There was once a young man who began to feel self-satisfied after _________ some small achievements.

One day, the young man took a walk with _________ wise man from his town. The young man was bragging (吹噓) about himself, _________ the wise man didn’t say a word. When they got to the top of the mountain, the young man _________ to look down and tell the wise man what he saw.

“I see trees, farmland, houses and people as _________ as ants working in the fields,” the young man said. Then the wise man asked _________ he felt about it.

“Everything is below me. I feel I rule the world,” the young man answered.

The wise man said nothing. After a minute, he asked the young man to look up and tell him what he _________ see this time.

“I see birds _________ around high mountains, the white clouds above the mountains and the blue sky above the white clouds,” the young man answered. Then he asked about the wise man’s feelings.

“I feel small and powerless,” the wise man answered. “A person who knows to look upward can _________ understand his position. __________ a person knows the blue sky is always overhead, he won’t be so silly as to believe he rules over the world or __________ people.”

The young man felt foolish __________ his pride. From then on, whenever he began to feel as if the world owed (亏欠) __________ something, he looked up at the sky and __________ how small he really was. __________ to look upward when you feel too good about yourself.

1.

A．to make

B．made

C．making

D．make

2.

A．a

B．the

C．an

D．/

3.

A．if

B．but

C．so

D．or

4.

A．asked

B．was asked

C．is asked

D．was asking

5.

A．smaller

B．smallest

C．small

D．the smallest

6.

A．how

B．why

C．that

D．what

7.

A．might

B．should

C．could

D．can

8.

A．flying

B．to fly

C．fly

D．flew

9.

A．clear

B．clearly

C．clearer

D．clearest

10.

A．Since

B．When

C．After

D．While

11.

A．another

B．the other

C．others

D．other

12.

A．for

B．about

C．on

D．in

13.

A．his

B．him

C．he

D．its

14.

A．had remembered

B．remembers

C．was remembering

D．remembered

15.

A．Trying

B．To try

C．Try

D．Tried

As a teenager, I volunteered at Loaves and Fishes, a program my mother started. We ________ meals to anyone who showed up, and most of them were people in Minneapolis. When I spoke to them, they didn’t look me in the eye, and they were ________ thankful. I wanted to shout, “Hey, we’re doing a useful thing here. You could at least thank us!”

After I stopped volunteering at Loaves and Fishes, I took control of my own life. Over the next ten years, I had a/an ________ life: a college degree, teaching career, wonderful husband and then our first child, Derian.

But soon, we were told that Derian had a serious illness and needed to be in ________. I soon discovered I was not in control.

Thirteen months after Derian was born, Connor, our second son, was born. ________, he is healthy. With two sons to look after, I had to leave from teaching. Even though Robb, my husband, tried his best, we were short of ________ soon. In the spring of 2015, we decided to ask for help. I had heard about a program that ________ money to mothers and children, and I put my pride aside and made an appointment (预约).

On the morning of my appointment, I took my two sons to the program. When I was standing in the waiting area, suddenly, I realized life was full of the ________. I felt sorry for looking down on the poor years ago. Now it was my ________ to be poor. I wanted to leave with my children quickly. But looking into their bright eyes, I knew why I had to stay.

For the first time in my life, I ________ why the people I once served at Loaves and Fishes were not thankful. Who wants to be poor? I’ll never forget those lessons: we should respect and understand the poor instead of giving them money and food only.

16.

A．served

B．collected

C．cooked

D．brought

17.

A．always

B．seldom

C．sometimes

D．often

18.

A．hard

B．boring

C．perfect

D．interesting

19.

A．office

B．school

C．station

D．hospital

20.

A．Thankfully

B．Hopefully

C．Excitedly

D．Certainly

21.

A．water

B．time

C．money

D．experience

22.

A．raised

B．offered

C．provided

D．divided

23.

A．disappointed

B．strange

C．tired

D．unexpected

24.

A．turn

B．chance

C．time

D．luck

25.

A．wondered

B．asked

C．understood

D．talked

When I was young, my mom used to give the family a funny special treat from time to time—she would make breakfast food for dinner.

I remember she did so one night. She had been at work all day but wanted to do something special for us.

On that evening, my mom put a plate of eggs, sausages and very burnt (烤焦的) toast in front of my dad. I waited to see if anyone noticed. But my dad just took his toast, smiled at my mom and asked me how my day at school had been. I don’t remember what I told him that night. But I do remember watching him put butter and jelly on that toast. He ate it up as usual, every single bite.

After dinner, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the toast. I’ll never forget what he said: “Honey, I love burnt toast. ”

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night. I asked him if he really liked his toast burnt. He hugged me in his arms and said: “Your mommy worked very hard today. She’s really tired. And besides, a bit of burnt toast never hurts anyone!”

Life is full of imperfect things. Nobody is perfect either. I’m not the best at anything. I forget birthdays and other important events just like everyone else does. But I’ve learned something important from my father. Understanding is the basis of everything, whether between a husband and wife, a parent and child or just between two friends. Remember, burnt toast never hurts anyone. It’s the people with the kind thoughts who make life worth living.

26. The writer’s father ________ during the dinner.

A．ate up all the burnt toast	B．liked to eat the burnt toast
C．threw away the burnt toast	D．didn’t notice the burnt toast

27. From what the father said to his son, we know the father ________.

A．was an excellent cook	B．worked hard every day
C．could understand his wife	D．often argued with his wife

28. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．My dad loves to eat burnt toast.

B．My mum loves to make burnt toast.

C．Burnt toast never hurts anyone except me.

