1 . I was born legally blind. Of all the stories of my early childhood, the one about a______is my mother's favorite.

I was only two when the______occurred. We had just arrived home from a trip. Mom lifted me out of the car and _____to speak to the driver. I took advantage of my brief______to dash across the lawn (草坪) — and hit a large maple tree! I was running so fast that I bounced off the trunk and______on my backside. Mom______me to start crying, but I just sat there for a minute. Then I______myself up and kept right on going. Mom always______here that, as many times as I______across the lawn after that, I never again______into that tree.

Mom loves to use this story as an______. It reminds her that children don't enter life______to take risks or unwilling to______again when they fall down. She never wanted me to lose that______as I grew older. When I______my major life decisions，I was still that little girl tearing full-speed across the lawn. I studied abroad and later moved away from my parents' home to look for a______, Through years of______, I have become a respected teacher in a school serving high-need students.

We are almost certain to get______at some point during the process of achieving our goal. When that happens, don't sit in the grass and______. Just get up and keep on going. It will all be worth it______.

1.

A．trip

B．race

C．tree

D．driver

2.

A．incident

B．change

C．illness

D．problem

3.

A．feared

B．refused

C．forgot

D．turned

4.

A．delay

B．absence

C．freedom

D．rest

5.

A．landed

B．slept

C．laughed

D．wept

6.

A．promised

B．encouraged

C．allowed

D．expected

7.

A．woke

B．picked

C．warmed

D．gave

8.

A．adds

B．replies

C．admits

D．supposes

9.

A．drove

B．lived

C．stood

D．zoomed

10.

A．crashed

B．broke

C．climbed

D．looked

11.

A．answer

B．example

C．excuse

D．order

12.

A．able

B．ashamed

C．afraid

D．anxious

13.

A．ask

B．share

C．learn

D．try

14.

A．honesty

B．toughness

C．kindness

D．curiosity

15.

A．regretted

B．reviewed

C．made

D．explained

16.

A．job

B．friend

C．fortune

D．house

17.

A．memories

B．efforts

C．research

D．experience

18.

A．mixed up

B．fed up

C．knocked down

D．settled down

19.

A．play

B．relax

C．dream

D．cry

20.

A．all at once

B．in the end

C．in either case

D．as a result

2 . 阅读表达

“Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy---they're given after all. Choices can be hard.”

I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2300 percent per year. I'd never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30, and I’d been married for a year. I told my wife that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn't work since most start-ups don’t and I wasn't sure what to expect. She told me I should go for it. As a young boy, I had been a garage inventor. I had always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.

I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people and a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him that I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park，listened carefully to me and finally said,“That sounds like a really good idea，but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn't already have a good job.”That logic made some sense to me，and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice，but ultimately, I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn't think I would regret trying and failing. And I suspected that I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.

After much consideration, I took the less secure path to follow my passion, and I'm proud of that choice. For all of us, in the end, we are our choices.

1. What inspired the author to start Amazon 16 years ago? (No more than 15 words)
2. How did the author’s wife respond to his crazy idea of building an online bookstore? (No more than 10 words)
3. What was the attitude of the author’s boss towards his starting a company online? (No more than 10 words)
4. What’s your understanding of the underlined sentence in the last paragraph? (No more than 15 words)
5. What is the most important factor when you make your career choice? Give your reasons. (No more than 20 words)

3 . “If they hated me they didn’t talk to me about it,” says a young German manager at a media firm in Frankfurt. Still, he says it was noticeable that when an employee 20 years older than him thanked him for buying lunch he had to swallow twice before adding the word “boss”.

Older workers sometimes envy being managed by a younger colleague. Precocious (老成的) youngsters, too, can feel awkward about bossing their elders around. But in Germany a shortage of skilled workers means that such situations are becoming even more common.

