北京历年中考试题个人版

　2015 年北京市高级中等学校招生考试 英

　语

　试

　卷 学校________________ 姓名________________ 准考证号________________

　考 生 须 知 1．本试卷共 12 页，满分 120 分，考试时间 120 分钟。

　2．在试卷和答题卡上认真填写学校名称、姓名和准考证号。

　3．试题答案一律填涂或书写在答题卡上，在试卷上作答无效。

　4．在答题卡上，选择题用 2B 铅笔作答，其它试题用黑色字迹签字笔作答。

　5．考试结束，请将本试卷和答题卡一并交回。

　四、单项填空（共 10 分，每小题 1 分）

　从下面各题所给的 A、B、C、D 四个选项中，选择可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

　21. Miss Smith is very kind. We all like ____.

　A. it

　B.her

　 C.him

　D.them

　22. We usually have the first class ____ 8:00 in the morning.

　A.of

　B.in

　C.on

　 D.at 23.Get up early, ____you’ll be late for school.

　A.so

　 B.and

　C.or

　D.but

　24. —____ T-shirt is this?

　— I think it’s Tom’s.

　A.Whose

　 B.Which

　 C.What

　D.Who

　25. I jumped ____ than Bill in the sports meet last year.

　A.high

　 B.higher

　 C.highest

　 D.the highest

　26. – Jack, ____ you ride a bike?

　–Yes, I can.

　A.can

　 B.may

　 C.need

　 D.must

　27. – Mum, where is Dad?

　– He ____ flowers in the garden now.

　A.planted

　 B.plants

　 C.will plant

　 D.is planting

　28. My grandparents____ in that city since 2008.

　A.will live

　 B.live

　 C.have lived

　D.were living

　29.These model cars ____ in China in 2013.

　A.are made

　 B.were made

　C.make

　D.made 30. – Can you tell me ____ to London?

　– Sure. Next month.

　A.when you will travel

　 B.when will you travel

　C.when you travelled

　 D.when did you travel

　五、完形填空（共 15 分，每小题 1.5 分）

　阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从短文后各题所给的 A、B、C、D 四个选项中，选择最佳选项。

　The Phone Call It was getting dark. Paul looked out of the window and signed (叹气). Dad said he could come home by 5:30, but it was almost 7:00. Even if Dad came back, it wouldn’t be much fun playing __31__ in the dark. Paul walked into his room and threw his baseball into the corner. He tried to do some homework, but couldn’t.

　The phone rang at about 8:00. It was Dad: “Paul, I’m __32__ , but I couldn’t play baseball with you tonight. I have to finish my work at the office. Maybe we can play this weekend. Oh no. How about next weekend?....”

　Paul couldn’t understand why Dad was so __33__ . He threw himself into the sofa and soon fell asleep. His book was still opened to the first page.

　The next day at school, Paul didn’t hand in his homework and __34__ a test. Mrs. Green, his teacher, asked him to stay after school. “Paul, you didn’t do your homework.You didn’t pass the test and only got a D. This isn’t like you. What’s wrong?” Paul just sat there __35__ . “Paul, if you don’t want to talk, I will. I know that something’s worrying with you, but you have to get it out. You need to tell someone.”

　As Paul walked home, he thought of what Mrs. Green said. Maybe he didn’t do his homework because he wanted to get his dad’s __36__ . He knew Mrs. Green was right. He decided to take her advice.

　When Paul got home, he __37__ his dad. But there was no answer. Then it went to voicemail (语音信箱). Paul began talking: “Dad, I can’t play with you next weekend. I’ve got lots of problems with my homework. Also, I really don’t want to spend another day looking out of the window and waiting. Whenever you __38__ our plans, Dad, it hurts me. It’s not too late to rebuild our relationship, but we have to start small. Maybe you can help me with my __39__ sometime. Dad, I love you.”

　As Paul ended the call, he felt much relaxed. He didn’t know whether his dad would be different, but it didn’t matter. He himself __40__ . He expressed his feelings to the right person. He had a clear head as he was doing his homework that evening.

