A

A clever cat has been treated as a hero after he prevented his owners house from burning down—by opening a window. Five-year-?old Pepper has learned to open windows and let himself out every night by jumping onto a kitchen worktop and using his paws to turn the latch（門閂）. So when a fire broke out while his owners were Christmas shopping， the quick-thinking cat jumped into action and opened the window to allow the smoke to escape. The cloud of ash alerted neighbors and firefighters rushed to the scene and extinguished（撲滅）the fire before it spread to the rest of the house.

Owner Sharon White Devon said， “He first did it （opened the window） at a dinner party and everyone was applauding him. I think it encouraged him. He can climb back through the window by jumping onto the ledge as well so he really does come and go as he pleases.” “Pepper is still a bit scared by the terrible experience but is still managing to eat plenty of food.” Sharon and husband Phil Devon got Pepper over four years ago after a neighbor could no longer look after him. Over the last few months， Pepper has learnt to let himself out through the downstairs window by turning the metal lever 90 degrees with his paws.

The dramatic fire started at 4 pm on Saturday after the couple left to the shops and left their microwave on a ten minute timer， which then caught fire.

Sharon said， “We are thankful our neighbors did not just dismiss the smoke as a bonfire. Pepper has got a real mind of his own. On this occasion were grateful as without him and our neighbors， the fire could have been so much worse.”

1. What were Mr and Mrs Devon doing when the fire broke out？

A. Sleeping.

B. Taking a walk.

C. Going shopping.

D. Watching a football game.

2. Who put out the fire？

A. Pepper. B. A hero.

C. Firefighters. D. The Devons.

3. What can we infer about Pepper from the passage？

A. It suffers from the fire.

B. It often lets smoke out.

C. It is smart and quick in learning.

D. It lived with the Devons four years ago.

4. The passage can be classified as ___ .

A. a news report B. a cartoon movie

C. a scientific fiction D. a pet training course

B

Have you ever wondered why birds sing？ Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all， you probably sing or whistle（吹口哨）when you are happy.

Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However， they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.

Do you know what a “territory” is？ A territory is an area that an animal， usually the male， claims as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger entered your territory and threatened you， you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.

If so， you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time， especially at nesting（筑巢）season. So he is screaming all the time， whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a birds song， and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.

Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.

You can see that birds have a language all their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.

5. Some scientists believe that mostly the birds singing is actually ___ .

A. a way of warning

B. a way of greeting

C. an expression of anger

D. an expression of happiness

6. What is a birds “territory”？

A. An area which a bird considers to be its own.

B. An area for which birds fight against each other.

C. A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice.

D. A place where families of other species are not accepted.

7. How does the writer explain birds singing？

A. By telling a birds story.

B. By describing birds daily life.

C. By reporting experiment results.

D. By comparing birds with human beings.

8. Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season？

A. They want to invite more friends.

B. They want to find outsiders around.

C. Their singing helps get rid of their fears.

D. Their singing helps frighten outsiders away.

C

A 16-year-old boy finds himself on a boat in the Pacific Ocean after escaping a shipwreck（海難）. Even worse， he is left with a huge tiger for company. But he manages to survive after 227 days of fighting against all the hardships of the sea.

Pi， the lead character in Oscar-winning Ang Lees movie Life of Pi， went through an inspiring journey of growth and self-discovery. So did 19-year-old Suraj Sharma， the Indian actor who played him.

But it was a lucky chance that opened up the opportunity for the new star. Sharma was a regular student who lived with his mathematician parents in Delhi， India. As the director traveled to Mumbai to find his Pi， the teenager went along with his younger brother， who had acted in a couple of movies， to audition（試鏡）. But little did Sharma know that he would end up winning the role from 3，000 hopefuls.

Lee said he saw Pi in Sharma， “Not only does he have a compelling（很有吸引力的）and wise look. He has this rare talent.” The director said that in the final round， Sharma gave one of the “most compelling readings we had. In the end， he was in tears.” Understandably， Sharma didnt want to let Lee down. “He（Lee）had given me this opportunity. I had to give it my best，” Sharma told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Sharma swam for four or five hours a day until he was completely comfortable with the water. He also worked on his body because he had to first gain weight and then quickly lose weight as the story developed. He even had rats run all over him to prepare for his role. Lee was impressed by the teenager， especially his endurance（耐力）and patience in staying in a water tank for many hours each day. Sharma was only 16 when Lee signed him. After three years of shooting， Sharma said he had matured with Pis journey.

9. What can we know about Sharma from the passage？

A. He wanted to become a mathematician.

B. He prepared very well to act the role Pi.

C. He had acted in a couple of movies.

D. He was sure to win in the audition.

10. What does the underlined phrase “to let Lee down” in Paragraph 4 mean？

A. To seat him down.

B. To reject his requirement.

C. To make hin disappointed.

D. To take down his information.

11. Which can be used to describe Sharma？

A. Strong and brave.

B. Confident and passionate.

C. Talented and hard-wording.

D. Endurable and easily-excited.

12. The passage is intended to introduce ______ .

A. the thrilling escape from a shipwreck

B. the difficulty in winning a role in a movie

C. how an Oscar-winning movie attracts audience

D. how a young actor became matured when acting in a movie

D

Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer（征服）Ireland. For hundreds of years， the Irish people fought against the English. Finally， in 1921， the English government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland， in the north， is part of the United Kingdom. The republic of Ireland， in the south， is an independent country.

