_____ what many people thought, the graduate came here not to _______ fame or money but the true value of life.

A. On the contrary with; look for

B. To the contrary of; hunt for

C. Opposite to; search

D. Contrary to; seek

A good interviewer is able to tell very quickly if you’ve done your homework about the company, so make sure you !

A. do B. have C. will do D. did

Mensa is a society for bright people, and it aims to create a platform ______ many think can provide the chance to share their thoughts and ideas.

A. where B. which C. what D. who

Even more widespread _______ the copying of music and the pirating of software, especially with the development of new computer programs.

A. is B. does C. are D. do

At the age of 14, Father had to leave school and start working. There would be no one to support the family _______ he not worked.

A. did B. has C. had D. was

—How come you were half an hour late for work this morning, Mike?

—_______My car broke down halfway.

A. Yes, so what? B. No, it’s not my fault

C. Well, who knows? D. Sorry, but I couldn’t help it.

I call my story the story of a bad boy, partly to distinguish myself from those faultless young gentlemen, and partly because I really was not an angle. I may truthfully say I was a friendly, impulsive(易沖動的)teenager. I didn’t want to be an angel. In short, I was a real human boy, such as you may meet anywhere in New England.

Whenever a new scholar came to our school, I used to ask him “ My name’s Tom Bailey; what’s your name?” If the name struck me favorably, I shook hands with the new pupil cordially, but if it didn’t, I would turn and walk away, for I was particular on this point.

I was born in Rivermouth almost fifty years ago, but, before I became very well acquainted with that pretty New England town, my parents moved to New Orleans. I was only eighteen months old at the time of the move, and it didn’t make much difference to me where I was, because several years later, when my father proposed to take me North to be educated, I had my own view on the subject. I instantly kicked over the little boy, Sam, who happened to be standing by me at the moment, and declared that I would not be taken away to live among a lot of Yankees! You see I was what is called “ a Northern man with Southern principles,” I had no recollection of New England: my earliest memories were connected with the South. I knew I was born in the North, but hoped nobody would find it out. I never told my schoolmates I was a Yankee, because they talked about Yankees in a scornful way which made me feel that it was quite a shame not to be born in the South.

And this impression was strengthened by Aunt Chloe, who said, “There wasn’t no gentlemen in the North no way.”

With this picture of Northern civilization in my eye, the readers will easily understand my terror at the bare thought of being transported to Rivermouth to school, and possibly will forgive me for kicking over little Sam, when my father announced this to me. As for kicking little Sam, I always did that, more or less gently, when anything went wrong with me.

My father was greatly troubled by this violent behavior. As little Sam picked himself up, my father took my hand in his and led me thoughtfully to the library. He appeared strangely puzzled on learning the nature of my objections to going North.

“Who on earth, Tom, has filled your brain with those silly stories?” asked my father calmly.

“Aunt Chloe, sir, she told me.”

My father devoted that evening and several evenings to giving me a clear account of New England: its early struggles, its progress, and its present condition. I was no longer unwilling to go North; on the contrary, the proposed journey to a new world full of wonders kept me awake nights. Long before the moving day arrived I was eager to be off. My impatience was increased by the fact that my father had purchased for me a fine little Mustang pony, and shipped it to Rivermouth two weeks before the date set for our own journey. The pony completely resigned me to the situation. The pony’s name was Gitana, which is the Spanish for “gypsy”, so I always called her Gypsy.

Finally the time came to leave the vine-covered mansion among the orange-trees, to say goodbye to little Sam(I am convince he was heartily glad to get rid of me), and to part with Aunt Chloe. I imagine them standing by the open garden gate; the tears are rolling down Aunt Chloe’s cheeks; they and the old home fade away. I am never to see them again!

1.The underlined word “cordially” in Paragraph 2 most probably means “________”.

A. sincerely B. unbelievably

C. officially D. closely

2.The second paragraph is intended to _______.

A. support Tom’s opinion that he is a “faultless young gentlemen”

B. show just how much confidence Tom possesses

C. contradict other people’s belief that Tom is not a well-behaved, friendly boy

D. provide an example that Tom is friendly and not an angel

3.Tom Bailey’s feeling on moving to Rivermouth can best be described as _______.

A. cold, as he was too young to know any better

B. unwilling until his father corrected his misunderstandings about life in the North

C. angry because he would be forced to leave his pony, Gypsy, behind

D. excited until he realized that he would have to part with Aunt Chloe and little Sam

4. It can be inferred from “a Northern man with Southern principles” that ______.

A. Tom is a Yankee, unwilling adapting to a Southern lifestyle

B. even though Tom now lives in the South, he is proud of his Northern heritage

C. Tom has successfully subscribed to some Northern values and some Southern values

D. although Tom was born in New England he liked the way of life and culture in the South

I wondered if anyone had experienced such an unexpected trip as I had.

