1 . Thomas was a well-known wise man. One day, he wandered in a beautiful small town. Because of his fame, people from nearby towns who heard of his arrival all came to visit and seek his advice.

Many who came sought help with difficulties in daily life, and Thomas, unable to bear turning them away, patiently offered suggestions. Word spread quickly, and more and more people came to see Thomas for guidance.

One day, dozens of people crowded outside Thomas’s door, all clamoring (大声地要求) that their problems were the most serious and urgent, each insisting that Thomas address their concerns first, with no one willing to yield (让步).

After a moment of thought, Thomas took out some paper and a pen and said, “I can’t hear clearly with everyone talking at once. How about everyone write down your problem on a piece of paper and place it in this basket beside me?”

Once everyone had placed their notes in the basket, Thomas shook the basket and said, “Please each take a piece of paper from the basket and read what it says.”

As everyone read a note from someone else, they all realized that indeed, each person has their own troubles, and every household has its own challenges. Then Thomas spoke up, “Now, whose problem is the most urgent to solve?” Hearing that question, no one spoke again, because now no one dared to claim that their problem was the most severe.

Often, we are bound by our immediate feelings. When difficulties and problems strike, it feels as though we are caught in a vortex of pain. But if we shift our focus from ourselves and look towards others, we might discover that the problems we face are not so significant. Perhaps others are the ones who need help more urgently, or maybe there is something within our power that we can do for them.

1. Why did people visit Thomas?

A．For advice.	B．For a meeting.
C．For a competition.	D．For introductions.

2. How did Thomas handle the crowd?

A．He ignored them.	B．He listened to each one individually.
C．He prioritized the problems himself.	D．He asked them to write down their problems.

3. What did reading others’ problems show to the people?

A．The complexity of their difficulties.	B．The similarity of their situations.
C．Their need for more advice.	D．Their living conditions.

4. What lesson did Thomas teach?

A．Competition.

B．Sympathy.

C．Prioritization.

D．Self-confidence.

2 . Instead of being a pacing-up time, winter is a locking-down time. Winter frees us in all sorts of ways.

I once had a neighbor named Earl. An old-timer and a self-made man, he _________ told me stories about Maine winters in the past. He suggested he had _________ the ice age. He backed up his old stories with _________ of old black-and-white photographs of heavy snowstorms that piled up to second-floor windows and completely _________ cars.

And I’ll never _________ what he said as an end to one of his stories, “A man couldn’t get much done once the snow came.” So what did he do once the snow came? He spent a great deal of time _________ to home and hearth, where he _________ the wood stove, sat with his wife, made pots of coffee, and read by the fire.

As I write these words I occasionally raise my head to _________ the window at the woodpile stacked (堆), the garden harvested, the apple tree _________, the lawn mowed, and the bicycle shed newly roofed.

As I tended to all those things, when did I have time to __________?

Some years ago a friend sent me a quote by Socrates that I try to be mindful of: Beware the fruitlessness of a __________ life.

The advice __________ me to look forward to the coming of winter, because I’ve finally learned that it is a slowing-down time, a gift of rest, a (n) __________ to acknowledge that most of the outdoor work that could be done has been done.

A friend of mine who lives in the Southeast recently called. In the course of our __________ he celebrated the climate where he lives, which __________ him to work outside year-round. “I’m always on the go.” he told me.

But I think I need a good time of winter.

1.

A．gradually

B．excitedly

C．angrily

D．unwillingly

2.

A．struggled

B．explored

C．survived

D．celebrated

3.

A．laughter

B．evidence

C．expectation

D．patience

4.

A．buried

B．struck

C．destroyed

D．supported

5.

A．realize

B．forget

C．recall

D．learn

6.

A．designing

B．improving

C．fixing

D．tending

7.

A．bought

B．controlled

C．built

D．filled

8.

A．look at

B．watch over

C．glance out

D．glare at

9.

A．picked

B．cut

C．planted

D．fell

10.

A．settle

B．arrange

C．work

D．breathe

11.

A．busy

B．happy

C．creative

D．special

12.

A．demanded

B．taught

C．appointed

D．assisted

13.

A．amazement

B．surroundings

C．opportunity

D．ability

14.

A．convenience

B．appearance

C．contribution

D．conversation

15.

A．employs

B．forces

C．enables

D．saves

3 . 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。

No one is born a winner. People make themselves into winners by their own efforts. I learned this lesson from an experience many years ago. I took the head coaching job at a school in Baxley, Georgia. It was a small school with a weak football program. The school took part in the league matches every year. However, it never ended well. We were more of the audience, watching and cheering instead of sweating out in the fields.

