1 . 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。

It’s never too late     1     (make) a big career move. You may currently be at a point in your career     2     you feel stuck, bored, and unmotivated. These could be signs that your current job is not a good fit for you and that your skills and passion lay elsewhere. There are many famous people who have made surprising career     3     (change). And what this shows is that people’s success often depends on     4     (find) the courage to make those major career switches. In addition, sometimes you have to do a job that is a poor match in order to figure out what career is suited to you instead.

Everyone knows that Giorgio Armani is one of the world’s top fashion designers. But he didn’t     5     (true) start his career in the world of fashion. When he was a young man, he joined the Italian army and     6     (start) working at a military hospital in Verona. Armani left the military in 1953 and made a career change. He became a(n)     7     (sell) in a clothing department. By the mid-60s he was designing his own clothes and in 1975, he set     8     his own company, Armani. By following his     9     (create) passion and talent, Armani became one of     10     most successful fashion designers in the world.

Success isn’t defined by what you’re currently doing.

2 . 根据提示完成主题语篇缺失的信息, 请注意正确使用动词的ing形式。

From all periods, and from every country,     1    （这些光彩耀人的图片）display themselves to us. Each only appears for a few moments while     2    (代表整个的一生), sometimes a whole age, with its conflicts and victories. Let us contemplate here and there one of the company of martyrs — the company which will receive new members until the world itself shall pass away.

We look down upon a crowded amphitheatre (圆形剧场). Out of the “Clouds” of Aristophanes, satire and humor     3    (像潮水一般喷射出来) upon the audience; on the stage Socrates, the most remarkable man in Athens, he who had been the shield and defence of the people against the thirty tyrants, held up mentally and bodily to ridicule—Socrates, who saved Alcibiades and Xenophon in the turmoil of battle, and whose genius soared far above the gods of the ancients. He himself is present,     4    (从观众席中站起来) and     5    (走到前面去)，that the     6    (哄堂大笑的) Athenians may well appreciate the likeness between himself and the caricature on the stage. There he stands before them,     7    (高高地站在他们面前). (From The Thorny Road of Honor, Anderson)

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。

There are many factors     1    (contribute) to a person’s success in life. Whether he is at school or at work, a person is more likely to succeed if he is hard-working, honest, intelligent, responsible, and so on. But     2     all the possible characteristics that can affect one’s success, I believe self-confidence to be the most important for the following reasons.

The first reason is that when a person has self-confidence he believes in     3     (he). He believes that he can and will succeed, and this gives him the courage     4     (try) new things. In order to be successful we     5     be willing to take some risks, so having self-confidence is very important.     6     reason is that a confident person rarely gives up. When he fails he tries again and again     7     he wins. The final reason is     8     confident people are not afraid to show off their achievements. This is not to say that they should（吹嘘）, but that they should     9     (confidence) accept the compliments (赞扬) of others. When their achievements     10     (notice) more by others at school or at work, they are more likely to succeed.

4 . Nature is full of inspiration, and as such, it can easily serve as a reflection for writers. In nature, we might find metaphors for our own human experiences that we never considered before.

For example, in literature, rivers are often regarded as symbols of life and the passage of time.     1     Of course, its meeting with the ocean represents the end of life.

Over the last century, nature writing has also become a means of support for the environment by calling attention to environmental issues and trying to inspire a greater interest in nature.     2     You can use these tips to practice nature writing:

    3     The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you always have a notebook and pen at hand to write down your ideas and observations, no matter where you are. Don’t assume that you can just write everything down when you get home.

Observe. When you’re spending time in nature, don’t worry about brainstorming the most poetic way to describe the falling leaves; you can always improve your writing later.     4     Let your thoughts flow freely onto the paper.

Make connections. Yes, nature writing means a lot of writing about nature, but that doesn’t mean your topics of discussion are limited to the sound of the wind and birds singing. If you find that certain memories or thoughts come up while you’re spending time in nature, write those down too.     5    

A．Always explore nature writing.

B．Always keep a notebook at hand.

C．This can help you practice building connections.

D．The source of rivers represents the beginnings of life.

E．For now, just focus on recording your own feelings and observations.

F．Nature writing has grown in popularity as a literary form in recent years.

G．Many of our favorite stories describe impressive adventures in the great outdoors.

5 . 阅读下面短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

Sixteen years ago, Jason was a college professor     1     a huge six-bedroom house and a fortune of two million dollars. A few years ago. he knew millions of people died of hunger every year, and there were places with no schools and no teachers. This worried him a lot and he felt guilty being a rich man without     2     (do)anything. Therefore, he gave away all his money to charities. “Success     3     (not measure)by how much money you have     4     by how you understand the true meaning of life.“ said Jason.

