1 . I worked in a restaurant. One night, a woman came in with three small children. As a waiter, I could _________ tell who is going to tip well and who isn’t going to tip at all. She asked about the _________ of everything on the menu, but she ordered _________ water to drink. Her daughter asked her “Mum, can I have milk?” The woman pulled out her purse and _________ her change before saying yes. Then I was _________ that I wouldn’t get a tip.

At the _________ of the meal, she paid entirely in coins. When I went back to clear the table, to my _________, there were a lot of coins left for me. It amounted to 8 dollars, about the 25% of the _________ . Here was a woman who _________to count her money before __________ her daughter chocolate milk, __________she wanted to make sure she still had enough to tip me generously.

Was it the __________ tip I’ve ever got? No, but it’s the only one I __________ after all these years.

This story is a(n) __________that the very best aspects (方面) of __________ nature can shine through in even the most __________ everyday situations. The first __________ may be powerful, but it’s important to let others __________ their true nature rather than making quick __________ about them. Generosity is a valuable virtue to develop, whether you __________ to be rich or poor.

1.

A．firstly

B．suddenly

C．usually

D．hardly

2.

A．material

B．price

C．taste

D．cooking

3.

A．even

B．much

C．again

D．only

4.

A．counted up

B．used up

C．stared at

D．played with

5.

A．worried

B．convinced

C．puzzled

D．annoyed

6.

A．start

B．top

C．end

D．cost

7.

A．surprise

B．satisfaction

C．regret

D．embarrassment

8.

A．serve

B．meal

C．amount

D．menu

9.

A．tended

B．pretended

C．loved

D．had

10.

A．ordering

B．awarding

C．passing

D．lending

11.

A．and

B．so

C．for

D．but

12.

A．smallest

B．hottest

C．poorest

D．largest

13.

A．remember

B．obtain

C．require

D．appreciate

14.

A．practice

B．excuse

C．explanation

D．reminder

15.

A．private

B．human

C．public

D．social

16.

A．convenient

B．active

C．ordinary

D．unusual

17.

A．impression

B．expression

C．expectation

D．prediction

18.

A．hold

B．hide

C．show

D．bear

19.

A．comments

B．jokes

C．notes

D．judgements

20.

A．attempt

B．happen

C．fail

D．desire

2 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写一段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

A few years ago, the company I worked for sent my wife and me to live in New York for a year. I’ve always loved running, so I was really happy when I found out I lived next to Central Park. This meant that every morning I could go for a run before I went to work.

Because a lot of people had told me to be careful of robbers in the park, so usually I didn’t take anything with me. How could they rob me if I didn’t have anything? But one morning, my wife gave me a S 10 bill and asked me to buy some bread on the way.

It was a beautiful morning and the park was quiet with very few people walking or jogging (慢跑) around. While I was running through the park, another jogger knocked into me. He apologized and continued running. For a while, I didn’t think too much of it. However, when I noticed the wide path where I was running, I thought was kind of strange. The warning of robbers in the park occurred to me. ”It could have been a robber!” I suddenly became alarmed, so I checked my pocket and found that the money was missing. Without thinking twice, I ran after that jogger. I finally caught up and held him by the arm. I shouted, “Give me the $10 bill! Now!” I am not usually a hot-headed (性急的) person, but I got really angry this time. I couldn’t believe the robbery was actually happening to me. Filled with anger, I shook my fist at him. This seemed to frighten him. He quickly put his hand in his pocket and gave me the money. Then he ran away as fast as he could.

I bought the bread and went home. As soon as I got home, I couldn’t wait to tell my wife my story. “You won’t believe what happened to me,” I started with pride. She immediately stopped me, “I know, you left the money for the bread on the kitchen table.”

注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。

Looking at the money on the table, I stood there, shocked.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . Once there was a piano player in a bar (酒吧). People came just to hear him play. But one night, a lady asked him to sing a song.

“I don’t sing,” said the man.

But the lady told the waiter, “I’m tired of listening to the piano.” I want the player to sing!” The waiter shouted across the room, “Hey, friend! If you want to get paid, sing a song!” So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung so beautifully!

He had talent (天赋) he was sitting on! He may have live in rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.

You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel that your talent is great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills can be improved. Besides, you may have no success at all if you just sit on your talent.

