Starting a new school term is always exciting. It is a chance 1. (see) your friends again. But most exciting of all, the new term lets you take up new hobbies. In Britain, it is common for students to take up new hobbies after the Christmas holidays. Most schools offer different kinds 2. hobby classes. Students 3. (usual) take them in their free periods or after school. Some classes you have to pay for but some 4.(be) free. For example, I once took a free Wednesday evening gymnastics class 5. is offered by my school. But when I learnt how to play the drum, my parents had to pay for the lessons.
The most popular extra classes at my school were piano lessons and drama club. Students with many hobbies sometimes felt more stressed 6. those without any. But the students with hobbies left school with many extra 7. (skill). I haven’t continued any of the hobbies I 8. (begin) at school. But I have never regretted taking 9. (they). My 10. (good) friend today is someone I met in my gymnastics class.
My father was a professional music teacher. He ____ teaching Hawaiian and Spanish guitar, as well as the accordion (手风琴). My mother was a ____ piano player and, in fact, the whole family was very ____. I was the only one who had not been involved, yet, in ____ to play a musical instrument.
And, as a lot of ____ do, I was enrolled(注册) in ____ lessons even though I had no interest at all in learning how to play it. So it ____ . Lesson after lesson I stood but rebelling(反对) at the ____ it took to practice—I’d rather have been outside playing with my friends. Finally, I just ____ practicing and my piano teacher told my parents that I was ____ . Great—no more piano lessons.
Now, I was free from practicing piano, but my parents ____ desired that I learn a musical instrument. The long and short of it was this: I wasn’t ____ at this time, nor did I want to learn an instrument that they ___ for me. I guess I was a bit headstrong but, at the same time, I ____ what I wasn’t interested in.
The musical story doesn’t end here. ____ goes on where I decided what I wanted to learn, to play and that ended up being the drums. I ____ playing the drums and went on to play in several ____ for many years after that.
If you are not ____ to do something no matter how much someone else wants you to do it, you won’t do it. ____ , at the very least, you will certainly not put your heart and soul into it and will surely ____ . We all make choices sooner or later but those choices cannot be forced on you with any success.
1.A. specialized in B. stuck to C. stood for D. depended on
2.A. limited B. determined C. skilled D. devoted
3.A. thankful B. musical C. peaceful D. practical
4.A. pretending B. managing C. promising D. learning
5.A. schools B. relatives C. families D. hospitals
6.A. piano B. drum C. accordion D. guitar
7.A. remained B. followed C. changed D. started
8.A. money B. time C. chance D. patience
9.A. quit B. denied C. risked D. kept
10.A. fearless B. helpless C. hopeless D. useless
11.A. also B. still C. never D. even
12.A. surprised B. worried C. excited D. interested
13.A. picked B. bought C. repaired D. invented
14.A. thought B. explained C. forgot D. knew
15.A. He B. I C. It D. She
16.A. finished B. loved C. minded D. avoided
17.A. bands B. classes C. stadiums D. squares
18.A. suitable B. necessary C. anxious D. ready
19.A. Besides B. However C. Or D. Instead
20.A. happen B. fail C. appear D. exist
The old-fashioned birthday card is out of date.1. Sometimes, simple well-wishes on Facebook or a birthday email is enough. But sometimes we want a more creative way.
2. Online greeting cards are available at a variety of websites. They will allow you to customize(定制) the card with a personal message before sending it to your friend.
3. In New York, Mrs.Fields offers delicious cookies of various sizes with custom-printed message on the label. 4. You can also print out your own label. This idea could also work with a great bottle of wine.
If you only have time to stop by a store, you could send your friend a “Happy Birthday” balloon. It’s also popular NYC tradition to greet a friend at work with a Happy Birthday.
The possibilities for wishing someone a Happy Birthday are endless. There are many more original ways to share your birthday wishes. 5.
A. You can send an online greeting card.
B. You can also send a greeting message with a mobile phone.
C. Another more creative way is through writing on baked goods.
D. New ways to wish your friend a Happy Birthday are replacing it.
E. Your friend gets both a nice bottle of champagne(香槟) and your personal message.
F. What a great pleasure to enjoy the champagne at your friend’s birthday party.
G. A friend’s birthday is a chance to be creative and to show that you think of them.
Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it，and to go in to their offices or schools every day by train，car or bus，even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening.
One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent. With the same money，one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one’s own.
Then，in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses，one can sleep better at night and during weekends and on summer evenings，one can enjoy the fresh，clean air of the country. If one likes gardens，one can spend one’s free time digging，planting，watering and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then，when the flowers and vegetables come up，one has the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature.
Some people，however，take no interest in country things：for them，happiness lies in the town，with its cinemas and theatres，beautiful shops and busy streets，dance halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional walk in one of the parks and a fortnight’s (two weeks) visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want：the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night.
1.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. People who like country things prefer to live outside the city.
