1 . When I entered Berkeley, I hoped to earn a scholarship. Having been a Straight-A student, I believed I could _______ tough subjects and really learn something. One such course was World Literature given by Professor Jayne. I was extremely interested in the ideas he _______ in class.

When I took the first exam, I was _______ to find a 77, C-plus, on my test paper, ________English was my best subject. I went to Professor Jayne, who listened to my arguments but remained _______. I decided to try harder, although I didn’t know what that _______ because school had always been easy for me. I read the books more carefully, but got another 77. Again, I _______ with Professor Jayne. Again, he listened patiently but wouldn’t change his _______. One more test before the final exam. One more _______ to improve my grade. So I redoubled my efforts and, for the first time, ________ the meaning of the word “thorough”. But my ________ did no good and everything ________ as before.

The last hurdle (障碍) was the final. No matter what ________ I got, it wouldn’t cancel three C-pluses. I might as well kiss the ________ goodbye. I stopped working hard. I felt I knew the course material as well as I ever would. The night before the final, I even ________ myself to a movie. The next day I decided for once I’d have ________ with a test. A week later, I was surprised to find I got an A. I hurried into professor Jayne’s office. He ________ to be expecting me. “If I gave you the As you ________ , you wouldn’t continue to work as hard.” I stared at him, ________that his analysis and strategy (策略) were correct. I had worked my head ________ , as I had never done before. I was speechless when my course grade arrived: A-plus. It was the only A-plus given. The next year I received my scholarship. I’ve always remembered Professor Jayne’s lesson: you alone must set your own standard of excellence.

1.

A．take

B．discuss

C．cover

D．get

2.

A．sought

B．presented

C．exchanged

D．obtained

3.

A．shocked

B．worried

C．scared

D．anxious

4.

A．but

B．so

C．for

D．or

5.

A．unchanged

B．unpleasant

C．unfriendly

D．unmoved

6.

A．reflected

B．meant

C．improved

D．affected

7.

A．quarreled

B．reasoned

C．bargained

D．chatted

8.

A．attitude

B．mind

C．plan

D．view

9.

A．choice

B．step

C．chance

D．measure

10.

A．memorized

B．considered

C．accepted

D．learned

11.

A．ambition

B．confidence

C．effort

D．method

12.

A．stayed

B．went

C．worked

D．changed

13.

A．grade

B．answer

C．lesson

D．comment

14.

A．scholarship

B．course

C．degree

D．subject

15.

A．helped

B．favored

C．treated

D．relaxed

16.

A．fun

B．luck

C．problems

D．tricks

17.

A．happened

B．proved

C．pretended

D．seemed

18.

A．valued

B．imagined

C．expected

D．welcomed

19.

A．remembering

B．guessing

C．supposing

D．realizing

20.

A．out

B．over

C．on

D．off

2 . While I was in 9th grade, I built a circuit (电路装置) for the traffic system of our city. After getting the first prize, I got this valuable advice from my father; “Do whatever interests you, and don’t let the work challenge you, make sure you are challenging that work.”

I have always preferred the projects which are challenging and related to real life problems. I clearly remember building a shipping program several years ago. I divided the whole project into several small sections. When I understood it clearly, used my brainstorming skill on it, and gave some basic ideas. Then I asked my professor for help before jumping into coding (编码). At first, I did not know how to ask questions correctly and always asked the question “How do I do it?” As I   kept working and discussed with my professor, I became more comfortable and those “how ”questions soon turned into “what if I do this and that” types of questions.

It took me four days to write the code. The desire to solve the problem kept me sleepless all nights brainstorming in even greater details. Every time I saw my program running smoothly, I exploded with joy. I still remember the last day of my work. I was getting some problem and didn’t know what to do. At that moment, a man came in to clean. He has headphones, and he was dancing while cleaning the room. Seeing this, I burst out laughing. That moment calmed me. I regained energy and interest and started to work again, and soon I fixed the problem.

My success in the project proved that breaking up a large problem into small parts could help find a possible solution. Discussing the problem with others was also very beneficial. Now I have gained the confidence to attempt any kind of project.

