1 . How adversity(逆境) makes you stronger

When faced with a crisis, we find it difficult to imagine the experience will eventually lead to some type of growth.     1     Research shows that past adversities can help you become more powerful in three ways.

    2     Post-unpleasant growth is the experience of positive change after going through a significantly stressful event. Researchers have discovered two common themes that people tend to report after experiencing a stressful event: spiritual growth and enhanced personal strength.

They build self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the confidence in your ability to overcome challenges and succeed. I once took part in a program with soldiers, where I should dance in front of hundreds of audience. When I danced, I had a panic attack and had to hang onto my colleague’s arm to make it through. What was odd was my brain’s reaction to the exercise. While it was a truly unpleasant experience, I survived.     3    

They help you treat stress as a challenge.     4     Some people view stress as a threat, while others are able to view it as a challenge. With a challenge response? you get additional energy and feel focused instead of being fearful.

    5     Your past struggles, even small ones during an adversity can help you step out of the trouble you’re faced with.

A．They help you find the good.

B．They can bring growth after sufferings.

C．People have a healthier physical response to stress.

D．If your world feels out of control right now, just stay relaxed.

E．The fact is that we can become stronger after a difficult situation.

F．How you think about stress matters extremely in terms of how you process it.

G．That made my brain think about what other tough challenges I could conquer.

2 . In one of my management classes I sit in the same seat in the front every day. Now, I also sit next to a _______ guy that barely speaks English. The most _______ thing I’ve heard this guy say in English is, “Wow, my muffin is really good.” This guy also has a habit of stacking (堆叠) every item he owns in the _______ space I sit.

Every single time I walk into class this guy says, “Ah, Tom. You are here.” And starts _______ clearing my desk of his _______. And gives me a high five. I was annoyed with this guy, “Dude, you know I sit here every day. Why are you always stacking your stuff here?”

But today I came to class and was _______ a few minutes late. As I were standing outside on my phone to send an emergency text, another guy who was also late, walked into the class before me and tried to take my seat _______ it was closest to the door. The guy sitting next to me stopped this dude and said, “I’m sorry. My good friend Tom sits here.”

It was then that I _______ this guy was actually saving me the seat every morning. And this whole time he saw me as a friend, but I was too busy thinking about myself to take him into _______. I was touched.

I ________ going into the class and of course, he cleared the seat and said: “Oh, Tom, you are here.” And I did get a high five. At the end of the class, I asked him if he wanted to go to get a(n) ____________ with me. We did. And we talked for a while. I ________ the broken English.

The guy moved here from the Middle East to ________ a college degree in America. He’s got two kids and a wife, working full time, sending all his leftover money back home. He said he misses his family but it’s ________ to be here. He also said, “Not every person is nice to me like you are, Tom.”

It’s my treat, of course. He deserves it. Never judge a book by its ________. It took me nearly the entire semester to realize this guy was just trying to be my friend.

1.

A．patient

B．rude

C．foreign

D．disrespectful

2.

A．advanced

B．surprising

C．fascinating

D．creative

3.

A．right

B．exact

C．abnormal

D．ideal

4.

A．unconcernedly

B．hurriedly

C．naturally

D．deliberately

5.

A．books

B．breakfast

C．goods

D．stuff

6.

A．walking

B．sending

C．running

D．losing

7.

A．since

B．although

C．so

D．yet

8.

A．satisfied

B．realized

C．feared

D．denied

9.

A．estimation

B．appreciation

C．discrimination

D．consideration

10.

A．ended up

B．gave up

C．broke up

D．rushed up

11.

A．opportunity

B．meeting

C．taste

D．bite

12.

A．got off

B．got through

C．got down

D．got in

13.

A．earn

B．acknowledge

C．realize

D．investigate

14.

A．disappointing

B．astonishing

C．frightening

D．exciting

15.

A．material

B．thickness

C．cover

D．content

3 . I was easily upset by the “bad things” before I met my secondary school English teacher Ms. Smith. I always believed bad luck hovering over me all the time. I seldom felt joy until that day when I helped Ms. Smith with her heavy documents to the office. She had got to know me and she told me a method to practise happiness.

