Only three local students won Chinese Blog（博客）Competition. And 15 of the 18 awards went to students from China.
170 students’ task: to get a fully-designed blog up and running, complete with many posting based on a theme of choice—all written in Chinese.
Themes ranged from local opinions－such as the usage of Singlish, education and whether Singapore can be a cultural centre－to food blogs.
The entries were judged on Language proficiency（熟练程度）and the quality of writing, as well as the design and level of exchanging ideas with readers.
Academics from the National University of Singapore and the SIM University IT experts, and a journalist from Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao in Singapore made up the judges.
In the end, only three Singaporean students made it to the award list—the rest of the awards were swept up by students from China.
“No surprise.” said Mr. Chow Yaw Long, 37, teachers in charge from Ianova Junior College, which organized the event. “Although the topics were local subjects, the foreign students were generally better in terms of the content of the posts and their grasp of the Chinese language.”
One of the three local students winning the first prize in the Best Language Award was blogger Christina Gao，19, from the Saint Andrew’s Junior College, who spared no effort in researching for and writing her blog. Each entry took her between five and seven days to produce, complete with pictures and even podcasts（播客）.Her advice for bloggers is: Be responsible. “Some bloggers out there only seek to blame the authorities and other bloggers.” Said Miss Gao. “I think they lack responsibilities and there is no value to their posts.”The competition was organized by _______
| A．the National University of Singapore |
| B．Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao |
| C．Ianova Junior College |
| D．the Saint Andrew’s Junior College |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Chinese students won most of the awards. |
| B．Not all the themes were about local subjects |
| C．The blogs could be written in Chinese or Singlish. |
| D．The judges were from university in Singapore and China. |
What Miss Gao said suggests that _____________
| A．she likes to blame the authorities |
| B．she has a sense of responsibility |
| C．she thinks highly of the others’ blogs |
D．she loves to read v aluable posts |
Susan Sontag (1933 — 2004) was one of the most noticeable figures in the world of literature. For more than 40 years she made it morally necessary to know everything — to read every book worth reading, to see every movie worth seeing. When she was still in her early 30s, publishing essays in such important magazines as Partisan Review, she appeared as the symbol of American cultural life, trying hard to follow every new development in literature, film and art. With great effort and serious judgment, Sontag walked at the latest edges of world culture.
Seriousness was one of Sontag’s lifelong watchwords（格言）, but at a time when the barriers between the well-educated and the poor-educated were obvious, she argued for a true openness to the pleasures of pop culture. In ‘‘Notes on Camp”, the 1964 essay that first made her name, she explained what was then a little-known set of difficult understandings, through which she could not have been more famous. ‘“Notes on Camp”, she wrote, represents “a victory of ‘form’ over ‘content’ ,‘beauty’ over ‘morals’”.
By conviction（信念）she was a sensualist（感觉论者）, but by nature she was a moralist（伦理论者）, and in the works she published in the 1970s and 1980s, it was the latter side of her that came forward. In Illness as Metaphor — published in 1978, after she suffered cancer — she argued against the idea that cancer was somehow a special problem of repressed personalities （被压抑的个性）, a concept that effectively blamed the victim for the disease. In fact, re-examining old positions was her lifelong habit.
In America, her story of a 19th century Polish actress who set up a perfect society in California, won the National Book Award in 2000. But it was as a tireless, all-purpose cultural view that she made her lasting fame. “Sometimes,” she once said, “I feel that, in the end, all I am really defending ... is the idea of seriousness, of true seriousness.” And in the end, she made us take it seriously too.
58. The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 means Sontag _____ .
A. was a symbol of American cultural life
B. developed world literature, film and art
C. published many essays about world culture
D. kept pace with the newest development of world culture
59. She first won her name through _____ .
A. her story of a Polish actress
B. her book Illness as Metaphor
C. publishing essays in magazines like Partisan Review
D. her explanation of a set of difficult understandings
60. According to the passage, Susan Sontag ______.
A. was a sensualist as well as a moralist
B. looked down, upon the pop culture
C. thought content was more important than form
D. blamed the victim of cancer for being repressed
61. As for Susan Sontag’s lifelong habit, she ______.
A. misunderstood the idea of seriousness B. re-examined old positions
C. argued for an openness to pop culture D. preferred morals to beauty
62. Susan Sontag’s lasting fame was made upon _____ .
A. a tireless, all-purpose cultural view B. her lifelong watchword: seriousness
C. publishing books on morals D. enjoying books worth reading and movies worth seeing
IV.阅读理解（共17小题；每小题２分，满分34分）
Like cats, geckos（壁虎）always land on their feet. If they happen to fall from a wall or leaf they’ve been climbing, a quick move of the tail makes sure that they always land on their feet first, a new study finds.
