1 . When I first heard from my doctor that I was allergic to hay (干草), it weighed pretty heavily on my mind.

I grew up _________ around big open fields and playing with the animals on my friend’s farm. There were no limits set on me as a child.

After I _________ about my allergy, I felt that a kind of _________ had been placed on me. I could never get a rabbit or a pig, since hay is the main component of their diets. I remember that _________ feeling in my stomach when I realized I was so seriously allergic to something that I’d always need to keep the pill within _________.

Disappointment at this _________ was the first feeling that sunk in. With time, _________, I began to see my allergies as a gift.

I was the kid that tried never to _________. I was okay with enduring a six-hour drive in a(n) _________ car with my knees to my chest. I was okay with eating burnt or under cooked food. But this allergy finally let me feel __________ saying “no”. I finally felt free to refuse to go places or do things where my allergies would act up. I didn’t have to apologize for or explain my __________ at the smell of grass clippings. I didn’t have to __________ myself for not wanting to sit on the grass with my friends on summer days while I got bitten.

Yes, my hay allergy __________ some activities, but it’s also given me a broader appreciation for experiences I actually like and want more of. I’m __________ to be getting a dog instead of a bunny. Let’s be honest, a bunny brings you more trouble.

I ought to thank this allergy for giving me the space to be __________.

1.

A．meeting

B．running

C．looking

D．shopping

2.

A．asked

B．got

C．learned

D．cared

3.

A．misfortune

B．mistake

C．disbelief

D．dishonesty

4.

A．confused

B．excited

C．funny

D．sinking

5.

A．reach

B．control

C．space

D．memory

6.

A．risk

B．secret

C．reason

D．burden

7.

A．therefore

B．again

C．however

D．besides

8.

A．cry

B．complain

C．notice

D．care

9.

A．dirty

B．small

C．cheap

D．ugly

10.

A．comfortable

B．proud

C．awkward

D．ashamed

11.

A．sorrow

B．eagerness

C．sickness

D．satisfaction

12.

A．forgive

B．excuse

C．push

D．dress

13.

A．ignores

B．offers

C．covers

D．limits

14.

A．powerful

B．helpful

C．grateful

D．meaningful

15.

A．different

B．free

C．gifted

D．brave

2 . There's an old saying to the effect that if something can go _______, it probably will. Recently my wife and I took a trip, by ship, to Hawaii. It was a nice trip and we enjoyed it but the cabin we were in had problems.

One day, I awoke in the small hours of the morning and_______my way across the dark cabin to the washroom. On the way I stepped _______ a puddle （污水坑）on the carpet. Then I found that there was a slow but _______ drip of water coming from the ceiling. So I called the ship's office. Someone came, addressed the problem, pronounced it _______ and went away. That night the ceiling was dripping again. I called and someone came. This time they _______the ceiling apart and spent some time with tools searching inside. They pronounced the problem solved and went away. The ceiling dripped. We put a towel on the floor to catch the _______.

Though the drip had_______ the next day, some black and sticky things came out from the main drain （排水管）in the ceiling. Someone came and _______ the ceiling.

The following day there was a note on our desk expressing _______ for the problems we had been having. The note was _______ down by a bottle of nice wine. We were very _______ to accept the peace offering and just owed the experience to bad _______.

In general, cruising on large ships is a wonderful experience and, in the main, it was a great trip. I suspect, _____,that if all this had happened to someone on their first cruise, they would have sworn never to go to sea again. Although I hope I don't end up like this on our next trip, don't let the_________things beat you down.

1.

A．smooth

B．fast

C．wrong

D．easy

2.

A．made

B．discovered

C．pushed

D．lost

3.

A．on

B．into

C．up

D．around

4.

A．rapid

B．occasional

C．limited

D．steady

5.

A．created

B．fixed

C．assessed

D．found

6.

A．fell

B．kicked

C．tore

D．told

7.

A．water

B．tool

C．ceiling

D．carpet

8.

A．continued

B．stopped

C．increased

D．appeared

9.

A．cleaned up

B．moved away

C．pulled down

D．put out

10.

A．thanks

B．doubts

C．fears

D．apologies

11.

A．put

B．weighed

C．settled

D．brought

12.

A．fortunate

B．hesitant

C．unwilling

D．content

13.

A．luck

B．mood

C．manners

D．habits

14.

A．moreover

B．otherwise

C．however

D．therefore

15.

A．exciting

B．great

C．small

D．normal

3 . A former student of mine is now a teacher at my high school. She walked by me in the _______ this afternoon and said with a smile, “Ms. Harris, I know you love our word of the week — integrity. I heard it on the announcements this morning and I _______ thought of you.” I replied, “Thank you, Pharen; that _______ me.” She went on to say, “I always _______ you talking to me about integrity and _______ and how important they were.” I _______ her again and she continued on down the hallway.

