1 . Emest Owusu was 13 in 1980 when he was given the opportunity to appear in the audience of a BBC show, and ask Thatcher how she felt about being called the Iron Lady. This encounter re-emerged in a BBC’s programme recently.

At the time of their meeting, Owusu was on free school meals, living on a public estate in Brixton, south London, where he and his sister were being raised by their mother Rose, a struggling hairdresser.

Now 57, Owusu looks remarkably similar even with a greying beard. But his life has been transformed. The father of three is a human resources director, and the first black captain of the Addington golf club in its 110-year history. As a black guy, it is about breaking the glass ceiling. Speaking in its clubhouse, Owusu describes his rise in social status (地位) as a “Thatcherite Journey”. And he says it began by asking the woman herself. “To this day it still has an impact. My confidence changed from that sliding-door moment. Something about her connected with me.”

Thatcher told Owusu she enjoyed being called the Iron Lady. “I think it’s rather a praise, don’t you?” she said, “Because so often people have said to me if you’re in your job you’ve got to be soft and warm and human, but you’ve got to have a touch of steel.” Owusu recalls the moment, “I just remember her eye contact. She was answering me, not the camera. She welcomed the question saying you’ve got to be firm in this world. And that stuck with me.”

After the show was broadcast, Owusu said he became “a little hero in Brixton for a good three months”. Owusu added, “It all gave me extra confidence. Doors might not have opened so quickly. It was one of those key moments to make you do things maybe you wouldn’t otherwise have done.”

1. What do we know about Owusu when he was 13?

A．He met with Thatcher twice.

B．He joined a famous golf club.

C．He hosted a BBC’s programme.

D．He lived at the bottom of society.

2. What do the underlined words “sliding-door moment” in paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Turning point.	B．Important decision.
C．Social status.	D．Remarkable achievement.

3. Based on the text, what made a big difference to Owusu?

A．Others’ treating him equally at work.

B．Others’ voting him a hero in Brixton.

C．Thatcher’s efforts to preserve his dignity.

D．Thatcher’s faith in the necessity of toughness.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．The Art of Dialogue	B．The Power of Confidence
C．A Life-changing Meeting	D．A Status-improving Tale

2 . 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 we were finally dismissed from the last class of the day, the students streamed out of the classrooms. It was another boring day after school. I dragged my feet home as I sighed. Yet another uneventful day, I thought. Little did I know that the day would take a turn for the worse.

The lift lobby (电梯间) of my flat was old and dirty. The walls, which were painted white, had been dirtied over many years. I reached my flat’s lobby, and pressed the lift button and went in. Just then, Mrs Lim, my elderly neighbour, hobbled (蹒跚) in. She looked ancient with tissue paper white hair, wearing a faded old-fashioned dress. I held the lift door open, flashing a friendly smile, and politely greeted her. I asked her how she felt that day and pressed the buttons. She thanked me for being so polite, then we were silent for the rest of the ride.

The lift fell down increasingly fast. There were loud clanking sounds here and there while the lift grew slower and slower. My heart beat hard and fast as my hands turned cold and wet with sweat. Unfortunately, the lift came to an abrupt stop at the fifth floor. I pressed the buttons hard several times, but it was of no help. The lights on the buttons had gone out. It soon dawned on me that we were trapped. An icy fear crept up my spine. Mrs Lim was hysterical (歇斯底里).

“We will never get out!” she cried with her face pale. It had become a colourless mask. I had no time to lose. I pressed the bell in the lift immediately. The sound was surely deafening, but what other choice did I have? Mrs Lim burst into tears. I tried my very best to comfort her, telling her that everything would be all right and that we needed to find out how to get out safely. Mrs Lim began having trouble breathing, and I immediately helped her sit down and loosened her collar.

Paragraph 1: Several minutes passed, but no help came.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2: Bang! My hopes were lifted when I heard the firefighters on the other side of the lift door.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . By the time he was 24 years old, Imran Nuri quit his job in a bold move, and emptied his savings account to carry out an ambitious ________ he’d been bearing in mind. Nuri would drive his car to every state on a 100-day trip to find 1,000 ________ and ask them to share one thing they wish they’d ________ when they were younger. Nuri was hoping for answers that might help him ________ the rest of his life.

