1 . Growing pains and gains

It’s not easy to grow up. Actually it’s far from easy. Growing up can be a real “pain” for some of us. We are always doing things that someone else makes us do and aren’t allowed to do all the things we like. Sometimes we feel trapped, sometimes we are fearful, and sometimes we just don’t understand why we can’t stay young forever. When we look back on all the hardships in life with a positive attitude (态度), we realize that all of our growing pains actually turn into growing gains!

As a young girl my parents forced my sisters and me to do so many things that I never liked. They made me learn to play the violin and then the piano. At that time I hated music, just because it was what they wanted me to do. But looking back now, I am so glad that my parents encouraged me to take music lessons. Music has enriched my life in so many ways. I realize that my parents and teachers were always pushing me along, not because they wanted me to suffer but because they wanted me to succeed in life. They’ve always wanted me to have a better life than they did themselves.

Every moment of our lives we are either living or dying, so live life to its fullest! We are all going to experience growing pains, but they are just small pains in life. They might seem so huge at the time but we must be strong. Think about how we would feel if we had no fear and live life like that. The future is ours! A little hard work and sweat never hurt anyone! If we realize that these pains are just small bumps (凸块) on our road to success we will realize that our growing pains are actually growing gains!

1. What was the girl forced by her parents to do when she was young?

A．Take music lessons.

B．Turn gains into pains.

C．Take a look back on hardships.

D．Live a successful life by suffering a lot.

2. What’s the author’s attitude towards her parents now?

A．Concerned.

B．Thankful.

C．Passive.

D．Unfriendly.

3. What does the underlined phrase “to its fullest” mean?

A．Directly.

B．Terribly.

C．Carefully.

D．Completely.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Growing pains are necessary for us to grow up.

B．We all have to experience growing pains.

C．A little hard work and sweat are harmful to us.

D．Life without fear is a better choice for us.

3 . Sitting in the classroom I felt confused, for I couldn’t read the blackboard. Then Mum took me to the hospital. Within a few days, I was diagnosed (诊断) with a severe visual impairment (视力障碍). In fact, I was practically blind. Amazingly, I’d managed to reach the age of 13 without anyone realizing, not even me! “It all makes sense now,” Mum said. As a kid living on a farm, I was forever falling over things. I was known as the clumsy (笨拙) one to my parents and four sisters. But now, I was being told that I saw the world differently — I could only make out the outlines of things. I was given reading glasses but they didn’t help much.

Refusing to let my diagnosis hold me back, I continued doing everything I loved. As long as everything was in its place, I could feel my way around.

Later I got married to Lance and had amazing kids. I could change nappies (尿布) and dress the kids fine — it just took a little longer as I relied on touch to work out where things were. Cooking, on the other hand, was not my forte. I was terrible — always mixing up sugar and salt!

Nowadays, my grandkids have all been brought up not to leave toys on the floor or move chairs away from the table. “We don’t want Grandma tripping,” Lance will say.

Over the year, I’ve enjoyed lovely family holidays, but sometimes felt like Lance or the kids were too protective of me. So I was thrilled when I booked myself on a trip to the Gold Coast with people who were just like me in a travel company. I’m not missing out — my life is beautiful. I’m so lucky to have a wonderful family and lots of experiences.

Life is precious — you don’t need to “see” that.

1. What can we know from the first paragraph?

A．The reading glasses got the problem fixed.

B．She always tripped because she was awkward.

C．She got severe visual impairment at the age of 13.

D．Nobody realized her sight was poor until she was 13.

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

A．Weakness.

B．Favourite.

C．Strength.

D．Business.

3. What can we know about the author?

A．She is able to see things clearly now.

B．She led a lonely and hopeless life.

C．She could help care for the kids.

D．She went to the Gold Coast all by herself.

4. What can we learn from the author’s story?

A．We need to go to travel frequently on our own.

B．We should always turn to the family for help.

C．Everyone should pay special attention to the blind people.

D．Everyone can enjoy the beauty of life with a positive mind.

5 . 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。

The question was once asked of a     1     (high) successful businessman, “How have you done so much in your lifetime?” He replied, “I had dreams. Then I went to bed and     2     (think) about my dreams. In the night I dreamt about my dreams. And when I     3     (awake) in the morning, I saw the way to make my dreams come true.”

“While other people were saying, ‘You can’t do that, and it is    4     (possible)’. Actually, I was well on my way to     5     (achieve) what I wanted. As Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President    6     the US, said: ‘We grow great by dreams.’”

All big men are    7     (dreamer). Some of us let these dreams die, but     8    nourish and protect them; nourish them through bad days     9     they bring them to the sunshine and light which come always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true. So please, don’t let anyone steal your dreams, or try to tell you they     10     (be) too impossible. Sing your songs and dream your dreams; hope your hope and pray your prayer.

6 . 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。

In the English Reading Week, one of my classmates recommended a quote to us,    1     goes like this, “Your future     2    (depend) on many things, but mostly on you.” I can’t agree     3    (much) with this view. It’s true that our future     4    (determine) by many things, such as opportunities and help from others, but our own attitude, determination,     5     hard work play a more important role. In     6     words, we are the master of our own future.

