1 . 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.

People hold different views on almost anything, mainly because of the culture we are familiar with or the education we have received. We live in a judgmental world where people are quick to point out the faults and imperfections of others, yet seem unaware of their own. Some     1     souls believe they have a duty to help you to be a better person by telling you what a failure you really are first and then offering suggestions as to how you can improve.

So what is the possible solution to criticism? If you are the one forcing others to feel     2     of themselves, STOP. Make a conscious decision rather than focus on the negative aspect of a person's performance or     3    . You'll offer helpful suggestions from the beginning. If I'm painting our living room and making a mess in doing so, I would like my husband to say to me, "This is a tough job. Can I offer a suggestion that might make it easier for you?" rather than have him point out what a careless painter I am and then tell me how I should be doing it.

If you are on the receiving end of criticism, the "OK" response is a perfect solution. When someone comments     4     on a task you are doing or a personality issue of yours, a natural response is to defend and attack. However, this approach is rarely effective as it puts both parties on the     5     . Instead, simply reply with "OK". This brief one-word response     6     the other person's comment without agreeing with it or feeling necessary to engage in a debate about it.

It is important to remain     7     attached to what the other person is saying, but to listen without feeling, to be an objective observer. In fact, there is much that one can learn from a 12 review. You can ask yourself: Did I make a mistake? Could I have done better? Did I give 100% of myself to the task at hand? If so, how can I improve myself? As for chronic (习惯性的) criticizers: It is important to set strict     8     with them. Remove yourself from their     9     when necessary.

In any case, one can learn to be "OK" with criticism and not allow it to negatively impact your life or relationship with the other party. Examine it for any potential     10    , and then let it go and just be "OK".

2 . Directions: Read the passage carefully. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

Losing Touch with Nature May Make You Sick

For something that’s not actually a recognized medical condition, Nature-Deficit Disorder (NDD) has gotten a lot of attention since it was first coined in 2005. Writer Richard Louv came up with the term in his book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.     1     Louv explained that children who play outside often are less likely to become ill, stressed, or aggressive compared to those who watch a lot of television and spend most of their free time indoors. Indeed, studies appear to back up that claim by noting that children who spend a significant amount of time outdoors tend to have better mental and physical health.     2     Nevertheless, they may be worsened by staying inside watching TV, playing video games, or being glued to a smartphone. What’s more, research also suggests that getting a nature fix can help boost the immune system.

According to Louv, the effects of NDD can be lessened or even reversed by making sure parents encourage their kids to enjoy playing outdoors as much as they can.     3     Rather, they should lead by example, spending time with them in the park, at the beach, camping, and doing other activities, Louv said. He added that children learn many important and practical skills while interacting with nature, like risk-taking, independence, and decision-making.     4    

A．However, mothers and fathers shouldn’t force their kids to go outside or use it as a type of punishment.

B．In turn, this aids in the development of confidence and overall good health.

C．Recent studies focus not so much on what is lost when nature experience fades, but on what is gained through more exposure to natural settings

D．He acknowledges that NDD is mostly a metaphor for a lifestyle lacking in contact with nature.

E．Schools that use outdoor classrooms and other forms of experiential education produce significant student gains in science, language and math.

F．Experts believe that problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (注意力缺乏多动症) can be relieved through contact with nature.

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.

Identify the problem, a goal, and a reward

Novelist Sarah Howery Hart says it's important that writers identify a specific problem, a goal, and a reward for any behavior they wish to change. In her conference workshops titled “Stuck, Tired, Bored, and Distracted: How Writers in Distress can use Psychology Tools to Overcome Common Writing-related Problems, she teaches techniques learned in her doctoral study of psychology to help writers become more     1     and efficient.

One of the most common     2     she hears is the lack of time to write. “First, we need to determine what that means,” she says. “Maybe it means that you do things that     3     your own writing, like checking emails and social media. Your next step is to determine how     4     this is happening.”

She offers her participants worksheets to help them measure how often a particular behavior occurs, and then asks them to     5     whether the behavior is truly a problem. “Let’s say you find that you check your email once an hour while you're writing. Is that too frequent? Only you can determine that, ’’ she says. “If you check your email and then move on to Facebook and then to Twitter-even if you’ve only checked once, this can take a(n)     6     15 minutes out of your writing hour. Also, you lose your     7     of thought and can’t remember what you were going to write next.”

She advises writers to set a goal - for instance, writing for an hour without checking email or social media. “And then you have to determine your reward     8    ,” she says. “How often will you need to reward yourself?”

