1 . I believe that life’s toughest lessons are best learned through personal experience. Throughout my childhood, my grandmother ______ me with unconditional love but always stressed, "You’re not ______ than anyone else, but you’re just as good as anyone. Treat others with ______, and you would earn respect ______."

However, I never really ______ it until I was seventeen and got a summer job as a janitor. As I ______ floors and toilets, I watched people walk right by me and ignore my ______. This made me feel angry and wonder why they treated me so poorly.

When I ______ to my grandmother, she offered me some words of ______ and reminded me never to forget the feeling of being "______" and to do the best job, because it was still my work, in which I should take ______. She added that it would make me a better man someday.

Make me a better man someday? She must be ______, I thought to myself. But I needed the job to ______ college and there were few other jobs available, ______ I bit my tongue and kept on working as best as I could for the ______ of the summer.

Today, when asked what job helped prepare me to gain the ______ of a key university, I tell people it was my summer job cleaning restrooms that ______ me as a man and, down the road, as an educator.

As you can see, ______ can only be understood by walking in a lot of different shoes. So I suggest students ______ of their comfort zones and get deeply involved in different work and community experience. It’s essential for people to find ______ in every person, no matter who they are or what they do for a living.

1.

A．provided

B．offered

C．gave

D．afforded

2.

A．higher

B．more

C．better

D．lower

3.

A．care

B．anger

C．patience

D．dignity

4.

A．in order

B．in return

C．in advance

D．in need

5.

A．worried

B．appreciated

C．admitted

D．understood

6.

A．repaired

B．cleaned

C．swept

D．mopped

7.

A．glance

B．commitment

C．instruction

D．presence

8.

A．attended

B．suggested

C．complained

D．explained

9.

A．belief

B．comfort

C．surprise

D．excitement

10.

A．invisible

B．horrible

C．angry

D．poor

11.

A．interest

B．pride

C．part

D．charge

12.

A．joking

B．promising

C．misleading

D．outstanding

13.

A．send for

B．go for

C．look for

D．pay for

14.

A．or

B．however

C．so

D．but

15.

A．rest

B．time

C．heat

D．hope

16.

A．friendship

B．leadership

C．relationship

D．hardship

17.

A．served

B．viewed

C．shaped

D．treated

18.

A．lessons

B．method

C．facts

D．theories

19.

A．run out

B．drop out

C．give out

D．get out

20.

A．secret

B．fault

C．value

D．way

2 . From the age of five, I was constantly surrounded by fear. It started when I was sent to boarding school. I used to ________ the bed and, the first night it happened, I knocked on the nuns’ (修女) door to ask for ________. Instead, they made me do the ‘walk of ________’, carrying a packet of wet sheets through all the ________ as they announced, ‘Make way for the bed-wetter,’ and ________ the children to laugh and shout horrible things. That happened ________.

I grew into a problem ________ and spent much time in bars drinking to forget the hopelessness and ________. That’s where I met my first husband, who turned out to be a ________ man. It was only when he ________ me into a state of unconsciousness that things changed. I knew I couldn’t go back—if I did, I would ________. So I decided to remove the layers of pain and cruelty and ________ them with happiness and success. I started to read books about how to think highly of yourself. I got into ________ and won competitions, I realised, ‘I am not a ________ person like the nuns and my husband told me.’ I decided to take the ________ I used in sport-my determination to keep ________—and apply them to everything in my life. That’s when I ________ I was a really good business person.

Whatever your past has been, don’t ________ it for who you are today. Try and find something ________ in it. That’s the only possible way to ________ those things, be brave and turn everything around.

1.

A．wet

B．make

C．warm

D．clean

2.

A．direction

B．help

C．permission

D．advice

3.

A．pride

B．comfort

C．shame

D．apology

4.

A．toilets

B．offices

C．classrooms

D．dormitories

5.

A．forced

B．persuaded

C．encouraged

D．reminded

6.

A．naturally

B．regularly

C．eventually

D．secretly

7.

A．teenager

B．mother

C．adult

D．wife

8.

A．failure

B．loss

C．disappointment

D．fear

9.

A．violent

B．gentle

C．responsible

D．forgetful

10.

A．brought

B．talked

C．scared

D．beat

11.

A．survive

B．change

C．die

D．fight

12.

A．associate

B．replace

C．compare

D．fill

13.

A．sport

B．debt

C．shape

D．trouble

14.

A．guilty

B．useless

C．desperate

D．horrible

15.

