第一部分: 单项填空 （共两节,满分30分）

：单项选择（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

1. ______ Christmas is a special holiday when ______ whole family are supposed to get together.

A. The; a B. /; a C. /; the D. The; the

2. Having decided to rent a flat, we ______ contacting all the real estate agencies in the city.

A. set down B. set about C. set out D. set off

3. There is an obvious ______ between the cultures of the West and the East.

A. content B. contract C. contrast D. contact

4. The trade union intended to call on the workers to go on strike ______ the government’s limitation on exports.

A. in response to B. in memory of C. in common with D. in respect of

5. ______ every week, the screen in the main hall provides students with the latest news home and abroad.

A. To update B. Updating C. Being updated D. Updated

6. We’ll fly to the south to see you immediately the tickets become ______.

A. present B. available C. easy D. convenient

7. This is only a request that the room ______ after being used.

A. be cleaned B. would be cleaned C. is cleaned D. will be cleaned

8. --- How was your weekend, Bella?

--- Awful! It was the first time I ______ alone at home, bored to death.

A. has left B. had left C. has been left D. had been left

9. Changing schools didn’t make a difference _____ her life, and she adapted _____ the new school well.

A. from; to B. to; to C. to; from D. from; from

10. The poor weather may have ______ the small number of visitors to the parade.

A. resulted from B. dated back to C. accounted for D. taken up

11. The new buyer identified a dozen new sources for the material, ______ proved to be reliable.

A. most of them B. most of which C. most of who D. most of those

12. When you reach the other end of the bridge, I ______ right there to show you the way.

A. am waiting B. have waited C. was waiting D. will be waiting

13. They say using cell phones can cause heart diseases, but I’m ______ about it.

A. concerned B. sceptical C. enthusiastic D. particular

14. ______ everyone else wouldn’t go to the dark cave, he went into it without hesitation.

A. While B. In spite of C. As long as D. Until

15. The report based on figures from six different cities in Europe ______ six parts.

A. make up B. consist of C. is made up of D. is consisted of

16. The World Wide Web is sometimes jokingly called the World Wide Wait because it ______ be very slow.

A. should B. must C. will D. can

17. The bus driver stopped just in time and ______ missed the old man lying in front.

A. nearly B. narrowly C. hardly D. mostly

18. Her mother ______ her not to play computer games too much, but she showed no concern to it.

A. persuaded B. suggested C. warned D. hoped

19. Ben is always punctual, but he was late for school this morning. He ______ the first early bus.

A. must miss B. might miss C. can have missed D. may have missed

20. ---______ I’m afraid we’ll miss the plane.

---We should have taken a taxi!

A. Get a move on. B. I have had enough of you.

C. Hang on a minute. D. That’s quite something.

第二节： 用所给词的适当形式填空或在空白处填上适当的词使句意完整通顺。(共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分)

21. The reporters hurried to the airport, only __________ (find) the film stars had left.

22. You didn’t follow me. Your mind must have been wandering when I ________ (speak), wasn’t it?

23. They held a party in ____________ (celebrate) of the success of their performance.

24. The top of the mountain is covered with cloud. It looks __________ it is going to rain.

25. He pretended _____________ (read) when our English teacher came in.

26. ____________ (determine) to get high marks in the coming exam, Liu Xin has been staying up to revise every subject these days.

27. Most boys like playing basketball, but there are some _____________ (except).

28. Seeking perfection is always a bad idea, because life is ____________ (predict) and full of surprises.

29. So curious were the children ____________ what the teacher had been doing that they kept staring at her.

30. There are a lot of signs ___________ (indicate) men are more likely to have heart attacks than women.

第二部分：阅读理解（共两节,满分40分）

第一节: （共15小题；每小题2分,满分30分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A

“Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy—they’re given after all. Choices can be hard.”

——Jeff Bezos

I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people, and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, “That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job.” That logic made some sense to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but ultimately (最后), I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing. But I believed I would always be haunted by a decision of not trying at all.

After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I’m proud of that choice. For all of us, in the end, we are our choices.

31. What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?

A. His dream of being an inventor.???

B. The support of his wife.

C. The greatly increasing usage of the Internet.???

D. Millions of exciting titles.

32. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?

A. The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him.???

B. He would be very excited if he tried it out.???

C. He would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try.?????

D. The decision of not trying the online bookstore would terrify him.

33. We can know from the passage that __________.?? A. the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author

B. the author wanted someone else to try the idea

C. the author might not regret if he failed the idea

D. the author might go back to his boss if he failed

34. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Cleverness and Kindness???? B. The Starting of AmazonC. Following My Passion????? D. We Are What We Choose

B

CNN news-Jan 16, 2013

Protests (抗议) have been going on for about a week now in the northern Irish capital of Belfast. They started out peacefully, but some of them turned violent later on. There is a lot of history behind these protests, and it starts with geography. What’s interesting is that Northern Ireland is not part of the Republic of Ireland. It’s part of the United Kingdom, and that’s what’s behind this tension. Nationalists, mostly Catholic, think Northern Ireland should be part of the Republic of Ireland. Unionists, or Loyalists, mostly Protestants, want to stay part of the United Kingdom. The conflict between those two groups led to decades of violence, and more than 3,000 people were killed before a peace deal was signed in 1998. The protests happening now are connected to a decision related to the British flag. In Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, the flag used to fly over City Hall every day of the year. Last month, local officials decided to limit that to 18 days per year. Unionists weren’t happy about that. In some cases protesters have thrown concrete blocks, bricks, and even gasoline bombs at police. Officers have responded by using water cannons to break up the protesters.

Next up, we are heading to the capital of China, Beijing. Experts say that city has something in common with Los Angeles: smog. This gray haze is hanging in the air, making things hard to see. Yesterday, the numbers indicating smog levels were off the charts. Authorities warned people there to stay inside. Last year nearly 700 flights were canceled at Beijing airports because of haze and smog. Officials in China say that the air quality in the capital has gotten better since Beijing hosted the 2008 Olympics, but residents say the pollution levels have gotten worse.

35. What’s behind the tension in Belfast?

A. Northern Ireland doesn’t belong to the Republic of Ireland.

B. Northern Ireland plans to break away from Ireland.

C. Northern Ireland intends to become independent.

D. Ireland is too complicated a country to be united.

36. Which group of people think Ireland should NOT be divided into two parts?

A. Unionists. B. Nationalists. C. Loyalists. D. Local officials.

37. The direct cause of the protest going on now is that __________.

A. lots of people were killed in decades of violence

B. a peace deal was signed between the two groups

C. the police used violence to break up the protesters

D. British flag won’t appear over City Hall every day

38. According to the news report, what does Beijing have in common with Los Angeles?

A. Delayed flights. B. Angry people. C. Smog. D. Hosting Olympics.

C

I heard many parents complaining that their teenage children are rebelling(叛逆). I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teenagers are taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents. Instead of striking out boldly on their own, most of them are clutching (紧握) at one another’s hands for reassurance.

They claim they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow they all end up huddled (聚在一起) round listening to the same record. Their reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is