She urges writers to assess their progress    9    . “After a day, after a few days，are you meeting your goals?” she says. “If the reward didn’t work, you may need to     10     it. Maybe reading a book for 15 minutes wasn't the strongest reward for you because you read for two hours when you go to bed at night. Maybe you’d rather go to the gym or out for a half-hour run.”

4 . Directions: Read the passage carefully. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.
True intelligence

Taking charge of yourself involves putting to rest some very prevalent myths. At the top of the list is the notion that intelligence is measured by your ability to solve complex problems, to read, write and compute at certain levels, and to resolve abstract equations quickly.     1    It encourages a kind of intellectual prejudice that has brought with it some discouraging results. We have come to believe that someone who has more educational merit badges, who is very good at some form of school discipline is "intelligent". Yet mental hospitals are filled with patients who have all of the properly lettered certificates. A truer indicator of intelligence is an effective, happy life lived each day and each present moment of every day.     2    

Problem solving is a useful help to your happiness, but if you know that given your inability to resolve a particular concern you can still choose happiness for yourself, or at a minimum refuse to choose unhappiness, then you are intelligent. You are intelligent because you have the ultimate weapon against the big N. B.D. --Nervous Break Down.

"Intelligent" people do not have N. B. D. because they are in charge of themselves.     3    

You can begin to think of yourself as truly intelligent on the basis of how you choose to feel in the face of trying circumstances. The life struggles are pretty much the same for each of us. Everyone who is involved with other human beings in any social context has similar difficulties. Disagreements, conflicts and compromises are a part of what it means to be human.     4    But some people are able to make it, to avoid immobilizing depression and unhappiness despite such occurrences, while others collapse or have an N, B. D. Those who recognize problems as a human condition and don't measure happiness by an absence of problems are the most intelligent kind of humans we know; also, the most rare.

A．Holding a university degree indicates one’s ability to write properly worded documents.

B．If you are happy, if you live each moment for everything it’s worth, then you are an intelligent person.

C．N.B.D refers to an illness that causes a person to suffer from anxiety and to have difficulty living and working as usual.

D．Similarly, money, growing old, sickness, deaths, natural disasters and accidents are all events which present problems to virtually all human beings.

E．They know how to choose happiness over depression, because they know how to deal with the problems of their lives.

F．This vision of intelligence asserts formal education and bookish excellence as the true measures of self-fulfillment.

5 . The two roads

It was New Year’s Night. An aged man was standing at a window. He raised his mournful eyes towards the deep blue sky, where the stars were floating like white lilies on the surface of a clear calm lake. When he cast them on the earth, where a few more hopeless people besides himself now moved towards their certain goal--- the tomb. He had already passed sixty of the stages leading to it, and he had brought from his journey nothing but errors and regrets. Now his health was poor, his mind vacant, his heart sorrowful, and his old age short of comforts.

The days of his youth appeared like dreams before him, and he recalled the serious moment when his father placed him at the entrance of the two roads---one leading to a peaceful, sunny place, covered with flowers, fruits and resounding with soft, sweet songs; the other leading to a deep, dark cave, which was endless, where poison flowed instead of water and where devils and poisonous snake hissed and crawled.

He looked towards the sky and cried painfully, “O, my father, place me once more at the entrance to life, and I’ll choose the better way!” But both his father and the days of his youth had passed away.

He saw the lights flowing away in the darkness. These were the days of his wasted life; he saw a star fall from the sky and disappeared, and this was the symbol of himself. His regret, which was like a sharp arrow, struck deeply into his heart. Then he remembered his friends in his childhood, who entered on life with him. But they had made their way to success and were now honored and happy on this New Year’s night.

The clock in the church tower struck and the sound made him remember his parents’ early love for him. They had taught him and prayed to God for his good. But he chose the wrong way. With shame and grief he dared no longer look towards the heaven where his father lived. His darkened eyes were full of tears, and with a despairing effort, he burst out a cry: “Come back, my early days! Come back”

And his youth did return, for all this was only a dream which he had on New Year Night. He was still young though his faults were real; he had not yet entered the deep, dark cave, and he was still free to walk on the road which leads to the peaceful and sunny land.

Those who still linger at the entrance of life, hesitating to choose the bright road, remember that when years are passed and your feet stumble on the dark mountains, you will cry bitterly, but in vain: “ O youth, return! Oh give me back my early days!”

1. In the 3rd paragraph, the man cried painfully because _________.

A．all the hopeless people were moving towards death

B．He had lost forever the chance to take the right road

C．His parents and the happy days of his youth were gone

D．He refused to take the road leading to a deep dark cave

2. What happened to the man before his sudden realization?

A．He was at his father’s funeral farewell.

