1 . All of us ought to be able to brace ourselves for the predictable challenges and setbacks that crop up every day. If we expect that life won’t be perfect,     1     But even if you are strong enough to persist the obstacle course of life and work, sometimes you will encounter an adverse event that will completely knock you on your back.

Whether it’s a financial loss, the loss of respect of your peers or loved ones, or some other traumatic event in your life,     2     You may even wonder if things can ever change for the better again.

Adversity happens to all of us, and it happens all the time.     3     To ignore adversity is to give in to the ultimate self-delusion.

    4     Abraham Lincoln overcomes a difficult child-hood, depression, the death of two sons, and constant ridicule during the Civil War to become arguably one of the greatest president ever. Helen Keller made an impact on the world despite being deaf, dumb, and blind from an early age. Franklin Roosevelt had polio.

There are endless examples.     5    

A．What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

B．we’ll be able to avoid that impulse to quit.

C．these major setbacks leave you doubting yourself.

D．Some are either there or in wait just around the corner.

E．we’ll learn to accept imperfection and compromise with reality.

F．But history is made by people facing hurdles but achieving greatness.

G．People faced adversity bravely, learned valuable lessons and moved ahead.

2 . The Happy Man

The happy man lives objectively, and has free love and wide interests, through which he secures his happiness. To be the receivers of love is a vital cause of happiness, but the man who demands love is not the man to whom it is given.     1     But it is useless to attempt to give love as a calculation, for it is not sincere and is not felt.

What then can a man do who is unhappy because he is enclosed in self? If he is to get out of the vicious (恶性的) circle of unhappiness, it must be by true interests. But before that, he should analyze his trouble first.     2     If fear is his trouble, let him practice exercises designed to give courage.

Admit to himself every day at least one painful truth.     3     Exercises of this sort will enable him to admit facts and will free him from the fear to a large extent.

    4     Do not say to yourself in advance, “I should be happy if I could become interested in stamp-collecting,” and thus set to work to collect stamps, for it may well happen that you will altogether fail to find stamp-collecting interesting. You may be pretty sure that true objective interests will grow up as soon as you have learnt not to be self-centered.

All unhappiness depends upon lack of integration (融合). There is disintegration within the self,consciously and unconsciously or between the self and society.     5     Such a man feels himself a citizen of the universe, enjoying what it affords, untroubled by the death because he feels not separate from those who will come after him.

A．There is much he can do about it.

B．The man who receives love is the man who gives it.

C．The interests will arise when you overcome being self-centered.

D．The happy life is to an extraordinary extent the same as the good life.

E．Teach himself life is worth even not having great virtue or intelligence.

F．Self-denying leaves a man self-absorbed and aware of his own sacrifice.

G．Neither divided against the self nor the world, the happy man never fails to unite.

3 . As you work to develop your career (事业), whether you are applying for a job right now or planning what you will do in the future, three things are vital: your passion (激情), your value and your goals. These are three obvious but related beliefs that you need to both know for yourself and be able to communicate to others.     1    

Passion is what drives you. Your passion is what brings a smile to your face, what lights your creative engine and what makes you approach a problem with passion. Your passion could be for a specific field, profession, industry, customer, type of problem, or some combination.     2     The success itself is enough.

    3     It consists mainly of your problem-solving abilities and all the qualities that come with them, such as your skills, knowledge and experience. When you know your value, you can state this to develop cooperation and to encourage employers to hire you.

Goals are what you want to do.     4     They may be very specific, like “I want to work in City X on consumer products in the beauty industry.” Or they could be more general, such as “I want to use my passion for science communications to advance STEM.”

Knowing your passion can help you better define (界定) your value and clarify your goals. And understanding your goals can help you go better to your passion and pronounce your value.     5    

A．But what are they exactly.

B．Thus how can we behave properly.

C．Value is what you offer to a partner.

D．Your goals may be personal or professional, a big picture or otherwise.

E．When your work performs your passion, it’s no need rewarding yourself.

F．Whatever your career is, you are to learn cooperation and communication.

G．The more you know about these three, the better you can build your career.

4 . Think about that. If you are anything like me, you struggle to ask for help when you need it. It’s something a lot of humans battle with. You don’t want to be a burden on others. You are afraid to speak up, or want to prove that you can do it yourself.

You don’t ask for help when you don’t know how to do something or can’t manage it on your own, because you might be afraid of looking stupid or incompetent. You might pretend like you know what you’re doing when you’re really drowning. Perhaps you think asking for help is a sign of weakness; that if you ask for help you’re admitting you’re inadequate in some way; that you lack knowledge, skill or experience to do something yourself. You don’t want anyone to see that you’re struggling and you want people to think that you’re in control and can handle things.

