1 . There was once a modest village nestled in the heart of the mountains. The villagers lived a simple life, relying on the land for their _______ and being close-knit with one another. However, their peaceful existence was soon _______ when a terrible drought struck the region.

With each passing day, the villagers grew more _______. The once verdant fields transformed into desolate lands, and the formerly sparkling river rushed _______ in the absence of rain, it no longer has the crisp, clattering sound of the past. The village elder called for a meeting to discuss _______ they should do. After great deliberation, they came up with a plan.

They made the decision to _______ each and every able-bodied villager to undertake a journey in search of a mythical treasure that is concealed deep within the mountains. Legends say that this treasure possessed the power to _______ rain and break the drought. And this treasure has never been found. With hopeful hearts, the villagers set off into the unknown.

The journey was _______, with treacherous paths and dangerous obstacles. Along the way, they encountered fierce storms and soaring temperatures that tested their resolve. Yet, they remained _______ and persevered through the hardships.

After days of tireless searching, they finally ________ the hidden treasure in a hidden cave. As they cautiously approached, they realized that their discovery held no material wealth but instead presented a daunting enigma — an intricate and ________ inscription etched into the wall. Its mysterious symbols seemed to taunt them, beckoning them to uncover the secrets they fiercely guarded. It read, “The real treasure lies in the unity and resilience of everyone.”

The villagers were ________. They realized that the journey itself was the treasure they sought. Through their unity and determination, they had ________courage and hope in the face of adversity. Encouraged by this newfound ________, they returned to the village and worked together to overcome the drought, relying on their collective strength.

From that day forward, the villagers cherished their unity and ________their bond, never forgetting the true treasure they had discovered.

1.

A．entertainment

B．survival

C．education

D．advancement

2.

A．embraced

B．enriched

C．maintained

D．disturbed

3.

A．excited

B．fearful

C．frustrated

D．satisfied

4.

A．silently

B．relentlessly

C．turbulently

D．effortlessly

5.

A．when

B．why

C．what

D．where

6.

A．encourage

B．force

C．convince

D．allow

7.

A．summon

B．forecast

C．attract

D．gather

8.

A．pleasant

B．perilous

C．simple

D．predictable

9.

A．focused

B．puzzled

C．discouraged

D．determined

10.

A．uncovered

B．lost

C．pursued

D．discovered

11.

A．cryptic

B．vibrant

C．significant

D．lucrative

12.

A．bewildered

B．terrified

C．overjoyed

D．indifferent

13.

A．abandoned

B．doubted

C．gained

D．lacked

14.

A．insight

B．inspiration

C．rivalry

D．favoritism

15.

A．cherished

B．underestimated

C．neglected

D．weakened

2 . Patience is something that many of us struggle with. I know that I am certainly one who has a hard time dealing with delays. After all, we live in a world of instant satisfaction and overnight shipping. We can have anything that we want delivered to our doorstep right away. We can pick from a variety of entertainment options at any given moment.    1    

The truth of the matter is, however, that anything good rarely happens quickly.    2     You have to develop your patience over time by taking real action. This applies to a number of things: launching a business, waiting to go to an event, or striving to achieve your personal goals.

Here are a few tips to help you become more patient:

Make yourself wait on things. This can include eating, purchasing items, or taking any sort of action.    3     It will help you increase your current patience levels and become less anxious moving forward. Try it.

    4     Sometimes pause actually means there is hope. Perhaps you’ll meet a lot of wonderful people while waiting in line, or you will find that something put off is actually better in the future.

Understand that life is full of delays.    5     If there were delays, we would all have to accept. Ups and downs are what build character, and often, the longer we wait, the more we enjoy it. So wait it out with the best of them.

A．It usually takes a lot of work and a long wait.

B．The more patient you are, the luckier you become.

C．Teach yourself to look on the bright side of delays.

D．There is no one straight path to happiness or success.

E．Being patient is a must if you want to achieve success.

F．As a result, being patient has become increasingly difficult for most of us.

G．Work to overcome whatever makes you anxious and force yourself to wait.

3 . It has been an unwritten rule that those who become 30 years old must have already been in a stable (稳定的) place. _________, they might be considered a failure.

I am turning 30 tomorrow and I ask myself, “Should I _________ this deadline?” I am still renting an apartment, and living alone. This seems far from _________ for most, but it looks nice to me.

When I graduated years ago, I _________ worked as a journalist because I had been dreaming of writing stories for the _________ since childhood, and I thought I would stick to it forever. But as time flies, I realize that it will be unwise to _________ myself to just one path. Therefore, I decide to start my another pursuit—studying law.

Was I _________ before? No. I have learned that there is no single formula (公式) for _________ and happiness. Our lives are filled with _________ possibilities. While I really love my current career, I have also been interested in being a __________. So why should I __________ the dream to the end just because I am 30 already?

