Failure is the best teacher. We learn to have more confidence in 1. we know through failure. You don’t have to accept your failure if you 2. (real) want to achieve success. For every achievement, there have been one or more failures. But those 3. we consider as successful refuse to accept failure and believe success is the other side of failure.

The lamp 4. (invent) by Edison after 1,000 failure. If he had stopped after he tried 100 times, what 5. (be) the result of such effort?

Any time your effort is not bringing an expected result, you don’t have to call it a failure, call it a challenge. What is the 6. (different) between the two? One is negative, the other is positive.

What you need is positive thinking 7. (achieve) success. Failure means there is no way out, no alternative, but a challenge is a question mark asking for another way out of the situation, an alternative solution 8. the problem.

9. wise man once said if you cannot fly, run. If you cannot run, walk. If you cannot walk, crawl （爬行）; just keep on 10. (move).

If you fall down, you have to get up and start moving. If not, other people will step on you on the way to their achievements.

Nowadays, many teenagers spend too many time on computers. The number of students who come to school in the morning are already completely exhausting. The cause of this is staying late at night playing computer games and chat with their friends online. Most of them don’t realize just how damaging to their healthy this is, let alone the effect it has on their grades. I recently read an article about the damage that playing computer games are doing to kids. The article claimed for that lots of the games kids play are extremely harmful. It said that at best they are turning teens into dull people which have no social life and at worst into potential killer!

假定你是某国际学校的学生李华。最近，你校打算为同学们制作统一的校服，请你给外籍校长威尔逊先生写一封建议信，要点如下：

1. 写信的目的：

2. 对校服布料、款式等提出建议并说明理由。

注意：1. 词数100左右；

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

3. 开头和结尾已给出，但不计入总词数。

Dear Mr. Wilson,

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Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

When you get in your car, you reach for it. When you’re at work, you take a break to have a moment alone with it. When you get into a lift, you play with it.

Cigarettes? Cup of coffee? No, it’s the third most addictive（使人上瘾的） thing in modern life, the cell phone. And experts say it is becoming more difficult for many people to curb their wishes to hug it more tightly than most of their personal relationships.

With its shiny surface, its smooth and satisfying touch, the cell phone connects us to the world even as it disconnects us from people three feet away. It affects us in ways its inventors in the late 1940s never imagined.

Dr. Chris Knippers, an expert at the Betty Ford Center in Southern California, reports that the overuse of cell phones has become a social problem not much different from other harmful addictions: a barrier to one-on-one personal contact, and an escape from reality.

Sounds extreme, but we’ve all witnessed the evidence: the person at a restaurant who talks on the phone through an entire meal, ignoring his kids around the table; the woman who talks on the phone in the car, ignoring her husband; the teen who texts messages all the way home from school, avoiding contact with kids all around him. Is it just rude, or is it a kind of unhealthiness? And pardon me, but how is this improving the quality of life?

Jim Williams, an industrial sociologist based in Massachusetts, he points to a study by Duke University researchers that found one-quarter of Americans say they have no one to discuss their most important personal business with. Despite the growing use of phones, e-mail and instant messaging, in other words, Williams says studies show that we don’t have as many friends as our parents. “Just as more information has led to less wisdom, more acquaintances(熟人) through the Internet and cell phones have produced fewer friends,” he says.

If the cell phone has truly had these effects, it’s because it has become very widespread. In 1987, there were only 1 million cell phones in use. Today, almost 300 million Americans carry them. The number of cell phones is far more than that of wired phones in the United States.

1.Which of the following could probably best explain the title of the passage?

A. Cell phone users smoke less than they used to.

B. More people use cell phones than smoke cigarettes.

C. Cell phones have become as addictive as cigarettes.

D. Using cell phone is just as cool as smoking cigarettes.

2.The underlined word “curb” in Paragraph 2 means ________.

A. rescueB. controlC. developD. ignore

3.Which idea does the example of a woman talking on the phone in the car support?

