1．　　One evening, I went out for a walk on the path near my house with my husband. I wore a ring (1)      a beautiful diamond. It cost me (2)      dollars. At the end of the path, (3)      I looked down at it again, I found the diamond was lost. I started back (4)       the tiny stone. In my heart, I knew (5)      seemed impossible to find it. The path was long and covered with leaves. As I (6)      the ground, I met an old lady. "What's the matter, love?" She asked. I explained about the (7)      diamond of my ring. She said, "Tell me what it is like? I walk along this path every day, and I'll keep my eyes (8)      for it. " I thanked her and thought it couldn't (9)       .
　　A few days later, my husband and I met (10)      old lady on the path. "Guess what?" She said, "I found your diamond!" To our (11)      , she'd found the tiny stone and was willing (愿意)to hand it back to me. " (12)       lucky it was for me to find it!" When we provided her with some money, she refused (13)      I was so moved.
　　Every time I look at my ring and remind(14)      there are kind and beautiful hearts in the world. And I'll spend the rest of my life (15)      to do something like that.

2．　　I sat down to read under an old tree in the park. I felt my life was (1)      . I didn't take an interest in anything. I thought that my whole world was dark.
　　A young boy ran up to me, out of breath. He stood right before me and said (2)      "Look what I found." In his hand was a flower and what a poor sight!The flower was dry and dead. I gave him a small smile and then turned my eyes away so that he could take his (3)      flower and go off to play. I didn't want to (4)      with him at all.
　　However, he sat next to my side and placed the flower to his nose and said happily, "It smells sweet and it's beautiful, too. That's why I (5)      it. Here, it's for you. " The flower before me was dead. But I knew I must (6)      it, or he might never leave. So I took the flower and replied, "This is just what I want, thank you." Just then, for the first
time I noticed that the boy could not see — he was blind.
　　Tears came down my face as I (7)      him for picking the best one. "You're welcome, " he smiled and then he ran off to play. I sat there and wondered how he was able to learn about my (8)      .
　　Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see the problem was not with the world﹣the problem was me. And for all those years I myself had been (9)      . In fact I never found there is always something beautiful around me in life. I decided to see the (10)      in life, and enjoy every second of my life. And then I held that dry flower up to my nose and breathed in the smell of a beautiful rose.

3．　　Is it enough to eat fruits often, or is there a right way to eat them?Is it okay to eat fruits as dessert right after a meal?Nutritionist (营养学家), Naini Setalvad tells us what the right way to eat fruits is.
　　When should I eat fruits? The best time to eat fruits is the first thing in the morning after a glass of water. Eating fruits right after a meal is not a great idea, as it may not be digested (消化) properly. The nutrients (营养物质) may not be absorbed well either. You need to leave a gap of at least 30 minutes between a meal and a fruit snack. Perfectly, one should eat fruits an hour before the meal or two hours after, if they have diabetes (糖尿病)or any other digestive problem like acidity (胃酸). This is because, sometimes, diabetes is accompanied (伴随) with digestive problems.
　　Can I mix fruits with other foods?You can mix fruits with yogurt or salt as long as you do not have digestive problems. You can also mix fruits like pineapple, oranges, melons with salads if you like. There is no harm in mixing strawberries and dry fruits with cereals (谷类食物) either.

4．　　As is known to all, "I am sorry" is the phrase we hear most in daily communication in Britain. What does it mean? Does it always mean you apologize for what you have done wrong?
　　Let us review a scene happening in a British street one day. A young man walked down a road playing with his smart phone when a lady came over in his opposite direction. The man tried unsuccessfully to give his way to the lady in time. As a result, he bumped (碰撞) into the lady. As a rule in China, the man must say "I am sorry" first, because he was so busy playing with his smart phone that he got in the way of the lady. However, both the persons apologized to each other by saying " I am sorry. " Why is this the case?As a matter of fact, the phrase "I am sorry." takes on another meaning in Britain. Anyone should speak to the other this way if either of them creates inconvenience (不便). They apologize just to avoid unnecessary fights between them.
　　Another cultural (文化的) difference about "I am sorry" can also be found at British restaurants. Supposing an old woman says to a waiter in a pub (酒馆), "I am sorry, but can I order another drink? " This time you must realize it doesn't mean she apologizes to the waiter for what she has done wrong, but means she really needs the waiter to do something for her.

