1 . It was one of those moments every new parent dreads (恐惧). My baby son was screaming as if I’d just dipped him in a bucket (桶) of battery acid. It felt as if he’d been screaming like that for years, though he was only two months old. Even worse, this was happening in public— I was sitting with my howling baby in the food court of a Los Angeles mall, despairing (绝望) as other diners silently judged me while watching us over plates of food.

Until, that is, one woman— a complete stranger— did something and taught me a lesson about kindness that lingers to this day. She walked over to me and put her hand on my shoulder. “This won’t last forever,” she said. “I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but things will get better. He’ll stop crying. You’ll get some sleep.”

It was such a small thing, a tiny kindness, really, but it made all the difference. It was 2001 and I was living in a foreign city with a newborn, without friends or family, and I was terribly lonely. This woman had seen me, if only for a moment, and taken the time to make a human connection. It was just a minute out of her day, but it has stayed with me for nearly two decades.

We all want to be better in the world and more giving to others. But we can easily get hung up on the sheer (完全的) importance of that challenge— making time to regularly volunteer or finding money to donate to a cause. Doing good doesn’t have to be an important task, though; it can be incremental (递增的). It can be as quick as a smile, a word, a phone call, an email. It can be the note you send to a friend who is feeling blue or the baby carriage you help carry down the subway stairs for a parent on their own, even though you’re late for work.

I’m reminded of a line from Brian Goldman’s bestseller, The Power of Kindness: “The opposite meaning of empathy is apathy (冷漠).” That is, the opposite of doing good isn’t doing harm; it’s doing nothing. Every tiny act of generosity— every door held open, every coffee bought for a stranger— builds a bridge to another person. It says, “I see you.” Today, when we spend most of our time looking at our phones, and not at people’s faces, that’s invaluable.

So, while I’m not particularly good at regularly volunteering or running marathons to raise money for charity, I’m committed to small gestures. I try to send a note of praise every day to someone whose work I admire. I’ve become phone friends with a lonely 87-year-old woman who contacted me about something I wrote, and who lives in a city far from her own children and grandchildren. On airplanes, I find the new parents with panicked eyes and offer to hold their babies. I remember what it felt like when the screaming baby was mine. I remember when a tiny kindness felt monumental, enough to change the world.

1. Why did the author mention her baby son’s crying in Paragraph 1?

A．To create a disappointing atmosphere.	B．To prove her opinion.
C．To show her helplessness.	D．To introduce the topic.

2. What holds people back from being more giving to others?

A．Always trying to do important deeds.	B．Being short of time.
C．Being lacking in money.	D．Keeping looking at their phones.

3. A line from Brian Goldman’s The Power of Kindness is used in Paragraph 5 to show that ________.

A．doing harm to others is better than doing nothing

B．people are supposed to pay more attention to others’ faces

C．every small gesture counts in connecting people

D．spending most of our time looking at our phones is invaluable

4. What can be the most suitable title for the passage?

A．The Kind Strangers	B．The Small Mercies
C．The Power of Words	D．The Power of Kindness

2 . A star athlete at the college where I work recently stopped by my office. After committing a few unforced errors during a weekend match, she suffered severely by self-criticism.

This student, like many I teach, strongly believes she should be able to control the outcomes of her life by virtue of her hard work. In her mind, “Nothing can stop me but myself”. So when these students fall short of what they imagine they should accomplish, they are filled with self-blame, reasoning, “If my accomplishments are mine to control, my failures must be entirely my faults, too”, which makes it extremely difficult for them to move on.

We often owe young adults struggling with failure to their parents’ over protection of them from discomfort. But there is another factor at play—a message transmitted by indulging (纵容的) parents who have falsely promised them that they can achieve anything if they are willing to work for it. However, the cruel reality of life is that you can do everything in your power—and still fail. _______

Psychologists Luthar and Kumar urge parents and teachers to spend time helping students find purpose, or goals they genuinely love to pursue and that make an impact on the world, which may help them gain greater life satisfaction and become more psychologically mature. Besides, instead of allowing our kids to beat themselves up when things don’t go their way, we might all question a culture where one is considered lazy without full devotion. The point is to remind them that life has a way of sucker-punching (出其不意) us when we least expect it. It’s often the people who learn to say “stuff happens” who get up the fastest.

