On Friday morning, I was waiting in the corridor with my class for the physics exam. Glancing back from the front of the queue, I found my best friend Terry, who was treating me like I didn’t exist during the past two weeks, 36 all my calls and messages.
With all the students seated in the exam room, Mr. Reed, our physics teacher, talked to the class and announced the exam. I hated physics and felt it hard to 37 my paper. I was just looking up when a 38 caught my eye. I could hardly believe it! Terry had her phone on her left knee and she was reading from it. Is that how Terry always got good 39 ? I almost put my hand up to tell the teacher, but what would everyone else think of her? However, it wasn’t 40 ! So I nodded to Mr. Reed. He walked 41 down the row of tables. Terry was busy with her phone so that she didn’t even find Mr. Reed had 42 her. She looked up from her phone with a frightened expression. Before she had a chance to explain, Mr. Reed took her 43 and told her to leave the room. Terry started crying as she walked to the door, looking back over her shoulder at me, sad and ashamed.
After the exam, I received a text message from Terry, saying “I’m really 44 that I’ve been avoiding you lately but it’s been the hardest two weeks of my life. My dad has a heart attack and he’s been in hospital. He has a(n) 45 today and I am really worried. I know it is stupid, but I was trying to send a text message to my mum to see how it was going. Then Mr. Reed caught me and thought I was 46 . I wish I’d told you what’s been happening. I know I shouldn’t 47 who my friends are. Will you forgive me?” At these words, from my deep heart sprang up a burst of guilt along with the belief: Friendship is an honor and a gift, and worth the effort to treasure.
A．ignoring B．receiving C．answering D．preserving
A．hand out B．give up C．throw away D．concentrate on
A．mistake B．movement C．mark D．sentence
A．spirits B．preparations C．grades D．questions
A．serious B．difficult C．fair D．helpful
A．silently B．nervously C．happily D．bravely
A．left B．reached C．passed D．followed
A．advice B．guidebook C．place D．paper
A．sorry B．angry C．glad D．lucky
A．competition B．interview C．speech D．operation
A．learning B．cheating C．relaxing D．calling
A．mind B．forgive C．forget D．persuade
Rosa liked making up stories. She was so __1__ that her classmates believed her from time to time. In fact, the whole class believed her! At first she supposed it was __2__. Now, as she got up to __3__ before the class, She knew that make –believe stories had some way of coming back to make you sad.
Rosa’s parents were separated. Nine months out of the year, Rosa lived with her mother in an apartment on Anderson Street. But when summer __4__, she went to her father’s farm in Arizona.
The farm was great! Rosa rode horses and __5__ with some farm work. Her father, however, was so __6__ that he couldn’t find time to go places with her. When she arrived each summer, her father would __7__ her at the airport and take her out to eat. And the day she went back to the __8__ he would always buy her a present.
When summer came to a close, Rosa __9__ to her mother. At school she heard lots of stories her friends told about their family trips. Rosa wished she had a __10__ to talk about.
Not long after __11__ began, Rosa was looking through travel magazines in the school library. They talked about many exciting __12__, like England and Germany. When Rosa’s friends asked what she had done that summer, she made up something that was not __13__. Remembering the travel magazines she had looked at, she told her classmates that she and her father had gone to __14__.
When the class began studying England, Mr. Thomas asked Rosa to tell all the things she could __15__ about her trip to England!
A．afraid B．worried C．sure D．happy
A．joke B．fun C．turn D．game
A．talk B．teach C．show D．travel
A．passed B．arrived C．lasted D．changed
A．made B．played C．helped D．did
A．weak B．pleased C．busy D．lonely
A．show B．visit C．meet D．send
A．farm B．city C．family D．school
A．wrote B．called C．moved D．returned
A．family B．school C．teacher D．farm
A．meeting B．school C．summer D．talk
A．people B．cities C．languages D．places
A．England B．Germany C．farm D．home
A．think B．see C．remember D．read
The concept of solitude (独处) in the digital world is almost non-existent. In the world of digital technology, e-mail, social networking and online video games, information is meant to be . Solitude can be hard to discover once it has been given up. In this respect, new technologies have our culture.
