In winter Hammerfest is a thirty-hour ride by bus from Oslo, though why anyone would want to go there in winter is a question worth considering. It is on the edge of the world, the northernmost town in Europe, as far from London as London is from Tunis, a place of dark and cruel winters, where the sun sinks into the Arctic Ocean in November and does not rise again for ten weeks.I wanted to see the Northern Lights. Also, I had long harboured a half-formed urge to experience what life was like in such a remote and forbidding place. Sitting at home in England with a glass of whisky and a book of maps, this had seemed an excellent idea. But now as I picked my way through the grey, late-December slush（融雪） of Oslo I was beginning to have my doubts.

Things had not started well. I had overslept at the hotel, missing breakfast, and had to leap into my clothes. I couldn't find a cab and had to drag my unreasonably overweighted bag eight blocks through slush to the central bus station. I had had huge difficulty persuading the staff at the Kreditkassen Bank on Karl Johans Gate to cash sufficient traveller's cheques to pay the overcharged 1,200-kroner bus fare-they simply could not be made to grasp that the William McGuire Bryson on my passport and the Bill Bryson on my traveller's cheques were both me-and now here I was arriving at the station two minutes before departure, breathless and steaming from the endless uphill exertion（費(fèi)力）that is my life, and the girl at the ticket counter was telling me that she had no record of my reservation.

"This isn't happening," I said. "I'm still at home in England enjoying Christmas．Pass me a drop more port, will you, darling?" Actually, I said, "There must be some mistake. Please look again." The girl studied the passenger list. "No, Mr Bryson, your name is not here·”

But I could see it, even upside-down. "There it is, second from the bottom二，，

"No," the girl decided, "that says Bemt Bjornson. That's a Norwegian name·”

"It doesn't say Bernt Bjornson. It says Bill Bryson. Look at the loop（圓圈） of the 'y', the two ‘I's. Miss, please." But she wouldn't have it. "If I miss this bus when does the next one go?""Next week at the same time．，，

Oh, splendid.

"Miss, believe me, it says Bill Bryson."

"No, it doesn't."

"Miss, look, I've come from England. I'm carrying some medicine that could save a child's life.”She didn't buy this. "I want to see the manager."

"He's in Stavanger.”

"Listen, I made a reservation by telephone．If I don't get on this bus I’m going to write a letter to your manager that will cast a shadow over your career prospects（前景）for the rest of this century." This clearly did not alarm her. Then it occurred to me. "If this Bemt Bjornson doesn't show up, can I have his seat?"

"Sure.”

Why don't I think of these things in the first place and save myself the suffering? "Thank you,"

I said, and dragged my bag outside.

1. What words can best describe Hammerfest in winter?

A. Grey and dirty.

B. Dark and cold.

C. Unfriendly and expensive.

D. Wild and forbidden.

2.Why did the author mention the Kreditkassen Bank on Karl Johans Gate?

A．To suggest that people there could be ridiculous and stubborn.

B．To introduce the cultural differences in northern Europe and England.

C. To give an example of an interesting story during his journey.

D．To indicate that the bus fare was very expensive．

3.What could be inferred from the passage?

A. The author booked his bus ticket with a Norwegian name.

B．The author paid the bus fare by traveller's cheque.

C. The author would hopefully get on the bus．

D．The girl at the ticket counter cared about the author's complaints.

4.According to the last paragraph, the author probably felt＿at that moment.

A．embarrassed B．contented

C. regretful D. grateful

5.We can learn from the passage that＿．

A. the author's journey to the north was not worthwhile

B．the Europeans didn't welcome visitors

C. the author wrote a letter to the girl's manager

D. the author's journey to the north was not smooth

When students arrive on campus with their parents, both parties often assume that the college will function in loco parentis（處在父母位置），watching over its young charges, providing assistance when needed. Colleges and universities present themselves as supportive learning communities-as extended families, in a way. And indeed, for many students they become a home away from home. Ideally, the college nurtures（養(yǎng)育）its students, guiding them toward adulthood. Lifelong friendships are formed, teachers become guides, and the academic experience is enriched by social interaction. For some students, however, the picture is less beautiful. For a significant number, the challenges can become overwhelming（壓力過(guò)大）．

