Members of a high school class of 1943 finally got the party they should have had 70 years ago. Their senior celebration was stopped by World War Ⅱ.

Anthony Pegnataro, the 1943 class monitor of James Hillhouse High School, remembers the attack on Pearl Harbor (珍珠港) like it was yesterday. On December 7, 1941, Pegnataro said, he and his friends were skating when they heard over the radio that America had entered a state of war.

Going to war meant no party any more. Pegnataro’s carefree (无忧无虑的) high school life suddenly came to an end.

“Most of us went right into the service after graduation,” Pegnataro said. “We graduated in June and were in the army in July.”

Of the 1,585 students at James Hillhouse High School, less than 300 are still alive today and many of them never made it back from war.

Pegnataro, who is now 87, decided that along with their 70­year class reunion, they would also hold the party they never got to have. About 70 people from around the country came to dance on Sunday.

“It was excellent. Everyone there just had a great time,” Pegnataro said, “Those who came guessed it might be their last one”．

Pegnataro said he_was_on_cloud_nine to bring his wife of 83 years back to the party, and he introduced her to each of his classmates. “Everyone was very excited at the party. Though we had been separated for so many years, the war brought my class closer together，” he said.

“We missed out on the party that we should have had. And the 70th reunion was a very important event in our lives，” Pegnataro said, “We all made it.”

1．When Pearl Harbor was attacked, Pegnataro ________.

A. went into the army at once

B. was skating with his parents

C. was having a Christmas party

D. was still a high school student

2．The underlined part “he was on cloud nine” meant Pegnataro ________.

A. was on a plane

B. felt very happy

C. was not comfortable

D. came at nine o'clock

3．In Pegnataro's opinion, the war ________.

A. had its own two sides

B. made him lose everything

C. had little influence on his school

D. lasted longer than he had expected

4．What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Pegnataro — a Man of Knowledge

B. James Hillhouse High School

C. An Unusual Party

D. War and Peace

My friend Jason and I wanted to do something to help other people who are less fortunate and help us grow at the same time. After we decided that we would volunteer in Nepal,I did some research on the Internet and I found Volunteer Nepal and felt strongly that it was the right choice for us.

While making our plans,Jason and I realized that others might like the opportunity to be a part of our experience. So before leaving for Nepal,we asked the people we know whether they would be interested in donating(捐赠)cash or goods to Nepal Orphans(孤儿)Home.

One friend, whose family owns a chain called Drake Supermarket, told others about it. His effort paid off. We received donations that filled 29 boxes with sporting goods,toys,coloring books,pencils,children's books,and more. The boxes were later taken to Drake's warehouse where I prepared them for shipment. Drake agreed to ship them to Nepal for free.

The boxes had arrived at the Volunteer House when we arrived there. The next day,Jason and I unpacked the boxes. The children from the orphanages lined up and were each able to choose a gift. This process took about an hour, but the looks on their faces and the happiness that we saw in their eyes made it one of the best days of our life.

We visited the orphanages there in the following days. Being with the children at the orphanages was both sad andwonderful. I'm sure that anyone who has volunteered will understand what I mean by that. My experience as a volunteer was very rewarding(有益的).It has changed me as a person and the way I viewed life in the past.

1．The writer did some research on the Internet probably to_____________ .

    A.get in touch with some students

    B.find an organization for volunteers

    C.decide in which country to volunteer

    D.find some friends to volunteer with him

2．What did Drake Supermarket do to help the writer?

    A.It donated many sporting goods.

    B.It helped call Nepal Orphans Home.

    C.It helped keep the boxes at a low price.

    D.It helped ship the boxes to Nepal for free.

3．What can we learn from Paragraph 4?

    A.The children were very happy to receive the gifts.

    B.The writer didn't expect the kids would love the gifts.

    C.The writer and his friend took the gifts to the orphanages.

    D.The children had never received gifts from others before.

4．The writer thinks that his experience as a volunteer was______________ .

    A.useless

    B.helpful

    C.boring

    D.disappointing

English is the most widely used language in the history of our planet. One in every seven human beings can speak it. More than half of the world’s books and three quarters of international mail are in English. Of all languages, English has the largest vocabulary — perhaps as many as two million words.

