SECTION B (18 marks)

Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A. B. C. and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

This is a true story that happened in Japan. In order to repair a house with a history of 10 years, someone in Japan tore open the walls ( Japanese houses normally have a hollow space between the wooden walls.)

While painting the walls, he found that there was a lizard  36   there because a nail from outside had been hammered into one of its feet. Seeing this, he felt pity and at the same time  37  .When he checked the nail, he found it was nailed 10 years ago when the house was first built.

What happened? The lizard had survived in such a  38   for 10 years--- in a dark wall partition for 10 years without moving! It was incredible. He wondered how this lizard had survived for 10 years without moving a single step--- since its foot was nailed!

So, he stopped his work and  39  the lizard: what has it been doing and what has it been  40  . Later, he didn’t know from where   41   lizard appeared, with food in its mouth… AHHH! He was astonished and touched deeply. The lizard that was stuck by the nail had been fed by this  42   lizard. Just imagine it had been doing this for 10 tiresome years,  43   giving up hope for its partner!

Before hearing the story, I watched a program on a father who kept digging in the ruins caused by an earthquake for 38 hours before finding his son, despite the dangers of fires and aftershocks. He talked about his  44   to his son: No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you!

What beautiful love that occurred between both humans and such  45   creatures as lizards! The relationship between the two lizards remains unknown,  46  no matter what it is, the love between them has done a  47  . So never abandon your loved ones.

36. A. show B. hidden C. stuck D. killed

37. A. angry B. satisfied C. worried  D. curious

38. A. wall B. room  C. position  D. roof

39. A. observed B. helped C. followed D. kept

40. A. living on B. working on C. playing with D. finding out

41. A. other   B. any C. more  D. another

42. A. able B. free  C. busy D. dull

43. A. before    B. after C. with D. without

44. A. suggestion B. lesson C. promise  D. requirement

45. A. clever B. strange C. tiny D. terrible

46. A. but B. though C. and D. for

47. A. joke B. warning C. wonder D. mistake

SECTION C (12 marks)

Directions: Complete the following passage by filling in each blank with one word that fits the context.

The Emperor of China had sent some peaches to the king of Tondmandalam with a note 48._______ said that the fruit gave long life to 49._______ ate it.

As the fruit was being shown to the ruler, Rama, who was a wise servant, giving in 50.______ temptation (诱惑) , picked up 51. ______ of the luscious (甘美的) peaches and bit into it. The king was very angry. “ You’ve bitten into a fruit meant for me!” he thundered. “ 52. ______ this you must die!”

As Rama was being taken away by the royal guards he laughed and shouted, “ 53. _____ a deceitful (欺诈的) man the Emperor of China is! 54. _______ said the fruit gave long life. I took just one bite and I’m about to die. Oh, what a fate is waiting for the one who eats 55. ______ entire fruit!”

The king was greatly amused by Rama’s wit. He not only pardoned him but also gave him  a dozen of the peaches he had risked his life for.

PART THREE:  READING COMPREHENSION (30 marks)

Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.

A

French writer Le Clezio won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Swedish Academy announced Thursday.

The Academy cited Le Clezio as “author of new departures and poetic adventure, explorer of humanity beyond civilization.”

Le Clezio, 48, received much attention with his first novel The Interrogation in 1963 and made the breakthrough as a novelist with Desert in 1980, for which he was rewarded a prize from the French Academy.

This novel Dserte contains magnificent images of a lost culture in the North African desert, contrast with a description of Europe seen through the eyes of unwanted immigrants, the Swedish Academy said in the statement.

The emphasis in Le Clezio’s work has increasingly moved in the direction of an exploration of the world of childhood and of his own family history, the academy added.

Le Clezio was born 1940 in Nice of France, but both parents had strong family connections with the former French colony Mauritius.At the age of eight, he moved to Nigeria with his family. During the month-long voyage to Nigeria, he began his literary career with two books Un long voyage and Oradi noir.

He has taught at universities in Bangkok, Mexico City, Boston, Austin and Albuquerque among other places. Since the 1990s, Le Clezio and his wife share their time between Albuquerque in New Mexico, the island of Mauritius and Nice.

This was the fourth of the prestigious Nobel Prizes handed out this year, with awards in chemistry, physics and medicine made in the past three days.

The Nobel Prizes have been awarded annually since 1901 to those who “conferred(给予)the greatest benefit on mankind during the preceding year.”

The annual Nobel Prizes are usually announced in October and are handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish industrialist and the inventor of dynamite.

Each prize consists of a medal, a personal diploma and a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (1.4 million U.S. dollars).