B．He was enjoying the New Year’s eve.

C．He was wandering at the entrance to life.

D．He was having a dream of his life in old age.

3. We can infer from the story that _________.

A．The man’s childhood friends led a joyful life like him

B．The man still had the opportunity to chose the right way

C．both the man’s parents passed away when he was young

D．the man’s father was quite strict with his son before death

4. The passage is mainly written for _________.

A．a new driver getting lost on a detour

B．a concerned mother with two children to raise

C．an experienced teacher with a good reputation

D．a hesitating young adult facing a tough life choice

6 . Directions: Read the following passage and fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

“Any apples today?” Effie asked cheerfully at my window. I followed her to her truck and bought a kilo. On credit, of course. Cash was the one thing in the world I lacked just then.     1    

All pretense （借口） of payment was dropped when our funds, food and funds decreased to alarming lows. Effie came often, always bringing some gift: a jar of peaches or some firewood. There were other generosities.     2    

Effie was not a rich woman. Her income, derived from investments she had made while running an interior decorating shop. had never exceeded $200 a month, which she supplemented by selling her apples. But she always managed to help someone poorer.

Years passed before I was able to return the money Effie had given me from time to time. She was ill now and had aged rapidly in the last year. “Here, darling,” I said, “is what l owe you.”    3    

“Give it back as I gave it to you--a little at a time.” I think she believed there was magic in the slow discharge of a love debt.

The simple fact is that I never repaid the whole amount to Effie, for she died a few weeks later. By now, the few dollars Effie gave me have been multiplied many times. But a curious thing began to happen.

Whenever I saw a fellow human in financial trouble, I was moved to help him. I can't afford to do this always, but in the ten years since Effie's death, I have indirectly repaid my debt to her.

    4     At that time, it seemed that my debt would forever go unsettled. So the account can never be marked closed. for Effie's love will go on in hearts that have never known her.

A．Our baby was not doing well, so Effie financed my wife's trip to New York for consultation with a specialist.

B．Give your help to those in greater need.

C．The oddest part of the whole affair is that people whom I help often help others later on.

D．Effie work diligently all her life.

E．“Pay me whenever you like,” said Effie, climbing back into her truck.

F．“Don't give it to me all at once,” she said.

7 . My six-year-old granddaughter, Caitlynd and I stopped at Tim Horton’s shop for a blueberry cake. As we were going out of the door，a young teenage boy was coming in.

This young man had no hair on the sides of his head and a set of blue spiked (竖起的) hair on top of it. One of his nostrils (鼻孔) was pierced, and a ring ran through the hole and a chain went across his face and was attached to a ring he was wearing in his ear. He held a skateboard under one arm and a basketball under the other.

Caitlynd, who was walking ahead of me, stopped at once when she saw the teenager. I thought he’d scared her and she'd frozen on the spot.

I was wrong.

My granddaughter backed up against the door and opened it as wide as it would go. Now I was face to face with the young man. I stepped aside and let him pass. His gracious response was a polite “Thank you very much.”.

On our way to the car, I praised Caitlynd for her manners in holding open the door for the young man. She didn’t seem to be troubled by his appearance but I wanted to make sure. If a grandmother s talk about freedom of self-expression and allowing people their differences was suitable. I wanted to be ready.

As it turned out, the person who needed the talk was me.

The only thing Caitlynd noticed about the teenager, was the fact that his arms were full. “He would have a hard time in opening the door.”

I saw the partially shaved head, the set of spiked hair, the piercings and the chain. She saw a person carrying something under each arm and heading toward a door.

In the future, I hope to get down on her level and raise my sights.

1. What did the author think of the young man at first sight?

A．Polite.

B．Common.

C．Frightening.

D．Fashionable.

2. Caitlynd helped the young man because _____.

A．she was not scared at all

B．she was in favor of his dressing code

C．she wanted to avoid him

D．it would be difficult for him to open the door

3. The underlined sentence suggests that ____.

A．people should have more freedom to express themselves

B．the author didn’t know how to give a talk on freedom

C．a talk on freedom was useless for the granddaughter

D．the author was ashamed of herself

4. The author intends to tell us that ____.

A．we shouldn’t judge a person by his look

B．we should allow people more freedom to dress differently

C．we should be more helpful and tolerant to strange dressing of the young

D．we shouldn’t be too particular about people in life

8 . Questions are based on the following passage. 1.

