I stole your dog today. No, I didn’t set a foot on your house, but from the condition of your dog, I can imagine what it looks like…the word “rubbish” comes to mind.

I found her along a road, with a heavy chain wrapped around her neck, still attached to rotten boards from her doghouse. Not only did I know that most of the town people had already ignored her, judging by where I found her, but I knew that if she had gotten into the Woods, the "cross" that she dragged behind her would have wrapped around a tree until starvation or thirst killed her. She has a beautiful name now. Already in the first week she has come to look more like she should. Her eyes sparkle and she has learned to wag her tail in greeting. She has stopped flinching (畏縮) when I make a sudden movement, because she knows now that I won’t beat her, in fact, she rarely leaves my side. She’s even become brave enough to bark at a cat and today I watched from the window as she attempted to play with the other dogs. No, it’s clear she does not miss you or her former life on a chain.

It’s not clear yet whether she'll remain here or whether I’ll find her a loving home where she can count on more individual attention than I can give her, but one thing is certain, this is one bit of stolen “property” who is never returning to you. So sue me, accuse me, plead with the courts that she is rightfully yours ... I'm convinced this is the best “crime” I’ve ever committed. Hardly anything has pleased me more than the day I stole your dog. I need only look into her beautiful brown eyes to know that she’d defend my decision with her life. If we have one prayer, it is that you will not replace her, and if we have one special day to celebrate together, it is the day I stole your dog and the day she stole my heart.

1. What's the author's attitude towards the former owner of the dog?

A. Puzzled. B. Angry. C. Shocked. D. Satisfied.

2.It can be inferred from the passage that .

A. the dog is not lovely

B. the dog tried to find a kind master

C. the dog was treated badly by its former master

D. the author will be charged with stealing a dog

3.All the following statements showed us the dog's recovery from her nature except _______.

A. playing with other dogs

B. barking at a cat

C. not missing her former master

D. waving her tail to make greetings

4.What did the author think of his theft?

A. He was afraid of being punished.

B. He thought he had to do it.

C. He believed that the law would allow him to do so.

D. He did it with pride.

5. What’s the purpose did the author write the passage?

A. To warn the people in the town not to keep dogs.

B. To prove his love to the dog to her former owner.

C. To explain to the police why the dog were in the Woods.

D. To ask people to find the dog a loving home and a owner who loves dogs.

We all know that eating junk food can make us fat. However, a new study suggests that it can do more than that – it can also make us lazy, reported CBS News.

In the study, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, US divided 32 female rats into two groups. The first group was fed a diet of healthy food such as corn and fish, while the second was given a diet of highly processed (加工的) food rich in sugar, namely “junk food”.

Within three months, the rats in the second group were already much fatter than those on the healthy diet. And when researchers trained the rats to do simple tasks, they found even more differences between the two groups rather than weight.

During the task – pushing a lever (杠桿) to receive a reward of sugar water – the rats on the junk food diet were found to be less willing to move, and they took longer breaks between each push than the lean rats did.

“It is as if the rat is thinking ‘This is too much work’,” Aaron Blaisdell, leader of the study, told the Los Angeles Times.

But what about the possibility that the fat rats were less passionate about getting sugar water because they were already eating lots of sugar in their daily diet? That’s why researchers repeated the tests by rewarding fat rats with plain water when they were extremely thirsty. However, the results came out just the same.

According to researchers, these differences suggest that junk food changed the chemistry in the rats’ brains.

The experiment didn’t end there. After six months, the rats’ diets were switched, and the overweight rats were given a healthy diet for nine days. However, this change didn’t help reduce their weight or improve their ability to perform tasks, which means the effects of their junk food diet persisted (持續(xù)存在). “There’s no quick fix,” said Blaisdell.

For a long time, we’ve believed that people become fat because they are lazy. But this study has proven the opposite to be true as well, which indicates that laziness and obesity are a “vicious cycle (惡性循環(huán))”.

