1 . Having a positive attitude can mean the difference between living a life full of joy and happiness and living a life full of depression and misery. Your_______ determines what you will experience in life_______ what the actual circumstances are.

Reality can be a difficult concept to _______ . How is it that two people can have the _______ experience yet one person comes out of it loving life while the other comes out of it_______ life? There was a story of two brothers who were_______ in a home with a father who_______ all the time. It would be no _______ if both of the boys grew up to be alcoholics themselves with a hatred for life. One of the two brothers did just that. He_______ his father’s footsteps. However, the other brother grew up ________ the opposite. Having experienced that ________ , he made up his mind to be a________ and loving father because he didn’t want his kids to go through what he was forced to go through.

So what made the difference in the ________ of these two men’s lives? You see, it’s not what happens to you that ________ how your life will turn out; it’s what you do about it that counts much. The ________   for having a good attitude is that your decisions and actions will be different. On the contrary, if you had a________ attitude, you will probably experience a different outcome as a result of those________ .

It’s true that you can’t control outside circumstances and events, ________ don’t feel discouraged, for you have total control over what you decide to do with those circumstances. By________ feeding your mind with positive material, you will be more likely to________ the decision that will eventually bring you closer to your goals.

1.

A．habit

B．education

C．success

D．attitude

2.

A．apart from

B．regardless of

C．in terms of

D．as to

3.

A．believe

B．grasp

C．depend

D．admit

4.

A．general

B．direct

C．same

D．extreme

5.

A．sharing

B．rewarding

C．killing

D．hating

6.

A．brought up

B．called up

C．taken up

D．built up

7.

A．smoked

B．drank

C．cooked

D．slept

8.

A．doubt

B．chance

C．surprise

D．way

9.

A．forgot

B．followed

C．remembered

D．climbed

10.

A．completely

B．specially

C．gradually

D．generally

11.

A．relationship

B．childhood

C．silence

D．impression

12.

A．disgusting

B．careless

C．caring

D．stubborn

13.

A．influence

B．arrangement

C．growth

D．outcome

14.

A．announces

B．predicts

C．shapes

D．witnesses

15.

A．reason

B．art

C．symbol

D．response

16.

A．proud

B．negative

C．positive

D．general

17.

A．challenges

B．methods

C．journeys

D．decisions

18.

A．so

B．and

C．but

D．or

19.

A．formally

B．constantly

C．immediately

D．slightly

20.

A．make

B．change

C．create

D．delay

2 . One morning in July 2011, a taxi sat wandering outside Petco Park stadium in San Diego. And Wade LeBlanc, a (an) _______ pitcher (棒球投手) for the Padres, climbed in.” To the airport, please,” he told the driver. LeBlanc was headed to Tucson, Arizona, home of the club’s A-level branch organization at the time. He’d been sent down to the minors. Again. For the eighth time in three years.

“You’re Wade LeBlanc,” the taxi driver said.

“Right.”

“You got some good stuff.”

This _______ the pitcher, after the previous night’s disastrous performance.

“I think there are some things you should think about _______,” the driver continued.” I don ’t know; I ’m not a _______. Maybe something like going over your head in your windup (摆臂动作)”

Wait, what? This guy was offering _______? Earlier in his career, LeBlanc   might   have _______ or been angry. But today, he just_______. He couldn’t afford to dismiss anything. His career was on the line.

The next day, in Tucson, LeBlanc met his _______. He said he was thinking about making _______ to his windup. His coach agreed. Instead of keeping his hands tight to his chest at the beginning of his delivery, LeBlanc raised them briefly over his head, as the taxi driver had ________.

LeBlanc included the new ________ into his next start. And he was________, allowing only one hit over seven innings ( 回 合 ). It was the turning point in his career. Eight years later, LeBlanc is a pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. He signed the first contract extension of his Major League Baseball career—at age 33.

The funny thing about advice: We so often take it from the ________ people. That is, we ________ the advice of experts, while undervaluing the input of regular folk. Wade LeBlanc ________ that trend, and he obtained the ________.

“Expert advisers often make surprisingly inaccurate predictions about the future, yet people ________ their suggestions nevertheless,” concluded Stanford University psychologists in a study published last year.

