2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Zu Ti of the Jin Dynasty was a man who had with great ambition. When he was young, he had a good friend     1     (name) Liu Kun. They had such a deep friendship     2     they stayed together every day and got up at the same time every morning.

One day, when they were sleeping. Zu Ti heard the rooster crowing (鸡鸣) . He woke up Liu Kun and said, “How about     3     (get) up to play swords (剑) as soon as we heard the rooster crowing from now on?” Liu Kun was still     4     (sleep) . But he agreed with him     5     (joyful) . From then on, they got up and played swords once the rooster began crowing. They kept their word and never gave up no matter     6     cold in winter or hot in summer. Hard work     7     (pay) off. After a long period of hard study and training, they finally became the all-rounder. And they both did excellent jobs to their country.

The idiom “to rise with the rooster” teaches us that with ambition and hard work,     8     (succeed) is possible. When we can discover our shortcomings     9     time, it is not too late to try. But if you are not willing     10     (work) hard, you will not be able to achieve a career after all.

3 . I’m in middle school, and not that good at reading. I am a little behind and hate the books we are made to read. But I want to get better at reading. I don’t like being the weakest reader in the class. I want to change. I know I need help when it comes to reading. I’m hopeful that I can overcome (克服) my weakness if I try to find some ways and work hard.

So I go to the library every weekend. Last Saturday I went straight to the Young Adult section to search. There were hundreds of books to choose from. Finally, I saw a cover that was shiny, and it reflected (反射) the light and caught my eye. I saw that it was blue — I liked blue. So I picked it up and read the back. It sounded interesting, although it was the second book in the series, I got it. I read that book in two days, and found it was so attractive, so I read the whole series in a week.

By judging (判断) a book by its cover, I was not only able to pick up a book that became one of my favourites, but I also didn’t have to pick up hundreds of books that I may not like. If I never judged a book by its cover, I might have never found that book in the first place.

This advice is suitable for other things in life as well, especially when it comes to people. It’s not always exact, but by judging a person by their appearance — the way they dress, talk, and act — you can quickly see if you want to read their general condition by having a conversation with them. If you enjoy them like you enjoy a good book, then you can keep them in your inner circle — the people that you care about and who care about you.

1. Why does the writer visit the library?

A．He is the weakest reader.

B．He begins to like books.

C．He needs to borrow a book.

D．He hopes to improve his reading skills.

2. Which can best describe the writer in the text?

A．Caring and helpful.

B．Positive and hard-working.

C．Adventurous and unique.

D．Outgoing and admirable.

3. What part of the book attracted the writer at first?

A．The back.	B．The pictures.
C．The cover.	D．The introduction.

4. What does the writer probably agree with?

A．What pains us trains us.

B．Judging a book by its cover.

C．Actions speak louder than words.

D．Hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

5 . One early Saturday morning, I was enjoying my coffee and reading the newspaper alone when I heard an old voice from the radio.

“Well, Tom, sounds you’re busy with your job. But it’s a _________ that you have to be away from home and your family so much. Too bad you _________ your daughter’s dance performance. Let me tell you something that has helped me _________ my most important things.”

“You see, I did a little _________ one day. Folks live about seventy-five years _________ and have 3,900 Saturdays. I felt _________ that I did not think about all this in detail until I was fifty-five years old,” he went on, “if I lived to be seventy-five, I _________ had about a thousand of them left to enjoy.”

“So I visited three toy stores, _________ 1,000 marbles (玻璃弹珠) and put them inside a large, clear plastic container. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one out and _________ it away.”

“By watching the marbles decrease, I __________ more on the really important things in my life. Watching your time here __________ truly helps get your priorities (优先的事物) __________.”

……

He gave us all a lot to think about. However busy we were, we should spare time to stay with our family. I had __________ to do some unfinished office work and then meet several radio-lovers. __________, I woke my wife up. “Honey, I’m taking you and the kids out to breakfast. Besides, I need to buy some __________ in a toy store.”

1.

A．pity

B．pride

C．must

D．disaster

2.

A．delayed

B．avoided

C．missed

D．prevented

3.

A．track

B．update

C．revive

D．rate

4.

A．research

B．evaluation

C．maths

D．experiment

5.