He ________. But to his shock, he chose a ________ person for the first time. He met a man, who had a dark look at Nuri. Nuri thought the man was going to ________ him. Then, doing the most ________ thing he’d done, he introduced himself, “I’m ________ around the country to talk to 1,000 unfamiliar people. I’m asking them for pieces of life advice about things they wish they knew ________.” The man remained silent for a minute or so and ________ said, “We should spend more time with our family.”

In Colorado Springs, Colorado, a man in his 50s who had stage 4 terminal cancer told Nuri, “Life is about the human ________. There would be no life without social interactions.”

In Tillamook, Oregon, a waitress-a college student told him, “whether it’s changing your major or changing your whole life path, you don’t have to ________ yourself for taking a step back and reevaluating your past choices. Just do what you think to be right.”

Nuri found beauty in every place as well as ________ from the people he met. Those people taught a lot. Now he always puts himself in other people’s shoes even when a person sees the world ________.

1.

A．plan

B．policy

C．initiative

D．trick

2.

A．acquaintances

B．residents

C．strangers

D．peers

3.

A．embraced

B．inquired

C．misunderstood

D．known

4.

A．picture

B．navigate

C．enrich

D．interpret

5.

A．cracked up

B．backed away

C．set out

D．knocked off

6.

A．generous

B．wrong

C．pleasant

D．selfish

7.

A．dismiss

B．accompany

C．consult

D．beat

8.

A．courageous

B．stupid

C．unforgettable

D．glorious

9.

A．sailing

B．hiking

C．driving

D．wandering

10.

A．occasionally

B．permanently

C．later

D．earlier

11.

A．finally

B．excitedly

C．instantly

D．hesitantly

12.

A．potential

B．nature

C．connection

D．competition

13.

A．admire

B．reward

C．forgive

D．fault

14.

A．wisdom

B．fortune

C．confidence

D．perseverance

15.

A．objectively

B．differently

C．selectively

D．randomly

4 . It was a winter after noon when I tripped over a high kerb (马路牙子). Suddenly, I was flying through the air. It was only the next morning when I tried to take a photo of some splendid sunlight _________ into my kitchen, that I had to face the reality: I could no longer lift my camera, let alone use it. Later, a hospital appointment _________ my worst fear — the arm needed total rest.

Soon I became impatient. I couldn’t travel much. Surfing online, I _________ the concept of gratitude intervention, a method to boost _________ and well-being by being grateful. I had never been wildly _________ about the concept of counting one’s blessings. However, a Californian psychologist, Sonja Lyubomirsky, has _________ research into something much more creative — using a daily photography _________ as a tool for enhanced gratitude.

Lyubomirsky’s instructions are _________, but not necessarily easy to carry out. Take photographs throughout the day of things central to who you are. Reading how participants assigned to the gratitude interventions _________ experienced enhanced positive emotions, a sense of connectedness, more support, and less __________, I decided to carry on.

Taking a single photo was painful, but the __________ to find anything to feel grateful about, and then to record it, started to greatly __________ both my mood and my images. I began to photograph the __________ of my days. Despite everything, I found I could find magic in the daily routines. Life seems repetitive and __________ when you don’t notice the __________ of each moment and the constant small changes that are going on all around you. Don’t just take my word for it — experience it for yourself.

1.

A．winding

B．streaming

C．sticking

D．knocking

2.

A．confirmed

B．removed

C．relieved

D．overcame

3.

A．broke into

B．made up

C．took down

D．came across

4.

A．dream

B．thought

C．mood

D．desire

5.

A．enthusiastic

B．confused

C．nervous

D．particular

6.

A．consulted

B．imagined

C．pioneered

D．observed

7.

A．lesson

B．skill

C．plan

D．practice

8.

A．complex

B．simple

C．normal

D．abstract

9.

A．occasionally

B．hardly

C．significantly

D．slightly

10.

A．interruption

B．loneliness

C．willingness

D．motivation

11.

A．struggle

B．excuse

C．opportunity

D．promise

12.

A．keep

B．balance

C．ruin

D．improve

13.

A．details

B．surprises

C．changes

D．achievements

14.

A．wonderful

B．meaningful

C．unfair

D．boring

15.

A．pain

B．anxiety

C．uniqueness

D．challenge

5 . Last Christmas, I volunteered for WNWNB, a charity which takes surplus (剩余的) produce from New Covent Garden Market and ________ it to the local community.

