1 . Our lives are full of habits. Unfortunately a great many of them are bad habits. One way to break these bad habits is to fill our lives with good habits. Most people decide one day that they need to make changes to their lives and then they go all out to make big sweeping changes. This may work for them for the first few days, but then they get burned out.     1     This is a very unproductive way to spend your time and energy.

    2     Say your goal is to get up an hour earlier every day. One day you start setting your alarm for an hour earlier and you keep this up for one week. Then because you are naturally resistant to change, you go back to your old habit. A better way is to set your alarm one minute earlier every day. After two months you are getting up an hour earlier and you will not even notice the change.     3    

This approach can work for just about anything. If you are exercising for half an hour every day and you want to increase that time to one hour then add a minute every day. After one month you will have reached your goal with very little resistance from your body and mind.     4    

This method of change is gentle, but very powerful. Think of everything you can accomplish if you just continuously improve a little at a time. The change itself creates the momentum (动力) you need to keep going.     5     What one minute change can you make to your life today?

A．The key is to change a little bit at a time.

B．Keeping on exercising can build up strength.

C．It may take longer, but with this approach you are likely to succeed.

D．Nothing will happen if you are not determined to achieve your goal.

E．Pretty soon they are back to their old habits and nothing has changed.

F．Changing slowly removes the greatest barrier we have to change: fear.

G．Soon you will find yourself reaching your goals with almost no pain involved.

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Museums inspire dreams-to become an astronaut, an     1     (astronomy), or an aerospace engineer. But can they also help provide a pathway to those goals?

For students seeing everything     2     dinosaurs to distant galaxies (星系) on a museum visit, the real-life applications of science, technology, engineering and mathematics are clear. The American Museum of Natural History doesn’t want to just impress students. It aims to make those “wow” moments the first step toward     3     (develop) the future STEM leaders.

    4     (start) building a career in STEM, students need hands-on experiences and a support network. They need a place     5     they feel comfortable while learning. AMNH uses its position as     6     out-of-school environment with collections, research tools, informal educators, and scientific staff. The museum trains its scientists to work with students     7     offers them year-long, scientist-mentored research opportunities. Students are provided with opportunities to present     8     (they) work to the public.

Students thrive in the program. To date, over 1,000 students     9     (participate) in NASA-themed Science Research Mentoring Program courses, and they have published their work in journals and at conferences. They have gone on to college at a rate of almost 100 percent, with many     10     (active) involved in research at their schools.

4 . Steps to Take to Become a Morning Person

Seek out as much natural light as possible.

The secret to becoming a morning person is exposure to bright light, says Jennifer Martin, president of the board of directors for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. That’s because light suppresses melatonin, a hormone that plays an important role in circadian rhythm.     1    

Ease in gradually.

    2     You could force yourself to get up at your desired time every day, knowing that you’ll feel tired during the transition but will naturally start falling asleep earlier within a few weeks. But for some people — like those who need to drive long distances — those first few days of exhaustion from switching to a new schedule aren’t safe. In that case, Martin recommends gradually easing into the early-bird life. “What I’ll suggest to people is to shift half an hour, wait a few days, shift another half an hour, wait a few days, and then shift another half an hour,” she says.

    3    

A consistent bedtime isn’t as crucial as sticking to the same wake up time every day, but it’s still important to make sure you’re getting enough sleep. Most people should aim for at least seven hours a night — so you’ll probably need to inch your bedtime forward as you transition to a new schedule. Starting at least an hour before you hit the sack, cut back on how much exposure to bright light you’re getting, experts advise.     4    

Plan something to look forward to.

    5       “Now is the time to go buy your favorite coffee or pick up some pastries to have when your alarm goes off at 5 a. m.,” she says. “You’re not dreading it if you think of that.”

A．Reschedule your bedtime.

B．Wind down in the evenings.

C．The sun is the driver of our internal clock.

D．There are two ways to approach your journey to early rising.

E．To tempt you out of bed, Martin suggests treating yourself to something special.

F．Being exposed to artificial light in the late evening could interfere with your ability to fall asleep.

G．They also recommend rethinking the curtains you might use to foster a very dark sleeping environment.

5 . Jewel White, a 15-year-old student, gathers her books and signs herself out of a routine morning math class. She is not leaving school for the day, but is off to try some more challenging equations. This practice is not uncommon at Westmount Secondary School in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where an unconventional learning approach is prevailing.

Westmount is one of the eight regular schools in the country where students work at their own pace and set their own direction, spending as much or as little time as they need on subjects. Teachers act as advisers. With the classroom teachers’ permission, students can sign out of a class to work on other materials or walk into another class to catch up on another subject. And every two weeks they make plans for their own learning time, with support from their adviser.

At a time when a shrinking student population is causing boards to close schools. Westmount sits at 30 percent overcapacity with 1,500 students. Its bursting number led education officials to consider expanding the program to other locations.

“If students are interested, we are going to do our best to provide that sort of programming,” said Todd White, chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.

When students like Jewel are not in a classroom, they can usually be found in the school’s learning commons, a study area for all students. There are teachers available to help, but generally students are working on their own assignments or projects.

Jewel said Westmount’s self-paced style caught her attention when she was looking at high schools. Westmount is not the school close to her home. She said at elementary school she would often cause trouble in class because she would complete her work early and not have much else to do. “I find this kind of academic environment in Westmount is a lot better for me,” she said. “I like the thought of being able to work faster or slower if needed.”

1. What does the word “prevailing” underlined in paragraph I mean?

A．Catching on.

B．Giving way.

C．Slowing down.

D．Causing trouble.

2. Which of the following words can best describe the school’s learning approach?

A．Complex but familiar.	B．Flexible and efficient.
C．Traditional and common.	D．Difficult but interesting.

