African dust storms can harm air quality【2】 the ocean. But new research by scientists from some countries 【3】 (show) the storms also can do some good. 【4】is found that an average of 28 million metric tons of Saharan dust falls in South America’s Amazon River basin each year. Scientists say the dust is an important【5】(provide) of fertilizer. “Yes, it’s【6】(surprise) because of the huge amount of dust and phosphorous(磷), 【7】 is a nutrient that plants need【8】(grow),” one of them says.

In fact, the phosphorous【9】(fall) from the sky is about the same as the amount that rivers carry out each year. The thick rainforest and the desert dust 【10】(join) together on one small planet.

Books are written by learned people. They contain the best experiences and thoughts of their writers. Writers put in their books not only their own ideas and feelings, but also what they observe and find in society.【1】

If we are in a cheerful mood, our joy is increased by reading.【2】They provide us with the best advice and guidance in our difficulties. Indeed, books are our best friends as they help us in our hour of need.

【3】They entertain us in our spare moments. Good novels, books on poetry and short stories, give us great enjoyment. At times we become so absorbed in our books that we forget even our important arrangements. Loneliness is no trouble for a reader.

【4】They give us sound moral advice. It is through the reading of books that we learn what to love and what to hate. The reading of good books develops and improves our character.

It was the English author Bacon who said that reading makes a full man. No one can question the truth of this saying. 【5】Some books are such that instead of doing any good, they do harm to the readers. So it is the reading of good books alone that presents us the greatest benefit.

A. Books keep us well-informed.

B. Books contain grains of wisdom.

C. When we are alone, books are our best friends.

D. Books enable us to know the best of the colorful world.

E. When we are in a depressed mood, books comfort our troubled minds.

F. But we cannot get full advantage from reading, if our choice is not good.

G. By reading books written by great thinkers, we come in contact with their minds.

Helsinki offers 247-suqare-foot studio apartments with a bathroom, storage space, kitchen, and balcony for only $272 every month—about a third of the average price for a studio in the city. The apartment is inside homes for the elderly, and the young renter must spend between three to five hours with their elderly neighbors each week.

Like pretty much all other major cities in the world, Finland’s capital of Helsinki has faced rapid population growth in recent years. And with population growth, comes an inevitable rise in the cost of living, and of course, sharp increase in rent. Currently, Helsinki is ranked 14th on the list of the world’s most expensive cities. For those young and freshly independent, this causes terrible problems — even homelessness.

"It's a very expensive city to live in," Mr. Bostrom writes in an email to CNN’s Eoghan Macguire. "If you manage to get an apartment that the city owns, it can be quite affordable. The screening criteria included the ability to participate in a variety of activities, such as cooking or playing instruments, but the number of applicants for those apartments is so high that waiting list takes forever,” he says.

According to Helsinki’s Youth Housing Association, the city council aims to ensure that every young person will have a home by 2018. Miki Mielonen, a representative of the youth department, says this project, currently in its trial stages, will help out young people while offering social benefits to senior citizens. “I think there is quite a rigid opinion in Finland with many people thinking young of the old ideas that we are going to break down.”

【1】Helsinki probably rents a cheap apartment to a young man who ________.

A. reaches the age of 25

B. has financial problems

C. promises to accompany the elderly

D. agrees to share it with his neighbor

【2】Which is the root reason for the housing problems in Helsinki?

A. The population explosion.

B. The high living standard.

C. World’s priciest apartment rent.

D. Low employment of college graduates.

【3】According to Mr Bostrom, the cheap apartments are ________.

A. well-decorated B. difficult to afford

C. in short supply D. popular with technicians

【4】What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A. The young in Helsinki are mostly homeless.

B. Helsinki will overcome people’s prejudice.

C. The project will be experimental in future.

D. The project is more beneficial to the young.

Today our class go to climb a mountain. This morning we set off to a mountain by buses. At about nine o’clock we arrived at the foot of the mountain and with the guidance of our teacher, he started climbing. Because at the half of the mountain some of us got tired, we all were very excited. When we got to the top, we cheered excitedly. Seeing from the top of it, the view is wonderful. Unfortunately, when we began to go down the mountain, we were catching in a storm. We shared umbrellas and raincoats each other and walked more cautious. At last we all reached the parking lot safely and got on the bus heading back to home.

假設(shè)你是李華，在美國的某中學(xué)做交流生。你的同學(xué)對中國宴請赴約的習(xí)俗很感興趣，特請你用英語寫一篇發(fā)言稿，介紹中國的宴請習(xí)俗。內(nèi)容包括：

宴請場所，就餐習(xí)俗，飲酒習(xí)俗，宴會結(jié)束

注意：1.詞數(shù)120左右，信的開頭和結(jié)束語已經(jīng)為你寫好（不計(jì)入總詞數(shù)）

2.可根據(jù)內(nèi)容要點(diǎn)適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié)，使行文連貫

3.參考詞匯： banquet宴會

Ladies and gentlemen,

I feel greatly honored to be here to tell you something about Chinese banquet customs. _______________________________________________________________________________

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I hope what’s mentioned above might be helpful to you. Thank you for listening.

Asian lions once prowled（潛行）around from the Middle East【2】India.Now,only 200 to 260 of these【3】 (amaze) animals survive in the wild.The Gir Forest's dry woods【4】(be) once a royal hunting ground.Today they are a reserve【5】the endangered Asian lions【6】(protect).

Lions are the only cats that live in groups,【7】(call)prides（獅群）.All of a pride's female（雌性）lions are related and female babies【8】(usual)stay with the group as they grow.Young males eventually（最后）leave and may have their own prides by【9】(take)over a group headed（領(lǐng)頭）by another male.

