1 . The email hit me like a punch in the gut. It came from my ________ and when I saw it had several paragraphs, I frowned. Quickly scanning for the vocabulary of bad news, I discovered words like “________”, “I’m sorry”, and “end”. Sure enough, my column—Science Careers was being canceled.

But despite my________ shock, I wasn’t as sad or mad or ________ as I might have been in the past. Previously, when I have been ________, I embodied (表现) the loss by ragging on and thinking________ about myself: “They” don’t value me because I don’t have value. And indeed, when I got the message about the________, my instinct was to immediately blame myself, dumping me into the familiar hopeless desert of ________.

But then, I surprised myself by quickly ________ to a new mindset. It wasn’t actually a failure, was it? Instead of letting the disappointing news start________, I was able to take a positive ________.I set out to make this not the day I was fired, but the day I was fired up and________to move my career to the next level.

Sometimes life sucks and things happen, and we cannot ________.Business decisions often impact our careers and yet have very little to do with our outputs. This decision wasn’t a ________ of me and my value. So when I heard that the column was a ________, I knew I was going to grow.

1.

A．housekeeper

B．parents

C．editor

D．customers

2.

A．desperately

B．unfortunately

C．hopefully

D．thankfully

3.

A．initial

B．endless

C．various

D．regular

4.

A．moved

B．committed

C．disturbed

D．thrilled

5.

A．laid off

B．approved of

C．seen through

D．looked into

6.

A．remarkably

B．ambitiously

C．identically

D．negatively

7.

A．promotion

B．threat

C．column

D．application

8.

A．boundary

B．failure

C．tendency

D．distance

9.

A．switching

B．objecting

C．adding

D．comparing

10.

A．self-defense

B．self-respect

C．self-doubt

D．self-approval

11.

A．suggestion

B．perspective

C．assistance

D．breath

12.

A．commanded

B．allowed

C．warned

D．inspired

13.

A．discover

B．track

C．forget

D．control

14.

A．routine

B．dream

C．reflection

D．principle

15.

A．goner

B．victim

C．delay

D．rank

2 . In my freshman year, I asked myself, “Why am I in school?” I thought I was forced to be there, but I decided just to get along with it until I could find it _________.

One day it finally hit me. We were studying Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in our _________ class. Each of us was asked to _________ a part, and I jokingly _________ to play the nurse. They all laughed, thinking that I, a boy, couldn’t play it, _________ I decided I was going to be the best nurse ever to appear on the stage of the freshman writing class. On the day of the _________, I walked slowly onto the stage and put my heart and soul into the play. The _________ look on my peers’ faces let me know that my performance was excellent, and then I knew what _________ meant to me. School was then a place where I could explore _________ areas in my mind. Perhaps this realization had __________ appeared before I had never been brave enough to __________ it.

To feed my new-found hunger for learning, I decided that I wouldn’t be __________ any more. I began raising my hand higher in class discussions; I was at the point where I no longer felt __________ to take part in, but did because I wanted to. In oral communication class, I chose unpopular speech __________ like “The Flat Tax” and made them __________ by creating characters. In British literature class, I chose to write a song for a creative project on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. __________ these creative activities, I made classes interesting not only for me, but also for my classmates and teachers.

In short, I’ve discovered that __________ is not something teenagers are forced to experience. __________, learning is a way teenagers grow. What I want to __________ my classmates is that I’m a brave and creative actor, musician and writer, whose __________ each of my teachers knows by the end of their first class, and will be reinforced each day through my brave behavior.

1.

A．lucky

B．powerful

C．believable

D．meaningful

2.

A．history

B．writing

C．listening

D．literature

3.

A．play

B．watch

C．enjoy

D．imagine

4.

A．afforded

B．remembered

C．promised

D．volunteered

5.

A．if

B．for

C．but

D．once

6.

A．experiment

B．competition

C．discussion

D．performance

7.

A．embarrassed

B．surprised

C．confused

D．worried

8.

A．dream

B．family

C．school

D．childhood

9.

A．unknown

B．unfriendly

C．unfair

D．uncomfortable

10.

A．often

B．never

C．ever

D．already

11.

A．make

B．judge

C．leave

D．discover

12.

A．shy

B．calm

C．curious

D．lazy

13.

A．prepared

B．encouraged

C．forced

D．determined

14.

A．goals

B．topics

C．models

D．plans

15.

A．ordinary

B．natural

C．valuable

D．interesting

16.

A．Without

B．Through

C．Except

D．Before

17.

A．learning

B．singing

C．speaking

D．training

18.

A．Instead

B．Still

C．Therefore

D．However

19.

A．follow

B．know

C．tell

D．accept

20.

A．mind

B．hope

C．name

D．life

3 . I was a smartphone addict. The first thing I did when I woke up was reach for my ___________. However, sometimes I sensed that I could have done something more ___________ than just looking at a tiny screen all day. Sliding into the habit was easy, but it was difficult to ___________ the habit.

