Your schooldays should be some of the best and happiest days of your life. How can you gain the most
from them, and ensure you do not waste this wonderful opportunity to learn. 
     (1) Be positive about school! Don't say things are difficult or boring. Be interested in school-life and your
school subjects. Join in lots of activities. Be quick to put your hand up. Go round the school with a big smile.    
     (2) Expect to work. School is not a holiday camp. If you are not working, you are not learning, and you
are wasting your time at school. Teachers cannot make everything enjoyable. 
     (3) Keep fit. If you do not eat a good breakfast, you will be thinking about food in class. If you go to bed
late and do not have enough sleep, you will be sleepy in class. Play some sports to keep your body strong. 
     (4) ______. Do not say you will do things tomorrow. If you get behind the class, it is very difficult to get
back in front. You cannot finish a race if you rest all the time. 
     (5) Don't be too disappointed if things sometimes go badly. Everyone fails some tests, loses some matches
and has bad days. Friends are not always perfect, and they sometimes say and do unpleasant things. Don't let
small problems seem very big and important.
     (6) Talk about problems-sometimes they are only the result of misunderstanding. Don't be too embarrassed
to ask for help. You are young. No one thinks you can do everything!
     (7) Plan your time. Don't waste life lying in bed on Saturday morning. Go and play a sport, learn the piano,
work on a project, read a book, practise English, or help someone with problems. There are always a lot of
things to do.
     (8) Set targets. If your last grade was a D, work for a C. Try to make progress bit by bit. Think of small
targets:"I will speak in class four times this week", "I will finish my project on Wednesday" or "I will get two
more marks this week".
     Follow my advice, and have a happy school-life!

1. What is the main idea of the text? (no more than 8 words)
     _______________________________________________________________________________
2. Which sentence in the text is closest in meaning to the following one? You are making your time of little use
    unless you are learning hard.
    _______________________________________________________________________________
3. Fill in the blank in Item 4 with proper words. (no more than 10 words)
     _______________________________________________________________________________
4. Why do you think the writer thinks it is good to put up your hand in class? (no more than 20 words)
    _______________________________________________________________________________
5. Translate the underlined sentence in Item 5 into Chinese.
    _______________________________________________________________________________

     Centuries ago, many houses in a bad state in London were torn down to make way for new streets.
However, the construction project was put off for quite some time, and the foundations of the houses
pulled down were left in the open.
     One day, a team of scientists arrived, only to discover that, on the patches of the foundations blocked
from sunlight for years, was growing wild plants, dotted with little flowers. Puzzlingly, some species
were native to Mediterranean countries only.
     Most of the destroyed houses had been built during the Roman invasion. Weighed down by piles of
bricks and stones year after year, the seeds possibly brought here in Roman times had almost no hope
for survival. However, once bathed in the sun, they came alive.
     The little seeds were so fragile yet so persevering. Though bricks piled on them many years, they
still remained alive. Once exposed to sunshine and rain, they immediately exhibited signs of life. A little
seed, lying underground for hundreds of years, still cherished the hope to live on. But what if a man is
stuck in a similar situation?
     One year, a British expedition was marching through the boundless Sahara sands. With the sun
hanging overhead, hot waves of sandy winds were blowing against their faces like hot iron grains. The
men were suffering both thirst and anxiety. The last drop of water was gone. Just then, the captain
brought out a water bottle, saying, "There is still one bottle of water left. However, no one is to drink
any before going out of the desert."
     The bottle of water lent them confidence to get through the desert, and embodied their hope to live
on. It was handed down the line of people. This changed into firmness the despair registered on the
men's faces. Finally the men walked out of the desert, shaking off the threat of death. Tears out of joy
welled out, and trembling hands were trying to screw off the bottle cap and let out the water, which
had supported them spiritually. Now, however, it was sand pouring out-a bottleful of sand!
     Was it a bottle of sand that rescued them from the burning sun and the boundless desert? No, it was
their firm faith, like a seed that had taken root in their hearts and that finally let them out of the awful
desert.

1. What made the team of scientists confused according to the passage? 

A. Some wild plants on the patches of the foundations.
B. Some foundations of many old houses.
C. Many houses in a poor state.
D. Some little seeds.

2. When the British expedition was marching through the Sahara, _____.

A. they had one bottle of water left
B. they had the last drop of water
C. the weather was anything but tolerable
D. the experienced thirst, anxiety and hunger

3. The underlined sentence in Paragraph 6 probably means _____.

A. the bottle of water changed the firmness on the men's faces into despair
B. the bottle of water transformed the men's desperation into confidence
C. feeling heavy made the men strong rather than weak
D. feeling heavy changed the men's hope into disappointment

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Telling a lie is sometimes necessary.
B. Man can overcome any difficulty whatever it is.
C. A man can do no more than he can.
D. Where there is a seed, there is a hope.