1. What does the underlined phrase “by virtue of” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．in addition to	B．in spite of
C．by means of	D．for fear of

2. The author believes that young adults find it hard to struggle with failure because ______.

A．they are not taught how to deal with difficulties

B．they are short of the ability to handle failure

C．they are under the protection of their parents

D．they are misled by their parents’ false message

3. Which of the following sentences can go into the blank in Paragraph 3?

A．But what is the reason for that?

B．Actually there are some findings.

C．Then what should be done to help?

D．So experts have their own concerns.

4. What did psychologists Luthar and Kumar urge parents and teachers to do?

A．To teach students how to avoid faults.

B．To lead students to set their truly loved goals.

C．To help students to discover a path to success.

D．To allow kids to blame themselves.

5. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Students don’t care about failure at all.

B．Students are sure to succeed if they try their best.

C．Students should bear all the failures on their own.

D．Students with positive attitudes can move on more easily.

4 . Do you know the proverb “no pain, no gain”? It gives the impression that we ought to be suffering while we study. It seems that the only way to know if we’ re putting in enough work is how much hardship we bear. We are totally taken up with study, shutting ourselves away for a big exam. Is that necessarily true?

When we haven’t taken the time to come up with another idea, we just shut ourselves in a room with a book. It’s no surprise that we find revision boring and difficult. Just as children learn from playing, we can learn from doing, or at least from study techniques that interest us, rather than make us switch off. Shutting ourselves away can make us learn to hate studying, leading to a situation where, instead of being able to concentrate on our work, we are troubled by how unfair it is that we must study. This can be part of a vicious cycle (恶性循环) that traps us into ineffective revision, or poor progress fueling further annoyance.

Thankfully, working in the company of other people really helps fight against that. We just need to learn how to deal with distractions(使人分心的事). It’s not necessary to avoid all company, just lazy company. They constantly try to keep others in conversation, while studying in the same room with someone who is ironing or working out is perfectly possible. Of course, it’s also a good idea to avoid the company of people involved in activities where you would rather be playing than studying. Working while sitting next to someone playing video games is most likely to end with a new high score of games rather than productive revision.

If being around others means working in a noisy environment, a pair of headphones and some background music can block out noises. They also act as a psychological barrier, so that people think twice before interrupting you. Besides, we should know friends and family can lessen feelings of isolation. And connecting with other people makes us happy, so it’s important not to give that up and to make sure that we take the time to socialize.

1. What is the author’s purpose of writing the text?

A．To introduce effective studying means.

B．To encourage us to work as hard as possible.

C．To remind us to balance activities and study.

D．To discuss the importance of family company.

2. What can we learn from the second paragraph?

A．Good ideas are needed in terms of progress.

B．Ways that interest us can lead to effective revision.

C．Shutting ourselves away can help concentrate on work.

D．With study techniques, revision is interesting and easy for certain.

3. What does the last sentence in Paragraph 3 imply?

A．One should learn from certain activities that interest him.

B．Playing video games is helpful for effective study.

C．One shouldn’t study with the company of a video game player.

D．The more time one spends in playing games, the higher test scores one will get.

4. What should you do if you are studying in a noisy environment?

A．Give up others company at once.

B．Think twice before taking any action.

C．Give indication of not wanting to be interrupted.

D．Force yourself to be accustomed to the environment.

5 . Sitting in my school cafeteria, I looked around, slowly taking in everything. Student after student passed my _________ carrying that day’s lunch, but if you looked deeper, there was more to _________. There was more than just the uniform they were wearing, or the way they had styled their hair. There was a lot more hidden under the _________.

Catching the eye of a girl in my grade sitting at a nearby table, I waved _________. She smiled weakly and then continued to pick at the spaghetti in front of her. If I hadn’t _________ recently that her mother was dying of leukemia, I would have never _________ anything was wrong and I may not have been as _________ and sympathetic, either. It suddenly _________ me that we judge others too quickly without knowing the whole story.

