1 . Directions: Complete the following passages by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Do note that there is one word more than you need in each passage.

What My Wife and I Talk about When We Talk about Love

A. company       B. weather       C. desirable       D. restore       E. readily       F. considering G. sharpen       H. hesitation       I. peacefully       J. access       K. inconvenience

My wife used to believe that romantic love is the most important and exciting thing in the entire world when she was a teenager. And the mark of true love is when two good-looking boys get in a physical fight over her. It’s even     1     that they both get injured but don’t end up going to hospital, not because she is worried about them but because it may cause her a lot of     2     and indirect responsibility. One day this will certainly happen to her, if she’s lucky. So you might understand her anger and frustration when I told her that if the other male competitor I have to “fight” with weighs more than 100 kilograms, I will simply hand her over to him without     3    , wish them a happy marriage and walk away with the feeling that tomorrow is another day.

Fortunately, we’ve both grown a lot older and grown out of expecting our life partner to “die” for us     4    . The older we get, the more honest, open and vulnerable we allow each other to be. One of the hardest things about getting older and being in love is knowing when something is just reality and when it’s too much hard work. Identifying what the calm, joyful but often challenging sensation of long-term love is and identifying what has just become totally intolerable is where we all have to really     5     our instincts.

Shared interests are one of the most overrated     6     factors when it comes to choosing a partner. Deciding that someone is a good person, or your soulmate, or made of exactly the same stuff as you just because you both love the music of Faye Wong is ridiculous. Having the same Agatha Christie collection or enjoying most of the movies directed by Richard Linklater will not help you     7     the various unexpected storms of life together.

A much more crucial factor in terms of finding a partner is how much you love their     8    . Since my son was born, I have experienced firsthand how overwhelming it is to be a working parent of a newborn. It has become even more apparent to me that the most important thing in a relationship is how well married couples work as a team. Couples need to be really, really good friends.

When you’re looking for love, and it seems like you might not ever find it, remember you probably have     9     to plenty of love already, just not the romantic kind. This kind of love might not kiss you in the rain or propose marriage. But it will listen to you, inspire and     10     you. It will hold you when you cry and celebrate when you smile. You can carry it with you and keep it as close to you as you can.

2 . 选词填空

A.Even if       B.move on       C. pick up       D. break down       E. benefit from       F. common sense       G. in a mess       H.in touch with       I. turn out       J. make a difference       K. in fear

Life is full of challenges, but we must learn to    1    after facing difficulties.     2       we encounter setbacks, it's crucial to stay positive and not get caught up     3    . Sometimes, things may not    4     as planned, but we can still     5     the experiences we gain. By staying strong and determined, we can    6     in our lives and the lives of others. It's important to     7    the pieces when we fall and keep moving forward. Staying     8     loved ones provides support and encouragement when times are tough. However, even the strongest of us can     9     sometimes, and it's okay to ask for help. Remember,     10       is our best guide in navigating through life's ups and downs.

3 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. referring             B. refresh             C. pin                    D. occurred             E. acknowledging F. identify             G. drain                    H. discouraged       I. specific             J. negative K. specifically

Make a Wish List

Most of us know of New Year’s Resolutions, where one sets intentions for the year ahead. But too often, people make their resolutions     1     — “I will no longer eat biscuits left at my desk”— and then feel unhappy. In the cold month of January, the last thing you need is to     2     your energy further by setting up a series of battles with yourself. And if you break a resolution, you feel     3    , which is a rubbish way to start the year. What you need instead are things to look forward to.

So instead, try a wish list. This involves writing down 100 things you would like to do in the year ahead. The items can be enormous or tiny, ranging from “Climb Everest” to “buy a new pencil sharper”. The main thing is that at some point it has     4     to you as something that you would like to do.

The key here is — write it down.

Do you feel any resistance to the ideas? If so, ask yourself why. What is wrong with     5     what you would like to do? Try not to say to yourself: “I can’t I don’t have the money/time/energy/skills.” Just write it down.

It helps to be     6    , so rather than “Get outdoors”,     7     a place you would like to visit. And take your time when creating it — a wish list is not built in a day. Think about it, polish it and     8     it.

Finally, you have your list. And what a work of beauty it is. Here are all the things that you would like to do. Remember to     9     them up where you can see them; let yourself consider how they can be accomplished. You’ll be amazed that so many of your dreams can be realized though the simple trick of writing them down and     10     to them.

4 . Fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word that you do not need.

A. safe        B. robbery        C. expressions        D. replied        E. open        F. amazing G. employee        H. positive        I. concentration        J. curious        K. recovered

Jerry is a popular manager of a restaurant. The reason why the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator(鼓舞人心者). If a(n)    1     was having a bad day, Jerry was always there, telling him how to look on the bright side of the situation.

