Singles Day falls on every November 11th, and as the name indicates, this relatively new holiday is one exclusively for people who are still living the single life. I was a bit surprised when I googled “Singles Day” on the Internet, to find that China is the only country in the world that has set aside a special day for singles to celebrate their lives. To find out more about this celebration, please read on.

An old story goes that once there were four single men, leading very boring lives. None of them were married, or had lovers, or did anything exciting. They just sat around all day and played Mahjong.

One day they played Mahjong from 11 in the morning until 11 at night. During the game, no matter who won, the winning card was always the “four columns” card (the card shows four independent, parallel columns in two lines). Even more of a coincidence, it was Nov 11, or 11/11. In order to commemorate the day, they nicknamed it Singles Day.

Singles Day was first celebrated at various universities in Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu Province during the 1990s. It got the name Singles Day because the date consists of four “ones”. These college students have since graduated, and carried their university tradition into society. Singles Day is now a special day for all fashionable youths.

The main way to celebrate Singles Day is to have dinner with your single friends, but it’s important that each person pay their own fee to show their independence. People also hold “blind date” parties in an attempt to say goodbye to their single lives.

Many singles also choose to say goodbye to their single lives on this day. Many attend “blind date” parties and many people choose to marry on this day. In addition to meaning “single” the four “ones” of the date can also mean “only one” as in “the only one for me.” Some people will use this date and this meaning to tell their special someone that they are the only “one” in their heart.

1.Singles Day got its name because _______.

A. the persons who play Mahjong are four singles

B. the date consists of four “ones”

C. only single persons celebrate the day

D. it was first celebrated at universities in Nanjing

2.Which of the following is wrong?

A. Singles Day was first celebrated in Nanjing’s universities.

B. Many singles choose Singles Day to say goodbye to their single lives.

C. The only way to celebrate the Singles Day is to have dinner with your single friends.

D. It was these college graduated students that carried their university’s tradition into society.

3.We can infer from the passage that ______.

A. the four singles did not get married

B. Singles Day receives great popularity among young people

C. when having dinner, one pays the fee for all his friends

D. on Singles Day many attend parties where blind people were present

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A. The Origin of Singles Day.               B. How to Celebrate Singles Day.

C. Singles Day.                             D. Say Goodbye to Singles Day.

Joanne was stuck in a traffic jam in central Birmingham at 5: 30 and at 6: 30 she was expected to be chairing a meeting of the tennis club. At last, the traffic was moving. She swung quickly racing to her house. As she opened the door, she nearly tripped(绊) over Sheba.

    “Hey, Sheba,” she said, “I've got no time for you now, but I'll take you out as soon as I get back from tennis club.” Then she noticed Sheba seemed to be coughing or choking. Obviously, she could hardly breathe. Immediately, Joanne realized she would have to take her to the vet(兽医).

When she got there, the vet was just about to close for the day. Seeing the state of Sheba, Dr. Sterne brought her quickly into his office.

    “Listen, doctor, I’m really in a rush to get to a meeting. Can I leave her with you, and go and get changed? I'll be back in ten minutes to pick her up, and then I'll take her on to the meeting with me. Is that OK?”

“Sure.” said the doctor.

    Joanne made the quick trip back to her house in a couple of minutes. As she was once more entering the hallway, the phone by the door began to ring.

    “This is Dr. Sterne,” said an anxious voice. “I want you to get out of that house immediately,” said the doctor's voice. “I'm coming round right away, and the police will be there any time now. Wait outside!”

    At that moment, a police car screeched to a stop outside the house. Two policemen got out and ran into the house. Joanne was by now completely confused and very frightened. Then the doctor arrived.

    “Where’s Sheba? Is she OK?” shouted Joanne.

    “She’s fine, Joanne. I took out the thing which was choking her, and she’s OK now.”

    Just then, the two policemen reappeared from the house, half-carrying a white-faced man, who could hardly walk. There was blood all over him.

    “My God,” said Joanne, “how did he get in there? And how did you know he was there?”

