1 . I clearly remember the day when I started my journey towards becoming a minimalist.

It was one _______ in April 2013. My daughter, Emily, had just turned two. She usually _______ herself with a few toys when I quickly showered and got ready for the day. Her growing curiosity often _______ her to get into the drawers and cupboards. I was often _______ when I found cupboards emptied and messes everywhere.

On this particular day, she _______ the cupboard filled with all my various lotions (润肤露). It still _______ me why I had so many partially used bottles of _______ lotions and creams. Even if I didn’t _______ a certain one, I never threw it away because I thought I might need it one day, or didn’t want to be _______. When I got out of the ________, I found Emily standing by my bedside table with an entire bottle of runny, shimmering (微闪的) lotion ________ all over the table, herself, her pajamas, and the carpet. And cleaning lotion out of carpet is ________ fun or easy.

Right then and there I decided enough was enough! I was so ________ of cleaning up the same messes and the same ________ that I didn’t even need. I got a big ________ bag and started getting rid of every unneeded and unloved item, which really gave me a sense of liberation and ________.

This event really ________ my mindset about stuff and ________ motivated me to live a life with fewer things. For me, minimalism is not a destination but a ________. And I will ________ on this path for the rest of my life.

1.

A．afternoon

B．night

C．evening

D．morning

2.

A．equipped

B．comforted

C．entertained

D．rewarded

3.

A．allowed

B．drove

C．recommended

D．persuaded

4.

A．frustrated

B．terrified

C．disappointed

D．concerned

5.

A．fixed

B．painted

C．arranged

D．searched

6.

A．confuses

B．escapes

C．delights

D．bothers

7.

A．expensive

B．different

C．natural

D．silky

8.

A．smell

B．like

C．test

D．remember

9.

A．picky

B．typical

C．wasteful

D．stubborn

10.

A．shower

B．bed

C．cupboard

D．room

11.

A．blown

B．occupied

C．thrown

D．poured

12.

A．far from

B．at least

C．no more

D．after all

13.

A．afraid

B．capable

C．sick

D．fond

14.

A．carpets

B．lotions

C．toys

D．stuff

15.

A．shopping

B．garbage

C．paper

D．cloth

16.

A．security

B．pride

C．relief

D．belonging

17.

A．shifted

B．developed

C．clarified

D．revealed

18.

A．fortunately

B．surprisingly

C．immediately

D．ultimately

19.

A．solution

B．journey

C．tendency

D．change

20.

A．continue

B．appear

C．wait

D．survive

2 . Years ago Paul was living his best life, conducting tours in his native Zimbabwe. But his life changed after he_______ to lead an adventure down the Zambezi River.

Leading six clients and three other_______ down the river in three canoes (独木舟), Paul felt _______ because he knew the area well. Everything went well until they_______a school of hippos (河马)._______that they were at a safe distance, Paul_______ to just paddle (用桨划) around them.

The canoe_______ by guide Evans, however, was somehow knocked off course. Suddenly, there was a big _______. A male hippo had charged at Evans’s canoe and Evans was thrown into the water. The current was _______ Evans toward a mama hippo and her young 150 meters away. The situation was quite ________ because hippos are very territorial and might attack any animal________their territory.

Paul turned his canoe around to reach Evans ________ the other guides managed to get the clients to safety on a rock that hippos couldn't climb. The moment their fingers almost________, Paul was up to his waist down a hippo’s ________.

The hippo threw him out of its mouth soon but wouldn’t________ its attack. By the time others came to his________, Paul had been________   injured. After waking up ten hours later in a hospital,he realized that his left arm was gone. The only news that gave him some________ was that Evans survived, too.

Not long after his ________, Paul returned to the river in a canoe with a custom made single paddle. “Focus on what’s possible, not what we’ve ________,” Paul says.

1.

A．expected

B．forgot

C．hesitated

D．agreed

2.

