1 . From now on, never spend your precious time thinking of reasons for your failures and shortcomings. Instead, realize that the seeds of success were planted within you when you were born. Only you have the power to make those seeds grow.
The seeds, and the power to grow them, are contained in the most awesome machine ever created：the human mind. Success is a choice and not a chance. You were born a winner. You were born rich. You can be a success if only you make the right choice.
You cannot be successful without first developing your self-esteem. Your level of self-esteem is always based on the degree of control that you are able to exercise over yourself, and thus over your life. People with low self-esteem are people who do not believe that they have any power, or responsibility for their lives. They are the perennial（长期的）victims and martyrs. They are leaves tossed（摇摆）by the winds of chance blown about with any sudden change in the weather.
You can exercise control over your life only to the degree that you believe that you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. Failures think that everything happens by accident and chance. Successful people realize that they are responsible.
Everything happens as a result of something. If we can identify the cause, we can control the effect. We are responsible for what we choose to think and believe. One generally rises to the level that one expects. We are responsible for setting our expectations. Our success is dependent upon our level of confidence.
If you associate with positive-thinking people, you are definitely going to achieve success. On the contrary, the opposite happens. We are responsible for finding, planting, and nurturing the seeds that contain future victory, born from setbacks.
In short, in all areas of your life, whether they be financial, physical, emotional, or spiritual, you are responsible. Once you recognize this, accept it, and firmly believe it, you are on the road to success.
1. People with low self-esteem are compared to leaves because they ______.| A．are ready to change their minds | B．are easily affected by windy weather |
| C．don't have the power to face their fate | D．can't exercise control over themselves |
| A．success is the result of hard work | B．working hard will lead to success |
| C．their failure is only because of bad luck | D．they don't make efforts to succeed |
| A．whether we will succeed depends on our attitudes |
| B．one’s expectation is the key to future success |
| C．thoughts and beliefs are the result of creative mind |
| D．setting our expectations is essential before taking action |
| A．the proof of the author's points | B．the conclusion of the argument |
| C．an introduction to another topic | D．a comparison between two views |
| A．The secrets of success． | B．Success is a choice． |
| C．Develop our confidence． | D．How to achieve success． |
2 . Each of us fails from time to time. If we are wise, we accept these
Donnie was a third-grader. His
Mary was a young and pretty teacher, and she loved children. That’s the reason why her pupils, including Donnie,
One morning the students were
Mary looked at her student carefully. Then from the desk, She got a
“See these pencils, Donnie?” she continued. “They belong to me. See how the erasers are
She kissed Donnie and stood up. “ Here,” she said, “ I’ll
The pencil became Donnie’s prized
| A．ideas | B．failures | C．offers | D．apologies |
| A．draw | B．hide | C．give | D．face |
| A．fear | B．anger | C．guess | D．doubt |
| A．still | B．seldom | C．only | D．even |
| A．praised | B．avoided | C．respected | D．minded |
| A．anything | B．everything | C．something | D．nothing |
| A．creating | B．working | C．causing | D．choosing |
| A．Pleased | B．Surprised | C．Disappointed | D．Ashamed |
| A．on | B．by | C．for | D．with |
| A．found | B．changed | C．saved | D．missed |
| A．container | B．package | C．suitcase | D．wallet |
| A．helping | B．.making | C．lifting | D．showing |
| A．arranged | B．removed | C．grasped | D．provided |
| A．worn | B．paid | C．done | D．held |
| A．since | B．if | C．or | D．but |
| A．agree | B．decide | C．learn | D．expect |
| A．borrow | B．check | C．spread | D．leave |
| A．trouble | B．fun | C．trust | D．pain |
| A．possession | B．suggestion | C．information | D．evaluation |
| A．examined | B．persuaded | C．introduced | D．satisfied |
Have you seen people who take pictures of food for more than 10 minutes before eating? How about those who beautify their selfie (自拍) so much that they can’t be
Take my friend Chen for example. Every time we went to a restaurant, she would not take a
Many people care too much about others’ opinions and try too hard to
If they really want an elegant life, they should put more
| A．envied | B．admired | C．defeated | D．recognized |
| A．survive | B．exist | C．flood | D．spot |
| A．how | B．what | C．where | D．whom |
| A．bow | B．bite | C．breath | D．break |
| A．offered | B．served | C．ordered | D．prepared |
| A．cooking | B．washing | C．setting | D．collecting |
| A．arranged | B．messy | C．casual | D．correct |
| A．dishes | B．restaurants | C．pictures | D．tables |
| A．choice | B．chance | C．excuse | D．reason |
| A．months | B．years | C．weeks | D．days |
| A．comfort | B．inspire | C．please | D．discourage |
| A．independent | B．generous | C．responsible | D．confident |
| A．secret | B．healthy | C．peaceful | D．real |
| A．rarely | B．hardly | C．exactly | D．nearly |
| A．change | B．difficulty | C．guidance | D．harm |
| A．question | B．dislike | C．follow | D．doubt |
| A．effort | B．ambitions | C．feelings | D．money |
| A．other than | B．more than | C．rather than | D．less than |
| A．identifying | B．amusing | C．persuading | D．accepting |
| A．simplifying | B．ruining | C．beautifying | D．worsening |
Nowadays it is not unusual for many students to find part-time jobs. During this past summer holidays, I once worked as ...
