1 . From now on, never spend your precious time thinking of reasons for your failures and shortcomings. Instead, realize that the seeds of success were planted within you when you were born. Only you have the power to make those seeds grow.
The seeds, and the power to grow them, are contained in the most awesome machine ever created：the human mind. Success is a choice and not a chance. You were born a winner. You were born rich. You can be a success if only you make the right choice.
You cannot be successful without first developing your self-esteem. Your level of self-esteem is always based on the degree of control that you are able to exercise over yourself, and thus over your life. People with low self-esteem are people who do not believe that they have any power, or responsibility for their lives. They are the perennial（长期的）victims and martyrs. They are leaves tossed（摇摆）by the winds of chance blown about with any sudden change in the weather.
You can exercise control over your life only to the degree that you believe that you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. Failures think that everything happens by accident and chance. Successful people realize that they are responsible.
Everything happens as a result of something. If we can identify the cause, we can control the effect. We are responsible for what we choose to think and believe. One generally rises to the level that one expects. We are responsible for setting our expectations. Our success is dependent upon our level of confidence.
If you associate with positive-thinking people, you are definitely going to achieve success. On the contrary, the opposite happens. We are responsible for finding, planting, and nurturing the seeds that contain future victory, born from setbacks.
In short, in all areas of your life, whether they be financial, physical, emotional, or spiritual, you are responsible. Once you recognize this, accept it, and firmly believe it, you are on the road to success.
1. People with low self-esteem are compared to leaves because they ______.| A．are ready to change their minds | B．are easily affected by windy weather |
| C．don't have the power to face their fate | D．can't exercise control over themselves |
| A．success is the result of hard work | B．working hard will lead to success |
| C．their failure is only because of bad luck | D．they don't make efforts to succeed |
| A．whether we will succeed depends on our attitudes |
| B．one’s expectation is the key to future success |
| C．thoughts and beliefs are the result of creative mind |
| D．setting our expectations is essential before taking action |
| A．the proof of the author's points | B．the conclusion of the argument |
| C．an introduction to another topic | D．a comparison between two views |
| A．The secrets of success． | B．Success is a choice． |
| C．Develop our confidence． | D．How to achieve success． |
2 . My First Marathon
A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead.
I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my firs P.E. class, the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball. I didn't do either well. He later informed me that I was “not athletic”.
The idea that I was “not athletic” stuck with me for years. When I started running in my 30s, I realized running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. I was all about the batter against my own body and mind. A test of will!
The night before my marathon, I dreamt that I couldn't even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.
Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces(鞋带) became untied. So I sopped to readjust. Not the start I wanted!
AI mile 3.1 passed sign: “GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!”
By mile 17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Despite the pain, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.
By mile 21, 1 was starving!
As I approached mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a.m. or questioned my expenses on running.
I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.
Determined to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels(世俗标签), 1 can now call myself a “marathon winner”.
1. A month before the marathon, the author__________.| A．was well trained | B．felt scared |
| C．made up his mind to run | D．lost hope |
| A．To admit the support of his teacher. | B．To amuse the readers with a funny story. |
| C．To show he was not talented in sports. | D．To share a precious memory. |
| A．To show the author's injured ankle. | B．To show the length the Marahon |
| C．To show the wife's support to the author. | D．To show the author’s great perseverance |
| A．He made it. | B．He quit halfway. |
| C．He got the first prize. | D．He walked to the end. |
| A．A man owes his success to his family support. | B．A winner is one with a great effort of will. |
| C．Failure is the mother of success. | D．One is never too old to learn. |
3 . Aava Whistler Hotel
Star Ratings：★★★
Location: Whistler
Rooms：192