Fortunately, the school held the tradition that the school’s old team was to play against the new team at the end of spring practice. For lack of resources, the old team bad no coach, and they didn’t even practice to prepare for the game.

I was assigned (指派) as the coach of the new team, which was why I was excited. I believed that we were going to win, but to my disappointment, we were defeated. I couldn’t believe I had got into such a situation. Thinking hard about it, I tried to figure out the reason and what I should do next.

It didn’t take long before I came to realize that my team was depending on me. Without proper guidance or previous experience, my team was at a loss what to do. I had to change my attitude so that I could bring out the best in them about their ability and potential.

I would let my action do the talking. First, I started doing anything I could to help them build a little pride. I could see their spirits lifted, with their head held high in great confidence. Most importantly, I began to treat them like winners. Only when they regarded themselves as winners could they willingly invest time and energy.

This summer, the other teams enjoyed their vacations.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Six months later, football season started.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . The day I first came across a harp (竖琴) is a memory stored by all my senses. In contrast to the vivid color in which I recall this first encounter, I still remember my parents faces turning pale when I announced “I’m going to play the harp!” My parents’ faces reflected then financial fears. But they still rented me a little harp and hired a man to teach me.

I felt complete every time I played the harp. Then something happened: sheet music. Suddenly I had to learn this foreign language in order to continue to play. What was once an effortless pleasure turned into a constant struggle. My dyslexic (诵读困难的) brain fed on the beauty of the music but fought with the way it was taught. I soon found myself stuck in a love-hate relationship.

For my 16th birthday, my parents used their savings to buy me a harp, in the hope that it might settle my relationship with it. But in the weeks that followed the harp exploded.

The remains of the harp sat at the bottom of our stairs for several weeks. Eventually, my father and I built a fire to burn it. It felt strange to burn something that once represented so much, and we both sat there staring in silence. My father said “I know you find it hard to read music. But have you ever thought about just playing?” What he said changed everything for me, “Yeah, but I don’t have a harp anymore.”

Two weeks later, an old and small harp turned up. I threw away all my music books and started playing by ear and from the heart. All the passion came back. Music is so much more than dots (小圆点) on a page. If you feel it and are excited by it, stick to it. Had I let traditional music teaching techniques put me off playing the harp, I would have lost a part of myself.

1. What was the author’s parents’ reaction to her decision?

A．They were excited and hopeful about it	B．They purchased her a harp immediately
C．They showed concern but agreed to it	D．They hesitated over it for a long time

2. What did the author find out about sheet music?

A．It took away her enjoyment of playing the harp	B．It was beneficial to foreign language learning
C．It led to her encountering difficulty in reading	D．It was an effective way of appreciating music

3. How did the author feel when the harp was burnt?

A．Astonished

B．Sorrowful

C．Frightened.

D．disappointed.

4. What lesson did the author’s experience give her?

A．Hard work pays off	B．Strike while the iron is hot
C．The simplest way is the best way	D．Never give up on what you really want to do

5 . Dan Price was the CEO of Gravity Payments, a financial services company. One day, he found out a friend was struggling ________. The cost of living in Washington is ________, and she just couldn’t make ends meet(量入为出) on her salary. However, Dan was already earning $1.1 million a year. He realized how ________ it was that he had so much while the people working under him were struggling.

This point was driven home when he ________ a Mc Donald’s handbook on the desk of employee Rosita Barlow. When asked , Rosita burst into tears and ________ that after she left work at Gravity, she went straight to her shifts (轮班)at McDonald’s . Some nights, she even stood ________ at the local food bank.(赈济处）

That’s when Dan decided to do something to stop income ________ in his company. In 2015, he cut his own pay by 90%, mortgaging(抵押）his two houses, and ________ his stocks and savings so that he could ________ every single employee’s pay to $70,000 a year!

More than a third of his employees saw their ________ double. Some feared productivity would decline(下降）if everyone was earning more, but the ________ turned out to be true. Dan’s employees began to truly thrive (奋发）once the stress of making ends meet was ________ from their everyday lives. Employees like Rosita were finally able to quit their second jobs and ________ their work, actually increasing ________.

When COVID-19 hit the U.S, Dan’s company ________ financial difficulties. But what the employees decided ________ Dan! They chose to take a voluntary pay ________ of between 5% and 100% to keep Gravity going ________. The pay cuts worked! Gravity was able to ________ from the economic downturn, and they recently restored all salaries to their pre-pandemic amount.

As the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats! Dan treated his employees well. And when it was their turn to________ him, they didn’t let him down!

1.

A．politically

B．financially

C．physically

D．emotionally

2.

A．reasonable

B．predictable

C．high

D．low

3.

A．unfair

B．strange

C．challenging

D．harmful

4.

