| 1. 难度：中等 | |
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A sure way to destroy your chances of learning how to write skillfully is to believe that writing is a “natural gift” rather than a learned skill. People with such an attitude think that they are the only ones for whom writing is unbearably difficult. They feel that everyone else finds writing easy or at least tolerable. Such people often say, “I’m not any good at writing” or “English was not one of my good subjects.” They imply that they simply do not have a talent for writing while others do. The result of this attitude is that these people try to avoid writing, and when they do write, they don’t try their best. Their writing fails chiefly because they believe that they don’t have the “natural talent” needed to write. Unless their attitude changes, they probably will not learn how to write effectively. A realistic attitude about writing must build on the idea that writing is a skill. It is a skill like driving, typing, or cooking; and, like any skill, it can be learned. If you have the determination to learn, you will develop your writing skills by practicing extensively. Many people find it difficult to do the active thinking that clear writing demands. It is frustrating to discover how much of a challenge it is to transfer thoughts and feelings from one’s head onto a sheet of paper. But writing is not an automatic process: We will not get something for nothing — and we should not expect to. For almost everyone, skillful writing comes from hard work — from determination and sweat. The good news is that the skill of writing can be mastered, and if you are ready to work, you will learn what you need to know. 1.Why do some people think writing is difficult? A. They have no time to practice writing. B. They believe few people can write well. C. They have no good teachers to help them. D. They don’t think writing can be learned. 2. It can be inferred from Para. 1 that ______. A. “natural gift” is the determining factor in one’s success B. diligence can result in success C. a person without “natural gift” is sure to fail in writing D. attitude determines what one will be 3. What is the topic of the passage? A. Why writing is important. B. Whether writing is a born gift. C. Benefits of essay writing. D. How to improve writing skills.
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| 2. 难度：中等 | |
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Besides containing attractive flowers, trees and other plants that beautify the community, ecofriendly rain gardens are healthy for the environment and the people living and working nearby. A rain garden is not very different from a traditional garden. It is just a far more ecofriendly garden. Usually it is built lower than the ground. Rain gardens make smart use of rain and storm water by temporarily holding water from rain and storms and letting it soak(浸入)slowly into the ground before it runs into streams or enters the public drinking water supply. Thus, a rain garden keeps the water, allowing it to be used as needed by plants in the rain garden, rather than flowing immediately into nearby streams and going unused. The water will soak slowly into the ground within a day or two. This creates an advantage that the rain garden does not allow mosquitoes to breed. This is a simple, attractive, and ecofriendly “green” way to treat storm water. What’s more, planting a rain garden helps reduce pollution and improve the environment. Without using expensive machinery and chemicals, rain gardens remove harmful chemicals in the rainwater and cut down on the amount of pollution reaching streams and rivers by up to 30%. Native plants are recommended for rain gardens because they are more used to the local climate, soil, and water conditions. They may attract local wildlife such as native birds. Water your rain garden immediately after planting and once a week, unless you have had at least an inch of rain during the week. Once native plants establish the necessary root system, they will require little care. Often, local governments and private businesses develop large rain gardens in their yards and in public parks as a way to improve the environment and solve flooding problems. However, you don’t need to be a professionally environmental engineer to create a rain garden. As long as you’re ecoconscious homeowners, you can help the environment by building smaller rain gardens in your yards. 1.Which of the following is NOT true for the function of rain gardens? A. They are good for living conditions. B. They increase pollution. C. They can beautify the community. D. They improve the environment. 2. Which of the following is the ecofriendly function of rain gardens discussed in Paragraph 4 ? A. They can help reduce the pollution problem. B. They can keep the rain and storm water. C. They can be healthy for the people around. D. They can make the environment more beautiful. 3.One of the main reasons why native plants are recommended is that . A. they cost less and are much easier to get B. they may attract local wildlife to come C. they require little care from the local gardener D. they are more used to the local growing conditions 4.What do we know about rain gardens? A. They need little water after all the plants are planted. B. They may attract local birds and change the local climate. C. They usually need at least an inch of rainwater a week. D. They may reduce the water pollution problem by 70%.
