1 . After going through a severe illness, you learn to know what ______, faith and beauty really are.

I know this all too well, because I’ve experience a terrible illness myself. Years ago, I was diagnosed with both breast and liver cancer at the same time, and my entire ______ on life completely changed. I thought I had it rough after having to raise my daughter alone, but going through cancer made my ______ years seem like heaven. When you suffer from a serious illness like cancer, it makes you wonder what you did to ______ such a thing. ______, the love of my family helped me to forget my pain. Their love was the greatest reason why I had to fight the cancer and live. ______, I didn’t think I would make it, but because of the ______ love of my family，I found out who’s there at this most ______ time of my life.

Through it all, not only did I find what love truly means, but I found what true beauty really is. Whether we’re dealing with an illness or any other ______ feeling about ourselves, we still need to feel ______ on both the outside and inside.

Each passing day I’m allowed to open my eyes, the days are brighter, because I’m able to see and ______ it that much more. True beauty is ______ and when you feel beautiful on the inside, it shows so clearly on the outside. ______, I could not have done or felt the way I did and still do without my family.

I share my story with others as I hope to have a positive impact ______ those who are ill or just feeling ______. We should never allow anything to ______ our joy or self-esteem. We can turn something ______ like cancer into something positive if we focus on the great things that come out of it. ______ , it’s at the worst times of our lives ______ the best things can happen.

I truly believe that when we survive a tragedy, it’s for a reason. We all have a purpose, and through that purpose, compassion, strength, faith and true beauty is ______.

1.

A．kindness

B．love

C．nature

D．honesty

2.

A．outlook

B．dream

C．angle

D．strategy

3.

A．later

B．precious

C．previous

D．rest

4.

A．survive

B．handle

C．appreciate

D．deserve

5.

A．Otherwise

B．Besides

C．However

D．Thus

6.

A．At a time

B．At times

C．In no time

D．For the first time

7.

A．selfish

B．temporary

C．unconditional

D．permanent

8.

A．valuable

B．brilliant

C．terrific

D．critical

9.

A．negative

B．optimistic

C．sympathetic

D．inspiring

10.

A．ugly

B．beautiful

C．frustrated

D．guilty

11.

A．touch

B．hate

C．appreciate

D．adjust

12.

A．outside

B．obvious

C．invisible

D．inner

13.

A．Honestly

B．Surprisingly

C．Unfortunately

D．Evidently

14.

A．to

B．on

C．in

D．for

15.

A．down

B．delighted

C．relieved

D．eager

16.

A．obtain

B．abolish

C．steal

D．protect

17.

A．fascinating

B．unexpected

C．extraordinary

D．awful

18.

A．In other words

B．In all

C．On the contrary

D．As a result

19.

A．when

B．where

C．that

D．which

20.

A．born

B．lost

C．shared

D．spread

2 . As a writer I am always looking for inspiration. I can always tell that Life has a sense of humor too, because my best inspirations often come at the most ______times when I have nothing to write them down on. I can remember once years ago when I was ______ around a local lake in the summertime. The sun was sparkling off the crystal clear waters. Butterflies were dancing above the wild flowers. The shady trees were ______ singing birds. It ______so peaceful there. I smiled and ______. Of course, that was when the idea for a new story ______ appeared in my mind. I was still a half-mile away from my car and I was afraid my aging brain would ______ part of the story ______ I got there. I took my pen out of my pocket and started writing it down on my ______.

Later after I had transferred the ______ to paper and was washing the ______ off my hand, I laughed and asked Life why he always seemed to speak to my ______ at the strangest times. As soon as I said it, I ______ in my mind: “Because that is the only time you are listening!”

Maybe if we all want to hear from Life more often, we should just shut up and ______ . Life speaks to us in the ______ of our souls. Life ______ to us in the quiet of the storm. If you want to hear Life’s inspiration and guidance in your heart and mind, you have to ______ your own noise.

Life is forever ready to love us, inspire us, ______ us, improve us, and help us to grow into the people we were meant to be. His inspiration comes to us ______ our thoughts, our experiences, and our lives. All we have to do is open our hearts and close our ______ . All we have to do is listen.

