Despite the burning heat, the summer holidays are drawing to a close. After a period of pleasant relaxation, spending time with friends and family, our thoughts now turn towards the new school term. This can be an exciting time, filled with new opportunities, ambitions and challenges. Such new challenges can be frightening as we face unfamiliar situations, people and places. Many of you will be facing a new term in a higher grade. This may well mean a greater workload and more exam pressure. Maybe you are starting a new school and are worried about how to make new friends. Whichever new situation you face, there is no shame in admitting you are worried or concerned. The fact that you are older and are facing more challenges does not mean that you have to deal with your problems alone. No matter how old we are, all of us need help sometimes, and admitting to weakness can be one of our greatest strengths. How else can we get the help we need to face our problems with confidence?

Also, this can be a good way to connect with new people in a similar situation. On the first day of a new term or at a new school, everyone will be nervous and uncertain. Admitting to this makes us seem much more human. After all, would you really want to be friends with someone who believes that they know everything and claims to never be afraid?

   Whatever your new situation is at the beginning of this new term, relax, and remember that every student you come across is just as nervous as you are. Share what you believe to be your weaknesses and see just how strong you really are. 

54. This passage may be_______.

A. an official report                 B. a piece of news

C. a speech to students            D. a letter to friends.

55. The underlined word “this” in paragraph 2 means _________.

A. a similar situation                    B. our greatest strengths

C. connection with new people     D. lack of confidence

56. Which of the following is true according to the writer?

A. Being confident will make you lovelier.

B. Sharing your weaknesses with others will make you strong.

C. Showing your weaknesses will cause trouble.

D. The strong know everything and are never afraid.

57. The best title for this passage may be ________.

A. Admitting To Weakness      　 B. Being Confident

C. Fearing Nothing            　    D. Being As Strong As Possible

In recent years, Jimmy Carter, the 39^th president of the United States has shared with millions of readers the stories and insights gained from a lifetime of public service. Carter’ range of experience is immense: as a farmer and father, sailor and statesman, homebuilder and humanitarian, president and peacemaker, he has brought to an extraordinary life a common touch, and his sense of hope and humanity have been an inspiration to many.

Carter now shares his insights in a uniquely personal way. For years an author in prose (散文), the former American president for the first time gives voice to his thoughts in poems.

51. Jimmy Carter leads _____ life now.

A. a sad                       B. a rich                C. an ordinary         D. an honorary

52. Jimmy Carter had been a ______before he became President.

A. farmer                      B. fisherman            C. businessman        D. lawyer

53. Which of the statements is true?                                                                      

A. Cater wrote a lot of poems before.   

B. Carter could not write anything actually.

C. Carter gave up writing years ago.                    

D. Cater began to write poems recently.

      American society is on the go. There are two elements in life that Americans do regard much: ―   31   and labor.
　 Americans are "   32   to nothing but the clock ", it has been said. Time is   33    as if it were the most valuable thing. In American language, there are words  34    with time. Such as: time can be budgeted, saved, wasted, stolen, killed, and cut. Americans also   35   for time, as " the time is the money ". So time is really   36  to them. Many people have a rather acute (敏銳的) sense of the   37   of their lifetime. Their belief is that once " the sands have run out of a person's hourglass ", they can not be replaced. Americans want every minute to   38   .
　 Since people value time highly, they dislike someone else "     39   " it beyond a certain acceptable limit. This affects the matter of patience. In the American system of   40   , patience is not a high quality. Many of them have what   41   be called " a short fuse ". They begin to move   42   restlessly if they feel time is slipping away   43   any return.
　 Most Americans live in period of time by engagement calendars, which might be  44   periods as short as fifteen minutes. While in the business world, Americans are not likely to receive their visitors in homelike   45   over long but small talk; let  46   take them out for dinner. Once they are in business,   47   to most of them is not so important. They'd like to seek out assurance of past actual performance   48  evaluate a business partner through present    49  contact. Thus, they start dealing with business very quickly as they   50   have other appointments following hard on the heels. Time is therefore keeping ticking in their inner ear.

It's no secret that most busy American mothers use the TV set   [21]   （介詞）a live-in babysitter. In some families the TV holds a child's attention for half   [22]   （冠詞）hour or two while mom works on dinner; in others it is the child's constant daytime companion. Is there any harm in this?

　　Debate on the question is very hot, and periodically research is published   [23]   （show）that TV reduces attention space, makes children upset or causes them to be violent. In today's cartoon David Horsey makes   [24]   of （短語動(dòng)詞）the show-off of "children's TV". It is said  [25]   （從屬連詞） the special programing supposedly uses entertainment to help youngsters to learn to read and take their  [26]   （數(shù)詞） steps in the big, diverse world outside their family. But what do children really get from this programming?

　　Horsey's suspicion is   [27]   （從屬連詞）children's programming chiefly turns kids into TV addicts(上了癮的人), not into readers or happy mixers. The kids, still at their early age, are attracted by the figures on the screen. "Can you say TV?" The  [28]   （soon） the kid learns the word, the more effectively he can remind his mother to turn on the TV.

