1 . I am the proud owner of three pet dogs. Over the years, I have watched their behaviours carefully that help me when I travel around the world.

One important lesson that my dog, Cody, taught me is how to deal with little problems in life. From his calm behavior when someone knocked unexpectedly at the door to the indifferent way he has dealt with his recent serious illness, he has always had the same easy-going attitude. This attitude is an important lesson to me in how I can face difficult situations when travelling, I've learned to try to handle bad situations calmly, such as when we miss a train, lose luggage, and so on.

Another dog of mine, Preston, loves to walk around the yard, spending hours smelling every place and finding out what it means to him. Taking it slowly is another lesson that’s been very hard for me to learn. As an active traveller, I am actually experiencing less by speeding through everything, rather than slowly getting to know a place. Even if it means that you won’t see as many things, going slowly when you travel is the only way to really get to know a new place. Rushing around a foreign city isn’t fun at all.

My dog, Moya, came from a truly bad situation. I am not sure what happened to her before; I just know it wasn’t good. Although she has become more relaxed over the years, she is still slightly on edge. She is very cautious when faced with any new situation. But once she’s accustomed to her new surroundings, she is fine. She doesn’t let fear influence her experience. The same can be applied to our travel experience. No matter where we go, we need to manage new situations with caution——while at the same time not letting that caution turn into fear.

Many thanks to my pets. Truly speaking, pets are as basic to American culture as hot dogs or apple pies. To Americans, pets are not just property, but a part of the family. After all, pets are people, too, with the help of whom I am able to gain a lot and live differently.

1. One of the three dogs, Cody,       .

A．once suffered from a serious illness	B．is excited when under pressure
C．enjoys walking around the yard	D．is unable to deal with new situations

2. From Preston, the author learned that one should       .

A．pay attention to the details in life	B．see as many things as possible when travelling
C．stay indifferent to strangers	D．travel around slowly and have fun

3. The underlined phrase “on edge” in the fourth paragraph probably means _____.

A．hungry

B．nervous

C．calm

D．happy

4. Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?

A．

B．

C．

D．

2 . Being good at something and having a passion for it are not enough. Success _______ fundamentally on our view of ourselves and of the _________ in our lives.

When twelve-year-old John Wilson walked into his chemistry class on a rainy day in 1931, he had no _______ of knowing that his life was to change _________. The class experiment that day was to _________ how heating a container of water would bring air bubbling (冒泡) to the surface. _________, the container the teacher gave Wilson to heat _________ held something more volatile (易挥发的) than water. When Wilson heated it, the container _______, leaving Wilson blinded in both eyes.

When Wilson returned home from hospital two months later, his parents _________ to find a way to deal with the catastrophe that had ____________ their lives. But Wilson did not regard the accident as ____________. He learned braille (盲文) quickly and continued his education at Worcester College for the Blind. There, he not only did well as a student but also became a(n)____________ public speaker.

Later, he worked in Africa, where many people suffered from ____________ for lack of proper treatment. For him, it was one thing to __________ his own fate of being blind and quite another to allow something to continue __________ it could be fixed so easily. This moved him to action. And tens of millions in Africa and Asia can see because of the ____________ Wilson made to preventing the ____________.

Wilson received several international ____________ for his great contributions. He lost his sight but found a __________. He proved that it’s not what happens to us that ____________ our lives-it’s what we make of what happens.

1.

A．depends

B．holds

C．keeps

D．reflects

2.

A．dilemmas

B．accidents

C．events

D．steps

3.

A．way

B．hope

C．plan

D．measure

4.

A．continually

B．gradually

C．gracefully

D．completely

5.

A．direct

B．show

C．advocate

D．declare

6.

A．Anyway

B．Moreover

C．Somehow

D．Thus

7.

A．mistakenly

B．casually

C．amazingly

D．clumsily

8.

A．erupted

B．exploded

C．emptied

D．exposed

9.

A．deserved

B．attempted

C．cared

D．agreed

10.

A．submitted to

B．catered for

C．impressed on

D．happened to

11.

A．fantastic

B．extraordinary

C．impressive

D．catastrophic

12.

A．accomplished

B．crucial

C．specific

D．innocent

13.

A．deafness

B．depression

C．blindness

D．speechlessness

14.

A．decide

B．abandon

C．control

D．accept

15.

