1 . Life will be peaceful if you always do kind things. I teach my daughters to develop a habit of _____ others. The little acts of _____ give you opportunities to provide service for others. They can make you remember how great it feels to be kind and helpful.

We _____ in a rural (乡村的) area. Most of what we see is beautiful nature. One of the exceptions to the _____ is the rubbish that some people throw out of their car windows as they drive along the rural roads. One of the few _____ of living there is the lack of _____ public services, such as rubbish collection, which is common in the city.

A helping behavior that I practice regularly with my daughters is _____ rubbish in our neighborhood. My daughters often have a match to see who can collect the most rubbish. They will often say to me in a(n) _____ voice, “There’s some rubbish, Daddy—stop the car!” And if we have time, we will often get out of our car and pick it up. _____ it may seem strange, we do it. In fact, we enjoy it. We pick up rubbish in parks, on sidewalks, almost anywhere.

One day I saw a stranger picking up rubbish on the road. I stopped. He ______ his head and smiled, ”I saw you doing this with your family. It’s a good ______ to protect our environment.“

There are many other ways to ______ kindness for others. You may share a dinner with a beggar, visit ______ old people in the nursing home, or help the blind ______ the street. You can think of something that can be finished _______but helpful. It is fun, self-satisfying, and What’s more, it can set a good example. Helping others is helping yourself.

1.

A．watching

B．welcoming

C．helping

D．teaching

2.

A．kindness

B．peace

C．cruelty

D．interest

3.

A．work

B．live

C．travel

D．stay

4.

A．environment

B．beauty

C．area

D．weather

5.

A．favorites

B．disadvantages

C．wishes

D．mercy

6.

A．comfortable

B．modern

C．necessary

D．excellent

7.

A．looking for

B．picking up

C．taking apart

D．laughing at

8.

A．surprised

B．tired

C．excited

D．angry

9.

A．Although

B．But

C．And

D．Since

10.

A．covered

B．lowered

C．shook

D．raised

11.

A．sport

B．idea

C．result

D．question

12.

A．provide

B．debate

C．describe

D．make

13.

A．amazing

B．fancy

C．healthy

D．lonely

14.

A．clean

B．cross

C．deserve

D．draw

15.

A．suddenly

B．impossibly

C．easily

D．hardly

2 . We were designing a wheelchair for the engineering course. Based on my experience making sculptures with soda cans and creating jewelry with wire, I believed steel would be too _________ and that aluminum (铝) would be light, but my partner who once worked at a bike shop insisted on using steel. A few days later, when the steel wheelchair arm kept _________ because of its weight, I felt I had been _________.

I liked crafting, but when I took engineering in college, I put this _________ aside because I didn’t think it was _________to my academic work. Although the wheelchair project was a _________ that my interest, crafting, might be important and relevant (相关的), I continued to _________ bringing it up in professional fields.

My _________ didn’t change until one day when I felt restless and _________ crafting as an outlet(发泄途径). While putting liquid into a mold, I __________ “injection molding”—a standard engineering manufacturing process. I suddenly realized that although this art is not injection molding in the technical sense, it shares the spirit and probably some __________. Maybe my crafting was something I should hug rather than hide.

Soon I saw more examples of __________ between engineering and craft that I had previously __________.I saw how crafting taught me to consider the __________ as a learning experience. So I took up crafting again and also stopped __________ it from others.

1.

A．expensive

B．hard

C．ugly

D．heavy

2.

A．falling

B．waving

C．shaking

D．breaking

3.

A．lucky

B．confused

C．right

D．disappointed

4.

A．ability

B．hobby

C．idea

D．opportunity

5.

A．related

B．equal

C．new

D．similar

6.

A．chance

B．hint

C．possibility

D．demand

7.

A．try

B．keep

C．practice

D．avoid

8.

A．goal

B．method

C．attitude

D．fate

9.

A．referred to

B．looked for

C．held on

D．turned to

10.