The food was already in containers. So we set up the stand and got ready to distribute some Christmas ________. At first, it was ________. People seemed a bit suspicious of taking food for free. But they gradually ________ us and we had a fun afternoon singing carols and trying to ________ passersby to take our food.

It was then time to deliver meals to those who weren’t able to come. This is ________ things changed for me. The first door I knocked on was ________ by a woman in her 30s. She had children and looked absolutely worn out. I told her I was from WNWNB and gave her the ________ meals. It was probably only about two days’ worth of food but, the way she ________, I felt as if I was handing her gold.

I had similar responses to my next ________. In some cases, when people were elderly or alone, I’d go into their homes and have a brief ________ before heading off. Many felt ________, but I saw how happy they were to have another adult human to ________.

As a local politician I knock on doors and talk to people a lot, but there was something deeper about those ________ on Christmas Day. I finished my day at WNWNB a slightly different person from the one who ________.

1.

A．distributes

B．introduces

C．sells

D．exhibits

2.

A．forgiveness

B．images

C．recipes

D．cheer

3.

A．easy

B．nice

C．slow

D．safe

4.

A．broke away from

B．put up with

C．cut in on

D．warmed up to

5.

A．threaten

B．encourage

C．allow

D．command

6.

A．why

B．how

C．where

D．when

7.

A．opened

B．repaired

C．cleaned

D．guarded

8.

A．costly

B．unfinished

C．deserted

D．ready

9.

A．declined

B．reacted

C．argued

D．traded

10.

A．purchases

B．interviews

C．deliveries

D．schedules

11.

A．meal

B．chat

C．report

D．silence

12.

A．proud

B．free

C．lonely

D．content

13.

A．connect with

B．look after

C．turn to

D．rely on

14.

A．conversations

B．budgets

C．explanations

D．deals

15.

A．hesitated

B．started

C．ignored

D．struggled

6 . Recently, I accidentally found a set of Hanfu l only wore once from the bottom of the cupboard. I remember buying them simply to match the ancient-style hair accessories (配饰) a friend gave me. It occurred to me that 1 had been trapped in the “birdcage effect”.

“Birdcage effect” means that when you get an item one day, you will prepare more things to match it. Weeks ago, I was in the company of friends engaged in shopping. One said that she wanted to buy a good writing pen to match the delicate notebook that her sister gave her, so that she would fall in love with taking notes on reading, and thus love reading, not just reading. I joked that she must have fallen for the “birdcage effect”. But the friend said with a smile: “Why not use the ‘birdcage effect’ instead?”

For the first time, I heard that the “birdcage effect” can be used in reverse (逆向). However, this can’t help but remind me of middle school, and I seem to have used the “birdcage effect”. Passing by a bookstore one day, I purchased a magazine and saw the call for contributions published in the magazine, so I started writing with eager hands, and then I fell in love with writing.

After shopping with my friends that time, I began to proceed to use the “birdcage effect”. I bought a small fresh tablecloth to decorate my desk, and a beautiful notebook to record my inspiration. When everything was ready, I started writing again.

But how can we get rid of the “birdcage effect” in many things, and even use the “birdcage effect” in the opposite way? Various “birdcages” unavoidably appear in life, but we can distinguish them. If it is not in line with the actual situation, it is a “negative birdcage”, then we must learn to stop losses in time and maintain a heart of abandonment and separation. If it is a “positive birdcage” that motivates us to develop upward, we can clarify our goals, shop or decorate appropriately, and motivate ourselves to move towards our goals. At this time, you will find that the “birdcage effect” is actually not so terrible!

1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The application of the “birdcage effect” in life.

B．The necessity of using the “birdcage effect” in life.

C．The turning point of the author’s idea on the “birdcage effect”.

D．The author’s conflict with her friend over the “birdcage effect”.

2. What is the author’s purpose in mentioning her middle school experience?

A．To recall her delightful days at school.

B．To explain the reason for her love with writing.

C．To confirm the positive of the “birdcage effect”.

D．To prove her knowledge of the “birdcage effect”.

3. How can we make use of the “birdcage effect” positively?

A．By realizing this effect has two sides.

B．By promoting our personal consumption.

C．By recognizing this effect is not so terrible.

