1 . Signs That You Are Growing

Growing is a lifelong process. Here are the signs that show that you are actually growing and not getting stuck in the process.

    1    

Often, we see how badly people look when they get overly upset due to unimportant things. So the first sign of maturity (成熟) is letting the small things go and not getting angry over a tiny detail that didn’t go as you planned.

You start forgiving and understanding other people

When we are young, we are often unforgiving. As we mature, we are better able to understand the world beyond black and white.     2    . It enables us to look beyond the obvious and let go of simple judgments. We begin to understand better that others have complex (复杂的) lives and personalities, and so we become more willing to forgive their mistakes.

You always complete things that matter

Immature people don’t know when to commit (承诺) themselves and their energy or resources are always not well employed.     3    . In this way, they can often keep their promises and honor their commitments.

You accept the possibility of being wrong

    4    . They are always able to accept the possibility that they are wrong, that they don’t know something, because there is always more to learn.

Being mature is knowing that you are always growing up. You are never done learning and developing. This means that you don’t set yourself up as the highest authority.     5    .

A．You follow the crowd

B．You let the small things go

C．Instead, mature people focus on completing things that matter

D．Immature and mature people can both have plans for their lives

E．Rather, you open your mind to other ideas and new possibilities

F．Becoming more understanding is a sign of strength, not weakness

G．Mature people appear more confident, however, they are not overconfident

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。

From this year’s trip through Southeast Asia, last year’s Central America adventure and traveling within Canada, travel has been a(n)     1     (wonder) part of my life. My study abroad in Australia had such a huge impact     2     my life that I created my own travel blog Little Miss Ottawa as a way     3     (challenge) myself to experience Ottawa as a traveler would.

Whenever a friend or family member comes back from a trip, they always can’t wait to tell you about the highlights (最好的部分)! Research from San Francisco State University has shown that people feel     4     (comfortable) when they spend money on experiences than on other things and they feel the money is better spent.

Experiences are something I truly value. Your     5     (happy) increases with experiences, but the impact of people you meet along the way also matters. Some of my best    6     (trip) were when I went alone and I     7     (lucky) met people who would become friends for life. Now I have people I can visit all over the world. In fact,     8     is so easy to build friendships with other travelers because everyone is ready to meet new people. I jumped into my study abroad in Australia     9     (know) no one. I left with friendships     10     will last a lifetime. There’s something about going through experiences together that has bonded (建立关系) us for life.

3 . Four Top Skills I’ve Learned From My Kids

In my journey as an entrepreneur (企业家), one of the best sources of leadership development is parenthood. There’s one thing that being a parent and being a business leader have in common.     1    . So what are some of the lessons that parenthood can teach us about business leadership?

Give up control

As a parent, I’ve learned that there’s only so much control you can really have over your kids. They need to make their own decisions — and mistakes — and learn from them. You can try to control your kids when they are young.     2     .

Become more flexible (灵活)

    3     . You never know when someone might get hurt or sick and make troubles in your plans. Parenthood is a non-stop exercise in flexibility and adjusting to difficulties. The business world can be much the same way.

    4    

We all make mistakes, and it can be tempting to hide those mistakes, especially from people you want to look up to you. But since we teach our kids to admit when they’ve made a mistake and apologize if they hurt someone, it’s important that we do the same when we make a mistake that hurts them.

Become more understanding and empathetic (共情的)

Emotional intelligence is one of the most important skills for effective leadership. And there’s nothing like being a parent to help you better understand people’s emotions and motivations.     5     . The empathy is a valuable skill for a business leader.

A．Admit your mistakes

B．Kids come with unknown risks

C．It’s that there’s a lot to be learned

D．As they grow up, you should let go

E．You’d better stick to your perfect plan

F．That can help you develop your empathy

G．Correct the mistakes as soon as possible

4 . Having faith in something means you trust it completely. People with strong faith are so confident in themselves that they can do anything they set their minds to and get through the toughest times.     1    

Faith improves your daily work. Being faithful in your day-to-day life can help lift your mood.     2     Even something as simple as wearing an inspirational T-shirt that reminds you to have faith can lift your spirits enough to deal with the day.

Faith gives you courage.     3     It motivates you to act on something despite the risks or dangers involved. For instance, you gather the courage to go for a job interview. You think you won’t get the job, but there is always a chance you will.

    4     It is easy to become a victim of anxiety and stress while dealing with so many tasks in this fast-paced world. These worries lead to extreme mental stress and physical problems. However, faith helps you keep stress away. Just keep faith that things will get better. Then you will see anxiety and stress decrease if you have faith in yourself.

