1 . It was early winter several years ago. I had pulled out my old winter coat for another year’s use. It was still in pretty good shape although it was looking dirty from so many winters’ wear. I didn’t really need a new one but I wanted one and casually mentioned it to my daughter one day. She was such a sweet, loving girl that I should have guessed what would happen next. A few weeks later she gave me a new winter coat as a gift.

I put the old one in my closet and started to wear the new coat every day. Each day, though, when I opened my closet, something troubled me. It seemed a shame that my old but still good coat should just sit there keeping no one warm during the cold winter days. After a few weeks, I took it out and drove to a local charity shop. I knew that there was someone who couldn’t afford a coat but could get my old one.

My new coat is my old coat now. It is getting a little dirty and worn, too. It has black marks on the sleeves. It is in too bad shape to even donate to charity. I wonder if I should buy a new one soon, but I think I will wait for a while. I don’t really need a new one and maybe I can find something else to give to the charity shop instead.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Want is a growing giant whom the coat of Have was never large enough to cover,” Perhaps the best way to deal with our wants then is to give instead. Love, after all, brings us the most joy. And the more of it you give away, the more of it you have.

1. Which word can best describe the author’s daughter?

A．Thoughtful.

B．Wealthy.

C．Easy-going.

D．Hard-working.

2. Why was the author in shame when seeing his old coat in the closet?

A．It cost too much.

B．It was looking dirty.

C．It was not sent to someone in need.

D．There was not enough room for his new coat.

3. What is the author’s decision after his second coat becomes old?

A．Telling his daughter.	B．Buying a new one soon.
C．Sending something else to charity.	D．Donating it to charity.

4. What does the author want to show in the last paragraph?

A．Love is the key to joy.

B．Giving fills our wants.

C．The more you give, the more you lose.

D．A coat is large enough to cover our wants

3 . Ever since I was a boy, I have been an active reader and dreamed to be a writer. I have read and been _________ by so many books from so many authors. I think it may be one of the reasons I started _________ myself. I even enjoy hearing _________ about other authors, because often they can _________ us a lot as well.

I heard one such story the other day that really made me stop and _________. The two famous authors, Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller were invited to a(n)_________ given by a billionaire at his home. As the host _________ his luxurious rooms to his guests and the rare works of art he had collected, Vonnegut said _________ to his friend Heller that the host had probably made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from his most _________ novel over its entire history. Heller __________ back and said, “Yes, he probably has, but I have something he will never have—ENOUGH.”

What is enough? Our society tells us that __________ is ever enough: The messages and advertisements __________ us every day telling us to buy more. The __________ of life, however, teach us differently. They say that if we have clothes to keep __________, a roof over our heads, and love from people around us, we have enough. It is up to us, though, to __________it, and share it with the world.

1.

A．astonished

B．concerned

C．confused

D．inspired

2.

A．reading

B．writing

C．painting

D．carving

3.

A．comments

B．introductions

C．stories

D．adventures

4.

A．assign

B．comfort

C．promise

D．teach

5.

A．complain

B．argue

C．think

D．predict

6.

A．party

B．exhibition

C．competition

D．lecture

7.

A．showed off

B．gave away

C．shut down

D．pointed out

8.

A．seriously

B．jokingly

C．deliberately

D．happily

9.

A．plain

B．common

C．popular

D．shallow

10.

A．looked

B．returned

C．jumped

D．smiled

11.

A．nothing

B．anything

C．everything

D．nobody

12.

A．abuse

B．bomb

C．change

D．charge

13.

A．lessons

B．welfare

C．destinations

D．reward

14.

A．healthy

B．wealthy

C．warm

D．energetic

15.

A．tolerate

B．complete

C．abandon

D．value

5 . Growing pains and gains

It’s not easy to grow up. Actually it’s far from easy. Growing up can be a real “pain” for some of us. We are always doing things that someone else makes us do and aren’t allowed to do all the things we like. Sometimes we feel trapped, sometimes we are fearful, and sometimes we just don’t understand why we can’t stay young forever. When we look back on all the hardships in life with a positive attitude (态度), we realize that all of our growing pains actually turn into growing gains!

As a young girl my parents forced my sisters and me to do so many things that I never liked. They made me learn to play the violin and then the piano. At that time I hated music, just because it was what they wanted me to do. But looking back now, I am so glad that my parents encouraged me to take music lessons. Music has enriched my life in so many ways. I realize that my parents and teachers were always pushing me along, not because they wanted me to suffer but because they wanted me to succeed in life. They’ve always wanted me to have a better life than they did themselves.