The country’s population is projected to shrink. As more Germans retire，fewer youngsters are entering the work-place to replace them. As a share of the working population the number of

15-to-24-year-olds has fallen by ten percent since the 1980s, says the German Federal Employment Agency. Firms competing to hire young talent have to promote them earlier as a result. A paper by professors at the university of Cambridge and WHU, a German business school, to be published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior, suggests this could be a problem.

As in many countries, German work-places are legally obliged to overlook age when deciding whom to promote. Yet according to Jochen Menges, one of the authors, when an ordinary worker leap-frogs a more experienced one it can leave the latter with feelings of “anger, fear and disgust.” People tend to judge their own standing by the success of their peers, and to see failure in being bossed about by someone younger. The relationship between feelings of anxiety and the age of the boss is clear, according to Mr Menges. A manager who is younger by one year is somewhat unsettling; a gap of 20 years is far more discouraging.

German firms certainly shouldn’t return to a system in which age equals to rank. But young people tend to be sensitive about managing upwards. And older workers should be encouraged to see the bright side of learning new skills. Daimler, a big German car firm, says it promotes age- mixed teams, so that knowledge can be transferred between generations. It also supports young managers by asking retired employees to provide temporary support.

1. For what does the author mention a young German manager and his experience in Paragraph 1?

A．To introduce the topic.	B．To present an argument.
C．To attract readers’ interest.	D．To describe his own idea.

2. Why are some precocious youngsters bossing their elders around in Germany？

A．Precocious youngsters are all skilled workers.

B．Such situations are becoming more common.

C．Fewer youngsters would like to do hard work.

D．Companies compete fiercely to hire young talent.

3. In which of the following situations might an employee regard himself as a failure according to the passage?

A．When he has to decide whom to promote.

B．When he leap-frogs a more experienced worker.

C．When he is being bossed about by someone younger.

D．When he experiences feelings of anger, fear and disgust.

4. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．A younger boss is more likely to be nervous and anxious.

B．An employee with a younger boss tends to suffer from anxiety.

C．There is a connection between anxiety and the age of promotion.

D．The age of the boss and anxiety are closely related.

5. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Qualified workers should be promoted to boss.

B．Older workers should support younger managers.

C．Older workers are no better than younger colleagues.

D．You are never too old to learn, or too young to mange.

4 . You are a member in a full-time school called “life”. Each day here you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or hate them, but you have designed them as part of your curriculum.

Why are you here? What is your purpose? Humans have sought to discover the meaning of life for a very long time. What we and our ancestors have to overlook is that there is no one answer. The meaning of life is different for every individual.

Each person has his own purpose and distinct path, unique and separate from anyone else’s. As you are traveling your life path, you will be presented with numerous lessons you will need to learn in order to achieve that purpose. The lessons you are presented with are specific to you; learning these lessons is the key to discovering and achieving the meaning of your own life.

As you are traveling through your lifetime, you may meet challenging lessons that others don’t have to face, while others spend years struggling with challenges that you don’t need to deal with. You may never know why you are blessed with a wonderful marriage, while your friends suffer painful divorces, just as you cannot be sure why you struggle financially while your peers enjoy abundance. The only thing you can count on is that you will be presented with all the lessons that you specifically need to learn.

The challenge, therefore, is to arrange yourself with your own unique path by learning individual lessons. This is one of the most difficult challenges you will face in your lifetime, as sometimes your path will be different from others. But don’t compare your path with that of people around you and focus on the differences between their lessons and yours. You need to remember that you will only face lessons that you can learn and are specific to your own growth.

Our sense of fairness is the expectation of equality. Life is not, in fact, fair, and you may indeed have a more difficult life path than others around you, deserved or not. Everyone’s circumstances are unique, and everyone needs to handle his or her own circumstances differently.

1. According to the passage, how can the meaning of your life be realized?

A．Gathering different opinions from others

B．Taking the distinct path from others.

C．Learning the lessons presented to you.

D．Doing the different things from others.

