It’s not Christmas Day yet. But wherever I go on the streets, I see shops selling Christmas trees and all kinds of beautiful decorations, waiters wearing Christmas hats; I hear children singing Christmas songs on broadcast; I get messages of Christmas’s best wishes from friends.
I just got quite confused again, since when have Chinese begun celebrating Christmas Day? What do these people celebrate it for, the birth of Chris? But we all know that most of Chinese are not Christians, they don’t even know the origin of Christmas Day, and they celebrate it for no reason.
I don’t celebrate Christmas Day or any other western holidays since I’m not a Christian and nor am I a westerner. I don’t know what Christmas really means. Anyway I can’t get reasonable answers from my friends. Some of them think they would like to just take this chance to enjoy themselves regardless of the meaning of the festival. Some of them think I’m an old-fashioned girl, a bigot who doesn’t appreciate the spirit of Chinese cultural tolerance(宽容) and understanding of other cultures. Well, if it is about cultural tolerance, why don’t we ever celebrate the month of Muharram, or festivals of colours in India, or Fiestas Patrias in Mexico?
I really appreciate cultural exchanges and communications with all nations, but I don’t think this is what it’s about. People are celebrating more and more western festivals while ignoring our traditional ones.
Is it part of globalization(全球化)？ Do people in other non-western countries also celebrate Christmas?
1. It can be inferred from the passage that the writer _________.
A. is an old-fashioned girl
B. doesn’t like festivals at all
C. prefers western festivals to Chinese festivals
D. prefers Chinese festivals to western festivals
2.According to the writer, many Chinese people celebrate Christmas _________.
A. for no reason
B. for the birth of Chris
C. because most of them are Christians
D. because they don’t like Chinese festivals
3.The underlined word “bigot” in Paragraph 3 means ________.
A. a very brave person
B. a very stubborn person
C. a very careful person
D. a very popular person
4. We can learn from the passage that _________.
A. more and more Chinese people celebrate western festivals now
B. Chinese people pay enough attention to our own festivals
C. no Christmas celebration means one lacks cultural tolerance
D. the writer doesn’t like cultural exchanges and communications with other countries
Agatha Christie used to go out at night. She will never forget the night when she met a robber many years ago.
That evening, she was invited to a birthday party which lasted till 2 o'clock in the morning. Without company, Agatha walked home along the quiet street. Suddenly from the shadow of a dark building, a tall man with a sharp knife in his right hand ran out at her. “Good morning, lady,” the man said in a low voice, “I don't think you wish to die here!”“What do you want?” Agatha asked.
“Your earrings (耳环). Take them off!”Agatha suddenly had a bright idea. She tried to cover her necklace with the collar (衣领) of her overcoat while she used the other hand to take off both of her earrings, and then she quickly threw them on the ground.
“Take them and let me go.” she said. The robber was uncertain. He saw that the girl didn't care for the earrings at all, only trying to protect the necklace. He realized the necklace would cost more, so he said, “Give me your necklace.”
“Oh, sir. It's not worth much. Please let me keep it.”
“Stop talking rubbish. Quick!”
With shaky hands, Agatha took off her necklace. As soon as the robber disappeared, she picked up her earrings and ran as fast as she could to her home.
The earrings cost 480 pounds and the necklace the robber had taken away cost only six pounds ten shillings (先令).
1.Agatha will never forget the night because ________.
A. she was robbed of her earrings
B. she was robbed but she fooled the robber
C. she had such a nice time at the party
D. it is dangerous for a girl to walk alone at night
2.Why did she try to protect her necklace? ________.
A. She didn’t want the robber to notice it.
B. It was cheaper than the earrings.
C. It was worth keeping.
D. She would rather have it robbed.
3.The story wants to tell us ________.
