42. What did Ben Franklin find about storms?

A. They start following their winds.

B. They usually begin in the southwest.

C. They travel in an opposite direction to their winds.

D. They travel in the same direction as their winds.

43. Ben Franklin went to Paris in November of 1783 to 　　　.

A. sign a treaty  B. have a talk with Britain

C. seek support from France

D. experiment with hot-air balloons

44. When Ben Franklin saw the first known hot-air balloon flight, he predicted hot-air balloons 　　　.

A. would be a risky sport

B. could be used in wars

C. couldn’t be widely used in the future

D. would be mostly used for entertainment

45. We can infer from the last paragraph that Ben Franklin 　　　.

A. introduced hot-air balloons to America

B. saw the hot-air balloon flight by accident

C. was not interested in hot-air balloons at first

D. made a wrong prediction about hot-air balloons

C

Although the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have English as an official language, the United States does not have an official language. This is why it’s possible to become a US citizen without speaking English. Canada also has French as an official language, though it is mostly spoken in the province of Quebec. Because many of the English speakers who originally lived in Canada came from the US, there is little difference in American and Canadian English. Similarly, Australian English and New Zealand English have few differences, except Australia was originally settled as a penal colony (罪犯流放地) and New Zealand was not. New Zealanders were more attached to the Received Pronunciation of the upper class in England, so their dialect is considered closer to British English.

British colonialism (殖民主义) has spread English all over the world, and it is still popular in South Africa, India, and Singapore, among other nations. In South Africa, English became an official language, along with Afrikaans and 9 African languages, in the 1996 constitution. However, only 3% of the country’s 30 million people are native English speakers. Twenty percent are descendants (后代) of Dutch farmers who speak Afrikaans, and the rest are native Africans.

India became independent from Britain in 1947. However, today English and Hindi are the official languages. Indian English is characterized by treating mass nouns as count nouns, frequent use of the “isn’t it?” tag, use of more compounds, and a different use of prepositions. In Singapore, Chinese, Malay and Indian languages all influence the form of English spoken. Everyone is taught English in the school system, but there are a few differences from British English as well. Mass nouns are treated as count nouns, “use to” means usually, and no articles are used before occupations.

46. Why can people become a US citizen without speaking English?

A. They can learn English there.

B. Different languages are spoken in the US.

C. The US doesn’t have an official language.

D. They can speak their own language there.

47.Compared with Australian English, the English spoken by New Zealanders 　　　.

A. is a kind of old English

B. is more like British English

C. is closer to American English

D. is different from British English

48. What do we know about South Africa?

A. English is its only official language.

B. It has 11 different official languages.

C. English is becoming less important there.

D. 20 percent of its population are native English speakers.

49. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A. The Indians are good at English grammar.

B. People in Singapore often misuse count nouns.

C. Singaporean English is similar to Indian English.

D. English is a required subject in Singaporean schools.

50. What is the text mainly about?

A. British colonialism.     B. The wide use of English.

C. English around the world.  D. The history of the English language.

D

The bell rings and in a few moments, the most disordered part of the day begins—lunch. Food begins to be dished out, and some students are eager to see their friends, while others cannot bear the thought of what is about to happen. Anxiety (焦虑) builds for many as they think today will be just like any other day. Press repeat and this happens every day.

But Bridport Elementary in Bridport introduced a system to solve this classic scene of loneliness and meet new friendships. There’s hardly room for the question, “Will you save me a seat?” at Bridport Elementary, where students are guided to assigned (指定的) tables and given the opportunity to open their hearts and minds to a new friend. The school’s president Kilbourne had observed too many days in which the same kids were left alone, while the others were always accompanied by friends. Something had to change.

The school gives a new system in which students line up to pick a numbered stick before getting their food. Each stick has a number that’s linked with a table, showing where they will eat lunch for the day.

This system was used five months ago. Today, if you walked into the cafeteria, you wouldn’t find any numbers or any sticks. Kilbourne made a promise to the students that the system would eventually disappear if she saw that students learned to value inclusivity (包容) and friendship.

People really saw a change. A girl was walking around by herself with her lunch in her hand, and four tables asked her to join them. At another table, a kindergartener was sitting alone for just a few moments before two sixth graders came over to sit with him, and actively included him in conversation.

Now we are left wondering: how can lessons learned from the cafeteria be used elsewhere? Students and adults all over the country could benefit from an approach in which every person is always welcome at the table in any situation.

51. What inspired the president of Bridport Elementary to introduce the system?

A. Students didn’t speak to friends at a table.

B. Students didn’t manage to get a seat in the cafeteria.

C. Students had no one to communicate with in a crowd.

D. Students had little interest in lunch due to the pressure of study.

52. Why couldn’t we find any numbers or any sticks in the cafeteria?

A. Because students were tired of them.

B. Because they didn’t work out as expected.

C. Because they were replaced by something else.

D. Because there was no need for them any more.

53. How is the fifth paragraph mainly developed?

A. By making comparisons.       B. By giving examples.

C. By giving instructions.          D. By showing research findings.

54. What can be the best title for the text?

A. Friends at the lunch table

B. Time to value table manners again

C. Offer help to shy and quiet students

D. How to help students deal with school life

55. What is most likely to be talked about in the paragraph following the text?

A. The benefits of the system.

B. The disadvantages of the system.

C. The wider use of the system.

D. The lessons learned from the system.

第三部分 书面表达(共两节，满分35分)

第一节 阅读表达(共5小题;每小题2分，满分10分)

阅读下面的短文，并根据短文后的要求答题(请注意问题后的词数要求)。

[1] A few years ago, on an especially windy day in spring, my mother was driving on the Gardiner Expressway. She was unable to control her car after a sudden strong burst of wind and knocked into the car in front of her.

[2] It was a very small hit and not a big deal. However, the hood (引擎盖) of her car became a little loose because of the knock. As she began driving again after the exchange of information with the other driver, the winds blew her hood back strongly and it knocked into the top of her car with such force that her windshield (挡风玻璃) broke into pieces.

[3] She was in the right direction and managed to stop her car safely. People came to her rescue immediately. Another car 　　　 stopped and put on its yellow flashing lights to prevent people from hitting her from behind. A pickup truck with two men and containing construction supplies pulled in front of her and the men jumped out and brought the hood down and tied it to her bumper (保险杠) with rope. Both cars went along with her to the next exit where she was able to safely get off the expressway.

[4] She was never able to thank the men properly. It all happened so fast and she was in complete shock. That was a great thing to see. She didn’t know their names but all she knew was their kindness. We have never forgotten this kindness by complete strangers. She really would not have known what to do if the strangers had not jumped in to help her timely.

56. What is the author’s purpose in writing this text? (no more than 8 words)

57. Fill in the blank in the third paragraph with proper words. (no more than 3 words)

58. What did the two men in the pickup truck do to help the author’s mother? (no more than 22 words)

①                         ②                       ③

59. What lesson can we draw from the passage? (no more than 10 words)

60. What does the underlined word “it” (Line 5, Paragraph 3) probably refer to? (no more than 3 words)

第二节 书面表达(满分25分)

假设你是李华，你的好友王林生病了。现在请你给他写一封信，要点包括：

1. 听到好友生病时的心情;

2. 劝他放弃熬夜的习惯;

3. 建议他身体康复后要保证睡眠，经常锻炼，合理饮食。

注意：1. 词数120左右;

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。