The desire to be connected has brought solitude to a(an) as we’ve known. People have become so in the world of networks and connections that one can often be contacted even if they’d rather not be. Today we can talk, text, e-mail, chat and blog to share our ideas, not only from our , but from our mobile phones as well.
Most developed nations have become on digital technology simply because they’ve grown accustomed to it, and at this point not it would make them an outsider. , many jobs and careers require people to be . From this point of view, technology has changed the culture of work. Being reachable might feel like a to those who may not want to be able to be contacted at all times.
I suppose the positive side is that solitude is still possible for anyone who really wants it. Computers can be shut down and mobile phones can be turned off. The ability to be “connected” and “on” has many , as well as disadvantages. Travelers have ended up on mountains, and mobile phones have saved countless lives. They can also make people feel 【小题13】 and forced to answer unwanted calls or reply to unwanted texts.
Attitudes towards our connectedness as a society 【小题14】 according to different generations. Some find today’s technology a gift. Others consider it a 【小题15】 . Regardless of anyone’s view on the subject, it’s hard to imagine what life would be like without keeping up with the advancements in technology.
A．updated B．received C．shared D．collected
A．respected B．shaped C．ignored D．preserved
A．edge B．stage C．end D．balance
A．sensitive B．intelligent C．considerate D．reachable
A．media B．computers C．databases D．monitors
A．bent B．hard C．keen D．dependent
A．finding B．using C．protecting D．changing
A．Also B．Instead C．Otherwise D．Somehow
A．connected B．trained C．recommended D．interested
A．pleasure B．benefit C．burden D．disappointment
A．aspects B．weaknesses C．advantages D．exceptions
A．hidden B．lost C．relaxed D．deserted
A．amused B．excited C．confused D．trapped
A．vary B．arise C．spread D．exist
A．present B．tendency C．progress D．curse
This little story I’m about to tell you happened when I was about 11 years old, and I’II never forget it. I was at my friend Jenny’s __41__ after school one day, and we were doing (or not doing) homework.. __42__ I was there, Jenny’s mom came over to visit.
I don’t remember her name__43__ what her face looked like. I just remember her hands, her voice and the__44__ she taught me.
I can still see her hand __45__ for mine in our introduction. __46__ were so beautiful, I thought; rich, dark skin__47__ complemented(涂了) by the orange colored polish on her nails. Then I __48__ her saying, and not at all in a condescending(居高临下的) __49__ .“Oh no, that is NOT how you shake hands. Let me show you _50___.”
After that, I just remember her voice __51__ the importance of a good handshake, conveying（传递） a positive sense of self, looking at _52___ person in the eye, making that first moment matter…I think in that exchange I first understood__53__.
I respected her for __54__ the time to teach me about one of those subtleties(细微之处) in life. I appreciated the fact __55__ she didn’t look down upon me because I was 11 or because I didn’t know something. And so because of that I felt somewhat respected. I mean the _56___ she treated me. It felt good to be __57__ like a real person. I also appreciate her idea that _58__ someone doesn’t pay attention to something, be patient and point him or her__59__ the right direction. I__60__ her every time I meet someone and shake hands. And I’m so thankful for her little lesson.
A．office B．house C．family D．room
A．Although B．As C．During D．If
A．and B．but C．even D．or
A．homework B．English C．lesson D．knowledge
A．reaching down B．reaching up C．reaching out D．reaching far
A．It B．That C．These D．They
A．patiently B．beautifully C．strongly D．thickly
A．listened B．found C．heard D．saw
A．manner B．means C．method D．voice
A．that B．it C．how D．what
A．explains B．explained C．explain D．explaining
A．the other B．other C．another D．others
A．politeness B．saying C．friendship D．respect
A．costing B．spending C．taking D．using
A．what B．which C．that D．/
A．place B．position C．way D．time
A．talking about B．talked to C．talking to D．talked about
A．as soon as B．as long as C．once D．if
A．from B．at C．in D．to
A．think over B．think of C．think about D．think out
We are all interested in equality, but while some people try to protect the school and examination system in the name of equality, others, still in the name of equality, want only to destroy it.
