1 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

No one is born a winner. People make themselves into winners by their own efforts. I learned this lesson from an experience many years ago. I took the head coaching job at a school in Baxley, Georgia. It was a small school with a weak football program. The school took part in the league matches every year. However, it never ended well. We were more of the audience, watching and cheering instead of sweating out in the fields.

Fortunately, the school held the tradition that the school’s old team was to play against the new team at the end of spring practice. For lack of resources, the old team bad no coach, and they didn’t even practice to prepare for the game.

I was assigned (指派) as the coach of the new team, which was why I was excited. I believed that we were going to win, but to my disappointment, we were defeated. I couldn’t believe I had got into such a situation. Thinking hard about it, I tried to figure out the reason and what I should do next.

It didn’t take long before I came to realize that my team was depending on me. Without proper guidance or previous experience, my team was at a loss what to do. I had to change my attitude so that I could bring out the best in them about their ability and potential.

I would let my action do the talking. First, I started doing anything I could to help them build a little pride. I could see their spirits lifted, with their head held high in great confidence. Most importantly, I began to treat them like winners. Only when they regarded themselves as winners could they willingly invest time and energy.

This summer, the other teams enjoyed their vacations.

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Six months later, football season started.

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2 . The day I first came across a harp (竖琴) is a memory stored by all my senses. In contrast to the vivid color in which I recall this first encounter, I still remember my parents faces turning pale when I announced “I’m going to play the harp!” My parents’ faces reflected then financial fears. But they still rented me a little harp and hired a man to teach me.

I felt complete every time I played the harp. Then something happened: sheet music. Suddenly I had to learn this foreign language in order to continue to play. What was once an effortless pleasure turned into a constant struggle. My dyslexic (诵读困难的) brain fed on the beauty of the music but fought with the way it was taught. I soon found myself stuck in a love-hate relationship.

For my 16th birthday, my parents used their savings to buy me a harp, in the hope that it might settle my relationship with it. But in the weeks that followed the harp exploded.

The remains of the harp sat at the bottom of our stairs for several weeks. Eventually, my father and I built a fire to burn it. It felt strange to burn something that once represented so much, and we both sat there staring in silence. My father said “I know you find it hard to read music. But have you ever thought about just playing?” What he said changed everything for me, “Yeah, but I don’t have a harp anymore.”

Two weeks later, an old and small harp turned up. I threw away all my music books and started playing by ear and from the heart. All the passion came back. Music is so much more than dots (小圆点) on a page. If you feel it and are excited by it, stick to it. Had I let traditional music teaching techniques put me off playing the harp, I would have lost a part of myself.

1. What was the author’s parents’ reaction to her decision?

A．They were excited and hopeful about it	B．They purchased her a harp immediately
C．They showed concern but agreed to it	D．They hesitated over it for a long time

2. What did the author find out about sheet music?

A．It took away her enjoyment of playing the harp	B．It was beneficial to foreign language learning
C．It led to her encountering difficulty in reading	D．It was an effective way of appreciating music

3. How did the author feel when the harp was burnt?

A．Astonished

B．Sorrowful

C．Frightened.

D．disappointed.

4. What lesson did the author’s experience give her?

A．Hard work pays off	B．Strike while the iron is hot
C．The simplest way is the best way	D．Never give up on what you really want to do

3 . Dan Price was the CEO of Gravity Payments, a financial services company. One day, he found out a friend was struggling ________. The cost of living in Washington is ________, and she just couldn’t make ends meet(量入为出) on her salary. However, Dan was already earning $1.1 million a year. He realized how ________ it was that he had so much while the people working under him were struggling.

This point was driven home when he ________ a Mc Donald’s handbook on the desk of employee Rosita Barlow. When asked , Rosita burst into tears and ________ that after she left work at Gravity, she went straight to her shifts (轮班)at McDonald’s . Some nights, she even stood ________ at the local food bank.(赈济处）

That’s when Dan decided to do something to stop income ________ in his company. In 2015, he cut his own pay by 90%, mortgaging(抵押）his two houses, and ________ his stocks and savings so that he could ________ every single employee’s pay to $70,000 a year!

