CANYOUMAGINEHOWHARDITWOULDBETOREADSENTENCESLIKES?
Every one of us gets so used to punctuation marks that not many of us give them a secondthought．Actually，the ancient Greeks wrote this way．The lack of punctuation marks probably didn’t bother good readers，though．As they read，they just put pauses where they fit best. Also at this time，sentences switched directions．A sentence read from leftto right．The next one read right to left，and then left to right again，etc．The ancient Romans sometimes punctuatedlike this：They put somethingthat can separate words in a sentence．The wordpunctuationactually comes from this idea andthe Latin word“punctum”which means a lot.
When the 5th century arrived，there were just twopunctuation marks：spaces and points．The spaces separated words while the points showed pauses in reading．Then in the 13th century，a printer named Aldus Manutius tried to standardize punctuation．He always used a period for a complete stop at the end of a sentence．He used a slash(／)toindicate a short pause．Over time．that slash was shortened and curled，and it became the modern comma(逗号)．
Since that time，other marks have enlarged the punctuation family．The exclamation mark(感叹号)comes from the Latin word“io”．It means “exclamation of joy”.The question mark originally started out as the Latin word“questio”，meaning“question”．Eventually，scholars put it attheend of a sentence to show a question．
Punctuation even keeps changing nowadays．New marks are coming into existence，and old punctuation marks are used in new ways．Take for example the“interrobang”．This 1962 invention combines the question mark and exclamation mark for times when writers want both．For example．“She did what?!”or“How much did you pay for that dress?!”Obviously,the interrobang is not widelyused or recognized yet，but its invention shows that English is not yet finishedwith its punctuation．
1.From the first paragraph，we can know that__________.
A．good readers had trouble reading without punctuation marks
B．a sentence always read from left to right in ancient Greece
C．ancient Greeks switched the direction of punctuation marks
D．the use of punctuation marks can date back to ancient times
2.We can learn from the passage that___________．
A．ancient Romans didn’t use any punctuation marks
B．exclamation and question marks came from Latin
C．spaces and slashes were already used before the 5th century
D．Aldus Manutiusfast started to use commas
3.What can be concluded from the last paragraph?
A．The combinationoftwo marks will not work.
B．It takes time for people to accept new punctuation marks．
C．Old punctuation marks need to be standardized．
D．Punctuation marks are still changing today．
Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice．Gifts are easy—they’re given after a11．Choicecan be hard．
I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago．Icame across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2300 percent per year．I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast，andtheidea of building all online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30 years old，and I’d been married for a year．I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don’tand I wasn’t sure what to expect．MacKenzie told me I should go for it．As a young boy，I’dbeen a garageinventor．I’d always wanted to be all inventor，and she wanted me to follow my passion．
I was working at a financial firm in New York Citywith a bunch of very smart peopleand Ihad a brilliant boss that I much admired．I went to my boss and toldhim I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet．He took me on a longwalk in Central Park，listened carefully to me，and finally said，“That sounds like a really good ides，but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job．”That 1ogic made some sense to me，and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision．Seenin that light．it really wasa difficult choice，but ultimately，I decided I had to give it a shot．I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing．And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.
After much consideration，I took the less safe path to follow my passion，and I’m proud ofthat choice．For all ofus，in the end，we are our choice．
1.What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?
A．His dream of being an inventor．
B．The support of his wife．
C．The greatly increasing usage of the Internet．
D．Millions of exciting titles,
2.Which of the following is closest in meaningto the underlinedentence?
A．The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him．
B．He would be very excited if he tried it out．
C．Be would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try．
D．The decision to not try the online bookstore would terrify him．
3.We can know from the passage that_______．
A．the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author
B．the author wanted someone else to try the idea
C．the author might not regret if he failed the idea
D．the author might go back to his boss if he failed
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A．Cleverness and Kindness
B．The Starting of Amazon
C．Following My Passion
D．We Are What We Choose
进入高三以来，同学们普遍感到压力倍增。就此问题，最近你班开展了一次以“压力”为主题的班会。在班会上，大家各抒己见，就如何缓解压力提出了自己的看法。请你为学校英文报写一篇短文，内容要点包括：
1. 压力的来源。
2. 压力与成败的关系。
3. 你自己的看法。
注意：1.词数：不少于120词；
2.开头已给出，不计入总词数。
Recently we have held a class meeting to discuss the pressure upon Senior Three students.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，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：在错的词下画一横线，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，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
I’m very glad to have received the letter you sent me two weeks before. I have been thought about the question raised in your letter. In my opinion, you should go back after you finish your studies at abroad. For one thing, that you are studying is badly needed nowadays in our country. It will be quite easily for you to find a good job. In fact, I know that a few big company in our city hope to hire people like you. For another, I think it will be more convenient for you look after your parents because they are getting older and older. And this is only my point of view. It is up to me to make a right choice.