1. Nat King Cole succeeded because ________.

A．the lady helped him a lot	B．he caught the chance
C．he continued to play in the bar	D．he stopped playing the piano

2. The words “sit on” in the passage probably mean _______.

A．fail to realize	B．forget to use
C．try to develop	D．manage to show

3. From the story we know if you have some talent, you should _______.

A．hide it and wait	B．ask others for help
C．pay no attention to it	D．work hard to improve yourself

4. Which is the best title for the passage?

A．Sing in the Bar	B．Achieve Success in Life
C．Never Lose Heart	D．Find Your Hidden Talent

4 . Last summer, I cycled to a small village with my friend Mike. We had a great time there. However, one day, when we were _______ a bike on a narrow road, we found a big tree lying across the road.

Both my _______ and I had to get off the bike. And my friend started complaining, “Why did someone put a _______ across the road? And why did no one get it out of the way?” He kept complaining. I thought he would ask me to _______ him get the tree out of the way, but he didn’t. Instead, he just stepped over it with his _______, followed by me. And he still didn’t stop complaining, “I guess nowadays _______is ready to do something for others.” I thought now he would try to remove it, but he _______ didn’t. He just got on his bike and was about to leave. But I didn’t _______ him. Noticing I wasn’t moving, he asked me, “What’s wrong?” I said, “Let’s _______ the tree.” He looked ________ and asked, “Why should we do it? It’s not our ________.” But I insisted. At last, he got off his bike and we got the tree out of the road ________. “You see, there are people who are willing to do something for others,” after removing the tree, I said laughingly to my friend and he laughed, too.

My dear friends, when something is in your ________ next time, will you choose to complain or remove it? You can choose to complain and just ________ it there. But you can also choose to get it out of the way. Don’t wait for others to do that. You can be the one who ________ action and does something for others.

1.

A．checking

B．pushing

C．buying

D．riding

2.

A．brother

B．sister

C．friend

D．parents

3.

A．flower

B．tree

C．bike

D．car

4.

A．notice

B．help

C．watch

D．make

5.

A．books

B．clothes

C．bike

D．bag

6.

A．anybody

B．everybody

C．nobody

D．somebody

7.

A．still

B．always

C．also

D．ever

8.

A．see

B．follow

C．stop

D．keep

9.

A．remove

B．take

C．bring

D．sell

10.

A．happy

B．sad

C．excited

D．puzzled

11.

A．mistake

B．complaint

C．responsibility

D．way

12.

A．alone

B．too

C．instead

D．together

13.

A．heart

B．way

C．home

D．mind

14.

A．have

B．leave

C．keep

D．stay

15.

A．gets

B．has

C．takes

D．goes

5 . Have you seen people who take pictures of food for more than 10 minutes before eating? My friend Stella is such an example. Every time we went to a restaurant she would not take a bite until all the dishes we ________ were on the table. Then she would spend five minutes in ________ the dishes in a seemingly random but in fact ________ order. Then the most important part: taking pictures. After that, she would choose one of the ________ and click in the filter app. The food eventually looked 10 times more delicious than it really was, but we had no ________ to really enjoy it—it all went cold, actually Stella’s real life is much less elegant. For example, she hates to wash the dishes, so she leaves them in the sink for days.

Many people care too much about others’ opinions and try too hard to ________ others. They find it hard to be ________ and to accept themselves, and thus they are afraid to show their ________ life on social media. What they are trying to prove is ________ what they lack in reality. But this will not bring any ________ to reality, as they still ________ the same old pattern of life.

If they really want an elegant life, they should put more ________ into achieving it ________ fabricating it. Being more confident, ________ themselves and trying their best to be better are much more meaningful than ________ their life on social media.

1.

A．ordered

B．served

C．offered

D．prepared

2.

A．cooking

B．washing

C．setting

D．collecting

3.

A．messy

B．arranged

C．casual

D．missed

4.

A．dishes

B．restaurants

C．tables

D．pictures

5.

A．chance

B．choice

C．excuse

D．reason

6.

A．comfort

B．please

C．inspire

D．discourage

7.

A．independent

B．generous

C．responsible

D．confident

8.

A．real

B．secret

C．peaceful

D．healthy

9.

A．rarely

B．hardly

C．exactly

D．nearly

10.

A．difficulty

B．change

C．guidance

D．harm

11.

A．question

B．dislike

C．doubt

D．follow

12.

A．effort

B．ambitions

C．feeling

D．money

13.

A．other than

B．more than

C．rather than

D．less than

14.

A．identifying

B．accepting

C．persuading

D．amusing

15.

A．simplifying

B．ruining

C．beautifying

D．worsening

6 . Ten years ago, I went on a vacation in Italy. After climbing up a hill for a panoramic (全景的) view of the blue sea, white buildings and green olive trees, I paused to catch my breath and then positioned myself to take the best photo of this panorama.

Unfortunately, just as I took out my camera, a woman approached from behind, and planted herself right in front of my view. Like me, this woman was here to stop, sigh and appreciate the view.