I have an incurable lung disease. No one at our school knows—I don’t show any noticeable _________ except for a few coughs. I go about my day like any other kid, __________ with the realization that I have a __________ and terrifying future.

Before that day when I decided to __________ the world with a new perspective, I __________ myself almost every day. I thought only about myself and my heavy __________. But I’ve now realized no one is __________—we just need to accept the way we are.

1.

A．order

B．room

C．table

D．cafeteria

2.

A．imagine

B．compare

C．observe

D．exchange

3.

A．uniform

B．rules

C．circumstances

D．surface

4.

A．politely

B．wildly

C．coldly

D．impatiently

5.

A．found

B．noticed

C．heard

D．decided

6.

A．remembered

B．suspected

C．predicted

D．regretted

7.

A．willing

B．outstanding

C．understanding

D．demanding

8.

A．escaped

B．satisfied

C．hit

D．attracted

9.

A．diseases

B．symptoms

C．complaints

D．weaknesses

10.

A．but

B．and

C．or

D．so

11.

A．bright

B．real

C．serious

D．dark

12.

A．tolerate

B．create

C．change

D．view

13.

A．forgave

B．pitied

C．challenged

D．encouraged

14.

A．debt

B．reward

C．burden

D．schedule

15.

A．changeable

B．perfect

C．unique

D．different

6 . When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings. Week by week her list _______: I was very thin; I wasn't a _______ student; I talked too much; I was too _______, always feeling superior to others, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as 1 could. _______.I became very angry. I ran to my father with _______in my eyes.

He listened to me _______, and then he asked. "Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn't you ever wonder _______ you're really like? Well, you now have that girl's   _________. Go and _______ a list of everything she said and mark the points that are ________. Pay no attention to the other things she said."

I did ________ he told me. To my great ________, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn't ________ (like being very thin), but a good number I could — and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I went to a fairly ________picture of myself.

I brought the list back to Daddy. He ________to take it. “That's just for you” he said, “You know ________than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to ________, not just close your ears in anger, feeling ________. When something said about you is true, you'll find it of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your affairs. Don't shut your ________. Listen to them all but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do."

Daddy's advice has always ________ to me at many important moments. In my life, I've never had a better piece of advice.

1.

A．collected

B．added

C．grew

D．continued

2.

A．good

B．bad

C．short

D．greedy

3.

A．silly

B．friendly

C．dull

D．proud

4.

A．In other words

B．Above all

C．As it is

D．At last

5.

A．tears

B．happiness

C．promises

D．wishes

6.

A．coldly

B．quietly

C．eagerly

D．happily

7.

A．who

B．how

C．what

D．that

8.

A．excuse

B．opinion

C．talk

D．advice

9.

A．take

B．make

C．create

D．receive

10.

A．wrong

B．correct

C．big

D．true

11.

A．as

B．so

C．before

D．till

12.

A．joy

B．pleasure

C．surprise

D．anger

13.

A．say

B．like

C．do

D．change

14.

A．wonderful

B．clear

C．interesting

D．beautiful

15.

A．promised

B．refused

C．expected

D．agreed

16.

A．wider

B．higher

C．better

D．worse

17.

A．listen

B．stand

C．speak

D．share

18.

A．hurt

B．sad

C．shy

D．excited

19.

A．words

B．mouths

C．eyes

D．ears

20.

A．returned

B．gone

C．appeared

D．happened

7 . A few years ago, I was given a wallet. A beautiful elephant was woven into its front panel. The wallet was ________ to me by a close friend on my birthday.

The wallet was not only beautiful; it had a personality: it loved to run away, as I told my parents over and over again, only to receive eye _________ in return. “Frances, really, you’ve lost it again?” they would say every time I ________ it. Fortunately，I would eventually find it in my own house.

One day, _______ , as I was leaving a football stadium at a school, the wallet once again ________ from my pocket. I discovered the ______ when I got home. I searched the house and I prayed, as usual. Nothing.

