1 . Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they express regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.

My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp comers of a glass coffee table.

I don’t only avoid (避免) those “if only” moments when it comes to safety. it’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say, “I love you” or “I forgive you.” When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.

I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only” about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality (可能发生的事). And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the best kind of insurance (保障) for my emotional well-being.

1. Which of the following is an example of the “extra minute” rule?

A．Start the car the moment everyone is seated.

B．Leave the room for a minute with the iron working.

C．Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better.

D．Move an object out of the way before it trips (绊倒) someone.

2. Why did the author decide to go to her office on Good Friday?

A．To keep her appointment with the eye doctor.

B．To meet her father who was already an old man.

C．To join in the holiday celebration of the company.

D．To finish her work before the deadline approached.

3. Which word(s) can best replace the underlined word “foregone” in Paragraph 3?

A．given up.

B．Lacked.

C．Avoided.

D．Wasted.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Emotional Well-being	B．The Two Saddest Words
C．The Most Useful Rule	D．The Peace of Mind

2 . My wife and I moved into our home two years ago. We had a yard with a lot of ________. Very often when we have flowers, Denise or I would plant some between the rocks, just to add some ________ to the area.

Last summer, I found a tiny little plant in the yard that I could not immediately identify. I knew I didn’t plant it and Denise said she didn’t either.

We decided to let it ________ growing until we could find out what it was.

Weeks passed and as I made my way back to the ________ plant, it appeared to be a sunflower. I decided to ________ the weeds (杂草) around it. As I pulled rocks from the area to get to the weeds, I noticed something ________.The sunflower had not ________ where I saw it begin. It actually had begun under a big rock and grown under and around it to reach the ________.

That’s when I ________ that if a tiny little sunflower didn’t let a big rock stand in its way of developing, we too have the ability of doing the same thing. If we ________ ourselves like that little sunflower, we can reach where we ________ to go and get what we need for growth.

We need to believe in ourselves knowing we have the ________ to achieve our goals. Like the sunflower, it knew it had the ability to get over the rocks because it had ________ in itself that it would succeed. Stand tall like the sunflower and be ________ of who and what we are, and then the environment will begin to ________ us. We will find a way to go under or around any “rocks” in order to reach our goals.

1.

A．flower

B．insects

C．vegetables

D．rocks

2.

A．water

B．fertilizer

C．color

D．shape

3.

A．stop

B．continue

C．improve

D．escape

4.

A．weak

B．strange

C．lonely

D．pretty

5.

A．collect

B．tend

C．remove

D．watch

6.

A．unusual

B．wonderful

C．terrible

D．valuable

7.

A．passed

B．started

C．left

D．died

8.

A．air

B．top

C．sun

D．house

9.

A．hoped

B．realized

C．doubted

D．regretted

10.

A．fill in

B．put in

C．worry about

D．believe in

11.

A．forget

B．hate

C．aim

D．wait

12.

A．wish

B．plan

C．ability

D．idea

13.

A．faith

B．energy

C．virtue

D．courage

14.

A．aware

B．afraid

C．proud

D．tired

15.

A．forgive

B．support

C．upset

D．affect

3 . It was a dark day, one of depression, sorrow and anger. As I climbed out of the _____, after witnessing my time in the 100 yard freestyle, I did not feel like speaking to anyone. I saw the bright smiles of swimmers who had just _____ a best time. _____ , I had failed. Or at least that is what I thought at the time.

I was lying on my cool bed when an idea _____ my head. Success is the _____ to go from failure to failure without _____ your enthusiasm. At practice the next day, I told my swimming teammates about my goal time and they all either laughed or replied with a _____ similar response like, “You can’t do it” or “Probably not”. Believe it or not, these are the responses that made my goal _____.

Finally came the day when I had to _____ to myself and others that with ______ there is no limit to your achievements.

With the starting gun ______, I dove with perfect form into the pool. I felt the cool water running ______ my back. I swam like a fish, bouncing off each ______ at the wall as if it was a spring board. On the ______ turn, I came back to the wall with every piece of strength I had. I ______ the final wall with my fingertips and knew that I had swum the ______ race.

I had done it! I had achieved my best time! Joy filled my ______ like water does a cup. I saw the ______ on all of my friends’ faces as I ______ out of the pool: their jaws dropped to the ground. I began to laugh and gave them thumbs up.

I have ______ in life that having belief in yourself opens all gates. Never forget that anything the mind can conceive and believe can achieve.

