— When can we get the exam results?

— They _____________ to you next Monday.

A. will be sent        B. are sending       C. will send       D. are sent

I’m _____________ my little dog. Have you seen him?

A. looking at         B. looking for       C. looking after    D. looking forward to

The teacher asked Alice _____________ yesterday.

A. why she misses school                  B. why does she miss school

C. why she missed school                  D. why did she miss school

— Hello, can I speak to Tom, please？

—_____________

A. You’re welcome.                       B. With pleasure.

C. I’d love to.                            D. Just a moment, please.

    One day the bathroom door had slammed on Timmy’s finger. The doctor asked if we had found the tip of Timmy’s finger. He said there was a small chance of   1   it if we could get it to him quickly. Pulling myself out of a daze, I ran back to the bathroom.   2   , it had already turned blue. I knew from the look on the doctor’s face that it was too late. I felt helpless, unable to take the pain away from my little boy. Then a(n)   3   came to me. I whispered in his ear, “Timmy, did you know that lizards grow their tails   4   and little boys can grow their fingers back too?” Timmy’s soft green eyes grew wide with   5   .“They can?” he asked, obviously surprised by the thought, “And   6   ?”

    I told him, “Inside your head you have a little voice telling your finger how much you love it and how much you   7   it.” I could see Timmy’s little face focused in deep concentration. Then I continued, “Now just say, grow for me finger, grow. I love you and I need you.” A few days later, Timmy said to me quietly, “ I’m talking to my finger every day,   8   it well.” Weeks later, with a joyful burst of   9   , Timmy ran towards me. “See,” he said, “It’s growing back really good!” A year later, Timmy’s finger grew back and became well again just as any finger   10   be.

    Timmy remains forever in my heart as a constant reminder of the   11   of miracles. He also inspires me to   12   beyond the accepted knowledge of the times, and to remember that all things are possible if you truly believe.

1. A. putting           B. saving          C. keeping           D. losing

2. A. Unfortunately     B. Clearly         C. Possibly          D. Strangely

3. A. plan              B. idea            C. dream             D. answer

4. A. long              B. short            C. back               D. up

5. A. interest            B. pleasure         C. wonder             D. excitement

6. A. how              B. why             C. when              D. where

7. A. thank             B. give             C. help               D. need

8. A. getting            B. wishing          C. making            D. knowing

9. A. hope              B. speed           C. energy             D. mind

10. A. should            B. could            C. might              D. would

11. A. chance            B. strength          C. importance         D. possibility

12. A. work              B. look            C. reach              D. think

    I am an eighth-grade student at Central Middle School. In my three years at the school, I have played soccer, basketball, and baseball. I love sports and really enjoy being part of a team. Playing on our school sports teams has been the best part of middle school for me. I know I’m lucky that  I’ve had this opportunity.

    Some kids have not been so lucky. In fact, many kids who love sports don’t have the chance to play on a school team. That’s because, to make a team, you have to try out. The idea is that kids who are good at sports will do well in tryouts and make the team. But what about the kids who don’t do well during tryouts? Maybe they are ill that day, or nervous, or are just having a bad day, so they don’t play their best. They don’t make the team, and that is too bad.

    Also, there are kids who really don’t have the skills to play well. They never make a team, and that isn’t fair either. How will kids ever learn the skills if they don’t have a chance to play ? Remember, this is school and students are here to learn. All kids should have the chance to learn sports skills and teamwork by playing on a school sports team.

    There are other reasons why every student should have the chance to play sports. Sports are important for good health and fitness. They help kids feel good about themselves and their school. They build friendships among teammates. Coaches are good role models, and students who play team sports learn good sportsmanship. And, most important, team sports are fun! Players have fun playing, and their parents have fun watching and cheering for the team. So, sports bring kids and parents together, too.

     By now you know how I feel. Every kid who wants to play on a school sports team should have the chance. These teams are for fun and fitness—they’re not professional teams ! Let’s change the rules for making a team. Let’s get rid of tryouts. Let’s give every student at Central Middle School the chance to wear a team uniform.

1. How many kinds of sports has the writer played in the three years at school？

   A. Two.           B. Three.           C. Four.           D. Five.

2. The writer believes that tryouts are ____________.

   A. fun            B. hard             C. useful          D. unfair

3. Which of the following is NOT true according to the fourth paragraph？

   A. Sports bring kids and parents together.

   B. Sports build friendships among teammates.

   C. Sports help kids feel good about themselves.

   D. Sports are fun and make students study better.

4. The writer’s main purpose for writing this article is to____________.

   A. advise kids not to try out for a school team

   B. tell about exciting moments on sports fields

   C. make people believe all kids should play team sports

   D. share his opinions of playing team sports with readers

    Ever since we became pen pals, Julien has sent me strange things. Once, she sent her sneeze in a jar. (“I have a cold, can you tell?”she wrote. ) Then she sent her fingerprint. (“So you’ll recognize me in a crowd.”)

    Julien sent me breakfast, all right：cornflakes. Soggy, milky, grainy, crumbly, limp cornflakes scraped from the bottom of her cereal bowl. I lost my appetite, but I read the letter.

    “She’s mistaken,” I told my mom. “No one can send a sunset, not even Julien. It’s impossible.”

