1 . When I was younger, I had been a top student with a strong desire to attend a top university. But things started to go downhill for me in high school after my parents divorced. Torn between wanting to be with my mother, who moved to Canada alone with no support, and with my beloved aging grandfather in Pakistan, I moved back and forth, struggling with my studies. I barely graduated from high school and entered an ordinary college, feeling that I had already failed.
I got discouraged, and began to suffer from severe depression. The death of my grandfather was the final straw. With no real hope for the future, I dropped out and returned to my mother and sisters in Canada.
Then I was riding with a trucking company to help support my mother and sisters. During those long hours on the road, my grandfather’s last words came back to me: “Please accept the challenges of life and work harder. It is now or never. I hope you will never disappoint us.” With his words ringing in my ears, I discovered a newfound resolve. My path suddenly became clear: I had to finish what I had started and go back to school.
To get back on track, I needed to take a full course load while continuing to work enough part-time hours to help pay the bills. After graduating from high school again, I began university engineering cooperation program, in which I worked as a paid intern (实习生) every other term, allowing me to keep my student loans in check. At the same time, I tried my best to focus on my studies. After completing my university, I went on to a master’s and now a PhD, wining several research awards along the way.
My path to this point has made one thing clear: Never fear failure. I hope I have made my grandfather proud.
1. Which of the following can best describe the author’s life in his first high school?| A．Struggling. | B．Ordinary. | C．Fruitful. | D．Boring. |
| A．He had a big family to support. | B．He had to get a well-paid job. |
| C．He felt hopeless about the future. | D．He fought with his classmate. |
| A．He was laughed at by his mother and sisters. | B．He was encouraged to win research awards. |
| C．He was motivated by his grandfather s words. | D．He was forced to acquire more skills at work. |
| A．Business. | B．Science. | C．Health. | D．Life. |
2 . An expensive car speeding down the main street of a small town was soon caught up with by a young motorcycle policeman. As he started to make out the ticket, the woman behind the wheel said proudly, “Before you go any further, young man, I think you should know that the mayor of this city is a good friend of mine.” The officer did not say a word, but kept writing. “I am also a friend of chief of police Barens,” continued the woman, getting more angry each moment. Still he kept on writing. “Young man,” she persisted, “I know Judge Lawson and State Senator (参议员) Patton.” Handing the ticket to the woman, the officer asked pleasantly , “Tell me, do you know Bill Bronson.”
“Why, no,” she answered.
“Well, that is the man you should have known,” he said, heading back to his motorcycle, “I am Bill Bronson.”
1. The policeman stopped the car because ________.| A．it was an expensive car |
| B．the driver was a proud lady |
| C．the driver was driving beyond the speed limit |
| D．the driver was going to make trouble for the police |
| A．the policeman didn’t know her friends |
| B．the policeman didn’t accept her kindness |
| C．the policeman was going to punish her |
| D．she didn’t know the policeman’s name |
| A．an honourable fellow | B．a stupid fellow | C．an impolite man | D．a shy man |
| A．had no sense of humor (幽默) | B．had sense of humor |
| C．had no sense of duty | D．was senseless |
3 . I was hired for my first airline job in August 2009. I had $45, 000 of credit card debt. Most of it was from my flight training.
Ten years ago, I was watching TV in my bedroom one day before my flight training began and I saw the second airplane hit the World Trade Center. Then I got the call saying I no longer had a job. My career was destroyed. I had no place to go and ended up moving into my car. I read newspapers to look for a job and I was offered one, which offered me $75, 000 a year, but I decided to make a change. I wanted to receive fight training and become a pilot. It was my dream. So I refused the job and chose to work part time. It sounded unbelievable to do such a thing. It was even more so because I was over the age of thirty, but I was determined to make my dream come true. I left the state of Virginia and ended up in Las Vegas.
Though I made about $25, 000 a year at that time, I was severely in debt because the fees for training were high. I was living in my tuck and sleeping in parking garages. I didn’t plan for my life to take this direction, but I insisted on my training. Then at last my world changed and my dream came true. I finally became a pilot.
The passengers that I flew had more money in their pocket than I had in the bank. I hated myself and was worried about my situation, but I never gave up. I kept paying back the debt and I kept saving in the bank. And finally, I paid off my credit card debt.
