In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied．Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories．She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year．

As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them．I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip form the publishers. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories．What if she doesn't win the contest again? That's the strange thing about being a parent．So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface．

A revelation （启示） came last week when I asked her, "Don't you want to win again?" "No," she replied, "I just want to tell the story of an angel （天使） going to first grade.”

I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she naturally told them．Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts （冲突） and endings for her tales．The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly "guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson．I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it．

Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks．Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting （借用） my daughter's experience．

While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help when asked．All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices．

1..

What do we learn from the first paragraph?                 

A．Children do find lots of fun in many mindless activities．

    B．Rebecca is much too busy to enjoy her leisure time．

    C．Rebecca draws on a lot of online materials for her writing．

    D．A lot of recreations compete for children's time nowadays．

2..

What did the author say about her own writing experience?

    A．She didn't quite live up to her reputation as a writer．

    B．Her way to success was full of pains and frustrations．

    C．She was constantly under the pressures of writing more．

    D．Most her stories had been rejected by publishers．

3..

．The author took great efforts to correct her daughter's stories because ________．

    A．She believed she had the knowledge and experience to offer guidance

    B．she didn't want to disappoint her daughter who needed her help so much

    C．she wanted to help her daughter realize her dream of becoming a writer

    D．she was afraid her daughter's imagination might run wild while writing

4..

What's the author's advice for parents?

    A．A writing career, though attractive, is not for every child to pursue．

    B．Children should be allowed freedom to grow through experience．

    C．Parents should keep an eye on the activities their kids engage in．

    D．Children should be given every chance to voice their opinions

On Christmas morning, I went to the Cockhedge Mall. People there were all busy buying their last minute requirements. I needed to buy a birthday card for my son-in-law whose birthday is the 29th of December. Picking up a few more things as well as my cared I went to join the line for the express checkout which was for people who only had a few items in a basket and not a trolley load. This line was next to the Customer Service desk.

Seemingly waiting quite a long time, I was jogged out of my thoughts by a voice behind me making comments on the things I bought.

It was so funny when I realized that she was describing the contents of my basket. The owner of the voice was a very pretty young lady. I said to her that I was going to buy a box of Christmas cookies but the only ones left were not to my liking. The lady told me that just opposite Cockhedge in Superdrug they had lots of cookies. I said, “I’m not going to bother now. I had enough of shops and I’m going home.”

The assistant from the Customer Service came across at this time saying “If there is anyone in the line with a few items in their basket, none of which needed to be weighed, I will check out their groceries at the desk.” Because I had the sprouts which needed to be weighted, the young lady accepted the offer and walked away waving goodbye.

Eventually my turn came at the checkout. I was walking away when I met my new friend once again who handed me a beautiful box of Christmas cookies. With a big hug she said “Hope you have a lovely Christmas.” She had been into Superdrug to buy me the cookies while I was still queuing in Cockhedge.

What a generosity to a stranger! I was so surprised you could have knocked me down with a feather. My Good Samaritan would never know what a joyful Christmas day I had with my family. Telling them this story, as we ate around the table, kept everyone spellbound.

1..

The underlined word “spellbound” in the last paragraph probably means          .

    A．interested       B．disappointed     C．astonished       D．frightened

2..

Which of the following could be the best title of the story?

    A．A Piece of Lucky Feather             B．A Surprise Christmas Gift

    C．The Boring Shopping Experience       D．The Unforgettable Big Hug

3..

How does the writer feel about the pretty young lady?

    A．Worried.         B．Satisfied.       C．Grateful         D．Proud.

4..

What can we learn from the story?

    A．Nobody is sure what will happen the next moment.

    B．A simple action can bring other people happiness.

    C．Being patient will decrease the waiting time.

    D．Life without hope and faith is a full thing.

Destiny and Personal Responsibility

One important variable affecting communication across cultures is destiny（命运）and personal responsibility. This refers to the degree to which we feel ourselves the masters of our lives, contrary to the degree to which we see ourselves as subject to things outside our control. Another way to look at this is to ask how much we see ourselves able to change and act, to choose the course of our lives and relationships. Some have drawn a parallel between the personal responsibility in North American settings and the view itself. The North American view is vast, with large spaces of unpopulated land. The frontier attitude of “King” of the wilderness, and the expansiveness of the land reaching huge distances, may relate to generally high levels of confidence in the ability to shape and choose our destinies.

In this expansive land, many children grow up with a heroic sense of life, where ideas are big, and hope springs forever. When they experience temporary failures, they encouraged to redouble their efforts, to “try, try again.” Action, efficiency（效率）, and achievement are valued and expected. Free will is respected in laws and enforced by courts.

