1 . Once there were three travelers checking in a hotel. When they went out in the morning, one traveler brought an umbrella and another one took a crutch (拐杖) _________ the third one left with _________ whatsoever.

When they were back in the evening, the man who brought an umbrella got his clothes _________ in rain; the one taking a crutch fell, all covered with mud; but the man empty-handed kept his clothes dry, _________ any mud on it. The former two guys felt it was _________, so they asked the third man why.

The third guy didn’t reply, but _________ asked the man with an umbrella, “Then why were you caught in the rain _________ without falling?”

“When it was raining, I felt so _________ for my prediction that I opened the umbrella and walked in the rain _________. I didn’t think I would be caught in the rain, but __________ my clothes got so showered. Going to the places which were too muddy to cross, __________ that I didn’t have a crutch for fear of falling, I walked very carefully. It __________ that I walked all the way back __________ and sound. ”

After hearing __________ the first man said, the third man then asked the man with a crutch why he became muddied all over himself instead of getting showered.

He answered like this, “When it was raining, I had no umbrella, so I __________ chose those places I could __________ from the rain to walk through. In the muddy places, I went on with my crutch, but I hadn’t thought I fell. ”

The empty-handed traveler __________, “When it was raining, I chose the places protecting myself from the rain and in the muddy places I kept particularly __________, so I was neither drenched nor fell. ”

The advantages are __________. Only if we create advantages by virtue of the objective environment can we __________ a success.

1.

A．When

B．As

C．While

D．Since

2.

A．anything

B．nothing

C．something

D．everything

3.

A．wet

B．muddied

C．dry

D．tidy

4.

A．despite

B．beyond

C．without

D．with

5.

A．common

B．strange

C．strict

D．ordinary

6.

A．besides

B．otherwise

C．therefore

D．instead

7.

A．but

B．and

C．or

D．thus

8.

A．pity

B．glad

C．anxious

D．upset

9.

A．sensitively

B．curiously

C．constantly

D．bravely

10.

A．unlikely

B．unexpectedly

C．unacceptably

D．universally

11.

A．considered

B．to consider

C．considering

D．to have considered

12.

A．turned out

B．brought out

C．carried out

D．picked out

13.

A．safe

B．dirty

C．hurried

D．worried

14.

A．what

B．which

C．how

D．why

15.

A．already

B．yet

C．still

D．just

16.

A．prevent

B．protect

C．shelter

D．escape

17.

A．confused

B．regretted

C．depressed

D．laughed

18.

A．pessimistic

B．serious

C．casual

D．cautious

19.

A．absolute

B．relative

C．obvious

D．exact

20.

A．do

B．make

C．take

D．change

2 . Why Hard Work Is the Key to Success

Hard work and success go hand in hand.     1     However, you have to spend a lot of time working hard for success to build up over time gradually. So you’ll have to decide if you want to endure the pain of hard work, or look back and regret never having tried? That said, here are some points to consider before you make your choice.

Everything Comes at a Price

Success, for the vast majority of people, does not come without hard work.     2     You have to push past the obstacles and hold the goal in your mind, realizing that each step forward is one closer to achieving it.

Hard Work Helps You Make Your Luck

If you are an average Joe and simply idle your way through life, you are likely just a spectator (观察者) waiting for something to happen or fall into your lap. The truth of the matter is that the odds of this happening are improbable. Success will not happen suddenly, but with the right amount of strong determination and hard work, your luck tends to get better.     3    

Hard Work Promotes Discipline

It is not always going to be easy, and even the most determined people may give up and admit that they are defeated and stop trying.     4     Discipline ensures that you still get up and you are determined to see the result confidently.

You Harvest What You Sow

    5     The same goes for hard work. As you make a big effort each day and focus on your goals, you are consistently approaching your future success. As you begin to see the progress you have made, you will begin to feel a sense of achievement and pride in your work.

A．Life is certainly full of challenges.

B．That is where discipline comes into play.

C．Obtaining success without hard work is impossible.

D．When opportunities come your way, do not let them pass you by.

E．If you invest money over time wisely, you will make a good profit eventually.

F．You have to wake up early and head to work even when you do not feel like it.

G．When you hit a failure, the first thing coming to mind is whether you worked hard.

