While good grades and test are the basic requirements for getting into college, after-school activities are becoming more important in the colledge selection process in the US. As entrance into college has become more difficult, colleges have looked more at what skills you have. Taking part in after-school activities is a great way to succeed in school.

High School Clubs

Most high schools offer a lot of clubs and activities, so it is easy to find something that you are interested in. Colleges look for students who will also be active other than test scores.

There are many clubs in school, such as the drama club and a book club. You may even be able to find a club related to a future job, such as Future Teachers of America.

High School Sports

If you want to go to college and want to take part in sports at a college level, then this fact just might give you a chance. It is generally a good idea to focus on one single sport. If you plan on sports opening college doors and leading to college scholarships(奖学金), it would be better if you decide which sport to do. In this way, you will have enough time to build their skills.

High School Publications(出版物)

Another smart way to be active in high school and show colleges that you are interested in activities more than academics(学术) is to be a part of their school’s newspaper or magazine. There may be an actual class you can join or you may join a club. Being in high school publications can be very helpful, particularly if you want to major in English or in education in college.

1.Now in the US, colleges have focused more on the students’ during the selection process.

A. good grades B. family background

C. skills D. scholarships

2.After-school activities include all of the following except .

A. joining a club

B. doing a part-time job

C. working on school’s newspaper or magazine

D. taking part in sports

3.Joining a club may help students .

A. improve their English

B. get higher scores in subjects

C. make more good friends

D. know more about their future jobs

4.This passage is probably written for to read.

A. teachers B. students C. parents D. headmasters

5.We can learn from the passage that

A. the US colleges prefer to have students who study very hard

B. you must take actual classes to be part of school’s newspaper

C. being good at sports is considered important in the US college selection

D. you can easily find a suitable club to join in every high school in the US

6.Which of the following students will get useful information from this passage?

A. Sarah is thinking about starting her own business after gratuation.

B. Ann likes writing and she would like to choose English as her major in college.

C. Leon is interested in acting and he wants to join the school’s drama club.

D. Chris has difficulty in getting along with the other members on the basket ball team.

Choose the words or expressions and complete the passage（选择最恰当的单词或词语完成短文):

My neighbor Ollie and I have been friends since we were young. But I almost lost him as a friend forever!

It started the day Ollie came to the Harvest Fair with my family. Ollie and I played the ringtoss(投环套物游戏)._____, I found Ollie was smiling at a kid behind me. It was Ethan. He and Ollie was on the same soccer team. They talked happily and almost in a little while, they moved over to a patch of grass and started playing.

I followed them, but they played soccer together as if I didn't ___. "The Rope Ladder looks fun," I said." Want to try it?" But neither of them looked up as if I was not there.

Later, I ran away.

On the ride home, my feelings were still so hurt that I couldn't even look at Ollie."What's wrong?" he asked, but I pretended not to hear. When I got to my house gate, I said under my breath to him," You are the ___friend I have ever had." He looked surprised and a little angry.

Ollie and I didn't speak to each other for a week. One day we happened to be at the park at the same time, and Ollie came over to me.

"I can't figure out what I did wrong, " he said.

"Are you serious?" I said." You were so rude that day. You abandoned(遗弃) me when Ethan showed up!"

"You thought I was leaving you out_____?"

"Well, you were not trying to include me."

"I am sorry! I was just surprised to see him there." Ollie said, "Can we go back to being friends?"

I thought about it. Having Ollie as a friend made life more fun and it seemed stupid to break up with him ___ there was one little argument."OK," I said.

So we started hanging out again. Things were a little weird(奇怪的) at first, but they went pretty much back to ____ after a few days.

As you know, arguments can happen between best friends. When you are ready, talk it out with your friend and make sure you listen to each other's point of view. If you decide that the friendship is worth it, try to forgive each other and get on with you lives!

1.A. Suddenly B. Luckily C. Finally D. Immediately

2.A. leave B. speak C. exist D. wait

3.A. best B. funniest C. worst D. closest

4.A. in a hurry B. on purpose C. over and over D. by mistake

5.A. unless B. after C. because D. if

6.A. quiet B. forgetful C. fresh D. usual

Read the passage and fill in the blanks with proper words.

