Peter and Paul had got permission from their parents to camp in a field close to their farm. But, being adventurous boys, they know it would be more 1    to camp in the woods that lay beyond the river. Excitedly, the boys 2   with their tent and food.

Carrying their heavy 3   , the two brothers walked along the riverbank, hardly noticing the distance or the sun beating down. They were eager to reach their 4   before lunchtime. As they entered the cool, shadowy woods, they began to search for a suitable camping spot. Peter wanted to 5    close to the river at the edge of the woods, 6   Paul, who was older, insisted that they camp further away. 7   , Peter followed his brother deeper into the 8  . “This really is a wonderful setting!” said Paul in excitement. They 9  their tent, and settled down to eat the sandwiches they had made, then decided to find their way 10  to the river to catch some fish.

“Are you sure that this is the right 11   ?” whispered Peter shakily. “I’m sure we passed that hollow tree just a while ago.” Paul walked 12   silently. “Look, there it is again. We’re lost, aren’t we?” complained Peter. Paul had to admit that he didn’t know where they were.13   , they were a long distance from where they were 14   to be. They were not even 15   of where they had set up their camp. They set in 16  for a few minutes until Peter had a bright idea. “Why don’t we look for clues(線索) the way trackers 17   in the movies? We weren’t careful about how we walked, so I’m sure we would have left 18  some broken tree branches and leaves.”

Carefully, the boys 19  the marks that they had left, until finally they found their campsite. Hurriedly, they packed their belongings and set off 20  the direction of the river.

What would their parents think of their adventure?

1. A. surprising          B. exciting           C. annoying         D. frightening

2. A. went round         B. went back        C. went away       D. went through

3. A. load               B. tent              C. food            D .storage

4. A. grassland          B. destination        C. field             D. river

5. A. live                B. lie              C. wait             D. stay

6. A. but               B. and            C. or             D. so

7. A. Unconsciously      B. Unfortunately  C. Unwillingly D. Uninterestingly

8. A. woods            B. farm           C. setting           D. camp

9. A .put off            B. put on        C. put down        D. put up
10. A. forward              B. near                  C. back                        D. further
11. A. place                   B. mark                 C. way                  D. time
12. A. alone                  B. about                C. in                     D. on  
13. A. After all               B. At last               C. Above all           D. At first
14. A. discovered                 B. encouraged        C. persuaded                 D. supposed
15. A. afraid                  B. sure                  C. informed           D .reminded
16. A. enjoyment           B. satisfaction        C. disappointment   D. imagination
17. A. appear                       B. do                     C. work                       D. behave
18.A.behind                  B .out                    C .aside                        D. around
19. A. fetched               B. watched            C. followed            D. collected
20. A. for                     B. to                     C. at                     D. in 

Outside her shabby cottage, old Mrs. Tailor was hanging out laundry on a wire line, unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she really was a witch.

   They watched as she took a broomstick to clean the dirt from her stone steps. But, much to their disappointment, she did not mount the broomstick and take flight. Suddenly, the old lady’s work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen—a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on top of the haystack.

   The old broomstick was put aside as she hobbled off towards the haystack followed by Sooty, a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap some time back. With only three legs, it was hard for Sooty to keep up with the old lady. The cat provided proof—the children were sure that only a witch could own a black cat with three legs.

   There, standing on a wooden box, was Mrs. Tailor, stretching out to gather her precious egg. Taking the egg in one of her hands, she began to climb down when, without warning, the box broke and the old lady fell.

 “We have to get and help her,” whispered Amy.

 “What if it is a trick?” replied Ben.

 “Don’t be silly, Ben. If she were a witch, she would have turned us into frogs already,” reasoned Meg. “Come on Amy, let’s go.” The girls climbed down the tree and ran all the way to the haystack.

   Approaching carefully, they could see a wound on the old lady’s face. She had knocked her head on a stone and her ankle was definitely broken. “Go and get Dad,” Amy yelled to her brother. “Tell him about the accident.”

   The boys did not need another excuse to leave. They ran as fast as they could for help, hoping that Mrs. Tailor would not wake and turn the girls into frogs.

1. Why were the children hiding in the tree?

  A. They wanted to watch Mrs. Tailor do her housework closely.

  B. They were playing a hide-and-seek game

  C. They wanted to find out if the rumors about Mrs. Tailor were true

  D. They were pretending to be spies

2. Mrs. Tailor stopped sweeping when____  

  A. her front steps were clean             B. she noticed the children in the tree

  C. she was ready to take a flight          D. she heard the hen cackling

3. Ben did not rush in help Mrs. Tailor because_____

  A. he thought that she could be tricking them

  B. he knew that they could not have been in the tree

  C. he did not see the old lady fall down

  D. he was afraid of the three-legged cat

4. Which of these old sayings best suits the story’s lesson for us?

  A. Make hay while the sun shines.

  B. Never judge a book by its cover.

  C. People in glasshouses should not throw stones.

  D. A bird in the hands worth two in the bush.

The surprising experiment I am about to describe proves that air is all around you and that it presses down upon you. Air pressure is a powerful force. When you swim underwater, you can feel water pushing down on your body. The air all around you does the same. However, your body is so used to it that you do not notice this. The pressure is caused by a layer of air called the atmosphere. This layer surrounds the Earth, extending to about five kilometers above the Earth’s surface.

