阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不少于1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Keeping a diary in English is one of the effective ways to improve our English writing abilities.
1. (compare) with other forms of writing, it is shorter and takes 2. time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English. 3. we persist in this practice, gradually we’ll learn how to express ourselves in English. In keeping a diary in English, we certainly run up against many difficulties. In the first place, it often happens 4. we have trouble finding appropriate words and phrases to give expression to our mind.5.(second), there are many idiomatic ways of saying things in Chinese, 6. it is extremely hard for us to put them into English properly.
As far as I am concerned, my 7. (suggest) is that we should always have a notebook and a Chinese-English dictionary within easy reach. Whenever something 8.(beat) us, we can first put it down in our notebook and then consult our dictionary. We can also turn to our English teacher for help, if necessary. In short, I believe that it is 9.great use to keep a diary in English for 10.development of our writing skills.
Mary was seven years old. Her parents recently moved to a new town, and so Mary was going to a __ school, which was a few kilometers from the house they lived in now. A school bus going around picked up ____ every morning and brought them back to their ____ every afternoon, and as both of Mary’s parents _____ to go to work, she always went on this bus.
Mary’s parents always ____ their alarm clock for seven o’clock so that none of them would be _____ . But one morning the alarm _____to go off, and it was not until a quarter past eight that Mary’s mother suddenly ___ , looked at the clock and said, “What’s ever happened to that clock?” and then _____ into Mary’s room to wake her up.
“I’m sorry, dear,” she said, “ ____ you’ll have to wash and dress very quickly, have an even ____ breakfast and then I’ll ____ you to school on my way to the office.”
“But how can you find the ____, Mum?” Mary said, “You’ve been to school only once.”
“Yes,” her mother answered, “but you’ve done the _____ several times now on the bus, so you can be my guide to get there, can’t you?”
“Oh, yes,” said Mary, “I suppose so.” She washed, and ____ and had a quick breakfast, and then they set off. Mary told her mother to turn each time they came to a place she___ .In this way she made her mother drive round most of the town ______ they got to her school. When they arrived, her mother saw that it was not really very far from her house.
“Why ever did you make me go such a long way round, Mary, instead of the most ____ way?” her mother asked her.
“Well, Mum,” answered Mary, “it was because I didn’t know ____ else to get here. That’s the way our bus always goes to ____ the other children to school.
1.A. big B. nice C. different D. distant
2.A. pupils B. teachers C. parents D. passengers
3.A. offices B. towns C. classrooms D. homes
4.A. seemed B. had C. refused D. used
5.A. found B. set C. cleaned D. fixed
6.A. late B. ready C. lazy D. asleep
7.A. started B. stopped C. failed D. continued
8.A. stood up B. stayed up C. put up D. woke up
9.A. rushed B. stepped C. escaped D. jumped
10.A. but B. and C. so D. then
11.A. later B. quicker C. easier D. heavier
12.A. bring B. fetch C. leave D. drive
13.A. truth B. bus C. way D. guide
14.A. homework B. shopping C. trip D. reading
15.A. rose B. dressed C. moved D. showed
16.A. wondered B. realized C. recognized D. designed
17.A. unless B. after C. if D. before
18.A. comfortable B. helpful C. important D. direct
19.A. how B. when C. what D. which
20.A. look for B. pick up C. drop by D. deal with
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余项。
Are you planning to study a course from a foreign university? Well, these tips for studying abroad will make you feel at home in a new city.
Learn about the university.
When you decide to study abroad, it is important to research well. 1. Instead, talk to people who have completed their studies from that country. This way you’ll get some real information about the university you’re applying for.
2.
The more you speak to people, the more you’ll end up driving the blues away. Communicating with others will truly be helpful. Not only will it make it easier for you to face personal interviews but also to interact with the local people and fellow students.
Keep a diary.
Most students feel that the time they spent abroad was the best time of their lives. What better way to keep those moments “alive” forever than by writing them down on a diary?3.
Be prepared for adjustments.
When you land up in a country with a culture that’s completely different from yours, chances are that you’ll experience some level of culture shock. 4. Consider your stay abroad as an opportunity to discover a new culture and learn new things.
Know what to do in an emergency.
5. Get the details of the U.S. Embassy, including the phone number, and register (登记）yourself and your family members with the U.S. Embassy. This way you’ll know whom to reach out to in case you’re in an emergency.
A. Ensure you have all the documents.
B. Develop good communication skills.
C. However, don’t let that discourage you.
D. Don’t just follow the advertisements blindly and choose the university.
E. Make sure that you know what to do in the face of emergency.
F. Keep in touch with your friends at home to avoid homesickness.
G. You 
can write down every little detail of the beautiful time when you study abroad.
Passenger pigeons (旅鸽)once flew over much of the United States in unbelievable numbers.
