Martin is a fifteen-year-old boy. He used to be a“problem child”, but a recent? ???? with his mother changed his life. He didn’t use to give his mother many problems. ??? , after his father’s death a few years ago, Martin’s life became ???? more difficult. His mother couldn’t afford to pay for her child’s education. To do this, she ???? work, and so was often not at home.

His mother looked after him as ????? as she could. Unfortunately, Martin still caused problems. He was not ???? in studying and he often got in to trouble. Luckily, his mother was very ???? and didn’t give up trying to help him. In the end, she ???? a difficult decision:to send him to a boys’boarding school. Martin hated it and used to cause a lot of trouble.

One day, he told his teacher he wanted to leave the school. The teacher said it was necessary for Martin to ???? with his mother. Martin called his mother, but to his ???? , this phone call changed his life. “It was exactly ???? Ineeded, ”he said. “My mother helped me to understand how much she had given me. She also told me that even though my father was no longer with us, he was ???? me and would always take pride in every thing good I do. That’s when I decided to change. I realize that ???? my father died, I have been afraid of being alone, and have tried to make my mother pay more attention to me. ”

　　 Now Martin has ???? changed. He has been working hard and is now one of the best students in his class. How was he able to change?His mother’s???? helped him to feel good about himself.

1.A. conversation??? ?? B. report???? ?? C. survey???? ? D. speech

2.A. So?????????????? B. But??????? ? C. Therefore?? ? D. However

3.A. very??? ???????? B. many?????? ? C. much??????? D. too

4.A. could??????????? B. had to???? ??? C. should????? D. would

5.A. soon???????????? B. quickly??? ?? C. well??????? ? D. good

6.A. pleased????????? B. tired????? ??? C. bored?????? ? D. interested

7.A. worried????????? B. patient??? ??? C. careful???? ?? D. serious

8.A. made???????????? B. took?????? ?? C. got???????? D. thought

9.A. argue??????????? B. say??????? ? C. discuss???? ?? D. talk

10.A. surprised??????? B. surprising ??? C. surprise??? ?? D. surprises

11.A. which??????????? B. what?????? C. that??????? ?? D. how

12.A. seeing?????????? B. noticing?? ?? C. helping???? ?? D. watching

13.A. since??????????? B. before???? ?? C. after?????? ?? D. when

14.A. always?????????? B. hardly???? ?? C. really????? ?? D. just

15.A. advice?????????? B. love?????? ?? C. idea?????? ? D. decision

On Nov.18th, 1908, three men went up in a balloon. They started early in London. The headman was Auguste Gaudron, and the other two men were Tannar and Maitland. They had a big balloon and they were ready for a long way.
Soon they heard the sea. They were carrying the usual rope, and it was hanging down from the basket of the balloon. At the end of the rope they had tied a metal box. This could hold water, or it could be empty. So they were able to use the box to change the weight of the balloon. The three people were also carrying some bags of sand.
After the sun rose, the balloon went higher. It went up to 3,000 metres, and the air was very cold. The water in the balloon became ice. Snow fell past the men’s basket, and they could see more snow on the ground. The men tried to throw out some more sand; but it was hard. They tried to break the icy sand with their knives, but it was not easy. The work was slow and they were still falling, so they had to drop some whole bags of sand. One of them fell on an icy lake and made a black hole in the ice.
　　At last they pulled the box into the basket. It was still snowing; so they climbed to get away from the snow. They rose to 5,100 metres! Everything became icy. They were very cold and  they decided to land. They came down in Poland　heavily but safely. They had travelled 1,797 kilometres from London!
【小题1】Where did they start their travel on Nov.18th, 1908?
                                                                            
【小题2】What was the metal box used for?
                                                                            
【小题3】 Why did they have to drop some whole bags of sand during the travel?
                                                                            
【小题4】 How long did they travel in the end?
                                                                            
【小题5】
What do you think of the three people and their travel? (请自拟一句话作答)
                                                                            

完形填空（共12分，每小题1分）

阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项

　　I had my first job at the age of thirteen, when a friend of my mother’s who owned a book shop hired（雇佣） me for six hours a week to help her in the shop. I was very 　1　 　to earn my own pocket money and my parents 　2　 　interfered（干涉）with how I spent it, even when I was spending it foolishly. They believed that by earning money, spending it, and learning from the 　3　 , I would become more mature（成熟的） and responsible about how to handle work, relationships with others, and money.