Now, not everyone took experts’ advice. The more ________ people become, the smaller the pool of advisers they ________. Participants in positions of power ignored almost two thirds of the advice they received, according to one Harvard University study. Other participants—the control and low power groups—ignored advice about half as often. So it required a massive increase of modesty (谦虚) to do what Wade LeBlanc did: hear what the taxi driver was offering him and accept it as a(an) ________.

1.

A．excellent

B．struggling

C．ambitious

D．awkward

2.

A．surprised

B．concerned

C．disturbed

D．angered

3.

A．avoiding

B．making

C．trying

D．crossing

4.

A．player

B．director

C．joker

D．loser

5.

A．service

B．advice

C．chances

D．courses

6.

A．accepted

B．worried

C．smiled

D．laughed

7.

A．explained

B．interrupted

C．listened

D．guessed

8.

A．parents

B．coach

C．driver

D．fans

9.

A．changes

B．contributions

C．additions

D．objectives

10.

A．included

B．announced

C．suggested

D．resisted

11.

A．aim

B．effect

C．hobby

D．move

12.

A．patient

B．optimistic

C．brilliant

D．justified

13.

A．attractive

B．popular

C．humble

D．wrong

14.

A．overvalue

B．skip

C．ignore

D．involve

15.

A．identified

B．supported

C．opposed

D．started

16.

A．qualifications

B．benefits

C．prize

D．degree

17.

A．follow

B．abandon

C．provide

D．improve

18.

A．literary

B．successful

C．careful

D．negative

19.

A．tolerate

B．help

C．know

D．trust

20.

A．job

B．example

C．excuse

D．gift

3 . Yesterday, my kids and I were in the costume store, getting ready for Halloween, and they saw a Donald Trump mask. “Is he a good guy or a bad guy?” they asked.

I knew they were _______ of the most negative character — Will Ferrell in the film “Batman”, who starts good but becomes _______ over the course of the plot, so I said something about how all people have a little good and a   little bad in them. Of course, I wanted to say: “Son, that man is not_______ a bad guy, but one of the worst men our species has ever_______. He had every privilege, every_______ to do good, but he chose_______.”

We have the opportunity to make this_______, every day.

Maybe Grandpa Milt was really such a_______. Decades ago, his mother, on her way home from a late-night meeting of her Jewish charity organization, disappeared. She was_______ by workmen in an abandoned lot the following morning, her clothes__________, her skull (头骨) broken. Alive but__________, she was brought to Lincoln Hospital and__________ six hours later. This tragedy left him an orphan(孤儿).

__________, grandpa didn’t seek revenge (复仇). It’s not his__________. He was the kind of guy who found a way to make a(n)__________ for himself — through excellence. Milt was hardworking, handsome, kind, and all of this made him known. He__________ from New York University with a degree and became a teacher, finally a billionaire.

Most likely, he __________ the heartbreak but toughed his way through it, charged forward, __________ a life worth living, and found peace. There is a superpower worth remembering — __________ a wrong can create positive changes in our world today.

Sometimes,__________ is the best revenge.

1.

A．thinking

B．complaining

C．approving

D．hearing

2.

A．cool

B．bad

C．ill

D．poor

3.

A．truly

B．normally

C．naturally

D．merely

4.

A．produced

B．accepted

C．required

D．expected

5.

A．desire

B．guidance

C．opportunity

D．route

6.

A．pity

B．evil

C．kindness

D．freedom

7.

A．mistake

B．change

C．choice

D．effort

8.

A．case

B．trouble

C．scene

D．point

9.

A．left

B．buried

C．protected

D．discovered

10.

A．returned

B．cleaned

C．torn

D．burned

11.

A．unconscious

B．unhappy

C．unsatisfied

D．unharmed

12.

A．escaped

B．cried

C．calmed

D．died

13.

A．Instead

B．Therefore

C．However

D．Besides

14.

A．day

B．way

C．pay

D．say

15.

A．name

B．fortune

C．decision

D．agreement

16.

A．resigned

B．graduated

C．retired

D．fled

17.

A．made use of

B．took pride in

C．dealt with

D．gave away

18.

A．created

B．changed

C．tested

D．saved

19.

A．learning

B．righting

C．sharing

D．favoring

20.