Turning 30 can also be a chance to do whatever you like. You needn’t care about how others will __________ your decisions. The most important part is that you are just being yourself and __________ it. Turning 30 is just like any other birthday. Stop feeling __________ about your age and try to __________ all the opportunities and surprises that life throws on your way.

1.

A．Moreover

B．However

C．Therefore

D．Otherwise

2.

A．fear

B．approach

C．determine

D．miss

3.

A．common

B．active

C．satisfactory

D．stressful

4.

A．strangely

B．immediately

C．previously

D．magically

5.

A．public

B．villager

C．customer

D．foreigner

6.

A．turn

B．compare

C．limit

D．confirm

7.

A．impressed

B．wrong

C．powerful

D．cheerful

8.

A．freedom

B．independence

C．existence

D．success

9.

A．obvious

B．reasonable

C．endless

D．practical

10.

A．lawyer

B．teacher

C．writer

D．journalist

11.

A．look for

B．think about

C．make up for

D．hold on to

12.

A．ignore

B．judge

C．recognize

D．respect

13.

A．observing

B．stressing

C．doubting

D．enjoying

14.

A．anxious

B．content

C．comfortable

D．exciting

15.

A．assume

B．accept

C．leave

D．ignore

4 . I started playing the piano when I was around four years old—that was 15 years ago!—and since then, the longest I haven’t touched piano keys was probably two months. This was an enormous amount of devotion to something that I wasn’t even planning to make money off of—so there must have been something worth holding on to, right?

The easy guess is that I was always so purely in love with music and piano that I couldn’t bear to let them go. However, it’s a bit more complicated than that. I struggled a lot with piano. I felt pressure to improve, innovate, and be the best in order to prove something to others. The seed of my musical interest was grown with competition and doubt.

It’s difficult to learn to love something that you didn’t choose in the first place. But somehow, sometime, love grew. And by high school, it was strong enough that I found the strength to hold on tighter, dig further, and find something of my own to grow. In a way, I had to start over.

And so, I took a pause. I switched teachers, and got incredibly lucky with one who encouraged me and helped me tunnel into what I loved, not what I was told I should learn. Anything I had was good enough to be loved.

This summer, I started learning the guitar. I deliberately wanted to learn on my own—this was just for me, to form a new relationship to music. Even though my guitar skills are miles lower than my piano skills, I feel I can express myself even more wholly through strings than keys. There’s just something about doing it all for myself that has helped me heal the damages to my relationship to music.

The love and hate I’ve had for the piano were both planted and grown. If you too have learned to hate something you once loved—or something you never chose—remember that with dedication, it can be uprooted, and love can make a home in its place. There is always time. There is always room.

1. What can we learn about the author’s experience from Paragraph 1?

A．He probably spent two months in playing the piano.

B．He began to play the piano when he was 15 years old.

C．He thought it necessary to start playing the piano early.

D．He committed himself to the piano not for financial factors.

2. Which of the following words best describes the author’s relationship with the piano?

A．Bittersweet.

B．Harmonious.

C．Painful.

D．Passive.

3. What inspired the author to learn the guitar?

A．His teacher’s constant encouragement.	B．His desire for a new relationship with music.
C．His interest in strings rather than keys.	D．His talent for playing musical instruments.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Practice makes perfect	B．Love cannot be forced
C．Love is a thing that grows	D．There is no end to learning

5 . Tackling behavioral problems at school is not easy, but Dr. Terrance Newton is doing that with a _________ effective solution.

In his first year as principal of Warner Elementary School, Newton has already seen a _________ change in his at-risk students. All it took was a few quality _________ and a pair of clippers.

Newton saw the _________ as soon as he started at the school. Bullying was _________ and students were constantly being _________. He believed the best way to solve this was to build positive relationships with students. So, he _________ to set up a barbershop at school. Having cut hair before, Newton _________ the barbershop could be a safe space for students to _________. And he was right- not only has he bonded with former __________, but suspensions have dropped from 103 to 4 in the last year! Even better, bullying has all but stopped.

Kamisha Collins has seen the __________ in her 11-year-old son, Brandon Ponzo. “In the beginning of the school year, my son started off really __________ and was not getting along with Dr. Newton, but now they have built this __________-he loves him very much,” Collins said.“Dr. Newton says positive things to them while cutting their hair. And my son’s behavior and grades have improved so much.”

What a brilliant idea not to mention a __________ leader! A little love and care can make a big impact on __________ kids.

1.

A．suddenly

B．similarly

C．surprisingly

D．hardly

2.

A．great

B．slight

C．harmful

D．risky

3.

A．haircuts

B．conversations

C．performances

D．services

4.

