My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation(甘蔗种植园) in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed(耕) the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox(牛), guiding him with a broomstick. For $ 1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.
It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More important, I earned my pay; it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.
I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $ 18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person can have.
When I was seven, I got work at a golf course(高尔夫球场) near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dreamt of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.
The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb(番石榴树枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion and intensity. I learned working in the field — except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick.
1.The word “tedious” in Paragraph 2 most probably means _______.
A. easyB. boringC. interestingD. unusual
2.The writer learned that_______ from his first job.
A. he should work for those who he liked most
B. he should work longer than what he was expected
C. he should never fail to say hello to his owner
D. he should be respectful and faithful to the people he worked for
3._______ gave the writer self-esteem.
A. Having a family of eight people
B. Owning his own golf course
C. Bringing money back home to help the family
D. Helping his father with the work on the plantation
请你以“My Favorite Sports/Music Star”为题，写一篇英文演讲稿，介绍你最喜欢的一位体育或音乐明星。你的演讲稿需要包括以下内容：
●对你最喜欢的体育或音乐明星做一简单介绍
●你喜欢他/她的理由
●你从他/她的身上学到了什么
注意：1. 词数120左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
阅读下面短文并回答问题，然后将答案写到答题卡相应的位置上(请注意问题后的词数要求)
[1] Sooner or later everyone has to write something-a thank-you note, a report at a meeting, a complaint or an apology. If you have writing assignment(作业) in school, or if you still fear to put pen to paper, facing that empty page is almost as frightening as you are facing a tiger. How to write it? There is no mystery. Clear writing is just clear thinking. Here are some techniques for you.
[2] Thinking on paper
Sit down with a pencil and paper or at the computer screen and start outlining(概述，略述) what you want to say, why it is important, why it matters, and what its impact is on the reader. Just get the ideas down. The next step is to go back and put them in order.
[3] Writing first sentence
Try to make your first sentence catch the reader’s eyes, because ________, the reader is not going to read on. Get a good, clear lead sentence that summarizes your points and answers the reader’s question “What is in it for me?” if you can not do it in one sentence, then do it in two or three but keep them short.
[4] Remembering the reader
Short, simple words are better than long words. Short sentences are better than long sentences. Remember that the goal is to communicate, not to express yourselves. Most people are so devoted to what they want to say that they forget somebody else has to be able to read it. Too much information makes you lose readers before they get to the meat(实质) of what you want to say.
[5] Reading and rewriting
Read out what you have written loud, and listen for any awkward(笨拙的) sentences. All good writers read, then rewrite. Back off a little bit from what you are writing. It is an old standard, but if you can, write something and come back a day later.
1.What is the best title for the passage? (no more than 8 words)
____________________________________________________________________________
2.Which of the techniques do you think is the best for you? Why? (within 15 words)
____________________________________________________________________________
3.Fill in the blank in Paragraph 3 with proper words. (within 5 words)
____________________________________________________________________________
4.What’s the last step to write a better writing according to the passage? (within three words)
____________________________________________________________________________
5.What does the underlined word “it” (paragraph 2) probably refer to? (five words)
____________________________________________________________________________
Most people know that Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and the first person to win it twice. However, few people know that she was also the mother of a Nobel Prize winner.
Born in September, 1897, Irene Curie was the first of the Curies’ two daughters. Along with nine other children whose parents were also famous scholars, Irene studied in their own school, and her mother was one of the teachers. She finished her high school education at the College of Sevigne in Paris.
Irene entered the University of Paris in 1914 to prepare for a degree in mathematics and physics. When World War I began, Irene went to help her mother, who was using X-ray facilities(设备) to help save the lives of wounded soldiers. Irene continued the work by developing X-ray facilities in military hospitals in France and Belgium. Her services were recognized in the form of a Military Medal by the French government.
In 1918, Irene became her mother’s assistant at the Curie Institute. In December 1924, Frederic Joliot joined the Institute, and Irene taught him the techniques required for his work. They soon fell in love and were married in 1926. Their daughter Helene was born in 1927 and their son Pierre five years later.
Like her mother, Irene combined family and career. Like her mother, Irene was awarded a Nobel Prize, along with her husband, in 1935. Unfortunately, also like her mother, she developed leukemia because of her work with radioactivity(辐射能). Irene Joliot-Curie died from leukemia on March 17, 1956.
1.Why was Irene Curie awarded a Military Medal?
A. Because she received a degree in mathematics.
B. Because she contributed to saving the wounded.
C. Because she won the Nobel Prize with Frederic.
D. Because she worked as a helper to her mother.
2.Where did Irene Curie meet her husband Frederic Joliot?
A. At the Curie Institute.B. At the University of Paris.
C. At a military hospital.D. At the College of Sevigne.
3.When was the second child of Irene Curie and Frederic Joliot born?
A. In 1932.B. In 1927.C. In 1897.D. In 1926.
4. In which of the following aspects was Irene Curie different from her mother?
A. Irene worked with radioactivity.
B. Irene combined family and career.
C. Irene won the Nobel Prize once.
D. Irene died from leukemia.
5.What is the text mainly about?
