Which came first, the chicken or the egg? This is one of life’s ______ questions and people have been debating about it for thousands of years. Now scientists believe they have solved this ______. Researchers from Sheffield and Warwick Universities in England discovered the answer ____. They used a super computer to observe the shell-making process while a new shell was ____. Then they found one protein called OC17 that is ______ for forming eggshell. This is only found inside a chicken’s body, which is proof that the ______ came first. The team was ______ looking at how animals and birds make eggshells but suddenly made their surprising ______. The big question now is where chickens came from. The ______ is from dinosaurs.
The research team said eggshells are one of nature’s most ______ creations. Professor John Harding from the team told reporters: “Understanding how chickens make eggshells is fascinating in itself, but it can also be _____ in designing new materials.” Eggshells are very lightweight but incredibly strong. Even the most up-to-date materials _____ by the world’s top engineers cannot produce anything as ______ as an eggshell. Professor Harding added that ______ eggshells could help to cure bone diseases and design materials for the construction industry. “Nature has found wonderful ways that ___ for all kinds of problems in materials science and technology — we can learn a lot from them.” he said.
1.A. strangest B. best C. oldest D. Closest
2.A. puzzle B. fact C. history D. opinion
3.A. on purpose B. by chance C. without hesitation D. at work
4.A. breaking B. changing C. disappearing D. Forming
5.A. necessary B. easy C. kind D. impossible
6.A. egg B. eggshell C. chicken D. dinosaur
7.A. obviously B. originally C. thoughtfully D. surprisingly
8.A. invention B. mistake C. statement D. discovery
9.A. answer B. research C. road D. egg
10.A. common B. ridiculous C. funny D. amazing
11.A. interesting B. helpful C. normal D. correct
12.A. bought B. cut C. designed D. carried
13.A. brilliant B. ordinary C.1ight D. small
14.A. finding B. watching C. studying D. making
15.A. happen B. work C. wait D. Look
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Have you ever asked yourself why children go to school? You will________1.________(probable) say that they go to learn languages，arithmetic，history, science and some other knowledge．That is quite true；but why do they learn these things?
We send our children to school to prepare them for the time ________2.________they will be big and will have to work for________3.________．Nearly everything they study at school has some practical use in their life．But is that ________4.________only reason why they go to school?
There is more in education than just________5. (1earn)facts．We go to school to learn how to learn，so that when we have left school we can continue to learn．A man________6.________ really knows how to learn will always be successful，because when he has to do something new, he will not only be able to do it well himself, he will also be able to teach others ________7.________ to do it in the best way．The 8.________(educate)person，on the other hand，is either unable to do something new，or just________9.________(do) it badly．The purpose of schools，therefore，is not to teach languages，arithmetic，history science，etc．，________10. to teach pupils the way to 1eam．
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
单句填空：(共15题，满分15分)
1.The most important days are the ________ that we spent in America.
2.According to my judgement, neither he nor you _________(come) from America.
3.I missed the early bus this morning. That was ________I came late for class.
4.__________ is well-known, Tai Wang Island is part of China.
5.We wonder _________ the students have finished their homework.
6. The present situation makes _______ difficult for us to accomplish the task on time.
7.Your composition is not as interesting as ________(I).
8.Shanghai is larger than any _______ city in Asia.
9.Only after Jack returned_________ I learn about the truth.
10.We will go to see the movie no mater _______ hard it rains.
11.Tom has studied Chinese in the school________ the year of 2000.
12. ________ the help of my teacher , I caught up with the other students.
13.It was the third time that he _________(make)the same mistake.
14.A new teaching building ______________(build) in our school now.
15.He was made ________ ( do )his homework.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
While I was in my 4th month of pregnancy (妊娠期) with my second child, we were preparing for a trip to Louisiana, where Marshall’s family live, to celebrate Jane’s 2nd birthday. Two days before we were to leave, we got the shocking news that I was going to lose the baby. Not knowing when this would happen, we decided to continue with our trip.
Since Marshall’s family lives on a 600-acre cattle farm, you often find that you have a lot of time to yourself to think when you are there. That is precisely what I did not want to do at this time. I told Marshall that I needed to get a good book to get lost in while I was there. I told him I heard the Harry Potter books were good, so he went out and got the first one for me.
During that trip, I totally got lost in the book, which was of great help during a time when I needed a distraction to forget about the sadness. In the book, I noticed the name “Seamus”. I vaguely remembered it was pronounced “Shamus” and I liked the sound of that. I mentioned it to Marshall and he liked it too. Toward the end of the trip, I had just 5 chapters left and I knew I was about to finish the first book, which I was pretty excited about.
