Blind imitation (模仿)is self-destruction. To those who do not recognize their unique worth. Imitation appears attractive: to those who know their strength. Imitation is unacceptable.
In the early stages of skill or character development, imitation is helpful. When I first learned to cook, I used recipes (菜谱) and turned out some tasty dishes. But soon I grew bored. Why follow someone else’s way of cooking when I could create my own? Imitating role models is like using training wheels on a child’s bicycle; they help you get going, but once you find your own balance, you fly faster and farther without relying on them.
In daily life, imitation can hurt us if we subconsciously (下意识地) hold poor role models. If, as a child, you observed people whose lives were bad, you may have accepted their fear and pain as normal and gone on to follow what they did. If you do not make strong choices for yourself, you will get the results of the weak choices of others.
In the field of entertainment, our culture glorifies celebrities. Those stars look great on screen. But when they step off screen, their personal lives may be disastrous. If you are going to follow someone, focus on their talent, not their bad character or unacceptable behaviors.
Blessed is the person willing to act on their sudden desire to create something unique. Think of the movies, books, teachers, and friends that have affected you most deeply. They touched you because their creations were motivated by inspiration, not desperation. The world is changed not by those who do what has been done before them, but by those who do what has been done inside them. Creative people have an endless resource of ideas. The problem a creator faces is not running out of material; it is what to do with the material knocking at the door of imagination.
Syudy your role models, accept the gifts they have given, and leave behind what does not server. Then you can say,” I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors” tragedies and tory, and know that they are cheering on. Imitation proves useful when you .
| A．know you are unique |
| B．lose the balance of life |
| C．begin to learn something new |
| D．get tired of routine practice |
To avoid the bad result of imitation, we should________.
| A．forget daily fear and pain |
| B．choose the right example |
| C．ask others for decisions |
| D．stay away from stars |
Acording to the author. The world moves on because of those who are .
| A．desperate to intruence others with their knowledge |
| B．ready to turn their original ideas into reality |
| C．eager to discover what their ancestors did |
| D．willing to accept others’ ideas |
The trouble a creator faces is .
| A．the lack of strong motivation |
| B．the absence of practical ideas |
| C．how to search for more materials |
| D．how to use imagination creatively |
What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
| A．To highlight the importance of creatively. |
| B．To criticize the characters of role models. |
| C．To compare imitation with creation. |
| D．To explain the meaning of success. |
I chose to study in Madrid because I had a desire to learn Spanish. My first impressions of Madrid were incredible. It was before the New Year that I arrived in Madrid for the first time. While traveling to my Spanish friend’s house in a taxi, I appreciated the buildings along the road which were different from those of my own country.
There are an incredible number of restaurants and bars from all over the world. If you are really into sightseeing, I hope you have rechargeable batteries for your digital camera, because one week really isn’t enough time to see everything here including a number of art, science, and historical museums as well as parks, buildings, and amazing landscapes.
What I liked best about life in Madrid was the fact that if you were frustrated with schoolwork and wanted to have some fun, you can easily go out. The nightlife never seems to stop and the people are all very friendly. You can meet people and practice Spanish while having fun at the same time.
What I liked least was the fact that many people smoked in the streets. Also, coming from the US, I was used to having a big breakfast every morning, but while living with an actual Spanish family, I wasn’t really satisfied with the food in the morning.
I think I have definitely become more independent since I came back from Spain. Living in a big city like Madrid I found that it is necessary to plan ahead and to make a schedule (时间表) for future. There is so much to see, not just in the Spanish World, but in the European World as well.What’s the purpose of the text?
| A．To attract people to tour around Madrid. |
| B．To show how to enjoy Spanish culture. |
| C．To give advice on how to study Spanish. |
| D．To describe the author’s life in Madrid. |
The author went to Madrid to _________________.
| A．visit his friend | B．go on a sightseeing tour |
| C．study Spanish | D．complete his trip around Europe |
Why did the author suggest taking rechargeable batteries?
| A．It’s difficult to deal with the used batteries. |
| B．It’s not convenient to recharge batteries. |
| C．There are few stores that sell ordinary batteries. |
| D．You will find lots of places worth taking pictures of. |
Which of the following in Madrid didn’t please the author?
| A．Parks and buildings. | B．Restaurants and bars. |
| C．Nightlife. | D．Breakfast. |
Weather is the subject matter of Westerners whenever they met
. Housewives, businessmen, factory workers as well as farmers all talk about the weather. It’s everyday news, whether or not conditions change. Many newspapers carry a regular front page news story in addition to the full reports on as inside-page provided by the weather service. Here are several different types of weather reports taken from the western papers:
No. 1 Regional Forecast
| New Jersey Today: Considerably cloudy with showers likely. High: 75-79. Southwesterly winds at 15-20m.p.h.. Precipitation(降水) probability 70 percent. Tonight: Warm and cloudy, rain likely. Low: 55-63. Southwesterly winds at 15 to 20m.p.h.. Tomorrow: Showers and thunderstorms likely. High: 75-79. Wind S to SW at 15 to 20m.p.h. |
No. 2 Three-day Forecast
| Westchester, Rockland Friday: Mostly fine to partly cloudy. Saturday: Cloudy with some showers. Sunday: Mostly fine. Temperature: Daytime highs will average in the upper 60’s to 70’s while overnight lows will average in the low to 50’s throughout the period. |
No. 3 Weather Stories
Bitter cold, inten sified(加剧) by high winds, gripped(控制) the Upper Midwest today, sheets of ice and snow left by the winter’s first major storm on highways throughout the area.At least six deaths were blamed on the storm. Hundreds of schools closed throughout the Upper Midwest yesterday and thousands of travelers waited out the weather at roadside shelters(避难处). Temperatures dropped well below zero early today from the Northern Plains through the Western Great Lakes under clearing skies. A 25-below-zero reading was forecast. Nearly a foot of snow fell on northern sections of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. And hardest hit were Duluth, Minn. and Superior, Wis., where 12 inches were recorded. Winds went up to 50 miles an hour. |
In a street corner of London, two strangers may begin their talk with “_____”.