Every moment of our lives we are either living or dying, so live life to its fullest! We are all going to experience growing pains, but they are just small pains in life. They might seem so huge at the time but we must be strong. Think about how we would feel if we had no fear and live life like that. The future is ours! A little hard work and sweat never hurt anyone! If we realize that these pains are just small bumps (凸块) on our road to success we will realize that our growing pains are actually growing gains!

1. What was the girl forced by her parents to do when she was young?

A．Take music lessons.

B．Turn gains into pains.

C．Take a look back on hardships.

D．Live a successful life by suffering a lot.

2. What’s the author’s attitude towards her parents now?

A．Concerned.

B．Thankful.

C．Passive.

D．Unfriendly.

3. What does the underlined phrase “to its fullest” mean?

A．Directly.

B．Terribly.

C．Carefully.

D．Completely.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Growing pains are necessary for us to grow up.

B．We all have to experience growing pains.

C．A little hard work and sweat are harmful to us.

D．Life without fear is a better choice for us.

6 . While I was growing up, I often heard my teachers say, “Oh, Bob is gifted in math.” While watching the Olympics, my parents would say, “These gymnasts are born with such ability.” Statements like these made me believe people were born with certain talents (天赋) and if they didn’t have a particular one at birth, then they never would. Therefore, I hardly applied myself to math. Nobody told me that if you keep trying and trying, one day a difficult task will seem easy.

Actually, I learned this from my young daughter, Samaya. One day, I was finishing some paperwork and I said, “Oh no, how could I have made that mistake!” Samaya immediately said, “Mum, don’t worry. Mistakes make your brain grow bigger.”

In fact, we all need to be reminded that mistakes or failures are just fine and that they are a huge part of growth and success. However, the common and popular belief is the opposite. We must correct this with our children. We must encourage them to make mistakes because that means they are trying out new ideas.

Billionaire Sara Blakely, founder of the shapewear business Spanx, has seen many failures. She made a living by selling fax machines for seven years. Knocking on many doors and making a lot of mistakes was a journey she considers educational. Sara Blakely owes her risk-taking skills to the weekend talk she had with her father.

As a child, her father would ask her the same question every weekend. “What did you fail in this week, Sara?” He did not care how high her scores were. He wanted to know what she had tried but failed in. When she told him about her failures and mistakes, he would give her a high five. In this way, he programmed her mindset (思维) to believe that mistakes and failures are fine.

So go ahead and ask yourself and your children, “What did we fail in this week?”
1. Why didn’t the author make efforts to learn math?

A．She wasn’t allowed to learn it.	B．She thought she was not talented.
C．She wasn’t interested in it.	D．She thought it was useless.

2. What is most people’s attitude towards mistakes and failures?

A．Keep trying is necessary.	B．Failure is a path to success.
C．Mistakes are not acceptable.	D．Encouragement is important.

3. What does the underlined word “programmed” in paragragh 5 mean?

A．Trained and built.	B．Planned and arranged.
C．Operated and challenged.	D．Instructed and controlled.

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A．A key to Success	B．The Power of a Good Mindset
C．A Method of Education	D．The Magic of Mistakes

7 . When I was a high school student, mathematics looked like a big barrier for me and several of my classmates. When we reached the ninth class, we got Mr Iyer, a strict maths teacher who was also our class teacher. He always stuck to his discipline. We had to arrive on time, pay undivided attention to his lectures, and dared not to neglect any of his homework.

Even so, as our class teacher, we got to know him better. Noticing some of us fidgeting 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 revision before the exam.” “Nothing is impossible, ” Mr Iyer told us. “This classroom is on the second floor. Do you have a problem reaching here?” We reacted with blank stares.

“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 immediate 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 understood why he asked us the question and we saw him in a new light.

Most of my classmates scored distinctions in maths. 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 prospect of a lighter academic burden.

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

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

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

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

D．The students showed great fear to Mr Iyer.

2. Which of the following words is closest in meaning to the underlined word “fidgeting” in Paragraph 2?

A．excited

B．nervous

C．hardworking

D．calm

3. Why did the author and his classmates react with blank stares?

A．Because they were too tired to understand what Mr Iyer said.

B．Because they felt surprised at such an unbelievable problem.

C．Because they had no interest in any subjects that were no good for their exams.

D．Because they first thought reaching the second floor had no connection with the worry.

4. What does the staircase analogy infer?

A．Goals can be reached step by step.

B．One can reach his/her goals in a giant leap.

C．Tasks can be solved under the guidance of the teacher.

D．There is only one step between success and failure.