     This is a dangerous world we live in. The number of murders goes up every year, people are dying of
cancer, more people contract (感染) HIV, more teens are using drugs, etc. You know this because you've
heard all the statistics on the news and in the paper. But do you really have an accurate idea what they mean?
The numbers are going up, but how do they compare to the growth in population? Are more cases of' these
diseases being reported because of better testing techniques, or are the diseases more common? The fact is
that without knowing the background statistics mean very little.
     This growing trend of reporting only part of the information is becoming dangerous. For example, several
years ago a high school student reported the dangers of the chemical known as dihydrogen monoxide. This
chemical, found in most cancerous tumors (肿瘤), is often found in the blood of people drunk on alcohol, and
causes complete physical and mental dependence for those who take the chemical even once. After reading his
report, more than 75% of his Advanced Placement Chemistry class voted to forbid this dangerous chemical!
Every one of the above statements is true, yet this chemical is necessary to all life on earth. The students made
the mistake because they voted knowing only a few statements and statistics, rather than the chemical's full
background.
     The point of this article is that one should be aware of what is and is not being said. When one finds a new
fact or number, one should try to consider other important information before forming an opinion with only
half-truths. Always remember that the author is trying to convince you of his or her own view, and will leave
out information that is different to his view. For example, look again at the statistics that suggest skiing is safe.
Only 32 people may die each year when skiing, while 897 die from lightning strikes, but which is really the
most dangerous? If you think about it, you realize far fewer people go skiing each year than the number of
people who are in danger of a lightening strike. When you think about it, skiing is more dangerous than you
might at first think when looking at statistics. If we teenagers are to be left in this world, we had better be able
to think critically, and form our own views, rather than be easily persuaded by another's. To be warned is to
be prepared.

1. In the first paragraph, what problem does the writer want to warn us?

A. We are now living in a dangerous world.
B. We get a lot of false statistics from the media.
C. There are around us more and more murders, diseases etc.
D. Statistics alone without full background doesn't give us an accurate picture of things.

2. Why does the writer use the example in the second paragraph?

A. To show the danger of reporting only part of the information.
B. To argue that high school students are easily persuaded.
C. To prove what is necessary to us might be dangerous.
D. To warn us of the harmful substance around us.

3. Relative information is often left out because ____.

A. relative information is not that important
B. the author is trying to show what he or she says is true
C. too much information will make readers feel confused
D. readers are not able to analyze so much information at once

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A. Some measures must be taken to protect our dangerous world.
B. We should learn to think critically and look at problems from all sides.
C. The growing trend of reporting only half-truths is getting out of control.
D. Teenagers ought to improve their ability of telling right from wrong.

     In a world where comparisons happen non-stop, it is difficult to look outside yourself and to ever be
content with who you are. There's always someone who's a bit better. The only solution is to reach inside
and measure against what Warren Buffett calls your own inner yardstick. There is no more accurate measure
for comparison than who you were yesterday, last week or last decade, when you were at your best.
     Nothing useful ever comes from comparison to others. Either you see yourself as better than someone
and you get lazy, or you see someone else as better than you and you feel like all your hard work is for nothing.
It is a fool's game. None of us are inherently above or below the person next to us. We are who we are. Not
one of us is exactly alike. The only direct and honest comparison is within yourself. Everything else is apples
to oranges.
     My opinion is that you are only allowed to compare yourself to someone else if their life situation is the
same as your own. Good luck finding that match. And one thing is for sure. No matter how hard you work
and how dedicated you are, there will always be someone who can run a little faster, jump a little higher, score
a little better or look a little nicer m a swimsuit. And if there's not, you can bet someone is coming up fast
behind you. So how can you always win in life? Become your best competitor.
     The following are the reasons why you are your own best competitor.
     1. You will always be motivated.
     Having an image of your most recent past limits is the perfect thing to push you to the next level. If you
ran 7 flights of stairs yesterday, then do 8 today. Who cares if the guy next to you did 15? It doesn't make a
bit of difference. You are a more fit person today than you were yesterday. Your own progress is all you need.
     2. You will continuously be your personal best.
     If you commit to a slightly higher standard of yourself every day, you will always be at the top of your
game. And that game will only get better. But if for some reason you fall off your mark, you will always have
the past image of your best performance to show you what you're capable of. Once you've done it, you know
what's possible and then it's just a matter of doing it again.

1. Through the passage the writer advises the readers to ____.

A. avoid comparison with others
B. work much harder
C. pay attention to others' progress
D. make full use of motivation

2. If you want to achieve your best, according to the author, you should ____.

A. see yourself better than others
B. measure accurately
C. compare with yourself
D. be honest with yourself

3. Which of the following is certain to happen according to the author?

A. Finding someone else who is in the same life situation as you are.
B. Finding someone who runs faster and jumps higher than you.
C. Finding someone who is hiding right behind you.
D. Finding someone who almost always wins in their life.

4. What can help you up to higher level in your life according to the passage?

A. Comparing yourself with the guy next to you.
B. Thinking about your own progress.
C. Promising to play a game every day.
D. Thinking of your most recent past limits.

     Do you like friends who can teach you a lot every day? Books are 1.s_______ friends because they bring
knowledge to us and keep us company through our life. They are so valuable that 2._______ (图书馆) are
built to 3._______ (存放) them. Almost all great men are lovers of books. Franklin said that it was books that
4.1_______ him to success and that he could have achieved nothing 5.w_______ books. Books are the holders
of mankind's 6._______ (经验) and imagination. They enable us to see through the past and predict the
7._______. So when you open a book, you would get into a world 8._______ you have never beer/before. A
good book is a good teacher that 9.h_______ you to get over difficulties. No matter what you are, 10._______
or old, poor or rich, books are your devoted friends. Love books and love life.