假定你是李华，计划暑假间去英国学习英语，为期六周。下面的广告引起了你的注意，请给该校写

封信，询问有关情况（箭头所指内容）

   注意：1．词数100左右；

      2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

      3．参考词汇：住宿-accommodation

假如你是某外国语学校的学生李华，最近你校在为一批来自澳大利亚的交换生征寻寄宿家庭(host family)。你有意申请，请用英语给外籍校长写一封信，推荐自己的家庭。内容包括:

1．介绍你的家庭情况;   2．陈述你申请的理由; 2-3条  3．希望得到这个机会。

注意:  1. 词数120左右, 开头和结尾已经写好, 不计入总词数;

    2. 可以适当增加细节, 以使行文连贯。

Dear sir,

I am Li Hua. I’m writing to apply to be one of the host families for the exchange students.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Looking forward to your early reply.

                                                       Yours,

                                                                                                                                          Li Hua

Did you see snow in your hometown last winter? Did you feel it was warmer than before?" There have been 21 warm winters in China since 1986," said scientists. They also said that in the past 100 years, as the global (全球的) temperatures went up by 0.74 °C , the temperature in North China has climbed 1.4 °C in only 50 years. China needs to take quick action to cut carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) emission (排放),because it's the main reason for global warming. The good news is that China has seen the importance of going green. China set the goal of cutting energy use by 20 and pollution emission by 10 in the 11th Five-Year Plan Can you slow global warming? Sure! You and your family can take steps to cut the amount of carbon dioxide that is sent out into the air.

Here are some pieces of advice to help you save the earth. Wear used clothes. Wearing your brother's, sister's or dad's old T-shirt means you save the energy. Change your light bulbs (灯泡). Use energy-saving light bulbs. And don't forget to turn off the lights when you leave a room and turn off your television and computer when they are not in use! Ride the bus. Taking a bus saves a lot of oil every year. Say no to plastic bags. The next time your parents go to the market, ask them to use baskets。 Open a window. Don't use the air conditioner (空调), and let some fresh air in. When you have to use the conditioner, set the temperature higher in the summer and lower in the winter to save energy Make small changes in your daily life. Don't use paper cups, bags and boxes.

It's time for all of us to do something to save the earth.

1. The main reason for global warming is ____.

A. the oil                               B. carbon dioxide

C. paper cups, bags and boxes              D. televisions and computers

2. The word "energy" in the second paragraph means "_______"

A. 活力         B. 干劲            C. 精力                 D. 能源

3. How many pieces of advice are there in this passage?

A. Three.         B. Four             C. Five.             D Six

4. The passage is mainly about the ways to ____.

A. slow down global warming              B. make energy

C. change our daily life                 D. change the world weather

1．If I remember ________(correct), he’s Spanish.

2．I think I should say a few words of __________________ (encourage) to those who do not win any prizes this time.

3．—It was ___________ (embarrass) that I made several pauses in my speech.

  —Forget it. After all, it was your first speech.

4．Please refer to the ____________ (instruct) before you switch on the engine.

5. When you are in an interview, it is important to make a good _____________ (impress) on the interviewers.

6．It's bad _____________ (behave) for a man to smoke in the public places

where smoking is not allowed.

7．It's difficult to be  ________________ (patience) when we're stuck in a

traffic jam, but we have to be.

8．I really appreciate your ________________ (offer) to drive me home，but I

am afraid that I have to finish my work first now.

9．Our bodies are strengthened by exercise；_____________(similar), our

minds are developed by learning.

10．You should take your job __________ (serious) now that you have taken it.

Some 30,000 years ago, artists who lived in caves in Europe painted pictures of the animals around them: panthers, hyenas, rhinos, cave lions, mammoths and other creatures which have been extinct for a long time. The paintings were highly realistic. Some even showed movement.

The artwork, more than a thousand drawings, is considered the oldest group of human cave drawings which have ever been discovered. They were preserved because the cave was sealed---closed off--for more or less 23,000 years.

Fast forward to December 18, 1994, a group of French cave scientists were exploring caves in southern France. Jean Marie Chauvet, who led the group then, describes the process of discovering the cave paintings. “At that time I was in the front, Eliette just walked behind me, Christian behind. Eliette said she saw two marks made with red ochre and she said, ‘They came here.’ And at this very moment everything began. The drawings and everything linked to the parietal art(壁画). That is where it is started.”

