My first performance in front of an audience was coming up soon.

I tried as hard as I could to remain clam，but my heart was racing. I stared down at my sweat-covered shaking hands.

       I looked up again at the audience，realizing that these were real people. They were not just my mum and dad，who would say，“Good job!”even if I messed up the entire piece.

What if I had the wrong music? What if I played the wrong notes?

       As it turned, I was never able to answer these questions because the spotlight was waiting for me. I grasped my hands tightly together，drying off the sweat.

       Slowly I walked to the piano in the center of the room. It contained 88 demanding keys，which were waiting impatiently to be played. Slowly, I opened the music. Next，I rested my still shaking hands on the ivory keys.

       As my fingers played across the keys，I was becoming more unsure of my preparation for this moment. But the memory of my year of training came flooding back. I knew that I had practiced this piece times that I could play it backwards if requested.

       Although at one point I accidentally played two keys instead of the intended one，I continued to move my fingers automatically.

       My eyes burned holes into the page in front of me.

       There was no way that 1 was going to lose my concentration. To keep this promise to myself，I leaned forward and focused carefully on the music.

       When I came to the end of the page，a warning went off inside my head：DON’T MAKE A MISTAKE WHEN YOU TURN THE PAGE!

       Needless to say，I obeyed myself with all my mind. And，proud of my“page-turning”feat, I finished the rest of the piece without making a single mistake.

After the final note died away，a celebration went into action inside my head. I had finished. I had mastered the impossible.

1．The author was nervous before the performance because         .

       A．her mother and father weren’t present

       B．the strong spotlight was shining onto the stage

       C．she hadn’t mastered the entire piece

       D．she had never performed in public before

2．The underlined phrase “mess up” in Paragraph 3 probably means     .

       A．put into disorder   B．forget about         C．stop halfway        D．do well in

3．The author           .

       A．didn’t make any mistake in the performance

       B．felt better at t he beginning of the performance

       C．paid all attention to nothing but her performance

       D．lost her concentration sometimes during the performance

4．What did the author feel about her performance?

       A．She thought it was comfortable and successful.

       B．She thought it was very difficult but successful.

       C．She thought she had never made a mistake during the performance.

       D．She thought she played through the piece carefully but light-heartedly.

第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分30分）

第一节（共10小题，每小题2分，满分20分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Americans spend their free time in various ways．

America is a country of sports — of hunting, fishing and swimming, and of team sports like baseball and football．Millions of Americans watch their favorite sports on television．They also like to play in community orchestras （管弦乐队）, make their own films or recordings, go camping, visit museums，attend lectures, travel, garden, read, and join in hundreds of other activities．The people also enjoy building things for their homes, sewing their own clothes, even making their own photographs．They do these things for fun as well as for economy．

But as much as Americans enjoy their free time, the country is at the same time a “self-improvement” country．More than 25 million adults continue their education, chiefly by going to school in the evening, during their own free time, at their own expense．Added to the time spent on personal activities, Americans a1so devote a great amount of their time to the varied needs of their communities．Many hospitals, schools, libraries, museums, parks, community centers, and organizations that assist the poor depend on the many hours citizens devote to these activities, often without any pay．Why do they do it?

There are several answers．The idea of cooperating and sharing responsibility with one another for the benefit of all is as old as the country itself．[来源:学。科。网]

When the country was first founded in 1776, it was necessary for the settlers to work together to live．They had crossed dangerous seas and risked all they had in their struggle for political and religious freedom．There remains among many Americans a distrust of central government．People still prefer to do things themselves within their communities, rather than give the government more control．

Sometimes people offer their time because they wish to accomplish something for which no money is paid, to do something that will be of benefit to the entire community．It is true that some people use their leisure because they are truly interested in the work; or they are learning from the experience．

No matter what the reason is, hundreds of thousands of so-called leisure hours are put into hard, unpaid work on one or another community need．

1．This passage is mainly about ________．

A．why America is a country of sports

B．how Americans spend their free time

C．why America is a “self-improvement” country

D．how Americans are devoted to their community activities

2．The writer mentions the foundation of the country in order to indicate ________．

A．the early history of America

B．the American people’s determination to live

C．the reason for Americans’ willingness to cooperate and share responsibility

D．the American people’ s love for freedom

3．Which of the following best explains the meaning of the underlined word “leisure”?

