From: Wendy and Jack Brown

Date: September 22, 2014

To: 8th and 9th graders at R.L.S. Junior School

Subject: Bonjour!

Bonjour! (That means hello in French.)

We hope you all had a great summer. Ours was a lot of fun. We have seen so many new things and met so many wonderful people. The French gave us a warm welcome and helped us get used to living here soon. We have so many things to share with all of you. We are going to send you more emails, but here are the best parts of our holiday in France so far.

We had a fantastic time seeing the Tour de France this summer. It is the most famous bicycle race in the world. The riders travel more than two thousand miles in about a month! We got a quick look at the riders as they sped past! After the race, our family rented bikes, and rode along part of the route that the cyclists used.

A few of you asked whether the French really eat snails(蝸牛). The answer is yes. We went out to dinner the other day, and our parents ordered some. We each tried one and it didn’t taste too bad. The snails, called escargots, are served with lots of butter. They feel a little rubbery when you bite into them, but they don’t really have much taste. Mum’s favourite food here is the French pastries. Dad loves the red wine. Our favourite is the fresh bread from the shop down the street.

We went to visit the Eiffel Tower a few weeks ago. We went all the way to the top. It was a sunny day, so we could see for miles and miles into the distance. Dad doesn’t like heights, so he stayed at the bottom of the tower and took pictures from the ground.

We miss all of you a lot. Write back to us and let us know what is new at home.

Au revoir! (Can you guess what that means in French?)

Wendy and Jack Brown

1.What do the Browns think of French people?

A. Friendly. B. Funny.

C. Welcome. D. Popular.

2.Jack’s favourite food in France is .

A. tasty snails B. French pastries

C. fresh bread D. red wine

3.Which of the following is NOT true according to the email?

A. Wendy and Jack got used to the life in France soon.

B. Tour de France is the best-known bicycle race in the world.

C. The Browns have seen many wonderful things in France.

D. The Browns went to the top of the Eiffel Tower together.

4.Wendy and Jack wrote this email to .

A. tell a story about riding bicycles in France

B. tell a story about their experiences in France

C. advise the readers to try escargots in France

D. advise the readers to visit France in summer

Everybody in this world is different from one another. But do you know that understanding differences can help you better manage your money?

As we grow up, we gradually develop a set of our own values or beliefs. These are influenced by society, our family, the education we receive and so on. Once this value system is set up, it’s not easy to change later in life.

Financial (金融) experts say that everyone also has their own belief of how to manage their finances. This is part of our value system and it has a great impact on the way we look after our money.

According to our different values, experts put us in three categories. They are: the ant, the cricket and the snail.

The ant—works first

Just like ants who work heart and soul in summer in order to store food for winter, these people don’t care about enjoying the moment. They work very hard and save money they earn so that they can enjoy life when they get old and retire. The ant loves to save but they could make more out of their money if they were willing to invest(投資) in some funds and stocks with low risk.

The cricket—fun first

The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn’t think too much about the future. They even borrow money when they really want something. Many young people now belong to this group. These people have little savings. When they get old, they might have problems. They should learn to save and buy insurance(保險(xiǎn)).

The snail—lives under pressure(壓力)

The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves. They take big long-term loans (貸款)from the bank in order to buy things such as luxury(奢華的) houses. They are happy to take big loans even though they are not sure they can afford it. This can cause problems in the future. They should plan more carefully.

1.People with the character of the snail would like to _______.

A. enjoy life at the moment without thinking much about the future

B. live a luxury life at all costs

C. put work before everything else.

D. take the risk of investing a large sum of money

2.Our beliefs and values are affected by the following except ______.

A. society B. money

C. education D. our family

3.This passage mainly talks about _______.

A. the reaction between man and insects

B. the problems with dealing with money

C. the insects in nature

D. the spending nature of people

4.Which of the following has the character that the author prefers?