As I reflect on this _______, it brings a smile to my face. Of the many _______ that she could associate with me, the fact that she associated the word “integrity” is important _______ of my influence as an educator. I believe that she connected the idea of honesty and moral character with me ________ the example I have set with my life.

It calls to mind a popular quote — “Let us not grow tired in doing ________, for at the right time we will reap (得到) a harvest, if we do not give up.” I am ________ for a reminder today — when it seems that no one is ________ it — that the important values are being caught and ________ if I just keep “doing the right thing”. As a teacher, I know in ________ you cannot see the fruit of a day’s work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.

1.

A．hall

B．office

C．gallery

D．classroom

2.

A．immediately

B．casually

C．rarely

D．potentially

3.

A．upsets

B．pleases

C．puzzles

D．warns

4.

A．catch

B．forget

C．keep

D．remember

5.

A．participation

B．fortune

C．character

D．prejudice

6.

A．comforted

B．thanked

C．believed

D．encountered

7.

A．interaction

B．negotiation

C．decision

D．cooperation

8.

A．colors

B．interests

C．words

D．tastes

9.

A．confusion

B．proof

C．exercise

D．wisdom

10.

A．instead of

B．because of

C．except for

D．regardless of

11.

A．little

B．nothing

C．wrong

D．good

12.

A．helpful

B．faithful

C．grateful

D．delightful

13.

A．facing

B．questioning

C．getting

D．stealing

14.

A．thrown away

B．called off

C．figured out

D．passed on

15.

A．teaching

B．science

C．economy

D．communication

4 . Society looks down on people who collect the wastes of others, but what they don’t realize is that they could get more money in one day than what they get in one week working at their daily job from selling other people’s unwanted goods.

I am no “make-money-quick guru” but I have made a couple thousand dollars from selling what others throw out to the garbage. As the saying goes: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

You don’t have to start a business. You could simply sell second-hand things people give away and profit from it. In my high school days, I had my first experience selling an old pre-loved Logitech keyboard to a buyer on Gumtree.com.au for $50. I remember how exciting it was for me to make money from something I no longer needed. I technically made a $50 profit in less than an hour.

How to make $1,000 with $0 in a day?

Go on platforms such as Facebook market or Gumtree and find things people are giving away for free in your local area, then sell them. I found an abundance of household items like cupboards, shelves, mirror cabinet, and chairs that sell very well. Don’t worry what people think of you, remember that you could get a few hundred for those.

Reinvest your money and buy something with a higher value that someone might be happy to get rid of, and sell that for a profit of $600, etc. Your action is not just about making money, but also seeing it as using the earth’s resources efficiently and not wasting them in the trash.

If there is one thing I learned from this practice, it is that: there is always someone out there who considers one man’s trash as treasure, no matter what the item is.

1. What may a “make-money-quick guru” do in paragraph 2?

A．A person who works in a company.

B．A person who throws unwanted things.

C．A person who teaches people how to make great profit.

D．A person who makes money by selling second-hand things.

2. How did the writer start his business?

A．By collecting others’ trash.	B．By selling his old things.
C．By buying valuable things.	D．By giving away useless things.

3. Why did the writer suggest others buy more valuable things?

A．To collect them for later use.	B．To sell them and get a higher profit.
C．To learn from the practice.	D．To get rid of the unwanted things.

4. Which of the following could be the best title for the text?

A．Sell Unwanted Things

B．Make Money in a New Business

C．Live an Environmentally Friendly Life

D．One Person’s Trash, Another Person’s Cash

5 . 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。续写的词数应为150左右。

The boys in the class talked about what their parents did for a living. Christian was proud of his father, who worked as a chief engineer in a construction company. Paul stood aside and said nothing. Then Christian asked him whom his father worked for. The boy replied that his father was a carpenter (木匠). Christian joked, saying that while his dad was designing bridges and houses, Paul’s dad was making chairs and tables. All the children laughed.

When Christian returned home, he wanted to tell his parents about it. He overheard (无意中听到) their conversation. His dad told his mom that Christian’s uncle had lost his job. Mom asked why Dad couldn’t take him to his company. “My company needs a design engineer, and Bill is a driver. Yes, I know that he is a skilled person in his field, but be can’t design projects. In a few months, a new project will start, we will need diver, and I will recommend him for sure.”