3 . This fall marks a new beginning for the hundreds of students walking onto a small Midwest college campus, but it’s an especially memorable time for one family. It celebrates three generations starting the new school year together.

Samantha Malczewski, 19, said that when she learned her mom and her grandmother would be joining her and her younger sister Mia Carter, 18, at Carthage College this fall, her eyes were wide open.

“I was clearly already admitted, and Mia was also admitted. And then all of a sudden, they were like, ‘Oh, we’re going too,’” Samantha recalled. “I didn’t expect it.”

Mia said she had an inkling (略知) that their mom and grandmother were interested in going back to school.

“My great-grandma just passed away and I think my mom had the realization that your mom’s not always gonna be there ... and I think it’s just the fact of them simply going to the same classroom every day and just gaining another aspect of spending time together,” the freshman accounting and marketing student said.

Her mom Amy Malczewski had worked at Carthage College for the last 22 years. She said she “always” knew she wanted to enroll (注册) as a student herself though. “I have a little time now. I’m like, you know what, I should get that graduate degree I’ve always wanted. And Carthage has this amazing master’s degree in business and design and innovation, which is really in line with all the things that I love,” said Amy.

Meanwhile, when Christy Schwan heard of her daughter’s plan, she quickly realized they could set on the journey together. The 71-year-old had retired three years before. She said she was drawn to learning about change management.

Amy and Christy are now classmates, studying for master’s degrees in business, design and innovation. Both nontraditional students say they encourage their peers (同龄人) to go for it if they’re also considering going back to school. “My advice to anybody is just, life is so short and if there’s something that you’re interested in, and maybe you’re doubting yourself a little bit, put that doubt aside and just go for it,” Amy said. “Especially if you have somebody that can do it with you, I think it makes it even sweeter, right?”

1. How did Samantha feel when she learned the news?

A．Upset.

B．Surprised.

C．Excited.

D．Worried.

2. What did Mia think was the reason that her mom and grandmom went back to school together?

A．They wanted to have a richer life.

B．They wanted to fit in with younger groups.

C．They wanted to spend more time with each other.

D．They wanted to learn more about accounting and marketing.

3. Which of the following can best describe Amy Malczewski?

A．Strong and devoted.	B．Persistent and brave.
C．Positive and knowledgeable.	D．Responsible and professional.

4. What does Amy suggest people do in the last paragraph?

A．Treasure family.	B．Go to university.
C．Don’t waste time.	D．Go for their dreams.

4 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Reconsidering the Staycation

I’ve always been doubtful of the staycation. The newly-invented word is too cute for     1     feels like a comfort: While other people are off exploring the Blue Lagoon by camper van, you get to stay in your very own home and go to your usual supermarket     2     cookies!

So, I am fascinated to discover, thanks to my colleague Catherine Pearson, that I     3     (understand) staycation in a wrong way. Evidently, my tendency     4     (take) a break without a plan is unlikely to produce a restorative effect. Instead, one should make good preparations for that period of time. Jaime Kurtz, a psychology professor at James Madison University and the author of “The Happy Traveler: Unpacking the Secrets of Better Vacations,” advises     5     (ask) oneself, “If I were moving away soon, what would I most want to do, and who would I most want to spend time with?”

I like this saying “Live every day as if it were your last.” Any reminder that time is flying is a good one     6     it gets you to live better. This weekend, you could, for instance, seek out some vegan ice cream     7     doesn’t taste terrible. You could try running in a pool, which is easier on the joints but as effective as running on land. You could go for a walk or a drive while listening to “Slow Radio,” a very comforting BBC podcast     8     (feature) sounds of the natural world.

Whether or not you have a proper vacation     9     (plan) for the coming weeks, you could envision any coming weekend as its own two-day mini-break, programming it as you would a trip to somewhere new, with a journey     10     (exciting) than just “sleep as much as possible” and “mow the lawn”.

5 . I stopped at the top of the hill, my right foot pressed back against the coaster brake (脚刹) on my bicycle. All I needed to do was to_______ my foot, and I would be swept down the hill. But I _______ . To my 12-year-old eyes, the hill was a mountain and the slope was _______ steep, which prevented me taking up the challenge.

