A

During my high school years， the most important thing was what I was wearing to the Friday night dance and who I was taking. Although college was talked about， it was the least of my worries.

When I was graduating eighth grade and starting high school， my older brother was graduating twelfth grade and going on to college. For my graduation， he gave me a card in which he wrote， “Enjoy your four years... They go by fast.” I remember not believing him then， but looking back... He was right. Those four years shaped who I was as a person， pushed me to my limit and encouraged me to become an adult.

However， I was so completely absorbed in my junior and senior years of high school， that when someone spoke of college I brushed it off. I wasnt ready to leave my comfort zone of having all of my closest friends together and knowing what every single day was going to be like. Studying was something I did only AFTER I nailed my half-time dance performance. I knew my parents wanted me to go to college， so I told them I would go to community college and I didnt worry about my SAT （美国大学入学考试） scores.

When my senior years passed and everyone graduated and went off to their own colleges， I started to wish I had done the same. My friends were living away， meeting new people， discovering new places， while I was living at home and driving to and from class every day. It seemed exactly like high school. I hated it！ I thought college was supposed to be different！ Why didnt I take more time to research colleges and do the same？ I ended up loving college and wishing I had four years to enjoy the campus（大學校园）atmosphere instead of two.

My advice to anyone thinking about attending college is to think about it very seriously and look into all of your choices well ahead of time. Now I have graduated and I am working full time and I would do anything to go back to my high school days for a second chance！

1. The authors brother gave him a card to tell him to ___ .

A. go on dancing

B. leave his comfort zone

C. value the following years

D. aim at a college as others

2. Why didnt the author worry about his SAT scores？

A. He was prepared for the exam.

B. He would go to a community college.

C. He believed his brother would help him.

D. He would be admitted for his gift for dance.

3. We can infer from Paragraph 4 that when in high school， the author ___ .

A. lived with the parents

B. buried himself in study all the time

C. lived in the school except on holidays

D. enjoyed talking about future college life

4. How does the author feel when talking about the high school years？

A. Excited. B. Afraid.

C. Ashamed. D. Regretful.

B

One advantage of the Internet is shopping conveniently online for clothes； one disadvantage of the Internet is also shopping conveniently online for clothes.

“Nothing fits，” said Lam Yuk Wong， a senior in electrical and computer engineering at Rice University. “Everyone says this. They order clothes and they dont fit. People get very unhappy.”

Wong and her design partner， Xuaner “Cecilia” Zhang， are Team White Mirror， creators of what they call a “virtual （虛拟） fitting room”. Their goal is simple and consumer-friendly： to let online clothing shoppers have a perfect fit and a perfect look when shopping every time. Both women are from China， Wong from Hong Kong and Zhang from Beijing. They both order most of their clothing online. They got the idea from their own experiences as consumers and from listening to the complaints of friends and relatives. “They say， ‘The color is wrong or ‘I got the right size but it still does not fit. We want to make it like youre in the store trying on the clothes，” Zhang said.

Using a Kinect developed by Microsoft for use with its Xbox 360 video game player， Zhang scans （扫描） Wong and turns her image into， in effect， a virtual model， keeping Wongs dimensions （尺寸）， and even her skin and hair color. “We put the clothes on the shoppers 3-D body models and show how they look when they are dressed，” Wong said. So far， Wong and Zhang have adapted the software to show dresses and shirts， and they are now working on shorts.

Asked if she thought men as well as women might be interested in using their virtual fitting room， Wong said， “I think their wives will care about this， so it will also be important to men.”

