As kids, my friends and I spent a lot of time out in the woods. “The woods” was our part-time address, destination, purpose, and excuse. If I went to a friend’s house and found him not at home, his mother might say, “Oh, he’s out in the woods, ” with a tone (语气) of airy acceptance. It’s similar to the tone people sometimes use nowadays to tell me that someone I’m looking for is on the golf course or at the gym, or even “away from his desk.” For us ten-year-olds, “being out in the woods” was just an excuse to do whatever we feel like for a while.

We sometimes told ourselves that what we were doing in the woods was exploring. Exploring was a more popular idea back then than it is today. History seemed to be mostly about explorers. Our explorations, though, seemed to have less system than the historic kind: something usually came up along the way. Say we stayed in the woods, throwing rocks, shooting frogs, picking blackberries, digging in what we were briefly persuaded was an Italian burial mound (坟冢).

Often we got “lost” and had to climb a tree to find out where we were. If you read a story in which someone does that successfully, be skeptical: the topmost branches are usually too skinny to hold weight, and we could never climb high enough to see anything except other trees. There were four or five trees that we visited regularly—tall beeches, easy to climb and comfortable to sit in.

It was in a tree, too, that our days of fooling around in the woods came to an end. By then some of us has reached seventh grade and had begun the rough ride of adolescence（青春期）. In March, the month when we usually took to the woods again after winter, two friends and I set out to go exploring. We climbed a tree, and all of a sudden it occurred to all three of us at the same time that we really were rather big to be up in a tree. Soon there would be the spring dances on Friday evenings in the high school cafeteria (自助餐厅).

1．The author and his fiends were often out in the woods to _________.

A. spend their free time                                     B. play golf and other sports

C. avoid doing their schoolwork                         D. keep away from their parents

2．What can we infer from Paragraph 2?

A. The activities in the woods were well planned.

B. Human history is not the result of exploration.

C. Exploration should be a systematic activity.

D. The author explored in the woods aimlessly.

3．The underlined word “skeptical” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _________.

A. calm                        B. doubtful                   C. serious                     D. optimistic

4．How does the author feel about his childhood?

A. Happy but short.                                                 B. Lonely but memorable.

C. Boring and meaningless.                                D. Long and unforgettable.

A simple piece of clothesline hangs between some environmentally friendly Americans and their neighbors.

On one side stand those who see clothes dryers (干衣机) as a waste of energy and a major polluter of the environment. As a result, they are turning to clotheslines as part of the “what-I-can-do environmentalism (环境保护主义).”

On the other side are people who are against drying clothes outside, arguing that clotheslines are unpleasant to look at. They have persuaded Homeowners Associations (HOAs) across the U.S. to ban (禁止) outdoor clotheslines, because clothesline drying also tends to lower home value in the neighborhood. This had led to a Right-to-Dry Movement that is calling for laws to be passed to protect people’s right to use clotheslines.

So far, only three states have laws to protect clothesline. Right-to-Dry supporters argue that there should be more.

Matt Reck, 37, is the kind of eco-conscious person who feeds his trees with bathwater and reuses water drops from his air conditioners to water plants. His family also uses a clothesline. But on July 9, 2007, the HOA in Wake Forest, North Carolina, told him that a dissatisfied neighbor had telephoned them about his clothesline. The Recks paid no attention to the warning and still dried their clothes on a line in the yard. “Many people say they are environmentally friendly but they don’t take matters into their own hands,” says Reck. The local HOA has decided not to take any action, unless more neighbors come to them.

North Carolina lawmakers are saying that banning clotheslines is not the right thing to do. But HOAs and housing businesses believe that clothesline drying reminds people of poor neighborhoods. They worry that if buyers think their future neighbors can’t even afford dryers, housing prices will fall.

Environmentalists say such worries are not necessary, and in view of global warming, that idea needs to change. As they say, “The clothesline is beautiful”. Hanging clothes outside should be encouraged. We all have to do at least something to slow down the process of global warming.”

1．One of the reasons why supporters of clothes dryers are trying to ban clothesline drying is that

_________.

A. clothes dryers are more efficient

B. clothesline drying reduces home value

C. clothes dryers are energy-saving

D. clothesline drying is not allowed in most U.S. states

2．Which of the following best describes Matt Reck?

A. He is a kind-hearted man.                              B. He is an impolite man.

C. He is and experienced gardener.                     D. He is a man of social responsibility.

3．Who are in favor of clothesline drying?

A. Housing businesses.                                     B. Environmentalists.

C. Homeowners Associations.                           D. Reck’s dissatisfied neighbors.

4．What is mainly discussed in the text?

A. Clothesline drying: a way to save energy and money.

B. Clothesline drying: a lost art rediscovered.

C. Opposite opinions on clothesline drying.

D. Different varieties of clotheslines.

假设你是李华，在得知四川大地震的消息之后，作为校学生会主席，你决定给灾区的中学生写一封慰问信，主要内容包括：

　　1、得知四川发生突如其来的特大地震灾害，心情非常难过；

　　2、看到你们表现得非常镇定、坚强，感动得热泪盈眶；

　　3、患难见真情，全校师生向你们表示慰问的同时，共计捐款20万元；

4、美好家园可以重建，希望你们要看到希望、充满信心。

5、若需要什么帮助，请来信，我们将尽我们所能提供帮助。

参考词汇：捐款 make a donation to

          学生会主席 the chairman of student union

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The three sisters decided to hold a family party to _______ their parents’ silver wedding.

A. celebrate                  B. memorize                 C. congratulate                     D. welcome

The speech he made _______ all the latest development in this subject.

A. took off                   B. took on                   C. took down                             D. took in

After receiving the Oscar Award, she felt that it was a great _______ to receive it.

A. reward                          B. honor                      C. price                             D. fame

Last week he was caught robbing the bank opposite the station. _______ his youth, the police have decided not to charge him.

A. In spite of                B. In view of               C. In charge of                    D. In case of

— You’ll have to use the stairs. I’m sure the lift is out of _______.

— Is it under repair?

— Yes.

A. control                    B. use                          C. work                              D. order

Wait till you are more _______. It’s better to be sure than sorry.

A. inspired                   B. satisfied                  C. calm                              D. certain

While referring to the money, the official avoided the attention ______ on how to make use of it.

A. drew                     B. paid                       C. focused                          D. attracted