A Girl Chess Champion

In the year 2000，a smiling girl from Guntur，India，created a record．Koneru Humpy，who turned 13 on March 31 that year，won the under-14 boys’ title in the National Children Chess Championship．She became the first Indian female player to win a boys’ title.

Humpy was born in 1987．She began playing chess at the age of six in 1993．She picked up the finer points of the game so well that one year later，in 1994，she won the very first tournament (锦标赛) she played in．

Humpy was trained by her father，Ashok Koneru，a chess player himself．He stopped teaching chemistry at a college to concentrate on coaching his daughter．After he left his job，he faced financial problems while training and travelling with his young daughter．But the local government came to his financial aid．The Bank of Baroda sponsored (赞助) Humpy and gave her a desk-top computer．Now she has a notebook computer as well，which she carries for tournaments．

Humpy practices for six hours daily with her father．Her preparation is mostly on the chess-board．Now she has started preparing with computers，like many seniors do．The eighth-grade student of Guntur has also been greatly encouraged by her school．She is given time to prepare for chess and her teachers give her special classes．With such support，Humpy is sure to win many more chess titles in her career．

（第1～10题，每题1分，共10分。下面的短文后列出了10个句子，请根据短文的内容对每个句子作出判断：如果该句提供的是正确信息，选择A；如果该句提供的是错误信息，选择B；如果该句的信息文中没有提及，选择C。）

Humpy won a national boys’ title when she was thirteen．

A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Humpy didn’t start playing chess until she was seven．

A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Humpy lost the first tournament she played in．

A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Humpy’s father used to be a college teacher．

A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Humpy’s father got no support from the local government．

A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Humpy’s father bought Humpy a notebook computer．

A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Humpy spends six hours on chess-playing every day.

A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Many senior players make preparations on the chessboard．

A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Humpy is a top student at her school．

A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Humpy’s school allows her not to attend regular classes．

A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Make Yourself More Attractive

As individuals，we judge just about everything on appearance．But we do not just see，we also feel．We have feelings that run deep．Sometimes our emotions run hot，at other times cold．Though，often，we do not feel until we see．

When we see someone who looks good， our heart beats fast．When we see an attractive meal，we feel hungry．When we see a picture of a loved one who has passed on，we may begin to feel sad or lonely．Our eyes are more than just a visual perception (视觉感知)．They are the reflection of who we are．

There are many ways to improve our appearance．Smiling more is one of them．It will make less attractive people more pleasant．At the same time，smiling will make beautiful people appear to be more approachable．In addition to smiling， the less attractive should also work on achieving a more confident walk．People will be drawn to you because of the confidence that you show．

Do not take on the perceptions of others．Do not force yourself to become a product of how they see you．If you are extremely beautiful，do not be too proud．Be pleasant to all of those you come in contact with．Speak positive words to others．If you are less attractive，do not have any feelings of low self-esteem (自信)．

Someone once said “it is beauty which captures (抓住) your attention；personality which captures your heart．” Keep this in mind as you continue to perfect your outside．And remember that if you do not change your inside，all of your hard work will be in vain．

（第11～15题，每题2分，共10分。阅读下面短文，请从短文后所给各题的4个选项中选出1个最佳选项。）

Paragraph 1 mainly talks about

A.the role of seeing

B.the importance of feeling

C.features of good appearance

D.various types of emotions

The words “passed on” (Line 2，Para.2) probably means

A.died

B.suffered

C.walked past

D.missed a chance

Smiling will make beautiful people

A.have more achievements

B.improve their work

C.become easier to approach

D.do better in their shows

The author advises the extremely beautiful people to

A.keep their pride

B.get to know more people

C.get rid of low self-esteem

D.be modest

The last paragraph suggests that

A.hard work makes perfect personality

B.beauty is in the eyes of the loved one

C.personality is more important than appearance

D.it’s easier to improve the inside than the outside

Manage Your “High-tech” Family

①Modern family life is improved on many levels by numerous advances in technology．However,sometimes the high-tech tools designed to bring us closer together,such as smart phones and computers，can actually distance us from one another．If your family members are becoming increasingly disconnected (疏远) as a result，it may be time to establish some effective time-management rules．

②The family dinner table should be a tech-free zone．Make a firm rule that there will be no talking on phones，text-messaging or watching television during dinner time．That is the ideal opportunity for the family to reconnect after a busy day．

③The only way to ensure that family members，especially children，obtain adequate sleep，fresh air and exercise is to limit the amount of time they spend playing video games，surfing the web or text-messaging friends．A well-balanced， healthy life can only be achieved by monitoring time spent on using high-tech tools．

④For school-age children it might be wise to have rules regarding technology． To ensure that they are being mindful of their studies and getting adequate sleep on school nights，you might make a schedule banning video games except on weekends and banning exciting television programs immediately before bedtime. Children require help in keeping their lives in balance，especially in regard to addictive (使人上瘾的) games and television viewing．

⑤Monitor your own activities in regard to modern technology．If you are at the dinner table with a cell phone in your ear, or have one eye on the television，you cannot expect your children to behave otherwise． 

