1 . I was born in a poor community on the north side of Boston, US, raised by a single mother who didn’t finish 3rd grade, lived each day on food stamps and attended what the media called “the most dysfunctional (功能失调的) public school district”. Not many people expected much of me, so I had to expect.
On my 13th birthday, I bought a poster of Harvard to hang in my room. Being at Harvard became what I dreamt about. Even if my electricity was cut off, I still woke up at 5:30, because I knew that my poster of Harvard was still hanging only two feet away from me.
Reminding myself of my goal each day made it easy to say no to the same choices I saw my peers making, because those paths wouldn’t have had me closer to my goal. Being poor could not take away my power to decide what I choose to do with my day. The poster gave me the courage to send emails to about 50 Harvard students to ask for feedback on my application essays; it gave me the energy to study just one more hour on my SATs when my friends were asleep; and it gave me the determination to submit just one more scholarship application when 180 others had already turned me down.
Every day, I could feel myself getting closer and closer to my goal as my writing got better, my SAT score increased, and my scholarship checks started coming in. Finally, an email arrived from Harvard. The first word was “Congratulations!” A month later, Harvard flew me up to visit the campus where for the first time I stepped onto my dreaming land.
Who you are today is the result of the decisions you made yesterday, and who you will be tomorrow will be the result of the choices you make today. Who do you want to be tomorrow?
1. What can we learn about the author from the first two paragraphs?| A．All people expected too much of him. |
| B．He grew up in a happy family. |
| C．He accepted the greatest education. |
| D．He had high expectation of himself. |
| A．He spent more time preparing for the exams. |
| B．He learnt from his peers from time to time. |
| C．He often wrote feedbacks on others’ essays. |
| D．He turned to his teacher when facing problems. |
| A．Intelligent and humorous. | B．Generous and selfless. |
| C．Determined and hardworking. | D．Courageous and friendly. |
| A．Failure is the mother of success. |
| B．Perseverance can help realize your dream. |
| C．Easier said than done. |
| D．It’s never too late to study. |
1. Why did the waiter refuse to serve the man any drink?
| A．The man was a taxi driver. |
| B．The man had had plenty of drink. |
| C．The man had never paid of the drink. |
| A．Unexpected. | B．Angry. | C．Afraid. |
| A．The front door. | B．The side door. | C．The back door. |
| A．The waiter called a policeman in the end. |
| B．The man asked the waiter to call a taxi for him. |
| C．The man thought he went to three different bars. |
3 . When my son, Mark, was in the third grade, he saved all his pocket money for over three months to buy Christmas presents. The third Saturday in December Mark said he had made his list and had twenty dollars in his pocket.
I drove him to a nearby supermarket. Mark picked up a basket and went in while I waited and watched in the car. It took Mark over 45 minutes to choose his presents. Finally he came to the checkout counter and reached into his pocket for his money. It was not there! There was a hole in his pocket, but no money. Mark stood there holding his basket, tears falling down his face.
Then a surprising thing happened. A woman came up to Mark and took him in her arms. “You would help me a lot if you let me pay for you,” said the woman. “It would be the most wonderful gift you could give me. I only ask that one day you will pass it on. When you grow up, I would like you to find someone you can help. When you help others, 1 know you will feel as good about it as I do now.”
Mark took the money, dried his tears and ran back to the checkout counter as fast as he could. That year we all enjoyed our gifts almost as much as Mark enjoyed giving them to us.
I would like to say “thank you” to that very kind woman, and tell her that four years later, Mark went house to house collecting blankets and clothes for the homeless people in the fire. And I want to promise her that Mark will never forget to keep passing it on.
1. When did the story probably happen?| A．On Christmas Day. | B．Before Christmas Day, |
| C．On New Year’s Day. | D．After New Year’s Day. |
| A．His gifts were stolen. | B．He broke his basket. |
| C．He lost his money. | D．He lost his way. |
| A．Because she bought Mark a nice present. |
| B．Because she always paid money for others. |
| C．Because she collected clothes for the homeless. |
| D．Because she taught Mark to help people in need. |
| A．A big supermarket | B．A kind woman |
| C．A happy family | D．A wonderful gift |
4 . There was once a boy called Mario who loved to have lots of friends at school. However, he wasn’t sure whether or not his classmates were his true friends, so he asked his grandpa. The old man answered, “I have just exactly what you need; it’s in the attic (阁楼). Wait here for a minute.”
Grandpa left, soon returning as though carrying something in his hand, but Mario could see nothing there. “Take it. It’s a very special chair. Because it’s invisible (无形的) it’s rather difficult to sit on, but if you take it to school and you manage to sit on it, you’ll be able to tell who your true friends are.”
