Alex knew colors and shapes．He learned about 150 English words．With his language ability he made himself known as perhaps the world’s most famous talking bird．

But Alex，a parrot，died two weeks ago when he was 31．Irene，a psychologist(心理学家) at Harvard University，studied and worked with the parrot for nearly 30 years．

In 1977，Irene，then an excellent student in chemistry at Harvard，bought Alex from a pet store．At that time，scientists were not quite sure whether birds could learn to communicate with humans．

But using the methods of teaching．Irene helped Alex to learn about 150 words，and to count small numbers，as well as colors and shapes．

In experiments，Irene would give Alex a small reward，like a grape．Alex learned to ask for the grape by watching what the trainer was doing to get it．The researchers then worked with the bird to help him with pronunciation．

Alex showed a surprising ability to learn．For example，when he was shown a blue paper circle．he could tell what color the paper was．what shape it was，and after touching it，what it was made of．

Like other parrots，he also picked up some words when staying in the lab，like“calm down”and“good morning”．He could also show his happiness and sadness．

Even before the week he died，Alex was working with Irene on difficult words．As she put him into his cage for the night that Thursday，Irene said that Alex looked at her and said，“You be good．See you tomorrow．I love you．”

He was found dead in his cage the next morning．

1．Alex is the name of ________．

A．an excellent student        B．a clever bird

C．a trainer                 D．a psychologist

2．How did Irene get the parrot?

A．A friend gave it to her．       B．She caught it in a forest．

C．She bought it from the market． D．The passage doesn’t mention it．

3．The underlined words“picked up”in the seventh paragraph mean ________．

A．捡到    B．挑选    C．举起    D．学到

4．The passage is probably taken from a ________．

A．history textbook    B. novel    C．newspaper      D. dictionary

目前，越来越多的中学生利用暑假上各种各样的培训班或请家教。对于这一现象，存在两种不同观点。请你根据下表提示，以Is a Training Class or Family Teacher Necessary?为题，写一篇短文，反映表中内容，并简要阐述自己的观点。

注意：（1）层次清晰，连贯流畅；表达灵活，但不要逐字逐句翻译；

（2）词数：150 词左右（文章开头已给出，不计入总词数）；

（3）参考词汇：巩固—strengthen (vt.) 独立—dependence (n.)

Is a Training Class or Family Teacher Necessary?

More and more middle school students are going to all kinds of training classes or having family teachers during the summer vacation. There are two different opinions about it.

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目前，越来越多的中学生利用周末上各种各样的培训班或请家教。对于这一现象，存在两种不同观点。请你根据下表提示，以Is a Training Class or Family Teacher Necessary?为题，写一篇短文，反映表中内容，并简要阐述自己的观点。

目前, 越来越多的中学生利用周末上各种各样的培训班或请家教。对于这一现象, 存在两种不同观点：

第三节　书面表达（15分）

2008年11月，乒乓球世界冠军邓亚萍求学11年终于获得剑桥大学博士学位。假如你是来自西安的刘梅，听到这个消息，兴奋不己，立刻给她写了一封祝贺信并表示了自己的崇敬之情。内容包括：

⒈ 表示祝贺；⒉ 介绍自己及爱好；⒊ 解释崇敬的原因；⒋ 学到什么及自己的决心。

 参考内容：邓亚萍退出体坛后到清华大学，英国的Cambridge University 及 Nottingham University 学习，11年后获得经济学博士学位。

参考词汇：博士学位  doctor’s degree  自信 self-confidence 决心  determination  崇敬  admire  

注意：⒈ 词数100左右；⒉ 信的开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

Dear Yaping,

     First, I’d like to offer my congratulations to you on receiving the degree from Cambridge University.

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Your fan,

Liu Mei