So, if you constantly feel tired, lacking any urge to get up from your chair, it could be that you’ve been studying too hard. But you should also pay attention to your diet.

1.During the first three months of the experiment by researchers at the University of California, ______.

A. rats from the healthy diet group ate nothing but corn and fish

B. rats on the junk food diet ate more than those on healthy diet

C. rats on the healthy food diet performed better at simple tasks than those on the junk food diet

D. rats on the junk food diet seemed uninterested in sugary food

2.The researchers rewarded thirsty rats with plain water in the lever test to ______.

A. help them control their weight

B. test whether fat rats lost interest in the test because they had taken enough sugar

C. change the diet habits of fat rats

D. find out the influence of sugar on rats’ brains

3. The underlined word “there” refers to ______.

A. after the rats on the junk food diet had worked hard to get sugar water

B. after the type of food rats prefer had been identified

C. after a quick cure for obesity had been found

D. after the fact that fatter rats are lazier than lean rats had been found

4.We can conclude from the article that ______.

A. fat people are usually lazier than lean people

B. people should switch between different types of diets to keep healthy

C. being overweight and being lazy can feed into each other

D. laziness is the main cause of weight problems

5.Which of the following is Not Right according to the passage?

A. Eating junk food can make us fat.

B. Researchers got different results after repeated the tests to fat rats.

C. For a long time, we’ve believed that people become fat because they are lazy.

D. If you constantly feel tired or study too hard, you need to pay attention to your diet.

For a long time being happy was considered something that just happened, and there was nothing special about it. Now we know that getting along with other people is something that we can work at. It is possible to act in such a way that other people will like us better. One way is being unselfish, not wanting everything from our friends. Another way is to look for good points, not bad ones in other people. It is surprising how successful this treasure hunt can be.

You don’t have to be spineless(沒有骨氣的) in order to be popular. In fact, you will be liked and respected if you are not afraid to stand up for your rights. But do it politely and pleasantly. Being friendly and polite to your group, to other people and to strangers and especially to those who do not look important or do not interest you is one way to develop a good character.

You can not expect to be perfect, and you must learn not to be unhappy when you make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, and no one is to be blamed unless he refuses to learn from them. Many young people become discouraged when they know in themselves qualities that they do not like—selfishness, laziness, and other unpleasant qualities. Just remember that we all have some of these faults and have to fight against them.

At the same time, it is important to remember that, while you are probably no worse than others, the best way to be happy is to think yourself above other people. When something is wrong, it is good sense to try to make it right. Perhaps you don’t like a teacher or a classmate. Try to see why and look at yourself, too, to be sure that you are not doing anything to make that person dislike you. Some day, things may turn out all right and then you will have to learn to get along the best with situation, without thinking too much about it. Worrying never helps in a situation you can’t change.

1.One of the two ways the author suggested for us to get along with others is _____.

A. to draw attention of our friends

B. to demand the best share of everything

C. to look for treasure in order to be successful

D. to pay more attention to other people’s good points

2.According to the passage, if one wants to be popular he has to _____.

A. be polite and friendly

B. give up some rights

C. avoid arguing with other people

D. be ready to change his or her character

3.The passage shows that there is no perfect person but everyone should be blamed if he _____.

A. is no better than others

B. is selfish and lazy

C. does not draw a lesson from his own fault

D. is very happy about his unpleasant quality

4.The passage implies that in order to be a happy person, one should consider oneself _____.

A. no better than others

B. not the same as others

C. as having something better than others

D. as having better chances than others

5.The purpose for the writer to write the passage is to _____.

A. train you to be perfect

B. show you the way to be happy

C. tell you how to act when you dislike a person

D. teach you how to be popular among your friends

閱讀表達(dá)

閱讀下面短文，并按照題目要求用英語回答問題。

Ashley Power’s mother bought a computer for her when she was eight. When she was thirteen, she was surfing the Internet regularly, but she couldn’t find anywhere for teenagers to meet and talk. And one day she thought, “If I had my own website, I’d make it a really interesting site for teenagers.”