The day of my holiday arrived, but I wasn’t looking forward to it. I had little money and had only been able to afford to stay with my Aunt Rosa in Spain. So, I wasn’t really excited as I knew exactly what it was going to be like: lots of noisy cousins, and Aunt Rosa begging me to take her for a ride.

After I had checked in, I made my way slowly to the departure gate. As I was waiting to board the plane, I kept thinking about my ideal holiday destination: Jamaica, with its long, sandy beaches and crystal clear water.

As soon as the plane took off, I fell fast asleep and only woke to the sound of the announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seat belts, as we will shortly be landing in Kingston.” I froze in my seat. Was I dreaming? Kingston? Jamaica? I had boarded the wrong plane!

Immediately after the plane landed, I explained the situation to the authorities. It seems there were also three other passengers heading for Spain. Apparently it had been the airline’s fault, since the flight numbers for Spain and Jamaica were exactly the same! Therefore, with no flight back to London for a week, the airline had no choice but to pay for our stay.

So there I was, lying on the beach, enjoying the music and the marvelous food of Jamaica! As for Aunt Rosa, I suppose she just had to live without me!

1.Why did the writer choose to spend her holiday with her aunt in Spain?

A. She missed her cousins very much.

B. She could hardly afford any better trip.

C. Her aunt begged her to go there.

D. Spain was her ideal destination.

2.In the text, the writer ended up _________.

A. flying to London immediately

B. heading for Spain from Jamaica

C. enjoying a free beach holiday

D. complaining to the authorities

3.Which of the following might be the best title of the text?

A. A Well-Planned Trip B. A Terrible Adventure

C. A Nice Dream D. A Lucky Mistake

In 1990,22-year-old Christopher McCandless gave up his career plans，left behind everyone he knew，donated all his savings to charity，and went off on an adventure，hiking his way through America to Alaska．

Of course,this is an unusual story most college graduates would not do so. However，studies show that in teenage years, people are more likely to try out new experiences.For example，instead of working his way up the same organization like his grandfather did，a 15-year-old may dream about becoming a traveller一only to find in his early 20s that this attraction of new places is fading and change is less attractive．

The reason why people become less keen to change as they get older may be that people

generally have similar life patterns and demands．Most people aim to find a job and a partner. As they get older，they may have young children and elderly family members to look after. These responsibilities cannot be achieved without some degree of steadiness，which means that new experiences and ideas may not have a place in the person’s life．New experiences may bring excitement as well as insecurity,and so most people prefer to stay with the familiar.

However，not every individual is the same. A child may want to play a different game every day and get fed up if nothing changes at the kindergarten．Another may play with the same children and toys on every visit. Young children who avoid new experiences will grow up to be more traditional than others. Psychologist argue that those who have more open personalities as children are more open than others might be when they are older and that young men have a greater interest in novelty than women，although as they age，this desire for new experiences fades more quickly than it does in women．

1. The first paragraph serves as a(n） ．

A. introduction B．explanation

C. comment D. background

2.What does the author think is the key factor that prevents people trying out new experiences?

A. Age B. Partner

C. Responsibility D. Education

3.The underlined phrase“interest in novelty”most probably means ．

A. independence B. curiosity

C. security D.excitement

4.According to the passage, we can infer that_______.

A. a child who likes different games may not like to change after growing up

B. a teenager is not interested in a new start before graduation

C. women are more likely to try new things than men of the same age

D. as one gets older, he prefers the old patterns of life

短文改錯

假定英語課上老師要求同桌之間交換修改作文，請你修改你同桌寫的以下作文。文中共有10處語言錯誤，每句中最多有兩處。每處錯誤僅涉及一個單詞的增加、刪除或修改。

增加：在缺詞處加一個漏字符號(∧)，并在其下面寫出該加的詞。

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2.只允許修改10處，多者(從第11處起)不計分。

I’m very glad to have received the letter you sent me two weeks before. I have been thought about the question raised in your letter. In my opinion, you should go back after you finish your studies at abroad. For one thing, that you are studying is badly needed nowadays in our country. It will be quite easily for you to find a good job. In fact, I know that a few big company in our city hope to hire people like you. For another, I think it will be more convenient for you look after your parents because they are getting older and older. And this is only my point of view. It is up to me to make a right choice.