My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. In this case he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged（乞求）him. Nothing worked.
One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and begged for help. "Please God, I can't do anything more for my son. I'm at the end of my rope. I'm giving the whole thing up to you."
I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. "I want to talk to you about Karl's absences." Before he could say another word, I choked（哽咽） up and all my disappointment（失望） and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. "I love my son but I just don't know what to do. I've tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It's out of my hands." For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The headmaster seriously said, "Thank you for your time." and hung up.
Karl's next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he was even on the list of the best students at school. In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were surprised at the way he had turned himself around.
After the meeting, Karl said, "Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?" I nodded.
"That was me. I thought I'd play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That's when I knew I had to make you proud." By saying "Karl became withdrawn", the writer means the boy changed completely and _______.
| A．preferred to stay alone at home |
| B．lost interest in his studies |
| C．refused to talk to others |
| D．began to dislike his mother |
There was silence on the other end of the line because the speaker _______.
| A．was too moved to say anything to the mother |
| B．waited for the mother to finish speaking |
| C．didn't want the mother to know who he was |
| D．didn't want to say to his mother |
The phrase "at the end of my rope" means _______ in Chinese.
| A．心如刀割 | B．心意冷 | C．失魂落魄 | D．山穷水尽 |
What does this passage mainly tell us?
| A．Being understood by parents is very important to teenagers. |
| B．Mother's love plays an important part in teenagers' life. |
| C．School education doesn't work without full support from parents. |
| D．Children in single-parent families often have problems with their mind. |
The best title for the passage is _______.
| A．A lonely boy |
| B．How to get on with a teenager |
| C．A student who turned himself around |
| D．A joking phone call |
It was nearly dark, the sun was dropping down the mountains far away. Little Tom came back home, with tears in his eyes.
“What’s the matter, Tom? How’s your trip?” his mother asked with a big smile. “I failed. The mountain is so high and full of big or small stones on the way, I still go ahead. But I was tired and it was so late that I had to come back.” Tom cried. “It doesn’t matter, you are only 14 years old after all. You will have another chance.” his mother said. “But, standing at the top of the mountain is my dream!” Tom said. His father came over and asked, “Did you see the green trees on your way to the mountain?” “Sure, and there are a lot of beautiful flowers by the side of the road.” Tom replied. “Did you hear the birds singing?” his father asked. “There were many kinds of birds singing in the trees, and the sound was very sweet.” Tom said. “Did you feel the beauty of nature?” his father asked. “Yes, the blue sky, the white clouds, the green trees and the colorful flowers made a nice picture.” Tom answered. “That’s enough!” his father smiled and said, “Please remember, son. For often, achieving what you expect is not the most important thing. Although you didn’t reach the top of the mountain, you got a lot on the way.”
It is true that not every goal will be achieved, not every job will end up with a success, and not every dream will come true. The most beautiful scenery (风景) is on the way.
根据短文内容，从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出正确选项，并将所选答案涂到答题卡的相应位置上。（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）Tom got back home when the sun was dropping.
| A．slowly | B．sadly | C．quickly | D．early |
Tom’s parents wanted Tom .
| A．to be friendly | B．to be happy |
| C．to be clever | D．to be healthy |
What’s the main reason that Tom didn’t reach the top of the mountain?
| A．The mountain was so high. |
| B．The way was full of big or small stones. |
| C．He was tired and it was so late. |
| D．He was only 14 years old. |
Tom saw a lot of things on the way to the mountain except .
| A．clear water | B．blue sky |
| C．colorful flowers | D．green trees |
The writer tries to tell us that .
| A．the goal is not important |
| B．everyone should climb the mountain |
| C．the mountain is very beautiful |
| D．the process (过程) is more important than the result |
In the UK, bus journeys are very common. Buses are often convenient（便利的）for the people who live or work in the city center. Passengers can avoid heavy traffic and not have to pay for the parking. However, taking the bus is just a necessary but boring part of life: they get on the bus, pay for it and sit or find a place to stand when it is crowded. Everyone seems sad and bored.
In Latin America, however, bus trips can be wonderful. For a start, films are showed on the buses between cities for passengers to have fun along the journeys. Local buses do not show films, but drivers usually turn on the radio and it can be great for passengers to listen to songs and get relaxed.
Even better than films and music are the sights and sounds on the buses. Local buses always go to parts of the town that passengers would not visit by themselves. There passengers can see shops that they have never heard about. And they can also see other cultures of the town from the windows of the buses.
Besides, passengers’ luggage（行李）is also interesting. It is common to see a happy dog’s head getting out of somebody’s bag or a lovely chicken“speaking cheerfully”under somebody’s arm. Once on a bus in Peru, a farmer even tied a sheep to the top of the bus. It was quite surprising.
In all, taking the bus in Latin America is really fun and unforgettable.According to the passage, in the UK, how to passengers probably feel on the buses?
They probably feel .In Latin America, how can people have fun on the buses between cities?
They can .In the writer’s opinion, what are even better than films and music on the buses?
Are. Why does the writer think passengers’ luggage is interesting?