In reality, administrators at American colleges and universities are often forced to focus as much on the new generation of students．Public institutions in particular are often faced with tough choices about which student support services to fund. Private colleges are feeling the pinch（棘手）as well．Although tuition and fees can increase as much as 6.6 percent in a single year, as they did in 2007, the high cost of doing business at public and private institutions means that students are not necessarily receiving more support in return for increased tuition and fees. To compound the problem, students may be reluctant to seek help even when they desperately need it. Just as colleges are sometimes ill equipped to respond to the challenges being posed by today's students, students themselves are sometimes ill equipped to respond to the challenges posed by college life. Although they arrive on campus with high expectations, some students struggle with shyness or perfectionism, learning disabilities or eating disorders·Still others experience failed relationships; some suffer from acute loneliness, or mental illness.

Unfortunately, higher education is sometimes more of an information delivery system than a responsive, collaborative（合作的）process. We have created cities of youth in which students can pass through unnoticed, their voices rarely heard, and their faces rarely seen. As class size grows in response to budget cuts, it becomes even less likely that troubled students, or even severely disturbed, will be noticed. When they are not, the results can be tragic.

As a teacher of creative writing who has worked with many overwhelmed students, I have found that there are ways to communicate more effectively. Most students have stories they want to share, and students in trouble can be desperate to find someone who will listen to them. Parents, as their children's primary listeners, have a key role to play. Some young people are unable to find their own way out of the dark, and a meaningful dialogue can become a light for them to see by. That is not to say that writing can be used to identify mental illness; rather, I think some of the approaches writing teachers use to enter into a reflective dialogue with students can be adopted by parents and students who want to learn more about each other. Having witnessed what can happen when a student communicates with himself, I believe this kind of responsive, one-on-one communication is more important than ever. Students in creative writing classes may have no idea that they have revealed so much about themselves because, for them, writing is like speaking inside the pages of a journal. In fact, all of us who write reveal more than we imagine. This is one of the reasons why writing, even more than speaking, can provide us with important insights into ourselves and others.

Many of us don't know our students as well as we should, yet it can be easier than we imagine to begin these necessary dialogues.

2012年10月9日，巴基斯坦十五歲女孩馬拉拉在放學(xué)回家途中遭到塔利班暗殺，頭部中槍。康復(fù)后，馬拉拉不畏威脅、積極為巴基斯坦女童爭(zhēng)取受教育權(quán)利。聯(lián)合國(guó)將每年的7月12日（她的生日）定為“馬拉拉日”（Malala Day）。作為同齡人的你，請(qǐng)根據(jù)以下提示，用英語(yǔ)寫(xiě)一篇短文。你的短文應(yīng)包括以下內(nèi)容：

1．簡(jiǎn)述馬拉拉的故事；

2.說(shuō)明教育的重要性（至少兩點(diǎn)）；

3．談?wù)剬W(xué)校教育對(duì)你的影響（至少兩點(diǎn)）。

注意：

1.作文詞數(shù)巧0左右。開(kāi)頭已經(jīng)寫(xiě)好，不計(jì)入總詞數(shù)。

2.作文中不得提及有關(guān)考生個(gè)人身份的任何信息，如校名、人名等。

On October 9, 2012, Malala, a 15-year-old Pakistani girl, was shot i一飛the head by the Taliban on

International situation is currently undergoing great changes ________ UNESCO plays an irreplaceable role in promoting international cooperation.

A. which B. what C. where D. that

The dentist gave me a shot which took ________ almost immediately and I didn't feel a thing.

A. offenseB. chargeC. actionD. effect

—What’s wrong with my computer, Jack?

—Let me have a check. OK, it works now.

—You mean, nothing wrong with it, ________ ?

A. is thereB. isn’t thereC. is itD. isn’t it

When I try to understand ________ that prevents so many children from being happy, there seem to be three causes.

A. why it is B. what it does C. why it doesD. what it is

Some friends persuaded me to apply to a combined M.D/Ph.D program ________ I could work in areas that wouldn’t be as open to me with only a Ph.D.

A. even ifB. so thatC. as ifD. in that

________ anyone come to my office, please tell them I'm not available before four o’clock.

A. MightB. CouldC. WouldD. Should

—What’s the best way to reach you if I have a question during the day?

—I'm glad you ________. It’s best if you send me an email.

A. ask B. had askedC. asked D. were asking