A．politeness

B．brightness

C．friendliness

D．happiness

4 . I woke up without much enthusiasm, rolled out of bed and _______ there not wanting to believe I had to go to work again. This must just be a bad dream that never seemed to _______ with the same old being done over and over again. I picked myself up to a standing position and _______slowly around back towards my comfortable and warm bed and had to_______the very last ounce of strength not to head back into its hug. What a _______it was to get dressed and head out of the door!

Off I went to_______arriving just in time. Then, _______, my boss said there was a(n)_______job to do right now. I_______that anybody could do this job and that____________else would have to do it if I waited long enough. But, nobody else____________up to the job and this left me with a sinking feeling.

That’s the same problem with your____________. Many people use up a lifetime trying to ____________somebody else to do all the hard work to improve their life. There is a lot of discomfort with actually____________ your very own life while it is much ____________to let others do it. The real problem, however, is that it takes a lot of ____________ to find somebody who will do anything for you. Your life won’t change ____________ you are willing to grab hold of your life and ____________that nobody else will ever create the life you want. So, stop ____________anybody to do something for you. ____________, get your own body going and get it done now.

1.

A．sat

B．stood

C．lay

D．went

2.

A．begin

B．end

C．make

D．share

3.

A．glared

B．talked

C．glanced

D．walked

4.

A．lack

B．lose

C．test

D．use

5.

A．struggle

B．surprise

C．shock

D．mess

6.

A．school

B．work

C．bed

D．hospital

7.

A．as a result

B．in either case

C．what was worse

D．in the end

8.

A．good

B．first

C．special

D．urgent

9.

A．knew

B．explained

C．regretted

D．promised

10.

A．everybody

B．anybody

C．somebody

D．nobody

11.

A．lived

B．stayed

C．looked

D．stepped

12.

A．life

B．job

C．goal

D．belief

13.

A．refuse

B．trust

C．search

D．find

14.

A．getting rid of

B．taking charge of

C．looking forward to

D．thinking much of

15.

A．harder

B．longer

C．earlier

D．easier

16.

A．effort

B．courage

C．advantage

D．action

17.

A．if

B．unless

C．because

D．while

18.

A．forget

B．explain

C．accept

D．wonder

19.

A．staring at

B．looking for

C．attending to

D．caring about

20.

A．However

B．Therefore

C．Instead

D．Otherwise

5 . I was in France to visit my grandmother. To make her know how I ________ her, I cooked for her, and read her stories. I gave her a foot massage, ________ was her first ever.

Before leaving, I was ________ a way to leave something meaningful. So I wrote her five different love notes to let her know how much she ________ to me, and hid them in different places where I knew she would ________ find them. One was on her pillow. Another one was beside the lamp by which she reads in the ________. Another one was beside her toothbrush. One was in her ________ she eagerly checks every day. And the last one was on her car’s steering wheel.

I left with joy, ________ that these cards would surely cheer her up after I left. She ________ me as I was on my way to the airport and said, “I found your three cars. By the time I ________ the third, I was laughing out loud. They did me so much ________. Thank you so much.” I smiled to ________, knowing she still had two more to go. It was Sunday, so my ________ was that she hadn’t ________ her mailbox and hadn’t yet driven her car.

As I was sitting on the plane back to the United States, I ________ that one of my friends’ guiding principles was to ________ everyone like our family member. So I was thinking about ________ to practise that in different settings, including on a plane ride. I decided that on my next ________ I would bring and write five appreciation cards for ________ people on the plane, including the pilot who probably doesn’t get ________ enough for taking us safely to our destination.

1.

A．trust

B．understand

C．love

D．attend

2.

A．which

B．that

C．what

D．how

3.

A．caring for

B．looking for

C．calling for

D．charging for

4.

A．belongs

B．means

C．devotes

D．turns

5.

A．seldom

B．never

C．finally

D．hardly

6.

A．evening

B．present

C．future

D．morning

7.

A．handbag

B．drawer

C．pocket

D．mailbox

8.

A．taking

B．regretting

C．knowing

D．refusing

9.

A．called

B．encouraged

C．comforted

D．made

10.

A．finished

B．took

C．chose

D．discovered

11.

A．support

B．good

C．value

D．wrong

12.

A．me

B．myself

C．you

D．yourself

13.

A．idea

B．problem

C．truth

D．guess

14.

A．fixed

B．closed

C．opened

D．checked

15.

A．expected

B．remembered

C．realized

D．learned

16.

