Life is full of surprises and you never know how things will turn out.

Sir John Gurdon is a good example of this. As a boy, he was told he was hopeless at science and was at bottom of his class. Now, aged 79，the very same Gurdon shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine with Japanese stem cell (干細(xì)胞) researcher Shinya Yamanaka.

Like so many scientists, Gurdon shows us where the power of curiosity and perseverance(堅(jiān)持) can lead.

When he was 15 in 1948，Gurdon ranked last out of the 250 boys at his high school in biology and every other science subject. Gurdon’s high school science teacher even said that his dream of becoming a scientist was “quite ridiculous”.

In spite of his teacher’s criticisms(批評(píng)), Gurdon followed his curiosity and kept working hard. He went to the lab early and left later than anyone else. He experienced thousands of failures.

“My own belief is that we will, in the end，understand everything about how cells actually work，”Gurdon said.

In 1962, Gurdon took a cell from an adult frog and moved its genetic (基因的) information into an egg cell. The egg cell then grew into a clone of the adult frog. This technique later helped to create the sheep Dolly in 1996，the first cloned mammal(哺乳動(dòng)物) in the world.

In 2006，Gurdon’s work was developed by Yamanaka to show that a sample(樣本) of a person’s skin can be used to create stem cells. Using this technique, doctors can repair a patient’s heart after a heart attack.

“Luck favors the prepared mind,” Gurdon told the Nobel Prize Organization. “Ninety percent of the time things don’t work, but when they do, you have to seize(抓住) the chance.”

1.Who won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine?

A. Sir John Gurdon

B. Shinya Yamanaka

C. Sir John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka

D. Gurdon’s science teacher

2.What does the underlined word “ridiculous” mean?

A. 荒謬的 B. 無畏的 C. 荒廢的 D. 無知的

3.In what order are the following events mentioned in the passage.

a. create the sheep Dolly

b. take a cell from an adult frog

c. use a person’s skin to create stem cells

d. move a frog’s genetic information into an egg cell

e. grow into a clone of the adult frog

A. b-a-c-d-e B. b-d-e-a-c C. b-d-a-e-c D. b-c-d-a-e

4.According to the passage, which statement is TRUE?

A. Sheep Dolly was the first cloned animal in the world.

B. Gurdon ranked first at his high school in biology.

C. It’s impossible for the doctors to repair a patient’s heart after a heart attack.

D. According to the science teacher, Gurdon was not a gifted student.

5.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Ninety percent of the time things don’t work.

B. Luck favors the prepared mind.

C. Life is full of pleasure.

D. How to know cells actually work.

We can make mistakes at any age. Some mistakes we make are about money. But most mistakes are about people. “Did Jerry really care when I broke up with Helen?” “When I got that great job, did Jerry really feel good about as a friend? Or did he envy my luck?” When we look back, doubts like these can make us feel bad. But when we look back, it’s too late.

Why do we go wrong about our friends or our enemies? Sometimes what people say hides their real meaning. And if we don’t really listen, we miss the feeling behind the words. Suppose someone tells you, “You’re a lucky dog.” Is he really on your side? If he says, “You’re a lucky guy.” or“You’re a lucky gal.” That’s being friendly. But “l(fā)ucky dog”? There’s a bit of envy in those words. Maybe he doesn’t see it himself. But bringing in the “dog” bit puts you down a little. What he may be saying is he doesn’t think you deserve your luck.

How can you tell the real meaning behind someone’s words? One way is to take a good look at the person talking. Do his words fit the way he looks? Does what he says square with the tone of voice? His posture(體態(tài))? The look in his eyes? Stop and think. Spend some time thinking about the real meaning of what people say to you, and you may save another mistake.

1.The questions in the first paragraph tell us that the speaker ___________________.

A. feels happy because his friends were nice to him

B. feels he may not have “read” his friends’ true feelings correctly

C. thinks it was a mistake to have broken up with his girl friend Helen

D. is sorry that his friends let him down

2.From the example “You’re a lucky dog”, we can learn that ______________.

A. the speaker of the sentence is friendly

B. it means the same as “You’re a lucky guy.” or “You’re a lucky gal.”

C. sometimes the words used by the speaker give a tip to the feeling behind the words

D. the word “dog” shouldn’t be used to describe a person

3.The passage tries to tell you how to ___________.

A. avoid mistakes about money and friends

B. bring the “dog” bit into our conversation

C. be friendly to other people

D. avoid mistakes in understanding what people tell you

4.What is important in listening to a person?

