A small ,white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree and it has been there for the past ten years or so.
It all began because my husband Justin hated Christmas—oh, not the true meaning of Christmas.Overspending was one thing, but compared to the difficult experience of choosing gifts—running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and a pair of gloves for Grandma…,spending money is nothing. I felt too tired to think of any special gifts.
Knowing Justin felt the same way, I decided one year not to buy the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so on. I reached for something special just for Justin. The inspiration came in an unusual way.
Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling （摔跤）at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a match against a team sponsored (赞助) by an inner-city church.These youngsters, dressed in such worn-out shoes that shoe strings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, while our boys were in their blue and gold uniforms and new wrestling shoes.
As the match began, I was shocked to see that the other team were wrestling without wearing helmets (头盔) to protect their ears. Well, our boys ended up defeating them. We took every weight class.
Justin, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said. “They have a lot potential (潜力) , but losing like this could take the heart out of them.” Justin loved kids—all kids, and he knew them, having coached little league football and baseball. That’s when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought different kinds of wrestling helmets and shoes. I sent them to inner-city church without leaving my name.
On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Justin what I had done and that was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and since then the envelope has become the highlight of our Christmas.Justin hated Christmas because _____.
| A．he didn’t enjoy receiving gifts |
| B．he had a hard time choosing gifts |
| C．he spent too much money buying gifts |
| D．he disliked putting gifts under the Christmas tree |
We know from the passage that the team sponsored by inner-city church_____.
| A．were well dressed | B．paid no attention to safety |
| C．feared Kevin’s team | D．couldn’t afford a helmet |
How did Justin feel about the team’s failure ?
| A．Upset | B．Angry | C．Hopeless | D．Shameful |
Why did the writer send gifts to the inner-city church without leaving her name ?
| A．To avoid being thanked | B．To play a joke on Justin |
| C．To give Justin a surprise | D．To protect her private information |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Church Gift | B．A Special Note |
| C．The White Envelope | D．A Christmas Card |
We're a bilingual (双语的) school for children of 6－15.We want a cook, a library assistant, a sports coach and a language teacher.
| Job |
Age |
Language |
Skill (技能) |
Other term (条件) |
| cook |
25－40 |
Chinese |
can cook Chinese and western food |
healthy |
| library assistant |
20－35 |
Chinese, English |
read different kinds of books |
careful |
| Sports coach |
20－40 |
Chinese, English |
major in (主修) P.E. |
healthy and strong |
| Language teacher |
Chinese, English |
major in English |
Which of the following can go to Happy Middle School?
| A．A four-year-old child. |
| B．A ten-year-old child. |
| C．A sixteen-year-old child. |
| D．A five-year-old child. |
Happy Middle School doesn't want ________.
| A．a cook | B．a nurse |
| C．a library assistant | D．a sports coach |
Which of the following may not speak English?
| A．The cook. | B．The library assistant. |
| C．The sports coach. | D．The teacher. |
The cook can cook ________.
| A．Chinese food | B．Western food |
| C．Chinese and western food | D．food |
Which is not needed as a sports coach?
| A．He majors in P.E. |
| B．He must be healthy and strong. |
| C．He can speak Chinese and English. |
| D．He can cook western food. |
阅读与回答问题（本题共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）
请认真阅读下面短文，并根据短文内容回答问题。
Team spirit means the willingness of people to work together and help each other as part of a team. With this spirit, people try hard to make their team the best of all. Everyone has experienced team spirit one way or another, whether they were part of a team or saw a group of people cheer for their favourite player.
There are different kinds of team spirit. One kind is the connection between a team of people because their efforts and cooperation (合作) are necessary in reaching a particular goal. Another kind is when a group of people support a person or a team. Another is people's natural love for and pride in their country, when a whole nation cheer for its country in competitions. Team spirit can also he seen in the workplace or in some activities.
Team spirit creates various good effects. It creates friendship and trust between people who may not get along when they don't have such team spirit. There may also be bad effects. Too great team spirit may cause arguments or fights with other team members.
Some people don’t understand team spirit properly. They think team spirit means having to become an official member of an organization, team or fan club. In fact, team spirit can be built anywhere-between friends, coworkers or even between two people sitting next to each other. You don’t have to be wearing the team spirit clothes. Anyone can show team spirit just by showing support for the goal.What is team spirit?
______________________________________________________________________________Which kind of team spirit in the passage do you have in your group work in class?
______________________________________________________________________________What good effects does team spirit create?
______________________________________________________________________________Where can team spirit be built?
______________________________________________________________________________Why do you think team spirit is important? (并自拟一句话作答)
______________________________________________________________________________
A “Gap Year” is a period of time when a student takes a break before going to university. It is often spent travelling or working. It can give young people useful learning experiences and new skills.
Gap years are popular with European and Australian students, but remain less popular in America. However, in recent years, more and more American students are preparing for college by taking a gap year. The advantages of taking a gap year are as follows：
Learn about the World and Yourself
Although you don’t have to go abroad to experience gap years, most gap year students catch the chance to travel abroad. You are able to work out who you are and what you are for. The experiences of different cultures offer you interesting lessons. You can learn more about the world and get to know yourself better.