D．By guiding our acts to go with reasonable goals.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Getting Rid of the Birdcage Effect Confidently

B．Motivating Ourselves to Move Towards Our Goals

C．The Birdcage Effect: Influence on Consumer Behavior

D．The Birdcage Effect: How to Use It to Your Advantage

7 . A confident smile is a happy smile. Have you ever had a stranger smile at you while you were out in public? Maybe you were feeling down, but their genuine and friendly smiles literally made you turn your frown upside down. All thanks to that smiley person, your negative attitude suddenly subsided. It is hard to believe that such a small gesture can impact your mood so sim ply, but I would be lying if I said that I’ve never experienced this feeling. I’m sure you can relate.

With that being said, science can back this up. Where are these happy feelings coming from? Well, when you smile at someone, you may feel like you’re experiencing temporary happiness.That is because endorphins (内啡肽) are released in the brain when you smile. Endorphins can be described as natural painkillers for the body, which also boost your self-esteem (自尊). Smiling is really a simple act of kindness, which can also make you feel better about yourself.

As an illustration, someone going in for a job interview with their heads held high, and smiles on their faces will have a better chance of scoring the job. Employers remark that a person who looks down when they speak to avoid showing their smiles during an interview, most likely won’t be hired, because it looks as though they are hiding something. However, that person with an inviting smile shows confidence. No matter what you look like, a smile is worth a thousand words and people can recognize that.

It gives me such a rewarding feeling helping children, teens, and adults to build their selfesteem through treatment. It’s all worth it seeing that spark of joy in my patient after the job is all said and done. I truly believe that a bright eyed smile has the capacity to allow you to connect with others, without uttering a sound.

1. What does the underlined word “subsided”mean in Paragraph 1?

A．Appeared.

B．Weakened.

C．Increased.

D．Smiled.

2. What’s the use of endorphins?

A．Making people feel happy.

B．Making people act kindly.

C．Making brains work fast.

D．Curing some diseases.

3. Why is it hard for a person not showing a smile to get a job?

A．He holds his head too high.

B．He looks down upon others.

C．He looks a little dishonest.

D．He is too confident.

4. What kind of work is the author likely to do?

A．A teacher.

B．A volunteer.

C．A scientist.

D．A doctor.

8 . While enjoying my fresh lunch in a restaurant in Amsterdam, I noticed something odd. Customers coming in for something to eat ignored the person standing behind the counter (柜台), preferring to________through a smart phone.

What was the crazy thing about this? They were just several________apart! In fact, they were so close that the staff member took a quick________at his screen to get a head start on picking the right vegetables—all without any words________. Now, I get it: Modern technology allows us to be more________, but I might be witnessing something deeper: we prefer not to talk to each other anymore.

Think about it for a moment. When was the last time you naturally ______ a conversation with somebody you didn’t know? The chances are that you don’t even________! Likely either you or the other person was “busy” with other things like________with a smartphone. Now, with the________of digital technologies, one can’t help but pay the________for modern efficiency: our ability to talk to strangers.

We shop,________a hotel, or order a taxi, all via an app.________with random strangers is becoming rarer and rarer. Yet there are surprising________of having even a short and simple conversation with strangers. You might learn something________, and beyond doubt, it has the power to enrich your understanding of others and________a special bond in our modern world.

1.

A．talk

B．call

C．order

D．deliver

2.

A．meters

B．millimeters

C．kilometers

D．centimeters

3.

A．chance

B．turn

C．look

D．test

4.

A．spoken

B．written

C．typed

D．mentioned

5.

A．efficient

B．enthusiastic

C．effective

D．energetic

6.

A．ended up

B．engaged in

C．made up

D．went on

7.

A．hear

B．believe

C．remember

D．understand

8.

A．recording

B．studying

C．playing

D．calculating

9.

A．idea

B．aim

C．problem

D．rise

10.

A．cash

B．price

C．debt

D．tax

11.

A．decorate

B．book

C．build

D．repair

12.

A．Contact

B．Work

C．Quarrel

D．Reunion

13.

A．interests

B．benefits

C．disadvantages

D．influences

14.

A．unrealistic

B．unsuitable

C．unreasonable

D．unexpected

15.

A．serves as

B．refers to

C．accounts for

D．consists of

9 . I stopped at the top of the hill, my right foot pressed back against the coaster brake (脚刹) on my bicycle. All I needed to do was to_______ my foot, and I would be swept down the hill. But I _______ . To my 12-year-old eyes, the hill was a mountain and the slope was _______ steep, which prevented me taking up the challenge.