A．in particular

B．on average

C．on purpose

D．in all

6.

A．cheerful

B．regretful

C．confused

D．satisfied

7.

A．yet

B．still

C．even

D．only

8.

A．rounded up

B．fixed up

C．sold out

D．played with

9.

A．thrown

B．given

C．sent

D．driven

10.

A．based

B．reflected

C．spent

D．focused

11.

A．flash back

B．run out

C．stop

D．drag

12.

A．straight

B．complete

C．reasonable

D．personal

13.

A．longed

B．remembered

C．intended

D．pretended

14.

A．Furthermore

B．Instead

C．Anyway

D．Thus

15.

A．coffee

B．newspapers

C．containers

D．marbles

6 . It was the first run of a family ski weekend in Colorado.The perfect spring morning greeted us with clear skies and a warm temperature.We planned the course on the mountain map and set off.Then, three minutes into the run, my left ski came off; then my right ski turned over and took my leg with it, and then I heard the sharp sound.I lay on the snow, screaming.My brother and husband stopped and took me down the mountain to the hospital．

After an operation, the doctor told me that I wouldn’t walk for three months.It seemed like a blow.“How can we get everything done?” I turned to Adam, my husband.Who would get the kids to the bus at 7:15 a.m. , since my husband was in his office by 6 a.m. each day? Who would deal with the two dogs? Who would prepare dinner? Who would drive to tennis practices? “We’ll work it out,” Adam said.I nodded, because we didn’t have the other choice．

But something unexpected happened: friends both near and far were searching for ways they could help.Parents at our school bus stop offered to drop my kids off each afternoon.My kids ran up the steps each day to check on me.My husband, the man who, in the past, had to be told what to do and when to do it, pulled our family back up.

Finally, I returned to the shopping and the bus pickups. I made dinners again.I organized everyone and sent them out the door.But something had changed in our family, in me.Now I am quicker to ask for help if I am the one needing.

1. In which activity did the author break her legs?

A．Hiking．

B．Horse riding．

C．Snow skiing．

D．Mountain climbing．

2. How did the author feel after the operation?

A．Serious．

B．Anxious．

C．Confused．

D．Impressed．

3. What does the unexpected thing refer to?

A．My attitude changed．	B．Things went on smoothly．
C．My friends became active．	D．My husband got everything done．

4. What does the author want us to learn from her story?

A．We should enjoy our life．	B．We should live in the moment．
C．We should value our family．	D．We should be brave to ask for help．

7 . Life is a journey filled with ups and downs. It’s important to understand that failure is simply a part of that _______, and it’s okay to fall along the way. From the _______ days of childhood to the moment we become _______, we will unavoidably encounter barriers and setbacks. But these moments of _______ offer us a valuable opportunity to learn about ourselves, to _______ our true abilities and recognize our limitations.

Let me share a _______ story with you, one that taught me the value of facing _______ head-on. When I was in school, I _______ with certain subjects and often received poor grades. I was so afraid of _______ my parents that I would sometimes falsify my grades, ________ an F to a B simply to avoid their disappointment.

But this dishonesty didn’t bring me any closer to success. In fact, it only made things worse when I was eventually ________. I realized then that the only way to truly succeed was to ________ my failures and learn from them. And something ________ happened: as I began to tackle my struggles and work harder to improve my grades, that F ________ turned into a B, and then an A.

So remember: failure is not a sign of weakness, but an opportunity for ________. Accept it, learn from it, and you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve.

1.

A．journey

B．lesson

C．process

D．success

2.

A．busiest

B．earliest

C．darkest

D．hottest

3.

A．partners

B．masters

C．adults

D．clerks

4.

A．joy

B．crisis

C．truth

D．difficulty

5.

A．doubt

B．reduce

C．prove

D．discover

6.

A．sad

B．classic

C．personal

D．different

7.

A．death

B．failure

C．trouble

D．competition

8.

A．competed

B．continued

C．struggled

D．dealt

9.

A．convincing

B．cheating

C．disappointing

D．asking

10.

A．adding

B．comparing

C．preferring

D．changing

11.

A．determined

B．convinced

C．hurt

D．caught

12.

A．accept

B．cover

C．share

D．report

13.

