Buckingham Palace is where the Queen lives. It is the Queen’s official and main royal London home.
Buckingham Palace was originally a splendid house built by the Duke(公爵) of Buckingham for his wife. George IV began changing it into a palace in 1826. It has been the official London home of Britain’s royal family since 1837. Buckingham Palace is also an office and used for the administrative work of the royal family.
When the Queen is at home you can see her royal flag (the Royal Standard) flying from the flag pole on top of Buckingham Palace. The flag is divided into four equal parts. The first and fourth parts represent England and contain three gold lions waking on a red field; the second part represents Scotland and contains a red lion standing on a gold field; the third part represents Ireland and contains the gold coat of arms of Ireland on a blue field.
In flag protocol (礼仪), the Royal Standard which must only be flown from buildings where the Queen is present is supreme (至高无上的). It flies above the British Union Flag (the Union Jack), and other British flags. It never flies at half mast.
The guards of the Palace wear red jackets and tall, furry hats. When the first guards come on duty, there is a ceremony called the Changing of the Guard. A familiar sight at Buckingham Palace is the Changing of the Guard ceremony that takes place in the open space in front of it each morning.
The Palace has around 750 rooms, including 19 state rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 78 bathrooms, 92 offices, a cinema and a swimming pool. It also has its own post office and police station. About 400 people work at the Palace, including servants, chefs, footmen, cleaners, gardeners, electricians, and so on. More than 50,000 people come to the Palace each year as guests to dinners, receptions and Royal Garden Parties.
1. For whom was the original Buckingham Palace built?
A. The Duke of Buckingham. B. George IV.
C. The Duke of Buckingham’s wife. D. George IV’s wife.
2.According to the text, the Royal Standard_________.
A. is flown at Buckingham Palace every morning
B. represents the four countries of the UK
C. flies at half mast only on a few occasions
D. flies higher than the British Union Flag
3.When can a visitor see the Changing of the Guard ceremony?
A. Every morning and evening.
B. Every morning.
C. When the Queen’s flag is flying.
D. When a flag is flying at the Palace.
4.What is the last paragraph about?
A. What you can see inside Buckingham Palace.
B. The royal parties at Buckingham Palace.
C. The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.
D. People living and working at Buckingham Palace.
| A LITTLE PRINCESS by Frances Hodgson Burnett Price: $7.10 （Paperback Dec. 9, 1998) The novel tells of the story of a wealthy young girl, Sara Crewe, who is sent to a boarding school during her father’s campaign in India. Thanks to Capt. Crewe’s money, Sara is treated as a little princess until, one day, word comes of her father’s tragic death. Miss Minchin, the school’s greedy headmistress, wastes no time in putting the now-penniless Sara to work for her room and board. It is only through the friendship of two other girls and some astonishing luck that Sara eventually finds her way back to happiness. | |||
THE SECRET GARDEN by Frances Hodgson Burnett Price:$3.95 (Paperback July 1, 2003) Frances Hodgson Burnett was the highest paid and most widely read woman writer of her time, publishing more than fifty novels and thirteen plays. The Secret Garden is a beautiful tale of friendship, secrets and human spirits. A spoiled orphan named Mary returns to England from India when her parents die. She is sent to live in Yorkshire with her uncle. Miserable and lonely, she begins to explore the house’s gardens and discovers a key to a secret garden that the uncle sealed off when his wife died. There she discovered a secret so important, so enchanting, that it will change her life forever. |
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| PETER PAN by J. M. Barrie and Scott Gustafson Price: $16.95 （Hardcover Oct. 1, 1991) It is a children’s story full of imagination and adventures. A boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with mermaids, Indians, fairies and pirates, and from time to time meeting ordinary children from the world outside. | |||
Order online and you can now save 20% off your total purchase on orders over $25! | ||||
1.Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the three books?
A. The little princess refers to a girl named Sara Crewe.
B. The secret garden mentioned in the passage is located in India.
C. Peter Pan is a boy with magic powers who never grows up.
D. A Little Princess was written by a famous female writer.
2.How much does it cost to order these three books online?
A. $5.60 B. $25.00
C. $22.40 D. $ 28.00
3.What do these three books have in common?
A. They were published in the same year.
B. They all have a hard cover.
C. They are all stories with tragic endings.
D. They have children as their main characters.
4.In which part of a magazine can we read the text?
A. Family B. Literature
C. Technology D. Entertainment
I wondered if anyone had experienced such an unexpected trip as I had.
The day of my holiday arrived, but I wasn’t looking forward to it. I had little money and had only been able to afford to stay with my Aunt Rosa in Spain. So, I wasn’t really excited as I knew exactly what it was going to be like: lots of noisy cousins, and Aunt Rosa begging me to take her for a ride.
After I had checked in, I made my way slowly to the departure gate. As I was waiting to board the plane, I kept thinking about my ideal holiday destination: Jamaica, with its long, sandy beaches and crystal clear water.
As soon as the plane took off, I fell fast asleep and only woke to the sound of the announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seat belts, as we will shortly be landing in Kingston.” I froze in my seat. Was I dreaming? Kingston? Jamaica? I had boarded the wrong plane!
Immediately after the plane landed, I explained the situation to the authorities. It seems there were also three other passengers heading for Spain. Apparently it had been the airline’s fault, since the flight numbers for Spain and Jamaica were exactly the same! Therefore, with no flight back to London for a week, the airline had no choice but to pay for our stay.