A．forgot

B．composed

C．discovered

D．reviewed

5.

A．insisted

B．argued

C．suggested

D．admitted

6.

A．in peace

B．in line

C．in demand

D．in relief

7.

A．inequality

B．growth

C．redistribution

D．limit

8.

A．looking into

B．taking over

C．showing off

D．giving up

9.

A．earn

B．raise

C．collect

D．reduce

10.

A．market

B．creativity

C．salaries

D．costs

11.

A．same

B．opposite

C．following

D．first

12.

A．separated

B．returned

C．removed

D．hidden

13.

A．focus on

B．pass down

C．apply for

D．talk about

14.

A．requirement

B．competition

C．risk

D．productivity

15.

A．suffered

B．escaped

C．masked

D．caused

16.

A．disappointed

B．astonished

C．frightened

D．amused

17.

A．service

B．reward

C．check

D．cut

18.

A．public

B．free

C．strong

D．quiet

19.

A．benefit

B．change

C．learn

D．recover

20.

A．repay

B．respect

C．improve

D．invite

6 . I wish I’d been more confident in my own abilities, especially when I was at school.

I was a shy child and struggled a bit when talking to other people. On the whole, my parents were very supportive, always encouraging me and trying to help me relax in social situations, but I was always terribly self-conscious. I wish I hadn’t been so worried about what everybody thought of me. I know now that if you are extremely shy , then it’s hard work to have a conversation with you. Now I try to think about the other person I’m talking to and put them at ease in my company .However, at school, I found it especially difficult in my peer group. I wasn’t competitive, but I was aware of my appearance and I always compared myself to other people, usually coming to the conclusion that I wasn’t as clever or as popular or as cool as they were. I wanted to be popular. I know now that the kids who are considered the coolest at school aren’t necessarily the most popular or successful when they grow up.

I realize now that everything changes during your teen years — physically, mentally, socially and emotionally — and I just had a harder time than most. I wish I hadn’t let it stop me from doing things, though. I wish I’d taken a gap year or at least traveled more when I left school. But to tell the truth, I didn’t have the courage to go off alone before going to college. I could have gone to Europe and America with a friend as I’d saved up enough money, but in the end I just didn’t want to do it. My parents really wanted me to try a gap year. They said it would be a great experience before college. I think they were right, and now I won’t have another opportunity to do that for a long time.

1. What can be learned about the author when she was a child?

A．She found being sociable difficult.

B．She was considered too direct.

C．She lived a rich life.

D．She felt uncomfortable with her parents.

2. What did the author think of herself as a teen?

A．She had a big heart.

B．She was a first-class student.

C．She suffered greatly during her teen years.

D．She used to let her parents down.

3. What does the author regret?

A．Not paying enough attention to her parents.

B．Not saving up enough money to go abroad.

C．Not going to college together with her best friend.

D．Not being brave enough to travel before college.

4. Why does the author write this text?

A．To honor her parents	B．To share her life lessons
C．To remember her childhood	D．To discuss skills needed for school

7 . For some strange reason, the tradition of writing a thank-you note is fading away. As a result, the sending of handwritten thank-you notes ________ appreciation and gratitude for ________ increasingly appears to be becoming a lost art.

People ________ they were overjoyed after they received thank-you notes, but most of us ________ the positive feelings they will bring. ________ it may take less than five minutes to write a thank-you note, the idea of ________ an actual pen, writing an actual ________ , finding a stamp and a mailbox seems to ________ come to mind. We tend to do what is ________ for us——a quick text or an email.

Doug Conant, CEO of Campbell's soup, is a very ________ and successful businessman. ________ terrible situations, he set about fixing that by doing some ________ things that are probably not taught in any MBA class. For one thing, Conant wrote to every ________. He gained their confidence and ________ saved the company. In his ten years as Campbell's CEO, Conant ________ over 30,000 notes to employees. It's hard not to ________ how he did it. After all, the CEO had many other things to do besides sitting down with a ________ and a card and writing a thank you note. Conant ________ time for it because he knew the ________ each one would have.

An expression of being grateful written by hand in this crazy world still ________.

1.

A．expressing

B．including

C．writing

D．desiring

2.

A．friendliness

B．politeness

C．kindness

D．carefulness

3.

A．complained

B．explained

C．permitted

D．admitted

4.

A．remember

B．notice

C．love

D．ignore

5.

A．Because

B．While

C．As

D．Unless

6.

A．getting

B．borrowing

C．choosing

D．buying

7.

A．letter

B．note

C．novel

D．story

8.

A．ever

B．recently

C．never

D．frequently

9.

A．convenient

B．real

C．important

D．interesting

10.