The following experiment is an easy one that you can do at home. But make sure that you are supervised, because you will need to use matches. Now for the experiment！

What you need

 •A hard-boiled egg without the shell

 •A bottle with a neck slightly smaller than the egg

 •A piece of paper

 •A match

Method

 1）Check that the egg will sit firmly on the neck of the bottle.

 2）Tear the paper into strips and put the strips into the bottle.

 3）Light the paper by dropping a burning match into the bottle.

 4）Quickly sit the egg on the neck of the bottle.

Result

    Astonishingly, the egg will be sucked into the bottle. Your friends will be amazed when you show them the experiment. But be careful when you handle matches.

Why it happened

As the paper burns, it needs oxygen and uses up the oxygen （air） in the bottle. The egg acts as a seal in the neck of the bottle, so no more air can get inside. This reduces the air pressure inside the bottle. The air pressure must equalize, so more air from outside must enter the bottle. The outside air presses against the egg and then the egg is pushed into the bottle! This proves that air is all around and that it is pressing down on us.

1. Why is there the need to take care when you are doing the experiment?

   A. The bottle could break.

   B. You need to light the paper with a match.

   C. The egg needs to be shelled.

   D. The egg has to be perfectly placed on the neck of the bottle.

2. In the experiment, the burning inside the bottle can___.

   A. equalize the air pressure inside and outside

   B. make a seal in the neck of the bottle

   C. finish up the oxygen inside the bottle

   D. produce more oxygen inside the bottle

3. How did the egg put into the bottle？

   A. The oxygen inside the bottle sucked the egg in.

   B. It became soft without the shell.

   C. The neck of the bottle was wide enough.

   D. The outside air pressure forced it into the bottle.

4. The experiment is carried out to prove ______.

   A. water pushes on your body when you swim underwater.

   B. the earth is surrounded by a layer of air called the atmosphere.

   C. the pressure of air around us has a powerful force.

   D. the air pressure is not equalized around us.

1. What is the purpose of the letter?

   A. To complain about a broken toy.        B. To oppose the advertising.

   C. To order a gift for Christmas.           D. To apply for a job in a toy company.

2. Why does the writer of the letter fell that Electro-Robo is violent?

   A. It is controlled by radio water.           B. It is expensive to buy.

   C. It is 80 centimeter tall.                  D. It bears arms.

3. What dose “Enc.” at the end of the letter mean?

   A. Something attached to the letter.        B. A complaint to the toy company.

   C. A hidden message                      D. An encouraging response.

4. Electro-Robo can do all the following EXCEPT ______.

   A. sitting down       B. shaking hands        C. talking       D. walking

Many people write to newspaper and magazines to express their opinions. Letters to the editor must carry the writer’s full name, address and telephone number, although the information is not necessary for publication. This requirement to provide personal particulars is a clear indication that writers are held responsible for what they say. When a writer wants his voice heard, he needs to claim ownership of his voice. Responsibility is the name of the game.

“People today prefer living together to putting their signatures on a marriage certificate because they refuse to accept responsibility for the relationship,” said social worker Ken Yip, “and this is what is causing a lot of family problems.” When we sign a paper, for example, a business contract or a bank document, the signature is a seal of consent, an agreement to take the matter seriously. Most governments and many organizations will not process written complaints if they do not bear the writer’s signature. The absence of a signature, they explain, tells us that the writer cannot be too serious and therefore does not deserve a reply.

    There are people who wish to remain anonymous（匿名的）for various reasons. Multi-billionaire Mr. King donates generously to charity several times a year. He gives simply because he wants to help but not for the publicity his donations may bring, and he does not want his good deeds to make news. In other cases, people insist on anonymity because they are afraid of the consequences of revealing their identity. Crime witnesses may be willing to assist the police, but most are unwilling to give their names when reporting a crime.

Name or no name? The answer is very personal and lies in how much we want to get involved. We all have a name. It is a matter if responsibility to use it when we make a statement, a claim or an accusation. We all want to honor our own name, and it is only by stamping our expression of an opinion with our own name that we honor what we say.