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That’s all. Thank you.
The old man walked slowly into the restaurant. His poor jacket, patched (打补丁) trousers, and worn-out shoes made him stand out from the usual Saturday morning breakfast crowd. Unforgettable were his pale blue eyes that sparkled (闪耀) like diamonds，large rosy cheeks，and thin lips that held a steady smile．
With the help of his trusty cane (拐杖), he walked toward a table by the window．A young waitress watched him and ran over to him，saying，"Here，Sir．Let me give you a hand with that chair．"
Without a word，he smiled and nodded a thank you．She pulled the chair away from the table．Supporting him with one arm，she helped him move in front of the chair，and get comfortably seated．Then she pushed the table up close to him，and leaned his cane against the table where he could reach it．
In a soft，clear voice he said，"Thank you，Miss．"
"You're welcome，Sir．"She replied．"My name is Mary．I'll be back in a moment．If you need anything，just wave at me．"
After he had finished a hearty meal of pancakes，bacon，and hot lemon tea，Mary brought him the change，helping him up from his chair and out from behind the table．She handed him his cane，and walked with him to the front door．Holding the door open for him，she said，"Come back and see us，Sir!"
He nodded a thank you and said softly with a smile，"You are very kind!"
When Mary went to clean his table，she was shocked．Under his plate she found a business card and a note written on the napkin，under which was a $ 100bill．
The note on the napkin read，"Dear Mary，I respect you very much，and you respect yourself，too．It shows by the way you treat others．You have found the secret of happiness．Your kind gestures will shine through those who meet you．"
The man she had served was the owner of the restaurant．This was the first time that she，or any of his employees，had seen him in person．
1. When did the story happen? ( no more than 10 words)2. Please explain the underlined phrase “stand out” in English. (no more than 5 words)
3. What did the old man think of the waitress’ service? (no more than 8 words)
4. Why did the old man leave a 100 bill? (no more than 12 words)
5. According to the passage, how do you understand the meaning of “Happiness”? (no more than 25 words)
6 . Every day around the world, thousands of people with little to no scholarly training in art history walk into museums. They may or may not read notice boards that share relevant information of the artworks or artists. Imagine, before being permitted to direct their eyeballs to the art on the walls, museum visitors were required to read a 15-or 20-page introduction to each piece or each artist. How many people would go to museums if that were the case?
Yet this seems to be the expectation when it comes to reading classic literature. Classic novels typically come with 15-or 20-page introductions, which often include spoilers, assuming that readers do not come to classic books to discover, be absorbed in, and be surprised by the story world. Also, apparently, we mustn't read classics alone, without experts guiding our experiences.
However, classic literature is in a unique position to show us that we' re not alone in our pains and joys. By taking us out of our time, classic books free us to see beyond the set of beliefs we stick to and to connect human experiences that remain alive across time and place. What could be more grounding, more comforting, than seeing ourselves in the battles, longings, and pleasures that have played out across hundreds, thousands of years of human history? Our personal engagement is the first step of a longer journey of discovery that deepens our knowledge and understanding of ourselves and our world. We may for example, feel for Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter though we despair of the world she lived in.
While we're letting go of things, let's stop worrying about understanding everything. We can't. It will be fun if we embrace curiosity, the pleasure of working out a mystery, and our common relationships as humans. We can feel, for example, the power of self-sacrifice in Charles Dickens'A Tale of Two Cities even when we lack full understanding of the cultural references and language.