Written accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries described flocks (群)so large that they darkened the sky for hours.
It was calculated that when its population reached its highest point ,there were more than 3 billlion passenger pigeons—a number equal to 24 to 40 percent of the total bird population in the United States, making it perhaps the most abundant bird in the world. Even as late as 1870 when their numbers had already become smaller, a flock believed to be 1 mile wide and 320 miles (about 515 kilometers) long was seen near Cincinnati.
Sadly the abundance of passenger pigeons may have been their undoing. Where the birds were
most abundant, people believed there was an ever-lasting supply and killed them by the thousands.
Commercial hunters attracted them to small clearings with grain, waited until pigeons had settled to feed, then threw large nets over them, taking hundreds at a time. The birds were shipped to large cities and sold in restaurants.
By the closing decades of the 19th century ,the hardwood forests where passenger pigeons nested had been damaged by American’s need for wood, which scattered (驱散) the flocks and forced the birds to go farther north, where cold temperatures and storms contributed to their decline. Soon the great flocks were gone, never to be seen again.
In 1897, the state of Michigan passed a law prohibiting the killing of passenger pigeons but by then,
no sizable flocks had been seen in the state for 10 years. The last confirmed wild pigeon in the United
States was shot by a boy in Pike County, Ohio, in 1900. For a time , a few birds survived under human
care. The last of them, known affectionately as Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden on
September 1, 1914.
1.In the 18th and early 19teh centuries, passenger pigeons____.
A. were the biggest bird in the world
B. lived mainly in the south of America
C. did great harm to the natural environment
D. were the largest bird 
population in the US
2.The underlined word “ undoing” probably refers to the pigeons’ ____.
A. escape B. ruin
C. liberation D. evolution
3.What was the main reason for people to kill passenger pigeons?
A. To seek pleasure. B. To save other birds.
C. To make money. D. To protect crops.
4.What can we infer about the law passed in Michigan?
A. It was ignored by the public. B. It was declared too late.
C. It was unfair. D. It was strict.
Where to stay in Boswell? The following are some choices for you:
First Hotel. 222 Edward Road. Tel. 414-6433. Number of Rooms: 120.
Price: Single: $ 25; Doulbe $ 35;
Special attractions: Airconditioned rooms, French restaurant, Night club, Swimming pool,
Shops; Coffee shop and bar, Telephone, Radio and TV in each room, close to the city center.
Fairview Hotel. 129 North Road. Tel. 591-5620. Number of Rooms: 50.
Price: Single:$ 12; Double: $ 18;
Special Attractions: Close to the airport, Telephone in each room, Bar, Restaurant, Garage, Swimming-pool.
Orchard Hotel. 233 Edward Road. Tel.641-6641. Number of Rooms: 150.
Price: Single: $ 15; Double: $ 20;
Special Attractions: Facing First Hotel, European restaurant, Coffee shop, Dry-cleaning, Shops, TV, Night-club.
Osaka Hotel. 1264 Venning Road. Tel. 643-8206. Number of Rooms: 180.
Price: Single: $ 30; Double: $ 50.
Special Attractions: Air-Conditioned rooms, Japanese and Chinese restaurant, Shops, Swimming pool, Large garden.
1.The number of the room in Osaka Hotel is :
A. 50 B. 120 C. 150 D. 180
2.If a Japanese traveller likes to eat in French restaurant, _______ is the right
place for him to go to.
A. 233 Edward Road B. 1264 Venning Road
C. 222 Edward Road D. 129 North Road
3.Which hotel faces the Orchard Hotel?
A. The First Hotel B. The Osaka Hotel
C. The Fairview Hotel D. No Hotel
4.If you want to book a cheapest single room, which number wil
l you call?
A. 414-6433 B. 591-5620
C. 641-6641 D. 643-8206
A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter, since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that costs $5, 000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.
A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality as she wanted a pair of earrings made. "Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?" said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, "I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl."
The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.
Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse." “I don’t like to part with it." she said sadly, I got it from my mother, and, my mother got it from her’s. But I really need the money.
The jeweler was quickly to pay her before she changed her mind .Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news .The man, however, was nowhere to be found. The jeweler immediately realized the whole thing.
1.Actually, the man wanted to buy another pearl for _____.
A. himself B. his wife
C. no one D. his mother
2.He paid $5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because______.
A. he wanted to make the jeweler believe him
B. he was very rich.
C. his business had been successful
D. he was anxious to get it
3.He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be______.
A. exactly the same quality as the black one
B. exactly the same size as the black one.
C. exactly the same as the black one
D. exactly worth $25,000
4.The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.
A. he happened to be ou
t
B. he died suddenly
C. he wouldn’t show up until the jeweler called him a second time
D. he got $20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money
