My father brought home a sailboat （帆船） when I was ten, and almost each Sunday in summers we would go sailing. Dad was quite skilled in sailing, but not good at . As for me, I learned both before twelve because of living close to Lake Ontario.

The last time Dad and I set sail together is really . It was a perfect weekend after I graduated from university. I came home and Dad to go sailing. Out we set soon on the lake. Dad hadn’t sailed for years, but everything well with the tiller（舵柄）in his hands.

When we were in the middle of the lake, a wind came all of a sudden. The boat was hit hard. Dad was always at his best in any , but at this moment he was .

“John! !” he shouted in a trembling voice, with the tiller still in his hands.

In my memory he could fix any problem. He was the one I always for power and safety . Before I could respond, a of water got into the boat. I rushed to the tiller it was too late. Another huge wall of water the boat in a minute. We were thrown into the water, and Dad was struggling aimlessly. At that moment, I felt strongly protective of him.

I swam to Dad and helped him in climbing onto the hull（船殼）of the boat. On sitting on the hull, Dad was a little shy about his flash(瞬間) of . “It’s all right, Dad. We are safe now,” I comforted him.

That was the first time Dad had depended on me in a moment of danger. More importantly, I found it was my turn to start looking out for my father.

1.A. boating B. running C. swimming D. teaching

2.A. unforgivable B. unforgettable C. cheerful D. thankful

3.A. sent B. ordered C. invited D. allowed

4.A. calm B. icy C. stormy D. thundery

5.A. finished B. went C. seemed D. sounded

6.A. strong B. gentle C. cold D. hot

7.A. danger B. place C. sport D. job

8.A. suffered B. fell C. frightened D. moved

9.A. look B. Help C. Run D. Jump

10.A. turned to B. lived with C. argued with D. came to

11.A. basin B. river C. shower D. wave

12.A. if B. for C. after D. but

13.A. got through B. poured into C. turned over D. lifted up

14.A. hopelessly B. quickly C. slowly D. helplessly

15.A. pain B. anger C. fear D. shame

It’s 5:00 in the morning when the alarm (鬧鐘) rings in my ears. I get out of bed and walk blindly through the dark into the bathroom. I turn on the light and put on my glasses. The house is still as I walk downstairs while my husband and three kids sleep peacefully. Usually I go for a long run, but today I choose my favorite exercise DVD Insanity. Sweat pours down my face and into my eyes. My heart races as I force my body to finish each movement. As I near the end of the exercise, I feel extremely tired, but a smile is on my face. It’s not a smile because the DVD is over, but a smile of success from pushing my body to its extreme limit.

Some people enjoy shopping, smoking, food, work, or even chocolate. But I need exercise to get through each day. Some shake heads when they see me run through the town. Others get hurt when I refuse to try just one bite of their grandmother’s chocolate cake. They raise their eyebrows, surprised by my “no thank you,” or by my choice to have a salad. Over the years, I have learned it’s okay to just say “no.” I shouldn’t feel sorry for refusing food that I don’t want to eat.

So what drives me to get out of bed at 5:00 a.m.? What gives me the reason to just say no to ice cream? Commitment. A commitment to change my life with a way that reduces daily worry, increases self -confidence and energy, extends (延長) life and above all improves my body shape. This is the point where a smile appears on my face as I look at myself in the mirror or try on my favorite pair of jeans that now fit just right. It’s through commitment and sweat that I can make a difference within myself inside and out.

1.Why is there a smile on the author’s face in the morning?

A. Because she sees her family sleeping peacefully.

B. Because she finishes her favorite exercise

C. Because she enjoys the interesting DVD

D. Because she feels a sense of achievement

2.Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 2?

A. She doesn’t treat others politely

B. She likes to make others surprised

C. Others don’t understand what she does

D. Others try to help her by offering her food

3.What does the underlined word “commitment” in the last paragraph mean?

A. Good health B. Strong belief

C. strong power D. good habits

4.What can we learn about the author from the text?

A. She acts in a strange way

B. She wants to look different from others

C. She aims to develop a good body shape

D. She has difficulty getting along with others

Exploit your parking space

An unused parking space or garage can make money. If you live near a city center or an airport, you could make anything up to ?200 or ?300 a week. Put an advertisement（廣告）for free on Letpark or Atmyhousepark.

Rent（出租）a room

Spare room? Not only will a lodger（房客）earn you an income, but also, thanks to the government-backed “rent a room” program, you won’t have to pay any tax (稅) on the first ?4，500 you make per year. Try advertising your room on Roomspare or Roommateeasy.

Make money during special events

Don’t want a full-time lodger? Then rent on a short-term basis. If you live in the capital, renting a room out during the Olympics or other big events could bring in money, Grashpadder can advertise your space.

Live on set

Renting your home out as a “film set” could earn you hundreds of pounds a day, depending on the film production company and how long your home is needed. A quick search on the Internet will bring up dozens of online companies that allow you to register（注冊、登記） your home for free—but you will be charged if your home gets picked.