1. Most museum goers_________.| A．lack professional art knowledge |
| B．understand the artworks well |
| C．enjoy reading notice boards |
| D．share common interest in artworks |
| A．Story writers |
| B．Readers' expectations. |
| C．Plots given away in advance |
| D．Guiding experts |
| A．Showing curiosity about the writers |
| B．Letting go of things. |
| C．Working out mysteries. |
| D．Trying to understanding everything. |
| A．We should find more fun from classics. |
| B．Classic literature benefits readers a great deal |
| C．Experts need to give readers better guidance. |
| D．Reading classics is a personal exploration. |
In the animal kingdom, weakness can bring about aggression in other animal. This sometimes happens with humans also. But I have found that my weakness brings out the kindness in people. I see it every day when people hold doors for me, pour cream into my coffee, or help me to put on my coat. And I have discovered that it makes them happy.
From my wheelchair experience, I see the best in people, but sometimes I feel sad because those who appear independent miss the kindness I see daily. They don’t get to see this soft side of others. Often, we try every way possible to avoid showing our weakness, which includes a lot of pretending. But only when we stop pretending we’ re brave or strong do we allow people to show the kindness that’ s in them.
Last month, when I was driving home on a busy highway, I began to feel unwell and drove more slowly than usual. People behind me began to get impatient and angry, with some speeding up alongside me, horning (按喇叭) or even shouting at me. At that moment，I decided to do something I had never done in twenty-four years of driving. I put on the car flashlights and drove on at a really low speed.
No more angry shouts and no more horns!
When I put on my flashlights, I was saying to the other drivers, “I have a problem here. I am weak and doing the best I can.” And everyone understood. Several times, I saw drivers who wanted to pass. They couldn’t get around me because of the stream of passing traffic. But instead of getting impatient and angry, they waited, knowing the driver in front of them was in some way weak.
Sometimes situations call for us to act strong and brave even when we don’t feel that way. But those are few and far between. More often, it would be better if we don’t pretend we feel strong when we feel weak or pretend that we are brave when we are scared.
1. When will people feel happy as the author has discovered? (No more than 7 words)2. Why does the author feel sad sometimes in Paragraph 2? (No more than 12 words)
3. What did the other drivers do when they saw the flashlights (No more than 4 words)t?
4. What does the underlined the sentence in Paragraph 6 probably mean? (No more than 5 words)
5. What can we learn from the author’s experience? (No more than 20 words).
8 . Our first year in New York we rented a small apartment with a Catholic school nearby, taught by the Sister of Charity, strong women in long black gowns and bats. I liked them a lot, especially my grandmotherly fourth grade teacher，Sister Zoe. I had a lovely name, she said, and she had me teach the whole class how to pronounce it: Yo-lan-da. As the only immigrant in my class, I was put in a special seat in the first row by the window, apart from the other children so that Sister Zoe could tutor me without disturbing them. Slowly, she enunciated(发音) the new words for me to repeat: cornflakes, subway, snow.
Soon I picked up enough English to understand a horrible wars was in the air. Sister Zoe explained to us that Russian missiles(导弹) were being collected and brought together, aimed supposedly on New York City.On the television. President Kennedy, looking worried too, was in the television at home, explaining we might have to go to war against the enemies. At school, we had air-raid drills: a worrying bell would go off and we’d move into the hall, fall to the floor, and shelter our heads with our coats. And at home, Mom and I prayed for world peace. I heard new vocabulary: nuclear bomb, radioactive fallout(放射性沉降物), bomb shelter. Sister Zoe explained how it would happen. She drew on the blackboard a picture of a mushroom and a cloud of dusty fallout that would kill us all.
The months grew cold, November, December. It was dark when I got up in the morning, and frosty when I followed my breath to school. One morning, as I sat at my desk daydreaming, out the window, I saw dots in the air like the ones Sister Zoe had drawn—random at first, then lots and lots. I screamed, “Bomb！Bomb！” Sister Zoe hurried to me. A few girls began to cry.
But then Sister Zoe’s shocked look disappeared. “Why, Yolanda dear, that’s snow!” She laughed. “Snow.”“Snow，” I repeated. I looked out the window cautiously. All my life I had heard about the white snow that fell out of American skies in the winter. From my desk I watched the fine-powder dust the sidewalk and parked cars below.“Each flake(雪花) was different，”Sister Zoe had said，“like a person，irreplaceable and beautiful.”