A．work time           B．energy                C．effort                  D．spare time

4．What can we infer from the text?

A．The first settlers left their hometown for political and religious reasons．

B．Many Americans don’t trust the central government．

C．American people enjoy building things for their homes just for fun．

D．Americans continue their education at their own expense．

 

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的从四个选项中（A、B、C和D），选出可以填人空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Born in America, I spoke English, not Chinese, the language of my ancestors. When I was three, my parents flashed cards with Chinese 36 at my face, but I pushed them 37 . My mom believed I would learn 38 I was ready. But the  39  never came.

On a Chinese New Year’s Eve, my uncle spoke to me in Chinese, but all I could do was  40  at him, confused, scratching my head. “Still can’t speak Chinese?” He  41  me, “You can’t even buy a fish in Chinatown.”

“Hey, this is America, not China. I’ll get some  42  with or without Chinese.” I replied and turned to my mom for   43  .

“Remember to ask for fresh fish, Xin Xian Yu,” she said, handing over a $20 bill. I  44  the words, running downstairs into the streets of Chinatown.

I found the fish  45  surrounded in a sea of customers. “I’d like to buy some fresh fish,” I shouted to the fishman. But he  46  my English words and turned to serve the next customer. The laugh of the people behind increased  47  their impatience. With every 48  , the breath of the dragons（龙）on my back grew stronger---my blood boiling---  49  me to cry out, “Xian Sheng Yu， please.” “ Very Xian Sheng,” I repeated. The crowd erupted into laughter. My face turned  50  and I ran back home  51  ,expect for the $20 bill I held tightly in my pocket.

Should I laugh or cry? They’re Chinese. I’m Chinese. I should feel right at  52  Instead , I was the joke , a disgrace (丢脸)to the language.

Sometimes , I laugh at my fish      53   , but , in the end .the joke is on    54  . Every laugh is a culture     55   ; every laugh is my heritage (传统)fading away.

A. custom      B. games    C .characters .            D. language

A. ahead       B. around    C. along                 D. aside

A. when        B. before    C. unless                 D. until

A. success       B. study     C. time                  D. attempt

A. aim         B. joke      C. nod                  D. stare

A. cared about          B. laughed at       C. argued with      D. asked after

A. right now          B. from now        C. at times         D. in time

A. decision            B. permission        C. information      D. preparation

A. repeated            B. reviewed          C. spelled         D. kept

A. farm              B. stand             C. pond            D. market

A. guessed           B. forgot             C. doubted         D. ignored

A. by               B. as                 C. with             D. from

A. second            B. effort             C. desire            D. movement

A. forcing            B. allowing             C. persuading        D. leading

A. bright            B. blank              C. pale             D. red

A. open-mouthed     B. tongue-tied    C. empty-handed     D. broken-hearted

A. service           B. home              C. risk             D. root

A. trade             B. deed               C. challenge       D. incident

A. it                B. us           C. me                D. them

A. thrown           B. lost            C. divided           D. reflected

请阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从28－45各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项的标号涂黑。

(1)

People were asked to comment __28__ scenes from films like Pulp Fiction, TV series like Channel 4’s Brookside and cartoons like South Park. Leeds University concluded that people made a __29__between bad language used in programmes for adults, and those _30__ for children.

	A. for	B. on	C. of	D. over
	A. destination	B. difference	C. extinction	D. distinction
	A. meant	B. provide	C. intend	D. supply

(2)

Advertisements need to attract and ___31__ the attention of the public. Some advertisements consist of pictures or the words of experts to show people how good the products are. Others try to create advertisements that people simply enjoy ___32___. As present-day advertisers often have large ____33___, a lot of money is spent on applying modern techniques of design to make these advertisements as _____34_____ attractive as possible.

