It is a wonderful morning, as I write this: hot, but without being too hot. Outside my window, I can see the sunniest sky of the year reflected in a huge natural expand of water. It is the kind of sun that makes you well aware of summer's temporary nature a reminder that if I am ever to go around to book this year's holiday, time is running out.
It is now close to four years since I last took a holiday. This is because I have come to the conclusion, over the course of my adult life, that I am not very good at it. You might say this sounds like saying you are not very good at drinking tea or listening to music. What could possibly be difficult about the natural act of putting your working life on hold for a couple of weeks and going somewhere to do nothing?
So what is my problem? On the surface, I'm probably a bit of homebody. And I just find the pressure of being on holiday too severe: it always feels like having a gun held to my head and being forced to have fun. Somehow, packing a carefully itemized （详细列举的 ）list of possessions and meeting a scheduled flight has none of the excitement of suddenly deciding to take a day off and driving somewhere for the fun of it.
Thankfully, I am not alone. This summer, most of my friends have decided not to have a break. And a recent survey highlighted the downside（负面）of holidays, with the results showing that nearly two thirds of people found that the calming effects of a holiday wore off within 24 hours, as stress levels returned to normal. And this year's the Idler magazine published its book, Awful Holidays. Here you will find a list of the five most
ecologically-damaging vacations it's possible to take, along with 50 horrible holidays experiences voted for on the idler website. Over the last decade, The Idler has become well known for promoting the idea of an easy, lazy life. The leisure（休闲）industry might seem an unlikely target of its criticism, but Dan Kienan, the book’s editor, says that he was flooded with entries from readers for his list of awful holidays.
1.According to the first paragraph we can know that the writer .
A. has a strong desire to book a holiday
B. wishes that the weather would change
C. finds it is too late to enjoy the sunshine
D. realizes it's time to decide whether to go on a holiday
2.The reason why the writer dislikes going on holidays is that .
A. it usually costs too much money
B. he is tired of making preparations too much for holidays
C. it is far less enjoyable than breaks planned in advance
D. he feels embarrassed when other people are having fun but he isn't
3.We can learn from the survey that .
A. most people pretend to enjoy their holiday
B. all people fail to relax while they are on holiday
C. a lot of people feel that the benefits of going on holidays are limited
D. many people have made the same decision as the writer and most of his friends
4.The writer takes the book of Awful Holidays as an example to .
A. damage the reputation of the magazine
B. prove the idea of living an easy, lazy life to be wrong
C. indicate that his dislike of holidays is widely shared
D. focus entirely on bad personal experiences of holidays
The English test will be removed from China’s college entrance exam by 2020, according to the Ministry of Education. The national college entrance exam, known as the “Gaokao” has been used to evaluate Chinese students for three decades. The Ministry of Education has worked out a plan for reforming exams and enrollment. Tests will be held several times a year to allow students to choose when and how often they sit the exam so as to reduce study pressure and change China’s once-in-a-lifetime exam system.
The decision has aroused a heated discussion among Shanghai educators and parents who doubted the reform would reduce the burden of learning English or if the substitute test could reflect a student’s English skills and help students learn English better.
“As far as I see, the reform doesn’t mean English is no longer important for Chinese students after it will be excluded from the unified college entrance exam,” Yu said. “In a way, English is even more important than before since the test would only serve as reference, while every college and university, even every major, can have different requirements of a student’s English skills under a diverse evaluation system. ”
Yu said some students will have their study pressure reduced if the major they choose doesn’t need excellent English while others still need to study hard if they want to be among the best students.
The education ministry said the reform would not affect students attending the college entrance exam over the next three years.
1.What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A. English will become less and less important in the stage of compulsory education.
B. It has been 30 years since English became one subject of national college entrance exam.
C. China’s once-in-a-lifetime exam system is unacceptable at all.
D. The system that tests are held several times does more good than once-in-a-lifetime exam system.
2.According to the passage, Shanghai educators and parents argue that _____.
A. the new exam and admission system will make no difference
B. English shouldn’t be removed from China’s college entrance exam
C. the reform may accomplish the very opposite
D. Western educational system does not apply to China
3.What does the passage try to express in the underlined sentence?
A. Students needn’t lay a good foundation during the period of high school.
B. Whether students should study English hard may depend on their major.
C. Students can constantly strive for perfection only in their major.
D. English must be close to full mark.
4.What’s the purpose of the passage?
