After a year at sea, 16-year-old Laura Dekker can finally say, “Mission accomplished!” Last month, she finished a daring trip around the world aboard her 38-foot boat, Guppy. Dekker, who is from the Netherlands, traveled more than 30,000 miles all by herself. She is the youngest person ever to sail around the globe alone.

Dekker had wanted to lake on this challenge when she was even younger. She first tried to set sail at the age of 13, but a court in the Netherlands stopped her. They said that she was too young to make such a risky trip by herself. But Dekker insisted she had the navigation skills and patience of an adult sailor.

She finally took off on January 20, 2011. During her trip, Dekker battled loneliness, storms, and worries about pirates. But she also got to surf, scuba dive, and started a new hobby: playing the flute. Although Dekker didn’t spend all of her time at sea—she stopped at ports along the way—she did spend her 16lh birthday on the open ocean. To celebrate, she ale doughnuts for breakfast.

But Dekker didn’t sail into the record books. Guinness World Records and the World Sailing Speed Record Council no longer recognize records for “youngest” sailors. They dropped the category in 2009 to discourage children from attempting such dangerous feats (壯舉) But that didn’t stop Dekker，who was born on a yacht during a seven-year world voyage undertaken by her parents.

Dekker doesn’t mind that she won’t hold an official record. She says it was a personal goal, and she is happy she achieved it.

“I am not disappointed at all that Guinness World Record won’t recognize my attempt.” Dekker wrote on her website. “I did not start on my trip to achieve any record…I did it just for myself.”

1.Dekker wasn’t allowed to sail at the age of 13 because .

A. people were concerned about her safety

B. she didn’t learn any sailing skills well

C. she had to continue her study at school

D. she didn’t have enough patience for long trips

2.What does the underlined word “accomplished” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A. Failed. B. Completed.

C. Continued. D. Started.

3.In 2009 records for youngest sailors were canceled in order to .

A. set a higher sailing standard for teen sailors

B. stop children entering Guinness World Records

C. encourage parents to sail with their children

D. prevent children making dangerous attempts

4.What could be the best title for this passage?

A. A New Guinness World Record in Sailing

B. A New Sailing Standard for Teen Sailors

C. A Teen Girl Sailing Alone Around the World

D. The Youngest Sailor in Guinness World Records

In America, when the eighth graders leave the middle school, they are often worried about moving to the high school. It is a hard time for them, but it can be an exciting one as well. To make it easier, students need to get familiar with their school.

Even though they’ve done this already in the middle school，it’s still important to find where their classrooms are. Most schools take students to the high school for a visit at the end of their eighth grade year. And, most schools also have a freshman speech for parents and students before the first year begins. Sometimes the main office will give away a map of the school. This can help students and parents to find different places in the school.

One way to know your high school more and make new friends is to join different clubs and sports. Fall activities begin in August before the first day of school. If you are not interested in sports, there are clubs for any interests, such as drama, dance, chess, photography, community service, etc. These clubs allow students from different grades. By joining an activity, students can find new friendship, not to mention improving their chant.es in future college applications. The school office will have a list of activities offered at the school and information on how to join them.

What’s more, to have a great start to a high school year, students can write down some of their worries, and ask for help from teachers and school workers.

1.According to the text, most students feel when entering the high school.

A. unhappy B. nervous

C. disappointed D. lonely

2.Which of the following is TRUE about the school clubs?

A. There are fewer students from higher grades in the school clubs.

B. The school clubs in high school mainly welcome sports fans.

C. Summer activities usually begin before high school starts.

D. The school office can help new students join school clubs.

3.When do many schools take students to visit their new high school?

A. Before-the eighth grade year starts.

B. Right after the high school year starts.

C. At the end of the last year in the middle school.

D. At the beginning of the new term in high school.

4.What is the purpose of the text?

A. To describe the colorful high school life.

B. To offer advice to new high school students.

C. To give information on college applications.

D. To share useful experience in high school.

In Modem society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity; others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.

I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affaire. In their single-minded pursuit (追求) of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.

