In the last few years the popularity of eBooks has exploded．The advantages are clear：You can carry as many books with you as you want．You can simply download every book you like and instantly start reading instead of having to wait for the book to arrive by mail．
However，one thing hadn't changed．If you wanted to rent a book you were still forced to use hardcopy books．Until now that is, Amazon．com recently announced the start of a new program where you can rent eBooks．
Where to rent eBooks？
As mentioned before，Amazon．com is the first and currently the only retailer (零售商) that has a program in place for renting eBooks． Luckily，Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world and their eBook assortment (分类) is massive．They are also the producer of the Kindle，the most popular eReader，which means you can be sure that the eBooks you rent will work．
You can currently only rent eTextbooks．But this is likely to change as soon as word gets out that you can save money by renting eBooks.
Why rent eBooks at Amazon?
* Save money：Save up to 80% of the normal price of the eBook．
* Decide how long you rent：From 30 days to 360 days，you decide how long you want it．You can extend the time by as little as a day．Or simply buy the eBook if you want to keep it after all．
*Use any device：If you rent an eBook from Amazon，you can read it on your PC，Mac，iPad，iPhone，Android device，Windows Phone 7．Blackberry．or Kindle．
* Keep your notes：Do you like to keep annotations (注释) and highlights in your eBooks？Don't worry．You can always revisit your notes and highlights through Amazon．com．
How to rent eBooks？
Simply search for the eBook you want to rent on Amazon．com and select the "Rent eBooks" option. After that，a new page will open where you can select how long you’d like to rent the eBook．You can read eBooks for a period of 30 to 360 days．
You decide how long you need the eBook．If you later find out you need it for longer, you can simply extend the time．Or buy it for the normal price whenever you want.
Once you've chosen the time you want to rent the eBook，you simply go to checkout．Or you can use the "Rent now" button．
1.According to the passage, ________.
A．eBooks will be changed into other types by Amazon．com
B．eBooks will replace hardcover books in the next few years
C．readers are able to rent eBooks only at Amazon．com now
D．readers get a discount of at least 20% of the normal price
2.To rent an eBook online，which of the following goes last?
A．Open a new page. B．Select the "Rent eBooks" option.
C．Press "Rent now" button. D．Choose a rental date.
3.The main purpose of the passage is to ________.
A．discuss and assess B．inform and explain
C．compare and evaluate D．describe and argue
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
My 16-year-old son, Anton, had gone to the local swimming hole． Most of the kids swim there, and there are plenty of rocks for them to use as safe harbors, so I had no fears for his safety．
Still, the firefighter's first words "You need to come up here to the Stillwater River" made me catch my breath, and his follow-up words gave me relief: “Your son is OK．”
When I got to the river, I immediately saw the firetruck, ambulance and Anton, wrapped with a towel about his shoulders, sitting quietly on a low platform of the fire engine．
I hurried over to him． "You OK?"I asked．
“Yeah,” was all he said． But my eyes begged for an explanation, I didn't get it from my son, however, who tends to play his cards close to his vest．
The story was this: A woman was being swept under water． Hearing the cries, Anton and his friend Tyler, without hesitation, swam out to her, and brought her safely to shore.
In an age in which the word "hero" is broadcast with abandon and seemingly applied to anyone who makes it through the day, I realized the real thing in my son. The teens are stubborn and self-centered, but that didn't mean they have no desire to do good.
Still shocked by my son's daring, I drove him home. Along the way, I tried to dig out some more information from him but he had precious little to say. The only words he said were, “What's for supper?”
I spent some time alone that evening, thinking about the tragedy that might have been. The next morning, when Anton got up, I half expected him to tell me the story. But all he did was toast some bread, pull himself together, and head for the door to start a new day. Watching from the window, I was reminded that still water often runs deep.
1.Why did the mother allow her son to swim there？
A．He was an excellent swimmer.
B．The water of the river is shallow.
C．The rocks can be of help if there's danger.
D．He was old enough to swim.
2.The underlined part "who tends to play his cards close to his vest" probably means ________.
A．Anton is unwilling to tell others what he thinks
B．Anton is a boy fond of swimming with other kids
C．Anton always has a desire to help others
D．Anton seldom changes his mind
3.In the mother's eyes, what her son did was ________.
A．dangerous but interesting
B．unexpected and courageous
C．meaningful but difficult
D．awful and absurd
4.What might be the best title for the passage?
A．A Proud Mother B．Anton, A Silent Boy
C．A Good Deed D．My Son, My Hero
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Sandra Bullock turned 51 last month. But because she looks exactly the same as she did in Miss Congeniality, a movie filmed back in the 20th century, everyone calls her “ageless.” Bullock is just one of a number of stars in their 40s and 50s who’ve had birthdays recently but have not gotten older, unlike the rest of us in their age group. Take Halle Berry. One website put a photo of her 20 years ago next to one of the newly 49-year-old Berry and dared us to choose which was which. “This Is What 49 Looks Like,” it said. Seriously, if that’s what 49 looks like, I must be 71.
