Try reading the following sentences as fast as you can. “She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I’m sure she sells seashore shells.”

Not very easy, was it? What you’ve just read is called a tongue twister (绕口令). It is an exercise made up of sounds that are hard to pronounce in order to help people pronounce words faster and more correctly. Try the next example.

“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?”

Tongue twisters usually do not have much meaning. They are just designed to improve people’s ability (能力) to pronounce words. Although they may be very difficult, these exercises are very important to people who are trying to speak English correctly. This is because tongue twisters help people to tell the differences between similar sounds.

So if you wish to pronounce words more smoothly, you’d better try picking out some tongue twisters and practising them.

1.Tongue twisters are helpful in improving ______ skills.

A. listening      B. writing

C. pronunciation  D. communication

2.The first tongue twister is hard because ______.

A. it is very boring to read

B. it teaches us a lot of knowledge

C. we don’t know who “she” is

D. the sounds of “s” and “sh” are similar

3.The passage is probably taken from ______ in a school newspaper.

A. Story Time   B. Study Garden

C. Latest News  D. Lost and Found

完形填空

I was lucky that I often got help from others, so I thought that perhaps my coming 45th birthday would be my chance to experience the joy of giving.

________ my special day, my husband took me to the Olive Garden. Our ________, Carlini, was very nice. We had a great dinner and after we________the meal, Carlini brought our bill(账单).

When she came back to the table to get our money, I knew it was my ________to give. I put the gift bag on the table and said, “I want to________you a gift, for it’s my birthday.”

“Oh, no,” she said, “not for me! It’s________birthday!” But I insisted(坚持). Then she said, “Can I ________ it in front of you?” And I said that would be fine.

The first thing she noticed was the ________of the gift bag which was purple. Purple is her favorite color and she ________had a purple tie on!

She opened the bag, saying, “It’s Christmas Day in July.”

As she was taking the gift out of the bag, she said she was ________and she never thought that day was her lucky day. It was________to give someone the exact present that she loved! She opened the box and saw it was a purple cup. Inside the cup was a thank-you card and forty-five dollars, a dollar for each ________ of my life.

________ she saw the money, she looked at us and said, “You do not have to leave a tip(小费).” But my husband and I just said________ and left.

Carlini was so thankful for ________ she had received. She said we had given her a big surprise. I thanked her for receiving my gift so beautifully.

1.A. On          B. In           C. At         D. As

2.A. actress     B. singer      C. doctor     D. waitress

3.A. ordered     B. finished     C. cooked     D. bought

4.A. time        B. job          C. duty       D. pleasure

5.A. lend        B. give         C. make      D. show

6.A. my          B. her          C. his        D. your

7.A. pack        B. write        C. open       D. take

8.A. color       B. price        C. as usual   D. just now

9.A. nearly      B. actually     C. quickly    D. simply

10.A. excited    B. bored        C. tired      D. relaxed

11.A. interesting B. wonderful  C. funny     D. silly

12.A. person     B. thing        C. event     D. year

13.A. Before     B. Though       C. After      D. Unless

14.A. something  B. everything   C. anything   D. nothing

15.A. how        B. why         C. what       D. where

书面表达

假设你是李华，到英国学习、生活了两个月。在英国期间，你住在大卫(David)家中。请用英语给他写一封感谢信，内容要点如下：

注意：1.信件要包含所给的内容要点，其中最后一个要点用2-3句话作适当发挥；

2.词数80个左右，信的开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数；

3.信中不得出现真实的人名与校名。

参考词汇：culture(文化) , invite…to…,take…to…,take care of…\look after…,

Dear David,

任务型阅读

阅读下列文章，文中有五处空白，文后方框中有五个句子，请把它们分别放回到文中原来的位置上，使文章完整、连贯。

Everyone feels tired at one time or another. The office worker feels tired after a hard day at work. The sportsman feels tired after hours of physical training.

1. The explanation is that when you exercise a muscle in your body over and over again, something known as fatigue toxins (疲劳毒素) is produced. The blood system then carries these toxins throughout the body. In the end, not only does that muscle feel tired but the whole body feels tired as well.

2. Sleeping is one of the best ways to fully recharge (使恢复精力) your tired body. Most importantly, the damage caused by tired muscles is slowly being repaired when we sleep.

3.  Another way to get over fatigue is by doing some activities that you enjoy. For example, after a hard day’s work, the office worker may want to go for a relaxing walk. After a long tiring day at school, the student prefers jogging to resting at home.

4. When your body is tired, one way of curing tiredness is by improving the body’s blood circulation.

5. When we take part in an activity, our blood circulation is improved.

请用适当的词完成下面的短文，并把所缺单词填写在答题卡指定的位置上。每个空只能填写一个形式正确、意义相符的单词。

I am Jackie Lee, an American Chinese. Let me tell you about my grandfather's life story.

