1 . My father loves his garden. He planted some seeds in it. But at that time, I didn’t understand why working in the dirt excited him so much.

Unfortunately, in early May, my father was seriously injured in an accident. He had to stay in bed for a while. My mother had several business trips, so she couldn’t take care of the garden. I didn’t want my father to worry, so I said that I would take care of his garden until he recovered. I assumed that the little plants would continue to grow as long as they had water, and luckily it rained fairly often, so I didn’t think much about the garden.

One Saturday morning, my father said to me, “Christine, the vegetables should be about ready to be picked. Let’s have a salad today!” I went out to the garden and was upset to see that many of the lettuce leaves and carrots had been half eaten by bugs. There were hundreds of bugs all over them!

I panicked for a moment but then I quietly went to the nearest store to buy some vegetables. When I gave the salad to him, he said, “Oh, Christine, what a beautiful salad! I can’t believe the carrots are this big already. You must be taking very good care of my garden.” I felt a little bit guilty.

Coming home, my mother saw the bag from the supermarket in the kitchen. I was embarrassed, and I admitted Dad wanted a salad but the garden was a disaster. I didn’t want to disappoint him so I went to the store. She laughed but promised to help me in the garden and weeks later I was finally able to pick some vegetables.

I carefully made a salad and took it to my father. He looked at it with a hint of a smile, “Christine, the carrots are smaller in this salad, but they taste better.”

Now, I better understand how putting a lot of effort into caring for something can help you appreciate the results more, however small they may be. Perhaps this was one of the reasons for my father’s love of gardening.

1. Why did Christine originally promise she would do the gardening?

A．She was asked by her father to do it.	B．She was interested in growing vegetables.
C．She knew it was important to her father.	D．She wanted to improve her gardening skills.

2. Which of the following was a problem in the garden?

A．Insects destroyed the lettuce and carrots.	B．Animals often dug holes in the garden.
C．The plants were given too much water.	D．The vegetables were marked incorrectly.

3. Why could Christine secretly use the store-bought vegetables to make the salad?

A．Her mother helped her to buy the vegetables.

B．Her mother regularly helped her to make a salad.

C．Her father couldn’t see the progress of the vegetables in his garden.

D．Her father went on a business trip at that time.

4. What did Christine learn from her experience of gardening?

A．Always get ready for a rainy day.	B．Don’t be disappointed by bugs.
C．Working alone produces results.	D．Hard work can often be rewarding.

2 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Sam Watts was a 37-year-old fisherman living and working in Canada. One day, Sam planned to head out into the Pacific at 9 am and work straight through until 5 pm the next day. Joining Sam would be his crewman, 24-year-old Tom Buck.

Although Sam had been warned that a storm was coming, there was little that would keep him from going. As he sailed through the waves some 120 kilometers from land, Sam let out his three-kilometer-long fishing line. The storm was gaining strength on land but had yet to reach the men far offshore. That changed around 1 am. Waves rocked the small boat, which began to turn sideways like an amusement park ride. “Get us out of here!” Tom screamed to Sam. “Let’s go back!”

With the winds and waves kicking up, the boat began to fill with water. Sam and Tom tried to pull in the fishing line together, but the high waves filled the boat with water, forcing Sam to make a hard decision. He cut the line, losing thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment and fish in the sea. He then pointed the boat toward a port five hours away. Sam then called his boss, William Fox, to report his position.

With dawn coming, Sam spotted the rise of the mountains on the horizon. He was figuring out a route through the dangerous waters when suddenly the motor stopped. “I couldn’t believe it,” Sam said. “We were 24 kilometers off the coast, and the motor died.” High waves raised and dropped the boat, sending the men crashing into the sides. “William, William!” Sam yelled into the radio. “If you’re coming to get me, come now!”

“We’re coming!” William shouted back.

注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150词左右；
2. 可以使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:

Shortly after, the radio died and the wind continued to blow straight offshore, driving the men farther out to sea.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:

The next morning, Sam spotted a fishing boat in the distance.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . 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

4 . About a decade ago, my grandpa who was suffering from Alzheimer’s(阿尔茨海默病)got into my car and drove off. Angel and I _________ the police, but before they could find him, two _________ kids pulled into our driveway with my grandpa.

They said they overheard him crying about being _________ at an empty gas station 10 miles away. My grandpa couldn’t remember our address, but gave the kids his first and last name. They looked him up online, found our address, and _________ him home.

