Since the invention of Guitar Hero and similar computer games, it is no longer necessary to imagine what it would be like to play along with the Beatles—you can come together with them in the virtual world.
Bill Wyman, former bass player(贝斯手) in the Rolling Stones, has pointed out that music video games discourage kids from learning to play real instruments. My own opinion suggest quite opposite.
Last year, I bought Guitar Hero Ⅲ for our 14-year-old son, Jack. Jack quickly mastered the process and entered an intense period of playing the game.
A few months later, while I was away on tour, a couple of his friends came around with a real electric guitar. Playing Guitar Hero had taught them how to play along the track. Now they wanted to see if they could apply that to the real thing. Jack’s friends taught him how to play along to his favorite songs using just his index finger (食指)on the bass string. He got it right away.
Guitar Hero had helped him over the first difficulty for guitar players—how to strum(拨弄) the strings with one hand while making chord(和弦) shapes with the other. He never plays Guitar Hero now, preferring to rock out in the garage with his mates.
Despite my attempts at getting him to learn an instrument, it was Guitar Hero that taught him the basics of playing and built up his confidence to the extent that he was able to make a recognizable sound the first time he played it.
So let’s not complain about a game that encourages kids to become music fans and, in our son’s case, gives them the basic skills needed to learn how to play guitar.
1.What’s Bill Wyman’s attitude towards music video games?
A. CuriousB. Approving.C. Negative.D. Unconcerned.
2.Which statement is TRUE about Jack’s first playing with a real electric guitar?
A. He did it successfully.
B. He taught his friends how to play.
C. He didn’t know how to play along to a song.
D. He didn’t know how to strum the instruments.
3.What can we infer from Jack’s case?
A. Parents should encourage their kids.
B. Computer games are harmful to kids.
C. Kids should learn an instrument.
D. Guitar Hero is a useful game.
4.What’s the best title for the text?
A. A new computer game
B. The story of a guitarist
C. In defense of Guitar Hero
D. The best way to play guitar
It was on the early afternoon of a mid-October day in 2012. Bismark Mensah, who came to America several months ago, was collecting carts (手推车) outside a Walmart in Federal Way. It was a part-time job for him. He earned $9.05 an hour in charge of getting carts out of the parking lot.
He was used to finding stuff in carts that customers had somehow forgotten — keys, credit cards, wallets. And he turned them into a customer service. But a particular item stood out. It was a white envelope with a clear window in the middle, and there was a lot of cash in it, around $20,000. Mensah turned them into customer services.
Because of what he did that afternoon, Mensah is now the winner of Walmart’s national 2013 “Integrity(正直) in Action Award”.
Bismark Mensah says that since the story ran, he has become the model the youth in Ghana (his native country).
He is now employed full-time at the Federal Way Walmart, earning $10.95 an hour, up from the $9.05 an hour he earned working part-time.
Mensah, 33, no longer collects carts and such. He is in the backroom, dealing with inventory(库存). “I want to learn everything about operating a store like Walmart store,” he says. He plans to return to Ghana to run some shops owned by his family. He also plans to go to college and earn a degree in business administration.
1.What does Mensah do in Walmart now?
A. Collect carts.
B. Deal with inventory.
C. Checks out the groceries.
D. Ensures Walmart’s security.
2.What’s Mensah’s future plan?
A. To teach in college.
B. To run his own shops.
C. To earn a degree in arts.
D. To work in a big factory.
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Mensah comes from a poor family in Ghana.
B. Mensah can hardly make himself understood in America.
C. Mensah will help set up some Walmart branches in Ghana.
D. Mensah has set an example for the youth in his own country.
4.What lesson can we learn from the story of Mensah?
A. It’s never too late to learn.
B. Don’t judge by appearance.
C. Honesty is a valuable quality.
D. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
假如你是李华，你的美国笔友David想了解你高中第一学年的情况。请根据下列所提示的信息给他写一封回信。
1. 感叹时间过得快；
2. 学习上的得与失；
3. 学校生活：交友，课外活动等。
注意：
1. 100字左右；信的开头和结尾已给出，不计入总字数。
2．可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear David,
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
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What about your school life？Would you like to share it with me? I’m looking forward to your reply.
