阅读理解

First published in 2001, the book Life of Pi written by Canadian author Yann Martel won the Man Booker Prize and an Asian American Prize for Literature. It is the story of a young boy named Pi who spends 227 days at sea with a small group of animals after disaster strikes their ship and is an account of his journey of survival and hardship.

Piscine "Pi" Molitor Patel, on whom Life of Pi is based, is a young boy living in Pondicherry, India, where his father owns a zoo. The story starts when Patel's family decide to move to Canada, along with their zoo animals for their new home.

However, because of the bad weather, the ship sinks. Pi along with an orangutan (猩猩), an injured zebra, a hyena (鬣狗) and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker are the only survivors who take shelter in a small lifeboat. Both the injured zebra and the orangutan are soon killed and eaten by the hyena. The tiger in turn kills and eats the hyena, leaving just the two of them alone on the boat now.

In an effort to avoid being eaten by Richard Parker, Pi acts himself as the head of the group and remains safe from harm. Since he does not want the tiger to die for fear of going mad by being alone on the boat, he fishes and feeds the two of them in order to stay alive.

The life of Pi then enters its third stage when their lifeboat washes up on the shores of Mexico and the tiger escapes into a nearby forest leaving Pi alone. After the Mexicans refuse to believe Pi's story, he changes his tale by replacing the animals with his mother, a cook and a sailor and asks the Mexicans which one they prefer. They prefer hearing the first story though they do not believe a word of it.

In my view, Life of Pi is a must read book for all those who love reading.

1. （1） We can learn that the book Life of Pi         .

   A . was written in 2001 B . was awarded two prizes C . tells a story about friendship D . is based on the author's personal experience
3. （2） In the book Life of Pi, the hyena is killed by         .

   A . Pi B . the zebra C . the orangutan D . Richard Parker
5. （3） How does Pi escape being eaten by the tiger?

   A . By catching fishes for the tiger. B . By locking the tiger in a cage. C . By being the leader of the two of them. D . By fighting with the tiger.
7. （4） What is the author's attitude towards the book Life of Pi?

   A . Disappointed. B . Supportive. C . Unconcerned. D . Doubtful.

任务型阅读

Ways to keep phone calls short

The phone rings. It's a friend who wants to tell you about his or her latest health problem. You hate to be impolite and cut your friend off, but what can you do? Stephanie Winston offers the advice.

•Don't ask questions like "What's new?" They give others the feeling that you have time to talk.

•Set a time limit (限度). Start with, "Hi, I've only got a few minutes, but I wanted to talk to you about…" Or, "Gee, I'd love to talk more, but I only have a couple of minutes before I have to do my homework. "

•Jump on a pause (暂停).  Quickly say, "It has been great talking with you. " Then end the conversation.

•Forget politeness. Some people just don't take a hint (领会暗示). No matter what your caller is talking, stop him and say, "I'd like to talk to you longer, but I really have to go. Goodbye. "  Don't ask for permission (许可) to end the conversation.

• If you make a call right before lunch or dinner, or at the end of the workday, people talk less.

•Find a "partner in crime (共犯)".  For example, one woman signals her husband, who shouts, "Jane, I think the water is boiling!"

A. Then hang up.

B. Time your calls wisely.

C. Avoid the phone completely.

D. You can do that by using an answer machine.

E. After "hello", get right to the heart of the matter.

F. Even the most talkative caller has to stop now and then.

G. If nothing else works, ask someone in your home to help you.

完形填空

"If I ran my business the way you people operate your schools, I wouldn't be in business very long!" I said before a group of angry 1.

I represented a group of business people who wanted to 2 public schools. I was a manager at an ice cream company that became 3 when People magazine chose our blueberry (蓝莓) as the "Best Ice Cream in America. "

As soon as I 4 ， a woman raised her hand. To my surprise, she appeared 5 and pleasant. "We are told, sir, that you 6a company that makes good ice cream."

I replied 7 ， "Best ice cream in America, Ma'am. "

"Sir，" she said, "8 you are standing on your receiving dock (码头) and you see an inferior (质量差的) shipment of blueberries 9 ， what do you do?"

Immediately, I knew the question was a trap, but I wasn't going to 10.

"I send them back."

"That's right!" she raised her voice, "and we can 11 send back our blueberries. We take them big, small, rich, poor, gifted, confident, homeless, rude, and brilliant. We take them all! And that, sir, is why it's not a (n) 12. It's school!"

In an explosion, all 290 teachers jumped to their feet and 13,"Yeah! Blueberries! Blueberries!"

And so began my long 14.

Since then, I have visited hundreds of 15. I have learned that a school is not a business. For one thing, schools are unable to 16 the quality of their raw material.

Yet it doesn't deny the 17 for change. We must change how we teach to give all children the opportunity to become 18. But educators cannot do this 19; these changes can occur only with the under standing, trust, permission, and active support of the whole society. 20, to improve public education means more than changing our schools, it means changing the whole country.

语法填空

The  (express) "keeping up with the Joneses" was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He began earning $125 a week at the age of 23,  was a lot of money in those days. He and his wife moved to a very  (wealth) neighborhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went  (ride) every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand also hired a servant and gave big  (party) for their new neighbors.

It was like a race,  the race ended when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to  apartment in New York City.

Momand looked around him and noticed that many people did all they could  (keep) up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He called it "keeping up with the Joneses" because "Jones" is a very common name in the United States. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. The stories  (sell) well and gradually "keeping up with the Joneses" became an idiom  (common) used by many people.

上周日，你所在的志愿者小组到汽车站进行了一次服务活动。请你根据以下要点提示写一篇短文。

1）一到车站，我们就受到了热烈的欢迎；

2）有的同学打扫候车室，有的为旅客提供信息，有的帮助旅客搬运行李；

3）虽然很累，但是我们感到很开心。

注意：1）词数80左右；

2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。