1 . My First Marathon（马拉松）

A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks, leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead.

I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my first P.E. class, the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball. I didn’t do either well. He later informed me that I was ＂not athletic＂.

The idea that I was ＂not athletic＂ stuck with me for years. When I started running in my 30s, I realized running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind. A test of wills!

The night before my marathon, I dreamt that I couldn’t even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.

Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces(鞋带) became untied. So I stopped to readjust. Not the start I wanted!

At mile 3, I passed a sign: ＂GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!＂

By mile 17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Despite the pain, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.

By mile 21, I was starving!

As I approached mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a.m. or questioned my expenses on running.

I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.

Determined to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels(世俗标签), I can now call myself a ＂marathon winner＂.

1. A month before the marathon, the author ____________.

A．was well trained	B．felt scared
C．made up his mind to run	D．lost hope

2. Why did the author mention the P.E. class in his 7th year?

A．To acknowledge the support of his teacher.

B．To amuse the readers with a funny story.

C．To show he was not talented in sports.

D．To share a precious memory.

3. How was the author’s first marathon?

A．He made it.	B．He quit halfway.
C．He got the first prize.	D．He walked to the end.

4. What does the story mainly tell us?

A．A man owes his success to his family support.

B．A winner is one with a great effort of will.

C．Failure is the mother of success.

D．One is never too old to learn.

2 . Take an Option

Jerry was a natural motivator. He was always in a good mood and always had something ________ to say, which really made me curious. One day I went up to ask him how he did that. “Well, life is all about ________. It’s your option how you live your life,” Jerry replied.

Soon I moved to another city. Several months later, I heard that Jerry was seriously injured in the chest while skiing. ________, he was found quickly and rushed to the hospital. After 8 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was ________ from the hospital.

Later, when we met again, I asked Jerry what had ________ his mind during the accident. “As I lay in the snow, I knew I had two options: One was to live, the other was to die. I chose to live,” Jerry said. “The paramedics (急救人员) were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they ________ me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors, I got really ________. In their eyes, I read, ‘He’s a dead man.’ I knew I needed to take action. I told them, ‘Operate on me as if I’m alive, not dead.’ You see, I just tried to ________ their confidence.” Finally Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing ________ to live.

Jerry has taught me a lot. I learn from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Your ________, after all, is everything.

1.

A．regular

B．familiar

C．positive

D．typical

2.

A．choices

B．trends

C．relations

D．secrets

3.

A．Normally

B．Obviously

C．Hopefully

D．Luckily

4.

A．preserved

B．released

C．distinguished

D．abandoned

5.

A．gone through

B．put up

C．turned in

D．called for

6.

A．forced

B．followed

C．wheeled

D．recommended

7.

A．bored

B．frightened

C．confused

D．embarrassed

8.

A．express

B．share

C．gain

D．inspire

9.

A．talent

B．achievement

C．desire

D．evidence

10.

A．attitude

B．standard

C．ability

D．control

3 . You are given many opportunities in life to choose to be a victim or creator. When you choose to be a victim, the world is a cold and difficult place.“They” did things to you which caused all of your pain and suffering.“They” are wrong and bad, and life is terrible as long as “they” are around.Or you may blame yourself for all your problems, thus internalizing(内化)your victimization.The truth is, your life is likely to stay that way as long as you feel a need to blame yourself or others.

Those who choose to be creators look at life quite differently.They know there are individuals who might like to control their lives, but they don't let this get in the way.They know they have their weaknesses, yet they don't blame themselves when they fail.Whatever happens, they have choice in the matter.They believe their dance with each sacred(神圣的)moment of life is a gift and that storms are a natural part of life which can bring the rain needed for emotional and spiritual growth.

Victims and creators live in the same physical world and deal with many of the same physical realities, yet their experience of life is worlds apart.Victims relish(沉溺)in anger, guilt, and other emotions that cause others--and even themselves---to feel like victims, too.Creators consciously choose love, inspiration, and other qualities which inspire not only themselves, but al1around them.Both victims and creators always have choice to determine the direction of their lives.

