1 . When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Doctor Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never yelled at us for playing in his yard, but was always very kind.
When Doctor Gibbs wasn’t saving lives, he was planting trees. He had some interesting theories about planting trees. He hardly watered his new trees, an attitude which flew in the face of conventional wisdom.
Once I asked why and he told me that watering plants spoiled them because it made them grow weaker. He said he had to make things tough for the trees so that only the strongest could survive. He talked about how watering trees made them develop shallow roots and how, if they were not watered, trees would grow deep roots in search of water.
So, instead of watering his trees every morning, he’d beat them with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the trees’ attention.
Doctor Gibbs died a couple of years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I'd watched him plant some 25 years ago. They were tall and strong.
Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. I often pray that their lives will be easy. But lately I’ve been thinking that it’s time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to encounter hardship. There’s always a cold wind blowing somewhere. What we need to do is to pray for deep roots, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we won’t be torn apart.
1. What did the author think of Doctor Gibbs’s planting trees at first?| A．Perfect . | B．Puzzled. |
| C．Amused. | D．Impractical . |
| A．He let them grow quickly. |
| B．He beat them to get their attention. |
| C．He helped them search for water. |
| D．He read a newspaper near them. |
| A．Kind and wise. | B．Calm and brave. |
| C．Careful and ambitious | D．Strict and devoted. |
| A．Elders are treasures. |
| B．Two heads are better than one. |
| C．A man without distant care must have near sorrow. |
| D．Only those who bear the most become the highest. |
2 . Last week I did something that scared me. I stood in front of nearly 200 financial planners and I talked to them about why financial blogs are a good thing. I'm a confident writer. I've been doing this long enough that I know my strength and my limitations. I'm less confident as a speaker. I don't have time to pause to collect my thoughts. I'm not able to edit. I'm afraid of being trapped in a corner without being able to talk my way out. Basically, I'm scared to speak.
It would be easy to simply refuse the chances that come my way. When somebody asks me to speak in front of a group, I could say "no". When radio and television stations call for an interview, I could say "no". But for the past two years, I've been following my own policy to say "yes" to new chances.
To say "yes" is to live in fear. My goal is to continually improve myself to become better than I am today. One way to do that is to do the things that scare me, to take them on as challenges, and to learn from them—even if I fail.
In mid-November, a local station asked me to appear on live television. "I realize it's short notice," the producer wrote, "but we'd love to have you on the show if you're available tonight." I was frightened. I thought about recent taped television interviews that I had hated. I was afraid of what might happen.
But I also thought about the things that had gone right. I thought of how my speaking skills had improved over the past year. And then I thought of the book I was reading, a book that I had bought for $1.29 at the local store. The Magic of Thinking Big was a huge bestseller during the 1960s. Written by Dr. David Schwartz, a professor at Georgia State University, the book contains dozens of practical tips on how to take risks to achieve big goals. Schwartz argues that nobody will believe in you until you believe in yourself.
So when the television producer asked if I wanted to appear on his show, I thought big. "Sure," I said. "I'll do it." I acted confidently, but on the inside I was frightened. What I needed was techniques to build up my confidence and to overcome my fear.
1. Why is the author afraid of speaking in public?| A．He is aware of his potential. | B．He has few chances to talk. |
| C．He is not able to edit what he says. | D．He likes writing better. |
| A．self-improving through challenges |
| B．hesitating before chances |
| C．turning down the invitations |
| D．saying yes to fear |
| A．it was inspiring | B．it was a bestseller |
| C．its author was famous | D．its price was attractive |
| A．To analyze his strength and weaknesses. |
| B．To give practical tips on speaking in public. |
| C．To persuade people to follow his example. |
| D．To share his experiences of overcoming fear. |
3 . My friend, Monty Roberts owns a horse ranch (养马场). The last time I was there he introduced me a story like this: There was a young man who was the son of a horse trainer, who would go from stable (马厩) to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. So the boy's school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.
That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. He also drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch. He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, “See me after class.”
The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked why he received an F. The teacher said, "This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. There's no way you could ever do it... If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.”
The boy went home and thought about it long and haul. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, "Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.” Finally, after a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He stated, “You can keep the F and I'll keep my dream."
Monty then turned to me and said, "I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4, 000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, "The best part of the story is that two years ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week. When the teacher was leaving, he said, “Look, Monty, when I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough ambition not to give up on yours.”
1. Why was Monty’s schooling continually interrupted?| A．Because he didn’t like his teacher. |
| B．Because he had to do much housework. |
| C．Because he refused to go to school sometimes. |
| D．Because his father always changed his working place. |
| A．He did not pay attention to it. |
| B．He punished his son for the large red F. |
| C．He encouraged his son to make his own decision. |
| D．He scolded his son for the ridiculous plan. |
| A．Skill comes by exercise. |
| B．Everybody's good at something. |
| C．It's great to have dreams. |
| D．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| A．A boy having no changes | B．A boy following his heart |
| C．A boy holding on to his dream | D．A boy owning a horse ranch |
4 . When I was in my first year of high school, I had a terrible time when every area of my life was a disaster. I felt so hopeless and alone that I thought everything was impossible.