But then, around a week later, my parents received a ______ on their business voicemail. A complete stranger was calling with the ________ of my wallet. “I’m calling for Frances,” a ________ came from the stranger. This man, to find whom the wallet belonged to, looked inside of it, and found a _______ which my parents had written to me. It _______ have their business phone number on it. Upon getting my wallet back, I wrote a brief letter to the man expressing my ______, and remarking on what an amazing act of kindness he had committed and that he was truly a _______ person. I would be forever grateful to him. I _______ and emailed it off to him.

I don’t know if I believe in chance or luck, but I do know I believe in ______ and in the selfless acts of kindness.

1.

A．handed

B．lent

C．sold

D．gifted

2.

A．glances

B．rolls

C．contacts

D．shadows

3.

A．needed

B．abandoned

C．noticed

D．misplaced

4.

A．otherwise

B．moreover

C．however

D．therefore

5.

A．jumped

B．escaped

C．flew

D．stole

6.

A．loss

B．event

C．failure

D．mistake

7.

A．message

B．note

C．letter

D．card

8.

A．thought

B．value

C．news

D．excitement

9.

A．telephone

B．greeting

C．command

D．voice

10.

A．check

B．passage

C．book

D．story

11.

A．seemed to

B．used to

C．intended to

D．happened to

12.

A．interest

B．gratitude

C．wishes

D．concerns

13.

A．remarkable

B．generous

C．careless

D．serious

14.

A．opened

B．rewrote

C．concluded

D．attached

15.

A．theory

B．truth

C．humanity

D．principle

8 . Life from birth to death is an unbroken chain of ever-increasing, unavoidable struggles. Struggles are a kind of _______ with which Nature forces humanity to develop, expand and progress. The education we _______ from the struggles we face is gradually increasing. We get it a little at a time from every _______ we encounter.

Face struggles and master them. _______ you will have the strength and wisdom for all your needs.

The strongest trees in the forest aren't those most _______. They are those that must struggle against the _______ conditions and other trees and overcome them to survive.

My grandfather was a wagon （四轮马车）maker. In _______ his land for crops, he always left a few oak trees standing in the open fields where they were _______ to the full force of the sun and strong winds. The trees that struggled against Nature were far stronger and _______ than the protected ones deep in the forest. It was timber （木材）from the trees which had struggled ________ he used for the wagon wheels, ________ fear that they would break, because they had struggled and grown strong enough to ________ the heaviest loads.

Struggles force us to move when we would otherwise stand ________. And they lead us eventually to the full realization that ________ comes only through struggles. ________ worthwhile in life is ever achieved without a struggle.

Once we understand the broad purpose of life, we are ________ to accept the circumstances that force us to struggle. ________, we accept struggles for what they are - ________, and it's so rewarding when you get inspirations from struggles to live your life to the ________ and a chance to enjoy the life which you are making so many ________ to get.

1.

A．rule

B．tool

C．barrier

D．behavior

2.

A．offer

B．update

C．receive

D．discover

3.

A．inconvenience

B．experience

C．question

D．examination

4.

A．Then

B．Still

C．Yet

D．Even

5.

A．prevented

B．endangered

C．affected

D．protected

6.

A．unreasonable

B．unfavorable

C．unfamiliar

D．beneficial

7.

A．planting

B．turning

C．ruining

D．clearing

8.

A．exposed

B．connected

C．accustomed

D．addicted

9.

A．tougher

B．weaker

C．drier

D．prettier

10.

A．which

B．what

C．that

D．when

11.

A．for

B．despite

C．without

D．through

12.

A．bear

B．increase

C．remove

D．lessen

13.

A．outside

B．straight

C．apart

D．still

14.

A．reputation

B．success

C．courage

D．independence

15.

A．Anything

B．Everything

C．Something

D．Nothing

16.

A．willing

B．afraid

C．ashamed

D．surprised

17.

A．On the contrary

B．For instance

C．As a result

D．In particular

18.

A．discouragement

B．ambition

C．opportunities

D．drawbacks

19.

A．richest

B．fairest

C．easiest

D．fullest

20.

A．mistakes

B．sacrifices

C．decisions

D．arrangements

9 . Last fall, I went to New York for sightseeing. I visited many tourist attractions there, and I also saw many unfortunate citizens on the street, like beggars and homeless folks.