(第16～25题，每题1分，共10分。阅读下面短文，请完成短文后的2项测试任务：(1)从第16～20题后所给的6个选项中为第①～⑤段每段选择1个正确的小标题；(2)从第21～25题后所给的6个选项中选择1个正确选项，分别完成每个句子。)

Paragraph ①:

A.Make rules for children

B.Monitor time

C.Set a good example

D.Establish “tech-free” family time

E.Enjoy the benefits of high-tech tools

F.Recognize the problems of high-tech tools

Paragraph ②:

A.Make rules for children

B.Monitor time

C.Set a good example

D.Establish “tech-free” family time

E.Enjoy the benefits of high-tech tools

F.Recognize the problems of high-tech tools

Paragraph ③:

A.Make rules for children

B.Monitor time

C.Set a good example

D.Establish “tech-free” family time

E.Enjoy the benefits of high-tech tools

F.Recognize the problems of high-tech tools

Paragraph ④:

A.Make rules for children

B.Monitor time

C.Set a good example

D.Establish “tech-free” family time

E.Enjoy the benefits of high-tech tools

F.Recognize the problems of high-tech tools

Paragraph ⑤:

A.Make rules for children

B.Monitor time

C.Set a good example

D.Establish “tech-free” family time

E.Enjoy the benefits of high-tech tools

F.Recognize the problems of high-tech tools

High-tech tools can

A.follow the behaviors of their parents

B.watching exciting TV programs

C.help people connect more easily

D.leads to a more healthy life

E.communicating at dinner

F.distances people from one another

Family members should spend time

A.follow the behaviors of their parents

B.watching exciting TV programs

C.help people connect more easily

D.leads to a more healthy life

E.communicating at dinner

F.distances people from one another

Limiting the time spent on high-tech tools

A.follow the behaviors of their parents

B.watching exciting TV programs

C.help people connect more easily

D.leads to a more healthy life

E.communicating at dinner

F.distances people from one another

Before sleep, children should avoid

A.follow the behaviors of their parents

B.watching exciting TV programs

C.help people connect more easily

D.leads to a more healthy life

E.communicating at dinner

F.distances people from one another

Children tend to

A.follow the behaviors of their parents

B.watching exciting TV programs

C.help people connect more easily

D.leads to a more healthy life

E.communicating at dinner

F.distances people from one another

Celebrating History

Usually when people celebrate，they are recognizing a birthday,a sports event， or a holiday．But for National History Day,thousands of people gather to celebrate history．There are students，teachers，and parents from all over the United States．___26___The whole experience is truly amazing．

National History Day is part of an international network．It promotes history education by organizing a competition every year．Each year,a theme is selected for the competition．___27___This year’s theme is Rights and Responsibilities in History．It inspired over 600，000 students to enter into the competition．

National History Day opened with a welcome ceremony speech delivered by Dr．Amma．Dr．Amma is a historian and a professor in the subject areas of theater and dance．When she was a junior in high school，she took part in National History Day．___28___“The only thing in my mind was to tell the Africans’ story and to tell it right，” she said．

Another exciting event was the National History Night．Students，parents，and teachers had the chance to tour the National Museum of American History and see an exhibition from each state．One student from Virginia planned an exhibition on the topic of World War Ⅱ．___29___Their project focused on press freedoms．

The celebration of National History Day lasted for five days．It ended with the awards ceremony on Thursday．___30___They included prizes for each category,outstanding project for each state，and special awards．

A.They march around and cheer for history．

B.Five students from Texas put up a group exhibition．

C.During the three-hour event，189 awards were handed out．

D.Her project on the African slaves won the first-place performance．

E.Students have the opportunity to create a project based on the theme．

F.National History Day opened on the front lawn of University of Maryland． 

(第26～30题，每题2分，共10分。下面的短文有5处空白，短文后有6个句子，其中5个取自短文，请根据短文内容将其分别放回原有位置，以恢复文章原貌。）

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

My Worst Travel Experience

Last year my parents decided to take me to a cowboy ranch (牧场) for our vacation．I was happy and___31___．Soon after I got to the ranch，I went out to see the beautiful horses．I___32___wanted to learn to ride a horse，so I climbed on one right away when no one was looking．While I was sitting on the___33___of the horse，the horse started___34___!I didn’t know how to stop it. I held on___35___as the horse began to run．We were running through a___36___of cactus (仙人掌) when the horse saw a snake on the___37___．The horse jumped back，and I___38___off—right into a big bunch of cactus!I spent hours___39___out cactus thorns (刺)．My parents ___40___so bad that they let me get a puppy (小狗)．That was the worst experience I ever had!But at least I got a puppy!

A.back

B.fell

C.field

D.excited

E.usually

F.moving

G.ground

H.tightly

I.disappointed

J.really

K.pulling

L.felt

(第31～40题，每题1.5分，共15分。下面的短文有10处空白，短文后列出12个词，其中10个取自短文，请根据短文内容将其分别放回原有位置，以恢复文章原貌。)

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.