Patient as I was, after about 15 minutes, I grew frustrated. Was it too much to ask her to move so I could take just one picture of the landscape? Sure, I could have asked her, but something prevented me from doing so. She seemed so content in her observation. I didn't want to mess with that. Another 15 minutes passed and I grew bored. The woman was still there. I decided to take the photo anyway.

Now when I look at the photo, I think her presence in the photo is what makes the image interesting. The landscape, beautiful on its own, somehow comes to life and breathes because this woman is engaging with it.

This photo, with the unique beauty that unfolded before me and that woman who "ruined" it, now hangs on a wall in my bedroom. What would she think if she knew that her figure is captured and frozen on some strangers bedroom wall? A bedroom, after all, is a very private space, in which some woman I don't even know has been immortalized (使永存). In some ways, she lives in my house.

Perhaps we all live in each other's spaces. Perhaps this is what photos are for: to remind us that we all appreciate beauty, that we all share a common desire for pleasure, for connection, for something that is greater than us. That photo is a reminder, a captured moment, an unspoken conversation between two women, separated only by a thin square of glass.

1. What happened when the author was about to take a photo?

A．Her camera stopped working.	B．A friend approached from behind.
C．Someone asked her to leave.	D．A woman blocked her view.

2. According to the author, the woman was probably ________.

A．losing her patience	B．enjoying herself
C．waiting for the sunset	D．thinking about her past

3. In the author's opinion, what makes the photo so alive?

A．The woman's existence in the photo.	B．The perfect positioning of the camera.
C．The rich color of the landscape.	D．The soft sunlight that summer day.

4. The photo on the bedroom wall enables the author to better understand ________.

A．the need to be close to nature	B．the importance of private space
C．the shared passion for beauty	D．the joy of the vacation in Italy

7 . Fifteen years ago, I took a summer vacation in Lecce in southern Italy. After climbing up a hill for a panoramic (全景的) view of the blue sea, white building and green olive trees, I paused to ach my breath and then positioned myself to take the best photo of this panorama.

Unfortunately, just as I took out my camera, a woman approached from behind, and planted herself right in front of my view. Like me, this woman was here to stop, sigh and appreciate the view. Patient as I was, after about 15 minutes, my camera scanning the sun and reviewing the shot I would eventually take, I grew frustrated. Was it too much to ask her to move so I could take just one picture of the landscape? Sure, I could have asked her, but something prevented me from doing so. She seemed so content in her observation. I didn’t want to mess with that.

Another 15 minutes passed and I grew bored. The woman was still there. I decided to take the photo anyway.   And now when I look at it, I think her presence in the photo is what makes the image interesting. The landscape, beautiful on its own, somehow comes to life and breathes because this woman is engaging with it.

This photo, with the unique beauty that unfolded before me and that woman who “ruined” it, now hangs on a wall in my bedroom. What would she think if she knew that her figure is captured (捕捉) and frozen on some stranger’s bedroom wall? A bedroom, after all, is a very private space, in which some woman I don’t even know has been immortalized (使永存). In some ways, she lives in my house.

Perhaps we all live in each other’s space. Perhaps this is what photos are for: to remind us that we all appreciate beauty, that we all share a common desire for pleasure, for connection, for something that is greater than us.

That photo is a reminder, a captured moment, an unspoken conversation between two women, separated only by a thin square of glass.

1. What happened when the author was about to take a photo?

A．Her camera stopped working.	B．A woman blocked her view.
C．Someone asked her to leave.	D．A friend approached from behind.

2. In the author’s opinion, what makes the photo so alive?

A．The rich color of the landscape.	B．The perfect positioning of the camera.
C．The woman’s existence in the photo.	D．The soft sunlight that summer day.

3. The photo on the bedroom wall enables the author to better understand ________.

A．the need to be close to nature	B．the importance of private space
C．the joy of the vacation in Italy	D．the shared passion for beauty

4. The passage can be seen as the author’s reflections upon ________.

A．a particular life experience	B．the pleasure of traveling
C．the art of photography	D．a lost friendship

8 . I was selfish as a teenager. I usually spent my time thinking about myself and taking care of my own needs. I let my older brother do most of the work around the house until he left for college.

I let my Mom and Dad worry about our bills and problems while I read books, played, and lost myself in my own imagination. This didn’t change even when I went to college either. I studied hard but only to make my own life better. Even when I started to explore my faith and spirituality, it was only to increase my own happiness.

I married after graduation and decided to start a family. Of course, I had no idea what hard knocks reality had in store for my selfish soul. Soon I found myself unemployed, deeply in debt, and with a new baby on the way. I found out that life has little sympathy for spoiled people. In fact, all of the struggles I was going through were beating the selfishness slowly out of me.

