Americans drove more miles in 2015 than any year since the U.S. government started keeping records 45 years ago. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDT) recently reported that Americans drove a record of 3.148 trillion miles last year. In case you are wondering, that is enough to take 337 round trips from Earth to Pluto.
There are a number of reasons why Americans are driving more miles. The social experts agree that the first is the price of gas, which has dropped to the level of the year 2004 in the past year. The American Automobile Association (AAA) said that the average price of gas was just $1.71 a gallon. That could be the lowest price since 2004.
P.J. Sriraj, a director of the Urban Transportation Center at the University of Chicago, notes that the lower cost to fill up a car is just one reason. Another reason is that more Americans are back to work after the 2008 economic recession, and they drive to their jobs.
Besides, more Americans have to travel a long distance every day between home and the office. There are a lot of Americans who must travel more than 45 miles per day for their jobs. And as for many, there is not enough public transportation.
Because of the heavy traffic, roads are becoming more and more crowded. While modern cars are more fuel-efficient, the improvement is not enough to offset more cars on the road. “There is no doubt that driving more will make the air dirtier,” said P.J. Sriraj. And many Americans showed a great concern in a recent survey.
1.The USDT report shows that in 2015 ________.
A. Americans drove record-breaking miles
B. Americans drove 3.148 trillion miles a day
C. Travel to Pluto was popular with Americans
D. The government began to record driving miles
2.P.J. Sriraj thinks the reason why Americans drove more miles is ________.
A. the low prices of gas and cars B. the 2008 economic depression
C. the Urban Transportation Center D. more people’s coming back to work
3.What makes many Americans worried?
A. Having to drive far to work. B. Having no public transportation.
C. Too many cars’ pollution of the air. D. Small improvement of modern cars.
4.How is the whole passage developed?
A. By explaining causes. B. By giving examples.
C. By following time order. D. By making comparison.
The human athlete has a special trick that no other animal has. It is called self-talk. Athletes talk to themselves to warm up, to focus and to help themselves believe they will win. A few simple words like “I can do it!” and “It is now or never!” can make the difference between winning gold or not.
Self-talk is also used by speakers, actors and other performers. Before a speech, politicians believe that their words will win votes. And, self-talk helps students stay calm even when stumped by hard exam questions. Self-talk is a life skill you can use wherever you are, whenever you need it.
The whole idea of talking to themselves seems strange to many people. Imagine your teacher saying, “For homework, talk to yourself for half an hour tonight.” You might think he is playing a joke on your class. Instead, adults teach kids all about talking to other people. There are many books on why, when, what and how to communicate with the rest of the world. Thus, you can grow up knowing a lot more about people around you than about yourself.
It is good to speak and listen to others. But there is great value in making time to listen to yourself. When you do, you get to know yourself better. Along the way, you may discover the power you have for using words well.
Such ideas are so exciting to psychologists that they have been trying to learn more about self-talk. In the study, people found certain lost items at home more easily when they talked to themselves while searching for the things.
1.By saying “It is now or never!”, the athlete means that “________”.
A. the time is valuable B. it is possible to win gold
C. I must try my best to win D. it is never too late to learn
2.What is the main idea of paragraph 2?
A. Self-talk makes a speech wonderful.
B. Self-talk is helpful for different people.
C. Self-talk helps the students pass the exam.
D. Self-talk is especially important for performers.
3.Why do many of us learn less about ourselves?
A. We don’t like doing the homework.
B. We don’t know how to talk to ourselves.
C. There are no books about ourselves.
D. We spend too much time in learning other people.
假设你是李华，于2017年3月25日搭乘国外某航空公司航班（flight number BA793）回国后，发现遗失了一个行李箱（suitcase）。现请用英文给该航空公司写一封信，请他们帮你寻找。
新建要点包括：
1.陈述写信原因；
2.简要描述该行李
3.说明其重要性
4.期待回复并表示感谢。 注意：1.词数100左右；2.信件格式已为你给出。
Dear Sir/Madam,
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
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（∧），并在此符号下面写出该加的词。
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。
It is no doubt that health is the most important thing in our life.As a Chinese proverb go, “Health is blessing”.Should we be always ill in bed, how can we enjoy life?
To keep healthy, we must develop a healthy way of life.First of all, we should keep on doing sports on a regularly basis, because it can strengthen both our body and mind, refresh ourselves and making us work more efficiently.Secondly, we must keep balanced diet to provide our body with various nutrition we need, but we should refuse junk food.Remember, it is through the mouth where diseases enter into our body.Thirdly, a good sleep is also vital to our health.Stay up too late at night often results in poor health.As middle school students, we need better sleep to do better in our lessons.
阅读下面材料，在题后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。
Louis Armstrong, the most influential jazz musicians, is considered great not only because of his1. (achieve) but also because of his personalities.
2.(bear) in a poor family in New Orleans in 1901, instead of3.(commit) crimes to get money like some boys in his situation, Louis would sing on the streets in order to earn a few cents from4.(passer-by).However, at the age of 12, Louis was arrested because of firing a gun into the air at a New Year’s Eve party.In a school of problem boys, he was taught to play drums and the trumpet,5. enabled him to find work related with music after he left the school.A well-known musician Joe “King” Oliver noticed Louis and began to teach him about jazz.When Oliver left New Orleans in 1917，Louis took 6.his job in one of the best bands in town.
After becoming famous, Louis would introduce his particular style of jazz to enthusiastic audiences while 7.(travel) around the United States as well as Europe.Apart from being a famous jazz musician, he was also an unofficial goodwill ambassador who spoke8.(public) about the rights of black people in America. Despite the fact9.he became rich and famous, Louis Armstrong continued to live a simple live in a working-class neighbourhood.He continued playing and recording until July 6th, 1971, when he died in his sleep at his home in New York.He is still remembered as the most10.(distinguish) musician in the early history of jazz.
Do you hate to get your hands dirty? When I see my 10-year-old son______the dirty plates in the sink or my 8 year-old daughter cringing(畏缩) at the wet sand clinging(黏住) to her hands, I am reminded of a time when I was ______to get my hands a little dirty.
My parents owned a 500-acre _______in Montana when I was young.I’d often come home from school to find a/an _______lamb or a calf being bottle-fed in the basement.One exceptionally cold day, I was the ______ sheep with my mother in the ranch when she spied a ewe(母羊) _____.The poor thing was trying to ______ her baby lamb and needed our help.My mother calmly held the ewe’s head and _______me to grab hold of the two protruding(突出的) legs.
I hesitated, and must have had quite a look of ______ on my young face.The slimy little things were ______ not something I wanted to touch.But I worked up my _______and wrapped my fingers around them.I can still recall the feel of ______ the delicate legs and their sharp little hooves(蹄子) as of it happened yesterday.
My heart beat in fear and excitement as I ______ with all my strength.The lamb was delivered with an outpouring, and I’d never seen ______ so beautiful.I was no ______ to see ranch animals being born, but to have a hand ______ it was something I cherished then and will cherish forever.
Looking back, I’m so glad that I didn’t _______to get my hands dirty.______ I had, the miraculous moment and the precious memory would have been lost.These days I try to instill(灌输) that life lesson into my own ______ .Sometimes you need to get your hands a little dirty to experience something ______ and pure.
1.A. throwing B. wasting C. washing D. avoiding
2.A. unwilling B. willing C. thrilled D. content
3.A. garden B. ranch C. yard D. field
4.A. newborn B. energetic C. strong D. fierce
5.A. watching over B. spying on C. checking on D. picking out
6.A. in peace B. in silence C. in operation D. in trouble
7.A. raise B. bear C. feed D. hug
8.A. requested B. commanded C. instructed D. guided
9.A. panic B. anxiety C. delight D. excitement
10.A. almost B. possibly C. definitely D. approximately
11.A. affection B. patience C. confidence D. courage
12.A. unbearable B. unexpected C. unfortunate D. uncomfortable
13.A. dragged B. rolled C. pushed D. pulled
14.A. nothing B. anything C. something D. everything
15.A. stranger B. specialist C. reporter D. acquaintance
16.A. in B. on C. over D. at
17.A. hesitate B. tend C. refuse D. bother
18.A. Even if B. When C. Unless D. If
19.A. relatives B. children C. friends D. colleagues
20.A. embarrassing B. confusing C. entertaining D. amazing