Stay at the Aava Whistler Hotel and experience a great vacation．The Aava Whistler Hotel is within minutes from over a hundred shopping malls, and restaurants．It also has a great number of recreational facilities, including swimming, diving and even skiing．Hotel services include 24-hour reception, laundry and room service．Guests can stay in cozy rooms equipped with air conditioning, bathroom and television．From CN￥496 per night．
Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel
Star Ratings：★★★
Location: East Lundy's Lane
Room：166
Relax and unwind at the Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel．This resort-style hotel is located just minutes from the airport．At this hotel, guests can enjoy a large number of recreational facilities, including children's activities, sightseeing and a swimming pool．Business travelers can also take advantage of spacious meeting and banqueting facilities for hosting corporate events．All rooms come with basic amenities（便利设施）．From CN￥439 per night．
Clarion Hotel& Suites Downtown Montreal
Star Ratings：★★★
Location: Montreal．
Rooms：266
Conveniently located just 20 minutes from the airport, the Clarion Hotel& Suites Downtown Montreal is a moderately-priced three-star hotel that provides services to both business and leisure travelers．The Clarion has spacious meeting facilities and modern business centers for business travelers．It has a sauna and a whirlpool where guests can relax．All rooms come with basic amenities, including cable TV and a kitchenette．From CN￥553 per night．
Delta-Bow: Valley Hotel
Star Ratings：★★★
Location: Calgary
Rooms：398
The Delta Bow-Valley Hotel is located a couple of blocks north of Olympic Plaza, east of James Short Park, and north-east of the Petro-Canada Centre．Apart from business and recreational services such as a business center, a fitness center and a restaurant, all rooms in the Delta come with a mini-bar and in-house movies．From CN￥1, 227 per night．
1. What do all four of the hotels have in common?| A．They all have three-star ratings． |
| B．They all have the same number of rooms． |
| C．They are all close to the airport． |
| D．They all provide a room with a mini-bar． |
| A．Aava Whistler Hotel |
| B．Clarion Hotel & Suites Downtown Montreal |
| C．Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel |
| D．Delta Bow Valley Hotel |
| A．Aava Whistler Hotel |
| B．Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel |
| C．Clarion Hotel & Suites Downtown Montreal |
| D．Delta Bow Valley Hotel |
| A．They all come with a mini-bar and in-house movies as well as laundry． |
| B．They all come with basic amenities, including cable TV and a kitchenette． |
| C．They all come with the basic amenities, including a swimming pool． |
| D．They all come with skiing facilities, fitness rooms and saunas． |
| A．People who are fond of swimming, skiing and sightseeing． |
| B．The family or travelers who will hold a big birthday party． |
| C．The companies which are preparing the annual conference． |
| D．Those who enjoy watching films while drinking in the room． |
4 . Our English course for juniors focuses on learning English in an enjoyable way. Classes are small and individual attention is something we value. Students are encouraged to make use of the opportunities to speak and improve their English with the presence of monitors and teachers who will always use English with them.
Typical day in English
| Time | Activity |
| 8：30—9：00 | Breakfast |
| 9：15—10：15 | Lesson 1 |
| 10：30—11：30 | Lesson 2 |
| 11：45—12：45 | Lesson 3 |
| 13：15—14：15 | Lunch with teachers |
| 15：00—18：30 | Afternoon activity（sight-seeing, treasure hunt, bowling, sport, craft, cookery, etc.） |
| 19：00—20：00 | Dinner |
| 20：30—22：30 | Evening activity（games, karaoke, video night, organized trip to local youth clubs, etc.） |
| 23：00 | Lights out |
There are three classes in the morning from Monday to Friday. The focus is primarily on spoken English. Students will learn functional English to help them in real social situations. Special attention will be given to useful vocabulary for the afternoon activities. The course will finish with a group presentation.
Maximum number of students in a class is 8. This allows for greater participation and a greater degree of individual attention. Each class is with a different teacher. This means that students practice English with the added benefit of listening to more accents and experience a variety of teaching styles.
Classes are arranged by level. On arrival students take a level test to assess their oral, reading and writing abilities. Students are then placed in a class where teachers agree they will benefit most.
We live and study on campus. There is no time wasted in traveling to class. There are short breaks between classes to allow students to prepare for the next class or make a start on homework. Homework is beneficial to the language learned during the day so teachers will set some short tasks.
Teachers are native English speakers. Our teachers know what it’s like to learn a language. They will encourage and help students improve.
