1 . I was born legally blind. Of all the stories of my early childhood, the one about a
Mom loves to use this story as an
We are almost certain to get
A.trip | B.race | C.tree | D.driver |
A.incident | B.change | C.illness | D.problem |
A.feared | B.refused | C.forgot | D.turned |
A.delay | B.absence | C.freedom | D.rest |
A.promised | B.encouraged | C.allowed | D.expected |
A.woke | B.picked | C.warmed | D.gave |
A.answer | B.example | C.excuse | D.order |
A.afraid | B.ashamed | C.able | D.anxious |
A.ask | B.share | C.fear | D.try |
A.regretted | B.reviewed | C.made | D.explained |
A.job | B.friend | C.fortune | D.house |
A.memories | B.efforts | C.research | D.experience |
A.mixed up | B.fed up | C.knocked down | D.settled down |
A.play | B.relax | C.dream | D.cry |
A.all at once | B.in the end | C.in either case | D.as a result |
2 . It is easy to get carried away in an argument.
While having a rational conversation with someone who has a different opinion might seem like a challenge, it is possible. One way is to approach the other person with empathy.
The Empathy Challenge is an exercise created by Zoe Chance, senior lecturer at the Yale School of Management. At Yale, Chance teaches a course called “Mastering Influence and Persuasion” where -students learn to communicate more effectively.
In her blog, Chance explains that it’s important to listen to people who disagree with you. “As they explain their position, you listen for their underlying values. Finally, you look for common ground as you reflect those values back. That’s it.”
Chance first took this challenge herself before asking her students to try. As she couldn’t understand why many people chose to vote for Donald Trump, she found three Trump’s voters and spoke with them.
Through asking questions, Chance was able to empathize with them and realize they had similar feelings. One man, an Orthodox Jew, explained that he supported Trump because Trump’s daughter and son-in-law are Jewish. The next man was a Russian immigrant passionate about freedom. The third was a lawyer who believed that authenticity(真诚) was important in political leaders.
Although Chance and Chose people had different political beliefs, they were able to relate to the life values of others. And that’s the point of the exercise-to understand others as fellow human beings.
1. Which of the following does the Empathy Challenge faces on?A.Leadership skills. | B.Public speaking skills. |
C.Communication skills. | D.Problem solving skills. |
A.Defend their position. | B.Find common ground. |
C.Reflect on their own values. | D.Meet the needs of others. |
A.The challenge of performing empathy. |
B.The importance of empathy. |
C.How Chance practiced empathy. |
D.How Chance helped people develop empathy. |
A.Their life values. | B.Their career history. |
C.Their family background. | D.Their childhood experience. |
A.Respect different perspectives | B.Zoe Chance’s empathy |
C.Vote for Trump | D.Chancels challenge |
3 . When I was 12 years old, I already knew that my teen years were going to be the worst years of my life. I was a total outsider, bullied (欺凌) at school. I felt completely alone in my small town.
But by starting to do volunteer work when I was 14, I turned my problem into a passion for helping others. The opportunity to practice kindness made me feel like my life had a greater purpose. The more positive energy I shared, the more kindness and appreciation I received. I realized that my purpose in life would be to reach out to people, specifically teenagers, and help them feel less alone.
Books were my true friends back then. I was so thankful that the authors wrote those books. The kindness they offered me with their books saved my life. One of my biggest dreams was to become an author so I could write books that would help other teenagers the way those books helped me.
After surviving terrible experiences at school and at home, I made a choice to take the optimistic, positive road in the next steps of my journey. My dream career, one I thought was only possible for the authors I loved, is what I am doing now. I have been a full-time author of teen novels since 2007 and am grateful for this amazing opportunity to reach out to readers every single day.
Kindness saved me when I needed help the most. Even small acts of kindness can change someone’s life. You never know what someone else is going through. But by practicing daily kindness, you become an architect of positive change.