Now consider places in the world with much smaller land, whose history reflects wars and tough struggles: Northern Ireland, Mexico, Israel, Palestine. In these places, destiny’s role is more important in human life. In Mexico, there is a history of hard life, fighting over land, and loss of homes. Mexicans are more likely to see struggles as part of their life and unavoidable. Their passive attitude is expr4essed in their way of responding to failure or accident by saying “no mode” (“no way” or “tough lick”), meaning that the failure was destined.

This variable is important to understanding cultural conflict. If someone believing in free will crosses paths with someone more passive, miscommunication is likely. The first person may expect action and accountability. Failing to see it, he may conclude that the second is lazy, not cooperative, or dishonest. The second person will expect respect for the natural order of thins. Failing to see it, he may conclude that the first is forcible, rude, or big headed in his ideas of what can be accomplished or changed.

1..

The author thinks that one’s character is partly determined by         .

    A．physical senses                      B．general attitude

    C．financial background                 D．geographic characteristics

2..

According to the passage, Mexicans would think that Americans are         .

    A．impractical      B．dishonest        C．ambitious        D．hesitant

3..

The underlined word “subject” in Paragraph 1 probably means       .

    A．a topic of a discussion              B．a branch of knowledge

    C．a person being experimented on       D．a person under the power of others.

4..

The author would probably agree that         .

    A．vast land may lead to a more controllable desire

    B．heroic sense of life roots deeply in a small country

    C．living in limited space contributes to an accepting attitude

    D．fighting over land may help people gain high levels of confidence

根据对话内容从对话后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

—Hello．Gerry speaking．

—Hello, Gerry．It’s me John here  1

—Well, I’m terribly sorry, but I’m not feeling very well．

—Is that all?  2

—No, I’m sorry．I was sick all night．I think it must be the fish I ate last night．

—Well, I think you should have at least phoned Kate and told her you weren’t coming to the meeting．

—  3  I’m sorry about that．Anyway, I think I’ll be able to get in to work tomorrow．

—  4

—I won’t．Thanks for calling．

—  5

    A．Why didn’t you phone?

    B．Ok．Take care and don’t eat any more fish．

    C．Why weren’t you here at the meeting?

    D．That’s all right．

    E．we thought you might have had an accident or forgotten the day or something．

    F．I’ll be glad to see you again．

    G．Yes, I suppose I should have done so．

1.You can use a clean ________ (手帕)to cover the bleeding point.

2. A hurricane struck the __________ （东南）of England last week.

3. _________ (判断) from his appearance, he seems a gentleman.

4. He had the photos            (冲洗) which had been taken the day before.

5..He was           (极其) tired after so many days’ overwork.

6. Few students in my class can     ________ (付得起) a trip to New Zealand.

7..The travel to Mount Tai last year was an     _______   (难忘的) experience.

8..My watch doesn’t work, so I’ll have it ______________（修理）

9. _______    _(赢得) the support of the majority requires time, energy and devotion.

10.In early spring workers come to cut off useless        __(树枝)of trees.

此题要求改正所给短文中的错误。对标有题号的每一行做出判断：如无错误，在该行右

边横线上画一个（√）；如有错误（每行只有一个错误），则按下列情况改正：

此行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉，在该行右边横线上写出该词，并也用斜线划掉。

此行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），在该行右边横线上写出该加的词。

此行错一个词：在错的词下划一横线，在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。

注意：原行没有错的不要改。

Here is my idea about how a friend is like. Firstly,       

1.. ___________

a friend is someone you can share your secrets. If you

2.. ___________

tell him a secret, never will he talks about it with anybody   

3..___________

else. Besides, a friend is always good listener when you   

4.. ___________

need one. After hear your sad stories, he will say some    

5.. ___________

words that is nice and warm. Still, your happiness makes   

6.. ___________

him happily too. What’s more, a good friend is willing to 

7.. ___________

offer the help to which you need, or can at least give you 

8.._______ ____

some advices. In a word, friends are those you like and    

9..___________

trust, and you will enjoy every minute that you spent with 

10.. ___________

them.

假如你叫李华，今年六月份将从北京新华中学高三毕业，打算到美国哥伦比亚大学留学，现在请你根据下面表格的个人信息，用英语写一封信，申请留学。

注意：

1.  信件必须包括以上内容，不能逐句翻译，可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

2.  词数：100左右。开头和结尾已给出，不计入词数。

参考词汇：哥伦比亚大学：the University of Colombia

高考资源网 Sir or Madam,

I’m writing in the hope that I can obtain a chance for my further study in computer science in your university.                                                                  

                                                             Yours sincerely

                                                              Li Hua                                                                            

The news on ___ air reminded him of ____ old friend who is now in America.

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

The mountain wind _____ as much as three inches of snow overnight.

  A. took out        B. took over          C. took from       D. took off

- Doing it like this means _______ time.

  -I didn’t mean ______ it.

  A. wasting…to do  B. to waste…doing    C. waste…do    D. wasting…doing