While I was in my 4th month of pregnancy (妊娠期) with my second child, we were preparing for a trip to Louisiana, where Marshall’s family live, to celebrate Jane’s 2nd birthday. Two days before we were to leave, we got the shocking news that I was going to lose the baby. Not knowing when this would happen, we decided to continue with our trip.
Since Marshall’s family lives on a 600-acre cattle farm, you often find that you have a lot of time to yourself to think when you are there. That is precisely what I did not want to do at this time. I told Marshall that I needed to get a good book to get lost in while I was there. I told him I heard the Harry Potter books were good, so he went out and got the first one for me.
During that trip, I totally got lost in the book, which was of great help during a time when I needed a distraction to forget about the sadness. In the book, I noticed the name “Seamus”. I vaguely remembered it was pronounced “Shamus” and I liked the sound of that. I mentioned it to Marshall and he liked it too. Toward the end of the trip, I had just 5 chapters left and I knew I was about to finish the first book, which I was pretty excited about.
Soon after we put Jane down to bed, I had started labor (分娩), so I was unable to read. The labor lasted 5 and 1/2 hours, but Marshall stayed there with me, sitting beside me and reading aloud the last 5 chapters of Harry Potter. I can never fully explain how much that helped me through the experience. And ever since then, Marshall and I both have been fans of the Harry Potter books. We remember how they helped us get through that time of our lives.
We were sad to have lost the baby, but the name Seamus started our journey toward adoption. And we gave this name to our adopted son. Though our Seamus doesn’t have a drop of Irish blood in him, the name fits him perfectly.Why did the writer want a good book during the trip?
| A．Because the trip to Louisiana would take a long time. |
| B．Because she didn’t want to think of losing her baby. |
| C．Because she had nothing else to do except reading. |
| D．Because a good book could help her enjoy her trip. |
According to the story, we can know that the Harry Potter books _________________.
| A．made the family’s trip more exciting | B．include five books all together |
| C．have someone called Seamus in them | D．can help people deal with their problems |
The writer named her son Seamus because ___________________.
| A．she wanted to keep her trip in memory | B．she loved this name very much |
| C．her son doesn’t have Irish blood | D．it is a perfect name for a boy |
Which of the following is TRUE about the couple?
| A．They planned their trip after getting the shocking news. |
| B．They thought the cattle farm was too large to do anything on. |
| C．They felt excited when they almost finished the trip. |
| D．They liked reading Harry Porter very much after the trip. |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Funny Stories Of My Family | B．Seamus And Harry Potter |
| C．How We Got To Louisiana | D．How My Son Got His Name |
Tattoos (纹身) and body piercings (穿孔) have moved up on the trend list in recent years.
Around Western schools lots of teens are showing off new holes and “flesh ink” (纹身). As with all other subjects, the Chinese will surely have to deal with this situation with respect to their children. To get a better view of what has happened in the West, let’s sit down and hear what they say.
Tiara from Indiana:
I personally think body piercing is sickening. If there were supposed to be holes in your body, you would have been born with them. I do, however, think that ear piercing, is not wrong. There is a difference between ear piercing and belly button (肚脐) piercing. Ear piercing is not nearly as dangerous. I would be sick if someone stuck a needle in my belly button.
Lee from Illinois:
Hi! I live in Illinois. I am 23. I have 12 tattoos and three piercings. I love my tattoos and consider myself an art collector. You would be surprised at who has given me the thumbs-up on my art work. People on the street stop me to look at the tattoo on my leg. Most of them don’t know what it is. They just think the work itself is great.
Subotai from Califomia:
I’m not against self-expression, but when I see high school students getting these piercing, I really wonder. In some cases, the drive is deeper and darker than mere fashion. A friend of mine tried piercing her own tongue with a safety pin. It got infected and she had a tongue the size of a cow’s.
Jackson from Ohio:
I don’t think it’s wrong, but when people do it all over the place like their face and everything—I think that’s ridiculous (荒唐的). People who get the big dragons that cover their whole body—I don’t think that’s necessary. When I see naked chicks on guys, I think “You have no respect for women.”
1. We can infer from the passage that _________.
A. Tiara must have body piercing B. Subotai doesn’t have body piercing
C. Lee dislikes tattoos D. Jackson likes tattoos and piercing
2. Who doesn’t think tattoos and piercings are beautiful except ear piercing?
A. Jackson B. Lee C. Tiara D. Subotai
3. From the passage, we can make a conclusion that _________.
A. tattoos and piecrings are a new kind of art
B. all the teachers in the West are in favour of tattoos and piercings
C. everything is changeable as time goes on
D. it is necessary to live with different views of beauty
4. The best title for this passage is probably _________.
A. Body Art or Causing Damage
B. Doing Damage to the Young People’s Bodies
C. Young People’s Different Curiosities
D. The Latest Fashion
A T-shirt a day has kept unemployment away for an American man who is making about $85,000 a year by selling advertising space on his shirt．
Jason Sadler, 26, was once a former marketing expert from Florida. In 2008, he founded his own company, “iwearyourshirt”, with the idea to wear a T-shirt supplied by any company and then use social media tools to develop the company . Sadler charges the “face value”of the day for his human billboard (广告牌) service. So January 1 costs $1, while December 31 costs $365. He said this may not sound like a lot, but it adds up to $66,795 a year if he sells out every day, which he did this year. He also sells monthly sponsorships(赞助) for $1,500, adding another $18,000 to his income.
“I walk around, take photos, wear the shirt all day … I blog about those photos, I put them up on Twitter, I change my Facebook introduction…and then I do a Youtube video. I made about $83,000 this year,” he told Reuters Television. The average U.S income is about $615 a week or about $32,000 a year ,according to the U.S government.
