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

4 . “Today I will give you a special test,” said the English teacher with a smile on his face.

All the students set up straight and ________ for the test to begin. The teacher began to ________ the test papers to all the students. ________ he finished handing out the test papers, he asked them to begin.

The students were very ________ to see that there was not a question but a black dot (圆点) in the centre of the paper. The teacher ________ the students’ surprise and said, “I want you to ________ about what you see there.”

At the end of the class, the teacher took all the students’ answer sheets (答题纸) and read the answers. ________ of them described the black dot. After reading all the answers, the teacher said, “Here everyone only paid attention to the black dot, ________ no one wrote about the white paper.” The whole class listened ________, because they were afraid to fail in the exam.

Then the teacher said, “Don’t worry about your ________ for this test. I just want you to think about our life. The white paper is like our whole life and the black dot in the centre of the paper ________ problems in our daily life.”

Our life is a ________ given to us by God, with love and care. Still, we just pay attention to the problems like ________ and poverty, and never see that these problems are very ________ compared to everything else we have in our life.

So we should try to take our eye off our problems and ________ each moment life gives us.

1.

A．searched

B．looked

C．called

D．waited

2.

A．e-mail

B．sell

C．give

D．throw

3.

A．After

B．Before

C．Until

D．While

4.

A．happy

B．surprised

C．excited

D．sad

5.

A．forgot

B．remembered

C．noticed

D．hated

6.

A．talk

B．write

C．hear

D．answer

7.

A．All

B．None

C．Some

D．Many

8.

A．because

B．although

C．if

D．but

9.

A．angrily

B．silently

C．happily

D．fast

10.

A．presents

B．grades

C．suggestions

D．tasks

11.

A．helps

B．finds

C．represents

D．solves

12.

A．gift

B．problem

C．moment

D．door

13.

A．illnesses

B．surprise

C．happiness

D．pains

14.

A．serious

B．big

C．small

D．important

15.

A．refuse

B．stop

C．waste

D．enjoy

5 . People are always afraid of making mistakes. But sometimes it’s not bad to make mistakes, and here is why.

At first, mistakes are a clear sign that you are trying new things. It’s always good to try new things, because when you are trying new things you are growing. If you never try new things, how can you improve? How can you create? The simple answer is, “You can’t.” Look around you, everything you see is the result of someone trying new things.

Another good thing about mistakes is this: when you are making mistakes, you are learning. Consider this: Edison failed 10,000 times before he invented the light bulb. When he was asked how he felt to fail that many times, he said that he hadn’t failed 10,000 times, but rather had learned 10,000 things that didn’t work.

Finally, when you make a mistake, you are that much closer to success. Why? Because you have said what you should say, and you have done what you should do. Every time you make a mistake, you are closer to success. But it doesn’t mean that you can make mistakes without thinking. Instead, when you try new things you have to think them over, so that you can keep away from some unnecessary mistakes.

We shouldn’t spend all our time and money on the only one way, but use them correctly. Because our time and money are limited (有限的).

There is an old saying, “If you are not making mistakes, you are not trying hard enough.” So go bravely and make mistakes. And learn. And grow. And succeed.

1. If you making a mistake, that means ________.

A．you’re careful

B．you’re kind

C．you’re growing

D．you know nothing

2. If you never try new things, you can’t ________.

A．improve

B．create

C．spend

D．A and B

3. After Edison failed 10,000 times, he ________.

A．gave up	B．invented the light bulb
C．invented the computer	D．invented 10,000 new things

4. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Never make mistakes	B．You can make mistakes without thinking.
C．Sometimes it’s good to make mistakes	D．Making mistakes is terrible.

6 . When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book and a poor man got it.

The book wasn’t very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum (羊皮纸) on which was written the secret of the “Touchstone (点金石)”. The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold. The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm while ordinary pebbles are cold.

So the man sold his house, bought a tent, camped on the seashore and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up normal pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebbles hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold — throw it into sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea. The days stretched into months and the months into years.