　31. A. baseball

　B. cards

　 C. chess

　D. toys

　32. A. lucky

　 B. sorry

　 C. surprised

　 D. pleased

　33. A. famous

　 B. helpful

　C. lazy

　 D. busy

　34. A. made

　 B. missed

　 C. failed

　D. chose

　35. A. cheerfully

　 B. comfortably

　 C. hopefully

　 D. quietly

　36. A. attention

　B. message

　 C. praise

　D. trust

　37. A. saw

　B. thanked

　C. called

　D. greeted

　38. A. prepare

　 B. break

　C. follow

　D. question

　39. A. choice

　B. homework

　C. speech

　 D. decision

　40. A. regretted

　B. complained

　 C. insisted

　D. changed

　阅读理解（共 50 分）

　六、阅读下列短文，根据短文内容，从短文后各题所给的 A、B、C、D 四个选项中，选择最佳选项。（共30 分，每小题 2 分）

　A

　 My favourite season….

　Matt/UK: My favourite season is spring, because everything is getting new and fresh again. I like having picnics and taking photos with my friends. I don’t like autumn, because I know that it’s going to be getting cold soon.

　 Anna/Germany: Autumn is my favourite season. I love the changing of leaves. I like the colours. I love the autumn wind that blows the leaves around. And I often take a walk in that autumn air with a warm cup of coffee. My least favourite season is summer, because it’s too hot.

　 Neil/Canada: I like summer best. It’s very cool in my hometown, and it’s nice to have a long and sunny summer. There are a lot of outdoor activities you can take part in, such as going camping. My least favourite is winter, because it’s pretty cold, and you don’t want to go outside.

　Kat/US: My favourite season is winter, because there’s a lot of snow, and it’s very beautiful. When the countryside is covered with snow, it’s perfectly white. Also, I love building snowmen with my friends. So I like winter.

　41. Matt’s favourite season is _____

　A. spring

　 B. summer

　 C. autumn

　 D. winter

　42. Where is Anna from?

　A. The US.

　 B. Canada

　 C. The UK

　 D. Germany

　43. What’s the weather like in Neil’s hometown in summer?

　A. Wet

　B. Cool

　 C. Windy

　 D. Cloudy

　44. In winter, Kat loves _____.

　A. going camping

　 B. taking a walk

　C. building snowmen

　 D. having picnics

　B Bags of Love Last year, I worked in a middle school near my mother’s house, and I stayed with her for a month. During that time, I helped her do some housework and buy some food.

　After the first week, I noticed that the food was eaten up very quickly. Then I began keeping an eye on my mum. To my surprise, I found that she would put some of the food into a paper bag and go out with it at about nine every morning. And finally, I decided to follow her. I saw her taking the food to the street children. She would also spend a lot of time talking and playing with them.

　One day, I talked to a neighbour and found out that my mum was well-known in the area. The children were very friendly with her and even thought of her as their own mother. Then it hit me – why wouldn’t she want to tell me about it? Was she worried that I would stop buying food if I found out?

　When my mum got home, I gave her a big hug (拥抱).I told her she didn’t need to keep it a secret from me. And she told me something about the children. Some of them lived with an old lady in a small house. Others slept on the street. For years, she was helping the poor street children by giving them food. After she told me everything, I was so moved by how selfless (无私的) she was. She helped others in need. As her son, I was so proud of my mum.

　I continued to buy food for my mum after that. But I always added one more bag for her other children.

　45. After the first week, the writer noticed that _____.

　A. the food was put into a big box

　 B. his mum followed the children

　C. the food was eaten up quickly

　D. his mum stopped buying food

　46. The street children thought of the writer’s mum as their _____.

　A. old grandma

　 B. own mother

　C. new neighbour

　 D. dear teacher

　47. How did the writer feel about his mum after she told him everything?

　A .He was proud of her.

　B. He was confident in her.

　C. He was angry with her.

　D. He was worried about her.

　48. The writer added one more bag of food to _____.

　A. make friends with the children

　B. get a hug from his mother

　C. become well-known in the area

　 D. help the poor street children

　C

　 Do you enjoy visiting a museum? Did you ever make a plan before a visit? Every museum must have something that attracts you. And there are many possible ways to enjoy yourself in a museum.

　If you follow these steps below, you"ll know what is worth seeing and doing, so that you can make the most of your time at the museum.