Not all advertising is about selling products and services for a profit. Some contemporary advertisements mainly aim to make contributions to society. There are public advertisements ____35_____citizens to participate in improving their neighbourhood, protecting the environment, and helping other people. ___36___ the last decade, the government has worked hard at using advertisements to educate the public on fighting AIDS, saving water, helping the poor, giving up smoking, etc. These advertisements have helped to increase public knowledge, which has made our society a better place for everyone.

	A. pay	B. make	C. receive	D. hold
	A. looking	B. staring	C. looking at	D. staring at
	A. budgets	B. gadgets	C. plans	D. profits
	A. more visually	B. less visually	C. visually	D. visual
	A. encourage	B. encouraged	C. to encourage	D. encouraging
	A. From	C. By	D. Since	D. Over

(3)

Dear Editor,

I am writing to ????????___37___about the plan for a new airport. Many people have been  38 the idea from the start. However, the government is planning to go ahead with the building next year.

First, the government says that the airport will bring us industry and jobs.  39  , in my opinion, it will ruin the character of Tamford, a historic country town. Although the airport would bring tourists, I am not sure they would want to stay in a dirty, industrial town.

___40____ the government says, it is clear that the airport will also affect our health. Problems will increase even though the government has promised us a new hospital. Air pollution will get worse and this will be harmful to people, for example, it can cause cancer. Noise pollution will also have an ___41___ on the houses and schools near the airport.

I think other people should write to the government about this problem. We should do everything we can  42   this airport.

	A. protect	B. protest	C. proposal	D. promote
	A. disagree	B. for	C. in favour of	D. against
	A. However	B. Therefore	C. Instead	D. Besides
	A. Whatever	B. No matter which	C. Although	D. No matter
	A. affect	B. influent	C. damage	D. effect
	A. stop	B. to stop	C. stopping	D. stopped

(4)

 And a word of advice. To avoid getting confused about the British tipping system, you need to ____43____ your bill to see if a tip is included or not. If it isn’t, I suggest leaving 10% of the bill for the waiter or waitress --- ___44____ a bit more if the service is good. Talking of money --- it’s really easy to exchange traveller’s cheques at banks or hotels so I ___45___ you to get some of those before you come.

	A. examine	B. check	C. test	D. look
	A. even	B. just	C. yet	D. still
	A. suggest	B. persuade	C. request	D. advise

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Does this situation seem familiar to you? Your English is progressing well, the grammar is now familiar, the reading comprehension is no problem, and you are speaking quite fluently. __1__.

First of all, remember that you are not alone. Listening is probably the most difficult job for almost all learners of English as a foreign language. __2__What you need to do is to find listening resources. The Internet is really a useful tool for English students. You can download RealPlayer from RealMedia. Com. RealPlayer allows you to use the Internet like a radio station.

Once you have begun to listen on a regular basis, you might still be frustrated(挫败)by limited understanding. __3__

Here is some of the advice I give my students:

·Accept the fact that you are not going to understand everything.

·Stay relaxed when you do not understand, and try listening to the material for more times.

·Do not translate everything into your native language.

·__4__Don’t concentrate on details until you have understood the main idea.

·Listen to something you enjoy.

I remember the problems I had in understanding spoken German when I first went to Germany. In the beginning, when I didn’t understand a word, I insisted on translating it in my mind. __5__Then, after the first six months, I discovered two extremely important facts. Firstly, translating creates a barrier(障碍) between the listener and the speaker. Secondly, most people repeat themselves constantly. By remaining calm, I noticed that even if I didn’t pay much attention I could usually understand what the speaker had said.

A．This method usually resulted in confusion(困惑).

B．But you can’t follow a native English speaker at all!

C．What should you do?

D．But listening is a problem for most of the beginners!

E.The most important thing is to listen as often as possible.

F.However, after several weeks, I got used to the grammar rules.

G. Listen for the general idea of the conversation.