阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。

      “Silent night” is anything but silent in China. Some Chinese people have turned Christmas Eve into a wild party night for the young. I assure you that the holiness of this holy night is totally lost here.

       I noticed this year that some Chinese people were picking up Thanksgiving as well. They do without the turkey, but on Thanksgiving they send text messages to each on the cell phone. I got 32 messages in all, reminding me to be thankful. None of them thanked me for anything, however. I did not send any out. I still want a turkey (with lots of stuffing) and pumpkin pies.

       The most ridiculous Western holiday celebrated in China, however, is Valentine’s Day. The Chinese translation is “Lovers’ Day”. I dare say it is the worst of the year for married men because they think it awkward to spend “Lovers’ Day” with their wife. But women here take Valentine’s Day very seriously. As a result, it is great business for restaurants and flower shops; this is the day of the year they can sell a lot of merchandise.

【写作内容】

1.           以约30个词概况短文的要点；

2.           然后以约120个词就“中国人过西方的节日”这一现象发表你的看法，内容包括：

（1）中国人对待西方节日的态度及庆祝方式；

（2）你是否过西方的节日；如果过，通常选择怎样的方式；

（3）你认为我们应该怎样对待我国传统节日和西方节日。

【写作要求】

1.作文中可以使用实例或其它论述方法支持你的论点，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不得直接引用原文中的句子。

       2.作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称。

【评分标准】

       概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，语篇连贯。

 

Ibrahim became disabled after contracting polio (小儿麻痹症) when he was three years old. At first his parents, like many other parents of disabled children in Niger, did not want to send him to school. They were worried he would be laughed at by his classmates.  

    Despite his disability, and his parents’ doubts, Ibrahim was determined to go to school. “When I was eight,” Ibrahim says, “other kids of my age were going to school while I stayed at home. I did not like that. So, I pestered (缠着) my parents until they finally let me go to school.”

   Ibrahim’s parents sent him to a private school nearby. Although the journey to and from school was a short one, it still wasn’t easy for Ibrahim. He had to use his hands to help him move along, protecting them with plastic slippers. But at least he was getting an education.

    However, after only a year in school, Ibrahim’s education was interrupted when his parents separated. His mother did not have the means to continue paying for his tuition.

    In 2007, Ibrahim received some money to be fitted with a leg brace (支架), corrective shoes and his first pair of crutches (拐杖). Now that he was more mobile than before, the most important thing for him was to find a way to go back to school. 

    “I wanted to start school again last October,” Ibrahim says. “After my mother told me she could not afford it, I went to visit some of my relatives for support. And I collected 5,000 francs CFA (US $8) to pay my tuition for half a year. I will find the rest of the money somehow.”

    Ibrahim attends a school in which he is the only disabled student. According to his teacher, he is among the top five students in a class of 55.

1. Why did Ibrahim’s parents prefer Ibrahim to stay at home? 

A. There was a lot of housework for him to do.  

B. They had no money to pay for his tuition.

C. There were not enough schools in the country.  

D. They were afraid the students would make fun of him.

2. How did Ibrahim go to school before his parents separated? 

A. He went to school on his wheelchair.

B. He went to school on his parents’ bicycle.   

C. He walked to school with the support of his hands.

D. He walked to school using a pair of crutches.

3.Ibrahim’s education was interrupted because of his _____.

A. parents’ doubts     B. lack of tuition     C. physical disability    D. terrible mood 

4.The best title for the passage might be _____.

A. A long way to go             B. Determined to learn

C. The only disabled student        D. I did not like that

 

I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt’s house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which listened every morning. I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving, I thought about all the places I was going to see—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving never to come back was hardly in my head then.

The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism(乐观主义), but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to “the hard times”.

My responsibilities(职责) in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.

From my experiences I have learned one important rule: almost all common troubles eventually go away! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.

1. How did the author get to know America?

A. From her relatives.     B. From her mother.    C. From books and pictures.   D. From radio programs.

2. For the first two years in New York, the author       .     .

A. often lost her way                   B. did not think about her job    

C. studied in three different schools        D. got on well with her new friends

3.What can we learn from the author from Paragraph 3 ?

