1 . It was a cold May morning when I received an email from an old friend inviting me to join a 10-day all-girls surf trip. I knew I had to say yes. The trip seemed simple enough. 10 women aged 30 to 45, all complete strangers, were to meet on the coast of Portugal to try something new: surfing in the Atlantic Ocean. I have always loved traveling, so I eagerly sent an email to my boss asking for time off to make the trip.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over my past 33 years, it’s that adults typically spend their days mastering the things they’ve done before. It seems like we pride ourselves on becoming experts in whatever field we’ve fallen into, knowing more about less. Now, in theory, this is a great strategy, as it allows you to become really good at one particular thing, but it also kind of ends up leaving some skills lacking.

I met my new surfing companions on the grass of the hotel lawn in a small surf town called Ericeira. Despite our different personalities and backgrounds, we were all united in a strong desire to challenge ourselves, learn, tackle and grow.

The shores at Ericeira, where the beginners learn to surf, are shallow and covered with slippery rocks. They make for softer waves but are difficult to ride.

Guided by our amazing coaches, together, we faced the waves. Sometimes, it poured with rain, and the waves crashed around us, but we were still out there. And with every slip and fall, words of encouragement filled the air. Honestly, I probably spent most of my days frozen to the bone, but that didn’t matter because a new level of genuine joy and personal achievement had been unlocked.

Learning a new skill taught me the humility (谦虚) that can come from doing badly at something new, and the pride that develops when you finally manage to grasp something you’ve been working on. While surfing might not be my lifelong passion, trying it out inspired me to take more risks in life. You never know what you’re capable of if you don’t go out there and try.

1. What inspired the author to join the surf trip?

A．Her love for seashore surfing.	B．Her desire to make new friends.
C．Her need to take a break from work.	D．Her passion for exploring something new.

2. What does the author think of adults’ focusing on mastering one field?

A．It hurts one’s pride.	B．It narrows one’s potential.
C．It promotes one’s career success.	D．It broadens one’s view of the world.

3. Which words can best describe the author’s surfing experience?

A．Relaxing but dangerous.	B．Tough and uninteresting.
C．Challenging but rewarding.	D．Surprising and unforgettable.

4. What can be inferred about the author?

A．She used to lack confidence in herself.

B．She determined to become an expert surfer.

C．She discovered her lifelong passion after the trip.

D．She was more willing to try new experiences in life.

3 . Standing on the shore of a lake, I can’t help but feel surprised at the thousands of small rocks that surround my boots. They were all created from hard surfaces, their edges softening over time. I wonder, “Can we learn from a pile of _________?”

Even the tallest mountains have _________; none are as tall as they were 1,000 years ago. And much like a rock, I’ve found my _________ has softened and my desire to better understand others has expanded with each trip around the sun.

_________, I was also a sharp rock covered in pointy edges. Today, after decades of the waters of life coursing over me, my edges are softer and and I’m more _________. I’m less likely to judge and more interested in learning how we can _________ together.

But I’m not a rock. I’m a _________ filled with all the drama built into my DNA.

Two years ago, while traveling in the Pacific Northwest, I watched a restaurant owner ask several young men to _________ for not wearing masks. Not _________ and not rude. On the door read a sign, “Please wear a mask before entering our restaurant. We don’t like it either, but let’s all do what we can to __________ this together.”

The group of young men wanted to __________ about the note. I sat at the restaurant watching, understanding both sides. I’ve been one of them before, using my youthful edges to chip away at the world. What I lost, __________, was the ability to grow from __________ by looking through the eyes of others. In learning to be more __________, I’ve also found more happiness and success.

You can fit more rounded rocks in a jar than those with sharp edges. The former look for ways to __________ and make room for others, while the latter never give an __________ to accommodate others.

__________, like the waters rolling against once sharp stones, changes us by washing away our resistance to __________ the world from someone else’s point of view.

I placed a __________ stone into my jacket pocket. Mother Nature is holding a __________ again.

1.

A．goods

B．boxes

C．books

D．rocks

2.

A．piled up

B．worn down

C．risen up

D．broken down

3.

A．will

B．voice

C．attitude

D．heart

4.

A．Often

B．Still

C．Here

D．Once

5.

A．understanding

B．confident

C．patient

D．competitive

6.

A．contribute

B．exist

C．suffer

D．develop

7.

A．leader

B．teacher

C．human

D．judge

8.

A．leave

B．explain

C．apologize

D．pay

9.

A．contradictory

B．confusing

C．forceful

D．discouraging

10.

A．get through

B．stick to

C．deal with

D．fight against

11.