In reality, all of us play the victim or the creator at various points in our lives.One person, on losing a job or a special relationship, may feel as if it is the end of the world and sink into terrible suffering for months, years, or even a lifetime.Another with the same experience may choose to first experience the grief, then accept the loss and soon move on to be a powerful creative force in his life.

In every moment and every circumstance, you can choose to have fuller, richer life by setting a clear intention to transform the victim within, and by inviting into your life the powerful creator that you are.

1. What does the word “they” in Paragraph 1 probably refer to?

A．People and things around you.	B．Opportunities and problems.
C．Creators and their choices.	D．Victims and their sufferings.

2. According to Paragraph 2, creators__________.

A．seem willing to experience failures in life	B．possess the ability to predict future life
C．handle ups and downs of life wisely	D．have potential to create something new

3. What is the author's purpose in writing this passage?

A．To define victims and creators.

B．To evaluate victims against creators.

C．To explain the relationship between victims and creators.

D．To suggest the transformation from victims to creators.

4. The examples mentioned in Paragraph 4 show that_________.

A．strong attachment to sufferings in life pulls people into victims.

B．people need family support to deal with challengers in life.

C．it takes creators quite a long time to get rid of their pains.

D．one's experiences determine his attitude toward life.

4 . As a teenager, I was pretty lazy when it came to doing things for my family. I found myself regularly resisting the urge to help out at home with even the simplest things.

Every Wednesday afternoon, for example, my mother drove me to another town for a piano lesson. During my two-hour lesson, she’d______ to the nearby store and buy a week’s worth of groceries. Given the fact that my mom had driven me twelve miles there, twelve miles back, ______   for my lesson, and bought me a candy bar, you’d think I’d be very ______ to help her bring the groceries into the house. But I wasn’t. I generally just brought in an armload and left the______ for Mom as I ran to my room, shut the door, and started studying.

Don’t get me wrong: even back in my room, I felt______about not helping my mother more. Deep inside, I wanted to change my way. But I also realized that______I took on more responsibility, my parents would start _____ more of me. At age fifteen, I sensed that this one small change would mark something much bigger: my personal change from a cared-for, spoiled child to a more ______, caring and giving young man.

I’ll never forget the Wednesday when I made a decision to jump in and see what happened. Returning home from the lesson, I disappeared into my room, as usual. But once inside, I felt that deep and burning______. Throwing my school books on the bed, I suddenly opened my door and headed back to the garage to help my mother.

How happy I felt that day!

The neat thing was, the more I helped out, the better I felt about myself and my place in my family. As Mom and Dad realized they could _______ on me more, our trips became far less stressful, too. In short, it was a win-win situation for everyone.

Sometimes the little things we put off doing the longest turn out to be the simplest things to complete. And feeling happy beats feeling guilty any day.

1.

A．rush

B．walk

C．go

D．drive

2.

A．paid

B．fought

C．applied

D．planned

3.

A．nervous

B．grateful

C．confident

D．unwilling

4.

A．one

B．other

C．next

D．rest

5.

A．excited

B．curious

C．guilty

D．doubtful

6.

A．since

B．though

C．unless

D．once

7.

A．warning

B．reminding

C．expecting

D．informing

8.

A．energetic

B．ambitious

C．outgoing

D．responsible

9.

A．anger

B．shame

C．delight

D．pleasure

10.

A．live

B．press

C．focus

D．count

5 . I learned how to accept life as it is from my father. ________ , he did not teach me acceptance when he was strong and healthy, but rather when he was weak and ill.

My father was ________ a strong man who loved being active, but a terrible illness took all that away. Now he can no longer walk, and he must sit quietly in a chair all day. Even talking is difficult. One night, I went to visit him with my sisters. We started talking about life, and I told them about one of my ________. I said that we must very often give things up as we grow — our youth, our beauty, our friends — but it always________ that after we give something up, we gain something new in its place. Then suddenly my father ________ up. He said, “But, Peter, I gave up ________! What did I gain?” I thought and thought, but I couldn’t think of anything to say. Surprisingly, he answered his own question: “I ________ the love of my family,” I looked at my sisters and saw tears in their eyes, along with hope and thankfulness.

