For shopoholics, the post-Christmas period means only one thing ---- sales! Across the country, prices are reducing sharply on clothing, electronics and home furniture, but London is the place for serious shopping, and you can certainly pick up some amazing bargains.

The sales start on Boxing Day — 26th December, and continue for the month of January, but the keenest bargain hunters get there early to be first through the doors. In Oxford Street queues formed outside shops ahead of before-dawn openings for the start of their sales. At Brent Cross, in north London, more than 1,000 people were queuing at 3.30 am for the ‘Next’ clothing store’s sale which began at 4 am. Some eager individuals even camped outside the shops to be first in the line.

Consumers who hit the shops were rewarded with discounts of as much as 80% as department stores joined the bargain sales. The shops are very crowded as the sales reached the boiling-point, with more than half a million people gathering on London’s West End.

Famous sales include the biggest, most popular shops such as Harrods, Selfridges, Liberty and John Lewis. Department stores are always a good bet — you’re likely to find everything you need under one roof, including much-needed food and drinks!

It’s a good time to stock up on cheap small tools, and there’s no better time to invest in some designer clothes.

Some people are taking their partners shopping with them, and buying their Christmas presents in the sale----a practical but unromantic way of making sure you get the gift you really want. For a less exciting but less stressful shopping experience, online sellers are also getting in on the act with January sales of their own.

The most organized of all are those who are already doing their present shopping for next Christmas, in the January sales!

1.

In the sales, people can buy, at a very low price, all of the following except ______.

    A. fashionable clothing         B. bestseller     

C. TV sets                      D. bookcases

2.

 We can learn from the passage that the sales ______.

    A. actually start before the end of December B. generally last for two months

    C. basically benefit none of the people              

D. are a time to buy Christmas gifts in a romantic way

3.

 “Hit the shops” in the third paragraph means to ______.

    A. attack the shops                 B. arrive at the shops

    C. affect the shops                 D. find the shops

4.

    What is the best title for this passage?

    A. January Sales                    B. Sales in London at Christmas

    C. Practical but Unromantic Shopping D. Shopping under One Roof

I start to wonder what else had changed since I’d been gone. My parents are in an awkward puzzle, wondering how to treat me now----whether to treat me—still their daughter—as one of them, an adult, or as the child they feel they sent away months earlier.

I run into two of my best friends from high school; we stare at each other, expressionless. We ask the simple questions and give simple answers. It’s as if we have nothing to say to each other. I wonder how things have changed so much in such a small amount of time. We used to laugh and promise that no matter how far away we were, our love for each other would never change. Their interests don’t interest me anymore, and I find myself unable to relate my life to theirs.

I had been so excited to come home, but now I just look at it all and wonder: Is it me? Why hadn’t the world stood still here while I was gone?  My room isn’t the same, my friends and I don’t share the same promise, and my parents don’t know how to treat me—or who I am, for that matter.

I get back to school feeling half-satisfied, but not disappointed. I sit up in my bed in my dorm room, surrounded by my pictures, dolls. As I wonder what has happened, I realize that I can’t expect the world to stand still and move forward at the same time.  I can change and expect that things at home will stay the same. I have to find comfort in what has changed and what is new; keep the memories, but live in the present.

A few weeks later, I’m packing again, this time for winter break. My mom meets me at the door. I have come home accepting the changes, not only in my surroundings, but most of all in me.

1.

 What can we infer about the writer?

    A. She is a high school student.    B. She is a college student.

    C. She is a clerk in a school.      D. She is a traveler.

2.

. What surprises the writer most?

    A. The living conditions of her parents.             

B. The decorations in her room.

    C. The meeting with her best friends.                

D. The things still staying the same.

3.

What is this passage mainly about?

    A. The writer’s curiosity about the changes.

    B. The changes in the writer’s surroundings and in herself.

    C. The writer’s disappointment about the changes.

    D. The writer’s refusal to accept the changes.

阅读下列材料, 从所给的六个选项(A、Ｂ、Ｃ、Ｄ、Ｅ、和F) 中，选出符合各小题要求的最佳选项。选项中有一项是多余选项。

________1. Jack just moved to a new place in Nelson. He wants to buy a house, but he hasn’t much money and his job is not well paid. So he needs a house whose price is about￡50,000 and at least has two bedrooms.