Face Challenges and Have Fun
A gap year is not only a time to take a vacation, but also a time to face challenges. Gap year students usually work, volunteer or take service projects. You have to learn how to get along in the real world. This process isn’t always easy, but it is an important part of growing up. Only in this way can you enjoy life and have fun.
Save Money and Improve Your College Admission Chances
There’s a common thought that gap years are only for rich students, but it’ s not true. Actually, taking a gap year can save your money. Gap year students often take a part-time job. Besides, at the end of a gap year, students are much more likely to know what to study in college. Clear learning goals ran keep the students working hard instead of wasting time and money playing.
Imagine an admission officer trying to admit (录取) only one between two students. Both of them are excellent and have high grades. However, one student has much practical experience or has volunteered in his vacation. Who do you think the admission officer will choose?A “Gap Year” means ___in the passage.
| A．going abroad in a year for further education |
| B．travelling around the world in a year |
| C．taking a break before going to a university |
| D．doing a part-time job to make money during a vacation |
Besides having fun, gap year students have to face the.
| A．money | B．information |
| C．vacations | D．challenges |
Having a gap year may make you.
| A．become very rich |
| B．remain less popular |
| C．experience foreign cultures |
| D．have no chance to break |
The last sentence implies(暗含) thatwill probably be admitted by the admission officer.
| A．either of the two students |
| B．the student with high grades |
| C．neither of the two students |
| D．the student with a gap year experience |
Have you ever trained your brain（大脑）? Now there are some new suggestions, such as eating dark
chocolate and having cold meat for breakfast. You should also avoid watching soap operas, spending time with people who complain or follow fat-free diets, according to a new book on getting “brain-fit”.
Many of the suggestions in Teach Yourself Training Your Brain are surprising. The book says to read out loud while holding a baby. Writers Terry Horne and Simon Wootton say their advice is from the latest research by experts around the world.
“For years we have thought our brain capability (能力) is decided by our genes（基因）. But it’s now clear that it depends on our lifestyle. What we eat and drink, how we learn at school and what type of feelings we have are all important,” said Horne.
The book talks about the most up-to-date thinking in science about how diet, the environment, stress and other sides of modern life affect our brain capacity. It also offers advice and exercises. The book comes as more and more people are spending money on books, DVDs and computer games, which say to improve their brain’s capability.
Horne believes that people need to make changes to their lifestyles to increase their brain capacity Happiness, confidence and an optimistic nature help the brain, he added.
“So mix with people who make you laugh, or share the same interests as you. And avoid people who complain,” said Horne. “People who are negative will make you sad, which means you won’t achieve things.”According to the book, which of the following isn’t good for training your brain?
| A．Doing some brain games. |
| B．Eating dark chocolate. |
| C．Having cold meat for breakfast. |
| D．Watching soap operas. |
What’s Horne’s attitude toward the brain capability?
| A．It depends on what our genes are like. |
| B．It’s decided by our lifestyle. |
| C．It has nothing to do with schools. |
| D．It should follow the type of our feelings. |
What’s the book Teach Yourself Training Your Brain mainly about?
| A．How people’s brain capability works |
| B．Exercises to improve brain capability |
| C．Some scientific and healthy diets |
| D．How to improve people’s brain capability |
From the underlined sentence, we can learn that __________.
| A．more and more people are interested in reading |
| B．books can help people improve their brain capability |
| C．people are paying more attention to training their brain |
| D．there are many ways to train people’s brain |
There are several ways you can find out about the countries and places you wish to visit. You can talk to friends who have travelled to the places. Or you can go and see a color film. Or you can read travel books.
It would seem that there are three kinds of travel books. The first are those that give a personal, subjective (主观的) idea of travels which the author has got himself. These books can be useful to you when you are planning your travels if the writers share their travelling experiences with others. The second kind are those books which give objective (客观的) information of things to be done and seen. If a cultured person has written such a book about the facts of a place, then it is even more useful. The third kind are those books which are called “a guide” to some place or other. If they are good, they will describe and explain the place in detail. Like the first kind, they can be interesting and exciting. But their main purpose is to help the reader who wishes to plan his travel in the most practical way.
Whatever kind of travel book you choose you must make sure that it does not describe everything as “wonderful”, “excellent” or “magical”. You must also keep an open eye on its date of publication because travel is a very practical matter and many things change quickly in the twenty-first century. Finally, you should make sure that it’s easy to find useful information for your travel.The passage was written to introduce _______.
| A．travel maps | B．travel books |
| C．travel films | D．travel places |
The underlined phrase “ a cultured person” means a person with _______.
| A．a good appearance | B．a good education |
| C．a lot of experience | D．a lot of money |
The date of publication must be noticed because _______.
| A．the prices of travel books may be different |
| B．the writers of travel books may be different |
| C．the information in travel books is always the same |
| D．the information in travel books is always changing |
According to the passage, it is best to read _______ before travelling to a place of interest.
| A．the first kind of travel books |
| B．the second kind of travel books |
| C．the third kind of travel books |
| D．some travel articles in newspapers |