1 . I first saw a real durian (榴莲) in an Asian supermarket in Queens. That strange-looking fruit was big, heavy, and covered with sharp pricks (刺). I decided to buy one. The Chinese checkout girl carefully wrapped it thickly in a newspaper before putting it into a shopping bag.

On the train home, I cautiously opened the Chinese newspaper and lifted it out. Its strangeness made me think of kung fu, yoga and Taijiquan.

Upon arriving home, I dug out the biggest knife and cut through the tough prickly husk (壳). I tasted the pale-yellow flesh, delicious!

After that, durian was my favourite fruit. My skill at cutting durian open was improving. I showed the skill to my girlfriend.

A few years later, we moved to Taiwan. One day I noticed some durians had begun to open by themselves. The owner tried to get me to buy one but I shook my head, thinking it was far-gone. Instead I selected one whose outer husk wasn’t open.

The next morning I woke up to a strong durian smell. I found a small crack (裂缝) had appeared all on its own. I used the smallest pressure and tasted a more delicious durian. Suddenly, I realized something. I ha felt so satisfied with my own skill in opening the durian that I never thought about letting the durian open itself. The higher art was not in doing but in not doing — letting the thing happen on its own in the way it happens best.

1. Why did the Chinese checkout girl wrap the durian thickly in a newspaper?

A．To decorate the durian.	B．To stop the durian from falling apart.
C．To prevent the author from being hurt.	D．To encourage the author to read Chinese.

2. What came to the author’s mind when he looked at the durian on the way home?

A．A strange fruit.	B．A delicious dinner.
C．Other passengers’ attention.	D．Some symbols of Asian culture.

3. Why didn’t the author take the recommended durian?

A．He thought it was too ripe.	B．He enjoyed the selection of durian.
C．He wanted a chance to show his skill.	D．He preferred the durian with open husk.

4. What message did the author want to share?

A．Practice makes perfect.	B．Let nature take its course.
C．Interest is the best teacher.	D．Kill two birds with one stone.

2 . Once a famous painter lived in a certain city. Thousands of people used to come to see his art exhibition. People would never get tired of ________ his works.

One day, he thought, “Do people praise me only in front of me and talk about ________ in my works behind my back?” The next day, he ________ early and took one of his paintings to a busy square of his city. There he kept his painting with a(an) ________ written below — “Whoever finds any mistake in this painting should ________ a mark on that place.”

In the evening, when he went to the square to see the painting, he became ________ as there were hundreds of marks on his painting. Seeing this, he got very disappointed and ________ picked up his painting and went home. This incident left a negative (消极的) influence on him and he ________ painting and started shying away from meeting people.

His friend realized that the painter was troubled by something and ________ him the reason. The painter told him everything with a sad heart. ________ it, his friend asked him to do one thing.

The next morning he put a new painting at the square. With a note written below it — “Whoever finds any mistake in the painting, ________ it.” In the evening when the painter and his friend went to check the painting, it was still the same as it was in the morning. The painter was ________ to see this. His friend noticed his amazement and said, “Do you understand something? There is no ________ in taking the opinions of people who only want to find fault with others. ________, understand that fault was not in your picture but in asking for ________ from such people!”

1.

A．buying

B．praising

C．commenting

D．revising

2.

A．mistakes

B．secrets

C．images

D．styles

3.

A．made up

B．woke up

C．cheered up

D．cleaned up

4.

A．invitation

B．letter

C．document

D．note

5.

A．apply

B．bury

C．put

D．imagine

6.

A．sad

B．curious

C．amazed

D．confused

7.

A．calmly

B．wisely

C．silently

D．happily

8.

A．tried

B．appreciated

C．enjoyed

D．stopped

9.

A．gave

B．asked

C．told

D．shared

10.

A．Seeing

B．Recording

C．Hearing

D．Reading

11.

A．admire

B．contact

C．destroy

D．correct

12.

A．surprised

B．anxious

C．frightened

D．confident

13.

A．hope

B．point

C．doubt

D．shame

14.

A．Therefore

B．However

C．Otherwise

D．Anyway

15.

A．support

B．information

C．advice

D．help

3 . 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。

As Wale Ayeni once said, “Be thankful for what you have. Your life, no matter how bad you think it is, is someone else’s fairy tale (童话). ”

Often, I find myself wishing I was living other people’s lives. I’m sure many of us wish that we could step into a luxurious (豪华的) private plane and fly to a private island. However, I’m also sure that many of us wish to have a bigger house, or wish to be able to work fewer hours.

