1 . It was Friday, and I slid into my seat I looked up and felt the _________. I heard our fifth-grade teacher say we were about to take our weekly math test. She told us not to _________ it. If we practiced our problems at home, we should be fine.

I took some deep _________ and comforted myself, “It’s only 10 questions. How hard can it be?” But when a blank test arrived on my desk, I was full of _________. Everything seemed like a blur (模糊) as I rushed to _________ on time. However, as I handed my paper to the teacher, I felt _________ good—maybe it was because the test was over. Before the end of the day, though, she handed back the tests. I _________. Another C.

Growing up, I felt math was a _________. Only thanks to a devoted teacher in a summer course did I gain the basic _________ I needed to move forward. From then on, math felt more or less tolerable.

So you might be __________ that I’m now an elementary school math specialist. Today, I often think about why many students find math __________, and I think it has something to do with the fact that we don, t develop in them the critical (批判性的) thinking skills needed for math reasoning. That’s why my __________ is to teach math as a way of thinking.

I remind those students, who think they’re born bad at math, that math is a skill you never __________ learning. There’ll always be something you haven’t yet mastered, and that’s OK. It, s also OK to __________ along the way. Actually, it’s not the __________ of the world if a problem needs correcting; it’s an opportunity to learn and grow. So keep learning.

1.

A．impatience

B．pride

C．nervousness

D．satisfaction

2.

A．care about

B．worry about

C．talk about

D．think about

3.

A．actions

B．risks

C．turns

D．breaths

4.

A．panic

B．happiness

C．pride

D．trouble

5.

A．relax

B．prepare

C．finish

D．escape

6.

A．constantly

B．surprisingly

C．seemingly

D．naturally

7.

A．looked up

B．looked around

C．looked out

D．looked down

8.

A．challenge

B．relief

C．choice

D．skill

9.

A．research

B．principle

C．support

D．knowledge

10.

A．doubtful

B．thrilled

C．hopeful

D．shocked

11.

A．easy

B．scary

C．interesting

D．influential

12.

A．goal

B．duty

C．path

D．rule

13.

A．admit

B．ignore

C．stop

D．dislike

14.

A．struggle

B．debate

C．quit

D．pray

15.

A．beginning

B．symbol

C．end

D．power

2 . As a reporter, I talk to strangers for a living and love the challenge of getting them to open up. Yet here’s a confession: I’ve been married for eight happy years, but until six months ago, I could be the stereotypical inattentive husband.

It’s not that my wife and I never had pleasant conversations. But more often than I care to admit, I was just going through the motions, nodding when I was supposed to. I was the guy who’d defensively snap (厉声说), “Of course I did!” when my wife would ask, “JB, did you even hear what I just said?”

In January, I began to lose my voice repeatedly. Doctors told me I needed surgery, or else my throat would be permanently damaged. Total silence would be required for the first few weeks of my recovery.

Two hours after the surgery, my eyes filled with tears as my two-year-old son stood by me looking puzzled because I wouldn’t answer his questions. I wanted to talk but couldn’t.

But before I got home, I had settled into a Zen-like peace about my silence. Soon I noticed another “side effect”: As my wife talked to me to keep up my spirits, I wasn’t just hearing her; I was listening to her.

Over the next few weeks, I found myself unwilling to miss a word she said. I began to hear a sweetness in her voice that I hadn’t recalled for long. I found myself understanding her better on topics I’d previously dismissed as “things I just don’t get as a guy”.

I also realized my toddler (学步的儿童) wasn’t just chattering nonstop but that he often had surprisingly thoughtful things to say for his age.

Even while walking my dog in the woods near our home, I began hearing pleasant patterns in bird songs. The rustling leaves sounded crisper to me. Before my surgery, I’d have spent those walks on my phone.

After several months, I was fully recovered. Now conversation in our house is better, but not because I’m talking more. I’m just listening better and becoming less and less surprised that I like what I hear.

1. What does the author want to tell us most in the first two paragraphs?

A．He was fond of talking to strangers.

B．He enjoyed taking challenges.

C．Sometimes he ignored his wife’s words.

D．He often quarreled with his wife.

2. Why did the author have to keep silent?

A．To avoid argument.	B．To hear more.
C．To ensure recovery.	D．To show unhappiness.

3. After the surgery, how did the author feel about his inability to talk at first?

A．Peaceful.

B．Upset.

C．Puzzled.

D．Uncertain.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Easier said than done.

B．Full set, partial to listen to the dark.

C．Knowledge is power.

D．Listen well and you can hear the world.

3 . Over the years I’ve spent living in Beijing, I can _________ the number of truly outdoor experiences I’ve had on one hand. But a road trip to Nanshan Skiing Village in February 2021 provided me with some _________ memories.

