Bissel is a small village of the West Sahara. It lies next to a l.5-square-kilometer oasis（绿洲）, from where three days and nights are generally required to go out of the desert. However, before Ken Levin discovered it in 1926, none of the Bissel villagers had ever walked out of the desert. Reportedly, they were not unwilling to leave this barren land. Many had previously tried but failed, always somehow finding themselves back at the oasis after several days of trying to walk out.

When interviewed by Ken Levin, an expert at the British Royal College of Sciences, the villagers explained that no matter which direction they walked it always brought them back to the village.Why couldn’t the Bissel villagers walk out of the desert? Levin was very puzzled. He had, by himself, managed to walk north from the village and reach the nearest town in three and a half days. He decided to carry out an experiment to solve the mystery. He and a Bissel villager called Argutel, would walk out of the desert together. They prepared enough water for a half-a-month journey and two camels. But this time Ken Levin didn't bring his compass. Levin would follow Argutel.

Ten days later, they had walked for about 500 miles but were still in the desert. On the 11th morning, an oasis came into their view. They were back at Bissel. Levin now understood why the Bissel people couldn’t escape the desert. They had no knowledge of the North Star, which had for centuries provided sailors and other travelers with a point of direction. In the desert, if a person goes forward relying only on their senses, they will not be able to travel in a straight line. Rather they will travel in a very large circle and eventually track back to where they began. Levin explained to Argutel the function of the North Star and said, “As long as you rest in the daytime and walk towards the brightest star at night, you would be able to walk out of the desert.” Argutel did as he was told. Three days later, he came to the edge of the desert.

Now in the West Sahara, Bissel has become a bright pearl, where tens of thousands of tourists come every year. Argutel’s bronze statue stands in the center of the town. On its base are the words: __________________________.

1.Ken Levin asked Argutel to walk to the north in order to ________.

A. prove that people could walk out of the desert see

B. how far away Bissel was to the edge of the desert

C. tell people not to walk in circles

D. show Argutel was a great person

2.According to the passage, Ken Levin ________.

A. knew Argutel before he came to the village

B. came to Bissel to do experiments on behalf of his college

C. became the first man to walk out of the desert from Bissel Village

D. taught Bissel villagers knowledge of the North Star when he first arrived

3.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A. Ken Levin didn’t walk south because it would take more days

B. the use of a compass was necessary to walk out of the desert

C. tourism in Bissel has been greatly developed and improved

D. Argutel became the leader of Bissel after his return

4.Which of the following can most probably be found at the base of Argutel’s statue?

A. A new life starts from the fixed direction.

B. Where there is a will , there is a way .

C. A long journey starts with the first step .

D. Two heads are better than one.

In the United States you will find yourself being urged from every page of every newspaper and every television station to buy all kinds of goods.

Not only is there a wide range of prices for goods in America, there is also a wide range in the quality of goods offered for sale. Unlike some countries, Americans generally pay the price of a product without question, instead of trying to get a lower price by bargaining. However, there are many “sales” in the United States, during which time stores will lower their normal prices. This may all be very confusing to visitors. How are you going to know how to “get your money’s worth” when you shop? Perhaps the best advice is: Don’t hurry. Visit various stores and determine the quality of goods. Read the advertisements so that you can compare prices.

There is a great variety of shops in the United States, ranging from very large stores called “department stores” to very small shops. There are “discount houses” offering goods at low prices, and “dime stores” specializing in a wide range of inexpensive items.

Most department stores in large cities carry better quality products at higher prices. However, they offer the shoppers great convenience since they contain such a wide variety of products.

If convenience isn’t as important to you as price, you may want to shop in discount houses. These stores have nearly as great a variety of goods as department stores, but offer lower prices. They can do so for several reasons. They don’t offer the same services to buyers that department stores do; there may be fewer sales people; and the store probably doesn’t deliver purchases.

Another popular shop is the “dime store”. No longer selling many things for five or ten cents, these stores got their name in the last century when it was decided that a small profit on a great quantity of goods would be better than a large profit on fewer sales. Dime stores specialize in a wide variety of inexpensive items and today, prices range from a quarter or 50 cents up to several dollars.

