A

   John Sand was one of the most influential teachers I have ever met. During high school,he taught me more than any other teacher had been able to.

   He developed unusual methods of teaching. He did not give US homework on the first day and have it due the next; instead,he gave US a homework schedule for the term and left it up to US to remember to do it. By doing so,he prepared US for life after high school,where it would be up to US to make our own work schedules.

   Mr. Sand was a family man. He made use of whatever time we had left in class to show US his latest vacation videos or his children's sports videos. It was nice to see,in a world where a broken home is the average home,a man who balanced his family and his career so nicely. 

   Mr. Sand always encouraged US to get out of our little close-minded society of Wethersfield and explore the cultures of the world. He would tell US stories of his travels across Europe and his adventures around the US. Many teachers just forced the idea of college and ignored our heed to reach outside of what we know.

   Many people may not ever have a teacher like Mr. Sand. I feel sorry for them. Mr. Sand taught me things that went beyond the curriculum (課程) and let me know how powerful a teachers influence could be.

1. How did Mr. Sand deal with students,homework?

   A. .He always avoided giving it.

   B. He punished those failing to finish it.

    C. He wanted students to be responsible for it.

   D. He spent enough time every day checking it.

2. What do we know about Mr. Sand from Paragraph 3 ?

   A. He only had one child.

   B. He had a great love for life.

    C. He liked doing sports after work.

   D. He valued his job more than his family.

3. Mr. Sand shared his tours around Europe with his students to .

   A. lead them to know more

   B. encourage them to become brave

    C. inspire them to care for others

   D. show them how to spend their free time

4. What would be the best title for the text?.

   A. Teachers I like best

   B. An outstanding teacher 

    C. Teaching,a great career

   D. How to be a caring teacher 

 短文改錯 

   While reading the local newspaper in last month,I knew the Z00 in my town d?dn^,t have enough money to raising its animals. To call on people to help,I wrote a letter to the newspaper in it I wrote, “Giving some money and you will be able to help an animal." Finally，I sent a letter to the local newspaper as well some money. After a few days,my letter was published. To my delighted,people begin to donate money to the zoo. At school,I told my schoolmate about the poor situation of the animals in the zoo. I hoped they could also do anything to help them.

   Both my aunts lived in the 似辦奶加(郊區(qū)) of small towns. It was a new experience for me,24 grew up in downtown Istanbul. I 25 (real) enjoyed playing in the garden with my cousins and other children. I learned 26 (climb) trees and ride a bicycle that summer. Thanks to this trip,I started to learn English and practice it. During this vacation we went to London and visited some 27 (place) of interest in London,such as Buckingham Palace,Whitehall,Tower Bridge,and so on. My aunts bought me many London souvenir toys (玩具紀念品) . Back then (進口) goods 28 (limit) in Turkey,so these toys were like magic for 29 child like me.

   It was 30 (probable) the beginning of my love of different cultures and travel.

        D ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

    Welcome to the River dale City Pool The Riverdale City Pool is open for the summer season from May 15 to September 15. Hours are Monday-Thursday,noon until 7:30 pm; Friday,noon until 9:30 pm; Saturday and Sunday,9:30 am until 9:30 pm. During the week,the pool will be open for classes only from 8:30 am to 11:30 am. Three trained lifeguards (救生員) will be on duty at all times that the pool is open.

    For those who live in Riverdale,charges for using the pool are $5 per individual A) per visit, $240 for an individual season pass,and $480 for a family (four family members) season pass. For nonresidents (who don't live in Riverdale) , the charge is $7 per individual per visit. Season passes are not available to pool users who do not live in Riverdale.

    This summer we are offering swimming lessons for children,teens,and adults,as well as diving lessons. Morning lessons are from 9:30 to 10:30 and afternoon lessons are from 2:00 to 4:00. Fees start at $75 a week. Please visit the pool office for a complete schedule of this summer's lessons.

    The new snack bar is now open. The hours are 11:30 am-5:00 pm daily. It serves many different kinds of drinks and snacks at lower prices. It offers cold and hot sandwiches,ice cream treats,and homemade cookies. All items bought at the snack bar as well as snacks,drinks,and lunches brought from home must bQ consumed in the picnic area.