Christian decided that it wasn’t the right time to tell the joke and went to his room. A week later, Christian’s dad was picking him up from his baseball practice. They stopped for pizza and everyone was very happy. Dad and Christian were in the car when a large garbage (垃圾) tuck pulled up in front of them. A man got out of it, pulled out bags from the garbage cans of the pizza shop and loaded hem into the tuck. Christian’s dad sounded the car bell and waved his hand at the man. He smiled and waved his hand back. Christian recognized Uncle Bill, whom his parents had been talking about a few days ago. The garbage tuck left, and Christian asked his father why his uncle was driving a garbage truck. Dad explained that Uncle Bill’s sipping company had closed down. He was working as a garbage truck drive, but soon Dad would take him to his company, because good drivers were important in construction.

Christian told the story from school to his dad and asked him to stay away from Uncle Bill.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“I also used to wash dishes to feed myself,” his dad said.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6 . There are few creators whose legacy (遗产) is as far-reaching as Walt Disney. Disney transformed a simple cartoon mouse into a huge empire. Through the years, Disney also had his share of critics. But his view of criticism (批评) may be different than what you’d imagine.

Way back in 1975, the book The Story of Walt Disney shared one of my favorite quotes from the famous entertainer: “You may not realize it when it happens, but may be the best thing in the world for you.” There is a lot to be learned from that sentence. As you go through life, there will be no shortage of persons telling you what you need to improve. You could simply ignore them or you could do what Disney did: use that negative feedback to make you better.

Negative feedback is like a freshly mined (开采的) diamond. On the surface, you’ve got what would appear to most persons to be a dull, ugly rock. But to a trained eye, that ugly rock is extremely valuable. All it needs is a little cut and polish (抛光). Criticism is like an unpolished diamond: it is ugly. Here you are, trying your best, and someone comes along to tell you it’s not good enough. But much like a processional diamond cutter can take that unpolished rock and turn it into something beautiful, you can learn to get the benefits of criticism.

Think about it: smart as you are, there’s always room for improvement. Additionally, all of us have blind spots. Of course, some criticism will be completely wrong. But even in these cases, it’s valuable because it helps you to see your actions through another perspective (角度)，one you may not have considered.

Learning to benefit from such criticism takes emotional intelligence-the ability to make emotions work for you, instead of against you. The key is to change the way you process criticism and learn to turn negative feedback into something constructive. It never feels good to hear that you are wrong. When you do, take a page out of Walt’s book and remember: it is the ones who tell you the truth-even when it hurts-who will make you better.

1. What does the underlined part in paragraph 2 most probably mean?

A．A surprising result.	B．A discouraging event.
C．A positive comment.	D．A comforting action.

2. How is the third paragraph mainly developed?

A．By offering numbers.	B．By analyzing causes.
C．By comparison.	D．By describing a process.

3. Why is even wrong criticism meaningful?

A．It offers you a fresh perspective.

B．It leads you to rethink your blind spots.

C．It prepares you for future similar criticism.

D．It helps improve your emotional intelligence.

4. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Learn to see criticism in a different light.

B．Polish your skills of emotional intelligence.

C．Train yourself to ignore negative feedback.

D．Face criticism and set another goal.

5. What is the writer’s feeling towards Walt Disney?

A．Anger.	B．Embarrassment.
C．Fear.	D．Admiration.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

My friend Brett had just got a motorbike and a lot of other kids in my neighborhood knew how to ride. I also wanted to ride, but all the guys told me I couldn’t do    1     because I was a girl. I decided     2     (prove) them wrong, so Brett let me try his bike. It wasn't one minute     3     I fell off. He came over to see if I was okay, but then started laughing.

That night I told my dad the whole story about how I wanted to be as good as the boys. He asked    4     much I really wanted to learn and I told him I had wanted to ride for a year. A few days later my dad told me he     5     (find) a nice bike at a reasonable price. He brought it home. My dad spent four weeks teaching me everything    6     I needed to know about the bike and the basics of riding. No one    7     (true) believed I could learn to ride except my dad. Day after day he worked with me, and I began to make progress. It meant so much to me that he would take time     8     his busy schedule to help me fulfill this dream.

My dad taught me so much that will stay with me for the rest of my life,    9     (include) that I shouldn’t let others put me down. I also learned that I can do anything with enough     10    (determine) and practice. I would have never achieved my dream of learning how to ride a motorbike without my dad.

8 . Think about what kind of person you're attracted to. Physical appearance likely plays a strong part, of course, as do kindness, humor and other qualities. If you're like me, you're attracted to impressive people.     1     They have qualities I admire but lack myself. Because I assume people with certain qualities would be most interested in those who share them. I don't even consider the possibility of developing a relationship with them.

    2     If you're attracted to athletic people, for example, but don't regard yourself as fit or active, you may not think you stand a chance with the people you see working out at the gym. However, there are several mistakes with this way of thinking.

You shouldn't assume people are looking for someone who shares qualities they possess themselves.     3     They may really like to meet somebody from a completely different walk of life, other than the field of music.