On one such day, I was walking from class across the school to catch the school bus home, with my head down, fighting tears of total hopelessness, when a young man came down the sidewalk toward me. Though I had never seen him before, I did not want him to see that I was in such low spirits, so I turned my head away and hoped to hurry past. I thought he'd walk on by, but he moved until he was directly in front of me, waited until I looked up, and then smiled.
Looking into my eyes, this stranger spoke in a quiet voice："Whatever is wrong will pass. You're going to be OK, just hang on." He then smiled again and walked away.
I can't explain the effect of that man's unexpected kindness and caring! He gave me the one thing that I'd lost completely—hope. I looked for him in our school to thank him, but never saw him again.
That was thirty years ago. And I've never forgotten that moment. Over the years, whenever I see someone who is in trouble, I will always think of that young man and try to give a flash of hope in the dark wherever I can. I carry things for people when they are too heavy for them, sit with naughty babies in the waiting room while their mothers are busy, or talk to tired couples at the checkout line or it could be anything.
If you keep your head up, your heart will show you the place that needs hope.
1. Where did the writer meet with the young man？
| A．In the school. | B．In the school bus. | C．In the classroom. | D．In the library. |
| A．had known the young man for a long time |
| B．made friends with the young man afterwards |
| C．was grateful to that young man very much |
| D．avoided meeting the young man since then |
| A．show his sympathy to those who are badly ill |
| B．give others hope of life when they are in trouble |
| C．realize his promise made to the young man |
| D．get respect from those who were helped by him |
| A．the young man always tried his best to help those who were in trouble |
| B．it was the young man's smile and words that made the author feel hopeful |
| C．the author had never been praised by others before he met with the young man |
| D．the author traveled to a lot of places to look for the young man but failed |
5 . If life were a book and you were the author, how would you like the story to go? That is the question that
One day I went home from the training of snowboarding with what I thought was the flu, and less than 24 hours later, I was in a
But I knew in order to move forward, I had to let go of the Old Amy and
Four months later, I was back upon a
So, instead of looking at our
| A．saved | B．risked | C．ruined | D．changed |
| A．hospital | B．club | C．field | D．stadium |
| A．thought | B．degree | C．chance | D．decision |
| A．mild | B．severe | C．potential | D．slight |
| A．journey | B．break | C．course | D．schedule |
| A．wheeled | B．dragged | C．pulled | D．delivered |
| A．made sure | B．felt like | C．worked out | D．put forward |
| A．muscled | B．heavy | C．shapely | D．false |
| A．blood | B．sweat | C．tears | D．water |
| A．hug | B．recognize | C．fix | D．introduce |
| A．plan | B．question | C．information | D．favor |
| A．dawned on | B．knocked into | C．depended on | D．looked into |
| A．although | B．so | C．while | D．but |
| A．first | B．strangest | C．best | D．luckiest |
| A．struggles | B．benefits | C．rewards | D．conflicts |
| A．stage | B．snowboard | C．track | D．playground |
| A．allowing | B．giving | C．calling | D．making |
| A．challenges | B．achievements | C．devotions | D．hesitations |
| A．active | B．amazing | C．negative | D．terminal |
| A．ability | B．skill | C．tool | D．gift |
6 . I used to be a very self-centered person, but in the past two years I have really changed. I have started to think about other people
I think my
A bigger cause of my new
I think I am a much
| A．since | B．before | C．or | D．unless |
| A．famous | B．simple | C．different | D．skilled |
| A．education | B．career | C．tour | D．change |
| A．balance | B．homework | C．degree | D．interest |
| A．talked | B．wrote | C．lied | D．reported |
| A．careful | B．lonely | C．curious | D．guilty |
| A．argument | B．game | C．experiment | D．defence |
| A．dared | B．offered | C．hesitated | D．happened |
| A．dream | B．problem | C．duty | D．step |
| A．us | B．which | C．them | D．whom |
| A．attitude | B．hobby | C．hope | D．luck |
| A．friend | B．partner | C．guide | D．guest |
| A．polite | B．happy | C．strange | D．confident |
| A．bothered | B．answered | C．visited | D．trusted |
| A．explain | B．guess | C．declare | D．see |
| A．homeless | B．heart broken | C．bad-tempered | D．hopeless |
| A．quieter | B．busier | C．better | D．richer |
| A．forget | B．face | C．improve | D．analyze |
| A．forced | B．preferred | C．ordered | D．taught |
| A．miss | B．like | C．wonder | D．expect |
