1．　　Foreign visitors are often puzzled in Japan because most streets there don't have names. In Japan, people use landmarks (路标) instead of street (1)      . For example, when you (2)      the way to the post office, the Japanese will say, "Go straight down to the corner (拐角) . (3)       left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is there." In the countryside of the American Midwest, usually there are not many landmarks. There are no towns (4)      buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and (5)      . People will say, "Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go (6)      mile."
　　People in California have no idea of distance in their minds. They give distance by means of time, not miles. "How (7)      away is the post office? you ask. "Oh," they answer, "It's about five minutes from here. "You say, "Yes, but how many miles away is it?" They don't know.
　　People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions because most visitors cannot understand the Greek language. (8)      giving you the direction, a Greek will often say, "Follow me. " Then he'll lead you through the streets of the city to the post office.
　　One thing will help you (9)      in Japan, in the United States, in Greece, or in any other place. You might not understand a person's words, but maybe you can understand his or her body language. He or she will usually turn and then point in the (10)       direction. Go in that direction, and then you may find the place where you want to go!

2．　　A sick man asked a doctor for help. He said he was afraid to die and hoped the doctor could tell him how long he would live. But the doctor said he didn't know. The man became a little (1)      . A few seconds later, the doctor (2)       his own experience. "I got cancer (癌症) ten years ago. As a doctor, I (3)       knew my life might end at any moment. I had the same (4)       as you. At that time, I was worried to know how long my life would last. Before dying, should I live in sadness? Should I stop being a doctor and then wait for death?
　　No. I decided to treat every day as a gift. So I spent the (5)       ten years in doing meaningful things. Life (6)       wonders. Though I don't know the answer to your question, I (7)       that the meaning of life is not decided by how long it is, but by the way you live. Your life maybe (8)       or longer. However, if you do something meaningful, you will make your life worthy." The patient nodded and turned his worried (9)       into a happy look.
　　Nobody knows what will happen in the future. After all, tomorrow is still unknown. Don't (10)       anything that is not sure. Just make the best of today.

3．　　April Fool's Day is coming!But do you know how April Fool's Day comes?
　　In the sixteenth century in France, the start of the New Year was on April 1st. People celebrated the New Year in the same way as it is today. They held parties and danced into the late night.
　　Then in 1562, Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar into the Christian (基督教的) world, and the new year fell on January 1st. Some people didn't believe the change in the date, so they celebrated the New Year on April 1st. Others played ricks on them and called them "April fools" Today Americans play small ticks on friends on the first day of April. One common trick on April Fool's Day is printing down to a friend's shoe and saying, "Your shoelace is untied. School children like to tell a classmate that there are no classes. Then if some believes the tick he or she will be called the "April fool"!People play ticks on each other only because they want to enjoy themselves together. Most jokes are really funny and people play ticks not to hurt anyone but to find happiness.

4．　　Li Ting, 15, from Shanghai, was preparing a talk on some western festivals. She searched online for certain information and made powerpoint presentations. Wu Qiong, her classmate, was doing his chemistry homework carefully. But he couldn't work out the last problem even if he tried his best. So he took out his mobile phone, opened a special app, and searched the problem. Solutions soon appeared on the screen in several seconds.
　　Nowadays, many students do homework with the help of the Internet like Li and Wu. They search for information online, use apps or discuss through QQ and WeChat.
　　"It's convenient. You don't have to wait for your teacher to explain it to you face to face," according to Wu. "You can also learn by seeing how others work them out. What's more, it improves the students' abilities. And it's especially true for new kinds of homework. I am quite skilled at finding information online and using Microsoft Office."
　　However, this trend also causes problems. Some lazy students just copy the answers online without thinking. Even some ask their classmates to do homework for them. And their teachers may not know the fact.
　　Anyhow, knowing how to use the Internet is important. The key is to have good self﹣control. When you come across a difficult problem, think about it by yourself first. Be sure to understand the reasons behind the answers after you have turned to the Internet, or you won't make progress. If you are not sure about your self-control, ask your parents for help.