　Decide what museum you will visit. There are so many different kinds of museums and you first need to find one that you like. It"s easy for you to choose one and start an enjoyable visit!

　Do some research online. Every museum now has a website which allows you to look through the information about it. On the website, you may look for such things as:

　•The exhibits(展品)–See what is on show at the museum at all times, and what special exhibitions are held for a short time.

　•The history of the museum –There will often be very interesting stories about the exhibits and the benefactors(捐赠者). That can make your visit more interesting.

　•Activities –See whether there are talks, tours our special activities on the day when you visit. Many museums hold some activities that meet the interests of all age groups.

　•Cost,food or shortage–It"s important how much the visit will cost. You have to decide whether or not you can eat there. You might also need to find out transportation needs, as well as storage for coats, bags etc.

　Learn at least one thing on your visit. It is always good to take away something new from your visit. Plan breaks into your visit. When you walk around, standing here and studying exhibits there, you may become very tired. So it is important to take breaks. A break is a good opportunity for you to think of what you have seen and what else you might want to do in museum.

　Take a friend or two. Visiting museums is always a lot more fun when you are with someone else. You can talk over what you’re seeing. A friend also brings another way of thinking when you talk about the exhibit.

　49. According to the passage, we should first ____.

　A. do some research online

　 B. make a plan for lunch

　D. decide on a museum to visit

　D. choose a friend to go with

　50. To make our visit more interesting, we can____.

　A. organize activities like special shows and talks

　B. read the stories about exhibits and benefactors

　C. learn about the interests of all age groups

　D. walk around the museum without breaks

　51.If we visit a museum with friends, we can____.

　A. share the experience with them

　B. come up with strange ideas

　C. cut down the cost of the visit

　D. discuss the next visit plan

　 D New Technology Revolutionizes(变革) Learning More and more people believe that technologies are great for learning. Today, such teaching tools as iPads are used in a lot of courses, including language, history and science.

　Many teachers are supporters of using iPads in language learning. They say that students now have much more time for discussion in the classroom.Instead of spending valuable class time listening to texts or watching teaching videos, students can do this on their own and come to class prepared for discussion.

　The teachers also say that iPads allow students to learn at their own pace. Some students might listen to a dialogue only once and understand it, so they can save time for doing other things. Other students, however, might need to listen to the same dialogue again and again to understand it. Using iPads is especially helpful to students who are learning a language at different paces.

　The students who are using the new tool in some courses are also happy. They believe that using iPads is a more enjoyable way to learn (such as listening to stories and watching movies). The class has become much more interesting and creative.

　There are other advantages for students. By using iPads, they can pay more attention to the material and learn more. Teaching notes are stored in their iPads and are easy to find .Some students spend more time studying now.“I can listen

　to my language material or watch teaching videos on the bus, instead of having to wait until I get home,” a student explained.

　Many adults complain that technologies such as iPads are doing harm to students. They worry that students might use iPads to download teaching notes and use them to cheat during exams. Some believe that iPads may separate students from each other. If a student spends more time watching videos on an iPad, he will have fewer opportunities to have face-to-face communication with others.

　However, technologies are already a part of most students’ day-to-day lives. As for cheating, teachers can ask students to hand in their iPads when they take exams. Education needs to make changes with the times as technology is playing an important part. We should look forward to a wonderful future when iPads and other technologies can add a lot to the classroom.

　 53.What does the expression“at their own pace” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

　A. According to their own timetable.

　 B. Without their teachers’ help.

　C. Because of their wonderful goals.

　 D. Against their parents’ hope.

　54. From the passage we can learn that____.

　A. students with iPads have less discussion in class

　B. students get more fun from learning with iPads

　C. iPads help students save time waiting for buses

　D. iPads prevent students from cheating in exams

　55. The writer probably agrees that____.

　A. teachers can take control of students’ learning

　B. exam results depend a lot on now technology

　 C. technology in education has a bright future

　D. note-taking is as helpful as video-watching

　七、阅读短文，根据短文内容，从短文后的五个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。每个选项只能用一次。（共 10 分，每小题 2 分）

　A Special Delivery Ben and Sally lived in California with their two daughters. Ben liked travelling. 56____________ , but sally stayed home with the girls. Ben and his friends owned a company. People at the company liked to play jokes on each other. One day, Ben’s friends wanted to play a joke on Ben and Sally. 57_____The letter said,

　.

