1 . Yesterday after work, the boss told me I was fired. When I walked along a riverbed sadly, I suddenly realized it was New Year’s Day, a day to start afresh.
I passed by a man holding his son, one or two years old. The baby’s face was in pure joy, and his innocent eyes were full of wonder. The simple sweetness of the baby made me moved.
Walking on, I saw a young couple repairing their bicycle. They smiled at me and said, “Happy New Year!” I smiled and wished them the same. It was a simple thing, but for a moment it brought me a sudden joy.
I kept walking, enjoying the cheerful singing of birds. With people around laughing out loud, an old woman immersed herself in her sewing. She didn’t seem either happy or sad. A feeling of timeless peace flowed through me and all fear of what the future might bring disappeared. I thanked her in my heart, and moved on.
As I reached home, I was filled with great thanks and hope for life, which took me a long time to find. Actually, happiness could be simple and easy. Now I knew whatever the New Year would bring, there would be joy and enough love to help me through the hard times we all had to face.
“Happy New Year!” I said to myself.
1. What did the writer’s boss tell him after work?| A．It was New Year’s Day. | B．He was fired. |
| C．He needed a day to relax. | D．He had a day off. |
| A．age | B．laughing | C．innocence | D．crying |
| A．repairing their bicycle | B．waiting for the writer |
| C．watching the passers-by | D．celebrating the New Year |
| A．Lucky. | B．Hopeless. | C．Fearful. | D．Thankful. |
| A．Greetings make people polite. | B．Happiness could be simple and easy. |
| C．Walking makes people energetic. | D．Friendship lies in getting together. |
Long ago, there was a big apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it every day. He climbed to the top of the tree, ate the apples, and took a nap under the shadow. He loved the tree and the tree also enjoyed playing with him.
As time went by, the little boy grew up and he no longer played around the tree.
One day, the boy came back to the tree, appearing sad. “Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy gently.
“I am no longer a kid; I won’t play around trees any more,” the boy replied. “I want toys. I need money to buy them.”
“Sorry, but I don’t have money. However, you can pick all my apples and sell them. Then, you will have money.” The boy was so excited that he picked all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy didn’t come back after that.
The tree was upset.
One day, the boy returned and the tree was so joyful. “Come and play with me,” the tree said.
“I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?” “Sorry, I don’t have a house. But you can cut off my branches to build your house.” So the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left with delight.
The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy didn’t appear since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.
One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was delighted. “Come and play with me!” the tree requested.
“I am sad and becoming old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?”“Use my trunk to build the boat. You can sail and be happy.” So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and did not show up for a long time.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
Many years later, the boy finally returned.
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The apple tree is our mother.
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3 . How Laughing at Yourself Makes You Attractive
Have you ever embarrassed yourself in public and got laughed at for it?
●Laughing at yourself means accepting who you really are. You may feel bad about yourself because of past misfortune. However, it’s normal to be imperfect. What’s important is that you should be honest with yourself about who you are.
●Laughing at yourself helps increase your confidence. When you are able to stay optimistic and laugh at yourself, you are likely to be more successful in life.
●
Just remember that humans all make mistakes. So instead of blaming yourself, try to think of your mistakes in a positive way and accept yourself just as you are.
| A．Laughing at yourself makes you popular. |
| B．Accept yourself despite your imperfections. |
| C．You don’t need to take yourself seriously all the time. |
| D．Chances are that we all have these kinds of experiences. |
| E．Learn to laugh at yourself and you will be more attractive. |
| F．Laughing at yourself changes an ideal image of yourself. |
| G．This is because laughing at yourself contributes to your mental health. |
4 . In the 1950s, Japan began to focus on developing is economy. Every day, many people traveled by train between Tokyo and Osaka. Many industrial materials were also transported on those railway lines. But the Japanese railway system was so outdated that the 320-mile trip could take 20 hours. So in 1955 the Japanese railway chief asked the nation’s engineers to create a faster train.
Months later, a team managed to create a train going at a speed of 65mph — a speed that made it one of the fastest passenger trains worldwide at the time. But the railway chief wasn’t satisfied. He wanted 120mph. The engineers immediately explained that at those speeds, if a train turned too sharply, the speed would force the cars off the track.
But the railway chief didn’t change his mind. After making many attempts, the engineers eventually created a train running up to 120mph and had a big influence on the industrial design worldwide. This is an example of what a “stretch goal” (延展性目标) can achieve. When exploring psychology, I was frequently told by researchers that the most successful people tend to set goals differently from everyone else. In particular they tend to identify big, seemingly unrealistic objectives.