1. How long does each class last?| A．30minutes. | B．45 minutes. | C．60 minutes. | D．90 minutes. |
| A．Play bowling. | B．Hunt for treasure. | C．Learn how to cook. | D．Play at a youth club. |
| A．Conclude classes with a personal presentation. |
| B．Learn spoken English for the afternoon activities. |
| C．Practice functional English in virtual situations. |
| D．Study English under the guidance of the same teacher. |
| A．gender | B．age | C．language level | D．personal interest |
5 . The Milky Way is full of habitable (宜居) places, with roughly half of all sunlike stars hosting Earth-size worlds that could be friendly to life.
Here’s a good sign for alien hunters: More than 300 million worlds with similar conditions to Earth are spread throughout the Milky Way galaxy. A new analysis concludes that roughly half of the galaxy’s sunlike stars host rocky worlds in habitable zones where liquid water could pool or flow over the planets’ surfaces.
Astronomers estimated the number of these planets using data from NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft. For nine years, Kepler stared at the stars and watched for the brief twinkles produced when orbiting planets block a portion of their star’s light. By the end of its mission in 2018, Kepler had spotted some 2,800 exoplanets (外星行星) — many of them nothing like the worlds orbiting our sun.
But Kepler’s primary goal was always to determine how common planets like Earth are. The calculation required help from the European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft, which monitors stars across the galaxy. With Gaia’s observations in hand, scientists were finally able to determine that the Milky Way is populated by hundreds of millions of Earth-size planets orbiting sunlike stars — and that the nearest one is probably within 20 light-years of the solar system.
It took more than half a century for scientists to start pinning down how many planets could possibly host life. In 1961, astronomers knew of no worlds orbiting stars other than the sun — and although planetary formation theories suggested exoplanets should be common, we had no observational evidence that they existed. But over the past decade, it’s become clear that planets are extremely common, outnumbering stars in the Milky Way. On average, nearly every star is home to at least one orbiting world.
Early estimates suggested that perhaps 20 percent of sunlike stars hosted a world that met those criteria. We now know that the number is closer to 50 percent, if not more.
Of course, many factors determine whether a world in the habitable zone is truly friendly for life. Planetary characteristics such as magnetic fields, atmospheres, and plate tectonics all play a role, and those are difficult to observe on small, faraway worlds.
1. When the author says, “Here’s a good sign for alien hunters”, he probably means____.| A．that’s good news for hunters |
| B．we will find aliens soon |
| C．there is a clear signal from alien |
| D．many sunlike stars have been found that may be habitable |
| A．By observing the brief flicker that occurs when orbiting planets block some of the star’s light. |
| B．By using the data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft. |
| C．By calculating the stars in the galaxy. |
| D．Through its own calculation. |
| A．Kepler’s primary goal was to make sure that the Earth is a common planet. |
| B．Kepler helped Gaia to calculate the planets. |
| C．Gaia is only 20 light-years away from the solar system. |
| D．Kepler monitors stars across the Milky Way. |
| A．The importance of planetary formation theories. |
| B．Exoplanets are common. |
| C．Scientists spent more than half a century to find out how many planets host life. |
| D．Astronomers have known of no worlds orbiting stars other than the sun since 1961. |
| A．oxygen | B．atmospheres | C．magnetic fields | D．plate tectonics |
Many roads and places in Singapore（新加坡）are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries ---- in both the West and the East.
Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus ---- obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel.
Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, “Base Basah” means “wet rice” in Malay（马来语）. Now why would anyone want to name a road “Wet Rice Road”? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.
A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is “Circular Road” for one. Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like “Paya Lebar Crescent”. This road is called a crescent（月牙） because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.
1. We learn from Paragraph 1 that _____.| A．the government is usually the first to name a place |
| B．many places tend to have more than one name |
| C．a ceremony will be held when a place is named |
| D．people prefer the place names given by the government |
| A．Change suddenly. | B．Change significantly. |
| C．Disappear mysteriously. | D．Disappear very slowly. |
| A．Raffles Place. | B．Selector Airbase. |
| C．Piccadilly Circus. | D．Paya Lebar Crescent. |
| A．after a person | B．after a place | C．after an activity | D．by its shape |
| A．Some place names in Singapore are the same as in Britain. |
| B．Some places in Singapore are named for military purposes. |
| C．The way Singaporeans name their places is unique. |
| D．Young Singaporeans have forgotten the pioneers. |