If you are feeling that life just cannot be any worse for you, it can be challenging to think positive thoughts. When we are stressed, depressed, upset, or otherwise in a negative state of mind because we perceive that “bad things” keep happening to us, it is important to shift those negative thoughts to something positive. If we don’t, we will only attract more “bad things” .

Ms. Smith told me to say my practice out loud and with feeling! I started with one small, positive thing and repeated it during the course of my day, I began to move into a more positive situation: positive thoughts, feelings, opportunities. With practice, I found that over time, I changed my outlook and chose to be happy.

I began and ended each day with a “Thank you” for this wonderful, glorious day! When I saw the gas prices hiking, I said, “I am so glad that I am blessed to have a vehicle in which to get around. ” When I was late for work, I said, “I am so happy and grateful for my job as I know that many don’t have one. ”

The possibilities here are endless: insert what does work for you and feel good about it! The key is to move yourself into a positive thought and keep it there long enough to make it a moment of blissful peace. The more you practice, the happier you’ll be. I believe so, and have enjoyed my life ever since.

1. Which of the following words can describe the author before he met Ms. Smith?

A．Happy and joyful.	B．Positive and grateful.
C．Helpful but negative.	D．Normal but talkative.

2. What can you infer from Paragraph 2?

A．You will attract bad things if you think negatively.

B．Bad things keep happening to you when you are sad.

C．Feeling positive is challenging when you are stressed.

D．It is impossible to change positive thought when you are depressed.

3. According to the author, what should you say when you have health problems, like deaf?

A．Who is to blame?

B．I really do appreciate my eyes that see.

C．What a shame that I can’t hear the sound.

D．Everyone can listen to the beautiful music except me.

4. What is the most important thing to cheer you up?

A．Never give up.	B．Stick to your plan.
C．Pursue your dream.	D．Practise happiness

4 . It was mid-afternoon. I looked outside my dorm window, and saw the lifeless gray sky, the snow and the trackless sidewalks. There was no one in the snow but a squirrel. The brown-gray North American squirrel,a look of terror in his shining eyes, braved the cold to throw himself over snow. In his mouth was a large acorn(橡实)—I was surprised it fit in his mouth.

I moved closer to my window, outside of which is a medium-sized tree, lacking its warm-weather leaves. The squirrel ran up rapidly, higher and higher in the tree, and his small body held onto his dear acorn.

Up he went, to the tip of one of the highest branches. I held my breath—I wondered if that slender branch could support him. I wondered if his winter food store was in this tree—squirrels are known to hide their nuts, mushrooms, and vegetation high up in trees. Outside, the squirrel firmly grasped that branch, jaw clamping(夹紧)on his acorn.

Then came the wind blowing violently, shaking the tree, the branch and the squirrel. He hung on for dear life, and both arms wrapped around the branch in the wind. I held my breath: If he fell from a height like this, then.... Seeing this little squirrel, I had my heart in my mouth. As the wind became stronger, the squirrel’s precious acorn fell to the ground. The squirrel followed its downward progress only by sight—if he let go the branch, he would fall downwards as well. I was so nervous that I didn’t take my gaze off the squirrel for one minute. Surprisingly, he then climbed down the tree and was now half-buried in the snow, searching desperately for his acorn. Finally, he made it.

The brave animal is able to survive in nature all because of its desperate efforts.The same goes for us humans. We all work hard to survive, and this is the law of nature. So effort is not something special, but a matter for all living things to do to survive.

1. What did the author discover outside the window?

A．A squirrel was freezing nearly to death.

B．A squirrel was choked by a large acorn.

C．A squirrel was picking acorns from a tree.

D．A squirrel was climbing to the top of a tree.

2. What does the underlined word “slender” mean in paragraph 3?

A．Dead.

B．Straight.

C．Slim.

D．Thick.

3. What is the author’s attitude to the squirrel in paragraph 4?

A．Concerned.

B．Unfriendly.

C．Uncaring.

D．Curious.

4. What does the story intend to convey?

A．Stop struggling, life is stopped.

B．Facts speak louder than words.

C．Failure is the mother of success.

