1 . I was a shy girl. I didn’t even like to answer the telephone for fear I’d have to talk to somebody I didn’t know. I enjoyed the loneliness of exploring nature. However, at school I had to spend all day in the company of others. My escape was reading. I spend a lot of time studying and was rewarded with good grades. My only failure was Spanish — I’d get all As on my written work and tests, but Ds and Fs on the spoken part.

Eventually I went to college. During my third year of college, I had enough of being shy and determined to change my outlook and behavior. One day while at school, I noticed an advertisement for positions on the local classical music radio station. I had grown up listening to classical music, and I could easily pronounce names such as Tchaikovsky, Albinoni, and Chopin.

I had absolutely no background in radio, and absolutely no hope of getting the job. The idea of talking to thousands of listeners in “radio land” terrified me. However, I luckily survived the interview. I was given brief descriptions of symphonies (交响乐) and a public service announcement to read, and a list of composers’ names to pronounce. It wasn’t hard for me. I left the recording session (录音时段) with a sense of relief and a sense of accomplishment. About two weeks later I actually landed the job. It was a challenging job, but I grew to enjoy it greatly. I began to feel comfortable talking to people.

Although I now spend many hours each week talking with people, I’m still basically a quiet person. Perhaps it is my soft voice and my quiet nature that helps draw people out as they respond to my questions as I interview them. My former shyness is a fortune, as I can relate to people who feel discomfortable when they talk to newspaper reporters. I still enjoy moments of loneliness and the peace found in nature. But I’m also glad I decided to make a change in my life that has opened many doors and opportunities that I never knew existed.

1. What do we learn about the author?

A．She didn’t like reading.	B．She enjoyed shyness in nature.
C．She wasn’t interested in music.	D．She didn’t work hard enough.

2. How did the author feel before the interview?

A．Very excited.	B．Pretty confident.
C．Highly confused.	D．Extremely anxious.

3. What does the author later think of her quiet personality?

A．It makes others feel less comfortable.	B．It is beneficial for her challenging job.
C．It prevents her being a newspaper reporter.	D．It draws a negative response from audiences.

4. The text mainly focuses on the author’s ________.

A．desire to find her true self	B．feeling about being a radio hostess
C．story of exploring the meaning of life	D．experience and feeling of overcoming shyness

3 . From Disappointment to Purpose

I’m known for my determination. If I want something, I go for it. Over the years this _______ has worked well for me and helped me achieve my goals. When I wanted to be on the dance team at school, I learned all the dances and practiced until I could hardly _______.

But this year everything changed. I had set my sights on a summer _______ that I was determined to get at the Water Zone, because the employees there could go on the water rides after their work and get free food at the snack bar. It was the _______ job to have on hot summer vacations. So just as I had achieved every goal in the past, I set out to _______ the job. I was certain that nothing could keep me from my dream job.

After my _______, the manager of the Water Zone told me that he could hire only those with experience in water safety. I felt like a failure.

On the last weekend before school ended, my teacher, Mrs. Keller, asked me whether I would be interested in the kids’ summer day camp. I decided that I had nothing to _______, so I called the manager. She was _______ by my babysitting experience and employed me. In less than a week, I had completely forgotten about wanting work at the water park. Each time I comforted a little boy who missed his mother or a little girl who needed to help tying her shoes, I felt I was doing something _______. I realized that I had discovered my life’s purpose: to work with children. I now have a new goal.

Sometimes in life we don’t get exactly what we want. It’s natural to feel __________. But, occasionally, when we don’t get what we want, something even better is waiting for us around the corner!

1.

A．method

B．attitude

C．position

D．comment

2.

A．smile

B．speak

C．think

D．move

3.

A．day

B．course

C．job

D．camp

4.

A．perfect

B．tough

C．regular

D．potential

5.

A．land

B．quit

C．change

D．keep

6.

A．practice

B．interview

C．expectation

D．experiment

7.

A．save

B．learn

C．lose

D．regret

8.

A．inspired

B．impressed

C．touched

D．puzzled

9.

A．challenging

B．reasonable

C．traditional

D．significant

10.

A．curious

B．nervous

C．disappointed

D．interested

4 . 假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在此符号下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分

Life is full of various experiences, some of them are unforgettable. I still remember the hiking experiences with my classmates for 16 km last Sunday. That day, we set off early in the morning, think it would be a great fun to walk for so long a distance. However, as the weather is getting hotter and hotter, I found their legs heavier and heavier. What’s bad, my feet began bleeding because long time pressing against the shoes. At one point, I even wanted to give up. But I managed to dragging the rest of the way to the destination. Though not pleasant, this journey was impressive or rewarding, I have learned that life is a long journey like this. No matter what happens, we should never give up.

5 . Way back in 1953, high school mathematics looked like a big problem for me and several of my classmates. When we reached the 9th grade, we got Mr.Iyer, the strict math teacher who was also our class teacher. He always stuck to his discipline. We had to arrive on time, pay attention to his lectures, and never neglect (忽视) any of his homework.

As he was our class teacher, we got to know him better. Noticing some of us were fidgety one day as the midterm exams approached, he stopped solving a mathematical problem to ask us why. “There’s too much to do,” we sighed. “We’re afraid we’ll never manage to finish our review before the exams.”

“Nothing is impossible,” Mr.Iyer told us. “This classroom is on the second floor. Do you have trouble reaching here?”