    “I don’t know,” Mom said. “Julien might find a way. After all, she did send you her sneeze.”

    A week later I checked the mail and found a box with air holes and the words “FRAGILE—THIS SIDE UP” printed in bold black letters on the top. It was from Julien.

    I stroked the box with my fingers. It was perfectly dry. I smelled it. It didn’t smell. I held my breath and started opening the package. What if sunbeams spring out and hit me in the face like those fake snakes in a can; I thought?

    My hands shook as I lifted the last flap and peeked inside. Where in the world was the sunset? All I could find was a letter and a twisty, gray, papery shell. It looked like a submarine. I read the letter.

    I looked again at the gray shell. That’s no sunset, I thought. “You must mean the submarines at your house, Julien，” I said. Without reading the postscript, I laid the letter and the submarine on the kitchen table. Then I left the room to find a pen so that I could cross out “sunset” and write“submarine” above it.

    When I returned, I stared in shock at the submarine. A creature was oozing out of it ! Was it a sea monster? I looked closer. It was a winged creature... an insect... a butterfly. An orange, blue, purple, red, and gold butterfly. It looked like... a sunset!

    While the sunset opened and closed its wings to dry them, I read Julien’s postscript. It said, “P. S. Next week I’m sending you Japan.”

1. What does the underlined word “oozing” probably mean?

   A. moving             B. jumping             C. swimming           D. flying

2. What did Julien really want Caitlin to see in the fourth mail?

   A. The setting sun.                          B. Colors of a sunset.

   C. A colorful butterfly.                       D. A new submarine.

3. We can learn from the passage that Julien was ___________.

   A. strange and clever                        B. honest and friendly

   C. creative and giving                       D. funny and inventive

4. What can be inferred from the passage?

   A. Caitlin was from Japan and had never seen Julien.

   B. Caitlin’s mom thought Julien’s gifts were fantastic.

   C. Caitlin was pleased with the cornflakes that Julien sent.

   D. Caitlin was expecting another unusual gift from Julien.

根据对话内容，用方框中所给单词的适当形式填空。

M：What are your plans for the weekend, Gina?

W：On Saturday morning, I’m going to check my email and then do my 1._____________. In the afternoon, I need to go to a piano lesson. How about you?

M：Well, I plan to buy some 2._____________for my mom’s birthday on Saturday afternoon.

W：There will be a 3._____________at a friend’s home on Saturday evening. We’re going to

    4. _____________to some music. Would you like to come?

M：Yes, that’s a 5._____________idea.

W：Are you doing anything special on Sunday?

M：No. I just want to stay at home and 6. _____________ for my test. And you?

W：I’11 meet Linda and Tony at 9:00 a.m. in the park, 7._____________ we’re going to have a picnic there. Join us, will you?

M：Sure, I’d love to！

根据中文意思完成句子。

1．七点钟了，该上学了。

It’s seven o’clock.____________________________________________________________.

2．北京以长城闻名。每年都有许多外国人来参观长城。

Beijing __________________________ the Great Wall．Thousands of foreign friends visit it every year．

3．你昨晚没有去参加聚会。你怎么了?

You didn’t go to the party yesterday evening.__________________________?

4．我很高兴自从来这以后我交了许多朋友。

I ________________________________________________________since I came here．

5．我有两个学习英语的方法。一个是大声朗读英语，另一个是坚持收看英语电视节目。

I have two ways of learning English.________________________________________________。

    Imagine having a bedroom that interacts with you. If you’re sad, it will arrange for some of your friends to come over to cheer you up. If you’re happy, it might respond by playing your favorite game with you.

    Does it sound like something out of a science-fiction movie? Well, it’s really something out of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Irfan Essa works at the computer lab there. He has developed a computer system that can look at you and recognize your mood. He calls it the “expression recognition system.” Essa says, “We are trying to get computers to act like a human brain. But the human brain is not like one computer, it is like many working together.”

    In Essa’s system, many computers work together. First, a camera in the bedroom takes a picture of your face. The camera feeds the image to a computer. In the computer’s memory, there are pictures showing how the muscles of your face move when you are in different moods. For example, cheek muscles move in one way when you are happy and smiling and in another way when you are nervous and tense. The computer compares your picture to the face-muscle images stored in its memory. It tries to find the best match. That’s how it figures out your mood! Then the computer sends messages to other computers in the system. If you look happy, a computer may put on lively music. If you look tired and discouraged, a different computer may turn on the TV for you.

    How could the “expression recognition system” help us in important ways? Essa thinks that the system can help us create computers that are better teachers. Many people learn new skills through computer programs. “When I teach, I look at people’s faces,” Essa explains. “If my students look confused, I know they didn’t understand. With this technology, a computer can also know if a student is learning.”

    Today, this new technology can be found only in labs, but Essa predicts we’ll see it out of the lab in a few years. So get ready. One day, you might walk into a room that will soon become your best friend.

1. Can the new computer system look at you and recognize your mood？

2. What happens first in the bedroom in Essa’s system?

3. Will the computer put on lively music or turn on the TV if you look happy?

4. How does the “expression recognition system” make computers better teachers?

5. What will future rooms be like?