A

When a group of children politely stop a conversation with you， saying， “We have to go to work now，” youre left feeling surprised and certainly uneasy. After all， this is the 1990s and the idea of children working is just unthinkable. That is， until you are told that they are all pupils of stage schools， and that the “work” they go off to is to go on the stage in a theatre.

Stage schools often act as agencies to supply children for stage and television work. More worthy of the name “stage school” are those few places where children attend full time， with a training for the theatre and a general education.

A visit to such schools will leave you in no doubt that the children enjoy themselves. After all， what lively children wouldnt settle for spending only half the day doing ordinary school work， and acting， singing or dancing their way through the other half of the day？

Then of course these are time for the children to make a name and make a little money in some big shows. Some stage schools give their children too much professional work at such a young age. But the law is very tight（嚴格的）on the amount they can do. Those under 13 are limited to 40 days in the year； those over 13 do 80 days.

The schools themselves admit that not all children will be successful in the profession for which they are being trained. So what happens to those who dont make it？ While all the leading schools say they place great importance on children getting good study results， the facts seem to suggest this is not always the case.

1. People would stop feeling uneasy when realizing that the children theyre talking to ___ .

A. attend a stage school B. are going to the theatre

C. get some work to do D. love singing and dancing

2. In the writers opinion， a good stage school should ___ .

A. produce star performers

B. help pupils improve their study skills

C. train pupils in language and performing arts

D. provide a general education and stage training

3. How does the writer feel about stage schools？

A. He thinks highly of what they offer.

B. He favours an early training of performing arts.

C. He is against children putting on night shows.

D. He doubts the standard of ordinary education they have reached.

B

When I lived in Spain， some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left， they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation（住處）. I suggested that they should stay at “bed and breakfast” houses， because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends took my advice， but they came back with some funny stories.

“We didnt stay at ‘bed and breakfast houses，” they said， “because we found that most families were away on holiday.”

I thought this was strange. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English， and they thought “VACANCIES” meant “holidays”， because the Spanish word for “holidays” is “vacaciones”. So they did not go to houses where the sign outside said “VACANCIES”， which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to a house where the sign said “NO VACANCIES”， because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full. As a result， they stayed at hotels！

We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. In Spanish， the word “DIVERSION” means fun. In English， it means that workmen are repairing the road， and that you must take a different road. When my friends saw the word “DIVERSION” on a road sign， they thought they were going to have fun. Instead， the road ended in a large hole.

English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages. Once in Paris， when someone offered me some more coffee， I said “Thank you” in French. I meant that I would like some more， however， to my surprise the coffee pot was taken away！ Later I found out that “Thank you” in French means “No， thank you.”

4. The writers Spanish friends wanted advice about ___ .

A. learning English

B. going to England by car

C. finding places to stay in England

D. driving their car on English roads

5. Why did the writer suggest that his Spanish friends stay at “bed and breakfast” houses？

A. They would be able to practise their English.

B. It would be convenient for them to have dinner.

C. It would be much cheaper than staying in hotels.

D. There would be no problem finding accommodation there.

6. According to Paragraph 3， the underlined words “NO VACANCIES” in English mean ___ .

A. holidays B. free rooms

C. no free rooms D. not away on holiday

7. What will you do if you see a road sign that says “DIVERSION” in England？

A. Fall into a hole.

B. Have to take a different road.

C. Have a lot of fun and enjoy yourself.

D. Find that the road is blocked by crowds of people.

8. When someone offered the writer more coffee and he said “Thank you” in French， he ___ .

A. really wanted some more coffee

B. wanted to express my politeness

C. didnt really want any more coffee

D. wanted them to take the coffee pot away

C

Barack Obama， Lady Gaga and Steve Jobs—what do they have in common？ They are， of course， all Americans. And according to a survey by social networking site badoo. com， they all best illustrate（舉例說明）the word “cool”.

But just what does it mean to say someone is “cool”？ Most would answer that it is something to do with being independent-minded and not following the crowd.

Yale University art professor Robert Farris Thompson says that the term “cool” goes back to 15th century West African philosophy. “Cool” relates to ideas of grace under pressure.

“In Africa， ” he writes， “coolness is a positive quality which combines calmness， silence and life.”

The modern idea of “cool” developed largely in the US in the period after World War II. “Post-war ‘cool was in part an expression of war-weariness（厭戰(zhàn)情緒）... It went against the strict social rules of the time，” write sociologists Dick Pountain and David Robins in Cool Rules： Anatomy of an Attitude.

But it was the American actor James Dean who became the symbol for “cool” in the hugely successful 1955 movie Rebel without a Cause. Dean plays a tough guy who disobeys his parents and the authorities. He always gets the girl， smokes cigarettes， wears a leather jacket and beats up bullies（欺凌弱小者）. In the movie， Dean showed what “cool” would mean to American young people for the next 60 years.

Today the focus of “cool” has changed to athletics（體育運動）stars. Often in movies about schools， students gain popularity on the athletics field more than in the classroom. This can be seen quite clearly in movies like Varsity Blues and John Tucker Must Die.

But many teenagers also think being smart is cool. Chess and other thinking games have been becoming more popular in schools.

“Call it the Harry Potterization of America—a time when being smart is the new cool，” writes journalist Joe Sunnen.