Today, I am a skilled airline pilot based in Milwaukee. I wrote in my spare time. My autobiography (自传) has been published, which sells well. That is my first book, but it won’t be my last one.
1. Why did the writer refuse the job?| A．Because he didn’t like it. |
| B．Because the pay was low. |
| C．Because he wanted to follow his dream. |
| D．Because he was frightened to work in a building. |
| A．wanted to give up | B．lived a very hard life |
| C．didn’t make any money | D．paid off his credit card debt |
| A．regrets his decision | B．is a professional writer |
| C．is a very good airline pilot | D．makes about $75, 000 a year |
| A．tell us how to become successful |
| B．encourage us to follow our dream |
| C．tell us how to become an airplane pilot |
| D．tell us about the life of an airplane pilot |
4 . Bertie knew there was something in the wind. His mother had been sad in recent days, not sick, just strangely sad. The lion had just lain down beside him, his head warm on Bertie’s feet, when Father cleared his throat and began, “You’ll soon be eight, Bertie. A boy needs a proper education. We’ve found the right place for you, a school near Salisbury in England.”
His heart filled with a terrible fear, all Bertie could think of was his white lion. “But the lion.” he cried, “What about the lion?”
“I’m afraid there’s something else I have to tell you,” his father said. Looking across at Bertie’s mother, he took a deep breath. Then he told Bertie he had met a circus owner from France, who was over in Africa looking for lions to buy. He would come to their farm in a few days.
“No! You can’t send him to a circus!” said Bertie. “People will come to see him. He’ll be shut up behind bars. I promised him he never would be. And they will laugh at him. He’d rather die. Any animal would!” But as he looked across the table at them, he knew their minds were quite made up.
Bertie felt completely betrayed. He waited until he heard his father’s deep breathing next door. With his white lion at his heels, he crept (蹑手蹑脚地移动) downstairs, took down his father’s rifle (步枪) and stepped out into the night. He ran and ran till his legs could run no more. As the sun came up over the grassland, he climbed to the top of a hill and sat down, his arms round the lion’s neck. The time had come.
“Be wild now”, he whispered. “You’ve got to be wild. Don’t ever come home. All my life I’ll think of you. I promise I will.” He buried his head in the lion’s neck. Then, Bertie climbed down the hill and walked away.
When he looked back, the lion was still sitting there watching him; but then he stood up, yawned, stretched, and sprang down after him. Bertie shouted at him, but he kept coming. He threw sticks. He threw stones. Nothing worked.
There was only one thing left to do. With tears filling his eyes and his mouth, he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired over the lion’s head.
1. Bertie’s mother was sad probably because she ________.| A．had been seriously ill recently |
| B．knew selling the lion would upset Bertie |
| C．knew Bertie would hate to go to England |
| D．had decided to send Bertie to school |
| A．other animals | B．circus owners |
| C．Bertie’s parents | D．some audience |
| A．protect himself from the lion | B．kill the lion out of fear |
| C．threaten the lion back to the wild | D．show his anger towards his father |
| A．people and animals can be faithful to each other |
| B．parents are sometimes cruel to their children |
| C．animal-hunting is popular in Africa |
| D．animals usually lead a miserable life in circuses |
5 . Last week the manager of an old shop received a letter. As he was very busy, the letter lay on his desk till teatime. Then he opened it and $100 fell out onto his desk. Together with it was a short letter. It reads:
Dear Sir,
In 1935 I got engaged (订婚), but unluckily I lost my job. At that time a lot of people were out of work. Six months later I got a job again, but of course I was very short of money. I came to your shop to buy a wedding ring (结婚戒指). The girl took out some rings for me to look at, but she was called away for a moment, and I put one of the rings in my pocket. When she came back, I said I did not know the size of my girlfriend’s finger. So I left the shop without paying.
My wife died a short while ago and I had felt ashamed (羞愧的) for not paying for the ring all these years. At that time the ring cost$20, so I think it may cost $100 now, and I am sending you the money.
Yours truly,
A customer
“well, well, well,” said the manager. “Life is full of surprises.”