Still, I didn’t give up on happiness. I knew that there must be a way to find it. I finally realized, however, that it had to include more than just my own needs, wants, and desires. The answer began to make itself clear one night shortly after my baby boy was born. I got a bottle and held him in my arms. As I was feeding him I looked down and saw his big, innocent, trusting eyes. I smiled and talked to him. Then he smiled and I could feel my heart growing, expanding with love. I felt such peace and joy. At that moment I had a hint of the truth: it is by growing our hearts with love that we find our happiness.

Carolyn Arends wrote: "The more people you let into your heart, the bigger your heart gets.The more love you get, the more love you have to give. It just keeps growing." So, keep loving, keep living and keep caring. Keep growing your heart today, tomorrow, and always.

1. What do we know about the author from the first paragraph?

A．He often helped his brother with housework.	B．He studied hard for his family.
C．He put his own needs above others’.	D．He was concerned about his family.

2. Which of the following can replace the underlined words “hard knocks” in Paragraph 2?

A．truth.

B．hardships.

C．love.

D．fortune.

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．The author loved kids.

B．The author often fed his baby.

C．The author realized the importance of happiness.

D．When caring for his baby, the author got inspired.

4. Which can be the best title of the passage?

A．Loving Others , a Way to Happiness	B．The Elder One Grows, the More He Gets.
C．Help Others , Help Oneself	D．Keep Growing to Live a Happy Life

9 . For so long, failure has been pictured as something negative, something to be ashamed of and something to be kept a secret. But a Swedish psychologist, Samuel West, has decided to put our worst fears on the table. He is opening a museum -- the Museum of Failure -- in Helsingborg, Sweden, this June.

Instead of showing successes, as museums usually do, the Museum of Failure will display over 60 “failed” products from big-name companies such as Nokia, Apple and Coca-Cola. “I really hope you see that these mega-brands that everybody respects, they screw up too,” West told The New York Times. “I hope that makes you feel less nervous about learning something new.”

West’s opinion isn’t a new one. Albert Einstein once said, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” And this idea has been embraced by lots of companies in the US. Silicon Valley, for example, is the home of some of the world’s most creative companies, yet its slogan turns out to be, quite surprisingly, “Fail fast, fail often.”

However, there are reasons for this. “The best companies are those that encourage failure, embrace out-of-the-box thinking, and allow employers to make mistakes and see what happens,” wrote Simon Casuto of Forbes.

But some people are doubtful of this so-called “culture of failure”. They are worried that if failure becomes a “symbol of honor”, as Wired magazine put it, it may even be seen as “uncool” when someone tries to reduce the risk of failure. This may push people to care too little and try too little.

“Sometimes people hid behind failure, when they could have prevented it,” wrote Anna Isaac of The Telegraph.

So it’s important that you set apart the two kinds of failure—the kind that makes you a loser and the kind that takes you forward. The key is whether you’ve learned something from your mistakes.

“Learning is the only process that turns failure into success.” West said The Guardian.” If you don’t learn from your failures, then you’ve really failed.”

1. What does the underlined phrase “screw up” in the second paragraph mean?

A．Make a profit.	B．Make a mess.
C．Make a highlight.	D．Make a risk.

2. What messages does the slogan “Fail fast, fail often.” convey?

A．The more failure, the better.

B．Accept failure, and try new things.

C．The more you fail, the less success you achieve.

D．Failure is more important than success.

3. Which magazine shows doubt about the culture of failure?

A．The New York Times.	B．Forbes.
C．Wired.	D．The Guardian.

4. What’s West’s opinion about failure?

A．Failure’s value lies in learning from it.

B．If you fail, you are a loser.

C．It’s not necessary to try to reduce the risk of failure.

D．Failure is the key to put you forward.

10 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

As     1    (teenager), you have many dreams. These dreams can be very big, such as winning the Nobel Prize, or they can be very small, for example, you may just want to become the best student in your class. Once you find a dream, what do you do with it? Do you ever try     2    (make) your dream come true?

Andrew Matthews,     3    Australian writer, tells us that making our dreams come true is the biggest challenge in our life. You may think you are not very good     4    some school subjects or it is     5    (possible) for you to become a writer. These kinds of thoughts stop you       6    (realize) your dreams. In fact, everyone can realize his dream. Keep telling yourself     7    you want. Do this step by step and your dream will come true earlier because a big dream    8    (make) up of many small dreams.

You must also never give up your dream. There will be many     9    (difficult) on the road to your dreams, but the biggest one comes from     10    (you). You need to decide what is the most important.