2. From the passage we can conclude     .

A．everyone has his own track to follow

B．unexpected things usually happen to the peers

C．a painful divorce must lie in financial problems

D．a wealthy man must have a wonderful marriage

3. In your lifetime, the lessons you are faced with      .

A．are beyond your power

B．keep you from growth

C．limit your development

D．help you with your success

4. Which of the following is TRUE?

A．All things should be equal and justice to everybody.

B．You should learn to deal with specific problems differently from others.

C．One has to fix his mind on unfairness of circumstances.

D．You can complain life is unfair whenever possible.

5. Life is called a full–time school, because      .

A．it is full of all lessons to learn

B．you have plenty of time to learn lessons

C．you meet with specific lessons every day

D．you can learn many things helpful to you

5 . I got a new pair of eyeglasses recently. Because stigmatism（去像散性）had started to___________with my nearsightedness，making things a little bit________

It has taken me several days to get used to the new_____________，While it was great seeing clearly at a_______ again and wonderful being able to _________ a book without it being an inch from my face，the combination lenses（组合镜片）were a（n）___________ for me. The problem was that whenever I was_________ something far away，I had to keep my eyes up，___________I would get a wave of blurriness（模糊）when I _________ looked through the reading part of the lenses. I am __________ that my eyes are now getting used to the new glasses. It is no ____________ living in an unclear world. I really ____________ the help of the new glasses.

I am grateful for this new pair of glasses for another reason too. They have taught me a（n）____________that I will hold close to my heart forever: Whenever you ____________to see the road ahead clearly，look up！Too often in my life I have kept the eyes of my soul looking __________ to the ground. When I __________ ，the world seemed like a scary，unclear，and depressing place. When I raised those eyes，though，my____________ always became clear. I saw that life is good and when I help others，I make it even ____________. I saw that no matter what each day may throw at me，I can____________ it with a loving heart and a joyful spirit. Whenever your life seems ________ or overwhelming，just look up！

1.

A．battle

B．compare

C．deal

D．mix

2.

A．unusual

B．impractical

C．unclear

D．impossible

3.

A．culture

B．pair

C．temperature

D．house.

4.

A．distance

B．length

C．speed

D．rate

5.

A．pick

B．print

C．translate

D．read

6.

A．experiment

B．force

C．challenge

D．choice

7.

A．listening to

B．talking about

C．thinking of

D．looking at

8.

A．otherwise

B．however

C．therefore

D．meanwhile

9.

A．eventually

B．accidentally.

C．unfortunately

D．gradually

10.

A．glad

B．aware

C．certain

D．proud

11.

A．use

B．fun

C．doubt

D．wonder

12.

A．want

B．offer

C．appreciate

D．refuse

13.

A．truth

B．way

C．effect

D．language

14.

A．regret

B．manage

C．agree

D．need

15.

A．forward

B．around

C．down

D．back

16.

A．did

B．admitted to

C．finished

D．left

17.

A．interest

B．view

C．prejudice

D．ability

18.

A．slower

B．safer

C．easier

D．better

19.

A．lose

B．push

C．face

D．remember

20.

A．exciting

B．frightening

C．meaningful

D．peaceful

6 . For years I have had no idea what I have been doing with my life. I was a 30-year-old lawyer in New York.___being a lawyer was never my dream or goal in life. I honestly wanted to be a writer. I have a great__________and would write amazing stories in my head. But I always knew that being a writer was_________ possible for me because it was a better________ decision to stay a lawyer.

Recently，I couldn't fall asleep___________my usual time of 10 p. m，and when I did fall asleep I had the same dream_________ The dream started with me in the ocean ________to go for a swim and I was searching for something，but I started to_________ and have no control over my__________Then a light shone through the water and when I looked up all I could_________was myself in a bright white room writing a ________ Then I heard a voice said_________ ，"Now is the time to try something new；now is the time to try something new.”

