1 . Self-esteem is the ruling view you have of yourself. This includes your beliefs about your inner qualities and how you think others see you.     1     Someone can develop low self-esteem even when they are highly functional and greatly skilled. Understanding this mysterious emotional currency might be the key to unlocking your own self-worth.

People with healthy self-esteem don't need to boast about themselves to others. People with low self-esteem may tell you how much everyone loves them, what a great job they do at work, and how amazing they are at pretty everything under the sun even though they really wonder if it's true. People may see them as obnoxious or “full of themselves”.     2     They are not shy about sharing ideas, including constructive criticisms of others. They also take care of themselves without second-guessing or apologizing. They are the people who we say seem “sure of themselves”.

If you're starting to think you may have low self-esteem, you can work on the way you talk to yourself. When you turn off negative self-talk, you can open the floor to positive reinforcements and access the courage to show different sides of yourself. It isn't going to feel good at first, though. Keep going until it becomes less and less and maybe even a few awkward laughs in the mirror may help.     3    

However, in serious cases of low or even non-existent self-esteem, you may want to call in a professional or a specialist. Good mental health is important, and professionals doing psychotherapy do not pass judgement or give corrections.     4     It is the best way to get at the roots of your real self-esteem problems.

    5     It will take some work but your entire life — from your relationships to your body image to your work habits — will be touched with the kind of power that only comes from someone believing in themselves. This is the hardest part, and the greatest leap. With some changes and support, you can improve your self-esteem and see how everything else changes as a result.

A．Self-esteem is not always rooted in reality, though.

B．You have the power to shape a new self-perception.

C．This encourages you to speak openly without worry.

D．The real test of character is whether they can learn from their mistakes.

E．Self-esteem refers to a person's overall sense of his or her value or worth.

F．People with a healthy level of self-esteem present themselves with a casual confidence.

G．With some practice and persistence, you will win this internal struggle to see your self-worth.

2 . Walter Benjamin, the German philosopher, once noted that boredom was the “dream bird that hatches the egg of experience”. However, the creative flights of fancy which often arise from having little to do are being killed off by social media, researchers argued. Viewing mindlessly through attention-grabbing posts and videos prevents “profound (深层的) boredom” that can drive people on to new passions or skills. Instead, people find themselves in a state of “superficial boredom”, which does not motivate creative thought.

Dr Timothy Hill, leader of the research team at the University of Bath, said, “The problem we observed was that social media can ease superficial boredom. But that also consumes time and energy, and may prevent people progressing to a state of profound boredom, where they might discover new passions. Profound boredom may sound like a negative concept but, in fact, it can be intensely positive if people are given the chance for undisturbed thinking and development.

Researchers interviewed 15 people during the pandemic (流行病), when boredom was more likely because of restrictions. Many described being trapped in regularly daily walks and watching television, with many turning to social media to pass the time. But although the participants said that social media provided a temporary escape from superficial boredom, it also appeared to exacerbate it, leaving them feeling they had wasted their time.

The pandemic was a painful and consuming experience for thousands of less fortunate people. But there are stories of those in lockdown who found new hobbies, careers or directions in life. Switching off devices could help people reach the state of boredom which pushes them on to new hobbies or achievements.

This research has given us a window to understand how the “always-on”, 24/7 culture and devices that promise an abundance of information and entertainment may be fixing our superficial boredom but are actually preventing us from finding more meaningful things.

1. Why are Walter Benjamin’s words mentioned?

A．To call for attention to the research on boredom.

B．To comment on the strategies to face loneliness.

C．To offer advice on developing creative thinking.

D．To clarify the problem caused by social media.

2. Which of the following may Dr Timothy Hill agree?

A．Profound boredom is of value.

B．Social media can fuel passions.

C．The research has some limitations.

D．Creative thought is easily disturbed.

3. What does the underlined word “exacerbate” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Avoid.	B．Break.
C．Inspire.	D．Worsen.

4. What is a suitable title for the text?

A．Why people enjoy boredom

B．How boredom helps kill time

C．Why being bored may be good for you

D．How social media blocks creative ideas

3 . When reading, my mother likes to slice a paragraph or a sentence out and attach it to the wall of her kitchen. She picks boring sentences that puzzle me. But I prefer copying favorite bright lines into a journal in soft, gray No. 2 pencil, word by word.

She doesn’t know any of this. There's nothing shocking: for our chatting. we seldom begin certain conversations though we talk on the phone weekly, sometimes making each other laugh so hard that I choke and she cries. But what we don't say could fill up rooms. Fights with my father. Small failures in school. Anything that really upsets us.

