1 . The concept of work varies from person to person, so it can be pretty challenging to understand if our job requires us to live to work, or work to live. However, there is one thing that unites all of us — the value of life.

Simply, the term “work to live” means that you work in order to allow yourself to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, those that don’t involve your career. It means that as soon as you get home, you no longer need to think about work and you have the opportunity to focus on things that matter — like your family, friends, hobbies, and most importantly, yourself.

To “live to work”, means that you must obtain resources that will allow you to become a functional member of society and permit yourself the lifestyle you hope for. It can be understood as a life based around work and nothing else. However, it can also define a person who loves their job so much that there is no fine line between their professional and personal life.

So, is one of the approaches above better than the other? Let’s find it out.

I personally believe that moderation is essential in life. That neither of the phrases you see above is better than the other. Nobody wants to wake up and regret all of the time wasted just on work or on not doing anything at all. In this beautiful thing we call life, balance is everything.

While both “live to work” and “work to live” lifestyles can pose a threat to your overall well-being, the good news is that there is a middle ground, one that is much healthier. Balancing work and life can be the solution you need to get rid of the underlying negative feelings. It’s not going to be easy and may even take your time to get right, but I can assure you that it’s definitely going to be worth it.

Are you ready to find your balance? Let’s go!

1. What can a person living to work be?

A．A couch potato.

B．Workaholic.

C．Childish.

D．A sad person.

2. Which opinion does the author prefer?

A．Work first.

B．Live first.

C．Balance first.

D．Friendship first.

3. What does the underlined phrase “a middle ground” refer to?

A．Moderation.

B．Well-being.

C．Value of life.

D．Threat.

4. What will be discussed in the paragraph that follows?

A．Another kind of lifestyle.	B．Tips to balance life and work.
C．Reasons for living a balanced life.	D．Significance to balance work and life.

2 . 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。

During COVID-19 lockdown, my husband, Peter and I needed something     1     (brighten) up our day. Peter found some flower pots,     2     (hope) flowers would attract some birds.

At a flower shop, I saw lavender flowers (薰衣草花) matched beautifully with some yellow flowers. The saleswoman said,” Hummingbirds (蜂鸟) love those flowers.” I liked the idea of small     3     (visitor) flying around flowers, so we brought both flowers home and put them on     4     balcony.

Every day, we’d look out onto the balcony and enjoy the vivid     5     (arrange). The best part was the hummingbirds’ showing up. They brought joy that we     6     (great) needed. Being apart     7     family, I was concerned about     8     would happen if we were infected with the virus.

One morning, I noticed that a hummingbird’s tiny head     9     (stick) between two boards and another was trying to free it by pulling its tail. I ran to fetch Peter, but when we returned, the birds were     10     (go)! I let out a sigh of relief, recalling the saying “He who endures (忍耐) to the end shall be saved.” Those hummingbirds didn’t give up. Why should I?

3 . I usually find myself saying that with age comes wisdom. It makes perfect _______ when you consider all of the life experiences we have to learn from. _______, that saying was just blown away by a five-year-old!

Robert and I took a road trip to _______ a friend. Our visit was filled with _______ activities like a trip to the zoo, botanical (植物学的) garden, playing on play-grounds and _______ in coloring books.

Helen, Robert’s five-year-old son, was my coloring partner. We _______ at the kitchen table each having our own coloring book. The book I had was on _______. On the front inside cover were the _______ of completed, colored illustrations (插画) of each page of butterflies in the book. When I saw this I _______ told Helen, “Look, they have the pictures of the butterflies and how they are ________ to look. You can look at the picture and then color the butterfly to ________ what they show.”

Helen’s ________ to me was, “Oh, no. You don’t have to color the butterflies like the picture. You can color them any way you ________ .”

What a ________ and powerful nugget (有用的想法) of wisdom. I colored my butterfly any color I wanted and then created a butterfly ________ . If I had copied the picture from the front of the book, it still would have been ________ , but it wouldn’t have been uniquely mine.

Perhaps we can ________ from our auto pilot way of thinking and look at some ________ in our lives differently. Helen opened my eyes to new ________ in creativity. So, with age can come wisdom, but let’s ________ the wisdom of children.

