1 . Having struggling for years, I was admitted to a university. Proud of myself, I felt as if I had a rise in social status, just like Napoleon, who _______ in vanity (自负) after he climbed up the Alps, “I’m even higher than the Alps”.

As a result, the whole family regarded me as a bright _______ outshining the brightest star in the night sky. I was allowed to have my own _______ in everything. And soon I got used to wasting money at university. I drank, smoke and went to dances. I could enjoy milk and bread at _______.

The family was reunited in my vacation. Hardly had I sat down _______ took out a package of cigarettes. Of course I asked Dad to _______ one out first. He was a chain smoker. _______ he had announced hundreds of times that he would quit smoking, he never _______ his promise. When I was admitted to the university, he said with smiling “I’LL STOP SMOKING.” Well, I knew he _______ to save for my tuition, but it was just another “rubber check (空头支票)”, I ________.

________ I was mistaken this time. With a smile. Dad said. “It has been months ________ I stopped smoking.” I was frozen and ________ at him with astonishment. His face had become thinner. There were more wrinkles (皱纹) on his forehead than I had ________. Tears were about to rush out of my eyes, but I had to keep them ________ because Dad might be angered. Hard as our life was, Dad never shed tears. It was then that I was determined to give up smoking.

1.

A．claimed

B．reported

C．believed

D．cried

2.

A．sun

B．candle

C．moon

D．planet

3.

A．behavior

B．way

C．idea

D．order

4.

A．once

B．present

C．length

D．ease

5.

A．where

B．which

C．when

D．what

6.

A．let

B．pick

C．hand

D．hold

7.

A．So

B．Since

C．Before

D．Although

8.

A．kept

B．made

C．broke

D．showed

9.

A．stopped

B．started

C．meant

D．failed

10.

A．understood

B．thought

C．moved

D．recognized

11.

A．However

B．Normally

C．Therefore

D．Fortunately

12.

A．before

B．after

C．until

D．since

13.

A．laughed

B．wondered

C．stared

D．shouted

14.

A．appeared

B．imagined

C．judged

D．calculated

15.

A．back

B．in

C．away

D．out

2 . Do you think I’m insane?

This question came from Elon Musk near the very end of a long dinner we shared at a high-end seafood restaurant in Silicon Valley. I’d gotten to the restaurant first and settled down with a gin and tonic, knowing Musk would—as ever—be late. After about fifteen minutes, Musk showed up. Musk stands six foot one but he is absurdly broad-shouldered and sturdy. You’d figure he would use this frame to his advantage and perform an alpha-male strut (昂首阔步) when entering a room. Instead, he tends to be almost sheepish. His head tilted slightly down while walking, a quick handshake hello after reaching the table, and then butt in seat. From there, Musk needs a few minutes before he warms up and looks at ease.

Musk asked me to dinner for a negotiation of sorts. Eighteen months earlier, I’d informed him of my plans to write a book about him, and he’d informed me of his plans not to cooperate.

His rejection stung but sent me into dogged reporter mode. If I had to do this book without him, so be it. Plenty of people had left Musk’s companies, Tesla Motors and SpaceX, and would talk, and I already knew a lot of his friends. The interviews followed one after another, month after month, and two hundred or so people into the process, I heard from Musk once again. He called me at home and declared that things could go one of two ways: he could make my life very difficult or he could help with the project after all. He’d be willing to cooperate if he could read the book before it went to publication, and could add footnotes (脚注) throughout it. He would not meddle with my text, but he wanted the chance to set the record straight in spots that he deemed factually inaccurate. I understood where this was coming from. Musk wanted a measure of control over his life’s story. He’s also wired like a scientist and suffers mental anguish at the sight of a factual error. A mistake on a printed page would eat away at his soul—forever. While I could understand his perspective, I could not let him read the book, for professional, personal, and practical reasons. Musk has his version of the truth, and it’s not always the version of the truth that the rest of the world shares. He’s prone to lengthy answers to even the simplest of questions as well, and the thought of thirty-page footnotes seemed all too real. Still, we agreed to have dinner, chat all this out, and see where it left us.

1. Why did the author meet up with Elon Musk at the restaurant?

A．Because the alpha male forced him into this appointment.

B．Because his autobiography featured Musk’s legends.