A．treat

B．greet

C．trust

D．give

17.

A．plans

B．ways

C．work

D．experience

18.

A．help

B．dream

C．flight

D．activity

19.

A．happy

B．eager

C．free

D．different

20.

A．paid

B．rewarded

C．admired

D．thanked

6 . 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。

What's your definition of     1    (great)? I think the definition is to inspire the people next to you. You grow up as a kid     2    (think)that all things are possible, if you put in the work to do it. You grow up having that fundamental belief. My father was really influential at a really critical time. I scored not a free-throw, not a     3     (luck) shot, not a breakaway layup, 2-0 points and I remember crying about it and being upset about it. My father gave me a hug and said listen     4     you score zero, score 60, I love you no matter what.

That is the most important thing that you can say to a child that     5    (total) gives me all the confidence in the world. I just went to work; I just stayed with it and kept practicing. When I came back the next summer, I was a little bit     6    (good). Open shots and not miss. We ever shoot it with speed because those kids are so much more athletic.

So how can we teach our children what it means     7    (work) hard well?   You do it through training right so when I get up in the morning. My 15- year -old daughter goes     8     me and it becomes a daddy-daughter training. Through that process she understands     9     value of hard work, so it's through those behaviors     10     I find the motivation to know what is losing feel like to you.

“Why did you start playing basketball? Because I loved it; because nothing in this world moves without love.”

7 . My old professor’s death sentence came in the summer of 1994. Doctors guessed he had two years left. Morrie knew it was less. But he had made a big decision, one he began to construct the day he came out of the doctor’s office with a sword hanging over his head. He would make death his final project. Since everyone was going to die, he could be of great value, right? He could be researched. Morrie would walk that final bridge between life and death, and record the trip.

The last class of my old professor’s life had only one student. I was the student. The class met on Tuesdays. The subject was “The Meaning of life”. It was taught from experience. No grades were given, but there were oral exams each week. You were expected to respond to questions, and you were expected to raise questions of your own. You were also required to perform physical tasks now and then, such as lifting the professor’s head to a comfortable spot on the pillow or placing his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Kissing him goodbye earned you extra credits. No books were required, yet many topics were covered, including love, work, community, family, aging, forgiveness, and finally, death.

I look back sometimes at the person I was before I rediscovered my old professor. I want to talk to that person. I want to tell him to be more open, to pay attention when your loved ones are speaking, as if it were the last time you might hear them. None of us can undo what we’ve done, or relive a life already recorded. But if Morrie taught me anything at all, it was this: there is no such thing as “too late” in life. He was changing until the day he said goodbye.

1. What can be learned about Morrie from Paragraph 1?

A．He was sentenced to death by the court.

B．He decided to face death positively.

C．He left the doctor’s office with a sword.

D．He decided to travel and record the trip.

2. Which of the following about Morrie’s last class is correct?

A．Many students attended it.

B．Kissing the teacher was required.

C．Different aspects of life were involved.

D．Grades were given after each oral exam.

3. What does the underlined word “him” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The person “I” used to be.	B．A loved person.
C．The professor.	D．A student.

4. What’s the main purpose of the text?

A．To introduce an unforgettable class.

B．To encourage people to accept death.

C．To stress a teacher’s great influence.

D．To educate readers to treat teachers sincerely.

8 . This Too Shall Pass

When my family moved to Ohio over the summer, I feared attending another new school and knowing no one because I was able to expect what was coming. I had bright red hair and enormous glasses. In addition, I was_______and not very sociable.

Boarding the school bus that first day, I felt like all eyes on me. I could hear the_______“She’s huge!” Obviously, the kids on the bus had known each other well. I spent that first bus_______in silence.

The following day was even_______. I did not notice that a few boys had tied a shoelace across the aisle   and thus fell face first on the bus, _________everything I was carrying. _________I was embarrassingly gathering   my supplies, I could hear the laughter, and then the_______“That felt like an   earthquake!” Anyway,   I_______ to find a seat. Looking out of the window, I_______the tears welling up in my eyes.

It was then that I sank into myself. I began walking everywhere. I would wander through the woods behind our house. I would also walk to a________about two miles down the road, where I would chat silently   with myself. I began________the afternoon school bus on purpose, walking home instead. Then,________, I     started losing weight. And as I became content with myself, I began making________.

