posted the letter and waited for her answer, none came.

My hope turned to disappointment, then little interest and, finally, peace. It seemed that nothing happened. I couldn’t be sure that the letter had even got to Mother. I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not.

Now the present of her desk told me that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work though she’d never been able to. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside--a photo of my father and a one-page letter, folded(折叠) and refolded many times.

Give me an answer, my letter asks, in any way you choose, Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words.

1.The writer began to love her mother’s desk _______.

A. after Mother died

B. before she became a writer

C. when she was a child

D. when mother gave it to her

2.The passage shows that _______.

A. Mother was cold on the surface but kind in her heart to her daughter

B. Mother was too serious about everything her daughter had done

C. Mother cared much about her daughter in words

D. Mother wrote to her daughter in careful words.

3.The world “gulf” in the passage means _______.

A. deep understanding between the old and the young.

B. different ideas between the mother and the daughter.

C. free talks between mother and daughter.

D. part of the sea going far in land.

4.What did Mother do with her daughter’s letter asking for forgiveness?

She had never received the letter.

B. For years, she often talked about the letter.

C. She didn’t forgive her daughter at all in all her life.

D. She read the letter again and again till she died.

5.What’s the best title of the passage?

A. My letter to Mother B. Mother and Children

C. My Mother’s Desk D. Talks between Mother and me.

The China Daily newspaper group is looking for English-language senior business editors, senior copy editors, copy editors and graphic designers to strengthen its international team. We offer a competitive salary package, free accommodation(住处,住所) with utilities paid for, 90 per cent medical reimbursement, a seven-day paid leave, eleven-day public holidays and a return ticket to the country of residence.

Senior Business Editor

You must:

★ assist the business editor in setting goals and working on achieving them;

★ be an excellent team person who can generate ideas and think creatively and be able to rewrite totally if needed and mentor junior staff;

★ ideally have been working or have worked in a position of responsibility and understand what leadership entails;

★ have had at least five years’ editing experience working on editing the Business Desk and be familiar with industry software.

Senior Copy Editor

You must:

★ work on shifts in the Business Desk and usually have the last word before the page is sent to print;

★ edit or rewrite copy and give snappy headlines and captions;

★ have had at least two years’ editing experience working on editing desks and be familiar with industry software.

Copy Editor

You must:

★ be good at editing or rewriting copy and writing snappy headlines and captions;

★ be able to work on shifts for different pages, and usually have the last word before the page is sent to print;

★ have two years of editing experience working on copy desks, and be familiar with industry software.

Graphic Designer

You must:

★ have excellent skills in information graphics;

★ be good at illustrations and freehand drawings;

★ be experienced in newspaper or magazine layouts;

★ have a good sense of typography;

★ have good news judgment;

★ be well-versed with Macintosh software, including In Design, Illustrator and Photoshop;

★ be fluent in English.

For enquiries or to apply, write to job @ chinadaily.com.cn.

1.What is the purpose of this passage?

A. To describe the positions of the China Daily newspaper group.

B. To describe the working conditions of the China Daily newspaper group.

C. To advertise for recruiting some good employees.

D. To tell you how to become part of this group.

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

A. The employees(雇员) have to pay for their own food and lodging(住所).

B. The workers there can enjoy a seven-day leave without pay.

C. The senior business editor’s only job is to help the business editor to set goals.

D. The employees have the right to enjoy eleven-day public holidays.

3.How many positions need editing experience?

A. 1. B. 2. C. 3. D. 4.

4.What is NOT required about Graphic Designer?

A. Be well-versed with Photoshop.

B. Have excellent skills in information graphics.

C. Having a good sense of typography.

D. Writing snappy headlines and captions.

5.Which can be the title of the advertisement?

A. China Daily: New Employees Wanted

B. China Daily: Newspaper

C. China Daily: An International Team

D. China Daily: The Best Working Condition

Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy. Almost everyone thinks attractive(漂亮的) people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable jobs. Personal advisors give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants (被告). But in the executive (行政的,管理的) circle, beauty can become a liability.

While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder, it is harmful to a woman. Handsome male executives were considered as having more honesty than plain(平常的，不漂亮的) men; effort and ability were thought to lead to their success. Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones; their success was connected not with ability but with factors such as luck. All unattractive women executives were thought to have more honesty and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Interestingly, though, the rise of the unattractive overnight successes was connected more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of the attractive overnight successes.

Why are attractive women not thought to be able? An attractive woman is considered to be more feminine and an attractive man more manly than the less attractive ones. Thus, an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally manly position appears to lack the "manly" qualities required.

This is true even in politics. "When the only clue is how he or she looks, people treat men and women differently," says Anne Bowman, who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates. She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of women, of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked to rank them again, in the order they would vote for them.

The results showed that attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the women who had ranked most attractive unchangeably received the fewest votes.

