1 . My morning started out as usual. I ____ to complete housework and then raced out of the ____ for my mid-morning appointment. By the time I finished that, I was ____. So I stopped at Moe’s Southwest Grill to order a burrito (玉米煎饼) to take home and eat while ____.

Since it was a little before ____, there was a line. A woman, who I soon learned was Marcella, was ____ at the register. She asked the woman behind her in line if she would like a drink and ____ asked me. We both said no, and must have looked ____, because she said, “I got you.” She paid for both of our meals — even though we were ____.

I asked Marcella why she did this, and she ____ that someone once did something ____ for her. The person asked that she pay it forward someday and she was making good on her ____.

I arrived home, but instead of working through lunch, I sat and ____ her kindness. It reminded me of one thing: If you’re able to ____ a simple act of kindness, do it. Marcella didn’t ____ to pay for my lunch. But she did, and it brightened my day. Not because I got to ____ my $ 15, but because she was kind — with no expectations of receiving anything ____.

Her three co-workers described her as a/an ____ person and said they were a second ____ to one another. They said she brightens up each day, and to me, ____, that is true.

1.

A．hurried

B．demanded

C．arranged

D．determined

2.

A．office

B．store

C．school

D．door

3.

A．calling

B．writing

C．starving

D．resting

4.

A．waiting

B．working

C．cooking

D．sweeping

5.

A．dawn

B．morning

C．noon

D．evening

6.

A．paying

B．talking

C．staying

D．checking

7.

A．even

B．just

C．then

D．still

8.

A．comfortable

B．independent

C．discouraged

D．confused

9.

A．strangers

B．consumers

C．passengers

D．visitors

10.

A．admitted

B．shared

C．believed

D．discovered

11.

A．serious

B．similar

C．proud

D．terrible

12.

A．effort

B．service

C．promise

D．courage

13.

A．reflected on

B．relied upon

C．registered for

D．put forward

14.

A．discuss

B．perform

C．remember

D．benefit

15.

A．prepare

B．manage

C．hesitate

D．need

16.

A．receive

B．keep

C．give away

D．pick up

17.

A．in return

B．in time

C．in public

D．in person

18.

A．careful

B．smart

C．exciting

D．amazing

19.

A．relationship

B．appointment

C．family

D．responsibility

20.

A．eventually

B．temporarily

C．unusually

D．undoubtedly

2 . I decided to go single travel. The goal was to escape the four comers of my small room and the boring daily routines. There are comments from family and friends, saying it’s impossible and unsafe.    1     Therefore, I reminded myself why I decided to travel alone:

    2     Traveling alone allows me to be the “Captain of My Own Destiny”. It’s an experience of complete freedom.    3     I can rest when I want and move on when I feel ambitious. I can taste—test anything like and alternatively I won’t be forced to eat anything dislike.

Challenge myself. I’m responsible to no one but myself. Every wrong turn is mine—and mine alone. Traveling alone is the greatest yet most rewarding challenges. It forced me to be confident in my choices. Every decision is based upon my own sense of self-belief. There’s no one to turn to or rely upon, and so trusting my own instincts(本能) becomes a necessary survival skill.    4    

Reflect deeper senses. When traveling alone, there’s no need for boring dialogues.    5     Even so, I enjoy the long-lost freedom of becoming “one”. It leads to my deepest reflections about myself and the world around. I give my undivided attention to myself and the experience, which makes the most of the potential for personal reflection.

Travel alone helped me spread my wings and go beyond my greatest hopes and dreams.

A．Enjoy myself completely.

B．Enjoy complete freedom.

C．Loneliness can’t be avoided.

D．I want to do what I think is right.

E．I can choose to satisfy my every desire.

F．I was determined to prove them wrong.

G．It’s exactly these challenges that make me stronger.

3 . When I was 6, my 14-year-old brother brought me to the local BMX track to ride in a kid's bike race. The hill out of the starting gate looked so scary and _________ that I backed up and wouldn't ride. The next week, my parents took me back for another _________. Soon after setting off, I fell immediately but still _________to win second place. Ever since I've _________ racing.

I turned pro at 15, the youngest woman with a professional title in the United States, which is _________now. You have to be 17 to compete _________ according to new rules. Around the time I went pro,   BMX became an Olympic sport, and I decided to _________ it after high school. As soon as I graduated, I moved to California to train at the Olympic Training Center.

BMX is an extreme sport in which strength and balance are key, so I _________ at least, five days a week. I do tons of resistance and flexibility training. During the drills, I try to stand out _________ the other competitors at the end of the track. I keep __________ the excitement of overcoming big challenges and the __________ of crossing the finishing line first. I also do __________exercise with a sports psychologist, like practicing blocking out background __________ to make sure I'm __________the competition. If I make __________on the course, I have to move on. After all, every participant there is to __________me. I need to concentrate on the competition, so my chance of winning won't be __________by errors or distractions!

