Have you ever been to the beautiful country of Holland and its capital Amsterdam? Anyone who has traveled to Amsterdam would probably agree on one thing: Amsterdam’s story is a tale of two cities — one during the day and a completely different one at night.

When the sun is up, this largest city in the Netherlands sits quietly on the Amstel River. You can rent a bicycle, visit the Van Gogh or Anne Frank museum, or take a water taxi. But when the sun goes down, the partying begins. In the big clubs and in the coffee shops, tourists gather to talk politics and smoke.

Several areas of the city clearly show the two worlds that rule Amsterdam. And they’re all within a short cab ride of each other. For example, Dam Square attracts daytime sightseers to its festivals, open markets, concerts and other events. Several beautiful and very popular hotels can be found there. And there’s the Royal Palace and the Magna Plaza shopping mall. But at night party-seekers come to the square. Hip hop or funk music (疯狂音乐) is heard there. So if you come, be ready to dance. The clubs don’t shut down until 4 am.

And while you’re there, check out the various inexpensive ways to tour the city. Don’t worry about getting lost. Although Dutch is the official language, most people in Amsterdam speak English and are happy to help you with directions. And you’ll notice that half the people walking around in the streets are on bicycles they rent. Amsterdam also has a well-planned canal system. For about 10 dollars, you can use the canal bus or a water taxi to cruise (巡游) the “Venice of the North”.

The city has a historic past. One impressive (印象深刻的) place to visit is the Anne Frank House on Nine Street. It was there that the young Jewish girl wrote her famous diary during World War II. Visitors can view Anne’s original diary and climb behind the bookcase to the room where she and her family hid from the Nazis for two years.

1. What means of transport is not available to visitors in Amsterdam?

A. A carriage.                  B. A bicycle.

C. A canal bus.                   D. A water taxi.

2.What can you learn about by visiting the Anne Frank House?

A. The wonderful past of Amsterdam.     

B. The experience of a beautiful girl survivor.

C. The life of Jewish during World WarⅡ.   

D. The suffering of the Dutch in wars.

3.The passage is intended to _______.

A. call up people’s memories of World WarⅡ

B. tell readers what A Tale of Two Cities is about

C. instruct visitors what to do and see in Holland

D. offer readers some information about Amsterdam

4.This passage is most likely taken from _______.

   A. a private diary   B. a test paper C. a travel journey  D. a history book

Book 1  Elixir    written by Eric Walters

    Twelve-year-old Roth becomes a friend of Dr. Banting and his assistant, Mr. Best, who are doing research on a cure for diabetes (糖尿病). She finds herself torn between her sympathy for the animals being experimented on and her friendship with Banting and Best.

Book 2  George Washington Carver    written by Elizabeth Macleod

    Meet the “Peanut（花生）Specialist”, George Washington Carver, the inventor and professor who made over 325 products out of peanuts. Through his agricultural research, he also greatly improved the lives of countless black farmers in the southern United States. See also Macleod's Albert Einstein: A Life of Genius.

Book 3 The Inuit Thought of It: Amazing Arctic Innovations

 written by Alootook Ipellie & David MacDonald

 Explore more than 40 ideas necessary to Inuit survival. From ideas familiar to us today to inventive concepts that shaped their lives, celebrate the creativity of a remarkably intelligent people. Also see other books: The Chinese Thought of It by Tingxing Ye and A Native American Thought of It by Rocky Landon and David MacDonald.

Book 4  Made in Canada: 101 Amazing Achievements    written by Bev Spencer 

What things do we use daily that have a Canadian connection? Here are 101 common things that were invented in Canada or by a Canadian, including the Blackberry, alkaline(碱性) batteries and the Blue Box recycling program. 

Book 5  Newton and the Time Machine    written by Michael McGowan

    Ten-year-old boy Newton has invented a time machine to see dinosaurs up close. But it disappears on a test run with his two huge friends, King Herbert and Queen Certrude, can he save them before time runs out? 

1.Which of the following best describes Roth's feeling in Book 1?

A. Painful.   B. Curious.     C. Frightened.                D. Disappointed.

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Animals are mentioned in Book 1 and Book 5.

B. Book 3 introduces 40 inventive concepts.

C. Alkaline batteries were invented by Dr. Banting.

D. George Washington Carver was a black farmer in the US.

3. In Book 5, King Herbert and Queen Gertrude are________.

A. Newton's human friends                          

B. the names of the time machine

C. two dinosaurs                                      

D. the inventions of the time machine

4.If you are interested in native Americans, you may read the book by ________.

A. Elizabeth Macleod                     B. Eric Walters

C. Rocky London & David MacDonald        D. Bev Spencer

A serious problem for today’s society is who should be responsible for our elderly and how to improve their lives. It is not only a financial problem but also a question of the system we want for our society. I would like to suggest several possible solutions to this problem.

    First, employers should take the responsibility for their retired employees. To make this possible, a percentage of profits should be set aside for this purpose. But when a company must take life-long responsibility for its employees, it may suffer from a commercial disadvantage due to higher employee costs.

    Another way of solving the problem is to return the responsibility to the individual. This means each person must save during his working years to pay for his years of retirement. This does not seem a very fair model since some people have enough trouble paying for their daily life without trying to earn extra to cover their retirement years. This means the government might have to step in to care for the poor.