1. What was the author’s life like when he was 12?A.Boring. | B.Peaceful. | C.Painful. | D.Meaningful. |
A.It made him popular in his town. | B.It helped him find the meaning of life. |
C.It helped him understand others’ lives better. | D.It helped to shape his dream career. |
A.He was inspired by his teacher. | B.He could pass positive energy to readers. |
C.He wanted to share his school experiences. | D.He found he had a talent for writing. |
A.Say “no” to bullies bravely. | B.Make positive changes in their lives. |
C.Treat others with kindness in daily life. | D.Learn to care more about others’ feelings. |
4 . Our savings ran out and we were going to lose our house. We had to move into Grandpa’s house, which had been old and beyond
The roof seemed to leak
Joe and I both tried to be
One evening, I walked out into the back yard to
I suddenly
A.control | B.repair | C.recognition | D.comparison |
A.empty | B.noisy | C.secret | D.busy |
A.for no reason | B.in every respect | C.on no account | D.at any moment |
A.worn | B.kept | C.cut | D.cleared |
A.proved | B.felt | C.grew | D.stood |
A.hardly | B.simply | C.suddenly | D.occasionally |
A.brave | B.friendly | C.energetic | D.cheerful |
A.warning | B.answer | C.message | D.lesson |
A.escape | B.defeat | C.release | D.absorb |
A.Probably | B.Accidentally | C.Naturally | D.Consequently |
A.planting | B.picking | C.watering | D.observing |
A.flowers | B.insects | C.seats | D.trees |
A.quietest | B.safest | C.nicest | D.cleanest |
A.confirmed | B.declared | C.recalled | D.realized |
A.eager | B.grateful | C.concerned | D.responsible |
5 . Get a Thorough Understanding of Oneself
In all one’s life time, it is oneself that one spends the most time being with or dealing with.
When you are going upwards in life you tend to overestimate yourself. It seems that everything you seek for is within your reach.
Gain a correct view of oneself. You may look forward hopefully to the future but be sure not to expect too much, for dreams can never be fully realized. You may be courageous to meet challenges but it should be clear to you where to direct your efforts.
Self-appreciate. Whether you compare yourself to a high mountain or a small stone, you represent a state of nature.
Get a full control of one’s life. Then one will find one’s life full of color and flavor.
A.Do oneself a favor when it’s needed. |
B.It has its own value. |
C.Do yourself a favor when you resist the attack of illness. |
D.Especially if it is well within your reach, you are just too blind to see it. |
E.But it is precisely oneself that one has the least understanding of. |
F.When you are going downhill you tend to underestimate yourself. |
G.So long as you have a perfect knowledge of yourself, there won’t be difficulties you can’t overcome. |
6 . Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they express regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.
My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp comers of a glass coffee table.
I don’t only avoid (避免) those “if only” moments when it comes to safety. it’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say, “I love you” or “I forgive you.” When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.
I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only” about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality (可能发生的事). And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the best kind of insurance (保障) for my emotional well-being.
1. Which of the following is an example of the “extra minute” rule?A.Start the car the moment everyone is seated. |
B.Leave the room for a minute with the iron working. |
C.Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better. |
D.Move an object out of the way before it trips (绊倒) someone. |
A.To keep her appointment with the eye doctor. |
B.To meet her father who was already an old man. |
C.To join in the holiday celebration of the company. |
D.To finish her work before the deadline approached. |
A.given up. | B.Lacked. | C.Avoided. | D.Wasted. |
A.The Emotional Well-being | B.The Two Saddest Words |
C.The Most Useful Rule | D.The Peace of Mind |
7 . A month after Hurricane Katrina, I returned home in New Orleans. There lay my house, reduced to waist-high ruins, smelly and dirty.
Before the trip, I’d had my car fixed. When the office employee of the garage was writing up the bill, she noticed my Louisiana license plate. “You from New Orleans?” she asked. I said I was, “No charge,” she said, and firmly shook her head when I reached for my wallet. The next day I went for a haircut, and the same thing happened.
As my wife was studying in Florida, we decided to move there and tried to find a rental house that we could afford while also paying off a mortgage (抵押贷款) on our ruined house. We looked at many places, but none was satisfactory. We’d begun to accept that we’d have to live in extremely reduced circumstances for a while, when I got a very curious e-mail from a James Kennedy in California. He’d read some pieces I’d written about our sufferings for Slate, the online magazine, and wanted to give us (“no conditions attached”) a new house across the lake from New Orleans.
It sounded too good to be true, but I replied, thanking him for his exceptional generosity, that we had no plans to go back. Then a poet at the University of Florida offered to let his house to me while he went to England on his one-year paid leave. The rent was rather reasonable. I mentioned the poet’s offer to James Kennedy, and the next day he sent a check covering our entire rent for eight months.
Throughout this painful experience, the kindness of strangers has done much to bring back my faith in humanity. It’s almost worth losing your worldly possessions to be reminded that people are really nice when given half a chance.