Soon after we put Jane down to bed, I had started labor (分娩), so I was unable to read. The labor lasted 5 and 1/2 hours, but Marshall stayed there with me, sitting beside me and reading aloud the last 5 chapters of Harry Potter. I can never fully explain how much that helped me through the experience. And ever since then, Marshall and I both have been fans of the Harry Potter books. We remember how they helped us get through that time of our lives.
We were sad to have lost the baby, but the name Seamus started our journey toward adoption. And we gave this name to our adopted son. Though our Seamus doesn’t have a drop of Irish blood in him, the name fits him perfectly.
1.Why did the writer want a good book during the trip?
A. Because the trip to Louisiana would take a long time.
B. Because she didn’t want to think of losing her baby.
C. Because she had nothing else to do except reading.
D. Because a good book could help her enjoy her trip.
2.According to the story, we can know that the Harry Potter books _________________.
A. made the family’s trip more exciting
B. include five books all together
C. have someone called Seamus in them
D. can help people deal with their problems
3.The writer named her son Seamus because ___________________.
A. she wanted to keep her trip in memory
B. she loved this name very much
C. her son doesn’t have Irish blood
D. it is a perfect name for a boy
4.Which of the following is TRUE about the couple?
A. They planned their trip after getting the shocking news.
B. They thought the cattle farm was too large to do anything on.
C. They felt excited when they almost finished the trip.
D. They liked reading Harry Porter very much after the trip.
5.Which is the best title for the passage?
A. Funny Stories Of My Family B. Seamus And Harry Potter
C. How We Got To Louisiana D. How My Son Got His Name
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
With large and small keyboards everywhere, neither children nor adults need to write much of anything by hand. That’s a big problem. Study after study suggests that handwriting is important for brain development — helping kids get fine motor skills and learn to express and create ideas. Yet the time devoted to teaching penmanship in most schools has shrunk to just one hour a week. Is it time to give up handwriting? Have a look at the link between the brain and penmanship, and you may get the answer.
A test among students in grades 2, 4 and 6 found that they not only wrote faster by hand than by keyboard, but also created more ideas when composing essays with handwriting. And other research shows that the finger movements required to write by hand activate brain areas involved with thought, language, and short-term memory.
A recent Indiana University study had one group of children practice writing letters by hand while a second group just looked at those letters. Then, both groups of kids entered a functional MRI (核磁共振) that scanned their brains as the researchers showed them the same letters. Researchers found that the brain activity in the first group was far more advanced and “adult-like”.
Handwriting also affects other people’s way they think of adults and children. Several studies have shown that the same average essay will score much higher if written with good penmanship and much lower if written out in poor handwriting. These studies have also found that people judge the quality of a person’s ideas based on his or her handwriting. And the consequences are real: On standardized tests with handwritten sections, like the SAT, all essay that is considered hard to recognize gets a big zero.
Studies show that this isn’t only an English-language phenomenon. Chinese and Japanese youths are suffering from “character amnesia”. They can’t remember how to write characters, thanks to computers and text messaging. Some experts fear that Chinese writing and reading are so closely linked in the brain that China’s reading ability as a nation could suffer.
1.According to the passage, it can be learned that ________________.
A. many researches have been done on handwriting
B. essays can’t be composed without handwriting
C. all children write faster by keyboard than by hand
D. most schools are trying to teach more handwriting
2.What does the Indiana University study imply?
A. Children should practice writing letters
B. Handwriting can increase brain activity
C. It’s good for children to enter a functional MRI.
D. Letters should often be shown to children
3.What does the 4th paragraph mainly talk about?
A. Handwriting affects both adults and children.
B. Handwriting helps a person write better essays.
C.SAT should be done with good handwriting.
D. Good handwriting makes a person seem smarter.
4.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Essays written with keyboards will get lower scores.
B. The quality of your ideas depends on your handwriting.
C. Chinese and Japanese youths don’t know how to write.
D. Less handwriting may affect China’s reading ability.
5.The passage tries to tell us that __________________.
A. keyboards are more popular than handwriting
B. we shouldn’t judge people by their handwriting
C. handwriting is of great importance
D. it’s time to give up using keyboards
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Most American schools have boys and girls in the same classroom. But a public high school in the small, rural town of Boonsboro, Maryland, offers a special program called the Academy. Top students in the ninth and tenth grades can attend single-sex classes for math, science, English and social studies.