A．skills

B．tips

C．principles

D．methods

16.

A．cool

B．changing

C．fit

D．going

17.

A．imagined

B．forgot

C．discovered

D．suspected

18.

A．aim

B．blame

C．repeat

D．make

19.

A．positive

B．relevant

C．necessary

D．unforgettable

20.

A．give up

B．come across

C．let alone

D．get over

3 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Once a group of     1     (high) successful engineers got together to visit their old university professor, Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. While they were     2     (talk), the professor went and prepared coffee in the kitchen. Then back with a pot of coffee and cups     3     different kinds, some ordinary-looking, some expensive, some delicate, the professor told them to help     4    (they) to hot coffee. When they all had a cup of coffee in their hands, he said, “If you noticed, all the nice-looking expensive cups     5     (take)up, leaving behind the plain and cheap-looking ones. While it’s normal for you to choose the best for yourselves, that’s the source of your problems and stress. In     6     (real), the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. What mattered most was coffee, not the cup,     7     you went for the best cups directly and     8     (bad) still, you began eyeing each other’s cups. If life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They’re just tools     9     hold and contain life, but the quality of life doesn’t change. Sometimes by     10     (concentrate) only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it.”

Don’t let the cups drive you, and enjoy the coffee instead.

4 . Running late after several wrong turns, I made a final, desperate attempt to locate Elliott's home. Down a dirt path, past a group of geese, there it was: the two-acre property, on which Elliott grows nearly all the food she feeds her family. The Elliotts' three-bedrooms house was among a chicken cage, a pigpen, a rabbit hutch, and three gardens, the sum total of which Elliott refers to as her “homestead(农)”— a nod to the back-to-basics movement that inspired her lifestyle.

Elliott "homesteads" because modern technology “has rid people of their purpose”. In hopes of   “drawing on and learning things of the past,” she has for eight years rejects an increasing number of modern conveniences. She lives a life like the 19th-century homesteaders. Unlike the pioneers, however, she enthusiastically broadcasts her life to an audience of Instagram followers, book buyers, and 100,000 monthly readers of her blog. Elliott belongs to a growing network of   bloggers who have fueled the growing homesteading movement, which encourages self-reliance through the employment of traditional skills. Broadcasting on the net while trying to escape technology’s uncontrolled pace may seem incongruous, but Elliott insists that social media provide advice and moral support, which are lacking in the remote areas where many homesteaders settle.

Elliott’s day passes in a series of chores: weeding, cleaning up after the chickens, feeding the pigs, weeding again... She rejects the idea that success should involve anything more that maintaining a home. “We live in a culture where everything needs to be epic (宏大的) and awesome... Living a very average life? That’s seen as you not living up to your potential. And I really fight against that. I think the everyday is the point of our life,” she said. “It’s okay to be in the kitchen working with a baby on your back. That isn’t a step backward; it is an intentional thing”.

1. What do we know about Elliott’s “homestead”?

A．Noisy.

B．Dirty.

C．Difficult to find.

D．Hard to maintain.

2. What influence does the Internet have on homesteading?

A．It reduces homesteaders’ everything.

B．It connects homesteading farms.

C．It helps promote homesteading.

D．It disturbs homesteader’s life.

3. What does the underlined word “incongruous” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Strange

B．Ambitious

C．Natural

D．Impossible

4. What will Elliott probably agree with?

A．Keep off the outside world	B．Stay with your family
C．Wish for something epic	D．Lead your own life

5 . I was at the post office early that morning, hoping to be in and out in a short while. Yet, I______ myself standing in a queue that went all the way into the hallway. I had never seen so many people there on a weekday. It seemed someone might have made an announcement, welcoming customers to carry as many ______ as they could and bring them in when I needed to have my own package ______. The queue moved very slowly. My patience ran out and I got______. The longer it took, the angrier I became. When I got to the counter finally, I finished my______quickly and briefly, and then walked past the queue that was now extending past the front door.

“Excuse me,” I said, trying not to be too pushy. Several people had to move ______ to make room for me to get to the ______.

I stepped out, complaining about the ______ conditions. Thinking I was going to be late for my dentist appointment, I headed into the parking lot.

A woman was coming across the lot in my ______. She was walking with determination, and each step sounded very heavy. I ______ that she looked as if she could breathe fire. It stopped me in my tracks. I ______ myself and it wasn't pretty. Had I looked like that? Her body language said that she was having a ______ day. My anger melted away. I wished I could wrap her in a hug but I was a______. So I did what I could in a minute______ she hurried past me－I smiled. In a second everything changed. She was astonished, then somewhat ______.Then her face softened and her shoulders______. I saw her take a deep breath. Her pace slowed and she smiled back at me as we passed each other. I continued to smile all the way to my ______. Wow, it's amazing what a simple smile can do.