It wasn't just a dream；it was my_________ to make something good out of my life. That afternoon，I________ my job at the law firm and I couldn't have been any _________My life started at 30，and every day _______ that point I haven't stopped enjoying life. I started to_________and have been on the best-seller list for the last two months. Things have definitely turned_______

________ is a good thing, it gives us an opportunity to take a chance. So my two favorite words I live by and so ___you are "change and chance".

1.

A．Because

B．So

C．But

D．While

2.

A．imagination

B．determination

C．identification

D．information

3.

A．almost

B．never

C．always

D．later

4.

A．controversial

B．essential

C．financial

D．initial

5.

A．in

B．on

C．at

D．by

6.

A．over and over again

B．all of a sudden

C．in the long run

D．on a large scale

7.

A．learning

B．trying

C．managing

D．agreeing

8.

A．scream

B．float

C．flee

D．drown

9.

A．life

B．head

C．hands

D．body

10.

A．hear

B．see

C．feel

D．imagine

11.

A．report

B．letter

C．journal

D．novel

12.

A．sadly

B．violently

C．repeatedly

D．unwillingly

13.

A．hobby

B．opportunity

C．duty

D．honor

14.

A．quit

B．lost

C．got

D．landed

15.

A．luckier

B．sadder

C．worse

D．happier

16.

A．before

B．after

C．since

D．until

17.

A．work

B．write

C．smile

D．read

18.

A．around

B．up

C．out

D．back

19.

A．Chance

B．Writing

C．Dreaming

D．Change

20.

A．need

B．will

C．must

D．should

7 . As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation.___ you are in the habit of rushing through life, being on the go from morning till night, it is hard to ______down and unwind(放松).But relaxation is____for a healthy mind and body.

Stress is a____part of everyday life. There is no way to ___it. In fact, it is not the “baddy” as it is often supposed to be. A___ amount of stress is important to provide motivation and give____to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control____it can lead to poor performance and____health.

The amount of stress a person can bear____very much on the individual. Some people are not afraid of stress, and such____are obviously chief material for managerial responsibilities. Others lose heart at first____of unusual difficulties. When exposed to stress, in____form, we react both chemically and physically. In fact, we make a choice between____and fight. And in more ancient days the choices made the____between life and death. The crises(危机)we meet today are____to be so extreme, but however little the stress, it involves the same response. It is when such a reaction ______long, through continued exposure to stress, that health becomes_______. Such serious conditions as high blood pressure, coronary heart disease all have____links with stress.___we cannot remove stress from our lives, we need to find ways to deal with it.

1.

A．When

B．While

C．Once

D．As

2.

A．slow

B．calm

C．get

D．turn

3.

A．unnecessary

B．satisfied

C．useful

D．necessary

4.

A．physical

B．natural

C．hard

D．terrible

5.

A．tolerate

B．solve

C．avoid

D．accept

6.

A．sure

B．certain

C．large

D．great

7.

A．purpose

B．resource

C．influence

D．instruction

8.

A．when

B．why

C．that

D．how

9.

A．ill

B．good

C．strong

D．weak

10.

A．insists

B．depends

C．calls

D．spends

11.

A．patterns

B．personalities

C．situations

D．characters

12.

A．glance

B．view

C．sight

D．impression

13.

A．whichever

B．whatever

C．however

D．whenever

14.

A．peace

B．fright

C．pressure

D．heaviness

15.

A．decision

B．promise

C．difference

D．choice

16.

A．unlikely

B．likely

C．necessary

D．probable

17.

A．continues

B．lives

C．stands

D．lasts

18.

A．balanced

B．injured

C．endangered

D．changeable

19.

A．established

B．achieved

C．found

D．developed

20.

A．Unless

B．Since

C．Because

D．As

8 . Any form of speech can be challenging, particularly if you are not used to talking in front of an audience. I am very _______ that I have been doing presentations and _______training programs for many years, _______ I have got used to the nervousness that always appears inside before I speak. The nervousness is always a(n) _______ thing for me as it allows me to channel my energy into what I want to say.