　　A child hooked on TV tends  [29]   （構(gòu)成非謂語動(dòng)詞） fix his eyes on commercial advertisement, and there are plenty of those targeting children of all ages. Thus, at the very least, mom tries to search for a certain way to make the kids quiet and peaceful , hence changing a child    [30]   （介詞） an American shopper all day long. Spending too much time on the tube will have an ill effect on the kids.

假如你是李明，你的美國(guó)筆友彼得十年前來過成都并計(jì)劃在2008年北京奧運(yùn)來北京期間再次到成都。在他的印象中成都的公共交通設(shè)施有些落后，出行不方便。因此，他來信詢問現(xiàn)在成都的狀況是否有所改善。請(qǐng)根據(jù)表中信息給彼得寫一封回信，說明成都道路交通已四通八達(dá)的現(xiàn)狀以及未來到2008年成都的規(guī)劃。

要求：

1．介紹要包括所有的要點(diǎn)，可適當(dāng)增加內(nèi)容。

2．詞數(shù)100―120左右。

Dear Peter ,

Yours ever ,

Li Ming

LONDON-The tiny, distant and frozen planet Pluto, for 30 years believed to have just one moon, has suddenly been found to have two more satellites.

Only discovered in 1930 because of its vast distance from Earth, Pluto has remained a largely mysterious object ever since.

Some three billion miles from the Sun, Pluto, a dwarf planet, remains to be visited by a spacecraft.

Its first known satellite is called Charon . With a diameter of 1,200 km , it is half that of Pluto-unusually large for a moon in relation to its primary .

But now , using images from the Hubble Space Telescope , scientists from Johns Hopkins University , Southwest Research Institute and the Massachusetts institute of Technology say they have found two more tiny orbiting satellites , P1 and P2.

Both are traveling outside the orbit of Charon and are tiny by comparison , the scientists wrote in the journal Nature .

P1, the more distant of the two from Pluto , has a diameter of between 60 and 165 km while P2 is 20 percent smaller .

“Although definitive orbits cannot be obtained , both new satellites appear to be moving in circular orbits in the same orbital plane as Charon with orbital periods of about 38 days for P1 and 25 days for P2,” they wrote .

The discovery of the two new members of P1uto’s family makes it the only object in the Kuiper belt―a vast region of rock and ice beyond Neptune which contains debris from the formation of the solar system―known to have multiple satellites , the scientists said .

72．It is implied in the passage that        .

       A．Charon was not discovered until the late 1960s .

       B．Charon is the largest satellite in the solar system

       C．a(chǎn)ll the inner planets are better observed than Pluto

       D．Pluto may have some more moons to be discovered

73．The underlined word “primary” in Paragraph 4 refers to        .

       A．size                    B．shape                 C．planet                 D．Earth

74．Which of the following show the possible orbits and positions of Pluto’s satellites ?

75．Which of the following is the best title for the passage ?

       A．Pluto : furthest in the solar system .       B．Pluto : two additional moons found .

       C．Pluto : tiny , distant and frozen planet .   D．Pluto : two satellites formed in 30 years .

Before I stood on the ground of the largest island in the world I knew only a little about Australia. I came here in 2000, I had just heard of Sydney and Melbourne, and I knew koalas and kangaroos were Australian animals. To be frank, I was confused and did not know the name of or where the national capital was for a long time.

When I was sitting on the plane traveling from Beijing to Melbourne, many questions were rolling around in my mind ceaselessly. Will, I a foreigner, be welcomed by the Australian or not? How long will it take me to get used to this wholly new life in this strange land?

I stepped out the customs sections at Melbourne airport, aimlessly, like a day-dreamer. I really lacked any confidence. However, my start did not seem so bad. I made my way to find a taxi from the information desk. I found my friend, who lived in Melbourne, very easily. I felt that living in Australia was not so difficult, with the help of a taxi driver, as I had imagined. At the end of my first day here in Australia though, I had only spoken to a customs officer , a receptionist and a taxi driver.

With the time passing day after day , I began to understand this country . The most impressive thing for me is the fresh air , the green grass , and the clear and clean water .Several months later , I realized Australia is a good place for entertainment . There are many sports , games , art exhibitions , music and various cultural festivals fill up everyday Australian life . One of these events attracted me so much that I went to see the international air show held in Laverton Melbourne, and my interest in aircraft was ignited.

Australians are outgoing and friendly . Whenever I meet an Australian face to face , going along the same way as me , most people here will say hello to me . After the first few times this happened , I was affected by this custom , and started to say to people in advance , when I met them .

In fact , Australia has many charming points to me . The exotic animals , the tasty wine , the wonderful coastline , even the Australian English accent ! Every experience I undertake is a great discovery to me .

All in all , Australia in my eyes is an ideal country for living . Peace , tranquility (quietness) and friendship are forever repeating themes of this country . I love Australia .

68．Why did the writer say, “I was confused and did not know the name of or where the national capital was for a long time .”?