D．Teaching others teaches yourself.

5 . Did you hear about the rose that grew from the concrete? You know the one that shone in the middle of darkness and blossomed in times of misfortune?

It was December of 2000 and my dad had been in a coma (昏迷) for two weeks. Mom only had about $20 left because the rest of the money had been used to pay the hospital bills. She bought twenty bags of bananas with that money and sat on the roadside for eight hours until she sold them all. Since Mom had to sell bananas for a living, I had to stop going to school in order to take care of my four-year-old brother — at the time I was only in the third grade. I was too young to understand the whole situation. I was just glad that I didn’t have to go to school anymore so I could play soccer until mom came home at one in the morning.

A few weeks passed and I started expecting the nights when we would eat dinner together, as a family. Before this misfortune I had always complained about the food, but now I did not have any food and I had no one to complain to. For six months every day was the same: wake up in the morning, stomach hurting from hunger, ask the neighbors for food, feed my brother, play soccer until dark, and stare at the stars until mom got home. The day when dad left hospital was the first day when I came face to face with appreciation, although I was totally unaware of what the feeling was.

Now I’m eighteen years old and I believe that I’m the rose that learned how to grow from the crack in the concrete, the rose that blossomed in the dark when no one was around.

1. What troubled the author’s family?

A．Money was tight for them.	B．They had to live on bananas.
C．The children always complained.	D．They couldn’t afford his education.

2. Which was the experience the author had in that six months?

A．He was going hungry.	B．He faced his father’s death.
C．He helped mom sell bananas.	D．He played soccer with his brother.

3. What does the author intend to tell us through the text?

A．Misfortune makes people grow.

B．People should be helpful in hard times.

C．Society is the best school for young people.

D．Young people should be independent earlier.

4. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．A hard childhood	B．My hard-working mother
C．Life is like the cold concrete	D．Rose that grew from the concrete

6 . We all dream of reaching a certain success someday. Because of this we all are afraid of the very same thing- failure. But we should understand that we all have to experience some sort of failure in our lives. It is part of growing up and it is part of life itself. Failure doesn't have to always be seen as something negative. When you get to see failure in a different perspective, you will see that it has the power to help you get to your goal.

Don't be so hard on yourself whenever you make a mistake or fail a task. Everyone makes mistakes. Whenever you face one failure, remember to accept your fault and do something to make things right. Whenever you fail something, you just have to get up and keep trying. You will get to your goal eventually.

Every mistake is a lesson you have to learn from. As the saying goes, “If you do something wrong for the first time, it is a mistake. But if it happens again, then it becomes a choice.” Your mistakes and failure make you wiser.

You should be smart enough to know and avoid the causes that lead you to them once more. No dream or goal is ever easy. With every great success, there are some failures along the way that lead to something great. Don't give up and don't be afraid to make mistakes. It is all part of the game of life.

Life is not a bed of roses. The journey to success will have its ups and downs and have its share of joy and suffering. You will encounter failure once in a while. But pain is part of the learning process. Failures and mistakes are experiences that will make you wiser and stronger as you climb the ladder of success.

1. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To encourage people to think about failure positively.

B．To emphasize the importance of self-confidence.

C．To explain some meanings of achieving success.

D．To discuss the relation between failure and success.

2. What can we know from Paragraph 2?

A．Everyone should pay for their mistakes.	B．Failure makes success more meaningful.
C．Mistakes can bring people great benefits.	D．It's common to make mistakes in daily life.

3. What does the author think of people who make the same mistakes again?

A．They are complete losers.	B．They are not good learners.
C．They should not be forgiven.	D．They need sympathy and support.

4. What does the underlined word “encounter” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A．Expect.

B．Avoid.

C．Experience.

D．Appreciate.

7 . We are in the middle of December now, and for many weeks we haven’t even seen a glimpse of the sun. It’s been hidden under a thick layer of clouds. And December is a very dark time of the year even if it’s a clear sky, since we only can see the sun for about an hour above the treetops before it goes back down.

But in some way I really love this time. I love the extremes. The very dark December, and the very light June. The midnight sun and the polar night. It’s so special and magical in some way.