D．My dad understands that no one is perfect.

29. What can we learn from the story?

A．Great minds think alike.	B．Failure is the mother of success.
C．It is never too old to learn.	D．Better understanding, better world.

Oriana Fallaci was an Italian reporter, author, and interviewer. Different from other interviewers, she created a new method of interviewing. In her opinion, the best way of reporting is putting yourself in your report. “The reporter is also a center and an actor,” she once said. This special opinion helped her get the name of “the queen of news interviews”.

During World War II, she had a long and successful career. Fallaci became famous worldwide for her reporting of wars, and her interviews with many world leaders during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1988, her book Interview with History was published, which contains lots of long and penetrating (犀利的) interviews with many leaders worldwide. One of the leaders once described the interview with Fallaci as “the single most disastrous (灾难性的) conversation I have ever had.”

Fallaci became a special reporter for an Italian paper in 1946. In 1967, she worked as a war reporter, reporting many famous wars. “It was really an awful period of time for me. For many times, I thought my life would end in smoke and fires. At that moment, I just hoped those pictures and letters could be found by those who would find my body and make them known to the world,” Fallaci said.

Fallaci had received many awards in her life. On November 30th 2005, in New York City, Fallaci received the Annie Taylor Award. The Annie Taylor Award is awarded yearly to people who have shown unusual courage in bad conditions and great danger. Fallaci received many good comments as well as some bad ones. There is no doubt that she was one of the most famous reporters in the world.

30. Why was Fallaci special?

A．She had many different roles.	B．She was a political interviewer.
C．She had her own idea on reporting.	D．She was successful in news interviews.

31. What can we infer about Fallaci from Paragraph 2?

A．Every leader in the world hated her.	B．Her interviews were hard to deal with.
C．She always made leaders feel pleased.	D．She was good at very short interviews.

32. What is the correct order of the following events?
a. Fallaci published her book Interview with History.
b. Fallaci won the Annie Taylor Award.
c. Fallaci became a war reporter and reported famous wars.
d. Fallaci worked as a special reporter in an Italian paper.

A．d-a-c-b

B．d-c-a-b

C．c-d-a-b

D．c-d-b-a

33. What’s the purpose of this passage?

A．To let us learn something from wars.

B．To show us the awards Oriana Fallaci won.

C．To give us an introduction of Oriana Fallaci.

D．To tell us how Oriana Fallaci became successful.

Feeling sad or upset? Don’t turn to a cheerful comedy. A sad movie may be just what you need.

A team of scientists at Ohio State University, US, has found that sad movies can make people happier. They published their study in a magazine called Communication Research. Scientists asked 361 college students to watch a sad movie called Atonement. The movie tells the story of two lovers who are separated and at the end die during World War II. Before and after the movie, the students answered questions testing how happy they were with their lives. They also answered questions from the scientists before, after and three times during the movie to measure different emotions, including sadness.

Results showed that overall, people felt better after watching the movie. Scientists believe this is because the movie made them think about their own lives and relationships. Their lives, compared to those of the unlucky lovers on the screen, were full of hope. “I want to live my life to the fullest, and this movie has made me think a lot.” one student wrote.

Silvia Knobloch Westerwick, the leader of the study, explained that negative moods make people more thoughtful (adj. 沉思的). “Positive emotions are generally a signal that everything is fine, you don’t have to worry, you don’t have to think about issues in your life,” she said, “but negative emotions, like sadness, make you think more critically about your situation. So seeing a sad movie may make you sad, but that will cause you to think more about your own close relationships and appreciate them more.”

34. When you feel upset, which kind of movie is your best choice?

A．A comedy.

B．An exciting movie.

C．A science fiction.

D．A sad movie.

35. When did people feel best according to the study?

A．Before watching the movie.	B．While watching the movie.
C．After watching the movie.	D．While answering the questions.

36. Which of the following about the study is NOT true?

A．361 college students took part in the study.

B．Scientists at Ohio State University did the study.

C．The students answered questions three times in all.

D．The students watched a sad movie during the study.

37. Why can sad movies make sad people feel happier?

A．Because they find that everything in their lives is fine.

B．Because sad movies can make them forget unhappy things.

C．Because sad movies can make all the negative emotions go away.

D．Because they find that their lives are more hopeful than the movies.

Do you work to earn money, or do you get pocket money from your parents? Most teenagers in Britain receive pocket money from their parents.

A report by the Bank of Scotland found that 77% of teenagers get pocket money.     41     The average for 8-to-15-year-olds in the UK is about £6 a week. Teenagers get more money than younger children. Some 15-to-19-year-olds receive more than £100 a month. The report also found that many children save at least a quarter of their weekly pocket money.     42     They clean, cook, wash up and take out the rubbish.

A part-time job is a choice for teenagers.     43     Popular part-time jobs for teens include babysitting, delivering newspapers, shop work, and working in a restaurant or cafe. Only children over 13 can work.     44     On a school day, they can work two hours a day at most but not during school hours. At weekends and during school holidays they can work longer hours. The national minimum wage for people aged 16-17 is £3. 57 per hour. 18-year-olds must earn a minimum of £4. 83.

    45     Parents can put pocket money directly into their child’s bank account. Anyway, saving or spending pocket money, working part-time and dealing with banks are all part of the process of becoming a financially independent adult and having to earn and look after your own money.

A．About 15% of teenagers have a job.

B．And there’re strict laws about working hours.

C．To get their pocket money, lots of young people have to do housework.

D．In Britain, some children and teenagers have a bank account.

E．And different families offer different amounts of pocket money.