“Stretch goals break complacency (自满),” some scientists wrote. “By forcing a big rise in collective hopes, stretch goals can shift attention to possible new futures and perhaps lead to increased energy in the organizations. They thus can achieve more.”
This lesson can be used in the most ordinary aspects of life. Take to-do lists for instance. When making to-do lists, some people often write down tasks they can cross off right away. That’s wrong. Before writing easy tasks, you should first put down at the top of your list a big stretch goal that will constantly remind you of the main objective you’re trying to get done.
1. What does the description of Japan’s problem in the 1950s show?| A．The public’s discontent at its train service. |
| B．The unfavorable economic situation of Japan. |
| C．The practical need to improve its railway system. |
| D．The unbalanced development of its transportation. |
| A．They found it tough but worthwhile. |
| B．They considered it totally unrealistic. |
| C．They put forward their own research plan. |
| D．They believed it would gradually come true. |
| A．How to break down big goals into smaller ones. |
| B．How to understand “stretch goals” matters. |
| C．How to create success step by step. |
| D．How to set goals sets people apart. |
| A．encourage people to keep making to-do lists daily |
| B．indicate we’d better first achieve easy goals |
| C．prove to-do lists are crucial to organizations |
| D．show stretch goals can apply to our daily life |
| A．A stretch goal can be a double-edged sword. |
| B．Ambition pushes personal and social progress. |
| C．Readers need to listen to members’ opinions. |
| D．Goals should fit in with the reality. |
5 . Music is something I could never live without. Without music, I was
Everyone who wanted to be in show choir auditioned for the
A year passed, I was at a
| A．calm | B．mad | C．anxious | D．quiet |
| A．teach | B．express | C．praise | D．help |
| A．heart | B．brain | C．mind | D．head |
| A．looking forward to | B．getting along with | C．trying out for | D．picking up |
| A．pride | B．adventure | C．passion | D．courage |
| A．activity | B．programme | C．service | D．job |
| A．suggested | B．recorded | C．permitted | D．written |
| A．sound | B．scene | C．play | D．answer |
| A．relief | B．concern | C．anger | D．sympathy |
| A．removed | B．signed | C．expected | D．posted |
| A．signature | B．mark | C．name | D．position |
| A．kindness | B．confidence | C．pressure | D．luck |
| A．crashed | B．started | C．continued | D．existed |
| A．theatre | B．restaurant | C．garden | D．park |
| A．eat | B．dance | C．sing | D．drink |
| A．create | B．write | C．play | D．choose |
| A．struggled | B．stopped | C．cheered | D．voted |
| A．efforts | B．ideas | C．knowledge | D．hope |
| A．picked out | B．turned down | C．brought up | D．left behind |
| A．love | B．connection | C．touch | D．common |
6 . When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor, Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never invited us to play in his yard, but he was a very kind person. When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t saving lives, he was planting trees. He owned a large field and wanted to make it a forest.
The good doctor had some interesting ideas about planting trees. He never watered his new trees. Once I asked why, he said that watering plants spoiled them, and that if you watered them, each baby tree would grow weaker and weaker, so you had to make things difficult for them and pick out the weaker trees early on. He talked about how watering trees made for shallow (浅的）roots, and how trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in search of water under the earth by themselves. Deep roots were very important. So he never watered his trees. He’d planted an oak and, instead of watering it every morning, he’d beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree’s attention.
Dr. Gibbs died several years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I watched him plant about twenty-five years ago. They’re very big and strong now. I planted some trees a few years back and carried water to them for a whole summer. After two years of caring too much, whenever a cold wind blows in, they shake a lot.
Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. Mostly I pray (祈祷) that their lives will be easy. But lately I’ve been thinking that it’s time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to face difficulties. There’s always a cold wind blowing somewhere, so what we need to do is to pray for roots that reach deep into the brave heart, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we could face it strongly and won’t be beaten down.
1. We know from the reading, the doctor ______.| A．didn’t know how to plant trees at all |
| B．had his own ways of planting trees |
| C．wasn’t good at his own medical job |
| D．had nothing to do but plant trees |
| A．some weak trees would be easily found out at the beginning |
| B．he would choose the weak trees to water earlier |
| C．the weak trees would be sent to his patients later |
| D．he would not plant weak trees so early anymore |
| A．beat all his trees with a rolled-up newspaper |
| B．often water his trees |
| C．took too much care of his trees |
| D．didn’t have a large field |
| A．his trees will be stronger than Dr. Gibbs' |
| B．his trees will not be beaten down |
| C．his sons will be better at planting trees |
| D．his sons will be able to face difficulties |
| A．Watering Trees |
| B．Growing Roots |
| C．Doctor and his Neighbor |
| D．Father and his Children |
There is a tradition in my school
I was in Senior 2 at the time.