When I returned to my hometown more than three decades later with my friends Dave and Scott, we _______ to the base of the hill and walked our bikes _______ . We stood once more at the top of that hill, looking down from the edge, but this time with a _______ set of eyes. To our surprise, now the _______ seemed more obvious, even larger than we’d imagined as kids. We knew that once we started down, there was no stopping or _______ . And right at the bottom of the hill, we would have to turn left to _______ dumping into the stream.

Dave went first. Then I was next. My heart was pounding. I ________ on the bike for a moment. Then I released the brake and yielded myself to ________ . I skidded to a stop next to Dave. Scott followed. The three of us spent several minutes laughing, draining off the adrenaline (肾上腺素) . We had ________ the childhood challenge of riding our bikes down the steep hill.

We didn’t know it then, but we’d face many similar ________ over the years — leaving home, getting married, moving to a different town, starting a new job, and many others — that would cause us to pause at the ________ and collect our courage ________ we launched ourselves down the trails of our lives.

1.

A．stamp

B．break

C．lift

D．keep

2.

A．paused

B．started

C．charged

D．fell

3.

A．unnecessarily

B．incredibly

C．occasionally

D．hardly

4.

A．ran

B．rode

C．climbed

D．wandered

5.

A．out

B．off

C．away

D．up

6.

A．similar

B．whole

C．different

D．smart

7.

A．risk

B．stream

C．slope

D．assumption

8.

A．turning back

B．looking down

C．giving in

D．breaking out

9.

A．get

B．avoid

C．make

D．search

10.

A．called

B．improved

C．smiled

D．balanced

11.

A．pressure

B．fate

C．gravity

D．difficulty

12.

A．recalled

B．completed

C．forgotten

D．received

13.

A．activities

B．troubles

C．lessons

D．periods

14.

A．corner

B．route

C．edge

D．line

15.

A．when

B．because

C．after

D．before

10 . When I was 15 or 16 years old, I used to enjoy staring out of my bedroom window at night, at the sky and other houses. After a few minutes of focused attention, I would always reach a point where my vision shifted. The clouds would suddenly look different, stranger and more real. They weren’t “clouds” anymore, but different magical animal shapes that moved through space. The houses weren’t “houses” anymore-they were strange geometric structures made up of jigsaw (拼图) patterns of bricks.

It’s difficult to describe the shift in my vision, but it always felt exciting, as if I was seeing through to the heart of things, beneath a layer of familiarity.

In most situations, our perception is automatic. We see the familiar world, surrounded by objects and phenomena that we perceived thousands of times before and don’t pay real attention to. In addition, we perceive the world through filters (过滤器) of concepts. We have a conceptual label (or name) for everything we see. We label floating shapes in the sky as clouds; we label a masive variety of natural forms with spreading roots and branches as trees. Through filters of familiarity and concepts, our perception of the world is like a faded black-and-white image compared to a three-dimensional colour image.

This is why it always makes sense to side-step our normal familiar perception and perceive the world with fresh vision, free of concepts and expectations, looking at objects as if they had never been seen before, or as if they were other things.

We can see this in great artists. They go beyond familiarity and find a new way of seeing things. Familiar everyday objects like fruit and flowers and bottles are filled with freshness and beauty in the great still-life paintings of artists like Cezanne or Matisse. To look at paintings by Vincent van Gogh, such as Sunflowers, Irises or Van Gogh’s Chair, makes you feel as if an extra dimension of reality has been revealed.

And of course, this is the reason why we love to go to art galleries to see such paintings. To look at them is like going on vacation to a strange foreign country, a reminder of the raw beauty and wonder of the world, hidden beneath our normal automatic vision.

1. How did the author look out of the bedroom window?

A．With full attention.	B．In a normal way.
C．In astonishment.	D．With great care.

2. What does the author really mean by saying “our perception is automatic” in paragraph 3?

A．We perceive the world all the time.	B．We tend to look at things without thinking.
C．We have the ability to perceive the world.	D．We are familiar with the world around us.

3. Why are great artists mentioned in the text?

A．To introduce new ways to create art.	B．To show how real beauty is created.
C．To support what the author advocates.	D．To argue for what the author did as a teenager.

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

A．Creating a New World through Art	B．Looking at the World with New Eyes
C．Appreciating the Beauty of Every Day	D．Experiencing Life in Unfamiliar Environments