Geckos are truly built for climbing: their feet have hairy toes that can fix themselves to a wall or other vertical（竖直的）surfaces. However, geckos’ feet can’t always keep hold and they may fall to the ground. When geckos fall or jump off a wall, they always land stomach-side down. Geckos’ long tails become necessary during their falls, the new study shows.
Researchers did an experiment. They placed geckos up-side-down on the underside of a leaf. When they lost their foothold and fell, the geckos pitched （倾斜）their tails for balance. They then rotated（旋转）their tails to make their bodies rotate. As soon as they were right-side up, they stopped rotating. On average, it only took the geckos about a tenth of a second to right themselves so that they would land on their feet.
Cats use a different way to land on their feet after a fall. As their tails don’t have the power like geckos’ tails, cats can’t use them to right themselves. Instead they twist their bodies around mid-air.
Engineers are trying to build a robot that imitates the geckos’ climbing ability. A tail will be fixed to the robot to allow it to keep balance.
54. What do we know about geckos?
A. Their toes make it possible for them to walk on walls.
B. Their tails can fix them to a wall or other vertical surfaces.
C. They often land on their backs when they jump off walls.
D. It takes them a second to right themselves in mid-air.
55. How do cats avoid their injury during a fall?
A. By twisting their bodies.B. By fixing their toes to the ground.
C. By using their tails to right themselves.D. By landing upside-down.
56. Geckos’ special abilities have given engineers some new ideas to _________.
A. allow robots to climb vertical surfaces
B. reproduce geckos like robots
C. invent robots that can rotate on the ground
D. invent robots that can balance themselves using their tails
57. What is the text mainly talking about?
A. The interesting living habits of geckos. B. The differences between cats and geckos.
C. Why geckos always land on their feet.D. How geckos climb up vertical walls.
If there is one thing that matters in high school－and for your whole life－it is friendships．
My latest novel，THE UNWRITTEN RULE，is about a girl，Sarah，who falls for her best friend Brianna’s boyfriend，Ryan，but it’s more about wrestling with feelings for a guy that you know you shouldn’t have．A lot of the book deals with friendship，the kind of lifelong friendship that means the world to you．．．and what happens when you realize that maybe it isn’t what you think it is．
Maybe your best friend isn’t your best friend．Maybe she isn’t even a friend at all．
Friendships are tricky things．You can he sure everything is fine，and that your friendship is going to last forever．．．and it can just end．No explanation，no anything．And it is not easy．In fact，I think losing a friend is worse than losing a boyfriend，especially when it is a friend you’ve had in your life for a long time．
One of the things that Sarah struggles with in THE UNWRITTEN RULE，beyond her feelings for Ryan，is her friendship with Brianna—how long they’ve been friends，how she understands Brianna in a way no one else does，and what to do when a crack appears in their friend ship，not because of Sarah’s feelings for Ryan，but because Sarah begins to wonder if maybe Brianna isn’t her best friend after all．
Having a friendship end is incredibly painful and one of the things I hated when I was younger—and that I still hate now—is how people say．“Oh，it’ll be okay．You’ll move on，you’ll be fine．”
It is true that you will eventually move on and that you will be fine．But you will also always carry that lost friendship with you．It may not take up all of your heart like it does at first，but it will take part of it．
And that，I think，is something no one ever talks about and that I wish we could — and would．
What do you do when someone you are friends with decides your friendship is over? How do you deal with it?
Maybe my latest novel can provide something for you．
47．From the passage we can infer that_____．
A．it may takes Sarah a long time to recover after she lost Brianna’s friendship
B．Sarah and Brianna are still best friends after a long period of time
C．Sarah does not value Brianna’s friendship at all
D．Ryan would feel puzzled about his real love
48．What do you think the book THE UNWRITTEN RULE is mainly about?
A．Friendship． B．School life． C．Love． D．Wrestling with feelings．
49．What’s the writer’s attitude towards friendship?
A．We will all lose some friends in our life．
B．Ending a friendship is worse than losing a boyfriend．
C．It’s usual when a crack appears．
D．You will eventually move on after you lose a friendship．
50．What do you think is the best title for the passage above?