Male lions usually defend the pride's territory（地盤）.They mark the area and run after animals that come to their territory.Female lions are the pride's primary【10】(hunt).They often work together to hunt large mammals.

Sports teachers of other countries liked de Coubertion's ideas.So in 1896,the modern Olympic Games were held in Athens（雅典）,Greece.Since then the Olympics have been held once every four years,except three times,when there were wars.

The modern Olympic games have many foot races and field sports programs.The longest race in the games is called marathon.

Before the start of the Olympic Games,runners carry lighted torch（火炬）through many nations towards the stadium（運(yùn)動場）where the games will be held.These sportsmen are from different countries.Yet they work together to carry the Olympic torch.It is passed from runner to runner.When the last runner enters the stadium,he or she places the torch in a special（專門的）basin filled with oil.It catches fire.It is then,only then,that the Olympic Games can begin.The Olympic flame（火焰）burns throughout the games.It is the flame of peace.

【1】Before 1896 French schools didn't teach_____.

A. maths B. History

C. physics D. sports

【2】De Coubertin_____.

A. was the first man to start the Olympic Games

B. believed that sports were less important than studies

C. helped start the modern Olympic Games

D. failed to begin the modern Olympic Games

【3】"Marathon" in this passage is_____.

A. a jumping contest（比賽） B. a foot race

C. field sports D. a boxing（拳擊）match

【4】Which of the following is NOT true?

A. After the start of the Olympics,the Olympic flame is put out.

B. The torch is carried from runner to runner through many countries.

C. Runners who carry the torch can be men or women.

D. The Olympic Games don't begin until the basin of oil catches fire.

人物：查爾斯·達(dá)爾文

生平：1809年2月( February)2日出生(be born)在離塞文河(the River Severn)不遠(yuǎn)的一個家庭里，十六歲時(shí)，達(dá)爾文進(jìn)入愛丁堡大學(xué)(Edinburgh University)學(xué)醫(yī)(study medicine)。后來，他又被送到劍橋大學(xué)(Cambridge University)學(xué)習(xí)，并于1831年畢業(yè)(graduated in 1831.)。達(dá)爾文持續(xù)不斷地從事他的科學(xué)研究( continue his scientific studies) ，直到1882年去世。他被安葬 (be buried) 在倫敦威斯敏斯特教堂(Westminster Abbey)。

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Many small animals that live in forests are very important for the soil. A French scientist, Francois Xavier Joly, is studying one of them — the millipede(千足蟲).

The importance of leaves

When the leaves begin to die in fall, they turn from green to yellow and fall from the trees. As they decompose on the ground, nutrients(營養(yǎng)物質(zhì)) are returned to the soil and carbon dioxide to the air. Life in the forest needs these nutrients. Without them, plants could not grow and there would be no food for animals such as the millipede.

Food on the forest floor

Some living things, like mushrooms, break the leaves into smaller pieces and eat them. In a few months there is nothing left of them. But for mushrooms, not all trees are the same. Mushrooms prefer some types of leaves to others. This means that some leaves take much longer to be broken down than others. Sometimes it takes years. So what happens to these? This is where the millipede can help.

More on the menu

The millipede also likes leaves and it eats any type. But when it has finished, it produces waste. This waste then becomes the food of mushrooms. When mushrooms eat leaves they choose only certain types but when they eat waste, they will eat any kind. This is how the millipede turns dead leaves into food for others and helps life continue.

So next time you are walking through a forest, remember that something may be having a meal right under your feet.

【1】According to the passage, what can we learn about the millipede?

A. It can often be seen on TV shows.

B. It mostly feeds on the nutrients in the soil.

C. It is too small to be noticed by people.

D. It lives under mushrooms in the forest.

【2】What does the underlined word "decompose" in Paragraph 3 mean?

A. Break down.

B. Dry up.

C. Dig in.

D. Make out.

【3】What does the author want to tell us by mentioning mushrooms?

A. The millipede eats mushrooms in the forest.

B. The millipede helps to provide food for mushrooms.

C. Mushrooms play an important part in helping millipedes out.

D. Mushrooms decide what types of leaves the millipede will eat.

【4】According to the author, the millipede is ________.

A. poisonous

B. rare

C. unimportant

D. amazing

Successful students use different techniques(技巧) to study，which brings them more success. 【1】Here are the four techniques almost all topperforming students use.

They are regular. Almost all successful students study regularly, because they know “what you give is what you get”. If you put in regular hours of studying, then you will learn more and get better grades. 【2】This will help you to study regularly.

They have clear goals. All topperforming students have definite, specific goals. 【3】They motivate(激發(fā)) you and drive you to study more. But make sure that you do not get carried away. Set realistic goals which can challenge(挑戰(zhàn)) you, but do not seem impossible or too difficult to achieve.

They study without pressure(壓力). Successful students study a lot. But they study without putting strain on themselves. Most students make the mistake of studying too hard or studying continuously for a long time. 【4】Studying should be done in a balanced manner. Take a break for a few minutes, after studying for 30 or 45 minutes. Relax, walk around your room or house, or drink some water and return to studying. Such short breaks will refresh your brain and you will learn more.

【5】Studying is not something you do just because your parents ask you to do it.It's actually very important for you.Studying gives you knowledge and skills that will remain with you for the rest of your life.It gives you the ability to get a job and earn money.And successful students recognize the value of studying well.

A. This creates tension and actually slows down learning and memory.

B. Set aside some hours, each day or each week，for studying.

C. Having such goals gives you a purpose to study better.

D. Learn their techniques, and you will also join their rank.

E. They give importance to study.

F. But to score A grade in English, you should make well-planned efforts.

G. They finish their homework on time.