1 . “Be proud of what you do,” my father always told me, “whether you are a boss or a cleaner.” When I was 15, I got a summer job in a hospital. I was told that my duties would include sweeping floors. I smiled and remembered Dad's words. Even though my job was the lowest, it made me feel excited. I saw it as a challenge because it was my first job. I learned to be on time and tried to do everything well. In return, I was treated with respect by doctors, nurses and patients. Each morning I imagined that the dirty dishes would make patients more sick if I were not there to wash them clean. After breakfast was done, I started sweeping the floors of all patient rooms and cleaning the toilets. Though I was tired, I wanted the job to be done well. Hearing people say “That young boy really does a good job”, I was filled with pride.
Working in the hospital taught me that being proud of one's job is important. It does not matter whether the job is sweeping floors or managing a large business. Through every job I have ever had, my father's words have always stayed with me. I was a good cleaner, and now I'm a good manager. I think Dad would be proud of me all the time.
1. The writer's first job was a ________.| A．boss | B．manager |
| C．cleaner | D．doctor |
| A．Washing dishes. | B．Looking after patients. |
| C．Cleaning toilets. | D．Sweeping the floor. |
| A．worked hard | B．wasn't tired |
| C．made the patients sick | D．did everything |
| A．the writer's father always stayed with him |
| B．the father didn't like the writer's first job |
| C．the writer wasn't proud of his first job |
| D．the father's words encouraged the writer to do everything well |
2 . Wimbledon tournament was going on. Though I am not a great follower of the game. I decided to
As the match began, there were loud
By the second set, it had become
My uncle was visiting us that evening. As he saw all this, he said, “Look at all these envious people. They are so happy that an accomplished person is getting
My dad saw all this. Before going to sleep, he kept his hand on my shoulder and
| A．look | B．play | C．watch | D．show |
| A．opponent | B．friend | C．teammate | D．roommate |
| A．person | B．reminder | C．name | D．thought |
| A．voices | B．cheers | C．feelings | D．songs |
| A．went on | B．called on | C．kicked off | D．set off |
| A．audience | B．player | C．listener | D．visitor |
| A．doubtful | B．meaningful | C．wonderful | D．obvious |
| A．unfortunately | B．effortlessly | C．fruitlessly | D．basically |
| A．stricken | B．knocked | C．beaten | D．worried |
| A．Pressure | B．Sadness | C．Excitement | D．Pleasure |
| A．glad | B．relaxed | C．strange | D．guilty |
| A．match | B．training | C．test | D．struggle |
| A．laughed | B．joked | C．whispered | D．warned |
| A．competing | B．improving | C．realizing | D．falling |
| A．benefit | B．hope | C．freedom | D．fun |
3 . Sitting in my school cafeteria, I looked around, slowly taking in everything. Student after student passed my
Catching the eye of a girl in my grade sitting at a nearby table, I waved
I have an incurable lung disease. No one at our school knows—I don’t show any noticeable
Before that day when I decided to
| A．order | B．room | C．table | D．cafeteria |
| A．imagine | B．compare | C．observe | D．exchange |
| A．uniform | B．rules | C．circumstances | D．surface |
| A．politely | B．wildly | C．coldly | D．impatiently |
| A．found | B．noticed | C．heard | D．decided |
| A．remembered | B．suspected | C．predicted | D．regretted |
| A．willing | B．outstanding | C．understanding | D．demanding |
| A．escaped | B．satisfied | C．hit | D．attracted |
| A．diseases | B．symptoms | C．complaints | D．weaknesses |
| A．but | B．and | C．or | D．so |
| A．bright | B．real | C．serious | D．dark |
| A．tolerate | B．create | C．change | D．view |
| A．forgave | B．pitied | C．challenged | D．encouraged |
| A．debt | B．reward | C．burden | D．schedule |
| A．changeable | B．perfect | C．unique | D．different |
4 . While I was growing up, I often heard my teachers say, “Oh, Tina is gifted in algebra.” While watching the Olympics, my parents would say, “These gymnasts are born with such ability.” Statements like these made me believe people were born with certain talents and if they didn't have a particular one at birth, then they never would. Therefore, I rarely focused on algebra. Nobody told me that if you keep trying and trying, one day a difficult task will seem easy.
Actually, I learnt this from my young daughter, Samaya. One day, I was finishing some paperwork and I said, “Oh no, how could I have made that mistake!” Samaya instantly said, “Mum, don't worry. Mistakes make your brain grow bigger.”
Actually, we all need to be reminded that mistakes or failures are just fine and that they are a huge part of growth and success. However, the regular belief is the opposite. We must correct this with our children. We must encourage them to make mistakes because that means they are trying out new ideas.
Billionaire Sara Blakely, founder of the shapewear business Spanx, has seen many failures. She made a living by selling fax machines for seven years. Knocking on many doors and making a lot of mistakes was a journey she calls educational. Sara Blakely owes her risk-taking skills to the weekend talk she had with her father.