A．pointed out

B．stared at

C．thought of

D．focused on

11.

A．skills

B．benefits

C．examples

D．materials

12.

A．conflicts

B．connections

C．advantages

D．differences

13.

A．overlooked

B．discovered

C．used

D．learned

14.

A．test

B．agreement

C．creation

D．experiment

15.

A．receiving

B．borrowing

C．preventing

D．hiding

3 . A famous doctor Lord Robert Winston took a train from London to Manchester, and he found himself becoming angry. A woman picked up her phone and began a loud conversation, which lasted an unbelievable hour. Furious, Winston took pictures of the woman and post them on the social media.

As the train arrived at its destination, Winston had had enough of the woman’s rudeness. Meanwhile the press were waiting for her on the platform. And when they deliberately showed her the message, she used just one word to describe Winston’s actions: rude.

The story of Winston is something of a microcosm (缩影) of our age of increasing rudeness fueled by the social media. What can we do to fix this?

Studies have shown that rudeness spreads quickly and virally, almost like the common cold. Once infected, we are more aggressive, less creative and worse at our jobs. The only way to end this is to make a conscious decision to deal with it. We must have the courage to point it out, face to face. We must say, “Just stop.” For Winston, that would have meant approaching the woman, telling her that her conversation was disturbing other passengers and politely asking her to speak more quietly or make the call at another time.

The anger and injustice we feel at the rude behaviour of a stranger can drive us to do odd things. In my own research, I surveyed 2,000 adults, and discovered that the acts of revenge people had taken ranged from the ridiculous to the disturbing. Winston put the spotlight on the woman’s behaviour — but in a way that shamed her.

We must fight with rudeness directly. When we see it occur in a store, we must step up and say something. We must defend strangers in the same way we’d defend our best friends. But we can do it with grace, by handling it without any trace of aggression and without being rude ourselves. Because once rude people can see their actions through the eyes of others, they are far more likely to end that rude behaviour themselves.

1. Why did the woman use the word “rude” to describe Winston’s actions?

A．He said rude words to the woman.

B．He lost his temper due to other people’s rudeness.

C．He behaved improperly and spoke loudly on the train.

D．He pointed out the woman’s rude behaviour in a wrong way.

2. What is the function of paragraph 3?

A．To draw a conclusion from the above story.

B．To form a connecting link between the previous and the following.

C．To tell us the ways to deal with rudeness.

D．To show us the positive and negative effects of the social media.

3. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．We can deal with rudeness in an indirect way.

B．Rudeness and manners can hardly coexist in a civilized society.

C．Both strangers and acquaintances deserve our friendly warning.

D．Rude people can’t see their rudeness through others’ eyes.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Don’t Ignore Online Rudeness	B．Civilization Calls for Civility
C．How to Handle Rudeness Spread Online	D．Rude Behaviour Makes a Rude Society

4 . A man named Joe and his wife moved to a new farm with their three sons. They were settling into the new community when a nearby farmer told Joe that there was gold in the dirt of his new land. Joe took that statement as that there was actual gold in the land. He thought to himself, “I have three strong sons, I’ll tell them about it.”

Needless to say, his sons actually began digging in one corner with a certain width and kept going until they got to the end. Once they finished they would start another piece and go back the other direction. They began to realize that digging for gold was fun!

Seeing that, Joe thought he would plant some crops where the dirt had been turned thoroughly. He planted corn, tomatoes, and potatoes. His sons continued to dig through the soil, determined to find gold.

As each different crop became ready to be harvested(收割), Joe started to realize that there was more than he and his family could ever eat. One of Joe’s neighbors suggested that he set up a vegetable stand(摊). Joe and his wife did that very thing. This process went on for three years and Joe and his wife became quite rich from it. They were even able to send their sons off to college.

Remember at the beginning of the story Joe was told by his new neighbor that there was gold in the land? Well, the truth is, Joe’s understanding of the English language was less than perfect. His new neighbor friend actually told him that his land had rich soil.