　On the same day, Sally also got a phone call. The caller told her that a delivery was coming. At one o’clock, a truck stopped in front of Sally’s house. The truck driver gave Sally a rope. An animal was tied to the rope. It was a baby elephant! Dear Sally.

　I’m having a great time here in Africa. I’m sending a special gift to you. I hope you like it. Please take good care of it until I get home.

　Love to you and the kids,

　Ben

　58_____________

　, and it began eating grass.

　Then the driver drove away. Sally stood there and held the rope to the elephant. She asked herself, “What can I feed an elephant with? Bananas?”

　59_____________

　. He said, “It’s illegal (非法的)to have wild animal here.” Then the policeman gave Sally a ticket.

　Ben’s friends were hiding in the backyard and laughing. They had planned everything perfectly. They had rented (租借)the elephant from a zoo and asked the policeman to write the ticket! Ben’s friends also made a film of everything. 60_____________

　.

　When Sally learned about the truth, she couldn’t help laughing.

　 八．阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题。（共 10 分，每题 2 分）

　Black Friday

　 Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday. The day after it has been known as Black Friday. It is the start of the holiday shopping season, and it has been the busiest shopping day of the year in the US since 2005.

　Most stores offer big sales on Black Friday. They open their doors quite early in the morning. They try to attract shoppers with big discounts (打折). Some items (商品)like TVs and cloths are much cheaper than usual. Stores may even lose money on these items. They hope that shoppers will buy gifts for other people while they are in the store.

　Black Friday is a great time to go shopping. However, there are problem. The biggest one is that there are not enough low-priced items. Each store may only have a few. These items are in great need, so people stand in long lines to get them. They may wait three to four hours before a store opens. They may be hoping to get a low price on a TV or computer, but not everybody can get one. Some people leave, disappointed.

　The situation makes people worried. Some Black Friday events have been crazy. There have been fights over toys among shoppers. Some workers have even been hurt by large crowds. But most Black Friday events are safe and fun. Still, if you plan to go, you will expect large crowds and a bit of pushing.

　So where does the name “Black Friday” come from? It was first used in Philadelphia in the 1950s. The police called this day Black Friday because of the heavy traffic it caused. In the 1960s, stores tried to rename the day “Big Friday”. It did not stick. The name “Black Friday” continued to spread across the country. It seems that it is here to stay.

　Now people all over the country take part in Black Friday events. It is even spreading to other parts of the world. Stores have held Black Friday events in the UK, Australia, and Brazil since 2012. In Mexico, stores offer a weekend of discounts every year. They call it “El Buen Fin”, which means “the good weekend” in Spanish. I guess people everywhere like to buy things on sale.

　61. Is Black Friday the start of the holiday shopping season?

　62. What is the biggest problem with Black Friday?

　63. How long may people have to wait before a store opens?

　64. Where was the name “Black Friday” first used in the 1950s?

　65. Why do people like going shopping on Black Friday?

　书面表达（15 分）

　九．文段表达（15 分）

　根据中文和英文提示，用英文写一封意思连贯、符合逻辑、不少于 50 词的邮件。邮件的开头和结A. So they sent a letter to Sally B. After a while, a policeman came C. The elephant ran into Sally’s yard D. They wanted Ben to watch the video E. One summer, he went to Africa on a trip

　尾已给出，不计入总词数。所给提示词语仅供选用。请不要写出你的校名和姓名。

　66. 假如你叫李华，你们学校为配合北京申办冬奥会，倡导人人都做文明中学生。请你根据以下提示，给你的英国笔友 Peter 写一封邮件，告诉他你认为做个文明中学生什么是重要的，你通常是怎么做的，以及你的感受。

　提示词语：think, smile, respect, say hello to, wait in line, on time, happy

　 Dear Peter,

　How is it going? At my school we’re talking about what we should do to be a good student. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ Anything new at your school?

