Have you ever been sad because of failure? Please remember, for often, achieving what you set out to do is not the most important thing.
A boy decided to dig a deep hole behind his house. As he was working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch. “What are you doing?” asked one of the visitors. “I want to dig a hole all the way through the earth!” the boy answered excitedly. The older boys began to laugh, telling him that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a while, the boy picked up a jar. He showed it to the visitors. It was full of all kinds of stones and insects. Then he said calmly and confidently, “Maybe I can’t finish digging all the way through the earth, but look at what I’ve found during this period!”
The boy’s goal was far too difficult, but it did cause him to go on. And that is what a goal is for — to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen, in other words, to cause us to keep working!
Not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end up with a success. Not every dream will come true. But when you fall short of your aim, maybe you can say, “Yes, but look what I’ve found along the way! There are so many wonderful things having come into my life because I tried to do something!” It is in the digging that life is lived. It is the unexpected joy on the journey that really makes sense.

1. 1.

   The older boys laughed at the boy because he was thought to be         .

   1. A.
      brave
   2. B.
      impolite
   3. C.
      foolish
   4. D.
      warm-hearted
2. 2.

   Why did the boy show the jar to the older boys?

   1. A.
      To drive them away.
   2. B.
      To show what he had found in digging.
   3. C.
      To show how beautiful the jar was.
   4. D.
      To attract them to join him in the work.
3. 3.

   What can be learnt from the fourth paragraph of the text?

   1. A.
      Not dream can come true.
   2. B.
      All work will end successfully.
   3. C.
      Goals shouldn't be set too high
   4. D.
      Goals will make us work harder.
4. 4.

   The best title for the text should be         .

   1. A.
      Joy in the Journey
   2. B.
      A Boy Dug a Hole
   3. C.
      No Pains, No Gains
   4. D.
      Failure Is the Mother of Success

A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer's hair. The golden red sun was setting. She was on the beach, looking up at the fiery (火红的) ball. She was amazed by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.    

The atmosphere relaxed her. After all she had been through, this was what she needed. "It's getting late," she thought, "I must go home. My parents will be wondering where I am."

She wondered how her parents would react, when she got home after the three days she was missing. She kept on walking, directing herself where she spent every summer holiday. The road was deserted. She walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house.

It was really getting dark now. The sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold too. She wished she had her favorite sweater on: it kept her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought disappeared when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, and now... It all seemed deserted. She couldn't understand what was going on.    

She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said: "Dear Ellen, there is some coffee ready. I went looking." Ellen was her mother but－where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her parents' room. She went in. Then she saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed, was sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn't slept for days. She was really pale. Jennifer would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired. So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up, something was different－she wasn't in her mother's room and she wasn't wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her cozy bed in her pajamas.     

It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice, "Are you feeling better now, dear? You know you got us very, very scared."

Three days later Jennifer came back home      .

A. at sunrise         B. at sunset      C. at night              D. at midday

What does the underlined phrase "This thought" most probably mean?

A. The idea of going back home.           

B. Her anxiety about her parents.     

C. The feeling of being warm in her favorite sweater.     

D. The feeling of getting back home safely.

Her father didn't take care of the garden because      .

A. he was busy looking for her   

B. he had to look after his wife

C. he was not strict with his job        

D. he no longer enjoyed working in the garden

What can we infer from this passage?

A. In fact Jennifer's mother had been sick for days.     

B. As Jennifer walked towards home, she became increasingly scared.     

C. When she found the garden deserted, she realized she was wrong.     

D. Having experienced a lot outside, Jennifer felt home was safest for her.

A recent survey of teachers found that an unhealthy passion with celebrity culture is having a negative impact on British students’ studies and it discovered that celebrity couple, the Beckhams, are the favorites among most students. Many students are ignoring building their own careers to seek a chance at fame instead, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) survey found.

Almost two-thirds of teachers said sports stars were the type of celebrity many pupils wanted to follow while more than half of students wanted to be pop stars.

The survey said the celebrities that students aspired to mostly were David and Victoria Beckham who live in Los Angeles now. Soccer player Beckham is on the top of the survey while in second place, with almost a third of the survey’s votes, was his 33-year-old pop star wife.

Almost half of the 300 teachers surveyed said pupils tried to look like or behave like the celebrities they most admired, with some girls even dressing "unsuitably".

"We are not surprised about the influence of celebrity culture in schools —it reflects the current media passion with celebrities and the effect of celebrity culture on society as a whole," ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said in a statement.

"Celebrities can have a positive effect on pupils. They can raise pupils’ aspirations and desires for the future. However, celebrity culture can spread the idea that celebrity status is the greatest achievement and reinforce the belief that other career choices are not as valuable," said one primary school teacher. "Too many of the pupils believe that school success is unnecessary, because they will be able to get fame and fortune quite easily through a reality TV show."