Just recently I had the pleasure of _______ at a conference about the key success factors (因素) in business and as usual in the days before my presentation I spent a lot of time _______ what I wanted to cover, as well as _______ the content.

I have always _______the level of success of my presentations by the applause (掌声) and _______that I receive from the audience. After the applause ended I had the __________ to personally speak to nearly all of the delegates (代表). The last delegate I spoke with __________ me by taking my hand, shaking it and saying how much she __________ my presentation, and that she had got a lot of __________ tips to use in her business. Usually I feel __________ after any presentation, and I know it is directly related to how much energy I put into what I do. __________, this time her praise gave me a great lift and recharged my batteries.

This __________at the end of my presentation also made me realize that what we __________ in life can come back to us and __________, we all need to value the praise when and where it is deserved. As I drove away from the __________ I reflected on how fortunate I had been to receive all those words of praise and __________that morning.

1.

A．curious

B．fortunate

C．doubtful

D．amazed

2.

A．copying

B．conducting

C．using

D．designing

3.

A．but

B．though

C．so

D．because

4.

A．impossible

B．natural

C．funny

D．good

5.

A．performing

B．speaking

C．educating

D．learning

6.

A．printing

B．reducing

C．researching

D．telling

7.

A．imagining

B．protecting

C．describing

D．preparing

8.

A．measured

B．changed

C．raised

D．adjusted

9.

A．gifts

B．advice

C．comments

D．invitation

10.

A．motivation

B．responsibility

C．plan

D．chance

11.

A．greeted

B．blamed

C．confused

D．welcomed

12.

A．explored

B．enjoyed

C．admired

D．expected

13.

A．interesting

B．simple

C．helpful

D．free

14.

A．excited

B．relaxed

C．embarrassed

D．tired

15.

A．However

B．Moreover

C．Otherwise

D．Therefore

16.

A．challenge

B．discovery

C．experience

D．accident

17.

A．figure out

B．set up

C．dream of

D．give out

18.

A．equally

B．differently

C．seriously

D．practically

19.

A．party

B．conference

C．school

D．ceremony

20.

A．achievement

B．comfort

C．trust

D．encouragement

9 . Would you BET on the future of this man? He is 53 years old. Most of his adult life has been a losing struggle against debt and misfortune. A war injury has made his left hand stop functioning, and he has often been in prison. Driven by heaven-knows-what motives, he determines to write a book.

The book turns out to be one that has appealed to the world for more than 350 years. That former prisoner was Cervantes, and the book was Don Quixote（《堂吉诃德》）. And the story poses an interesting question: why do some people discover new vitality and creativity to the end of their days, while others go to seed long before?

We’ve all known people who run out of steam before they reach life’s halfway mark. I’m not talking about those who fail to get to the top. We can’t all get there. I’m talking about people who have stopped learning on growing because they have adopted the fixed attitudes and opinions that all too often come with passing years.

Most of us, in fact, progressively narrow the variety of our lives. We succeed in our field of specialization and then become trapped in it. Nothing surprises us. We lose our sense of wonder. But, if we are willing to learn, the opportunities are everywhere.

The things we learn in maturity seldom involve information and skills. We learn to bear with the things we can’t change. We learn to avoid self-pity. We learn that however much we try to please, some people are never going to love us—an idea that troubles at first but is eventually relaxing.

With high motivation and enthusiasm, we can keep on learning. Then we will know how important it is to have meaning in our life. However, we can achieve meaning only if we have made a commitment to something larger than our own little egos(自我), whether to loved ones, to fellow humans, to work, or to some moral concept.

Many of us equate(视……等同于) “commitment” with such “caring” occupations as teaching and nursing. But doing any ordinary job as well as one can is in itself an admirable commitment. People who work toward such excellence—whether they are driving a truck, or running a store—make the world better just by being the kind of people they are. They’ve learned life’s most valuable lesson.