A. Agatha was brave and clever
B. the robber was foolish
C. a necklace is usually more expensive than earrings
D. never stay too late at an evening party
书面表达
某校英文报开辟了一个专栏：Experience。本期话题是如何解决学习中遇到的困难。请你以“My Approach to Difficulties in Learning”为题，用英语写一篇短文。谈谈自己的一些做法。
要求： 1.词数100左右
2.短文中不能出现本人的相关信息。
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一下作文。文中共有10出错误，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：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧）
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下面画一横线，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。
He wants everyone to call him farmer, for that’s how he regards himself. Although he is one of China’s most famous scientist, Yuan Longping works on the land to do with his research. Indeed, his sunburn face and arms and his slim, strong body are just like that of millions of other Chinese farmers, with whom he has struggled for the past five decades. Dr. Yuan grows which is called super hybrid rice. In 1973, he became the first agricultural pioneer in the world to grew rice that has a high output. This special strain of rice make it possible to produce 20% much of the crop in the same fields.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
If you read a newspaper or listen to a newscast(news report) recently, you may hear or read a strange word, “staycation.” Staycation is1. new word the American press(newspapers, radio, and television) is using 2. (describe) a vacation very close to your own home, 3. simply staying at home during your vacation. It is a4._____ (combine) of the words “stay” and “vacation”.
According to many news reports, these staycations are very popular among American families this year. Why? The high price of gasoline for cars and airplanes has made it very expensive for Americans to travel5. (compare) to past years. When you combine this with the weak American dollar, it all adds up to people deciding to stay close to home 6.______ their traditional summer vacations. Of course, some places are more 7. (interest) to “stay at home” than others. And if you live in a very small town, well, you may just want to skip your vacation and save your time up to next year!
Everything is 8. (expense) nowadays, and let’s face it—a vacation just may not be in your plan this year. You don’t have to give up family fun just because you can’t get away; instead, follow my tips for an economical staycation filled with old favorites and new adventures! Staycations 9. (achieve) high popularity in current hard economic times in which 10. (unemploy) levels and gas prices are high.
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。
Loving Today's Challenge!
My 13-year old son and I had quite the adventure this morning! We frequently walk by a _______ landscaped（美化的）yard with a nice little flower garden. I wanted to ______ my thanks for the time and effort put in by the ______ , but I've never seen him or her, so we went to a local nursery and bought a gift card that l will leave with a______ and a smile card the next time that I pass by.
We also ran to Walmart and ______ a few $10 gift cards along with some note cards and our other ______. While we were putting our things away in the car, my son ______ that a lady that had just parked next to us looked a little ______ . As soon as she entered the ______ , we grabbed（夺取）a note card, made a note ______ , and added a gift card for her to find when she got back to her ______ , hoping to comfort her feelings.
After that, we went for a（n） ______ breakfast. The restaurant was pretty ______ and the people working in the kitchen seemed to be busy forever. A young couple ______ across the dining room from us was having some trouble with their ______ , who looked to be about four or five. He grew ______ and impatient with the wait and they had their hands ________ keeping him from making troubles.
I remember being in their ______, so I stopped their ______ and had their breakfast added to my check. Great ______ to my day, and I can't wait to do it again!
1.A．smoothly B．carelessly C．roughly D．beautifully
2.A．express B．recognize C．design D．accept
3.A．nurse B．dentist C．gardener D．passer-by
4.A．present B．note C．book D．diploma
5.A．bought B．borrowed C．sold D．imported
6.A．instruments B．desserts C．vegetables D．groceries
7.A．suspected B．observed C．imagined D．reserved
8.A．elegant B．generous C．excited D．upset
9.A．store B．clinic C．bank D．nursery
10.A．slowly B．unwillingly C．quickly D．shyly
11.A．house B．car C．bike D．bench
12.A．early B．delicious C．expensive D．late
13.A．decorated B．empty C．crowded D．deserted
14.A．lain B．loaded C．seated D．arranged
15.A．kid B．daughter C．dog D．pet
16.A．defenseless B．tireless C．careless D．restless
17.A．available B．full C．normal D．necessary
18.A．shorts B．gloves C．shoes D．socks
19.A．waitress B．child C．customer D．hostess
20.A．end B．start C．story D．dream
