We are hoping for support from Mr. Webster, without ____support we can’t make it.

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

We would rather our daughter ____at home with us, but it is her choice, and she is not a child any longer.

A. would stay B. has stayed

C. stayed D. stay

Countless people long to make a difference this holiday season, yet they don’t realize that opportunities to make a difference are everywhere. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Organize a blank drive

It is cold outside, but imagine how thousands of homeless people may feel without a home of their own, or even a blanket to keep them from the cold. Organize a blank drive for your local homeless, and ask around for donations!

Practice random acts of kindness

I’ll never forget the time when I went to pay for my Dr. Pepper, but the server resisted, saying my bill was paid by an anonymous (匿名的) guest. It’s this random act of kindness that restores my faith in humanity. Bless someone by paying for their drink at Starbucks, or praising them! If you live somewhere where it snows, shovel your neighbor’s snow out of their driveway for them! Whether it is as simple as praise or as complex as paying the bill, you’ll never know how far your impact will reach.

Say thank you

Just a simple thank-you can make somebody’s day, especially if they feel like their work is never noticed. Cultivate（培養(yǎng)）a smile on their face by being sincere and grateful for all that they do.

Use your talents to help the community

The best way to show your appreciation for people is by using the talents and skills you have to bless others. For me, I love to coordinate（協(xié)調(diào)）events and write , and so my way of reaching out to the community is through writing articles and creating awareness about problems we face today. If you can bake, make some delicious cookies for people to enjoy! If you can knit, put your talents to use by making clothes for children in foster care. Any talent can be used to help the community in meaningful ways.

Wish you a happy, healthy and helpful holiday season.

1.If you join a blank drive, you can _________.

A. collect donations for the homeless people

B. bring a blanket to go on a trip

C. buy a home for homeless people

D. keep yourself from the cold

2.How did the author restore his faith in humanity?

A. He helps others B. He often blessed others

C. He got help from others D. He got praised by others

3.The underlined phrase “make somebody’s day” is to_________.

A. make someone feel grateful all day

B. do something unnoticed by people

C. make someone feel good all day

D. help someone to solve problems

4.What is the author’s talent?

A. Sewing B. Writing

C. Baking D. Knitting

5.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A. Make a Difference in Your Holiday Season

B. Make the Best of Talent

C. Enjoy Your Holiday Season

D. Help Others in Need

Miss sending letters? Try Lettrs! This new service brings back the art of letter writing by marrying it to the Internet.

Lettrs, a new site, is attempting to bring back the old-fashioned idea of letter writing by providing a space that feels a little bit like a writing desk.

Of course, there’ll be purists who say that to truly enjoy letter writing you must do it on fancy letter paper and envelope in the mail is part of the fun. And if you’re into that sort of thing, go for it. But I can’t be the only one who is now so much faster at typing that writing by hand is painfully slow. Nor can I be the only one who likes to write on a whim (一時興起) when I’m going to be on a crowded train or airplane, both of which are situations where writing on the computer is far easier.

The site tries, pretty seriously, to approximate(接近) what it’s like to have your very own writing desk and paper to choose from (which comes in various prints and colors) as well as corresponding（通信）types of prints and cursive writing (草寫體) that come out on your screen as you write. There’s also a “desk drawer” for letters you’ve already sent, a “fridge” to post letters publicly, a “kitchen counter” for letters you have just received, and “shoebox” to store your letters in.

And if you need inspiration there are even old-style letters that are great examples of the kind of correspondence people used to send. Lettrs is such a great idea, because you get the best parts of communicating online (typing rather than writing, the speed, no lost mail, and it’s free! ) with the nice parts of a letter－the sense of sitting down to write, quietly, to one person in a meaningful way.

Who would you write to?

1.How does Lettrs work according to the text?

A. By providing real paper for letter writers.

B. By making room for people to write letters.

C. By supplying writing desks to letter writers.

D. By combining letter writing with the Internet.

2.It can be inferred from the text that the author_________.

A. is one of the purists

B. prefers writing to typing

C. always hopes to get paper letters

D. likes using Lettrs to write letters

3.A Lettrs user can find a newly received letter in or on a“_________”.