1. The passage starts with the story of Cervantes to show that ________.

A．loss of freedom stimulates one’s creativity

B．age is not a barrier to achieving one’s goal

C．misery inspires a man to fight against his fate

D．disability cannot stop a man’s pursuit of success

2. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．End one’s struggle for liberty.

B．Waste one’s energy taking risks.

C．Miss the opportunity to succeed.

D．Lose the interest to continue learning.

3. What could be inferred from Paragraph 4？

A．Those who dare to try often get themselves trapped.

B．Those who tend to think back can hardly go ahead.

C．Opportunity favors those with a curious mind.

D．Opportunity awaits those with a cautious mind.

4. What does the author intend to tell us in Paragraph 5？

A．A tough man can tolerate suffering.

B．A wise man can live without self-pity.

C．A man should try to satisfy people around him.

D．A man should learn suitable ways to deal with life.

5. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage？

A．To provide guidance on leading a meaningful adult life.

B．To stress the need of shouldering responsibilities at work.

C．To state the importance of generating motivation for learning.

D．To suggest a way of pursuing excellence in our lifelong career.

10 . I must have always known reading was very important because the first memories I have as a child deal with books. There was not one night that I don’t remember mom reading me a storybook by my bedside. I was extremely inspired by the elegant way the words sounded.

I always wanted to know what my mom was reading. Hearing mom say, “I can’t believe what’s printed in the newspaper this morning,” made me want to grab it out of her hands and read it myself. I wanted to be like my mom and know all of the things she knew. So I carried around a book, and each night, just to be like her, I would pretend to be reading.

This is how everyone learned to read. We would start off with sentences, then paragraphs, and then stories. It seemed an unending journey, but even as a six-year-old girl I realized that knowing how to read could open many doors. When mom said, “The C-A-N-D-Y is hidden on the top shelf,” I knew where the candy was. My progress in reading raised my curiosity, and I wanted to know everything. I often found myself telling my mom to drive more slowly, so that I could read all of the road signs we passed.

Most of my reading through primary, middle and high school was factual reading. I read for knowledge, and to make A’s on my tests. Occasionally, I would read a novel that was assigned, but I didn’t enjoy this type of reading. I liked facts, things that are concrete. I thought anything abstract left too much room for argument.

Yet, now that I’m growing and the world I once knew as being so simple is becoming more complex, I find myself needing a way to escape. By opening a novel, I can leave behind my burdens and enter into a wonderful and mysterious world where I am now a new character. In these worlds I can become anyone. I don’t have to write down what happened or what technique the author was using when he or she wrote this. I just read to relax.

We’re taught to read because it’s necessary for much of human understanding. Reading is a vital part of my life. Reading satisfies my desire to keep learning. And I’ve found that the possibilities that lie within books are limitless.

1. Why did the author want to grab the newspaper out of mom’s hands?

A．She wanted mom to read the news to her.

B．She was anxious to know what had happened.

C．She couldn’t wait to tear the newspaper apart.

D．She couldn’t help but stop mom from reading.

2. According to Paragraph 3, the author’s reading of road signs indicates ________.

A．her unique way to locate herself

B．her eagerness to develop her reading ability

C．her effort to remind mom to obey traffic rules

D．her growing desire to know the world around her

3. What was the author’s view on factual reading?

A．It would help her update test-taking skills.

B．It would allow much room for free thinking.

C．It would provide true and objective information.

D．It would help shape a realistic and serious attitude to life.

4. The author takes novel reading as a way to ________.

A．explore a fantasy land

B．develop a passion for learning

C．learn about the adult community

D．get away from a confusing world

5. What could be the best title for the passage?

A．The Magic of Reading

B．The Pleasure of Reading

C．Growing Up with Reading

D．Reading Makes a Full Man