C．Because he relied on this interview for factual accuracy.

D．Because the businessman was willing to help unconditionally.

2. Which statement is appropriate according to the author?

A．Musk’s rejection forced him to give up on interviewing anybody.

B．Many of his former employees resigned because of his bossiness.

C．Musk agreed to cooperate if he could read the book before publication.

D．Musk has behaved in an unconventional way from time to time.

3. What do you think Elon Musk is like based on this excerpt?

A．Dominant and impolite.	B．Creative and outgoing.
C．Shy and obsessive.	D．Caring and generous.

3 . When I was 20, I started my own company. My dad was very_______, and he bought me a _______. Little did I know the gift he handed me would give me a strong _______to achieve my goal.

At first, I didn’t make any money and I had to suffer from _______ —eating a can (罐) of baked beans once a day —and had a hard time paying rent. Bad days like this lasted almost a month, and then one day I saw the book _______. What encouraged me was the _______ stories of people with huge success, _______ that of Jim Carrey, who is one of my favorite actors.

Jim grew up in a(n) _______family, with a father who kept a low-paid job.When he was 15, he _______ out of school and worked as a doorkeeper. Later, he started his ________career, which was not very smooth. He was booed offstage (噓下台) at his first appearance at a comedy club in Toronto, ________ he didn’t give up. He explained in an interview that he’d written himself a ________for $10, 000, 000 as payment for acting services. He carried it with him for 7years until he could finally cash it for his performance in Dumb and Dumber.

No one is born a success. People make themselves into successes by their own________. Instead of seeing my company as a failure, I started to see it ________. I pushed, ________ myself, and worked harder. Now I am the CEO of a multi-35national corporation.

1.

A．supportive

B．shocked

C．unconcerned

D．hesitant

2.

A．car

B．book

C．box

D．bag

3.

A．need

B．desire

C．challenge

D．promise

4.

A．disease

B．ignorance

C．hunger

D．doubt

5.

A．by chance

B．for sure

C．on time

D．in advance

6.

A．ridiculous

B．extraordinary

C．strange

D．funny

7.

A．fairly

B．partly

C．especially

D．normally

8.

A．adoptive

B．large

C．old

D．poor

9.

A．rushed

B．looked

C．dropped

D．ran

10.

A．musical

B．performing

C．sporting

D．political

11.

A．thus

B．otherwise

C．meanwhile

D．but

12.

A．letter

B．plan

C．note

D．check

13.

A．efforts

B．tests

C．nature

D．luck

14.

A．honestly

B．individually

C．calmly

D．differently

15.

A．encouraged

B．observed

C．protected

D．impressed

4 . About five days ago, my back started tightening in the middle region. A couple of days ago, I was trapped in my bed, unable to move.     1     So here I was, determined to make an appointment at an Eastern medicine school for my first experience getting acupuncture.

It was a wonderful experience. The room looked no different from a Western medicine examination room.     2     However, it differed from Western medicine in the way they sought to treat me.

    3     I was asked about things in my entire life, from my sleep patterns to my physical processes, to current life stressors. Then the medical student discussed a plan with the doctor. They came back, asked me to lie on my stomach, and started placing the needles. The needles didn’t hurt. I could barely feel their presence.

After they placed the needles, the doctor asked me how I felt. I told her I couldn’t feel any pain.    4     So they left me in the room with a heat lamp for about twenty minutes. This “baking” time was amazing. It was subtle, but strong.     5     When the appointment was over, I felt super relaxed, almost drunk. I would highly recommend this treatment option for anybody who thinks they may benefit.

A．The mysterious ancient healing art of acupuncture was amazing.

B．Chinese medicine tend to regard the patient’s symptoms as a whole.

C．I hated the looks from my doctor for symptoms that Western technology can’t handle perfectly.

D．I felt like I was in an altered state of relaxation, a different dimension, even.

E．The doctor told me to be patient and wait for the needles to take effect.

F．I sat down and discussed my symptoms with the medical student.

G．This actually indicated that I was responding well to the treatment.

5 . When Allison Barnes left school she trained as a teacher. Back in those days, teaching was what girls from the country did: teaching or nursing.