I was _________ on that incident today while sitting near the edge of a beautiful ocean-side cliff. I was suddenly   _________ of footsteps behind me. I _________ around to see a young lady who was almost in _________ slowly walking to where I was sitting. I walked up to her and _________ , “What’s wrong?” She told me she was __________ afraid of heights, but was worried about my safety and wanted to get over her fear. Her braveness and kindness truly warmed my heart.

I’ve spent the rest of the day thinking about what an extraordinary person she is, and about those amazing college kids who helped my __________ , and about what it means to be a kind and __________ person. Sometimes you have to go the extra mile, or face your biggest __________ , or stand up against your own negative tendencies to make a(n) __________   difference in someone else’s life. It’s __________ to start doing the hard things-the right things-for others.

1.

A．condemned

B．contacted

C．consulted

D．found

2.

A．college

B．naughty

C．homeless

D．kindergarten

3.

A．careless

B．scared

C．lost

D．forgetful

4.

A．left

B．drove

C．kicked

D．carried

5.

A．depending

B．coming

C．reflecting

D．going

6.

A．afraid

B．skeptical

C．sure

D．aware

7.

A．turned

B．walked

C．got

D．looked

8.

A．sadness

B．surprise

C．feelings

D．tears

9.

A．reacted

B．thought

C．asked

D．replied

10.

A．extremely

B．worriedly

C．anxiously

D．surprisingly

11.

A．father

B．grandma

C．uncle

D．grandpa

12.

A．merciful

B．helpful

C．careful

D．peaceful

13.

A．courage

B．failure

C．fear

D．choice

14.

A．positive

B．little

C．optimistic

D．opposite

15.

A．minute

B．time

C．honor

D．luck

5 . Three years ago, I participated in Model United Nations(MUN) held by the Education Department, which was a mock UN activity. During the two days, students were separated into different groups which ________ different countries to debate and try to solve problems. MUN has ________ awards: best delegate, honorary mentions, and verbal mentions.

Each time I participated in MUN, I made good ________ and undoubtedly got a few awards. But I often felt as if I'd ________ because I had never won the best delegate award. I ________ those who didn't deserve to win the award but won it various times, and I was just filled with ________ at their success. But later I realized that it was also ________ not to get the award because I could actually ________ something，and that I shouldn't ________ the best delegate award until I was the best delegate I could be.

Failures are completely subjective-we can look at a result as a failure or a ________ . Any failure can be regarded as a(n) ________ because you can always learn something from it and do ________ next time. This is supported by John Locke's theory that we are born with blank views: Knowledge and ability are learned from our ________ . That's true. If I make a mistake in the life practice, then I probably won't ________ that next time. I believe this is ________ the best way to become better.

1.

A．strengthened

B．condemned

C．inspired

D．represented

2.

A．identical

B．temporary

C．various

D．false

3.

A．preparations

B．predictions

C．appointments

D．explanations

4.

A．accelerated

B．failed

C．exited

D．succeeded

5.

A．approached

B．trained

C．expected

D．witnessed

6.

A．relief

B．envy

C．satisfaction

D．delight

7.

A．annoyed

B．ashamed

C．good

D．terrible

8.

A．desert

B．learn

C．delete

D．display

9.

A．win

B．miss

C．deliver

D．value

10.

A．bond

B．bet

C．victory

D．loss

11.

A．aim

B．benefit

C．burden

D．limit

12.

A．funnier

B．worse

C．better

D．slower

13.

A．decisions

B．attitudes

C．positions

D．experiences

14.

A．repeat

B．admit

C．accept

D．notice

15.

A．wrongly

B．scarcely

C．truly

D．narrowly

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 . 阅读下面材料, 根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段, 使之构成一篇完整的短文。

I grew up in a small town where elementary school was a ten-minute walk from my house and in an age, not so long ago, when we children could go home for lunch and find our mothers waiting.

Our lunchtime when I was in the third grade will stay with me always. I had been picked to be the princess in the school play, and for weeks my mother had painstakingly practiced my lines（台词）with me. But no matter how easily I delivered them at home, as soon as I stepped on stage, every word disappeared from my head. Finally, my teacher took me aside. She explained patiently that she needed a narrator (叙述者，旁白员) and had written a narrator’s part to the play, and asked me to play the role of the narrator. Her words, kindly delivered, still hurt me especially when I saw my part go to another girl.