Cave art expert Jean Clotttes reviewed the paintings. “I was amazed at the number of paintings there were and paintings of their quality and particularly in front of the panel of the horses.”

Scientific analysis confirmed the prehistoric date of the artwork. Studies showed the drawings were created tens of thousands of years ago, before human history was written. The United Nations’ cultural agency UNESCO lists the cave as a World Heritage Site. They say that the drawings form a remarkable expression of early human artistic creation of grand excellence and variety.

The Chauvet Cave has been named after the explorer who first entered it. However, its environment and drawings are too fragile to be visited by human beings. So the cave is closed, and only people there for scientific purposes can go inside and see the artwork.

However, French authorities asked experts to create an exact copy of the cave, called Pont d’Arc Cavern. The copy, which we also called replica, cost more than 59 million dollars to build. It opened at the end of April in France.

Pascal Terrasse is the president of the cavern. He says everyone will be able to experience the thrill of looking at drawings made by the first humans in Europe. He says the place is magic because it is done so well. Authorities say they think as many as 400,000 people will be allowed to visit Pont d’Arc Cavern every year.

24. According to Jean Clottes’ words in Paragraph 4, the paintings in the cave were _______.

A. abstract                B. superior                    C. creative           D. inspiring

25. Which of the follow statements is TRUE about the Chauvet Cave?

A. It was closed off for more than 30,000 years.

B. It is thought to be the origin of modern parietal art.

C. The environment and artwork there are very easy to damage.

D. The majority of drawings there are about the extinct animals.

26. The purpose of creating Pont d’Arc Cavern is to _______.

A. show admiration for the earliest artists in Europe

B. arouse visitors’ awareness of protecting ancient art

C. offer visitors chances to view the wonderful artwork

D. collect money for the perseverance of the Chauvet Cave

        In some ways, the United States has made some progress. Fires no longer destroy 18,000 buildings as they did in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, or kill half a town of 2,400 people, as they did the same night in Peshtigo, Wisconsin. Other than the Beverly Hill Supper Club fire in Kentucky in 1977, it has been four decades since more than 100 Americans died in a fire.

But even with such successes, the United States still has one of the worst fire death rates in the world. Safety experts say the problem is neither money nor technology, but the indifference(无所谓) of a country that just will not take fires seriously enough.

American fire departments are some of the world's fastest and best-equipped. They have to be. The United States has twice Japan's population, and 40 times as many fires. It spends far less on preventing fires than on fighting them. And American fire -safety lessons are aimed almost entirely at children, who die in large numbers in fires but who, against popular beliefs, start very few of them.

Experts say the error is an opinion that fires are not really anyone's fault. That is not so in other countries, where both public education and the law treat fires as either a personal failing or a crime. Japan has many wood houses; of the 48 fires in world history that burned more than 10,000 buildings, Japan has had 27. Punishment for causing a big fire can be as severe as life imprisonment.

In the United States, most education dollars are spent in elementary schools. But, the lessons are aimed at too limited a number of people; just 9 percent of all fire deaths are caused by children playing with matches.

The United States continues to depend more on technology than laws or social pressure. There are smoke detectors in 85 percent of all homes. Some local building laws now require home sprinklers (喷水装置). New heaters and irons shut themselves off if they are tipped.

21．The reason why so many Americans die in fires is that _____.

A. they took no interest in new technology 

B. they did not pay great attention to preventing fires

C. they showed indifference to fighting fires 

D. they did not spend enough money on fire equipment

22．It can be inferred from the passage that______.

A. fire safety lessons should not be aimed only at American children

B. American children have not received enough education of fire safety lessons

C. Japan is better equipped with fire equipment than the United States

D. America's large population leads to more fires

23．Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. There has been no great fire in the USA in recent 40 years that leads to high death rate.

B. There have been several great fires in the USA in recent 40 years that lead to high death rate.

C. There has been only one great fire in the USA in recent 40 years that led to high death rate.

D. The fire in Kentucky in 1977 made only a few people killed.

A 9-foot and 7-inch bronze statue titled Giddy-Up, Daddy was set up, in memory of Family Circus creator Bil Keane.

Jeff Keane, Bil’s youngest son, who took over work in the Family Circus, used to say,“As long as the family was together, we would be happy. Maybe that was the secret to what my dad did with his cartoon.” He added, “Paradise Valley and Scottsdale were important; we grew up here. My parents used to drive past here constantly. Our parents loved the Arizona life. So, we would get to put a statue here.”