A．writers

B．guides

C．reporters

D．actors

3.

A．anxious

B．guilty

C．confident

D．curious

4.

A．carried off

B．looked over

C．searched for

D．came across

5.

A．Assuming

B．Doubting

C．Admitting

D．Fearing

6.

A．pretended

B．decided

C．failed

D．used

7.

A．piloted

B．witnessed

C．recommended

D．recognized.

8.

A．mistake

B．improvement

C．noise

D．influence

9.

A．surrounding

B．assisting

C．attracting

D．washing

10.

A．confusing

B．critical

C．embarrassing

D．unique

11.

A．entering

B．marking

C．protecting

D．observing

12.

A．until

B．if

C．while

D．although

13.

A．froze

B．touched

C．bled

D．bent

14.

A．back

B．nose

C．throat

D．tail

15.

A．launch

B．increase

C．stand

D．stop

16.

A．rescue

B．senses

C．attention

D．conclusions

17.

A．seriously

B．frequently

C．mentally

D．commonly

18.

A．sorrow

B．amusement

C．relief

D．trouble

19.

A．arrival

B．recovery

C．retirement

D．escape

20.

A．created

B．hidden

C．abandoned

D．lost

3 . Patience is something that many of us struggle with. I know that I am certainly one who has a hard time dealing with delays. After all, we live in a world of instant satisfaction and overnight shipping. We can have anything that we want delivered to our doorstep right away. We can pick from a variety of entertainment options at any given moment.    1    

The truth of the matter is, however, that anything good rarely happens quickly.    2     You have to develop your patience over time by taking real action. This applies to a number of things: launching a business, waiting to go to an event, or striving to achieve your personal goals.

Here are a few tips to help you become more patient:

Make yourself wait on things. This can include eating, purchasing items, or taking any sort of action.    3     It will help you increase your current patience levels and become less anxious moving forward. Try it.

    4     Sometimes pause actually means there is hope. Perhaps you’ll meet a lot of wonderful people while waiting in line, or you will find that something put off is actually better in the future.

Understand that life is full of delays.    5     If there were delays, we would all have to accept. Ups and downs are what build character, and often, the longer we wait, the more we enjoy it. So wait it out with the best of them.

A．It usually takes a lot of work and a long wait.

B．The more patient you are, the luckier you become.

C．Teach yourself to look on the bright side of delays.

D．There is no one straight path to happiness or success.

E．Being patient is a must if you want to achieve success.

F．As a result, being patient has become increasingly difficult for most of us.

G．Work to overcome whatever makes you anxious and force yourself to wait.

4 . 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.

5 . 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

6 . Two friends and I moved into a house off campus when I was a junior at Iowa State University. We were all a bit afraid of our landlord, a _________ middle-aged man. He gave us a lecture about paying the rent on time and _________ the house and appliance(家用电器).

But during the fall semester, my housemates and I _________ a party in our house. We drew a large crowd and had a great time. The last _________ left in the morning. _________, we decided to sleep in and clean the house and yard the next morning.

We were _________ at about 7:00 a.m. by our landlord, who was _________ on the door. We let him in and _________ to arouse his anger. _________, he picked up a party invitation that had been laying on the sidewalk and asked, “Why didn’t you girls invite me?” He __________ the house and spent a few minutes helping us pick up __________ from the yard. We were __________ that our landlord had been so understanding.

A few months later, I made a mathematical error while balancing my check book and my bank soon __________ me that I had my rent check returned. I was anxious when I knew that. I __________ the courage to call him and __________ what had happened. He said, “I have a daughter about your age, and the __________ thing happened to her once. Would you like to wait __________ next month and send a __________ payment then?” I’ve never forgotten our landlord’s kindness and __________ .

He taught me an important lesson about not judging a book by its __________. I’m proud to say that I have not bounced a check since then.

1.

A．poor

B．strict

C．wealthy

D．considerate

2.

A．getting

B．selling

C．repairing

D．maintaining

3.