A. To advise students not to devote themselves to English.
B. To call on Education Department to remove English from “Gaokao”.
C. To support the act of Ministry of Education.
D. To encourage students to do as they have planned.
Woman Uses Daughter's Key to "Steal" Car
Charlie Vansant, a college student of Athens, Ohio who reported that his car was stolen, got a surprise when he learned a woman had mistaken it for her daughter's car and taken it--using her key.
Kate Anderson became an accidental car thief when picking up her daughter's car near an Ohio University building last week. Anderson spotted the Toyota Camry（丰田凯美瑞）and used her daughter's key to unlock the car, start the engine and drive home-without realizing that the car wasn't her daughter's.
When Charlie Vansant left class a short time later, he found only an empty parking spot. He first assumed the car had been towed, but when the police couldn't find a record of it, they took a theft report.
The morning after Anderson took the car, her daughter discovered the Camry in the driveway wasn't hers. Anderson said she was able to find Vansant's name on paperwork in the glove compartment and look up his phone number on the website of the university.
When Anderson told Charlie the car was in her driveway, "It sounded real suspicious at first, as she wanted to hold the thing for ransom（赎金）,” said Vansant. He eventually went to the house with a police officer, where he was reunited with his car. According to the police report, the case was closed "because of mistaken car identity", Anderson wasn't charged.
Vansant seemed to blame the car company more than the "thief". "Her key fit not only my lock, but my ignition（点火装置） as well-so high-five for Toyota. I guess." he said.
1.What does the underlined word "towed" mean in paragraph 3?
A. removed. B. damaged.
C. stolen. D. sold.
2.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Mrs. Anderson's daughter discovered the car her mother drove was not hers.
B. Mrs. Anderson stole Charlie's car at the request of her daughter.
C. Charlie had thought he had to give Anderson money to get his car back.
D. Mrs. Anderson used her daughter's key to unlock Charlie's car and drive home.
3.What does Charlie mean by "high-five for Toyota"?
A. He is blaming Toyota for the poor quality of car keys.
B. He should thank Toyota for returning his car.
C. He wants to celebrate with Toyota for getting his car back.
D. He thinks highly of Toyota for producing large quantities of cars.
4.What is likely to happen next according to the passage?
A. Mrs. Anderson was charged with stealing a car.
B. Charlie blamed Mrs. Anderson for mistakenly taking his car.
C. Charlie would ask the Toyota Company to give him an explanation.
D. The Toyota Company would give Charlie a new car as compensation.
在日常学习、工作和生活中，学会与人合作非常重要。为此，你班贴出了一张通知。 请根据通知、写作要点和要求写一篇英语演讲稿。
Notice Our monitor suggests that we hold an English Speech on January 25th. Everyone is invited to attend the speech. Those who will attend it, please get ready for your speech before it. The topic of the speech is “Being a good partner”. January 10th, 2014 |
写作要点：
与人合作的重要性。
怎样成为一个好的合作伙伴 （2-3条建议）。
你理想的合作伙伴是怎样的。
写作要求：
短文填写在答题卡的指定区域。
短文词数不少于100(不含已写好的部分)。
内容充实，结构完整，语意连贯。
书写须清楚、工整。
Good afternoon, everyone!
The topic of my speech today is “being a good partner”.
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌系的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（ ）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.每处错误及修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
It seems that there are a larger number of beggar in the streets than there used
to be. I don’t know how we should help them or not. Once I give some money to a beggar
who looked poor. However, a few minutes later, I saw him bought some cigarettes. It
really shocked at me. In my opinion, anyone who work hard can make a living. I’m
afraid that giving them money isn’t best way to help them. Maybe the government can
take some action to helping them. Anyway, if they want to live a better living, they should
learn to depend on ourselves.
根据下列各句句意和空白之后的汉语提示词，在答题卡指定区域的横线上写出对应单词的正确、完整形式，每空只写一词。
1.Lisa is the only girl who ___________(幸存) the accident.
2.I bought a dress for only 10 dollars in a sale; it was a real _____________. (便宜货)
3.He is working as a ___________(志愿者) in a nursey.
4.He __________(承认) that he had lied to his teacher.
5.The old man lost his son and felt ___________.(无希望的)
6.You’d better not ____________(取代) your meals with snacks.
7.____________(十月）always follows September.
8._____________(个人而言), I don't think it's a good idea.
9.These exercises were ______________(设计) to develop and strengthen muscles.
10.Men and wowen must be treated __________(平等地) in education an employment.