The statue came to Scottsdale by way of Paradise Valley on the second anniversary of Keane’s death. He lived in Paradise Valley for more than 50 years, creating his famous comic strips(连环漫画)as well as raising his five children with his wife in their home north of Lincoln Drive.

The comic is modeled on his family, featuring characters of childhood innocence：Billy, Dolly, Jeffy and P.J.

Former Paradise Valley mayor Ron Clarke, said Bil Keane was always the go-to guy for anything the town needed—from helping create the Mummy Mountain Preserve to using his art to help raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims in Mississippi. “He was always so influential in town,” Clarke said.

Bronzesmith gallery director Kathy Reilly said this bronze statue was the first combination of animation(动画)and realism, which shows the emotions of joy, family and love.

“We found out how many people’s lives were touched by Bil Keane, not only through his cartoons but also through personal contact he had with so many people,” Reilly said.

Bil Keane and his family moved to Paradise Valley in 1958, and two years later, his comic strips began appearing in newspapers across the country.

After seeing one of Rick Kirkman’s comic strips, Keane sent a letter to Rick Kirkman, co-creator of the comic strip, stating, “you have a winner.”

“Those few words fed us for years, and fueled our enthusiasm and persistence. Never did so few words encourage us so much.” Said Kirkman.

24. Where is the statue most probably located?

A. In Paradise Valley.              B. In Scottsdale.

C. In Lincoln Drive.                D. In Mummy Mountain Preserve.

25. What do we know about Bil Keane’s comic strips?

A. They are based on the Arizona life.                  

B. They are modeled on five children.

C. They began to come out in newspaper in 1960.      

D. They were the combination of animation and realism.

26. What information can we get about the statue?

A. It is 9-foot and 7-inch in height.                                 B. It was built at the request of comic fans.

C. It was set up immediately after Bil Keane died.         D. It travelled many places before it was located.

27. How did Kirkman feel on hearing “you have a winner”?

A. He couldn’t hide his envy of Bil.                                 B. He was fed up with the behavior of Bil.

C. He felt more enthusiastic and determined.[来           D. He was pleased with his works and himself.

 It was not until he came back _______he knew the police were looking for him.

A．which    B．that     C．since　   D．before

Everywhere I look outside my home I see people busy on their high-tech devices, while driving, walking, shopping, even sitting in toilets. When connected electronically, they are away from physical reality.

 People have been influenced to become technology addicted. One survey reported that “addicted” was the word most commonly used by people to describe their relationship to iPad and similar devices. One study found that people had a harder time resisting the allure of social media than they did for sleep, cigarettes and alcohol.

 The main goal of technology companies is to get people to spend more money and time on their products, not to actually improve our quality of life. They have successfully created a cultural disease. Consumers willingly give up their freedom, money and time to catch up on the latest information, to keep pace with their peers or to appear modern.

 I see people trapped in a pathological (病态的) relationship with time-sucking technology, where they serve technology more than technology serves them. I call this technology servitude. I am referring to a loss of personal freedom and independence because of uncontrolled consumption of many kinds of devices that eat up time and money. 

 What is a healthy use of technology devices? That is the vital question. Who is really in charge of my life? That is what people need to ask themselves if we are to have any chance of breaking up false beliefs about their use of technology. When we can live happily without using so much technology for a day or a week, then we can regain control and personal freedom, become the master of technology and discover what there is to enjoy in life free of technology. Mae West is famous for the wisdom that “too much of a good thing is wonderful.” But it’s time to discover that it does not work for technology.

 Richard Fernandez, an executive coach at Google acknowledged that “we can be swept away by our technologies.” To break the grand digital connection people must consider how life long ago could be fantastic without today’s overused technology.

29.【小题1】 The underlined word “allure” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______.

  A. advantage          B. attraction                    C.       adaption           D. attempt

30.【小题2】 From the passage, technology companies aim to ______.

  A. attract people to buy their products            B. provide the latest information

  C. improve people’s quality of life                D. deal with cultural diseases

31.【小题3】 It can be inferred from this passage that people ______.

  A. consider too much technology wonderful 

  B. have realized the harm of high-tech devices1111]

  C. can regain freedom without high-tech devices

  D. may enjoy life better without overused technology

32. 【小题4】What’s the author’s attitude towards the overusing of high-tech devices?