A．Finding an ideal job.	B．Helping others in trouble.
C．Wearing fashionable skirts.	D．Living in a beautiful apartment.

2.

A．To explore psychology and philosophy.

B．To finish his paper on positive psychology.

C．To find how people can live a meaningful life.

D．To pursue happiness and get rid of depression.

3.

A．By editing, interpreting and retelling their story.

B．By being loyal to what happens in their daily life.

C．By learning from the events of other people’s life.

D．By fully understanding how others became fulfilled.

9 . Few facts about modern life seem more undeniable than how busy everyone seems to be. Across the industrialized world, large numbers of survey respondents tell researchers they’re overburdened with work, at the expense of time with family and friends.

But the total time people are working , whether paid or otherwise, has not increased in Europe or North America in recent decades. What’s more, the date also show that the people who say they’re the busiest generally aren’t.

Part of the answer is simple economics. As economies grow, and the incomes of the better-off have risen over time, time has literally become more valuable: Any given hour is worth more, so we experience more pressure to squeeze in more work.

But it’s also a result of the kind of work in which many of us are engaged. In the past, farming work was subject to weather limits, white at present people live in an “unlimited world,” and there are always more incoming emails, more meetings, more things to read, and digital mobile technology means you have a few more to-do list items.

With time pressure weighing us down, it’s hardly surprising that we live with one eye on the clock. But psychological research demonstrates that this time-awareness actually leads to worse performance. So the ironic consequence of the “busy feeling” is that we could handle to-do list less well than if we weren’t so rushed.

Arguable worst of all, the feeling of rush spreads to affect our leisure time, so that even when life finally does permit an hour or two for recovery, we end up feeling that leisure time should be spent ”productively,” too.

If there’s a solution to the busyness epidemic(流行病), other than the universal 21-hour workweek, it may lie in clearly realizing just how reasonable our attitudes have become. Historically, the ultimate symbol of wealth, achievement and social superiority was the freedom not to work. Now, it’s busyness that has become the indicator of high status. “The best-off in our society are often very busy, and have to be,” says Gershunny. “You ask me, am I busy, and I tell you: ”Yes, of course I’m busy because I’m an important person!”

Too often, we measure our worth not by the results we achieve, but by how much of our time we spend. We live crazy lives, at least in part, because it makes us feel good about ourselves.

1. According to the author, people’s feeling about busyness results from_______.

A．the increase in time value	B．the sacrifice of family time
C．the longer working time	D．the change of working partners

2. The underlined phrase “weighing us down” in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to _______.

A．making us overburdened	B．having a positive effect on us
C．measuring us in all aspects	D．giving us time for reflection

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The solution to busyness is applying a 21-hour workweek.

B．If people had leisure time, they would relax themselves.

C．The feeling of being burdened spells low productivity.

D．Freedom is overrepresented in the current society.

4. What does the passage mainly concerned with?

A．The measurement of wealth in the current society.

B．The evolution of people’s attitude towards busyness.

C．The hidden reasons and effects of people’s busyness.

D．The solution to prioritizing the crucial tasks in busyness.

10 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

To any soldier

I served as a second lieutenant (少尉) in a war thirty years ago. Married for only a year and a half, I missed my wife and baby daughter a lot. In the years before cell phones and Wi-Fi, we had limited opportunities     1     (communicate) with loved ones.

One night while sitting by myself, I investigated the “Any Soldier” mailbox, a cardboard box with letters and packages from Americans. I chose one shoebox-size package. Inside I found about 20 greeting cards     2     children. At the bottom was a letter written by their teacher       3     (explain) how her kids had put the box together and how they supported our efforts in the war. Truly touched at that very moment by this gesture, I decided to write a letter of gratitude. I thanked the teacher for       4     her children had done—its impact on my patriotism, my morale, and,     5     (significantly), my uplifted faith. For security reasons, I was able to sign only my name.

Around 2013, I received a Facebook friend request from a woman with       6     I shared no contacts. I replied that       7     we were friends, I could not accept her request. She responded with one question: “Are you Second Lieutenant Bartholomew?” I replied that I had been at one time.

“Dear sir,” she wrote. “We have never met, but thirty years ago I was a second-grade teacher at a school in Ohio and our classroom sent a care package       8     (address) to ‘Any Service Member.’ The thank-you letter you composed was framed and it       9     (post) on the wall of the school for more than 20 years. I wanted to again thank you for your service to our country.”

We never spoke again, but this gracious teacher strengthened my belief in doing what my mother always taught me: Write thank-you notes—       10     never know how many people your kindness can touch.