Measures _____to stop housing prices from rising too fast, but it remains to be seen whether they still work.

A. are taking B. had been taken C. have taken D. are being taken

I am very grateful to my high school teachers, without _____help I wouldn’t be so excellent.

A. whom B. their C. which D. whose

---How long has your brother been working in this factory?

---_____he dropped from school in 2010.

A. When B. Until C. Since D. Before

Our neighbor offered to look after our baby yesterday when we were busy, _____is often the case.

A. it B. that C. which D. as

Practice speaking English as often as possible and _____your spoken English will improve.

A. fluently B. gradually C. briefly D. entirely

Only when the countries in the Middle East are no longer at war _____able to live a peaceful life.

A. will the people over there be B. the people over there will be

C. are the people over there D. the people over there be

Have you ever been sad because of failure? Please remember, for often. achieving what you set out to do is not the most important thing.

A boy decided to dig a hole behind his house. As he was ,a couple of old boys stopped by to give a/an . “What are you doing？” asked one of the .“ I want to dig a hole all the way through the earth!” the boy excitedly. The older boys began to ,telling him that digging a hole all the way through the earth was . After a while,the boy picked up a jar(罐子). He it to the visitors. It was full of all kinds of stones and insects. Then he said calmly and ,“Maybe I can’t finish digging all the way through the earth, look at what I’ve found during this period! ”

The boy’s goal was far too ,but it did cause his to go on. And that is what a goal is --to cause us to move in the we have chosen, in other words, to cause us to keep working!

Not goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will up with a success. Not every dream will come true. But when you short of your aim, maybe you can say, “Yes, but look at I’ve found along the way! So many wonderful things have my life because I tried to do something!” is in the digging that life is lived. It is a joy on the that really makes sense.

1.A. small B. big C. deep D. wide

2.A. working B. playing C. moving D. wondering

3.A. hand B. look C. tool D. order

4.A. visitors B. girls C. friends D. neighbors

5.A. dug B. answered C. admitted D. debated

6.A. laugh B. shout C. attack D. explain

7.A. dangerous B. illegal C. impossible D. unnecessary

8.A. took B. gave C. passed D. showed

9.A. excitedly B. happily C. confidently D. successfully

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

11.A. good B. difficult C. clear D. common

12.A. with B. on C. for D. in.

13.A. road B. way C. path D. direction

14.A. every B. each C. all D. both

15.A. begin B. end C. start D. finish

16.A. reach B. fall C. find D. set

17.A. whether B. when C. where D. what

18.A. come into B. got into C. devoted to D. turned to

19.A. That B. This C. It D. There

20.A. life B. goal C. failure D. journey

In the U.S. Mother’s Day is a holiday celebrated on second Sunday in May. It is a day when children honor their mothers with cards, gifts and flowers. First observance in Philadelphia in 1907,it is based on suggestions by Julia Ward Howe in 1872 and by Anna Jarvis in 1907.

Although it wasn’t celebrated in the U.S. until 1907,there were days honoring mothers even in the days of ancient Greece. In those days, however, it was Rhea, the Mother of the gods that was given honor. Later,in the 1600’s,in England there was an annual celebration called “Mothering Sunday.” It was celebrated during June, on the fourth Sunday ,the servants, who generally lived with their employers, were encouraged to return home and honor their mothers. It was traditional for them to bring a special cake along to celebrate the occasion.

In the U.S., in 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother’s Day. Jarvis persuaded her mother’s church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother’s Day on the second anniversary of her mother’s death, the 2ed Sunday of May. The next day Mother’s Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia, Jarvis and others began a letter-writing campaign to ministers, businessmen, and politicians asking to establish a national Mother’s Day. They were successful. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914,made the official announcement recognizing Mother’s Day as a national celebration that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

Many other countries of the world celebrate their own Mother’s Day at different times throughout the year. Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May, as in the U.S.

1..Mother’s Day in the U.S. was first celebrated .

A. in 1872 B. in 1907 C. in the 1600’s D. in 1914

2.The underlined word “observance” in the first paragraph probably means “ ”.

A. celebration B. principle C. holiday D. campaign

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

A. All the mothers were given honor in the days of ancient Greece.

B. Only the servants’ mothers were given honor on Mothering Sunday in England.

C. President Woodrow Wilson announced Mother’s Day as a national celebration.

D. Ana Javis’s mother probably died on the 2nd Sunday of May in 1907.

4.What could be the best title for this passage?