At the Olympics in Rio I was __________to win a silver medal, but I felt a strong urge to win the gold, which would __________me to do better in the next competition. I continue working to reach my __________ in the sport. Failures and disappointment never discourage me. They only motivate me to become a better self.

1.

A．puzzling

B．complex

C．thick

D．steep

2.

A．experiment

B．choice

C．try

D．visit

3.

A．managed

B．continued

C．selected

D．intended

4.

A．opposed

B．quit

C．resigned

D．loved

5.

A．significant

B．vital

C．impossible

D．normal

6.

A．amateurishly

B．professionally

C．toughly

D．firmly

7.

A．train

B．pursue

C．explore

D．purchase

8.

A．turn out

B．take out

C．block out

D．work out

9.

A．next to

B．in line with

C．ahead of

D．in addition to

10.

A．chasing

B．promoting

C．forgetting

D．spreading

11.

A．feeling

B．ability

C．possibility

D．preparation

12.

A．physical

B．mental

C．traditional

D．medical

13.

A．action

B．activity

C．voice

D．noise

14.

A．determined to

B．qualified for

C．focused on

D．occupied with

15.

A．decisions

B．comments

C．mistakes

D．sacrifices

16.

A．delay

B．beat

C．encourage

D．annoy

17.

A．relied

B．ruined

C．recognized

D．required

18.

A．proud

B．regretful

C．ashamed

D．disappointed

19.

A．inspire

B．force

C．recommend

D．promise

20.

A．angle

B．condusion

C．stage

D．potential

4 . Think about all those successful people in your life that you know. How many of them build their success overnight? How many of them didn’t care about their goals? How many of them gave up after the first failure?

Most of the people we know to be successful were very persistent and devoted to their dreams. In other words, they work hard towards their dreams and keep trying, even if their goals aren’t easy to achieve. They didn’t give up just because they faced barriers and problems. They might even get encouraged by them.

Persistence really matters. It can help build your character. Nothing builds your character more than overcoming failures and problems in life. You get tougher and can handle anything life might throw at you. Each time you win your urge to give up, you make your mind and personality a bit stronger. Each of those wins will build your character to be healthier and to handle more stress.

When you are committed to something, you are willing to learn what it takes to be successful. You will be required to learn new skills and solve new kinds of problems. When you are persistent about your goals, you will have to learn new ways of doing things. Sometimes you might notice that to solve a particular problem, you need to learn more about it. When you study more about the topic, you discover new exciting subtopics to know about. As you think more in-depth into that problem, you will be exposed to new ideas and thoughts. Persistence is the driver behind your ability to learn what you need to know.

When you keep building your persistence and willpower, you will face many failures. Things don’t always end up as you have planned. With persistence, you will learn how to solve those problems and get back up after a failure. You will learn that failure is not the end of the world. Life goes on, and so can you. Each time you decide to overcome your failure, you will learn something new, and you will be a bit stronger than before. Those changes won’t show daily, but slowly they will start to stack up. If you look back and analyze your process, you will discover that you handle the stressful situation more efficiently, and after failures, you won’t go into despair. You rather know how to handle each failure as you have accumulated experiences from them and handle challenging situations.

Persistence is a basic quality to develop in life because it is closely related to personal development and improvement. As you already know, it is not easy, but it is worthy of your effort.

1. The underlined word “them” in Paragraph refers to________.

A．dreams

B．successful men

C．most of the people

D．barriers and problems

2. What does Paragraph 4 mainly talk about?

A．Persistence builds your character.

B．Persistence teaches you how to manage failures.

C．Persistence improves your skills and abilities.

D．Persistence helps you handle a stressful situation.

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．People with persistence seldom suffer from failures.

B．Learning new skills will make you more persistent.

C．Persistent people are easier to get out of a bad mood.

D．Successful people usually have stronger personalities.

4. The author writes the passage to__________.

A．explain the importance of being persistent	B．analyze the character of successful people
C．offer some suggestions about being persistent	D．show how to deal with problems and face failures

5 . Rosie Dutton teaches a weekly class for 10- and 11-year-olds. During a recent class, Dutton used apples to brilliantly explain the effects of bullying.

Rosie Dutton started out by showing the class two perfect-looking apples. But unknown to the students, she had dropped one of the apples repeatedly on the floor. She picked up the dropped apple and began insulting (侮辱；损害) it.

“I started to tell the children how I disliked this apple, that I thought it was ugly and it was a horrible color,” Dutton wrote. “I told them that because I didn't like it, I didn't want them to like it either.”

They passed that apple around in a circle and the kids joined in on the insults. Then, Dutton took a completely different approach with the other apple.

“We then passed another apple around and started to say kind words to it,” the 31-year-old wrote.

She eventually cut both of them open to reveal that the apple that had been insulted was bruised (青肿的) inside. The apple that received praise wasn't.