Use your roof

You need the right kind of roof, but some energy companies pay the cost of fixing solar equipment(around￡14,000), and let you use the energy produced for nothing. In return, they get paid for unused energy fed back into the National Grid. However, you have to sign（簽）a 25-year agreement with the supplier, which could prevent you from changing the roof.

1.If you earn ￡5，000 from renting a room in one year, the tax you need to pay will be based on ______.

A. ￡300 B. ￡500 C. ￡4,500 D.5,000

2.Where can you put an advertisement to rent out a room during a big event?

A. On Letpark. B. On Roomspare.

C. On Grashpadder. D. On Roommateeasy.

3.If you want to use energy free, you have to_____.

A. sign an agreement with the government

B. pay around ￡14,000 for the equipment

C. sell the roof to some energy companies

D. keep the roof unchanged within 25 years

4.For whom is the text most probably written?

A. Lodgers. B. Advertisers.

C. House owners. D. Online companies

In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl going to Howard University, aiming at a law career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different story to tell.

My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to leave college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.

Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a mix of adopted(收養(yǎng))and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To put eyes on him was wonderful---and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy then followed son No.3. in 2003, I gave birth to another boy.

You can imagine how engaged I became, raising four boys under the age of 8! Our home was a complete zoo---a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant taking as few as one class each term

The hardest part was feeling sorry about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to give up, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.

In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree!

I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you are looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you are in the middle of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process(過程). Remember: little steps add up to big dreams.

1.When the author went to Howard University, her dream was to be ________ .

A. a judge B. a teacher

C. a writer D. a doctor

2.Why did the author give up school in her second year of college?

A. She wanted to study by herself.

B. She fell in love and got married.

C. She suffered from a serious illness

D. She decided to look after her grandma.

3.What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 4 and 5?

A. She was busy yet happy with her family life.

B. She ignored her sorry feeling for her sons.

C. She wanted to remain a full-time housewife.

D. She was too confused to make a correct choice.

4.What does the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?

A. failure is the mother of success.

B. little by little, one goes far.

C. every coin has two sides.

D. well begun, half done

There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care. To water his flowers, he used two buckets(桶). One was a shiny and new bucket. The other was a very old and worn-out one, which had seen many years of service, but was now past its best.

Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets. Then he would carry them along the path, one on each side, to the flowerbeds. The new bucket was very proud of itself. It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled(溢出). The old bucket felt very ashamed（慚愧的） because of its holes: before it reached the flowerbeds, much water had leaked along the path.

Sometimes the new bucket would say, “see how able I am! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day! I don’t know why he still bothers with you. What a waste of space you are!”

And all that the old bucket could say was, “I know I am not very useful, but I can only do my best. I am happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me, at least.”

One day, the gardener heard that kind of conversation. After watering the flowers as usual, he said, “you both have done your work very well. Now I am going to carry you back. I want you to look carefully along the path.”

Then the two buckets did so. All along the path, they noticed, on the side where the new bucket was carried, there was just bare(光禿禿的)earth; on the other side where the old bucket was carried, there was a joyous row of wild flowers, leading all the way to the garden.

1.What was the old bucket ashamed of?

A. His past. B. His aging.

C. His manner D. His leaking.

2.The new bucket made conversations with the old one mainly to ______ .

A. laugh at the old one

B. take pity on the old one

C. show off its beautiful looks

D. praise the gardener’s kindness

3.Why was the old bucket still kept by the gardener?

A. Because it was used to keep a balance

B. Because it stayed in its best condition

C. Because it had its own function

D. Because it was taken as a treasure(寶物).

根據(jù)下列句子及所給單詞的首字母，在句子右邊的橫線上寫出空缺處各單詞的正確形式。（每空只寫一個(gè)單詞）

1.Wherever you are, your parents are always c_______________ about you.

2.He’s been s_____________ from a strange disease unknown to doctors for ages.

3.I’d be g___________ if you could give me some help while I’m here.

4.----He’s just come back from abroad, majoring in English.

----No wonder he speaks English so f___________ .

5.I’m terribly sorry but I didn’t r___________ you just now at the first sight because you’ve changed a lot.

6.The university students are from different parts of our country, so they speak Chinese Putonghua with local a___________. .

7.In order to save e_____________, please turn off the lights, fans and the computer whenever we leave the classroom.

8.I’m glad that my English is g_____________ getting better with the help of my teacher as well as my own efforts.

9.He is so stubborn that it seems impossible to p____________ him to change his mind.

10.The whole city of Wenchuan was almost d___________ by one of the biggest earthquakes which happened on May 12 ,2008.

Please describe one of the most impressive, unforgettable or interesting outings, trips or journeys that you’ve ever made alone, together with your parents or close friends within 120 words in total.

請你描述一次你獨(dú)自一人、和你的父母親或者好朋友一起進(jìn)行過的、令你印象最深刻的、難忘的、或者有趣的旅行，120詞左右。

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

That was _____ time when girl’s education was always placed ____ second to boy’s.

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

So far, some advanced teaching equipment, together with three hundred new books, ______ to those schools in the faraway area.

A. has been sent B. have been sent

C. was sent D. were sent

People should ______the traffic rules when they travel to a new place. Nobody can be exception.

A. perform B. observe

C. possess D. support