1. What does the writer mean by saying “Responsibility is the name of the game”?

   A. Writers need to provide their personal information in the game.

 B. Publication must bear the writer’s full name, address and phone number.

   C. Writers should be responsible for their names.

   D. Names are required to indicate writers’ responsibility for what they say.

2. The second paragraph suggests that a paper without a signature may _______.

 A. help to end a relationship

   B. not get a reply

   C. be accepted all the same

   D. become a family problem

3. Some people don’t want their names known because they are ________.

   A. hesitant to make a donation               B. unwilling to draw public attention

   C. afraid of an accusation                   D. ready for involvement

4. The passage is mainly about _______.

   A. honor and writers                      B. identity and signature

   C. signature and responsibility               D. anonymity and signature

New archaeological discovers suggest that trade between Europe and Asia along the Silk Road probably began in some form many countries earlier than once thought. The findings, coupled with a widening range of scientific and historical research, could add a fascinating new page to the epic of the Silk Road.

    The latest and most surprising discovery is pieces of silk found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy from about 1000 BC, long before regular traffic on the Silk Road and at least one thousand years before silk was previously thought to be used in Egypt. Other research may extend human activity along this route back even further, perhaps a million years to the migration of human ancestors into eastern Asia.

    The official origin of East-West commerce along the road is usually placed in the late 2nd century BC when an agent of the Chinese Emperor Wu-di returned from a dangerous secret mission（使命）across the desert into the remote high country of Central Asia. The agent, Zhang Qian, travelled as far as Afghanistan and brought back knowledge of even more distant lands such as Persia, Syria and a place known as Lijien, perhaps Rome. Historians have called this one of the most important journeys in ancient times. His journey opened the way for what have been thought to be the first indirect contacts between the ancient world’s two superpowers, China and Rome. Chinese silk, first traded to central Asian tribes for war horses and to the Parthians of old Persia in exchange for acrobats and ostrich eggs, was soon finding its way through a network of merchants to the luxury markets of Rome.

    But the new discoveries show that Chinese silk was apparently present in the West long before the Han emperor started organized trade over the Silk Road. The research could change thinking about the early history of world trade and provide insights into the mystery of just how and when Europe and the Mediterranean lands first became aware of the glorious culture at the other end of Eurasia.

1. The word “coupled” in the first paragraph could best be replaced by ______.

   A. produced       B. contributed       C. doubled        D. combined

2. The silk thread found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy suggests that ______.

   A. Egyptians had probably travelled to China to buy silk

   B. trade along the Silk Road began earlier than once thought

   C. historical research often achieves fascinating results

   D. new light can now be thrown on ancient trading practices

3. Until recently most historians believed that trade along the Silk Road _______.

   A. originated in the 2nd century BC

   B. extended human migration into eastern Asia

   C. began a million years ago

   D. primarily benefited the Egyptians

4. Historians have always considered Zhang Qian’s mission important because they believe ______.

   A. he brought back knowledge of Rome to the emperor

   B. he discovered the Silk Road

   C. he helped establish East-West trade

   D. he travelled as far as Afghanistan

請(qǐng)認(rèn)真閱讀下面對(duì)話，并根據(jù)各題所給首字母的提示，寫出一個(gè)英語(yǔ)單詞的完整、正確形式，使對(duì)話通順。

K=Karen           S=Selina

K: You’re late again.

S: Sorry, but there was a traffic（1）j _________   .

K: It’s always the same excuse. Try to think of something better next time.

S: But I’m telling the truth! There was an（2）a _________ in the cross-harbor tunnel. I don’t think anyone was hurt but it （3）t _________ the police over an hour to clear it. Anyway, how are you? You look a bit tired.

K: Well, actually, I’ve been （4）q _________ with my grandmother again! I feel sad because it is go（5）w_________, she blames me, even though it’s not my fault.

S: What did your grandma say?

K: Her favorite expression is “Young people are not as well behaved as they（6）u_________to be.” She always complains that I don’t show her enough（7）r_________.

S: Well, try and understand her. She can’t do all the things she did (8 )w _________  she was young. It must be very frustrating. Just think, one day we’ll be old…

K: You’re right. I should be more（9）u _________ . I think I’ll buy her a present and apologize.

S: Right. Now you are feeling a bit better, it’s your turn to help me. Could you give me a hand with my maths homework?

K: Maths again! Okay, but can we find somewhere to（10）e_________  first? I’m starving!

學(xué)校即將舉行以“Turning a bad mood（心情）into a good one”為題目的英語(yǔ)作文比賽，請(qǐng)按下列要求寫一篇100詞左右的記敘文或議論文。

議論文                                  記敘文

--Is it OK if I take this seat?

--Sorry，________．

A．here you are           B．take it              C．it's taken         D．never mind

When we visited my old family home，memory came ______ back

A．flooding        B．to flood               C．flood             D．flooded