Sadler has already begun to plan for his year 2010. He is making services larger by hiring another person to wear a shirt a day on the west coast of the United States.
1．What is Sadler’s “face value” of the day December 30?
A．$364. B．$365. C．$615. D．$1,500.
2．It can be inferred that Sadler didn’t advertise on ________.
A．Twitter B．Facebook C．Youtube D．Reuters
3．Jason Sadler has a new plan to ________ for the year 2010.
A．employ another person to replace him B．start his business on the west coast
C．stay at home on the east coast D．double the charge for the service
4．The passage is mainly about ________ in a new way.
A．taking photos B．writing blogs C．making money D．selling T-shirts
Once upon a time, two brothers who lived on neighboring farms fell into conflict(冲突) . It was the first serious one between them in 40 years of farming peacefully side by side. In the end, they fell apart.
One morning, a man with a carpenter’s toolbox came for some work. The elder brother said, “I have a job for you. Look at the farm across the creek（河沟）. My younger brother lives there. It was he who used his bulldozer（推土机）to dig the creek last week to spite(刁难) me. So I want you to build me a fence, an 8 – foot – high fence, in order not to see his place any more.” The carpenter smiled and said, “I see. I’ll try to do a job that satisfies you.” Then the elder brother went downtown.
At sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer’s eyes opened wide! To his surprise, there was no fence there at all! Instead, there was a bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work! He saw his younger brother coming to him with the hands outstretching. The brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met in the middle, taking each other’s hands. They turned to see the carpenter lift his toolbox on his shoulder.
“No, wait! Stay a few days. I’ve a lot of other work for you,” said the elder brother.
“I’d love to stay on,” the carpenter said, “but I have so many more bridges to build.”
1．What was the life like for the two brothers before the conflict?
A．They lived a poor life. B．They lived in peace.
C．They never spoke to each other. D．They lived on the same farm.
2．It can be learned that the carpenter was ________.
A．unwilling to obey the farmer B．fond of building bridges
C．unable to build a fence D．willing to help others
3．The best title for this passage is ________.
A．A Fine Piece of Work B．A Carpenter
C．A Conflict between Two Brothers D．Two Brothers
4．Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A．The elder brother used his bulldozer to dig a creek.
B．The elder brother helped the carpenter build the bridge.
C．The brothers were both satisfied with the carpenter’s work.
D．The carpenter planned to build an 8-foot - high fence as asked to.
Life is difficult.
It is a great truth because once we truly understand and accept it, then life is no longer difficult.
Most do not fully see this truth. Instead they complain about their problems and difficulties as if life should be easy. It seems to them that their difficulties represent(代表) a special kind of suffering especially forced upon them or else upon their families, their class, or even their nation.
What makes life difficult is that the process of facing and solving problems is a painful one. Problems,
depending on their nature, cause in us sadness or loneliness or regret or anger or fear. These are uncomfortable feelings, often as painful as any kind of physical pain. And since life causes an endless series of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy.
Yet, it is in this whole process of solving problems that life has its meaning. Problems are the serious test that tells success from failure. When we desire to encourage the growth of the human spirit, we encourage the human ability(能力) to solve problems, just as in school we set problems for our children to solve. It is through the pain of meeting and working out problems that we learn. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Those things that hurt, instruct.” It is for this reason that wise people learn not to fear but to welcome the pain of problems.
1.From the passage, it can be inferred that __________.
A. everybody has problems
B. we become stronger by facing and solving the problems of life
C. life is difficult because our problems bring us pain
D. people like to complain about their problems
2.The main idea of paragraph 3 is __________.
A. most people feel life is easy B. the writer feels life is easy
C. the writer likes to complain about his problems
D. most people complain about how hard their lives are
3. According to the passage, we give school children difficult problems to solve in order to __________.
A. encourage them to learn
B. teach them to fear the pain of solving problems
C. help them learn to deal with pain
D. teach them how to respect for problems
4.The saying from Benjamin Franklin “Those things that hurt, instruct.” suggests that __________.
A. we do not learn from experience B. we do not learn when we are in pain
C. pain teaches us important lessons D. pain cannot be avoided
第二部分阅读理解（共15小题；第一节每小题2分，满分30分）
第一节阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳答案，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Primary source Holiday Shopping Night at Ten Thousand Villages Brookline
●Shop for four holiday gifts and give back go primary Source at TenThousand Village on Friday, December 4! 15% of all sales from 3:00p.m.---7:00p.m. that day will be donated to Primary Source. Join us for light refreshments and enjoy beautiful handmade gifts from artisans around the world. All are welcome!
Primary Source’s Holiday Shopping Night
Friday, December 4,2009
3:00p.m.---7:00p.m.
Ten Thousand Villages
226 Harvard Street, Brookline, Massachusetts (Coolidge Corner)
Download our flyer and tell your friends!
Ten Thousand Villages provides vital, fair income for the people from developing countries by marketing their handicrafts and telling their stories in North America. Learn more and preview toys, home décor（家庭装修）, jewelry, and other gifts online.
●Can’t join us on Dec.4? At Goodshop, 30% of your spending will be given go to Primary Source. The next time you’re ready to make an online purchase, visit www.goodshop.com and enter “Primary Source” in the space provided. Click “verify” and choose from more than seven hundred popular stores and sites, from Apple to Zappos. Goodshop is free and easy to use, and each purchase you make will help Primary Source provide global education materials for schools all over New England.
1．What is ten thousand villages?
A．A town B．A website C．A shop D．An organization
2．The underlined word “flyer” probably means ________.
A．a software B．an e-book C．a ticket D．an advertisement
3．If you pay $10 for a gift at GoodShop , ________ in the end.
A．7 dollars will go to GoodShop B．3 dollars will go to GoodShop
C．7 dollars will go to Primary Source D．10 dollars will go to schools in New England