6 . Use the words in the box to complete the following excerpt from a student’s speech.

commit            bounce around            rather than            come to a conclusion          define in common            radium            had a great influence on

Probably everyone dreams of having a great career, but first let’s     1    what this means. When thinking about what makes a career great, many ideas may    2     in your head, such as the desire for money, power, or fame. Different people might have different opinions about this, but wouldn’t it be kind of greedy to focus on money and fame     3    on something more meaningful? Please close your eyes and think of someone professional and successful. It could be a famous entrepreneur, a great leader, a scientist or an artist, or a teacher who     4    you. My choice would be Marie Curie, who discovered     5    . For me, she is great not just because she was world-famous, but because she made great contributions to mankind. Being a female scientist was much less common in her time, but in spite of this she devoted her life to her career. So I    6     that if you want a great career, you need to     7    yourself to something meaningful. I believe all great careers have this    8    .

7 . Fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word that you do not need.

A. safe        B. robbery        C. expressions        D. replied        E. open        F. amazing G. employee        H. positive        I. concentration        J. curious        K. recovered

Jerry is a popular manager of a restaurant. The reason why the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator(鼓舞人心者). If a(n)    1     was having a bad day, Jerry was always there, telling him how to look on the bright side of the situation.

This attitude really made me       2     , so one day I asked him, “I don’t get it! No one can be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it? ”

“Each time something bad happens, I can choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I always accept their complaining and point out the     3     side of life,” Jerry replied.

Several years later, I heard that one day Jerry left the back door of his restaurant    4     and was robbed by three armed men. While trying to open the       5     , his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination(密码). The robbers panicked and shot him.

Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to hospital. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry       6     with fragments(碎片)of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the    7     took place. “Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked.

“No,” Jerry said. “But when I saw the     8     on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, ‘He is a dead man.’ ”

“A nurse asked if I was allergic(过敏的) to anything,” Jerry continued. “ ‘Yes,’ I     9    . The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my answer. I took a deep breath and yelled, ‘Bullets! ‘ Over their laughter, I told them, ‘Please operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.’ ”

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his       10     attitude. Attitude, after all, is everything.

8 . After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. collapsed     B. inspected     C. exceptionally     D. edge     E. grateful     F. permission G. laborious     H. dawned     I. exhaustion     J. delicately     K. calculated

Climb

Just take a minute or two to marvel at your fingers. The way they can grip onto any surface and how they move and adapt to anything. Suspended halfway up a rocky cliff face, I am painfully     1     for this, as my life is dependent on the endurance and strength in my fingertips.

I started the morning with a quiet stroll along the     2     of the cliff. I wasn’t afraid as I had done this many a time to clear my mind. As I looked out at the crashing sea below I started to shiver; it was late November and it was predicted to be a(n)     3     cold winter. As I reached the furthest point of my walk, turned around and started on my way back home, my foot slipped as the ground beneath my leather boots     4    . Clutching wildly, I plummeted towards a near certain death in the cold and uninviting sea. “Grab something quickly” said an urgent voice inside my head.

As a child, I had had climbing lessons, and I managed to grab hold of a small ledge on the side of the cliff face. My other hand and feet just slipped into place and I started to make my way up; a long and     5     process of hand, foot, hand, foot and so on. About fifteen minutes later I got to the first big ledge, I hauled myself up and sat down and     6    my body; my knees were cut up and bleeding from the fall and my hands were raw and sore. I had also wrenched my shoulder which I rubbed tentatively, while I slowly started to relax.

As I was just about to fall asleep, I was jerked back to my senses by the voice, “No, not now, don’t go to sleep now, keep going.”

I responded by getting up and starting again, the voice was so insistent. After about half an hour I had to stop to rest. I found a ledge, and with the     7     of the voice inside my head, fell asleep. In the morning I continued but I no longer felt alone, it was as if somebody else was guiding my hands and feet and encouraging me. With the seagulls screeching above me and the sea crashing on the rocks below me, the only thing I could do was climb. I     8     that I could get to the top in about an hour and I did exactly that.

On reaching the top, I remembered that when I was small my father had told me the story of Reinhold Messner, a well-known climber all over the world and I admired him so much. The realization     9     on me: it was his power that had guided me to the top.

I whispered a quick thank you and then collapsed in     10    .