It is said that people born under different star signs have different characteristics. Here are four people born under different star signs.

1.Who is from England and likes orange best?

A. Tom. B. Jack. C. Mary. D. Lucy.

2.What’s Mary’s star sign?

A. Taurus . B. Gemini.

C. Cancer. D. Virgo.

3.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “tightfisted” in Chinese?

A. 富裕的 B. 吝啬的

C. 奢侈的 D. 豁达的

Do you know why different animals or pests（害虫）have their special colours? Colours in them seem to be used mainly to protect themselves.

Some birds like eating locusts, but birds cannot easily catch them. Why? It is because locusts change their colours together with the change of the colours of crops. When crops are green, locusts look green. But as the harvest time comes, locusts change to the same brown colour as crops have. Some other pests with different colours from plants are easily found and eaten by others. So they have to hide themselves for lives and appear only at night.

If you study the animal life, you’ll find the main use of colouring is protecting themselves. Bears, lions and other animals move quietly through forests. They cannot be seen by hunters. This is because they have the colours much like the tree.

Have you ever noticed an even more strange act? A kind of fish in the sea can send out a kind of very black liquid when it faces danger. While the liquid spreads over, the enemies cannot find it. And it immediately swims away. So it has lived up to now though it isn’t strong at all.

1.From the passage we can learn that locusts _______．

A. are small animals

B. are easily found by birds

C. are dangerous to their enemies

D. change their colours to protect themselves

2.Bears and lions can keep safe because they_______.

A. have the colours much like the trees

B. move quickly

C. like brown and grey colours

D. live in forests

3.Why can the fish mentioned in the last paragraph live up to now?

A. Because it is very strong.

B. Because the liquid it sends out can help it get away from its enemies.

C. Because the liquid it sends out can kill its enemies.

D. Because it swims faster than any other fish.

4.Which is the best title for this passage?

A. The Change of Colours for Animals and Pests

B. Colours of Different Animals and Pests

C. The Main Use of Colours for Animals and Pests

D. Some Animals and Pests

Everyone has got two personalities — the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don’t show your secret personality when you’re awake because you can control yourself, but when you’re asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, you often change your sleeping positions. The important position that best shows your secret personality is the one that you go to sleep.

If you go to sleep on your back, you’re a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by new ideas. You don’t like to make people unhappy, so you never express your real feelings. You’re quite shy and you aren’t very confident.

If you sleep on your stomach, you are a person who likes to keep secrets. You worry a lot and you’re always easily becoming sad. You never want to change your ideas, but you are satisfied with your life the way it is. You usually live for today not for tomorrow.

If you sleep on curled up (蜷缩), you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and often protect yourself from being hurt, so you are very defensive. You’re shy and you don’t usually like meeting people. You like to be on your own.

If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced personality. You know your strengths and weaknesses. You’re usually careful. You have a confident personality. You sometimes feel worried, but you don’t often get unhappy. You always say what you think, even if it makes people angry.

1.You may find the passage in________.

A. a story book B. a guide book

C. a sports newspaper D. a science magazine

2.Tina hardly tells her secrets to her friends. She probably goes to sleep ________.

A. on curled up B. on her stomach

C. on her back D. on her side

3.According to the writer，you naturally show your secret and real personality ________.

A．only in a normal night

B．only when you go to sleep

C．only when you refuse to show yourself to the world

D. only when you change sleeping position

4.What does the passage tell us?

A. Sleeping positions show people’s secret personalities.

B. Changing positions will cause sleeping problems.

C. Sleeping on your side is the best way of sleeping.

D. Enough sleep makes people look better and healthier.

完成句子（9分）

1.人生就像一场赛跑，你要么领先，要么落后。

Life is like a race. You _________________________________________.

2.据说橙色能给你带来成功并使你振作起来。

It’s said that orange can _________________________________________.

3.近几年，我们学校已赢得了公众很高的赞誉。

Our school____________________________________ the public over the years.

4.想出这个好主意你太有创造力了。

It’s creative _________________________________________ this good idea.

5.据说他的雕塑将在下周的艺术节上得到更多关注。

It’s said that more _____________________his sculptures in next week’s Art Festival.

6.刚才埃米困难地向我们解释了这个问题。

Amy __________________________________________________ just now.

阅读下列短文，根据短文中的信息完成文后表格，每空一词。

“USA? Britain? Which country is better to study in?” We often hear such discussions. As China opens its door, it is a dream for many Chinese students to study abroad. They want to learn about the outside world.

It’s true that studying abroad can help students develop themselves. Their foreign language skills will be improved and it may be easier to find jobs.

But there are disadvantages（劣势）that should be considered（考虑）. Language is the first. Students must spend a lot of time learning another language.

Students must also learn to live without parents’ care and deal with all kinds of things they haven’t had to do before, like looking after themselves. There are reports about Chinese students abroad running into an ocean of difficulties and giving up finally. When they have to take care of themselves, it is hard for students to study well.

Finally, studying abroad brings a heavy burden（负担）to the family. For most Chinese parents, the cost of studying abroad is very high. But is it worth it?

We know that there are many famous people who have achieved success through their hard work in China. Liu Xiang is a good example. Once an American teacher invited him there, but he refused. He kept training hard with his Chinese teacher. He surprised the world when he won a gold medal at the Athens Olympic Games. So when you wonder which country is better to study in, think again.

书面表达（10分）

假如你是无锡东湖塘中学的一名初三学生，你要写一封推荐信给班主任Mr. Wang，告诉他你想推荐Sandy做你们班的班长。请根据下列信息，写完这封信。

注意： 1．词数90左右。 2．根据要点适当发挥1到2句，注意句意连贯。

Dear Mr. Wang,

I’m writing to recommend Sandy to be our monitor. I think she has many strong qualities for this position.

Sandy is _________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

I hope that you can agree with me.

Shanghai is bigger than_____in Jiangsu and bigger than______in China.

A. any city, any city

B. any city, any other city

C. any other city, the other cities

D. any other city, any city

The children enjoyed_______ very much last night.

A. they B. them

C. themselves D. theirs

Jim, ___ read books while you are walking in the street. It’s very dangerous.

A. don’t B. doesn’t

C. won’t D. can’t

The weather in Beijing is different from______ in Suzhou.

A. it B. that C. one D. those