56. Which of Le Clezio’s works won him the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature?

A. The Interrogation   B. Desert          C. Un Long voyage    D. Oradi noir

57. The underlined word ‘cited’ means _______.

A. praised            B. encouraged      C. referred           D. thought

58. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Le Clezio has taught in Bangkok, Boston, Albuquerque and Nice since 1990s.

B. Le Clezio got a personal diploma, a medal in all for the Nobel Prize.

C. The Nobel Prizes are awarded yearly in October.

D. Le Clezio moved to Nigeria in 1948.

59. Which is the best title for the passage?

A. A French writer wins 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature.

B. Four Nobel Prizes have been handed out this year.

C. The Nobel Prizes have been awarded annually.

D. Life of a French writer—Le Clezio.

60. Where can we probably find this article?

A. In a scientific fiction.                 B. In a history book.

C. In a newspaper.                      D. In a travel leaflet

B

There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product, the other as a process. People have generally viewed personal growth as an external (外在的) result or a product that can easily be identified and measured.The worker who gets a rise, the student whose grades improve, the foreigner who learns a new language—all these examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts.

By contrast (对照) , the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since it is a journey and not the specific signposts or landmarks along the way.The process is not the road itself, but the attitudes, feelings people have , and their caution or courage, as they meet with new experiences and unexpected difficulties.In this process, the journey never really ends;there are always new ways to experience the world, new ideas to try, new challenges to accept.

In order to grow, to travel new roads, people need to have a willingness to take risks, to face the unknown, and to accept the possibility that they may “fail” at first.How we see ourselves as we try a new way of being is necessary for our ability to grow.Do we see ourselves as quick and curious? If so, we tend to take more chances and be more open to unfamiliar experiences.Do we think we’re shy and indecisive? Then our sense of fear can cause us to hesitate, to move slowly, and we think we are slow to adapt change or that we’re not smart enough to deal with a new challenge.Then we are likely to take a more passive role or not try at all.

These feelings of insecurity and self-doubt are both unavoidable and necessary if we are to change and grow.If we protect ourselves too much, then we stop growing.We become trapped inside a shell of our own making.

61. In the author’s eye, one who views personal growth as a process would ____.

A. succeed in climbing up the social ladder

B. grow up from his own achievements

C. face difficulties and take up challenges

D. aim high and reach his goal each time

62. Which of the following can be viewed as the process of personal growing?

A. Our manager was always willing to accept new challenges.

B. Jane won the first prize in the speech competition.

C. Jerry picked up French during his stay in Paris.

D. Father’s salary rose from 5, 000 to 7,000.

63. For personal growth, the author is in favor of all the following except___.

A. being curious about more changes

B. being quick in self-adaptation

C. having an open mind to new experiences

D. staying away from failures and challenges

64. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. It is not so easy to measure personal growth.

B. To try and fail on the new road facing the unknown is unavoidable.

C. There are only two ways to see a person’s growth.

D. If you are too shy to take any risks in life, you cannot grow up.

65. The best title for this passage should be _____.

A. Facing New Challenges   B. Growth—Product or Process

C. Two Basic Ways of Growth  D. Overcoming Internal Fears

C

About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table, I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked, “So, how have you been?” And the boy — who could not have been more than seven or eight years old — replied. “Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately.”

This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed (确认) my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed”, that is, in low spirits, until we were in high school.

Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don’t seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.

Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why?

Human development is depended not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of gaining social knowledge. Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new social positions. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages; traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.

In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation (揭示) machine has been equipped in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation (诱惑) , many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more attractive moving pictures.

Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information which children will gain. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials.

66. According to the author, feeling depressed is ________.

A. a sure sign of a mental problem in a child

B. a mental state present in all humans, including children

C. something that cannot be avoided in children’s mental development

D. something hardly to be expected in a young child

67. Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world _________.

A. through connection with society        B. gradually and under guidance

C. naturally without being taught        D. through watching television

68. According to the author, that today’s children seem adultlike results from ________.

A. the widespread influence of television

B. the poor arrangement of teaching content

C. the fast pace of human scientific development

D. the rising standard of living

69. What does the author think of communication through print for children?

A. It enables children to gain more social information.

B. It develops children’s interest in reading and writing.

C. It helps children to read and write well.

D. It can control what children are to learn.

70. What does the author think of the change in today’s children?

A. He feels their adultlike behavior is so funny.

B. He thinks people should pay attention to the change.

C. He considers it a rapid development.

D. He seems to be upset about it.

PART FOUR WRITNG

Section A (10 marks)

Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in the nunbered blanks by using he information form the passage.

Write NO MORE THEAN ONE WORD for each answer.

Chinese, unlike many other languages, has a large family of dialects and written forms. Spoken Chinese is specially complex with more than five recognized dialect groups, even the written language with two recognized characters.

