1 . What will you do when you feel like a failure? Feeling like a failure is part of the human experiences. Treat yourself with kindness and understand that failure does not define you, but it is a stepping stone on your journey. When you’re ready, take action and challenge yourself.

As some friends were deeply lost in the world of yoga and mindfulness, I’ve personally struggled with the feeling of failure, not on the yoga mat, but on the road to my entrepreneurship(创业). It all began several years ago when I threw myself into the business, driven by my passion and a dream.

In the early days, optimism flowed freely, but financial struggles and sleepless nights soon followed. I questioned my decision and felt like the biggest failure. However, every difficulty became a stepping stone towards growth. I learned more from my failures than from my successes, adapting and growing stronger with each obstacle. I reached out to instructors, friends and family, sought advice and slowly saw a ray of hope. One defining moment came when I gained my first long-term coaching partnership. It was a breakthrough, and my hard work paid off. Over the years, I faced many more failures, but I refused to let them define me.

Today, looking back at my journey, I realize that moments of feeling like a failure were essential to my success. They taught me humility, perseverance and the value of hard work. They shaped me into a successful entrepreneur I am today—someone who doesn’t fear failure but embraces it as a necessary part of the path to success. As we approach the end of the year of graduation, remember that success is not about avoiding failure, but about how we rise after we fall. Let’s support each other on this journey called life. Stay positive, stay inspired and stay true to ourselves.

1. What is the function of paragraph 1?

A．To give the definition of failure.

B．To list some examples of failure.

C．To introduce the topic of the story.

D．To stress the importance of experience.

2. What made the author start a business?

A．Internal motivation.	B．Advice from a coach.
C．Family financial crisis.	D．Encouragement from friends.

3. What can be concluded from the author’s entrepreneurial experience?

A．To teach is to learn.

B．A word spoken is past recalling.

C．Constant dropping wears away a stone.

D．Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.

4. What does the author want to do in the last paragraph?

A．Inspire us with his lessons.

B．Persuade us to major in business.

C．Recall the key moments of his entrepreneurship.

D．Advocate avoiding obstacles on the way to success.

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.

Born to be different

I stood in front of the mirror, whispering to myself, “If I didn’t have this scar (疤痕), the world would embrace me more warmly.” With a heavy heart, I turned away from my reflection and gazed out of the window, the daily school routine—a constant reminder of the tightness in my chest. Each day, I prepared my sell for the unavoidable questions—the disgusted glances, and the eye-rolls as I bravely attempted to explain what it truly meant to be born with a cleft (裂缝，裂口).

Born with a cleft lip and orphaned (孤儿) at birth, I entered multiple adoptive homes until ages even when I was finally adopted by my forever home. But the frequent transitions had already left a bad mark on my young soul and I’d fallen behind in my schoolwork, and my appearance-related insecurities robbed me of any confidence. My future seemed clouded and uncertain, and I constantly sought approval from others, often finding myself in the wrong crowd.

Deep inside, I was fully aware that I was on the wrong path. Although the future remained a mystery, I desired something different and realized that I had to change the course of my life.

Thankfully, in middle school, my life took a turn. I started to hang out with uplifting friends—individuals who accepted me without judgment and taught me the value of self-love. My sixth-grade social studies teacher, Cynthia, with her passionate delivery of history, often had me staying after class to further explore global issues. She inspired me to become the change I longed to see in the world.

One day, I delivered a speech in front of my classmates, discussing the significance of the “Treaty of Versailles (《凡尔赛条约》)”. After my speech, Cynthia called to me. “Ashleigh, I would like to speak with you for a moment, please.”

注意：
1.续写词数应为150个左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

My legs shook like trees in a storm.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cynthia nodded approvingly, “Ashleigh, I’d like to suggest you consider a career in polities.”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . 假定你校英语社团准备以“我的强大抗挫能力（ability of anti-frustration）”为主题举办演讲比赛，请就此写一篇英语演讲稿，内容包括：
1. 你对挫折的认识；
2. 举例说明你的抗挫能力。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；开头和结尾已写出；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Good morning, everybody! I’m happy to share with you my understanding of frustration.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you very much.

4 . As this year draws to a close, I still remember the fear I felt on a bright Saturday morning in late September, at a five-kilometer race in Clarkston, Georgia, as I waited for my 11-year-old son at the finish line.