Take Abraham Lincoln for example. He was born in a poor family, and only received a     7    (limit) education in his childhood. Yet through his painstaking efforts, he     8    (change) not only his own fate but also the history of America. Even to this day, Lincoln     9    (regard) as one of the most inspiring figures in the world.

Therefore, I     10    (firm) believe that our future is in our own hands.

8 . 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。

My husband Andrew, a wise father, teaches our kids how to balance risk with freedom.

We have four chickens: Pecky, Buckbeak, Mayonnaise and Cornflake. My husband made their coop (笼子). It’s beautifully made.

Actually he made it with our sons and daughter. The kids and their father spent several weekends in the garage. He gave them tools because he believed it was important that they could actually make something. He slowly helped them and together, they made the coop. They also made the mistakes of learning — a board cut too short, nails smashed by hammers — but in the end, Andrew did some tricks and the coop looked perfect.

The chickens loved their perfectly imperfect home and we also gave them free range in the yard. Andrew encouraged our kids to provide the chickens with quite a big area and explained that to take risks was part of life, and that by giving chickens the freedom to wander around and dig for bugs, it was a better experience for them than the confines (范围) of the coop.

Yesterday, they ran around the lawn (草地). We needed to go downtown, knowing that chickens wouldn’t go very far. When we got back, my son, Gordon, ran to check on them. There were Mayonnaise, Cornflake and Buckbeak, looking a mess but still alive. Yet Pecky was nowhere to be seen.

With Andrew, we searched the yard and found some feathers by the trees. Then, we saw more feathers littering the yard. By this time, Gordon started to worry; Pecky was his favorite chicken and his eyes got watery.

Andrew picked Gordon up and held him. As we stood there, beginning to accept that we were now a three-chicken family, we heard it — a soft clucking (咯咯叫的) sound under a bush.

注意:续写词数应为150左右。
Paragraph 1:

Andrew put Gordon down and they looked under the bush.

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Paragraph 2:

The next day Andrew had a discussion with the kids about what to do with the chickens.

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9 . When is that magical day going to come when everything is perfect and we can finally be happy? Well, we may sometimes _______ a day like that. But for most of the time there is always something that upsets us. And that is _______. Life is a mixture of happy, neutral, and not-so-happy _______.

The _______ is in what you concentrate on, which determines your mood. I love the saying “Seize the day.” To me it means that we should not just look forward, _______ the happiness to come from the future. Happiness is right here and right now. It is in the little moments, and you’ll _______ have to understand that good things are _______ around you. The other day I did have a try. That day I paid attention to everything I _______ in my day. I liked the sunshine, birdsong, and morning coffee. I liked the purr of a cat, and my _______ jeans. I liked the roads that were in good ________ I liked the leaves of spring. I liked the chat with my coworkers... You can do this with your phone too. Take a picture of everything that you like during the day. At the end of it, ________ your pictures, and maybe write a page about these good things into your diary. If you use a computer, paste the ________ into your electronic diary.

Another thing I did is see the good things even in a bad situation. Here’s how it works: You suffer a terrible thing, but you tell yourself the good aspects of it. You really ________ the day when you are able to concentrate on it. One day it was raining. People were not ________ about it—it was dark, gloomy and wet. But you tell yourself that the climate here is not ________, which explains the attitude.

1.

A．admire

B．achieve

C．earn

D．experience

2.

A．normal

B．perfect

C．suitable

D．right

3.

A．activities

B．moments

C．situations

D．accidents

4.

A．result

B．mystery

C．magic

D．ability

5.

A．accounting for

B．thinking about

C．referring to

D．waiting for

6.

A．hardly

B．simply

C．nearly

D．instantly

7.

A．nowhere

B．somewhere

C．everywhere

D．anywhere

8.

A．faced

B．liked

C．missed

D．wished

9.

A．shabby

B．poor

C．expensive

D．comfortable

10.

A．condition

B．time

C．fit

D．mood

11.

A．get through

B．go through

C．pull over

D．come across

12.

A．sayings

B．words

C．pictures

D．works

13.

A．get

B．remember

C．seize

D．forget

14.

A．happy

B．curious

C．clear

D．upset

15.

A．snowy

B．rainy

C．windy

D．dry

10 . 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。

The best and most amazing thing about life is that no matter what happens or how hard it may get, or how     1    (disappoint) you feel, stay patient. 

All you need to focus     2     is doing good, even if it may be the smallest thing,like     3    (greet) someone with a smile.It can brighten up someone’s day, and you will have made the smallest yet biggest difference to their life. It all starts with your small     4     sincere smile! 

I learned     5    (patient) the hard way. I had been trying to rush through life rapidly, always     6    (compare) myself to my friends and family and wondering when my life would change. I was too busy     7    (try) to speed things up, but things just weren’t moving, so I finally gave up. However, when I continued to help people and do little things I could every day     8    (make) a difference, life pays me back. Therefore, I believe you will be successful, because everything has its own special time     9     everything goes well, and yours is     10    (absolute) coming.You just need to wait a little longer. It’s not easy, but it will.