A. Women use cell phones more often than men.

B. Talking on the phone while driving is dangerous.

C. Cell phones make one-on-one personal contact easy.

D. Cell phones do not necessarily bring people together.

4.What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?

A. How to make people get closer.

B. The advantages of wired phones.

C. How to use cell phones properly.

D. Giving an example to prove the bad effects of cell phones.

Hetty Robinson learnt all about money when very young. As a child, she read the financial pages of the newspaper to her rich father. Her father died when Hetty was 30, and she inherited $1 million. When she herself died in 1916, she left almost $100 million to her two children.

Hetty made her money on the New York stock(股票) exchange. She was a financial genius. She made money so easily that people called her the Witch of Wall Street. But although she was one of the richest women in the world, she counted every cent and spent as little as possible. She didn’t own a house, because she didn’t want to pay taxes. So she and her children lived in cheap hotels. She spent almost nothing on clothes, and always wore the same long black dress. She washed it herself, but to save soap she only washed the bottom of the dress, where it touched the ground. Other people had their own offices, but Hetty used a desk in the bank where she kept her money, because it didn’t cost anything. She sat in the bank and ate her sandwiches while she bought and sold stocks and shares. If the bank complained, she just moved all her money to another bank.

Hetty’s family paid the price for her meanness. When she was 33 she married a millionaire, Edward Green, and they had two children. But Green lost all his money, so she left him. When her son, Ned, injured his knee, Hetty didn’t want to pay for a doctor, so she took him to a free hospital for poor people. Unfortunately the doctor knew Hetty was rich and he asked for money. Hetty refused and took the boy away. His leg got worse and two years later doctors removed it.

But eventually Ned got his revenge(报复). At the age of 81, Hetty had an argument with a shop assistant about the price of a bottle of milk. She became so angry that she had a heart attack and died. So Hetty’s meanness finally killed her. Ned inherited half his mother’s fortune, and he spent it all on parties, holidays and expensive jewellery.

1.What fact can be learned about Hetty Robinson from the passage?

A. She was nice to her son.B. She worked for a bank.

C. She came from a poor family.D. She died from extreme anger.

2.Why was Hetty Robinson called the Witch of Wall Street?

A. She turned out to be the richest woman in New York.

B. She liked wearing the same long black dress every day.

C. She made a huge fortune easily through stocks and shares.

D. She was fond of reading financial pages of the newspaper.

3.Which of the following best describes Hetty Robinson?

A. Talented but not generous.B. Wealthy and selfless.

C. Easy-going but selfish.D. Curious and lucky.

4.Which is the best title of this passage?

A. A Mean GeniusB. A Financial Success

C. A Lifelong Bad LuckD. A Good Way to Earn Money

People all need friends because nobody wants to be lonely and a friend can help you in good and bad times. You’ve made friends since childhood, but you still don’t know who your true friends are. Here are some signs to tell you if your friend is a true friend:

Always honest

Honesty is important to keep a relationship alive. A true friend always tells you the truth. It may be hard sometimes but lying can destroy a friendship. It is important that your friend speaks honestly and never makes up stories.

______________

There are always periods in your life when you have problems or difficulties. A true friend will always have time to listen to your problems and give advice. It may not be able to offer a solution to your problems but the fact that your friend made time to listen is a sign he/she cares for you. Your friend is not a true friend if he/she can never make time for you when you are in trouble. You also need to be reasonable and accept that your friend also has other things to do so he/she can’t always listen immediately to your problems.

Always respectful

A true friend will always respect your opinion no matter whether he/she agrees or not. Your true friend may disagree but never insists that he/she is correct.

Always understanding

It is possible that some problems will arise between you and your friend. A true friend will always be forgiving and understanding even if it isn’t his /her fault. We are all different people and we all make mistakes. A true friend is always forgiving and understanding because he/she doesn’t want to take the risk of losing his/her best friend.