A．until

B．when

C．unless

D．before

16.

A．opposition

B．adjustments

C．commitment

D．limitations

17.

A．preventable

B．potential

C．spreadable

D．influential

18.

A．scholarships

B．rewards

C．awards

D．bonuses

19.

A．fortune

B．recipe

C．dream

D．vision

20.

A．distinguishes

B．determines

C．claims

D．limits

3 . One day, I was taking a nap in the red chair in my office when I woke up to the sound of a car crash. I sat up and looked, immediately, out my window. Across the street, in a parking lot, a car had just backed into a chain-link fence. The car must have been moving fast, because it was in bad shape: Its hood had popped up. The fence was damaged, bent out in exactly the shape of the car’s back end.

I watched the driver get out of the car. He was strong with a shaved head; he wore cargo shorts and a flannel (法兰绒) shirt unbuttoned to expose his chest hair. I disliked him immediately. After a few seconds of assessing the damage, he attempted to pull the ruined fence back into place, but it wouldn’t move. He tried to push the fallen piece of bumper back onto his car, but that only made the rest of his bumper fall off too.

I sat in my red chair, looking out my window, silently cheering. I think I laughed out loud. This was a ridiculous masterpiece. He climbed out from under the collapsed fence and limped back to the apartment building above the lot, rubbing his elbow. The man—that disgusting man—was going to leave all the chaos behind for someone else to clean up.

But the man appeared a few minutes later with some tools. He got to work immediately, removing one of the fence’s bent support bars and hammering it straight on the asphalt (沥青). For the next hour, I watched out my window as he doggedly(固执地) fixed the fence, even improved it. Now the fence would be extra secure, stronger than before, impossible to damage.

This strange man was actually a hero. I was the lazy one, with my kneejerk (应激反应) judgments, my superiority (优越感) from three stories up. My ugly assumptions, I realized, were all about myself. I would never have fixed that fence; I would have panicked and run away.

Years later, I still look out my window at that fence almost every day. It still looks brand new, It makes me wonder what else that man has improved, and how I can make myself more like him.

1. Why did the driver leave a bad first impression on the writer?

A．Because he badly damaged the fence.

B．Because he acted rudely and impolitely.

C．Because he escaped and left the mess to others.

D．Because he had a strange appearance and dressed casually.

2. The last two paragraphs tell us that ________.

A．if the writer were the driver, he thought he would do better

B．the writer gave a quick judgment from his previous experiences

C．the driver acted like a hero and had a great influence on the writer

D．the writer looks out his window often and expects to see the driver again

3. Which of the following words can best describe the driver?

A．Rude but honest.	B．Lazy but strong-minded.
C．Impatient but generous.	D．Ordinary-looking but responsible.

4. What can be the best title of the text?

A．Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

B．One’s Thinking Directs One’s Actions

C．Treat Other People As You Hope They Will Treat You

D．The Environment Depends on What You Think in You Mind

4 . I've been taking time this week to smell the roses. Literally, I bend over in my neighbors' front yard, check that nobody is watching, and then bury my head in the flowers.

I've also been walking into bakeries and walking around without buying anything. After having surgery on my broken nose 18 months ago, I haven't been able to smell or taste things. This week, however, my nose is back in business. I've been overwhelmed by smells, and it's given me a new way of thinking. Scent is just one of the little bits and pieces that make life enjoyable, but which we often ignore. I remember once, when my son was five months old, I was carrying him down the street. Wind swept through and almost tipped us over. He threw his little head back and giggled. He'd never felt the wind on his face. When is the last time I laughed at the weather?

The first time I ate bacon, I rushed home to my parents, determined that we ate this deliciousness at every meal. My father smiled and agreed. Do you recall when you learned that the voice actors of Mickey and Minnie Mouse were married in real life? Do you enjoy sleeping in new clean bedsheets? Is there someone on the radio whose voice is as smooth as velvet?

We don't write postcards about the small things. We don't frame them in photo-graphs. They aren't that great or grand, but without them, life is altogether too loud. These quiet experiences give us a chance to enjoy the simple fact of being alive. As my sense of smell returns to me, it's like I'm smelling things for the first time. They're full of memories and magic. Food tastes better, and the air is indeed sweet. I know what the poets mean now. It almost makes my broken nose worthwhile. Now, I am waiting for this bandage to come off. There's an itch I can't reach!

