I am a psychologist. I first met Timothy, a quiet, overweight eleven-year-old boy, when his mother brought him to me to discuss his declining grades. A few minutes with Timothy were enough to confirm that his self-esteem(自尊) and general happiness were falling right along with them. I asked about Timothy’s typical day. He awoke every morning at six thirty so he could reach his school by eight and arrived home around four thirty each afternoon. He then had a quick snack, followed by either a piano lesson or a lesson with his math tutor. He finished dinner at 7 pm, and then he sat down to do homework for two to three hours. Quickly doing the math in my head, I found that Timothy spent an average of thirteen hours a day at a writing desk.

What if Timothy spent thirteen hours a day at a sewing machine instead of a desk? We would immediately be shocked, because that would be called children being horribly mistreated. Timothy was far from being mistreated, but the mountain of homework he faced daily resulted in a similar consequence —he was being robbed of his childhood. In fact, Timothy had no time to do anything he truly enjoyed, such as playing video games, watching movies, or playing board games with his friends.

Play, however, is a crucial part of healthy child development. It affects children’s creativity, their social skills, and even their brain development. The absence of play, physical exercise, and free­from social interaction takes a serious toll on many children. It can also cause significant health problems like childhood obesity, sleep problems and depression.

Experts in the field recommend the minutes children spend on their homework should be no more than ten times the number of their grade level. As a fifth­grader, Timothy should have no more than fifty minutes a day of homework (instead of three times that amount). Having an extra two hours an evening to play, relax, or see a friend would soundly benefit any child’s life quality.

1.What does the underlined word “them” in the first paragraph probably refer to?

A. Timothy’s parents.                                                        B. Timothy’s grades.

C. Psychologists.                                                              D. The students.

2.What did the writer think of Timothy after learning about his typical day?

A. Timothy was very hard­working.

B. Timothy was being mistreated.

C. Timothy had a heavy burden.

D. Timothy was enjoying his childhood.

3.Which of the following statements best describes the writer’s opinion?

A. Children should be allowed enough time to play.

B. Playing board games works better than playing video games.

C. The more they play, the more creative children will become.

D. The depression caused by homework makes children unwilling to play.

4.According to the passage, how long should a third­grader spend a day doing homework?

A. About ten minutes.

B. No more than twenty minutes.

C. No more than thirty minutes.

D. About fifty minutes.

阅读下面短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题（请注意问题后的词数要求）。

My name is Clara. I still remember that chilly December day, sitting in science class. I had finished a worksheet early and picked up a TIME for Kids magazine. A piece of news caught my eye: NASA (美国宇航局) was holding an essay contest to name its Mars rover (火星探测器). Before I even knew anything else about it, a single word flooded my 11-year-old mind, Curiosity.

I couldn’t wait for the bell to ring so I could get started on my essay. That afternoon, I raced home, sat down at the computer, and typed until my fingers ached. “Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone’s mind…”

Five months later, my mom received a phone call, and immediately, a wide smile spread across her face.

On August 5, 2012, at 10: 31pm, the rover named Curiosity touched down safely on the surface of Mars, and I was honored to have a front-row seat in NASA.

Curiosity is such an important part of who I am. I have always been fascinated by the stars, the planets, the sky and the universe. I remember as a little girl, my grandmother and I would sit together in the backyard for hours. She would tell me stories and point out the stars. Grandma lived in China, thousands of miles away from my home in Kansas, but the stars kept us together even when we were apart. They were always there, yet there was so much I didn’t know about them. That’s what I love so much about space.

People often ask me why we go to faraway places like Mars. My answer is simple because we’re curious. We human beings do not just hole up in one place. We are constantly wondering and trying to find out what’s over the hill and beyond the horizon.

1.How did the author get the news about the essay contest? (within 7 words)

2.In which year was the author born according to the passage? (within 2 words)

3.Why did author have a front-row seat in NASA? (within 10 words)

4.What does the author remember about the time spent with Grandma? (within 15 words)[

5.What does the underlined phrase “hole up” in the last paragraph probably mean? (1 word)

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、删除或修改。

增加：把缺词处叫个漏字符号（∧），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；

2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

    As a child I dreamed of become a movie star, while my best friend Jim wants to be a director. One day he asked me that I wanted to star in a movie he was making. It based on the story of another friend of ours, Kate. She once gets lost in a forest, but managed to find his way home. It was an interesting story, so the movie never got off the ground because of we didn’t even have a camera. In fact, we just wanted to playing games in the forest. However, it is one of the most unforgettable childhood memory I have.

假如你是李华，是你校爱心俱乐部（the Loving Heart Club）的成员。最近，你校学生会拟招聘五名英语志愿者教师，你对此很感兴趣。现请你根据以下要点提示，用英语写一封申请信，向学生会申请这份工作。

1. 写信目的；

2. 自我简介；

3. 你的竞聘优势；

4. 你对这份工作的认识。

注意：

1. 文中不得出现真实的人名、地名等信息；

2. 词数：100左右（书信的开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数）。

Dear the Students’ Union,

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

 Dr. Peter Spence, _____ headmaster of the school, told us, “_____ fifth of pupils here will go on to study at Oxford and Cambridge.”

A．\, A               B. \, The               C. the, The                   D. a, A

 It rained heavily in the south, _____ serious flooding in several provinces.

A. caused             B. having caused      C. causing           D. to cause.

The direction_____ which the president would go was kept a secret_____ safety concern.

A. for, over           B. from, about         C. in, for            D. at, as

_____ at the back of the theatre, the girl couldn’t see ZhouJielun clearly.

A. Seating       B. Sited             C. Seated            D. Seats

We have the most population in the world, most of it _____ farmers.

A. to be          B. is              C. are               D. being

They are forbidden _____, for they are still middle school students.

A. to smoking     B. to smoke       C. smoked         D. smoke