1.

A．headway

B．profits

C．sense

D．products

2.

A．Therefore

B．Besides

C．Somehow

D．However

3.

A．meet

B．interview

C．greet

D．help

4.

A．strange

B．fun

C．dangerous

D．boring

5.

A．learning

B．reading

C．writing

D．coloring

6.

A．settled in

B．woke up

C．sat down

D．lay down

7.

A．flowers

B．butterflies

C．stars

D．characters

8.

A．pictures

B．sizes

C．names

D．shapes

9.

A．secretly

B．kindly

C．wisely

D．casually

10.

A．expected

B．allowed

C．supposed

D．told

11.

A．match

B．change

C．understand

D．observe

12.

A．advice

B．hope

C．encouragement

D．reply

13.

A．choose

B．find

C．want

D．imagine

14.

A．typical

B．special

C．unique

D．simple

15.

A．masterpiece

B．video

C．photo

D．film

16.

A．different

B．beautiful

C．clear

D．ugly

17.

A．gain

B．suffer

C．recover

D．pause

18.

A．areas

B．purposes

C．standards

D．assumptions

19.

A．abilities

B．possibilities

C．challenges

D．opportunities

20.

A．approve

B．appreciate

C．remember

D．recall

4 . I am a father of two sons. I’m only 60 but when I was diagnosed (诊断) with lung cancer it ________ my world. My son was working in Holland and I got to ________ the news to him over a poor What’s App connection. He got enough that he went to his ________ and told him he wanted to ________ home. I spent the next three days trying to ________ him to tell him to finish out his contract. ________, he followed my advice and stayed another few weeks and finished out the ________.

When he came back by air, he and his brother came out from Alberta to BC. We spent the weekend ________ before I began radiation, which was our ________ time. I had no idea how this was going to play out. I had my legal ________ sorted by then and took the time to talk about it and what I wanted my ________ to look like.

And then I plunged into (开始) treatment. I’m one of the ________ ones. I never even lost my ________ in radiation. I won’t say I ________ through it. I was extremely tired, and even worse, the radiation ________ the swallow right out of my esophagus (食道).

The ________ I want to leave you with though is “Be ________”. If you have the ability to get to your father’s ________, then do it. My son came again three weeks ago to help me through the ________ in my life. After he had been here a couple of days, he said, “Dad you have never looked ________.” Words to warm my heart.

1.

A．protected

B．created

C．rocked

D．covered

2.

A．sell

B．write

C．break

D．read

3.

A．boss

B．wife

C．professor

D．lawyer

4.

A．fly

B．drive

C．leave

D．race

5.

A．cheat

B．reach

C．find

D．promise

6.

A．Honestly

B．Fortunately

C．Surprisingly

D．Jokingly

7.

A．paper

B．tour

C．interview

D．job

8.

A．working

B．sleeping

C．camping

D．crying

9.

A．precious

B．bitter

C．spare

D．dark

10.

A．marriage

B．stuff

C．occupation

D．duty

11.

A．passing

B．wedding

C．appearance

D．life

12.

A．suitable

B．brave

C．lucky

D．able

13.

A．money

B．hair

C．love

D．fame

14.

A．looked

B．saw

C．sailed

D．follow

15.

A．healed

B．took

C．guided

D．burned

16.

A．message

B．treasure

C．memory

D．theory

17.

A．aboard

B．outside

C．back

D．there

18.

A．heart

B．circle

C．height

D．side

19.

A．path

B．crisis

C．victory

D．success

20.

A．worse

B．younger

C．sicker

D．better

5 . If you have a thought in mind that you can achieve the same goal within less amount of time and hard work by cheating to achieve success, then you shall feel bad later in future. You may have achieved a goal but you choose a wrong path. So, always remember that the path you choose in your life chooses your destination and then you shall not have an option to change it.

It is good to fail though it may take you to terrible feelings of life but in return, you will learn many things that life offers. The struggle is true but after that, the sweet of the fruit will build up your confidence to face any kinds of problem in the future. But if you prefer cheating, then you shall always live in fright.

