1 . One of the most successful, influential and beloved women in American history, Eleanor Roosevelt once said that she had one regret: she wished she had been prettier. Who hasn’t felt the same way? We are all too aware of our physical imperfections. To overcome them, we spend billions upon billions every year. Why do we care so much about how we look? Because it matters. Because beauty is powerful. Because even we learn to value people mostly for being kind and wise and funny, we are still moved by beauty.

Aristotle said, “Beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of introduction”. It’s not fair, but it’s true. We simply treat beautiful people better than we do others. Attach a photograph of a beautiful author to an essay, and people will think that it is more creative and more intelligently written than exactly the same essay accompanied by the photo of a homely author. As children, beautiful people are more likely to become favorites with parents and teachers. Later, they are more likely to get good jobs. Attractive people in need are more likely to receive help from strangers.

These days, women and men both rely on advanced technology to improve their beauty. Wrinkles can be stretched away with a face lift. Special injections can make lips look young and plump (丰满的). Besides being a sign of youth, good skin also means that the person is likely to be healthy. Still, it is possible to go too far. At the end of the 19^th century, some women even had their ribs (肋骨) removed so they’d have that perfect narrow waist.

Our sensitivity to physical beauty is not something we can control at will. We are born with it. Experiments showed that even small infants prefer to look at attractive faces. Before they have met a single supermodel, before they have watched a single TV show, before they have opened up a single fashion magazine, they are drawn to the same faces which adults have judged to be attractive.

There are more important things in life than beauty. But as Nancy Etcoff says, “We have to understand beauty, or we will always be enslaved by it.” If you aim to be wise and kind and funny, it doesn’t mean that you can't also try your best to look beautiful. There’s no reason to feel guilty about being moved by beauty’s power. It moves us all.

1. Which of the following proverbs has the opposite meaning of Aristotle’s sentence in Paragraph 2?

A．Never judge a book by its cover.	B．Act on second thoughts.
C．Leave your luck while winning.	D．Great minds think alike.

2. The underlined word “homely” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by ____.

A．attractive

B．plain

C．beautiful

D．handsome

3. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A．People are all slaves to beauty.

B．Beauty can ensure good jobs.

C．Advanced technology helps improve beauty.

D．People value beauty over other virtues.

4. What’s the best title of this passage?

A．The Power of Beauty	B．Huge Costs of Beauty
C．Bad Effects of Beauty	D．Various Ways to Beauty

2 . Last week I went shopping in the supermarket. I got to the front of the ___________ and put my groceries through the checkout. I was about to pay, when I ___________ that I didn't have my bankcard with me. I _________.Then I remembered I left it at home when I ___________ something online. All I had was $30 in notes and some coins in my wallet. I was short ___________ at least $25, and I needed to buy most of the items.

I started to ___________ to the checkout lady. "I'm sorry, I stop the queue. Can I put these things back, and then think I'll ___________ these. Oh, no, need that."

An Irish lady was ___________ behind me, next in the queue. "Excuse me, Dear," she said. "Oh, I'm so sorry," I replied, "I'm ___________ you up." "Of course not. I know ____________ you feel. This happens to all of us at some point. Now please use my ____________ to pay the bill and you can be on your way."

I was astonished by her kindness, ____________ even. No matter how I insisted otherwise, she was ________ to help me. Afterwards I asked for her telephone number to ____________ and pay her back. "No," she said, "rather pay it forward. You may do a good deed for the next person in need."

By helping others, can we start chain ____________ of positive feeling and charity that can benefit our whole society?

1.

A．table

B．supermarket

C．queue

D．shelf

2.

A．realized

B．knew

C．recognized

D．observed

3.

A．hesitated

B．paused

C．panicked

D．struggled

4.

A．explored

B．purchased

C．advocated

D．delivered

5.

A．by

B．under

C．on

D．with

6.

A．cry

B．apologise

C．complain

D．explain

7.

A．borrow

B．drop

C．follow

D．take

8.

A．standing

B．supporting

C．blaming

D．shouting

9.

A．turning

B．putting

C．joining

D．holding

10.

A．what

B．how

C．why

D．when

11.

A．card

B．fame

C．income

D．identity

12.

A．abnormal

B．anxious

C．embarrassed

D．desperate

13.

A．convinced

B．determined

C．excited

D．reluctant

14.

A．fit in

B．get through

C．look up

D．get in touch

15.

A．reaction

B．sympathy

C．satisfaction

D．relationship

3 . 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。

As an ancient saying in China goes： If your ship is against the current(水流），you lose your ground when you don’t advance. Isn’t: this talking about life?     1     (gain) something， you need to work at your best constantly.

