During the twentieth century, cars, electric lights, space travel and amazing advances in medicine changed people’s lives. So what might this new century bring? There are hundreds of predictions flying around — let’s have a light-hearted look at some of them.

In a recent UK survey, teenagers were asked to make predictions about the year 2020. One of the most common predictions was that school uniforms won’t be around. They also predicted that both girls and boys will wear make-up more often, and more than 75% of men will wear skirts regularly. My dad is 65 next Saturday — I think I’ll buy him a skirt as a birthday present and tell him he’ll soon be in fashion!

Other predictions involve changing roles of men and women. By 2017, some people say that single men of working age will form more than 10% of all families. It is also predicted that washing powder advertisements will include more men because more of them will do housework. I’ll tell that to my husband when he gets home and see how keen he is to wash the dishes!

Many predictions are about crime and safety problems. Some people think that crime will improve and the world will become a more peaceful place. Others believe that crime is going to worsen and that people will stay at home becoming completely dependent on the Internet for shopping and work. It is also predicted that you will need an electronic card to get into parks as parents demand safe play areas for their children. This is old news for me --- our local government is going to introduce one this summer.

Technology is predicted to play an even more important role in our lives in the future. Some parents might have cameras at home so they can keep an eye on their children while they are out. Quick, kids, turn off the TV and do your homework!

Here’s another prediction. Researchers have concluded that cultural activity may add years to your life. The cinema, theatre and concerts may give us a longer life because they encourage strong feelings. Well, we’re watching Bridget Jones’ Diary this Friday night. Will that help us live longer?

Let’s finish up with my favourite prediction. In the future, elderly people are going to make up a larger proportion of the world’s population than ever before. In Britain, an estimated 100,000 people now in their thirties may live to be 100. And that includes me! I’ll have a big, big party, I promise!

1. The writer’s father ________ .

   A. has just turned sixty-five

   B. wears skirts

   C. is very fashionable

   D. is about to turn sixty-five

2.Why might more men do housework in the future?

   A. Washing powder advertisements suggest it.

   B. Men won’t want to work in offices any more.

   C. Traditional roles of men and women will change.

   D. Women will refuse to wash the dishes.

3.According to the passage, people might ________ , if crime worsens.

   A. need electronic cards to get into their homes

   B. stay at home and depend on the Internet

   C. help to make the world a more peaceful place

   D. work harder and make more money

4.Which of the following is NOT true？

   A. It’s likely that the writer is to live to be 100.

   B. The writer promises that she is going to hold a big, big party soon.

   C. Without an electronic card, you can’t get into a park freely in the future.

   D. The writer holds a positive attitude towards the changes in the new century.

5.From the passage, we may infer that the writer is probably ____ .

   A. a professional news reporter.

   B. a young and attractive sales girl.

   C. a middle-aged British housewife.

   D. a responsible government official.

One of the most famous buildings in the United States is Carnegie Hall, the home of classical and popular music concerts in New York. Carnegie Hall is known not just for its beauty and history, but also for its amazing sound. It has been said that the hall itself is an instrument. It takes the music and makes it larger than life.

Carnegie Hall is named after Andrew Carnegie, who paid for its construction. He was a wealthy man who also gave a lot of money to schools and public libraries. Construction on Carnegie Hall began in 1890 and the official opening night was on May 5, 1891.

The hall was owned by the Carnegie family until 1924 when it was sold to Robert E. Simon. The building became very old and in 1960, the new owner made plans to destroy it and build an office block. Isaac Stem led a group of people who fought to save Carnegie Hall and finally, the city of New York bought it for $5 million. It was then fixed up between 1983 and 1995.

In 1986, people realized that Carnegie Hall had never kept proper records of its history. Advertisements and stories in newspapers about how Carnegie Hall needed help to recover its history led people to send in old concert programmes and information from all over the world. Over 12,000 concert programmes were received and with these it was possible to make a proper record of Carnegie Hall’s concert history.

Carnegie Hall is actually made up of several different halls, but the Main Hall, now called the Isaac Stern Hall, is the most famous. Most of the greatest performers of classical music since the time the hall was built have performed in the Main Hall, and its reception areas are decorated with signed photographs of these musicians. The hall itself can hold an audience of 2,804 in five levels of seating. Visitors to the top level have to climb up 105 steps to get there!

