Dear Ralph,
I am a student of Grade Nine. I consider myself a beautiful and friendly girl. Male students say I am easy to get along with, so they are always after me. They call me and send messages from time to time. But I am fed up with them. I just want to learn as much as I can in this golden time. The problem is that I do not know how to refuse or say "no" to them. After all, they are my friends. What should I do? Please give me some helpful suggestions.
Aries
Dear Aries,
Don' t answer any call or message. When you want to study, simply turn off your mobile phone. That way you won't be bothered. When boys call, they will get a power-off (关机) message. After you finish studying, turn the phone back on and reply to people who have sent messages while you were studying. Accept calls only if you feel ready for them. A good friend can understand if you miss his too many calls or text messages, limit the number of people to whom you give your phone number. If you're not sure how well you like someone, first leave just your dormitory (宿舍) phone. Then that person can't bother you all the time. You are right that you need friends, so you shouldn't completely escape from them. I believe you can deal with this problem well and be happy every day.
Ralph
根据材料内容选择最佳答案，并将其标号填入题前括号内。
| A．Letters. | B．News. |
| C．Advertisements. | D．Notice. |
| A．She is friendly and beautiful. |
| B．She is easy to get along with. |
| C．She likes studying very much. |
| D．She often has problems with her friends. |
| A．improve her learning |
| B．give her friends suggestions |
| C．refuse her friends |
| D．answer her friends' messages |
| A．满意 | B．厌烦 | C．担心 | D．感激 |
| A．She shouldn't answer every call or message. |
| B．She should turn off her phone while studying. |
| C．She shouldn't tell everybody her phone number. |
| D．She should keep away from her friends completely. |
Saving water is an important part of going green. As water becomes less and polluted more, conservation (保护) becomes more and more important. The less water you use, the less wastewater will end up in our rivers and lakes. Wasting water means that more water needs to be treated and cleaned, a process that requires quite a lot of energy.
As it is said above, cutting down on water usage is one of the most important things you can do for your local environment and the planet as a whole. That is why more green households are going blue: cutting down their water footprint by conserving and harvesting (收获) water.
It may seem like a big concept, but going blue starts with small changes that everyone can make. Something as simple as turning off the tap while you brush your teeth can save a lot of water. Wash your fruits and vegetables in a bowl rather than under a tap to save even more. Make sure that the taps are fully turned off every time you step away from the sink or the shower — all those little drips can add up to a lot of water waste.
Another way of reducing your water footprint is reducing your dependence on the main water supply. Rainwater harvesting can meet a lot of your home’s water needs. Many of us already practice rainwater harvesting in a small way. Collecting water from your gutters (檐沟) is a great way to keep your garden green without running the sprinkler (洒水器). The underlined word “green” means ______ in this passage.
| A．未成熟的 | B．环保 | C．嫉妒 | D．健康的 |
According to the passage, which is NOT the reason that people should save water?
| A．Treating wastewater needs much energy. |
| B．The water on the earth is becoming less and less. |
| C．The water on the earth is becoming polluted more. |
| D．Rainwater harvesting can meet a lot of your home’s water needs. |
According to the passage, all of these can be used to save water except ______.
| A．washing fruit and vegetables under a tap |
| B．using a bowl to wash your fruit and vegetables |
| C．making sure taps are fully turned off all the time |
| D．turning off the tap every time after brushing your teeth |
Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
| A．Save Water by Turning off the Tap |
| B．How to Treat and Clean Wastewater |
| C．Keep Your Garden Green with Rainwater |
| D．Save Water Starting with Small Changes |
From the passage, we can know that_____.
| A．we can get enough water by harvesting |
| B．most people pay no attention to saving water |
| C．we can practice rainwater harvesting in a small way |
| D．harvesting water is more necessary than conserving it |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real，yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two，perhaps a few letters for a while— then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance，even years later，they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand，because friendships between us develop more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings，extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes，share their holidays，and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives，they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes，we，as hosts，will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans，however，express their welcome usually at homes，but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes，the welcome will be full，warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans，it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants，except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
| B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
| C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend，we will probably be ______.