However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players，they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that wound mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both arc afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve (化解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.

1.What does this passage mainly talk about?

A. Competition helps to set up one’s self-respect.

B. People hold different opinions on competition.

C. Failures are necessary experience in competition.

D. Competition is harmful to one’s development.

2.Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?

A. It pushes society forward. B. It builds up a sense of duty.

C. It encourages individual efforts. D. It improves personal abilities.

3.What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with “a desire to fail”？

A. One’s success in competition calls for great efforts.

B. One’s achievement is determined by his particular skills.

C. One’s success relies largely on his firm belief of winning.

D. One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others.

4.Which point of view may t)ie author agree with?

A. Competition- damages friendship among people.

B. Performance in competition determines one’s value.

C. Fear of failure should l>c removed in competition.

D. Winning should be a mailer of life and death.

With the summer holiday just around the comer, it seems like everybody is busy planning their vacations. Here are some lips that can help you enjoy your holiday without emptying your pocket:

Travel off-season

Go to your desired destination while the demand is low and take advantage of huge discounts. During the peak season, the hotel and flight prices increase quickly, and you’ll likely spend more of your vacation time standing in line due to the rush of tourists. 1.

Eat like a local

Why eat at big chain restaurants when you can experience something new? 2. During your family trip, try new food where the locals eat. This will not just save money, but also provide you with a new and different experience. For smaller meals and snacks, avoid restaurants and try street food or other takeout.

3.

Websites can help you find discount hotel rooms. Look for places that do not charge extra for children if they use the existing bedding. Stay with the locals. If you and your family are going to 8tay for a longer period，renting a small apartment is a good choice.

Choose local transportation

4. Instead, take buses, railways or subways, which are always cheaper. If you are planning to stay for a while, you can consider renting a car. Hiring a car is much easier than carrying your bags everywhere if you are moving around a lot.

Don’t hesitate to bargain

Tourist-heavy places are known for overcharging for just about everything. Clothes, travel goodies, souvenirs, etc. are very expensive at these places. 5. Bargain hard to get the best price.

A. Save on hotels.

B. Surf the Internet while traveling.

C. So it’s best to find out when the off-season starts.

D. Therefore, avoid buying anything there.

E. Planning your meals is another way to reduce your travel costs.

F. For this reason, you shouldn’t feel ashamed to ask for bargains.

G. As a tourist, avoid taking taxis whenever possible, since they are expensive.

I have a friend named Monty who owns a horse ranch (牧場). One day, he told me a story.

“There was a young man who was the son of a horse ______. His father had to go from their house to ranch, training horses.”

“One day, the boy*s teacher asked the students to ______ a paper about what they wanted to be and do when they grew up. That night the boy finished a, seven-page paper ______ his dream of owning a horse ranch. He even drew a ______ of a 4, 000-square-foot house. But he ______ got a red F on the first page. The boy with the dream asked his teacher, ‘Why did I receive an F?’ The teacher said. This is a (n) ______ dream for a young boy like you. Owning a horse ranch needs a lot of ______. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher ______, ‘If you rewrite this paper with a more realistic dream, I will give you a more realistic ______.”’

“The boy went home and asked his father what he should do. His father said, ‘Look, son, you have to make your own ______.”’

“Finally, the boy ______ the same paper, making no change at all. He said, ‘You ______ keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.”’

Monty then looked at me and said, “I tell you this story ______ you are sitting in ray 4, 000- square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch.” He continued, “Two summers ago, the ______ teacher brought 30 kids to camp out on ray ranch for a week. When the teacher was leaving, he said, ‘Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was a dream ______. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. ______ you had not given yours up.’’’

Don’t let anyone steal your dream.______ your heart, no matter what. You can achieve ______ you want in life if you have the ______ to dream it, the intelligence to make a realistic plan, and the ______ to see that plan through to the end.