1.

A．pond

B．sea

C．pool

D．bed

2.

A．made

B．achieved

C．reached

D．realized

3.

A．Otherwise

B．However

C．Besides

D．In addition

4.

A．occurred

B．broke

C．stuck

D．hit

5.

A．opportunity

B．action

C．cause

D．ability

6.

A．keeping

B．losing

C．reducing

D．decreasing

7.

A．somehow

B．somewhat

C．anyhow

D．anywhere

8.

A．magical

B．reasonable

C．confident

D．achievable

9.

A．promise

B．provide

C．present

D．prove

10.

A．consideration

B．impression

C．belief

D．desire

11.

A．setting out

B．going off

C．breaking out

D．getting off

12.

A．through

B．above

C．across

D．to

13.

A．turn

B．jump

C．struggle

D．shoot

14.

A．next

B．previous

C．very

D．last

15.

A．pushed

B．reached

C．got

D．touched

16.

A．whole

B．perfect

C．first

D．best

17.

A．heart

B．head

C．mind

D．face

18.

A．expressions

B．emotions

C．feelings

D．responses

19.

A．ran

B．climbed

C．stood

D．jumped

20.

A．gained

B．dreamed

C．learned

D．remembered

4 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

I can well remember that I was once asked to deliver a speech titled “A Real Test in My Life” before the whole class at the age of 9! You can imagine how     1     (terrible) shy I was with so many eyes       2       (fix) upon me. I had no     3     (choose) but to prepare for it, though. First of all, I was to draft the speech, which was just a piece of cake for me, a good writer. But the hardest part     4     (lie) in my oral presentation from my memory— for to read from the paper was not allowed. The real moment began     5         I stood on the platform with my legs trembling and my mind blank. But my listeners were waiting patiently without any signs of rushing me. Gradually I found myself back,     6     (deliver) my speech with difficulty. After what seemed to be a hundred years, I found my audience applauding— I made     7    ! From then on, my fear of talking before an audience disappeared. Actually with my     8     (confident) building up, I now turn out to be a great speaker. Looking back, I know the greatest difficulty on our way         9     success is our fear. Overcome it     10     we will be able to achieve our goals.

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 stuck, 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 challenges in life with a positive attitude, 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(受苦)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 is 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. According to paragraph 1, we learn that when we are young, ______.

A．life is full of joy

B．life is easy for us

C．we know we can stay young forever

D．we sometimes can’t do things we like

2. When the author was young, she was forced by her parents to ______.

A．take music lessons

B．turn gains into pains

C．look back on challenges

D．live a successful life

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

A．Directly.

B．Completely.

C．Carefully.

D．Terribly.

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 . I always knew that I depended too much on my phone. But I didn’t know how much. So I decided to do this _______ to find out.

Every morning since I got a smartphone, I’ve used The Weather Channel App to find out what to _______. On the first morning I had to dress without guidance, but _______ I was able to guess that the day would be cold and foggy by looking out of my window.

I couldn’t tell what time it was. I haven’t worn a _______ for more than a year, because my phone showed the time. So I was late for _______ friends who had been on the bus for two hours from Santa Monica to Palos Verdes. I was also late for my part-time job. And _______, I couldn’t call people to tell them that I was running late.

Getting places was harder, too. I got _______ because I couldn’t use the GPS on my phone. My driving, though, got a lot _______ because I no longer had my phone in one hand checking directions while _______ with the other.

But the number one trouble was not having my contact list. I forgot to write down my friends’ and family members’ phone numbers before I ________ the challenge. It was sad to realize that I couldn’t remember my brother’s and my mom’s cell phone numbers. Oh, how I ________ to turn on the phone for just a second to look up phone numbers!

Even with all the problems, however, I found ________ not worrying about missing a text message or an e-mail.

This challenge was a(n) ________ learning experience. It surprised me how I’d taken no notice of even the ________ things like remembering phone numbers. We all should ________ some time to think about how we can depend less on our cell phones.

1.

A．task

B．duty

C．job

D．challenge

2.

A．carry

B．wear

C．take

D．see

3.

A．carefully

B．strangely

C．thankfully

D．surprisingly

4.

A．watch

B．hat

C．suit

D．ring

5.

A．making out

B．bringing up

C．calling out

D．picking up

6.

A．even so

B．after all

C．in all

D．even worse

7.

A．caught

B．changed

C．lost

D．hurt

8.