1.

A．boring

B．important

C．difficult

D．inconvenient

2.

A．walking

B．sleeping

C．reading

D．driving

3.

A．tired of

B．afraid of

C．full of

D．proud of

4.

A．went

B．felt

C．changed

D．turned

5.

A．relaxed

B．left

C．wrote

D．gestured

6.

A．finally

B．simply

C．immediately

D．suddenly

7.

A．form

B．tell

C．forget

D．refuse

8.

A．before

B．since

C．until

D．if

9.

A．notebook

B．paper

C．card

D．hand

10.

A．imagination

B．inspiration

C．proposal

D．wish

11.

A．writing

B．dust

C．painting

D．oil

12.

A．head

B．heart

C．ear

D．face

13.

A．promised

B．thought

C．heard

D．doubted

14.

A．release

B．continue

C．work

D．listen

15.

A．energy

B．sound

C．silence

D．light

16.

A．happens

B．whispers

C．apologizes

D．explains

17.

A．shut off

B．give up

C．pick out

D．set down

18.

A．show

B．surprise

C．trust

D．lead

19.

A．with

B．by

C．through

D．beyond

20.

A．eyes

B．mouths

C．brains

D．minds

3 . It was a day in late July, grey and depressing，with dark clouds ______ low. I was driving to Plymouth for a much-needed vacation. I traveled ______, hoping to get there and have dinner and a rest before evening came. Suddenly, on a lonely stretch of highway, a storm ______.       Pouring water shut me in, making driving impossible. I ______ onto the shoulder of the road and stopped.

Then, ______ someone had turned off a ______ in the sky, it ended. A thin ray, like a spray of gold，______ from the clouds. Every piece of grass was shining as the sun flashed on ______ drops. A rainbow ______ across the sky. It seemed as if the ______ had been there for me alone. I was ______ with awe and joy.

My friend Janet had a (an) ______ experience. She had walked out on a lonely beach ______. It was a time of ______ for her, and loneliness was what she wanted. Offshore ______ the darkening sea, she made out the ______ of an anchored fishing boat, and in it the figure of a man. After a while, she felt an intense and glowing sense of oneness with that silent figure. It was as if the sea, the sky, and those two solitary human beings were ______. I was   ______   with joy," she said.

Most of us have experienced such enlightened moments, ______ we seem to understand ourselves and the world. And almost anything can serve as the ______ of such a feeling： stars shining on new snow，or a sudden sight of a field of daffodils (水仙花)."

1.

A．lifting

B．hanging

C．climbing

D．passing

2.

A．slowly

B．nervously

C．quickly

D．energetically

3.

A．struck

B．arose

C．formed

D．exploded

4.

A．pulled out

B．pulled off

C．drove in

D．dropped by

5.

A．even though

B．after

C．once

D．as though

6.

A．tap

B．light

C．key

D．button

7.

A．spread

B．unfolded

C．soar

D．reflected

8.

A．bright

B．shrinking

C．thick

D．trembling

9.

A．moved

B．wound

C．arched

D．flew

10.

A．sighting

B．view

C．scenery

D．landscape

11.

A．powerless

B．fragile

C．sensitive

D．speechless

12.

A．contrary

B．similar

C．strange

D．familiar

13.

A．at sunrise

B．at noon

C．at sunset

D．at night

14.

A．grief

B．disappointment

C．annoyance

D．relief

15.

A．through

B．beyond

C．across

D．above

16.

A．sightseeing

B．scene

C．image

D．picture

17.

A．united

B．gathered

C．separated

D．related

18.

A．overlooked

B．filled

C．overcome

D．own

19.

A．that

B．where

C．which

D．when

20.

A．power

B．strength

C．pull

D．motivation

4 . I always wanted to be extraordinary at something. Not just as in, “Great job, Jimbo!” No, I wanted to be best-in-class, awe-inspiring, tiptop; a world-famous genius, like Michael Phelps or Mark Zuckerberg.