I knew he could run a 5k in about 30 minutes. When I didn't see him at the 35-minute mark, I began to wonder what had gone wrong. Had he gotten lost? Was he hit by a car? About an hour earlier, when we drove into town, my son noticed an insect on my car. It was bright green, no longer than a fingernail. And it was friendly. This little green thing hopped onto my son's finger, where it stayed for a long, long time. It stayed so long that we eventually gave it a name: Little Friend.

A few minutes before the race, Little Friend jumped off my son’s hand and landed on the sidewalk. But pedestrian traffic was heavy and unpredictable. Little Friend was in danger. So my son knelt and reached out his hand. Little Friend came back.

The race was about to start, and the tiny green insect was in for a wild ride. My son would run fast, and the race would be long, and his arms would swing, and Little Friend would eventually be shaken off.

“You will lose Little Friend,” I told him.

My son nodded, treating the moment with appropriate seriousness.

The race began, and I lost sight of him.

The excitement at the finish line gave way to anxiety when my son did not show up.

I kept asking people if they'd seen him. No one had. And beyond the 40-minute mark, I was in a panic.

But there he was, thank goodness, just ahead of the 45-minute mark.

And there was Little Friend, riding on the upper crook of his right thumb like a very small captain on a very tall ship.

My predictions had been wrong. My son had not run fast, and he had not lost Little Friend. And these two facts seemed somehow related. He blamed a cold he was getting over. I suspected it was more than that, but I didn’t question him too much about it.

We walked back to the car, smiling, and found some bushes in the parking lot that seemed like a good place for my son to drop off Little Friend.

“Be free,” my son said, and gently put it in the bushes.

My son knew the truth. Sometimes life gives you something beautiful, a fragile, short-lived treasure in your hand. There is no need to rush ahead. Treat it gently. Enjoy each moment. Hold on while you can.

One day my son will leave too, running off on his own adventure.

1. How did the writer probably feel when he finally saw his son appear in sight?

A．Relieved.

B．Depressed.

C．Satisfied.

D．Disappointed.

2. The son failed to run as fast as his father had expected probably because ________.

A．he was lost	B．he was recovering from a cold
C．he was afraid to lose the tiny insect	D．he was slowed down by the heavy traffic

3. As for the way his son treated Little Friend, the writer is ________.

A．indifferent

B．anxious

C．appreciative

D．doubtful

4. What will the writer most probably do after the race?

A．Treasure every moment he has with his son.

B．Encourage his son to take more adventures.

C．Tell his son to take races seriously.

D．Get more insects for his son.

5 . 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

6 . Growing up, I lived in delicious expectation of each September. After the lazy post -exam days of summer, it was a time to start anew: to do up my top button and get back into work mode. There was something quite exciting ________ what the new school year might bring.

And, with the ________ to school came back-to-school shopping, a task I took very ________. From perfect leather shoes to a skirt with the perfect placement of pleats, nothing was ________. I even took pleasure in finding a pencil case that ________ my new Jane Norman messenger bag. My new school wardrobe came with a ________ of rejuvenation (恢复活力) and I felt ready to put my best foot ________ for the upcoming year.

While those years may long be over, the distinctive rhythm of the school year ________. September is firmly ________ as the “thinking person’s January” — a time when, fresh from the ________ of a long lazy summer, we’re ________ for rejuvenation and ready for a change of pace.

It is the same with fashion industry. September brings with it a new ________ and the autumn/winter collections are ________ the shops at full force. It’s also a show season, a four-week ________ during which the world’s most influential designers reveal their latest ________. And every fashion ________ on the shelf at your local newsagent ________ their definitive guide to the season’s key trends. For anyone who loves clothes, it’s like a new school ________ and for that you need a new uniform.

The autumn/winter collections provide the perfect opportunity to ________ an energetic and vibrant lifestyle. Use the new collections hitting the shops and the spirit of the September start-again as a(n) ________ to get yourself in fashion once more.

1.

A．thinking about

B．coming across

C．getting through

D．taking in

2.

A．study

B．return

C．start

D．plan

3.

A．casually

B．completely

C．seriously

D．simply

4.

A．overlooked

B．considered

C．changed

D．abandoned

5.

A．compare

B．pretend

C．trade

D．match

6.

A．matter

B．sense

C．series

D．period

7.

A．back

B．out

C．forward

D．down

8.

