C

The light from the campfire brightened the darkness, but it could not prevent the damp cold of Dennis’s Swamp (沼澤地) creeping into their bones. It was a strange place. Martin and Tom wished that they had not accepted Jack’s dare. They liked camping, but not near this swamp.

“So,” Martin asked as they sat watching the hot coals. “How did this place get its name ? ”

“Are you sure you want to hear it ? It’s a scary story,” warned Jack.

“Of course!” cried out Tom. “If there were anything to be scared of, you wouldn’t have chosen this place!”

“OK, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” said Jack, and he began this tale.

“Way back in time, a man called Dennis tried to start a farm here. He built that cottage over there to live in . In those days, the area looked quite different ---- it was covered with tall trees and the swamp was a crystal-clear river. After three hard years, Dennis had cleared several fields and planted crops. He was so proud of his success that he refused to listen to advice.

“  ‘You are clearing too much land, ’ warned one old man. ‘ The land is a living thing. It will hit back at you if you abuse it. ’

“ ‘ Silly fool,’ said Dennis to himself. ‘If I clear more land, I can grow more crops. I’ll become wealthier. He’s just jealous!’”

“Dennis continued to chop down trees. Small animals that relied on them for food and shelter were destroyed. He was so eager to expand his farm that he did not notice the river flowing slowly towards his door. He did not notice salt seeping to the surface of the land. He did not notice swamp plants choking all the native plants.”

“What happened ? ” Martin asked. It was growing colder. He trembled, twisting his body closer to the fire.

“The land hit back ---- just as the old man warned, ” Jack shrugged. “Dennis disappeared. Old folks around here believe that swamp plants moved up from the river and dragged him underwater. His body was never found.”

“What a stupid story, ” laughed Tom. “Plants can’t …” Before he had finished speaking, he screamed and fainted(暈倒). The other two boys jumped up with fright, staring at Tom. Suddenly, they burst out laughing. Some green swamp ivy (常春藤) had covered Tom’s face. It was a while before Tom could appreciate the joke.

66. The underlined word “dare” in Paragraph 1 is closed in meaning to ________.

A. courage B. assistance C. instruction D. challenge

67. Why did Jack tell Tom and Martin the story ?

A. To frighten them.    B. To satisfy their curiosity.

C. To warn them of the danger of the place.

D. To persuade them to camp in the swamp.

68. Why did Dennis ignore the warning of the old man ?

A. The old man envied him.  B. The old man was foolish

C. He was too busy to listen to others.      D. He was greedy for more crops.

69. Why did Tom scream and faint ?

A. He saw Dennis’s shadow B. He was scared by a plant

C. His friends played a joke on him. D. The weather became extremely cold.

70. What lesson can we learn from the story of Dennis ?

A. Grasp all, lose all. B. No sweat, no sweet.

C. It is no use crying over spilt milk.   

   D. He who makes no mistakes makes nothing.

Part IV  Writing (45 marks)

Section A (10 marks)

Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in the numbered blanks by using the information from the passage.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

Is there a “success personality”---some winning combination of qualities that lead almost inevitably（不可避免的） to achievement? If so, exactly what is that secret success formula(公式), and can anyone develop it? 

At the Gallop Organization we recently focused in depth on success, inquiring into the attitudes of 1,500 distinguished people selected at random from Who is Who in America. Our research finds out a number of qualities that occur regularly among top achievers. Here is one of the most important, that is common sense.

  Common sense is the most widely possessed quality of the people surveyed. 79% award themselves a top score in this quality. And 61% say that common sense is very important in contributing to their success.

  To most, common sense means the ability to present sound, practical judgment on daily affairs. To do this, one has to remove extra ideas and get right to the key points of what matters. A Texas oil and gas businessman puts it this way : The key ability for success is simplifying. In conduction of meeting and dealing with industry reducing a complex problem to the simplest term is highly important.”

   Is common sense a quality a person is born with, or can you do something to increase it? The oil man’s answer is that common sense can definitely be developed. He owes his to learning how to debate in school.  Another way to increase your store of common sense is to observe it in others, learning from their and your own mistakes.