Unfortunately, my version of reality did not quite line up with thisdelusionalvision. I was a good swimmer, but I peaked at the collegiate State Championships level. My academic record was pretty solid, but I never would have made it into one of those ivy-league schools.

Though I rose to above-average status in a couple of areas, the disappointing truth was that I would never amount to anything more than a mid-sized fish in a small pond. God apparently had other plans.

What drove me crazy, though, was the superstar talent thrown in my face at every turn. Some folks just seemed to get an unfair intensive dose (剂量) of it. Why couldn’t I be like Bernie William, the famed New Yorkees player who also happens to be a world-class jazz guitar virtuoso (艺术大师)?

Some say greatness is simply a function of putting in the practice time. Around ten thousand hours, to be precise, according to author Malcolm Gladwell. I don’t question the theory of devoting extraordinary efforts to developing one’s expertise, but it seems that raw talent is equally important. You either have it or you don’t.

I’ve heard that as people approach middle age, their life satisfaction increases because they begin to accept the gap between the expectations for themselves and the reality. After a few decades of frustration without the desired results, we eventually come to terms with how our lives turned out, even if it falls far short of our idealized youthful expectation.

Hope bends, it seems.

1. What does the word “delusional” in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?

A．Practical.	B．Realistic.
C．Abstract.	D．Imaginary.

2. In the passage, the writer thinks of himself as__________.

A．a world-famous genius	B．a mid-sized fish in a small pond
C．a world-class virtuoso	D．a student in an ivy-league school

3. According to the writer, what make “greatness”?

A．Raw talent.	B．Talent and time.
C．Extraordinary efforts.	D．Ten thousand hours of practice.

4. Which of the following might be the best title?

A．Hope Bends	B．Frustrating Decades
C．Practice Works	D．Youthful Expectation

5 . In general, human beings must go through a personal learning or discovery process to create the future they want. There are four distinct aspects in this process of discovery.

It is often best to start this process with a description of the future you want to create.    1    . It should be very meaningful to you and become a source of energy.     2    , making your best guess enables you to begin exploring it more.

Carrying out a plan is all about taking specific, concrete steps toward your vision(远见).    3    . Since visions are usually longer term and can seem almost too big to achieve, carrying out a plan lets you break a long journey into shorter trips.

    4    , so you know how close you are to achieving your vision. It's the feeling actors get when the audience applauds or the critics pan(抨击) their performance. Being as objective as possible is important , since even bad news can offer great learning and intelligence.

Reflecting on lessons is sometimes the most difficult and essential part of the process. It can turn bad news into great learning. The truth is, as long as you're willing to learn, you can create the future you want. The more clearly you see yourself and the world around you, the sooner you will realize your vision.    5    .

A．You can turn your vision into reality

B．Even if you aren't sure what you really want

C．Moving forward in your life is sometimes difficult

D．Assessing results is how you get feedback（反馈） from the world around you

E．It should be something you can picture, like a movie projected on a screen

F．Like an actor in a movie, turn a written text of the movie into a great performance

G．In fact, the lessons you learn will help you clarify your vision and make it stronger

6 . After that weekend my high school classmates and I would go our ________ ways. Many planned on attending colleges far away, as I did. Others had jobs lined up and a few were thinking about _________

Directly in front of me was a friend, who ________ and smiled, acting a little self-satisfied. He and a couple of friends had decided to play one ________ trick before graduation. The night before, they’d ________ over to the principal’s home and used rolls of toilet paper to decorate his house and yard.

The principal onstage had given no ________ that anything was wrong. Hearing my name, I took a deep breath, ________ climbed the steps, crossed the stage and stopped in front of the principal. He handed me my ________ case. I couldn’t wait to open it and find my name, ________ that I had graduated. My friend opened his case and all of us burst into ________. What we saw was a single roll of toilet paper inside.

The choices we make ________ our lives.

Our high school principal had a great sense of ________ and took this opportunity to play a trick back on the boys, but they were allowed to graduate.

Sometimes we get lucky when we do something wrong. ________, sometimes we don’t. I often wonder what ________ those who didn’t make it to graduation. The ________ way to stay out of trouble is to avoid it in the first place.