3. What is Todd White’s attitude to Westmount’s style of learning?

A．Tolerant.

B．Doubtful.

C．Positive.

D．Unconcerned.

4. What did Jewel think of her elementary school?

A．It was a school closest to her home.

B．It provided too much homework for students.

C．Its learning atmosphere was not very satisfying.

D．Its students did not work as fast as Westmount.

6 . 随着知识经济的发展，我们的社会越来越需要“全能型人才”。假设你是李华，学校英文社团请你写一封倡议书，主题为“To Be an All-round Student”。
写作要点：1. 提出倡议的背景；2. 倡议的内容；3. 提出呼吁。
参考词汇：all-round talents全能型人才
注意：1. 写作词数应为80左右；
2. 适当加入细节，使内容充实、行文连贯；
3. 请按如下格式作答。

To Be an All-round Student

Dear boys and girls,
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The English Club

7 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。1.

A．3%.	B．15%.
C．About 18%.	D．Over 30%.

2.

A．British senior managers.	B．Patients in mental hospital.
C．Prime ministers.	D．American presidents.

3.

A．Factors of affecting people’s success.

B．Importance of keeping emotional health.

C．Encouraging children to have ambitions.

D．Relationships between hardship and success.

8 . Swimming is a wonderful thing for me — exercise, reflection and alone time. The only thing that can ruin a swim is when I shift my attention from my lane to what’s happening in the lanes next to me. I can catch myself racing the person next to me, or comparing our strokes.

Comparison is actually not an emotion. Researchers explain that comparing the self with others, either intentionally or unintentionally, is a common social phenomenon.

Comparison is the desire for consistency from one side and competition from the other — it’s trying to be like everyone else, but better. When we compare ourselves with others, we are ran king around a specific collection of “ alike things ” . I’m not swimming against Katie Ledecky’s times, I’m just interested in the stranger in the lane next to me. When we compare, we want to be the best of our group. It’s not be yourself and respect others for being genuine, but to win. I want to swim the same workout as you, and beat you at it.

In general, however, social comparisons are not associated with life satisfaction or the positive emotions of love and joy but are associated with the negative emotions of fear, anger, shame and sadness.

Here’s what makes all of this really tough: Many social psychologists consider social comparison something that happens to us. More often than not, we don’t even know we’re doing it. This lack of awareness can lead to us showing up in ways that are hurtful to ourselves and others.

So we get to choose how we’re going to let it affect us. My new strategy is to look at the person in the lane next to me, and say to myself, as if I’m talking to them, “ Have a great swim. ” That way, I acknowledge the inevitable and make a conscious decision to wish them well, and return to my swim. So far, it’s working pretty well.

1. What do we know about comparison?

A．It is nothing but an emotion.	B．It is trying to be the true self.
C．It is to be different and be the best.	D．It is to fit in and meanwhile to win.

2. What may be the author’s attitude to social comparison?

A．Critical.

B．Doubtful.

C．Indifferent.

D．Favorable.

3. What is the feature of social comparison in the eyes of many psychologists?

A．Its unavoidability.	B．Its emotional influence.
C．Its uncertainty.	D．Its cultural root.

4. Why is swimming frequently mentioned in the text?

A．To present a social perspective on a sport issue.

B．To use it as an example to support an opinion.

C．To describe the right process of solving a problem.

D．To show love for sports with a personal experience.

9 . It is generally acknowledged that a time-out, a method of checking misbehavior by removing the child from his or her current situation for a few minutes of quiet time, is bad for children’s emotional and behavioral health. However, a new study suggests that despite always getting criticized, the common disciplinary (纪律的) strategy isn’t linked to harmful effects on children.

Researchers compared emotional and behavioral health between kids whose parents reported using time-outs and those who didn’t over a roughly eight-year period. The result: no difference. There was no association between reported use of time-outs and negative symptoms in later childhood, including anxiety, depression, internalizing or externalizing problems, aggression, rule-breaking behavior, or self-control, according to the findings in Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (儿科学).

“Parents are constantly questioning whether they are doing the right thing for their children. Unfortunately the first place many parents go for advice is the Internet — not a medical provider. There is a lot of conflicting information on the Web that isn’t accurate,” says lead author Rachel Knight, PhD, pediatric psychologist at University of Michigan C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital. “In fact, they may not be aware that time-out is one of the child discipline strategies currently recommended by American Academy of Pediatrics.”

Further studies are needed to continue evaluating specific claims made against time-outs and both their short-term and long-term effects across different populations and ages. Experts also need to find more effective ways to communicate evidence-based information to parents.

“As we further our understanding about how different parenting strategies affect children, we need to present findings in an easily digestible and accessible way for the public,” she also says, “Our goal is to clear up misconceptions and promote the use of the highly effective, evidence-based strategies that will best guide parents and families.”

1. What do people generally think of a time-out?

A．It has negative effects on children.

B．It is an ineffective way of punishment.

C．It is a method to assess children’s misbehavior.

D．It has nothing to do with harmful effects on children.

2. What can be inferred from Knight’s words in the third paragraph?

A．Most young parents lack medical knowledge.

B．Some information on the Internet needs regulating.

C．She is concerned about the overuse of time-outs.

D．The more time-outs are used, the better children behave.

3. What is the target of Knight’s further research?

A．To recommend some effective strategies to parents.

B．To remove people’s misunderstanding about time-outs.

C．To appeal to government to regulate information on the Net.

D．To warn parents of getting evidence-based information from experts.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．How Parents Use Time-out Correctly

B．Time-outs Bad for Children’s Behavioral Health

C．Some Highly Effective Strategies to Guide Parents

D．Time-outs Not Associated with Negative Effects on Children