13. How long will the pool be open for ordinary swimmers on weekends?

   A. For three hours.

   B. For twelve hours.

    C. For nine and a half hours.

   D. For seven and a half hours.

14. If two foreigners use the pool every evening in June,they will pay .

   A. 150 dollars   B. 240 dollars

    C. 420 dollars   D. 480 dollars 

15. What can we learn about the snack bar?

   A. It offers supper every day.

   B. It sells cheap food and drink,

    C. It provides picnic equipment.

   D. It sells foods cooked by swimmers.

16. What type of writing is this text?

   A. A notice. B. A diary.

    C. A show guide. D. A news report.

       C  ★★★★☆

    For adults,memories tend to lose with time. But there are conditions under which the opposite is true for small children.

    While playing a video game that asked them to remember relations between objects,4-and 5-year-olds who replayed the game after two days scored more than 20 percent higher than kids who replayed it later the same day. “An idea is that kids can be smarter than we thought they could be,” said Kevin Darby,co-author of the study. “They just need more time."  

    The findings give ?s. a window into understanding memory. First,we showed that if children are given pieces of similar information in a close "we 5/7訓(時間跨度) ，there is almost a complete loss of memory. Second,we showed that introducing delays prevents that loss. It seems surprising that children can almost completely forget what they have just learned,and that their memories can actually improve with time.

    We know from previous research that kids struggle to form difficult connections in the moment,so we thought that with some time off and periods of sleep they might be able to do better. And it turned out that when they had time to remember the information,they did better.

    Researcher Slo?tsky said that the study does not in any way suggest that kids can absorb (吸收)adult-sized quantities of information if only they are given time to sleep on it. Rather,it means that they can remember kid-sized quantities of information in given time,even if they seem forgetful in the moment. “We’ve shown that it's possible for children's memories to improve with time,but it's not like we’ ve discovered a method for super-charging how much they can remember,” he said.

9. What can we learn from Kevin Darby’s words?

   A. Children are good at learning things.

   B. Children can remember better than thought.  

    C. Children are better at remembering than adults.

   D. Children can learn better through computer games.

10. The third paragraph is mainly about.

   A. the meaning of the study

   B. the problems with the study 

    C. the background of the study   

    D. the process of the study

11. The purpose of what Sloutsky said is .

   A. to provide an example for the study

   B. to stress the importance of the study 

    C. to avoid misunderstanding the study

   D. to remind people to put the study into practice

12. What might be the best title for the text?

   A. The power of memory

   B. The best way to learn 

    C. Delayed remembering   

    D. Free kids from pressure 

“Big Ed” Pulaski

   Fire almost killed me in the summer of 1910. I owe my life to a man whose quick-thinking and bravery while rescuing Jtne and 38 other firefighters made him a legend.

    I had been sent to battle wildfires in northern Idaho. Lightning strikes had started the fires,and high winds made them spread in every direction. Then,one afternoon in late August,a windstorm broke over the mountains,and the winds,exploded into one giant firestorm. We had to give up and get out of there.

    But none of US knew the mountains. Heavy,dark smoke was turning day into night,and we had no idea what to do.

    Then I saw him — Forest Service Ranger Edwjrd “Big Ed” Pulaski. He was on his horse,pushing through the burning, (發(fā)出劈啦聲的) trees,gathering men together as he rode.

    “Follow me!” he ordered. “There's an abandoned mineshaft （礦道) nearby. Our only hope is to make it there!” Pulaski gave his horse to a man who couldn’t run,and we began a desperate race for the mineshaft. Trees fell down around US. Flames were everywhere.

   Then I noticed that Pulaski had stopped running. I could see him push men into a dark hole on the side of a mountain. Minutes after all of US had scrambled （爬）inside,fire swept over our path.

    We were out after hours. It was early morning. Sometime in the night the^ fire had burned itself out. Five of the crew had died during the night. The rest of us survived!

    All of us were injured or burned. Pulaski was blind,and his hands were burned. He finally regained his sight. Because of his quick thinking and heroism,I am able to tell this story of our amazing survival.Find the words in the text that fit the following descriptions.

1 . n. a very famous person,especially in a particular field,who is admired by other people (in Paragraph 1)

2. adj. giving little hope of success (in Paragraph 4)

   Lucy Li s playful giggle (傻笑) might make people think she’s just a silly schoolgirl. 21, those who ve seen her play 22 she’s all business on the golf course. But how did this 14-year-old talented girl become one of the most-talked-about 23 players in golf today?