My mother has never told me “I love you, Lisa.”—as if the four-word absence explains who I am—so I carry it with me, like a label on me. The last time she almost spoke the words was two years ago, when she called to tell me a friend had been in hospital. I said, “I love you, Mom.” She stopped for a while and then said, “Thank you.” I haven't said it since, but I've wondered why my mother doesn't until I've found a poem that supplies words for the blank spaces I try to understand in our conversations:

Don’t fill up on bread. I say absent-mindedly. The servings here are huge.

My son, middle-aged, says: Did you really just say that to me?

What he doesn’t know is that when we’re walking together, I desire to reach for his hand.

It's humble, yet heartbreaking. After copying it down in my journal, I emailed it to mom, adding “This poem makes me think of you.” My mother doesn’t read poetry—or at least, she doesn’t tell me, and I felt nervous clicking “Send”.

She never mentioned the poem. But the next time I went home for vacation, I noticed something new in the kitchen fixed to an antique board: the poem. The board hung above the heater, the warmest spot in the kitchen. The poem still hangs there. Neither my mother nor I have ever spoken about it.

1. What's the function of paragraph 1?

A．To stress the theme.	B．To establish the setting.
C．To represent the characters.	D．To create the atmosphere.

2. Which of the following best describes the mother daughter relationship?

A．Shaky.

B．Distant.

C．Reserved.

D．Intense.

3. Why did the author send the poem to her mom?

A．It reminded her of mom's love.

B．She wanted to apologize to mom.

C．It suited mom's taste of literature.

D．She needed an interpretation from mom.

4. What does the poem mean to mom?

A．A memory of golden days.

B．Daughter’s gratefulness to her.

C．A decoration in the plain kitchen.

D．Daughter's understanding of her.

4 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

I like staying overnight at my Gramma’s house — that is, until Gramma starts telling me how wonderful my cousin Maya is. Then it’s Maya this and Maya that until I don’t ever want to hear another word about her.

That’s why I wasn’t too excited when Gramma called me on the phone to “come on over and bring your pajamas.” When I got there, it was worse than I’d expected. There, in Grandpa’s big leather rocker, sat Maya, all dressed up and formal-looking and wearing fancy shoes as if she’d just been to a party.

“Surprise, Kristen!” Gramma said. “Your cousin Maya and her parents have traveled in from the East Coast on business. Maya gets to stay with us this afternoon.” Gramma chattered away about how excited she’d been for this surprise get-together, and how cousins ought to get to know each other better.

I hung my baseball cap in the closet and set my backpack by the stairway, all the time smiling and nodding as if I’d been waiting forever for this chance to spend an afternoon with Maya. Grandpa’s chair squawked (咯咯叫) as Maya rocked back and forth. It’s the chair I like best in the house, the one I usually sit in. I sat down on the sofa across from her.

Shortly, Gramma went off to the kitchen to “see about some lunch,” she’d said. That left me stuck in the living room with rocking Maya.

She was still small but taller than I’d remembered her from her last visit four years ago. She was good at small talk, though, and was chatting away about how nice it was to see me again. But I could tell that she didn’t really think so. The last time she was here, we’d had hours of fun together building caves out of Gramma’s sofa pillows.

After that, I’d heard about her only through Gramma’s tales. Maya taking piano lessons. Maya learning math. Maya, Maya, Maya. Now Maya was here, looking great with the latest haircut and a fancy dress.

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Glancing down at my jeans and my old sneakers, I wished I hadn’t come.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“How do you know all these things about me?” I asked.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . “Are you OK, Cassie?” Jonah asked, from the doorway of the Sea Holly Cafe.

Cassie had been sitting on a chair outside for the past 10 minutes, but not really taking in the beauty of the sea.

“Oh, I should be getting back to work.” She rose hurriedly.

“We’re not busy, take your time.” Jonah came with a cappuccino for her. “Thanks.” She accepted the coffee, “Everything’s fine.” Then Jonah nodded, revealing a comforting smile, and went back inside.

He was a great boss, but Cassie didn’t feel like telling him what was wrong.

Cassie had gone to study fine art hopefully but dropped out after only a year due to the unbearable homesickness. Since then, she hadn’t touched her paints for a whole year. Today was doomed to be a sad date, the anniversary of her exciting plans turning to dust. She felt a crushing sense of disappointment. In her painting, she had captured a good likeness of the cloudy sky and the reflection of the dying light upon the water, but the picture did have a sad, dreary (沉闷的) quality.

About 20 minutes later, she was shocked by a voice at her shoulder, “That’s beautiful.”

Cassie turned, and there was a woman wearing a blue coat. The woman eyed it again. “You have talent, but there is much sadness in it, for one so young.” Cassie’s eyes were filled with tears. “My name’s Willow,” the woman said kindly, “Why not try painting the sunrise instead, my dear? You might find it helps.”

With Willow’s words echoing in her brain, Cassie rose an hour earlier the next day, caught a bus to the beach and began to paint again.