This attitude really made me       2     , so one day I asked him, “I don’t get it! No one can be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it? ”

“Each time something bad happens, I can choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I always accept their complaining and point out the     3     side of life,” Jerry replied.

Several years later, I heard that one day Jerry left the back door of his restaurant    4     and was robbed by three armed men. While trying to open the       5     , his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination(密码). The robbers panicked and shot him.

Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to hospital. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry       6     with fragments(碎片)of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the    7     took place. “Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked.

“No,” Jerry said. “But when I saw the     8     on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, ‘He is a dead man.’ ”

“A nurse asked if I was allergic(过敏的) to anything,” Jerry continued. “ ‘Yes,’ I     9    . The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my answer. I took a deep breath and yelled, ‘Bullets! ‘ Over their laughter, I told them, ‘Please operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.’ ”

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his       10     attitude. Attitude, after all, is everything.

5 . Use the words in the box to complete the following excerpt from a student’s speech.

commit            bounce around            rather than            come to a conclusion          define in common            radium            had a great influence on

Probably everyone dreams of having a great career, but first let’s     1    what this means. When thinking about what makes a career great, many ideas may    2     in your head, such as the desire for money, power, or fame. Different people might have different opinions about this, but wouldn’t it be kind of greedy to focus on money and fame     3    on something more meaningful? Please close your eyes and think of someone professional and successful. It could be a famous entrepreneur, a great leader, a scientist or an artist, or a teacher who     4    you. My choice would be Marie Curie, who discovered     5    . For me, she is great not just because she was world-famous, but because she made great contributions to mankind. Being a female scientist was much less common in her time, but in spite of this she devoted her life to her career. So I    6     that if you want a great career, you need to     7    yourself to something meaningful. I believe all great careers have this    8    .

6 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

（A）

A. source     B. steep       C. irrelevant     D. moderate   E. regrow     F. documented G. motivated     H. equivalent     I. comparatively   J. adapt       K. constantly

Adventure of a Lifetime

I was driving with a friend recently and telling him about a new book I’m working on, an article I'm writing and this new hobby of adventure motorcycling in the desert.

He interrupted me and said, “How do you stay so    1    about things?” I hadn’t really considered the “why” behind my list of activities. But as I thought about it, I realized that the one aspect each of these projects had to make me so excited was the feeling of being in just a little over my head.

It’s easy to wonder how doing stuff that makes you uncomfortable, and might not even work, is a（n）    2    of motivation. I could not get my friend’s question out of my head and wondered whether I'm wired differently. But there’s something about a sink-or-swim environment that excites me.

I posted on Instagram about    3    getting in a little over my head, and my friend Dallas Hartwig told me about this concept called hormesis, a phenomenon by which something that could significantly damage or even kill you in high doses can make you stronger in low doses, or as the National Institutes of Health puts it, an adaptive response of cells and organisms to a（n）    4    stress. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger is not a new concept. It’s well     5    that the way to grow muscle is to split the muscle tissue, and then give it time to    6    .

So what if we did the same thing in other areas of our lives? It makes sense that the business    7    of building muscle is trying new things. When you throw yourself into the deep end of something new, you often face a（n）    8    learning curve. That forces you to grow,    9    , change and develop your skill set. It’s almost    10    if the particular project ends up succeeding, because the very act of taking on something new helps you become better at your work over all.

7 . 选词填空

A. impact       B. pursue       C. superiority       D. address       E. consciously       F. lack G. reluctantly       H. opposite       I. involved       J. specific       K. limited

Although literally hundreds of traps can open a gateway to team disaster, the following traps are among the most common ones that need to be discussed.

Leader Abdication (退位)

Some managers, in their sincere efforts to be good team leaders, make a serious mistake: they withdraw from their group and     1     avoid interacting with team members. They wrongly assume that the best way they can help the team become more self-directed is by personally becoming less     2    .

Team Arrogance (自大)

A team can become so focused on achieving its own goals that it does not consider the     3     its actions may have on other groups or organizations. Outsiders see the team as arrogant and cruel. Insiders see the team as effective and misunderstood. Overall, the team’s belief in its own     4     has a damaging effect on the performance of the organization as a whole.

Undefined Responsibility

In this trap, a team may regularly make decision on which no following action is ever taken. Members are then frustrated by the collective     5     of responsibility. In instances where action is taken and the execution is poor or a mistake is made, no one takes responsibility. It is rarely clear who is responsible for     6     action items, and when an action item is regarded as the responsibility of the entire team, nothing happens.

Short-term Focus

Failure to see the “big picture” can lead a team to     7     strategies that help improve its own performance but leave the rest of the organization in a mess. Not having the information that allows seeing the forest rather than the trees can lead to suspect plans and poorly reasoned decision.