   Besides common sense, there are many other factors that influence success: knowing your field, self-reliance, intelligence, the ability to get things done, leadership, creativity, relationship with others, and of course luck. But common sense stands out. If you develop these qualities, you’ll succeed. Any you might even find yourself listed Who is Who someday.    

                       71_________________________

 

Finding of the research

 

Top achievers have some common 72____, one of which is common sense.

 

Comments on common sense 79% of the people surveyed share strong common sense.

61% say their 73_____lies in such a quality

Understanding of common sense To most, it means one is able to 74______daily affairs soundly and practically by 75_____on what really matters.

76____to get  common sense 77_____it through activities like learning how to debate in school

Increasing it through 78____by observing others.

79_______leading to success Knowing your field, self-reliance, intelligence, the ability to get things done, leadership, creativity, 80_____,and luck.

 

Section B (10 marks)

Directions: Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage.

(Reuters) — At least 115 miners were pulled alive from a flooded coal mine in north China after being trapped for over a week, eating bark to survive, prompting extremely happy officials to hail their survival a miracle.

Officials said 153 miners were trapped in the unfinished Wangjialing mine, belonging to two of China's larger state-owned firms in Xiangning, Shanxi Province, after water gushed (噴, 涌) into the shafts last Sunday.

Late on Sunday night and throughout Monday, the survivors were pulled out from a platform, where the rescuers had drilled a vertical hole to ensure oxygen in the water-flooded pit and send down bags of glucose (葡萄糖). Thirty-eight miners were still missing.

"It is a miracle," said Luo Lin, head of the State Administration of Work Safety. "The trapped miners stayed so firmly determined down the mine shaft, passing through eight days and eight nights to live." The workers also survived by eating bark from pine wood used in building the mines, Chinese television said.

The government had succeeded in encouraging thousands of rescue workers to pump out water and search for the miners. After that, the water level dropped low enough for rescue workers to enter the shaft.

It was rare good news in China's dangerous coal-mining industry, the deadliest in the world with thousands killed every year in floods, explosions, collapses and other accidents. Shanxi Province is the heartland of that industry.

Strong demand for energy and not strict safety standards have made China's mines often deadly places to work, despite a government drive to clamp down on (對(duì)……進(jìn)行壓制或取締) small, unsafe operations where most accidents occur.

Workers are tempted into (被誘惑去) the mines by wages that can be much higher than for many other jobs open to blue-collar workers and rural migrants.

China has consolidated (合并) or taken over many private mines, which has helped cut accidents. According to official statistics, the number of people killed in Chinese coal mines dropped to 2,631 in 2009, an average of seven a day, from 3,215 in 2008. But the deadliest accidents are not limited to private firms. 

81. According to the second paragraph, what caused the serious accident?  (no more than 6 words)2’

_____________________________________________________________________

82. How did the rescuers manage to send down oxygen and bags of glucose into the pit? (no more than 5 words)2’

_____________________________________________________________________

83. According to the passage, what measures does the government take to help cut accidents? (no more than 13 words)3’

_____________________________________________________________________

84. What is the news about? (no more than 12 words)3’

_____________________________________________________________________

Section C (25 marks)

Directions: Write an English composition according to the instructions given below.

 

.書(shū)面表達(dá)（滿分35分）

    隨著網(wǎng)絡(luò)的流行，很多中學(xué)生都開(kāi)啟了自己的微博或開(kāi)始使用微信。請(qǐng)對(duì)這一現(xiàn)象寫(xiě)一篇120詞左右的短文，內(nèi)容包括以下幾點(diǎn)：

  1. 學(xué)生開(kāi)博或使用微信的好處。

  2. 對(duì)學(xué)習(xí)可能產(chǎn)生的負(fù)面影響。

  3. 就此事發(fā)表自己的看法和建議。

   With the popularity of the Internet, many high school students open their own micro-blogs or begin to use We-chat.