A．fear

B．problem

C．project

D．reason

5.

A．out of place

B．under control.

C．under discussion

D．out of hand

6.

A．suspended

B．criticized

C．praised

D．protected

7.

A．decided

B．preferred

C．learned

D．afforded

8.

A．promised

B．admitted

C．rejected

D．figured

9.

A．calm down

B．open up

C．show up

D．break down

10.

A．classmates

B．colleagues

C．housekeepers

D．troublemakers

11.

A．increase

B．encouragement

C．difference

D．difficulty

12.

A．rough

B．pleasant

C．easy

D．mild

13.

A．barrier

B．barbershop

C．reputation

D．bond

14.

A．strict

B．brave

C．fantastic

D．modest

15.

A．appealing

B．disappointing

C．struggling

D．lying

6 . 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。

One day a man named Steve Gowan was fishing in the Thames Estuary in Britain. By the end of the day, besides fishes and sea weeds, he fished a message bottle. He opened it carefully and inside the bottle was a brief loving letter from a British soldier named Hughes to his wife:

Dear Wife, I am writing this note on this boat and dropping it into the sea just to see if it will reach you. If it does, sign this envelope on the right hand bottom corner where it says receipt. Put the date and hour of receipt and your name where it says signature and look after it well.

Ta-ta sweet, for the present. Your Hubby

Also attached was a covering note intended for the finder of the bottle:

Sir or madam, would you kindly forward the enclosed letter and earn the blessing of a poor British soldier on his way to the front this ninth day of September, 1914. Signed Private T. Hughes.

Actually, as Hughes crossed the English Channel from Southampton to St. Nazaire on 9 September, 1914, at 7:52 p.m., he dropped a message in a green beer bottle over the side of the ship and he died two days later in the war.

85 years later, the bottle was finally caught by Steve Gowan, the fisherman. Steve Gowan examined the letter carefully. It had the soldier’s name and army number, so he supposed that the message should be real. But how could he deliver it to the intended recipient? In 1999, the internet was still in its early years. No way would he be able to find Hughes’s possible surviving family that way! So, what to do?

Well, he put an advertisement in a local paper! The story captured so many hearts and minds that it gained national coverage. Somewhere along the way, through magic and luck, he learned that Hughes’s daughter, Emily, was still alive in New Zealand!

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。

Right away, Gowan and journalists managed to get in touch with Emily.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The local paper decided to offer Mr. Gowan an air ticket to deliver the letter in person.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . At the back of our house there was half a mu of vacant land. “It’s a pity to let it go to waste like that,” Mother said. “Since you are all so fond of peanuts, let us open it up and make it a peanut garden.” At that my brother, sister and I were all delighted and so were the young housemaids. And then some went to buy seeds, some began to dig up the ground and others watered it and, in a couple of months, we had a harvest!

“Let us have a harvest festival tonight to celebrate,” Mother suggested, “and ask Dad to join us for a taste of our fresh peanuts. What do you say?” We all agreed, of course. Mother cooked the peanuts in a variety of styles and told us to go to the garden for the celebration.

The weather was not very good that night but, to our great delight, even Father put in an appearance. “Do you like peanuts?” Father asked.

“Yes!” We all answered eagerly.

“But who can tell me what is good about peanuts?”.

“They taste very delicious,” my sister took the lead.

“They can be made into oil,” my elder brother followed.

“They are inexpensive,” I said. “Almost everyone can afford them and everyone enjoys eating them. I think that's what is good about peanuts.”

“In fact there are quantities of good points of peanuts,” Father said, “but one thing I do appreciate is particularly good about them. Unlike apples, peaches and pomegranates that hang their bright and beautiful fruits up on the branches, attracting your admiration, peanuts lie buried in the soil, waiting until they are ripe before letting people dig them up. And you can't tell whether they bear fruits or not just by their stems above ground.”

We all agreed and Mother nodded her head, too. “So you should try to be like the peanuts,” Father went on, “because they are neither grand nor beautiful, but useful.” “That is what I expect of you all.”

We stayed up late that night, eating all the peanuts Mother had cooked for us. But Father's words remained rooted in my mind till this day.

1. How many good points about peanuts are mentioned in this passage?

A．2.

B．3.

C．4.

D．5.

2. What did Father want his children to do in the future?

A．To plant peanuts.	B．To hold more celebration gatherings.
C．To show off their abilities.	D．To be useful instead of seeking fame.

3. How did Father tell the good quality about peanuts?

A．By examples.

B．By comparison.

C．By explanation.

D．By pictures.

4. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．The family was too poor to afford other fruits.	B．Father seldom joined them in such activities.
C．Father didn't like eating apples or peaches.	D．The peanuts are too shy to show their fruits.