　Yours, Li Hua

　 1. What is important for a middle school student? (Being polite to others? Following rules?…)

　2. What do you usually do?

　3. How do you feel?

　2016 年北京市高级中等学校招生考试 英语试卷 学校

　 姓名

　准考证号

　考生须知 1. 本试卷共 13 页，满分 120 分。考试时间 120 分钟。

　2. 在试卷和答题卡上准确填写学校名称、姓名和准考证号。

　3. 试题答案一律填涂在答题卡上，在试卷上作答无效。

　4. 在答题卡上，选择题用 2B 铅笔作答，其他试题用黑色字迹签字笔作答。

　5. 考试结束后，将本试卷、答题卡和草稿纸一并交回。

　四、单项填空（每小题 1 分，共 10 分）

　 从下面各题所给的 A 、B 、C 、D 四个选项中，选择可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

　21. My brother will come to see me tomorrow. I’ll meet

　at the airport.

　A. her

　 B. you

　 C. him

　D. them 22. Paul’s mother is a nurse. She works

　 a hospital.

　A. with

　 B. on

　 C. of

　D. in 23. -

　 are these bananas?

　_ $3.99.

　A. How much

　B. How long

　C. How heavy

　D. How big 24. Peter is 15 year old. He is

　 than his father.

　A. tall

　 B. taller

　 C. tallest

　 D. the tallest 25. – Where did you go last weekend?

　- I

　to the Great Wall.

　A. go

　 B. went

　 C. will go

　 D. have gone 26. Please don’t make so much noise. The baby

　now.

　A. sleeps

　 B. slept

　 C. will sleep

　D. is sleeping 27. It’s nice to see you again. We

　each other since 2014.

　A. won’t see

　B. don’t see

　C. haven’t seen D. didn’t see 28.

　I got home, my sister was doing here homework.

　A. When

　 B. Because

　C. If

　D. Though 29. A new road

　near my school next year.

　A. builds

　 B. will build

　C. is built

　 D. will be built 30. – Can you tell me

　 ?

　- He lives in Shanghai.

　A. where Mark lives

　 B. where does Mark live

　C. where Mark lived

　D. where did Mark live 五、完形填空（共 15 分，每小题 1.5 分）

　 阅读下面的短文， 掌握其大意，然后从短文后各题所给的 A 、B 、C 、D 四个选项中，选择最佳答案。

　Mum’s Christmas Surprise Molly ran back home from school and dropped her schoolbag on the sofa. Then on the table she saw “Mum’s Wish Book” – a mail order catalog（商品目录）

　from a gift shop. “Mum,” she said excitedly to herself, “this year you’ll get the gloves you

　want!” Molly had walked a dog for a neighbor and saved her

　 31

　 all year to buy Mum the gloves. She opened “Mum’s Wish Book” and hoped that she could find these

　 32

　 in it. Teas ran down her face when she saw the gloves in the catalog. Mum wouldn’t buy them for herself, because the family had a

　 33

　 time on the farm. She once heard Mum say to Dad, “Maybe some day, I’ll have the money to get them.” Molly ran out by the back door and went straight to the post office. There she carefully filled out the order form torn from the catalog. “I need to buy a stamp to

　 34

　 the form.” She said to Mr. Smith, the only worker in the post office. “Umm, a pair of gloves?” said Mr. Smith, as he passed a stamp to her. “Yes, It’s a Christmas gift for Mum, but please don’t tell her. It’s our

　 35

　, OK?” Molly didn’t realize how white Mr. Smith’s beard was until that moment. In face, he reminded her of Santa Claus. As Molly walked back home, she decided to tell Dad her secret. “You’ve got to check the mailbox every day,” said Molly

　 36

　 to Dad. He nodded, with a big smile. Coming home from school every day, Molly peeked at （偷看）

　Dad hen Mum wasn’t

　 37

　, but every time he shook his head. On Christmas Eve, Dad came back from mailbox, still empty handed. Molly felt

　38

　 when she went to bed, because she didn’t have the gloves for Mum. Before Christmas dinner, as Mum took the apple pies out of the oven, Molly began

　 39

　the table. Suddenly, they heard someone pulling up the driveway. From the window they saw Mr. Smith making his way to the door, with a box in his hand. Mr. Smith

　 40

　Mum the box, “I believe this is yours.” Mum looked from Dad to Molly and opened the box. Her eyes lit up when she saw the gloves. “Oh, who bought these for me?” she asked. “Santa did,” said Molly smilingly. “Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!” Mr. Smith, with a loud laugh. It was Christmas that no one would ever forget. 31. A. time