Yours,
Li Hua
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 Mr. Johnson,
I’ve learned from a newspaper that some clerks are wanting in your company. I am eager to being one of them. So I am writing the letter. My name is Zhang Hua. I was born in the Hebei Province and I am in good health. I’ve just graduated in the Computer Department of Wuhan University. I did very good in all subjects and I am especial good at computer studies and English. I can read science books in English and doing some writing in English as well. Beside, I know a few French. And in my spare time, I enjoy playing basketball. As is said that your company is very famous and I’ll very glad if you let me work for it. My telephone number is 027-89276628．I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.
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。
Once a year, a race is held for old cars. A lot of cars entered for this race last year and there was a great deal of 1. (excite) just before it began. One of the most handsome cars was a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. 2. most unusual car was a Benz 3. had only three wheels. 4. (build) in 1885, it was the oldest car taking part. After a great many loud explosions(轰响), the race began. Many of the cars 5. (break) down on the way, so some drivers spent 6. time under their cars than in them! A few cars, 7. , completed the race. The winning car reached a speed of forty miles an hour — much faster than any of 8. (it) rivals. It sped downhill at the end of the race and the driver had a lot of trouble 9. (try) to stop it. The race gave everyone a great deal of pleasure. It was very different 10. modern car races but no less exciting.
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。
Dropping into hopelessness completely, Jack wandered on the streets, knowing he came to the end of life. In his mid-fifties, Jack had never been ________, experienced the joy of having children or spent holidays with his family. On this miserable（悲惨的）rainy night, he felt as if there was ________ in the entire world who cared whether he lived or died.
Meanwhile, I was sitting in my room watching the rain ________ my window. When I heard the doorbell ring, I ________ from my chair and raced out. But my mother was already at the door. Opening it, she found herself face-to-face with a very dirty-looking man with tears streaming down his face. My mother, overcome by ________, invited the man inside, and he sat with my parents in our living room．
________, I walked secretly downstairs so that I could get a better look. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but the sight of the man, ________ his head in his hands and crying, made my chest ache. I raced back upstairs to my room and ________ my hand into my money jar. Pulling out my only half-dollar coin, I ran back downstairs.
When I reached the door of the living room, I walked right in. The three ________ looked at me in ________ as I quickly made my way over the stranger. I put the half-dollar in his hand and told him that I wanted him to have it. Then I gave him a ________, turned and ran as fast as I could out of the room and back upstairs. I felt excited but happy.
Downstairs, Jack sat quietly with his head ________. Tears streamed down his face as he ________ held that coin. Finally looking up at my parents, he said, "It’s just that I thought nobody cared. For the last twenty years, I have been so ________. That is the first hug I have ever got. It’s hard to believe that somebody ________”
Jack's life changed that night. When he left our house, he was ________ to live instead of die. Although we never saw Jack again, we received letters from him ________, letting us know that he was doing fine.
My life changed that night, too, as I ________ the hug healing (治愈) power of giving, even if it’s only a gift of fifty cents. Before Jack left, my parents asked him why he had knocked on our door. Jack said that ________ he'd walked along the streets that rainy night, ________ and ready to die, he had noticed a sticker on the car. It read: SOMEBODY LOVES YOU.
1.A. employedB. understoodC. managedD. married
2.A. anybodyB. somebodyC. nobodyD. everybody
3.A. approachB. beatC. breakD. cover
4.A. jumpedB. ranC. lookedD. settled
5.A. fearB. anxietyC. guiltyD. pity
6.A. CuriousB. AnnoyedC. ExcitedD. Worried
7.A. shakingB. noddingC. holdingD. resting
8.A. adjustedB. reachedC. presentedD. pushed
9.A. strangersB. neighborsC. visitorsD. adults
10.A. angerB. delightC. funD. surprise
11.A. hugB. smileC. kissD. handshake
12.A. raisedB. bowedC. ignoredD. turned
13.A. calmlyB. tightlyC. impatientlyD. privately
14.A. anxiousB. lonelyC. stressedD. bored
15.A. makesB. figuresC. caresD. deserves
16.A. flexibleB. likelyC. disappointedD. ready
17.A. occasionallyB. at once
C. hardlyD. never
18.A. hidB. informedC. assistedD. saw
19.A. asB. beforeC. untilD. unless
20.A. weakB. ashamedC. helplessD. regretful