Because the best and most famous musicians of all time have played at Carnegie Hall, it is the dream of most musicians who want to be great to play there. This has led to a very old joke which is now part of Carnegie Hall’s history. Question: “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” Answer: “Practise, practise, practise.”

1.What do music lovers expect in Carnegie Hall?

   A. Musical concerts presented by first class performers.

   B. Exhibits and photographs of historical events.

   C. Musicians practicing for opportunities to play.

   D. People dancing merrily at parties.

2.What is the correct order of the following events?

  a. Robert E. Simon bought it in 1924.

b. Carnegie Hall got its name.

  c. Carnegie Hall recovered its history.

  d. New York City paid $5,000,000 for it. 

  e. Construction on Carnegie Hall began in 1890.

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

3.How long did it take Carnegie Hall to be fixed up?

   A. 9 years.   B. 10 years.   C. 11 years.   D. 12 years.

4. How did Carnegie Hall recover its concert history?

   A. Through newspaper reports.

   B. Through old concert programmes.

   C. Through old photographs.

   D. Through old jokes.

5.Why do you think the Main Hall is now called the Isaac Stern Hall?

   A. Because Isaac Stern is a famous musician.

   B. Because Isaac Stern built the Main Hall.

   C. Because Isaac Stern saved Carnegie Hall.

   D. Because Isaac Stern made up the Carnegie Hall joke.

Against the supposition（假设）that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia warm the climate, scientists have discovered that cooling may occur in areas where burnt trees allow more snow to mirror more sunlight into space.

    This finding suggests that taking steps to prevent northern forest to limit the release of greenhouse gases may warm the climate in northern regions. Usually large fires destroyed forests in these areas over the past decade. Scientists predict that with climate warming, fires may occur more frequently over next several centuries as a result of a longer fire season. Sunlight taken in by the earth tends to cause warming, while heat mirrored back into space tends to cause cooling.

    This is the first study to analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate. Earlier studies by other scientists have suggested that fire in northern regions speed up climate warming because greenhouse gases from burning trees and plants are released into the atmosphere and thus trap heat.

    Scientists found that right after the fire, large amounts of greenhouse gases entered the atmosphere and caused warming. Ozone（臭氧）levels increased, and ash from the fire fell on far-off sea ice, darkening the surface and causing more radiation from the sun to be taken in. The following spring, however, the land within the area of the fire was brighter than before the fire, because fewer trees covered the ground. Snow on the ground mirrored more sunlight back into space, leading to cooling.

    “We need to find out all possible ways to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.” Scientists tracked the change in amount of radiation entering and leaving the climate system as a result of the fire, and found a measurement closely related to the global air temperature. Typically, fire in northern regions occurs in the same area every 80 to 150 years. Scientists, however, found that when fire occurs more frequently, more radiation is lost from the earth and cooling results. Specifically, they determined when fire returns 20 years earlier than predicated, 0.5 watts per square meter of area burned are soaked up by the earth from greenhouse gases, but 0.9 watts per square meter will be sent back into space. The net effect is cooling. Watts are used to measure the rate at which energy is gained or lost from the earth.

1.According to the new findings, taking steps to prevent northern forest fires may _______.

    A. result in a warming climate

    B. cause the forest fires to occur more frequently

    C. lead to a longer fire season

    D. protect the forests and the environment there

2. The following are all the immediate effects after a forest fire EXCEPT _________.

    A. large amounts of greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere

    B. the levels of ozone which is a type of oxygen increase

    C. snow on the ground mirrors more sunlight back into space

    D. ashes from the fire fall on the ice surface and take in more radiation from the sun

3.Earlier studies about northern forest fires _________.

    A. analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate

    B. indicate that forest fires will pollute the atmosphere

    C. suggest that people should take measures to protect environment

    D. suggest that the fires will speed up climate warming

4.The underlined part “soaked up” in the last paragraph most probably means ________.

    A. released       B. absorbed       C. created        D. distributed

5.From the passage we can draw a conclusion that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia may __________.

