‘I don’t know why, but I frightened your grandmother a lot. When I arrived, I gave her a purse from Dongtai. She looked in it and asked me to take it back. Then I saw a red spider (蜘蛛) on the table, and I killed it for her. She seemed very unhappy. Do English people like spiders?

‘Later we went shopping. Someone was painting a shop front, so there was a ladder. Grandmother stopped me from walking under it and said I must walk around it. I liked the shops and bought some lovely rose soap for my mother, a smart umbrella for my father and some new shoes for myself. When we got back, I put the shoes on the table and opened the umbrella to check if it was all right. Your grandmother came in and screamed!

‘Then I broke a small mirror in the bathroom. Your grandmother’s face went white. I felt very sorry. When I left, I gave your grandmother some flowers. She counted and there were 13. She didn’t like them.’

I explained to Lu, ‘My grandmother follows the old customs. You must not give someone an empty purse, or they will have no money. You must not kill a “money spider”, or the same will happen. Also it is very unlucky to walk under a ladder or put new shoes on the table. An open umbrella in a house means someone will die. Breaking a mirror brings seven years’ bad luck, and 13 is also a very unlucky number. You were really making my grandmother very afraid.’ ( )56.

Why did Lu frighten the writer’s grandmother?

B. Because he did many unlucky things. D. Because he went shopping in England.

A. Because he could not speak English. C. Because he understood British customs.

( )57. What do many British people think of spiders?

A. They are afraid of them. B. They keep spiders as pets. C. They hope to see every kind of spiders in their houses. D. They think some kinds of spiders are lucky.

( )58. What did the writer’s grandmother feel when she saw the umbrella?

A. Excited.

B. Satisfied.

C. Afraid.

D. Happy.

( )59. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Thirteen is an unlucky number in England.

B. It is very unlucky to walk under a ladder or put new shoes on the table in England. C. For most British people, breaking a mirror means bad luck. D. People never give purses as presents in England. ( )60. How many wrong things did Lu do altogether?

A. 5.

B. 6.

C. 8.

(C)

Do you believe that you aren’t smarter than 3-year-old Alexis Martin, one of the youngest members of

D. 10.

the high IQ club Mensa?

Preschooler (学龄前的) Alexis’ IQ is 159, which is only one point lower than Stephen Hawking’s. Doctors say the average IQ of a person is about 100.

She learned to read at the age of 2. She reads at a fifth grade level and has taught herself Spanish on her parents’ iPad!

Now, she is a member of the Mensa Club, which only accepts people with an IQ within the top two per cent of people in the world!

Alexis’ father, Ian Martin, said he first realized Alexis was special when she was 12 months old. She could recite (背诵) bedtime stories. “We’d be driving around in the car and she would recite her bedtime stories from the night before. She didn’t just recite them, and she recited them exactly.”

Alexis’ father would try to trick her and say that her story went a different way, but she always corrected him.

Most 12-month-old children take their first steps on their own and most 18-month-olds can only name a small number of objects and body parts, and follow simple two-step questions.

Even though Alexis is a genius (天才), her parents are faced with lots of challenges like how to teach her to make friends of her own age.

“Will she go into kindergarten early? We are kind of hesitant (迟疑的) because we do want her to get to that social world,” Ian said.

( )61. Alexis Martin is a girl who .

A. has many hobbies B. has a high IQ C. is good at telling stories D. likes reading

( )62. According to the report, Stephen Hawking’s IQ is as high as .

A. 158 B. 159 C. 160 D. 101

( )63. Alexis Martin could recite bedtime stories at .

A. the age of 2 C. one and a half years old

B. the age of 1 D. the age of 3

( )64. What would Alexis do when her father said her bedtime stories went a different way? A. She would refuse to listen. B. She would try to recite it. C. She would correct him. D. She would laugh at it. ( )65. Which of the following statements about Alexis is NOT true?