When she graduated, in the early 80s, there were no jobs for teachers at all. She worked in a bank, cleaned houses, did screen printing at a factory, sold photographs in Kings Cross, worked in catering and as a security guard. Then finally she got a job at the Office of the Status of Women and she worked there for about eight years. That was, for her, a very big break. Following that she worked in policy and research for all of her career, in a whole lot of different areas in the public service.

When she got to 55, she had done 30 years. After she retired, she started on a graduate certificate of environmental science at ANU. However, she withdrew because she found not having a background in science at all was difficult.

Then she travelled overseas, but soon she was diagnosed with cancer. When she finished treatment she wanted to do something to make herself feel a bit normal. That’s when she registered in CIT ( Canberra Institute of Technology ) for a certificate IV in visual arts. Probably about three-quarters of her class were under 25. She was one of the oldest ones there, and she also had no hair. She stayed on at CIT and started the diploma. By the time she completed it she had lots of artwork, so she applied for ANU art school and was offered a place in print and drawing.

“When you leave work you’re usually an expert in whatever you did. Then you start something new and everyone is younger than you, they know more than you do, they’re probably better at risk-taking, I think they’re better educated. It’s easy to feel intimidated (胆怯的). But remember you have skills that you’ll be able to build on.” Allison says, “Art gives me a different place in the world. When I’m making staff, and I’m hard at it, I feel very joyful.”

1. What did Allison Barnes do after graduation?

A．She started as a public servant.	B．She quit the career as a teacher.
C．She tried different kinds of jobs.	D．She became a guard in a factory.

2. Why did Allison Barnes decide to take up visual arts?

A．To struggle against cancer.	B．To interact with new people.
C．To show her enthusiasm in art.	D．To regain a sense of normality.

3. Which word can best describe Allison Barnes according to the last paragraph?

A．Positive.

B．Sympathetic.

C．Helpful.

D．Considerate.

4. What can we learn from Allison’s story?

A．Never late to pursue one’s passions.

B．Opportunity knocks only once.

C．Easier said than done.

D．The older, the wiser.

6 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What is the man mainly doing?

A．Conducting an interview.

B．Introducing a famous artist.

C．Showing the paintings.

2. Where does the conversation take place?

A．In Washington.

B．In Cambridge.

C．In Brighton.

3. What is Diana?

A．A writer.

B．A doctor.

C．A model.

4. Which of the following impresses the man a lot?

A．Diana’s beautiful accent.

B．Diana’s dream jobs.

C．Diana’s paintings.

7 . 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。

Can a one-armed person still play basketball? You might think so after you see Zhang Jiacheng play.

The one-armed 13-year-old from Guangdong    1    (become) an internet star recently. Featuring his dribbling (运球) skills and powerful underarm shots (腋下投篮), his basketball     2    (video) have been viewed by more than 50 million people. Zhang even drew the attention of NBA superstar Steven Curry, "You are     3    inspiration. You are a real superstar in playing basketball." Curry said in a video posted on Sina Weibo.

However, it wasn't easy     4    Zhang to step onto the court. At the age of five, Zhang     5    (hit) in a car accident and lost his right arm. "Although it was difficult at first, I gradually got used to eating and getting dressed by     6    (Ⅰ)," Zhang said. He also keeps up with his studies in school and helps his family with chores. On a hot evening in 2018, Zhang was watching a basketball match     7    he first discovered his love for the sport. Then he signed up for a basketball class in his school. From then on, he always took a basketball with him. He also practiced basketball in PE class. While the class was learning how to jump rope, which takes two hands, he asked his teacher     8    (let) him do basketball training instead. As time went by, he     9    (final) became the best basketball player in his school.

He has got a lot of attention since then. Zhang said, "With the encouragement of all these people, I'll practice more. I'm sure that I will become even     10    (good)."

8 . 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。

I was     1     (addict) to my smartphone. The first thing I did when I woke up in the morning was reach for my phone. I always ask for Wi-Fi connections when    2     (go) to a new restaurant or coffee shop. It was     3     (stress) for me to have a dead battery in my smartphone. Sometimes I had the uncomfortable feeling that this little machine     4     (take)up too much of time. Sliding into the habit was easy, but I have difficulty    5     ( quit)the habit. Then the day came    6     I finally realized I had to make a change. Head down, eyes on my smart phone, I stepped into the road. A car    7     ( shoot) past, nearly shocked me off my feet. At that very moment, I made up my mind to spend a whole week    8     my smartphone. With eyes no longer     9     (fix) on my phone, I had a chance     10     (company) my old friends.

