1 . Over the years, thanks to my life’s obstacles, I understood the meaning of faith and the strong will to survive. It was Hurricane Ike that made me fully____ the beauty of our strength and a human’s   ____ to recover.
Mom had a two-week ____ in summer. While we enjoyed our holiday in Southeast Texas, we didn’t realize the fact that Ike ___ cause months and likely years of “labor”. By September 7^th, the “eyes of Texas” were watching Hurricane Ike more ____, making the typical mad rush for last-minute hurricane ____. Two days later, both oil and ice were in ____ demand.
In the early hours of September 11^th, some neighbors were planning to ____the storm in their homes, ____ others were making final preparations to get away. At first, we decided to stay. But that afternoon, the Houston-Galveston area would be on the more ____ side of the storm. Mom and I packed some of our most ____ belongings in the car and ____ the East Texas town of Lufkin.
As Ike pushed farther inland, we ____power in Lufkin. On Sunday, our next-door neighbor told us via cell phone that our ____ had remained well. Our hopes could not have been ____. But a few hours later, the neighbors reported that our brick chimney had ____, and it was sitting on our living room, ____ a hole in the roof between two skylights (天窗).
We wouldn’t be allowed to return home ____ September 17^th. I climbed upstairs, and looked toward the hole in the roof which showed a beautiful blue sky. Without hesitation, I shouted, “Wow! A third skylight!” My neighbors could not believe I was making jokes ____ crying, but ____ is always good medicine. It was with that joke that I knew, given time, everything would be okay.1.

A．observe

B．appreciate

C．explore

D．improve

2.

A．intention

B．distribution

C．motivation

D．affection

3.

A．vacation

B．journey

C．meeting

D．schedule

4.

A．must

B．might

C．should

D．would

5.

A．closely

B．constantly

C．warningly

D．differently

6.

A．adventure

B．equipment

C．supplies

D．reports

7.

A．basic

B．high

C．pure

D．neat

8.

A．get through

B．put away

C．test out

D．suffer from

9.

A．since

B．when

C．until

D．while

10.

A．dangerous

B．abundant

C．peaceful

D．awesome

11.

A．available

B．concrete

C．priceless

D．valuable

12.

A．set out

B．headed for

C．settled down

D．watched out

13.

A．provided

B．reduced

C．produced

D．lost

14.

A．garden

B．house

C．pool

D．yard

15.

A．clearer

B．wilder

C．lower

D．higher

16.

A．passed

B．stood

C．gone

D．followed

17.

A．leaving

B．digging

C．filling

D．kicking

18.

A．by

B．before

C．until

D．after

19.

A．in spite of

B．instead of

C．apart from

D．in terms of

20.

A．faith

B．will

C．strength

D．laughter

2 . Perhaps you think you could easily add to your happiness with more money. Strange as it may seem, if you're unsatisfied, the issue is not a lack of means to meet your desires but a lack of desires — not that you cannot satisfy your tastes but that you don't have enough tastes.
       Real riches consist of well-developed and hearty capacities (能力) to enjoy life. Most people are already swamped (淹没) with things. They eat, wear, go and talk too much. They live in too big a house with too many rooms, yet their house of life is a hut.
     Your house of life ought to be a mansion (豪宅) , a royal palace. Every new taste, every additional interest, every fresh enthusiasm adds a room. Here are several rooms your house of life should have.
       Art should be a desire for you to develop simply because the world is full of beautiful things. If you only understood how to enjoy them and feed your spirit on them, they would make you as happy as to find plenty of hamburgers and eggs when you're hungry.
       Literature, classic literature, is a beautiful, richly furnished room where you might find many an hour of rest and refreshment. To gain that love would go toward making you a rich person, for a rich person is not someone who has a library but who likes a library.
       Music like Mozart's and Bach's shouldn't be absent. Real riches are of the spirit. And when you've brought that spirit up to where classical music feeds it and makes you a little drunk, you have increased your thrills and bettered them. And life is a matter of thrills.
     Sports, without which you remain poor, mean a lot in life. No matter who you are, you would be more human, and your house of life would be better supported against the bad days, if you could, and did, played a bit.
     Whatever rooms you might add to your house of life, the secret of enjoying life is to keep adding.
1. The author intends to tell us that____________.

