Happy birthday! Do birthday really make people happy? Of course they do．Birthday celebrate the day when we were born．Besides, that extra candle on the cake suggest another year of growth and maturity（成熟）—or so we hope．We all like to imagine that we are getting wiser and not just older．Most of us enjoy seeing the wonder of growth in others, as well．For instance, seeing our children develop and learn new things makes us feel proud．For Americans, like people in most cultures, growing up is a wonderful process．But growing old? That is a different story．

Growing old is not exactly for people in youth-oriented（以年轻人为中心）American culture．Most Americans like to look young, act young and feel young．As the old saying goes, “You’re young as you feel．” Older people joke about how many years young they are, rather than how many years old．People in some countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom．But Americans seem to favor those that are young, or at least “young at heart”．

Many older Americans find the “golden years” to be anything but golden．Economically, “senior citizens” often struggle just to get by．Retirement at the age of 65 brings a sharp decrease in personal income．Social security benefits usually cannot make up the difference．Older people may suffer from poor nutrition, medical care, and housing．Some even experience age discrimination（歧视）．American sociologist Pat Moore once dressed up like an older person and wandered city streets．She was often treated rudely--even cheated and robbed．However, dressed as a young person, she received much more respect．

Unfortunately, the elderly population in America is increasing fast．Why? People are living longer．Fewer babies are being born．And middle-aged “baby boomers” are rapidly entering the group of the elderly．America may soon be a place where wrinkles（皱纹）are “in”．Marketing experts are ready noticing this growing group of consumer．

Title: Different Opinions About 1._____________Old.

Choosing the right dictionary depends on ______ you want to use it for.

   A. why       B. what       C. how       D. whether

It was ________ that the PLA men got to the earth-strike area.

     A. midnight                B. at midnight        C. until                        D. for midnight

She will fly to Washington, ________ she can enjoy herself.

A. that             B. which             C. where              D. /

We arranged to meet at the cinema at 7:30, but he failed to ______.  

A. turn up             B. turn on                     C. turn out             D. turn over

第三部分  阅读理解（共20题，每小题2分，共40分）

“You can have the same neighbors for years,” the old man said. “You love them or you think you love them. And you hope that they love you. But do you really understand them?”

“Charlie Kemp and his family lived next door to me for fifteen years. We were good friends for all that time. I enjoy friendship-I’m sure it’s the best thing in the world. And friendship with the Kemps was easy because they seemed to welcome it.”

“They were interesting and intelligent people; their home caught fire twice, and twice the whole family slept in my home. They were always losing things…money, keys, or watches. Pictures fell off the walls; the children fell out of beds…”

“I was their neighbor and their friend. Life was always interesting, never dull. Best of all I liked the whole family.”

“One day, I lit a fire in the garden and was burning some rubbish. After a while Charlie Kemp came out of his house and walked up the road.”

“’Morning Charlie,’ I said’ Lovely day, isn’t it’? He smiled at me and nodded. I went on with my work.”

“Twenty minutes later a policeman arrived. He walked into my garden and said,’ You’ll have to put out the fire. Your neighbor has complained to us. He doesn’t like the smell.’”

“My neighbor…?” I said

“Yes,” the policeman said .He took out his notebook and read, “Charlie Kemp. He lives next door, doesn’t he?”

56. ________were neighbors in this storey.

A. The old man and his family           B. Charlie Kemps and his family.

C. The old man and the Kemps       D. Both A and B

57. The old man found that it was very strange that_________.

 A. Charlie told the police about the fire                        B they often lost the things

 C. the fire burst the whole of the Kemps’ house    D Kemp smiled to him

68. How did the old man help the kemps?

A. he found the things they lost      B. he thought they were interesting and intelligent

C. he lent them money             D. he let them sleep in his house after the fires

59. The story shows that__________.

 A. friendship is the best thing in the world    B. we never really understand our friends

C. friendship with the Kemps was easy           D. friendship with the Kemps was not easy

Attending a university is an important part of a person’s life. Today, many people go to a university to study and train for a future job in subjects like law, medicine, or education. But the university is not a modern invention. It has a history that is over a thousand years old.

The world’s oldest university, Al-Azhar, is in Cairo, Egypt. It was first built as a mosque in A.D. 972. A few years later, learners and teachers began meeting in the mosque in “tutoring circles”. They read and talked about the subject of law. Around 988, leaders in the city of Cairo decided to create a school for higher learning and the University of Al-Azhar was founded.

At Al-Azhar, there were many university ‘firsts.’ Courses were created. The earliest ones taught at Al-Azhar were in law and religion. In a course, students read and studied with the teacher, but there was also free discussion. Often, students and teachers talked about a topic, and there was no ‘right’ answer. Finally, scholars from around the world came to Al-Azhar to teach and do research. At the university, people studied the past, but it was also a place for sharing new ideas.

Over a thousand years later, Al-Azhar is still an important university in the world. Its library contains more than 250,000 of the world’s oldest and most valuable books. Today, many of the world’s most important universities such as Oxford and Harvard still follow the traditions started at Al-Azhar.

What’s this passage mainly about?

  A. The history of the world’s oldest university.

  B. The importance of attending a university.

  C. The relationship between university and future job.

  D. The invention of a modern university.

The first university was founded over _____ years ago.

  A. a hundrend           B. hundreds of                     C. a thousand                D. thousands of

The oldest university in the world is _____.

  A. Oxford                 B. Cambridge               C. Harvard                   D. Al-Azhar

What does the underlined word “course” mean in this passage?

  A. A series of lessons.                                    C. A period of time.

  C. A series of actions.                                    D. A group of professors.

What’s the main idea of the last paragraph?

  A. How many books are in the Al-Azhar’s library.

  B. How valuable the Al-Azhar’s books are.

C. Why Oxford and Harvard still follow Al-Azhar’s pattern.

D. How Al-Azhar still holds an important role in the world.

第五部分 书面表达 (满分25分)

随着“开心农场”“QQ农场”等娱乐游戏风靡互联网，许多中学生也加入了偷菜的行列。请你根据下表的内容，用英语写一篇短文，并谈谈你个人的看法。

注意：   1. 不要逐字翻译表格提示内容，应适当发挥。

2. 开头已给出，不算入总词数。

              3. 词数：150左右。

Nowadays, QQ Farm and Happy Farm are very popular among people from all walks of

life. A large number of middle school students are also involved in the game.

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

. Garter Druse ______ his being selected for the important task to his courage，devotion and knowledge of the area.

A. led                   B. owed                C. devoted             D. contributed

 第二节：书面表达（满分25分）

假如你是李华，是一名中学生。请你根据下表内容用英语写一封信给某报社Just Ask 栏目的主持人Ralph,请求他们帮助你解决一个长期困扰你的问题。

注意：

1．词数：100左右，开头和结尾均已经为你写好，不计入总词数；

2．参考词汇：发脾气lose one’s temper

Dear Ralph,

I’m a middle school student._________________________________________________

I do hope we’ll be closer. What can I do?

                                                        Yours sincerely,

                                                               Li Hua