假如你校高三下学期要开设如下英语选修课程：初级英语语法与修辞（English Grammar and Rhetoric），英语写作（Wring in English），小说欣赏入门（Basic Elements of Stories），英语歌曲欣赏（English Songs This Way），初级财经英语（English for Personal Finance），计算机英语（Discovering Computers）。每人要求从中选择 两门课程学习。

       请用英语写一篇文章，内容包括：

1．你感兴趣的课程；

2．你期望从这两门课程中学到什么；

3．为什么想学这些内容。

阅读下面短文，并根据短文后的要求答题。（请注意问题后的字数要求）

       If you lack money, making lifestyle changes will help you overcome your recent financial problems．Many of us are facing job loss, illness, or just hard economic times．All of the following ideas will require some level of sacrifice on your part, but sometimes {that’s what it takes to overcome financial problems．

     The complete cost of operating a vehicle is about 56 cents per mile．Selling a car will save your money on gas, insurance, parking expenses, and licensing fees．In addition, you’ll make money on the sale of the car．

       Find a cheaper cell phone plan or get rid of your cell phone all together．You can have one cell phone in your family, and it is primarily for emergency use．（4）Make sure to tell your friends and family you are turning off your phone for a week so they don’t worry what happened to you．Turn your phone off, put it in a drawer, and don’t use it．If you really want to keep your home phone line, consider dropping the extra services attached to it．Don’t pay for services you don’t need and don’t use．

       Everyone knows smoking causes cancer．That fate alone should be a good enough reason to quit the habit．But in addition to causing death, smoking takes a huge bite out of your pocket money． （5） Quitting smoking will be a challenging gradual change, but it will have immediate and long term benefits, most importantly for your health, but also for your wallet．

       Spending $10 per day on lunch at the office adds up to over $200 per month．Save that $200 by bringing your lunch to work instead．Prepare your lunch the night before to save time in the morning before leaving for work．Bringing your lunch to work will save money and probably a lot of calories．Restaurant food is often unhealthy and has too much calories, so use this new opportunity to improve your diet．Pack tasty healthy foods that will fill you up during the day．

1．Fill in the blank in the third paragraph to complete the sentence．（please answer within 10 words．）

2．List three suggestions on saving money given by the passage．（please answer within 10 words．）

3．Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese．

4．What’s the main idea of the passage? （please answer within 10 words．）

5．Besides the ideas mentioned in the passage, what other suggestions can you give to overcome financial problem? List two （please answer within 20 words．）

Long bus rides are like television shows．They have a beginning, a middle, and an end with commercials（商业广告） thrown in every three or four minutes．The commercials are unavoidable．They happen whether you want them or not．Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window．“Buy super Clean Toothpaste．” “Drink Good Wet Root Beer．” “Fill up with Pacific Gas．” Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, are you spared the unending cry of “You Need It Now!”

       The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you’ve traveled that way before．Usually some things have changed－new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road．The bus driver has a style of driving and it’s fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so．If the driver is particularly reckless or daring, the ride can be as thrilling as a suspense story．Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the right or the left-hand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement dies down．Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride．Food always makes bus rides more interesting．But you’ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat．Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops．

       The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning．You know it will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement in that．The seat, of course, has become harder as the hours have passed．By now you’ve sat with your legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your hands on the arm rests－even with your hands crossed behind your head．The end comes just at the right time．There are just no more ways to sit．

1．According to the passage, what do the passengers usually see when they are on a long bus trip?

      A．Buses on the road                                    B．Films on television

      C．Advertisements on billboards                   D．Gas stations

2．What is the purpose of this passage?

     A．To show the similarities between long bus trips and TV shows．

     B．To persuade you to take a long bus trip．

     C．To display the differences between long bus trips and TV shows．

     D．To describe the billboards along the road．

3．The writer of this passage would probably favor _____________．

     A．bus drivers who weren’t reckless           B．driving alone

     C．a television set on the bus                 D．no billboards along the road

4．The writer feels long bus rides are like TV shows because ______________．

     A．the commercials both on TV shows and on the billboards along the road are fun

     B．they both have a beginning, a middle, and an end, with commercials in between

     C．the drivers are always reckless on TV shows just as they are on buses

     D．both traveling and watching TV are not exciting

5．The writer thinks that the end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning because both are ______________．

       A．exciting    B．comfortable             C．tiring           D．boring

For jet-setters, a new way to get a restful night

       Many people hate the idea of having to sleep on a plane．But Swedish entrepreneur Oscar Dios thinks they can be persuaded otherwise and he has created a new kind of hotel to prove it．

       Dios says it is the world’s first jumbo jet hostel, an actual jet-plane at’ Sweden’s main airport outside Stockholm which has been converted into a 25-robin guesthouse that sleeps as many as 72 people．

      “I learned abo0t this plane that was-standing abandoned at Arlanda airport and I’ve been trying the concept of hostels in many different houses and buildings,” he told reporters．“I thought, ‘Why not a plane?’”

