I was selfish as a teenager. I usually spent my time thinking about myself and taking care of my own needs. I let my older brother do most of the work around the house until he left for college. I let my Mom and Dad worry about our bills and problems while I read books, played, and lost myself in my own imagination. This didn’t change even when I went to college either. I studied hard but only to make my own life better. Even when I started to explore my faith and spirituality, it was only to increase my own happiness.
I married after graduation and decided to start a family. Of course, I had no idea what hard knocks reality had in store for my selfish soul. Soon I found myself unemployed, deeply in debt, and with a new baby on the way. I found out that life has little sympathy for spoiled people. In fact, all of the struggles I was going through were beating the selfishness slowly out of me.
Still, I didn’t give up on happiness. I knew that there must be a way to find it. I finally realized, however, that it had to include more than just my own needs, wants, and desires. The answer began to make itself clear one night shortly after my baby boy was born. I got a bottle and held him in my arms. As I was feeding him I looked down and saw his big, innocent, trusting eyes. I smiled and talked to him. Then he smiled and I could feel my heart growing, expanding with love. I felt such peace and joy. At that moment I had a hint of the truth: it is by growing our hearts with love that we find our happiness.
Carolyn Arends wrote: "The more people you let into your heart, the bigger your heart gets. The more love you get, the more love you have to give. It just keeps growing." So, keep loving, keep living and keep caring. Keep growing your heart today, tomorrow, and always.
1.What do we know about the author from the first paragraph?
A. He often helped his brother with housework.
B. He studied hard for his family.
C. He put his own needs above others’.
D. He was concerned about his family.
2.What did the author realize after he suffered in life?
A. Spoiled people can’t survive the hardship of life.
B. Life is cruel to spoiled people.
C. Spoiled people are never happy in life.
D. Selfishness is helpful.
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A. The author loved kids.
B. The author often fed his baby.
C. The author realized the importance of happiness.
D. When caring for his baby, the author got inspired.
4.Which can be the best title of the passage?
A. Loving Others , a Way to Happiness
B. The Elder One Grows, the More He Gets.
C. Help Others , Help Oneself
D. Keep Growing to Live a Happy Life
假定你是李华。英国交换生Lucy 发现红色在中国使用很广泛，她想更多地了解我国对红色的使用情况。请根据提出给她写一封信，内容包括：
1.我们对红色的理解 2.经常使用红色的场合3.不宜使用红色的场合
注意：1.词数100左右2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯3.信的开头和结尾已为你写好。
Dear Lucy,
I’m Li Hua _______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
单词拼写，每空一词
1.As an ordinary person, my idea may never be measured or _______(欣赏)。
2.She has _____(射杀) the wolf wounded.
3._______(承认) that you can’t remember someone’s name can actually make people relaxed.
4.have kept a collection of ____（纪念品）of my holidays for a beautiful memory.
5.Don’t drink drinks _____(含有) alcohol.
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处错误，每句中最多有两处。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（Λ），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。
I have never been to a cooking school. I learned cooking from my mother because she was really interesting in teaching me how to cook. The main reason for this was because my mother didn’t know how to cook something when she got married.
My grandmother never allowed her stay in the kitchen. At the age of 25, my mother started cooking, it was very hard for her. Therefore, she had to take a few cooking class to prepare our meals. After having that experience, she has decided to teach me how to cook.
I remember I always help my mother when I was with her in the kitchen enjoy cooking. Nowadays, I am thank for that experience.
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。
All the customers who went to the new supermarket had one strong wish to be the lucky customer who did not have to pay 1. her shopping, for the notice inside the entrance 2.(say), “Remember, once a week, one of our customers gets free goods. This may be your lucky day!”
For several weeks, Mrs. Edwards hoped to be one of the lucky 3. (housewife) like many of her friends. She never gave up hope. Cupboards in her kitchen 4. (fill) with things that she didn’t need at all. She dreamed of the day 5. the manager of the supermarket would say to her with a smile, “ Madam, this is your lucky day. Everything in your basket is free.”
One Friday afternoon, after she had finished shopping and had taken it to her car, she found that she 6. (forget) to buy some sugar. She rushed 7. to the supermarket, got the sugar and went towards the cash desk. As she did 8., she saw the manager of the supermarket come up to her and said, “ 9. (congratulate)! You are the 10. (lucky) among all the customers this week and everything in your basket is free!”
Long long ago, there was a small village．This village had a ___ tradition．At the beginning of every year, any boy who had reached the age of majority (成年) was given land and money to build a home．The boy had to _____his home before winter．If his home failed to endure the cold weather in winter, the villagers could not______ him in any way．
One ___, Paul and Marc reached their majority．They ____ their land and money and decided to search nearby villages for ideas on building their homes．In each village, they found the nicest ______and talked to the owners．Each owner gladly offered _____．
After Marc saw several homes, he _____the best ideas and went back to his own land．Paul, ____, continued collecting more ideas．Soon he had so many great ideas that he began to ____ some of them．But he always believed he could find even better ideas in the next village．
Marc began building his home．He had several false starts, ____ his home gradually rose from his land．By fall, Marc had finished his home．It wasn't perfect，but it was strong and he could ____it later. Paul enjoyed all the beautiful homes and____with home owners．The first snow came and Paul, realizing he was running out of time, _____back to his land．He built the best home he could in the time he had, but it was___．The first winter storm destroyed his home and he froze to_____．The villagers mourned for him．
Marc____ the winter．Each year, Marc searched for other good ideas he could use to make his own home look better．He became a leader in the village, _____a family, and lived a happy, content life．
We all build and improve our own mental homes．It’s _____ and fun for us to search for ideas from other mental home owners, but we only improve our own mental home if we actually ___ the best ideas．
1.A. strange B. hopeful C. literary D. cultural
2.A. find B. make C. complete D. buy
3.A. help B. encourage C. scold D. persuade
4.A. winter B. summer C. autumn D. spring
5.A. exchanged B. received C. recognized D. advice
6.A. girls B. jobs C. houses D. presents
7.A. rooms B. drinks C. attention D. advice
8.A. expected B. gathered C. created D. understood
9.A. similarly B. finally C. however D. furthermore
10.A. forget B. believe C. replace D. doubt
11.A. because B. although C. but D. so
12.A. repair B. rebuild C. sell D. improve
13.A. conversations B. achievements C. struggles D. arguments
14.A. drove B. rushed C. flew D. moved
15.A. weak B. funny C. small D. amazing
16.A. blindness B. death C. sadness D. illness
17.A. experienced B. loved C. survived D. spent
18.A. brought B. earned C. contacted D. raised
19.A. slow B. easy C. dangerous D. special
20.A. realize B. bring C. collect D. apply