A. desk drawer B. fridge

C. kitchen counter D. shoebox

4.What is the main purpose of the author writing the text?

A. To advise readers to use Lettrs.

B. To tell readers how to write letters.

C. To persuade readers to write letters.

D. To show the advantage of the Internet.

5.What is the text mainly about?

A. An old art of letter writing.

B. A new service of letter writing.

C. The advantages of letter writing.

D. The development of letter writing.

The murmur of the audience had just faded into expectant silence. This was one of the most important days in little five-year-old Patricia McKee’s life: the Kernot School Concert. She stood behind the curtain with her schoolmates. Yet she was not afraid because everyone had been practicing for weeks and knew their parts by heart.

Being in a remote country town, Patricia knew that everyone would turn out for the big occasion－everyone! Yet, it was this awareness that added a sense of sadness to her excitement. There were two people who couldn’t be in that audience that night－h(huán)er mum and dad.

Patricia’s mother and father ran the local general store, which was open for business 24 hours. So it was simply accepted that Mum and Dad could never attend community activities. It had been this way with her sister, so why should it be any different for her?

Still, Patricia couldn’t help wishing that her mum and dad could be there to see her on such a special day, so she decided to bring up the subject with her mother. Sadly, she had to face the facts. At such a young age, Patricia couldn’t really understand the deep pain in her mother’s response: “I’ll try to be there, sweetheart, but you know how hard it is for us to get away from the store.”

Yet as the curtain slowly opened on the stage of the Kernot Hall, little Patricia McKee got the surprise of her life. There, sitting four rows the front was her mother with a big smile on her face!

This powerful image remains one of Patricia’s most treasured memories. “Words cannot express the pure joy we both experienced at that moment. I was really walking on air,” said Patricia, now a parent herself. Her parents have passed away, but what a wonderful legacy（遺產(chǎn)）they’ve left us: when someone really needs you, be there for them.

1.Why did Patricia have a feeling of sadness？

A. She had no chance to watch the concert.

B. She performed unsuccessfully at the concert.

C. Her parents had gone to a remote country town.

D. Her parents were unlikely to attend the concert.

2.What do we know about Patricia’s parents？

A. They loved Patricia more than her sister.

B. They had little interest in social activities.

C. They had to mind the store day and night.

D. They paid no attention to Patricia’s school life.

3.According to Paragraph 4, while giving the response, Patricia’s mother probably felt_________.

A. calm B. sorry C. angry D. nervous

4.What does the underlined phrase “walking on air” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A. Surprised. B. Troubled.

C. Very happy. D. Very comfortable.

5.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. A smiling face in the crowd.

B. An extremely busy mother.

C. A big occasion in school.

D. A secret wish.

Parents do need to teach their kids financial responsibility and that money is earned. Still, many child-development experts agree that tying a child’s allowance to chores can be a slippery slope. Here’s why.

Susie Walton, master instructor at Peace in Your Home advises to keep chores and allowances totally separate. “Allowance is one thing. When it comes to chores, life skills, responsibilities­－that’s a whole different thing.” says Walton.

Walton says, “When kids aren’t doing a chore, you don't say, ‘well, there goes your allowance.’ You’re going to sit them down and ask what’s going on. ‘We are a team. We are a family. We’ve got to have them done.’”

Besides, by paying children for chores with an allowance, you’ll also be sending the message that work isn't worth doing unless they’re getting paid for it.

There are times when it would make sense to pay kids for chores. Most financial and child-development experts agree that it’s a fine idea to pay children money for extra jobs that are outside their normal set of chores, such as washing windows, washing the car or helping to clean out the garage－especially if the child is saving for a big item. This may even develop an entrepreneurial (企業(yè)家的) spirit to think outside of the box to earn money.

For parents who are concerned that their children won’t learn the value of a dollar if the allowance isn’t tied to household chores, note that there are still plenty of money management skills to be learned from a straight allowance. Depending on the age, kids can be made responsible for paying for their own toys or snacks. Some parents even require that kids set aside a percentage of their allowance toward savings.