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。
Man: Good morning. Can I help you?
Woman: Yes. I 1. (admit) to the university last month, and now I’d like to try and arrange 2. (accommodate) in the hall of residence.
Man: Yes, certainly. Please sit down. What I'll do is fill 3. a form and make sure you 4. (full) understand what to expect.
Woman: Thank you.
Man: So first of all, can I take your name and date of birth?
Woman: It's Anu Bhatt. March 31st, 1992.
Man: And what will you be studying?
Woman: I'm doing a course in 5. (nurse).
Man: Right, thank you. And how long would you want to stay in hall, do you think?
Woman: Well, it'll take three years 6. I'd only like to stay in hall for two. I'd like to think about living outside for the third year.
Man: Fine. Do you want to cook for 7. or have all your meals 8. (provide), as we call full board?
Woman: Is there anything in between?
Man: Yes. You can choose to be provided only with evening meals, 9. is half board.
Woman: That's 10. I'd prefer.
Man: Yes, a lot of students go for that. Now, with that in mind, do you have any special diet, anything we should know about?
Woman: No red meat.
Man: Okay. That's all I need to know.
完形填空,阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
One day I was taking a bus. The driver didn't ________to start the bus soon because it was not yet ________ .A middle-aged woman got on. Tired and sad, she told her story ________, not to anyone particular. On her way to the station, half of her ________ was stolen. The other half was hidden under her blouse, so she ________ still had some left. A few minutes later, she stopped crying, but still looked ________.
When all the seats were taken, the driver started the engine. The conductor began to collect the fares. When she came to an old man in worn-out clothes, he ________ that he had spent all his money as he accidentally got on a wrong bus and now was trying to go home. On hearing this, she ordered the old man to ________ the bus. The old man was almost in tears as he________ her to let him take the bus home. The driver took the conductor's side and repeated the conductor's ________.
The woman was watching the incident. ________ the driver and the conductor raised their voices at the old man, she interfered.
“Stop ________ him! Can't you see he's only trying to get home?”
“He doesn't have any money!” the driver ________ .
“Well, that's no ________ to throw him off the bus.” She insisted.
Then she reached inside her blouse, took out her ________money, and handed it to the conductor. “Here's his fare and mine. Just stop giving him a ________ time.
All heads turned to the woman. “It's only money,” she shrugged.
She rode the rest of her way home ________ a happy smile, with the money she'd lost earlier ________.
On the road of life, the help of strangers can ________ our loads and lift our spirits. How much sweeter the ________ will be when we make it a little smoother for others!
1.A. try B. intend C. decide D. care
2.A. emptyB. readyC. crowded D. full
3.A. carefully B. seriously C. tearfully D. calmly
4.A. money B. possession C. fare D. wealth
5.A. strangely B. happily C. fortunatelyD. secretly
6.A. unsatisfiedB. weak C. excited D. unhappy
7.A. explained B. declared C. admittedD. found
8.A. get off B. get over C. get on D. get into
9.A. thanked B. scolded C. praised D. begged
10.A. command B. action C. suggestion D. request
11.A. Unless B. When C. UntilD. Although
12.A. attackingB. wronging C. blaming D. bothering
13.A. warned B. whispered C. repeated D. shouted
14.A. problem B. need C. reasonD. matter
15.A. spending B. lost C. remaining D. borrowed
16.A. busy B. hard C. cold D. fearful
17.A. givingB. taking C. wearing D. forcing
18.A. forgottenB. usedC. earned D. returned
19.A. move B. increaseC. lightenD. carry
20.A. world B. journey C. smile D. friendship