A. She is accepted by the Mensa Club. B. She has made a lot of friends.

C. She learned to read at the age of 2. D. She learned a foreign language by herself.

第II卷 (非选择题,共60分)

五、任务型阅读 阅读下面的短文，根据短文内容完成下面表格。（共10空，每空1分，计10分）

Celebrating New Year’s Day is one of the oldest and most exciting traditions around the world. Since this festival marks the beginning of the year, New Year’s Day is thought of as a perfect time for a “clean start”. People in the world decide to act better in the year just beginning than the year just ended.

No day has ever been celebrated in so many different ways. All over the world, countries have their own special beliefs about what the New Year means to them.

In Scotland, the New Year is called Hogmanay. In the villages of Scotland, barrels of tar (沥青) are set on fire. It represents that the old year is burned up and the new one is allowed to enter.

New Year’s Day is also the Festival of Saint Basil in Canada. Children leave their shoes by the fireside on New Year’s Day with the hope that Saint Basil, who is famous for his kindness, will come and fill their shoes with gifts.

The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah. It is an important time when Jews promise to do better in the future. Special services are held in the church, children are given new clothes and New Year bread is cooked to remind people of harvest time.

On New Year’s Day in Japan, everyone gets dressed in their new clothes and homes are decorated (装饰) with bamboos—symbols of long life.

In European countries such as Germany, France and Belgium, families start the New Year by first attending church services. Afterwards, they visit friends and relatives. In France, boys and girls receive gifts of money on New Year’s Day.

New Year celebrations around the 66

Country/people Celebration activities Scotland and the new one is allowed People 67 barrels of tar. to enter. Canada Their shoes will be 69 Children leave their 68 by the with gifts by Saint fireside. Basil. It is a time for people to 70 to do Jews better in the future. People 71 New Year Bread to remind of harvest time. People 72 their new clothes. Symbols of 73 life Special beliefs The old year is burned up Japan Homes are decorated with bamboos. People attend church services 75 European 74 visiting friends and relatives. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 六、词汇（本题共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分） A. 根据句意和汉语提示写出单词，完成句子。

76. There is too much sugar in the (厨房), I never use it. 77. They want to be ___________(模特) when they grow up.

78. We always have a party to ______________ (庆祝) the Chinese New Year. 79. Leather feels soft and ______________(光滑的).

80. His rich experience is a great (优势) over the others in his office. B. 根据句意，用所给单词的适当形式填空。

81. These stickers are expensive. Do you have ______ (cheap) ones?

82. Before we have the meal, let’s have some _______________ (tomato) soup first. 83. Look out! The car is (complete) out of control.

84. The great swimmer Sun Yang is the (proud) of not only China, but also Asia. 85. The clothes they wear are like these_______ (hero). 七．阅读表达（本题共5小题，每小题2分，共10分）

If you lose 12 times in a row (连续地), will you just give up? Dale Carnegie, a pioneer in public speaking and self-development, kept trying. And he became famous by showing people how to be successful.

Carnegie was born into a poor family in the United States. The boy didn’t see a train until he was 12 years old. In his teens, he had to get up at 3 am every day to milk the cows for his family.

When Carnegie first entered college, he felt upset because of his ragged (破旧的) clothes and ordinary(平凡的) looks. His mother encouraged him, “Why not try to be better in other things instead of just dress and good looks?”

Carnegie tried to be more active in college. He joined the debate (辩论) team. But one after another, he lost 12 competitions. The young man was very disappointed with himself. He said later that he thought of killing himself after failing so many times. But soon Carnegie was seen practicing public speaking on the riverside. His hard work paid off at last. In 1906, Carnegie won a famous speech contest and became well-known. “Believe that you will succeed, and you will,” he said.

In order to share his success, Carnegie opened schools and wrote books. His best-sellers(畅销书) include How to Win Friends and Influence People and How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. More than 50 million copies of his books have been translated in 38 languages. They are still helping people on the road to success.