More than a third of his employees saw their ________ double. Some feared productivity would decline(下降）if everyone was earning more, but the ________ turned out to be true. Dan’s employees began to truly thrive (奋发）once the stress of making ends meet was ________ from their everyday lives. Employees like Rosita were finally able to quit their second jobs and ________ their work, actually increasing ________.

When COVID-19 hit the U.S, Dan’s company ________ financial difficulties. But what the employees decided ________ Dan! They chose to take a voluntary pay ________ of between 5% and 100% to keep Gravity going ________. The pay cuts worked! Gravity was able to ________ from the economic downturn, and they recently restored all salaries to their pre-pandemic amount.

As the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats! Dan treated his employees well. And when it was their turn to________ him, they didn’t let him down!

1.

A．politically

B．financially

C．physically

D．emotionally

2.

A．reasonable

B．predictable

C．high

D．low

3.

A．unfair

B．strange

C．challenging

D．harmful

4.

A．forgot

B．composed

C．discovered

D．reviewed

5.

A．insisted

B．argued

C．suggested

D．admitted

6.

A．in peace

B．in line

C．in demand

D．in relief

7.

A．inequality

B．growth

C．redistribution

D．limit

8.

A．looking into

B．taking over

C．showing off

D．giving up

9.

A．earn

B．raise

C．collect

D．reduce

10.

A．market

B．creativity

C．salaries

D．costs

11.

A．same

B．opposite

C．following

D．first

12.

A．separated

B．returned

C．removed

D．hidden

13.

A．focus on

B．pass down

C．apply for

D．talk about

14.

A．requirement

B．competition

C．risk

D．productivity

15.

A．suffered

B．escaped

C．masked

D．caused

16.

A．disappointed

B．astonished

C．frightened

D．amused

17.

A．service

B．reward

C．check

D．cut

18.

A．public

B．free

C．strong

D．quiet

19.

A．benefit

B．change

C．learn

D．recover

20.

A．repay

B．respect

C．improve

D．invite

4 . I wish I’d been more confident in my own abilities, especially when I was at school.

I was a shy child and struggled a bit when talking to other people. On the whole, my parents were very supportive, always encouraging me and trying to help me relax in social situations, but I was always terribly self-conscious. I wish I hadn’t been so worried about what everybody thought of me. I know now that if you are extremely shy , then it’s hard work to have a conversation with you. Now I try to think about the other person I’m talking to and put them at ease in my company .However, at school, I found it especially difficult in my peer group. I wasn’t competitive, but I was aware of my appearance and I always compared myself to other people, usually coming to the conclusion that I wasn’t as clever or as popular or as cool as they were. I wanted to be popular. I know now that the kids who are considered the coolest at school aren’t necessarily the most popular or successful when they grow up.

I realize now that everything changes during your teen years — physically, mentally, socially and emotionally — and I just had a harder time than most. I wish I hadn’t let it stop me from doing things, though. I wish I’d taken a gap year or at least traveled more when I left school. But to tell the truth, I didn’t have the courage to go off alone before going to college. I could have gone to Europe and America with a friend as I’d saved up enough money, but in the end I just didn’t want to do it. My parents really wanted me to try a gap year. They said it would be a great experience before college. I think they were right, and now I won’t have another opportunity to do that for a long time.

1. What can be learned about the author when she was a child?

A．She found being sociable difficult.

B．She was considered too direct.

C．She lived a rich life.

D．She felt uncomfortable with her parents.

2. What did the author think of herself as a teen?

A．She had a big heart.

B．She was a first-class student.

C．She suffered greatly during her teen years.

D．She used to let her parents down.

3. What does the author regret?

A．Not paying enough attention to her parents.

B．Not saving up enough money to go abroad.

C．Not going to college together with her best friend.

D．Not being brave enough to travel before college.