A．easier

B．safer

C．slower

D．quieter

9.

A．driving

B．chatting

C．writing

D．moving

10.

A．supported

B．forgot

C．started

D．reported

11.

A．felt

B．wished

C．liked

D．hated

12.

A．peace

B．silence

C．patience

D．confidence

13.

A．curious

B．unbelievable

C．comfortable

D．common

14.

A．happiest

B．nicest

C．simplest

D．clearest

15.

A．spend

B．waste

C．enjoy

D．spare

7 . Ten years ago, I went on a vacation in Italy. After climbing up a hill for a panoramic (全景的) view of the blue sea, white buildings and green olive trees, I paused to catch my breath and then positioned myself to take the best photo of this panorama.

Unfortunately, just as I took out my camera, a woman approached from behind, and planted herself right in front of my view. Like me, this woman was here to stop, sigh and appreciate the view.

Patient as I was, after about 15 minutes, I grew frustrated. Was it too much to ask her to move so I could take just one picture of the landscape? Sure, I could have asked her, but something prevented me from doing so. She seemed so content in her observation. I didn't want to mess with that. Another 15 minutes passed and I grew bored. The woman was still there. I decided to take the photo anyway.

Now when I look at the photo, I think her presence in the photo is what makes the image interesting. The landscape, beautiful on its own, somehow comes to life and breathes because this woman is engaging with it.

This photo, with the unique beauty that unfolded before me and that woman who "ruined" it, now hangs on a wall in my bedroom. What would she think if she knew that her figure is captured and frozen on some strangers bedroom wall? A bedroom, after all, is a very private space, in which some woman I don't even know has been immortalized (使永存). In some ways, she lives in my house.

Perhaps we all live in each other's spaces. Perhaps this is what photos are for: to remind us that we all appreciate beauty, that we all share a common desire for pleasure, for connection, for something that is greater than us. That photo is a reminder, a captured moment, an unspoken conversation between two women, separated only by a thin square of glass.

1. What happened when the author was about to take a photo?

A．Her camera stopped working.	B．A friend approached from behind.
C．Someone asked her to leave.	D．A woman blocked her view.

2. According to the author, the woman was probably ________.

A．losing her patience	B．enjoying herself
C．waiting for the sunset	D．thinking about her past

3. In the author's opinion, what makes the photo so alive?

A．The woman's existence in the photo.	B．The perfect positioning of the camera.
C．The rich color of the landscape.	D．The soft sunlight that summer day.

4. The photo on the bedroom wall enables the author to better understand ________.

A．the need to be close to nature	B．the importance of private space
C．the shared passion for beauty	D．the joy of the vacation in Italy

8 . Do you think you have what it takes to be a successful scientist? A successful scientist is generally a good observer. He makes full _____of the facts he observes. He doesn't accept ideas which are not___on obvious facts, and therefore__ to accept authority as the only truth. He always checks ideas__ and makes experiments to prove them.

The rise of modern science may perhaps be considered to__ as far back as the time of Roger Bacon, the wonderful philosopher of Oxford, who lived between the years 1214 and 1292. He was probably the first in the Middle Ages to __that we should learn science___observing and experimenting on the things around us, and he himself __many important truths.

Galileo (1564－1642),___，who lived more than 300 years later, was the greatest of several great men in Italy, France, Germany, and England, who began to show how many important ___could be discovered by observation by degrees. Before Galileo, learned men believed that large bodies ___more rapidly towards the earth than small ones, __ Aristotle said so. But Galileo, going to the ___of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, let fall two __ stones and proved Aristotle was wrong. It is Galileo's __ of going direct to nature, and proving our __ and theories by experiment, that has____all the discoveries of modern science.

What __ those people good scientists? From the example of Galileo, we know clearly that ___scientists are those whose observations have___ better results.

1.

A．use

B．sense

C．speed

D．trust

2.

A．relied

B．based

C．insisted

D．centered

3.

A．refuses

B．desires

C．intends

D．regrets

4.

A．casually

B．carefully

C．quickly

D．privately

5.

A．date

B．keep

C．look

D．come

6.

A．command

B．suspect

C．suggest

D．conclude

7.

A．in

B．with

C．on

D．by

8.

A．brought

B．discovered

C．handled

D．announced

9.

A．however

B．therefore

C．seldom

D．never

10.

A．truths

B．problems

C．investigations

D．subjects

11.