So, when Ashley was sixteen, she launched her own website, called GooseHead. Young people got excited when they searched on this website and step by step they introduced the site to others and made more friends. She had no idea how big a success it would be, but three years later, the site was the most successful teen site in the USA! It was getting 100,000 hits every day, and Ashley had about 30 employees.

After a few years, the website closed down. Then Ashley, who lives in Los Angeles, was asked to write a book called GooseHead Guide to Life. It's safe to say that this is a book for teens that they'll enjoy. The book is about how to design a website and start a business. It begins with a section called “All about Ashley,” where Ashley tells readers what it is like to be the boss of a company when you are only sixteen. “I was so happy. But it was crazy in a lot of ways. I was stressed. I mean, I was only sixteen — I didn’t even have a car! If you were sixteen and you had your own company, you’d be stressed, too!”

In an interview Ashley gave advice to teenagers who wanted to start their own business, “Just be strong and have your dreams and work hard at them. And don’t listen when people tell you that you can’t do it, because I heard ‘no’ a lot. Just keep going until you hear ‘yes’!”

1.What does the first paragraph mainly tell us? (within 10 words)

2.What does the underlined word “l(fā)aunched” mean in English? (within 2 words)

3.According to Paragraph 3, what did Ashley do after GooseHead closed down?(within 10 words)

4.How did Ashley feel as a young boss of a company? (within 5 words)

5.According to Ashley’s advice to success, what do you think is the most important?Why? (within 15 words)

書面表達(dá)

假如你是李津，你在報(bào)上看到天津電視臺(tái)今年將舉辦“外國(guó)人學(xué)中文”才藝大賽。你的美國(guó)朋友Peter正在天津大學(xué)學(xué)中文，你覺得他應(yīng)去試一試。請(qǐng)按以下要點(diǎn)給他寫信告知此事，并表示可以提供幫助。

比賽時(shí)間：7月18日

報(bào)名時(shí)間：截止到6月30日

報(bào)名地點(diǎn)：天津電視臺(tái)

參賽內(nèi)容：中文形式的各種表演，比如唱中文歌，……

獲獎(jiǎng)辦法：獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)邔⒈皇谟瑾?jiǎng)?wù)�，并有機(jī)會(huì)到北京參觀旅游

注意：1.詞數(shù)：100左右

2.可適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié)，以使行文連貫

3.參考詞匯：才藝大賽 talent show

Dear Peter,

How’s everything going?

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Yours sincerely,

Li Jin

Diary of a Do-it-Yourself Book

This book based on Greg Hefley's own "diary" lets kids express themselves in an exciting way．In the book, kids will be asked: What was the best dream you have ever had? The worst thing you have ever eaten? The best secret you have ever heard? This Do-It-Yourself Book is unique and special because it has blank pages for readers to write their own stories and keep their own diaries．

Author: Jeff Kinney

List Price: $10.95

Price: $6.57 Buy it on Amazon．com．

You save: $4.38（40%）

Train to Somewhere

Marianne, heading west with fourteen other children on a train, is sure her mother will show up at one of the stations along the way. Stop after stop goes by, and there is no sign of her mother in the crowds that come to look over the children. No one shows any interest in adopting shy Marianne, either. But that is all right. She has to be free for her mother to claim her. Then the train stopped at its final stop, a town called Somewhere...

Author: Eve Bunting

List Price: $6.95

Price: $6.95 Buy it on Amazon．com．

You save: $0.00（0%）

Chinese Children's Favorite Stories

This volume of beloved Chinese stories contains a delightful(令人愉快的) selection from the store of Chinese legend.(傳奇) Discover many delightful animal characters as well as Chang’e and Guan Yin. Retold for an international audience, the stories with beautiful pictures will give children aged ix to ten in other countries a chance to learn about both the tradition and culture of China.