1.What’s the best title for the third paragraph?

A. Always happy for you

B. Always there for you

C. Always solve your problems

D. Always remember your important days

2.According to the passage, what will a true friend always do?

A. Share the same interests with you.

B. Offer a solution for your problems in time.

C. Respect your opinion even if he/she disagrees with it.

D. Be a good listener and listen immediately to your troubles.

3.What’s the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

A. To teach us how to make true friends.

B. To find out how long a friendship can last.

C. To introduce his experience in making friends.

D. To tell us how to find out if a friend is a true friend.

Ahead of so-called Singles’ Day on the 11th of this month，2013, online sales have already begun peaking.

The leading e-business platform, tmall.com, has promoted(促销) its fifty-percent-off discount to attract consumers. They are also trying to attract buyers through social media. Vice President of tmall.com Wang Yulei says more than 20 thousand online stores have joined the Double 11 Day sales. But this number has doubled. The final number of how many products going to be on sale has not been known yet. But so far, many more products planned to be put on shelves with discounts.

During last year's Singles’ Day, tmall.com, together with taobao.com, reached a record of 19.1 billion yuan in sales, which considered a milestone in the e-business history of China.

Singles’ Day was first started by Chinese college students in the 1990s as the opposite of Valentine’s Day, a celebration for people without romantic partners. The timing was based on the date: Nov. 11—or double 11—for singles. Single young people would treat each other to dinner or give gifts to show love to someone and end their single status.

But now, the Singles’ Day has been promoted as a kind of grand craze just for the shopping season, thanks to thousands of discounted products being promoted online.

Taobao.com was the first big e-retail platform which used the double 11 idea to promote sales. Taobao.com reached one million yuan worth of sales on that day in 2009, when they first promoted the Singles’ Day idea. In 2010, the sales increased to 936 million yuan. The figure climbed up to 5.3 billion yuan in 2011, putting huge demand on shipping services. The figure doubled in 2012.

E-commerce is considered to be replacing the traditional retailing industry, but the reality is both sides are learning from each other.

1.How much is a dress that is usually sold at 250 yuan during Singles’ Day at tmall.com?

A. 500.B. 125.C. 100.D. 200.

2.What can we infer from the passage?

A. Taobao.com reached 2.65 billion yuan in 2012.

B. E-commerce is going to replace traditional business at the end.

C. Double 11 Day was created to get the single status over for young people.

D. More than 20 thousand products will be provided in the Double 11 Day sales.

3.Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?

A. Singles’ Day promotes online sales.

B. Why Singles’ Day is so popular.

C. How people celebrate Singles’ Day.

D. What the definition of Singles’ Day is.

4.Where do you think is the passage taken from?

A. A science textbook.B. A newspaper.

C. A travel journal.D. A health report.

At times, our worries and anxieties can defeat us. 1. Here is a brief list of techniques that you can use to help gain a better viewpoint on things during the anxious moments.

2. A person should take a deep breath and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get their mind off the problem. A person could get some fresh air, listen to some music, or do an activity that will give them a fresh perspective on things.

Remember that our fearful thoughts are made to seem worse and can make the problem worse. 3. When unexpectedly having thoughts that make you fearful or anxious, challenge these thoughts by asking yourself positive questions that will maintain objectivity and common sense.

Be smart in how you deal with fears and anxieties. Do not try to deal with everything all at once. When facing a current or upcoming task that makes you anxious, break the task into small ones. 4.

Remember that all the worrying in the world will not change anything. Most of what you worry about never comes true. 5. Then you should leave everything else in the hands of God.

It is not easy to deal with all the fears and worries. When your fears and anxieties have the best of you, try to calm down and then get the facts of the situation. The key is to take it slow. All you can do is doing your best each day, hope for the best, and when something does happen, take it easy. Take it one step at a time and things will work out well at last.