In 2002.Lucy was bom to a Chinese immigrant (移民) family in California. Lucy's mother tried to interest her in other 24. like ballet. But Lucy 25 to be like her elder brother,who played 26 . One day while waiting for him to finish agolf match,7-year-old Lucy 27 a club(高爾夫球棒) ,hit the ball and sent it flying straight down the course. Her mother said,We28 something special that day. 

    The family 29 famous golf coach Jmi McLean and asked him to teach Lucy. That was the  30 of her golf career. According to McLean, “Lucy has a 31 for golf. She can play better than any other kid r ve ever seen.”

    Lucy was the youngest 32 ever to qualify for the US Women's Open golf tournament in 2014. At the US Women's Open,Lucy was 33 against the world's best players in North Carolina. She was also playing on one of the world's most 34 courses in 90-degree heat. 35 the first round ended,she had a (n) —36 score of 78. But her score of.78 again the next day wasn,t enough for her to advance.

    Lucy is still a 37 girl,and often (單腳跳) and skips as she 38 along the golf course. When asked what she 39. Lucy answered ,“I want to have fun and 40 . I want to learn a lot from these great players."

21. A. Therefore   B. Howevbr  C. Otherwise   D. Besides

22. A. doubt   B. deny dope   C.hope  D. know

23. A. lazy   B. silly C. disabled   D. young

24. A. activities   B. stories  C. topics   D. memories

25. A. feared   B. refused  C. expected   D. regretted

26. A. tennis   B. golf C. baseball   D. football

27. A. kissed   B. lost C. broke   D. grasped

28. A. realized   B. ignored  C. forgot   D. created

29. A. forgave . B. helped  C. contacted   D. comforted

30. A. aim   B. start  C. success   D. end

31. A. chance   B. prize  C. gift   D. performance

32. A. reporter   B. player c. coach   D. audience

33. A. debating   B. protecting  C. guarding   D. competing

34. A. difficult   B. relaxing  C. romantic   D. funny

35. A. If   B. Though  C. After   D. Because

36. A. poor   B. good   C. wrong   D. old

37. A. shy   B. foolish  C. beautiful   D. little

38. A. moves   B. dances C. paints   D. drives

39. A. wants   B. guesses  C. sings   D. understands

40. A. travel   B. dream   C. learn   D. smile

          B  ★★★☆☆

    The Beatles are reaching a new audience through streaming (流媒體) and Come Together is Fab Four's most popular song.

    The best-selling band in history ended a long time of silence and made its songs available through streaming,the fast-growing part of on-demand online music,on Christmas Eve.

    According to the largest streaming service Spotify,in the first three days fans had streamed Beatles songs 70 million times,which meant that every user of the website listened to one Beatles sofig around the Christmas holiday. Come Together was well ahead as the most popular song.

    The bluesy rock song from 1969 was the opener on Abbey Road,The Beatles,best-selling album,so it may have benefited from listeners who immediately hit play on the album. Here Comes the Sun,off Abbey Road,was also among the most listened although it had fewer listeners than two othqr Beatles songs with themes of hope — Let It Be and Hey Jude.

    Spotify said 65 percent of its Beatles listeners were under 34 — too young to have direct memories of the band that broke up in 1970. “We’ re helping to introduce a new generation of fans to the most important band in history/' Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek said.

    Ek,32, said that The Beatles’ arrival on spotify reminded him of his childhooi. “The one thing in my youth that everyone in my family — my mom,uncle,aunt and grandparents 一 could all agree on musically was The Beatles,” he said.

5. According to the text,streaming services helped The Beatles .

   A. sell the largest number of albums

   B. become a best-selling band 

    C. produce new online music   

    D. become popular again

6. Which of the .following songs has the smallest number of listeners?

   A. Come Together.

   B. Here Comes the Sun. 

    C. Hey Jude.

   D. Let It Be.

7. According to Spotify,more than half of its Beatles listeners .

   A. were young people

   B. paid for their listening 

    C. were bom in the 1970s

   D. knew the history of the band

8. What is Daniel Ek’s attitude towards The Beatles’ arrival on Spotify?

   A. Concerned.   B. Doubtful,

    C. Supportive.   D. Unfavorable.

    A ★★★☆☆

    When you learn that Jim Abbott played in the Olympics,and pitched (投.) a no-hitter,it might come as a surprise to hear that Abbott W?s bom without a fully formed right hand.