Author: Mingmei Yip

List Price: $18.95

Price: $12.89 Buy it on Amazon．com．

You save: $6.06（32%）

The Way Science Works

The perfect introduction to show how science explains the world around us! Eye-opening experiments and extraordinary photography bring science to life．Discover science in action from the principles that explain everyday facts to the theories behind the technology in today's fast-moving world. Full of facts about famous scientists, technology news and more．

Author: Robin Kerrod

List Price: $24.99

Price: $16.49 Buy it on Amazon．com．

You save: $8.50（34%）

1.Diary of a Do - It - Yourself Book is different from other books because you can .

A. write your own stories in the book

B. have a chance to see beautiful photos

C. ask the author questions

D. read many interesting stories about the author

2.Based on Train to Somewhere, how many children head west on the train．

A. 14. B. 13. C. 15. D. 16.

3.Whose book would you like to read if you are interested in science and technology?

A. Jeff Kinney's． B. Eve Bunting's．

C. Mingmei Yip's． D. Robin Kerrod's.

When Julio Diaz stepped off the subway after work one night, he was simply planning to go to his favorite local diner for a meal. But when a teenage boy approached him with a knife, Diaz knew the evening was about to take a more dramatic(巨大而突然的) turn.

The young man demanded Diaz’s wallet, and Diaz passed it over without objection(異議). But just as he turned to walk away, Diaz called, “Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something.”

The young man turned around, surprised.

“If you’re going to rob people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep warm.”

The teenager looked at Diaz in disbelief, and asked why he would do such a thing. Diaz replied, “If you’re willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, I guess you must really need the money.”He said he was heading out for dinner, and that he would be happy to take someone with him.

The young man decided to take Diaz up on his offer. As they were sitting at the table, the manager, dishwashers and waiters all stopped over to say hello to Diaz, and the young man was amazed at his popularity.

“Haven’t you been taught that you should be nice to everybody?”Diaz asked him.

“Yeah, but I didn’t think people actually behaved that way,” the teenager replied. Thanks to Diaz, he was beginning to see that kindness wasn’t so strange, after all.

When the bill came, Diaz told the teen that he’d have to get the check. After all, he still had Diaz’s wallet.

But the teenager put the wallet on the table without a moment’s thought, and Diaz treated him to dinner. Diaz also gave the would-be robber a $20 bill — in exchange for his knife. “I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right,” Diaz said.

1.The young man felt surprised when Diaz ________.

A. called him to wait for a moment

B. passed the wallet over without objection

C. stepped off the subway platform

D. invited him to have dinner together

2.The underlined part “take Diaz up on” can be replaced by “________”.

A. follow B. understand

C. accept D. check

3.The teenager gave the wallet back to Diaz maybe because _________.

A. Diaz was so popular with people in the restaurant

B. he had been given a $20 bill to take with him

C. Diaz had to pay for the meal they had together

D. he began to realize people should be nice to others

4.Diaz possibly felt _________ during the whole night.

A. worried and helpless B. relaxed and happy

C. angry and scared D. surprised and anxious

We offer five kinds of courses. Each course has been designed to help students according to their needs.

Course 1: General English

General English is designed to develop students’ basic communication skills in speaking and pronunciation, reading, listening, writing, grammar and vocabulary. Tuesday to Friday: 9:00 am to 11:00 am, $ 288 per week.

Course 2: Academic English

Academic English is for students who want to take the IELTS exam or for those who need to use English in a professional area. Monday to Friday: 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm, $ 320 per week.

Course 3: High School ESL

Why not make the most of your time studying in Australia with the help from TIES? We have High School ESL classes each week specifically designed for international students. Tuesday to Friday: 8:00 am to 11:00 am, $ 25 per hour.