A. When feeling anxious, stop what you are doing and try to do something relaxing.

B. This will give you the confidence to manage your anxiety.

C. Instead of worrying about something that probably won’t happen, concentrate on what you are able to do.

D. The next time you fell depressed, review your list and think about the good things that you have in your life.

E. A good way to manage your worry is to challenge your negative thinking with positive statements and realistic thinking.

F. In addition, our worries can change our understanding of what is reality and what is not.

G. Completing these smaller tasks once at a time will make the stress more manageable and increase your chances of success.

Terror attacked the heart of the World War I soldier，as he saw his lifelong friend falling in the battle．Caught in a trench（战壕） with ________ gunfire whizzing（飕飕地移动）over his head，the soldier asked his ________ if he might go out into the “No Man's Land” between the trenches to bring his ________ partner back．

“You can go，”said the officer，“but I don't think it will be worth it．Your friend is ________ dead and you may throw your own ________ away．”

The officer's words didn't ________ to him，and the soldier went anyway. Surprisingly he ________ to reach his friend，lift him onto his ________，and bring him back to their own trench．As the two of them ________ in together to the bottom of the trench，the officer ________ the wounded soldier，and then looked kindly at his friend．

“I told you it wouldn't be worth it，” he said．“Your friend is dead，and you are terribly wounded．”

“It was worth it，________，sir，” the soldier said．

“What do you mean by ‘worth it’?” ________ the officer．“Your friend is dead!” “Yes sir，” the soldier answered．“But it was worth it because when I got to him，he was still ________，and I had the ________ of hearing him say，‘Jim，I knew you'd come．’”

Many a time in ________，whether a thing is worth doing or not really depends on ________ you look at it．Take up all your ________ and do something your ________ tells you to do so that you may not ________ doing it later in life．May each and every one of you be blessed with the company of ________ friends.

1.A．brightB．dustyC．continuousD．loose

2.A．partnerB．officerC．reporterD．relative

3.A．gratefulB．forgetfulC．selflessD．helpless

4.A．probablyB．personallyC．exactlyD．entirely

5.A．workB．lifeC．gunD．friendship

6.A．matterB．agreeC．escapeD．succeed

7.A．triedB．decidedC．plannedD．managed

8.A．handsB．headC．shoulderD．legs

9.A．trappedB．fellC．exploredD．competed

10.A．checkedB．recoveredC．persuadedD．transported

11.A．althoughB．thenC．whileD．anyhow

12.A．advisedB．warnedC．respondedD．ordered

13.A．aliveB．afraidC．affectedD．amazed

14.A．realityB．satisfactionC．responsibilityD．experience

15.A．lifeB．battlesC．natureD．society

16.A．whatB．howC．whenD．why

17.A．attentionB．mercyC．courageD．money

18.A．intelligenceB．friend

C．characterD．heart

19.A．forgetB．rememberC．regretD．admit

20.A．trueB．straightC．generousD．native

About the movie

It is the 1. (finally) part of the Hobbit movie trilogy, and it came out in the US on Dec 17. The main character Bilbo Baggins is 2. of fantasy’s most famous heroes. In the movie, he helps the dwarves to get their kingdom back from the dragon Smaug, and also fights an 3. (expect) group of enemies. He shows that true heroics are not the absence of fear, but 4. (have) that fear and doing something anyway.

Difficulties Freeman once had

He 5. (use) be overshadowed (使逊色) by Benedict Cumberbatch, his co-star in Sherlock. He seemed to be unable to take the role in the Hobbit trilogy because of his role in Sherlock.

His personality and habits

He is known 6. being outspoken and 7. (describe) as “direct and mean”. He is so old 8. he doesn’t use computers much, so he prefers his scripts to be mailed to him rather than e-mailed. He doesn’t drive, and he’s not interested in 9. (hang) out with celebrities at clubs. He said he always saw the world in a funny way and 10. (learn) not to care about being criticized.