One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He was used to throwing each pebble into the sea as soon as he picked it up. So when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.

So it is with opportunity. Unless we are careful, it’s easy to fail to realize an opportunity when it is in hand and it’s just as easy to throw it away.

1. According to the passage, the touchstone is a stone ________.

A．that you can touch

B．that can turn common metal into pure gold

C．that can bring you thousands of pebbles

D．that can bring you good luck

2. The man threw the touchstone into the sea because ________.

A．it was cold

B．it was a normal pebble

C．he was too tired to hold it

D．he had formed a habit

3. How did the man probably feel when he realized it was the touchstone?

A．Excited.	B．Moved.
C．Interested.	D．Regretted.

4. What does the writer want to tell us?

A．Opportunity knocks but once.

B．Use it or lose it.

C．Where there is a will, there is a way.

D．Practice makes perfect.

7 . When we think of the term women of influence, what comes to our mind? Are they women who have social status and power, whose work brings about great changes for their communities, countries and the world? As women of influence their work is important.

There are other women of influence whose roles are equally as important but often go unnoticed in social media. The roles our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts play in our lives, influencing the people we’ve grown to be. These women also lead by example with love, strength, gentleness. They made and continue to make personal sacrifices (牺牲) so that we can be healthy and happy.

There are many women in my life who have helped me grow into the woman I am today. First my Mom, whose strength and courage showed me how to be strong and courageous too. My memories of her still fill me with love and inspiration. My grandmother taught me by example, how to age gracefully while continuing to stay connected to the world around her even when she became too old to go out.

I am grateful to many friends of all ages, who share my joys, my sorrows, celebrated my strengths as well as my weaknesses. Without the influence of all these women in my life I would not be the woman I am today. For each and every one of these beautiful women, I am deeply grateful for their wisdom, love and guidance along my life journey.

I would like to wish all the women of the world a Happy Mother’s day. You make a difference to the men, women and children who come into contact with you each and every day. No matter what your role is, you are a woman of influence.

1. How is the passage mainly developed?

A．In order of time.

B．In order of space.

C．By listing examples.

D．By giving explanations.

2. What’s the author’s attitude towards the women around her?

A．Angry.

B．Uncertain.

C．Disappointed.

D．Thankful.

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Women of influence affect us greatly in our daily life.

B．Women of influence must have social status and power.

C．Women of influence must make great contributions.

D．Women of influence make a little difference to the public.

9 . There was a boy and his family was very rich. One day his father took him on a trip to a place. He wanted to show his son how poor people were there. They spent several days on a farm. There were many poor families living on the farm.

On their way home, the father asked the son, “How was the trip?” “It was great, Dad,” the son answered. “Did you notice how poor people were there?” asked his father. “Oh, yes,” said the son. “So, tell me,” said his father. The son said, “Well, we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool in our garden, while they have a river that has no end. We have expensive lanterns, but they have stars above their heads at night. We have only a small piece of land to live on ,while they have the endless fields. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have high walls around our houses to protect us, but they don’t need walls, because their friends will protect them.”

The father had nothing to say. Then the boy added, “Thank you, Dad, for letting me see how poor we are.”

1. The father wanted to show his son _______ .

A．how people on the farm worked

B．how poor people were on the farm

C．how beautiful the farm was

D．how far it was from the city to the farm

2. When the father asked the son how the trip was, the son thought it ________.

A．great

B．tiring

C．terrible

D．boring

3. According to the boy, people on the farm can see________ at night.

A．expensive lanterns	B．a lot of cars
C．stars above their heads	D．many horses

4. Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?

A．The boy was from a very poor family.

B．The father and the son spent several weeks on a farm.

C．People on the farm have high walls around their houses.

D．The boy thought that people on the farm lived a happy life.

5. What’s the best title of the passage?

A．A rich farm	B．A great experience
C．A poor family	D．A boring trip

10 . 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