A．true happiness lies in achieving wealth by fair means

B．big houses are people's most valued possessions

C．big houses can in a sense bring richness of life

D．true happiness comes from spiritual riches

2. The underlined sentence in the second paragraph probably implies that______.

A．however materially rich, they never seem to be satisfied

B．however materially rich, they remain spiritually poor

C．though their house is big, they prefer a simple life

D．though their house is big, it seems to be a cage

3. It can be learned from the passage that __________.

A．more money brings more happiness

B．art is needed to make your house beautiful

C．literature can enrich your spiritual life

D．sports contribute mainly to your physical fitness

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．House of Life	B．Secret of Wealth
C．Rest and Refreshment	D．Interest and Enthusiasm

3 . I used to believe in the American Dream, which meant a job, a mortgage(按揭), credit cards, success. I wanted it and worked toward it like everyone else, all of us_________chasing the same thing.

One year, through a series of unhappy events, it all fell _______. I found myself homeless and alone. I had my truck and $56. I_______the countryside for some place I could rent for the_______possible amount. I came upon a shabby house four miles up a winding mountain road _______ the Potomac River in West Virginia. It was _______, full of broken glass and rubbish. I found the owner, rented it, and _______  a corner to camp in.

The locals knew nothing about me, _______ slowly, they started teaching me the _______ of being a neighbor. They dropped off blankets, candles, and tools, and began __________ around to chat. They started to teach me a belief in a __________ American Dream—not the one of individual achievement but of __________.

What I had believed in, all those things I thought were__________ for a civilized life, were nonexistent in this place.__________ on the mountain, my most valuable possessions were my __________ with my neighbors.

Four years later, I moved back into  __________. I saw many people were having a really hard time, __________ their jobs and homes. I managed to rent a big enough house to __________ a handful of people. There are four of us now in the house, but over time I've had nine people come in and move on to other places. We'd all be in__________if we hadn't banded together.

The American Dream I believe in now is a shared one. It's not so much about what I can get for myself; it's about __________ we can all get by together.

1.

A．separately

B．equally

C．violently

D．naturally

2.

A．off

B．apart

C．over

D．out

3.

A．crossed

B．left

C．toured

D．searched

4.

A．fullest

B．largest

C．fairest

D．cheapest

5.

A．over

B．through

C．at

D．round

6.

A．occupied

B．emptied

C．abandoned

D．robbed

7.

A．turned

B．cleared

C．approached

D．cut

8.

A．for

B．although

C．otherwise

D．but

9.

A．benefit

B．art

C．nature

D．lesson

10.

A．swinging

B．looking

C．sticking

D．turning

11.

A．different

B．real

C．wild

D．remote

12.

A．kindness

B．happiness

C．friendliness

D．neighborliness

13.

A．unique

B．expensive

C．necessary

D．rare

14.

A．Along

B．Down

C．Deep

D．Up

15.

A．cooperation

B．satisfaction

C．relationships

D．appointments

16.

A．reality

B．town

C．society

D．life

17.

A．creating

B．losing

C．offering

D．quitting

18.

A．put in

B．turn in

C．get in

D．take in

19.

A．yards

B．camps

C．shelters

D．cottages

20.