  A. Neutral.           B. Skeptical.          C. Disapproving.         D. Sympathetic.

Phrases like “good sharing!” and “great job on the slide!” echo across American playgrounds. Coaches pass out ribbons to every participant. Scholar publishes a series called “I’m Special!” assuring readers that the ability to play with friends and sing songs makes them special indeed. We’ve been told that high self-esteem is the key to children’s happiness and success, and we’ve been praising and protecting them ever since. But has the self-esteem movement gone too far? Many experts argue that instead of raising healthy high achievers, maybe we’re raising a generation of narcissists(自我陶醉者). “Our old concepts of self-esteem(自尊) are old-fashioned, and parents need to send the concept to the trash heap of all things outdated and useless,” says Aaron Cooper, co-author of I Just Want My Kids to be Happy.

While experts used to blame low self-esteem for everything from bad grades to criminal behavior, research has shown that inflated(膨胀的)self-esteem is more often the criminal. An article called “Rethinking Self-Esteem” by Roy made a stir when he supposed that criminals and drug abusers actually had higher self-esteem than the general population. Martin and Ervin found that the modern habit of constant praise was turning kids skeptical and unmotivated. And esteemed child development expert T. Barry recently wrote in The New York Times that the phrase “self-esteem” had lost its meaning. Parents just want their children to have a positive self-image. And while it’s easy to make fun of the extremes of the self-esteem movement, it’s difficult to walk the fine line between acquiring self-respect and self-centeredness. Anyway, make it clear that while you have expectations for their behavior, you love and accept them unconditionally. True self-esteem isn’t about a steady stream of applause; it develops when children know their limits and responsibilities are given enough opportunities to challenge themselves, and feel secure that they’re loved even when they fail.

29. What’s the purpose of using phrases like “good sharing!” and “great job on the slider”? _________

A. To attract readers’ attention.            B. To introduce the topic.

C. To give the author’s opinion.                     D. To tell readers the key to happiness and success.

30. According to the text, which of the following statements is true?____________

    A. Children with high esteem are likely to be high achievers.

    B. In children’s development high self-esteem plays a positive role.

    C. High self-esteem makes kids motivated nowadays.

    D. High self-esteem does harm to kids in a way.

31. The proper way to develop children’s true self-esteem is to            .

A. give them constant praise unconditionally.    

B. let them shoulder all their responsibilities.    

C. offer them support even though they fail.    

D. have high expectations for their behavior.

During the cold winter days, there are some interesting festivals in the world. Look at the following ones.

Harbin Ice and Snow Festival

Place: China

Time: January 5 to February 5

People build incredible things out of ice and snow, decorating them with lights.

The Carnival of Venice

Place: Italy

Time: between February and March

One of the most beautiful festivals in the world, people wear masks and elaborate costumes to hide differences among classes, and there are contests for the best costumes.

Holi Festival

Place: India

Time: late February/March, on the last full moon day.

Hindus and Sikhs, in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka celebrate the main day of this incredibly fun 16-day festival by throwing colored powder and water at each other.

Sundance Film Festival

Place: Utah, the US

Time: end of February

The largest independent film festival in the US. Watch both feature films and shorts. You need to buy a ticket.

1. Which country will you go if you like watching movies?

A. America    B. China

C. India    D. Italy

2. Which festival may you go If you want to see sculptures made of ice?

A. Sundance Film Festival.    B. The Carnival of Venice.

C. Holi Festival.    D. Harbin Ice and Snow Festival.

3. When can you enjoy Holi Festival?

A. In early January    B. In late February

C. In early March    D. In late January.

   下图是学校英语网站的新增部分栏目，网站负责人Mr. Black就此向同学们征询意见。假如你是李华，请你根据以下提示用英语给Mr. Black写一封E-mail。

E-mail主要内容包括：

 1．最喜欢的栏目及理由；

 2．你建议增加的栏目及理由。

注意：

1．词数100左右，开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

3．参考词汇：栏目--column

Dear Mr. Black,

I am glad that there will be some new columns in our English website. __________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________-

       Deserts are found where there is little rainfall or where rain for a whole year falls in only a few weeks' time. Ten inches of rain may be enough for many plants to survive (存活)if the rain is spread throughout the year, If it falls within one or two months and the rest of the year is dry, those plants may die and a desert may form.   