We reacted with blank (茫然的) eyes.

“No, you don’t!” he said, answering his own question. “You have a staircase to help you climb up to this level. No one expects you to make it in two giant leaps. You simply take one step at a time. Any task can be solved if you focus on the next action to be taken. The rest will take care of itself, if you keep at it. One step at a time. That’s the secret.”

Then he wrote down an old motto on the blackboard: “The longest journey starts with a single step.” Having heard his staircase analogy (比拟), we saw him in a new light.

Most of my classmates scored distinctions (优等评分) in math. And I went on to become an English teacher. To this day, whenever I pass on Mr. Iyer’s invaluable advice to my own students, they brighten up at the sight of a lighter academic burden.

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．Math was difficult for most of the author’s classmates.

B．The students thought Mr.Iyer was not a good teacher.

C．Mr.Iyer was serious about his job and strict with the students.

D．Mr.Iyer would punish the students neglecting his discipline.

2. What does the underlined word “fidgety” in Paragraph 2probably mean?

A．Hard-working.

B．Nervous.

C．Excited.

D．Calm.

3. Why did the students react with blank eyes?

A．They thought reaching the second floor had no connection with the worry.

B．They were too tired to understand any words Mr.Iyer said in class.

C．They were surprised that Mr.Iyer would talk about such an unbelievable problem.

D．They had no interest in any subjects that were no good for their exams.

4. The staircase analogy tells us________.

A．one can reach his goals very easily

B．the goals can be reached step by step

C．there is only one step between success and failure

D．tasks can be achieved with the help of the teacher

6 . One day, two old friends were walking through the desert. During the journey they had a quarrel, and one friend couldn't control himself and hit the other one in the face.

The one who was hit was hurt, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he wrote in the sand, "Today my best friend hit me in the face."

They kept on walking until they found an oasis(绿洲). They decided to get some water. The one who was hit fell into the mire(泥潭) and was in danger, but the friend saved him.

When he felt all right, he wrote on a stone, "Today my best friend saved my life."

The one who had hit and saved his best friend felt surprised and asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand but now you write on a stone. Why?"

The other friend replied," When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can blow it away. But when someone does something good for us, we must write it in stone where no wind can ever blow it away!"

Since then the two friends have never quarreled with each other again and they got on better with each other.

1. Why did one friend hit the other in the face?

A．Because he didn't win the quarrel.	B．Because he won the quarrel.
C．Because he couldn't express himself.	D．Because he couldn't control himself.

2. Why did the one who was hit write in the sand?

A．Because he wanted to remember his being hit.

B．Because he wanted to express his anger.

C．Because he wanted to forget his being hit.

D．Because he wanted other people to know his friend was cruel.

3. Why did the one who was hit write on a stone?

A．Because he wanted to forget his friend.

B．Because he wanted to remember his friend.

C．Because he didn't want to forget his friend's kindness.

D．Because he wanted others to learn from his friend.

4. What is the best title for the article?

A．Remember a friend's kindness and forget his shortcoming（缺点）

B．Forget your friend's shortcoming

C．How to forgive a friend

D．It is difficult to make friends

9 . Standing on the edge of the plane, my tandem skydiving (双人跳伞) instructor, Bill, turned to face me. “Do you have any last words?” he asked. “Yes,” I said, joking. “I hope my parachute (降落伞) ________.”

I’d never felt more alive as Bill and I ________ and started our free fall. As we reached 4,000 feet, I felt a parachute open. This, I was told, would slow us down for a smooth ________. But why were we still ________ so fast? I could hear Bill swearing as he tried to ________ whatever had gone wrong.

Worse still, our emergency parachute unexpectedly got ________ on something. At that moment, I just felt so ________ that I’d even invited my family along to experience sorrow instead of watching my wonderful performance.

We ________ the ground. An unimaginable pain shot up my back. Feeling weak and tired out, I gathered all my ________, and turned to face Bill. He started screaming. From my neck down, I could hardly ________. My mother couldn’t help crying as we were placed into a(n) ________ from the hospital.

After years of treatment, the deep physical and mental pain is ________. I heard Bill made a full ________ and returned to skydiving.

I was always terrified of being myself and doing the things I wanted. Now I’ve learned I need to be ________. There’s nothing like falling from 15,000 feet without a parachute and surviving. It forces me to ________ every day!

1.

A．flies

B．breaks

C．opens

D．folds

2.

A．dropped out

B．stepped out

C．climbed out

D．rolled out

3.

A．blow

B．rise

C．turn

D．fall

4.

A．traveling

B．riding

C．skipping

D．escaping

5.

A．evaluate

B．define

C．ignore

D．fix

6.

A．caught

B．burnt

C．charged

D．controlled

7.

A．relieved

B．curious

C．guilty

D．stressed

8.

A．occupied

B．hit

C．attacked

D．swept

9.

A．strength

B．faith

C．spirits

D．thoughts

10.

A．scream

B．whisper

C．breathe

D．move

11.

A．taxi

B．coach

C．ambulance

D．bus

12.

A．returning

B．healing

C．beginning

D．worsening

13.

A．recovery

B．list

C．impact

D．fortune

14.

A．hopeless

B．aimless

C．selfless

D．fearless

15.

A．spend

B．value

C．recall

D．imagine