    Abbott never complained about his disability,instead,he took it as a challenge. Perhaps life wasn’t easy or fair,but he decided to make the best of it. As long as he could play sports,he figured,everything would be all right. He worked at becoming a highly competitive athlete. That wasn’t easy. He was cut from the freshman basketball team,and after he made the freshman baseball team,he went an entire season without ? hit. Despite these setbacks,he never gave up.

    By the time Abbott went to college,he could throw a baseball almost 90 miles per hour. His team,the Michigan Wolverines,won two league champion-ships (聯(lián)賽冠軍) while he was pitching for it. In 1988,the California Angels signed Abbott to a major-league baseball (合同) ，but before he joined his team,he went to the Olympic Games in Seoul,South Korea. Abbott played on the United States’ gold-medal winning baseball team there.

    After four seasons with the California Angels,Abbott was traded to the New York Yankees. He was upset that he wasn’t playing well,but he wasn’t about to give up. Instead,he continued playing with determination,and in 1993,he pitched a no-hitter for the Yankees. The opposing team,the Cleveland Indians,got no hits and scored only one run. A no-hit game is a rare event in baseball. Abbott continued playing until 1999,when he retired. Throughout Abbott’s life,he refused to give up for tjie people who loved him and also for himself.

1. What do we know about Abbott?

   A. He was bom with only one arm.

   B. He had no interest in basketball.

    C. He had a positive attitude towards life.

    D. He thought playing sports was easier than other

2. The underlined word 4 setbacksM in Paragraph.2 can be best replaced by .

   A. fights   B. failures

    C. opportunities . D. achievements

3. In 1993,Abbott threw a no-hitter against .

   A. the Michigan Wolverines

   B. the California Angels 

    C. the New York Yankees   

    D. the Cleveland Indians

4. Which is the correct order of the events that happened to Abbott?

a;Abbott joined the California Angels.

b. Abbott went to the University of Michigan.

c. Abbott was traded to the New York Yankees.

d. Abbott took part in the 1988 Summer Olympic Games.

A. d-b-a-c   B. b-d-a-c

c. b-a-d-c   D. a-c-b-d 

     D ★★★★☆

        A London Bus Tour

    A London Bus Tour is one of the most popular ways to experience London. See the sights from the comfort of your seat as y?u,re driven through the streets of the city.

Rules:

. 1 day hop on / off ticket

. 3 bus routes around London

. 60 hop on / off tourist stops

. Live English awi/io gwzi/e (語音導游) 一available also in French,German,Spanish,Italian,Chinese,Portuguese and Russian Where to hop on and hop off:

Tower of London 

    The Tower of London is one of London's most important and historic buildings. Hop off here and explore it on a Yeoman Warder tour and learn about the tower's history,dating back to the Norman Conquest.

Westminster Abbey 

    This UNESCO World Heritage Site(世界文化遺產) is a must-visit on your bus tour. Hop off and explore the country's coronation (加冕禮)church since the 11th century and walk down the same path that Kate Middleton did to marry Prince William. Westminster Abbey is also famous as a burial ground for some famous people such as Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens.

Tower Bridge 

    The Tower Bridge is one of the most photographed places in London,so jump off here to enjoy a visit of this old Victorian  bascule  briage(吊 橋) .It is a great attraction if you like engineering and a good view.

Buckingham Palace 

    You can't miss a photo opportunity at Buckingham Palace. Home to the Queen of England,Elizabeth II,this beautiful building is a top London attraction and most importantly,is one of the few working palaces left in the world. Hop off at the Buckingham Palace stop and catch the Changing of the Guard before walking through Green Park.

13. A London Bus Tour .

   A. limits the bus ticket to one day

   B. takes visitors to 60 top sights

    C. leads visitors to experience locals’ life   

    D. offers visitors more than three bus routes

14. The Tower of London once served as .

   A. a wedding location

   B. a place to keep criminals

    C. a symbol of the rich history of London   

    D. a battlefield during the Norman Conquest

15. People who are crazy about engineering are advised to visit .

   A. Tower of London   B. Westminster Abbey

    C. Tower Bridge   D. Buckingham Palace

16. Why is Buckingham Palace a major tourist attraction?

   A. It is still a working palace.

   B. It exhibits many photos for visitors.

    C. It is defended by the most devoted guards.

   D. It is the place where Elizabeth II works now.