Grandmother and Grandfather told him what a lucky boy he was to come to this wonderful city. But Carlos was lonely. The city looked big, cold and dirty to him.

They lived in an apartment(公寓)in Manhattan. There were stores and cinemas close to their home. But Carlos didn’t want these things. He loved his home in the country in Puerto Rico; he loved the green fields, the hot sun, and the lovely beaches.

He didn’t want to go to school because it made him think of his friends at home. And he didn’t want to learn a new language that he could never describe the world as beautifully as his own.

He began to go the dock(码头), because this made him feel closer to Puerto Rico. He sat down and watched the ships. He would often find a man also sitting there looking at the sea. The man was Eric—a taxi driver who came there to escape from the noisy traffic.

Eric noticed the young boy and felt his sadness. One day he said, “Yes, it’s hard to leave your homeland. I remember when I left Norway 15 years ago. I know it’s hard to start a new life in a new country, but let’s face it. I did it, and you can do it, too.”

From then on the taxi driver and the young boy began to develop a deep friendship.

1. The underlined word “detested” in Paragraph 1 probably means “________”.

A. enjoyed B. missed C. forgot D. hated

2. According to the text, ________________.

A. Carlos’ brother and sister got excited at the schools in New York

B. Carlos’ uncle and aunt found it hard to get jobs in New York

C. Carlos’ parents were looking forward to the life in New York

D. Carlos’ grandparents were afraid of the traffic in New York

3. Why did Carlos feel lonely?

A. No one went to the movies with him. B. He knew nobody around his apartment

C. He missed the life in Puerto Rico. D. His parents left him alone at home.

4. Eric and Carlos became friends because they ________.

A. came from the same country B. were the same age

C. faced the same problems D. both hated noise

B

My mother always told us there is no use crying over spilled milk. That means you should not get angry when something bad happens and cannot be changed. She also told us you have to break some eggs to make an omelet（煎蛋卷）. This means you have to do what is necessary to move forward.

My mother believed you are what you eat. A good diet is important for good health. She would always give us healthy food. She liked serving us meat and potatoes for dinner. Meat and potatoes can also mean the most important part of something. It describes someone who likes simple things.

People always said my father was the salt of the earth，because he would never pour salt on a wound, or make someone feel worse about something that was already a bad experience. However, sometimes he told us a story that seemed bigger than life. So we had to take it with a grain(粒) of salt. That is, we could not believe everything he told us.

My manager at work does not always know what is going on in our office. Yet she is right about one thing: there is no such thing as a free lunch. Something may appear to be free, but there may be a hidden cost. When we fail to see problems at work, my manager tells us to wake up and smell the coffee. We need to pay more attention and fix the problem. I once made a big mistake at the office and felt silly. I had egg on my face.

Over the weekend, my friend invited me to watch a football game on television. But I do not like football. It is not my cup of tea.

I hope I have given you food for thought, that is, something to think about.

5. When problems come up, the author’s mother told them to _____.

A. hurry up B. keep calm C. give up D. be careful

6. Which of the following is used to describe someone who likes simple things?

A. the salt and milk B. the meat and potatoes

C. the milk and eggs D. the tea and coffee

7. In people’s eyes, the author’s father ______.

A. is a very nice man B. always feels unhappy

C. always tells lies D. is a good storyteller

8. If a girl’s face turns red because she does a wrong thing, she may say “______”.

A. It is not my cup of tea. B. I have egg on my face.

C. I am the salt of the earth. D. I am what I eat.

C

I have recently completed my college degree. The last project was called “Smile”. The class was asked to go out to smile at three people and document their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake.

My husband, youngest son and I went out to McDonald. We were standing in line when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away. As I turned around I smelled a horrible body odour(气味) and saw two poor homeless men standing behind me. As I looked at the short blue-eyed gentleman closest to me, he was “smiling”. The second man fumbled(摸索) with his hands as he stood behind his friend.

