Papa’s jaw dropped when Mama told him that Sister had cheated on her final exams—not to succeed but to fail. “It’s unbelievable!” he said. “Sister has always been so proud of her good grades!”
“Yes, she has,” said Mama. “But it’s not unbelievable. It just shows how badly she wanted off the swimming team.”
“Wanted off the swimming team?” said Papa. “She never said anything about that to me.”
“Of course she didn’t,” said Mama. “She was afraid you’d blow your top. You already had her getting a swimming scholarship to college and winning gold medals at the Olympics. Can you imagine how much pressure she must have felt? For her, being on the team couldn’t have been much fun.”
“Oh, my gosh!” Papa said, clapping a hand to his forehead. “I’ve been so stupid! I just thought she’d want to be a champion swimmer because she’s so good at it.”
“It’s like anything else, dear,” said Mama. “No matter how good at it you are, if it stops being fun, you won’t want to do it anymore.”
Papa put his head in his hands.
“She must be really mad at me,” he mumbled. “Maybe I should say sorry to her.”
Sister’s footsteps could be heard on the stairs. She came into the kitchen and looked hopefully up at her parents.
“Honey,” said Mama with a smile, “your papa and I have decided that there’s no reason for you to be on the swimming team if you don’t want to.”
Sister’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Yippee!” she cried.
“And,” added Papa, “there’s no need for any more drills. I’m sure you’ll bring your grades back up all by yourself.”
Sister ran to Papa and jumped into his arms. She gave him a big hug. “I’m going to go play cards with Lizzy!” she said. “See you later!”
From the kitchen window, Mama and Papa watched their daughter run down the sunny road toward Lizzy’s house.
“It’s good to see her happy again,” said Mama.
“It sure is,” Papa agreed. “As for the swimming team, there’s always next year.”
“If?” Mama prompted him.
“Oh, right,” said Papa. “If she wants to.”
Mama smiled. “At least you’re learning, dear,” she said. She kissed him.
“Well, you know what they say,” Papa said. “Better late than never.”
1.The underlined expression “blow your top” probably means _____.
A. change your opinion
B. become very excited
C. get very angry
D. fall down with fear
2.Mama insisted that the child should do _____.
A. what she was willing to B. what she felt easy to
C. what she was able to D. what she felt right to
3.Which of the following words best describes Papa?
A. Cruel but reasonable. B. Crazy but confident.
C. Stubborn but honest. D. Ambitious but considerate.
4.Which might be the proper title for the passage?
A. Easier Said Than Done
B. Health Is Better Than Wealth
C. Better Late Than Never
D. Something Is Better Than Nothing
Myth: If you cut your hair, it will grow long faster.
Truth: That’s not true. “Your hair isn’t like a lawn or a rosebush, where cutting can stimulate fresh growth,” says Phillip Kingsley. The length of your hair is genetically determined. When it reaches a certain length, it stops growing. When you clear up the dead split ends, this make your hair look healthier, but not necessarily longer.
Myth: If you skip meals, you lose weight fast.
Truth: There’s no truth in this advice. Not only will you not lose weight by starving yourself, but according to Carol Ann Rinzler, this may actually cause you to gain weight. Rinzler reasons that missing a meal causes your metabolism(新陈代谢) to slow down so that you burn food more slowly. This only makes you feel hungrier and by the time you finally do reach the table you will probably eat more food. Strange as it may seem, studies show that eating several small meals and snacks throughout the day is a more healthy way to lose pounds.
Myth: If you swallow gum，it will stay inside your stomach for seven years.
Truth: Actually, it takes just a few days for gum to make its exit---not seven years, says NeiIzenberg, M. D., editor of Kids Health Organization. But because gum is made of the same thing as rubber, it cannot be fully digested in your stomach--- so if you gum up the works on a regular basis, you might find yourself in a sticky situation.
Myth: The best way to stop a nosebleed is to lift your head back.
Truth: Now that’s bad advice. Bloody noses are caused by broken blood vessels, so while lifting your head back might stop the fluid from rushing out of your nose, it won’t stop the bleeding; you’ll just end up swallowing lots of blood. Your best bet “Rest quietly. Don’t poke or pick, and the blood will naturally clot (凝结成块) within a minute or two”, suggests Dr. Izenberg.
1.The length of your hair is determined by ________.
A. cutting it often
B. your gene
C. the food you eat
D. clearing up the dead split ends.
2.According to Carol Ann Rinzler, skipping meals will __________.