1.Where can we most probably read this passage?

A. In a research paper.       B. In a science report.

C. In a geography book.      D. In a travel magazine.

2.Why can discount houses offer goods at lower prices compared with department stores?

a. They have fewer employees.

b. They have larger quantities of goods.

c. They offer fewer services.

d. They don’t provide delivery service.

A. a b c    B. a b d   C. a c d    D. b c d

3.What’s special about dime stores?

A. They sell lots of goods at a small profit.

B. They make big profits by selling some goods.

C. They provide goods with a price lower than 50 cents.

D. They provide goods ranging from bargains to expensive ones.

A punctual person is in the habit of doing a thing at the proper time and is never late in keeping an appointment.

　   The unpunctual man，on the one hand，never does what he has to do at the proper time._ 1._There is a proverb saying, “Time flies never to be recalled”. This is true. __2.__Time is more valuable than material things. In fact，time is life itself. The unpunctual man is for ever wasting and mismanaging his most valuable possessions as well as other's. The unpunctual person is always complaining that he finds no time to answer letters，or return calls or keep appointments promptly.. __3.__He knows that he can not get through his huge amount of work unless he faithfully keeps every piece of work when it has to be attended to. __4.__If a person is invited to dinner and arrives later than the appointed time，he keeps all the other guests waiting for him. Usually this will be regarded as a great disrespect to the host and all other guests present.

　   Unpunctuality，moreover，is very harmful when it comes to do one's duty，whether public or private. Imagine how it would be if those who are put in charge of important tasks failed to be at their proper place at the appointed time.__ 5.__

A. He is always in a hurry and in the end loses both time and his good name

B. They appear to be busy but never get well organized

C. Maybe everybody minds being kept waiting at a party

D. A lost thing may be found again，but lost time can never be regained.

E. But the man who really has a great deal to do is very careful of his time and seldom complains of want of it

F. After all, man who is known to be habitually unpunctual is never trusted by his friends or fellow men.

G. Failure to be punctual in keeping one's appointments is sign of disrespect towards others.

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有l0处语言错误，每句中最多有两处错误。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧)，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l0处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

Xiaolan, who is fourteen, a middle school student in Southern China. She is a one of the best student in her class and  she was won an award for young scientists last year. When seating in the classroom she looks just like all her classmates and after class her life is obvious different. She was born without the ability to use her legs and she has no feeling below the waist. She had to use a wheelchair to get around and it often takes her a little long to do everyday things, such as getting out of bed, getting dressed an d going to the school. So far she has created many programmes and one of which received an award at her province’s science fair.

你是校报英语版编辑Jack Smith，主要负责“你问我答”专栏，请就中学生李华的来信作答，给出适当建议。

Dear Mr. Smith,

I’m a Senior 3 student. I have to take English exams every two weeks. But the results are always discouraging in spite of my great efforts. I don't know why. I 'm afraid something is wrong with my English learning method. What’s worse, before each exam, I'm always feeling nervous and cannot sleep well. Could you give me some suggestions?

                                                                               Li Hua

注意：

针对提出问题，给出信息完整的建议；

适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

词数：100左右。开头与结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数。

Dear Li Hua,

I’ve just got your letter and I know learning a foreign language can be challenging for some people.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Sincerely yours,

Jack Smith

It was _____ terrible earthquake and _____ number of people who were killed reached more than 20,000.

A. a; the               B. the; a             C. the; the            D. a; a

---- Why have you bought so much food ?

    ----My good friends ________ to stay with me for the weekend.

A. are coming     B. have come    C. come       D. will have come

I was born in New Orleans , Louisiana , a city ______ name will create a picture for beautiful trees and green grass in our mind .

A. which        B. of which     C. that       D . whose

It was global warming , rather than other causes , ______ led to the extreme weather .

A. which       B. who       C. that      D. what

The new stadium being built for the next Asian Games will be      the present one.                         

A. as three times big as     B. three times as big as

C. as big as three times      D. as big three times as