Honour is like a coat, which you can wear confidently. If you cheat to achieve a goal, then you cannot hide it. Billy was lazy in hard work and used to delay all his work. He always thought of taking a fake degree to enter a big company. When the company CEO asked him to write a program for a certain topic, then he was quite shocked as he was unable to do the work, because he had no knowledge on the programming language and had faked his certificate.

Honour teaches you how to be disciplined. Being well-educated people, we should know what is good for us. It is always good to fail because at the end of the day, you will learn something new that will help you grow much stronger rather than cheating to achieve success, which will make you regret sooner or later.

All in all, success can be achieved via shortcuts but honour can never be. It’s better to live everyday with honour than to cheat.

1. Which opinion does the author agree with?

A．No option can be changed.	B．You can’t achieve without cheating.
C．Your path determines your end.	D．With a thought in mind you can realize your dream.

2. What can we conclude from the second paragraph?

A．Those things that hurt, instruct.	B．There is honour among thieves.
C．You’ll fail if you stop trying.	D．Face the problem and you’ll succeed.

3. Why is Billy mentioned in the text?

A．To make you believe hiding is cheating.	B．To prove honour makes you feel confident.
C．To encourage you to wear a coat confidently.	D．To advise you to learn the programming language.

4. What will make you regret later in the future?

A．Growing much stronger.	B．Learning something new.
C．Failing at the end of the day.	D．Cheating to achieve success.

6 . Thanks to a rereading of Jane Austen’s fiction, I have experienced a rejuvenation (恢复) of spirit and energy that has transformed my life. Rereading for the sheer pleasure of Austen’s language and characters when I experienced some depression in my 60s initiated a process that became more serious as I continued to reread the novels in my 70s and became more and more curious about the relationship between reading, learning and the imagination.

Now I find that the processes of rereading, investigation and reflection have led me to the best time in my life. It raised issues in my mind about memory, truth telling and art. In weaving together these aspects of my own reading experiences, I discovered parts of myself that I had not previously explored.

On the one hand I felt removed sufficiently to evaluate the best and worst of times in my own life. And on the other hand, I became so deeply immersed in the reflective process that I surprisedly realized the longstanding dissatisfactions were evaporating around me.

Of course, to be worth rereading, novels must have the potential to yield new insights. For this reason, I have reread Austen’s same six novels many times. They have offered me the richness and complexity required to help me reassess where I am in my life, the quality of my relationships past and present, and the values at stake in my life choices.

When I read Pride and Prejudice at the age of 15, I read it as a domestic comedy. I loved the Bennet sisters because they were lively and, for all their bickering, they were having fun. Rereading the same novel in my 30s I put my attention elsewhere. I paid serious attention to whether I could reconcile (和解) myself to Charlotte Lucas !s view that happiness in marriage is a matter of chance.

At the age of 90, I reread, reflect and comfort myself with Elizabeth Bennet’s words, “till this moment I never knew myself’. This is the moment I have been waiting for.

1. Why did the writer begin to reread Jane Austen’s novel?

A．To deal with depression and seek joy.

B．To revive her love for literature.

C．To evaluate the process of rereading.

D．To dig deeper into literature study.

2. According to the writer, what books are worth rereading?

A．Books themed on life choices.	B．Books with attractive characters.
C．Books that inspire new thinking.	D．Books that recall the best moments of life.

3. How does the writer show the impact of rereading Pride and Prejudice?

A．By analyzing the novel from different aspects.

B．By comparing her reflections at different ages.

C．By quoting speeches from the main characters.

D．By describing the perspectives of different characters.

4. What message does the writer seem to convey in the text?

A．Every Jane Austen’s fiction deserves rereading.

B．Reading books does good to depressed people.

C．Rereading novels sharpens people’s reading skills.

D．Rereading great books is a rewarding experience.

7 . Close to the king’s palace stood a little house. In it lived a ______ gardener who worked at the palace grounds from dawn to dusk. It was hard work. Yet he ______ complained. He always seemed to be at peace with himself.

The king wondered, “I wish I could be as happy as him.”