When she finished, Jonah was just opening up. He picked the painting up and appreciated it at eye height. “Hey, this is good. It’s really —“For a moment he struggled for the word, then found it and turned to her, beaming, “Optimistic!”

In her picture the sun was powering into the sky, casting a clear, golden pathway across the sea.

1. Which of the following best explains “He was a great boss” underlined in paragraph 5?

A．Jonah offered a coffee to Cassie.

B．Jonah ran a successful cafe business.

C．Jonah figured out what was wrong with Cassie.

D．Jonah was considerate of Cassie’s emotional upset.

2. What led to Cassie’s low spirits?

A．That her paints were covered with dust.

B．That her homesickness was aroused again.

C．That her original plan was abandoned midway.

D．That her painting was full of a sorrowful and dull quality.

3. Why did Willow advise Cassie to paint the sunrise?

A．It was more beautiful.	B．It might cheer Cassie up.
C．It had artistic inspiration.	D．It made a difference to Willow.

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

A．The Sun Always Rises	B．Every Man Has Its Price
C．Strike While the Iron Is Hot	D．A Good Medicine Tastes Bitter

6 . Soothe the Sunday scaries

Most of us look forward to the weekend as a time to relax, connect with friends and family, and deal with tasks from a to-do list that gets neglected during the workweek. But as the weekend comes to an end, many are missing out on Sunday Funday and instead experiencing an overwhelming sense of anxiety and even dread about the upcoming week.     1     Some people describe it as a heaviness they can feel in their body, while others feel so unsettled that they could jump out of their skin.

Even though the Sunday scaries are common, they are manageable. Here’s how experts say you can ease your end-of-weekend anxiety.

Structure your Sunday.     2     You might still go through that sense of dread, but that feeling is harder to hold on to when you’ re engaging in something that makes you feel good.

Don’t forget to relax. If you’re feeling more stress, it’s important to make space for relaxing activities to ground yourself. Maybe a midafternoon shower or bath, maybe an engaging movie or show, whatever feels like a helpful distraction to reground from the scaries.

Identify your anxiety sources. Try to figure out what’s really causing you to dread the week.     3     Even if there’s not a single reason behind your Sunday anxiety, organizing the stress into small parts can help make it all more manageable.

    4     Getting rid of the Sunday scaries isn’t just about minimizing the gloom of the week ahead. Have something to look forward to. This gives you the opportunity to shift your thoughts to fun and will help improve your mood.

End your Sunday with the right energy. Sunday night is a proper wind-down time. Maybe you want to journal, do a face mask, read a few pages of a good book. Do your best to honor this time and make Sunday night all about you.     5    

A．Is it a deadline, meeting or presentation?

B．Create some excitement for the week ahead.

C．Experts have referred to this worry as Sunday scaries.

D．Sunday scaries come from tiredness after a really busy weekend.

E．Then you feel empowered and confident that you’ll be ready for the next day.

F．Instead of sitting on the couch and watching the clock, go to do something that you enjoy.

G．Anxiety is a natural response that happens in preparation for anything that causes pain or discomfort.

7 . There’s a special bond between good parents and their children that is a beautiful thing to see.

They care about every________of their children’s life, from the tiniest issues to the biggest heartbreaks.

Elizabeth Bautista Boyd of Oklahoma is________to have such a father who still________and protects her, even though she is a grown-up 38-year-old working woman now. Boyd drove to work on a________winter morning, and the roads were frozen.________this, her dad did something amazing for her.

She________photos of her father’s act of kindness on a social networking website________by the touching words: “You guys…This is my dad. He’d driven to my company parking lot and waited for me to________, so he could salt the icy road from my________to the company’s front door. He did this to________that I, his 38-year-old daughter, wouldn’t________Oh! Love you, Daddy.”

The photos show her dad with a bag of salt,________spreading a path of salt across the icy road. This simple but________gesture of a father’s love for his daughter has________thousands of hearts online. In around 24 hours, it obtained over 70,000 reactions and over 76,000 shares.

Some________“What an amazing Daddy you have!” and one person wrote: “Definitely give him a huge hug, big enough for all of us.

1.

A．aspect

B．advantage

C．exception

D．weakness

2.

A．regretful

B．blessed

C．confident

D．supposed

3.

A．cares for

B．talks about

C．relies on

D．keeps from

4.

A．busy

B．sunny

C．cold

D．quiet

5.

A．Interested in

B．Unsatisfied with

C．Uncertain about

D．Aware of

6.

A．selected

B．found

C．developed

D．posted

7.

A．accompanied

B．simplified

C．clarified

D．confirmed

8.

A．work

B．arrive

C．drive

D．survive

9.

A．seat

B．vehicle

C．office

D．building

10.

A．prove

B．explain

C．ensure

D．announce

11.

A．forget

B．move

C．slip

D．stop

12.

A．nervously

B．casually

C．generously

D．carefully

13.