　　Like many American parents, my parents also let me and my brothers do things over which they 　4 　　a great deal. When I was sixteen, for example, after I finished high school and before I entered university, I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around Europe. My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age, but my father felt that it would be a great 　5　 　for me. In the end, my father won the argument（争论） on the 　6　 　that I limited（限定）my traveling to France, my mother’s home, where I had many uncles, aunts and cousins spread out through the country who could 　7　 　shelter（住处）and help if I needed them.

　　Three years later, my younger brother decided to 　8　 　a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean. Again my mother was very worried and not eager to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother had a(n) 　9　 　year working his way on trains and ships to 　10 　　passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people.

　　These kinds of experiences are probably rare（稀少的）for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly common. Most parents start 　11　 　their children at a young age to do small things by themselves. By the time they have finished high school, many American kids have already had part-time jobs, traveled around the US or other countries on their own, have selected the university they plan to attend and maybe even 　12　 　on their future career, and so on.

1.                A．anxious　　     B．content　　　   C．proud    D．hopeful

2.                A．never          B．ever　　　 　   C．always    D．even

3.                A．problems       B．mistakes        C．disappointment D．failure

4.                A．helped         B．supported       C．shared   D．worried

5.                                  A．journey　　 B．experience

C．decision　　　　                  D．possibility

6.                A．situation　      B．agreement      C．gesture   D．condition

7.                A．promise　　    B．afford          C．provide   D．serve

8.                A．set            B．put            C．take D．keep

9.                A．unusual        B．hard           C．strange   D．busy

10.               A．accept　　     B．earn           C．find  D．search

11.               A．bringing　　    B．forcing

　　              C．pushing　　　　　                 D．protecting

12.               A．worked　　     B．decided        C．carried    D．tried

完形填空（共12分，每小题1分）
阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项
　　I had my first job at the age of thirteen, when a friend of my mother’s who owned a book shop hired（雇佣） me for six hours a week to help her in the shop. I was very 　1　 　to earn my own pocket money and my parents 　2　 　interfered（干涉）with how I spent it, even when I was spending it foolishly. They believed that by earning money, spending it, and learning from the 　3　 , I would become more mature（成熟的） and responsible about how to handle work, relationships with others, and money.
　　Like many American parents, my parents also let me and my brothers do things over which they 　4 　　a great deal. When I was sixteen, for example, after I finished high school and before I entered university, I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around Europe. My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age, but my father felt that it would be a great 　5　 　for me. In the end, my father won the argument（争论） on the 　6　 　that I limited（限定）my traveling to France, my mother’s home, where I had many uncles, aunts and cousins spread out through the country who could 　7　 　shelter（住处）and help if I needed them.
　　Three years later, my younger brother decided to 　8　 　a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean. Again my mother was very worried and not eager to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother had a(n) 　9　 　year working his way on trains and ships to 　10 　　passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people.
　　These kinds of experiences are probably rare（稀少的）for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly common. Most parents start 　11　 　their children at a young age to do small things by themselves. By the time they have finished high school, many American kids have already had part-time jobs, traveled around the US or other countries on their own, have selected the university they plan to attend and maybe even 　12　 　on their future career, and so on.

　Mr. Scott worked in a middle school. He read a lot. He taught well and could answer all the questions his students asked. And they liked him very much. One Sunday morning, when he was dressing his son, Jimmy, the boy suddenly asked, “May I ask you a question, Dad?” “Of course you can,” answered Mr. Scott. “Are you sure that you can answer it?” “Certainly.” “Well,” said Jimmy, “Are there any holes in your socks?” “Holes?” Mr. Scott said in surprise. “It’s impossible.” “Look at them carefully, or you’ll be wrong!” Mr. Scott took off his socks and looked at them carefully but didn’t find anything wrong.

　　“No, there’s no hole in them,” said Mr. Scott. “I bought them only last week.” “How can you put your feet into them, then?” Little Jimmy said with a smile. At first Mr. Scott didn’t know what to say. After a while he began to laugh with a red face.

　　根据短文意思，将下列句子补充完整。每空一词。

1.Mr. Scott was a ______________ in a middle school.

2.His son was too ______________ to dress himself.

3.Mr. Scott tried to find if there were _________________ in his socks.

4. In the end Mr. Scott realized that his son had played a _____________ on him.

5. From Jimmy’s joke we can say that he was a ___________________ boy.