It was a hot, humid day, and my brother Walt and I had decided that the only way to survive it would be to go swimming in a deep swimming hole across Mr. Blickez’s pasture(牧场) and through some woods.
The only problem with our plan was that this pasture was guarded by a huge, mean Hereford bull. Mr. Blickez had told us that Elsie was the meanest bull in the township, maybe even the county, and we believed him. But the hotter it got, the more we thought there was something doubtful about his claim. For one thing, we remembered Mr. Blickez liked telling tall tales; for another, Elsie seemed like an odd name for a bull.
Finally, I talked Mom into asking permission for us to walk through the pasture, but then another problem surfaced. Mom said she would talk to Mr. Blickez if we would take our cousin Joanie along with us. Joanie was almost two years older than me and a head taller. If her teasing ever got around my grade school, it would be all over for me. In fact, I still had a headache from a quarrel with her that morning. “I’m not going swimming with that dumb girl cousin.” I told my mom.
“Either Joanie goes with, or you stay home alone,” Mom said in her serious tone. I gave in and we set out. On our way across the pasture, Walt yelled suddenly. Elsie had approached him quietly and was licking(舔) his back. Joanie and I dove under the wire fence, but while I was on the ground I looked up and saw that Elsie wasn’t a big mean bull after all. She was going to keep licking my brother’s back as long as he stood still.
We had many good days growing up and visiting our secret swimming hole guarded by the so-called “big mean bull”. And as it turned out, for a girl cousin, Joanie hasn’t been too bad. She’s been one of my best friends over the years.
1.What’s the second problem the author has to face?
A. His mother insisted on his cousin going with him.
B. His cousin made jokes on him in his grade school.
C. He quarreled with his cousin and had a headache.
D. His mother failed to ask permission for him.
2.What does the author think of Elsie in the end?
A. Aggressive. B. Unkind.
C. Bad-tempered. D. Friendly.
3.What’s the passage mainly about?
A. The bull guarding Mr. Blickez’s farm.
B. The story of visiting the swimming hole.
C. How friendly the so-called mean bull was.
D. How the author changed his attitude to Joanie.
Earlier this month, two rock climbers achieved what many thought impossible: They climbed up the 3,000-foot-high Dawn Wall in Yosemite National Park without specialized equipment. Climbing without this equipment is called“free-climbing.”Until now, no one had free-climbed to the top of the rock face, which is a part of the mountain EI Capitan.
El Capitan, which means“the captain”or“the chief”in Spanish, has always presented a challenge to climbers. But the Dawn Wall, on the mountain’s southeast face, is a particularly difficult route to the summit (顶峰). It is a rock formation that is both steep and relatively smooth. This makes free-climbing the rock face seem almost impossible.
About seven years ago, professional climber Tommy Caldwell spotted a possible route up the wall. It took years of planning and preparation, but this month, Caldwell, 36, and his friend Kevin Jorgeson, 30, finally make the climb.
Free climbers do use ropes and other basic safety equipment to catch them if they fall — and Caldwell and Jorgeson fell often. Before starting their climb, they broke down their route into 32 sections. Each section was based on a rope length called a“pitch.”The rope was secured into the rock face to catch the climbers if they fell.
Caldwell and Jorgeson’s goal was to climb the Dawn Wall without returning to the ground. If they fell, they had to start that pitch all over again. The two men started climbing on December 27. They slept in hanging tents, and a team of friends brought them food each day.
The men had spent years rehearsing (排练) the movements it would take to get through each pitch. They made it through the fist half of the climb relatively easily. But halfway up, Jorgeson ran into trouble. In one difficult spot, he fell each time he attempted to climb. After 10 days of trying, Jorgeson finally made it to the next pitch.
Getting through that troublesome pitch gave both climbers renewed energy. They finished the rest of the climb five days later, on January 14.
1.What does Paragraph 2 mainly explain?
A．Why the Dawn Wall is a hard challenge.
B．Why people prefer climbing El Capitan.
C．How to free-climb the Dawn Wall.
D．How El Capitan got its name.
2.To climb Yosemite’s Dawn Wall, Caldwell and Jorgeson .
A. received one year’s training
B. chose the nearest route
C. made thoughtful preparations
D. used special equipment
3.What can we learn about this world, s toughest climb?
A．It includes 32 different routes.
B．It is also the world, s highest climb.
C．It was once completed by Caldwell 7 years ago.
D．It took the two climbers 19 days to get to the top.
4.Which of the following words can best describe Jorgeson?
A．Proud but patient.
B．Cautious and friendly.
C．Brave and determined.
D．Imaginative but half-hearted.
Quicker and faster 3-D printers have allowed not just amazing objects to be created, but have started to affect how doctors treat patients.
We’ve put together a list of some of the most amazing medical breakthroughs made possible with 3-D printing.
Life-Saving Airway
In 2013, doctors created a new airway for kaiba Gionfriddo, a boy born with an airway that kept collapsing (萎陷). To save his life doctors printed tiny tubes to join together in different shapes and sizes until one finally worked for Kaiba. It was placed in Kaiba’s bronchus (支气管) so that it no longer collapsed. Even more remarkably, once the plant was placed it could stay there. It’s designed to eventually be absorbed into the body.