From then on, I became aware of people's ______ and my own, the way we show our feelings. Now I use that ______ every day to let it ______ me that when facing the world, I can try a smile.

1.

A．found

B．helped

C．troubled

D．enjoyed

2.

A．possessions

B．packages

C．chances

D．dollars

3.

A．lifted

B．cashed

C．weighed

D．carried

4.

A．pleased

B．disappointed

C．delighted

D．annoyed

5.

A．business

B．choice

C．situation

D．attitude

6.

A．away

B．about

C．along

D．aside

7.

A．counter

B．cashier

C．exit

D．entrance

8.

A．weather

B．service

C．work

D．purchase

9.

A．satisfaction

B．decision

C．direction

D．imagination

10.

A．announced

B．discovered

C．proved

D．noticed

11.

A．trusted

B．recognized

C．hid

D．persuaded

12.

A．rough

B．bright

C．big

D．nice

13.

A．gentleman

B．stranger

C．customer

D．passenger

14.

A．until

B．though

C．before

D．since

15.

A．attracted

B．frightened

C．excited

D．confused

16.

A．trembled

B．raised

C．relaxed

D．tightened

17.

A．car

B．office

C．home

D．doctor

18.

A．appearances

B．reactions

C．conversations

D．expressions

19.

A．treatment

B．awareness

C．conclusion

D．achievement

20.

A．remind

B．show

C．give

D．tell

6 . The Things That Keep Us From Succeeding

We have always been told not to fear failure because it is essential to success. So we should embrace failure or at least the possibility of failure.    1    .If you’re not reaching the kind of success you imagine，one or more of the following things might well be true of you，too.

NO.1: You don’t have a goal. A lot of time we find ourselves struggling through a day-to-day routine that isn’t getting us anywhere because we don’t know where we want to go. Sometimes we had goals when we set ourselves on a particular path，but we’ve changed along the way and those goal s are no longer that important.    2    ，figuring out what your goals are is important.

NO.2: You don’t have a vision. Setting goals is important but isn’t enough to drive you to the finish line；it’s important，too，to be able to imagine yourself as the achiever of your goals. If goal s are the end result of a journey，your vision is the fuel to get you there.

NO.3: You don’t have a plan. If goals are your destination and a vision is your fuel，your plan is the map to get you there.    3    .The world is full of people with goals they have never accomplished because they didn’t have a plan—don’t be one of them.

NO.4: You’re too certain or not certain enough. Too much certainty creates inflexibility. If you’re sure that your plan is correct，and refuse to accept the possibility of error，you may well find yourself stuck when an unexpected change comes about. However strong your plan and however sure you are of your goals，make room for periodic reassessment.

    4    .If you refuse to take a step because you aren’t positive that it will move you towards success，you won’t make any better progress than if you had no goals at a11.Keep your eyes open and be willing to change，but have faith in yourself，too.

NO.5:    5    .Often we close ourselves off from other people not because we’re afraid that they will influence us but that we will influence them. We are afraid that our brilliant ideas will be taken up by someone else and no longer be solely ours. So we avoid sharing our passions，and spend our energy jealously guarding our “secret” rather than simply moving forward. In the end，we turn our passions into burdens that are difficult to carry instead of a joy.

A．Whatever the case

B．Whatever the cause

C．You worry about being copied

D．You don’t learn from your mistakes

E．At the same time，too little certainty will fail you

F．However，fear isn’t the only thing that keeps us from succeeding

G．Without it，you have no idea what immediate steps to take to achieve your goals

7 . My neighbor Orlando is a paramedic (急救医士). He and his wife are some of the nicest people I have ever met. A few years back we started this sort of “favor war”, where one of us would do something for the other, such as shoveling (铲) their driveway or helping them build a shed, and next time the other would try to top it with another favor.

Yesterday morning there was maybe 2 or 3 feet of snow on the ground and I remembered he shoveled my driveway for me last snowfall. So I took out my shovel and took care of both our sidewalks and driveways because it was my turn to do a favor back. It took a while but I finished and got into my car for work. What I didn’t realize was that Orlando had to work that day too.