Go out and pretend that there is gold in all your challenges so that you can be inspired to motivate(激励)yourself to allow the fate(命运)to provide all that you need. The fate will never give up on you, if you never give up on yourself.

1. What made Joe believe that there was actual gold in his land?

A．His desire to send his sons to college.	B．His dream to become wealthy.
C．His poor understanding of English.	D．His trust in his neighbor.

2. Joe’s three sons took digging for gold as ________.

A．a pleasure

B．a challenge

C．a lie

D．a dream

3. How did Joe deal with his too many crops?

A．By leaving them in the land	B．By selling them to others.
C．By giving them away to neighbors.	D．By exchanging them for gold.

4. The best title for this passage would be ________.

A．Telling a white lie	B．Achieving wealth from land
C．Accepting challenges in life	D．Digging for gold

7 . I was appreciating my family photos on my computer, admiring my two beautiful babies when I found a(n) _________ scene: my laptop (笔记本电脑) was in almost all the pictures. There was my daughter, 8 months old, playing at my feet while I was _________ on the couch. There was my son, with a big transformer, on my left arms.

I’d heard about the Internet addiction before, but I always thought it was something only _________ playing too much World of Warcraft (a computer game) day and night. Now, it seemed my Internet habit is slowly but surely crossing the _________. Sometimes I find myself _________ at midnight, surfing the Web _________ my family are sleeping. I read news, keep up with friends and write my blog…just for something to do.

It _________ that I’m not the only mom who is addicted to the computer. A lot of moms are contributing to a growing global addiction. There’s a movement among psychiatrists (doctors who specialize in mental diseases) to _________ the Internet addiction as an official mental disorder. And a recent Stanford University national survey found that 14 percent of Internet users find it _________ to stay away from it for several days; 9 percent try to hide their ____________ Internet use from their loved ones; 8 percent admit they use the Web as a way to escape ____________.

You’re likely not the kind of addict who skips baths or abuses drugs to help stay up for more online time. You may have noticed, ____________, that going online has become a necessary part of your life, which, ____________, means a box of clothes go ____________. It may also mean you’re missing much time with your baby--something you probably do ____________ about.

1.

A．wonderful

B．dramatic

C．distant

D．disturbing

2.

A．eating

B．typing

C．singing

D．whispering

3.

A．limited to

B．devoted to

C．belonged to

D．glued to

4.

A．volume

B．bridge

C．path

D．line

5.

A．in

B．put

C．up

D．down

6.

A．while

B．but

C．and

D．since

7.

A．figures out

B．turns out

C．sets out

D．breaks out

8.

A．admit

B．desert

C．predict

D．recognize

9.

A．relieving

B．shocking

C．struggling

D．uplifting

10.

A．unbearable

B．irreplaceable

C．unbelievable

D．unnecessary

11.

A．remarks

B．dangers

C．discomforts

D．threats

12.

A．therefore

B．however

C．otherwise

D．moreover

13.

A．at least

B．above all

C．after all

D．at most

14.

A．undefended

B．unnoticed

C．unworn

D．unwashed

15.

A．hesitate

B．complain

C．care

D．set

8 . It amazed me — every time I saw Joe he was smiling. It made me _______ why he always seemed so _______. Having observed Joe with other people, I also _______ something else. Joe asked people how they were doing, and really seemed to listen to their _______. He was compassionate (有同情心的) if someone was _______. He would have _______ words and offer to _______ in any way he could.

It made me think what if I tried to _______ more. So when I went to a _______ to do some shopping, I smiled as I walked. And people even I didn’t know smiled back at me. Some even spoke! A little kid in the cart who was giving his mother a hard time saw me smile and ________ talking. Instead, he made a shy smile at me. A man in his wheelchair needed someone to ________ something. I got that for him, and he smiled and ________ me.