9. What is the main purpose of mentioning the three persons in Paragraph 1？

A. To show what they have in common.

B. To tell us what is “cool”.

C. To introduce the topic.

D. To draw our attention.

10. If you were considered “cool” in Africa in the 15th century， you ________.

A. thought and acted differently from the majority

B. had a calm and quiet attitude towards life

C. didnt observe rules and authorities

D. had all kinds of “bad” manners

11. The heroes in Varsity Blues and John Tucker Must Die are likely to be those who ________.

A. are very skilled at sports

B. do very well in their studies

C. are good at chess and other thinking games

D. have supernatural powers like Harry Potter

12. What does the article mainly talk about？

A. How to be a “cool” person.

B. The origin of the word “cool”.

C. The kinds of people who are “cool”.

D. The changing meaning of the word “cool”.

根據短文內容，從短文后的選項中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項。選項中有兩項為多余選項。

Does failure really exist？

If you believe you have failed， then you have. If you believe you dont have the ability to succeed， then you dont.

1 The moment you decide to give up or to stop working toward your goals， failure is born.

2

Most people give up without even realizing it. They are willing to work hard on reaching their goals， but only until the going gets too rough or their energy dies down. Dont do that！ 3 Never quit， never admit failure， and never lose heart.

Dont believe in a clear finish line for goals.

Its a good idea to set a general timeline， but remember that something will be beyond your control. 4 If you lock yourself into a given timeline， you might make yourself feel like a failure！ Instead， get a general idea of when youd like your goal to be completed. Then take it one day at a time and focus on making progress instead of reaching the finish line in as little time as possible.

Be sure that you dont see difficulties as failures.

Difficulties mean only one thing： its not time for your goal to be completed yet. Thats it！ It doesnt mean you fail； it doesnt mean you are weak； it doesnt mean youll never achieve your goals. 5 Youve got to keep moving forward and find a way over， around， or through the difficulties.

A. Never give up on yourself.

B. Failure only exists in your own mind！

C. Thats exactly how failure makes us feel.

D. It simply means you have not done enough yet.

E. You can never say exactly when your goal will be reached.

F. Make up your mind to make your goal happen， no matter what！

G. Work hard towards your goal， and you will be more likely to get good results.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Across the street from our home was a school and I would often watch the kids as they played basketball during the break. I often noticed a small 1 playing with boys. I watched in 2 as she ran circles around the other kids. She 3 to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net. The boys always tried to stop her but no one could. At other times I saw her playing alone， sometimes until 4 .

One day I asked her why she 5 so much. She looked

6 in my eyes and without a moment of hesitation（猶豫）she said， “The only way I can go to 7 is to get a scholarship（獎學金）. I believe that I would get it if I were good enough at 8 . My daddy told me if the dream is big enough， the facts dont 9 .” Then with a determined smile she ran towards the court. I watched her 10 those junior high years and into high school. Every week， she led her team to victory.

One day in her senior year， I saw her sitting in the grass， head 11 in her arms. The coach told her that at 5 feet 5 inches she would 12 never get to play for a top ranked team—much less offered a scholarship—so she should 13

dreaming about college. I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet. She 14 her head from her hands and told me that her father said those coaches just did not understand the 15 of a dream. He told her that if she truly wanted a scholarship， 16

could stop her except one thing—her own attitude.

The next year， 17 she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game， she was seen by a college coach. She was indeed 18 a scholarship， a full one. She was going to get the college education that she had 19 of and worked toward for all those years. Its 20 ： If the dream is big enough， the facts dont count.

1. A. boy B. girl C. student D. coach

2. A. question B. shock C. wonder D. delight

3. A. managed B. tried C. figured D. attempted

4. A. morning B. noon C. dark D. afternoon

5. A. practised B. suffered C. performed D. worked

6. A. nervously B. quickly C. quietly D. directly

7. A. work B. court C. college D. school

8. A. football B. basketball C. study D. work

9. A. damage B. lose C. count D. win

10. A. past B. over C. beyond D. through

11. A. buried B. placed C. hidden D. dropped

12. A. firmly B. sadly C. nearly D. probably

13. A. stop B. begin C. continue D. keep

14. A. lowered B. lifted C. turned D. moved

15. A. effect B. power C. aim D. advantage

16. A. something B. anything C. everything D. nothing

17. A. after B. before C. as D. once

18. A. brought B. handed C. sent D. offered

19. A. thought B. dreamed C. complained D. warned

20. A. true B. possible C. proper D. perfect

My neighbor Alan is going to graduate college soon and he hasnt found the job yet. He was once advised to learn computer skills， so he thought it was difficulty. When he saw others learning English， he shook his head， says it was too hard to remember new word. Not long ago， he went to look for a job. When he knew talents were greatly needing， he regretted the time that what he had wasted. He told me how he wished he had worked hardly in college and asks me not to copy his example.

1. 他被認為不擅長釣魚，但令我們驚奇的是，今天他表現得很好。（to ones surprise）

2. 我在體操比賽中轉錯了方向，失去了和其他優(yōu)秀選手競爭的機會。（compete with）

3. 實際上，提前購買火車票通常能保證你有一個好座位。（guarantee）

4. 雖然石油價格確實在增長，但對石油的需求量也在增加。（on the increase）

請以“My Favorite Sport”為題，寫一篇英語短文。

要點：

1. 你喜歡的體育運動項目；

2. 你喜歡該體育運動項目的理由；

3. 做此體育運動時要注意的事項。

注意：

1. 詞數100左右；

2. 可以適當增加細節(jié)，以使行文連貫。

My Favorite Sport