A. She worked as a translator.               B. She attended a lot of job interviews.

C. She paid telephone bills for her family .     D. She helped her family with her English.

4.The author believes that     .

A. her future will be free from troubles .         B. it is difficult to learn to become patient.

C. there are more good things than bad things.    D. good things will happen if one keeps trying.

 

II.阅读（共两节，满分50分）

第一节 阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B，C和D项中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Like all other mothers who have small children, I, too, have to steal time-from my own children at home and from the children who know me as their teacher-just to put a few words down on paper. Many times I've wanted to write for myself, for other women, for my parents, for my husband, and especially for my children. I would have liked to leave a legacy (遗产) of words explaining what it has meant to have twins. One reason that there is not a great deal written about being a mother of a new baby is that there is seldom a moment to think of anything else but the baby's needs.

With twins, I did not have a spare hand to write with.

Before my twins were born, my days were long and I had nothing to write about. After the twins' birth I did have something to write about, but I found myself facing not a pen and paper but milk bottles.

Some nights, friends would visit. They would leave at 11 p.m., heading for bed, and for us the night was only just beginning. With twins, there is really no night. Each feeding lasts a long time. At 1:00 a.m., each of them would begin crying from hunger. At 4:00am, when I finally put them down, I felt exhausted.

Two years have passed since then and we've managed to live through it all. My days are still very full and even now there isn't one evening when I put the twins down for the night that I don't have a break. At last a little time for myself.

26. When did the writer have time but she didn't feel like writing anything?

A. Before the birth of her twins.

B. When she faced bottles of milk.

C. After her friends visited her home.

D. When she had to think about the babies' needs.

27. What does the writer mainly write about?

A. Her role as a wife.                         B. Her work as a writer.

C. Her experience as a mother.            D. Her feeling as a woman.

28. Why did the writer say the night was just beginning (in the 4th paragraph)?

A. Because her friends left her house too late.

B. Because she started to take care of the twins even at night.

C. Because her babies often cried and she woke up.

D. Because she could not sleep till four in the morning.

29. This passage is probably from a(n) ______.

A. blog          B. newspaper               C. guidebook               D. advertisement

30. What can we learn from the passage?

A. The writer was unhappy because of no time for writing.

B. The writer cared her babies more than her own interests.

C. The writer hated to be a mother of twins.

D. The writer could steal a little time at night.

 

“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity,” said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I’ve never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it’s probably worth listening to.

Her point is that blind luck is very rare. You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you. If you’re a Chinese, you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump(树桩) for a rabbit to run out and break its neck.

A book by the UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, called The Luck Factor, argues we can all make ourselves luckier. It’s not about going to a temple to burn some incense(香) hopes that the gods will give you good fortune; it’s practical advice you can follow each day.

Wiseman conducted an experiment as part of his studies. First he divided volunteers into two groups; those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not. He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper,” was written in big letters. The unlucky people mostly did not spot the message.

It’s easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper. They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity. People who are “lucky”, in fact, keep an open mind and don’t go through the same routine every day.

I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do. Like many foreigners, my plan was to teach English for one year. Seven years later, and still here, I’ve had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines. I did not dream these would have been possible. I’ve also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police. Coincidence? After reading about Professor Wiseman’s studies I think not.

As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment. Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational thinking, but it’s important to consider how you feel about each choice you make. Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential problem.

Finally, try to turn bad luck into good. Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English.

1.Which of the following proverbs most agrees with the writer’s point?

  A. Make the best of a bad job.

B. Rome was not built in a day.

C. All is not gold that glitters.

D. A good heart conquers ill fortune.

2.What do you know about Oprah Winfrey?

  A. She became famous through her family background.

B. She was very lucky and seldom suffered setbacks in her life.

C. She is a British talk show host.

D. She became successful by her own effort.

3. The writer quoted the Chinese tale of a farmer in order to show __________.

  A. luck is in your own hand

B. bad luck can turn into good

C. you should not sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you

D. man can conquer nature