    A. warm the climate as the supposition goes

    B. allow more snow to reflect more sunlight into space and thus cool the climate

    C. destroy large areas of forests and pollute the far-off sea ice

    D. help to gain more energy rather than release more energy

阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。以下是一些电子产品的介绍：

A.  Microsoft Office: This computer software package provides you with everything for your business or study needs. Whether you need to write a report, do your business accounts, design a web page or stay in touch through email, Office can do it all and much more. Cost $740

B.  Motorola L7i mobile phone: Web enabled phone that allows you to surf the net anywhere at anytime, with 2 mega pixel camera built in for photo and video. 1 GB memory to store large music and movie files. Cost $530

C.  Lenovo laptop computer X61: This ultra-portable notebook is ideal for mobile users such as travellers and businessmen because it is lightweight (only 1 kilo) and offers extremely long battery life (up to 8 hours before recharging is necessary). Cost $1,200

D.  Supersonic MP4 Player: Multimedia player is just what you need to stay entertained wherever you go. Use the 1.5-inch screen as a video player or to play games. With 15GB of storage you can also store and listen to thousands of your favourite songs with just tile click of a button. Cost $140

E.  Nintendo Game Boy: This portable video game system allows you to have fun wherever you are. With thousands of different games available to play on this system you are sure to never get bored. Cost $240

F.  Sony Thinline Digital TV: This TV provides the crystal clear picture you expect from Sony and is only 2 cm thick. Has 120GB built in memory allowing you to record and store hundreds of hours of your favourite programmes with just the touch of a button. Cost: $3,500

下面是关于一些商店的简介，请匹配商店与它所销售的产品：

1.One-Stop Computer Centre: We are specialists in Dell and Samsung computers, offering a full range of desktops and notebooks for these two brands. We also stock a huge selection of computer softwares including all Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and Adobe applications.

2.Joe's Discount Electronics: Joe guarantees to provide you with the cheapest electronic products anywhere in the city. We may not have famous name brands but if you are looking for a reliable TV, mobile phone, MP4 player at unbeatable prices then Joe's is the place for you.

3.The Digital Warehouse: We're the city's leading electronic games store, offering the latest systems from Microsoft (Xbox), Sony (Play Station 3) and Nintendo (Wii, Game Boy). We also offer a huge selection of games for each system, and if we don't have we will order it for you.

4.HiFi House: If you're looking for a new music system or the latest in television technology then we are for you. Get honest and reliable advice from our sales team on the right products for you. We only sell quality brands so your satisfaction is guaranteed.

5. The Mobile King: Are you always on the move? Do you need to take your work with you wherever you go? Is your back sore from carrying around your old heavy laptop computer? Then come to us to get the lightest and most powerful laptop computers from brand names such as Toshiba, Sony and Lenovo.

一项调查显示，随着科技的发展，网上购物越来越广泛使用。请根据以下表格内容介绍网上购物的优点和缺点，并给出你的建议。开头已给出，不计入总句数内。

【写作内容】

[写作要求]

1．        只能使用5个句子表达全部内容。

According to a survey, online shopping is more and more widely used with the development of science and technology.                                                           

阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。

There is a growing debate about the most effective way for students to study.  Traditionally studying alone was thought to be the best way to ensure good exam results. When studying alone， you can focus your mind better than when you are with others. You also have the freedom to choose what topic to study and when, as you don't need file agreement of others. Students that prefer to study alone often say that when they study with their classmates they waste a lot of time because the discussion is often about non-study topics such as television or holidays.

In the last few years, however, more and more students have started studying in groups. There are several reasons many students prefer this method. First, they find that studying in groups is more fun as they can share the experience with others rather than staying in their rooms. In groups, they can discuss the subject together and when something is not understood they can ask each other questions. They can use the knowledge of their classmates to help improve their own knowledge.  Finally by discussing the topic they are able to both understand and remember it better.

    [写作内容]    

(1) 以约30个词概括短文的要点；

(2) 然后以约120个词就“独自学习好还是与他人合作学习好”的主题发表看法，并包括如下要点：

    ① 你喜欢独自学习还是与他人合作学习；

    ② 根据你个人的学习经历，简述你的理由；

    ③ 你的老师对你的学习方式的看法和建议；

    ④ 你认为怎样的学习方式才能取得最佳的学习效果。

    [写作要求]  

    1. 标题: The Best Way to Learn

 2. 可以使用实例或其他论述方法支持你的论点，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不得         直接引用原文中的句子；

3. 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称。

    [评分标准] 概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，语篇连贯。

Several factors make a good newspaper story. First，  1   ，it must be new. But since TV can react to events so quickly, this is often a problem for    2  . They usually respond    3   it in one of three ways.