Then the day came when I finally ___________ I had to make a change. Head down, eyes on my smartphone, I stepped into the road and a car shot past, nearly killing me! At that very moment, I made up my mind to spend a whole ___________ without my smartphone.

The first day was the ___________. I kept reaching for my pocket, for my smartphone that was not there. I felt lost and anxious. Then somehow I began to feel free. I _________ the classic novel I had always wanted to read. I kept a journal of my feelings, thoughts and daily activities to see how much progress I was making. _________, I began to appreciate the beauty in _________ with my own eyes, instead of through my smartphone camera.

By the end of the week, I almost did not __________ to turn my phone back on. Those seven days have given me a great appreciation for life beyond the screen- a life, richer and more beautiful.

1.

A．novel

B．smartphone

C．journal

D．camera

2.

A．meaningful

B．comfortable

C．difficult

D．stressful

3.

A．share

B．develop

C．quit

D．acquire

4.

A．realized

B．suggested

C．admitted

D．agreed

5.

A．hour

B．day

C．week

D．month

6.

A．happiest

B．best

C．busiest

D．hardest

7.

A．made up

B．picked up

C．gave away

D．took away

8.

A．Usually

B．Generally

C．Probably

D．Finally

9.

A．music

B．science

C．life

D．work

10.

A．want

B．agree

C．hesitate

D．fail

4 . Christmas is a time for giving and receiving. However, is it ________ for close family and friends? Do we even spare a ________ for those in need? Our children receive so much throughout the year.

As parents we want our daughters to be ________ for what they have and to think of those who don’t. That’s why my husband and I want them to ________ the spirit of giving back from a very young age.

Through their school, the girls have a charity which they ________ . Every Tuesday they take two loaves of bread to the school food bank. Twice a year they donate ________ clothes, toys and books to shelters. They also volunteer on weekends. As my husband is a regular blood donor, the girls ________ to donate as well. Unfortunately they are too ________ as the start age is 16.

Children mirror the ________ of their parents and if you often reach out to others by giving generously, they will ________ . Christmas is the perfect time to teach them to give back to those less ________ .

Teaching the gift of giving back not only promotes personal growth, it also ________ them a sense of belonging and pride. It will create ________ that they are making a difference in someone else’s life no matter how small the ________ . It teaches them love, kindness, patience and so on. These ________ will help them carry it forward in their adult life.

1.

A．clearly

B．equally

C．merely

D．finally

2.

A．tip

B．holiday

C．reward

D．thought

3.

A．ready

B．grateful

C．qualified

D．responsible

4.

A．learn about

B．stand for

C．hold back

D．point out

5.

A．ignore

B．encourage

C．remember

D．support

6.

A．colorful

B．unwanted

C．expensive

D．unimportant

7.

A．hesitate

B．afford

C．wish

D．agree

8.

A．young

B．eager

C．concerned

D．terrified

9.

A．opinions

B．intentions

C．achievements

D．actions

10.

A．believe

B．explore

C．follow

D．improve

11.

A．ambitious

B．fortunate

C．successful

D．independent

12.

A．gives

B．spares

C．costs

D．promises

13.

A．relaxation

B．motivation

C．satisfaction

D．appreciation

14.

A．progress

B．distinction

C．determination

D．contribution

15.

A．comments

B．virtues

C．standards

D．profits

5 . When I was in high school, the future seemed very far away. Now I’m   ______ and I think about those days a lot, I ______ things that I should have done. I also remember things that benefited a lot.

I have only one   ______ about the time I spent in high school. I should have   ______

more advanced classes. For example, I had the opportunity to take an advanced English class, but I ______ to take the regular class. I made that decision because I didn’t want to ______
too hard. I also wanted to   ______ more time playing with my friends. Now I’m college and have to take more English classes. I wish I had studied harder in high school!

I’m glad that I had an ______   to take part in after-class activities. I was member of the football team. We practice every day after school and had football ______ on weekends. We ______ won several matches! My ______   became my good friends. Now I know that after-class activities are _____ because we can learn about responsibility and teamwork.

Good and bad ______ are a part of everyone’s high school years. Is it possible to learn from these experiences? I think it is because even the ______ ones help to prepare us for the ______ .

1.

A．strong

B．healthier

C．older

D．richer

2.

A．remember

B．change

C．do

D．finish

3.

A．joy

B．habit

C．fear

D．regret

4.

A．given

B．taken

C．prepared

D．missed

5.

A．decided

B．learned

C．forgot

D．happened

6.

A．study

B．practice

C．fight

D．try

7.

A．waste

B．lose

C．spend

D．arrange

8.

A．approach

B．opportunity

C．award

D．excuse

9.

A．meetings

B．discussions

C．matches

D．speeches

10.

A．yet

B．forever

C．still

D．even

11.

A．parents

B．teachers

C．workmates

D．teammates

12.

A．important

B．useless

C．boring

D．colorful

13.

A．games

B．memories

C．experiences

D．records

14.

A．same

B．simple

C．easy

D．bad

15.

A．world

B．future

C．work

D．society.