You never see him, but they're with you every time you fly. They record where you are going, how fast you're traveling and whether everything on your airplane is functioning normally. Their ability to endure almost any disaster makes them seem like something out of a comic book. They're known as the black box.
　When planes fall from the sky, as a Yemeni airliner did on its way to Comoros Islands in the India ocean on June 30, 2009, the black box is the best bet for identifying what went wrong. So when a French submarine (潜水艇) detected the box's homing signal five days later, the discovery marked a huge step toward determining the cause of a tragedy in which 152 passengers were killed.
　In 1958, Australian scientist David Warren developed a flight-memory recorder that would track basic information like altitude and direction. That was the first mode for a black box, which became a requirement on all U.S. commercial flights by 1960. Early models often failed to withstand crashes, however, so in 1965 the box was completely redesigned and moved to the rear of the plane – the area least subject to impact – from its original position in the landing wells (起落架舱). The same year, the Federal Aviation Authority required that the boxes, which were never actually black, be painted orange or yellow to aid visibility.
　Modern airplanes have two black boxes: a voice recorder, which tracks pilots' conversations, and a flight-data recorder, which monitors fuel levels, engine noises and other operating functions that help investigators reconstruct the aircraft's final moments. Placed in an insulated (隔绝的) case and surrounded by a quarter-inch-thick panels of stainless steel, the boxes can stand massive force and temperatures up to 2,000℉. When submerged, they're also able to emit signals from depths of 20,000 ft. Experts believe the boxes from Air France Flight 447, which crashed near Brazil on June 1,2009, are in water nearly that deep, but statistics say they're still likely to turn up. In the approximately 20 deep-sea crashes over the past 30 years, only one plane's black boxes were never recovered.
【小题1】What does the author say about the black box?

In both China and the West, at this time of the year, we must endure the cold, the wind and the snow of wintertime. How good it is then that we have festivals to keep our spirits up and hearts warm!

Spring Festival in China and Christmas in foreign countries are times for families and friends to get together, exchange gifts and have a big dinner.

Although the two holidays are different – one is to celebrate Jesus Christ’s birth, while the other is celebrated because of thousands of years of Chinese folk traditions – Christmas and Spring Festival still have things in common.

In both, eating is a big part of the holiday celebration. In China we eat dumpling and niangao – cakes made of sticky rice – while Westerners sit down to a roast turkey or ham, with vegetables, apple-sauce and a plum (干果) pudding.

Gifts are another key element in both celebrations. In the West, families gather round the Christmas tree on Christmas morning and open their presents. Gifts range from the small – a box of chocolates – to the large. Children especially look forward to a big present, say a new bike or computer. Similarly, in China children receive gift money in red envelopes from their elders.

With the world becoming more connected, Spring Festival and Christmas have crossed cultural borders. It is not unusual in China to see Christmas trees and Father Christmas figures around the end of December.

And Chinese living abroad have made Spring Festival a special cultural event in many foreign countries. In some US cities, especially those with large Chinese neighborhoods, non-Asian adults and kids join in the fun.  “ I've been celebrating Chinese New Year for a really long time, and it's a great cultural festival for the community,” said Leslie Swartz, who works at the city's Children's Museum in Boston. “Everyone goes to Chinatown. There are lion dances and firecrackers. It's very lively. Schools also celebrate Chinese New Year. ” Swartz said.

Swartz has a 13-year-old adopted Chinese daughter, Mei. They celebrate at home, too, decorating the house and eating special foods. They make traditional Chinese New Year's fruit trays (拼盘). They also write good luck messages on red paper, called spring couplets (对联), and hang them by the doors at home.

The Title: East- West: We are alike

★   1.     : Spring Festival in China and Christmas in the west

★similarities:

▼ keeping spirits up and    2.    

▼being time for families and friends to    3. 

▼    4.   

▼having a big dinner

★  5.    between the two festivals

▼Spring Festival: folk traditions of China of thousands of years

▼Christmas: Celebrating ___6.      

★ Culture mixture: Spring Festival and Christmas having crossed 7.  

▼In China: Seeing   8.  and Father Christmas figures

▼In the USA: watching lion dances and9.  in Chinatown, making traditional Chinese New Year’ fruit trays, writing good luck messages on red paper and  10.  by the doors

阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。

Why is it that we tend to value relationships more once they've ended? Is it simply human nature to take for granted the smile of someone close，the friendship of a relative，the concern of a neighbor? In the moment，we think that these people will be around forever.