One by providing   4    detail, comment or background information.

One by finding a new     5    on the day’s major stories.

One by printing completely different stories which   6   doesn’t broadcast.

What else? Well—it also has to be   7  . People don’t want to read about    8   , everyday life. Because of this,  many stories   9   some kind of conflict or danger. This is one reason why so much news seems to be   10   news, “ Plane lands safely—no-one hurt ”doesn’t sell newspapers. “Plane   11  —200 feared dead !” does .

Next, there’s human interest. People are interested in other   12   —particularly in the rich, famous and powerful. Stories about the private lives of pop singers, actors, models, politicians,   13  , all appear regularly in certain newspapers .

Finally, for many editors,   14   is an important factor, too. They prefer stories about people, places and events which their readers know. That’s   15   the stories in Tokyo’s newspapers are often very different from the stories printed in Paris, Cairo, New York or Buenos Aires.

1.A .gradually        B. extremely      C. obviously     D. precisely

2.A. newspapers    B. publications      C. reporters        D. broadcasters

3.A. with             B. on             C. of             D. to

4.A. extra         B. available         C. reliable         D. memorable

5.A. direction      B. look            C. angle           D. section

6.A. TV               B. internet       C. newspaper      D. radio

7.A. conventional   B. dramatic        C. professional      D. sensitive

8. A. common          B. usual          C. ordinary        D. special

9.A. urge         B. neglect          C. increase          D. involve

10.A. good        B. bad            C. exciting         D. informative

11.A. crashes      B. bumps          C. strikes          D. drops

12. A. places       B. people          C. things           D. news

13. A. in addition   B. in any case       C. for example      D. after all

14.A. personality   B. similarity        C. tolerance        D. familiarity

15. A. that B. why  C. because         D. what

It was a cold and cloudy afternoon. I was on the bus with my children, aged four and two, heading home when it started to rain. I realized this would mean a wet walk home   1.   the bus stop.

Home was only two blocks away   2.  it was not a pleasant walk with one small boy fast asleep in the pram (手推婴儿车), the other one in a raincoat and no umbrella for myself. A pick-up truck passed us on the road and, a few minutes later, I saw it  3.  (pull) back and the driver looking directly at us.

A young man put the window down. “Hey, here’s an umbrella for you --- please take it.” He called out.

I stood there   4.  (astonish), barely believing that the man,  5.  existence was unknown to me only moments ago, could be so   6.  (thought). “Come on, give this to your mummy,” he said to my older son. I gratefully accepted the offer,  7.  (thank) him and watched the truck disappear down the road.

This man might have needed the umbrella for   8. later during the day but preferred to give it to me. It was a lesson to me  9.   it’s possible to give without expecting anything   10.  return.

“Most experiences of absent-mindedness ,forgetting where you left something or wondering why you just entered a room , are caused by a simple lack of attention, ” says Schacter. “You’re supposed to remember something, but you haven’t encoded（编码） it deeply.”

　Encoding, Schacter explains, is a special way of paying attention to an event that has a major impression on recalling it later. Failure to encode properly can create troublesome situations. If you　put your mobile phone in a pocket, for example, and don’t pay attention to what you did because you’re involved in a conversation, you’ll probably forget that the phone is in the jacket now hanging in your cupboard.  “Your memory itself isn’t failing you, ” says Schacter, “Rather, you didn’t give your memory system the information it needed.”  http://wx.jtyjy.com/

　Lack of interest can also lead to absent -mindedness. “A man who can recite sports statistics from 30 years ago, ” says Zelinski, “ may not remember to drop a letter in the mailbox.”Women have slightly better memories than men, possibly because they pay more attention to their environment, and memory depends on just that.

　　“Visual cues（ 视觉提示 ）can help prevent absent--mindedness, ”says Schacter, “But be sure the cue is clear and available. ”If you want to remember to take a medicine with lunch, put the pill bottle on the kitchen table—don’t leave it in the medicine box and write yourself a note that you keep in a pocket.