A．how

B．what

C．whether

D．when

4 . 阅读短文，按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
My name is Clara. I still remember that chilly December day, sitting in science class. I’d finished a worksheet early and picked up a Time for Kids magazine. A piece of news caught my eye. NASA was holding an essay contest to name its Mars rover (火星探测器). Before I even knew anything else about it, a single word flooded my 11-year-old mind: Curiosity.
I couldn’t wait for the bell to ring so I could get started on my essay. That afternoon, I raced home, sat down at the computer, and typed until my fingers ached. “Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone’s mind…”
Five months later, my mom received a phone call, and immediately, a wide smile spread across her face.
On August 5, 2012, at 10:31 p.m., the rover named Curiosity touched down safely on the surface of Mars, and I was honored to have a front-row seat in NASA.
Curiosity is such an important part of who I am. I have always been fascinated by the stars, the planets, the sky and the universe. I remember as a little girl, my grandmother and I would sit together in the backyard for hours. She’d tell me stories and point out the stars. Grandma lived in China, thousands of miles away from my home in Kansas, but the stars kept us together even when we were apart. They were always there, yet there was so much I didn’t know about them. That’s what I love so much about space.
People often ask me why we go to faraway places like Mars. My answer is simple because we’re curious. We human beings do not just hole up in one place. We are constantly wondering and trying to find out what’s over the hill and beyond the horizon.
1. How did Clara get the news about the essay contest? (no more than 10 words)
2. Why did Clara have a front-row seat in NASA? (no more than 10 words)
3. What does Clara remember about the time spent with Grandma? (no more than 15 words)
4. What does the underlined phrase “hole up” mean? (1 word)
5. In your opinion, why is curiosity important? (no more than 20 words)

5 . Long, long ago, there was a small village. This village had a (an) _______ tradition. At the beginning of every year, any boy who had reached the age of majority (成年) was given land and money to build a home. The boy had to _______ his home before winter. If his home failed to endure (忍耐) the cold weather in winter, the villagers could not _______   him in any way.

One _______, Paul and Marc reached their majority. They _______ their land and money and decided to search nearby villages for ideas on building their homes. In each village, they found the nicest _______ and talked to the owners. Each owner gladly offered _______.

After Marc saw several homes, he _______ the best ideas and went back to his own land. Paul, _______, continued collecting more ideas. Soon he had so many great ideas that he began to __________ some of them. But he always believed he could find even better ideas in the next village.

Marc began building his home. He had several false starts, __________ his home gradually rose from his land. By fall, Marc had finished his home. It wasn’t perfect, but it was strong and he could __________ it later. Paul enjoyed all the beautiful homes and __________ with home owners. The first snow came and Paul, realizing he was running out of time, __________ back to his land. He built the best home he could in the time he had, but it was __________. The first winter storm destroyed his home and he froze to __________. The villagers mourned (哀悼) for him.

Marc __________ the winter. Each year, Marc searched for other good ideas he could use to make his own home look better. He became a leader in the village, __________ a family, and lived a happy, content life.

We all build and improve our own mental homes. It’s __________ and fun for us to search for ideas from other mental home owners, but we only improve our own mental home if we actually __________ the best ideas.

1.

A．strange

B．hopeful

C．good

D．reasonable

2.

A．find

B．run

C．complete

D．buy

3.

A．help

B．encourage

C．scold

D．persuade

4.

A．winter

B．summer

C．autumn

D．spring

5.

A．exchanged

B．received

C．recognized

D．won

6.

A．girls

B．jobs

C．houses

D．presents

7.

A．rooms

B．drinks

C．attention

D．advice

8.

A．expected

B．gathered

C．created

D．understood

9.

A．similarly

B．finally

C．however

D．therefore

10.

A．forget

B．believe

C．replace

D．doubt

11.

A．because

B．although

C．but

D．so

12.

A．repair

B．rebuild

C．sell

D．improve

13.

A．conversations

B．achievements

C．struggles

D．arguments

14.

A．drove

B．rushed

C．flew

D．moved

15.

A．weak

B．funny

C．small

D．amazing

16.

A．blindness

B．death

C．sadness

D．disease

17.

A．experienced

B．hated

C．survived

D．spent

18.

A．brought

B．earned

C．contacted

D．raised

19.

A．slow

B．easy

C．dangerous

D．special

20.