I am lucky to have had great teachers in my life. Since I started teaching this year, I have spent a lot of time thinking about what makes a good teacher even b_____. I hope someday to have students feel about me the way I feel about Mrs. Mitchell (1st grade), Mrs. Porter (4th grade), Mrs. Morin (9th grade), Mr. Turner ( 11th grade History), Mrs. Fields(12th grade Biology),and so many more through all these years.

I may not know what the magic is for a great teacher but I do know that there are a few c_____ characteristics( 特点) among those I have met.

●All my favorite teachers taught me both “the w________” of the course or class and also “the why”—why it was important to learn to read, to count, to write an article, to understand the different parts of health system.

●All my favorite teachers whose name I remember and whose lesson helped shape the person I am today respected me and expected respect f____ me. Questions were expected and valued. There was always too much to d______, to challenge, to learn.

●All my favorite teachers’ classes stretched outside the c_______. When I was younger, I could ask a great teacher a question in the hallway or on the playground and know I would get a smile, an encouragement and an answer. As I got older, I could email questions to my teachers, come early to school or stay l___ after a lecture to further study a point, or ask for advice.

Even today, when I think of one of my favorite teachers or two, I hope I am making them proud.

Answer the questions (根据短文内容回答问题)：

Venus （金星） has long been one of the most misunderstood planets. Like the earth, Venus has its own atmosphere. However, the atmosphere is much thicker than that of the earth, which makes it difficult for modern scientists to study. There is much we still do not know about what this planet like. However, using special machines, scientists have unlocked many of the long-hidden secrets in recent years.

Venus is in many ways the earth’s sister planet. It is almost the same in size and chemistry as the earth. In other words, Venus is made up of almost the exact same types of materials as the earth, in about the same amounts.

In the early days of Venus’ 4-billion-year-old life, it would have appeared very similar to the earth. The two would have been almost the same. However, over a period of a few million years ago, Venus lies much closer to the sun than our planet. It has made Venus terribly hot.

Since it is closer to the sun, Venus’ temperature should be a little warmer than that of the earth. As the planet warmed, water which can be used to form oceans, lakes and rivers, evaporated(蒸发). This increase in water vapor（水蒸气）began a cycle of global warming. Water vapor is a very effective greenhouse gas. It caused the temperature to rise and more water to evaporate. The temperature then climbed still further. Today it is likely that all of Venus’s water has evaporated into the atmosphere. This atmosphere effectively keeps the sun’s energy and makes the surface to burn much hotter than it naturally would.

If you happen to find a way to survive the extreme heat on the surface of Venus, you will quickly notice something strange about the days. Venus rotates(旋转) very slowly, so that a day on Venus actually lasts longer than a year. Instead of the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, the sun would appear to rise in the west and set in the east when you are on Venus.

1.Both Venus and the earth have their own atmosphere, don’t they?

_______________, _____________________________________________________.

2.How can the scientists finally get to know more about Venus in recent years?

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ ­­_________________________________________________________________________.

3.Why is Venus considered the earth’s sister planet?

_________________________________________________________________________.

4.What has caused Venus to become completely different from the earth?

________________________________________________________________________.

5. Please list some other strange natural phenomena(现象) on Venus besides the heat.

_________________________________________________________________________.

6.In recent year, the earth faces the similar situation which makes Venus very hot. What do we call this kind of situation and what caused the problem on the earth?

_________________________________________________________________________.

假设你参加了一个暑假去偏远地区(a remote areA.和小朋友们生活一段时间的志愿者项目。出发之前你希望得到更多一些关于项目的信息。你列了一张表，请决定你最希望了解的1至2个关键问题，然后写一封信给组织者Mr. Prince, 请求他的帮助（信件格式已给，标点符号不占格，至少60个字。）

（注意：短文中不得出现任何人名、校名及其他相关信息，否则不予评分。）

--- How are you doing，Jack？

--- ____________________.

A. How nice! B. Fine, thanks. C. Nothing much.

---Lily felt sad because she failed his exam yesterday.

--- Let’s ____.

A. cheer her up B. cheer her on C. cheer up her

---What’s the matter with Tom? He ____ sad.

---His pet dog died.

A. sounds B. seems C. tastes

Kate’s grandmother lives in a house____, but she doesn’t feel ____.

A. alone; alone

B. lonely; lonely

C. alone; lonely

My parents are always strict ____ me.

A. with B. in C. on