1.A. keeper B. farmer C. driver D. trainer

2.A. copy B. write C. check D. recite

3.A. describing B. spreading C. realizing D. predicting

4.A. conclusion B. line C. circle D. picture

5.A. also B. just C. really D. still

6.A. unrealistic B. strange C. funny D. common

7.A. knowledge B. practice C. money D. creation

8.A. requested B. warned C. repeated D. added

9.A. opinion B. grade C. impression D. suggestion

10.A. decision B. promise C. standard D. living

11.A. set down B. gave out C. handed in D. tore up

12.A. must B. can C. should D. dare

13.A. when B. although C. until D. because

14.A. particular B. devoted C. experienced D. same

15.A. stealer B. maker C. holder D. leader

16.A. Hopefully B. Fortunately C. Surprisingly D. Sadly

17.A. Follow B. Search C. Take D. Feel

18.A. nothing B. however C. anything D. wherever

19.A. energy B. patience C. wisdom D. courage

20.A. lime B. will C. skill D. chance

假定英語課上老師要求同桌之間交換修改作文，請你修改你同桌寫的以下作文。文中共有10處語言錯誤，每句中最多有兩處。每處錯誤僅涉及一個單詞的增加、刪除或修改。

增加：在缺詞處加一個漏字符號（∧），并在其下面寫出該加的詞。

刪除：把多余的詞用斜線（﹨）劃掉。

修改：在錯的詞下劃一橫線，并在該詞下面寫出修改后的詞。

注意：1.每處錯誤及其修改均僅限一詞；

2.只允許修改10處，多者（從第11處起）不計分。

Have you ever had a headache during a test? Have you ever been too worried about something that you have a headache or even can’t sleep at night? If so, then you know that stress is.

Not all stress is bad for you. Some kinds of stress can help you get things do better, like when you are running towards the finishing line or when you are being asked to give a speech to your class. Stress sometimes can help push you to make full preparation for a test. However, too much stress can result in anger, depression and other related problems, which we need to take serious.

There are many things in our life what might cause stress ------ having too much homework, taking a difficult test, and having economic problems.

It’s impossible to live in a life completely free of stress, so you should learn to deal with stress. The best way reduce stress is to have a balance life. If you get enough sleep, eat properly, take more exercise and have enough fun time, you’ll probably feel less stressed.

假定你是某學(xué)校的學(xué)生會主席。最近，你發(fā)現(xiàn)有些學(xué)生經(jīng)常以零食代替正餐。請你代表學(xué)生會用英語寫一封倡議書，呼吁同學(xué)們養(yǎng)成健康的飲食習(xí)慣。

注意：

1、詞數(shù)100左右；

2、開頭和結(jié)尾已給出，但不計人總詞數(shù)。

Dear friends

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Student Union

While CCTV’s educational show Animal World is well known, few big screen wildlife documentaries have been made by China’s film industry.

But Born in China, which came out on Aug 2, may be important for Chinese filmmakers who want to get into nature -themed films. The movie, directed by Chinese filmmaker Lu Chuan, was shot in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and shows the animals’ lives during different seasons.

Born in China not only brings to audiences the lives of animals that are rarely seen in the wild—giant pandas, snow leopards, and golden monkeys, but also shows Chinese traditional culture.

A symbol of China, the giant panda is both black and white. Its body is thought to show yin and yang, which ancient Chinese ideas were based on. The panda’s gentle nature shows how yin and yang lead to peace. It can be seen in the film when a panda mother guides her baby to look for independence and explore the world.

Unlike the shy pandas, monkeys always have strong personalities. The Monkey King in China’s most famous novel Journey to the West has many conflicting traits(特點). It stands for not only impatience but also cleverness and energy. Born in China follows a 2-year- old golden monkey who leaves his family, but then returns and understands the meaning of responsibility.

Just as the golden monkey, a mother snow leopard also faces difficulty in raising her babies in the wild. The leopards, known for their rapid attacks and quick footwork(腳步), have inspired a form of pictographic(象形拳) in Shaolin martial arts(武術(shù)).

“Born in China is a means to show off Chinese traditional culture,” director Lu told the reporter. “Chinese people have learned a lot from wild animals since ancient times. This is why I shot this nature -themed documentary.”