“I really like having my own money,” says Kevin, 9. “It’s up to me if I want to buy the cheap toy now, or save and get the better toy.” And that’s a good lesson to learn at 9 years old.

No matter which allowance route you take in parenthood, kids will feel empowered by being able to handle their own money.

1.Which of the following would Susie Walton most probably agree with?

A. A child’s allowance shouldn’t be tied to chores.

B. Kids shouldn’t be forced to do chores.

C. Doing chores teaches kids the value of work.

D. Kids should be paid for doing chores.

2.According to Susie Walton, if kids don’t do chores, parents should ________.

A. teach them the entrepreneurial spirit

B. talk to them about family responsibilities.

C. give them a smaller allowance than usual

D. punish them by not giving them their allowances

3.In Paragraph 6, “a straight allowance” probably means “________”.

A. money given by charity organizations

B. money earned by doing part-time jobs.

C. money earned by doing everyday household chores

D. money given by parents and not dependent on chores

4.What is the author’s attitude towards Kevin’s action?

A. Worried. B. Doubtful.

C. Approving. D. Unfavorable.

5.The text is mainly about _____________.

A. the importance of kids doing chores

B. whether parents should pay kids for chores

C. the advantages of kids handling their own money

D. whether parents should give kids regular allowances

閱讀表達(dá),閱讀下面短文，并按照題目要求用英語回答問題。

When Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, in San Francisco, California, his unmarried mother decided to put him for adoption because she wanted a girl. So in the middle of the night, his mother called a lawyer named Paul Jobs and said, “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” But his mother told his future parents to promise that they would send Jobs to college. After Steve Jobs graduated from high school, he went to college but decided to drop out because it was so expensive that he had to sleep on the floor in his friends’ rooms. At 20, he and a friend(Steve Wozniak) started a company in a garage on April 1, 1976. Jobs named their company－Apple in memory of a happy summer he had spent as an orchard (果園) in Oregon.

After 10 years of hard time and failures, starting from two kids working in a garage, Apple computer eventually grew into a big company with over 4000 employees.

At 30, Jobs, however, was fired from the company he co-founded. But after he had to leave the company, Apple was under heavy pressure from rival－Microsoft and in 1996 posted billions of dollars in losses. Apple needed Steve Jobs and he was appointed as Apple’ CEO in1997. Under his leadership, Apple returned to profitability introducing new products such as the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.

Steve Jobs once said, “Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick, Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.”

1.What did Steve Jobs’ mother do after he was born? (No more than 10 words)

2.Why did Jobs name their company－Apple? (No more than 15 words)

3.How did Jobs help Apple return to profitability? (No more than 10 words)

4.What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “drop out” in Paragraph 1? ( No more than 2 words)

5.Do you agree with what Jobs said in the last Paragraph? Give reasons in your own words.( No more than 20 words)

書面表達(dá)

假設(shè)你是李華，你上周剛剛參加了你校舉辦的第十屆英語演講比賽，并從三十名選手中脫穎而出，榮獲“十佳獎”。在準(zhǔn)備參賽期間，你的外教Mr.Craige對你提供了很多指導(dǎo)和幫助�，F(xiàn)請你用英語給他寫一封感謝信，內(nèi)容包括：

1.獲獎情況及感受； 2.回顧準(zhǔn)備過程； 3.感謝他的幫助； 4.邀他來家做客。

注意：1．詞數(shù)不少于100詞；

2．可適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié)，以使行文連貫；

3．文章開頭已經(jīng)寫好，不計入總詞數(shù)。

提示：十佳獎：Top Ten Prize 選手competitor

Dear Mr. Craige,

I am writing to tell you something about the l0th English Speaking Contest I took part in last week in our school.

Yours,

Li Hua

Yuan Rongping is a great person ______ his life to helping farmers harvest more rice.

A. devotes B. devoting C. devoted D. who devote

Sun Yat-sen ___ the first Republic in China in 1911 after he fought for the Chinese people for many years.

A. found B. founded C. had founded D. founding