1 . It was a beautiful midwinter day in Pretoria. The sun shone warmly, and the air was fresh, calling us outdoors. A friend and I went for a walk up a small hill. Everywhere around us the grass was a dull brown color, as if painted with a dirty brush. I told my thought to my friend who, in reply, drew from his coat a pocket microscope. Bending down, he picked some of the ugly-colored growth and handed it to me with the microscope. I could hardly believe my eyes, for suddenly I was looking at some shining tiny flowers of lovely color. It seemed strange that so much beauty should be so hidden, a secret life carried on by nature beneath a dull exterior (外表).

Some days later, while I was at the hospital where I worked, a woman entered with three children. Her hair hung in untidy wisps round a face whose uncared-for skin looked dried and dull. She sat down and waited her turn with the patience of the poor. The children gradually gathered courage and made braver explorations as time went by. Suddenly the little girl overbalanced and fell. Both her brothers, a little bigger than her, rushed anxiously to her aid. When the child fell, the mother had at first started up in alarm, but when she saw that the child was not really hurt and that her brothers were caring for her with such love, her eyes grew soft and a look of such indescribable love passed over her face — once again I looked at great beauty.

Beauty lies on every side; we must develop our own microscopes of perception ( 感知能力) in order to look through the physical exterior which, like the grass-covered hillside, conceals a beauty still hidden from our eyes.

1. Why did the author and his friend go for a walk up a small hill?

A．To enjoy the beauty of the day.	B．To test his friend’s microscope.
C．To find hidden beauty on the hill.	D．To check the growth of the grass.

2. What was the beauty the author found in the woman he met in the hospital?

A．Her kindness.	B．Her strong will.
C．Her patience as a patient.	D．Her great love as a mother.

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

A．Nature can teach us a lot.	B．The poor have a soft heart.
C．We should learn to find hidden beauty.	D．We should never look down upon the poor.

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

A．Steals.

B．Covers.

C．Freezes.

D．Exposes.

2 . It is pretty obvious how other people’s mood and feelings affect your own mood and feelings. If you are ________ the day when someone around you that is constantly angry or sad, it can make you ________, sad or even angry too. During high school I was going through the classic rebellious (叛逆的) teenager ________ in which I would get mad at my parents easily and just rant about them all day. I was angry and ________ at the same time and it made my days and weeks pass by slowly and ________.

After some time, I was tired of always feeling bad and just ________ on the negative part of my days so I decided try to stop ________ and see if that helped me force a smile from time to time. This probably wouldn’t work for everyone in every ________ but in my case, ________ most of my complaints inside me made me realize how life gets ________ when you focus on the good things.

I’ve always had a lot of ________ so when I directed that to something more ________— everything seemed better. I have received various ________ from different friends saying that they always enjoy my ________ as I appear always happy with a positive energy.

Through my personal experiences, I’ve realized how ________ is a big part of my life — how it not only helps me deal with challenges and obstacles, but it also positively affects people around me.

1.

A．going through

B．moving from

C．looking after

D．passing by

2.

A．satisfied

B．interested

C．annoyed

D．inspired

3.

A．treatment

B．obstacle

C．improvement

D．phase

4.

A．shy

B．upset

C．ashamed

D．frightened

5.

A．painfully

B．meaningfully

C．eagerly

D．hurriedly

6.

A．shooting

B．firing

C．resisting

D．focusing

7.

A．studying

B．talking

C．complaining

D．exercising

8.

A．lesson

B．situation

C．age

D．mood

9.

A．filling

B．reaching

C．helping

D．noticing

10.

A．worse

B．longer

C．duller

D．better

11.

A．strengths

B．shortcomings

C．energy

D．hopes

12.

A．negative

B．positive

C．impossible

D．incredible

13.

A．comments

B．presents

C．punishments

D．announcements

14.

A．effort

B．action

C．attitude

D．company

15.

A．advice

B．scenery

C．optimism

D．expression

3 .

Last January, my wife received a 1,000-piece jigsaw (拼图) puzzle as a birthday gift from some dear friends. The puzzle was of a cabin by the lake that looked like the one we live in. We were not sure when we would actually do the puzzle, but it was nice to have it in case the need arose.

Then the need arose.

On the 16th day of our isolation (隔离), we cut the box open and ceremoniously (郑重地) dumped (倒) the pieces on the table. We knew the drill. We tackled the frame first and then the large objects with distinctive lines and colors. My wife primarily used the color and shape of the pieces to solve the puzzle; I relied more heavily on the picture on the box as a guide. And so began our odyssey (漫长的历程) of the puzzle.

I came to know every piece of that puzzle more intimately than I have known anything in my life. Some pieces found a home in the puzzle the first time I picked them up. Others hung around for more than a week until the puzzle filled in enough to be properly placed. But once a piece joined the collective (整体), it lost its individuality and blended into the puzzle to complete the picture.

What is a jigsaw? First and foremost, it is a puzzle to be solved. But unlike many puzzles, it can be solved eventually with some talent and a sufficient (充足的) reserve (储备) of stubborn determination. In our case, three to four hours a day for 16 days.

Ultimately (根本上), a jigsaw puzzle is a testament (证明) to one’s character. You usually complete this time-consuming but ultimately useless task for no better reason than not quitting. I documented the odyssey on Facebook and received both encouragement along the way and hearty congratulations upon our eventual success.