One of my newly-found friends also________with her weight, wanting to be a “perfect” cheerleader. She   lived near my neighborhood so we would meet and________together. This became a daily activity with talking and laughing________the way—different from the lonely walks I had taken. My friend said that I didn’t have     to be perfect. I just had to be me, and be happy with________.

While I would not want to________that time of loneliness, sadness and embarrassment, I am________I made it through. Whenever I am struggling with any other problem in life, I always remember the proverb “This too shall pass.” If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t________anywhere.

1.

A．outgoing

B．overweight

C．intelligent

D．friendly

2.

A．whisper

B．whistle

C．giggle

D．laugh

3.

A．drive

B．lift

C．ride

D．travel

4.

A．worse

B．longer

C．funnier

D．duller

5.

A．throwing

B．losing

C．leaving

D．dropping

6.

A．Though

B．While

C．Since

D．Because

7.

A．opinions

B．statements

C．comments

D．discussions

8.

A．determined

B．attempted

C．pretended

D．managed

9.

A．kept away

B．took back

C．put away

D．held back

10.

A．garden

B．market

C．church

D．library

11.

A．escaping

B．missing

C．delaying

D．stopping

12.

A．uninterestedly

B．uncertainly

C．unfortunately

D．unexpectedly

13.

A．changes

B．friends

C．efforts

D．decisions

14.

A．struggled

B．competed

C．dealt

D．lived

15.

A．run

B．play

C．chat

D．walk

16.

A．along

B．across

C．by

D．in

17.

A．oneself

B．myself

C．herself

D．itself

18.

A．relive

B．remind

C．relate

D．rethink

19.

A．excited

B．upset

C．proud

D．regretful

20.

A．exist

B．stretch

C．lead

D．stay

9 . Go. Stop. Go. Stop. The travel signals in my head were conflicting. “Are you sure you want to head to Greece this November with Kathleen?” asked my husband. “The weather could be unpleasant.”

“You must go,” said my friend Larry, who talked about having spent Thanksgiving on Santorini. “It’s a wonderland. ”

With his encouraging words, I booked our flights to Athens and included two Greek islands: Santorini and Grete.

A sunny Saturday afternoon welcomed us to Eleftherios Venizelos Airport in Athens. During the next few days Kathleen and I tried a lot of unknown-to-us foods. No annoying lines of tourists either as we saw sights on the Athens “A” list.

And then came Wednesday. The flight to Santorini was yo-yoed by wind gusts of up to 40 miles an hour. Fira, usually a much-photographed tourist destination, was chilly, rainy... empty. With rain beating our faces, Kathleen and I headed for our hotel and checked in for a three-night stay.

“This isn’t how I want to spend my holiday,” said Kathleen. “Maybe Crete isn’t experiencing the same storm. Can we fly out later today? ”

Her question mirrored my own thoughts. But we couldn’t leave. We’d just arrived. Payments for the hotel and rental car would be lost, and costly last-minute plane reservations needed. “Let’s not decide right now,” I suggested.

During the next few days, we drove around despite the showers. At a restaurant named Poseidon, on our third night, we waited and waited for dinner. “Your dinner will be out shortly. The chef was busy studying something beautiful,” our waiter explained.

Seeing our puzzled look, the waiter then said, “He went out for a smoke, saw a beautiful girl and began to chat…”

Suddenly, Kathleen laughed. Instead of complaining, she leaned back and out came a loud, happy sound.

An attitude adjustment into grace, I realized, had been happening since our arrival. “You know, Mum, you can’t live a positive life with a negative mind,” she said.

Grace surrounds us. The challenge is to let go of anxieties and worries, the tendency to complain. A sunny attitude can let grace shine.

1. What did the author’s husband think about her trip to Greece?

A．It was pleasant.	B．It was ill-advised.
C．It would be costly.	D．It would be eye-opening.

2. How were the author’s first few days in Greece?

A．Delightful.	B．Busy.
C．Struggling.	D．Annoying.

3. Why did the author insist on their staying in Santorini?

A．To wait for sunny days.	B．To avoid wasting money.
C．To enjoy the off-season.	D．To deeply explore the place.

4. What does the author want to show by telling her experience?

A．The role of grace.

B．The benefits of travelling.

C．The power of positive thinking.

D．The importance of understanding.

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