1 . Hundreds of people have formed impressions of you through that little device (装置) on your desk. And they’ve never actually ____ you. Everything they know about you ____ through this device, sometimes from hundreds of miles away. ____ they feel they can know you ____ from the sound of your voice. That’s how powerful the ____ is.

Powerful, yes, but not always ____. For years I dealt with my travel agent only by phone. Rani, my faceless agent whom I’d never met ____, got me rock-bottom prices on airfares, cars, and hotels. But her cold voice really ____ me. I sometimes wished to ____ another agent.

One morning, I had to ____ an immediate flight home for a family emergency. I ran into Rani’s office ____. The woman sitting at the desk, ____ my madness, sympathetically jumped up. She gave me a ____ smile, nodded while listening patiently, and then printed out the ____ immediately. ＂What a wonderful lady! ＂ I thought.

Rushing out ____ I called out over my shoulder, ＂By the way, what’s your name?＂ ＂I’m Rani,＂ she said.   I turned around and saw a ____ woman with a big smile on her face waving to wish me a safe trip. I was ____! Why had I thought she was cold? Rani was, well, so ____.

Sitting back in the car on the way to the airport, I figured it all out. Rani’s ____ — her warm smile, her nods, her ‘I’m here for you’ ____ — were all silent signals that didn’t travel through wires.

1.

A．accepted

B．noticed

C．heard

D．met

2.

A．came

B．moved

C．ran

D．developed

3.

A．Thus

B．Yet

C．Then

D．Indeed

4.

A．rather

B．also

C．just

D．already

5.

A．telephone

B．voice

C．connection

D．impression

6.

A．direct

B．useful

C．easy

D．accurate

7.

A．in person

B．by myself

C．in public

D．on purpose

8.

A．annoyed

B．interested

C．discouraged

D．confused

9.

A．promote

B．train

C．find

D．know

10.

A．arrange

B．postpone

C．confirm

D．book

11.

A．for the first time

B．at any time

C．from time to time

D．in good time

12.

A．expecting

B．seeing

C．testing

D．avoiding

13.

A．shy

B．comforting

C．familiar

D．forced

14.

A．bill

B．form

C．ticket

D．list

15.

A．hopefully

B．disappointedly

C．gratefully

D．regretfully

16.

A．careful

B．serious

C．nervous

D．pleasant

17.

A．amused

B．worried

C．helpless

D．speechless

18.

A．calm

B．nice

C．proud

D．clever

19.

A．forgiveness

B．eagerness

C．friendliness

D．skillfulness

20.

A．explanation

B．attitude

C．concept

D．behavior

3 . 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。

Sports Day was getting close in the school. All the children were very excited and were practicing for the big race. John, one of the fast runners of the school, was confident that he would win for he was not doing anything at all. “You have to work hard to come first in the race John. You are not practicing at all,” said John’s mother.

“Mom, you know how fast I am! Why should I waste my time running? Only I will win; no one else will win!”said John. “John, you may be right but talent (天赋) without hard work is not good at all. This laziness of yours will cost you greatly,” his mother warned him. John just laughed. He was so confident that he would win the trophy (奖杯) as no one else in his class was as fast as he was!.

Tim, a classmate of John, was also participating (参加) in the running race. He was not a fast runner. However, he practiced till late at night and had developed great endurance (持久力) to run the race.

There were a few days left for the Sports Day but John did not practice at all. On the other hand, Tim practiced day and night.

The Sports Day was almost around the corner but John was confident that no one could beat him and had not practiced at all. But Tim with his hard work had become a very great runner.

At last, the Sports Day arrived. All the students showed up on the ground to cheer their favorites. The coach blew the whistle (口哨) and everyone began to run toward the finishing line. It was so exciting. John and Tim left all the racers far behind. Both of them were neck to neck.

注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。

Suddenly, John went ahead of Tim.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

John’s mother came up to Tim and praised him for his hard work.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . My kids and I were heading into the supermarket over the weekend. On the way, we spotted a man holding a piece of paper that said, “_______ my job. Family to Feed.”

At this store, a _______ like this is not normal. My 10-year-old noticed him and make a _________ on how bad it must be to have to stand _________ in the cold wind.