       Jumbo Hostels opened for business on Thursday, giving customers the chance to check in and sleep in a room that can best be described as cozy．

       “The most challenging part with this project is trying to build something inside a metal hull -- it’s just really, really tight．”

       The jet, which was originally produced for Singapore Airlines, was taken out of service in 2002．

       One thing the hostel has．going for it is price-a room starts al 35．0 Swedish crowns （about $4．1% which is a lot less than hotel rooms outside of major airports．

       Another feature: customers can get married on the wing of the plane and reside in the plane’s more luxurious honeymoon room situated in the cockpit．

       Instead of walking down the aisle, lovebirds can take what Jumbo Hotel calls the “wing walk,” where they can be joined in bliss at the wing tip．The hostel has someone ready to perform the ceremony．

       But in some respects, this hostel remains a plane-most clients have to share the jet’s nine  bathrooms and staff only wear air steward and stewardess outfits．The only room that has its own bathroom is the honeymoon suite．

1．Why does Oscar Dios make jet plane hotel?

       A．Because he is fond of plane very much．

       B．Because he is very curious

       C．Because he wants to earn more money．

       D．Because he likes trying the concept of hotel in many different things．

2．Which of the following statement is not true about the plane?

       A．The plane was in service before 2002 ．

       B．Now the plane as hostel is at Arlanda airport．

       C．The plane was first produced for Singapore Airline．

       D．The metal of the plane is very hard．

3．For the customers who get married on the plane, _________．

       A．they can live in the room situated in the cockpit．

       B．They will have their own bathroom

       C．They can walk down the aisle

       D．The wedding ceremony will be performed by the person prepared by the hotel．

4．Which of the following is the disadvantage of the Jumbo Hotel?

       A．It’s price is too high．

       B．It hasn’t enough rooms．

       C．Sleeping on it is not comfortable．

       D．Most clients don’t have their own bathroom．

5．which of the following titles is the fittest for the passage?

       A．A New Try, Changes People’s Idea

       B．The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Plane Hotel

       C．Abandoned Plane, New Hotel

       D．Why Not Sleep on Plane?

I’ve always wanted to learn how to dance．When I was younger, I loved going to discos and I used to spend hours practicing moves in front of the mirror!  I think I was quite good, but as I got older, I became less confident．

    Recently I decided I’d join a dance class．The problem with most dance classes is that you need a partner, and none of my male friends ever wanted to come with me．I was beginning to give up on the idea when I came across a magazine article about Indian dancing．It sounded great and best of all I could do it on my own!  So, I found a class on the Internet and booked myself into a course．

    I turned up for the first lesson feeling very nervous．I needn’t have worried though because everyone was really friendly．We were all female．The youngest was about eighteen and the oldest was forty something．

    Our teacher came in looking fantastic in her traditional dance clothes and we soon all caught her energy and enthusiasm．She put on the music immediately, which was a combination of western pop songs set to an Indian beat, and we started following her moves．Any nervousness soon disappeared because the moves were so complicated．There was no time to worry about whether you’re doing them right!

    I’ve noticed a lot of changes in myself since I started dancing．I’m much fitter and I feel more confident．I’ve also made some great friends at the class．If you’re interested in dancing, or you just want to feel fitter, I’d recommend Indian dancing!

1．The writer’s main purpose in writing the passage is to ________．

    A．describe her childhood                 B．talk about the people she has met

    C．explain why she was not confident      D．say how she began her hobby

2．What do we learn about the writer from the passage?

    A．She is good at Indian dancing．        B．She enjoys dancing．

    C．She likes listening to pop music．       D．She’s interested in keeping fit．

3．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

      A．The writer hasn’t always been confident．

      B．Students dance in Indian clothes．

      C．Most of the dancers in the class are female．

      D．The class dances to traditional Indian music．

4．What does the writer say about the first dance class?

      A．Everybody was keen to dance．

      B．Nobody spoke to each other．

      C．It was easy to follow the teacher’s moves．

      D．A lot of time was spent discussing the moves．

5．Which advertisement do you think the writer found on the Internet?

       A．Learn how to dance! No experience necessary! No need to bring a partner! We’ll match you with somebody when you arrive!

       B．Have you always wanted to learn how to dance? We teach you simple steps from Latin American to Indian dancing．

       C．If you are interested in dance why not learn the art of Indian dancing? Friendly classes! Excellent teachers!  Everybody welcome!

         D．Are you bored with doing the same old thing? Persuade your partner to join a dance class! Have fun and keep fit at the same time!