But a wise man once     2     (tell) me something opposite years ago. Sometimes we need to slow down so that we can find peace and see clearly     3     we truly want in the first place. The competition in our society is fierce. It is now. It used to be. And it will And at     4     same time, we have family, friends and lovers     5     we need to value. But we all only have 24 hours a day. And     6     (take) rests has to take up a lot of time among these hours. Otherwise we won’t be able to survive.

So we really need to remind     7     (us) that sometimes life does take     8     (patient). Slow down. Don’t be always anxious     9     everything. Only by doing so can we     10     (actual) go farther.

4 . Being fat is a non-stop fight between not being noticed and attracting much notice. Sometimes you want to be accepted; instead, you’re singled out and judged. In 2015, when I became the first plus-size designer to win Project Runway, I hoped it would be a moment not only for inclusive fashion, but also for all other fat human beings out there. It wasn’t just me who had won; we’d won. Many women told me they were afraid to wear bright colors or show off their arms until they saw me doing it. But some of the words on the Internet were terrible: “Why did they pick that fat designer?” “How can she encourage such an unhealthy lifestyle?” I got sad and put on more weight. I reached a point where I couldn’t climb stairs without losing my breath.

I finally realized that if I didn’t take care of myself, I couldn’t keep doing what I loved, so I went to see a doctor and started doing exercise every day. After that I got more judgment, this time from people in the fat group who once supported me. They turned their backs on me and said, “You can’t be body positive and still losing weight.” I thought, “Well, why not? I wasn’t trying to be ‘prettier’; I wanted to have control of my life.”

Size should not divide us, whether we are fat, thin, or anywhere in the between. I’m designing clothes for plus woman, but one day I might be open to designing straight sizes. People judge me for that, too. But I just want to create clothes that make people feel good. I want every woman to love herself and go after her dreams like I did.

1. What was the author’s hope after she won Project Runaway?

A．People would look up to her.

B．Other fat people would share her pride.

C．The clothes she designed would sell well.

D．Fat people would lead the fashion industry.

2. After the author saw the words on the Internet, she ________.

A．lost interest in fashion

B．lost control of her body

C．stopped wearing bright colors

D．decided to have a healthy lifestyle

3. What was fat people’s attitude to the author when she started losing weight?

A．Dissatisfied.

B．Uninterested.

C．They laughed at her.

D．They couldn’t believe it.

5 . I received a private message on Facebook. It began harmlessly enough: “Hey, girl. Wanted to invite you to join my next challenge group—we’ll be focusing on fitting in 30 minutes of exercise and balanced nutrition.”

It was all becoming too much. Facebook was running my life, not me.

But what killed Facebook for me was when I posted a photo, and five minutes later my son asked me how many “likes” it had got. His question was a wake-up call.

“Likes” are signs of acceptance and approval. I had forgotten that acceptance and approval need to come from within and had unknowingly set him a bad example.

Before Facebook, surfing the internet was an occasional distraction and I spent a lot more time reading books and magazines. I checked in with friends through texts, emails and phone calls.

To recreate the simplicity of those days and set a healthier example to my son, I deactivated my Facebook account.

I’d been in the habit of checking Facebook many times a day, so I had to come up with some new habits. I carried a novel and a crossword puzzle book around with me. I rediscovered knitting. I started taking yoga classes.

I started to remember a few things. My body is fine just the way it is. I have friends who will help me out when I’m in trouble, and I will help them out. I do my best to be a good mother, and our son is happy and healthy. We are very lucky to be able to afford two vacations a year.

I stopped looking at the world through my cellphone. I felt completely present in the moment.

The break left me feeling better about myself, my family, my home and my life.

After a few weeks, I returned to Facebook. Now I look at the photos of my friends’ kids growing up and treasure how social media allows me to keep in touch with family far and wide. I look in on a daily basis, but no longer with the desire constantly to post updates.

It is not an addiction any more.

1. What was the author’s life like before her break from Facebook?

A．She enjoyed reading in her free time.

B．She spent much time on social media.

C．She didn’t get along well with her son.

D．She didn’t care what others thought of her.

2. The underlined word “deactivate” in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to “________”.

A．close

B．update

C．keep

D．check

3. What did the author do to change her life?

A．She went to the gym as often as she could.

B．She developed some healthy habits.

C．She tried to make money for her holidays.

D．She traveled around a lot for a year.

4. What is the author’s attitude toward social media?

A．Critical.

B．Supportive.

C．Objective.

D．Indifferent.