There are tons of reason you won’t ask for help, but not to do so can be a mistake. You get in your own way if you make asking for help mean something negative about you when it doesn’t. Asking for help doesn’t mean you’re stupid or inadequate. It simply means you need help with something specific for a time.

Confident people often ask others for help. They do so not only because they’re secure enough to let it be known they need help, but they know that trying to do everything themselves is not always the best use of their time, skills or energy. They recognize it can leave them feeling overwhelmed and stressed and then they can’t do things properly. Confident people find someone who’s good at what they need to learn or get done and then ask for their help and guidance. They know that asking, “Can you help me?” shows respect for the other person’s knowledge and abilities. Otherwise, they wouldn’t ask.

1. What is the author’s personality like?

A．He shows great love to others.	B．He hesitates to ask others for help.
C．He looks down upon other people.	D．He dislikes those who pretend to know.

2. What does the underlined word “incompetent” mean in paragraph 2?

A．Indifferent.

B．Unqualified.

C．Determined.

D．Devoted.

3. Confident people will find it quite natural to ________.

A．offer help to other people	B．respect others’ abilities
C．promote their abilities	D．turn to others for help

4. Through this text, the author is trying to ________.

A．advise us to learn more knowledge	B．encourage us to bravely ask for help
C．show our respect to the people around us	D．encourage us to be more confident in our life

5 . Very occasionally, I escape to the city. Boarding the train, I watch the North Sea flash by and disappear. I like to stare out of its window and look for deer standing in fields, or the sight of a red kite in the sky.

    1     The rough edges of Northumberland become smoother and softer the further south I travel, until the fields are swallowed by buildings.

    2     In other words, they do not fully understand my choice. At the same time, they glance over my shoulder at the wide beaches and distant hills. But while the middle of nowhere holds its own charm, I always find a trip to the city nourishing in its own special way. The city codes of life in the south feel familiar to me: standing on the right of the escalator (自动扶梯), always moving. Sitting on the train, I watch tired faces, beautiful faces, wise faces, and young faces.     3    

When I am here, the possibilities who I could become feel endless. The streets are filled with sights and sounds that leave me breathless and hungry for more.     4     Somehow lost in the beauty and attraction all around me, I am filled with the feeling that I can be whoever I choose.

At home, most of the diversity lies in the landscape. The beautiful vastness of Northumberland feeds my reflective soul and taps into my creativity, but I am an outgoing person who enjoys being with others.     5     In it, there are more chances that I can get along with people. Both the ones I already know and those I have yet to meet may be whom I get along with.

Following an escape, I return to writing alone at my desk, watching the sky burn pink outside as candles shine and daughters sleep inside.

A．I absorb all in and feel less ordinary.

B．It is this that I miss the most about the city.

C．Choosing to escape now is definitely not a wise choice.

D．Some people are confused about the concept of escaping to a city.

E．With the train travelling forward, what is shown in front of me varies.

F．Many of the conveniences of the cities cannot be enjoyed in the villages.

G．I wonder what lives these people are leading and form stories in my head.

6 . Nearly five years ago, I booked a retreat (僻静处) to work on my book, Tracking Wonder. I knew I worked best with limited distraction, but when I finally was able to carve time away from the world to do this creative work, I found it very difficult to focus.     1     Now I know that we need to work on something counter-intuitive (违反直觉的): our ability to be bored.

    2    

Ⅰ. Reboot(重启) your mental health.

Just as our muscles need rest days between workouts to grow stronger, our minds need periods of idleness to process the world around us.

Innovators in times of crisis and adversity actually grant themselves space to be bored and daydream deliberately. This kind of daydreaming can lead to positive mental feelings of hope, renewal, and forward motion, but it requires boredom and space.

Ⅱ.     3    

The capacity to be bored and the capacity to be creative go hand in hand. Want to increase your creativity?     4     Embrace those periods of boredom that are built into your commute, break time, or meals. Turn off the podcast, stop scrolling through the news feeds, and let your mind lie fallow (休耕的) so that the seeds of your next idea have space to grow.

Ⅲ. Reconnect with what matters to you.

These days, current events—and the resulting analysis, opinions, and Twitter hot takes—come at us so quickly that it’s difficult to process one issue before the next takes its place.     5     Rather than reaching for stimulation (刺激) by searching for the next event to be entertained or enraged (激怒) by, boredom gives you space to think through the information you’re gathering and begin to challenge ideas. The next time you find yourself compelled to reach for your phone, I challenge you to try sitting with what matters to you, and letting your idle mind discover surprising connections.

A．Become more creative.

B．I completely lacked creativity.

C．Here are three ways to release your creativity.

D．The answer may not be more stimulation, but less.