A．amazing

B．horrible

C．new

D．special

14.

A．entirely

B．gradually

C．apparently

D．slightly

15.

A．understanding

B．growth

C．dialogue

D．recovery

8 . When I was younger, I faced one obstacle, the divorce (离婚) of my parents. I wanted to know why my mother left and no longer lived in my house, but I was not able to understand exactly what had happened. Puzzles became my escape as I knew that all puzzles have an answer; they had unknowingly become a large part of my childhood as they made sense to me unlike what was going on in my life.

My love for puzzles led me to buying a Rubik’s cube (魔方) after I saw my friend solve his own. In the beginning, I was unable to follow the guide that came with the first Rubik’s cube I bought, but then I searched up a tutorial online and learned by watching. Using my skill of memory, I was able to remember possible patterns that the Rubik’s cube could be after each step.

After I learned how to solve a Rubik’s cube and learned that it could be solved many ways, I never got tired of solving it, because there were so many combinations that every time I mixed it up, there was a different solution.

My outlook of the world changed, as I realized that there is not one concrete solution to everything, but multiple solutions. Being able to see things differently, the ways I solved some problems with multiple solutions were uncommon among my classmates. My 10th grade math teacher had acknowledged this when he wrote a comment on my test, saying he had not thought about solving a problem the way I had solved it. I gained a new perspective in approaching the challenges of life. The obstacles that we encounter throughout our lifetime are preparation in order for us to solve the everlasting mystery of life.

1. What were the puzzles for the author at the beginning?

A．A replacement for friends.	B．A way to understand parents.
C．A solution to the mysteries of life.	D．A distraction from parents’ divorce.

2. Why was the author addicted to solving the Rubik’s cube?

A．For the joy in the process.	B．For the achievements in learning.
C．For the possibility to different solutions.	D．For the praise from teachers and classmates.

3. What did the author learn from solving the Rubik’s cube?

A．Hard work pays off.	B．Rome isn’t built in one day.
C．Failure is the mother of success.	D．There is more than one way to go in life.

4. What does the author think of the obstacles in life?

A．They make life more challenging.	B．They prepare people for life puzzles.
C．They test people’s problem-solving skills.	D．They prevent people from finding solutions.

10 . Even when you have confidence in yourself, your goals will sometimes seem out of reach. When that happens, get hold of the people who _________ you and your goals and don’t let go!

When I was younger, I _________ because life felt so hard. I had _________to become a teacher or a business administrator. I knew I needed a college degree, but I had _________ believing in myself. Then a teacher in my high school _________ me. He told me three things: First, if you don’t believe in yourself, it will be _________ to get anyone else to believe in you. Second, never let other people’s _________ to see your brilliance prevent you from being brilliant. And third, despite life’s _________, stick to creating the future you want.

Early in my _________, I was teaching a workshop when a person in the audience yelled out to me. He told me I had __________ made a job choice and had a bright future. This __________ feedback (反馈)came at just the right time, because while the audience didn’t know it, I was __________ self-doubt.

Even now, I __________ myself that I have a bright future. That’s what I tell myself when I __________ success and failure. You have a bright future ahead. Think about this every single day. Remember your talents, skills, and interests. Explore the jobs that interest you, and have courage—and most __________, believe in yourself.

1.

A．refer to

B．depend on

C．learn from

D．believe in

2.

A．quit

B．struggled

C．regretted

D．argued

3.

A．responsibilities

B．dreams

C．opportunities

D．doubts

4.

A．stopped

B．admitted

C．allowed

D．considered

5.

A．tracked

B．recommended

C．accompanied

D．encouraged

6.

A．serious

B．possible

C．hard

D．necessary

7.

A．request

B．unwillingness

C．inability

D．attempt

8.

A．difficulties

B．options

C．aims

D．standards

9.

A．career

B．experiment

C．business

D．recovery

10.

A．foolishly

B．simply

C．wisely

D．bravely

11.

A．original

B．familiar

C．typical

D．positive

12.

A．looking into

B．taking down

C．dealing with

D．pointing out

13.

A．introduce

B．remind

C．guarantee

D．warn

14.

A．experience

B．describe

C．compare

D．limit

15.

A．probably

B．fortunately

C．obviously

D．importantly