Fast forward to this morning I got a knock on my door. It was him. He immediately shook my hand and informed me that because I shoveled his driveway and sidewalk for him, he was able to get to work earlier. As soon as he started his shift, a call came through that a young boy was in a medical emergency. Luckily he and his partner were only about 2 minutes away, but the next closest ambulance was in 10 minutes. This kid did not have 10 minutes. He barely had 2 minutes. Because my neighbor got to work sooner, the young boy got to live his life.

This isn’t a humble brag (吹牛). This is to inform others that even the smallest favors can have the biggest impacts. It wasn’t too much of trouble to shovel his driveway for him, but because I did, the young kid got to see his family again, go back to school again, talk to his friends again and live his life.

1. What can we know about the writer and Orlando?

A．They once had a conflict.

B．They signed a favorable agreement.

C．They favor shoveling snow together.

D．They are always ready to help each other.

2. Who saved the boy before it was too late?

A．The writer.	B．The boy’s parents.
C．Orlando and his wife.	D．Orlando and his partner.

3. What does the writer intend to tell us?

A．Never ask for trouble.	B．No favor is too small.
C．One cannot always be lucky.	D．Don’t lose heart in an emergency.

8 . When my dad finally finished the triathlon（铁人三项）in Montauk, the crowd cheered. It showed me how his hard work paid off and it_______my curiosity. I wondered whether a small boy of my size could_______something like that. I found myself_______this out loud and my father overheard me. He_______me and said I could train with him.

Training with my dad turned out to be very______.We would get up early for a morning jog, or go for a swim in the pool after school. After a few weeks of_______, I signed up for my first triathlon. Before the competition, I nervously waited for the_______.When someone fired the gun, I was_______, swimming towards the distant buoy（浮标）that marked my turn. I_______the half-mile swim and ran towards my bike. I was dripping wet, trying to________it. Once on my bike, I experienced an excitement specific to________. I went through the transition zone（转换区）again and________my running shoes. At the start of the run part of the triathlon, my________already felt like they were made of cement（水泥）.

For me, the real competition began during the run,________now I could see each competitor as a target. No matter my________in the field, each racer was either following me or being followed. The run part of the race boiled down to________tolerance. "Shut up, legs", one of my favorite quotes, kept me from________the burning feeling. Then I crossed the finish line. I took a breath and then began a(n)________with the other finishers. The sense of accomplishment was there for all of us.

Looking back, I________the small boy on that day in Montauk who thought he couldn't________it. Now, that same boy is not only a huge fan, but also a training partner.

1.

A．showed

B．excited

C．tested

D．controlled

2.

A．preview

B．deserve

C．achieve

D．benefit

3.

A．saying

B．taking

C．trying

D．giving

4.

A．satisfied

B．encouraged

C．puzzled

D．embarrassed

5.

A．disappointing

B．frightening

C．relaxing

D．challenging

6.

A．performing

B．fighting

C．meeting

D．Training

7.

A．result

B．seat

C．gun

D．audience

8.

A．up

B．round

C．off

D．along

9.

A．finished

B．considered

C．assessed

D．arranged

10.

A．point at

B．get on

C．get back

D．find out

11.

A．running

B．traveling

C．cycling

D．swimming

12.

A．took off

B．switched to

C．cleaned

D．repaired

13.

A．arms

B．hands

C．shoulders

D．legs

14.

A．because

B．although

C．until

D．unless

15.

A．status

B．position

C．task

D．function

16.

A．risk

B．drug

C．stress

D．pain

17.

A．showing off

B．bringing in

C．thinking about

D．carrying out

18.

A．experiment

B．celebration

C．argument

D．cooperation

19.

A．remember

B．believe

C．discover

D．respect

20.

A．use

B．move

C．do

D．prove

9 . A Game of Light and Shade

It was a sunny day. I had gone up and down the tower when, outside the door at the foot, a blind man came toward me. In a moment, he disappeared up the stairs. I looked at the sign that said “To the Tower”, and decided to _______ him.

I caught up with him in the ticket office. There I was _______ to see the attendant (工作人员) selling him a ticket as if he were any other visitor. Then, with the ticket in one hand and _______ the wall with the fingers of the other, the blind man reached the stairs _________ to the hallway.

“That man is blind. What would a blind man climb up the tower for?” I said to the attendant, expecting him to show some _______, but he didn’t answer.

“Not the _______ certainly,” I said. “Perhaps he wants to _______.”