However, even a generation ago, famous faces evolved. Look at a picture of Grace Kelly at age 52 in the early 1980s. She looks like a beautiful middle-aged woman. Today she’d look old for her age.
The goal now is to prevent aging while you are still young, using all the magical nonsurgical options medicine has to offer. Eventually these techniques will become less expensive, and ordinary people my daughter’s age will have them. Already anti-aging is starting to be considered maintenance, like coloring your hair. My friends and I find ourselves openly debating techniques that we used to make fun of. Does fat-freezing work? How much time do you have to spend in the gym to keep the body of a 35-year-old after 50? It’s all so exhausting. But members of the next generation have it tougher. They’ll have to ask themselves whether they want to spend their youth trying not to get old. I’ve already seen “Sexy at 70” headlines. Will everyone be expected to go to their graves(坟墓) looking hot?
I also have to wonder what else we are slowing along with age. How do you move on if you’re working so hard to stay the same? And besides, if you’ve known the ache of watching a daughter pack up for college, you know you can’t stop the clock.
1.In the author’s eyes, Sandra Bullock ________.
A. doesn’t deserve her name
B. doesn’t look her age at all
C. behaves like a young woman
D. looks younger than Halle Berry
2.The example of Grace Kelly is given to show ________.
A. physical beauty never lasts long
B. there is no such thing as agelessness
C. people’s attitude towards aging has changed
D. stars pay too much attention to their appearance
3.Where do the author’s concerns about anti-aging techniques lie?
A. They expose people to danger.
B. They make people feel stressful
C. They are too expensive for ordinary.
D. They encourage comparisons among people.
4.What’s the purpose of the text?
A. To show the burden of youth.
B. To offer tips on how to look hot.
C. To advise people to accept aging.
D. To comment on some famous stars.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
The deadliest Ebola outbreak in history that has so far killed almost 1000 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria in West Africa has caused fear around the world.
The outbreak is unprecedented（空前的）both in infection numbers and in geographic scope. Officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier this month the outbreak “is moving faster than our efforts to control it”, reported CNN. So far, the battle against the virus doesn’t appear to be slowing down.
The Ebola virus is terrifying no matter where it strikes: It’s a disease with no cure that causes headaches and fever, severe diarrhea(腹泻), vomiting and bleeding and has been known to kill up to 90 percent of its victims.
It is understandable for people to be panicked, but those living outside Africa shouldn’t be particularly concerned about contracting the virus, says a Washington Post article.
This is because transmission of Ebola requires direct contact with an infected person’s blood, vomit or other bodily fluids during the period that he or she is contagious(接触传染的). It is something that is extremely unlikely for anyone but healthcare workers. The virus is not spread by coughing or sneezing.
Media outlets in the US and the UK are using terrifying headlines, wrongly claiming that people infected with the virus have traveled to their countries.
James Ball at The Guardian says the Ebola outbreak in Africa is tragic, but it is important to keep a sense of proportion. Other infectious diseases, including common influenza, are far, far deadlier.
1.What does the author say about the Ebola outbreak in West Africa?
A. It has caused thousands of African deaths.
B. Its spreading speed is beyond people's imagination.
C. It has already traveled to the US and the UK.
D. The fight against it is slowing down.
2.The Ebola virus is terrifying because ________.
A. it cannot be cured at the moment
B. it is easily infected
C. it spreads faster than any other infectious disease
D. it has caused more deaths than other infectious diseases
3.The underlined phrase in the last paragraph means
A. keep a secret B. stay calm
C. keep silent D. stay away from it
4.What is the author's attitude towards people's panic?
A. Objective. B. Supportive. C. Doubtful. D. Understandable.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中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选项。
Fitting in fitness
Do you find excuses not to exercise? 1. Here are a few ways to get you going.
Do what you love.
The easiest way to fall into the habit of doing exercise is to choose an activity you enjoy — one that doesn't feel like exercise, even though it is. 2. If you play to your strengths, you’ll find fitness activities you can enjoy for years.
Choose your hour.
Studies have shown that people who work out in the morning are most likely to stick with a routine. By doing exercise before the day starts, they can avoid the last-minute scheduling conflicts. But if you’ re not a morning person, choose whatever time works best for you. 3.
Call it by another name.
4. If it's something you have to do anyway — like washing the car or planting some bushes in the yard — you’ll achieve two goals at once.
Partner up.
Exercise is more fun when you do it with others. 5. On days when your motivation is low, you’ re more likely to stick with the programme to avoid disappointing your exercise partners. You can also train with an expert. A personal trainer will help you set goals, design a personalized fitness programme, and vary your routine to keep it challenging.