One evening the king found the gardener packing up his tools after ______ the day’s work. He was covered with dust and mud. But he kept singing to himself. The king ______ him and said, “You are always happy. I wish I could be as happy as you. What is the ______ of your happiness? Won’t you ______ it with me? ”

“Why should I be unhappy when I get two meals a day and have a ______ to sleep in at night? I’m happy that I have the ______ to work from morning till evening to earn my bread. I’m so ______ now that I can enjoy anything, even hard dry bread. And I am tired too. So I can ______ on the hardest floor, and drop off to sleep ______ . When I wake up in the morning, I feel fresh and full of ______ to welcome another day. I take every ______ as it comes. This moment is what ______ to me the most,” the gardener bowed and replied ______ .

“But what if tomorrow you fall sick! Shouldn’t you think of the future too?” the king asked.

“And start ______ ? Then I will lose my appetite. I will not get good sleep. I will fall sick and ______ my job. I will starve and die. I can’t ______ to worry about the future. Only this moment counts. Nothing else,” the gardener explained.

“You said it. Thank you,” the king nodded and ______ to change his attitude and to make the best use of the ______ .

1.

A．silly

B．lazy

C．cheerful

D．rich

2.

A．rarely

B．immediately

C．uncomfortably

D．jokingly

3.

A．starting

B．finishing

C．missing

D．studying

4.

A．shot

B．arrested

C．ignored

D．approached

5.

A．secret

B．use

C．price

D．goal

6.

A．exchange

B．divide

C．appreciate

D．share

7.

A．garden

B．palace

C．bed

D．kitchen

8.

A．money

B．strength

C．time

D．company

9.

A．sad

B．weak

C．tired

D．hungry

10.

A．get up

B．roll over

C．lie down

D．break out

11.

A．carefully

B．instantly

C．occasionally

D．painfully

12.

A．energy

B．hate

C．meaning

D．ambition

13.

A．chance

B．day

C．dream

D．meal

14.

A．sings

B．listens

C．matters

D．prefers

15.

A．respectfully

B．awkwardly

C．shyly

D．humorously

16.

A．celebrating

B．arguing

C．learning

D．worrying

17.

A．love

B．lose

C．change

D．forget

18.

A．afford

B．fail

C．decide

D．plan

19.

A．refused

B．pretended

C．threatened

D．determined

20.

A．power

B．wealth

C．present

D．talent

8 . I truly believe we all have a very special purpose in life, regardless of who we are or where we come from. After ten years of working for a major Wall Street bank, I wanted to do something challenging. So when I read a Merrill Lynch advertisement looking to hire more stockbrokers (股票经纪人), with great excitement, I made some phone calls and arranged to meet with one of its branch vice presidents. After this interview and interviews with twelve of his top stockbrokers, I eventually landed the job.

The first few months was a struggle. I lived on very little commission (佣金). Night after night, I left the office weary and exhausted, ready to give up, yet somehow returning the next morning to start anew day. Eventually, all the hard work paid off. In less than four years, I became one of the top sales people at my branch and increased personal sales by 1,700 percent. The success earned me a six-figure income, promotion and numerous sales awards.

Toward the end of my fourth year at Merrill Lynch, it hit me that something was missing. I thought long and hard about my goals. Then I was reminded of the time when I spoke to hundreds of people, while in college as a student leader, and years later, when I won a “Humorous Speech” championship. It dawned on me that every time I had a speaking engagement, I always came out of the experience with a wonderful, energetic, peaceful and magical feeling that was unmatched by anything else I did. I knew the extraordinary public-speaking skills I was blessed with could enable me to make a lasting difference and transform other people’s lives.

Then I took another daring risk, gave up everything and left the investment business for a more satisfying career as a motivational speaker. The beginning of my speaking journey was surprisingly similar to what I had first experienced at Merrill Lynch. However, nothing in the world comes close to the satisfying feeling I get when thousands of people tell me how much I have made a difference in their lives by motivating them to take risks and be the best they could be.

1. Why did the author meet with a Merrill Lynch branch vice president?

A．To arrange an interview.	B．To make an advertisement.
C．To employ more clerks.	D．To get a position.