A. help you lose weight fast
B. help you lose weight slowly
C. cause you to become fatter
D. make you burning food more quickly
3. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Gum cannot be fully digested in the stomach.
B. Gum can stay inside your stomach for seven years if you swallow it.
C. Gum can leave your stomach after you swallow in a few days later.
D. If you often swallow gum, you might find yourself in a sticky situation
假如你是英国的Mike，你的朋友李华打算到国外留学，他写信询问你什么样的中国学生最受国外高校青睐。请你根据下列要点给对方写一封回信：
1.语言是道硬门槛；
2. 适应能力很重要；
3. 兴趣爱好被看重；
4. 要有社会责任感。
注意：
1.词数100左右；
2.开头和结束语已为你写好，不计入总词数。
Dear Li Hua,
I'm glad to hear that you want to study abroad in your letter.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________
Yours,
Mike
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请您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：把多余的词用斜钱（\）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。
Nowadays Senior 3 students are general faced with a lot of pressure, which is rather common.
To reduce it, the followed suggestions may help. First of all, know exactly what lead to your
pressure, and then you can take measures to deal with it. Secondly, set up a goal what is not too
high, in another words, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Thirdly, find a way to relax
you occasionally. For example, you can listen to music, go swim or just simply go walking.
Eventually, make friend with others, for example, your classmates, your teachers, your parents.
They will understand you and come to your help when you are really in the trouble. In a word,
never get yourself stuck in the pressure for "impossible is nothing".
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
Dr．Barone has helped many kids smile who were born with defects(缺陷)，including me．She did my first operations when I was a baby，which were the most important and 1. (effect)．
I don’t remember the first two operations very well．but I do recall 2. third．Dr．Barone was kind and eased me into the process．She let me choose my sleep medicine， 3. (make)sure that I was okay．I recently saw a picture of me before my operation，and I know 4. a big job she did．
Dr．Barone 5. (operate)on people with all types of birth defects．She also goes to other countries where people cannot afford this treatment and helps them 6. free．
Many people benefit from her new ways 7. (invent)to fix birth defects of the head and face．She has won many awards．A few of the most recent 8. (be)Best Doctors in America 2013-2014，America’s Top Plastic Surgery，and many others．
Dr．Barone was my doctor when I was a kid，and even though I was 9. (probable) just another patient to her，to me she was 10. (much)than just my doctor．She was and is my hero，and she gave me back my smile．
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、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。
A little girl lived in a simple and poor house on a hill. Usually she play in the small garden. She could see over the garden fence and across the valley a wonderful house with shining golden windows high on another hill. she loved her parents and her family, she desired to live in such a house and all day about how wonderful and exciting must feel to live there.
At the age when she gained some skill and sensibility(识别力), she her mother for a bike ride __ _the garden. Her mother finally allowed her to go, her keeping close to the house and not too far. The day was beautiful. The little girl knew where she was heading. the hill and across the valley, she rode to the of the golden house.
she got off her bike and put it against the gate post, she focused on the path _ _ to the house and then on the house itself. She was very disappointed when she that all the windows were and rather dirty.
So and heart-broken, she didn't go any further. She , and all of a sudden she saw an amazing ___ . There on the other side of the valley was a little house and its windows were golden. Looking at her little home, she _ __ that she had been living in her golden house filled with love and care. Everything she dreamed was right there in front of her house.
1. A. might B. should C. would D. must
2.A. Unless B. Although C. Since D. But
3.A. dreamed B. worried C. asked D. shouted
4.A. this B. that C. it D. which
5. A. different B. scientific C. musical D. basic
6. A. begged B. blamed C. invited D. paid
7. A. inside B. outside C. through D. along
8.A. insisting on B. relying on C. arguing about D. wondering about
9.A. traveling B. running C. riding D. walking
10.A. madly B. rapidly C. exactly D. possibly
11.A. Over B. Down C. Around D. Beside
12.A. windows B. steps C. center D. gate
13.A. Until B. As C. While D. Because
14.A. getting B. introducing C. leading D. moving
15.A. felt B. learned C. concluded D. found
16.A. transported B. bright C. plain D. wide
17.A. anxious B. angry C. serious D. sad
18.A. turned around B. cheered up C. settled down D. dropped in
19.A. hill B. valley C. background D. sight
20.A. imagined B. decided C. realized D. guess