A. Mother’s Day of the U.S B. Mother’s Day of the world

C. Ana Jarvis and Mother’s Day D. Styles of Mother’s Day

One determined student stepped off the traditional job for blind people in China, and now challenges a new life at university in Britain. Being a message therapist （按摩師）is a perfect job for many people with a visual disability, but for Zheng Jianwei, it was far from enough.

The 30-year-old former massage therapist gave up his hospital job in 2009to prepare for admission to graduate school. He took IELTS（雅思考試）, the language-fluency test necessary for university admission in the UK, in 2012 and scored 6.5 points. He was the first blind examinee to take the IELTS in the Southeast Chinese region. After about four year’s struggles, Zheng successfully gain an offer from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom and became a graduate student.

However,Zheng’s path to graduate school was not easy. “I can’t take China’s national entrance exam for graduate school, which doesn’t provide study material（材料）for blind students,” he says.

He then turned to search for graduate school overseas. However, English became his nightmare. Zheng studied in special schools for visually challenged students since primary school, but foreign language was never a main subject.

Before giving up his job and learning English again in 2009, Zheng only knew the alphabet, a few words and some basic expressions. “Learning English again in my late 20s is not easy,” he says.

It took him three years of intensive study to gain entrance to a graduate school overseas. Because of the lack of study material, Zheng needs to spend hours and days looking for textbooks for the visually disabled and copying them, while it may take only five minutes for a sighted person to order a plain English textbook from Amazon.

In his parents’ eyes, Zheng has been a sensible, independent and decisive man from a young age. Zheng made all the major decisions by himself, including studying abroad and choosing majors. “We just follow his decisions, ” the mother says.

1.According to the first paragraph, a blind person in China is likely to .

A. go abroad for graduate school B. work as a message therapist

C. be far from pleased with life D. enjoy a perfect job

2.It can be learned from the passage that the blind students in China .

A. can’t take the national entrance exam to college

B. can find less study material than normal students

C. can never learn a foreign language well

D. can’t afford the English textbooks for an entrance exam

3.Which of the following can match Zheng Jianwei’s story?

A. All mankind is created equal. B. Many hands make light work.

C. Rome is not built in a day. D. Nothing is impossible when mind is set.

4.It can be inferred from the passage that Zheng’s .

A. parents have to follow any of his decisions

B. parents don’t understand or care about him

C. visual disability meant a hopeless damage to him

D. mind is healthy though physically disabled

QINGDAO--Water and power supplies have been restored in the East Chinese city of Qingdao, the site of an oil pipeline explosion on Friday, the local government said on Monday.

Crude oil began leaking（泄漏）from the pipeline at 3:00 an Friday in Qingdao in Shandong province. The valves（閥門）of the Huangdao oil warehouse were shut about 15 minutes later.

The oil spill（泄漏的石油）then flowed into the city’s rainwater pipe network, which empties into Jiaozhou Bay. Explosions occurred at two locations around 10:30 am Friday when workers were clearing the spill.

According to the local government, about 85 percent of public heating and 90 percent of the gas supply were also brought back to normal as of Monday.

Residents who have been taken to the temporary settlements are receiving bottled water and bread.

Many schools and kindergartens have reopened classes after Friday’s oil pipeline explosion. No injures and deaths of students or teachers have been reported following the explosions at an underground pipeline operated by Sinopec. The school buildings of one middle school in the district were seriously damaged during the explosions. Education authorities have arranged psychological help for students and teaching staff. All other 18 schools and kindergartens in the district reopened classes on Monday.

As of Monday noon, the death toll from the explosion had risen to 55, with 9 people still missing and 136 hospitalized. According to local police, 49 bodied have been identified so far, and 42 of them were male victims. As of Monday morning, the blood supply in Qingdao was enough for the injured after more than 950 people in the city donated more than 340,000 ml of blood in the wake of the incident.

1.The underlined word “restored” in the first paragraph probable means “ ”.

A. cut B. destroyed C. recovered D. repaired

2.Explosions happened when .

A. workers were cleaning the spill

B. valves of the oil warehouse were shut

C. the oil spill flowed into the city’s water network

D. crude oil began to leak from an underground pipeline

3.We can learn that by Monday noon the deaths in the explosion reached at least .

A.64 B.49 C.55 D.42

4.We can learn from the passage that .

A. everything was brought back to normal right after the explosion

B. no measures were taken to help the suffering people out of trouble

C. no more dead body was found after Monday noon

D. all the 19 schools in the district were affected by the explosion