   Sand begins as tiny pieces of rock that get smaller and smaller as wind and weather wear them down. Sand dunes (沙丘) are formed as winds move the sand across the desert. Bit by bit, the dunes grow over the years, always moving with the winds and changing the shape. Most of them are only a few feet tall, but they can grow to be several hundred feet high.

   There is, however, much more to a desert than sand. In the deserts of the southwestern United States, cliffs (悬崖) and deep valleys were formed from thick mud that once lay beneath a sea more than millions of years ago. Over the centuries, the water dried up. Wind, sand, rain, heat and cold all wore away at the remaining rocks. The faces of the desert mountains are always changing –-very, very slowly ---as these forces of nature continue to work on the rock.

     Most deserts have a surprising variety of life. There are plants, animals and insects that have adapted to life in the desert. During the heat of the day a visitor may see very few signs of living things, but as the air begins to cool in the evening, the desert comes to life. As the sun begins to rise again in the sky, the desert once again becomes quiet and lonely.

24. Many plants may survive in deserts when__________________.

A. it is dry all the year round    B. the rain falls only in a few weeks

C. there is little rain in a year         D. the rain is spread out in a year

25. Sand dunes are formed when___________________.

A. sand piles up gradually             B. there is plenty of rain in a year

C. the sea has dried up over the years    D. pieces of rock get smaller

26. The underlined sentence in the third paragraph probably means that in a desert there is____________.

  A. too much sand              B. more sand than before

  C. nothing except sand          D. something else besides sand

27 It can be learned from the text that in a desert____________.

A. there is no rainfall throughout the year  B. life exists in rough conditions

C. all sand dunes are a few feet high      D. rocks are worn away only by wind and heat

Evening Workshops

Optional evening workshops will be held at small restaurants or other meeting places near the conference hotel. Meals and other costs are not included but are also optional. Locations will be announced at the conference site. Workshops are very loosely organized and most represent discussions that have been held at Society for Economic Botany (SEB) meetings over a series of years.

Workshop 1: Student Network

Date: Wednesday evening, Feb. 5th

Chairs: Hugo de Boer and Arika Virapongse Sponsor: Society for Economic Botany

Description: Student members of the SEB hold a networking mixer each year in order to meet each other and to become familiar with a variety of educational programs and faculty advisors(大学指导老师). Faculty members who are part of training programs are encouraged to join the mixer to meet

and talk with students. Workshop 2: Botanical Film Making Date : Wednesday evening, Feb. 5th Chair : David Strauch

Sponsor : University of Hawaii

Description : Digital film making is a particularly useful tool of linking cultural information to recognizable plants. This workshop is aimed towards increasing the quality of material recorded by giving participants greater control over the medium. We will cover technical aspects (e.g. camera settings, audio), technical aspects (framing, lighting, focus), and some ways of presenting the material. Experienced filmmakers are encouraged to attend, and participants are welcome to bring their own camera equipment.

Workshop 3: Collections for Botany

— Collections Development and Management Date: Friday evening, Feb. 7th

Chair: Jan Salick

Sponsor: Society for Economic Botany

Description: SEB is a network of researchers who have been developing standards for the development of collections of artifacts, plant samples and related materials. Participants discuss successes, problems, and funding sources for solving management issues.

29.  One of the purposes of a networking mixer held each year is to  .

A.  provide students with greater control over the media

B.  help the students to be familiar with educational programs

C.  help the students to deal with most of the environment issues

D.  link cultural information to recognizable plants 30.Which of the following is true according to the poster?

A.  Evening workshops will be held at small restaurants with meals included.

B.  Faculty advisers can join the mixer without training experience.

C.  Workshops have nothing to do with the discussions held at SEB meetings.

D.  Participants have more than one option on Feb. 5th    than another night.

31. You are a college student, interested in plants and good at taking TV pictures. Which of the Evening Workshops is most suitable for you?

A.  Collections for Botany.             B. Botanical Film Making.

C. Student Network.                   D. Society for Economic Botany.

Right now, 62 million girls worldwide are not in school. They’re receiving no reading, no writing, no math—none of the basic skills they need to provide for themselves and their families, and contribute fully to their countries.

    Often, understandably, this issue is considered as a matter of result of a failure to invest enough money in educating girls. We can solve this problem, the argument goes, if we provide more scholarships and safe transportation and build more school bathrooms for girls. And it’s true that investments like these are important for addressing our global girls’ education crisis. But we cannot solve our girls’ education problem until we deal with the broader cultural beliefs and practices that can help cause this crisis and make it continue.