The aim is to help teenagers keep their mind on their work by keeping males and females apart. What they really want to do is take that top group of kids and take them to the very highest level they can achieve there, so that they’re prepared for college.
Students are invited to enter this program after they finish middle school, and placement in the Academy is voluntary. However, they need high marks and test scores and strong teacher recommendations. They also need to be involved in activities.
Almost 350 students have taken part in the Academy. It began as an experiment in 2010.
Michael Bair has been at Boonsboro High for twenty years and directs the Academy. His ninth-grade English class for boys centers on books that he believes boys find interesting. He says that the novels the students are reading now are very manly (男子气概的) novels. These novels deal with the arrogance (傲慢) of man and the pride of man which finally leads to man’s downfall.
One of those books, for example, is The Call of the Wild by Jack London. This classic story tells of a dog stolen from his home and sold to work as a sled dog in Canada’s Klondike Gold Rush.
Morgan Fleet, a senior at Boonsboro High, likes being in the Academy. She says boys and girls act differently when they are together in a classroom. She believes this difference seems to prevent her from developing herself because she’s more focused on thoughts like “Oh, I wish they would shut up. Oh, what do they think of me?’’ instead of focusing on “What’s the homework? What’s going on in this class? What’s the lesson?”.
There is one activity that girls and boys in the Academy do together. At the end of the day, many of them stay and help tutor students who are having trouble in school.
1.What is the purpose of the Academy program?
A. To offer a special program in high school.
B. To help students concentrate on study.
C. To strengthen sex education for teenagers.
D. To start learning college courses earlier.
2.To enter the Academy program, students are NOT required to _________.
A. do well in their study B. be recommended by teachers
C. take part in some activities D. have worked as volunteers
3.The Call of the Wild is given as an example to show that male students ___.
A. should learn more about literature
B. should have a sense of protecting the wildlife
C. are reading more manly novels
D. are interested in stories on animals
4.Which is likely to be Morgan Fleet’s opinion?
A. A girl cares about the boys’ opinions of her.
B. Single-sex classes should be stopped.
C. Girls are more focused when studying with boys.
D. Boys and girls act the same in separate classrooms.
5.The passage is intended to _________.
A. introduce the single-sex class project
B. explain the differences between boys and girls
C. persuade students to enter the Academy program
D. urge students to work hard in their study
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Whether in the workplace or on the football field, effective teamwork can produce amazing results. However, working successfully as a team is not as easy as it may seem. Effective teamwork certainly does not just happen automatically; it takes a great deal of hard work and compromise. There are a number of factors that must be in place to make a good team.
Effective leadership is one of the most important components of good teamwork. The team’s leader should possess the skills to create and preserve a positive working environment and motivate and inspire the team members to take a positive approach to work and be highly committed. An effective team leader will promote a high level of spirit and make them feel supported and valued.
Communication is a vital factor of all interpersonal relationship and especially that of a team. Team members must be able to articulate their feelings, express plans and goals, share ideas and see each other’s opinions.
Conflicts will arise no matter how well a team functions together. The best way to deal with conflicts is to have some organized methods of handling conflicts. Team members should be able to voice their concerns without fear of offending others. Instead of avoiding conflict issues, a hands-on approach that settles them quickly is much better. It is often advised that the team leader sit with the conflicting parties and help work out their differences without taking sides and trying to remain objective if possible.
The team leader must set a good example to create good teamwork. In order to keep team members positive and committed and motivated, the team leader herself / himself needs to show these qualities. The team turns to the leader for support and guidance. So any negative words or behaviors on the leader’s part can be disastrous.+X+K]
Regardless of what type of work you are in, knowing how to effectively work on and with a team is going to be extremely important to your success and that of your team.
1.Effective leadership is important partly because _________.
A. it helps a leader to develop lots of skills
B. it makes a leader feel supported and valued
C. it creates a positive working environment
D. it depends on interpersonal relationship of a team
2.The underlined word “articulate” probably means _________.
A. hide B. feel C. express D. plan
3.When conflicts arise among team members, the team leader should ________.
A. worry about the team members B. ignore the team members’ voices
C. try to avoid conflict issues D. work out their differences
4.To become a good team leader, you have to __________.
A. be positive and committed B. set up a good team
C. look for support from the team D. avoid natural disasters
5.Which is the best title for the passage?