So what to do with the completed puzzle? The only reasonable option seemed to be to break it up and put it back in the box. It took 16 days to put the puzzle together and only two minutes to tear it apart.

Once our pieces were back in the box, it became apparent (显而易见的) that the goal was never to complete the puzzle at all. Rather it was merely a mechanism (方法) to kill time. In this way, jigsaw puzzles are like life itself: It’s all about the journey; the destination is, in fact, of little importance.

1. Why did the author and his wife decide to do a jigsaw puzzle?

A．Their friends encouraged them to do so.	B．They were attracted by the picture on the box.
C．They wanted to kill time during isolation.	D．They wanted to document it on Facebook.

2. What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A．How the couple solved the jigsaw puzzle.

B．How the couple felt about doing the jigsaw puzzle.

C．The support the couple got from friends while doing the jigsaw puzzle.

D．The problems the couple came across doing the jigsaw puzzle.

3. How did other people respond to the couple’s completion of the puzzle?

A．They made fun of their efficiency.	B．They were pleased for them.
C．They persuaded them to tear it apart.	D．They considered it meaningless.

4. What does the author want to tell us from this article?

A．It is helpful to do jigsaw puzzles.	B．Determination matters in life.
C．It takes patience to achieve success.	D．The process matters more than the result.

5. What can be the best title for the story?

A．A wonderful birthday gift	B．How to play with jigsaw puzzles
C．Playing with jigsaw puzzles	D．Ways to kill time during isolation

4 . I was excited for being invited to my friend Tom's birthday party. But two days later, my best friend called and invited me to go to Disneyland with her family. I loved Disneyland so I was ________ to go. So I ran to ask my mom. That's when my mom ________ me that Tom's party was on the same day. She said I couldn't change my ________ just because of something better.

I was mad. My ________ about going to the birthday party was gone. Tom's party would be ________ but not as fun as a whole day at Disneyland. I cried and ________ my mom. She said no. I tried every ________ I could think of. But my mom asked me to think about how I would feel if someone did that to me. Although I didn't want to ________ it, my mom was right. It would ________ my feelings if someone did that to me.

So on Tom's birthday, my mom ________ me off at Tom's home. I went inside ________. But something ________ happened after I got there. ________ the fact that I hadn't wanted to go, I had a great time!

On my way home, I told my mom all about the fun things. She was glad that I'd had a good time and told me that she was ________ of me for understanding the importance of ________ promises. Not only did I have a great time, but I learned an important lesson.

1.

A．ready

B．sure

C．eager

D．hesitant

2.

A．warned

B．informed

C．convinced

D．reminded

3.

A．mind

B．attitude

C．identity

D．habit

4.

A．concern

B．excitement

C．doubt

D．fear

5.

A．annoying

B．boring

C．acceptable

D．adjustable

6.

A．followed

B．persuaded

C．blamed

D．begged

7.

A．place

B．excuse

C．option

D．result

8.

A．change

B．realize

C．admit

D．imagine

9.

A．hurt

B．inspire

C．show

D．hide

10.

A．took

B．put

C．turned

D．dropped

11.

A．hurriedly

B．unwillingly

C．calmly

D．cheerfully

12.

A．interesting

B．terrible

C．awkward

D．unusual

13.

A．Despite

B．Through

C．Without

D．Against

14.

A．afraid

B．confident

C．proud

D．ashamed

15.

A．making

B．breaking

C．showing

D．keeping

5 . Today, we are talking about money. I can share a bit about my history with money and my new view when it comes to using green paper.

I made a web page with links to posts about our financial (财政的) journey where you can look for more details of where we've been and how we got where we are now. It was a big part of my story in the past and was a huge part of our downsizing（精简） journey. We got out of debt and stayed out of debt.

So I feel eager（渴望的）to share the benefits of being on this side. It takes more planning and more careful thought whenever a dollar is spent now than it did when I had a wallet full of credit cards. I now like to think all of my dollars doing the job. So many of us work for money and don't consider that money should work for us, too. Make your dollars do the job of helping you live the life you want.

Each time money is spent or saved, it should be going toward something that you purposefully want for your life. Last week I was out and I spent $ 20 on food in 3 days. It made me angry because afterward I thought about eating is not at all what I want for my life.

On the other hand, there are times I spend $ 20 while out with my family and it doesn't bother（使烦恼）me one bit. An afternoon out with my kids during which we stop for ice cream, and do something fun together has a completely different feel.

In the end, I want the dollars I spend to have purpose like I can enjoy life while still planning and saving for the future.

1. The underlined words “green paper” in Paragraph 1 refer to“________”.

A．money

B．work

C．newspaper

D．book

2. You can learn about the writer's history with money________.

A．by reading posts about their financial journey

B．by going on a financial journey

C．by making a web page

D．by writing to him

3. In the writer's opinion,________.

A．more credit cards should be used in our daily life

B．we should work hard to make more money

C．money should help us live better

D．saving money is very easy

4. Why does the writer feel happy with the money spent with his family?

A．Because the money is spent on food.

B．Because the money is spent in doing something fun.

C．Because eating is what he wants for his life.

D．Because the money goes toward something that he wants for his life.