As a child, her father would ask her the same question every weekend. "What did you fail at this week, Sara?" He did not care how high her scores were. He wanted to know what she had tried but failed at. When she told him about her failures and mistakes, he would give her a high five. He was reprogramming her mind to believe that mistakes and failures are fine.
So go ahead and ask yourself and your children, “What did we fail at this week?”
1. What discouraged the author from efforts in algebra?| A．She wasn't interested in it. | B．She thought she was not gifted. |
| C．She thought it was useless. | D．She was not allowed to learn it. |
| A．Keep trying is necessary. | B．Failure is a path to success. |
| C．Mistakes are not acceptable. | D．Encouragement is significant. |
| A．To rebuild her mindset. | B．To keep her from failures. |
| C．To know what she hadn't tried. | D．To prevent her getting high scores. |
| A．A Secret to Success | B．A Method of Education |
| C．The Magic of Mistakes | D．The Power of a Fixed Mindset |
5 . Our bachelor uncle lived with us, who loved hunting and fishing; and it was one of the pleasures of our young life to go fishing with him.
I remember my first fishing experience as if it happened yesterday. I was very excited when I received that first fishing pole from my uncle's hand, and went fishing with him. It was a still, sweet day of early summer; the leaves seemed greener, the flowers brighter, the birds merrier, than ever before.
My uncle considerately placed me at the most favorable point. I threw out my line as I had so often seen others, and waited anxiously for a bite, moving the bait (鱼饵) in rapid movement on the surface of the water just like the jumps of a frog. Nothing came of it. "Try again," said my uncle. Suddenly the bait sank out of sight. "Now for it," thought I, "here is a fish at last."
I made a strong pull, and brought up a tangle of weeds. Again and again I cast out my line with aching arms, and drew it back empty. "Try once more," he said, "we fishermen must have patience to catch a fish." "But remember, boy," he said, with his big smile, "never say you've caught a fish until it is on dry ground. It's no use showing off anything until it's done."
How often since I have been reminded of the fish that I did not catch! When I hear people boasting of a work as yet undone, I will remember the wise caution of my uncle in that particular instance takes the form of a proverb of universal application: "NEVER BOAST (吹嘘) OF YOUR FISH BEFORE YOU CATCH HIM."
1. From the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2, we can infer that_____________.| A．the leaves and the flowers were not so beautiful before. |
| B．the birds ate lots of fish and felt far merrier than before. |
| C．that day the author was much happier than ever before. |
| D．that day the uncle was much happier than ever before. |
| A．Don't count your chickens before they're hatched. |
| B．Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. |
| C．One false step will make a great difference. |
| D．True friends have hearts that beat as one. |
| A．Strong and brave. | B．Wise and patient. |
| C．Patient and strong. | D．Lazy and talkative. |
| A．A sweet day of summer | B．My first fishing pole |
| C．The way to catch a fish | D．The fish I didn’t catch |
6 . My father and several volunteers from the church gathered every day in the park to feed the hungry. I really didn’t understand why my father bothered to do it.
One Saturday I couldn’t wait for him to leave. However, it didn’t take long for my plans to change and my happiness to dissolve.
“I’m going to need your help today. Some of the others that usually help me won’t be able to make it.”
“Dad, I can’t today,” I complained. “I have plans, television, friends, shopping, and I was maybe going to go to the pool.”
I murmured, “It’s not like I have a life.” My voice was so low that he didn’t hear what I said.
This was going to be the worst day ever. My dad always drove the church van, which also contained clothes and small bags filled with personal items such as combs, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
When we arrived at the park, people were already gathered under a tree waiting for us. I couldn’t believe how many people were there, and all of them were homeless. I was surprised to learn my dad knew most of them by name. He also seemed to know what each one needed and what they had suffered to land them on the street. One old man called Adonis told me if it hadn’t been for my father he didn’t think he would have found Jesus.
When everyone was gone, we loaded things back into the van. Now I understood why my father did so much to help the homeless. I could tell he loved seeing their smiles of happiness. I did too.
That day with my dad taught me that there will always be someone smarter, prettier, or richer than me, and there will also always be someone less fortunate. The difference is in the individual willing to take the opportunity to help others, even if it means sacrificing something of their own.
1. What did the author expect of his initial Saturday?| A．It was occupied with his homework. |
| B．It was a whole Saturday by himself. |
| C．It was a great day to do volunteer work. |
| D．It was a good chance to help his father. |
| A．Regretted. | B．Screamed. | C．Whispered. | D．Maddened. |
| A．Sympathetic. | B．Appreciative. |
| C．Ashamed. | D．Pitiful. |
| A．Finding My Light | B．Following My Heart |
| C．Showing Sympathy | D．Feeding the Soul |
7 . At thirteen, I was diagnosed (诊断) with kind of attention disorder. It made school difficult for me. When everyone else in the class was focusing on tasks, I could not.
