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!

1.Where did they start their travel on Nov.18th, 1908?

2.What was the metal box used for?

3. Why did they have to drop some whole bags of sand during the travel?

4. How long did they travel in the end?

5.

What do you think of the three people and their travel? (请自拟一句话作答)

“Great Changes in My Hometown ”为题用英语写一篇短文描述家乡小镇所发生的变化。

过去我住的一个小镇周围都是树，没有高楼。那里的人们过着贫穷的生活。　　

现在家乡发生了巨变，你到处能看到高楼大厦和工厂，许多人有了自驾车。

但空气和水污染也变得越来越严重，山不绿了，水不净了，天不蓝了

发挥1-2句...

Great Changes in My Hometown

Could you please not ____________ here?

A. smoking　　　 B. smoke 　　　C. to smoke　　　 D. smoked

假如你是温泉中学的陈林，曾在你班任教过的美国老师Mr. Brown 离开你校一年了。他想了解学校、班级及你目前的情况。请你根据所给信息给他写一封电子邮件，并希望他有时间再来你校参观访问。（以上背景内容无需表述）

内容要点：

要求：

1. 电子邮件中应该包括所提供的信息，但可以适当发挥；

2. 不少于80词，开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

Dear Mr. Brown,

I haven’t seen you for a year. I miss you very much. Here I’d like to tell you something about us.

How are you getting on with your work? I hope you can visit our school if you have time.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Yours,

                                                                 Chen Lin

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。

Joe lost his arms in an accident that killed his father. Since then, he has had to depend on the     36    of his younger sister Ella. In order to take care of him, Ella became his shadow, never leaving him     37     for years. Except for writing with his toes, he was completely unable to do anything in his life. 

As they grew up together, they had their share of     38    and they would often quarrel. Then one day, Ella wanted to separate from Joe, living    39     own life. So Joe was heart-broken and didn't know what to do.

A     40     misfortune (不幸) struck Rosa, too. One night her mother, who suffered(受苦) from mental illness,     41     . So her father went out looking for her mother. She tried to cook meals for her parents, only to overturn the kerosene light on the stove, resulting in a fire which took her hands away.

Though her elder sister Susan showed her willingness to take care of her, Rosa decided to be    42     independent. And most of all she learned to do things on her own. Once she wrote the following in her composition: “I’m lucky. Though I lost my arms, I still have legs. Though my wings are broken, my heart can still     43   .”

　　One day，Joe and Rosa were both invited to a television interview program. Joe told the TV host about his     44     future at being left on his own, while Rosa was full of hope for her life. They both were asked to write something on a piece of paper with their toes. Joe wrote：My younger sister's arms are my arms;     45      Rosa wrote: Broken wings, flying heart.

They had both stood the same sufferings, but their different     46     determined(决定) the nature of their lives. It is true that life is unpredictable. How you deal with misfortune is the true test of your character. If you choose only to complain and run away from the suffering，it will always     47     you wherever you go. But if you decide to be strong, the hardship will turn out to be a fortune on which new hopes will arise.

1.A. legs              B. arms          C. eyes           D. hands 

2.A. sad           B. afraid           C. worried        D. alone

3.A. questions    B. accidents       C. problems         D. business

4.A. his           B. her            C. my             D. their

5.A. serious           B. sudden            C. terrible       D. similar

6.A. returned          B. disappeared       C. moved          D. left

7. A. completely       B. directly          C. seriously        D. immediately

8.A. break         B. beat          C. fly            D. jump

9.A. unfair        B. uncertain     C. unsafe             D. undoubted

10.A. and           B. so           C. while           D. or

11. A. opinions        B. values            C. senses             D. attitudes

12.A. follow           B. catch         C. disturb            D. hurt