The day when the jobs were handed out was one of the most exciting moments for all the children in the class. It took place during the first week of the term. Every kid was given a job for which they would be responsible for the rest of that school year.
Some jobs were more interesting than others, and the children were eager to be given one of the best ones. When giving them out, the teacher took into account which pupils had been most responsible during the previous year. During the previous year Rita had carried out the teacher’s instructions perfectly. All the children knew Rita would be given the best job.
But there was a big surprise. Each child received a normal job. But Rita’s job was very different. She was given a little box containing some sand and one ant. Though the teacher insisted that this ant was very special, Rita felt disappointed. Most of her classmates felt sorry for her. Even her father became very angry with the teacher and he encouraged Rita to pay no attention to this insignificant pet. However, Rita preferred to show the teacher her error by doing something special with that job of little interest.
Rita started investigating all about her little ant and gave the ant the best food, and it grew quite a bit bigger.
One day, a man, who looked very important, came into their classroom and declared, “Your class has been chosen to accompany me, this summer, on a journey to the tropical rain forest, where we will investigate all kinds of insects. Among all the schools of this region, your class has best cared for the little ant.”
That day the school was filled with joy and celebration. Everyone thanked Rita for having been so patient and responsible. And many children learnt that to be given the most important task you have to know how to be responsible even in what are the smallest tasks.
1.What does the underlined sentence mean?
A. Each child got an important job.
B. Each child got an interesting job.
C. The perfect student got the job of everyone’s preference.
D. The most responsible student got the job of least interest.
2.What is Rita’s attitude to her father’s suggestion?
A. Negative. B. Uncertain.
C. Totally positive. D. Acceptive.
3.We can infer that the man who made the declaration is a _________.
A. hunter B. director
C. biologist D. principal
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Never complain about life.
B. Small tasks can lead to fortunes.
C. Men are best known by their friends.
D. Responsibility and intelligence bring good luck.
When Flora Kahlo’s paintings were on show in London, a poet described her paintings as “a ribbon around a bomb”. Such comments seem to suggest Kahlo had a big influence on the art world of her time. Sadly, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.
Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City, Kahlo suffered from polio(小儿麻痹症 )at the age of seven. Her spine(脊柱) became bent as she grew older. Then, in 1925, her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident. Throughout the rest of her life, the artist had many operations, but nothing was able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Kahlo taught herself to paint.
In 1929, she got married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist. Rivera’s strong influences on Kahlo’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.
Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and 1940s, even in her home country. Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953. For more than a decade after her death in 1954, Kahlo’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last.
1.What does the phrase “a much bigger name” in Paragraph 1 most probably mean? ______
A.a far better artist
B. a much more famous person
C. a much stronger person
D. a far more gifted artist
2.The terrible pain Kahlo suffered was caused by ______.
A. back injuries B. her bent spine
C. polio D. the operations she had
3.Kahlo’s style had become increasingly independent since the _________.
A. 1930s B. 1970s
C. 1950s D. 1940s
4.What is the author’s attitude toward Kahlo? ______
A. Devotion B. Encouragement
C. Ironic D. Sympathy
假定你是我校的高三学生李华， 学校将要为高一新生举办主题为“What to learn in senior high school?”的英语沙龙活动， 特邀请你结合自身经历谈谈自己的体会。请根据以下提纲准备一份英语发言稿。词数120左右；发言稿开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
1.学会学习：方法、习惯等；
2. 学会做人：真诚、友善等；
3. 其他方面：考生自拟。
Good morning, everyone! It is my honor to be here to share with you my opinion on what to learn in senior high school.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Thank you!
完成句子：（共10小题;每空0.5分,共10分）
他们不太熟悉慈善工作，这在中国还处于初始阶段。
They are not _____________ __________ charity work, ___________ is still at an early stage in China.
1. 我们佩服这位老科学家对社会作出的巨大贡献。
We __________the old scientist ________ his great _______________ ___________the country.
2.如果天气允许，晚会将在花园举行。
The party will be held in the garden, ___________ ___________.
3.旅店良好的服务在某种程度上弥补了其食物差的不足。
The good service has ________ _____ _____ the poor food in the hotel _____ _____ _____.
4.如果您能给我一些关于如何解决这些问题的建议我将不胜感激。
I would _____________ ______ if you can give me some ________ _____ how to_______the problem.
短文填词（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
阅读下面短文，根据以下提示：1）汉语提示，2）首字母提示，3）语境提示，在每个空格内填入一个适当的英语单词，所填单词要求意义准确，拼写正确，并将该词完整地写在相应的横线上。
Everyone may have a complex and different process of growing up. There are many influential factors in a person’s growth and1. (发展) of his personality.
As for me,2. has affected me most in my growth and personality is my family and friends, the two3. (同等地) important factors. After I was4. b , my family is the first surroundings. It plays a significant5. r in shaping my character because it’s the most direct source of knowledge and experience for me. As we know, those who are brought 6. in good families tend to have a good character and vice versa. Fortunately, I belong to the7. (前者). Besides, friends in some ways influence me a lot. Although, we may have many different opinions and personalities, I have really 8.l something beneficial from them.
Frankly9. s , I get lots of valuable things from my family and friends. My family offers me warmth and cares, while my friends give me strength and courage. Therefore,10. of them have influenced me most in my growth.
In her new book, “The Smartest Kids in the World,” Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, tells the story of Tom, a high-school student from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who decides to spend his senior year in Warsaw, Poland. Poland is a surprising educational success story: in the past decade, the country raised students’ test scores from significantly below average to well above it. Polish kids have now outscored(超过……分数) American kids in math and science, even though Poland spends, on average, less than half as much per student as the United States does. One of the most striking differences between the high school Tom attended in Gettysburg and the one he ends up at in Warsaw is that the latter has no football team, or, for that matter, teams of any kind.
That American high schools waste more time and money on sports than on math is an old complaint. This is not a matter of how any given student who plays sports does in school, but of the culture and its priorities. This December, when the latest Program for International Student Assessment(PISA) results are announced, it’s safe to predict that American high-school students will once again display their limited skills in math and reading, outscored not just by students in Poland but also by students in places like South Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Singapore, and Japan. Meanwhile, they will have played some very exciting football games, which will have been breathlessly written up in their hometown papers.
Why does this situation continue? Well, for one thing, kids like it. And for another, according to Ripley, parents seem to like the arrangement, too. She describes a tour she took of a school in Washington D.C., which costs thirty thousand dollars a year. The tour leader—a mother with three children in the school—was asked about the school’s flaws(暇疵). When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted. When she said that the football program was weak, the parents suddenly became concerned. “Really?” one of them asked worriedly, “What do you mean?”One of the ironies(讽刺) of the situation is that sports reveal what is possible. American kids’ performance on the field shows just how well they can do when expection are high. It’s too bad that their test scores show the same thing.
1.Tom decides to spend his senior year in Poland because _______.
A. there are striking differences between the 2 countries
B. Polish kids are better at learning
C. he intends to improve his scores
D. sports are not supported at schools in Gettysburg
2.According to Paragraph 2, we know that _______.
A. little time is spent on sports in Japanese schools
B. too much importance is placed on sports in America
C. American high schools complain about sports time
D. PISA plays a very important role in America
3.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means _______.
A. American students’ academic performance worries their parents a lot
B. high expectations push up American students’ academic performance
C. lacking practice contributes to American students’ average performance
D. low expectations result in American students’ poor PISA performance
4.The purpose of this article is to _______.
A. draw public attention to a weakness in American school tradition
B. call on American schools to learn from the Polish model
C. compare Polish schools with those in America
D. explain what is wrong with American schools and provide solutions