A. To notice his tone, his posture and the look in his eyes.

B. To listen to how he pronounces his words.

C. To check if his words go well with his manner, his tone of voice and his posture.

D. Don’t believe what he says.

5.If you follow the writer’s advice, you would ____________.

A. be able to get the real meaning of people’s words

B. avoid any mistakes while talking with the people who envy you

C. not lose real friends who say things that do not please you

D. be able to observe people as they are talking to you

1.If you want to make a Christmas plan together with your children, which book do you prefer?

A. First Festival: Christmas B. The Not- So- Wise Man

C. Star of Wonder D. My Very First Christmas Book

2.Which number would you dial if you want to order a book for your 2-year- old child?

A. 020 -8874 3566 B. 020- 8521 3745

C. 020-3478 3366 D. 020- 8571 2008

3.If your child wants to read stories of animals, whose book will be your choice?

A. Beth Webb B. Pat Alexander

C. Elizabeth Goudge D. Lois Rock

4.The book about a fairy story may cost you _________.

A. ￥18.99 B. ￥15.99 C. ￥12.99 D. ￥10.99

5.What’s the main purpose of the poster?

A. To introduce Jesus Christ.

B. To tell children how to celebrate Christmas.

C. To advertise the books.

D. To raise money for children aged 0—12.

閱讀下列短文，根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從短文后的選項(xiàng)中選出適當(dāng)?shù)倪x項(xiàng)補(bǔ)全短文，并將選項(xiàng)的編號(hào)依次填人下邊表格內(nèi)。

Alex Smith， a fifteen-year-old boy， studied in an American boarding school (寄宿學(xué)校). In this school， students could go into town after school in the afternoon.1.

One afternoon， Alex walked to the town. He looked about at the shops and then went to a cinema.2.It was eight o'clock. He was a little worried， He walked back to the school as fast as possible.

When he arrived， he ran quickly to the main entrance (入口). It was locked. He looked up at the window of his dormitory(寑室). It was on the third floor. The window was open.3.But the door was also locked. Then he saw another open window on the first floor. It was the window of the teachers' office.4.Alex quickly climbed into the room. Just then， he heard someone opened the door. He had to hide under the sofa at once. One minute later， a teacher came in.5.Under the sofa Alex had to lie on the floor.

E. But it was quite dark and he went round the school building to another door.

1.The new bike is a birthday g______ from mum. I like it very much.

2.Though he has many friends, he sometimes feels l______.

3.To be h________, I don’t like those who often make fun of others.

4.Do you k______ in touch with each other by email?

5.He n_______ gives up and always tries to find ways to deal with the problems.

6.The paint hasn’t been dry. Don’t t________ the door.

1.我花了兩天時(shí)間做了一架模型飛機(jī)。

________ _________ me two days _________ _________ a model plane.

2.懷特先生給我們的建議真有用!

_______ ________ advice Mr. White gave us!

3.他一有消息就告訴你。

He will tell you _______ _______ ________ he _________ the news.

4.你買的書明天就會(huì)送到你家。

The books you bought _________ _________ ___________ to your house tomorrow.

5.二十年后再次相聚，他們都激動(dòng)得說不出話來。

They were ________ ________ _________ _________ a word when they met again 20 years later.

6.我不明白她為什么總是遲到。

I don’t understand ______ ________ ______ _______ late for school.

7.媽媽不讓我晚上外出。

Mum ________ ________ _________ ________ out at night.

馬上就要畢業(yè)了, 班里的同學(xué)都在討論應(yīng)該如何慶祝初中畢業(yè)。以下是你的三位朋友的想法和理由。請(qǐng)用英語簡(jiǎn)要介紹他們的打算，并談?wù)勛约邯?dú)特的想法。

為父母煮一餐飯;

感謝他們的付出

--Tom

做義工;

證明自己長大了，有能力幫助他人

---Cathy

舉行聚會(huì); 放松心情、開心一下

--Jane

…….;

……

--You

注意：

1．詞數(shù)在80左右。（短文的開頭已給出，不計(jì)入總詞數(shù)）

2．短文必須包括所有內(nèi)容要點(diǎn)，可適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié)。行文連貫，表達(dá)清楚，書寫規(guī)范。

3．不得透露學(xué)校、姓名等任何個(gè)人信息，否則不予評(píng)分。

提示詞：義工volunteer(n.)

These days, students in our class are discussing how to celebrate our graduation.______________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Bob has got good exam results. His parents are proud of his ______.

A. success B. chance C. idea D. dream

Bill thought ______ necessary to work with friends and share different ideas.

A. it B. they C. them D. him

I think it is _____ for a man to pull the plane with his teeth.

A. important B. necessary C. easy D. impossible