A. The ants B. The cricket

C. The snail D. None of the above

My students often tell me they don’t have “enough time” to do all their schoolwork. My reply is often brief—You have as much time as the president. I usually carry on a bit about there being 24 hours in the day for everyone, and suggest that “not enough time” is not an acceptable explanation of not getting something done.

Once in graduate school, I tried to excuse myself to one of my professors by saying that I was working hard. His answer to me was, “That’s irrelevant. What’s important is the quality of your work.” Since then I have had time to think about the “hard worker” dodge (伎倆), and I have come to some conclusions — all relevant to the issue of how much time we have.

If you analyze(分析) the matter, you can identify(確定) two parts of the problem: There is, of course, the matter of “time”, which we can think of as fixed. Then there is the problem of “work” during that time. But, as my professor suggested, it’s not how hard one works but the quality of the product that is important.

That led me to a new idea: the quality of the work. That concept is perhaps best explained by a sign I once saw on the wall in someone’s office---Don’t work harder but work smarter. There’s a lot of sense in that idea.

If you can’t get more time, and few of us can, the only solution(解決方法) is to improve the quality of the work. That means thinking of ways to get more out of the same time than we might otherwise get. That should lead us to an analysis of our work habits. Since “work” for students usually means “homework”, the expression “work habits” should be read as “study habits”.

Then, as a smart student, you will seek to improve those skills that you use in study, chiefly reading and writing. If you learn to read better and write better, there are big benefits that pay off in all your studies.

1.From the passage, we know that the author is ______ .

A. a poet B. a editor

C. an educator D. an director

2.We can infer from the first two paragraph that we students _____ .

A. have enough time B. can meet the president

C. get something done well D. should accept the explanation

3.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 means_________.

A. That is impossible B. That is not acceptable

C. That is unbearable D. That is not important

4.The main purpose of writing the passage is to give_______.

A. advice B. encouragement

C. criticism D. information

One evening, Mr. Green was driving in his car along a lonely country road. He had _____ to a bank where he had drawn $ 50. At the loneliest part of the road a man in ____ clothes stopped him and asked for a lift. Mr. Green allowed him _____and drove on. As he talked to the man, he ____that the man had been in ____ for robbery(搶劫) and had broken out of prison that very evening. Mr. Green was very ____ about his 50 dollars.

Suddenly he saw a police car and had a ____ idea. He had just reached a small town where the speed limit was 30 miles per hour. He drove the car as ____ as possible. A moment later, the police car overtook(超過) him and ____ him to stop. Mr. Green ____ to tell the policeman about the escaped robber, but the man put a gun to his_____. The policeman took out a ____ and demanded Mr. Green’s name and ____. Mr. Green asked to be taken to the police station but was ____.

Mr. Green started up his ____ again. As he drove out of the town, the man wanted to ____ “ Thank you for the lift. You’ve been so _____ to me. This is the least I can do for you in ___.” The man handed Mr. Green the ____ , which he stole from the ____ pocket while Mr. Green was being criticized(批評(píng)).

1.A. driven B. been C. gone D. visited

2.A. dirty B. good C. warm D. beautiful

3.A. out B. off C. down D. in

4.A. told B. said C. learnt D. remembered

5.A. school B. prison C. office D. forest

6.A. happy B. pleased C. excited D. worried

7.A. strange B. bright C. foolish D. sad

8.A. fast B. slowly C. carefully D. soon

9.A. begged B. invited C. ordered D. advised

10.A. hoped B. agreed C. decided D. thought

11.A. face B. head C. pocket D. back

12.A. notebook B. gun C. wallet D. menu

13.A. age B. address C. birth date D. birth place

14.A. refused B. invited C. welcome D. accepted

15.A. idea B. plan C. gun D. car

16.A. get on B. get down C. get out D. get up

17.A. kind B. well C. polite D. bad

18.A. turn B. time C. return D. surprise

19.A. money B. pen C. notebook D. gun

20.A. policeman’s B. driver’s C. prisoner’s D. robber’s[

1.We are going to have a basketball game _______(對(duì)著) Class Three on Sunday.

2.A: What’s your _________(最喜歡的) sport?

