April 13th, 1539

Outside Mexico City

Dear Mariana,

Today we arrived safe. It was a long and dangerous trip over the ocean. The winter storms were strong. We were always a little sick from high waves.

The journey from the shore to Mexico City is also long and dangerous. There are robbers in the countryside. We will travel together with the other ship passengers, thinking we will be safer as a group. Tomorrow we will travel into the city to find our uncle.

Father says it will take a year for this letter to reach you. The trip from New Spain to Spain is very long.

Your loving brother,

Tomas

April 20th, 1539

Mexico City

Dear Mariana,

Father and I finally arrived at Mexico City. Here, old buildings are being pulled down; new ones are being built. Just around the corner from Uncle’s city house, Aztec workers are pulling down a small, beautiful pyramid. Father says it is one of the last Aztec temples.

In the center of the city, I met an Aztec boy named Carlos. He speaks a little Spanish. Carlos learns Spanish at his new school. He told me that the Spanish set up new schools for the Aztecs. There he got his new name, Carlos. He says he likes his new school but misses his old city. I wonder what this city used to be like before Cortes came.

Tomorrow we will go to Uncle’s farmland. He and father are talking about the Aztec workers that father will oversee.

Your brother,

Tomas

found v. 建立 battle n. 戰(zhàn)役 conquer v. 征服

【1】What was Tomas’ nationality?

A. Spanish. B. New Spanish. C. Mexico. D. Aztec.

【2】How was Tomas’ journey to Mexico?

A. Stormy and cold. B. Easy and safe. C. Long but safe. D. Long and dangerous.

【3】How long did it take Tomas to travel from the shore to Mexico City?

A. One day. B. One week. C. A year. D. Two years.

【4】Why did Tomas and his father come to Mexico in 1539?

A. To visit Mexico. B. To meet Carlos. C. To see the temples. D. To look for a better life.

【5】When did Mexico get its name New Spain?

A. After 1539. B. After 1519. C. In the 1300s. D. In the 1400s.

【6】What did the Spanish do to the people in Mexico in the early 1500s?

A. They taught children there English. B. They built new temples for them.

C. They destroyed the local culture there. D. They helped to feed the local people there.

Technology provides more than a way of communication. However, it is becoming the only way to communicate for our teens. It has made face-to-face interaction _________ often and has made a negative①effect on the social abilities of the teens.

These days we communicate on websites like Facebook, but I wonder why we have no in-person friendships. I see teens texting②_________. They text while talking to someone else, at the dinner table, in the car and at the movies. This tiny piece of plastic is distracting③ teens from the real world.

As you can see, I am very much _________ technology but there are ways that helps. It helps many people stay in touch with friends that might have moved away. In my life, I will have to move from my friends from time to time. With the help of Wechat, it can be easy to _________them and to ask if they would like to do something in person. Staying in touch can be done in person as much as over technology.

Some people have _________ making new friends and the Internet provides ways to meet new people through chat rooms. I believe relationships built online can be a little eccentric④. One study suggests that online relationships simply take longer to develop than those face-to-face.

Online relationships can be _________ because you never know who’s on the other side of the chat. You can become more open over the Internet if you don’t have a chance to meet others in real life. Meeting people online can give you confidence, but I believe it also tears you down. Online relationships will either build you up or break you down. Most importantly, don’t let keyboards be the key to your heart.

【1】A. too B. very C. less D. more

【2】A. here B. there C. somewhere D. everywhere

【3】A. for B. against C. with D. behind

【4】A. reach B. lose C. win D. control

【5】A. fun B. time C. trouble D. trust

【6】A. convenient B. dangerous C. important D. necessary

【題目】

I was coming back home late at night in a ”Sharing” minivan. In Hyderabad, India, it is a cheap and quick means of transport. The van drivers ply (攬客) as many as 13 people at times in a vehicle which is designed for the transport of 8 people．Our van was crowded as well. People were getting off and on at many places.

On the journey, one girl waved her hand to ask the driver to stop. While getting down, she tripped and fell．None of us notice it，as it was dark. The driver was waiting for her to pay. It was then that we saw the girl was on her knees by the side of the road. Another passenger and l got down and held her up．

Even in pain, the girl held up a note and asked us to pay the driver．The other passenger took the note and paid the driver．My stop was a few hundred meters away. I decided to stay with her till she was fine. I paid the driver for myself and he took off with the other passengers.

I neither knew her nor did I know what to do, but I was there, saying some comforting words to a stranger in pain. I asked her to stand still for a few minutes. We then looked for a place for her to sit. From out of nowhere, her friend joined us.

We made her sit in a nearby grassland and her friend rushed to get a taxi. In the meantime, she examined her leg and her ankle had swollen up (腫脹). It looked like a sprain (扭傷). Once her friend came back, they took the taxi and rushed to a hospital. Before they left, the girl thanked me and said they could manage as it was only a small sprain.

I do not know if I did enough. But I feel I gave some comfort to her in a small way.

Did the story happen in India?

【1】

How many people did the drivers ply in fact?

【2】

Why did no one notice the girl?

【3】

What did the writer do for the girl?

【4】

Where did the girl go after she left the bus stop?

【5】

A by the way

A. on the way B. in some ways

C. in the way

A. have traveled, visit B. traveled, to visit

C. traveled, visiting D. have traveled, to travel

A．Sometime

B．Sometimes

C．Some time

D．Some times

— Once a year.

A. does; hold B. was; hold

C. is; held D. did; hold

— No. Winter Olympic Games only include winter sports.

A. those B. this C. that D. ones

—He told me that he __________ the Great Wall the next day.

A. will visit B. has visited

C. is going to visit D. would visit

A. too sad B. sad enough C. enough sad D. so sad