1. The writer in the passage mainly tries to _______.

A．discuss how to enjoy leisure time	B．show that she loves doing secret things
C．give examples of how she kills time	D．persuade readers to enjoy small things in life

2. According to the writer, “a new way of thinking” in the second paragraph means _______.

A．the ability to discover the joy of small things	B．the habit of overcoming ignorance
C．the ability to fully use our limited attention	D．the habit of making personal reflections

3. The writer recalls that _______.

A．her father enjoyed sleeping in new clean bedsheets.

B．her son was frightened when feeling the wind on his face.

C．she couldn't resist temptation when eating bacon for the first time.

D．she always ignored the great things in life.

4. One small thing mentioned in the last paragraph is _______.

A．a joyful memory	B．a quiet experience
C．the sense of smell	D．the simple fact of being alive

5 . Competition is a common phenomenon in our social life.    1    There is constant competition for academic degrees, jobs, customers, money and so forth. In a sense, competition is one of the motive forces to the development of society.

    2    Therefore, the only way to survive is to be competitive. Growing in a competitive environment is important for a child because future adult life is difficult. Finding a good job, for example, is an extremely competitive activity.

Today, most people try to get good education through various ways.    3    The quality of people is rapidly increasing. Competition is more violent than what we thought it should be. The potentially successful job applicant has to be prepared in stronger position by gaining more qualifications and experience. In the business world, to beat your competitors, you must be better than the other employees.    4    

In fact, the only way our world rewards people is to give honor to the winners, not to the losers. By attempting to compete at different activities, we learn to win and lose, gain experience and know our strengths and weaknesses. Competition prepares us for the tough things in life.    5    

A．Otherwise, you will be defeated.

B．Modern society demands high-quality talents.

C．Learning to be competitive is clearly the best preparation for the tough life.

D．There are also many people who have higher degrees in their special fields.

E．Children have to learn to be competitive in order to adapt to modern society.

F．In the natural world, the weak will be replaced by the strong and the fittest can live.

G．We compete when we play games and when we try to do better than others in our study.

6 . Probably one of the most popular topics in science-fiction of all times has been the idea of time traveling. We know and love such films as H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine, H. P. Lovecraft ’s The Shadow Out of Time as well as a great number of films and TV shows: Back to the Future, The Butterfly Effect. These, as well as many others, are dedicated mostly to one question: how can an individual affect or even change their entire life in the present by making even slight corrections, in their own past?

When I was a child, I often dreamed about a special pocket device that would allow me to “save” certain moments of my life. In that case, if I failed to do something, I could always “load” my life. I imagined all the things I could do if I had such power : jumping from very tall buildings without a parachute ( and “loading” at the last second) and taking up other risky occupations.

Sometimes, I would like to jump into a time machine, go back to a couple of years ago, and make many corrections. I would warn myself about the consequences of my most reckless (不顾后果的) decisions. I would talk to that long-haired teen holding his first cigarette and tell him, “Don't do that — years will pass until you finally manage to quit it. ” There are so many warnings I would give to myself that sometimes I think: was it really I who did this and that?

Having a time machine is an amazingly attractive idea. It seems that having one would make life so much easier! Perhaps, it is true. But what I think more often now is that living without it teaches us responsibility. I try to live each day at the maximum in order to regret nothing. This is actually what our parents always try to do when we are children. But you know what? I am glad that no time machine has been invented.

1. What's the writer's main purpose of writing Paragraph 1?

A．To introduce some famous movies.

B．To raise a question about time travel.

C．To show those movies are very popular.

D．To show the scenes in movies might become true.

2. What does the writer try to convey in this article?

A．Unpractical dreams can never be realized.

B．What happened in the past can't be changed.

C．The idea of the time machine is really a creative invention.

D．Being responsible for the present is better than regretting.

3. What's the writer's attitude toward the invention of the time machine?

A．Objective.	B．Supportive.
C．Negative.	D．Indifferent.

7 . Last May I was hired by a large government agency. I had seven coworkers and a boss, Mrs. King. Our job was to sort huge amounts of mail into four hundred slots( 位置). We delivered the mail out of grocery carts we wheeled from office to office, picking up outgoing mail as we went along. Each mail delivery took an entire half-day to sort and deliver.