A smile is a ________ thing, but what if we were all to try to smile a few more times each day? I couldn’t believe how ________ I felt. What I ________ was that such a small thing could make not only me feel great, but those around me as well.

1.

A．wonder

B．advise

C．feel

D．care

2.

A．angry

B．funny

C．happy

D．proud

3.

A．believed

B．noticed

C．recorded

D．wished

4.

A．answers

B．suggestions

C．ideas

D．programs

5.

A．happy

B．hurt

C．eager

D．nervous

6.

A．cold

B．sad

C．silly

D．kind

7.

A．advise

B．check

C．run

D．help

8.

A．complain

B．smile

C．speak

D．communicate

9.

A．mall

B．school

C．company

D．bank

10.

A．began

B．enjoyed

C．stopped

D．continued

11.

A．speak

B．take

C．reach

D．pull

12.

A．helped

B．thanked

C．remembered

D．refused

13.

A．great

B．real

C．small

D．special

14.

A．beautiful

B．popular

C．fortunate

D．wonderful

15.

A．talked

B．wanted

C．learned

D．written

10 . Standing on the shore of a lake, I can’t help but feel surprised at the thousands of small rocks that surround my boots. They were all created from _________ surfaces, their edges softening over time. I wonder, “Can we learn from a pile of rocks?”

Even the tallest mountains have _________; none are as tall as they were 1,000 years ago. And much like a rock, I’ve found my _________ has softened and my desire to better understand others has expanded with each trip around the sun.

_________, I was also a sharp rock covered in pointy edges. Today, after decades of the waters of life coursing over me, my edges are softer and I’m more _________. I’m less likely to judge and more interested in learning how we can _________ together.

But I’m not a _________. I’m a human filled with all the drama built into my DNA.

Two years ago, while traveling in the Pacific Northwest, I watched a restaurant owner ask several young men to _________ for not wearing masks. Not _________ and not rude. On the door read a sign, “Please wear a mask before entering our restaurant. We don’t like it either, but let’s all do what we can to __________ this together.”

The group of young men wanted to __________ about the note. I sat at the restaurant watching, understanding both sides. I’ve been one of them before, using my youthful edges to chip away at (削弱) the world. What I lost, __________, was the ability to grow from __________ by looking through the eyes of others. In learning to be more __________, I’ve also found more happiness and success.

You can fit more rounded rocks in a jar than those with sharp edges. The former look for ways to __________ and make room for others, while the latter never give an __________ to accommodate others.

__________, like the waters rolling against once sharp stones, changes us by washing away our resistance to __________ the world from someone else’s point of view.

I placed a __________ stone into my jacket pocket. Mother Nature is holding a __________ again.

1.

A．fragile

B．shiny

C．smooth

D．hard

2.

A．piled up

B．worn down

C．risen up

D．broken down

3.

A．will

B．voice

C．attitude

D．heart

4.

A．Still

B．Often

C．Here

D．Once

5.

A．understanding

B．confident

C．patient

D．competitive

6.

A．contribute

B．exist

C．work

D．develop

7.

A．fool

B．soul

C．rock

D．judge

8.

A．explain

B．leave

C．apologize

D．pay

9.

A．contradictory

B．confusing

C．forceful

D．discouraging

10.

A．get through

B．stick to

C．deal with

D．fight against

11.

A．think

B．care

C．talk

D．argue

12.

A．even

B．however

C．anyway

D．also

13.

A．hardships

B．struggle

C．experiences

D．failure

14.

A．open

B．cautious

C．ambitious

D．independent

15.

A．ignore

B．accept

C．adjust

D．change

16.

A．excuse

B．agreement

C．entrance

D．inch

17.

A．Nature

B．Tolerance

C．Tide

D．Time

18.

A．reforming

B．seeing

C．exploring

D．travelling

19.

A．sharp

B．rounded

C．valuable

D．rolling

20.

A．class

B．belief

C．meeting

D．discussion