A．strange

B．sweet

C．rude

D．crazy

14.

A．touched

B．appreciated

C．witnessed

D．convinced

15.

A．promised

B．recalled

C．debated

D．commented

8 . I was cleaning out a cupboard the other day when I made an amazing discovery. Inside I _________ the manuscript (手稿) for a novel. It included an outline of the _________ and a pile of typed pages telling a story. It was written, to my _________, by my father who has been dead for more than 50 years. It isn’t _________, as novels go, perhaps fifty or sixty typed pages, but without my _________ it has somehow accompanied me through my years of _________, several jobs, a marriage, the birth of my children and grandchildren, retirement and even a relocation across the country where I live.

Yet there it was, resting under a lot of paper to be recycled. I might have _________ my father’s legacy (遗产). I was truly _________ by my discovery.

I’m in the middle of reading another book _________ my dad’s novel has a place on my bed-side table. I want to have some __________ time for it so I haven’t __________ examined it yet. I’m going to spend a whole afternoon to give it the __________ it deserves. As yet I don’t know what the story line is about and I don’t even know if it is complete but I __________ a highly emotional process of finding out.

I find it fascinating to think that this could happen; that after more than fifty years my father could __________ his only son through the mists of time. It’s one of those things that we don’t see coming and that make life so __________.

1.

A．locked

B．found

C．placed

D．hid

2.

A．notes

B．reviews

C．chapters

D．references

3.

A．regret

B．relief

C．satisfaction

D．amazement

4.

A．long

B．fun

C．popular

D．romantic

5.

A．support

B．knowledge

C．approval

D．reach

6.

A．life

B．writing

C．reflection

D．education

7.

A．cleared away

B．passed down

C．counted on

D．handed out

8.

A．bothered

B．caught

C．shaken

D．disturbed

9.

A．or

B．so

C．but

D．for

10.

A．easy

B．quick

C．rough

D．clear

11.

A．briefly

B．closely

C．happily

D．calmly

12.

A．honor

B．comment

C．reward

D．attention

13.

A．design

B．anticipate

C．evaluate

D．record

14.

A．touch

B．raise

C．help

D．protect

15.

A．peaceful

B．successful

C．interesting

D．smooth

9 . This morning, a former student sent me a message, telling me he is living a happy life. He said he often thinks of me and that he especially misses my _________ classes.

My thoughts went back to that shy, overweight boy who _________ to our school in his fifth grade. He was quiet and _________. Some of the boys teased him about his lack of _________ ability. When they played games, Gibby would often be left standing alone. Several times I went to the playground and asked to _________ a team. I would call out several _________ and then, around the fourth or fifth spot, I would call Gibby and a few others who never seemed to get _________ by their peers. My team may not have been the best, but we were the happiest and definitely the most _________ and loyal.

That spring I decided to give my students more _________. We began by running, but after one or two circles around the playground, Gibby would lag far behind, __________. However, after a month, he lost a few pounds and could __________ the group easier. Then we added floor exercises to the program. Gibby was still there, stretching and bending, lifting and kicking, as __________ as ever. He never gave up or made __________. Many students admired his __________ and in time, he gained confidence and began to smile and talk more. He was no longer the new kid.

Messages of this kind always call up sweet memories. Yes, as a (n) __________ teacher, I love all my students and help them become what they can be.

1.

A．literature

B．exercise

C．language

D．physics

2.

A．transferred

B．turned

C．applied

D．belonged

3.

A．careless

B．curious

C．friendly

D．withdrawn

4.

A．logical

B．expressive

C．athletic

D．calculating

5.

A．join

B．make

C．coach

D．inspect

6.

A．names

B．numbers

C．teachers

D．helpers

7.

A．abandoned

B．promoted

C．caught

D．selected

8.

A．modest

B．creative

C．committed

D．respected

9.

A．encouragement

B．training

C．concern

D．assistance

10.

A．out of breath

B．out of sight

C．out of practice

D．out of shape

11.

A．get along with

B．put up with

C．fit in with

D．keep up with

12.

A．flexible

B．relaxed

C．enthusiastic

D．intelligent

13.

A．mistakes

B．excuses

C．changes

D．comments

14.

A．determination

B．potential

C．optimism

D．competence

15.

A．ambitious

B．professional

C．confident

D．caring

10 . 阅读下面短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写 1 个恰当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

Gratitude is more than just saying “thank you”. Gratitude is a deeper appreciation for someone or something. Expressing gratitude makes us feel a positive emotion. Over the past thirty years, there    1     (be) many studies showing that writing a gratitude letter to another person offers us an opportunity    2     (escape) from negative emotions. Even if we don’t share our writing with anyone, the act of completing the exercise alone makes us happier and    3     (satisfied) with life. The more we express gratitude, the more positive we feel.