    We know that legal and cultural change is possible because we’ve seen it countries around the world, including our own. A century ago, women in American couldn’t even vote. Decades ago, it was perfectly legal for employers to refuse to hire women. But in each generation, brave people –both men and women—stood up to change these practices. They did it through individual acts like taking their bosses to court and even through national movements that brought changes.

    Cultural changes like these can encourage countries to make greater investments in girls’ education. And when they do, that can cause a powerful effect that can cause even greater cultural and political progress for women. Girls who are educated marry later. Educated girls also can earn higher salaries. And when educated girls became healthy, financially secure, empowered women, they’re far better equipped to achieve their needs and wishes, and challenge unjust laws and harmful practices and beliefs.

    But for me, this issue isn’t just about politics or economics --- for me, this is a moral issue. As I’ve traveled the world, I’ve met so many of these girls. They’re so hungry to realize their promise. They walk for hours each day to school, learning at rickety desks in bare concrete classrooms. These girls aren’t different from my daughters or any of our daughters. None of us here in the USA would accept this for our own daughters and granddaughters, so why would we accept it for any girl on our planet?

As a first lady, a mother, and a human being, I cannot walk away from these girls, and I plan to keep raising my voice on their behalf for the rest of my life. I plan to keep talking about this issue here at home, because I believe that all of us—men and women, in every country on this planet—have a moral obligation to give all of these girls a future worthy of their promise and their dreams.

58. According to the passage, millions of girls _______.

  A. skip math classes for no reason            

B. are receiving no formal education

  C. are busy supporting their families          

D. make full contributions to their countries

59. In the speaker’s opinion, the key to solving the girls’ education problem is ________.

  A. organizing national movements             

B. making people brave enough to fight

  C. investing enough money in educating girls

D. changing unfair cultural beliefs and practices

60. The speaker made this speech in order to _________.

  A. give some facts about girls          

B. show how to educate girls well

  C. advertise girls to fight for their rights  

D. encourage people to care about girls’ education

 You won’t find paper cutting difficult _____you keep practicing it.

A. even if               B. as long as

C. as if                 D. ever since

Music

Opera at Music Hall: 1243 Elm Street. The season runs June through August, with additional performances in March and September. The Opera honors Enjoy the Arts membership discounts. Phone: 241-2742. http://www.cityopera.com.

Chamber Orchestra: The Orchestra plays at Memorial Hall at 1406 Elm Street, which offers several concerts from March through June. Call 723-1182 for more information. http: //www.chamberorch.com.

Symphony Orchestra: At Music Hall and Riverbend. For ticket sales, call 381-3300. Regular season runs September through May at Music Hall in summer at Riverbend. http://www.symphony.org/home.asp.

College Conservatory of Music (CCM): Performances are on the main campus(校园) of the university, usually at Patricia Cobbett Theater. CCM organizes a variety of events, including performances by the well-known LaSalle Quartet, CCM’s Philharmonic Orchestra, and various groups of musicians presenting Baroque through modern music. Students with I.D. cards can attend the events for free. A free schedule of events for each term is available by calling the box office at 556-4183. http://www.ccm.uc.edu/events/calendar.

Riverbend Music Theater: 6295 Kellogg Ave. Large outdoor theater with the closest seats under cover (price difference).Big name shows all summer long! Phone:232-6220. http://www.riverbendmusic.com.

25. Which number should you call if you want to see an opera?

  A. 241-2742.    B. 723-1182.     C. 381-3300.      D. 232-6220.

26. When can you go to a concert by Chamber Orchestra?

A. February.     B. May.      C. August.     D. November.

27.Where can students go for free performances with their I.D. cards?

A. Music Hall.                  B. Memorial Hall.

C. Patricia Cobbett Theater.        D. Riverbend Music Theater.

28. How is Riverbend Music Theater different from the other places?

A. It has seats in the open air.            B. It gives shows all year round.

C. It offers membership discounts.        D. It presents famous musical works.

       The supermarket is planning to offer more goods to _______ the needs of people when New Year comes.

       A. provide                    B. meet                        C. supply                     D. deliver

   Learning is a complex activity that supremely tests students' motivation and physical condition. Teaching resources, teachers' skill, and curriculum -- these all play a vital role in a child's education. But what about the physical condition and design of the actual school facility itself? How do they shape a child's learning experience?