1.

A．wide

B．separate

C．similar

D．contradictory

2.

A．education

B．success

C．marriage

D．separation

3.

A．sighed

B．cursed

C．trembled

D．yawned

4.

A．usual

B．important

C．last

D．very

5.

A．slipped

B．swung

C．skipped

D．swapped

6.

A．meaning

B．framework

C．fantasy

D．indication

7.

A．nervously

B．casually

C．shamefully

D．elegantly

8.

A．paper

B．diploma

C．tool

D．glass

9.

A．assuming

B．informing

C．confirming

D．identifying

10.

A．laughter

B．tears

C．anger

D．song

11.

A．destroy

B．violate

C．undergo

D．shape

12.

A．kindness

B．humor

C．happiness

D．accomplishment

13.

A．Anyhow

B．Furthermore

C．Still

D．Therefore

14.

A．became of

B．brought about

C．got across

D．brought out

15.

A．bravest

B．simplified

C．meanest

D．surest

7 . Did you ever have a dream? I'm talking about a conscious dream where you would like to ____ a new future, a different choice of employment and a ____ of your own.

Several years ago, I had a dream about inventing a board game that would ___ my fortune. After many revisions, a board game was developed. It was a(n)_____ time. Our dream seemed to come true with sales starting to ___, and our company was also founded.

___ ,another new board game come into the ___ and made great progress in sales. Eventually, our company was dissolved (解散).Perhaps for a game developer, the ____emotions that it never was meant to be will discourage his future dreams of a different life. To me, maybe I didn't succeed to the level I ___, but there is one thing I'm ___ of: at the very least I turned my dream into a reality. If I had never transferred my dream into a ___ and then to action, there wouldn't have been valuable lessons to be learned from the failure. It may take many ___ but success is only achieved. Once dreams are ___ action, failure becomes a better action plan in future. The important ___ here is that success only comes by turning dreams into reality and realizing that the ___ that you fortunately get along the way are only stepping-stones to final success.

1.

A．experience

B．plan

C．see

D．know

2.

A．house

B．company

C．car

D．farm

3.

A．destroy

B．realize

C．change

D．create

4.

A．exciting

B．terrible

C．dark

D．embarrassing

5.

A．surge

B．dive

C．decrease

D．accumulate

6.

A．Unfortunately

B．Unlikely

C．Unconsciously

D．Unfairly

7.

A．market

B．society

C．country

D．school

8.

A．optimistic

B．negative

C．changeable

D．positive

9.

A．needed

B．devoted

C．desired

D．begged

10.

A．careful

B．afraid

C．confident

D．proud

11.

A．goal

B．question

C．worry

D．difficulty

12.

A．analyses

B．designs

C．attempts

D．revisions

13.

A．taken up

B．looked into

C．run across

D．put into

14.

A．saying

B．point

C．question

D．standard

15.

A．efforts

B．failures

C．possibilities

D．sadness

8 . Whenever I was cautious about trying something new, my mom would always tell me one thing: you don't know unless you try. I've been holding this belief in my entire life. It lets me explore various opportunities that I would have missed.

Over the summer, I helped out at a preschool with the kids who needed some extra learning. At first I thought it would be super crazy with kids running around all over the place. I thought it would be a month of pure annoyance, but it ended up being pretty cool. They actually opened up to us, talked to us, and told us things they needed to get off their mind. They were so joyful to be around. I found myself happy that I was helping these kids, no longer afraid of the experience.

Again in middle school, I experienced this same belief. There were various school dances and school holiday events. I was not very fond of going to these events, thinking that I would either be made fun of or just simply be bored. I went to my first school dance in the 7th grade. It was a school welcoming dance. At first I really did not want to go but my mom forced me to go anyway. I was not happy with the choice my mom made, but soon regretted my doubt. The dance was really fun, with music, food, and friends. My mom was right. I never thought the dance would be enjoyable.

After these two events I gained more courage to try new things. I guess my mom was right. I'd never know if I never tried.