1. What do we know about James Kennedy?A.He was a writer of an online magazine. |
B.He was a poet at the University of Florida. |
C.He offered the author a new house free of charge. |
D.He learned about the author’s sufferings via e-mail |
A.the author’s family was in financial difficulty |
B.rents were comparatively reasonable despite the disaster |
C.houses were difficult to find in the hurricane-stricken area |
D.the mortgage on the ruined house was paid off by the bank |
A.worldly possessions can be given up when necessary |
B.generosity should be encouraged in some cases |
C.people benefit from their sad stories |
D.human beings are kind after all |
8 . One day, my father and I were watching a dance reality show. For some reasons, I disliked one of the dancers from the very beginning of the show.
Unknowingly, I kept finding his
“No, Dad, not at all,” I said.
“Then how do you know that he is a
“Just
“But he is among the final 10 competitors who were carefully
“Why not?” I asked carelessly.
“Because criticizing someone or something
So choose
A.secrets | B.tricks | C.mistakes | D.strengths |
A.Besides | B.However | C.Finally | D.Immediately |
A.movie | B.action | C.performance | D.sign |
A.know | B.debate | C.inquire | D.complain |
A.representative | B.bad | C.common | D.silly |
A.call on | B.spy on | C.glare at | D.look at |
A.treated | B.raised | C.suspected | D.selected |
A.benefit | B.use | C.interest | D.importance |
A.ignore | B.limit | C.prevent | D.forget |
A.affects | B.gets | C.contains | D.solves |
A.awarding | B.appreciating | C.recording | D.remembering |
A.positive | B.fresh | C.original | D.unique |
A.freely | B.confidently | C.wisely | D.independently |
A.defence | B.luck | C.deal | D.knowledge |
A.valuable | B.ambitious | C.elegant | D.embarrassing |
9 . I had to read The Secret several times in order to get and understand the core meaning of the book. I said to myself that
I had taken an exam three times to get
There was no
A.although | B.unless | C.whether | D.if |
A.progress | B.past | C.childhood | D.difficulty |
A.judged | B.abandoned | C.troubled | D.approved |
A.results | B.benefits | C.fears | D.differences |
A.influence | B.honor | C.admission | D.competence |
A.discuss | B.study | C.devote | D.apply |
A.sufferings | B.accidents | C.conflicts | D.rejections |
A.unfair | B.annoyed | C.lost | D.ambiguous |
A.skills | B.advice | C.contacts | D.comfort |
A.came across | B.put aside | C.heard about | D.gave away |
A.correctly | B.especially | C.roughly | D.gradually |
A.still | B.even | C.never | D.seldom |
A.assess | B.select | C.value | D.award |
A.discovered | B.accomplished | C.missed | D.dropped |
A.exploration | B.measures | C.fortune | D.advances |
A.ambition | B.reason | C.interest | D.idea |
A.mood | B.money | C.shame | D.fun |
A.guaranteed | B.took | C.forced | D.brought |
A.move on | B.come out | C.pay off | D.turn up |
A.training | B.saving | C.matching | D.accompanying |
10 . When the host announced that my choir (合唱队) won the second place of the World Choir Game, I couldn’t believe what I heard. All the
In the semi-finals (半决赛), we were supposed to sing four songs. When we played the third song, I suddenly heard an unexpected
After the competition, I was disappointed. Just because of one person’s fault, the whole choir must afford the fact that we might lose the game. I cried, but then I found nothing would change no matter how hard we
Never blame a person when she makes a mistake, but help her to solve the problem when you are struggling
A.promises | B.efforts | C.requirement | D.differences |
A.considered | B.forgot | C.learned | D.explained |
A.name | B.shout | C.voice | D.song |
A.driven away | B.led away | C.given out | D.turned down |
A.similarly | B.easily | C.happily | D.immediately |
A.failed | B.succeeded | C.arrived | D.agreed |
A.busy | B.wrong | C.warm | D.slow |
A.quit | B.stop | C.complete | D.end |
A.conductor | B.singer | C.dancer | D.worker |
A.late | B.only | C.first | D.last |
A.blamed | B.encouraged | C.called | D.asked |
A.Otherwise | B.Therefore | C.However | D.Besides |
A.bad | B.common | C.perfect | D.rude |
A.up | B.on to | C.for | D.in |
A.mistake | B.surprise | C.sadness | D.laughter |