1. The writer of the letter sent $100 ______.| A．to buy a ring for his wife | B．to thank the girl for her kindness |
| C．to pay for his wife’s ring | D．to give an order for a ring |
| A．The girl gave it to him. | B．He bought it from the shop. |
| C．He borrowed it from the shop. | D．He took it from the shop without paying. |
| A．afraid of seeing the money | B．too excited to say a word |
| C．surprised to get the money unexpectedly (出乎意料) | D．sorry for what the young man had done |
6 . When Boris left school, he could not find a job. He tried hard and he wrote letters to many companies until he could not afford to buy any more stamps. Boris began to lose his confidence, then depressed. Still he went on trying and still he failed. He began to think that he had no future at all.
“Why don’t you start your own business?” one of his uncles told him. “The world is a money-locker. You’d better find a way of opening it. ”
“But what can I do?”
“Get out and have a look round. ” advised his uncle.
“See what people want; then give it to them, and they will pay for it. ”
Boris began to cycle around the town and found a suitable piece of waste ground in the end. Then he set up his business as a cycle repairer. He worked hard, made friends with his customers and gradually managed to win his good fame. A few months later, he found that he had more work than he could deal with by himself. He found a number of empty shops but they were all no good: in the wrong position, too expensive or with some other problems. But at long last, he managed to find an empty shop in a new place where there were plenty of customers but no competition.
Boris and his assistant taught themselves how to repair motorcycles. Slowly but surely the profits increased and the business developed. At last, Boris had managed to open the money-locker and found bank notes and gold coins inside.
1. Which of the following best describes Boris’s job hunting experience?| A．Boring. | B．Surprising. | C．Encouraging. | D．Disappointing. |
| A．repairing cycles |
| B．buying empty shops |
| C．cycling around the town |
| D．developing a waste ground |
| A．it was not so expensive |
| B．he had a lot of old customers there |
| C．there were good opportunities there |
| D．he could make good use of his skills there |
7 . “BANG!” the door was shut loudly. It was just standing there, with my father standing on one side, and I on the other side.
We were both in great anger. “Never set foot in this house again!” my father said angrily. With tears in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street.
I didn’t know whether it was because I had grown up or because my dad was getting old. He always put his opinions on me. We were just like two people in two different worlds. It felt like there was an iron door between us that could never be opened.
My heart was frozen on this hot summer night. As I walked on, there were fewer and fewer people on the streets. When I finally reached my house, I saw that the light was still on.
“Perhaps my dad is throwing away some of his old stamps,” I thought. “Perhaps he thinks they are useless.” I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps.
All the lights were off except my father’s.
Dad was always like this. Maybe he didn’t know how to express himself. After shouting at me, he never showed any moments of regret. This was how he always was. He had been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do had become his second nature.
The light was still on. With the key in hand, I opened the door nervously. When I opened the door, tears ran down my face. I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist.Love always exists.
1. Why did the writer run out and walk lonely on the street?| A．He wanted to make his father feel worried. |
| B．He wanted to think about his career carefully |
| C．Something unpleasant happened in his family. |
| D．Something interesting happened on the street. |
| A．Cold. | B．Sad. | C．Frightened. | D．Relaxed. |
| A．The stamps. | B．The opinions. | C．The streets. | D．The lights. |
| A．The son had already grown up. | B．They never agreed with each other. |
| C．The father was getting older and older. | D．The father had got used to doing that. |
| A．Love — it’s second to none. | B．Trust — it creates a better life. |
| C．The importance of communication. | D．The relationship among family members. |
8 . One day Howard had to go to New York for a meeting. He flew to New York and called a taxi.
“Congratulations!” he said. “You’re my first passenger and this is my first day as a taxi driver, but you don’t have to worry. In my old job I had lots of driving experience, and I know the city very well.”
Howard looked at his watch and noticed that he was early for his meeting. He decided to ask the driver to take him to a bookstore. He leaned forward and tapped him on his shoulder.
Howard was afraid. He shouted at the taxi driver. “Be careful!”
The driver screamed again, and the taxi went suddenly to the other side of the road and almost hit a truck. The truck driver shook his fist (拳头) angrily.
The driver looked at Howard. Then slowly he began to laugh. He laughed and laughed.