Faith helps you in difficult times. Sometimes you may find yourself drowning in despair. Even when you lose your job, suffer the pain of losing a beloved or face any other challenges, remember to have faith.     5     Because of faith, you will be more joyful, hopeful, motivated and even ready to take on challenges and welcome new paths in your life.

A．It helps you do the things that scare you.

B．Faith helps overcome anxiety and stress.

C．Faith is the key to living a better and fuller life.

D．It helps you see the positive aspects of all these things.

E．The power of faith can enrich life in the following ways.

F．It can help you complete your work with a big smile on your face.

G．Having faith in yourself and your abilities helps you be more productive.

5 . Sitting in the garden for my friend’s birthday. I felt a buzz (振动) in my pocket. My heart raced when I saw the email sender’s name. The email started off: “Dear Mr Green, thank you for your interest” and “the review process took longer than expected.” It ended with “We are sorry to inform you…” and my vision blurred (模糊). The position—measuring soil quality in the Sahara Desert as part of an undergraduate research programme — had felt like the answer I had spent years looking for.

I had put so much time and emotional energy into applying, and I thought the rejection meant the end of the road for my science career.

So I was shocked when, not long after the email, Professor Mary Devon, who was running the programme, invited me to observe the work being done in her lab. I jumped at the chance, and a few weeks later I was equally shocked—and overjoyed—when she invited me to talk with her about potential projects I could pursue in her lab. What she proposed didn’t seem as exciting as the original project I had applied to, but I was going to give it my all.

I found myself working with a robotics professor on techniques for collecting data from the desert remotely. That project, which I could complete from my sofa instead of in the burning heat of the desert, not only survived the lockdown but worked where traditional methods didn’t. In the end, I had a new scientific interest to pursue.

When I applied to graduate school, I found three programmes promising to allow me to follow my desired research direction. And I applied with the same anxious excitement as before. When I was rejected from one that had seemed like a perfect fit, it was undoubtedly difficult. But this time I had the perspective (视角) to keep it from sending me into panic. It helped that in the end I was accepted into one of the other programmes I was also excited about.

Rather than setting plans in stone, I’ve learned that sometimes I need to take the opportunities that are offered, even if they don’t sound perfect at the time, and make the most of them.

1. How did the author feel upon seeing the email sender’s name?

A．Anxious.

B．Angry.

C．Surprised.

D．Settled.

2. After talking with Professor Devon, the author decided to ________.

A．criticise the review process	B．stay longer in the Sahara Desert
C．apply to the original project again	D．put his heart and soul into the lab work

3. According to the author, the project with the robotics professor was ________.

A．demanding

B．inspiring

C．misleading

D．amusing

4. What can we learn from this passage?

A．An invitation is a reputation.	B．An innovation is a resolution.
C．A rejection can be a redirection.	D．A reflection can be a restriction.

6 . Cope With Loneliness or Depression

My grandmother, Margaret lived to be 104, spending the last 16 years of her life in a nursing home. Although ______ kept in a wheelchair from severe arthritis(关节炎), she was mentally sharp until her ______. In fact, she was one of the very few residents there who could still think clearly. ______ the passing years, friends and family members died. Yet, when I had the ______ to visit her, she never seemed to be despondent or ______ of being lonely. After my visits, I ______ left thinking “If I lived that long, would I have the same ______? Was there something special or different in the way she thought that prevented her from becoming ______ ?”

By our very nature, human beings are relational. As social beings, we need some sense of ______ to the world around us, whether it’s through people or the ______ world. In what appeared to be the very ______world of my grandmother, she had ______ close relationships with the nurses on her floor. I’ve ______ a lot on the example my grandmother provided during her ______ years. I’ve asked myself many questions about aging and how to ______ a sense of well-being as our world ______ to narrow from the death of family and friends or major health issues. Perhaps what I’ve ______ will help you, too.

Being alone. What does that ______ bring into your mind? The way we feel about being alone has something to do with the way we frame it. For example, you ______ be in a large group of people and still feel very lonely. Yet, some people seem to recharge and actually energize by taking the time to be alone. Once your thoughts and feelings change, it will be ______ for your behavior to change as well.

1.

A．mentally

B．sadly

C．happily

D．physically

2.

A．recovery

B．death

C．victory

D．failure

3.

A．While

B．As

C．Until

D．With

4.

A．chance

B．honor

C．right

D．choice

5.

A．complained

B．reminded

C．informed

D．thought

6.

A．never

B．sometimes

C．always

D．seldom

7.

A．ability

B．luck

C．attitude

D．age

8.