    “I think he must be a burglar.” said the doctor. “I knew he was there because when I finally removed what was stuck in Sheba’s throat: it turned out to be three human fingers.”

1.Joanne wanted to get back to her home again _____.

A. to dress up for the meeting              B. to phone the police station

C. to catch the badly hurt burglar          D. to wait for her dog to be cured

2.From the passage, we can infer that _____.

A. Sheba fought against the burglar

B. the police found the burglar had broken in

C. Joanne had planned to take her dog to the meeting

D. the doctor performed a difficult operation on the dog

3.In this passage, the writer intends to tell us that the dog is _____.

A. clever               B. friendly         C. frightening      D. devoted

Coffee experts are willing to pay large sums of money for high-quality coffee beans. The high-end beans, such as Kona or Blue Mountain, are known to cost extraordinary sums of money. Then there is Kopi Lowak (translated as “Civet Coffee”), the world’s most expensive coffee, which sells for as much as US $50 per quarter-pound.

This isn’t particularly surprising, because approximately 500 pounds a year of Kopi Lowak make up the entire world supply. What is surprising is why this particular coffee is so rare. In fact, it’s not the plants that are rare. It’s the civet droppings. That’s right, the civet droppings—the body waste of the palm civet. Coffee beans aren’t Kopi Lowak until they’ve been digested(消化) and come out in the body waste of the palm civet.

Palm civets are tree-dwelling, raccoon-like little animals, native to Southeast Asia and the Indonesian islands. They also have a love for coffee cherries. According to Kopi Lowak suppliers, palm civets eat the fruit whole, but only digest the outer fruit, leaving the beans intact(完好无损). While the beans are not destroyed, they undergo a transformation in the animal’s body. A chemical substance in the digestive system of the palm civet causes some changes to the beans to give them a unique flavor(味道). However, this is not the only explanation why coffee beans retrieved from civet droppings have a special flavor all their own. Another possible reason is that palm civets have an unfailing instinct for picking the coffee cherries at the peak of their ripeness.

Kopi Lowak is reported to have a character in taste unlike any other coffee, complex with caramel undertones and an earthy flavor. Currently, most of the world’s supply of Kopi Lowak is sold in Japan, though a few US markets are also starting to stock up on Kopi Lowak.

1.What does “This” in the second paragraph refer to?

A. Civet Coffee.                            B. Blue Mountain coffee.

C. The high price of Kopi Lowak.            D. The unique taste of Kona.

2.Why is Kopi Lowak expensive?

A. There is a very limited supply of the beans.

B. The coffee trees that grow the beans are scarce.

C. It takes a long time for the coffee beans to ripen.

D. Only a few experts know how to produce the beans.

3.What is the main point discussed in the third paragraph?

A. Why palm civets like the coffee beans.

B. Where Kopi Lowak is mainly harvested.

C. What chemicals are found in the civet’s digestive system.

D. How palm civets change coffee fruit to Kopi Lowak beans.

4.Which of the following statements is true, according to the passage?

A. Little palm civets eat only the outer layer of the coffee cherries.

B. Palm civets somehow know the right time when the coffee fruit ripens.

C. Kopi Lowak is most popular in Southeast Asia and the Indonesian islands.

D. Kona and Blue Mountain are the most expensive coffees but only of average quality.

Thomson 中学学生Mike，Joseph，Anna， Ian 和Susan 正在计划下学期各自的选修课课程。阅读1至5题中的各人情况说明和A至F六门选修课的介绍，选出符合个性特长的最佳选项。选项中有一项是多余选项。

1. Mike spent his childhood mostly in his father’s study, where he read novels by British and American writers. Next term he will become a senior student. He thinks it’s time that he read more of their works and learned to write about them.

2.Joseph is good at the language arts, and in his spare time he likes to write short stories. It is his wish that his stories would be printed in local newspapers. So he is thinking of taking a course to develop his writing skills, such as wording and paragraph organization.