I’ve seen numerous homeless people on the street and in the subway.

When I was younger, I never understood the reality of their lives. I was just scared of them and walked on the opposite side of the street. As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to consider how difficult and painful their lives must be and how much they struggle.

I take the subway home every day after school. One day, when I got off, I noticed a young man on the side of the road holding a sign asking for money. I had seen him a couple of times in that spot, and now I saw the sadness on his face. He looked upset. I immediately looked in my wallet to see if I had cash to give him, but I didn’t.

I finally realized that this guy’s wants are things that come to me so easily every day. He probably never gets to eat three meals in a day. He doesn’t have a home to live in. He doesn’t have a family to spend time with.

I went home and continued to think about that look on his face and knew that I had to bring cash with me the next day to give to him.

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The next afternoon, when I got off the subway to walk home, I hoped he would still be there, and he was.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After that day, I began to reflect on the things I should be grateful for.        
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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。

Two years is nothing, but at the same time a lot can     1     (accomplish) in two years. You can try a sport you’ve always wanted     2    (start), and become great at it. You can start a morning routine and affect your mood. You can start a business,     3     make it a big success.

Two years is nothing and     4     (extreme) easy to waste, but with small     5     (step), substantial commitment and consistency, you can make it count a lot. In two years from now, you’ll be great at it if you really want to. Don’t let your past decide     6    you are. You don’t have to be     7     same person you have always been. Don’t let fear control you. Don’t let the social standards define you. Age is just a number, we should all inspire our uniqueness and     8     (fight) against our own limitations.

By doing things you love     9     a daily basis, even for a few minutes, you’ll learn to enjoy the journey. The days will become more than just a means to an end. You’ll see     10     (you) evolving.

5 . Mark is leaving, and I’m feeling kind of sad.

You probably don’t know Mark, but you might be _______ enough to know someone just like him. He’s been the heart and soul of the office, combining professional skills with a sweet nature. He’s never been all that interested in getting praise for the _______ work he does.

And now he’s moving on to an exciting new opportunity which sounds like the chance of a lifetime, and we’re _______ pleased for him. But that doesn’t make it any easier to say goodbye to a dear friend and _______ colleague.

Life has a way of throwing these curve balls (曲线球) at us. Just when we start to get comfortable with a person, a place or a situation, something comes along to _______ it.

But how do we deal with change? There’s Chris, who once told me that the answer can be expressed in four words, “Go _______ the flow.”

“It is like surfing,” Chris explained. “You can’t organize the ocean. _______ just happen. You ride them _______ they take you, and then you go back out there and catch the next one. Sure, you’re always hoping for the perfect wave. But _______ you just take them the way they come.”

That doesn’t ________ that you don’t keep trying to make all your dreams come true. It just means that when things that aren’t exactly in your plan ________, you work around them and then you move on. Of course, some barriers (阻碍) along the ________ of life are easier to take than others. A rained-out picnic, for example, is ________ to deal with than the sudden death of a loved one. But the principle is the same.

We’re going to ________ Mark. But rather than on the sadness of our ________, we’ll focus on our hopes for a brighter future.

1.

A．difficult

B．confident

C．silly

D．lucky

2.

A．terrible

B．excellent

C．special

D．exact

3.

A．actually

B．sincerely

C．nearly

D．hardly

4.

A．humorous

B．silent

C．reliable

D．active

5.

A．welcome

B．attack

C．destroy

D．change

6.

A．with

B．below

C．against

D．before

7.

A．Shakes

B．Waves

C．Accidents

D．Disasters

8.

A．what

B．why

C．whether

D．where

9.

A．formally

B．extremely

C．mostly

D．lately

10.

A．promise

B．seem

C．explain

D．mean

11.

A．make up

B．break down

C．come up

D．slow down

12.

A．scene

B．road

C．strategy

D．lecture

13.

A．harder

B．better

C．worse

D．easier

14.

A．forget

B．love

C．miss

D．remind

15.

A．parting

B．meeting

C．organizing

D．suffering

6 . Once upon a time, there was a young man, rather immature (不成熟的) in his life, but ready to learn. He had a ________ for tea cups. He felt that they all had their own stories to tell.

Once in a store, he ________ a tea cup. He asked the ________ “May I see that attractive tea cup?” As the salesperson ________ him the tea cup, the young man ________ heard the tea cup speak. Here goes his story. “I have not always been a tea cup. I was just a piece of red clay on the ground. I’ve lived for thousands of ________. One day my master came. He took me to his home, ________ me on a wooden table until I ________ all my sense of direction. The master then placed me in a(n) ________. I never felt such heat before. After a while, he ________ took me out with great care and put me on a shelf where I began to ________.