Most of us never stop to imagine all those who have a profound impact on our lives. It’s so easy to justify this casual attitude by saying we are too busy, too tired，too involved with work，too concerned about money，and the list of excuses goes on and on. So enjoying a friendship may be put off for one day, and then another. Before long, feelings have faded，and there is less incentive to get together. Almost relegated to a chore now，precious moments become something to endure.  

Usually, something dramatic must happen to change this apathy and pull one out of a rut. Perhaps it’s something shocking，like a death，a divorce，sudden illness，an accident — something stunning to force taking notice．Then comes the guilt，the re-assessment of feelings，the sadness of loss.

We long to have those precious moments once again，to share and express our feelings. Instead of waiting for an excuse，why not get out of the rut，take the initiative，and spend quality time with the people you value. Let them know how really important they are.

[写作内容]

1、以约30个词概括短文的要点；

２、以约120个词就“珍惜同学或朋友之间的友谊”这个主题发表你的看法，并包括

以下要点：

(1)你成长中因为没有珍惜友谊而感到后悔的经历；

(2)造成这样经历的原因；

(3)你对成长中这次经历的看法及建议。

［写作要求］

１、作文中可以使用自己的亲身经历或虚构的故事，也可以参照阅读材料的内容,

但不得直接引用原文中的句子；  ２、标题自定。

[评分标准]    概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，篇章连贯

It is men’s nature to live together in families and tribes(部落), and cities and nations, and therefore men have learned to prize those qualities in each other which make social life the happiest and best.
Of these qualities one of the most important is sympathy－fellow-feeling. If a man had no fellow-feeling, we should call him “inhuman”; he would be no true man. We think so much of this quality that we call a kind man “human”－that is, man-like in his conduct, first to other men, and afterwards to all living things.
If you are cruel to animals, you are not likely to be kind or thoughtfull to men; and if you are thoughtful towards men, you are not likely to be cruel and thoughtful towards animals. This is why the wise man of old wrote, “The merciful man is merciful to his beast.”
What a pleasure it is also to be loved by our pets or domestic animals; and to feel that we are caring for them and are deserving of their love; or to watch the ways of wild creatures, and gradually to make friends with them!
Treating animals kindly does not mean that we must never inflict any pain on them. We ourselves are trained by pains as well as by pleasures; so too, punishment is sometimes needed to train our dogs and horses to obey us. We endure pains at the hands of the surgeon, to cure some wound or to heal some disease; so too, animals must submit to being doctored.
We send out our bravest men to face wounds, sickness and death, for the good of the nation; so too, we let our horses share the risk of battle. For similar reasons, we cannot hesitate to destroy dangerous creatures like wolves and show senseless ferocity(残忍). It is no excuse to say that these animals deserve to be treated cruelly on account of their own cruelty. They are not really cruel, for they tear and kill not from love of unkindness, but because they must do so in order to live.
【小题1】One of the most important qualities of men is fellow-feeling because      .

完形填空 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从41—55各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Never Save Something Beautiful for That Special Day
　　Years ago I was talking with a classmate in Sydney. At the time his wife had just passed away not too long ago. He told me while going through her things, he found a silk scarf _1  in a designer store when they had traveled to New York City. The scarf was beautiful, with elegant _2 , and a high price tag still hanging. His wife begrudged wearing it; she was _3  it for a special day.
　　He _4  at that moment; I didn’t say anything either. After a long pause he said: “Never save something beautiful for that special day. Each _5  day is a special day.”
　　Whenever I _6  what he had said, I would put down the things I was doing to grab a novel, turn on the music and lie down on the couch to _7  some time for myself. I would appreciate the glorious scenery of the Tanshui River through a French window, _8  the dust gathered on the glass. I would take my wife out to _9 , not thinking what to do with the meal already cooked. Life should be the experience we truly cherish, not days we just have to endure.
　　One time I shared the above conversation with a lady. When I saw her again, she told me that she no longer _10  the beautiful china in a cabinet. She had thought to save them for a special day, only to discover that it never _11  came. “Future”, “someday” are not contained in her _12  any more. If there are things that are pleasant or make her complacent, she wants to hear or see them now.
　　We often hope to gather with old friends, but always say, “let’s find a(n) _13 .” We often want to hug our grown children, but always wait for the appropriate moment. We often want to write to our spouses to express our strong affection or to show our deep admiration, but always tell ourselves that there is no need to _14 . In fact, each morning when we open our eyes, we should tell ourselves that this is a special day. Each day, each minute is so incredibly _15 .