A．realize

B．bring

C．collect

D．apply

6 . When you make a mistake, big or small, cherish it like it’s the most precious thing in the world. Because in some ways, it is.
Most of us feel bad when we make mistakes, beat ourselves up about it, feel like failures, get mad at ourselves.
And that’s only natural: most of us have been taught from a young age that mistakes are bad, that we should try to avoid mistakes. We’ve been scolded when we make mistakes—at home, school and work. Maybe not always, but probably enough times to make feeling bad about mistakes an unconscious reaction.
Yet without mistakes, we could not learn or grow. If you think about it that way, mistakes should be cherished and celebrated for being one of the most amazing things in the world: they make learning possible; they make growth and improvement possible.
By trial and error—trying things, making mistakes, and learning from those mistakes—we have figured out how to make electric light, to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, to fly.
Mistakes make walking possible for the smallest toddler, make speech possible, make works of genius possible.
Think about how we learn: we don’t just consume information about something and instantly know it or know how to do it. You don’t just read about painting, or writing, or computer programming, or baking, or playing the piano, and know how to do them right away. Instead, you get information about something, from reading or from another person or from observing, then you make mistakes and repeat, making mistakes, learning from those mistakes, until you’ve pretty much learned how to do something. That’s how we learn as babies and toddlers, and how we learn as adults. Mistakes are how we learn to do something new—because if you succeed at something, it’s probably something you already knew how to do. You haven’t really grown much from that success—at most it’s the last step on your journey, not the whole journey. Most of the journey was made up of mistakes, if it’s a good journey.
So if you value learning, if you value growing and improving, then you should value mistakes. They are amazing things that make a world of brilliance possible.
1. Why do most of us feel bad about making mistakes?

A．Because mistakes make us suffer a lot.

B．Because it’s a natural part in our life.

C．Because we’ve been taught so from a young age.

D．Because mistakes have ruined many people’s careers.

2. According to the passage, what is the right attitude to mistakes?

A．We should try to avoid making mistakes.

B．We should owe great inventions mainly to mistakes.

C．We should treat mistakes as good chances to learn.

D．We should make feeling bad about mistakes an unconscious reaction.

3. The underlined word “toddler” in Paragraph 6 probably means         .

A．a small child learning to walk

B．a kindergarten child learning to draw

C．a primary pupil learning to read

D．a school teenager learning to write

4. We can learn from the passage that         .

A．most of us can really grow from success

B．growing and improving are based on mistakes

C．we learn to make mistakes by trial and error

D．we read about something and know how to do it right away

7 . One of my neighbors used to have a beautiful tree in her front yard. Her dad had planted it for her when it was nothing more than a twig(树枝) and several years later it started to shoot towards the sky with amazing speed. Soon it blessed her with cooling shade in the summer and glorious, golden leaves in the fall.

When the two-day snowstorm struck our town, heavy snow fell on the tree’s branches that were still full of leaves. The weight split that lovely tree down the middle. It was so sad seeing half of it laying on the ground after the storm. When I talked to my neighbor later, she said that the damage had been too much and that the entire tree would have to be cut down. Thankfully she had saved a few saplings(树苗) from it that she hoped to replant in the future.

Still, it was a shock to drive by her house the other day and see nothing but a stump in her front yard. I missed that tree. I missed its beauty, its leaves shinning in the afternoon sun. I missed seeing its limbs reach towards the heavens. I thought that the stump would be a sad reminder of its loss for a long time to come. My wonderful neighbor, though, had another plan. When I drove by her home today I saw a tiny bird feeder sitting on that stump and a colorful songbird having its dinner. It was such an affirmation of life. It was such a joy to see. I could feel my heart smile.

Life by its very nature is a mixed bag. It hands us beauty and tragedy, love and loss, pleasure and pain. What we do with it, however, is up to us. We can let it split us in two, or we can use even its hardest times to make our souls stronger and our hearts more loving. We can spend it complaining or we can use it to help others.

1. We know from the first paragraph that ________.

A．the tree grew very slowly

B．the tree was so strong that it could bear any weight

C．the tree showed its beauty and benefits

D．the author’s neighbor was good at planting trees

2. The author’s neighbor left a stump in her front yard to use it as ________.

A．a good reminder	B．a place to feed birds
C．a seat after dinner	D．a beautiful sculpture

3. What does the author mainly want to show in the passage?

A．Life is determined by our attitude towards it.

B．Life consists of pain and suffering.

C．Life has beauty and tragedy.

D．Life should be pleasant rather than painful.