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| 3. 难度：中等 | |
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It was reported last week that developers could take photos from Apple mobile and Google Android devices without the phone owners knowing that the images were being taken. In Apple’s case, developers can also obtain the location information for each photo. Senator(参议员) Charles Schumer said in a telephone interview that his office had spoken with officials at both Apple and Google on Monday. “We asked them if they could find a way on their own to prevent Apple from having access to private information,” Mr. Schumer said. “They were friendly and open to the idea that this ought to be changed.” On Sunday, Mr. Schumer said that he planned to send a letter to the Federal Trade Commission asking the agency to investigate Apple and Google after the privacy concerns came to light. Claudia Bourne Farrell, an F.T.C. spokeswoman, said the agency had received the letter but she could not comment further. “It worries people to think that one’s personal photos, address book, and who knows what else can be obtained and even posted online without permission,” Mr. Schumer wrote in his letter to the F. T.C. “If the technology exists to open the door to this kind of privacy invasion, then surely technology exists to close it, and that’s exactly what must happen.” Mr. Schumer said if Apple and Google could not come to an agreement to fix the problem, then he would be forced to take the issue further. He said other companies had been willing to work with his office to fix issues. “I’m optimistic that we can get this changed without any regulation,” he said. “If it’s not changed, then we’ll turn to the F.T.C., and if that doesn’t work then we’ll consider legislative approach.” The F.T.C. has warned companies to try to be more vigilant(警醒的) in their efforts to protect consumers when it comes to privacy. 1.The senators spoke with officials at both Apple and Google_______. A. to urge them not to invade consumers’ privacy. B. to discuss whether it is illegal to have access to private information. C. to stop them from developing the technology of taking photos. D. to keep them from obtaining the location information for each photo. 2.Which of the following statements is True? A. Privacy invasion from Apple has existed for a long time. B. Mr. Schumer takes the privacy concerns caused by Apple and Google seriously. C. Privacy invasion from Google has existed for a long time. D. Apple and Google have decided to make a change. 3. Mr. Schumer’s letter to the F.T.C. mainly shows that the technology to open the door to privacy invasion_______. A. causes privacy invasion to happen frequently. B. can be used if permitted. C. causes people to worry about the safety of their personal information. D. causes personal information to be posted online without permission. 4.Where can we read about the passage? A. In a newspaper. B. In a magazine. C. In a science report. D. In a textbook.
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| 4. 难度：中等 | |
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A sick little girl is being kept alive thanks to her best friend — a dog who carries her oxygen tank on his back. Alida’s faithful dog companion Mr Gibbs has been specially trained to shepherd the three-year-old, who breathes through a tube most of the time. He follows her closely as she plays in her family’s ten-acre land in Louisville, uses the slide or even rides her bike. Alida was diagnosed with neuroendocrine hyperplasia of infancy（NEHI）when she was just eight months old. Her rare condition has just eight hundred documented sufferers throughout the world, and causes diseased pieces of the lungs to filter oxygen through extra layers of cells, making it hard or almost impossible to breathe. For Alida and her parents, it meant that even a walk in the park was very difficult because oxygen equipment was too heavy for the youngster to be able to carry herself. As parents, they wanted to do something to help their daughter survive despite having a tube following her all the time. The couple found out about “service dogs” from a TV program and realized an animal trained to help the blind could be trained to help Alida. They finally found help in the shape of golden doodle—a retriever crossed with a poodle-dog Mr Gibbs. Now thanks to trainer Ashleigh Kinsley—Alida and Mr Gibbs love nothing more than playing and running around together with the dog acting as Alida’s life saver. 1.What is Mr Gibbs? A. A pet dog. B. A policeman. C. A doctor. D. A firefighter. 2. When did the doctor know Alida caught the disease? A. At her birth. B. At the age of eight. C. Before she was one year old. D. When she was three years old. 3. The underlined part “the couple” in paragraph 3 refers to _______. A. Alida’s classmates B. Alida’s parents C. Alida’s doctors D. Alida’s pets 4.How did Alida keep alive? A. By training her dog. B. By staying with her parents. C. By playing with her fellows. D. By breathing through a tube.
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| 5. 难度：中等 | |
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根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。 Housework not good exercise, says study 1. It even said that people who did the most housework were usually the most overweight. 2. The contribution of domestic physical activity to meeting current recommendations for health. It questions whether activities like do-it-yourself, gardening and housework are good exercise. 3. but there is a danger that people incorrectly think housework is proper exercise. A total of 4,563 adults took a survey about their weekly physical activity. 4. Researcher Professor Murphy said any physical activity should increase the amount of calories burnt. 5. She said housework was “inversely related to leanness”. She said this suggested that either people overestimate how hard housework was an exercise, or they eat too much because they think they have lost lots of calories doing household chores. A. However, her study found the opposite. B. People who do housework usually eat more. C. A new study says housework is not the quality exercise many people think it is. D. The research showed that people who included housework as exercise tended to be heavier. E. The study is called Does “doing housework keep you healthy” ? F. They think doing exercise is of great benefit to healthy. G. It says any activity is better than none.
