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Task 1

David Rees runs a truly distinctive business. He charges customers $15 to sharpen their pencils to perfection, using a variety of tools.

I know what you're thinking—is this a joke? The 39-year-old gets asked that question a lot. To clarify everything,he even created a special section on his website telling everyone he's actually providing a real service.

You can supply your own pencil or you can have Rees sharpen one of his own favorite 2B pencils.After that, he mails it to you in a display tube with the shavings in a separate bag, and an authentic certificate which just happens to mention the pencil is so sharp as to be a dangerous object.

To achieve the desired result, the master sharpener uses all kinds of tools, including general sandpaper, pocket knives and even a special $450 sharpening machine. “It depends on what the customer wants to use his/her pencil for,” he says. “That determines the most appropriate pencil-sharpening technique. Some customers buy pencils as inspirational symbols while others buy them because of their special memories of classic 2B pencils.”

$15 to have a pencil sharpened is a bit expensive though, right? You're not the only one who feels that way, and David's unique business has really angered lots of people, who talk of inequality in America, saying it is so insane for the wealthy to pay $15 to sharpen a pencil. But others will say,“This is just our urge to put an end to the welfare state because new ideas arise along with the business.”

David admits his trade is sort of unusual. But there are those who actually value his service, as proven by the over 500 orders he has gotten.

1. How could David make money by sharpening pencils?

A. He invented new tools for the job.

B. He promoted his skill on his website.

C. He saved lots of time for other people.

D. He provided quality service for his customers.

2. What can we infer from David Rees' words?

A. He knows all kinds of pencil users. B. He provides personalized services.

C. He values ideas behind the pencils. D. He always writes with pencils.

3. What does the underlined word “insane” in paragraph 5 mean?

A. Deliberate. B. Rewarding. C. Unreasonable. D. Irresponsible.

4. What seemed to be the author's attitude to David Rees' trade?

A. It's a fancy service. B. It has a good reputation.

C. It's awfully expensive. D. It wastes time and money.

Task 2

If you're feeling empty, you're not alone.For instance, you might feel empty because something is missing in your life. Or the emptiness might stem from slowly abandoning yourselves, not listening to your own hopes and desires. Abandoning yourselves can also spark anxiety, depression,guilt and shame. How do you handle your emptiness? Here are several suggestions to help you out.

Explore your feelings of emptiness.We can do this while journaling, taking a walk or drinking a cup of tea.

●Do I tell myself positive things?

●What am I trying to prove or win?

●Have I been judging myself or comparing myself to others?

●Am I blaming myself for things that are out of my control?

Spend time with yourself every day.Instead of trying to fill the emptiness with drugs,alcohol, TV, computer games or anything else, look within and spend time with yourself. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but the more you practice devoting time and energy to yourself and caring for yourself, the less present those empty feelings will be.

A. Acknowledge the emptiness.

B. Always be strict with yourself.

C. Explore your current feelings.

D. Many of us feel empty in different ways.

E. Scientists suggested exploring the questions below.

F. Fight the urge to turn to the outside world for fulfillment.

G. It's important to acknowledge and accept your feelings of emptiness.

Task 3

Our lives changed when our son was born. My wife and I feltin the UK—we'd even bought a house 6 months earlier—but theof our son forced a moment of. We wonderedwe should return to our native Brazil. I remembered looking down at our newborn baby and thinking about howhis life would be there. In our native country, we'd be closer to our family and. But in the UK, I had the funding and lab resources I needed for myand highly specialized research program. Would such a movemy career?

Then, a few weeks later, I received a call from my brother, who told me that our father had passed away. The greatI had about my son's birth suddenly gave way to a deep sadness. I felt that I wasprecious time with my loved ones. After that, we had nothat it was the right time to move back to Brazil. We applied for the professorships in our hometown and both received.

1. A. settled B. confused C. abandoned D. misunderstood

2. A. discovery B. invention C. survival D. arrival

3. A. caution B. consideration C. interruption D. celebration

4. A. whether B. how C. why D. because

5. A. tough B. fantastic C. silent D. different

6. A. career B. future C. culture D. school

7. A. costly B. official C. friendly D. traditional

8. A. blame B. influence C. expose D. mark

9. A. burden B. expectation C. happiness D. sympathy

10. A. exchanging B. regaining C. listing D. losing

11. A. chance B. doubt C. right D. reason

12. A. tests B. requests C. suggestions D. offers

13. A. easy B. lucky C. rare D. fair

14. A. but for B. thanks to C. instead of D. regardless of

15. A. developed B. compared C. discussed D. shared

16. A. supported B. perfected C. obtained D. valued

17. A. treat B. form C. defeat D. tease

18. A. eager B. surprised C. content D. painful

19. A. decision B. attempt C. living D. mistake

20. A. take on B. take in C. take up D. take off

Task 4

第一節 語法填空

A young man wanted to find a job after 1.________(graduate). One day he came to a big company. There were six young people that day, 2.________the company only wanted one. The interview was very easy. It was only a short talk about five 3.________(minute) then the six young people all went home.

On the morning of the second day, the young man received 4.________text message saying, “We are sorry to tell you that you cannot work in our company.” The man felt sad but he answered 5.________(polite), “Thank you all the same.” 6.________(late) that afternoon, he got another message saying, “We're glad 7.________(tell) you that you can be one of us! ” The young man didn't know why. People in the company told him, “That's 8.________you said ‘thank you' in your message in the morning. That was the real test and only you 9.________(give) the right answer.”

When you feel 10.________(disappoint), do not forget to say “thank you” to the one who disappoints you.

第二節 書面表達

假定你是李華，近年來全球掀起了學漢語的熱潮，Tony也是一名漢語愛好者，他在網上招募一名漢語學習助理，請你給Tony寫一封應征信，要點如下：

1. 寫信目的；

2. 自身優勢。

注意：

1. 詞數100左右；

2. 可以適當增加細節，以使行文連貫。

Task 5

閱讀下面短文，根據其內容寫一篇60詞左右的內容概要。

Environmental problems are becoming more and more serious all over the world. For example,cars have made the air unhealthy for people to breathe and poisonous gas is given off by factories.Trees on the hills have been cut down and waste water is being poured continuously into rivers. Furthermore, wherever we go today, we can find rubbish carelessly disposed (處理).

There are different kinds of pollutants, each of which comes from different sources. It is necessary to identify the source of pollution, in order to make a policy to get rid of them. Different products, processes and activities of our industrialized world together form the major source of pollution.

The forms of pollution can be mainly divided into three kinds—solids, liquid and gas. These pollutants have greatly damaged our planet and continue to do so. In fact, pollution is threatening our existence. The whole ecological balance of the earth is changing. Massive destruction of environment has brought about negative effects and even posed a great threat to man's existence.

We must face the situation that exists and take action to solve our environmental problems. For instance, new laws must be passed to place strict control over industrial pollution; the public must receive the education about the danger of pollution and raise their awareness of protecting the environment and so on.

The earth is our home and we have the duty to take care of it for ourselves and our later generations. Fortunately, more and more people have realized these problems. Measures have been taken to deal with these situations by the government. And laws have been passed to stop pollution. I hope the problems will be solved in the near future and our home will become better and better.