B. People who work in London prefer to live in the country.
C. Because of certain disadvantages of living outside London，some people who work in London prefer to live inside London.
D. Because of certain advantages of living outside London，many people who work in London prefer to live outside London.
2.One can use the same money for________ to buy a little house with a garden in the country.
A. getting a small flat with a garden
B. having a small flat with a garden
C. renting a small flat without a garden
D. buying a small flat without a garden
3.When the flowers and vegetables in the garden come up，those________ have the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature.
A. who live in the country
B. who have spent time working in the garden
C. who have a garden of their own
D. who have been digging，planting and watering
4.People who think happiness lies in the town would feel that________ if they had to live it outside London.
A. their life was meaningless
B. their life was invaluable
C. they didn’t deserve a happy life
D. they were not worthy of their happy life
After a serious accident ended his snowboarding career, Kevin Pearce is starting over and looking to a new future.
Kevin Pearce has no memory of the crash that brought his snowboarding career to a sudden stop. On December 31,2009, he was training for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Park City, Utah, when he fell and hit his head on the edge of the halfpipe(U型管).
Luckily, he was wearing a helmet. Doctors say it saved his life. But he suffered a brain injury that affected his vision, balance and memory. He spent four months recovering in hospitals. He still can’t recall several weeks of his life after the accident. What he does remember is watching the Olympics on TV and seeing Shaun White win the gold. “It was hard lying there in the shape I was in, watching those guys do amazing tricks,” admits Pearce, looking through thick glasses. They keep him from seeing double.
Today, Pearce’s focus is getting his health back to 100%. So far, he has made progress in his physical therapy(治疗). A year ago, he couldn’t walk straight. Now, not only can he walk, he can drive again, too.
Pearce says his speedy recovery is the result of his fans, his friends and mostly, his family. His mother, Pia, says her youngest son’s positive attitude helped too. “I knew Kevin was going to find a way to be OK. ”
Those days, Pearce is back on the snowboarding circuit, instead of performing tricks, though, he’s commenting on them from the broadcasting booth(小房间). He still longs for competition. But he understands the danger of another fall.
1.The main purpose of the text is to _________.
A. stress the importance of a strong will
B. explain the meaning of fair competition
C. advise people to live a healthy life
D. introduce one popular winter sport
2.Kevin Pearce say nothing about the accident because he _______.
A. has no memory of the accident
B. isn’t allowed to say anything about it
C. lost the power of speech in the accident
D. doesn’t want to recall the terrible experience
3.The underlined word “they” in Paragraph 3 probably refers to _________.
A. Pearce’s friends
B. other players
C. Pearce’s thick glasses
D. other players’ tricks
4.What can be inferred from Pearce’s mother words?
A. She is very worried about her son’s health
B. She has confidence in her son’s recovery
C. She is thankful to her friends and relatives
D. She regrets she can’t help her son recover
I grew up in a big family—five brothers, three sisters and I –with just enough of all the right part to make a childhood well remembered. It was a very strict upbringing.
On the first day of my second grade, my father asked me if I could read well. “Yes, I can,” I said. So he gave me a hand-draw map with street names and directions on how to walk to school. The school was three miles away, and I had never been there by myself.
He handed me the map and my lunch box and said, “Don’t stop and don’t turn back.” I was standing, scared, but he kissed me goodbye and sent me out of the door. On my way to school, I couldn’t help crying, but I continued to walk. I didn’t know how long it would take me to get there, or how many fearful and anxious moments I would have, but I do remember forever how I felt when I came around the last corner, and saw my school.
My heart was filled with relief and joy. I made it! I wished I could tell my father right then that I had made it. When he got home, he said to me, “Hi, did you have fun?” I murmured, “Yes,” and waited for him to ask what had happened, but he never did.
Years later, I finally got the courage to ask him why he did that and why he didn’t care about what had happened. He just looked at me for a few minutes and then said, “I didn’t have to ask you, because I knew. I followed you the whole way. I saw you jump up and down at the last street corner. I felt what you felt.” Then I understood and cried.
1.According to the passage, how many children does the author’s father have?
A. Five B. Three
C. Eight D. Nine
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE on the first day of the author’s second grade?
A. The author asked her father’s permission to go to school on her own.
B. The author’s father gave the author lots of directions and guidance before he let her go to school alone.
C. The author cried because she couldn’t see her father and lost her way.
D. The author felt relieved and joyful when she finally reached school by herself.
3.We can know from the passage that __________.
A. the author misunderstood her father at first
B. the author hates her father because he was too strict with her
C. the author’s father didn’t care about the author’s feelings at all
D. the author’s father regretted for what he had done to his daughter
4.What does the passage mainly want to tell us?
A. Living in a big family is not good at all.
B. Parents’ love for their children is often unnoticed.
C. Children cannot grow up under parents’ protection.
D. We should be brave enough to accept challenge at a young age.