My troubles began almost as soon as I arrived. I was horrified to see that the slots were labeled not with people’s names but with their initials. Without thinking, I asked why this was a good idea, only to receive a sharp glance from Mrs. King. So I repeated the question. This time Mrs. King told me not to question what I didn’t understand. It was the first of many such exchanges, and I hadn’t been on the job a half-hour. The longer I worked at the job, the more I saw how inefficient all the procedures were, from delivery routes to times for coffee breaks.

When I asked Mrs. King about the procedures, however, she always reacted the same way. I continued with it over the next seven weeks, but my efforts were fruitless, even counterproductive.

Two months later, I was fired. I objected, of course. The personnel manager asked me if I had ever heard of the barnyard pecking order: the top chicken pecks on the one below it, the second pecks on the third, and so on all the way down the line to the lowliest chicken, whose life is a constant misery. Mrs. King, the manager said, was that lowliest chicken at the bottom of the pecking order in the agency’s management. No one should doubt for a moment that she ruled her rooster.

I reflected upon my adventure in the agency. Eventually I saw how arrogant, and how unsympathetic, my behavior had been. In my next job, I ’ll learn the pecking order before I become a reformer, if I do.

1. What trouble did the author meet when he started his job?

A．He had too many co-workers and a boss to work with.

B．He found the slots were labeled not with full names but initials.

C．He had to spend too much time in sorting and delivering.

D．His boss Mrs King glanced at him sharply and answered him quickly.

2. Why was the author fired two months later?

A．He questioned his boss Mrs King endlessly.

B．He did not work according to work procedures.

C．He worked inefficiently.

D．He did not make his efforts to work.

3. What does the barnyard pecking order in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．work procedure	B．job morality
C．production line	D．ranking system

4. What have the author learned from his job adventure?

A．Honesty	B．Self-confidence
C．Respect	D．Perseverance

8 . At 36, I have three kids and a great husband, and I'm enjoying a challenging but fun career. Although this is ______ , sometimes I feel my heart asking if this is who I truly am.

The chaos of the family kitchen ______ my brain: the noise of the kettle, pots and the dishes, and the conversation demands while I'm making breakfast. I escape ______ to my bedroom. Only in silence do I hear the self that is ______ from the children and wonder who that person might be.

So, I journeyed, for the first time in a decade, without my husband or kids. I went with a friend to ______ in Iceland. I hoped the consideration of walking would help me better ______ who I want to be. For 6 days, I was absorbed in ______ scenery and real weather. The mountains in Iceland ______ black and tall into the heavens against the white of the snow. Looking outside at wild wind and rain and knowing there's no ______ to make freed the soul. Climbing a mountain against sheets of rain and returning to a tent for a simple meal ______ me how little I actually needed and how ______ I felt when uncomfortable.

I found ______ in Iceland, and time to consider “the me” outside of career and kids as I shared stories with strangers with no ______ past and no expected future. When I stopped talking and just listened, I was surprised at how my ______ changed — I became more generous. I learned generosity can ______ more space, more food and more warmth ______ when there may not seem enough to go around at first glance.

I came home to noise, chaos and love. I know the answer isn't waiting out there on the top of a mountain or inside my head if I just ______ hard enough to hear, and it isn't in conversation with other seeking souls. The answer is in front of me with every step on my own life’s ______.

I'm not finding myself, but I'm creating myself. I need the storm as much as I need the quietness. ______ is built under a heavy load. I'm expecting to ______ all of my loads and travel on.

1.

A．progress

B．reward

C．success

D．encouragement

2.

A．disturbs

B．awakes

C．quiets

D．ruins

3.

A．instantly

B．eventually

C．suddenly

D．briefly

4.

A．accessible

B．separate

C．tired

D．different

5.

A．hike

B．volunteer

C．settle

D．wander

6.

A．judge

B．consider

C．question

D．understand

7.

A．changeable

B．green

C．wild

D．surrounding

8.

A．turn

B．rise

C．form

D．appear

9.

A．picture

B．decision

C．peace

D．promise

10.

A．reminded

B．warned

C．convinced

D．told

11.

A．stubborn

B．nervous

C．satisfied

D．strong

12.

A．confidence

B．value

C．silence

D．happiness

13.

A．shared

B．painful

C．troubled

D．glorious

14.