1. According to the passage, the writer was interested in ________.

A．developing traffic systems

B．doing challenging projects

C．winning great prizes

D．writing different codes

2. The writer asked the question “how do I do it” at first because ________.

A．he had no clear idea about his program

B．he was too shy to express himself

C．he wanted to he understood easily

D．he preferred this kind of question

3. We learn from the passage that the writer’s shipping program ________.

A．would benefit people a lot

B．was done together with others

C．was difficult and needed patience

D．cost much money and energy

4. What would be the best title of the passage?

A．Do It Yourself

B．No Pains, No Gains

C．Learning with interest

D．Practice Makes Perfect

3 . It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently.

My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I’m so glad I did.

On the road to the harbor we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbor itself was in fairly good shape. After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea. As we got on board, we noticed two big humps (脊背) in the distance.

On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn’t believe it — there aren’t any whales along the coast here. The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.

The little baby whale — actually as big as our boat — was obviously stuck and could not move. The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools(漩涡) and waves. “She’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side,” my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right beside its mum. They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Slowly, they let us lead them, some-times rising from the water right beside us to breathe — and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.

In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day. Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.

1. The author says “I’m so glad I did.” (in Para.2) because __________.

A．he spent the weekend with his family

B．be witnessed the whole process of fishing

C．he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea

D．he experienced the rescue of the whales

2. The harbor survived the storm owing to __________.

A．the long coast line	B．the shape of the harbor
C．the arms of the bay	D．the still water in the channel

3. The mother whale failed to help her baby because __________.

A．the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction

B．she had stayed in the polluted water for too long

C．the whirlpools she had made were not big enough

D．she had no other whales around to turn to for help

4. What is the theme of the story?

A．It’s vital to protect the environment

B．Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness

C．Fishing provides excitement for children

D．It’s necessary to live in harmony with animals

4 . I’ve always had strong opinions of how love should be expressed, but others had their own ways of showing care.

What I_______most about visiting my boyfriend’s parents is the loud tick of the clock in the dining room as we_______ate our meal. With so little conversation I was quick to_______his family as cold. When we got into the_______to go home, his father suddenly appeared._______, he began to wash his son’s windscreen. I could feel he was a caring man through the glass.

I learned another lesson about love a few years later. My father often_______me early in the morning. “Buy Xerox. It’s a good sharp price,” he might say when I answered the phone. No pleasant_______or inquiry about my life, just financial instructions. This manner of his_______me and we often quarreled. But one day, I thought about my father’s success in business and realized that his concern for my financial security lay behind his_______morning calls. The next time he called and told me to buy a stock, I__________him.

When my social style has conflicted with that of my friends, I’ve often felt__________. For example, I always return phone calls__________and regularly contact with my friends. I expect the same from them. I had one friend who rarely called, answering my messages with short e-mails. I rushed to the__________: She wasn’t a good friend! My anger__________as the holidays approached. But then she came to a gathering I__________and handed me a beautiful dress I had fallen in love with when we did some window-shopping the previous month. I was__________at her thoughtfulness, and regretful for how I’d considered her to be__________. Clearly I needed to change my expectations of friends.

Far too often, I ignored their__________expressions, eagerly expecting them to do things in my__________. Over the years, however, I’ve learned to__________other persons, love signs.

1.

A．remember

B．enjoy

C．value

D．admire

2.

A．excitedly

B．nervously

C．silently

D．instantly

3.

A．regard

B．treat

C．take

D．think

4.

A．bus

B．train

C．car

D．plane

5.

A．Punctually

B．Carefully

C．Proudly

D．Coldly

6.

A．visited

B．interrupted

C．warned

D．telephoned

7.

A．greeting

B．meeting

C．apology

D．explanation

8.

A．interested

B．angered

C．encouraged

D．surprised

9.

A．long

B．short

C．warm

D．polite

10.

A．praised

B．remembered

C．blamed

D．thanked

11.

A．content

B．guilty

C．curious

D．disappointed

12.

A．in order

B．in turn

C．without delay

D．without difficulty

13.

A．feeling

B．suggestion

C．judgment

D．belief

14.

A．disappeared

B．grew

C．helped

D．declined

15.

A．opened

B．refused

C．hosted

D．invited

16.

A．depressed

B．upset

C．fascinated

D．shocked

17.

A．uncaring

B．dishonest

C．unhappy

D．uncooperative

18.

A．unique

B．common

C．pleasant

D．familiar

19.

A．opinion

B．way

C．mind

D．life

20.

A．send

B．read

C．give

D．express