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| 6. 难度：中等 | |
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阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分） I think I’m one of the luckiest people in the world because of the time I’m able to spend with young people who are not afraid to show their excitement and zest for life. , I would prefer a person with passion and enthusiasm to a person with and talent any day of the week. You can teach and develop skills, you cannot develop a love of life and an optimistic attitude. These are of a person and appear at all times during work or play. Furthermore, they are traits that one is born with and they will never them. As a and an Independent Education and Career Planning Advisor, I too many children and young adults who are on a road to despair unless someone can find a way to change their attitude towards and indeed life itself! , society has turned out too many children and young that are unwilling to put much or thought into their work. Whenever I come across such people— or old, I’m reminded of a boy who went with his mother on a blueberry picking hike into the . The boy filled his mostly with moss(苔藓) and then covered the moss with a thin layer of blueberries so that it looked . But the next morning, he found the blueberry pie which his mother for him was moss. So , whether you are in school or , if you have enthusiasm and if you are to put in consistent effort along with passion, you will receive the . If, on the other hand, you are and prefer to take short-cuts, you should not expect to achieve the same results. 1.A. Obviously B. Personally C. Luckily D. Quickly 2.A. skills B. ideas C. kindness D. courage 3.A. or B. for C. but D. if 4.A. choices B. requests C. appearances D. characters 5.A. use B. deserve C. lose D. cherish 6.A. journalist B. doctor C. colleague D. teacher 7.A. search for B. come across C. care aboutD. depend on 8.A. learning B. donating C. speaking D. greeting 9.A. Eventually B. Unfortunately C. Hopefully D. Perfectly 10.A. equipment B. information C. effort D. possession 11.A. innocentB. young C. poor D. stupid 12.A. woods B. corner C. park D. market 13.A. mouth B. pan C. basketball D. hand 14.A. delicious B. beautiful C. clean D. full 15.A. collected B. baked C. kept D. bought 16.A. promise B. guess C. remember D. look 17.A. in danger B. in distance C. in hospital D. at work 18.A. willing B. confident C. proud D. careful 19.A. crop B. trust C. votes D. rewards 20.A. lazy B. busy C. curious D. stubborn
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| 7. 难度：中等 | |
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阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(不多于3个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。 The truth 1. trees are vital to our life is not a secret. They provide us with food, wood and most 2. (important), oxygen. Now there is one more thing we can add to this list—blocking out harmful bacteria from water. The discovery 3. (make) by a team 4. (consist) of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and high school students 5. were seeking a natural water filter—one that would help communities in developing countries that do not have 6. (accessible) to modern water filter systems. The 7. (research), led by Professor Rohit Karnik, decided to turn to trees for help because they could allow liquid to flow through, while blocking out air bubbles. They began by cutting 1.5-inch-wide sections of tree bark from the branches of a white pine tree. The people related then tested the wood’s filtering ability by pouring water containing red dye particles of different sizes through. 8. their amazement, they found that it was effective in trapping all the articles. 9. (encourage), the team conducted 10. experiment, this time with water that contained bacteria. Sure enough, the sapwood held back 99% of the bacteria, allowing only 1% to flow through.
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| 8. 难度：中等 | |
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请修改下面的短文。短文中共有10处语言错误，每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。 增加：在缺词处加一个漏子符号（∧），并在此符号下面写出该加的词。 删除：把多余的词用（＼）划掉。 修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。 注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词； 2 只允许修改10处，多着（从第11处起）不计分。 In China, people and giant pandas had been living together for thousands of years. But China’s human population has been great growing. More population means more land is needed for farming. It also mean more forests are cut for wood to build and heat houses. Loss of habitat in lowland areas has forced pandas live only in the mountains. The most damaged result of development has been that it has divided the panda’s habitat into little islands of forest. Today, many panda are isolated in these small sections of forest, because of they will cross into areas which people live. The result is that the giant pandas can connect with one another to mate and have babies. Besides, to our relief, there is still some good news that people are trying to help the giant pandas by creating protected areas.
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| 9. 难度：中等 | |
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面对繁重的学业负担，很多学生出现了不同程度的心理和身体方面的不适。鉴于此种情况，中学生应该学会放松。假入你是中学生李华，请以How to Relax Ourselves为题写一篇文章给《21世纪英语报》投稿 内容包括： 1. 为什么要学会自我放松； 2. 自我放松的途径（如看电视﹑上网﹑体育锻炼﹑旅游等） 3. 你更喜欢哪种自我放松方式及原因 注意：1. 词数120左右； 2. 文章开头已为你写好，不计入总词数。 How to Relax Ourselves Faced with heavy learning burdens, many of us students
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