After I had become solid, he carefully brought colors along with glaze (釉). The smell was terrible! I thought I would ________! Then he put me back in the oven. I felt this was my death. After taking me out, he placed a ________ in front of me and said, ‘Look at yourself!’ What I saw ________ me. I replied, ‘It could not be me. It’s fairly beautiful.’ But he said, ‘I knew it ________ you when I did all these. I knew you must feel dizzy ________ I was spinning you. And when I placed you in the oven for the second time, it would be the most ________ part. But all I did was for your ________.’”

The young man bought the tea cup and he never ________ the lesson he received from it. Whenever he was in a(n) ________ situation, he remembered the words of the tea cup.

1.

A．pace

B．preference

C．skill

D．quality

2.

A．found

B．checked

C．touched

D．recognized

3.

A．leader

B．judge

C．salesman

D．actor

4.

A．sent

B．supplied

C．handed

D．put

5.

A．suddenly

B．gradually

C．finally

D．entirely

6.

A．months

B．moments

C．hours

D．years

7.

A．attacked

B．buried

C．shook

D．rolled

8.

A．lost

B．regained

C．gained

D．ignored

9.

A．oven

B．store

C．bottle

D．pan

10.

A．seriously

B．slowly

C．tightly

D．quickly

11.

A．freeze

B．settle

C．cool

D．calm

12.

A．look un

B．pick up

C．come up

D．throw up

13.

A．vase

B．mirror

C．blanket

D．pillow

14.

A．frightened

B．scared

C．shocked

D．annoyed

15.

A．injured

B．wounded

C．hurt

D．damaged

16.

A．before

B．when

C．until

D．after

17.

A．difficult

B．wonderful

C．official

D．native

18.

A．power

B．energy

C．fame

D．good

19.

A．remembered

B．forgot

C．told

D．explained

20.

A．reliable

B．useless

C．easy

D．helpless

7 . Each year when the Spring Festival falls, my home becomes a garden. Because beautiful red flowers _________ on the windows of my home. In the cold winter, these wonderful flowers bring _________ to the whole family. Of course, these are not _________ flowers. They are made of _________ by my grandma, who is now aged 70. With a few simple cuts, she can _________ a piece of red paper into a variety of beautiful works of art. There is a story for her special _________

When my grandma was young, she was _________ clumsy in the village. But on a cold winter night, she saw some _________ red paper works on her new neighbor’s windows. She showed great _________ in them at that time. So she decided to __________ from her neighbor. As a green-hand, tons of paper was __________, and her fingers were cut many times. But she __________ practicing. It took 10 years __________ my grandma could make paper art skillfully. The red flowers, blooming like burning fire, light up her life and her world. Now, she is __________ by everyone in the village. And some of the young girls begin to learn this skill too.

How do you think of my grandma’s story? As for me, it has shown me that perseverance is what it takes to __________ one’s dream.

1.

A．disappear

B．grow

C．fade

D．bloom

2.

A．knowledge

B．fame

C．wealth

D．warmth

3.

A．beautiful

B．real

C．fake

D．cute

4.

A．paper

B．iron

C．wood

D．mud

5.

A．hide

B．spread

C．turn

D．add

6.

A．skill

B．culture

C．village

D．level

7.

A．treated

B．understood

C．made

D．considered

8.

A．ugly

B．beautiful

C．tiny

D．huge

9.

A．care

B．attention

C．interest

D．hatred

10.

A．cop

B．benefit

C．learn

D．borrow

11.

A．saved

B．wasted

C．collected

D．sold

12.

A．gave up

B．kept on

C．put off

D．carry on

13.

A．before

B．after

C．when

D．for

14.

A．respected

B．scolded

C．copied

D．discussed

15.

A．miss

B．forget

C．realize

D．hold

8 . 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。

When Sammy moved into her new house, she was excited to have a backyard where she could spend time outside. But when she went out to explore, she found that the yard was in such a mess. Weeds had taken over, and there were piles of trash and worn out toys everywhere.

At first, Sammy was discouraged. She had always dreamed of having a beautiful garden, but now it seemed like an impossible task. But then she remembered something her grandmother had told her: “With a little elbow grease and some determination, anything is possible.”