2. Which of the following best describes the author according to paragraph 2?

A．Tolerant and ambitious.	B．Demanding and successful.
C．Tough and competent.	D．Optimistic and agreeable.

3. Why did the author leave Merrill Lynch?

A．He hoped to relive college life.	B．He wanted to influence others’ lives.
C．He had an engagement.	D．His investment was not satisfying.

4. Which is the most suitable title for the text?

A．Speaking Makes a Satisfying Job	B．Challenge Your Career Choice
C．Hard Work Pays Off	D．Dare to Take Risks

9 . When I was about six years old, I overheard my mother’s friend describe me as a “dark horse”. She’d come over to our house with her daughter and, as she watched us play, she must have found my quietness uncomfortable. Rather than accept this as part of my personality, she regarded it as a negative.

A “dark horse” is someone “of whom nothing is generally known”, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. So to describe a shy child in this way feels rather unfair. It felt as if that woman was suggesting I’d never be fully accepted or understood, because of my shyness.

There were many occasions through early adulthood — when people made incorrect assumptions about me. In my 20s, I moved to live with my sister. We had three flat mates. One evening, I was out and they told my sister that they felt intimidated by me. I’d spent most of my time with them listening, observing and not sharing much about myself. Rather amusingly, they had interpreted this as an inner confidence. Actually, I was just shy.

Today, in an age of understanding various differences, shyness is still hugely misunderstood. Children are told to cheer themselves up; “don’t be shy,” grown-ups say. But why not? And why, indeed, can’t an adult be shy? Well, it’s because society favours outgoing behaviours and extroversion (外向). When someone speaks less, we assume there is something wrong with them. We don’t create space for people to think before they speak, and we don’t allow people to observe before joining in, while everyone is expected to participate immediately, with no time to warm up.

The more I talk to shy people, the more confident I become that shyness can be a rather beautiful full personality feature. So my mother’s friend was wrong, shyness doesn’t turn you into a dark horse. It might make you quieter, but push beyond the shy outside and you’ll see the beauty that lies beneath.

1. What is the cause for the author’s being described as a “dark horse” at six?

A．Her special physical fitness.

B．Jokes of the friend of Mom.

C．Her inborn quiet personality.

D．Praise from friends and relatives.

2. What does the underlined word “intimidated” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Scared.

B．Cheated.

C．Attacked.

D．Betrayed.

3. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．Influences posed by being shy.

B．Practical need of being shy.

C．Causes for being unable to be shy.

D．Ways of avoiding being shy.

4. What is the purpose of this text?

A．To discuss about ways to be more sociable.

B．To tell a story about being misunderstood.

C．To introduce hardships of quiet persons.

D．To argue for the excellence of being shy.

10 . Three Most Common Regrets People Have Later in Life

If you follow Gary Vaynerchuk, then you’re probably aware of how much he talks about regret. This is a list of the most common regrets people have.     1    .

 Being afraid to say “I Love You”

I probably only said those words to three people in my entire life. Why are we so afraid to say “I love you”? Because it might make us vulnerable?     2    ?

Three words could make somebody’s day, their week, their month, their year, even their life! So don’t be so afraid to tell people you love them.

 Care too much about what other people think

    3    . I would be scared to do all the things I wanted to do, in case my friends or the people around me thought it was stupid.

Truth is, it’s your life, and you have to be happy with it. You cannot let the opinions of others dictate how you are going to live your life.     4    , “We spend money that we do not have, on things we do not need, to impress people who do not care.”

Stop worrying so much about what other people will think of you for the decisions you make.

     5    

Quite frankly, if you live your whole life without ever taking a big risk, you may have lived a very boring life.

Risks don’t always pay off, but they’re involved with all of life’s best experiences. Those who aren’t open to taking risks will never be able to see the most of what life has to offer.

A．As the quote goes

B．Never take a big risk

C．this is a lesson from the older generation to us all

D．Because the other person might not feel the same way

E．Fear of what other people would think kept me caged for far too long

F．Make sure you won’t have these regrets when you reach old age

G．He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.