When I returned to my hometown more than three decades later with my friends Dave and Scott, we _______ to the base of the hill and walked our bikes _______ . We stood once more at the top of that hill, looking down from the edge, but this time with a _______ set of eyes. To our surprise, now the _______ seemed more obvious, even larger than we’d imagined as kids. We knew that once we started down, there was no stopping or _______ . And right at the bottom of the hill, we would have to turn left to _______ dumping into the stream.

Dave went first. Then I was next. My heart was pounding. I ________ on the bike for a moment. Then I released the brake and yielded myself to ________ . I skidded to a stop next to Dave. Scott followed. The three of us spent several minutes laughing, draining off the adrenaline (肾上腺素) . We had ________ the childhood challenge of riding our bikes down the steep hill.

We didn’t know it then, but we’d face many similar ________ over the years — leaving home, getting married, moving to a different town, starting a new job, and many others — that would cause us to pause at the ________ and collect our courage ________ we launched ourselves down the trails of our lives.

1.

A．stamp

B．break

C．lift

D．keep

2.

A．paused

B．started

C．charged

D．fell

3.

A．unnecessarily

B．incredibly

C．occasionally

D．hardly

4.

A．ran

B．rode

C．climbed

D．wandered

5.

A．out

B．off

C．away

D．up

6.

A．similar

B．whole

C．different

D．smart

7.

A．risk

B．stream

C．slope

D．assumption

8.

A．turning back

B．looking down

C．giving in

D．breaking out

9.

A．get

B．avoid

C．make

D．search

10.

A．called

B．improved

C．smiled

D．balanced

11.

A．pressure

B．fate

C．gravity

D．difficulty

12.

A．recalled

B．completed

C．forgotten

D．received

13.

A．activities

B．troubles

C．lessons

D．periods

14.

A．corner

B．route

C．edge

D．line

15.

A．when

B．because

C．after

D．before

6 . Once there was a boy named Alfred, who was extremely bright, but also had a very bad temper. One day at school, when having a craft class, his partner _________ crushed a small part of their handiwork. He immediately got angry, criticizing her. After hearing those _________ words, she started to cry _________. Before long, the girl began shutting herself away. and never talked with Alfred.

Alfred’s parents became concerned about his _________ flaw (缺陷) , and thought about what they should do. Finally, the father had an idea. And he struck a _________ with his son. He gave him a bag of nails and a big hammer. “Whenever you lose your temper,” he told Alfred, “ I want you to really _________ your anger by driving a nail into the oak _________ of that old fence.”

Those _________ oak boards were almost as tough as iron, and the hammer was heavy. _________, by the end of the first week, Alfred had driven 37 nails into the fence. So __________ was hitting the nail that Alfred __________ began to control his temper! Day by day, the number of nails__________ into the fence decreased. Finally the day came when Alfred didn’t lose his temper at all. He felt__________ as he told his father.

To show him what __________ in the fence, his father told him to pull out one nail each time he controlled his temper. Strange __________ he felt about the instruction, he followed the advice. Finally Alfred reported with huge pride that all the nails were __________. At that point, the father asked his son to take one more look. “You have done well, but notice the __________ left. This fence will never be the same. Saving or doing hurtful things in anger produces the same result. There will be a __________ forever.”

Embarrassed and ashamed, Alfred __________ his head . This was a valuable lesson constantly reminding him of the __________ of words and the need to treat people with respect.

1.

A．intentionally

B．ridiculously

C．unluckily

D．accidentally

2.

A．meaningless

B．hurtful

C．serious

D．hateful

3.

A．uncontrollably

B．fiercely

C．dangerously

D．temporarily

4.

A．human

B．personality

C．quantity

D．identity

5.

A．balance

B．fire

C．lesson

D．bargain

6.

A．let go

B．take in

C．let out

D．give up

7.

A．boards

B．trees

C．tables

D．walls

8.

A．rotten

B．deserted

C．weathered

D．twisted

9.

A．Instead

B．However

C．Therefore

D．Moreover

10.

A．amazing

B．easy

C．rewarding

D．demanding

11.

A．gradually

B．immediately

C．regularly

D．disappointedly

12.

A．poured

B．hammered

C．inserted

D．pulled

13.

A．shy

B．proud

C．anxious

D．conscious

14.

A．left

B．kept

C．remained

D．contained

15.

A．although

B．because

C．since

D．as

16.

A．lost

B．missing

C．messy

D．gone

17.

A．caves

B．impression

C．holes

D．pain

18.