       A．Because the name of Australia capital city is too difficult to remember .

       B．Because the writer didn’t know where the Australian capital city is .

       C．Because the writer was to nervous when he got to Australia first .

       D．Because it was an example to show that he knew little about Australia .

69．From the third paragraph , we can infer that        .

       A．the writer often dreams a dream in the daytime

       B．no one met him and picked him up at the airport

       C．taxi drivers were more helpful than expected

       D．the writer couldn’t speak English in Australia

70．What does the underlined word “ignited” mean ?

       A．a(chǎn)roused              B．lost                    C．meaningless        D．worthless

71．Which statement does not match the passage ?

       A．The Australian English accent is a little different .

       B．Australian people are very friendly and helpful .

       C．All the people are going along the same way .

       D．Australia has a very wonderful environment .

If you are a Lefty , then Left Handers Day is just for you !

The world is built for right handers. In school, have you ever seen a left handed desk ? They don’t exist . Many left handed items cost more . The computer mouse is designed for right handers . Scissors for right handers . Only a lefty would understand this .

But do you know that right handed people operate in the left side of the brain . Left handed people use the right side . Therefore, only left handed people are in their right mind .

Left Handers certainly earned the right to have a day special for them . This special day was first declared and celebrated on Friday , August 13, 1979 by an organization called Lefthanders International . They chose to open their business on that day to address the myths and misconceptions about left-handers . They published a magazine for left-handers and they sold left-handed products for more than twenty years before going out of business a few years ago. The holiday is celebrated annually on the 13th of August .

But Left-handers Day is not merely a celebration of the creative superiority of lefties , it also aims at raising awareness of the difficulties presented by a right-handed world . This is a day for left-handers to show their pride and pay tribute to famous left-handers past and present , including some of our greatest artists , athletes and entertainers . Furthermore , this day is to praise the creativity and talents of those left-handers who are less famous but equally productive members of our society .

So take a minute to appreciate your left handed friends and loved ones . Don’t forget to send them a Left Handed Day E-card to show your respect . Remember that “Leftis have rights!”

64．Why does the writer say, “The world is built for right handers”?

       A．Because left-handers aren’t paid enough attention to .

       B．Because the number of right-handers is larger than that of left-handers in the world .

       C．Because there are no special products for left-handers .

       D．Because right-handers didn’t like International Left-hander’s Day .

65．From the passage , we can infer that        .

       A．International Left-hander’s Day was first declared and celebrated in 1979

       B．there was once a magazine for left-handers

       C．more and more people will use their right hands

       D．a(chǎn) lot of people think doing things with right hands is reasonable

66．Which statement is not included in the passage ?

       A．There are many famous left-handed artists , athletes and so on in the past and at present .

       B．All left-handers are proud of themselves .

       C．Relatively , left-handers have more difficulties to overcome than right-handers .

       D．a(chǎn) lot of ordinary left-handers can also make great contributions to society .

67．The best title of this passage is        .

       A．International Left-hander’s Day            B．Right Handers Should Respect Left Handers

       C．Lefties Have Rights                                D．Left Handers , Right ?

Although women lead healthier, longer lives, the cruel opinion that they become “old” sooner than men is widespread in the workplace , research shows .

A survey of more than 2,600 managers and personnel professionals showed that age discrimination is not only common in the workplace , but is shot through with inconsistencies (矛盾).

Six in ten managers reported being a victim of age discrimination―usually because they were turned down for a job for being too old or too young . Yet more than a fifth admitted that they used ages as an important standard .

Although the survey found widespread agreement that older workers were better than younger colleagues when it came to reliability , commitment , loyalty and customer service , these qualities were not necessarily considered to be worthy of advancement .

A large number of persons believed that workers between 30 and 39 had the best promotion chances , with only 2 percent giving example of 50 year-olds or above.

There was evidence that people were considered old at different ages in different jobs . A young man working in IT said he was considered too old by the age of 28.

In fact there was no evidence to suggest that older workers were less valuable to companies than younger workers , in fact the opposite was often true because older workers often brought experience .

The findings also suggested that the Government’s ideas on age in the workforce may also be out of step with reality.

60．Which is the discrimination mentioned in this passage ?

       A．The healthier women are , the sooner they will lose their job .

       B．Society knows women should be respected , but it doesn’t offer them any jobs .

       C．Female managers respect male workers , but male mangers don’t respect female workers .

       D．Victims of age discrimination consider age as an important standard .

61．Older workers are better than younger colleagues because they have many advantages except that they are        .

       A．dependable          B．married               C．faithful               D．helpful

62．Why does the writer mention a young man working in IT ?

       A．Because the writer thinks it a pity that this young man is old .

       B．Because it’s an example of different age standards in different jobs .

       C．Because the IT industry is developing too fast .

       D．Because the writer doesn’t think the young man is old .

63．Which statement is true according to the writer’s attitude ?

       A．The present age standard doesn’t go with reality .

       B．The present age standard is reasonable .

       C．Women should work longer than men .

       D．Yong workers should learn from old workers .