As my friends and I sat together in the ski lift chair, I finally felt for the first time that I had _________ left the busy city life of Beijing. Up in the air a few dozen meters off the ground, I _________ the wide view of the countryside and appreciated the peaceful quiet.

As the ski lift reached its _________, I _________ slid off from the chair and almost did a face-plant into the snow. “So much for the peace and quiet”, I _________ to myself. _________, I gathered myself together and made my way as _________ as I could to one of the several starting points.

My buddies had already started making their way down the hill, and I was about to join them but suddenly fear __________ me as I noticed how easy it was to __________ speed. I __________ to swerve (突然转向) to the side to slow down, but ended up tumbling (摔倒) down into the snow.

Not wanting to become __________, I awkwardly reattached the ski. Although I still felt nervous, by accepting the risk I was able to ski more confidently and at last managed to make it down the whole ski slope (斜坡).

By the day’s end, I had relearned what it __________ to take risks and get out of my comfort zone. By accepting what seems __________, you can find both confidence and peace within.

1.

A．cast

B．claim

C．account

D．count

2.

A．unbelievable

B．unforgettable

C．incredible

D．horrible

3.

A．truly

B．initially

C．eventually

D．simply

4.

A．took in

B．took up

C．brought in

D．brought up

5.

A．circumstance

B．departure

C．destination

D．peak

6.

A．awkwardly

B．flexibly

C．slowly

D．eagerly

7.

A．blamed

B．thought

C．regretted

D．sighed

8.

A．Nevertheless

B．Therefore

C．Although

D．Furthermore

9.

A．stably

B．gracefully

C．gently

D．tightly

10.

A．gained

B．gathered

C．swelled

D．overwhelmed

11.

A．pick out

B．pick up

C．take off

D．take up

12.

A．attempted

B．proceeded

C．adapted

D．managed

13.

A．panicked

B．ashamed

C．discouraged

D．distracted

14.

A．brought

B．meant

C．made

D．took

15.

A．impossible

B．terrific

C．upset

D．scary

4 . We all enjoy planning out our lives. We had great expectations and dreams to touch the sky.     1     The game of life twists and turns, changing direction to form new paths that aren’t anticipated.

So, what happens when the life you have isn’t the life you planned? You can go exploring. You go exploring without expectation because your plans could be the very thing that keeps you from the life that’s waiting for you.     2     Rather, you should get curious about how to change your circumstances for the better.

    3     But if you continue to focus on everything that went wrong in the past, you wouldn’t be able to see the good that is present. Each day is a blank canvas presented as an opportunity for you to create and to discover new things. Be careful, however, not to give in to other’s opinions of what your life should look like. These days everyone can be an expert on what you should do with your life.     4    

So, don’t be afraid to make mistakes but learn from them quickly.     5     You had better be free of these emotions to move on in a light-hearted way.

A．However, life isn’t a bed of roses.

B．Don’t regret for the past mistakes.

C．Unfortunately, reality doesn’t always quite match up.

D．Let go of blame, self-pity, excuses, bitterness and resentment.

E．There will still be times when you struggle with letting go of the past.

F．But when things don’t work out, they’re unwilling to take responsibility.

G．This shouldn’t mean you give in to frustration for not living up to your potential.

5 . Wasted-time worry

The idea that time is our most precious resource can bring with it a sense of time-pressure. We are always told “Time is money and time is running out”, so we must manage it well. We take time-management courses, download the latest productivity app and divide our day into blocks, so our time is never wasted.

    1     . It tells us we should be doing more with our time or doing something else. We can spend an afternoon regretting for the time we wasted that morning, spoiling hours that would otherwise have been available to us. Sometimes it’s not just the hours we worry about wasting,     2     —the countless minutes spent on tiny chores, answering emails, replying to texts, waiting for other people. Often, when we worry about wasting time, we are comparing ourselves to how productive we assume other people are. It makes us feel that everyone is using their time well except ourselves.

We need to shift away from trying to maximize our time and reduce our worry about wasting it. We don’t have to view every moment we don’t spend the way we expected to as a waste. There may be value in those moments too.     3     . In a society that emphasizes the productive use of time, we can easily forget that time we enjoyed wasting is not wasted time.

Then how much should we be working? Researchers say on most days, three to four hours of high-quality, focused mental work is about our maximum.     4     .

We often encounter empty time, throwing us into boredom, panic or anxiety, or add to our wasted-time worry.     5     . For example, we can become more comfortable with empty moments rather than rushing to make the best of every second. We can allow us to pause and think. We can see our commuting time as a chance to let our mind wander rather than checking social media.

A．Working beyond that can be a waste

B．Working to maximum is the secret to success

C．but the scraps of time that get lost in between

D．We can simply appreciate the part they played in our life

E．However, we need some hours in the day to waste as we wish

F．We can simply set aside more moments for the work of the day

G．Yet in our crazy attempts to account for every hour, we fall into wasted-time worry