The qualities you admire in other people may not be the same ones they identify（认同）in themselves. This applies to my example of impressive people.     4     While you may find their success, drive, and enthusiasm impressive, maybe they're looking for someone who knows how to step back and enjoy life.

And you are probably underselling your own positive qualities. You probably have qualities you may not find attractive but that some people will admire in you.

So it isn't worthwhile to worry about falling short of what you think other people want. All you can do is be yourself, show your best qualities, and see who responds to them. If there is one quality that never attracts anybody, it's doubt.     5    

A．I've been struggling with these same things myself.

B．Maybe it's a writer, musician, doctor, lawyer, or soldier.

C．They may not view “impressive” in the same way you do.

D．This problem goes far beyond my specific example, though.

E．A musician isn't necessarily interested only in other musicians.

F．It prevents you from finding out whether your attraction is shared.

G．You can never know which things they want to share with their partners.

9 . Growing up, I never wore makeup and I was always more afraid of the mirror than anything else. I hadn't thought makeup was meant for me, a disabled woman, until I saw Ulta's new advertisement:a huge full-color photo of a model in a wheelchair.

The world of fashion and beauty is rarely related to disabilities, and even though Hollywood has made steps toward greater inclusion and clothing brand Aerie has featured women with disabilities in their advertisements, seeing disabilities in the mainstream is definitely unusual. The reason why these things make headlines is that they're so rare.

I learned from a very young age that because of my disability, I would never be connected with beauty or charm. I'd spent so long feeling separated from so many parts of society, but Ulta is sending a powerful message with a single photo: It's time to challenge conventional beauty standards because beauty comes in all forms.

We all want to feel included. When it comes to disabilities, it is so important, especially for children and teens with disabilities. I was well into my 30s when I rolled into a makeup store for the first time. I had no idea what I was doing and felt like entering a new world without a map; I felt like I was out of place, as if I was peeking at a club without being invited. Imagine how my experience would have been different if I had seen a model in a wheelchair, smiling, as if to say, “Welcome. Yes, you belong!”

That message of inclusion was loud and clear for Maren Anderson, a 4-year-old girl who has a rare genetic disease and just started using a wheelchair. The moment she spotted the advertisement was caught on camera by her mom Carolyn Anderson, and quickly spread last month on Facebook. “It's just really saying that she feels included, and she feels like she identifies with that, and belongs here just like everybody else. So, thank you, Ulta,” said Carolyn Anderson.

1. What can be learned from paragraph 2?

A．There will be more products for the disabled.

B．Aerie is the author's favorite clothing brand.

C．Hollywood works with Ulta to help the disabled.

D．It's hard for the public to associate beauty with disabilities.

2. What does the author think of Ulta's new advertisement?

A．It creates a new trend in the fashion world.

B．It makes society offer more jobs to the disabled.

C．It helps make the disabled feel confident and involved.

D．It breaks the barrier between the disabled and the able-bodied.

3. How did the author feel when she first stepped into the makeup store?

A．Nervous and embarrassed.	B．Sad and lonely.
C．Excited and proud.	D．Lost and bored.

4. Why is Maren Anderson's photo mentioned in the last paragraph?

A．To expose the condition of the disabled.

B．To show the effect of Ulta's advertisement.

C．To emphasize the sense of belonging.

D．To explore the contemporary beauty standards.

10 . Why I Always Travel With a Paper Map in Hand

The first thing I do when I arrive in a foreign city is find a paper map. To me, it's the single most important task I have to accomplish upon arrival.

    1     I learn where I am in relation to the rest of the city, the names of neighborhoods and the major street. I figure out where the subway stations are, how I can get to the best walking routes.

Then I use that paper map to figure out which sights are closest to each other and how I can use my time most efficiently.     2     I note the neighborhoods I want to visit along the way.

No doubt you may wonder why I don5t just pull out my phone. I do own a smartphone with GPS.     3     It shows a specific destination and a precise route to get there. But it doesn’t put the journey into context, which I dislike. I always want to know where I am in relation to everything else.

My trusty map, on the other hand, is all about context. Ask me the nearest bridge, major market or landmark, and I'll be able to tell you in an instant. Besides, a paper map does not run out of battery.     4     It is easily replaceable.

For a traveler like myself, that paper map is like an entrance into another world. Staring at it transports me into a dreamlike state. I imagine all the places I'll go and the things I will do.     5    

A．It never has a poor connection.

B．But I don't have the habit of using GPS.

C．And all these makes me become a responsible tourist.

D．That map, you see, is my key to getting around the city.

E．However, I think my phone's GPS robs me of something.

F．And it enables me to begin planning how I'll make it happen.

G．I put dots where the bookstores, restaurants and museums are.