Soon it will be my turn
8 . When you travel, it’s inevitable (不可避免的) that things will go wrong. It doesn’t matter how
During a recent long international trip, my youngest daughter’s airsickness struck again. We were
When we stood in the middle of the terminal (航站楼), not only
He quietly asked me if my 4-year-old was the passenger who had gotten
Instead, he
As the captain walked away, she
It’s often the
| A．lucky | B．old | C．energetic | D．prepared |
| A．also | B．even | C．yet | D．still |
| A．includes | B．values | C．matters | D．offers |
| A．wrong | B．timely | C．sudden | D．quick |
| A．doubting | B．making | C．quitting | D．changing |
| A．pointing out | B．learning about | C．figuring out | D．quarrelling about |
| A．approached | B．examined | C．appreciated | D．discovered |
| A．hungry | B．thirsty | C．sick | D．lost |
| A．led | B．allowed | C．advised | D．expected |
| A．bent | B．looked | C．broke | D．fell |
| A．taking | B．handing | C．opening | D．flying |
| A．concerned | B．confused | C．shy | D．curious |
| A．fighted | B．hesitated | C．waited | D．chatted |
| A．refusing | B．deciding | C．hoping | D．pretending |
| A．cried | B．smiled | C．nodded | D．froze |
| A．awkward | B．funny | C．upset | D．special |
| A．ruined | B．saved | C．displayed | D．affected |
| A．love | B．news | C．horror | D．comedy |
| A．attracted | B．grateful | C．opposed | D．mean |
| A．misfortune | B．mess | C．wonder | D．difference |
9 . As I walked onto the soccer field I had a knot(结) in my stomach. I was too shy to
When the coaches came, I felt as if I was going to pass out. With no
This
Like most high school students, my
| A．give up | B．pass by | C．try out | D．walk away |
| A．logic | B．sports | C．language | D．communication |
| A．just | B．even | C．never | D．always |
| A．warm up | B．make up | C．calm down | D．turn around |
| A．ask | B．pass | C．show | D．throw |
| A．nearly | B．really | C．hardly | D．partly |
| A．kept | B．expressed | C．proved | D．admitted |
| A．match | B．activity | C．experience | D．performance |
| A．checking | B．realizing | C．practicing | D．considering |
| A．When | B．After | C．Unless | D．Before |
| A．quick | B．clever | C．perfect | D．pleased |
| A．speed | B．record | C．position | D．standard |
| A．break | B．escape | C．change | D．holiday |
| A．life | B．team | C．friends | D．coaches |
| A．better | B．kinder | C．warmer | D．quieter |
| A．beg | B．feel | C．pretend | D．imagine |
| A．add | B．buy | C．deserve | D．promise |
| A．ideas | B．attitudes | C．creations | D．qualities |
| A．effort | B．money | C．brain | D．trust |
| A．happy | B．strict | C．careful | D．patient |
A few years ago, the company I worked for sent my wife and me to live in New York for a year. I’ve always loved running, so I was really happy when I found out I lived next to Central Park. This meant that every morning I could go for a run before I went to work.
Because a lot of people had told me to be careful of robbers in the park, so usually I didn’t take anything with me. How could they rob me if I didn’t have anything? But one morning, my wife gave me a S 10 bill and asked me to buy some bread on the way.
It was a beautiful morning and the park was quiet with very few people walking or jogging (慢跑) around. While I was running through the park, another jogger knocked into me. He apologized and continued running. For a while, I didn’t think too much of it. However, when I noticed the wide path where I was running, I thought was kind of strange. The warning of robbers in the park occurred to me. ”It could have been a robber!” I suddenly became alarmed, so I checked my pocket and found that the money was missing. Without thinking twice, I ran after that jogger. I finally caught up and held him by the arm. I shouted, “Give me the $10 bill! Now!” I am not usually a hot-headed (性急的) person, but I got really angry this time. I couldn’t believe the robbery was actually happening to me. Filled with anger, I shook my fist at him. This seemed to frighten him. He quickly put his hand in his pocket and gave me the money. Then he ran away as fast as he could.
I bought the bread and went home. As soon as I got home, I couldn’t wait to tell my wife my story. “You won’t believe what happened to me,” I started with pride. She immediately stopped me, “I know, you left the money for the bread on the kitchen table.”
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Looking at the money on the table, I stood there, shocked.
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