A．held

B．found

C．donated

D．assisted

4.

A．guests

B．families

C．customers

D．passengers

5.

A．Amazed

B．Pleased

C．Exhausted

D．Surprised

6.

A．abandoned

B．Accused

C．arrested

D．awakened

7.

A．working

B．focusing

C．knocking

D．insisting

8.

A．forced

B．expected

C．regretted

D．continued

9.

A．Instead

B．Besides

C．Therefore

D．Meanwhile

10.

A．ran into

B．came into

C．broke into

D．looked into

11.

A．trash

B．paper

C．letters

D．invitations

12.

A．funny

B．thrilled

C．unfortunate

D．dangerous

13.

A．fired

B．doubted

C．informed

D．interviewed

14.

A．lost

B．showed

C．waited

D．gathered

15.

A．introduced

B．considered

C．explained

D．remembered

16.

A．same

B．normal

C．boring

D．personal

17.

A．after

B．before

C．during

D．until

18.

A．bearable

B．common

C．double

D．regular

19.

A．courage

B．honesty

C．optimism

D．understanding

20.

A．name

B．cover

C．words

D．pictures

7 . 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.

8 . Perseverance is the quality of ________ through challenges and difficulties with ________ and resilience. It is this quality that often separates successful people from those who give up at the first sign of trouble.

I remember a time when I ________ with the concept of perseverance. It was during my first year of university when I ________ a difficult course in my major. I had always been a good student and had never had trouble with my academics before. However, this ________ seemed impossible to me. The material was challenging, and I didn’t ________ it as quickly as I hoped to.

I almost gave up. I considered changing my major and even dropping out of college altogether. Yet, I had a long conversation with my professor, during which he told me that everyone struggles with something at certain ________ in their life. He inspired me to ________ through the difficulties and to keep ________ because success only comes to those who never give up.

I took his advice and decided to keep pushing myself ________ my doubts. I ________ every class, read each book, and studied late at night. It wasn’t easy for sure, I persevered, ________. And in the end, I was able to pass the course and ________ in my major.

That experience taught me the ________ of perseverance. It’s not just about ________ challenges; it’s also about the growth that comes alongside with the experience. When we persevere through difficulties, we ________ strength, resilience, and ________.

To ________ up, perseverance is a quality that should be celebrated, not feared. When facing challenges, we need embrace them and defeat them with determination and resilience. In doing so, not only can we cross ________ but we can also foster ________ skills and qualities which benefit us in all our lives.

1.

A．consisting

B．resisting

C．insisting

D．persisting

2.

A．deterrence

B．dissolution

C．determination

D．dismissal

3.

A．experienced

B．struggled

C．triumphed

D．experimented

4.

A．encountered

B．withstood

C．fought

D．deferred

5.

A．class

B．course

C．lesson

D．curriculum

6.

A．grab

B．grapple

C．gamble

D．grasp

7.

A．item

B．rule

C．point

D．whereabouts

8.

A．go

B．trudge

C．undergo

D．drudge

9.

A．revering

B．wavering

C．persevering

D．deserving

10.

A．regardless

B．despite

C．respite

D．in spite

11.

A．attended

B．enrolled

C．engaged

D．tended

12.

A．though

B．although

C．even though

D．as though

13.

A．keep

B．stay

C．remain

D．retain

14.

A．element

B．beauty

C．rudiment

D．appreciation

15.

A．meeting

B．combating

C．enduring

D．ensuring

16.

A．nurture

B．get

C．require

D．enquire

17.

A．interest

B．likelihood

C．character

D．mentality

18.

A．hold

B．brief

C．pick

D．wrap

19.

A．barrier

B．block

C．obstacles

D．blocks

20.