A．My Latest Novel．B．Tricky Friends．
C．Sarah and Brianna． D．Unforgettable Friendship
Here below are two pieces taken from a blog．
▲ Growing up as one of three girls I’ve always been keen on women’s issues．And now with three daughters to raise，I have the responsibility of ensuring that they grow up without any preconceived(预想的) ideas of their capabilities ＆ potential based on their gender．Earlier this year I read an article that indicated that women surpassed men in the workforce for the first time in history．That is a milestone! And while we still don’t have equality in leadership positions or pay (especially if you’re a mom)，we have made significant progress over the past couple of decades．All this prompted me to do some digging around to see what else I could learn．Here are some fun facts from the census bureau for you：
●29％ of women aged 25 or older had obtained a bachelors degree in 2008 vs．18％ in 1987．
●55％ of all college students were women in the Fall of 2008．
●60％ of women 20 years or older participate in the workforce today vs．34％ in 1950．
●14％ of the armed forces were women in 2008．compared to 2％ in 1950．
▲We’re all looking to stretch the value of our dollar as much as possible．Every day as you juggle the needs of your family，remember to eat right，take your vitamins and keep up with laundry and bills－you probably also look for budget friendly，family appropriate activities．A day trip to a national park is a great way to explore all the wonders of nature，without breaking the bank．Once or twice a month，my wife and I will prepare for a leisurely hike in one of our favorite parks close to home．The night before，she makes some homemade granola and I make sure our reusable water bottles are full and on ice．Next time you’re looking for an inexpensive adventure that your family isn’t soon to forget，take a hike! To find a national park near you，just visit www．nps．gov
43．According to the first blog，_____．
A．the blogger has three sisters
B．there are more women than men at work this year
C．14％ of women are working in the army
D．women has got equality in leadership position
44．What is mainly talked about in the first blog?
A．Responsibility． B．Women’s potential． C．Workforce． D．Women’s issues．
45．The underlined words“breaking the bank”in the second blog means_____．
A．robbing the bankB．getting some money from the bank
C．using up the money in the bankD．going to the bank
46．What’s the writer’s suggestion in the second blog?
A．We all have to think about the needs of our family．
B．All the wonders of nature are in the national park．
C．To go hiking once or twice a month will be an inexpensive adventure．
D．Each of us will have to make our budget friendly．
This tour takes you back in history to a moment that“will live in infamy (声名狼藉)．”Explore the historic artifacts at the Arizona Memorial Visitor Center commemorating(纪念) the attack on Pearl Harbor，then travel around beautiful Oahu on a Circle Island guided bus tour．
The Arizona Memorial Visitor Center is Hawaii’s number one visitor attraction．View the film of the attack on Pearl Harbor and browse the historic artifacts on display．Then ride the Navy launch across Pearl Harbor to visit the Arizona Memorial．Then，board a tour bus for a scenic trip around the island of Oahu．Get your cameras ready for the beautiful view over Windward Oahu at Nu’uanu Pali Lookout．Visit Byodo－In Temple．which is set against a picturesque mountain backdrop．
You’ll also see the famous North Shore surfing beaches of Sunset，Banzai Pipeline，and Waimea Bay and drive through rustic Haleiwa Town．Visit Dole Plantation and discover the history of Hawaii’s pineapple industry before enjoying a no host lunch at the Polynesian Cultural
Center (lunch is not included in the listed-price)．
Inclusions：
Scenic bus tour of Oahu island
Film viewing at Arizona Memorial Visitor Center．Pearl Harbor
Visit of Byodo－In Temple and Dole Plantation
Available：
Mon．—Fri．
Hours of operation：
7 AM to 5 PM
Note：
Strict security measures forbid purses，handbags，fanny packs，backpacks，camera bags，diaper bags，luggage and／or other items．Visitors may bring a camera and cam-recorder．A storage facility，operated by a private vendor，is available for visitors coming to the USS Arizona Memorial，USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park，the Battleship Missouri and the Pacific Aviation Museum．The facility(象征性的) storage fee．The storage facility is in operation daily 6：30 AM to 5：30 PM．
39．What is the purpose of the passage above?
A．To introduce the beautiful scene in Oahu．
B．To tell the writer attractions in Hawaii．
C．To attract more tourists．
D．To describe a wonderful tour in Oahu
40．Which of the following is the right order of the tour?
A．The Arizona Memorial，Byodo-In Temple，Nu’uanu Pali Lookout，Polynesian Cultural Center
B．Pearl Habor．Dole Plantation．Nu’uanu Pali Lookout．Sunset Beach
C．Pearl Habor，North Shore，Byodo-In Temple，Dole Plantation
D．The Arizona Memorial，Nu’uanu Pali Lookout，Dole Plantation，Polynesian Cultural Center
41．A tourist will see everything below at Pearl Harbor except_____．
A．the Arizona MemorialB．some historic artifacts
C．a film D．Windward Oahu
42．Which of the persons below will not be allowed to enter the attractions in Pearl Harbor?
A．Alice，a student from LA，comes with her parents，with a Sony digital camera in her hand．
B．Geogre Zhang，from Shanghai，leaves his backpack in a locker outride the entrance．
C．Billy，from Italy，with small bag in hand and inside the bag is a cam-recorder．
D．Hose，from Spain，who has left his luggage in the hotel．