B: Basketball, of course.

3.Kangkang, Michael, please don’t _______(吵架). Michael doesn’t do well in soccer but he did his best.

4.A: Shall I take you to the ________(醫(yī)院)？

B: No, thank you. I’ll go home and have a rest.

5.I’m reading an article about ________(抽煙) in the newspaper.[

6.These days many people have the flu. So what should we do ________（阻止）it?

7.A: Do you like classical music?

B: No, I don’t like it at all. It’s too _______(嚴(yán)肅).

8.A terrible earthquake _______(侵襲) Yushu in Qinghai Province early this morning.

9.Mr. Brown feels _________(沮喪) because he couldn’t get a ticket to The Sound of Music.

10.Li Hong is very ________(嚴(yán)格) with herself.

11.If we are not ________(自信) about ourselves, we may feel upset or nervous.

12.Let’s find out some _________(信息) about the cost.

13.While you were enjoying your trip to Mount Tai, I was busy ________(準(zhǔn)備) for my exams.

14.Tian anmen Square can _______(容納) one million people.

15.If we break the traffic rules, we may get a _______(罰單) and even be in danger.

English Around the World

There are more than 3,000 languages 1.（speak）in the world. Of all these languages, English is the most 2.(wide) used. Recent 3.(survey) show that more than 500 million people speak English as their mother tongue.

From its roots in England, the language was spread around the world 4.English traders and English governments in new lands. One of these new lands 5.(become) the United States of America. The population of the United States is 309 million, 6.(make) it the country with the 7.(large) number of native English speakers.

About 300 million people speak English as their second language. There are even more people, like some in Europe as well as in China and Japan, 8. study English as a foreign language.

English has become the base language for international business, for the world’s airlines and even for the Internet. Whatever language people speak, they need 9.(know) some English if they work in these fields. 10. is clear that the English language is becoming more important.

English weekly 向高一學(xué)生征文，主題是：“三年后的我”，請(qǐng)根據(jù)下列要點(diǎn)和你的暢想寫一篇80字左右的征文，你的作文應(yīng)含有：

1．學(xué)校，學(xué)習(xí)生活

2．業(yè)余生活

3．未來(lái)職業(yè)暢想

可適當(dāng)添加情節(jié)以使行文完整

書寫要求：字跡干凈，全面整潔，給人以美感。

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Football,to me,is more than just a game.I have probably learned more than valuable lessons from it than from school.

When I joined the team freshman year,I didn’t realize what I was getting into.Even though I had been playing since fourth grade and knew it was hard work,nothing would prepare me for the effort I would put into football that year.We worked all summer in the weight room and ran on the track to get in physical and mental shape before the season.

See,football is more of a mental sport than anything else,so running on the track wasn’t only about getting in shape.We would push our minds by running as hard as we could even if we felt like we were going to pass out.At the beginning,I was immature（幼稚的）and only thought of myself,sometimes even giving up when I was tired or hurting.Then after the third game I had a season-ending injury.Imagine working all summer and then only being able to play three games! I needed an operation on my arm and at least five months to recover.

After freshman year I decided that I would always give my best effort.Playing football in the college has taught me so much more than just what my tasks are on a particular play or how to block.I have learned to think about others first,and realized how important working hard is.Being with all my friends,even sweating and bleeding with them,really made us unite as a group of hard-working young men,who will succeed in life.

1.What is the text mainly about?

A. How the author dislikes the game of football.

B. When the author began to play football.

C. How the author has changed his attitude to football.

D. What sport the author likes best.

2.The author thinks football is_______.

A. just a game B. of a mental sport

C. hard to be out-of-date D. not worth his effort

3.In the third paragraph,the phrase “getting in shape” probably means ________.

A. becoming physically fit B. designing the playground

C. losing weight D. measuring the track

Until late in the 20th century most Americans spent time with people of different generations.Now middle-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves.

That's because we group people by age.We put our three-year-olds together in day-care centers,our 13-year-olds in schools and sport activities,and our 80-year-olds in senior citizen homes.Why?