A．depressed

B．disappointed

C．annoyed

D．excited

9.

A．achievement

B．direction

C．connection

D．humor

10.

A．amusing

B．amazing

C．different

D．natural

11.

A．small

B．huge

C．difficult

D．broad

12.

A．developed

B．invented

C．held

D．found

13.

A．regained

B．realized

C．reflected

D．recognized

14.

A．long

B．lonely

C．early

D．last

15.

A．organize

B．maintain

C．spread

D．broadcast

16.

A．promises

B．prepares

C．seems

D．starts

17.

A．calculated

B．collected

C．discovered

D．described

18.

A．phrase

B．word

C．sentence

D．passage

19.

A．would

B．can

C．must

D．should

20.

A．better

B．happier

C．harder

D．easier

7 . 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。续写的词数应为150左右。

When Chase Hansen was only 4 years old, he encountered (邂逅) some homeless people while shopping with his dad and he wanted to help them. After a conversation between the father and son about homelessness, they decided to do something for the homeless.

They convinced a local Jamba Juice store to donate more than 100 smoothies (沙冰) and the pair gave them out to homeless people in a park.

After that, they came up with an even better idea. “I wanted a way to get to know people better. So, my dad and I decided to start taking some of the homeless people we’d met out for a meal,” said Chase.

Now, six years later, the pair still spend their weekends taking homeless people out for a meal and they start conversations with their new acquaintances during the meal.

“I would ask them where they were from, what their hobbies were,” said Chase. “And sometimes they’d share their stories of how they became homeless.”

“A lot of people walk right past homeless people and don’t see the person,” said Chase. “Now I know they’re people just like us. They need care from others so that they won’t feel so lonely in the world.”

Thousands of lunches later, they run a self-funded charity called Project Empathy (同情) to help inspire others to meet and create relationships with the homeless people in their neighborhoods.

“I just want more people to know that they can do this in their own town,” said Chase. “When you have a meal with a homeless person or just sit and talk to them, it helps to lift their life.”

Hansen said that this way of spending quality time with his son has changed both of them. “Chase and I realized that the country needed an army of people to practice empathy. By doing something as simple as taking a homeless person for a meal, we could maybe inspire others to do the game,” said Hansen.

Paragraph 1:

Soon more people joined them.       

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:

The father and son clearly know they couldn’t change the social-economic situations.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . I generally write practical posts about the business of art. I love to give tips that might help artists and galleries become just a little more ________. Today though, I want to step back from the business and share my ________ for art itself. Being in the business, I sometimes find myself thinking of ________ only in terms of money. It’s good to pause now and again to ________ what it’s all about.

I love art. I could probably say, “I ________ art.” I spend every day of my life thinking about art and working with art.

Growing up with a painter father, my earliest ________ is not a sight or a sound, it’s a ________ — the smell of oil paint. I remember watching my dad hard at work in the studio and I was ________ to see how he transformed a canvas (画布) and ________ it into a window on the world.

As a teenager, I went to work at Legacy Gallery where my father was showing his work. There, I started to ________ the art business. In the beginning, I was working in the ________ doing the shipping and receiving, cleaning and installing (安装) artwork, but what a(n) ________ experience it was to see art coming into the gallery and then see collectors fall in love with it and ________ it.

Since then I have got to spend my days surrounded (围绕) by ________ artworks and come into ________ with some of the most influential artists in the world. Art is amazing!

1.

A．successful

B．useful

C．scientific

D．expensive

2.

A．search

B．love

C．reason

D．preparation

3.

A．career

B．business

C．art

D．chance

4.

A．forget

B．understand

C．wonder

D．expect

5.

A．talk about

B．show off

C．give up

D．live for

6.

A．memory

B．work

C．class

D．dream

7.

A．taste

B．view

C．touch

D．smell

8.

A．frightened

B．nervous

C．surprised

D．ready

9.

A．copied

B．put

C．divided

D．painted

10.

A．learn

B．protect

C．influence

D．discuss

11.

A．community

B．environment

C．background

D．public

12.

A．amazing

B．awful

C．strange

D．natural

13.

A．change

B．buy

C．design

D．share

14.

A．crazy

B．free

C．similar

D．wonderful

15.

A．competition

B．contact

C．agreement

D．battle

9 . As a child, I was proud of my southern origin. My own voice reflected my family’s past and present-part northern Mississippi, part Tennessee, all southern. There was no sound I loved more than my grandmother’s accent: thick, sweet, warm.