Mario took the strange invisible chair and went to school. At break time he asked everyone to form a circle, and he put himself in the middle, with his chair. “Nobody move. You’re about to see something amazing,” Mario said.
Then Mario tried sitting on the chair. He missed and fell straight onto his backside. Everyone had a pretty good laugh. Mario wouldn’t be beaten. He kept trying to sit on the magic chair, and kept falling to the ground... until, suddenly, he tried again and didn’t fall. This time he sat, hovering (悬停) in mid-air.
Looking around, Mario saw George, Lucas, and Diana — three of his best friends — holding him up, so he wouldn’t fall. At the same time, many others he had thought of as friends were doing nothing but make fun of him, enjoying each and every fall.
Leaving with his three friends, Mario explained to them how his grandpa had so cleverly thought of such a good idea. Now he knows that those who take joy in our misfortunes (不幸) when we are in difficulty are not our true friends.
1. What did Mario’s grandpa take from the attic?| A．An invisible chair. | B．An old chair. |
| C．A real chair. | D．Nothing. |
| A．To see whether Mario could sit on it. |
| B．To test who were Mario’s true friends. |
| C．To let Mario have fun with his classmates. |
| D．To test whether Mario was popular at school. |
| A．He saw the invisible chair suddenly. |
| B．He managed to sit on the chair finally. |
| C．His friends held him up with their hands. |
| D．His classmates gave him a chair to sit on. |
| A．Never laugh at our friends. |
| B．True friends can help us do magic. |
| C．True friends are those who care for us. |
| D．Having too many good friends isn’t a good thing. |
Anna lost her arms in a car accident when she was a teenager. What was worse, she lost her parents at the age of 20. Her elder sister,
Anna chose to face her misfortune in a positive way. Instead of
6 . Lillian, 17, had just started working as a lifesaver at a beach in Australia on New Year’s Eve when beach-goers started to point and shout at the water. The workers quickly examined the situation and saw that a kangaroo had jumped out of the bushes (灌木丛) — straight into the sea.
The animal seemed confused by the fishermen standing on the rocks. So instead of turning back and heading back into the bushes, it jumped right into the water! The poor thing bobbed(摆动)around in the waves and went underwater several times before Lillian decided to take action.
As with any other animal rescue, it’s important to approach the situation with prudence. Wild animals that are stressed can become dangerous to their rescuers, and Lillian was aware of the risks as she took her rescue board and hit the water at a run. “It just didn’t want to come on to the beach because it was kind of scared,” she said. “I was trying to figure out how to get it on the board. But considering that it’s a wild animal, even though I was helping, I wouldn’t want to be hurt by it or make it more stressed out.”
As beach-goers recorded the rescue on their phones,Lillian paddled (用浆划船) behind the animal carefully and guided the kangaroo onto the beach. As soon as Lillian’s feet touched the sand, the beach erupted in cheers for her!“It was quite special. As people there were cheering and clapping, the kangaroo was just sitting there up in the bushes staring at me, as if it was conveying something with its shining eyes,” Lillian said. “I didn’t think that was going to ever be my first rescue, I may have more rescues in the future, but none would be as memorable as this one.”