New “Bionic” Hands
One of the most remarkable ways 3-D printing is now being used is as a way to create prosthetics (假肢). A boy born without an arm named Alex was able to get a new“bionic”hand thanks to it. Last year a college student spent 8 weeks coming up with a special prosthetic design that only cost a few hundred dollars in materials. He said he wanted to create a prosthetic far cheaper than other choices that can run tens of thousands of dollars.
A practice Heart
In Seattle, doctors have been able to use 3-D printing technology to“practice”risky operations so that they will face fewer surprises in the operating room. Kami Sutton was born with her heart“in the wrong place”. For a recent operation her doctor was able to take many scans of Sutton’ s heart and print out a model. “Kami’s heart is truly one-of-a-kind,”Dr. Stephan Seslar, a heart disease specialist said. “Operating on her without understanding the structure of her heart better could be very dangerous.”
A New Skull
A U.K. man was able to have part of his skull rebuilt thanks to a 3-D printer. Stephen Power broke his cheek bones in a crash. To help Power his doctors instead created 3-D bones all carefully printed in the shape of his face. “This is really the first time we’ve taken it to this stage, where everything has been planned and modeled in advance — and worked sweetly,”said Adrian Sugar, a doctor.
1.What is special about the 3-D printed airway?
A．It uses high-tech materials.
B．It varies in shapes and sizes.
C．It can be absorbed by the body.
D．It can prevent any disease in the airway.
2.What is the advantage of the new“bionic”hand?
A．Its price. B．Its effects.
C．Its materials. D．Its shape design.
3.How can 3-D printing technology help doctors in the operating room?
A．It helps them get better scans.
B．It guarantees the success of operations.
C．It enables them to practice and learn more.
D．It helps them to deal with patents, anxiety.
4.What does Adrian Sugar think of the new skull printed by 3-D technology?
A．He has doubts about it.
B．He thinks highly of it.
C．It needs to be better planned.
D．It functions well but needs improving.
书面表达
假定你是李华，计划寒假找份兼职工作。下面的招聘广告引起了你的注意，请根据要点（箭头所指内容）写一封申请信。
1. 词数100左右； 2. 可适当增加细节使行文连贯；3. 开头已经给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Mr. Smith,
I’ve read your advertisement for an assistant teacher for a children’s winter camp.
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Yours,
Li Hua
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：在错的词下划—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。
Dear American guests,
On behalf of our school, I would like to express our warm welcome to you. We are lucky to have us here in the middle of our English Week activities.
As being scheduled, we had English Talent Show today. The purpose of this programme is develop our interest in English learning and practical abilities in listening and spoken. The programme consists in the following activities: recitation, singing, word spelling, story told and so on. The Show will begin at two o’clock this afternoon at the Student Center. Dear guests, you are welcomed to take part in our activities. I hope we students will benefit great from your presence.
I sincerely hope you a pleasant time with us. Thank you.
完形填空,阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Those who believe that they will never do well in a particular area probably never will. Those who believe they are not good at ________ will forever feel unprepared. But those who believe that it is ________ to succeed at what they attempt can surprise themselves.
Adam was ready to ________ . His wife Anna, however, was less ________ . As she explained to a friend,” Adam has________ done anything that required physical strength. When he retires, he will sit in his easy chair and ________ me to bring him his food.”
But to Anna’s ________, soon after her husband retired, he ________ a health club. Arriving home from exercise class one night, he announced, ”I ________ for the wrestling tournament. I am going to ________ Friday night.” Anna was shocked. “Please don’t do it., Adam. You’re not in ________ . You will be so beat up that they will have to carry you home!” ________, he couldn’t be persuaded and she told him that if he wanted really to do it, she was not going to watch.
________ to her word, she stayed away as Adam wrestled. And just as she________, two men carried Adam home. He ________ down on the bed, every muscle pained and wounded. ________she could speak, he cried out,” Don’t say a(n) ________ , Anna! This is not the worst of it. I________ tonight. I have to wrestle again tomorrow night!”
Nothing ________ in your life until you believe you can do things that are important to you. And if you have a low ________ of yourself, nobody else is likely to raise it.
1.A. something B. nothing C. anything D. everything
2.A. possible B. vital C. impossible D. important
3.A. travel B. retire C. resign D. leave
4.A. confident B. negative C. enthusiastic D. elegant
5.A. always B. often C. again D. never
6.A. expect B. warn C. invite D. urge
7.A. sorrow B. surprise C. delight D. relief
8.A. owned B. founded C. supported D. joined
9.A. signed up B. made up C. took up D. came up
10.A. prepare B. exercise C. wrestle D. consult
11.A. place B. shape C. trouble D. practice
12.A. Anyhow B. Moreover C. Therefore D. However
13.A. True B. Exact C. Opposite D. Relevant
14.A. advised B. promised C. predicted D. designed
15.A. settled B. lay C. sat D. laid
16.A. When B. After C. Before D. Until
17.A. plan B. idea C. goal D. word
18.A. lost B. won C. gained D. performed
19.A. changes B. happens C. recovers D. reacts
20.A. talent B. doubt C. opinion D. suggestion