5. Where did Wong and Zhang get the idea to design a virtual fitting room？

A. From their shopping experiences.

B. From a program at their university.

C. From some shop-owners complaints.

D. From the Xbox 360 video game player.

6. Which shows the correct steps of buying clothes by using the virtual fitting room？

A. scanning—trying on clothes—getting images

B. trying on clothes—getting models—scanning

C. trying on clothes—getting images—scanning

D. scanning—getting models—trying on clothes

7. What did Wong think of the virtual fitting room？

A. It is perfectly developed.

B. It will have its market share.

C. It is limited to women shoppers.

D. It is like a kind of video game player.

8. What would be the best title of the text？

A. Team White Mirror and Their Virtual Fitting Room

B. An Amazingly Powerful Software

C. Great Women， Great Design

D. Advantage？ Disadvantage！

C

Inland waters may be grouped into two general classes： standing waters and flowing waters. As is often the case， the boundary between these two classes is not sharp and clear. A pond is an example of standing water. But most ponds are fed by springs or brooks and most have an outlet. Thus some current of changing water flows through them. On the other hand， a river is an example of flowing water. In some places， however， a river may have such a slow current that it is very difficult to detect （察覺）.

Standing inland waters differ in size， in age， and in many abiotic environmental characteristics. They range in size from puddles roadside to the Caspian Sea. Puddles may last for only a few days or weeks； ponds， for a few hundred to a thousand years. In general， lakes are older， though the waters of some tropical “lakes” disappear completely during each dry season. Standing waters vary from very shallow to very deep， from clear to muddy， from fresh to salty.

In flowing waters we mainly distinguish （区分） between brooks， creeks and rivers. The size and age of flowing waters are unimportant. Speed of flow， clearness， oxygen content， and other chemical characteristics are used by scientists in studying flowing-water ecosystems.

9. What does the underlined word “puddles” in Paragraph 2 most probably mean？

A. Small and shallow pools. B. Big and deep pools.

C. Shallow rivers. D. Deep lakes.

10. What characteristic of flowing waters is unimportant to the ecosystems？

A. The oxygen content. B. The speed of flow.

C. The clearness. D. The size.

11. What does this passage mainly tell us？

A. Lakes and rivers are flowing waters.

B. Ponds and brooks are standing waters.

C. What are standing waters and flowing waters.

D. Age and size are the characteristics of flowing waters.

D

The world is changing so fast that English， perhaps the most widely used language， is struggling to keep up.

Learners in the future are likely to be much younger. Young children are often said to be better at language learning than older learners but they also have special challenges. Young children dont usually have the kind of instrumental motivation and determination for learning English that older learners often have. English lessons must therefore be fun and rewarding.

The reasons why people learn English are also changing. Globalization is bringing together more people than ever who speak different languages and who are turning to English as the means of communication. The English learners of the future may be less worried about sounding exactly like a native speaker and more concerned about how to use English effectively in cross-cultural communication. We may be hearing more non-native speakers in dialogues and a wider range of the “New Englishes” now used around the world.

Technology will allow English to come to you， rather than you having to go to a special place to learn English.

Learning English has always involved both pain and pleasure， private effort and social activity. Traditional learning provided take-it or leave-it mixes of these as well as of content but in future learners will be able to choose a plan which suits their cultural and psychological dispositions （性情），or their particular needs at that moment. They， rather than their teachers， will decide how， what and when they will learn.

Above all， learning English is about communication and an important benefit of learning English is being able to exchange views and make friends with people all over the world. Despite the growing independence of learners， trusted institutions and brand names will remain important.

12. Compared to older learners， young English learners ______ .

A. are more active in learning

B. have more difficulty in learning

C. are more hard-working in learning

D. have less lasting determination in learning

13. What can we learn about the future English language？

A. British English will be more popular.

B. American English will be more popular.

C. Standard English will be spoken by most people.

D. Many different kinds of Englishes will appear.

14. What can we infer from Paragraph 5 about English learning in the future？

A. It means no pain.

B. Learners will be less independent.

C. More attention will be paid to personal needs.

D. Training schools wont be popular with the youth.

15. What can we learn from the passage？

A. Future English lessons will be more interesting.

B. Old people will have to learn English in the future.

C. People will pay more attention to English pronunciation.

D. Teachers will play a more important role in ones English learning.

I was at the funeral of my mother. She 1 had lost her long battle with cancer. I could felt the 2 from time to time. It was I， her 27-year-old child， who 3 her from the start to the end， because my brother 4 his childhood sweetheart and they were soon 5 with their newly-born baby. I counted it a（an） 6 to be able to spend my time with my dearest mom.