We live far away from the old for many reasons.Young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears of becoming old and dying.It is much harder to watch someone we love disappear before our eyes.Sometimes it’s got hard that we stay away from the people who need us the most.

Fortunately,some of us have found our way to the old.And we have discovered that they often save the young.

A reporter moved her family into a block filled with old people.At first her children were disappointed.But the reporter made banana bread for the neighbors and had her children send it and visit them.Soon the children had many new friends,with whom they shared food,stories and projects."My children have never been lonely,"the reporter said.

The young,in turn,save the old.Once I was in a rest home (an organization where old people are cared for) when a visitor showed up with a baby,she was immediately surrounded.People who hadn't gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair.Even those who had seemed asleep woke up to watch the child.Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.

Grandparents are a special case.They give their grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity.As my husband put it "My grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end." Grandchildren speak of attention they don't get from worried parents."My parents were always telling me to hurry up,and my grandparents told me to slow down," one friend said.A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter,calmer and more trusting.

1.Now in an American family,people can find that________.

A. children never live with their parents

B. not all working people live with their parents

C. old people are supported by their grandchildren

D. grandchildren are supported by their grandparents

2.Seeing a baby,the old people got excited because ________.

A. they had never seen a baby before

B. the baby was clever and beautiful

C. the baby brought them the image of life

D. the baby's mother would take care of them

3.Why are some children quieter,calmer and more trusting?

A. Because they have relationships with their grandparents.

B. Because their worried parents ask them to act like that.

C. Because they have nothing to worry about.

D. Because their teachers ask them to act like that.

4.Which of the following can show the fact that the old often save the young?

A. The old can become friends of the children and the children may not feel lonely.

B. The old get excited when they see a baby.

C. The old can cure the young when they are sick.

D. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.

When other nine-year-old kids were playing games,she was working at a petrol station.When other teens were studying or going out,she struggled to find a place to sleep on the street.But she overcame these terrible setbacks to win a highly competitive scholarship and gain entry to Harvard University.And her amazing story has inspired a movie,“Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story”,shown in late April.

Liz Murray,a 22-year-old American girl,has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination.Liz grew up in the shadow of two drug-addicted parents.There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house.Liz was the only member of the family who had a job.Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just 15 years old. The effect of that became a turning point in her life.Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died,she decided to do something about it.

Liz went back to school.She threw herself into her studies,never telling her teachers that she was homeless.At night,she lived on the streets.“What drove me to live on had something to do with understanding,by understanding that there was a whole other way o f being.I had only experienced a small part of the society,” she wrote in her book Breaking Night.

She admitted that she used envy to drive herself on.She used the benefits that come easily to others,such as a safe living environment,to encourage herself that “next to nothing could hold me down”.She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University.But Liz decided to leave her top university a couple of months earlier this year in order to take care of her father,who has also developed AIDS.“I love my parents so much.They are drug addicts.But I never forget that they love me all the time.”

Liz wants moviegoers (who often see films) to come away with the idea that changing your life is “as simple as making a decision”.

1.In which order did the following things happen to Liz?

a.Her mother died of AIDS.

b.She worked at a petrol station.

c.She got admitted into Harvard.

d.The movie about her life was put on.

e.She had trouble finding a place to sleep.

A. b,a,e,c,d B. a,b,c,e,d

C. e,d,b,a,c D. b,e,a,d,c

2.The main idea of the passage is ________.

A. how Liz managed to enter Harvard University

B. what a hard time Liz had in her childhood

C. why Liz loved her parents so much

D. how Liz struggled to change her life

3.What actually made her go towards her goal?

A. Envy and competition.

B. Willpower and determination.

C. Decisions and understanding.

D. Love and respect for her parents.

4.When she wrote “What drove me to live on ...I had only experienced a small part of the society”,she meant that

_______.

A. she had little experience of social life

B. she could hardly understand the society

C. she would do something for her own life

D. she needed to travel more around the world