I bought a ticket and _______ up the stairs. The man hadn’t gone as far as I _______. A third of the way up the tower, I heard his ________. I slowed down and followed him at a little ________. He stopped from time to time. When he got to the balcony, I was a dozen steps ________. As I reached it, I saw him at the corner of the tower.

At last, after ten minutes, I ________ him. “Excuse me,” I said as politely as I could, “but I am curious to know ________ you came up.”

He smiled. “Coming up the stairs, you will notice how not just light but sun ________ into the tower through the narrow windows here and there, so that you can feel the ________ —the cool stairs suddenly become quite warm—and how up here behind the wall there is ________, but as soon as going opposite a window you can find the sun. There is no ________ so good as this for feeling the difference between light and shade. It is not the first time I’ve come up.”

The blind man seemed quite ________ just like a child who was enjoying his favorite games. He told me the truth that blind men can also find the beauty in life ________ they cannot enjoy the sights of the world.

1.

A．accept

B．follow

C．control

D．visit

2.

A．frightened

B．disappointed

C．surprised

D．embarrassed

3.

A．touching

B．climbing

C．hitting

D．covering

4.

A．pointing

B．attaching

C．contributing

D．leading

5.

A．respect

B．doubt

C．concern

D．sympathy

6.

A．view

B．test

C．prize

D．trick

7.

A．kick

B．jump

C．relax

D．escape

8.

A．struggled

B．explored

C．wandered

D．hurried

9.

A．promised

B．examined

C．imagined

D．confirmed

10.

A．steps

B．words

C．secrets

D．cheers

11.

A．standard

B．distance

C．expense

D．intention

12.

A．ahead

B．around

C．outside

D．behind

13.

A．recognized

B．surrounded

C．approached

D．witnessed

14.

A．why

B．how

C．when

D．whether

15.

A．knocks

B．pours

C．slides

D．bursts

16.

A．trend

B．reaction

C．change

D．honor

17.

A．light

B．space

C．mess

D．shade

18.

A．place

B．signal

C．object

D．period

19.

A．nervous

B．content

C．curious

D．patient

20.

A．unless

B．because

C．once

D．although

10 . 阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

In the summer of my eleventh year, the home I had grown up in was ______ in the middle of the night. Thankfully, my mom, dad, brothers and I ______ through the smoke. However. we had only the night clothes we were ______ in.

I ______ the rest of that night with friends of our family ______ trying to sleep in a bed in their basement. That’s because I was too ______ to sleep. I didn’t know what ______ things would lie ahead of us. The next day, my mom ______ me a few T-shirts and pairs of jeans given to her by another friend. One pair of jeans was too short and the other was too long but I didn’t ______. At least I had some clothes again. Meanwhile my dad ______ to the blackened ruins of our home to see what he could find. The only thing he could ______ was my mom’s wedding rings. The plastic case she had put them in that night had melted but protected the rings from the ______.

As the ______ days went on, in spite of having little money, my dad was able to ______ us a dusty old house by the side of the road near where our old house had been. As we moved in, our friends and our community continued to ______ all they could to help us ______ our feet. There was more clothes, furniture, food, money and even some books for me to recover from the disaster.

Looking back now, I am ______ for all we went through because it ______ me so much about life, love and people. It showed that love is enough for the first time, when you have nothing left but ______. So here may you always have ______ love for all the days of your life.

1.

A．burned out

B．repaired

C．moved

D．washed away

2.

A．walked

B．escaped

C．looked

D．rested

3.

A．working

B．eating

C．entertaining

D．sleeping

4.

A．preferred

B．forgot

C．spent

D．described

5.

A．usually

B．unsuccessfully

C．formally

D．irregularly

6.

A．scared

B．crazy

C．hesitant

D．old

7.

A．illegal

B．harmonious

C．terrible

D．smooth

8.

A．purchased

B．brought

C．awarded

D．paid

9.

A．regret

B．respond

C．care

D．contradict

10.

A．returned

B．added

C．referred

D．admitted

11.

A．lose

B．sense

C．save

D．recall

12.

A．mud

B．ruins

C．dust

D．flames

13.

A．summer

B．spring

C．autumn

D．winter

14.

A．buy

B．rent

C．borrow

D．sell

15.

A．explain

B．discount

C．empty

D．donate

16.

A．make use of

B．check on

C．get back on

D．relieve of

17.

A．hateful

B．anxious

C．bound

D．grateful

18.

A．guaranteed

B．taught

C．cautioned

D．discouraged

19.

A．love

B．clothes

C．furniture

D．food

20.

A．shallow

B．romantic

C．selfish

D．sufficient