A．stops

B．remains

C．pauses

D．extends

9.

A．copied

B．decorated

C．mistaken

D．established

10.

A．preparation

B．determination

C．relaxation

D．imagination

11.

A．ripe

B．worried

C．good

D．eager

12.

A．picture

B．challenge

C．direction

D．season

13.

A．occupying

B．loading

C．hitting

D．ruining

14.

A．design

B．display

C．competition

D．sale

15.

A．collections

B．ambition

C．tasks

D．devotion

16.

A．magazine

B．suit

C．work

D．product

17.

A．promises

B．includes

C．intends

D．adds

18.

A．schedule

B．activity

C．term

D．part

19.

A．cover

B．involve

C．explain

D．present

20.

A．tool

B．method

C．duty

D．inspiration

7 . I was interested in volunteering at a hospital because both of my parents work in hospitals. I wanted to see what the ________ was after hearing them talk about it. To be more ________, I wanted to work at the VA — Veterans (老兵) Affairs hospital — in Palo Alto because the ________ of VA is “to serve those who served” and I really ________ this very idea.

To my greatest joy, I was ________ the VA program, and throughout this summer break I’ve spent around 110 hours ________ at VA Palo Alto in different departments. To be honest, I had never at all felt more welcomed and ________ in every department I went to. After some initial experiences, I ________ to work in the Office of Information Technology (OIT) since I am interested in computers, and I wanted to see how they are used in a hospital setting.

My overall experience of volunteering at VA can be ________ into the words of “eye-opening and ________.” Throughout my whole life I have been ________ to health care, from both my parents being physicians and my health problems, but I have never ________ been on the other side of the glass, so to speak. What I ________ most about my experience was the ________ to see what it’s like to help people. I want to continue volunteering at VA because I believe there is no other experience that can be as ________ as working in a hospital that treats Veterans.

1.

A．opportunity

B．decision

C．experience

D．adventure

2.

A．specific

B．private

C．flexible

D．cautious

3.

A．concept

B．mission

C．profession

D．advantage

4.

A．contributed

B．generated

C．transformed

D．shared

5.

A．accepted into

B．committed to

C．concerned about

D．withdrawn from

6.

A．studying

B．volunteering

C．observing

D．exercising

7.

A．convinced

B．determined

C．valued

D．amused

8.

A．applied

B．refused

C．promised

D．arranged

9.

A．classified

B．summarized

C．divided

D．combined

10.

A．normal

B．relevant

C．reliable

D．worthy

11.

A．attached

B．devoted

C．exposed

D．submitted

12.

A．actually

B．totally

C．absolutely

D．appropriately

13.

A．respect

B．treasure

C．understand

D．agree

14.

A．ability

B．responsibility

C．approach

D．courage

15.

A．relaxing

B．challenging

C．fulfilling

D．thrilling

8 . To build a prosperous (繁荣的) society, a fundamental understanding of the modern economy as a driving force in today’s world is essential.

What kind of prosperity have we achieved so far? The widespread definition of prosperity focuses on economic power and growth as measures of success. Let’s take a look at history. The Second Industrial Revolution enabled mass production and created a sufficient supply of goods. This has greatly increased the importance of money in its role as “a store of value, ” and “a medium of exchange. ”As a result, we have pursued economic power as the only indicator of prosperity, such as GDP. Waves of globalization and technological evolution have promoted overall economic growth, but have allowed the few who are strong to achieve greater power while exploiting the many who are weak. Consequently, inequality has worsened, and disunity has intensified.

The path to a truly prosperous world requires a shift in focus towards the most suitable happiness for all, in addition to economic power. Defining happiness, however, is a complex task. What makes people happy? The degree to which the same thing creates happiness differs from person to person. Happiness is subjective and complicated. This is a world of “multiple values” where each of us determines worth as opposed to “one fixed price” based merely on an economic perspective. Individuals shouldn’t be defined by a single identity or role but by multidimensional nature as well as multiple roles making independent choices and taking actions for their happiness in different aspects.

Businesses must be pioneers in pursuing not only economic growth but also the happiness of all citizens of society. Companies can contribute through the pursuit of social value as well as economic profit. At the heart of this lies “purpose”. A company’s purpose defines the value it brings to society. The true worth of a company should be determined not just by the return s it creates for shareholders but by the value it creates for society as a whole.