1.How is Born in China special according to the article?

A. It shows Chinese traditional culture through the lives of animals.

B. It’s considered the best nature-themed film to come out of China.

C. It’s the first big screen wildlife documentary ever made in China.

D. It shows audiences the lives of rare animals.

2.We can learn from the article that in Born in China, _______.

A. the story of the giant pandas shows the importance of exploring the world

B. the story of the golden monkeys was inspired by the Monkey King

C. the stories show how animals grow up to be independent

D. the story about snow leopards shows what people can learn from animals

3.What may be the best title for the text?

A. The stories of 3 animal families B. Symbols of China

C. Wildlife born in China D. Nature shows culture

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 don’t fit. People get very unhappy.”

Wong and her design partner, Xuaner “Cecilia” Zhang, are Team White Mirror, creators of what they call a “virtual (虛擬)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 Ko ng and Zhang from Beijing. They both order most of their clothing online. They got the idea from their own experience 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 you’re 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 Wong and turns her image into, in effect, a virtual model, keeping Wong’s dimensions (尺寸), and even her skin and hair color. “We put the clothes on the shopper’s 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.”

1.Why is shopping conveniently online for clothes a disadvantage?

A. Students may easily get addicted to it.

B. Clothes bought online may not fit.

C. It attracts more online clothing shoppers.

D. It causes shoppers to waste too much money.

2.Wong and Zhang got the idea to design a virtual fitting room from ____.

A. their shopping experiences B. a program at their university

C. some shop-owners’ complaints D. the Xbox 360 video game player

3.Which of the following shows the process of using the virtual fitting room?

A. scanning -- trying on clothes -- getting images

B. trying on clothes -- getting models -- scanning

C. scanning -- getting models --trying on clothes

D. trying on clothes -- getting images -- scanning

4.What did Wong think of her 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.

Reader: For six years, I’ve run an office that has two employees: me and my boss. He used to be so appreciative that I didn’t mind doing a little extra, but about two months ago, he started being rude and demanding. Now he even yells when I don’t have time to bring his favorite wine to his home after work.

This change started when we met a wealthy new customer, who is a huge jerk (古怪的人) -- my boss’s new behavior is just like his.

My boss is a good man; he and his family have treated me like a little sister. Is there a good way to discuss this with him?

Karla: Sounds like your new customer has set a bad example to your boss. You need to remind your boss that you’re in his corner-- but you’re not his slave. My suggestions are as follows.

Start with a simple question in a calm moment: “Is everything okay?”

State the truth: “Until recently, I’ve felt like a valued teammate. But our relationship has become tense. Your expectations of me seem to have changed. Although I used to do occasional personal businesses for you as a favor, now it seems expected.”

Draw your lines: “If you think my job description needs to change or my performance is not good enough, let’s discuss that. Otherwise, I need you to stop yelling at me and to respect my personal time.”

Ideally, you’ll get an apology and a promise to do better. After that, it’s a matter of reinforcement (加強) . If he starts yelling, look at him with a calm expression. After he cools down, restate his request and add, “Is that correct?” For the unreasonable request, such as fetching his favorite wine after work: “I’m afraid I can’t take care of that for you.” If he keeps acting like a jerk, there are bosses out there who will better respect your time and talent.

Karla L. Miller is ready to hear your work dramas. Send your questions to wpmagazine@washpost.com.

1.We can infer that the reader’s boss used to be ____.

A. grateful and friendly B. rich but strange

C. proud and hard-working D. honest but self-centered

2.What does the underlined word “demanding” mean in the first paragraph?

A. appreciating too much B. scolding too much

C. apologizing too much D. expecting too much

3.When the reader’s boss asks her to do something unreasonable next time, she is advised to ___________.

A. quit her job B. look at her boss calmly

C. refuse the request D. discuss the job description

4.What sort of problem can be solved by Karla L. Miller?

A. How do I make a friend?

B. How do I kill my personal time?

C. How can I get along well with my workmates?

D. How can I get rid of wine?