In the store, I asked each of my kids to _______ something they thought our “friend” there would _________. They got apples, a sandwich and a bottle of juice. Then my 17-year-old suggested giving him a _________. I thought about it. We were _______ on cash ourselves, but… well, sometimes _______ from our need instead of our abundance is ________ what we need to do! All the kids __________ something they could do away with for the week.

When we handed him the bag of ________, he lit up and thanked us with ________ eyes. When I handed him the gift card, saying he could use it for __________ his family might need, he burst into tears.

This has been a wonderful ________ for our family. For days the kids have been looking for others we can ________! Things would have played out so __________ if I had simply said, “No, we really don’t have __________ to give more.” Stepping out not only helped a brother in ________, it also gave my kids the __________ taste of helping others. It’ll go a long way with them.

1.

A．Lost

B．Changed

C．Quit

D．Finished

2.

A．condition

B．place

C．sight

D．show

3.

A．suggestion

B．comment

C．decision

D．call

4.

A．outside

B．proudly

C．by

D．angrily

5.

A．draw

B．say

C．arrange

D．pick

6.

A．order

B．supply

C．appreciate

D．discover

7.

A．dollar

B．job

C．hot meal

D．gift card

8.

A．easy

B．low

C．soft

D．loose

9.

A．giving

B．saving

C．spending

D．begging

10.

A．yet

B．even

C．still

D．just

11.

A．declared

B．shared

C．ignored

D．expected

12.

A．toys

B．medicine

C．food

D．clothes

13.

A．sleepy

B．watery

C．curious

D．sharp

14.

A．whoever

B．whatever

C．whichever

D．whenever

15.

A．experience

B．example

C．message

D．adventure

16.

A．rely on

B．respect

C．learn from

D．help

17.

A．suddenly

B．vividly

C．differently

D．perfectly

18.

A．time

B．power

C．patience

D．money

19.

A．fear

B．love

C．need

D．memory

20.

A．strong

B．sweet

C．strange

D．simple

6 . When I graduated from high school, I wanted to major in comparative literature. But, once I found out my friends were going into “real” majors, like marketing, nursing, and engineering, I figured I needed to do the same to ensure a good career. So I changed my mind and chose Business Management as my major. I forced myself to believe that I would enjoy it and succeed in the future, but eventually I exhausted myself understanding the economy and trying new marketing techniques. Coming out of this experience, I realize it is ok to be different from others and to study things like classcs, art history and other majors offered in the College of Humanities（人文学科）!

The   worries   most   people   have   about   a   Humanitie degree   and   finding   a   career afterwards are that the majors are too abstract, and one will not obtain any applicable skills. Actually ideas discussed in Humanities classes, which are occasionally different from what people commonly believe, offer a broad perspective（视角）. How could one effectively be an unbiased（无偏见的）writer with only a knowledge of the popular opinion of society? How could one speak persuasively ith closed minds? Only seeing the world through a single perspective leads to missed learning, missed friendships, and missed growth! With a broader perspective, we wl be more free, more open-minded, and less limited in what we can become!

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) graduates learn actual skills in their studie, while humanities majors learn “soft skills” like communicating effectively through writing critically and speaking persuasively, synthesizing（综合）ideas through gathering and interpreting information, and developing cultural awareness. Do those soft skills sound useless and inapplicable to you? Think of it. How often do you communicate with others? Produce ideas? Encounter people from other cultures? Every day. Every SECOND of every day. So why not master these skills?

If you choose a major in the College of Humanities, you will be needed. The job market is quietly creating thousands of openings a week for people who can bring a humanist’s grace to our rapidly evolving high-tech future. Your skills will be valuable to any workplace you hope to be in. Chase after your dream major with all your energy, no matter what other people think.

1. Why did the author choose Business Management as his major at first?

A．He was tired of learning comparative literature.

B．He came to enjoy learning marketing techniques.

C．He wanted to go to the same university as his friends.

D．He believed Business Management was more practical.

2. According to the author, what is a possible way to gain a broad perspective?

A．Making more friends and learning from them.

B．Exchanging ideas in a philosophy seminar.

C．Opening your mind to future possibilities.

D．Getting to know the popular opinion of society.

3. In which of the following situations do soft skills play the most important role?

A．Writing a software program.

B．Performing a heart operation.