However, let’s face it: English is a crazy language. There is no egg in an eggplant, neither pine nor apple in a pineapple and no ham in a hamburger. Sweet-meats are candy, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But when we explore its paradoxes (探讨它的矛盾), we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square,  public bathrooms have no baths in them.

And why is it that a writer writes, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth? One goose, two geese — so one moose, two meese?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the next?

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects (反映) the creativity of human beings. That’s why, when stars are out, they are visible (能看见的); but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it; but when I wind up this essay, I end it.

1. According to the passage ______.

    A. sweet-meats and sweetbreads are different things

    B. there should be egg in an eggplant

    C. pineapples are the apples on the pine tree

    D. boxing rings should be round

2. Which of the following is the correct plural?

    A. Beeth.        B. Geese.         C. Meese.        D. Tooth.

3. Which of the following includes two items which have the similar meaning?

    A. A wise man and a wise guy.   

    B. Overlook and oversee. 

    C. Quite a lot and quite a few.    

    D. Hot as hell and cold as hell.

4. The underlined words “wind up” in the last paragraph probably mean “______”.

    A. blow        B. roll up         C. get hurt        D. finish

5. Through the many paradoxes in the English language, the writer wants to show that human beings are ______.

    A. clever       B. crazy          C. lazy           D. dull

American high school students are terrible writers, and one education reform group thinks it has an answer: robots. Or, more accurately, robot-readers-computers programmed to scan student essays and spit out a grade.

Mark Shermis, professor of the College of Education at the University of Akron, is helping to hold a contest, set up by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation ( WFHF), which promises $ 100,000 in prize money to programmers who write the best automated grading software. "If you're a high school teacher and you give a writing task, you're walking home with 150 essays, " Shermis said, "You're going to need some help. "

Automated essay grading was first proposed in the 1960s, but computers back then were not up to the task. In the late 1990s, as technology improved, several textbook and testing companies jumped into the field. Today, computers are used to grade essays on South Dakota's student writing assessments and a handful of other exams, including the TOEFL test of English fluency, taken by foreign students.

The Hewlett contest aims to show that computers can grade as well as English teachers---- only much more quickly and without all that depressing red ink. Automated essay scoring is "objective," Shermis said, " And it can be done immediately. If students finish an essay at l0 pm, they get a result at 10 :00 pm . "

Take, for instance, the Intelligent Essay Assessor, a web-based tool marketed by Pearson Education, Inc. Within seconds it can analyze an essay for spelling, grammar, organization, and help students to make revisions. The program scans for key words and analyzes semantic (语义的) patterns , and Pearson claims that it can understand the meaning of text much the same as a human reader.

1．From Paragraph 3,we know that in the 1960s 　　　　.

    A.computers were not easy to get

    B.automated grading software was popular

    C.people refused automated essay grading

    D.computers couldn’t grade essays automatically

2．What does Paragraph 4 focus on________?

    A.The prize of Hewlett contest.

    B.The advantages of automated essay scoring.

    C.The application of automated essay scoring.

    D.Teachers’ opinions about Hewlett contest.

3．The Intelligent Essay Assessor can __________.

    A.rewrite essays

    B.underline the mistakes in red ink

    C.understand the meaning of text

    D.correct key words and patterns

Taking good notes is a time-saving skill that will help you to become a better student in several ways.1. _____   Second, your notes are excellent materials to refer to when you are studying for a test. Third, note-taking offers variety to your study time and helps you to hold your interest.

     You will want to take notes during classroom discussions and while reading a textbook or doing

research for a report. 2._______whenever or however you take notes, keep in mind that note-taking is

a selective process. 3._______

     The following methods may work best for you.

l          Read the text quickly to find the main facts and ideas in it.

l          Carefully read the text and watch for words that can show main points and supporting facts.

l          Write your notes in your own words.

     4._______

     Note any questions or ideas you may have about what was said or written.

     As you take notes, you may want to use your own shorthand (速记). When you do, be sure that you

understand your symbols and that you use them all the time. 5.________

A. Use words, not complete sentences.

B. There are three practical note-taking methods.

C. You must write your notes on separate paper.

D. Otherwise, you may not be able to read your notes later.

E. You will also want to develop your own method for taking notes.

F. That means you must first decide what is important enough to include in your notes.

G. First, the simple act of writing something down makes it easier for you to understand and remember it.