A. Ask yourself: what am I good at?
B. Make fitness part of your social routine.
C. For example, you can join a running, walking, hiking, biking or tennis club.
D. If you’re in top form from noon to 1 pm, aim for a lunchtime workout.
E. Would you rather do anything else — even sort your socks or clean the fridge?
F. If a damp T-shirt is not your idea of a good time, try gentler forms of exercise.
G. Substitute some challenging household activity for the standard exercise routine.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
I sit outside of my daughter’s nursery school classroom, patiently waiting for her. When the door opens, my daughter runs out with a broad smile. She ________ the excitement of school.
“How was your ________?”I ask casually, while ________ wanting to hear every single detail. “It was so good, Mommy!” my daughter replies. That’s it. That’s all I ________.
On the car ride home, I ask her a lot of questions. She answers me with a few words, but never goes into much ________. Usually she tells me that she wants to ________ something else.
It has only been a few weeks, but I still find it so ________ that my daughter has a whole morning in school without me. I ________ ask the teachers for details and I am often provided with the same ________ answers that my daughter gives.
Now, three mornings a week, I close her classroom door behind me and she has her own ________. I am given some ________ of her days like apples glued onto paper trees and paint dirt under her fingernails.
I know she ________ this privacy and the time to ________ a new environment and meet different kids. ________, I can’t help but want to know about the details of her days. The ride home is the ________ time that she will provide me with some ________ about her morning.
When we pull into the driveway, I change the ________ to something else. I am sure that my constant questions annoy her, so I try to ________ them to the car ride after school.
I am ________ that my daughter doesn’t quite know our driving route yet; she can’t tell that I sometimes take the long way home, ________ we have those few extra minutes together.
1.A. learns B. adds C. misses D. enjoys
2.A. morning B. afternoon C. evening D. night
3.A. tiredly B. carelessly C. secretly D. suddenly
4.A. get B. need C. plan D. understand
5.A. study B. detail C. advice D. work
6.A. wait for B. prepare for C. worry about D. talk about
7.A. strange B. simple C. common D. practical
8.A. always B. just C. even D. never
9.A. satisfying B. funny C. short D. confusing
10.A. direction B. imagination C. influence D. experience
11.A. kindness B. excuses C. evidence D. challenges
12.A. promises B. achieves C. deserves D. ignores
13.A. remember B. explore C. choose D. consider
14.A. Then B. Again C. Also D. Still
15.A. only B. other C. second D. last
16.A. permission B. information C. devotion D. intention
17.A. interest B. rule C. conversation D. routine
18.A. take B. guide C. show D. limit
19.A. proud B. disappointed C. anxious D. grateful
20.A. although B. because C. so D. or
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
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。
It is not a secret 1. trees are vital to our life. They provide us with food, wood and most 2. (important), oxygen. Now there is one more thing we can add to this list—blocking out harmful bacteria from water.
The discovery 3. (make) by a team 4. (consist) of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and high school students 5. were seeking a natural water filter(过滤)—one that would help communities in developing countries that do not have 6. (accessible) to modern water filter systems.
The 7. (research), led by Professor Rohit Karnik, decided to turn8.______ trees for help, because they could allow liquid to flow through, while blocking out air bubbles.
They began by cutting 1.5-inch-wide sections of tree bark from the branches of a white pine tree. The people related then tested the wood’s filtering ability by pouring water containing red dye particles of different sizes through. To their 9. (amaze), they found that it was effective in trapping all the particles. Greatly 10. (encourage), the team conducted another experiment, this time with water that contained bacteria. Sure enough, the sapwood held back 99% of the bacteria, allowing only 1% to flow through.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
文中共有10处语言错误。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（\）。
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、每处错误极其修改均仅限一词；
2、只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I’m a student from Chongqing, China. I am write to keep you informing of something about the severe situation that finless porpoises, a kind of rare and lovely animal, are facing with presently.
It’s because of human activities that finless porpoises are endangered. It’s terrible that there are merely less than 1,000 finless porpoises live in China. However, it’s high time that immediate measures must be taken. Don’t you think so? If possible, how I hope you can help us by funding your project aiming at protecting finless porpoises! Under your financial aid, I am convinced fewer finless porpoises will survive. I would appreciate greatly if you could consider my application.
Looking forward to your early reply.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假定你是李华，本周你去拜访了你校的交换生Mike两次，可是他都不在家，请根据以下要点给他写一个留言条：
1. 你因家庭聚会，周日不能参加郊游；
2. 你邀请他两周后参加自己的生日聚会，有人去接，会提前给他电话。
注意：1 词数100左右
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯
3.开头和结尾已为你写好，但不计入总词数。
Dear Mike,
I called on you twice this week, but you were out.____________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
难度: 中等查看答案及解析