A. Football And Teamwork B. What Makes Effective Teamwork
C. Handle Conflict In A Team D. Communication And Teamwork
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下列应用文及相关信息,并按照要求匹配信息。请将答案填涂在答题卡标号为46～50的相应位置上。
以下是几本新书的简要介绍：
A. London Alive
This author of many famous novels has now turned to writing short stories with great success. The stories tell of Londoners’ daily lives and happen in eighteen different places——for example, one story takes place at a table in a cafe, another in the back of a taxi and another in a hospital.
B. The Last Journey
John Reynold’s final trip to the African Congo two years ago unfortunately ended in his death. For the first time since then we hear about where he went and what happened to him from journalist Tim Holden, who has followed Reynold’s route.
C. The Missing Photograph
Another story about the well-known policeman, Inspector Manning. It is written in the same simple but successful way as the other Manning stories——I found it a bit disappointing as I guessed who the criminal was halfway through!
D. Gone West
A serious look at one of the least-known regions of the United States. The author describes the empty villages which thousands left when they were persuaded by the railway companies to go west in search of new lives. The author manages to provide many interesting details about their history.
E. The Letter
The murder of a television star appears to be the work of thieves who are quickly caught. But they escape from prison and a young lawyer says she knows who the real criminals are. Written with intelligence, this story is so fast-moving that it demands the reader’s complete attention.
F. Free at Last
Matthew Hunt, who spent half his life in jail for a crime he did not do, has written the moving story of his lengthy fight to be set free. Now out of prison, he has taken the advice of a judge to describe his experiences in a book.
以下是几个有着不同阅读爱好的购书人，请匹配与之对应的书名：
1.Ali enjoys reading crime stories which are carefully written so that they hold his interest right to the end. He enjoys trying to guess who the criminal really is while he’s reading.
2.Monica is a history teacher in London. She enjoys reading about the history of people in other parts of the world and how events changed their lives.
3.Silvia likes reading true stories which people have written about themselves. She’s particularly interested in people who have had unusual or difficult lives.
4.Daniel is a computer salesman who spends a lot of time travelling abroad on planes. He enjoys detective stories which he can read easily as he gets interrupted a lot.
5.Takumi doesn’t have much free time so he reads short stories which he can finish quickly. He likes reading stories about ordinary people and the things that happen to them in today’s world.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
【写作内容】
你叫Jack,由于父母到中国工作，暂时寄读于某所中学。在学校食堂用餐一段时间后，你觉得有必要向学校食堂管理处反映一些问题，于是决定给管理处的黄先生写封信，信中包括如下内容：
1.学校食堂的优点：食堂干净,饭菜可口,服务员总是衣着整洁、面带微笑,服务态度好。
Dear Mr. Huang,
I’m Jack, a student in Class 2, Senior 3. I’m writing to tell you my opinions and expectation of the school canteen.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Thanks for your consideration.
Sincerely yours,
Jack
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。
Mountain climbers around the world dream about going up Qomolangma, the highest mountain in the world. But many people who have climbed the mountain have left waste material that is harming the environment.
A team of Americans is planning the largest clean-up effort ever on Qomolangma. They will make the risky trip up the mountain next month.
The team of eight Americans will be guided by more than twenty Sherpas of Nepal(尼泊尔夏尔巴人). Their goal is to remove all the rubbish they see. They will spend two months cleaning up the mountain by gathering oxygen bottles, fuel containers, batteries, drink cans, human waste and all kinds of disposable products(一次性产品). They are expected to remove at least three tons of rubbish in large bags.
Team leader Robert Hoffman is making his fourth trip up the mountain. He says he hopes to bring Qomolangma to the condition it was in before the first successful climb fifty years ago. He says he hopes the effort will influence other people to clean up the environment closer home.
Disposable products on Qomolangma are a major concern. So the clean-up team will take along newly developed equipment to collect and treat disposable products. Over the years, the disposable products have polluted the mountain. In the warm season when the ice melts, the polluted water flows to Nepali villages below. The problem has gotten worse in recent years because climbing Qomolangma has become more popular.
【写作内容】
1．以约30个词概括短文内容要点；
2．以约120个词就 “Cleaning the World”这个主题写一篇短文，并包括如下要点：
（1）你所居住的地方周围存在怎样的环境问题？
（2）你认为这个问题是什么造成的？
（3）为帮助解决这一问题，你做了什么？
【写作要求】
1.可以使用亲身经历或虚构的故事，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不得直接引用原文中的句子；
2.作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称
【评分标准】
概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，语篇连贯。
难度: 中等查看答案及解析