5．　　There are many classic cultures in China. Every culture has a very long history. Here we introduce four of them.
　　Chinese Handwriting
　　Chinese handwriting belongs to Asian cultures. t is very special. Many people love the characters written with a writing brush around the world. Wang Xizhi is very famous for his handwriting. He made a great difference to the development of regular script (楷书).
　　Chinese Folk Music (民乐)
　　China has a colorful culture. t is connected with Chinese ancient stories. Chinese folk music has a long history. One of the classics (经典著作), The Book of Songs, included some folk songs in 15 different areas from the Western Zhou Dynasty to Spring and Autumn Period. Traditional Chinese musical instruments include guqin, guzheng, pipa, erhu, xiao and so on.
　　Chinese Painting
　　It is said that the Chinese painting is the oldest traditional painting in the world. Most of the Chinese paintings in ancient China were done on paper or silk. The traditional Chinese painting includes mountains and waters, figures(人物), flowers and birds. The highest form of Chinese painting is Chinese landscape (风景) painting.
　　Weiqi
　　Weiqi, called yi (弈) in ancient China, is a smart board game between two players with a long history. The game is treated as the beginning of all ancient chess games by many people. It was introduced to foreign countries since ancient times and was popular among the upper classes (上层阶级).

6．根据短文内容, 从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项．选项中有两项为多余选项．
　　(1)       It's a city with a long history. Kunming has a population of more than , 7, 000, 000. Though the weather in Yunnan changes from place to place. (2)      . It's neither too hot in summer nor too cold in winter. That's why more and more people like to travel and even to live there.
　　At weekends or on holidays, (3)       In winter, people, especially old people, would like to climb the Western Hill From the top of the hills, you can have a good look at the beautiful scenery of Kunming. Far from the Hills , you can enjoy the Sleeping Beauty among the Hills After dinner, families take a walk along the bank of Dianchi Lake. The Golden Temple and EXPO Garden are two famous places of interest in the north of the city. EXPO Garden is known to people both at home and abroad. (4)       A little farther away from the southeast of the city, a special forest welcomes you. It is not a tree forest, but a stone forest. So it is called the Stone Forest.
　　(5)       They often invite their friends home to try delicious food, like rice noodles. If you want to know more about Kunming and taste her food, please visit her yourself.

12．阅读短文, 从方框中选择合适的单词填空, 注意有的单词需要词形变化．

　　In schools all over the world, many boys and girls are learning foreign languages.
　　(1)      knows his own language, but to know another is very useful. How many languages are there in the world?There are about several thousand. (2)       is one of them. What is the best way to (3)      a language? We should remember how we all learned our own language when we were children. (4)       we could learn a second language in the same way, it would not seem so difficult. Think of what a small (5)      does. He (6)      to what people say, and he tries to copy what he hears. When he wants something, he has to ask (7)      it. He is using the language, (8)      in it, thinking in it all the time. If a language is used all the time, it will soon be learned.
　　It is important to remember, also, that we learn our own language by listening to people speaking it, not by looking at what they write. We copy what we hear. In school, though you learn to read and write as well as to hear and speak, it is best to learn all new words through the (9)      . You can read them, speak them and (10)      them later.

13．　　Young children don't have the skill or knowledge to stay safe in heavy traffic. The following tips (忠告) will be helpful for you to keep your children safe in heavy traffic. Children learn about road safety by watching others. As parents, make sure that you always set good examples. Your children will follow you and think it's OK to do like you. Teach your children to pay attention to traffic lights when you cross the road together with them. This helps them understand when it's safe to cross. Make sure that you walk between your children and traffic, and hold their hands all the time.
　　When your children are a little older, you can start to tell them the importance of traffic knowledge. Let them start to understand the reasons why they need to be so careful. Talk with them about road signs and traffic rules.
　　Ask your children to play in a safe place. Never let them ride bikes on the road without an adult present at rush hour.
　　The most important thing you can do is to keep your children from getting hurt, so parents encourage them to follow traffic rules. After knowing about traffic rules, they'll volunteer to obey       . In this way, they'll be careful enough to keep themselves away from danger.

14．通读下列对话, 然后根据上下文补全对话内容．
A: Hi, Jackie. How are you these days?
B: Hi, Bill. (1)      . How about you?
A: I'm fine, too. (2)      ?
B: Of course. There are many kinds of robots now.
A: (3)      ?
B: They're used for cleaning the rooms and doing other unpleasant jobs.
A: Sounds great! (4)      ?
B: Yes, they can be used for fun. For example, some robots can dance and sing.
A: Thanks for telling me so much.
B: (5)      .

15．中学生英语杂志特刊"青春飞扬"征集稿件, 希望了解九年级学生的学习和生活．假如你是Tom, 请你根据以下中文提示写一篇文章．
要点如下:
1. 以前矮瘦害羞, 现在高大结实开朗;
2. 过去宅家, 现在喜欢参加活动;
3. 现在比之前更加刻苦努力的学习, 有良好的学习习惯;
4. 过去几乎不干家务, 现在在家帮助父母, 分担家务;
5. 可适当自由发挥．
注意:
1. 文中不得透露个人姓名和学校名称;
2. 内容连贯, 不要逐条翻译;
3. 词数60﹣﹣80．