C．Playing a musical instrument.

D．Negotiating with a business partner.

4. The author believes the job market for Humanities graduates is .

A．recovering

B．depressing

C．promising

D．challenging

5. What could be the best title for the passage?

A．Stick to Your Desired major

B．Broaden Your Perspective

C．How to Acquire Soft Skills

D．Humanities vs. STEM

7 . Some people live to climb the highest mountains. Some people live only dreaming about it while others live to avoid ever climbing at all. But one thing is certain, all people encounter mountains in their life.

When I was a little girl, my family moved to a tiny town at the bottom of a big mountain. One day after school, while exploring the green woods of this magnificent mountain, I almost fell on a set of stairs. What could these steps lead to? Curiosity got the best of me as I knew it would be starting to get dark soon. I started climbing up those strangely mysterious steps.

I climbed and climbed. There was nothing but just green bushes and these steps. I had to reach the top! But it was now getting real dark. If I kept going I might not be able to see my way back. My mom would be worried sick if I didn’t come home soon. So I ran back home almost in the dark while trying not to get too scared.

Anxiously I went to bed dreaming about what I would find at the top of this magical mountain. Could there be a castle up there? Maybe I would find a monster(怪物). Maybe I was taking the risk of never coming back home. Or, maybe all I would find was absolutely nothing! But something inside me was going to climb that mountain at all cost. I could hardly wait to try this adventure again.

Now we live in a world surrounded by the "can’t do" attitudes. We all fall down. We all have doubts and regrets. Still we must climb and dream about what’s at the top of our mountain. Monsters may appear or the night will fall. But never ever give up on your dream! Never let anyone tell you, "You can’t." Dream big and climb high!

1. What made the author start to climb up the stairs to the mountain top? (no more than 5 words)
2. Why did the author hurry back home without reaching the top of the mountain? Give two reasons. (no more than 15 words)
3. How would you describe the author in terms of personalities according to Paragraph 4? (no more than 10 words)
4. How do you understand the underlined sentence in the last paragraph? (no more than 5 words)
5. What’s your attitude towards the "mountain" in your life? Please explain. (no more than 20 words)

8 . 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

9 . A Game of Light and Shade

It was a sunny day. I had gone up and down the tower when, outside the door at the foot, a blind man came toward me. In a moment, he disappeared up the stairs. I looked at the sign that said “To the Tower”, and decided to _______ him.

I caught up with him in the ticket office. There I was _______ to see the attendant (工作人员) selling him a ticket as if he were any other visitor. Then, with the ticket in one hand and _______ the wall with the fingers of the other, the blind man reached the stairs _________ to the hallway.

“That man is blind. What would a blind man climb up the tower for?” I said to the attendant, expecting him to show some _______, but he didn’t answer.

“Not the _______ certainly,” I said. “Perhaps he wants to _______.”

I bought a ticket and _______ up the stairs. The man hadn’t gone as far as I _______. A third of the way up the tower, I heard his ________. I slowed down and followed him at a little ________. He stopped from time to time. When he got to the balcony, I was a dozen steps ________. As I reached it, I saw him at the corner of the tower.

At last, after ten minutes, I ________ him. “Excuse me,” I said as politely as I could, “but I am curious to know ________ you came up.”

He smiled. “Coming up the stairs, you will notice how not just light but sun ________ into the tower through the narrow windows here and there, so that you can feel the ________ —the cool stairs suddenly become quite warm—and how up here behind the wall there is ________, but as soon as going opposite a window you can find the sun. There is no ________ so good as this for feeling the difference between light and shade. It is not the first time I’ve come up.”

The blind man seemed quite ________ just like a child who was enjoying his favorite games. He told me the truth that blind men can also find the beauty in life ________ they cannot enjoy the sights of the world.

1.

A．accept

B．follow

C．control

D．visit

2.

A．frightened

B．disappointed

C．surprised

D．embarrassed

3.

A．touching

B．climbing

C．hitting

D．covering

4.

A．pointing

B．attaching

C．contributing

D．leading

5.

A．respect

B．doubt

C．concern

D．sympathy

6.

A．view

B．test

C．prize

D．trick

7.

A．kick

B．jump

C．relax

D．escape

8.

A．struggled

B．explored

C．wandered

D．hurried

9.