    In addition, the government could take responsibility for the care of the elderly. This could be financed through government taxes to increase the level of pensions(养老金). Furthermore, some in-situations should be created for senior citizens, which can help provide a comfortable life for them. Unfortunately, as the present situation in our country shows, this is not a truly viable answer. The government can seldom afford to care for the elderly, particularly when it is busy trying to care for the young.

    One further solution is that the government or social organizations establish some working places especially for the elderly where they are independent.

    To sum up, all these options(选择) have advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that some combination of these options may be needed to provide the care we hope to give to our elderly generations.

1.According to the passage, how can the government help to improve the lives of retired people?

   A. Set aside some profits to help people with problems after they retire.

   B. Increase savings levels of people during their working years.

   C. Increase the discounts for food and transport for the old.

   D. Increase the level of pensions.

2.The underlined word “viable” in the fourth paragraph most probably means “______”.

   A. impossible         B. practical          C. perfect          D. obvious

3.What is the writer’s main purpose in writing this article?

   A. To point out the need for government support for old people.

   B. To make general readers aware of the problems of retired people.

   C. To discuss some possible solutions to an important social problem.

   D. To instruct retired people on how they can have a happier life.

请阅读下面一篇文章，并按照要求匹配信息。注意：E=AB  F=AC  G=AD

On Monica & Hitesh's wedding day, Monica's mother gave her a newly opened bank saving passbook(银行存折) with $1000 deposit amount. Mother: “Monica, take this passbook.   1    When something happy and memorable happens in your new life, put some money in. Write down what it’s about next to the line. When you look back after years, you can know how much happiness you’ve had. ” 2    This was what they did after a certain time:

----- 7 Feb: $100, first birthday celebration for Hitesh after marriage

-----1 Mar: $300, salary raise for Monica

-----20 Mar: $200, vacation trip to Bali

----- 15 Apr: $2000, Monica got pregnant

-----1 Jun: $1000, Hitesh got promoted… and so on…

3    They didn't talk much. They regretted that they had married the nastiest person in the world....

One day Monica talked to her Mother: “Mom, we can’t stand it anymore. We agree to divorce. I can’t imagine how I decided to marry this guy!!! ” Mother: “Sure, girl, that's no big deal. Just do whatever you want if you really can’t stand it. But before that, do one thing first. Remember the saving passbook I gave you on your wedding day? Take out all money and spend it first.     4    ”

Monica thought it was true. So she went to the bank, waiting at the queue and planning to cancel the account. While she was waiting, she took a look at the passbook record. She looked, and looked, and looked.     5    Her eyes were then filled with tears. She left and went home, putting the passbook back to the safe.

A. However, after years, they started fighting and arguing for unimportant things.

B. Keep it as a record of your marriage life.

C. They had saved much money when they retired.

D. Then the memory of all the previous joy and happiness just came up her mind.

E. Monica and her husband both thought it was a great idea.

F. Remember the saving passbook her mother gave her on the wedding day.

G. You shouldn't keep any record of such a poor marriage.

单词拼写（共5小题；每小题1分，满分5分）

根据下列句子所给汉语意思，写出空缺处各单词的正确形式。

1.He _________(讨价还价) over the price of the meat with the shopkeeper.

2.Competition from abroad has become _______(凶猛的) than it was in the 1980s.  

3. ________(就个人而言)speaking, I prefer the second one.   

4. This flower ________(属于)to my sister is very beautiful.

5.We found further scientific ________(证据) for this theory.

根据内容提示完成句子（每题1分，共5分）

1.It was also a treasure ______ ______ gold and jewels, which took the country’s best artists about ten years to make.

2.Although he had ______ _______ _______for the final of the race he decided at first not to take part.       

3.We are determined to create ________ ________ ________ system.   

4.You should _______ ________ _______ _______the rainforest where I live and appreciate how the animals live together.

5._______ _______ _______ ______ that Kip Keino became the only Kenyan sportsman ever to appear on the cover of the world famous sports magazine Sports Illustrated.

短文改错（共10小题，每小题1分，满分10分）

文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在其下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

          2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

Walter’s goal in life was become a successfully doctor. He knew he had to finish high school first, so he put his heart into her studies----in particular, biology, chemistry and maths. Because he worked hard at these subjects, Walter became good at it. However, Walter forgot that he needed to master some other subjects beside those he had been chosen. As a result, Walter fails in both English and Chinese in the end of the second school year. But he had to repeat these subjects and he was almost unable to graduate like planned. Walter learned a good lesson.

书面表达：（25分）

1. 赵州桥位于河北省赵县以南，被联合国列为世界文化遗产，得到了中国政府很好的保护。

   2. 赵州桥始建于公元590年，花费18年的时间，由李春设计建造。

   3. 赵州桥全部是由石头建成。

   4. 桥长50.82米，宽10米，比中国古代的任何石桥都要宽，恰似一弯大彩虹。

   5. 每年都有成千上万的人来参观。

写作要求：1. 标题：Zhaozhou Stone Bridge

2. 字数：100左右。内容必须包括所有提示要点，不要逐条翻译。

3. 生词：文化遗产---cultural heritage    彩虹---rainbow   被列为---be listed as

－May I have a glass of beer, please?

－Beer? There is _________ left, but you can have some orange juice.

____ team  wins on  Saturday  will go through to the national championships.

A.  No matter what　  B. No matter which　  C Whatever　  D. whichever