1. Why was the author seated apart from the other children?| A．Because she was punished for not speaking English. |
| B．Because the teacher could help her without bothering others. |
| C．Because she had trouble hearing the teacher clearly. |
| D．Because she was shy and afraid of talking to other students. |
| A．She paid no attention to the performance of her students. |
| B．She was an immigrant from America. |
| C．She taught students to draw a picture of mushroom. |
| D．She was a thoughtful and caring teacher. |
| A．hide themselves under their desks. |
| B．run to their homes immediately. |
| C．pray for world peace together. |
| D．cover their heads with their coats. |
| A．move into the hall immediately | B．corrected her patiently. |
| C．scolded her for making other girls cry | D．announced an air-raid-drill. |
| A．Snow | B．Air-raid-drills. |
| C．The Sister of Charity | D．My Childhood in New York. |
9 . It was a beautiful day with the sun shining brightly.
“There is no doubt that a person who puts in a great deal of
That night I could not fall asleep. With my eyes wide open, I lay in bed tossing and turning asking myself, “What’s my motivation?” I wanted to be a top student, but the hard work
| A．Hesitant | B．Eager | C．Satisfied | D．Unwilling |
| A．worried | B．anxious | C．scared | D．exhausted |
| A．Therefore | B．However | C．Meanwhile | D．Furthermore |
| A．left | B．caused | C．pushed | D．brought |
| A．career | B．story | C．idea | D．confusion |
| A．behave | B．respond | C．perform | D．impress |
| A．somebody | B．everybody | C．nobody | D．anybody |
| A．clearly | B．directly | C．shortly | D．rapidly |
| A．chef | B．scholar | C．deliveryman | D．businessman |
| A．skilled | B．gifted | C．diligent | D．knowledgeable |
| A．make sure | B．check in | C．figure out | D．count on |
| A．secure | B．tough | C．reliable | D．boring |
| A．talent | B．potential | C．effort | D．ambition |
| A．chase | B．create | C．change | D．promote |
| A．directed | B．connected | C．pulled | D．involved |
| A．demand | B．ability | C．strength | D．passion |
| A．desiring | B．sharing | C．lacking | D．possessing |
| A．experience | B．achieve | C．grasp | D．recognize |
| A．shocked | B．amused | C．honored | D．greeted |
| A．unexpected | B．pleasant | C．relaxing | D．challenging |
10 . The mind is a wonderful thing.It’s also excuse-making machine that frequently tries to convince us not to take action we know are good for us.If we hadn't learned about these excuses, or how to overcome them, we would never have succeeded in making these positive changes.
So why does the mind mess with us and make unreasonable excuses? Because the mind wants comfort, that's the reason.It’s afraid of discomfort, pressure and change.The mind is absorbed in its comfort zone, and anytime we try to stretch that zone too far, for too long, the mind tries desperately to get back to "ground zero" at any cost.These damaging excuses, such as "I can't do it", "It is too hard for me", "It’s too late now" and so on, are no strangers to our minds.
It seems too difficult at first, so you think you can't stick to the positive change you're making.This excuse can be countered (对抗）by looking at the fact that other people were no more capable than you thought you were.For example, my 60-year-old next-door neighbor finished running a marathon, so I told myself, "If she can do it, so can I !" Truth be told, the only person who tells you "I can't" is yourself.If you hear those words echoing in the back of your mind, tune them out.
I've witnessed people reinventing themselves at all ages 48-year-olds starting families, 57-year-olds graduating from college for the first time, 71-year-olds starting successful businesses, and so forth.
Another common excuse is that "I've already failed too much." If you break down, it's fine, because you are only human.Just don't stay down; take a rest, and then pick yourself up so you can go to where you'd rather be.As Winston Churchill said, "Success is never final; failure is never fatal .It is courage to continue that counts."
Some people feel like quitting when they have almost reached their goal, while others attain goals through their efforts until the last second.So make some necessary adjustments to get rid of the bad habit of making excuses.Keep going! No excuses! Think, work, and climb, that's how you'll move your life forward.
1. Why does our mind make excuses?| A．It tends to seek comforts rather than suffering. |
| B．It needs rest and relaxation . |
| C．It is preparing for the difficult times. |
| D．It is the way it tries to find a solution. |
| A．The lowest spot. | B．The safest place |
| C．The original place | D．The proper position |
| A．completing a marathon was not too difficult |
| B．people often neglect their abilities |
| C．looking down upon the others is wrong |
| D．people shouldn't let negative thoughts step in their way |
| A．learn from those good examples |
| B．stop for a while and examine himself |
| C．try to adjust himself, and get back on his feet |
| D．look for new directions and keep trying |
| A．To tell readers how to make a change. |
| B．To help readers develop a new view of life. |
| C．To encourage readers to leave their comfortable zone. |
| D．To tell readers to stop making excuses and keep fighting. |