“When people are bullied, especially children, they feel horrible inside and sometimes don't show or tell others how they are feeling,” Dutton wrote in her post. “If we hadn't cut that apple   open, we would never have known how much pain we had caused it.”

“Unlike an apple, we have the ability to stop this from happening. We can teach children that it's not OK to say unkind things to each other,” the 31-year-old explained in her post. She later added, “More and more hurt and damage happens inside if nobody does anything to stop the bullying. Let's create a generation of kind, caring children.”

1. What didn't the students know in advance?

A．She had dropped one apple repeatedly on the floor.

B．She had dropped two apples repeatedly on the floor.

C．The two apples were perfect-looking in appearance.

D．She had picked the two apples from the same tree.

2. How did Rosie Dutton teach students bad effects of bullying?

A．By reading famous sayings.	B．By listing the numbers.
C．By making comparisons.	D．By quoting some examples.

3. At the end of the passage, Rosie Dutton calls on students to be ________.

A．brave	B．considerate
C．active	D．honest

4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．One woman found an incredible way to teach a history lesson.

B．People have the ability to stop bullying from happening again.

C．A teacher encourages students to put what they learned to use.

D．A teacher uses a bruised apple to show bad effects of bullying.

6 . Some time ago, in my class I was about to fail a student for his answer to a physics question when the student claimed he deserved a better score. The examination question sounded “safe”.

“Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer（压表）.” The student had answered: “Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower the barometer to the street, and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of the rope is the height of the building.”

I argued that a high grade should prove his competence in physics, but the answer did not confirm this. I suggested that the student have another try. Immediately, he worked out his answer: A second best way is to take the barometer to the top of the building. Drop the barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then, using the formula to calculate the height of the building.

I was shocked by his answer. His method gave me not only a broken barometer but a U-turn in my teaching philosophy. I gave him full marks.

On his leaving my office, I recalled that he suggested there could be a better answer. So I asked him what it was. “Oh, yes,” said the student, “There are many ways. Probably the best,” he said, “is to take the barometer to the basement and ask the superintendent （楼管）. You speak to him as follows: Mr.Superintendent, here I have a fine barometer. If you tell me the height of this building, I will give it to you.

At this point, I asked the student if he really did not know the conventional answer to this question. He admitted that he did, but said that he was fed up with high school instructors’ trying to teach him how to think, and to use the so-called “scientific method”. He just wanted to solve the problem in a practical manner, not just answer the question in an expected way. Hearing this, I really had nothing to do but give the boy a firm handshake, feeling thankful that I hadn’t failed him in the first place and even more thankful, neither had he.

1. Why did the author want to fail the student in the first place?

A．The student challenged his authority.

B．The student’s answer was not practical.

C．The student didn’t show his academic ability.

D．The student had a poor performance in physics class.

2. Which of the following can best describe the author’s new teaching philosophy?

A．Without love, there is no education.

B．A man becomes learned by asking questions.

C．Teaching is to make two ideas grow where only one grew before.

D．You can lead your horse to the river, but you can’t make it drink.

3. What made the student abandon the conventional answer?

A．Lack of physics-related knowledge.

B．Ignorance of the teacher’s expectation.

C．Intention to deeply impress his teacher.

D．Disapproval of existing teaching concepts.

4. What can we infer from the text?

A．The superintendent was a greedy person.

B．School education restricted this student’s thinking.

C．The teacher appreciated the student’s answers finally.

D．The examination question is a lough physics problem.

7 . Open a book by any philosopher and you'll probably read that a meaningful life has to involve achieving something difficult. That's because many philosophers are perfectionists when it comes to the meaning of life. It's not just philosophers, either. Perfectionism is one of the main reasons people tend to believe their lives are meaningless.    1    If they aren't doing something absolutely amazing, then life has no meaning.

    2     So the conclusion is obvious: most lives are meaningless. Right? Not really. Dig a little deeper, and perfectionism falls apart. Actually you don't need to be a perfectionist about the meaning of life. Life would be fantastic if everything was perfect. But something doesn't need to be perfect to be fantastic.    3    

For one, it's pretty inconsistently applied most of the time. People who are perfectionists about the meaning of life often don't apply it to other areas of their lives.    4    For example, perfectionists don't think they're a failure if they don't get a hundred percent on every test. So isn't it also absurd to apply that kind of standard to the meaning of life?

It doesn't end there. The demands that perfectionists place on themselves and others are actually really unrealistic. And that means they can only lead to disappointment.    5    It would be similarly odd to call one of your friends a huge failure because he can't achieve as much in a day as Superman. But that's exactly the logic perfectionism applies when it claims that our lives have to be extraordinary in some way to have meaning.

A．They see life as all -or-nothing.

B．We don't expect a dog to drive a car.

C．This leads to lots of double standards.

D．You're unlikely to be satisfied with any result.

E．And there are actually a few problems with perfectionism.

F．However, most of us aren't an Einstein or a Mother Teresa.

G．They'd probably dismiss the ideas like that as absurd, in fact.