I was also touched by his words. After that, when I began to feel irritated (愤怒的) at someone, I would remember his words and become ________. If he could replace his great pain with a feeling of love for others, then I should be able to give up my small irritations. In this way, I learned the power of acceptance from my father.

Sometimes I ________ what other things I could have learned from him if I had listened more carefully when I was a boy. For now, though, I am grateful for this one ________.

1.

A．Afterwards

B．Therefore

C．However

D．Meanwhile

2.

A．already

B．still

C．only

D．once

3.

A．decisions

B．experiences

C．ambitions

D．beliefs

4.

A．suggests

B．promises

C．seems

D．requires

5.

A．spoke

B．turned

C．summed

D．opened

6.

A．something

B．anything

C．nothing

D．everything

7.

A．had

B．accepted

C．gained

D．enjoyed

8.

A．quiet

B．calm

C．relaxed

D．happy

9.

A．doubt

B．wonder

C．know

D．guess

10.

A．award

B．gift

C．lesson

D．word

6 . One Mother to Another

On Wednesday evening, our daughter, who was at a boarding school over 200 kilometers away, told us that she had lost her phone when she took part in an activity off campus. We realized that we had little chance of finding it.

The next morning, my phone beeped (哔哔响) loudly. A kind voice announced that she had something that belonged to my daughter. I _______ that I lived a three-hour drive away, and told her I would ask a friend to fetch the phone. My daughter had written my number on the inside of her phone’s case — good thinking!

After contacting the people I know who lived near the school, I was out of _______ — no one could go and _______ the phone, not surprisingly as it was the working day and everyone was busy. I decided to ask the lady to post the phone to my daughter. But when I sent her a text to ask if this would be OK, she replied, “We will _______ it and we’re going to drive down to the boarding school tonight.” To my _______, this wonderful couple, who had already spent a busy day at work, was making a round trip on the night, _______ for returning a phone to a complete stranger. How touching it was!

I gave them directions and they _______ the phone into the hands of my daughter at her boarding house. The only word of an explanation was, “I’ve got children of my own, and I know how a mother _______.”

We had thought that the chance of getting back the phone was _______, but we got it back in such a short time. It was a wonderful reminder of the good in the world and how the actions of one person can __________ the world to another.

1.

A．suggested

B．reported

C．explained

D．argued

2.

A．date

B．luck

C．work

D．control

3.

A．pick up

B．carry out

C．hand in

D．give away

4.

A．find

B．show

C．miss

D．take

5.

A．regret

B．surprise

C．amusement

D．disappointment

6.

A．especially

B．certainly

C．definitely

D．probably

7.

A．conducted

B．arranged

C．delivered

D．identified

8.

A．doubts

B．interests

C．predicts

D．worries

9.

A．free

B．slim

C．hard

D．fair

10.

A．tell

B．face

C．mean

D．join

7 . After years of observing human nature, I have decided that two qualities make the difference between men of great achievement and men of average performance: curiosity and discontent. I have never known an outstanding man who lacked either. And I have never known an average man who had both. The two belong together.

Together, these deep human urges (驱策力) count for much more than ambition. Galileo was not merely ambitious when he dropped objects of varying weights from the Leaning Tower at Pisa and timed their fall to the ground. Like Galileo, all the great names in history were curious and asked in discontent, "Why? Why? Why? "

Fortunately, curiosity and discontent don't have to be learned. We are born with them and need only recapture them.

＂The great man, "said Mencius (孟子)，is he who does not lose his child's heart. "Yet most of us do lose it. We stop asking questions. We stop challenging custom. We just follow the crowd.   And the crowd desires only the calm and restful average. It encourages us to occupy our own little corner, to avoid foolish leaps into the dark, to be satisfied.

Most of us meet new people, and new ideas, with hesitation. But once having met and liked them, we think how terrible it would have been, had we missed the chance. We will probably have to force ourselves to waken our curiosity and discontent and keep them awake.

How should you start so as not to become discouraged? I think of one friend who couldn't arrange flowers to satisfy herself. She was curious about how the experts did it. Now she is one of the experts, writing books on flower arrangement.

