During my high school years, the most important thing was what I was wearing to the Friday night dance and who I was taking.Although college was talked about, it was the least of my worries.

When I was graduating eighth grade and starting high school, my elder brother was graduating twelfth grade and going onto college.For my graduation, he gave me a card in which he wrote, “Enjoy your four years…they go by fast.” I remember not believing him then, but looking back…he was right.Those four years shaped who I was as a person, pushed me to my limit and encouraged me to become an adult.

However, I was so completely absorbed in my junior and senior years of high school, that when someone spoke of college I brushed it off.I wasn't ready to leave my comfort zone of having all of my closest friends together and knowing what every single day was going to be like.Studying was something I did only AFTER I nailed my half-time dance performance.I knew my parents wanted me to go to college, so I told them I would go to community college (社区学院) and I didn’t worry about my SAT(美国大学入学考试)scores.

When my senior year passed and everyone graduated and went off to their own college, I started to wish I had done the same.My friends were living away, meeting new people, discovering new places, and I was living at home and driving to and from class every day.It seemed exactly like high school.I hated it! I thought college was supposed to be different! Why didn’t I take more time to research colleges and do the same? I ended up loving college and wishing I had four years to enjoy the campus atmosphere instead of two.

My advice to anyone thinking about attending college is to think about it very seriously and look into all of your choices well ahead of time.Now I have graduate and I am working full time and I would do anything to go back to my high school days for a second chance!

Why didn’t the author worry about his SAT scores?

A.He wanted to go to community college.

B.He had been admitted for his gift in dance.

C.He was well prepared for the exam.

D.He believed his brother would help him.

When in high school, the author          

A.drove to and from class every day.

B.buried himself in his study all the time.

C.enjoyed talking about future college life.

D.lived in the school except on holidays.

What did the author’s brother mean by “Enjoy your four years…they go by fast”?

       A.He wished the author to have more dance.

B.He advised the author to value the years.

C.He encouraged the author to leave his comfort zone.

D.He suggested the author aim at a community college.

Talking of his high school years, the author feels     

A.regretful       B.lonely   C.angry     D.pleased

When I was young, I belonged to a club that did community service work. There was one specific  36  that was unusual for me. I spent three or four hours handing out warm dinner to the homeless   37   in the streets. After that I went to a homeless shelter not far from the Bay Bridge.

I was in high school and at the time my sister was too young to   38   . She wanted to help,   39  she made many chocolate chip cookies for me to  40   and hand out to people. When getting to the shelter, I passed out the   41   . I began making sandwiches and   42    them with the crowd. I had the containers with my sister’s   43    in them and began to   44    around, offering them to anyone near me.

I approached an   45   gentleman and said, “ Sir, would you like a cookie?” He stopped and turned around, looked at me and said, “What did you say? Did you call me sir?” I told him I had, and his eyes   46    a little bit and said, “ No one has   47    called me sir.’ So he was completely moved.

It   48    me.

I explained I had been raised that   49    color and social status, everyone deserved respect. It   50    me to think that just because he was homeless, no one   51    him the honor. It broke my heart. I just didn’t understand   52    no one ever called him sir. I had never thought that anyone was below me because I wasn’t raised that way. Every   53    person deserves to be treated with respect. Years later, I still carry that memory and the   54    it taught me. Sometimes, what we take for granted can    55    make a difference in someone’s life.