My grandfather was    1. in 1932 and grew up in a poor village in Fujian, China. At the age of 14, he first heard of

America. It was said to be the land of gold and poor people could easily become    2. there.

So, my grandfather came to America. "I had thought it was easy to    3. money in America," he told me. "But when I    4. in Los Angeles, I realized it was not true. I couldn't find a good job because I spoke little English. I wanted to go to a language school to learn English,   5.I couldn't afford it. Later, I worked in a small   6., serving the guests, cleaning up the tables, washing the dishes and sweeping the floors. I was such     7.helpful and honest worker that my boss was pleased with me. I was popular with my workmates,   8.. Life became easier and in the end I entered an evening school to learn English."

My grandfather kept working hard , and finally made   9. dream come true. Things do not come easily in life. That is what I have learned    10.my grandfather.

根据句意及所给提示完成句子

1.Jim’s          (prounce) is poor. We can’t understand him.

2.M         the new words is a good way to improve our English.

3.My grandfather has been        (死亡) for several years, I miss him a lot.

4.Because of his talent in piano, all of the students a       him.

5.Linda’s father is a boss. He often goes out to other countries on b         .

本题是一篇短文，根据短文内容和所给中文提示，写出空白处各单词的正确形式。每空限填一词。

Susie and I are good    1. (朋友) and we study in the same school but    2.(不同的) classes. We usually go    3. (家) together after school, unless I have my volleyball practice. Both of    4. (我们) have many    5. (爱好) in common. We enjoy swimming, reading and    6. (听) to music. On Saturdays, we will go for a walk in the park or go to the library.

Last Sunday we    7.(去) to a famous concert at the Victoria Concert Hall. Two girls sat    8. (在…后面) us. They began to talk    9.(大声地) when the concert started. Even we could not hear the music clearly. The old man beside us turned around and looked at them angrily. They stopped talking after that. Anyway I enjoyed    10. (我自己) a lot.

We have to agree that brushing teeth day after day can be a bit of pain. What’s even worse is trying to get much water to rinse(冲洗) out the toothpaste. Not only is it difficult, but also a waste of water. Of course, you could use a rinsing cup, but that has to be cleaned all the time. Now, a design company has finally invented an interesting invention called Rinser to help you do it.

A company in New York recently invented a toothbrush. It looks very much like a common one expect one thing. That is when you pour water on the handle, it magically sprouts(涌向) straight into your mouth. It makes rinsing an easy thing and a lot of fun.

The brush is designed such that its handle(把手) has a hollowed(空的) out part. This part collects tap water and directs it to a tiny spout(喷口). All the users have to do, is aim the tap onto the spout and the toothbrush will offer you water as much as possible.

This kind of cool toothbrush won’t be used until November, 2012. Although it is convenient, it is a little expensive. Each one can cost $22 if you order it from the design company. Once it is sold in stores, the price will rise up to $34.99. If you are interested in this cool toothbrush, ask your mum or dad to get one for you!

1.What can Rinser do according to the passage?

A. It can save time when you brush your teeth.

B. It can help you rinse the toothpaste.

C. It can help wash your face.

2. What does Rinser look like ?

A. It looks like a common toothbrush.

B. It looks like a tap.

C. It is too heavy.

3. What does Paragraph 3 mainly tell us?

A. It mainly tells us what Rinser looks like.

B. It mainly tells us when we can use Rinser.

C. It mainly tells us how Rinser offers you water.

4.When will people start to use Rinser according to the passage?

A. In December 2012.

B. In November 2012.

C. In November 2013.

根据材料内容选出最佳选项。

1. Where are the teachers needed to teach?

A．In France．     B．In Japan．

C．In Germany．     D．In England．

2. What is a must if the applicants want to be accepted?

A．Experience of teaching．

B．Experience of staying abroad．

C．Knowledge of practical computer．

D．Knowledge of the Japanese language．

3. Which of the following about the applicants' working conditions is NOT true?

A．They teach in very small classes．

B．They get well trained for their job．

C．They teach their native languages．

D．They have to find places to live in．

4.What is a possible way of applying for the job?

A．Visiting the website．

B．Sending letters to Japan．

C．Talking with the manager．

D．Handing in C．V．in September．

1.How long will the 2014 FIFA World Cup last?

A. About a week.         B. About two weeks.

C. About a month.        D. About two months.

2. What kind of TV program is A Bite of China?

A. A comedy.         B. A documentary.

C. A thriller.       D. An action movie.

3.Which is NOT true according to the articles?

A. Lu Jialei always gets good grades at school.

B. The World Cup has been held in South America twice.

C. Many people like watching the TV program A Bite of China.

D. Lu Jialei hopes more people can take much interest in Chinese characters.

4. Where may the articles probably come from?

A. A story book.          B. A science report.

C. A sports magazine.     D. The Internet.。