Today's busy parents may never know. With most of them working, parents generally find little time to experience, much less evaluate, the physical condition of their child's school. When they do visit, often during parent-teacher's night, discussions will mostly focus on their child's learning, achievement, and progress, not on school maintenance(维修) or design issues. There are few opportunities for parents to observe a classroom or school during the school day. But it is just during this time that a significant number of students and teachers struggle with such things as noise, glare, mildew（霉）, lack of fresh air, and hot or cold temperatures.

News about these environmental nuisances is beginning to appear more and more in the media. And research is uncovering growing evidence showing that conditions like these and many other aspects of school facilities have a huge and often negative impact on children's educations.

  Aside from things like mold and mildew, superficial conditions that exist in schools often because of poor maintenance, other problems are much more systemic（系统性的；）. One is age. The average school today at 42 years old faces demands that were never intended when the
building was built. Another problem is that education today is delivered in an entirely new manner, with new tools, techniques, and teaching methods that increasingly don't fit the simplistic conventions （过分简单化的惯例）of 42-year-old school designs.、

 22. Which of the following plays an important role in a child’s education according to the writer?

    A. School fees.            B. School’s locations.  

C. Teaching resources.     D. Parents’ financial conditions.

23. Why do current parents often neglect the physical condition of their child’s school?

  A. They care more about their own working condition.

  B. They treasure their child’s academic achievement more.

  C. They find the physical condition of school satisfying.

  D. The school covers the true fact about the physical condition intentionally.

24. Which of the following can be used to explain “Nuisances”?

  A. Issues.    B. Disasters.    C. Regulations.    D. Annoying things.

25. Which of the following is a possible problem facing a 42-year-old school according to the last

    paragraph?

  A. Expensive building materials.    B. Extreme weather conditions.

  C. Modern teaching methods.       D. Global financial crisis.

    The other day, I was thinking about the phrase "It's a dog's life". According to my dictionary, this means "life is hard and unpleasant", but that definition is surely obsolete. A dog's life these days, at least in my house, is extremely comfortable.

    This is by no means the only phrase in the English language that suggests a dog's life is a sad one. When we become less successful than we were in the past, we "go to the dogs";when we do something very badly, we make a "dog's breakfast" of it; if we feel really bad,we're "as sick as a dog". Unattractive or unpleasant people are considered "such a dog"!      .

    Cats do no better. They are described as humourless and cruel rulers ("While the cat's away, the mouse will play") or as self-satisfied ("The-cat that got the cream"). They are also related to unspeakable horrors. For example, "There's not enough room to swing a cat".

"Cat" is a short form of the cat-o'-nine-tails (九尾鞭). The phrase probably originated at sea,where unfortunate sailors were beaten in tiny spaces. Despite all the above, "the cat's whiskers(须)” are the most desirable whiskers.

    How our lovely companions entered the language in this way remains a mystery, but there are some explanations. "To let the-cat out of the bag" probably refers to traders who tried to pass off（冒充） an old cat as a nice juicy little pig. "It's raining cats and dogs",meanwhile,is related to cats with the mysterious(神秘的) force controlling the weather and dogs with the wind. Other sources suggest that it dates from the time when inner-city gutters（排水沟） overflowed with rubbish and dead animals.

    Many of these phrases reflect a time when cats and dogs were not as cherished as they are now. My own personal motto "Love me; love my dog" dates back as far as 1485, when it was recorded in a book called Early English Miscellanies. Although originally it may imply

"If you really love me, you will have to accept my boils and scars(疤痕), it now means "If you love me, you will get to play with my little doggies, too".

28.The underlined word "obsolete" in Paragraph I probably means        .

A. wrong         B. out of date       C. unclear        D. beyond recognition

29.If someone goes downhill, we can say he        .

A. is such a dog            B. is as sick as a dog

C. has gone to the dogs      D. has made a dog's breakfast

30.In what way is "the cat's whiskers" different from the other phrases in Paragraph 3?

A. Its origin is unknown.               B. It is not used anymore.

C. It presents a positive image of cats.    D.Its meaning has changed over the years.

31.One of the origins of "It's raining cats and dogs" is associated with        .

A. fairy tales                       B. a mysterious event

C. animals' poor conditions           D. a dishonest businessman