But today, we finally saw the light from the sun again. It was still behind clouds but it was so beautiful to just see the light and the beautiful colors in the sky. That really made my day! I flew up with my drone (无人机) so that I could take a photo of it.

It’s only in the contrasts that we can really appreciate life. We need the darkness to see the light. We need the cold to feel the warmth. We need to put ourselves in discomfort to appreciate the comfort. And every year this time I get the same deep feelings of gratitude for the light and the sun. It’s ok to live in darkness for a long time each year just to get this feeling when standing in the window and suddenly feel a little ray of sunlight hitting your face. It’s like being flushed with a wave of love. It’s like I wanna cry every time.

Our cat Nayeli must have also felt very happy about the little sunlight we got today, since she sat in the window looking out for a long time while the sun was visible.

I took the photo of my beautiful home and my village today. And I always love to see Grundtjärn from far away. It really gives you an idea of how far away we live from towns, cities and streetlights. All you can see is forest everywhere.

1. What can make the author excited for a day?

A．Taking a photo.	B．Feeling the warmth.
C．Experiencing a polar night.	D．Seeing the sunlight and beautiful clouds.

2. What does the author learn from the change of light?

A．The appreciation of light.	B．A fear of sunless days.
C．The grateful attitude.	D．The hate of darkness.

3. Which of the following best describes the life the author presents in the text?

A．Depressing.

B．Peaceful.

C．Colorful.

D．Tireless.

4. Where can the text be found?

A．In a blog.	B．In a science journal.
C．In an advertisement.	D．In a guidebook.

8 . Over the last few weeks, I have been back and forth to the hospital and working with my doctors and medical technicians. I feel very _________ and appreciative of all the great minds and effort involved in _________ my illness. I found I have become _________ grateful to those human beings who invented the many medical _________ that have saved so many lives and _________ so much pain.

With everything I _________, I couldn’t help thinking about many life-changing _________ that we humans have come up with, from the fairly simple stethoscope (听诊器) to more _________ inventions like X-rays, and other great devices. Of course, one of the biggest, most basic inventions was the _________. It changed the world in all kinds of ways. Without wheels, we’d have no __________, such as bikes, cars, trains, or airplanes.

__________many inventions human beings have invented through the ages, I __________ some very popular inventions. It is __________ to imagine what if we live without them. These __________ things like tape, nails, Post-it notes, DNA testing, the Internet, vaccines, and medical imaging.

Some inventions were accidental __________ but many were matter of simply trying to solve a problem. If we pay attention to what we experience and really put our __________ to it, there is no reason why we couldn’t come up with some new inventions ourselves. Maybe make a list of __________ items, systems, and habits we all have, and then go up and down the list and see if we can put two or three items together in a way to come up with a new __________ or better way to handle life and the __________ in it. Give it a try and see what we can come up with, We could __________ ourselves, and others as well!

1.

A．regretful

B．grateful

C．severe

D．pure

2.

A．ignoring

B．concerning

C．curing

D．swapping

3.

A．painfully

B．specially

C．frequently

D．particularly

4.

A．devices

B．antiques

C．curtains

D．manuals

5.

A．gathered

B．threatened

C．relieved

D．detected

6.

A．suffered from

B．set down

C．packed up

D．went through

7.

A．inventions

B．shadows

C．editions

D．proofs

8.

A．pure

B．complex

C．adorable

D．contradictory

9.

A．wheel

B．train

C．airplane

D．car

10.

A．structures

B．labels

C．vehicles

D．assumptions

11.

A．Drafting

B．Reviewing

C．Adapting

D．Seizing

12.

A．switched

B．pirated

C．leaked

D．found

13.

A．hard

B．steady

C．funny

D．safe

14.

A．mean

B．expand

C．include

D．indicate

15.

A．discoveries

B．statistics

C．patents

D．observations

16.

A．principles

B．policies

C．minds

D．effects

17.

A．distinct

B．strange

C．legal

D．common

18.

A．current

B．product

C．powder

D．criterion

19.

A．challenges

B．directions

C．privacies

D．conclusions

20.