Any society which is interested in equality of opportunity and standards of achievement must __1 test its pupils. The standards may be changed — no examination is 2 — but to have no tests or examinations would mean the end of equality and of standards. There are groups of people who oppose this view and who do not 3 either in examinations or in any controls in school or on teachers. This would mean everything would depend on 4 since every pupil would depend on efficiency, the values and the purpose of each 5 .
Without examinations, employers will look for employees from the 6 respected schools and from families known to them – a form of favoritism will replace equality. At the moment, the bright child from an ill-respected school can show certificates to prove he is _7 for a job, while the lack of a certificate indicates the unsuitability of a 8 child attending a well-respected school. This defense of excellence and opportunity would disappear if examinations were 9 , and the bright child from a poor family would be a prisoner of his or her school’s reputation, unable to 10 for employment with the child from the 11__ school.
The opponents of the examination system suggest that examinations are an 12 force because they show differences between pupils. According to these people, there must be no special, __13 or academic class. They have even suggested that there should be no form of difference in sport or any other area: all jobs or posts should be filled by unsystematic 14 . The selection would be made by people who themselves are 15 selected by some computer.
A．seldom B．regularly C．never D．rarely
A．perfect B．interesting C．easy D．difficult
A．predict B．explain C．improve D．believe
A．equality B．luck C．labor D．examinations
A．classmate B．friend C．teacher D．parent
A．equally B．slightly C．highly D．interestingly
A．suitable B．interested C．generous D．sensitive
A．cruel B．dull C．clever D．bright
A．handed down B．picked up C．brought in D．taken away
A．compete B．stand C．argue D．protect
A．ordinary B．favored C．ill-respected D．average
A．necessary B．healthy C．extraordinary D．evil
A．standard B．normal C．different D．fair
A．selection B．test C．discussion D．arrangement
A．surely B．clearly C．actually D．probably
Things of Value
Our area was just a few miles from the largest wildfire in Colorado’s history. We were on “evacuation alert (疏散警报)”. If we got the 1 to evacuate, we would have to leave immediately.
We 2 suitcases with some clothes and set them by the door. We didn’t 3 these things were valuable, but time was. We moved the computers, with which I wrote for newspapers and made a 4 . We took family pictures off the 5 and packed them in boxes. These were truly valuable and could not be replaced.
Then we took a hard look at all that 6 . There was a lamp that belonged to my great grandmother. It was a 7 to my family. And there was the piano my wife8 to play when she was a little girl. Not of great 9 in itself, but another family connection. It was impractical to move everything from our home and store them for an indefinite (无限的) time. Some important items would have to stay behind.
The thought of 10 something passed down from our families saddened me deeply, 11 I’d never been much attached to things. It’s about what they 12 —family and love. They each had a(n) 13 to tell, and some of them spoke in the 14 of our parents and grandparents.
The fire 15 reached our home. We were lucky. And though I felt grateful that all was 16 , I also realized just how fortunate I had been 17 . I saw just how rich my life had been.
Someone 18 said, “There are people so poor that the only thing they have is money.” And now I 19 I was indeed rich. I was rich in family, rich in memories, rich in everything that really 20 to me. I am wealthier than I ever believed possible.
It took a fire to teach me, I wonder if there is any other kind of wealth worth seeking.
A．answer B．task C．chance D．call
A．packed B．bought C．searched D．sold
A．worry B．think C．care D．doubt
A．mark B．sign C．living D．plan
A．albums B．ceilings C．windows D．walls
A．left B．remained C．burnt D．unmoved
A．connection B．present C．symbol D．treasure
A．forgot B．agreed C．learned D．refused
A．quality B．taste C．sense D．value
A．knocking out B．leaving behind C．giving away D．picking out
A．even though B．unless C．but D．or
A．contained B．included C．represented D．gathered
A．idea B．lie C．right D．story
A．sounds B．speeds C．voices D．feelings
A．once B．never C．seldom D．finally
A．spared B．returned C．stopped D．found
A．at last B．in return C．in another way D．at most
A．curiously B．accidentally C．coldly D．wisely
A．knew B．promised C．announced D．thanked
A．affects B．matters C．helps D．desires