Decision by Default (默认)

Teams that have a tendency to repeatedly postpone difficult decisions will find that their options become increasingly     8    . Ironically, by hesitating, the team finally makes a decision—by default rather than by informed choices.

Participation Tricks

Tricks to increase employee involvement and participation—like suggestion boxes—can actually have the     9     effect. When individuals are rewarded for contributing suggestions through cash, there is little incentive (激励) for team members to work together to     10     problems and implement solutions.

8 . Directions:Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. emphasis B. compliments C. attempt D. current E. create F. reverse G. confidently H. fades I. simplify J. positively

The business of beauty is shining everywhere. Women are spending much of their time and money on buying beauty products in order to get     1    from others. Even in the third world countries, women living below the poverty line, buy cheap wig and substandard beauty products, which do more harm to their skin than good.

Youthful beauty     2     with time, but, with cultivation, inner beauty grows rich. The good news is that it’s never too late or too soon to lay much     3     on your inner beauty. A good place to start is to     4     self-awareness by locating your passions and using them     5    . Then your dinner beauty will grow and radiate to your outer self.

Believe that you have an inner self to explore and that you are willing to let yourself develop your innate talents and gifts. Here are a few quotes about     6     ideas to consider carefully.

“Go     7     into the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. As you     8     your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler!”--Henry David Thoreau.

“Often people    9     to live their lives backward: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so that they will be happier. The way it actually works is the     10    . You must first be who you really are, then, do what you need to do, in order to have what you want.”--Manager Young.

9 . Directions：Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once Note that there is one word more than you need.

A.definitely；B.suffering；C.acceptance；D.discouraged；E. supposedly F.terms；G.optimism；H.sustained；I. punishing；J.favored；K.obstacle

Happiness is not natural.It is a here human construct. A state of contentment(let alone happiness) is     1     by our genetic design because it would lower our guard against possible threats to our survival.

Chasing happiness is like chasing an elusive ghost, but the positive thinking industry claims to know its secrets.Self-help was popularized by Norman Vincent Peale, a colorful American pastor,       2    by several Republican presidents, including Richard Nixon and Donald Trump. He invented “positive thinking'", a concept now deeply embedded in our culture and steadily growing in influence.The global personal development industry was valued at S38.28 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a rate of 5.1%.

Popular films and books are full of     3     inspirational statements about how all you need to do is believe in yourself and then you'll be able to achieve anything in life. This is simply, and obviously, not true. I don't think there is a need to explain that many obstacles and misfortunes in life are inevitable, or unsurmountable. Our ancestors knew this, and many philosophical and religious traditions are based on the     4     that being alive is a very challenging task,which comes with significant amounts of suffering. It goes without saying that we should do all we can to maximize our sense of well-being and minimize our suffering, but the end result cannot be a state of     5     happiness.We are not designed that way.

The self-help genre is not a homegeneous beast, however. It is,in fact, ironie how self-help books on happiness and those on how to make it big in life are lumped together in the same bookshop shelves, given that many of the former tell us that caring too much about the latter is the main     6     to happiness.

The inevitable clash between mandatory     7     and the realities of our existence comes with a heavy psychological price. It could be argued that positive psychology blames those who are suffering for their     8     ,as it is based on the misconception that unhappiness is entirely avoidable.It follows therefore that an unhappy person must be inadequate and incompetent.Positive psychology encourages people who are struggling with a particular goal to persevere in the face of unfavorable odds, which is much more     9     psychologically in the long run than accepting defeat.

I believe that coming to     10    with life as it is,and not the happiness industry tells us it could be, will make us happier, and we will feel more at peace with ourselves and with the world. Unfortunately, the devil always has the best tunes.

10 . 选词填空

ran；later；anyone；end；fast；playing；parents；that；If； however

When I was young, I liked to play jokes on people I knew, especially on my     1    and friends. One day my mother was cooking and I was     2     with my younger brother Tony. Suddenly I     3     to my mother and said,"Tony fell from the open window!" She was very   worried and ran out of the kitchen. Then I said, "Don't worry, I'm just joking"And my mother shouted at me, "    4     you do it again , I'll hit you."

Another day I went swimming with my friends in the sea. I wanted to play a joke on them. In the beginning, I swam     5    and I called out, "Help!" All my friends came to help me,    6     , they found that I was joking.

But half an hour     7     I wasn't joking. I was so fast    8     I got tired and couldn’t swim on in water. I tried my best to call my friends for help, but this time nobody came to help me.In the     9    They found I was telling the truth. They came and saved my life. They took me to the hospital. This is the best lesson in my life. From then on, I haven't joked on    10    .