I was deep in 7 . My brother sat next to me， 8 his wifes hand. I looked at the empty seat on my left， 9 had been the place for my mother on Sundays. 10 she was with God， my work was finished. As the funeral started， a door opened at the back of the 11 . A young man looked around

12 and took the seat on my left. I saw 13 in his eyes.

While listening to the memorial speech， he asked， “ 14

do they keep calling Mary by the name of ‘Margaret？” “Because that was my mothers name，” I 15 . “No， her name was Mary. She was my aunt.” “I believe youre at the wrong 16 ， Sir.” I replied. The mans mistake was 17 and I almost couldnt help laughing. He laughed too. He had 18 his aunts funeral.

We dated and got married a year later at the same church. He arrived right 19 . Whenever people ask how we met， Rick tells them， “Her mother Margaret and my Aunt Mary 20 us in heaven.”

1. A. actually B. finally C. certainly D. approximately

2. A. pain B. problems C. damage D. accident

3. A. put up with B. depend on C. took care of D. belong to

4. A. loved B. visited C. joined D. married

5. A. busy B. happy C. satisfied D. nervous

6. A. benefit B. headache C. honor D. entertainment

7. A. sorrow B. thought C. fear D. trouble

8. A. taking B. touching C. holding D. reaching

9. A. that B. which C. where D. it

10. A. In case B. Even though

C. Ever since D. Now that

11. A. yard B. stage C. church D. warehouse

12. A. slightly B. briefly C. slowly D. steadily

13. A. delight B. disbelief C. tears D. expectations

14. A. Why B. How C. what D. Who

15. A. emphasized B. shouted C. whispered D. called

16. A. destination B. funeral C. ceremony D. spot

17. A. ridiculous B. interesting C. stupid D. enormous

18. A. attended B. avoided C. lost D. missed

19. A. on purpose B. in need C. on time D. in advance

20. A. noticed B. introduced C. contacted D. comforted

阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或用括号内单词的正确形式填空。

How do native speakers truly feel when speaking with non-native English speakers？ It seems that 1 （break） English annoys them. However， they keep being really nice when speaking with non-native speakers. I wonder how they really feel when doing so.

I think it would depend 2 the native English speakers. Some people are just 3 （easy） annoyed.

4 （person）， I study Spanish. When I hear someone attempting English， I am patient with them because I know 5

difficult it is to talk in a non-native tongue. I also know English is very difficult 6 （learn）， and that increases my respect for their efforts. Im a patient person by nature.

The situation matters too. If I 7 （be） a waiter on a super crowded day and really needed to do about a dozen different things， I might become upset at having to wait for someone to struggle while 8 （order） his meal.

There also exists the 9 （possible） that what is considered as annoyance is not truly annoyance. I might frown （皱眉） while listening to a non-native speaker， 10 that would be because I am concentrating and listening hard to understand him. It wouldnt mean Im at all annoyed.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

I used to be a happy little girl and now Im shy and say a few words. When I was eleven， I lost one of the front teeth and it replaced by a false one. Now no one know about it except two of my friends. However， I find it hardly to face them because they know my secret. When I spoke to them， they often stare at my mouth， what makes me feel uneasy. I am afraid of making friend as I think they will laugh at me. Sometime I even want to hit me indeed. What should I do？

1. 瑪丽是一个善良的女孩，她和同学们相处融洽。

（get on with）

2. 汤姆午餐时去售票处，但票已经全部卖完了。（sell out）

3. 今晚我不打算和你争论，因为我实在太累了。

（argue with）

4. 天气暖和一点雪就会开始融化。（melt）

5. 他竭尽全力尝试找人帮忙，但没有人愿意帮助他。（attempt）