A. case                  B. chance                    C. event              D. accident

A. out                        B. far                                 C. away               D. off

A. participate            B. decide                          C. choose               D. go

A. however               B. but                         C. yet                         D. so

A. enjoy                   B. eat                          C. collect                    D. take

A. papers                      B. meals                     C. books               D. gifts

A. shared                  B. provided                 C. helped                    D. returned

A. dishes            B. fruits                 C. cookies             D. sandwiches

A. walk              B. turn                  C. run              D. show

A. well-dressed         B. innocent                        C. old                   D. modest

A. watered                B. cried                      C. opened              D. closed

A. never                       B. ever                       C. still                        D. yet

A. encouraged           B. attracted                        C. struck                D. defeated

A. in spite of             B. regardless of            C. in case of        D. because of

A. persuaded          B. saddened                 C. frightened          D. moved

A. handed                 B. offered                   C. reminded            D. promised

A. what                    B. how                      C. whether              D. why

A. single                  B. usual                      C. ordinary             D. normal

A. lesson                  B. class                       C. truth                D. reality

A. possibly              B. nearly                     C. really                D. usually

Anthony Horowitz was miserable as child. He was, as he put it, “not very bright” and couldn’t win the attention of his very wealthy parents, who preferred his “clever” older brother. At age 8, Horowitz was sent away to an abusive boarding school in his native England, even though he screamed and pleaded(恳求) with his parents year after year not to send him. “The thought was, It’ll be good for him,” he recalled.

It was not. Horowitz did badly in his studies, had few friends and was bullied (欺负) for five years. “My teachers couldn't have had a lower opinion of me,” he said. “I wasn't even smart enough to rebel . The one thing I remember from the very earliest age was this desire to write. When I was 10 years old, I remember asking my parents to get me a typewriter for my birthday because I wanted to be a writer.”

Now, at age of 55, Horowitz is one of the world's most successful children's book authors. His Alex Rider series has sold more than 5 million copies, and the eighth book featuring the young spy, Crocodile Tears, came out this month.

The Alex Rider books tell the adventures of 14-year-old Alex Rider, an agent for the British intelligence agency M16.

Horowitz said he doesn't try to write for kids; it just comes out that way. “I have a feeling it's to do with purity and simplicity. I give as little information as is necessary to describe the room, the character in the room, and get on with the action,” he said.

The style has also made Horowitz a successful writer of television shows for adults in Britain because, he says, writing books for kids is a lot like writing television for grown-ups: In both cases, it's all about entertaining people with a good story.

Now, Horowitz couldn't be happier with his life. He sums up his success: “…you can be anything you want to be if you just believe in yourself. I do believe it completely.”

In the boarding school, Horowitz’s teachers           .

    A.often criticized him B.showed great concern for him

    C.taught him how to write stories  D.thought little about his ability

Which of the following is true of Anthony Horowitz?

    A.He was the beloved child of his family.

    B.He benefited a lot from boarding school.

    C.He emphasizes the plot rather than character in stories.

    D.Although he is successful, he isn’t very happy.

What advice does Horowitz have for readers?

    A.Confidence is the key to success.    B.Hardship teaches valuable lessons.

    C.Interest is the best teacher.    D.Industry is the parent of success.

In which section can you most probably read the passage?

    A.Campus Trends        B.Culture & Leisure

    C.Our World        D.Science Life

B

I’ve just done my first jump since the accident that nearly killed me just a year ago. As I was lying in hospital, thinking that I would never skydive again, I wasn’t feeling glad to be alive. Instead I was wondering how I could possibly live without it.

It all started one evening after another nine-to-five day. I was sitting at home thinking, “There has to be more to life than this,” when an advertisement came on the television: “Try skydiving!”

The next day, I called the nearest skydiving centre and booked my first jump.

I will never forget my first jump. It was a beautiful, cloudless day and the sun was just going down. As I pushed myself away from the plane at 11,000 feet, my mind went blank.

Words cannot describe the excitement I experienced while I was free-falling. That was the most amazing four minutes of my life.

From the first jump, I was hooked. I started spending every free moment I had skydiving. At work, I sat in front of my computer and imagined ways of making more money so that I could jump more often.

The accident happened on my 1,040th jump. Another skydiver collided (碰撞) with my parachute (降落伞) at 80 feet. I fell and hit the ground at about 30 mph, face down. I broke my legs, my right arm and my nose. I lost 6 litres of blood, 19 teeth and 25 pounds of fat. I was lucky to be alive.