3.A lively and caring girl, Anna takes an active part in social activities. She is trying to write reports for newspapers about what she sees and hears. But few of them are accepted because of poor organization of information. She feels the need to improve her writing and communication skills next term.

4. Susan comes from China. As a junior back home, she wrote quite a lot of short stories, some of which were published in newspapers. Her parents suggest she read some classics by Asian and Western writers. She thinks it helpful in her writing. So she is going to take a course of this kind next term.

THOMSON HIGH SCHOOL

A

Creative Writing

—by Mrs A. MeCletian

Creative writing is a course in which we study and apply the methods used in various forms of fiction writing. Writing is a skill of art in itself. We are guided by Ezra Pound’s opinion: “Make it new.” Creative writing does not only provide us with an opportunity to express ourselves, but also holds our attention to word choice, paragraph development, and other skills useful in writing.

B

Journalism

—by Dr E. Brandt

Journalism is a course for seniors, in which we will cover how to gather, write and report the news. We will discuss how information is, or can be, organized. This course also aims to develop communication skills required of journalists.C

American &. British Classics

—by Dr E. Waiter

A classic is a literary work that has stood the test of time. Generations of readers have turned to classics to discover that which is everlasting. Through both the works themselves and the people they mirror, we may better be able to see ourselves. In this course, we will read works in both British and American literature. We will write reviews of what we read.

D

Non-fiction

—by Dr M. Timm

The course is a study of non-fiction through reading many different types of non-fiction. The course will also be about the possible changes in journalistic reporting and the sharing of personal stories of various people on various topics such as travel and adventure. We will examine some of the best writings in the world and deal with the techniques used in this text type.

E

World Literature

—by Mrs A. MeClellan

World Literature examines the common people found in quality literature worldwide, from Europe to America, from Asia to Africa, and introduces a variety of cultural background at different points in history. In these worlds, we find not only what is unique to each culture, but what is universal. We are also able to tell what makes for a good story, no matter from where or whom the story springs.

书面表达（总分15分）

某英文报纸正在举行“我难忘的一次经历”主题征文比赛。假设你曾参加过全校大合唱比赛。请你以“An unforgettable experience”为题，根据下表提示，用英语写一篇短文，准备投稿。

注意：

（1）短文须包括上述要点，可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

（2）文中不得出现真实的人名、校名等个人信息；

（3）词数：100左右。开头部分已给出，不计入总词数。

An unforgettable experience

During the past year at high school, I have had many unforgettable experiences.  One of them was                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

单词拼写（每题1分，共10分）

1.It’s clear that the little money he earns can hardly s______ a family as large as his.

2.The West Lake is one of the popular tourist a______ at home and abroad.

3.The goods you bought will be d______ to your house at noon tomorrow.

4.An accident is l______ to happen if you drive fast.

5.Make up a short dialogue, using the u______ phrases in the passage.

6.The Yellow River is one of the top ten rivers in l________ in the world.

7.Children are c________ to know everything they see.

8.Seeing the naughty boy making a noise, Father said to him, “B______ yourself!”

9. Nowadays every classroom in our school is e______ with an overhead projector(投影仪).

10.He gave v________ excuses for not attending the meeting, but none was convincing.

短文改错(共10小题，每题1分，满分10分)

假如英语课上老师要求同学们交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的作文。文中共有十处语言错误，要求你在错误的地方增加、删除或修改某个词。

增加：在缺词处加上一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写上该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写上修改后的词。

注意：1.每处错误及修改均仅限一词；

  2.只允许修改十处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

Tom and Dick are next door friend who both work in same office so they often walk together to and from office. One day they were walking to home together while it suddenly started to rain. Tom quickly open his umbrella and said proud, “My wife had great foresight. She said this morning it would rain and told me to carry my umbrella with myself.” Dick smiled and walked closely to him under the protection of Tom’s umbrella, said “My wife had ever greater foresight. She didn’t let me carry my umbrella as she knew you would have yours with you.

You have to have a good preparation for the exam__________ you can do well in it.

She is a talented musician ________ being a photographer.

On hearing the humorous story, they __________.