1.The word "liability" most probably means __________.

A. disadvantage B. advantage

C. misfortune D. trouble

2.In traditionally female jobs, attractiveness ________.

A. makes women look more honest and capable

B. strengthens the qualifies required

C. is of no importance to women

D. often enables women to succeed quickly

3.Bowman's experiment shows that when it comes to politics, attractiveness _______.

A. turns out to be a disadvantage to men

B. is more of a disadvantage than an advantage to women

C. affects men and women alike

D. has as little effect on men as on women

4.It can be inferred from the passage that people's views on beauty are often _____.

A. practical B. supportive

C. old-fashioned D. one-sided

5.The author writes this passage to __________.

A. give advice to job-seekers who are attractive

B. discuss the disadvantages of women being attractive

C. demand equal rights for women

D. state the importance of appearance

Since it was founded a year ago, the babysitting pool has become increasingly popular in the United States. More and more mothers have joined it and have benefited from it. What attracts them most is the idea that you pay your babysitter not in cash, but in paper cards. When you join the babysitting pool, you are given thirty cards, which are worth 30-minute babysitting time each. For each half an hour while you are gone, the babysitter gets paid one card.

There are rules regulating this service. You should not watch more than three kids at a time including your own. On big holidays, such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, the babysitter should be paid twice as much, which means two cards for every half an hour. When you leave the babysitting pool, you should return all the cards. If you are out of cards, you cannot use money instead. You should have to baby-sit for others to earn enough cards so that you will have them handy when you yourself need a babysitter.
Many mothers think highly of this service. It keeps children in constant touch with one another, and makes life easier for the mothers. Since in most cases, the babysitter is the mother who watches other kids at her own home, it is still possible for her to do her own things while the kids play with each other. In fact most mother babysitters find that their own kids are less of a monster and easier to watch when they are around other playmates. Moreover, since the babysitting pool service does not involve money, it will not be a financial loss to the family.

In the past year, the babysitting pool has helped so many mothers with their work that they all think that it is indeed a good community service worth keeping.

What is Christmas all about? Has it ever crossed your mind? Are we teaching our children the true meaning of Christmas? Do they know that a single gift of kindness can touch an endless number of hearts forever?

We met a little girl seven years ago during one of my daughter’s occasional hospital stays. Her name was Beth and she was my daughter’s roommate for a week. My daughter had an incurable kidney disease. Beth was a very happy girl, despite the fact that she had cancer. I was amazed at her will and determination to never give up, however sick her treatment made her. She was always concerned about my daughter and the other children with cancer.

My daughter’s hospital treatment was completed in a week and we were waiting for her final discharge orders when Beth appeared. She said “I want you to have this. I know you need a new kidney, so keep this angel pin with you till you get better. She will watch over you and make you smile. My friend, John, gave it to me to watch over me. When you get your new kidney and smile, you can give this angel to someone that needs her, too”. My daughter thanked her and the girls exchanged hugs and big smiles. Later that year, Beth passed away.

We kept that angel for six more years. My daughter had gone beyond what medical journals had studied and expected from her disease. Finally, a kidney became available and she received a transplant.

Now she felt it was time to give it to someone who needed to be watched over until he or she could smile again. She gave it to an elderly man trying to recover from a heart problem.

How many families and hearts this angel has touched, no one knows for sure. But all that it took was a single gift of kindness. So in this Christmas season, create a tradition with your children or maybe someone you love. Give them a gift that keeps on giving. It’s a gift from your heart. After all, isn’t that Christmas is all about?

1.Why did Beth give an angel pin to the author’s daughter? (No more than 8 words )(2 marks)

________________________________________________________________________

2.How does a single gift of kindness affect people? (No more than 6 words ) (2 marks)

________________________________________________________________________

3.What did the girl impress the author with? (No more than 8 words )(3 marks)

________________________________________________________________________

4.How do you understand “the true meaning of Christmas” in the passage? (No more than 8 words ) (3 marks)

________________________________________________________________________

假如你是李红，近日，你班正在开展一场主题为“幸福是什么？”的讨论。请你根据下列信息，给校报写一封120词左右的英文信，介绍讨论的情况。

1.40%学生认为：①幸福就是住大房，生活在大城市；②身体健康，生活无压力自由自在；③工作、生活得过且过，不必吃苦

2.60%学生认为：①幸福就是拼搏取得成功；②保持自信乐观，迎接各种挑战；③爱家人爱朋友，奉献社会

3.你的看法：(至少两点)

Dear editor,

I’m writing to tell you about

Yours,

Li Hong

Your as a student will be excellent if you develop a habit of reflecting on how you learn.

A．operation B．growth

C．performance D．character

The reason why the girl decided to leave her boyfriend was that she didn’t feel _________.

A. accurate B. secure C. unbearable D. adequate