5．　　Maria Montessori is a famous Italian educationalist. Her method of teaching has influenced people all over the world.
　　Born in Italy in 1870, Montessori became the first woman doctor in her country after she graduated (毕业) from medical school in 1896. Later, she set up a "Children House" in Rome in 1907 and worked with poor children there. The rooms were bright and colorful. This was where she developed the Montessori Method. It was formed during 1908 — 1913.
　　Maria thought that children must be free to learn without being criticized (批评) or limited. She let the children make their own choice of what they wanted to do and work with their own speed, not the rest of the class or the teacher. As a result, children enjoy learning and this gives them confidence and makes them happy. The Montessori Method also teaches children skills to help them become independent. Very young children learn to dress themselves, to cook and to put their toys and clothes away. It's a way of teaching which encourages children to learn by doing and experimenting. Children are encouraged to repeat activities as often as they wish, and they develop their observation (观察) skills by doing different activities. In addition, the Montessori Method thinks that teacher is a guide, not a leader of the classroom, helping to open students' eyes to wonder around them.
　　A typical (典型的) room in a Montessori school has many things. Children can use them freely. The furniture is light so they can arrange it as they wish. Because the environment offers many activities, children like to work together and they develop a social life based (以……为基础) on cooperation (合作) rather than competition.
　　Maria Montessori traveled around the world to train teachers to use her method. In 1950, she received the World Peace Education Badges.

7．Tips for Writing Better Articles
　　Many of us don't spend a lot of time improving our writing skills. This can be a problem when we hand in our articles. Good writing skills will help us improve our grades and benefit us later in life. (1)      .
　　Make good word choices. When we're not sure which word is the right one for a sentence, look it up in a dictionary. Many of us choose words in a hurry and don't take the time to decide if they're proper. (2)      .
　　Check facts. If we want people to believe what we write, we must make sure our facts are true. We should use dependable facts.
　　Rewrite. A common problem is that we don't like to rewrite. In fact rewriting is the best way to find out and correct some mistakes, like grammar and spelling mistakes. (3)      , though it takes more time and more work.
　　Read aloud. Sometimes it's easier to find problem with spelling, word usage, and grammar when we read aloud. Reading aloud helps us not only find out our problems but also develop our writing.
　　(4)      . Preparing a list is necessary for writing a good article. Such a list includes:Is there a proper title?Have we explained every point?Are all the parts of the article included?This can help us to make sure that we have covered everything.
　　(5)      . But with a few simple steps, we can improve our writing skills and learn how to write better articles.

8．阅读文章, 根据上下文及所给单词的首字母用正确形式写出所缺单词．在填写答卷时, 要求写出完整单词．(每空限填一词)
Helen at the Olympics
　　In ancient Greece, w(1)      were not allowed to watch the Olympics. H(2)      , Helen, a b(3)      woman, wanted to watch her son , Rodus, run at the Olympics. Rodus was afraid that the king would be angry. Helen told Rodus not to be worried because she would think of a way to a(4)      being found by the king.
　　The next day, Helen dressed as a soldier to attend the Olympics. But unluckily, she was soon c(5)      and sent to the prison.

14．中学生 Li Ming 原是一个开朗活泼, 热爱运动的阳光男孩．但是最近他迷上了玩网络游戏．他每天都花几个小时玩游戏, 导致作业也没有完成, 成绩急剧下降．作为好朋友的你, 很替他担心．请你根据以下内容提示, 给 Li Ming 写一封信．给他一些建议和劝导．
要点如下:

注意:
1. 短文应包括所有要点, 可以适当发挥, 使文章连贯;
2. 词数80 左右(信的开头和结尾已给出, 不计入词数);
3. 不得透露学校、姓名等任何个人信息, 否则不予评分．
Dear Li Ming,
　　Recently I heard that you spent too much time playing computer games. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua