（根据所给的首字母或中文写出适当的单词）

1..The _______(运动员) were warming up before the game when I got there.

2.In case of e________, to stay calm is the most important thing.

3..She didn’t give any _____________(解释，说明） for her being absent from the meeting .

4.The coldest place is in one area of Antarctica with the a_______ temperature of 58 degrees below zero.

5..I told my mother about my plan to leave school but wasn’t __________(批准）

6..Though he has made a mistake, as a good boy, he d________ to be given another chance.

7.They had only one week to make __________ （准备）for the wedding.

8..All her spare time was d__________ to helping the poor children in stricken areas(灾区), so she had no time to take care of her family.

9..She felt __________ （尴尬的）about the examination result and didn’t want to talk to her parents about it.

10..He didn’t like his daughter’s boyfriend and f_______ him to enter the house.

 

My problems started after I went to a boarding(寄宿) school. I was only 14, and at first I misses my family a lot. I often called them and cried on the phone. But after two weeks, I found I enjoyed being with my classmates at school. I had many friends who were boys. I thought of them as my best friends – but only friends. I never guessed my friendships with boys would become a problem.

Then, three months later, my friends told me that some teachers and girls said I was hanging out with boys all day long in order to get attention from them. Seven months after that, the head teacher Mr. Wang asked the class to choose some students to join the Student Union. I thought I could win for I was doing well in school. I’d already won prizes for the best math and English exams. A week later, the list came out and it didn’t include me. I was sad.

Mr. Wang came to me and said, “Don’t be sad. I know you’re excellent! Maybe you are a little distant from the girls in our class. They don’t know much about you, so some of them didn’t choose you. It doesn’t matter. Do your best to get along well with everyone and I think you’ll make it next time.”

1.What was the writer’s problem when she first entered the boarding school?

A．She didn’t like her new school.

B．She didn’t get along well with her classmates.

C．She missed her family very much.

D．She didn’t like her new teacher.

2.Many of the writer’s friends in her new school were _______.

A．teachers          B．boys             C．girls              D．women

3.Why did the writer fail to join the Student Union?

A．Her teachers didn’t like her.

B．She was a poor student.

C．Some girls didn’t choose her.

D．She likes showing off herself.

4.The underlined word “distant” means “______” in English.

A．estranged(疏远的)                      B．aggressive(好斗的)

C．warm-hearted                          D．rude

5.Which of the following is NOT true, according to the passage?

A．The writer won prizes for the best science and English exams.

B．The writer didn’t realize that her friendships with boys would cause problems.

C．The writer was sad because she failed to join the Student Union.

D．The teacher thought she was an excellent student.

 

 

Margaret, married with two small children, has been working for the last seven years as a night cleaner, cleaning offices in a big building.

She trained as a nurse, but had to give it up when her elder child became seriously ill. “I would have liked to go back to it, but the shifts（工作班次） are all wrong for me, as I have to be home to get the children up and off to school.”

So she works as a cleaner instead, from 9 p.m. till 6 a.m. five nights a week for just ￡90, before tax and insurance. “It’s better than it was last year, but I still think that people who work ‘unsocial hours’ should get a bit extra.”

The hours she’s chosen to work meant that she sees plenty of the children, but very little of her husband. However, she doesn’t think that puts any pressure on their relationship.

Her work isn’t physically very hard, but it’s not exactly pleasant, either. “I do get angry with people who leave their offices like a place for raising pigs. If they realized people like me have to do it, perhaps they’d be a bit more careful.”

The fact that she’s working all night doesn’t worry Margaret at all. Unlike some dark buildings at night, the building where she works is fully lit, and the women work in groups of three. “Since I’ve got to be here, I try to enjoy myself——and I usually do, because of the other girls. We all have a good laugh, so the time never drags.”

Another challenge Margaret has to face is the reaction of other people when she tells them what she does for a living. “They think you’re a cleaner because you don’t know how to read and write,” said Margaret. “I used to think what my parents would say if they knew what I’d been doing, but I don’t think that way any more. I don’t dislike the work though I can’t say I’m mad about it.”

1. Margaret quit her job as a nurse because _______.

A. she wanted to earn more money to support her family

B. she had suffered a lot of mental pressure

C. she needed the right time to look after her children

D. she felt tired of taking care of patients

2. Margaret gets angry with people who work in the office because _______.

A. they never clean their offices            B. they look down upon cleaners

C. they never do their work carefully        D. they always make a mess in their offices

3. When at work, Margaret feels _______.

A. light-hearted because of her fellow workers   B. happy because the building is fully lit

C. tired because of the heavy workload         D. bored because time passed slowly

4. The underlined part in the last paragraph implies that Margaret’s parents would _______．

A. help care for her children             B. regret what they had said

C. show sympathy for her               D. feel disappointed in her

 

 She and her family hid away for nearly twenty-five months _____ they were discovered.

A．After

B．since

C．until

D．before

 

My mother, Marisol Torres, came with her family to Australia in the early 1960s. Then my parents’ marriage ended and Mum began the study of precious stones. Her interest in opals (猫眼石) took her to the New South Wales remote town of Lightning Ridge. There were no luxuries (奢华的享受), but she was closer to nature and had a chance to find black opals and make some money.

My mother was beautiful with dark hair and brown eyes, but she was also quiet and shy. Early in the Ridge years, she kept to herself, but later, she started going to the neighbourhood centre to make friends.

It was her dream to mine, but her get-rich-quick thinking was unrealistic. She was cheated and she was never very successful. But she kept a sense of humour and a charming smile.

Then, just as friendships began to blossom, she was diagnosed with cancer and had to return south for treatment. She had the intention of cooking Spanish food as special treat for her Ridge friends, but died too soon. In her honour, my aunt, Marisa, and I fulfilled her desire when we visited the Ridge in March last year.

People who mine the Ridge come from a cross section of society, from lawyers to travels. Looks don’t mean much: it can be hard to tell who is millionaire and who is poor. Opals attracted Sebastian and Hanna Deisenberger to Lightning Ridge. They planned a two-year stay, but became permanent residents.

Then there’s Neil Schellnegger, 45, who moved to the area with his parents when he was a child. He lives with his son, Luke. Luke is a shy 19-year-old boy who enjoys helping his dad. They haven’t had much luck over the past couple of years, but their passion for opals conquers disappointment. They love the peaceful lifestyle.

Danny Hatcher, 38, is a second-generation miner and president of the Lightning Ridge Miners’ Association. He is an optimistic man, driven by the desire to find the perfect opal. “It’s magic,” he explains. “Once you start opal mining you don’t want to do anything else… There is always the potential for finding a million dollars. Nothing beats it.”

It’s a place where dreams --- spiritual or material --- can be fulfilled; a place, for one last bet in life.

1.What made the author’s mother go to Lightning Ridge?

A．The luxurious life there.                  B．Her new marriage there.

C．Her interest in opals.                     D．Her passion for nature. .

2.After the author’s mother died, she fulfilled her desire by __________.

A．treating her mother’s Ridge friends with Spanish food

B．writing a biography about her whole life

C．decorating her house in Lightning Ridge

D．finding a lot of black opals in Lightning Ridge

3.We know from the passage that _________.

A．the rich and the poor can be distinguished by their looks

B．Luke is a successful miner, just like his father

C．Sebastian is planning to leave Lightning Ridge

D．Danny Hatcher’s parents were miners in Lightning Ridge

4.Lightning Ridge is a place where dreams can be fulfilled because __________.

A．there are precious stones and life is peaceful

B．there are people from all walks of life

C．there are rich people who can help poor people

D．there is a lot of gold hidden in the ground

5.What is the author’s purpose of giving Neil Schellnegger and Danny Hatcher as examples?

A．To show the magic power of opal mining.

B．To tell people it isn’t always hard to mine opals.

C．To warn people not to take up this kind of job.

D．To persuade people to look for more resources for the country.