A．scar

B．memory

C．remark

D．proof

19.

A．cut

B．hung

C．shook

D．tapped

20.

A．importance

B．energy

C．power

D．usage

7 . When Eugenie George first heard that her friend passed a financial exam, her heart sank. She’d ______ the same test weeks earlier.

“Envy was eating me up,” recalls George. But anyway she ______ her friend. “And I told her I failed and admitted I was ______,” she says. George knew that being ______ would ease her envy, but she was surprised that it also enabled her to ______ her friend’s happiness and experience her own in turn.

Finding ______ in another person’s good fortune is what social scientists call freudenfreude, the great joy we feel when someone else succeeds, ______ it doesn’t directly involve us. Freudenfreude is like a kind of social______, says Catherine Chambliss, a professor of psychology. It makes relationships “closer and more enjoyable.”

Too often, we think our friends ______ us most during their hard times: a job ______, getting divorced. In fact, how friends ______ our joy is even more important for us than how they respond to our ______. Too often, we think of joy passively. We see it as something that come to us, instead of something we can ______. While it can be difficult in practice, freudenfreude can lift us up and ______ our day. So celebrating our friends’ ______ is a win-win to us all.

1.

A．taken

B．passed

C．failed

D．prepared

2.

A．congratulated

B．forgave

C．blamed

D．ignored

3.

A．badly-behaved

B．over-burdened

C．short-sighted

D．green-eyed

4.

A．tough

B．honest

C．tolerant

D．optimistic

5.

A．imagine

B．understand

C．share

D．increase

6.

A．hope

B．passion

C．confidence

D．pleasure

7.

A．even if

B．as if

C．now that

D．so that

8.

A．platform

B．glue

C．booster

D．routine

9.

A．support

B．annoy

C．upset

D．need

10.

A．loss

B．change

C．interview

D．application

11.

A．look forward to

B．contribute to

C．get used to

D．react to

12.

A．envy

B．complaints

C．suffering

D．mistakes

13.

A．predict

B．produce

C．choose

D．measure

14.

A．fill

B．start

C．brighten

D．balance

15.

A．survival

B．success

C．recovery

D．generosity

8 . I ask every student I interview for admission to my institution, Pitzer College, the same question, “What do you look forward to the most in college?” I was astonished and delighted recently when a student replied, “I look forward to the possibility of failure.” Of course, this is not how most students respond to the question when sitting before the person who can make decisions about their academic futures, but this young man took a risk.

“You see, my parents have never let me fail,” he said. “When I want to take a chance at something, they remind me it’s not a safe route to take. Taking a more demanding course or trying an activity I may not succeed in, they tell me, will ruin my chances at college admission.”

I wish I could tell you this is an uncommon story, but kids all over the world admit they are under great pressure to be perfect. When I was traveling in China last fall and asked a Chinese student what she did for fun, she replied: “I thought I wasn’t supposed to tell you that? I wouldn’t want you to think I am not serious about my work!”

Students are usually in shock when I laugh and tell them I never expect perfection. Of course, this goes against everything they’ve been told. How could a dean (院长) of admission at one of America’s most selective institutions not want the best and the brightest? The reality is, perfection doesn’t exist, and we don’t expect to see it in a college application. In fact, admission officers tend to question students who present themselves as individuals without shortcomings.

We get the most excited when we read an application that seems real. It’s so rare to hear stories of defeat. If their perspectives are of lessons learned, these applicants tend to jump to the top at highly selective colleges. We believe an error in high school should not define the rest of your life, but how you respond could shape you forever.

1. What can we learn about the student in the first two paragraphs?

A．He is taught not to take risks.

B．He tries to avoid any chance of failure.

C．He cares little about his academic futures

D．He is seldom allowed to take part in activities.

2. Why does the author mention the Chinese student in paragraph 3?

A．To emphasize the importance of hard work.

B．To compare students from different countries.

C．To give an example of the students he favors.

D．To illustrate the widespread stress on students

3. What is probably admission officers’ attitude towards a perfect application?

A．Doubtful.

B．Confused.

C．Favorable.

D．Casual.

4. What is the key to success in college according to the author?

A．A desire for perfection

B．The ability to learn from defeats.

C．The opportunity of making mistakes.