So Sammy set to work, She started by picking up all the trash and broken items, and then she began pulling weeds. It was hard work, and she got blisters (水疱) on her hands from holding the hoe (锄头) so tightly, but she persevered. As she worked, Sammy started to notice things around her that she hadn’t seen before. A bird’s nest tucked away in a corner, a patch of bright yellow flowers peeking through the grass. She felt a sense of pride as she worked knowing that with each weed she pulled, she was one step closer to her dream garden.

One afternoon, as she was digging in the dirt, Sammy unearthed a small object. It was shiny and smooth, and at first, she thought it was just a rock. But as she cleaned it off, she saw that it was a small statue of a fairy (小精灵).

Sammy was shocked. She had always loved stories about fairies and magical creatures, and finding this statue made her feel like she was part of a fairy tale herself. She put the statue on a rock in the middle of her garden, and suddenly everything looked different. The weeds and ruins weren’t just obstacles to overcome; they were challenges to be conquered on her path to creating a magical building.

注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

As the days passed, Sammy’s garden began to take shape.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A group of pretty fairies had gathered around her statue, dancing and singing in the moonlight.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . Jack discovered a time machine in a hidden laboratory and couldn’t _________ the urge to try it out. He traveled back in time to 1920 but soon realized that his _________ could have serious consequences. When he returned to the present day, everything was _________. His friends and family were no longer the same people he remembered, and the world as he knew had been _________ changed.

_________ to make things right, Jack traveled back in time once more and tried to fix his mistake. But each time he made a change, he discovered that it only made things worse. He began to realize that the very _________ of time travel was dangerous and _________.

Desperate to _________ the damage he had caused, Jack sought out the help of a scientist who _________ time travel. Together, they worked tirelessly to find a way to __________ the original timeline. __________ they discovered a solution: Jack had to go back to the __________ before he first used the time machine and stop himself from getting inside.

With a heavy heart, Jack traveled back to that __________ day and stopped himself from entering the time machine. __________, everything changed, Jack found himself back in the present day, surrounded by his friends and family. The world was as it should be, and he knew that he had made the right __________. From that day on, Jack swore never to mess with the timeline again. He realized that the past was best left untouched, and that the consequences of time travel were not to be taken lightly.

1.

A．obtain

B．spot

C．assess

D．resist

2.

A．presence

B．acknowledgement

C．remark

D．schedule

3.

A．objective

B．appropriate

C．different

D．artificial

4.

A．merely

B．respectively

C．completely

D．slightly

5.

A．Determined

B．Preferred

C．Managed

D．Agreed

6.

A．awareness

B．act

C．interest

D．information

7.

A．acceptable

B．available

C．unchangeable

D．unpredictable

8.

A．undo

B．accelerate

C．criticize

D．demonstrate

9.

A．turned down

B．specialized in

C．escaped from

D．dreamed of

10.

A．restore

B．inspect

C．skip

D．destroy

11.

A．Temporarily

B．Occasionally

C．Initially

D．Eventually

12.

A．building

B．moment

C．equipment

D．era

13.

A．typical

B．alternative

C．fateful

D．miserable

14.

A．In summary

B．In an instant

C．In general

D．In a hurry

15.

A．deal

B．conclusion

C．bet

D．decision

10 . 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。

Once there was a businessman who was engaged in leather business, but his business failed because of his poor management, which made him lack of confidence to continue to do his business. Even worse, he owed a lot of money to others and could see no way out.

Today, it was just Christmas Day, he should have dinner with his family, but he was walking alone in the park because of business failure in order that he could relieve his sense of failure. He sat on the park bench, wondering if anything could save his company. Suddenly one of his old friends appeared in front of him.

“Oh, dear, long time no see! Merry Christmas! You look so bad, aren’t you? You must be encountering some troubles,” his old friend asked in a worrying tone.

“Merry Christmas! Well, I just encountered a big failure in my business and owed a lot of money to others. I don’t know how to continue to do my business,” the businessman replied in a low voice.

After listening to his problem, to the businessman’s surprise, his old friend took out a check, passed it to him and said, “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.” Then he turned and disappeared.

The businessman with a big surprising expression on his face saw the check in his hand for $500? 000! The money was more than enough to save his business. However, he didn’t plan to use it, he decided to put the check in his safe.

With the check, he was full of confidence and planned to continue to do his business again. He worked hard day by day and slowly his business began to breathe. The businessman was making money once again.

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

One year later, the businessman decided to meet his old friend on Christmas Day.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

He realized it was his newfound confidence that changed his life.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________