I'm a 34-year-old man, married, lived in a nice house, and have a successful career as an educational consultant. But my life was not always so great. I had a learning disability from an early age. I went to a special school where I got plenty of extra help. Still, I suffered the rest of my school days in public schools.

       My life improved remarkably when I discovered art. The art world gave me a chance to express myself without words. I went to a workshop and gradually got good at making things with clay(黏土). Here I learned my first important lesson: disabled as I was in language. I could still be smart and well express myself with clay. And my confidence came along.

I got my next lesson from rock climbing. It was a fun thing but I was scared from the start. I soon noticed it wasn't a talent thing; it was practice. So I did it more. After about five years of climbing, I found myself in Yosemite Valley on a big wall. I learned that if you fall in love with something and do it all the time, you will get better at it.

       Later I decided to apply my previous experience to learning how to read and write. Every day I practiced reading and writing, which I used to avoid as much as possible. After two hard years, I was literate.

       Having gone through the long process with art, rock climbing, and reading and writing, now I've got to a point in my life where I know I am smart enough to dive into an area that is totally unknown, hard, but interesting.

阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。

    Once upon a time some tiny frogs held a competition. The first to reach the top of a very high tower would be the winner.

    A big crowd gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer them on.

    The race began. No one in the crowd really believed that any of the tiny frogs would reach the top of tower. “They will never get to the top! They will never succeed!” someone said.

    One by one, the tiny frogs began to collapse (退下).

    The crowd kept shouting, “It is too difficult! No frog will make it!”

    More tiny frogs got tired and gave up, but one continued climbing, higher and higher. This one wouldn't give up.

    In the end, he was the only one left—the only one to get to the top. The other frogs naturally wanted to know: How did the frog make it？

    One frog stepped forward to ask the winner. It turned out that the winner was deaf.

    He had won because he was able to keep his own mind. He was able to keep trying. He couldn't hear criticism; neither could he hear praise.

    We learn a lesson from this story: don't let others' praise or criticism to hold you back on your way to succeed.

【写作内容】

( 1 ) 以约30个词概括寓言故事的大意。

( 2 ) 然后以120个词就“如何对待别人的批评和表扬”这个主题发表你的看法, 并包括如下要点：1) 叙述着个寓言给你的启示以及你对他人的批评和表扬的态度；2 以事例说明他人的批评或表扬给你的感受和对你的影响；3) 谈谈中学生应该如何对待老师的批评和表扬。

【写作要求】

( 1 ) 可以使用自己或他人的故事, 也可以参照阅读材料的内容, 但不得直接引用原文中的句子；

【评分标准】

概括准确、语言规范、内容合适、篇章连贯。

    There was once a farmer who had a fine olive orchard. He was very hardworking, and the farm always prospered(蒸蒸日上) under his care. But he knew that his three sons did not like the farm work, and were eager to reach the goal at a single leap.

    When the farmer felt that his time had come to die, he called the three sons to him and said, “My sons, there is a pot of gold hidden in the olive orchard. Dig for it, if you wish it.” After the farmer was dead, the sons went to work to find the pot of gold.” Since they did not know where the hiding-place was, they agreed to begin in a line, at one end of the orchard, and to dig until one of them should find the money.

    They dug until they had turned up the soil from one end of the orchard to the other, round the tree-roots and between them. But no pot of gold was to be found. It seemed as if someone must have stolen it, or as if the farmer had been wandering in his wits. The three sons were bitterly disappointed to have all their work for nothing. The next olive season, the olive trees in the orchard bore more fruit than they had ever given; when it was sold, it gave the sons a whole pot of gold.

    And when they saw how much money had come from the orchard, they suddenly understood what the wise father had meant when he said, “There is gold hidden in the orchard. Dig for it, if you wish.”

写作内容:1. 以30个词概括上文的主要内容。2. 以约120个词就“Dig for it, if you wish it.”的话题谈谈你的想法，内容包括：①你对这句话的理解。②试举例说明。③这个故事给你的启发。

请阅读下面文字及图表，并按要求用英语写一篇150个词左右的英语短文。

    You really should finish compiling that boring spreadsheet, but you just can't bring yourself to do it. Maybe it can wait a little longer? Or it might just disappear if you ignore it long enough? You know the feeling.

    According to Professor Piers Steel, of the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, 95% of people postpone important tasks at some point. But for some, procrastination (拖延症) isn't occasional, but constant. Professor Joseph Ferrari, of DePaul University Chicago, found that 20% of the population of the world are habitual procrastinators. Sadly, delaying our duties isn't very good for us. As the poet Edward Young wrote: “Procrastination is the thief of time”.

【写作内容】

1）. 用约30个单词概述上述信息的主要内容；

2）. 结合上述信息，简要分析“拖延症”产生的原因及危害；

3）. 根据你的分析，就如何克服“拖延症”谈谈你的看法（不少于两点）。

【写作要求】

1）. 写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句；

2）. 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；

3）. 不必写标题。

    Some people live to climb the highest mountains. Some people live only dreaming about it while others live to avoid ever climbing at all. But one thing is certain, all people encounter mountains in their life.

    When I was a little girl, my family moved to a tiny town at the bottom of a big mountain. One day after school, while exploring the green woods of this magnificent mountain, I almost fell on a set of stairs. What could these steps lead to? Curiosity got the best of me as I knew it would be starting to get dark soon. I started climbing up those strangely mysterious steps.

    I climbed and climbed. There was nothing but just green bushes and these steps. I had to reach the top! But it was now getting real dark. If I kept going I might not be able to see my way back. My mom would be worried sick if I didn't come home soon. So I ran back home almost in the dark while trying not to get too scared.

    Anxiously I went to bed dreaming about what I would find at the top of this magical mountain. Could there be a castle up there? Maybe I would find a monster(怪物). Maybe I was taking the risk of never coming back home. Or, maybe all I would find was absolutely nothing! But something inside me was going to climb that mountain at all cost. I could hardly wait to try this adventure again.

    Now we live in a world surrounded by the "can't do" attitudes. We all fall down. We all have doubts and regrets. Still we must climb and dream about what's at the top of our mountain. Monsters may appear or the night will fall. But never ever give up on your dream! Never let anyone tell you, "You can't." Dream big and climb high!

    What kind of house will you buy in the future? Would you like to live in a house where your plants can call your phone to tell you that they need to be watered? Or a house that helps you cut your energy bill by turning off the lights when you leave a room? It may sound like science fiction, but it already exists! Come and visit the Smart Home at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois. It will show how you can live a green lifestyle by making use of advanced technology throughout the home that makes your life easier and simpler.

    The Smart Home uses green technology to record the energy it uses, including electricity, water and gas. The house's energy dashboard (仪表盘) lets you know your energy use through your television and computer. The house greets you with the new information when you walk in the door. It is able to record when you enter and leave rooms, and can switch the lights, television and music off                    .

    The Smart Home is made entirely of recyclable and renewable materials. The furniture is made from used light bulbs, plastic bottles and other renewable materials, but you can't tell from just looking at them. The kitchen countertops (工作台面) are made of recycled glass.

    The entire house is designed to control the use of energy. The roof of the Smart Home has a sustainable vegetable garden, which does little harm to nature. Even the personal computer is green: it uses less power than a 60-watt light bulb. The house can raise and lower the window shades by itself.