So there I was, lying on the beach, enjoying the music and the marvelous food of Jamaica! As for Aunt Rosa, I suppose she just had to live without me!
1.Why did the writer choose to spend her holiday with her aunt in Spain?
A. She missed her cousins very much.
B. She could hardly afford any better trip.
C. Her aunt begged her to go there.
D. Spain was her ideal destination.
2.In the text, the writer ended up _________.
A. flying to London immediately
B. heading for Spain from Jamaica
C. enjoying a free beach holiday
D. complaining to the authorities
3.Which of the following might be the best title of the text?
A. A Well-Planned Trip B. A Terrible Adventure
C. A Nice Dream D. A Lucky Mistake
书面表达
阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。
Once upon a time some tiny frogs held a competition. The first to reach the top of a very high tower would be the winner.
A big crowd gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer them on.
The race began. No one in the crowd really believed that any of the tiny frogs would reach the top of tower. “They will never get to the top! They will never succeed!” someone said.
One by one, the tiny frogs began to collapse (退下).
The crowd kept shouting, “It is too difficult! No frog will make it!”
More tiny frogs got tired and gave up, but one continued climbing, higher and higher. This one wouldn’t give up.
In the end, he was the only one left—the only one to get to the top. The other frogs naturally wanted to know: How did the frog make it？
One frog stepped forward to ask the winner. It turned out that the winner was deaf.
He had won because he was able to keep his own mind. He was able to keep trying. He couldn’t hear criticism; neither could he hear praise.
We learn a lesson from this story: don’t let others’ praise or criticism to hold you back on your way to succeed.
[写作内容]
(1) 以约30个词概括寓言故事的大意。
(2) 然后以120个词就“如何对待别人的批评和表扬”这个主题发表你的看法, 并包括如下要点：
1) 叙述着个寓言给你的启示以及你对他人的批评和表扬的态度；
2 以事例说明他人的批评或表扬给你的感受和对你的影响；
3) 谈谈中学生应该如何对待老师的批评和表扬。
[写作要求]
(1) 可以使用自己或他人的故事, 也可以参照阅读材料的内容, 但不得直接引用原文中的句子；
[评分标准]
概括准确、语言规范、内容合适、篇章连贯。
短文填空,根据首字母或所给汉语提示，写出空缺处各单词的正确形式。
注意：每个空格只写1个单词。请将答案填写在答题纸上相应题号的横线上。
Some may think that success is hard to achieve. 1._____(事实上), there are some factors that you should make2.a_______ for in pursuit of success. In the first place, unlock your3.c_______, which enables you to see things in new ways and find different ways to solve problems. Secondly, build up your confidence, meaning having 4.f_______ in yourself. Thirdly, increase your5.f_______ and be open to change. Next, stay6.t_______(渴望的)for knowledge and always try to make7.i_______ in yourself. Finally, perseverance really matters. You should know that before you succeed you may suffer8.n_______ failures. Never 9.s_______ back. Just keep moving. As long as you follow the suggestions above, success is there for the 10.t_______.
任务型阅读,请认真阅读下列短文,并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。
注意:每个空格只填1个单词。请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。
ID systems are used as a means for people to prove their identity, as a means of access control, or for many other situations. ID cards also contain a lot more information than simply the name of the holder. All ID cards contain information that is relevant to the institution that released them, so there is no single model that applies to all ID cards.
Different institutions have different rules when it comes to ID cards, and ID cards used by students, in universities, will not have the same security features as those used in the military, for example. The more important the institution is, the more important the security is, and the more security features will be used to prevent duplication(复制) of an ID card.
Anyone with a printer that can print ID cards can duplicate in ID card, if it does not have any security measures. There have been lots of cases, especially in low security institutions, where ID cards have been duplicated and this was not noticed, since the person holding the card usually flashed it when it was requested, and that was not enough to notice that it is a fake.
That may not be extremely important when it is simply a case of a student trying to enter the campus of another university, but it can be of vital importance if it happens in a military institution. Checks in military institutions are much stricter and the personnel checking the card are always trained to spot fakes in a short amount of time.
Some may think that creating an ID card is extremely difficult, but it is not. All it takes is a special printer that can print ID cards, a model and a photo ID. The fact that such printers can be freely ordered online has raised security issues with lots of companies and institutions, and most have decided to either create their own ID cards, or simply use more advanced security features that regular home-users do not have access to. This includes magnetic stripes(磁条), chips, barcodes(条形码),and other methods. This does increase the cost of the card per person, so the total cost of the cards increases based on the number of employees the company has, but it also reduces security risks to a minimum.
So ID systems, as basic as they seem, are an excellent security measure for any institution. To ensure that the IDs look good and function properly, the company that handles the card printing services should be top-class. Trying to save some money by choosing a cheaper provider is not really wise. While some companies offer bonuses for large orders, if the quality provided is not of the highest standard, it is not worth it.
ID systems | |
Passage outline | Supporting details |
1.______ to ID system | There is not a single model 2._____ to all ID cards because of different information contained in different ID cards. Different security features are decided by the degree of the 3.____ of the institutions |
Security features of ID cards | With no security measures quite a lot of 4.______ of ID card duplication have happened. In a military institution ID cards are 5._____ more strictly |
6._______ of ID cards | It is not7.______ to make ID cards with special printers. Using magnetic stripes, chips and barcodes8.______ the safety of ID cards. |
The author’s advice | 9._______ basic and simple, ID systems are an excellent security measure. It’s wise to 10._____ top-class providers or services to ensure ID cards of a fine quality. |