1. By “you don't know unless you try”, the author's mom intended to ________.

A．warn the author	B．encourage the author
C．delight the author	D．blame the author

2. Before helping out at a preschool, the author thought it would ________.

A．be quite cool

B．give her much pleasure

C．give her a chance to learn

D．be an unpleasant experience

3. The author went to the school dance because ________.

A．she liked dancing

B．she was afraid of missing it

C．she thought it would be enjoyable

D．she was forced to go by her mother

4. What can we learn from the story?

A．Have a go.

B．Better late than never.

C．Every cloud has a silver lining.

D．Where there is a will, there is a way.

9 . A few years ago, I was given a wallet. A beautiful elephant was woven into its front panel. The wallet was ________ to me by a close friend on my birthday.

The wallet was not only beautiful; it had a personality: it loved to run away, as I told my parents over and over again, only to receive eye _________ in return. “Frances, really, you’ve lost it again?” they would say every time I ________ it. Fortunately，I would eventually find it in my own house.

One day, _______ , as I was leaving a football stadium at a school, the wallet once again ________ from my pocket. I discovered the ______ when I got home. I searched the house and I prayed, as usual. Nothing.

But then, around a week later, my parents received a ______ on their business voicemail. A complete stranger was calling with the ________ of my wallet. “I’m calling for Frances,” a ________ came from the stranger. This man, to find whom the wallet belonged to, looked inside of it, and found a _______ which my parents had written to me. It _______ have their business phone number on it. Upon getting my wallet back, I wrote a brief letter to the man expressing my ______, and remarking on what an amazing act of kindness he had committed and that he was truly a _______ person. I would be forever grateful to him. I _______ and emailed it off to him.

I don’t know if I believe in chance or luck, but I do know I believe in ______ and in the selfless acts of kindness.

1.

A．handed

B．lent

C．sold

D．gifted

2.

A．glances

B．rolls

C．contacts

D．shadows

3.

A．needed

B．abandoned

C．noticed

D．misplaced

4.

A．otherwise

B．moreover

C．however

D．therefore

5.

A．jumped

B．escaped

C．flew

D．stole

6.

A．loss

B．event

C．failure

D．mistake

7.

A．message

B．note

C．letter

D．card

8.

A．thought

B．value

C．news

D．excitement

9.

A．telephone

B．greeting

C．command

D．voice

10.

A．check

B．passage

C．book

D．story

11.

A．seemed to

B．used to

C．intended to

D．happened to

12.

A．interest

B．gratitude

C．wishes

D．concerns

13.

A．remarkable

B．generous

C．careless

D．serious

14.

A．opened

B．rewrote

C．concluded

D．attached

15.

A．theory

B．truth

C．humanity

D．principle

10 . Respect is one of the most important qualities in your relationship with anyone.     1     Having respect for yourself is vital in maintaining a positive self-image by allowing yourself to feel confident in who you are.

Self-respect is about having the courage to stand up for yourself when you are being treated in a manner that is less than what you deserve. It is about knowing your worth and having the ability to adjust your life.     2     If you have respect for yourself, you will naturally demand respect from others.

Self-respect is about being the kind of person that you are proud of and the kind of person that pleases the people you care about. If you reflect on your life and the things you have done and feel a strong sense of dignity, you are likely to possess a great deal of self-respect.     3     If you are not proud of who you are or what you've done in your life, then you could be letting yourself down or compromising (妥协) your values.

Ultimately, if you are confident in yourself and proud of who you are, you are respecting yourself by being the person you wish to show the world.     4     And then most people will treat you well in return. Have enough respect for others and never treat people poorly. Have enough respect for yourself and know that you deserve to be surrounded by good people. Self-respect is the basis of a good relationship with yourself and eventually others.     5    

A．For example, you can remove people from your life if they are treating you poorly.

B．So it is very important to build a strong basis capable of facing anything.

C．Self-respect is about having a sense of humor about yourself.

D．But there is no exception when it comes to your relationship with yourself.

E．Treat others with the same respect you are giving to yourself.

F．If you respect yourself enough, you will get respect from the people who care about you.

G．The ability to have pride in yourself is the most important aspect of self-respect.