| A．warmly welcomed at the airport |
| B．offered a ride to his home |
| C．treated hospitably at his home |
| D．treated to dinner in a restaurant |
The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.
| A．strict with time | B．willing to spend time |
| C．careful with time | D．serious with time |
A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.
| A．Friendships between Chinese |
| B．Friendships between Americans |
| C．Americans’hospitality |
| D．Americans’and Chinese’s views of friend |
Televisions were among the most talked-about things at CES 2013—the 2013 International Consumer Electronic Show (国际消费类电子产品展销会) last week in Las Vegas, Nevada. They were bigger and better with some of the highest technology (技术). Some TVs used a new technology called OLED. They were bigger, thinner and lighter, offered better colour and were brighter than traditional TVs using LED. 
Ultra High Definition TVs were also popular. Most of the TVs shown on the exhibition used 4k technology.
Smart TVs this year were smarter. Many offered technology that users have a more personalized （个性化的）experience. One such TV from TCL can know who is watching with the help of new technology. Then it can offer programmes according to the user’s usual interest. Another TV from Panasonic offers a similar personalized user experience.
Size also played an important part in CES 2013. TVs changed in size from big to bigger, with at least two companies —Samsung and Hisense —showing TVs that are 110 inches large on the exhibition.
The yearly CES is the biggest technology show in North America and one of the biggest in the world.
It’s a meeting of the brightest minds and the top leaders from many industries and those who want to know about the future.
Digital health and fitness inventions were also big at CES 2013. There was even a fork that tells you when you are eating too fast.
The show had over 3,200 different companies showing more than 20,000new products in about 26 miles of exhibition space.Which difference between OLED and LED is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Weight | B．Colour | C．Size | D．Price |
The writer takes TCL and Panasonic for example to tell us _________.
| A．smart TVs were smarter at CES 2013 |
| B．Ultra High Definition TVs were popular at CES 2013 |
| C．size played an important part in CES 2013 |
| D．digital health and fitness inventions were big at CES 2013 |
From the passage, we can know __________.
| A．CES 2013 has not been held yet |
| B．TVs at CES 2013 were smaller than before |
| C．many companies attended CES 2013 |
| D．no leaders from industries appeared at CES 2013 |
When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings(缺点). Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.
He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like ? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”
I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it. “That’s just for you,” he said.“You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”
Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?
| A．Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me. |
| B．She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer. |
| C．I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on. |
| D．Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious. |
Why did her father listen to her quietly?
| A．Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true. |
| B．Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while. |
| C．Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment. |
| D．Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth. |
Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend | B．The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had |
| C．My Father | D．My Childhood |
阅读下面短文，根据短文内容完成表格中所缺信息，每空一词。
Andy was born in China 17 years ago. In 2007, she went to the USA with her family. As a high school student, she has found many differences between Chinese and Americans:
About money
Americans like to spend more than they have, so many of them are always in debt(欠债). But Chinese usually spend less than they have, so many of them always have money left in the bank.
The American kids themselves make their own money. Most Chinese kids always ask their parents for money.
About education
Many American students have less homework to do while many Chinese students have much.Many American girls take part in sports, dancing and singing groups while many Chinese girls take part in study groups.
Many American parents think there is no need to send their children to an expensive school. It’s different in China. Many Chinese parents would do anything to send their children to expensive schools though their family isn’t rich enough.
About friends
Most American parents let their sons or daughters make friends by themselves. They never ask them about their friends while Chinese parents usually enjoy knowing more about their children’s friends in many different ways, and usually stop them from staying out too late with friends.
| Chinese |
Americans |
|
| Money |
Chinese usually have some money in the bank |
Many Americans usually money from the banks because they spend more than they have. |
| Chinese children get money from their |
Children usually make money by |
|
| Education |
Parents usually do their to send their children to study in expensive schools. |
Many parents think it isn’t to send their children to an expensive schools. |
| Chinese girls join in groups. |
Many girls exercise, dance and sing together. |
|
| Friends |
Parents are usually |
Most American parents pay attention to their children’s friends. |