揭阳一中、潮州金山中学2016届第一次联考英语试题及答案(2)

7. The best title of the passage is _____.
  A. Finance and Independence      B. Eyes on Your Pocket Money
  C. The Importance of Part-time Jobs.  D. British Teenagers and Their Pocket Money
C
In reflecting on the events of my life that have impacted me, I returned to the night of August 1, 2006. I found myself in a hall in New York City sitting by my mother, not at all tired, although we had flown the day before, and driven five hours to the city for “An Evening with Harry, Carrie and Garp,” a charity event with readings by three authors. The excitement rushing through me kept me awake and thinking; I was standing and applauding a woman as she prepared to read.
The Harry Potter series was my gateway to my academic adolescence. I was so fascinated by the magic world that my mother began taking me to academic conferences focused on the books. Since 2005, I have attended presentations about the Latin origin of terms and spells, the ancient tales, and the idea of magic. These books opened my eyes to the whole world, and to knowledge itself. They kept my brain working over the summers. More importantly, they helped me adopt the ideas useful in school and beyond, that there is always another way to do something, or to understand an issue. With uncertainty and doubt come creative ideas and new ways to look at problems that may result in new, different, faster and easier solutions. And all this came from a little “magic” from a book that many people see as a series for children.
I also attended lectures about Ms. Rowling’s ability to beautifully write the story, with every small detail connected to something else, for example, details in books by Jonathan Swift to Chaucer to Dickens and Austin. I learned that like all great books, Rowling’s stories encouraged a connection across mind, body, and soul. Although the series has been criticized by those who believe it encourages bad behavior in children, I was able to hear discussions by those who claimed that these books teach wonderful messages if one gets its deeper meaning. It is my generation’s shared text; all college freshmen are familiar with the stories, and that gives us a set of common beliefs and ideas that help us start to learn new things.
8. What did the author do on the night of August 1, 2006?
  A. He flew for a charity event.    B. He drove tiredly back home.
  C. He listened to readings by some authors.  D. He enjoyed the excitement of driving.
9. The Harry Potter books led the author to ____.
  A. getting jobs in summers    B. studying harder in school
  C. writing books for children    D. viewing things in new ways
10. From the lectures, the author knew more about ____.
  A. story writing skills      B. Rowling’s life stories  
  C. criticism against books  D. great authors in history
11. What can we know about the author?
  A. She decides to write similar stories.     B. She intends to go to major in writing.
  C. She doesn’t have her family’s support.     D. She may continue to read magic stories.
D
During these past few days I have been reflecting a lot on everything that happened this past year and thinking of what I can do differently so that the coming year will be much better! Here I want to share some tips so you can also do your resolution and you can achieve them all!
·Be realistic: You should always try to reach for the skies with your goals, but things like “I want to win the lottery（彩票）” or “I want to lose 80 pounds in 1 month” are things you shouldn’t have on your list because they will only become frustrations.
·Be detailed: It’s a lot easier to accomplish more specific plans than general ones. Instead of writing “I want to lose weight,” put things like “I will start my Yes You Can! Diet Plan the first Monday of the year” or “I will start a movement routine 3 times a week for 35 minutes.” When we put down concrete activities, we commit ourselves to them and it becomes a lot harder to come up with excuses.
·Think of alternatives: At the beginning of this past year, you put that you were going to start going to the gym as one of your annual plans. During the whole year you intended to take action but you always said that you couldn’t because you came home so tired from work. If this is one of your plans for this year, you should write down how you’re going to achieve it. For example, “I will start going to the gym in the mornings, before work.” That way you prevent what stopped you from achieving your goal last year.
·Focus on goals which depend on YOU: It is very important that all of your plans are for YOU to accomplish, and it is important that you write them down that way. If one of your goals this coming year is to improve a relationship with one of your family members, make sure that you clearly put down what you are going to do for this to succeed. For example, “I will call my sister at least three times a week and I will visit her in the middle of the year.”
Well, I hope that you use these tips so that this year you will accomplish everything you want, and make it the best year ever! Thank you for being with me during everything this past year, and I hope that you keep showing me all of this love and support during the next. Happy new year!
12. Why isn’t “I want to win the lottery” recommended as a New Year plan?
   A. Because it is very likely to fail.     B. Because it is too easy to realize.
   C. Because it is not big enough as a goal.    D. Because it is not easier than losing weight.