　B. money

　 C. energy

　 D. food 32. A. flowers

　B. sunglasses

　C. gloves

　 D. chocolates 33. A. hard

　B. lonely

　 C. short

　 D. busy 34. A. design

　B. check

　 C. complete

　D. send 35. A. secret

　B. choice

　 C. dream

　 D. task 36. A. patiently B. doubtfully

　C. proudly

　D. quietly 37. A. working B. looking

　C. smiling

　D. talking 38. A. sad

　B. strange

　C. angry

　 D. tired 39. A. pushing B. changing

　C. setting

　 D. booking 40. A. bought

　B. handed

　C. lent

　 D. returned 阅读理解（共 50 分）

　的 六、阅读下列短文，根据短文内容，从短文后各题所给的 A 、B 、C 、D 四个选项中，选择最佳选项。（共 30 分，每小题 题 2 分）

　A The Blog of Rosie

　The Weekend

　By Rosie | June 6, 2016 Hi! I’m on vacation here in London… and it’s fantastic! On Saturday I was in the British Museum for three hours. On Sunday I visited Tower Bridge. Where were you over the weekend? Tell me your news!

　DISCUSSION

　Sophia·9:30 Glad you’re having a great vacation. I was in the Summer Palace in Beijing on Saturday. I was there for a flower show. It was amazing! And there were lots of people. But on Sunday it was rainy and I wasn’t very well. I stayed in bed for a whole day. ● Replay

　 ● Share

　Steve·10:10 It was cloudy the whole weekend in Paris. On Saturday I was at a football game with my classmates. It was exciting! On Sunday I was at the shops with Ann for four hours. ● Replay

　 ● Share

　Jack·11:00 I wasn’t at home over the weekend. On Saturday I was in Scotland for a trip. It was a lovely, warm day and I had a picnic with friends. It was great! Sunday was boring. It took me five hours to get back home. It was a long journey. ● Replay

　 ● Share

　Kate·11:20 On Saturday I was at Heathrow Airport. I met a friend there and we talked together for two hours. I was very happy. On Saturday I was in Sydney for a concert. It is winter in Australia. And it was windy and cold! ● Replay

　 ● Share

　41. On Saturday Sophia was

　 .

　A. in the Summer Palace

　B. in the British Museum

　C. at Tower Bridge

　D. at Heathrow Airport 42. What was the weather like when Steve was in Paris?

　A. Rainy.

　 B. Warm.

　C. Cloudy.

　 D. Cold. 43. How long did it take Jack to get back home?

　A. Two hours

　B. Three hours

　C. Four hours

　 D. Five hours 44. Kate was in Sydney for

　 .

　A. a picnic

　B. a concert

　 C. a football game

　D. a flower show B From Nobody to Somebody

　Brian was a funny student. He loved watching comedies（喜剧）

　best and hoped to become a comedy actor one day.

　When he heard about the talent show to be held at this school, Brian decided to take part in. He had never acted on stage（舞台）

　before, and he was very excited. But some students laughed at him. “You are not funny but silly,” Ken, one of his

　classmates, said to his face. “No one will like what you do,” another boy also said to him, loudly.

　Brian couldn’t understand why they were so unkind to him. For a moment, he thought about giving up the show. But he remembered how much his friends liked his jokes, and also his teachers said he was very funny. So he decided to prepare for the show.

　Brian did a great job at the talent show. Everyone loved his performance, and he won the first prize! His teachers and friends were proud of him. Even so, Ken told Brian that he was not funny, and that he would never be successful. Brian didn’t understand why Ken said so, but he realized that it had nothing to do with him. He confidently continued to work towards his goal.

　As the years went on, Brian met more people like Ken. “you’ll do a terrible job,” they said to him. Luckily, most people encouraged him and some helped him to become even funnier. He got a lot of opportunities to perform in movies. He was even invited to appear on television. His fans thanked him because his comedies made them feel good when they were unhappy.

　Now Brian is a big comedy star! He is doing what he loves best. He never feels stressed like those unkind people, and he laughs all day long! 45. What did Brian love best when he was a student?