9 . In early January this year, I decided that it was high time for me to return to the world of academic studies. It wasn’t that I longed to be in the daily company of young people or to become a model father for my children. That was the year I finally decided to re-enter the world of academia in an effort to earn a degree and emerge (显现) as an educated naturalist.

I was convinced that the curriculum administrators of my local college would agree that since I had not, during the past two decades, used any mathematical equations (方程式), there would be no reason for me to study geometry and algebra at this stage of my life. I was wrong. Thus it was in late June that I found myself searching for a math course that would occupy the next two months of my summer.

You might think that registering for a math course would be a fairly simple matter, but very little came easy to me. Such was the case when I attempted to sign up for Math 108.

When I was finally in class, I found myself pouring through a textbook that could only be described as full of the most confusing terms and problems. Just then, a voice from deep within my heart whispered, “Gary, you can do it. You will make it through the fires of math and emerge with an ‘A’ for your efforts.”

Over the next two months, I not only listened to the voice, but also to Pete’s wonderful teachings. In addition, I devoted what seemed to be hundreds of hours to my homework assignments and preparation for tests.

I emerged from my experiences with Math 108 as the top student in the class. In fact, I was the only person to get an “A” for the course.

1. Why did the author decide to go back to college?

A．To receive further education.

B．To have a totally new career.

C．To set a good example for his children.

D．To seek the company of young people.

2. What does the author mean by saying “I was wrong” underlined in paragraph 2?

A．He was actually good at math.

B．He was required to take a math course.

C．He gave up studying geometry and algebra.

D．He had used some mathematical equations.

3. How did the author react when facing difficulties in math?

A．He lost confidence.	B．He encouraged himself.
C．He chose another subject.	D．He asked other students for help.

10 . My husband Dave was hunting around for a pencil sharpener. He was looking for the plug-in model but had to ___________ one of those little square numbers you have to actually push the pencil into and turn all by yourself ___________ your other hand. It worked great! It ___________ me of back-to-school shopping when I hadn’t even been to school yet.

What a day! Mom had a ___________ from John Marshall Elementary School, as I was to enter first grade there. We went to the store and started checking things ___________ the list. I remembered one of the things was a pencil bag. And one of those little square pencil sharpeners. It worked great! There’d be that little crunch (破裂声) inside, tiny violence in the box, and even the smell was ___________: pungent (有刺激味的), ___________ everything you would ever make might be in there. And a big square eraser. And a ruler.

This was the period of ___________ things that would be mine that I had ever experienced. The only other way to get new things was to grow out of old things and then you were ___________ to get your sister’ s even older things or get toys on your birthday, ____________ not that many of those.

We were flying through that list! My pencil bag was blue. Why would I remember that with ____________ many years later? Because I didn’t have a lot of stuff. If I’d had a lot of stuff, I wouldn’t remember any of it. I wouldn’t have cared about it. Happiness comes ____________, and a lot of the time that’s the only way it comes.

As an adult, I romanticized the days ____________ people my mother’s age could have been ____________ with an orange on New Year’s Day. I knew that kind of joy was a thing of ____________ you can get only by not piling on.

1.

A．receive

B．accept

C．admit

D．gain

2.

A．by

B．on

C．with

D．through

3.

A．reminded

B．convinced

C．informed

D．thought

4.

A．bill

B．ticket

C．form

D．list

5.

A．from

B．off

C．in

D．at

6.

A．sharp

B．pleasant

C．bitter

D．sweet

7.

A．even though

B．if only

C．as though

D．only if

8.

A．accomplishing

B．quitting

C．offering

D．acquiring

9.

A．possible

B．likely

C．probable

D．able

10.

A．and

B．however

C．therefore

D．thus

11.

A．sadness

B．loneliness

C．liveliness

D．fondness

12.

A．expensive

B．cheap

C．good

D．dear

13.

A．that

B．when

C．which

D．what

14.

A．curious

B．puzzled

C．delighted

D．disappointed

15.

A．value

B．price

C．cost

D．worth