“Coffee is all, Miss.” Because that was all they could afford.

Then I really felt it—I embraced(拥抱) the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action. I smiled and asked two more breakfast meals on and gave them to the men.

The blue-eyed gentleman looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Thank you." When I set down my husband smiled at me. We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that because of the good fortune that we had been given.

I turned in my project. My teacher said, “Can I share this?" I slowly nodded as she got attention of the class. She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings share this need to heal people and to be healed.

In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's and every soul that heard the story in the classroom. But, I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn.

9. Why did people around the author in the McDonald step back?

A. Because they were moved by the two men.

B. Because they were very polite to the two men.

C. Because the two men seemed unfriendly.

D. Because the two men smelt terrible.

10. Why did the two men only buy coffee?

A. Because they were looked down upon.

B. Because they didn’t have enough money.

C. Because they didn’t feel happy.

D. Because they knew others would help them.

11. What did the author think she learn from the story?

A. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

B. Don’t judge people by their appearance.

C. Helping others can bring pleasure to many people.

D. Nothing is difficult to a willing heart.

D

Once upon a time，there was a tortoise on a ship，and the ship was damaged and dropped into the water. Some time later the tortoise made it to a desert land surrounded(包围)by water on all sides except for one. The landward(向陆地的)side led up to a big mountain. To avoid starving to death，the tortoise decided to climb to the top of the mountain，hoping that he would be able to cross to the other side.

　　When he got to the snow-covered top he was very cold，and then a heavy snow storm started. He just managed to make out a small pathway leading down the other side of the mountain. But the path was guarded(看守)by a big monster(怪物)that wouldn't stop shouting.

　　“Uuh uuh uuh！”Such a sight and sound made tortoise extremely scared，and all he wanted to do was hide his head inside his shell. But，looking around him，he saw that many other animals were lying in the snow，with looks of fear on their faces. So the tortoise didn't go into his shell.

　　He summoned up(鼓起)all his courage to move down the path towards the monster. The closer the tortoise got，the more the monster changed its shape. Then，when he was almost upon it，the tortoise realized that what he had thought was a monster was only a great pile of rocks，which formed a shape just like a monster. As for the“Uuh uuh uuh”，the tortoise realized this was just the sound of the wind blowing through a small cave.

　　The tortoise carried on，and finally went down into a beautiful valley，filled with woods and plenty of food. The tortoise lived very happily there.

12．The tortoise decided to climb to the other side of the mountain ________.　

A．to meet other animals B．to fight against the monster

C．to look for food D．to enjoy the scenery

13．The underlined word “scared” in Para.3 most probably means ________.　

A．calm B．powerful

C．happy D．frightened

14．Why were many animals lying in the snow?

A．Because they feared the monster.

B．Because they lost their way.

C．Because they were too cold to move.

D．Because they were too hungry to move.

15．What did the tortoise do when hearing the sound of the monster?

A．He went into his shell.

B．He kept moving on.

C．He found another path.

D．He returned the same way he came.

第二节 根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余项。（共5小题，每小题2分，满分10分）

Learning a foreign language benefits a person in several ways. __16__ However, how can you learn a foreign language properly?

Spend time on it. The most important factor is how much time you devote to learning the language. __17___. This means listening, reading, writing, speaking and studying words and phrases. This also means spending your time enjoyably in ways that are connected to the language you are learning.

__18___. Listen wherever you are on your MP3 player. Read what you are listening to. Listen to and read things that you like, things that you can mostly understand. If you keep listening and reading you will get used to the language.

Focus on words and phrases. Build up your vocabulary, for you will need lots of words.___19__ Learn these words and phrases through listening and reading.

Take responsibility for your learning. If you do want to learnt he language, take control. Choose content that you want to listen to and read. Talk when you feel like it. Write when you feel like it.

Finally, relax and enjoy yourself.__20___ It doesn’t matter. You are learning and improving. Just make sure you spend enough time with th