Because it’s common to see different kinds of on the buses.What does the passage mainly tell us?
It mainly tells us about in Latin America.
The eagle has the longest life of its group. It can reach up to
70 years. But to reach this age, the eagle must make a hard and
painful decision.
When an eagle reaches near 40, its short sharp beak becomes
bent（弯曲的）. Its long and once flexible（灵活的） talons
can no longer catch animals or birds for food. And its old and
heavy wings with thick feathers on its body make it difficult to fly.
Then, the eagle has only tow choices: to die or to go through a
painful time of change which needs five months.
When the eagle feels weak and is about to die, it goes to a
place far away on the top of a mountain and sits on a nest. For a new life, the eagle knocks its beak against a rock until it pulls its beak out. After pulling it out, the eagle waits for a new beak to grow. And then it pulls out its talons and old feathers. It takes the eagle five months to complete its change and get a new life. We can call it its rebirth. So it can live for 30 more years.
Like the eagle, we human beings sometimes need to make some change to get out of our difficulty. In miserable condition, we have to change our ways of life. The changing may be very painful. But sometimes we have to throw off our old habits, memories and traditions. We can’t go on with all our past burdens（重负）.
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．When an eagle reaches near 40, its short sharp beak is still straight. |
| B．For a new life, the eagle knocks its talons against a rock. |
| C．If the eagle doesn’t change itself, it will have a new life. |
| D．The writer’s idea is that we can’t go on with all our past burdens. |
The underlined word“miserable” here probably means“”.
| A．terrible | B．good | C．lonely | D．lucky |
The best title for the passage can be“”.
| A．The death of the eagle |
| B．The living period of the eagle |
| C．A good and easy decision |
| D．Rebirth of the eagle |
A story happened when the telegraph（电报）was the fastest method of long-distance communication. One day, a young man went to an interview for a job as a Morse code operator（莫尔斯电码报务员）.
Answering the ad in the newspaper, he went to the office address. When he arrived, he walked into a large, busy office filled with noise, including the sound of the telegraph. An office worker asked him to wait until he was called to go into the inner office. Seven other people were already in the waiting area for the interview. The young man sat down and waited with them. After a few minutes, the young man stood up, crossed the room to the door of the inner office, and walked right in. Naturally the other people wondered what was going on. They were sure that the young man made a mistake and would be refused.
A few minutes later, however, the boss came out of the inner office with the young man and said to the other people,“Gentlemen,thank you very much for coming, but the young man has got the job.”
The other people were surprised, and one of them said, “Wait a minute. I don’t understand. He was the last to come in, and we never even got a chance to be interviewed. Yet he got the job. That’s not fair!”
The boss said, “I’m sorry, but all the time you’ve been sitting here, the telegraph has been sending out the following message in Mores code: ‘If you understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours.’ None of you heard it or understood it. This young man did. The job is this.”The young man got the information about the job from .
| A．the telegraph | B．the newspaper |
| C．an office worker | D．a friend |
What was the office like?
| A．Large, busy and noisy | B．Busy, noisy and crowded |
| C．Large, crowded but quiet | D．Busy, crowded but quiet |
How many people went fot the job interview that day?
| A．7 | B．8 | C．9 | D．10 |
The young man was offered the job because .
| A．he was young |
| B．he knew the boss |
| C．he heard the telegraph message and understood it |
| D．he was the last one to walk into the inner office |
As traditional Chinese art, paper cutting has a long history. The first and earliest paper cutting was found in China 1,500 years ago. But this traditional art is at risk of disappearing now. Luckily, Voyo Woo, a Chinese immigrant（移民）in America, is trying to bring this art back to life.
One Saturday in 2014, Ms Woo held a paper cutting show at a shopping center near Washington. She got much fun and peace doing it. She hoped more people would enjoy it.
Ms Woo began to study the art of paper cutting as a 14-year-old girl in her hometown in China. She said all the students at school had to learn paper cutting. But she had a deep love for it. So her teacher spent more time teaching her after class. Later, she won the second prize in a national painting and art competition. Ms Woo went to America after she finished collage in 2008. Soon after that, she took part in an activity to promote（宣传）Chinese paper cutting. And then she was invited to show the art in many important activities.“It is important to promote this art to Americans or anyone who is interested in it.Maybe it will make this art more popular.”Woo said.
From the art of paper cutting, people can know about Chinese cultural values, history and stories of people’s life. Ms Woo uses the art as a tool to show Chinese culture to people who know little about it. Chinese art is not only for Chinese, but also for people all over the world.What did Ms Woo do in 2014?
| A．She won the second prize in a national painting and art competition. |
| B．She was invited to many activities to show paper cutting. |
| C．She held a paper cutting show at a shopping center near Washington. |
| D．She took part in an activity to promote Chinese paper cutting. |
Ms Woo began to study the art of paper cutting .
| A．when she was fourteen |
| B．after she got to America |
| C．when she was in college |
| D．after she finished college |
In the passage, the writer thinks the art of paper cutting is now.
| A．very popular in America | B．very popular in China |
| C．for people who know about it | D．in danger of disappearing |