While growing up, I began to realize outside of our region, southerners were often dismissed as uncultured and ignorant. I was ready to leave behind my tiny town in West Tennessee, starting a new life and jumping at big chances in some far-off cities. In that embarrassing space between “teen” and “adult”, my accent was a symbol of everything I thought I hated about my life in the rural South. I feared it would disqualify me from being a noted magazine writer. I would have to talk less “country”. So I killed a piece of myself. I’m ashamed of it, but I’m more ashamed that I tried to kill that part of someone else-change Emily’s accent.

I met Emily in college. She was determined to work for the student newspaper, which was where I spent most of my waking hours, and we became friends. She, unlike me, accepted her roots. Early in our friendship, her mother asked where I was from, assuming it was somewhere up north. Then I felt my efforts paid off and even wanted to ignore the mistake.

Emily is two years younger and she cared about my opinion. I advised her to be more like me and hide her signature Manchester accent. I stressed that throughout our college years, often by making fun of her vowel (元音) sounds. I told myself I was helping her achieve her dream of working as a reporter. Now, I see that it was actually about justifying my hiding part of myself.

Grandma Carolyn used to tell me, “Girl, don’t forget where you come from.” Now I truly understand that. Many things have faded from memory, but this sticks in my mind with uncomfortable clarity. Now that I am grown and have left the South, it’s important to me.

1. What made the author want to leave her hometown?

A．Appeal of convenience in cities.

B．Her dream of becoming a writer.

C．Outside prejudice against southerners.

D．Her desire for the northern accent.

2. How did the author feel about the mistake of Emily’s mother?

A．Upset.

B．Pleased.

C．Ashamed.

D．Surprised.

3. Why on earth did the author try to change Emily’s accent?

A．To prove herself right.	B．To help Emily be a reporter.
C．To make herself influential.	D．To protect Emily’s self-dignity.

4. What message does the text want to convey?

A．Stay true to your roots.	B．Never do things by halves.
C．Hold on to your dreams.	D．Never judge a person by his accent.

10 . Winter goes and summer comes. The tides_______; the tides withdraw. All nature is a circle of moods and I am a_______of nature. It is one of nature’s_______, little understood, that each day I_______with moods that have changed from yesterday. Inside me is a wheel,_______turning. Like the flowers, today’s full blossom will_______, yet I will remember today’s dead flower carries the seed of tomorrow’s blossom.

And how will I master these emotions so that each day will be_______? Trees and plants depend on the weather to_______, but I make my own weather. I_______it with me. If I bring enthusiasm to my customers, they will________with enthusiasm and my weather will produce a harvest of sales and a lot of gold for me. I will learn this secret: weak is he who permits his thoughts to control his actions; strong is he who________his actions to control his thoughts. Each day I will follow this plan of battle before I am________by the forces of sadness,________and failure. I will know only those with inferior(较次的) ability can always be________, and I am not inferior. If I feel depressed I will sing. If I feel________I will remember my goals.Yet, some emotions approach me with a smile, which can also destroy me. If I become overly proud, I will remember my weaknesses. If I feel my skill is________, I will look at the stars.

With this new knowledge I will make________of a person’s anger of today, for he doesn’t know the secret of controlling his mind. No longer will I judge a man on one________. This secret will be my key to great wealth. From this moment I am________to control whatever personality awakes in me each day. I will control my fate, which is to become the greatest________in the world!

1.

A．advance

B．disappear

C．exist

D．fall

2.

A．native

B．colleague

C．supporter

D．part

3.

A．jokes

B．secrets

C．experiences

D．awards

4.

A．break in

B．wake up

C．take off

D．give out

5.

A．constantly

B．temporarily

C．casually

D．elegantly

6.

A．appear

B．blow

C．fade

D．spread

7.

A．anxious

B．natural

C．additional

D．productive

8.

A．sow

B．grow

C．separate

D．shelter

9.

A．fold

B．follow

C．carry

D．load

10.

A．react

B．review

C．recite

D．repeat

11.

A．obtains

B．regards

C．allows

D．observes

12.

A．chosen

B．seized

C．received

D．witnessed

13.

A．self-awareness

B．self-control

C．self-esteem

D．self-pity

14.

A．behind the scene

B．on the bottom line

C．at the end of the rope

D．out of sight

15.

A．insignificant

B．improper

C．impolite

D．unconscious

16.

A．concrete

B．inadequate

C．abstract

D．unmatched

17.

A．use

B．fun

C．sure

D．sense

18.

A．view

B．meeting

C．experiment

D．idiom

19.

A．limited

B．reserved

C．prepared

D．afraid

20.

A．salesman

B．player

C．architect

D．designer