The story mainly tells us that ______.

  A. the Beckhams are mostly admired in Britain

  B. most students think that being pop stars is more valuable than other career achievements

  C. the celebrity passion has a harmful impact upon British students’ studies

  D. a survey was made recently about the popularity of the stars

According to the survey, Victoria Beckham ______.

  A. is a pop star most students admire

  B. goes in the second place of the celebrities admired

  C. won two-thirds of the votes

  D. lives in New York now

Why does the author mention that pupils tried to look like or behave like the celebrities they most admired, with some girls even dressing “unsuitably”?

  A. The pupils think it interesting to pretend to be the celebrities.

  B. The behavior or the dress of celebrities can be followed as examples.

C. The author wants to show the negative influence these celebrities had on the students.

D. The author just wants to show being pop stars is very valuable to the students.

What is not TRUE according to the story?

  A. Celebrities can’t have positive impact on the students.

  B. Beckham and Victoria are husband and wife.

C. The so-called celebrity culture does harm to the pupils’ ideas about achievement.

  D. Many students believe that school success is unnecessary.

The best title of the story is _____.

 Sports Star David Beckham 

B. Survey of Students about Celebrities

C Harmful Effect of Celebrities on Students 

D. Better to Be Pop Stars Than Sports Stars

     A study published in September suggests there is a surprising way to get people to avoid unhealthy foods: change their memories. Scientist Elizabeth Loftus of the University of California at Irvine asked volunteers to answer some questions on their personalities (个性) and food experiences. “One week later,” Loftus says, “we told those people we'd fed their answers into our smart computer and it came up with an account of their early childhood experiences.” Some accounts included one key additional detail (细节): “You got sick after eating strawberry ice-cream.” The researchers then changed this detail into a manufactured (人为促生的) memory through leading questions—Who were you with? How did you feel? By the end of the study, up to 41% of those given a false memory believed strawberry ice-cream once made them sick, and many said they'd avoid eating it.

    When Loftus published her findings, she started getting calls from people begging her to make them remember hating chocolate or French fries. Unfortunately, it's not that easy. False memories appear to work only for foods you don't eat on a regular basis. But most important, it is likely that false memories can be implanted (灌输) only in people who are unaware of the mental control. And lying to a patient is immoral, even if a doctor believes it's for the patient's benefit.

    Loftus says there's nothing to stop parents from trying it with their overweight children. “I say, wake up—parents have been lying about Father Christmas for years, and nobody seems to mind. If they can prevent diseases caused by fatness and all the other problems that come with that, you might think that's a more moral lie. Decide that for yourself.”

72. Why did Loftus ask the volunteers to answer some questions?

    A. To improve her computer program.           B. To find out their attitudes towards food.

    C. To find out details she can make use of             D. To predict what food they'll like in the future.

73. What did Loftus find out from her research?

    A. People believe what the computer tells them.

    B. People can be led to believe in something false.

    C. People tend to forget their childhood experiences.

    D. People are not always aware of their personalities.

74. According to the study, people may stop having a certain food if they ________.

A. learn it is harmful for health                        

B. lie to themselves that they don't want it

    C. are willing to let doctors control their minds

    D. think they once had a bad experience of eating it

75. What is the biggest concern with the method?

    A. Whether it is moral.                                B. Who it is best for.

    C. When it is effective.                                D. How it should be used.

A study of a university in Shanghai had found that many of the students there are using a quote（引语）from the Italian poet Dante as a kind of motto. The study of Fudan University, one of China’s top universities, of 489 students, found that 82 had chosen Dante’s “Follow your own path and don’t worry about what others say” as their motto, out of 278 people who said they had a motto. This was followed by “Believe yourself” and “Self-improvement without stop.”

Students also expressed a common hope for greater understanding and care and said they were always ready to give a hand to those in need. Some researchers think that mottoes can play an important part in children’s growth and they say that a good motto can help children develop a better character.

The study shows ________.

A. which university should have mottoes

B. who should have “Follow your own path and don’t worry about what others say” as their motto

C. how many students like the motto “Believe yourself.”

D. many students choose a quote from Dante as their favorite motto

Of the students asked, ________ students have mottoes.

A. about 78%               B. about 57%               C. about 16%                D. about 8%

The motto “Self-improvement without stop” shares the similar meaning with ________.

A. going on to improve rapidly

B. growing by oneself continuously

C. making oneself better and perfect continuously

D. becoming better without having a break

The best title for the passage should be _______.

A. Mottoes and Character Developing         B. Students and Poet

C. Mottoes and Learning                          D. Understanding Care