I didn’t tell mother what had happened when I went home for lunch that day. But she sensed my upset, and instead of suggesting we practice my lines, she asked if I wanted to walk in the yard. It was a lovely spring day and the rose vine（ 藤 ）was turning green. Under the huge trees, we could see yellow dandelions（ 蒲 公 英 ） appearing unexpectedly through the grass in bunches (簇，串）, as if a painter had touched our landscape with small amounts of gold. I watched my mother casually bend down by one of the bushes. “I think I’m going to dig up all these weeds,” she said, pulling a blossom up by all its roots. “From now on, we’ll only have roses in this garden.” I immediately argued, “But I like dandelions. All flowers are beautiful — even dandelions.”

注意：
1. 续写词数应为 150 左右：
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已经为你写好。
Paragraph 1：

“Do you mean that every flower has its own beauty?”asked my mother thoughtfully.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2：

Having learned what had happened, Mom patted me on the back gently and said,“But you will be a beautiful narrator.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . It's a memorable period when I lost a long time job. It happened in 2004, when our company announced the job _________, facing the global economic crisis. We all _________ the insurance company we worked for was not as _________ as it used to be. Then, one day, I entered my office and was _________ I got fired.

During that week, I did almost nothing to change my situation, _________ renewing my old contacts with writers that I built when I worked as an experienced _________ many years ago. Beyond this, I remained a _________ unemployed loser. Soon enough, I received an order from a writer. Then I was _________ by a few more people who needed my services, and gradually my reputation recovered.

Though this _________ job couldn't support me long. I could make ends meet while __________ a job. During my hard times, I made the __________ of a man from Japan, who wanted to have his novel translated into English quickly, and I __________ that. We worked together for a while. He inspired me to find new opportunities from __________ companies instead of the same ones. I started to look at the world from another __________; I figured out what I truly wanted, and __________ the thought that “the man is for work, not the work for the man”.

1.

A．training

B．advertisement

C．cut

D．loss

2.

A．expected

B．realized

C．promised

D．suspected

3.

A．responsible

B．influential

C．profitable

D．attractive

4.

A．warned

B．reminded

C．convinced

D．informed

5.

A．except

B．without

C．like

D．despite

6.

A．editor

B．agent

C．insurer

D．translator

7.

A．low

B．confused

C．useless

D．sensitive

8.

A．praised

B．reached

C．inspired

D．caught

9.

A．relaxing

B．literary

C．temporary

D．challenging

10.

A．resigning from

B．dreaming of

C．keeping up

D．hunting for

11.

A．acquaintance

B．impression

C．assessment

D．celebration

12.

A．accepted

B．chosen

C．repeated

D．rejected

13.

A．developing

B．distinct

C．potential

D．similar

14.

A．approach

B．instruction

C．angle

D．background

15.

A．possessed

B．supported

C．appreciated

D．quit

9 . Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family, and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck. I’m not going to say luck, talent, and circumstances don’t come into play because they do. Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence, and that’s just the reality of how life is.

However, to succeed in life, one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical. And, in addition to that, in order to get really good at something, one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practicing. To become great at certain things, it’ll require even more time, time that most people won’t put in.

This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don’t enjoy what you do, it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.

When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success, you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost. It’s sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent, but thinking that way does you no good, and there’s a huge chance that you’re wrong anyway.

Whatever you do, if you want to become great at it, you need to work day in and day out, almost to the point of addiction, and over a long period of time. If you’re not willing to put in the time and work, don’t expect to receive any rewards. Consistent, hard work won’t guarantee you the level of success you may want, but it will guarantee that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.

1. Paragraph 1 mainly talks about ________.

A．the meaning of success

B．the reasons for success

C．the standards of success

D．the importance of success

2. Successful people suggest doing what one loves because ________.

A．work makes one feel pain

B．one tends to enjoy his work

C．it takes a lot of time to succeed

D．one gives up his work easily

3. What can we infer from Paragraph 4?

A．People sometimes succeed without luck or talent.

B．Successful people like to show their great skills.

C．People need to achieve success at the cost of life.

D．It helps to think that luck or talent leads to success.

4. What is the main theme of the passage?

A．Having a goal is vital to success.

B．Being good is different from being great.

C．Luck, talent and family help to achieve success.

D．One cannot succeed without time and practice.