A．think

B．care

C．talk

D．argue

12.

A．even

B．however

C．anyway

D．also

13.

A．hardships

B．struggle

C．experiences

D．failure

14.

A．open

B．cautious

C．ambitious

D．independent

15.

A．ignore

B．accept

C．adjust

D．change

16.

A．excuse

B．agreement

C．entrance

D．inch

17.

A．Nature

B．Tolerance

C．Tide

D．Time

18.

A．reforming

B．seeing

C．exploring

D．travelling

19.

A．sharp

B．rounded

C．valuable

D．rolling

20.

A．class

B．belief

C．meeting

D．discussion

5 . Having repeatedly heard “good manners”, do you really understand what the basic elements of good manners are? Certainly, a strong sense of justice is one — (from this angle) politeness is often _________ but a highly developed sense of fair play. A friend of mine once told me of him _________ along a one-lane dirt road. _________ was another car that produced clouds of choking _________, and it was a long way to the nearest highway. Suddenly, at a _________ place, the car in front pulled off the road. _________ that its owner might have engine trouble, my friend stopped and asked if anything was wrong. “No”, said the other driver, “but you’ve tolerated my dust this far; I’ll _________ yours the rest of the way.”

Another element of politeness is empathy, a (an) _________ that enables a person to see into the mind or heart of someone else, to _________ the pain or suffering there and to do something to minimize it. A man __________ alone in a restaurant was trying to unscrew (拧开) the cap of a beer bottle. __________, he couldn’t do it because of badly injured __________. He turned to a young kid for help. The kid took the bottle, __________ and loosened the cap without difficulty. Then he __________ it again. Turning back to the man, he __________ to make great efforts to open the bottle without success.__________ he took it into the kitchen and returned shortly, saying that he had __________ to loosen it — but only with a pair of pliers (钳子).

Last but not least, the ability to treat all people __________ is also an element of politeness, regardless of status or importance. __________ when you have doubts about some people, act as if they are worthy of your best manners. Are you astonished to find out the basic factors of “__________”?

1.

A．anything

B．nothing

C．something

D．everything

2.

A．driving

B．running

C．riding

D．walking

3.

A．Ahead

B．Before

C．Behind

D．After

4.

A．ash

B．smoke

C．steam

D．dust

5.

A．cleaner

B．flatter

C．wider

D．straighter

6.

A．Consuming

B．Finding

C．Guessing

D．Confirming

7.

A．do away with

B．put up with

C．catch up with

D．go on with

8.

A．quality

B．personality

C．behavior

D．technique

9.

A．reduce

B．accept

C．remove

D．understand

10.

A．dining

B．begging

C．working

D．performing

11.

A．Otherwise

B．However

C．Therefore

D．Meanwhile

12.

A．legs

B．heart

C．mouth

D．fingers

13.

A．sat down

B．took a look

C．turned around

D．thought twice

14.

A．watched

B．checked

C．covered

D．tightened

15.

A．seemed

B．pretended

C．promised

D．happened

16.

A．Luckily

B．Happily

C．Finally

D．Sadly

17.

A．tried

B．failed

C．meant

D．managed

18.

A．nicely

B．alike

C．warmly

D．happily

19.

A．Ever

B．Specially

C．Especially

D．Even

20.

A．politeness

B．manner

C．elements

D．empathy

6 . One day, a girl came upon a cocoon (茧), and she could tell that a butterfly was trying to hatch. She waited and _________ the butterfly struggle for hours to release itself from the tiny hole. All of a sudden, the butterfly stopped moving — it seemed to be _________.

The girl then decided to _________ to get the butterfly out. She went home to get a pair of scissors to cut open the cocoon. The butterfly was then easily able to _________, however, its body was swollen and its wings were _________.

The girl still thought she had given the butterfly a(an) _________, and continued to watch it, _________ that any minute the wings would enlarge and expand enough to support the body. _________ happened! The butterfly was unable to fly, and for the _________ of its life, it could only move by crawling around __________ with little wings and a large body.

Despite the girl’s good __________, she didn’t understand that the restriction of the butterfly’s cocoon __________ an important purpose. In fact, the butterfly had to __________ the struggle in order to make an escape. As butterflies emerge from __________ cocoons, the fluid from their body is forced into their __________ to prepare them to be able to fly.

Similarly, there are days when we __________ challenges, preventing us from moving forward. However, the challenges we face along the way are meant to test if we’re made of stronger __________, not to make us quit. They will __________ the best in us and make us fly. Anyone who refuses to make an effort, or gets the __________ sort of help, is left unprepared to fight the next __________ and never manages to fly off to his destiny.

