Like many new graduates, I left university full of hope for the future but with no real idea of what I wanted to do. My degree, with honors, in English literature had not really prepared me for anything practical. I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world somehow, but I had no idea how to do that. That’s when I learned about the Lighthouse Project.
I started my journey as a Lighthouse Project volunteer by reading as much as I could about the experiences of previous volunteers. I knew it would be a lot of hard work, and that I would be away from my family and friends for a very long time. In short, I did not take my decision to apply for the Lighthouse Project lightly. Neither did my family.
Eventually, however, I won the support of my family, and I sent in all the paperwork needed for the application. After countless interviews and presentations, I managed to stand out among the candidates and survive the test alone. Several months later, I finally received a call asking me to report for the duty. I would be going to a small village near Abuja, Nigeria. Where? What? Nigeria? I had no idea. But I was about to find out.
After completing my training, I was sent to the village that was small and desperately in need of proper accommodation. Though the local villagers were poor, they offered their homes, hearts, and food as if I were their own family. I was asked to lead a small team of local people in building a new schoolhouse. For the next year or so, I taught in that same schoolhouse. But I sometimes think I learned more from my students than they did from me. Sometime during that period, I realized that all those things that had seemed so strange or unusual to me no longer did, though I did not get anywhere with the local language, and returned to the United States a different man. The Lighthouse Project had changed my life forever.
1.What do we know about the author?
A. His university education focused on the theoretical knowledge.
B. His dream at university was to become a volunteer.
C. He took pride in having contributed to the world.
D. He felt honored to study English literature.
2.According to Paragraph 2, it is most likely that the author ________.
A. discussed his decision with his family
B. asked previous volunteers about voluntary work
C. attended special training to perform difficult tasks
D. felt sad about having to leave his family and friends
3.In his application for the volunteer job, the author ________.
A. participated in many discussions
B. went through challenging survival tests
C. wrote quite a few papers on voluntary work
D. faced strong competition from other candidates
4.What can we infer from the author’s experiences in Nigeria?
A. He found some difficulty adapting to the local culture.
B. He had learned to communicate in the local language.
C. He had overcome all his weaknesses before he left for home.
D. He was chosen as the most respectable teacher by his students.
阅读理解
Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy—they’re given after all. Choice can be hard.
I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I came 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, and the idea of building an 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’t and I wasn’t sure what to expect. MacKenzie told me I should go for it. As a young boy, I’d been a garage inventor. I’d always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.
I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, “That sounds like a really good idea, 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. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but finally, 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 of that choice. For all of us, 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 meaning to the underlined sentence?
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．He would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try.
D．The decision to not try the online bookstore would terrify him.
3.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
假定你是高中学生李华，你的美国朋友Jim即将升入高中，想让你给他一些学习建议。请你给他写一封电子邮件，内容包括：
1. 与老师交流，征求老师意见；
2. 上课积极参与讨论，专心听讲，做好笔记；
3. 课后积极完成作业，巩固知识。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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。
The International Volunteer Day approaching, some volunteers of our school are organized to assist the policemen with traffic control in our city. At 8 o’clock on the morning of last Sunday, we gathered at the school gate. One of our teachers was in the charge of this activity but he divided us into four groups. Then we went to different crossings near our school. The police officers told us that we should do and how to protect themselves from danger. We spent the whole morning keep the streams of traffic flowing smooth. With a red banner in our hands, we stopped some road user running the red light. Some citizens praised us our good deeds. Because we were very tired that morning, we were proud to have offered service to our society.
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。
My husband and I were paying a visit 1. my parents in Tucson. We went to a fast-food restaurant for dinner together. My husband went to the counter 2. (order) dishes and I stood with my parents.
My dad is 90 years old. He can hardly see very well and walks with a stick. I was scanning the restaurant, 3. (wait) to sit at the first table that was 4. (convenient) than others. A woman who was sitting with her son made eye contact with me and asked me to come to her. With a 5. (puzzle) look on my face, I pointed to myself and said, “Me?” She 6. (nod) and said , “ Yes, you.” I walked to the table and she said, “Bring your family here. I can finish eating at the counter. My son is in 7. hurry to leave anyway.” My eyes 8. (fill) with tears as she wiped down the table and guided my dad to the seat.
I always believe that there are 9. (nature) kind people in this world. This woman has set a good example to her son, 10. is a really lucky guy.
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C 和 D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
“Don’t you want to consider studying business?” It was 2003 and I was in Class 10. Why did Papa ask me that? He knew I wanted to be a ________.
“If you’re thinking of studying mass media after class 12,” Papa added, “________ should be more helpful than science.”
“But I ________ to be a cardiologist（心脏病学家), Papa!” I protested.
“________ that’s where your heart really lies, I’m sorry I ________ this up,” he said.
In 2006, after I had spent two difficult years trying to study science, I brought up the ________ again with my father, a teacher who ________ his own training institute in Ujjain, MP. “What made you ________ I’d make a better journalist than a doctor?” I asked Papa.
“You have been my ________, too,” he said, smiling.
I was just eight years old when I ________ evening classes at his institute. It was very different from regular school. We shared anecdotes, made presentations, staged plays, listened to and watched tapes from the BBC.
Always thinking about his students, Papa ________ takes leave but when he absolutely has to, he feels guilty. It ________ him when a student doesn’t show the same enthusiasm.
Every year, Teacher’s Day, the 5th of September, is like a ________ in our house. The phone ________ ringing. Papa takes every call ________ it were the only one he got.
It turned out to be journalism and not cardiology for me. In June 2006, when I joined St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, for my ________ degree in mass media, it felt like Papa’s classes. Soon I was writing regularly for the news magazine Outlook. In 2009, it was Papa again who ________ me decide not take a postgraduate degree in mass media.
“You’ll only study the ________ things again,” Papa explained. “Sociology is such a lively subject, and if you want to be a good journalist you ________ know about society and people.”
I got my MA in sociology two years later.
This Father’s Day, June 21, when I called him, I will have completed nearly four fruitful years working as a journalist, thanks to Papa’s ________.
1.A. journalistB. doctorC. businessmanD. sociologist
2.A. businessB. literatureC. sociologyD.communication
3.A. hesitateB. refuseC. wantD. agree
4.A. IfB. SoC. WhenD. But
5.A. pickedB. putC. broughtD. gave
6.A. conceptB. projectC. questionD. subject
7.A. supportsB. runsC. holdsD. shares
8.A. feelB. doubtC. hopeD. prefer
9.A. sonB. studentC. fellowD. friend
10.A. choseB. taughtC. attendedD. received
11.A. sometimesB. alwaysC. neverD. hardly
12.A. hurtsB. defeatsC. strikesD. amuses
13.A. showB. lectureC. meetingD. festival
14.A. keepsB. beginsC. continuesD. stops
15.A. in caseB. as ifC. even ifD. now that
16.A. bachelor’sB. master’sC. doctor’sD. graduate’s
17.A. sawB. letC. foundD. helped
18.A. differentB. sameC. generalD. boring
19.A. mayB. couldC. wouldD. must
20.A. patienceB. powerC. guidanceD. understanding