In my first literature class, Mrs. Smith asked us to read a story and then write on it, all within 45 minutes. I raised my hand right away and said, “Mrs. Smith, you see, the doctor said I have attention problems. I might not be able to do it.”
She glanced down at me through her glasses, “You are not different from your classmates, young man.” I tried, but I didn’t finish the reading when the bell rang. I had to take it home.
In the quietness of my bedroom, the story suddenly all became clear to me. It was about a blind person, Louis Braile. He lived in a time when the blind couldn’t get much education. But Louis didn’t give up. Instead, he invented a reading system of raised dots (点), which opened up a whole new world of knowledge to the blind.
Wasn’t I the “blind” in my class, being made to learn like the “sighted” students? My thoughts spilled out and my pen started to dance. I completed the task within 40 minutes. Indeed, I was not different from others; I just needed a quieter place. If Louis could find his way out of his problem, why should I ever give up?
I didn’t expect anything when I handed in my paper to Mrs. Smith, so it was quite a surprise when it came back to me the next day — with an “A” on it. At the bottom of the paper were these words, “See what you can do when you keep trying?”
1. What problem did the author meet when he was in class?| A．He didn’t like the teacher. | B．He was not fond of literature. |
| C．The classroom was too noisy. | D．He couldn’t focus his attention in class. |
| A．He managed to cure his blindness. |
| B．He got a good education at school. |
| C．He made an invention which helped the blind. |
| D．He couldn’t see and read for the whole life. |
| A．She encouraged him. | B．She looked down on him. |
| C．She sympathized (同情) him. | D．She was angry with him. |
| A．How to be a great teacher. | B．Keep trying, and you can do it. |
| C．What should you do as a blind. | D．Ways to overcome attention disorder. |
8 . Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter
The first day the woodcutter brought 18 trees, which he all had
“When was the last time you
Our
There's nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But we all need to spare some time to relax, to think and meditate. to learn and
| A．called | B．paid | C．hunted | D．waited |
| A．health | B．work | C．nature | D．environment |
| A．determined | B．attracted | C．adapted | D．supposed |
| A．put away | B．cut down | C．brought back | D．cut up |
| A．surprised | B．frightened | C．inspired | D．puzzled |
| A．stronger | B．faster | C．cleverer | D．harder |
| A．heart | B．strength | C．way | D．function |
| A．thanks | B．goodbye | C．sorry | D．nothing |
| A．repaired | B．sharpened | C．cleaned | D．used |
| A．lives | B．dreams | C．hobbies | D．jobs |
| A．waste | B．take | C．make | D．kill |
| A．positive | B．anxious | C．Active | D．happy |
| A．look | B．feel | C．stay | D．turn |
| A．grow | B．perform | C．compete | D．apply |
| A．interest | B．activeness | C．attractiveness | D．effectiveness |
9 . You run into the grocery store to pick up one bottle of water. You get what you need, head to the front, and choose the line that looks fastest.
You chose wrong. People who you swear got in other lines long after you are already checked out and off to the parking lot.
It turns out, it’s just math working against you; chances are, the other line really is faster.
Grocery stores try to have enough employees at checkout to get all their customers through with minimum delay.
If there are three lines in the store, delays will happen randomly at different registers. Think about the probability:
Researchers have a good way to deal with this problem. Make all customers stand in one long, snaking line- called a serpentine line-and serve each person at the front with the next available register.
| A．Why does this always seem to happen to you? |
| B．So why don’t most places encourage serpentine lines? |
| C．Some of the may have stood in a queue for almost an hour. |
| D．The chances of your line being the fastest are only one in three. |
| E．How high is the probability that you are in the fastest waiting line? |
| F．With three registers, this method is much faster than the traditional approach. |
| G．But sometimes, as on a Sunday afternoon, the system gets particularly busy. |
10 . As a young child, I lacked confidence, mainly because of my foot defect (缺陷). I was
My
I came to
This experience changed my view (态度，见解) on life. Life is to give everyone a
| A．curious | B．puzzled | C．amused | D．uncomfortable |
| A．duty | B．change | C．effect | D．trouble |
| A．before | B．until | C．because | D．when |
| A．awful | B．strange | C．interesting | D．new |
| A．satisfied | B．survived | C．developed | D．received |
| A．need | B．pain | C．advance | D．danger |
| A．wake | B．live | C．stay | D．understand |
| A．lucky | B．disappointed | C．dull | D．talented |
| A．research | B．realize | C．explore | D．demand |
| A．helpful | B．lively | C．friendly | D．lonely |
| A．stared | B．pointed | C．smiled | D．laughed |
| A．hunting | B．making | C．treating | D．spreading |
| A．followed | B．cleared | C．grew | D．held |
| A．challenge | B．favor | C．test | D．threat |
| A．replace | B．accept | C．resist | D．reward |