People who have never experienced skydiving will find it hard to understand that my only motivation to get better was that I could do it again. All I can say is that for me, skydiving is life and life is skydiving.

50. What can we learn about the author’s first skydiving from the text?

A. The author planned it for a long time.

B. The author was too excited to enjoy it.

C. It turned out to be fairly successful.

D. It took place a year before the accident.

51. The underlined part “I was hooked” most probably means “__________”.

A. I was attracted by skydiving          B. I was shocked by skydiving

C. I became familiar with skydiving      D. I became curious about skydiving

52. Which of the following shows the author’s strong will for skydiving?

A. The author spent almost every nine-to-five day skydiving.

B. The author worked hard to make more money for skydiving.

C. The author imagined himself skydiving while at the hospital.

D. The author expected to recover only to continue skydiving.

 

阅读下面短文,从短文后所给各题的四个选项A、B、C和D中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Another person’s enthusiasm was what set me moving toward the success I have achieved. That person was my stepmother.

I was nine years old when she entered our home in rural Virginia. My father  21  me to her with these words: “I would like you to meet the fellow who is  22  for being the worst boy in this county and will probably start throwing rocks at you no  23  than tomorrow morning.”

My stepmother walked over to me, raised my head slightly  24  , and looked me right in the eye. Then she looked at my father and  25  , “You are wrong. This is not the worst boy at all,  26  the smartest one who hasn’t yet found an outlet(释放的途径)for his enthusiasm.”

That statement began a(n)   27  between us. No one had ever called me smart. My family and neighbors had built me up in my  28  as a bad boy. My stepmother changed all that.

She changed many things. She   29   my father to go to a dental school, from which he graduated with honors. She moved our family into the county seat, where my father’s career could be more  30  and my brothers and I could be better educated.

When I turned fourteen, she bought me a secondhand  31  and told me that she believed that I could become a writer. I knew her enthusiasm, I  32  it, and I saw how it had already improved our lives. I accepted her  33  and began to write for local newspapers. I was doing the same kind of  34  that great day I went to interview Andrew Carnegie and received the task which became my life’s work later. I wasn’t the  35  beneficiary (受益者). My father became the  36  man in town. My brothers and stepbrothers became a physician, a dentist, a lawyer, and a college president.

   What power  37  has! When that power is released to support the certainty of one’s purpose and is  38  strengthened by faith, it becomes an irresistible(不可抗拒的)force which poverty and temporary defeat can never  39  .

   You can communicate that power to  40  who needs it. This is probably the greatest work you can do with your enthusiasm.

1..

. A. rushed         B. sent         C. carried          D. introduced

2..

A. distinguished    B. favored      C. mistaken         D. rewarded

3..

. A. sooner         B. later            C. longer           D. earlier

4..

 A. backward        B. forward      C. upward       D. downward

5..

. A. talked         B. replied        C. cried         D. answered

6..

. A. but                B. so            C. and             D. or

7..

. A. agreement      B. friendship       C. gap          D. relationship

8..

 A. opinion         B. image        C. expectation      D. mind

9..

A. begged         B. persuaded     C. ordered      D. invited

10..

. A. successful     B. meaningful       C. helpful          D. useful

11..

. A. camera         B. radio            C. bicycle        D. typewriter

12..

 A. considered      B. suspected        C. ignored      D. appreciated

13..

. A. belief         B. request      C. criticism        D. description

14..

. A. teaching       B. writing          C. studying     D. reading

15..

. A. next           B. same         C. only         D. real

16..

. A. cleverest      B. wealthiest       C. strongest        D. healthiest

17..

. A. enthusiasm     B. sympathy     C. fortune        D. confidence

18..

. A. deliberately       B. happily      C. traditionally    D. constantly

19..

. A. win            B. match            C. reach            D. doubt

20..

. A. everyone       B. someone       C. anyone        D. nobody

 

 

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