1.

A．experienced

B．found

C．enjoyed

D．observed

2.

A．asleep

B．bored

C．stuck

D．lost

3.

A．help

B．order

C．instruct

D．follow

4.

A．wake

B．escape

C．play

D．dance

5.

A．unfriendly

B．undervalued

C．underdeveloped

D．uncovered

6.

A．eye

B．arm

C．hand

D．thumb

7.

A．making

B．expecting

C．demanding

D．searching

8.

A．All

B．Neither

C．That

D．Either

9.

A．joy

B．fame

C．rest

D．story

10.

A．secretly

B．quickly

C．easily

D．awkwardly

11.

A．intentions

B．reflections

C．discoveries

D．memories

12.

A．improved

B．completed

C．served

D．created

13.

A．make up

B．look through

C．go through

D．give up

14.

A．tight

B．dangerous

C．updated

D．bright

15.

A．nerves

B．wings

C．brains

D．breasts

16.

A．explore

B．control

C．measure

D．encounter

17.

A．exercise

B．stuff

C．gratitude

D．knowledge

18.

A．check out

B．bring out

C．bring down

D．check off

19.

A．wrong

B．normal

C．critical

D．inner

20.

A．complaint

B．conflict

C．battle

D．injustice

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

When I think of the word perfect, I think of something only a few can achieve, like high beauty standards, the super-smart girl in my class, or anything that I can compare myself to.

For a few weeks now, I have been noticing this one girl who is in a few of my middle school classes. She has fabulous long dark brown hair, big eyes, and the most beautiful face. She always wears the prettiest outfits and seems to be the most popular girl in school, at least in my point of view. It seems like she has a perfect life, lots of friends, all As (全A), and everything anyone could ever want.

One day, I was in language arts talking to my teacher about one of the upcoming tests, when I saw the girl staring at me in this strange way. I immediately started to get panicked and think, “Why is she looking at me? Did I do something wrong? Is my hair messed up?”

When the class was dismissed and everyone was rushing to their next class, she caught up to me and said, “I just thought you should know, I think you are really pretty.” I replied, “Oh my god, thank you!” I then watched her as she walked away and thought, “She thinks I am pretty?”

The whole day, I ended up thinking about one thing. That was, “Why does she think that?” After thinking about that topic in my head through each second of the day, I met her again in the class.

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。
Paragraph 1:

When I was considering whether to say hello with her, she

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:

I looked at myself with a big smile.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, but unluckily two of them fell into a deep pit(坑). All the other frogs _________ the pit. When they saw how _________ the pit was, they told the two frogs that they might as well be dead.

The two frogs _________ what the others were saying and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their physical _________. The other frogs kept telling them to _________. Finally, one of the frogs paid attention to the comments, _________ considered them, and gave up. He _________ down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as _________ as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs _________ him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally __________ it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, “Did you not hear us?” The frog __________ to them that he was a little __________. He thought they were encouraging him the __________ time.

This story teaches two lessons: First, there is power of life and death in the __________. An encouraging word to someone who is __________ can lift him up and help him make it through the day. Second, a destructive word to someone who is down can be __________ it takes to kill him. Be __________ of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path.

The __________ of words is great. It is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak words that __________ to rob another of the spirit to continue in __________ times.

1.

A．jumped over

B．looked through

C．came down

D．gathered around

2.

A．big

B．deep

C．dangerous

D．wide

3.

A．ignored

B．understood

C．followed

D．approved

4.

A．weight

B．height

C．strength

D．shape

5.

A．continue

B．stop

C．cheer

D．relax

6.

A．seriously

B．confidently

C．actively

D．peacefully

7.

A．slowed

B．went

C．climbed

D．fell

8.

A．much

B．high

C．hard

D．fast

9.

A．pointed at

B．shouted at

C．smiled at

D．glared at

10.

A．worked

B．turned

C．left

D．made

11.

A．explained

B．apologized

C．promised

D．turned

12.

A．blind

B．deaf

C．clever

D．honest

13.

A．past

B．present

C．all

D．whole

14.

A．tongue

B．society

C．communication

D．competition

15.

A．grateful

B．energetic

C．depressed

D．stupid

16.

A．who

B．that

C．what

D．which

17.

A．careful

B．proud

C．afraid

D．free

18.

A．function

B．energy

C．power

D．skill

19.

A．appear

B．mean

C．happen

D．tend

20.

A．joyful

B．difficult

C．memorable

D．exciting