1 . When people find out that my son Sam is a competitive mathlete, they usually ask if my husband and I are “math persons”. The answer is “Definitely not”.

Ninth grade was ________ for Sam to prepare for a competition, he took ________ practice tests, which were sometimes as ________ as three hours. In the end, he didn’t do as well as he’d hoped and was ________ by a math camp he’d applied to.

He wandered into my office one day last spring, murmuring.

“I just feel like the whole year has been a ________.”

I get it. How many days—weeks, months—have I “wasted” writing the ________ scene over and over again? Writing a novel sometimes feels like two steps forward, one step back. ________ whenever I feel like that, I try to ________ myself that no matter what happens with my book, I’ve ________ the time I’ve spent working on it. The delight I find in writing is ________ for me.

“Nothing’s ever wasted. You may not have gotten the ________ you wanted, but as you try to solve the ________ problems, you are making progress with each effort you make.” He shrugged (耸肩). “I feel like everyone else did better than me.”

Sam was talking about the ________ boards, where math kids come together to share resources and, more often than not ________ their wins.

“I know it feels that way, but it isn’t true. You know people ________ their successes far more than their ________,” I said, as much to myself as to Sam.

Just like Sam, I can’t control the ________, and I can only control my input. To devote time to something with no ________ of its success is risky and ________. But, then again, so is everything.

And you don’t need to be a(n) ________ person to know that.

1.

A．simple

B．tough

C．peaceful

D．exciting

2.

A．few

B．casual

C．multiple

D．easy

3.

A．far

B．long

C．deep

D．straight

4.

A．accepted

B．praised

C．replied

D．rejected

5.

A．waste

B．vacation

C．leisure

D．trouble

6.

A．same

B．vivid

C．brief

D．literary

7.

A．So

B．And

C．But

D．Because

8.

A．help

B．convince

C．improve

D．answer

9.

A．offered

B．killed

C．saved

D．enjoyed

10.

A．limited

B．popular

C．obvious

D．enough"

11.

A．exam

B．advice

C．course

D．result

12.

A．challenging

B．urgent

C．historical

D．imaginary

13.

A．message

B．chess

C．drawing

D．safety

14.

A．escape from

B．think about

C．show off

D．compete in

15.

A．ban

B．post

C．doubt

D．receive

16.

A．methods

B．intentions

C．struggles

D．reasons

17.

A．solution

B．outcome

C．custom

D．fortune

18.

A．courage

B．accident

C．chance

D．guarantee

19.

A．terrifying

B．instructive

C．personal

D．ridiculous

20.

A．art

B．adult

C．math

D．business

4 . A star athlete at the college where I work recently stopped by my office. After committing a few unforced errors during a weekend match, she suffered severely by self-criticism.

This student, like many I teach, strongly believes she should be able to control the outcomes of her life by virtue of her hard work. In her mind, “Nothing can stop me but myself”. So when these students fall short of what they imagine they should accomplish, they are filled with self-blame, reasoning, “If my accomplishments are mine to control, my failures must be entirely my faults, too”, which makes it extremely difficult for them to move on.

We often owe young adults struggling with failure to their parents’ over protection of them from discomfort. But there is another factor at play—a message transmitted by indulging (纵容的) parents who have falsely promised them that they can achieve anything if they are willing to work for it. However, the cruel reality of life is that you can do everything in your power—and still fail. _______

Psychologists Luthar and Kumar urge parents and teachers to spend time helping students find purpose, or goals they genuinely love to pursue and that make an impact on the world, which may help them gain greater life satisfaction and become more psychologically mature. Besides, instead of allowing our kids to beat themselves up when things don’t go their way, we might all question a culture where one is considered lazy without full devotion. The point is to remind them that life has a way of sucker-punching (出其不意) us when we least expect it. It’s often the people who learn to say “stuff happens” who get up the fastest.

1. What does the underlined phrase “by virtue of” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．in addition to	B．in spite of
C．by means of	D．for fear of

2. The author believes that young adults find it hard to struggle with failure because ______.

A．they are not taught how to deal with difficulties

B．they are short of the ability to handle failure

C．they are under the protection of their parents

D．they are misled by their parents’ false message

3. Which of the following sentences can go into the blank in Paragraph 3?

A．But what is the reason for that?

B．Actually there are some findings.

C．Then what should be done to help?

D．So experts have their own concerns.

4. What did psychologists Luthar and Kumar urge parents and teachers to do?

A．To teach students how to avoid faults.

B．To lead students to set their truly loved goals.

C．To help students to discover a path to success.

D．To allow kids to blame themselves.

5. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Students don’t care about failure at all.

B．Students are sure to succeed if they try their best.

C．Students should bear all the failures on their own.

D．Students with positive attitudes can move on more easily.

5 . In choosing a friend, one should be very careful.   A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fairweather friends. They will be with you as long as you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities(品质) of character, especially understanding, honesty and reliability(可靠).

Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how the other is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person' s place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener.

At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults(过错) in others.   He notices their good points. In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me.

Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favor, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.

There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience and learn from each other.   A good friend has a good sense of humor(幽默), too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.

When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I've found a friend!

1. In the opinion of the writer, which of the following qualities is the most important in choosing a friend?

A．A sense of humor.	B．Honesty.
C．Reliability.	D．Understanding.

2. If you have fair-weather friends, ________.

A．you will be refused when you get into trouble

B．they will give you all that they have when you need help

C．you will become rich

D．you can be sure that you get real friends

3. Good friends need to ________.

A．have money or luck	B．understand each other's feeling
C．be helped with money	D．always point out each other's mistakes

4. The passage is mainly about ________.

A．how to get along with friends	B．where to choose friends
C．the qualities of a friend	D．the importance of having a friend

5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in this passage?

A．Reliable.	B．Understanding.
C．Honest.	D．Intelligent.

7 . 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

8 . 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.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10 . 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。

In all one’s lifetime it is oneself that one spends the most time being with or dealing with. But it is exactly oneself that one has the     1    (little) understanding of.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself is to gain a correct view of oneself — aware of both one’s strengths and weaknesses. You may look forward hopefully     2     the future but be sure not to expect too much, for ideals can never be     3     (full) realized. You may be courageous to meet     4     (challenge) but it should be clear to you where to direct your efforts. That’s to say there won’t be difficulties you can’t overcome     5     you have a perfect knowledge of yourself.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself also     6     (require) doing oneself a favor when it’s needed. In time of sadness, do yourself a favor by    7     (share) it with your friends so as to change a gloomy mood into a     8     (cheer) one; in time of tiredness, do yourself a favor by getting a good sleep.

In     9     word, to get a thorough understanding of oneself is to get one’s life entirely     10     (control). Then one will find one’s life full of color and flavor.