In the 1840s， the main crop， potatoes were affected by disease and about 750， 000 people died of hunger. This， and a shortage of work， forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA， the UK， Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems， the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.

For many years， the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today， many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside， where things move at a quieter and slower pace（節(jié)奏）.

The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly， Oscar Wilde， a famous Irish writer， once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence， Ireland has revived its own culture of music， language， literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as violins， whistles， etc.

13. What does the author tell us in Paragraph 1？

A. How Ireland gained independence.

B. How two “Irelands” came into being.

C. How the Irish fought against the English.

D. How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.

14. What is the last paragraph is mainly about？

A. Irish culture.

B. The Irish character.

C. A famous Irish writer.

D. Irish musical instruments.

15. What can be the best title for the text？

A. Life in Ireland

B. A Very Difficult History

C. Ireland， Past and Present

D. The Independence of Ireland

I ran across an old photo of him—my pet dog—one day， thinking of some old things. Hes been 1 for 25 years. His name was Rex.

Swimming was his favorite hobby. He had so much 2 in the water as any person I have known. You didnt have to throw a stick in the 3 to get him to go in. Of course， he would bring back a 4 to you if you did throw one in.

That reminds me of that night， 5 he brought back a small box that he found somewhere—how 6 nobody ever knew. Since it was Rex， it could easily have had a race. The box wasnt a 7 one. It was just a worthless old piece that somebody 8 . Still it was something he 9 ， probably because there was some 10 in transportation. And he thought it could test his courage. We first knew about his 11

when， deep in the night， we 12 him trying to get the box up onto the porch（門廳）. It sounded as if two or three people were trying to tear the house 13 . We came downstairs and turned on the 14 light. Rex was on the top step trying to pull the thing up， but it had 15 somehow. And he was just holding his own. I 16 he would have held his own 17 dawn（黎明）if we hadnt helped him. The next day we carried the box miles away and threw it out. If we had thrown it out in a 18 place， he would have brought it home again， as a small symbol of his strength in such matters. 19 ， he had been taught to carry heavy wooden objects about and he was 20 of his skill.

1. A. ill B. dead C. retired D. abroad

2. A. fun B. trouble C. danger D. sadness

3. A. way B. course C. water D. sport

4. A. bag B. box C. stick D. fish

5. A. when B. since C. if D. although

6. A. old B. expensive C. easy D. far

7. A. good B. heavy C. necessary D. small

8. A. abandoned B. kept C. used D. hid

9. A. bought B. wanted C. found D. carried

10. A. secret B. hope C. difficulty D. loss

11. A. achievement B. idea C. adventure D. interest

12. A. saw B. heard C. watched D. kept

13. A. up B. in C. away D. down

14. A. hall B. kitchen C. bedroom D. porch

15. A. rolled B. stopped C. caught D. broken

16. A. believed B. suggested C. ordered D. supposed

17. A. at B. before C. till D. during

18. A. distant B. nearby C. silent D. busy

19. A. In all B. As a result C. At last D. After all

20. A. proud B. tired C. ashamed D. doubtful

Dear Mary，

I receive your E-mail just now. Dont worry about me. Im getting on well with my research work in the lab. But to my greatly surprise， you say you will give up learn English. The reason is that you have not been done well in it recently and you have lost interests. Im afraid I cant agree with you. I know it is difficult to learn English， so English is wide used in the world today. It will be important tool in our future work. Beside， it is becoming more and more important in our daily life. If you study hard， you will succeed. Do remember that where there are a will， there is a way. Im looking forward to hearing good news from you.

Yours，

Li Hua

1. 護(hù)照被偷的那位游客現(xiàn)在正在去日本的途中。（on ones way to）

2. 躺在地上的男孩撒謊說那只母雞一個(gè)蛋也沒有下。（lie；lay）

3. 用來商討重要事項(xiàng)的會(huì)議室比我們的辦公室大三倍。（be used for；issue）

4. 不管我小時(shí)候住的房子未來會(huì)變成什么樣子，它永遠(yuǎn)是我的家。（no matter ...）

閱讀下面材料，在空白處填入適當(dāng)?shù)膬?nèi)容（1個(gè)單詞）或括號內(nèi)單詞的正確形式。

Dear Mr Costa，

Im sorry it has taken me so long to write. Ive been very busy 1 work and school， but Ive thought about you often.

How have you been lately？ Did you have a good Christmas？ Mac says youve been working hard at the restaurant and that business is very good. What else have you been 2 （do）？

I had a short 3 good vacation. Mac and I went to Chicago for a few 4 （day） before Christmas， but I had to come back and work between Christmas！ Every time something like that happens I wonder if I really want 5 （work） in the hotel business.

The other day I was thinking about the fun we used to have in 6 （we） English class. I havent seen many of our classmates since the course 7 （be） over.

In fact， the only one I see very often is Tomiko. Id 8 （real） like to get in touch with Franco. Does he ever write to you？ If so， could you please send me his address？

Well， Mac and I are going skating and he 9 （wait） for me， so I guess Id better say goodbye now. Write as soon 10

you can.

Love，

Maria

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.