A. Marie CurieB. Irene Curie
C. Marie Curie’s husbandD. Irene Curie’s husband
The Internet can provide a wealth of educational resources for small children, if you know where to look. This article will offer some educational websites to small children. You may need to assist your children in navigating(导航) the pages until they understand where their favorite activities are.
Enchanted Learning
Enchanted learning is a great website for children, and I know several teachers who rely on it for materials for their classrooms. Most of the information is free, but for $20.00 per year, you can purchase a membership that allows you to have access to the site without the advertising. The pages here are great. There are colored pages and worksheets for toddlers(学步儿童) and school-age children. They focus on learning language, science, animals, geography, astronomy, explorers, music, art and nursery rhymes.
Starfall
Starfall is another good educational website for small children. Teachers often use this website in classrooms. It emphasizes reading skills for early learners. The website is aimed at first grade level learners, but it has tools that can help all children from pre-K to second grade. The website has reading activities, worksheets to download, and a store where you can purchase educational materials for your children.
Sesame Street Workshop
Kids love Sesame Street, and it is always educational. This is one of the funniest websites online for children because it is very well animated and has great sound effects. The website has games and stories for small kids, and they can create letters at the post office and mail them to their favorite characters.
Sprout Online
Sprout has features on its television network, which are just for children. There are games, colored pages, recipes, music, videos, sign language activities and exercise videos for children. There are also online activities based on Sprout television shows. These include Roary the Race Car, the Wiggles, the Mighty Jungle and many others.
These are just a few of many educational websites for children. Small children love to use computers, so help them find some websites that contain fun and learning at the same time.
1.What’s the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
A. To introduce some educational websites to parents for their kids.
B. To let parents distinguish between good and bad websites.
C. To attract the readers to download some useful information.
D. To enrich young children’s spare time with some Internet games.
2.What’s the difference between people who have memberships and those who don’t?
A. With a membership, you can get the information for free.
B. You can download materials you want for free with a membership.
C. With a membership, you can have access to the site without the ads.
D. You can look through more pages with a membership.
3.If you want to buy educational materials for your children, you should choose _________ .
A. Enchanted Learning. B. Starfall
C. Sesame Street Workshop.D. Sprout Online.
4.Why does the Sesame Street Workshop have more fun than others?
A. Because it has games and stories for young kids．
B. Because children can mail letters to their favorite characters.
C. Because it is always educational, and children love it..
D. Because it has great sound effects and animation.
5.It can be learnt from the passage that ______ .
A. Enchanted Learning has reading activities and worksheets to download.
B. Starfall is designed for learners from pre-K to second grade
C. the Wiggles and the MightyJungle are not based on television shows.
D. websites that involve joy and learning are beneficial to kids.
Country-dwellers(农村居民) often say the constant noise, heavy traffic and crowds of the city would drive them mad. Well, they might be right, according to the latest research. City residents are more likely to develop mental illnesses than those who live in villages, a study has found.
Researchers from Cardiff university examined the lifestyles of more than 200,000 people in Sweden and found that those who lived in urban areas were more at risk from mental illnesses than people who lived in villages.
The experts don’t know exactly why this is but they suggest that town and city residents are more likely to be ostracized(排挤) by those around them. They are more likely to experience discrimination(歧视) if they do not fit in, which can lead to them feeling anxious and even developing mental illnesses.
Dr Stanley Zammit, who led the research said that people living in towns and cities are more likely to develop other mental illnesses that result in personality changes — a condition known as non-affective psychosis(非情感性精神病).
Earlier this year an official report found that village-dwellers live an average of two years longer than those living in towns and cities. According to figures from the Office of National Statistics in the UK, men who live in villages are likely to live for between 78 and 79 years, while those in towns and cities can expect to survive to an age of 76. Women on average survive to their 81st birthday in towns and cities, but live to between 82 and 83 in villages. The small marked town of Wimborne Minster in rural Dorset was named the healthiest place to live in.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Country-dwellers are more likely to develop mental illnesses.
B. City-dwellers are more likely to develop mental illnesses.
C. Country-dwellers live longer than city-dwellers.
D. City-dwellers live longer than country-dwellers.
2.The research from Cardiff University was based on the people’s _________ .
A. interests.B. characters.C. occupations.D. lifestyles.
3.It can be inferred that ___________.
A. people like living in towns and cities
B. city-dwellers enjoy their peaceful city life
C. village-dwellers are more likely to be looked down upon by others
D. village-dwellers get along better with their neighbors than city-dwellers.
4.Non-affective psychosis is a kind of mental illnesses that is linked to ________
A. character change B. temperature rise
C. pressure increaseD. energy weakening
5.We can learn from the last paragraph that generally ________ .
A. women living in villages live the longest
B. women living in cities live the longest
C. men living in villages live the longest
D. men living in cities live the longest.