One way to begin is to answer your own excuses. You haven't any special ability? Most people don't; there are only a few geniuses. You haven't any time? That's good, because it's always the people with no time who get things done. Harriet Stowe, mother of six, wrote parts of Uncle Tom's Cabin while cooking. You're too old? Remember that Thomas Costain was 57 when he published his first novel, and that Grandma Moses showed her first pictures when she was 78.

However you start, remember there is no better time to start than right now, for you'll never be more alive than you are at this moment.

1. In writing Paragraph 1, the author aims to

A．propose a definition

B．make a comparison

C．reach a conclusion

D．present an argument

2. What does the example of Galileo tell us?

A．Trial and error leads to the finding of truth.

B．Scientists tend to be curious and ambitious.

C．Creativity results from challenging authority.

D．Greatness comes from a lasting desire to explore.

3. What can we learn from Paragraphs 6 and 7?

A．Gaining success helps you become an expert.

B．The genius tends to get things done creatively.

C．Lack of talent and time is no reason for taking no action.

D．You should remain modest when approaching perfection.

4. What could be the best title of the passage?

A．Curious Minds Never Feel Contented.

B．Reflections on Human Nature.

C．The keys to Achievement.

D．Never too Late to Learn.

8 . How Running Changed My Life

Running has truly changed my life, but I never understood running as a form of exercise.

During the first two weeks this year, my grandmother passed away and I started to_____my job because of office politics. My life felt stuck. So I decided to run. It was my natural_____. I just wanted to get away. I started running—by the time I came back, I felt tired and_____at the same time. I knew I was on to something.

Once in a   while,   I would   get   excited about   running.   However,   I always   picked   up running for the____ reasons. I used running as a reason to buy new fashionable sports clothes. Or I decided to run to lose weight or become healthier. My running never lasted longer than 2–3 weeks. I would lose interest in running. I just didn’t _____ it. Why would anyone go through the ________   of running? Especially when the weather is bad. Who does that? I’d rather go to the gym with my friends, talk, and pick up some weights.

But I found that pain is __________   the reason I started to run again. When my life was not what I wanted it to be, I was upset. I decided to run when I arrived home one day after work. It was a cold January day, and I only ran for 3 miles in a time that I am too_______ to mention.   But   my time is not what’s important—during that run I     finally got it.

My stamina(毅力、耐力) was nearly the same as my life at the time—it was bad, but I knew it would be better if I ________ running.   If I would   fight against the wind, rain, cold, and my   thoughts   of _________, I would     eventually improve my stamina and be a better runner.

My life has improved at the same rate that my running pace and stamina has improved. But running has the most___ on my productivity, mood, creativity, and overall livelihood.

Every time life became difficult I would give up. Now, when life is difficult, my response is _______—I love the pain and struggle instead of shying away from it. My life is moving forward and I’m doing well in my job again. I owe this to running.

And the best thing about running is that it is easy to start. You just go. You decide when, where, and how fast.

1.

A．accept

B．change

C．dislike

D．challenge

2.

A．personality

B．feature

C．response

D．ability

3.

A．energized

B．exhausted

C．awkward

D．depressed

4.

A．opposite

B．obvious

C．particular

D．wrong

5.

A．treasure

B．understand

C．realize

D．achieve

6.

A．pain

B．result

C．benefit

D．effect

7.

A．normally

B．thankfully

C．exactly

D．regularly

8.

A．ashamed

B．surprised

C．happy

D．eager

9.

A．quit

B．started

C．risked

D．kept

10.

A．turning up

B．giving up

C．going up

D．standing up

11.

A．focus

B．impact

C．impression

D．pressure

12.

A．natural

B．normal

C．direct

D．different

10 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写 1 个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

Halfway through his lecture, Eric gave each person a balloon and asked everyone to write their name on it. Later all the balloons were collected. He then asked them to find the balloons that they had their names written     1     within five minutes. Everyone was pushing and bumping into each other. It was chaos. At the end of the five minutes, no one could find their own balloon. Now they were asked to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person     2     name was on it. Within two minutes everyone got his own balloon. Psychologists argue our happiness sometimes     3     (lie) in the happiness of others. You will get your own by giving them theirs.