D．An experience of defeat in high school

9 . Philosophers have a bad reputation for expressing themselves in a dry and boring way. The ideals for most philosophical writing are precision, clarity, and the sort of conceptual analysis that leaves no hair un-split.

There is nothing wrong with clarity, precision, and the like — but this isn’t the only way to do philosophy. Outside academic journals, abstract philosophical ideas are often expressed through literature, cinema, and song. There’s nothing that grabs attention like a good story, and there are some great philosophical stories that delight and engage, rather than putting the reader to sleep.

One of the great things about this is that, unlike formal philosophy, which tries to be very clear, stories don’t wear their meanings on their sleeve — they require interpretation, and often express conflicting ideas for the reader to wrestle with.

Consider what philosophers call the metaphysics (形而上学) of race — an area of philosophy that explorers the question of whether or not race is real. There are three main positions that you can take on these questions. You might think that a person’s race is written in their genes (a position known as “biological realism”). Or you might think of race as socially real, like days of the week or currencies (“social constructionism”). Finally, you might think that races are unreal — that they’re more like leprechauns (一种魔法精灵) than they are like Thursdays or dollars (“anti-realism”).

A great example of a story with social constructionist taking on race is George Schuyler’s novel Black No More. In the book, a Black scientist named Crookman invents a procedure that makes Black people visually indistinguishable from Whites. Thousands of African Americans flock to Crookman’s Black No More clinics and pay him their hard-earned cash to undergo the procedure. White racists can no longer distinguish those people who are “really” White from those who merely appear to be White. In a final episode, Crookman discovers that new Whites are actually a whiter shade of pale than those who were born that way, which kicks off a trend of sunbathing to darken one’s skin-darkening it so as to look more While.

Philosophically rich stories like this bring more technical works to life. They are stories to think with.

1. What does the author think of philosophical stories?

A．The meaning behind is very obvious.

B．They am extremely precise and formal.

C．They often cause conflicts among readers.

D．They are engaging and inspire critical thinking.

2. Which category might “Christmas” fall into according to paragraph 4?

A．Social constructionism.	B．Anti-realism.
C．Biological realism.	D．Literary realism.

3. What is Black No More in paragraph 5 mainly about?

A．Racial issues caused by skin colors.

B．A society view on race and self-image.

C．Black people accepted by the white society.

D．The origin of sun bathing among white people.

4. What is the best title of the text?

A．Stories Made Easy	B．Stories to Think with
C．Positions in Philosophy	D．Nature of Philosophical Writing

10 . 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。

Be What’s Missing

Where was that cashier? Angry, I glanced at my watch. I barely had enough time to eat my hamburgers and then dash back to the hospital where I worked.

I looked around the nearly empty fast-food restaurant but the cashier was nowhere in sight. A woman whom I guessed to be about my age stood wiping the far end of the counter with a towel. When she thought I wasn’t looking, she looked at me with sad, dark eyes.

I waited, drumming my fingers on the counter. The woman pushed the gray hair from her lined forehead and continued wiping the counter.

I glanced again at my watch. I planned to write a letter about the lack of service in this place. But just as I mentally made up my letter, I had a memory of Rosie, a former coworker of mine. I could hear her sweet voice recommend me, “Be what’s missing.”

“What do you mean, ‘Be what’s missing’?” I had asked the first time I heard her use that phrase. “Whenever you find yourself in an unpleasant situation,” she explained, “just think about what is missing.” Rosie smiled at my blank stare. “It’s really simple when you think about it. If someone is mean, then kindness is missing. If someone is inconsiderate, then thoughtfulness is missing. If someone is hateful, then love is missing. If we will be what’s missing, then we’ll provide whatever the situation needs.”

And here I was in an unpleasant situation. How was I supposed to “be what’s missing”? What was missing was service. But then the woman who had wiped the counter walked slowly toward the cash register. With deliberately paced words, she asked, “May I help you?”

I was not satisfied with her service, and I was so angry that I almost lost my temper. But again I heard Rosie’s voice, “Be what’s missing.”

I took a deep breath. It was clear that I was in a hurry to be waited on — by someone who was, no doubt, overworked, underappreciated, and underpaid. With Rosie’s words ringing in my head, I gave the woman my order… and smiled. “How are you today?”

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
My greeting seemed to surprise her.
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After dinner, I placed everything in my tray and wiped the table more thoroughly than usual.
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