Standing outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I heard a voice ask, “Can you do me a favor?” When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended out. Naturally, I reached into my pocket for some change immediately and placed it in her hand without even looking at her. I was really annoyed at being bothered by a beggar. What I only thought at that moment was to send her away.

But the blind woman said with a warm smile on her face, "I don't want your money. I just need you to show me the way to the subway entrance."

In an instant, I realized what I had done just now. Her unexpected words took me by surprise and shame. I had acted with prejudice ——I'd judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be. I felt ashamed of myself and couldn't face the old woman anymore. And I felt small beside her.

The incident reminded me that I believed in being humble, even though I had lost that belief for a moment. The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant. I left Honduras and arrived in the U. S. at the age of 15. Through the years, I have experienced many acts of prejudice. I remember a time at the age of 17 when I was a busboy, I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me. But now, living my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget who I am and where I have been, and to lose sight of where I want to go. It is the blind woman who cured me of my blindness.

1. What did the author think the blind woman wanted at first sight?

A．To ask for directions.	B．To offer him some help.
C．To demand some donations.	D．To borrow money from him.

2. Why did the author feel ashamed?

A．He had a prejudice on the woman.	B．He couldn't face the woman.
C．He was judged by his appearance.	D．He was an immigrant himself.

3. Why did the author mention his experience as a busboy?

A．To indicate he led a miserable life.	B．To tell he didn't work hard at school.
C．To prove he used to be a humble man.	D．To show he used to be unfairly judged.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Be Considerate - Always Minding Your Words

B．Be Humble - Always Dropping Your Prejudice

C．Be Generous - Always Helping Those in Need

D．Be Aggressive - Always Having a Big Dream

10 . The stage lights dimmed, and I took a quick look from behind the heavy black curtains into the audience. Blinded by the lights, I quickly_______.It seems that a great number of eyes were looking at me. I took a deep_______as the music of my dance began to play. I entered the stage and began my_______, the graduation test of the classical Indian dance.

After a decade of learning this art form, I had_______ been considered ready to take on the most difficult act. The test is the most important event in a dancer's life, as it shows_______ for all the factors in one's life that_______ the dance form: one's culture and family.

The performance is undertaken only by the most_______ and determined students. It is a difficult process that requires much_______. For more than six months, I spent two to three hours every day_______these dances. Many times, I ________ myself to my physical and mental breaking point, but still I would not stop. I could not give up. There was always so much more to do and so much more to________

I________a lot about myself in those tiring hours. I learned that I was far too________ to give up, and I was too proud to prove myself________ after I had set an unrealistic goal. Even with physical pain and mental________, I forced myself to meet my________. Even when I was at the end of my ________there was always something driving me on, forcing me not to give up.

Fortunately, I made it. What I had done________the success. It was in those hours that I learned what a dancer________ is. The time was evidence that I could________ something I set out to do.

1.

A．reached out

B．set off

C．pulled back

D．broke away

2.

A．sleep

B．breath

C．thought

D．sorrow

3.

A．career

B．attempt

C．response

D．performance

4.

A．eventually

B．easily

C．absolutely

D．desperately

5.

A．debt

B．respect

C．interest

D．talent

6.

A．shape

B．rescue

C．introduce

D．respond

7.

A．beautiful

B．focused

C．intelligent

D．considerate

8.

A．talent

B．strength

C．comprehension

D．commitment

9.

A．recording

B．discussing

C．practicing

D．designing

10.

A．pushed

B．addicted

C．treated

D．applied

11.

A．forget

B．design

C．learn

D．research

12.

A．discovered

B．abandoned

C．controlled

D．undertook

13.

A．brilliant

B．brave

C．stubborn

D．discouraged

14.

A．careless

B．nervous

C．frightened

D．wrong

15.

A．function

B．stress

C．level

D．action

16.

A．budget

B．deadline

C．expense

D．expectation

17.

A．limit

B．purpose

C．preparation

D．destination

18.

A．increased

B．deserved

C．expanded

D．exposed

19.

A．completely

B．chiefly

C．originally

D．truly

20.

A．change

B．supply

C．accomplish

D．explain