The written forms of Chinese include a traditional system of characters and a simplified one. The simplified version of characters came into use in 1949.

Traditional Chinese characters are still widely used throughout Asia and among Chinese people around the world, while the simplified characters are only found in the People’s Republic of China.

It is usually accepted that there are five major dialect groups within the Chinese language group. These are Mandarin, Wu, Min, Cantonese and Hakka.

Mandarin is the official language on the Chinese mainland and Chinese Taiwan. It  is also one of the four official languages of Singapore.

Wu is spoken around the lower Yangtze River and its tributaries(支流). Shanghai is a well-known dialect of Wu.

Min is commonly spoken by people in Taiwan, Fujian and Hainan. Cantonese is mainly spoken in the province of Guangdong. Cantonese is also spoken in many parts of the Chinese Diaspra(移居地), particularly HongKong and overseas Chinese settlements in the United States, Europe and Southeast Asia. Hakka is the least well-known dialect group inside China compared to the above four. Most of the Hakka dialect group is scattered(散居) throughout southeastern China in Guangxi Province. Historically, the Hakka people were northerners who moved south over several hundred years. Their name Hakka means “guest” indicating their immigrant(移民) status in the southern areas to which they moved.

Title Chinese Language

Theme Chinese differs from many other languages in that it has many written forms

and dialects.

Two (72)______ forms Traditional characters Still in wide(71)_______ throughout Asia and among

Chinese all over the world.

(73)_______ characters ●Used after the People’s Republic of China

was (74)_______.

●Commonly used on the mainland.

Five Major Chinese (75)_______ Groups Mandarin The official language of the PRC, known as Putonghua in

mainland China.

Wu ●Spoken around the (76)_______Yangtze River and its tributaries.

●One famous dialect is Shanghaiese.

(77)______ Commonly spoken by people in Taiwan, Fujian and Hainan.

Cantonese ●(78)_______ spoken in Guangdong and Hong Kong.

●The language of Guangzhou is also known as Canton..

Hakka ●Compared to the four above, it is the (79)_______well-known.

●Spoken in(80)_______ and it means “guest”.

Section B (10 marks)

Directions: Read the following passage, Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage.

Scientists have determined it's not advisable to hurry marriage. But what’s the best age to wed?

When Avril Lavigne announced she was splitting from her husband, comments from her friends suggested that she was only 21 when she tied the knot and later she said that she realized she'd been too young to make such a life-altering decision. Could fellow young celebrity divorcées(离婚者) Reese Witherspoon, Kate Hudson, and Britney Spears have also hit the same age-related issue?

The Magic Number

There are practical reasons for the mid-20s dividing line, and most of them boil down to(总结) two points: education and money.

It turns out that the more years of higher education a woman has under her belt on her wedding day, the lower the chances that she'll get divorced ... and by 25, you're more likely to have earned a degree or two. Educated women tend to be more confident about who they are and less willing to settle for a man who doesn't meet their standards.

Odds(可能性) are that by 25 you're also supporting yourself, so there's less incentive(刺激; 鼓励)for you to rush into marriage because you're seeking financial security from him. But the marriage-related benefits of working and having money of your own go beyond feeling secure. Learning to budget your cash carefully when you're single will help you avoid financial problems—one of the main causes of couple fights—for the rest of your life.

Knowing the Real You

At 25, you've had time for some crucial life experiences, including a relationship or two that may have improved your Mr. Right radar. You've probably dated enough to have a better idea of what you don't want in a man, which makes it easier to know what you can live with and can't live without.

Perhaps the most important aspect of waiting is that you'll know what your goals and values really are. While you don't want to marry someone just like you, marriage is a lot easier if you two share a similar outlook on life.

Twenty-four and already married to the man of your dreams? Don't worry: Many young marriages survive. But given the choice, you might consider putting off the big day until your mid-20s or later.

81. What main factors influence the mid-20s dividing line? (No more than 3 words, 2 marks)

_________________________________________________________________

82. According to the author, why does a couple probably fight?(No more than 4 words, 2 marks)

_________________________________________________________________

83. How do you know what you don’t want in a man? (No more than 5 words, 3 marks)

________________________________________________________________

84. What suggestion does the passage mainly give? (No more than 10 words, 3 marks)

_________________________________________________________________

SECTION C (25 marks)

Directions: Write an English composition according to the instructions given below in Chinese.

不同的人对幸福有不同的看法，有的人认为幸福就是被家人或朋友围绕，有的人认为幸福就是获得成功，而对于已经受伤或身体有残疾的人来说，幸福仅仅就是一天没有痛苦或能够幸存下来，你对幸福的看法是什么呢，请以What is happiness to you? 写一篇120词左右的短文。

注意：

1. 简单描述上述几种看法。

2. 谈谈你的观点和感受。