A．threw

B．fell

C．ran

D．rolled

12.

A．although

B．because

C．when

D．if

13.

A．place

B．foot

C．top

D．ceiling

14.

A．big

B．small

C．similar

D．unequal

15.

A．spirit

B．skill

C．theory

D．wish

16.

A．plans

B．opinions

C．world

D．ability

17.

A．led to

B．turned to

C．set up

D．put forward

18.

A．makes

B．prevents

C．considers

D．promises

19.

A．reasonable

B．successful

C．expert

D．sensitive

20.

A．foreseen

B．rejected

C．produced

D．challenged

9 . What is one of the most boring and tiresome words ever? Responsibility, I think，is one of those words you have probably heard so many times from authority figures (权威人物). Sometimes, it asks us to do things that are unpleasant or even frightening.

Once in a hospital a male patient knocked over a cup of water, which spilled (洒) on the floor beside the patient's bed. The patient was afraid he might slip on the water if he got out of the bed, so he asked his nurse's assistant to mop it up.

The patient didn't know it, but the hospital policy said that small spills were the responsibility of the assistant while large spills were to be mopped up by the hospital's housekeepers.

The nurse's assistant decided that the spill was a large one and she called a housekeeper. The housekeeper arrived but said that the spill was a small one. An argument followed.

“It's not my responsibility,” said the nurse's assistant. “Because it's a large puddle (水洼).” The housekeeper did not agree. “Well, it's not mine, ” she said. “The puddle is too small.”

The patient listened for a while, and then he took a bottle of water from his night table and poured the whole thing on the floor. “Is that a big enough puddle now for you two to decide?” he asked. It was the end of the argument.

So, responsibility is about our ability to respond to situations and to choose the attitudes, actions and reactions that shape our lives.It is a concept (观念) of power that puts us in the driver's seat. If you want more control over your life, all you have to do is to be responsible. Responsible people not only depend on themselves, but show others that they can be depended on.

1. According to Paragraph 1, the author thinks that responsibility_____.

A．is the most boring word

B．may upset people sometimes

C．causes people to do bad things

D．matters more to authority figures

2. The nurse's assistant argued with the housekeeper because_______.

A．they looked down upon each other's job

B．they didn't want to break the hospital policy

C．they didn't know what the hospital policy was

D．they each thought the other should mop up the puddle

3. Who probably mopped the water up at last?

A．The patient.

B．The patient's nurse.

C．The nurse's assistant.

D．The housekeeper.

4. The author wants to tell us that, to control our life, we should________.

A．show others that we are reliable

B．respond to situations quickly

C．learn to be responsible

D．trust no one but ourselves

10 . A little boy was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox(沙池).He had with him a box of cars and trucks，and a red plastic shovel. In the process of creating roads and tunnels in the sand，he discovered a large rock in the middle of the sandbox.

The boy dug around the rock，trying to get it out of the sand. With many struggles，he pushed the rock across the sandbox by using his feet. He was a very small boy and the rock was very huge. When the boy got the rock to the edge of the sandbox，however，he found that he couldn’t roll it up and over the little wall.

Determined，the little boy shoved and pushed，but every time the rock tipped(倾斜) and then fell back into the sandbox. Finally，he burst into tears of frustration. All this time the boy’s father watched from his living room window. At the moment his tears fell，a large shadow fell across the boy and the sandbox. It was the boy’s father.

Gently but firmly he said，“Son，why didn’t you use all the strength that you had available？” Defeated，the boy answered，“But I did，Daddy.   I used all the strength that I had！”“No，son，” said the father kindly.“You didn’t use all the strength you had. You didn’t ask me.” With that the father reached down，picked up the rock，and removed it from the sandbox.

Do you have “rocks” in your life that need to be removed？Are you discovering that you don’t have what it takes to lift them？There is one who is always available and willing to give us the strength we need. Isn’t it funny that we try so hard to do things all by ourselves?

1. What did the boy want to do with the rock?

A．To break it into smaller pieces.

B．To remove it from the sandbox.

C．To bury it deep under the ground.

D．To carry it to a faraway place by hand.

2. In the father’s opinion，his son _______.

A．must be punished for not working hard

B．was strong enough to lift the rock by himself

C．should have asked him to help with the rock

D．was responsible for solving the problem

3. What may be the best title for the text?

A．Secrets in the Sand

B．Rock in the Sandbox

C．Where Strength Is Needed

D．When Help Is Not at Hand