8 . I have a degree in business. But it was my father’s _________ for me to seek a business major. He thought that having a business major would _________ me more available choices and make me more competitive in entering a global labor market. I _________ his advice. However, even though my college experiences were _________, I had no interest in any _________ of commerce (商业), let alone having a long-term career as a businesswoman.

After I graduated, I worked as a marketing planner at a computer company. My _________ and working environment were great; yet I _________ didn’t feel happy doing something that held little attraction for me. After two months of working there, I made up my mind to _________ and decided to do what I love, namely _________ history. I have now been doing this job for over twenty years. I am fond of being with my students.

If you are in a __________ where you don’t love what you are learning or doing, please ask yourself what you are really __________ by and what you truly want for your life. Don’t __________ to get yourself a quick answer. Take some time to think about what career could bring __________ to you.

I like this motto “Success is not the key to happiness. __________, happiness is the key to success.” Happiness __________ the inside of you, not the outside. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

1.

A．ambition

B．task

C．decision

D．response

2.

A．ensure

B．save

C．leave

D．pass

3.

A．argued

B．valued

C．took

D．oppose

4.

A．fantastic

B．awkward

C．painful

D．plain

5.

A．paper

B．field

C．college

D．person

6.

A．view

B．dream

C．campus

D．pay

7.

A．only

B．still

C．also

D．even

8.

A．quit

B．continue

C．consider

D．wait

9.

A．promoting

B．writing

C．teaching

D．studying

10.

A．firm

B．game

C．story

D．place

11.

A．anxious

B．specific

C．fascinated

D．familiar

12.

A．rush

B．panic

C．intend

D．stop

13.

A．love

B．joy

C．confidence

D．knowledge

14.

A．Besides

B．Meanwhile

C．Therefore

D．However

15.

A．applies to

B．spreads to

C．differs from

D．comes from

9 . When I was a senior high school student in 1980, God gave me a gift, it was happiness.

 One weekend, I went to visit my grandparents in the countryside.     1    . Several days later when I woke up at the hospital, I realized I had to spend the rest of my life without arms.     2    . Even I was frightened. But slowly I knew I had to face the fact and got over it. I couldn’t get my arms back even though I cried every day.

However, it’s easier said than done.     3    . I got so much from my past story. From then on, I could treat my life with a normal mind. But in our daily life, I often see my classmate get worried about little things:     4    ; their bus comes late; they don’t have a mobile phone but others have. But I only enjoy life, I was lucky to realize from an accident: It’s a waste of our life to focus on what you have lost. We should always think of what we have. So why are so many people unhappy? Someone may say, “My whole life would improve if I have a new car.” But when you get the car and what happens? For a whole week you are walking on air. Then you go right back to being unhappy.

    5    . It’s in our heart. It’s a state of mind, even though you own the whole world, you may still feel unhappy. Happiness comes from mastering the art of appreciating (感激) and taking pleasure in what you really have.

A．Happiness depends on what we have!

B．They get a bad grade on a test

C．How sad I felt at that time!

D．On my way home a car hit me and cut off my arms because of its high speed.

E．Maybe it was just a joke for me.

F．It took me nearly half a year to get out of the sadness completely.

G．I had a wonderful time here.

10 . A man was visiting a zoo. As he was passing the _______, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that each of these _______ creatures was being held by only a small _______ tied to their front leg. It was _______ that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their _______ but, for some reason, they did not.

He saw a _______ nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to _______. “Well,” the trainer said, “when they were very _______, we would use the same size rope to _______ them. At that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they still believe the rope can still hold them ________ they never try to break free.”

The man was ________. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds, but because they believed they couldn’t, they never ________ to escape. Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging on to a ________ that we cannot do something, simply because we failed in it once before? ________ is part of learning. We should never give up the ________ in life.

1.

A．horses

B．elephants

C．monkeys

D．tigers

2.

A．huge

B．furry

C．strange

D．sick

3.

A．chain

B．wire

C．rope

D．ring

4.

A．dangerous

B．important

C．impossible

D．obvious

5.

A．bonds

B．guards

C．work

D．habitat

6.

A．cleaner

B．driver

C．trainer

D．manager

7.

A．give in

B．get away

C．show up

D．calm down

8.

A．tired

B．quiet

C．excited

D．young

9.

A．hunt

B．beat

C．tie

D．threaten

10.

A．so

B．unless

C．but

D．though

11.

A．moved

B．amazed

C．pleased

D．annoyed

12.

A．hesitated

B．promised

C．refused

D．intended

13.

A．fact

B．habit

C．belief

D．dream

14.

A．Loneliness

B．Failure

C．Support

D．Friendship

15.

A．struggle

B．plan

C．job

D．freedom