A．stubborn

B．honest

C．busy

D．reliable

11.

A．On behalf of

B．Instead of

C．Regardless of

D．In the face of

12.

A．science

B．simple

C．complex

D．interesting

13.

A．employer

B．professor

C．companion

D．employee

14.

A．eventually

B．obviously

C．hardly

D．briefly

15.

A．offered

B．shared

C．donated

D．wrote

16.

A．understand

B．believe

C．question

D．accept

17.

A．pen

B．stick

C．fan

D．book

18.

A．lost

B．spared

C．wasted

D．killed

19.

A．happiness

B．effect

C．price

D．result

20.

A．makes a fortune

B．earns a living

C．makes a difference

D．takes a chance

8 . To adjust your baby to the world, educating him is your main assignment. How will you educate him? What role will he play in the world?

According to Darwin's theory of evolution (进化) of the species, we are a competitive species and one survives by adapting itself biologically to various environments through various ways. Competition was a resource useful for the progress of society and for the survival of human beings.

Today, however, the challenges are different. The 21st century is a computer science age, but there are environmental imbalances, deaths of thousands of children every day by starvation and countless epidemics (流 行病). Therefore, it is important that the philosophy of preparing our children for competition and power be replaced by one of preparing them for love and cooperation.

The earth is a unique home to us all. The ecological balance has to be pursued (追 求) and this pursuit shows the internal balance of each living being. We must educate our children so that they want to protect nature and thus to protect the opportunity to make themselves more powerful and able in society. Our children have to learn that we don't need to practice actions that benefit only our homeland while all other countries are destroyed. The destruction of other countries and lives leads to the impossibility of the future existence of the place we call home.

It imbalances the ecosystem and shades the hope of a better future, We would not show hate to a flower, grabbing it and throwing it to the floor and stepping on it. It would be foolish! But we are insensitive to the sight of a homeless person thrown to the ground and pretend it’s not our problem! Competition has led us to a state of total insensibility! Therefore, we must teach our children that the main necessity of men is love. Love is being good to ourselves , others and nature.

1. According to Paragraph 2, competition is________.

A．interesting	B．beneficial
C．unnecessary	D．ineffective

2. Why should we prepare children for cooperation in the 21^st century?

A．We are faced with new challenges.

B．Many diseases are threatening people.

C．They will live in a more competitive society.

D．Environmental imbalance has caused many deaths.

3. What is the benefit of keeping an ecological balance?

A．It will help keep our internal balance.

B．Our kids will have more chance to succeed.

C．It will help make our future existence possible.

D．Our kids will have a better natural environment.

4. What is the purpose of this text?

A．To introduce ways of helping children overcome fears.

B．To explain the role competition plays in education.

C．To suggest an education of love and cooperation.

D．To explain why competition and cooperation should coexist.

9 . 人们对失败持有不同的态度。面对失败，有人能够经得起考验，从失败中汲取教训，并努力去完成他们下定决心要做的事情。然而，另一些人却丧失信心并退却了。请你用几句话对此进行阐述，并谈谈你自己的看法。

There are successes and failures, which can hardly be avoided in people’s lives. Faced with failure, ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10 . Why is being alone essential to personal growth?

For many people, being alone is a negative state of being. It often carries a social stigma (污名) that equals isolation or being an outsider. Of course, spending time with people you love is extremely important to your well-being.     1     Only if you’re connected to yourself can you become stronger.

Aloneness enhances your creativity. When you are alone, you are more likely to stay true to yourself and try new things that you don’t have the courage to do around others.     2     Picasso or Van Gogh wouldn’t have created the masterpieces if they hadn’t taken enough solitary (独自的) time to experiment regardless of others’ thoughts.

Being alone also prevents you from burning out. Sometimes you may wonder why you easily feel tired.     3     Especially for people who go to work every day, it is unavoidable to feel exhausted when you have to deal with work, family, and your own passions at the same time. How about giving yourself a few solitary moments? It doesn’t matter how you choose to spend those moments alone. As long as they relieve your stress, they’re worthwhile.

    4     When you take time to understand yourself, pursue your personal growth, and follow your dreams, you’ll definitely discover the truth about yourself. Regardless of how well you may think you know yourself, learning how to be alone will allow you to deepen your self-awareness.

Being alone makes you a more creative person and helps with personal growth.     5    

A．But it’s necessary to learn how to be alone.

B．Aloneness is often associated with mad artists.

C．It is impossible to be alone with the demands of daily life.

D．Aloneness frees us from the limits of the world’s opinions.

E．Self-exploration is perhaps the biggest benefit of aloneness.

F．One reason could be not giving yourself enough solitary time.

G．So spend some time alone today to become a brighter and better person.