“What was your old job?” asked Howard. “Didn’t I tell you?” said the driver. “I used to drive a car that carried coffins (棺材) to funerals (葬礼)!”
| A．“That’s good,” said Howard. “I’m sure you’ll be a good driver.” |
| B．“I’m good at avoiding accidents,” the driver said confidently. |
| C．The driver screamed and made the taxi go suddenly across the road. |
| D．He told the driver the address of the hotel and sat in the back seat. |
| E．“It’s not funny,” said Howard. “You could have killed somebody!” |
| F．Then the taxi went into the sidewalk, just missing two more pedestrians (行人). |
| G．On the way to the hotel, Howard wanted to stop at a bookstore, so he tapped the driver on the shoulder. |
9 . I was feeling splendid this morning! When approaching the bakery I saw a man asking for coins. I’ve often seen him and usually don’t react well to his whiney (嘀咕不停的) tone of his voice. This time I decided I’d give him something. After I’d paid for my tea-to-go, I got a 5 Euro bill ready. Leaving the store really slowly so he’d have a good chance to approach me, I nearly ran into him.
“Would you maybe have some coins for me?” He asked.
I said, “No, sorry, I don’t,” and watched his face fall already at what he thought was a refusal, one of many thousands he probably gets each day.
“I only have this for you”, I said and held the bill in front of his eyes. The way his jaw nearly fell and his eyes widened were priceless.
“Err… wow!” he said, doing a double-take. “That’s really… Thanks.”
“No problem,” I said. “I’m doing well at the moment, and I wanted to share it—have a good day!”
And I walked away. Actually, I walked away leisurely (悠闲地), and I did giggle and laugh out loud for the next 200 meters. Really, you should have seen his face. He totally had not seen that coming! The joy, I think, did not just come from the fact that I love being generous. It also came from breaking up his expectations of what would happen, to allow for that tiny moment of amazement.
1. How did the beggar feel when the writer said “No”?| A．Worried. | B．Surprised. | C．Disappointed. | D．Grateful. |
| A．wasn’t used to being refused | B．hesitated before reaction |
| C．accepted my offer immediately | D．understood me without difficulty |
| A．the beggar didn’t expect so much money | B．he was attracted by the beggar’s face |
| C．he found the beggar was blind | D．the beggar wished him a good day |
| A．He’s always generous to people in need. | B．He enjoys making fun of poor people. |
| C．He lacks sympathy for the poor. | D．He can find happiness from little things. |
10 . Being highly successful in any field is pretty rare. It takes a combination of natural talent, luck, determination, and plenty of outside support for someone to make it big in sports, entertainment, or business. But what if competing is all that matters to you, whether you are likely to succeed or not? This was the goal of Michael Edwards, better known as Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, and his reaching that goal was an amazing achievement.
Born in the UK in 1963, Edwards was a passionate downhill skier whose dream was to compete for Britain in world-class competitions. He would have liked to represent his country in the 1984 Winter Olympics, but there were a large number of downhill competitors, and Edwards didn’t qualify. Seeing his chance elsewhere, he switched to ski jumping. Ski jumping didn’t cost as much as downhill skiing, and there was almost no competition for a place on the British team.
But a number of hurdles could have meant the end of Edwards’ dream. He weighed more than most competitors. He had no financial support for his training. Poor eyesight meant that he had to wear glasses under his goggles—not a good thing when they steamed up at high altitudes. But he couldn’t let any of these discourage him. He saw himself as a true lover of the sport who simply wanted the chance to compete. Winning wasn’t the point. Having the opportunity to try was all he cared about. And nothing could stop him from trying.
In the end, Edwards took 55th place at the 1987 World Championships. He then went on to the
1988 Winter Olympics where he finished last. Many athletes would have been embarrassed about this result, but he is proud of his achievements to this day. His determination to fight against all the odds made him a global hero, and in 2016, the inspiring film Eddie the Eagle was made about his life.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?
| A．To add some background information. | B．To uncover the secret of success. |
| C．To expect an answer from readers. | D．To introduce the topic. |
| A．It was more popular. | B．It needed fewer skills. |
| C．There was little competition. | D．There was free equipment. |
| A．Doubts. | B．Obstacles. | C．Changes. | D．Options. |
| A．His passion for the sport. | B．His determination to win. |
| C．His attitude towards the Olympics. | D．His ability to overcome physical disabilities. |