1. What happened to the kangaroo?| A．It jumped off the rocks by mistake, |
| B．It jumped into the sea by accident, |
| C．It was forced to leave the bushes. |
| D．It was washed away into the sea. |
| A．Inspiration. | B．Hope. | C．Care. | D．Shock. |
| A．It couldn’t wait to leave her. |
| B．It was worried about her safety. |
| C．It was confused about her action. |
| D．It seemed grateful for her help. |
| A．Far-sighted and independent. | B．Talented and positive. |
| C．Brave and cautious. | D．Determined and ambitious. |
7 . The word “happy” would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by hardship. The circular motion (循环运动) between happiness and
A year ago, I developed troubling symptoms(症状) in my left
Over that long week, I
Finally, I gained a
| A．loneliness | B．tiredness | C．sadness | D．greatness |
| A．eye | B．arm | C．leg | D．ear |
| A．suddenly | B．carelessly | C．secretly | D．immediately |
| A．luck | B．treatment | C．apology | D．discussion |
| A．needed | B．expected | C．managed | D．congratulated |
| A．in relief | B．in anger | C．in peace | D．in panic |
| A．new | B．traditional | C．strong | D．folk |
| A．rarely | B．frequently | C．occasionally | D．mistakenly |
| A．forbade | B．encourages | C．forced | D．permitted |
| A．lay down | B．hold back | C．fall into | D．meet with |
| A．desired | B．promised | C．refused | D．attempted |
| A．gave in | B．cheered up | C．gave up | D．broken down |
| A．terrible | B．sweet | C．spare | D．precious |
| A．election | B．challenge | C．goal | D．choice |
| A．guilt | B．pride | C．hope | D．joy |
| A．stresses | B．analyzed | C．investigated | D．guaranteed |
| A．wrong | B．unique | C．funny | D．valuable |
| A．sunny | B．cloudy | C．rainy | D．snowy |
| A．disturb | B．experience | C．blame | D．assign |
| A．admit to | B．listen to | C．adapt to | D．contribute to |
8 . There was a boy who was sent by his parents to a boarding school (寄宿学校)
But the boy changed after
His parents started
They sat on the bank of the lake near the school. The father started asking him some casual questions about his classes, teachers and
The boy answered back, “To
“No, no,” his dad replied. “I am here to tell you that you are the most
These words
Now the boy had
| A．After | B．Before | C．When | D．While |
| A．hardest | B．naughtiest | C．brightest | D．dullest |
| A．exam | B．activity | C．game | D．class |
| A．coming | B．returning | C．leaving | D．reaching |
| A．rising | B．increasing | C．reducing | D．dropping |
| A．group | B．term | C．company | D．party |
| A．led to | B．felt like | C．thought back | D．looked for |
| A．worthless | B．careless | C．concerned | D．annoyed |
| A．caring | B．turning | C．worrying | D．speaking |
| A．crazy | B．true | C．possible | D．wrong |
| A．talk with | B．listen to | C．tell to | D．care about |
| A．family | B．friends | C．study | D．grades |
| A．realize | B．analyze | C．check | D．test |
| A．outstanding | B．important | C．famous | D．familiar |
| A．happy | B．excellent | C．interested | D．satisfied |
| A．caused | B．wanted | C．encouraged | D．forced |
| A．answered | B．ignored | C．hated | D．hugged |
| A．nothing | B．something | C．everything | D．anything |
| A．showed | B．meant | C．intended | D．expressed |
| A．sad | B．angry | C．pleasant | D．joyful |
9 . A decade ago, I was engaged in pet therapy work. As I dug deeper into the job, I had a desire to
Clark is 12 now and still works every week. As a(an)
We have seen some very special things through our
| A．record | B．change | C．search | D．arrange |
| A．donations | B．contributions | C．appearance | D．sufferings |
| A．In all | B．After all | C．As a result | D．In addition |
| A．satisfied | B．strict | C．familiar | D．disappointed |
| A．left | B．regretted | C．sponsored | D．matured |
| A．rule | B．exercise | C．phenomenon | D．arrangement |
| A．poor | B．young | C．injured | D．elderly |
| A．appropriate | B．particular | C．special | D．normal |
| A．recognize | B．comment | C．consult | D．contact |
| A．volunteer | B．therapy | C．recovery | D．safety |
| A．occasionally | B．randomly | C．totally | D．hardly |
| A．nodded | B．declined | C．hesitated | D．doubted |
| A．nervously | B．willingly | C．anxiously | D．gently |
| A．petting | B．nursing | C．changing | D．beating |
| A．hid | B．moved | C．reached | D．cured |
| A．Somewhat | B．Somehow | C．Anyway | D．Anyhow |
| A．performs | B．allows | C．reminds | D．features |
| A．stepped forward | B．backed off | C．lay down | D．fled away |
| A．still | B．calm | C．quiet | D．silent |
| A．sets off | B．gets through | C．looks up to | D．comes across |
10 . Occasionally, misfortune will happen in our life and no one can avoid it. If you choose only to complain and escape from the misfortune, it will constantly follow you no matter where you go.
A girl, called Selina, lost her arms in a traffic accident that caused her father’s death — who was the main source of support for the whole family.
One day, the girl and the boy were both interviewed on a television program. The girl complained to the TV host about her uncertain future at being left on her own, but the boy was full of enthusiasm for his life.
| A．A similar misfortune happened to a boy named Jerry, too. |
| B．Since then, she had had to depend on her elder brother’s arms. |
| C．So his father went out looking for his mother, leaving him alone at home. |
| D．One night her mother, who suffered from chronic mental illness disappeared. |
| E．They both were invited to write something on a piece of paper with their toes. |
| F．They had both encountered the same misfortune, but had completely different attitudes towards lives. |
| G．But if you decide to be will-powered, the sufferings will turn out to be a fortune where new hopes will arise. |