4. Why does the author write this text?

A．To honor her parents	B．To share her life lessons
C．To remember her childhood	D．To discuss skills needed for school

5 . For some strange reason, the tradition of writing a thank-you note is fading away. As a result, the sending of handwritten thank-you notes ________ appreciation and gratitude for ________ increasingly appears to be becoming a lost art.

People ________ they were overjoyed after they received thank-you notes, but most of us ________ the positive feelings they will bring. ________ it may take less than five minutes to write a thank-you note, the idea of ________ an actual pen, writing an actual ________ , finding a stamp and a mailbox seems to ________ come to mind. We tend to do what is ________ for us——a quick text or an email.

Doug Conant, CEO of Campbell's soup, is a very ________ and successful businessman. ________ terrible situations, he set about fixing that by doing some ________ things that are probably not taught in any MBA class. For one thing, Conant wrote to every ________. He gained their confidence and ________ saved the company. In his ten years as Campbell's CEO, Conant ________ over 30,000 notes to employees. It's hard not to ________ how he did it. After all, the CEO had many other things to do besides sitting down with a ________ and a card and writing a thank you note. Conant ________ time for it because he knew the ________ each one would have.

An expression of being grateful written by hand in this crazy world still ________.

1.

A．expressing

B．including

C．writing

D．desiring

2.

A．friendliness

B．politeness

C．kindness

D．carefulness

3.

A．complained

B．explained

C．permitted

D．admitted

4.

A．remember

B．notice

C．love

D．ignore

5.

A．Because

B．While

C．As

D．Unless

6.

A．getting

B．borrowing

C．choosing

D．buying

7.

A．letter

B．note

C．novel

D．story

8.

A．ever

B．recently

C．never

D．frequently

9.

A．convenient

B．real

C．important

D．interesting

10.

A．stubborn

B．honest

C．busy

D．reliable

11.

A．On behalf of

B．Instead of

C．Regardless of

D．In the face of

12.

A．science

B．simple

C．complex

D．interesting

13.

A．employer

B．professor

C．companion

D．employee

14.

A．eventually

B．obviously

C．hardly

D．briefly

15.

A．offered

B．shared

C．donated

D．wrote

16.

A．understand

B．believe

C．question

D．accept

17.

A．pen

B．stick

C．fan

D．book

18.

A．lost

B．spared

C．wasted

D．killed

19.

A．happiness

B．effect

C．price

D．result

20.

A．makes a fortune

B．earns a living

C．makes a difference

D．takes a chance

6 . Why is being alone essential to personal growth?

For many people, being alone is a negative state of being. It often carries a social stigma (污名) that equals isolation or being an outsider. Of course, spending time with people you love is extremely important to your well-being.     1     Only if you’re connected to yourself can you become stronger.

Aloneness enhances your creativity. When you are alone, you are more likely to stay true to yourself and try new things that you don’t have the courage to do around others.     2     Picasso or Van Gogh wouldn’t have created the masterpieces if they hadn’t taken enough solitary (独自的) time to experiment regardless of others’ thoughts.

Being alone also prevents you from burning out. Sometimes you may wonder why you easily feel tired.     3     Especially for people who go to work every day, it is unavoidable to feel exhausted when you have to deal with work, family, and your own passions at the same time. How about giving yourself a few solitary moments? It doesn’t matter how you choose to spend those moments alone. As long as they relieve your stress, they’re worthwhile.

    4     When you take time to understand yourself, pursue your personal growth, and follow your dreams, you’ll definitely discover the truth about yourself. Regardless of how well you may think you know yourself, learning how to be alone will allow you to deepen your self-awareness.

Being alone makes you a more creative person and helps with personal growth.     5    

A．But it’s necessary to learn how to be alone.

B．Aloneness is often associated with mad artists.

C．It is impossible to be alone with the demands of daily life.

D．Aloneness frees us from the limits of the world’s opinions.

E．Self-exploration is perhaps the biggest benefit of aloneness.

F．One reason could be not giving yourself enough solitary time.

G．So spend some time alone today to become a brighter and better person.