A．promised

B．examined

C．imagined

D．confirmed

10.

A．steps

B．words

C．secrets

D．cheers

11.

A．standard

B．distance

C．expense

D．intention

12.

A．ahead

B．around

C．outside

D．behind

13.

A．recognized

B．surrounded

C．approached

D．witnessed

14.

A．why

B．how

C．when

D．whether

15.

A．knocks

B．pours

C．slides

D．bursts

16.

A．trend

B．reaction

C．change

D．honor

17.

A．light

B．space

C．mess

D．shade

18.

A．place

B．signal

C．object

D．period

19.

A．nervous

B．content

C．curious

D．patient

20.

A．unless

B．because

C．once

D．although

10 . To learn to think is to learn to question. Those who don't question never truly think for themselves. These are simple rules that have governed the advancement of science and human thought since the beginning of time. Advancements are made when thinkers question theories and introduce new ones. Unfortunately, it is often the great and respected thinkers who end up slowing the progress of human thought. Aristotle was a brilliant philosopher whose theories explained much of the natural world, often incorrectly. He was so esteemed by the scientific community that even 1，200 years after his death, scientists were still trying to build upon his mistakes rather than correct them!

Brilliant minds can intimidate up­and­coming thinkers who are not confident of their abilities. They often believe they are inferior to the minds of giants such as Aristotle, leading many to accept current paradigms instead of questioning them.

I, like many thinkers of the past, once believed in my mental inferiority. I was certain that my parents, my teachers-adults in general-were always right. They were like a textbook to me; I didn't question what was written on those pages. I respected them, and accepted whatever they told me. But that attitude soon changed. My mind's independence was first stimulated in the classroom.

A stern, 65­year­old elementary­school science teacher once told me that light is a type of wave. I confidently went through years of school believing that light is a wave. One day，however I heard the German exchange student mention that light could be made up of particles. As the others laughed at his statement, I started to question my beliefs.

Maybe the teachers and textbooks hadn't given me the whole story. I went to the library, did some research and learned of the light­as­a­wave versus light­as­a­particle debate. I read about Einstein's discovery of the dual nature of light and learned the facts of a paradox(悖论) that puzzles the world's greatest thinkers to this day. Light behaves as both a particle and a wave, it is both at once. I realized I had gone through life accepting only half of the story as the whole truth.

Each new year brought more new facts, and I formulated even more questions. I found myself in the library after school, trying to find my own answers to gain a more complete understanding of what I thought I already knew. I discovered that my parents and teachers are incredible tools in my quest for knowledge, but they are never the final word. Even textbooks can be challenged. I learned to question my sources, I learned to be a thinker. I once believed that everything I learned at home and at school was certain, but I have now discovered to re­examine when necessary.

Questions are said to be the path to knowledge and truth, and I plan to continue questioning. How many things do we know for sure today that we will question in the future? At this moment, I know that our sun will burn for another five billion years, and I know nothing can escape the gravity of a black hole. This knowledge, however, may change in the next 20 years-maybe even in the next two. The one thing we can control now is our openness to discovery. Questions are the tools of open minds, and open minds are the key to intellectual advancement.

1. In the first paragraph, Aristotle is taken as an example to show that ______.

A．he is the greatest and respected philosopher of all time

B．huge influence of great thinkers may block human thought

C．advancements are made when thinkers question theories

D．great thinkers often make mistakes and then correct them

2. What does the underlined word “intimidate” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Frighten.

B．Encourage.

C．Strength.

D．Persuade.

3. The author began to question his previous beliefs because ______.

A．what he learned from textbooks before turned out to be wrong

B．he was inspired by the different ideas from an exchange student

C．he was laughed at by other students for his unacceptable statement

D．he was not satisfied with his life and desperate to achieve success

4. According to the passage, the author ______.

A．looks down upon great thinkers all the time

B．never doubts what he has learned in the textbook

C．always throws himself into the laboratory

D．determines to be a thinker and questioner

5. We can conclude from the last paragraph that ______.

A．the author is not quite sure about his future

B．we human beings don't dare to predict future

C．theory of black holes will change in two years

D．questioning is necessary to promote advancement

6. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．Following rules.	B．Challenging yourself.
C．Questioning giants.	D．Predicting future.