1. What is the author’s attitude to the widely accepted standard of prosperity?

A．Indifferent.

B．Critical.

C．Uncertain.

D．Approving.

2. What is the side effect of technological evolution?

A．The slower economic growth speed.

B．The sharp reduction of job opportunities.

C．The enlarged gap between the rich and the poor.

D．The increasing conflict between different nations.

3. Which statement will the author agree with according to the passage?

A．Happiness is changeable and beyond control.

B．Happiness largely depends on economic power.

C．The pursuit of profit determines a company’s true worth.

D．A prosperous world should be measured by multiple values.

4. Who are the main intended readers of the text?

A．Social psychologists.	B．Enterprise administrators.
C．School educators.	D．Technological researchers.

9 . You hate me. You don’t even know me and you hate me. Before we’ve even spoken, you hate me. At least that’s how it feels on my end of the call as a female collections officer at a call center.

I dread the moment when I have to log on to our phone system first thing in the morning because I never know who is going to be on the other end of that call.

Sometimes it’s an easy task. The caller is pleasant and has accepted personal responsibility for their debts, and we get through the phone call with ease. Then there are the ones who call in looking for a fight, or looking for someone to blame. Through the luck of the phone system, that person is me.

I’ve had people who shout at me, call me horrible names, accuse me personally of taking their money and threaten me. Why? I think it’s because I am invisible. I think I would be treated with the same level of disrespect if we were face to face. Fortunately for me, I have had years of experience in customer service, so I’m fairly rich in not letting the negative encounters bother me.

The biggest and most effective skill when it comes to the job is empathy (同理心). I can appreciate the situation which the caller is in because I’ve been there. That’s why I’m good at my job — I understand what you’re going through, and I’m here to help.

Some days though, no matter how much I try to leave the stress behind when I hang up the phone, it stays with me. I may do some deep breathing, go for a quick walk or simply stick my head outside for a burst of fresh air. I do this so I don’t carry that negativity on to my next call. That next call may be a person having the worst day of their life, but I don’t want to ever be the one who makes it worse. We are all humans just trying to get by in life, which makes you and me equal. So please, the next time we talk, remember that.

1. What does the underlined word “dread” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Enjoy.

B．Fear.

C．Expect.

D．Avoid.

2. Why does the author think some callers treat her badly?

A．They get angry too easily.	B．They blame her for their debts.
C．They do not see her as a real person.	D．They accuse her of taking their money.

3. Why does the author think she is good at her job?

A．She can offer callers best advice.	B．She is always respected by callers.
C．She can put herself in others’ shoes.	D．She isn’t easily influenced by negativity.

4. What is the author’s main purpose in writing this text?

A．To call for understanding of her job.	B．To explain why she is good at her job.
C．To introduce what she is responsible for.	D．To complain about her being treated badly.

10 . How do I change my life? If you’re asking this question, remember that the one constant thing in our life is change.     1     Instead of avoiding it, ask how you can change your life to work with the changes happening around you. Here are some best tips for you.

    2    

Spend some time trying to sort out what is important in your life to make a life change. What is it that you want to achieve in your life? What are your dreams? What makes you happy? Your meaning in life sets the direction of how you want to live your life. Without meaning, you will spend the rest of your life wandering aimlessly.

Let go of regrets.

Regrets will only hold you back in life. You cannot change what you did or did not do in the past, so let it go. The only thing you have control over now is how you choose to live your present and future life.     3     Try writing down each regret on a piece of paper and then burying or burning it in your backyard.

Experience the joy of learning.

Learning new skills helps us to be more adaptable in new situations.     4     Reading is a great way for us to learn. To fully embrace the joy of learning, pick up that novel you’ve heard so many people talking about. Once you find the genre (体裁) that interests you most, read as many pages as you can.

Accept yourself.

    5     To create that change, you have to like yourself. There will be times in your life when you will face rejection, and there will be people who will not like you or your choices. Accepting who you are and loving yourself despite adversity helps you move forward in your life. Find your courage, love yourself, and step out and do something crazy.

A．Change your beliefs.

B．Find your life meaning.

C．Remember that your goals may change.

D．The more we resist it, the tougher our life becomes.

E．The only person who is going to change your life is you!

F．It also encourages us to be more creative and innovative in our thinking.

G．Each time you experience a negative thought about your past, challenge it.