A．important

B．essential

C．vital

D．invaluable

9 . This morning, my daughter, Helen, and I arrived at a town in Xi’an, China. We came to _________ my husband, James, who had landed a job. We had spent the past four years living in Hong Kong, China, after I _________ my job as a journalist in Sydney. When we saw James, he had never appeared so _________. He happily kept sharing interesting things with us.

The next day, James was busy with his work. So Helen and I _________ the new town on our own. We were _________ about everything on the street. Crowds of people had a strong _________ to know about us, too. A girl asked Helen, “Where are you from?” Helen began to _________ with her, and soon they seemed to be friends. With curly hair and blue eyes, Helen stood out in the _________ and was very popular. People paid too much attention to us, but they meant _________.

Walking around, I was __________ by the town. It was a typical Chinese town filled with traditional buildings and red lanterns lining the streets. With such a beautiful area right by our doorstep, I started to feel __________ about the future.

After Helen __________ an international school in Xi’an city, I had a chance to communicate with some parents of different colors during the school run. Before long we became familiar and close, and I made a few__________ from all over the world. Regardless of (不管) __________, we all shared the basic desire to be loved. After several years, our family __________ to Sydney, but I couldn’t get China off my mind.

1.

A．meet up with

B．break up with

C．send for

D．stand for

2.

A．offered

B．confirmed

C．left

D．got

3.

A．grateful

B．merry

C．upset

D．desperate

4.

A．promoted

B．dominated

C．described

D．explored

5.

A．anxious

B．sensitive

C．curious

D．honest

6.

A．memory

B．desire

C．proposal

D．evidence

7.

A．talk

B．work

C．fight

D．argue

8.

A．classroom

B．apartment

C．club

D．crowd

9.

A．never

B．well

C．professionally

D．shallowly

10.

A．impressed

B．delayed

C．frightened

D．trapped

11.

A．doubtful

B．stressful

C．hopeful

D．careful

12.

A．attended

B．decorated

C．visited

D．built

13.

A．comments

B．demands

C．friends

D．wishes

14.

A．fashion

B．race

C．expense

D．devotion

15.

A．admitted

B．applied

C．turned

D．returned

10 . It was Saturday again. Lily and Lucy disliked Saturdays. That was another thing the twins had in common. They shared the same clothes and tied their hair in the same manner. In fact, it was hard for their classmates and teachers to tell them apart sometimes.

Unlike their classmates, they had to get up early at seven every Saturday to prepare for their lessons. Lily had to attend the art lesson and Lucy had to attend her ballet lesson. “How I wish I could do something different today,” said the twins with one voice. All at once, an idea came to Lily and Lucy al the same time. “Do you have the same idea as me?” they asked each other and laughed. It seemed like a wonderful plan to them. After giving each other a description of their own friends, Lily put on Lucy’s ballet dress while Lucy put Lily’s brushes and paints into her bag. Then they left for their classes.

When the art lesson started, Lucy couldn’t understand the art teacher Unlike Lily, Lucy was poor at drawing. When the art lesson finally ended, Lucy didn’t dare to hand in her work.

Meanwhile, Lily was struggling in the ballet class as well. As she had no idea about the dance steps, she had to follow her classmates blindly. As a result, she kept knocking into them. Their ballet teacher became impatient with her, “Lucy, you should remember the basic steps. You can’t depend on copying what others are doing.”

When Lily and Lucy arrived home, they were tired out. They decided that they would never try to be someone else that they were not.

1. What was the twins’ plan?

A．To be each other for a day.	B．To have a day off.
C．To wear the same clothes.	D．To have a normal day like their classmates.

2. How did Lucy feel at the beginning of the art lesson?

A．Lost.

B．Excited.

C．Mad.

D．Sleepy.

3. What does the underlined word them refer to?

A．The teachers.

B．The classmates.

C．The dance steps.

D．The ballet dresses.

4. What did the twins learn from the experience?

A．Don’t try to run before you can walk.

B．A good beginning makes a good ending.

C．The grass is not always greener on the other side.

D．Saying is one thing and doing is another.