A．concern

B．attitude

C．life

D．character

15.

A．develop

B．explore

C．offer

D．create

16.

A．indeed

B．just

C．only

D．even

17.

A．try

B．calm

C．move

D．manage

18.

A．design

B．choice

C．path

D．belief

19.

A．Pleasure

B．Strength

C．Spirit

D．Pressure

20.

A．think over

B．deal with

C．lay down

D．pick up

9 . I’d always _______ living alone: the life of no rules and regulations and being independent. So, I was _______ about this new stage in my life when moving into my university dormitory.

_______, during the first few months, I’d find myself crying every day. Coming from a big family, I was   _______ to noises surrounding me. Therefore, the scary _______ at night was the worst. I couldn’t even _______ without keeping the lights on.

As time went by, I started enjoying the _______ that came with living alone. The space of loneliness was _______ by friends who became like family.

When it was time to say goodbye and go back home after my _______ I was bittersweet. I’d __________ my time alone, learning things which wouldn’t have been __________ if I had never moved away from home.

I’d learned a lot from this __________. Living alone made me value __________ time even more. I realized that every second with them __________ though I might not get the freedom I had while living alone. For me, there is no warmth in a house __________ it’s filled with loving members and people you love.

1.

A．kept on

B．dreamed of

C．insisted on

D．put off

2.

A．delighted

B．worried

C．serious

D．cautious

3.

A．Undoubtedly

B．Unwillingly

C．Unconditionally

D．Unexpectedly

4.

A．deaf

B．cruel

C．accustomed

D．opposed

5.

A．boredom

B．silence

C．darkness

D．suffering

6.

A．sleep

B．talk

C．move

D．play

7.

A．confidence

B．safety

C．relief

D．freedom

8.

A．set aside

B．taken over

C．filled up

D．thrown away

9.

A．recovery

B．graduation

C．resignation

D．promotion

10.

A．hated

B．desired

C．regretted

D．enjoyed

11.

A．useful

B．possible

C．reliable

D．worthwhile

12.

A．adventure

B．arrangement

C．experience

D．challenge

13.

A．family

B．study

C．work

D．growth

14.

A．flew

B．counted

C．stayed

D．repeated

15.

A．when

B．once

C．unless

D．though

10 . Earlier this year, my husband and I were presented with the chance to make our home in an urban “micro” space. As we initially considered it, it seemed crazy. Would we even make it a week without going mad? Living room, kitchen, office, dining room, all in one small four-walled space.

There were a number of other potential options. We could move out into the suburbs like most people do in our extraordinarily expensive city and have a small yard maybe even a basement. But there was something about this neat “tiny” home that aroused our interest, which challenged us. We like to live differently from the crowd, to avoid what everyone else is doing “just because” everyone else is.

“Let’s try it for six months. If it makes us crazy, we’ll move. We can do anything for 6 months,” my husband said. It was challenging squeezing into the space at first, but then something caught us by surprise. We started having a ton of fun with our tiny space.

In the past, sometimes we had quite different ideas about which art or decorating style we found appealing. But here, in this tiny space, we found ourselves having a ton of fun exploring possible options. There’s no room for clutter(凌乱的东西), either. This is a gift!

It’s been 8 months, and we’re staying. Perhaps forever. When a space is this small, you don’t need to spend much in furnishing it, and you can’t keep endlessly buying things. There’s nowhere to put them!

This leaves us more financial resources and more time to go out into the much bigger world and enjoy life. For us, living in a “tiny” home has filled us with a feeling of abundance. It’s so much better than feeling weighed down, paying for a big space and more and more things. I highly recommend it.

1. What can we learn from the words of the author’s husband?

A．He didn’t like to stay in the small space.

B．He made up his mind to stay in the small space.

C．He was uncertain about living in the small space.

D．He encouraged the author to live in the small space.

2. What do we know about the author’s experience from the text?

A．It was depressing but inspiring.

B．It was challenging but interesting.

C．It was disappointing but touching.

D．It was embarrassing but rewarding.

3. What’s the main advantage of living in the small room to the author?

A．She could enjoy life more.	B．She could avoid the crowds.
C．She could clean the room easily.	D．She could enjoy a feeling of freedom.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．A new trend of living	B．The joy of living “tiny”
C．Save space, save money	D．Make good use of space