| A．Hi, how are you? | B．What are you doing here? Waiting for someone? |
| C．A nice day, isn’t it? | D．Didn’t you listen to the weather report last night? |
The noon temperature of _____ is nearly 70’s at the weekend.
| A．Western Great Lakes | B．Duluth, Minn |
| C．Westchester, Rockland | D．New Jersey |
It seems that _____ has plenty of rain at the present season.
| A．Western Great Lakes | B．Wisconsin | C．Westchester Rockland | D．New Jersey |
Which of the following is most probable according to No.3?
| A．The traffic was terribly affected. |
| B．The Five Great Lakes were covered by heavy snow. |
| C．The temperatures might drop to 50℃. |
| D．Many schools were damaged in the snowstorm. |
It was the perfect weather for leaf watching, and my housemate Julie and I meant to spend the weekend with our friends in the north Georgia mountains. "Don’t you want to come along? "Julie asked her 15-year-old son, Mark. "Enjoy the leaves by yourselves,” he told her. "I’ll be fine staying home by myself. "Julie and I drove there in my car after work on Friday. On Saturday morning we hiked along the mountainside and enjoyed the beautiful colors. All of a sudden, I had a terrible feeling. "Go home," a voice seemed to urge me. I couldn’t explain it, but I didn’t want to be here any more. I just wanted to go home. "Carol, calm down. You’re being silly, "Julie said. But the urge just got stronger. "I’ve got to leave," I said. "If you want to stay, you can get a ride back with everyone else tomorrow. "Julie stood up. "No, I’ll go with you, "she said. We almost didn’t talk during the two-hour trip back. I felt very guilty. Finally, we pulled in. The lights were on in the house, but something was strange. The windows seemed to be fogged up. Julie opened the door and smoke poured out. "Mark!" she shouted. "Mark!" We rushed inside and found him asleep on the sofa. Shaking him awake, Julie grabbed him. I grabbed the source of the smoke —a pillow too close to the fireplace. I then took it outside and threw water on it. Mark had built a fire to keep warm, and some embers (灰烬) had flown out. The whole house could have gone up if we hadn’t gotten there just then!What do we know from the text?
| A．Leaf watching was Mark’s hobby. | B．Mark stayed home with his friends. |
| C．Carol went to work on Friday. | D．Mark was Carol’s cousin. |
The underlined phrase "pulled in" in the last paragraph probably means "_______".
| A．started the car | B．arrived home and stopped the car |
| C．moved away from the station | D．came home late |
While driving home Carol ________.
| A．was very terrified | B．drove at a great speed |
| C．knew she had made a mistake | D．hardly said anything |
Why did Carol want to go home?
| A．She didn’t enjoy the leaves. | B．She received her son’s telephone call. |
| C．She felt something urged her to go home. | D．She followed Julie’s advice. |
B
Plants are very important living things. Life could not go on if there were no plants. This is because plants can make food from air， water and sunlight. Animals and man cannot make food from air， water and sunlight. Animals get their food by eating plants and other animals. Therefore animals and man need plants in order to live. This is why we find that there are so many plants around us. If you look carefully at the plants around you， you will find that there are two kinds of plants： flowering plants and non-flowering plants. Flowering plants can make seeds. The seeds are protected by the fruits. Some fruits have one seed， some have two， three or four， and some have many seeds. But a few fruits have no seeds at all. An example of a fruit without seeds is the banana fruit. Most non-flowering plants do not grow from seeds. They grow from spores（胚芽）。 Spores are very small. Some spores are so small and light that they can float in the air. We may say that spores are quite the same as seeds. When these spores are all on wet and shady places， they usually grow into new plants.
55. The main idea of the first paragraph is that ______.
A. plants are important for life B. plants cannot grow without air
C. there are many plants in the world D. we can not live without water
56. Plants can make food from______.
A. flower， water and air B. water， sunlight and air
C. air， water and soil D. air， sun and light
57. What can we infer（推断） from the passage ？
A. Of all living things animals are most important B. Spores are seeds
C. All fruits of flowering plants have seeds D. Without plants， man will die out
58. This passage may be taken from______.
A. a medicine book B. a novel
C. a science magazine D. an experiment report
59. The underlined word “protected” in the third paragraph can be replaced by ______.
A. damaged B. polluted C. prevented D. guarded
第三部分阅读理解（共10题，满分20分）
A
It was a winter morning， just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars， Trevor， my husband， had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival， he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor， he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike， a black Kona 18 speed， was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work， putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries （食品杂货）， saving us from having to walk along long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that， several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike， then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another， but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity （人性） as a whole. And it has influenced us to be more mindful of ways we， too， can share with others. No matter how big or how small， an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.
50. Why was the bike so important to the couple？
A. They used it for work and daily life. B. It was their only possession （财产）。
C. It was a nice Kona 18 speed. D. The man’s job was bike racing.
51. We can infer from the passage that __________.
A. the couple worked 60 hours a week. B. people were busy before Christmas
C. the stranger brought over the bike D. life was hard for the young family
52. How did people get to know the couple’s problem？
A. From a stranger. B. From a newspaper.
C. From TV newsD. From radio broadcasts.
53. What do the couple learn from their experience？
A. Strangers are usually of little help. B. One should take care of their bike.
C. News reports make people famous. D. An act of kindness can mean a lot.
54. From this story， we can see humanity is __________.
A.selfish. B. commercial C. kind D. cold-hearted