　　Another common experience of absent - mindedness: walking into a room and wondering why you’re there. Most likely, you were thinking about something else. “Everyone does this from time to time, ”says Zelinski. “The best thing to do is to return to where you were before entering the room, and you’ll likely remember.”

1.The writer of the passage thinks that encoding properly is very important because ________.

　　A. it enables us to recall something from our memory

　　B. it slows down the process of losing our memory

　　C. it helps us understand our memory system better

　　D. it helps us to get back to where we were

2.One possible reason why women have a little better memories than men is that________.

　　A. they rely more on the environment

　　B. they have a wider range of interests

　　C. they have an unusual power of focusing their attention

　　D. they are more interested in what’s happening around them

3.Why can a note in the pocket hardly serve as a reminder? ________.

　　A. It will easily get lost

　　B. It is out of your sight

　　C. It’s not clear enough for you to read

　　D. It might get mixed up with other things

4.From the last paragraph we can learn that________.

　　A. repetition might help improve our memory

　　B. memory depends to a certain extent on the environment

　　C. we’d better return to where we were if we forget things

　　D. we should think about something else while doing one thing

5.The passage is mainly about ________.

　　A. the memory system of persons

　　B. a way of encoding and recalling

　　C. the causes of absent-mindedness

　　D. the impression of the environment on memory

2010 was the year the Earth struck back.

Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, blizzards(暴风雪), landslides(滑坡)and droughts

killed at least a quarter million people in 2010---the deadliest year in more than a generation. More people were killed worldwide by natural disasters this year than have been killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined.

“It just seemed like it was back-to-back (接二连三) and it came waves,” said Craig Fugate, who heads the US Federal Emergency Management Agency. It handled a record number of disasters in 2010.

“The term ' 100-year event ' really lost its meaning this year.”

And we have ourselves to blame most of the time, scientists and disaster experts say.

Even though many disasters seem accidental, the hand of man made this a particularly deadly, costly, extreme and strange year for everything from wild weather to earthquakes.

Poor construction and development practices make earthquake more deadly than they need be. More people live in poverty in vulnerable building (危房) in crowded cities. That means that when the ground shakes the river breaches(攻破), or the tropical cyclone (旋风) hits, more people die.

The January earthquake that killed well more than 220000 people in Haita is a perfect example. Port-au-Prince has nearly three times as many people, many of them living in poverty, and more poorly built shanties (棚户区) than it did 25 years ago. So had the same quake hit in 1985 instead of 2010, total deaths would have probably been in the 80 000 range, said Richard Olson, director of disaster risk reduction at Florida International University.

Climate scientists say Earth's climate also is changing thanks to man-made global warning, bringing extreme weather, such as heat waves and flooding.

The excessive (过多的) amount of extreme weather of 2010 is a clear sign of man-made global warning that climate scientists have long warned about. They calculate that the killer Russian heat wave ---setting a national record of 111 degrees --- would happen once every 100000 years without global warning.

Preliminary (之前的) data show that 18 counties broke their records for the hottest day ever.

White House science adviser John Holdren said we should get used to climate disasters or do something about global warning. "The science is clear that we can expect more and more of these kinds of damaging events unless and until society's emissions of heat-trapping (吸热的)gases and particles are sharply reduce."

1. What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?

A．How the Earth struck back in 2010.           B. Why the Earth struck back.

C．How terrorism attacks struck.                D. What natural disaster mean to us.

2.What does the underlined word "it" refer to in the third paragraph?

A． Earthquake.     B. The Earth.     C. 2010           D. Natural disaster.

3.What do the fifth, sixth and seventh paragraphs mainly tell us?

A. The reason why there were so mainly disasters in 2010.

B. The way that natural disasters happened.

C. The way that man built buildings.

D. The way that people lived.

4.What is the way to cut back on the number of natural disasters?

A. To build stronger houses.                  

B．To develop less.

C. To reduce the emissions of heat-trapping gases and particles greatly.

D. To forecast the happening of natural disasters correctly.

5.Why did the writer give the example of the earthquake that happened in Haiti?

A. To show more people's living in vulnerable building can cause more people to die in an earthquake.

B. To show Haiti is a poor country.            

C．To show Port-au-Prince is too crowded.

D．To show man's forecast ability of an earthquake reduced.