A．puzzle

B．frighten

C．annoy

D．surprise

9 . What Is Your Money Attitude?

Your money attitude is often the reason why you spend too much, are in debt or fear your finances.     1    . Changing your financial outlook begins with your money attitude. There are three different money attitudes with which you may identify.

ADORING

If you adore money, it means you love to spend it. In many cases, you buy things (often on credit) just because you enjoy shopping.     2    . You look at the credit card bill and focus only on the minimum payment.

Simply put, you love to spend money. That’s it.

AVOIDANCE

If you feel you don’t deserve money, then this money attitude is yours. It isn’t even just a feeling of not deserving money.     3    . You don’t handle it well.

Avoidance is one of the most difficult attitudes to change. That doesn’t mean it is impossible. It means that you may have to work a bit harder to make it happen.

CAUTIOUS

    4    . Some may call you economic. Others may call you a miser. Whatever the name, you need to learn to let go once in a while.

This cautious person refuses to spend money. They are afraid to let it go and fear that it will be gone, never to return. When you are overly cautious with money, you risk opportunities.

Now that you know which attitude you have, now is the time to make changes. It is something only you can do.     5    

A．No one can do it for you

B．You might be careful with your money

C．You must understand your money attitude

D．But, that doesn’t mean you can’t make a change

E．You don’t worry about the fact that you must pay for it later

F．They will help you make changes to take control of your money

G．You may also feel anxious or stressed at the mere thought of money

10 . Once upon a time, my job was in a mess. I was always inviting family and friends to listen to my_________. You can imagine how popular I was.

About that time, something I considered _________ happened. I _________ a program to the local club in Spanish. My minister was in the audience that night. _________ the program, he came up to me and said, “Linda, I didn’t know you could speak _________. You know our church sends a medical and construction team to Bolivia every _________.We’ve never had anyone who could _________ even a few sentences of Spanish. I’d like you to think about going with us this year.” I knew the trip was _________. But, to be polite, I told him I’d think about it.

At 8:15 the next morning, my minister was sitting in my office. He told me the plans and said: “We will float on a river on a boat, walk _________ the job sites and sleep on straw mats (草席). It will be ______________, and I know you’ll enjoy it!”

The idea my minister had ______________ began to grow. I thought, “I’ll go on this ______________ so I can put some time and distance between me and my job. Maybe it will help me decide what to do.”

I did make it. I surprised myself and ______________ my family. I loved the experience!

On the trip, we ______________ all the adventures my ______________ had promised and more. I worked with people who were ______________ poor. Their happiness puzzled and ______________ me. I asked myself, “what’s wrong with you?” The truth was ugly. I was all about status, money and show. My priorities (优先秩序) were ______________.

After returning from Bolivia, I didn’t have ______________ full-time job for two years. I realized that ______________ is only a thing. People — family, friends and relationships — are more important than things. I learned that for me, a simple life is best.

1.

A．pleasure

B．complaints

C．words

D．stories

2.

A．important

B．happy

C．unimportant

D．interesting

3.

A．sang

B．sent

C．presented

D．practiced

4.

A．After

B．Before

C．Since

D．During

5.

A．Spain

B．English

C．Chinese

D．Spanish

6.

A．year

B．month

C．week

D．quarter

7.

A．tell

B．speak

C．talk

D．say

8.

A．unpleasant

B．wonderful

C．smooth

D．rough

9.

A．to and from

B．on

C．through

D．across

10.

A．boring

B．exciting

C．dangerous

D．satisfied

11.

A．opposed

B．offered

C．planted

D．designed

12.

A．program

B．plot

C．flight

D．trip

13.

A．amazed

B．shocked

C．enjoyed

D．frightened

14.

A．forgot

B．experienced

C．remembered

D．cherished

15.

A．minister

B．family

C．friend

D．teacher

16.

A．unfriendly

B．probably

C．lightly

D．extremely

17.

A．understood

B．confused

C．awakened

D．inspired

18.

A．side by side

B．inside out

C．upside down

D．hand by hand

19.

A．others

B．other

C．another

D．one

20.

A．knowledge

B．friendship

C．job

D．money