________2. Lucy is now 65 years old. She is not very healthy and it is difficult for her to move. So she now wants to find a bungalow (平房) in Earby so that she can easily go out of the house to enjoy the sun in winter and fresh air outside in summer.

________3 Alice was very poor before, but recently she got a highly paid job and wanted to change her house into a better one. But the house should at least have four bedrooms and two reception rooms. What’s more, it should look like the house in the countryside.

________4. Peter now  lives in Nelson. He dreams of having a house with at least three bedrooms. Besides, he doesn’t like high buildings.

________ 5 Lynne has lived in Newchurch for many years and now she wants to buy a house for a change. She wants the house to be semi-detached (半独立式) or detached. She also wants a separate garage.

A.     Top Barn Lane, Newchurch, Lancashire, ￡49,950, flat on 30_th floor.2 bathrooms with 3-piece suite in white, 1 reception room, 1 large lounge, 1 fully fitted kitchen,2 double bedrooms.

B.      Queensway, Newchurch, Lancashire, ￡109,500, semi-detached house. 2 countryside view fronts, 2 double bedrooms, 1 modern fitted dining room, 1 detached garage opposite.

C.      White Leys Close, Earby, Barnoldswick, ￡129,950, bungalow. 2 bathrooms, 1 reception room, 1 living room split into sitting and dining areas, doors to garden, a kitchen with a range of fitted bases. Outside of the front is a road for two cars and a garden area.

D.     Birch Hall Lane, Earby, Barnoldswick, ￡180,000. 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3 reception rooms. Traditional stone built houses next to some cottages on one side. There is a small cycle store and a long, beautiful wildlife garden.

E.      Craven View, Nelson, Lancashire, ￡185,000. Bungalow, 3 bedrooms with fitted wardrobe, 2 bathrooms, 1 reception room, 1 L-shaped living room with sitting and dining areas, fireplace around, French windows to back gardens, 1 kitchen with bright lighting.

F.      Farrer Street, Nelson, Lancashire, ￡ 45,000. A stone built house. Although requiring a degree of refurbishment (刷新), this two bedroomed house does still offer a good deal. It includes 1 dining kitchen, two bedrooms, three-piece bathroom, gas fired central heating and the yard to the back.

1. He has to take 2 part-time jobs during the weekends to s_________ his big family.

2. As friends, you should at first understand and r________ each other.

3. Only when one is put into prison will he realize the value of f________.

4. As the rules say, drivers shall r________ speed when they get close to a crossroad.

5. The earthquake made thousands of people in the country h________.

6. They communicate with each other entirely by g_________ as they are unable to speak.

7. With the a___________ of winter, the weather is getting colder and colder.

8. According to the weather forecast, a hurricane is l_______ to hit the city.

9. You should book a ticket in a_________ to make sure that you can get a good seat.

10. His best friend’s failure to keep his promise filled Jack with a________.

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一篇作文。文中共有10处语言错误， 要求你在错误的地方增加、删除或修改某个单词。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），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.  每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2．只允许修改10处，多者（从11处起）不记分。

On Monday morning, I was on my way to school when suddenly as I saw a boy knocked down

by the car. In a hurry, I ran over and found the boy was serious hurt with much blood on his face.

Immediately, I call an ambulance and the boy was taken to the nearest hospital. For my relief, the

boy was fine and would recover in a few day. I went away without leaving his name. I was late for

class, and I felt happy for what I had done. As a proverb says, “Help others is the source of happiness.”

I feel our duty to make the world a better place to live in.

Teenagers杂志Conversation With Brad栏目的负责人Brad收到了李华的一封来信。仔细阅读下面的来信，帮助Brad用英语写一封回信, 给出分析并提出合理建议。回信应包括以下要点：

1．定期与父母交流。2．尽量避免与他们争执。3．其他你认为可行的途径。

Dear Brad, ?

I’m a student from Xinhua Senior High School. I have some difficulty communicating with my parents. Although I have tried my best, I find it really difficult to make them satisfied……So I feel lonely sometimes. I would be grateful if you could give me some advice.?

Yours,

Li Hua

注意：1.可适当增加细节。?2.词数：120左右。

Dear Li Hua, ?

I feel greatly honored to be trusted with your personal affairs.

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Our kitchen needs to be equipped with a special fan to _________ the smell of cooking.

How can the students carry on with the listening test with all that loud noise _________?

Now people all over the world are _________the terrible H1N1 flu.

The twins are of similar _________ in music, though they are quite different in character.