E．Reach for our phones to check a fact during a conversation.

F．Learning to let yourself be bored can have three surprising benefits.

G．But to truly be an informed citizen, you need to allow time for idleness.

7 . “If Bill would praise me once in a while, he’d make my life much happier,” a young homemaker said to her neighbor.    1     But unless we hear words of praise from someone else, how can we know that we are valued friends or co-workers?

Anyone who wants to improve his relationships with others needs only to show a sympathetic understanding. The way to express this understanding and give others the feeling of importance and worthiness boils down to this:    2     Praise and tell him about it.

We each have a mental picture of ourselves, a self-image. When we are proud of our self-image, we feel confident and free to be ourselves. We function at our best. When we are ashamed of our self-image, we attempt to hide it rather than express it.    3    

A miracle happens to the person whose self-esteem has been raised.    4     He is kinder and more easy-going with those around him. Praise is the polish that helps keep his self-image bright and shining. What has this to do with your giving praise?A lot.    5     When you add to his self-esteem,you make him want to like you and to work with you.

As artists find joy in giving beauty to others, anyone who masters the art of praising will find that it blesses the giver as much as the receiver. As the saying goes, “Flowers leave some of their fragrance in the hand that bestows (赠予) them.”

A．He suddenly likes other people better.

B．All of us need to feel needed and admired.

C．Children,especially, are hungry for praise and appreciation.

D．Always look for something in the other person you can admire.

E．We become unfriendly or aggressive, and hard to get along with.

F．You have the ability to create that kind of miracle in another person.

G．Encouragement through praise is a way of getting people to do their best.

8 . I grew up in the 1950s with very practical parents. My mother washed aluminum foil (铝箔纸) after she cooked in it, and then she reused it.She was the earliest recycle (回收利用) queen before people had a name for it.

My father was no different.He preferred getting old shoes fixed to buying new ones.Their marriage was good and their dreams were focused (集中).Their best friends lived just a wave away.Though my parents have passed away,I can see them now-Dad in trousers,a T-shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress,lawnmower (割草机) in one hand and dishtowel in the other.

It was the time to fix things-a curtain rod (挂帘杆) the kitchen radio, the screen door, the oven door, and so on. They fixed all things we had.It was a way of life,and sometimes it made me crazy.All that re-fixing and renewing made me want to scream.I wanted just once to be wasteful.Waste meant being rich.Throwing things away meant you knew there’d always be more.I often thought like that.

But then my mother died,and on that clear summer night,in the warmth of the hospital room,I learnt that sometimes there isn’t any more.Sometimes,what we care about most gets all used up and goes away and it will never return. So, while we have it, it is the best that we love it,care for it,fix it when it’s broken and cure it when it’s sick.

This is true for marriage,old cars,children with bad report cards,dogs with bad hips and aging parents and grandparents.We keep them because they are worth it and because we are worth it.

1. We can learn that when the writer was young, she________.

A．thought highly of her parents’ habits

B．often helped her parents fix old things

C．often threw things away without being noticed

D．at times hated it when her parents fixed old things

2. What did the writer realise after her mother’s death?

A．Her mother truly loved her.

B．She had wasted a lot of money.

C．Things may never return once they are gone.

D．She had hurt her parents for many times.

3. What is the writer’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To advise us to love what we have.

B．To encourage us to recycle old things.

C．To explain why her parents recycled.

D．To help us know about life in the past.

9 . Nature is full of inspiration, and as such, it can easily serve as a reflection for writers. In nature, we might find metaphors for our own human experiences that we never considered before.

For example, in literature, rivers are often regarded as symbols of life and the passage of time.     1     Of course, its meeting with the ocean represents the end of life.

Over the last century, nature writing has also become a means of support for the environment by calling attention to environmental issues and trying to inspire a greater interest in nature.     2     You can use these tips to practice nature writing:

    3     The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you always have a notebook and pen at hand to write down your ideas and observations, no matter where you are. Don’t assume that you can just write everything down when you get home.

Observe. When you’re spending time in nature, don’t worry about brainstorming the most poetic way to describe the falling leaves; you can always improve your writing later.     4     Let your thoughts flow freely onto the paper.

Make connections. Yes, nature writing means a lot of writing about nature, but that doesn’t mean your topics of discussion are limited to the sound of the wind and birds singing. If you find that certain memories or thoughts come up while you’re spending time in nature, write those down too.     5    

A．Always explore nature writing.

B．Always keep a notebook at hand.

C．This can help you practice building connections.

D．The source of rivers represents the beginnings of life.

E．For now, just focus on recording your own feelings and observations.

F．Nature writing has grown in popularity as a literary form in recent years.

G．Many of our favorite stories describe impressive adventures in the great outdoors.