Course 4: Night Classes

Do you want to improve your English and get the best possible results in your GRE test? We have two night classes each week designed to meet your needs. Tuesday and Thursday evenings: 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm, $ 60 per day.

Course 5: One on One

If you are interested in some One on One lessons with TIES teachers, we can design a course to meet your needs. One on One lessons can improve your English language skills more quickly and help students who want to take TOEFL. Tuesday to Friday: 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, $ 80 per hour.

1.If you are an English beginner, you’d better choose .

A.General English B.High School ESL

C.Night Classes D.Academic English

2.Which course would be helpful for students who want to take the IELTS exam?

A.Course 1. B.Course 2.

C.Course 3. D.Course 4.

3.How much will you pay if you spend two weeks taking the High School ESL course?

A.$ 200. B.$ 300.

C.$ 500. D.$ 600.

4.What can we learn from One on One according to the passage?

A.Its lessons are given in the morning.

B.It’s especially designed for English beginners.

C.It’s more expensive than the other courses.

D.Its lessons are designed to only improve writing skills.

There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care .To water his flowers, he used two buckets(水桶) .One was a shiny and new bucket. The other was a very old and dilapidated one，which had seen many years of service, but was now past its best.

Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets. Then he would carry them along the path, one on each side, to the flowerbeds. The new bucket was very proud of itself. It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled (溢出). The old bucket felt very ashamed because of its holes: before it reached the flowerbeds, much water had leaked (漏出) along the path.

Sometimes the new bucket would say,“ See how capable I am ! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day! I don't know why he still bothers with you. What a waste of space you are!”

And all that the old bucket could say was. “ I know I am not very useful, but I can only do my best. I am happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me, at least.”

One day, the gardener heard that kind of conversation .After watering the flowers as usual, he said , “You both have done your work very well .Now I am going to carry you back .I want you to look carefully along the path.”

Then the two buckets did so. All along the path, they noticed, on the side where the new bucket was carried, there was just bare（光禿禿的）earth; on the other side where the old bucket was carried, there was a joyous row of wild flowers, leading all the way to the garden.

1.What was the old bucket ashamed of?

A. His past. B. His aging.

C. His manner. D. His leaking.

2.What does the underlined word “dilapidated” probably mean?

A. dirty B. dark

C. worn-out D. ordinary-looking.

3.The new bucket made conversations with the old one mainly to _________.

A. take pity on the old one

B. laugh at the old one

C. show off its beautiful looks

D. praise the gardener’s kindness

4.Why was the old bucket still kept by the gardener?

A. Because it was used to keep a balance

B. Because it stayed in its best condition

C. Because it had its own function

D. Because it was taken as a treasure

七選五

Improve your memory

Some people often complain about their poor memory. Actually there are several ways to keep your memory sharp. This article will show you some simple tips.

1. When you say these things, you begin to plant the thought in your mind and it may become true. Tell yourself you can remember anything as long as you put your mind to the task. You will see an improvement in your memory.

2. If you have trouble remembering phone numbers or other blocks of numbers, it can be really helpful to try this method. If you remember them in smaller groups, like two or three digits (數(shù)字), it will also be much easier to remember the numbers.

Be sure to see a doctor if you are really losing your memory. A poor memory can be a sign that you are in low spirits. 3.

Playing games also helps improve your memory. Any type of games that involves(涉及) remembering things is wonderful. 4. Try and remember it when you have nothing better to do. A useful tip for anyone interested in games is to often work on solving word puzzles and similar types of games. 5. Not only will your memory probably improve, but you will also have a great deal of fun.

A. Remember numbers in small groups.

B. Take a right attitude.

C. Stop telling yourself you have a weak memory.

D. If you don’t like games, you can go over a list of "to do things".

E. If you don’t know your condition, you cannot treat it!

F. If so, treating it could be the key to getting your memory back.

G. Such games use the same skills needed to remember facts and help keep the mind sharp.