　A. Going to school.

　 B. Helping classmates.

　C. Watching comedies.

　D. Meeting new friends. 46. Brian decided to prepare for the show because

　.

　A. his friends liked his jokes

　B. he was invited by a TV station

　C. he wasn’t busy acting in movies

　D. Ken was expecting his performance 47. After winning the first prize, Brian

　.

　A. began to understand Ken

　B. became a teacher of acting

　C. encouraged others to join him

　D. continued to work towards his goal 48. Brian’s fans thanked hime because his comedies brought them

　.

　A. success

　B. happiness

　 C. luck

　 D. pride C Are You Right Handed or Left Handed?

　Which hand do you use when write? About 8 to 15 percent of people are left handed. They often have to use tools that are designed for right-handed people. So it is difficult for left-handers to use most tools. If you are right handed, try this experiment: Take a knife with your left hand and try cutting a potato into pieces. Don’t be surprised if you feel awkward（别扭的）.

　In the past, people thought it was strange to use the left hand. Young students looked down upon their left-handed classmates. Some children were even punished for using their left hand to write. But these days parents and teachers have accepted that. In almost every school in the world, left-handed students can use their left hand to write.

　What causes people to be left handed or right handed? Experts have searched long and hard on this. They conclude（得出结论）

　that left-handed people are left handed for the same reason that right-handed people are right handed. One out of every ten people just is a left-handed people are right handed. One out of every ten people just is a left-hander. It’s simply like the color of our eyes – some people have brown eyes, while some others have black eyes.

　 However, may researchers think that left-handers and right-handers are different in some aspects. Right-handers are more talkative and outgoing than left-handers. Many right-handed people understand spoken words better. For example, after they listen to directions to a supermarket, they can find it easily. Right-handers are good at organizing people, too. They are also better basketball guards. Just ask Yao Ming.

　Research shows that left-handers are creative and artistic. Many famous performers, like Jim Carrey and Paul McCartney, are left handed. Many left-handers learn better visually（在视觉方面）. In art, both Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were left handed. In music, Ludwig van Beethoven was left handed. In science, you find Newton and Einstein. The left-handed people are also really good at tennis and other single sports.

　If you prefer one hand, but you are still good at writing with the other, you are mixed. Research shows mixed-handers can remember everyday things better than other people. What did you eat for lunch two weeks ago? If you’re mixed handed, you can probably remember. 49. If right-handers cut up potatoes with there left hand, they will

　.

　A. get hurt

　B. give up cutting

　C. feel awkward

　 D. change their tools 50. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

　A. Causes of being left handed.

　B. Encouragement to left-handers

　C. Punishment for using the left hand.

　D. Changes in opinions on left-handers. 51. According to the passage, right-handers

　.

　A. learn better visually

　B. are good organizers

　C. are better at single sports

　D. give clear directions to others 52. From the passage, we can learn that left-handers

　 .

　A. may be more talkative and outgoing

　B. are ordinary people like right-handers

　C. might remember everyday things better

　D. no longer need to use right-handed tools D Should Children Be Allowed to Get Bored?

　Children need time to stand and stare. They should be allowed to get bored to that they can develop their ability to be creative.

　Children are expected by their parents to be reading a textbook all the time. However, research shows that it may hamper the development of their imagination, while boredom can give them opportunities to develop creativity.

　Boredom is often linked with loneliness, but a writer named Meera Syal said boredom had helped here in developing her mind. She told researchers about her childhood. Having few things todo, Syal often talked with her neighbors. She also tried to do things like learning to bake cakes. “But importantly, I Thought and wrote a lot, because I was bored,” Syal said. She kept a diary, filling here time with short stories and poems she made up.

　Grayson Perry, an artist, grew up in a family with little money. He enjoyed himself by making up stories, drawing pictures for his stories and reading many books in the library. Bored but free, he spent hours looking out of the window, watching the changing clouds and seasons. Perry filled up his free time with what he liked. He became creative, because he could think

　freely.

　Dr. Belton is an expert on the effects of emotions on learning. “Boredom could be an uncomfortable feeling,” she said. “But some young people cannot deal with that boredom creatively. So sometimes they may break a classroom window, or drive a car out for a mad race.”

　Usually, when child...