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1.What kind of people will probably answer this advertisement?
A. High school graduates preparing to have at-home training.
B. College students preparing to study for a degree.
C. College students preparing to work in some big companies.
D. High school graduates preparing for college entrance examination.
2.People can get a Specialized Associate Degree by _____________.
A. doing full-time learning at school
B. working in some big famous companies
C. studying in their spare time
D. studying abroad for two years
3.How can you contact Harcourt Learning Direct?
A. By visiting the office on weekdays.
B. By sending an e-mail.
C. By making a call on weekdays only.
D. By sending a letter not later than today.
Edmund Halley was an English scientist who lived over 200 years ago. He studied the observations of comets (彗星) which other scientists had made. The orbit（轨道）of one particular comet was a very difficult mathematical problem. He could not figure it out. Neither could other scientists who dealt with such problems.
However, Halley had a friend named Isaac Newton, who was a brilliant mathematician. Newton thought he had already worked out that problem, but he could not find the papers on which he had done it. He told Halley that the orbit of a comet had the shape of an ellipse(椭圆形).
Now Halley set to work. He figured out(解决，计算出)the orbits of some of the comets that had been observed by scientists. He made a surprising discovery. The comets that had appeared in the years 1531, 1607, and 1682 all had the same orbit. Yet their appearance had been 75 to 76 years apart.
This seemed very strange to Halley. Three different comets followed the same orbit. The more Halley thought about it, the more he thought that there had not been three different comets as people thought. He decided that they had simply seen the same comet three times. The comet had gone away and had come back again.
It was an astonishing idea! Halley felt certain to make a prediction(预言)of what would happen in the future. He decided that this would appear in the year 1758. There were 53 years to go before Halley’s prediction could be tested. In 1758 the comet appeared in the sky. Halley did not see it, for he had died some years before. Ever since then that comet had been called Halley’s comet, in his honor.
1.Edmund Halley figured out the orbit of ____.
A. some different comets appearing several times
B. the same comet appearing at different times
C. three different comets appearing at the same time
D. several comets appearing at the same time
2.Halley made his discovery ____.
A. by doing experiments
B. by means of his own careful observation
C. by using the working of other scientists
D. by chance
3.Halley made a surprising, but correct prediction in the year____.
A. 1704 B. 1705 C. 1706 D. 1707
4.This passage in general is about ____.
A. Halley and other scientists B. the orbit of a comet
C. Newton and Halley D. Halley and his discovery
CANYOUIMAGINEHOWHARDITWOULDBETOREADSENTENCESLIKETHIS? Every one of us gets so used to punctuation marks that not many of us give them a second thought. 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 left to right. The next one read right to left, and then left to right again, etc. The ancient Romans sometimes punctuated like this: They • put • something • that • can • separate • words • in • a • sentence. The word punctuation actually comes from this idea and the Latin word punctum, which means a dot.
When the 5th century arrived, there were just two punctuation 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 (/) to indicate 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 at the end 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 widely used or recognized yet, but its invention shows that English is not yet finished with 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.The passage is developed _______.
A. by time B. by space
C. by comparison D. by importance
3.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 Manutius first started to use commas
4.What can be concluded from the last paragraph?
A. The combination of two 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.
The stories we share with one another are important. They show wisdom and provide inspiration. They are important to our development. But sometimes people choose not to tell.
Consider the negative effects of not sharing a story in the news: People are wondering if public health officials are holding back too much information about the recent outbreak of Ebola.
There is a danger in holding back stories that ought to be told. Bobette Buster said it like this, “The fact is, history has shown us that stories not told can become like a dangerous genie (妖怪) left in a bottle. When they are finally uncorked, their power to destroy is set free.”
There are a number of reasons why we hide parts of our story: they often show our weaknesses or expose our disadvantages; they require courage and strength to share; and of course, there are some stories that should be kept secret—especially those that embarrass someone else.
Most of us have two selves: the one we display on the outside and the one we actually are on the inside. And the better we get at hiding the stories that show our true selves, the more damage we may be causing to ourselves and to others.
Honesty and openness is important: It proves we are trustworthy. It displays we are human. We are not perfect or better. It highlights the importance of hard work and personal development. Hard work may not allow us to overcome our disadvantages completely. But with hard work, we do not have to be restricted to our mistakes.
Does this mean we admit every weakness, every disadvantage, and every secret regret to everybody we meet? No, of course not. There is a time and a place and a certain level of relationship necessary for some stories to be told in an appropriate manner.
1.What’s the function of the example in Paragraph 2?
A. It reflects that people are concerning about the spread of Ebola.
B. It shows the bad effect caused by sharing a story.
C. It proves not sharing a story can cause trouble.
D. It concludes that one should share a story at a proper time.
2.One of the reasons why people are unwilling to share experiences is that _______.
A. story-sharing highlights the importance of hard work
B. people are used to exposing their weaknesses
C. people sometimes have no courage to share their stories
D. some stories make themselves feel uneasy
3.Which is close in meaning to the underlined word “uncorked” in Paragraph 3?
A. freed B. broken C. unfolded D. untouched
4.The writer aims to convince us to _______.
A. be open to people close to you by sharing some secrets
B. share stories appropriately for the good of others and ourselves
C. remove the dangers that can be caused by untold stories
D. realize the importance of being honest when making friends
书面表达
假定你是李华，从互联网（the Internet）上得知一个国际中学生组织将在澳大利亚(Australia)举办夏令营，欢迎各国学生参加。请写一封电子邮件申请参加。
内容主要包括：
1.自我介绍（包括英语能力）；2.参加意图（介绍中国、了解其他国家）；3.希望获准。
注意：
1.词数100左右。
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3.邮件开头和结尾已为你写好。
Dear Sir or Madam,
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Regards,
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。
Dear Abby，
How are you? Today I’ve got a wonderful news to tell you. I have offered a scholarship at a university in Australia for my further education. One hundred and twenty students took exam for it, but only a few was chosen and I was one of them. However, my parents are not happy about it. They are strong against me going there. They say it is too far away that they will not see me for a whole year and they are afraid of I will feel lonely. They can’t imagine a girl so young live alone. They ask me study in the capital instead. Then I’ll be able to continue living with them. How can I persuade them to accept the fact I have grown up？
Best wishes,
Jane
