Nothing succeeds like confidence. When you are truly confident, it radiates (辐射) from you like sunlight, and attracts success to you like a magnet (磁铁). Besides, those who are self-confident can in turn inspire (encourage) confidence in others: their audience, their peers, their bosses, their customers, and their friends. And gaining the confidence of others is one of the key ways in which a self-confident person finds success.

So how can we build a sense of self-confidence and prepare ourselves on the way to success?

First, do what you believe to be right, even if others mock or criticize you for it. Believe in yourself and believe that you can do it in any situations, because if you believe you can, then you really will. The belief keeps you searching for answers, which means that pretty soon you will get them.

Second, govern your behavior based on what other people think. What’s more important, be willing to take risks and go the extra miles to achieve better results, in which case mistakes can not be avoided. Always be ready to admit your mistakes, and learn from them. Next, work hard to settle the problems in order to cover up your mistakes before anyone notices. Building self-confidence is readily achievable, as long as you have the focus and determination to carry things through. And what’s even better is that the things you’ll do to build self-confidence will also build success -- after all, your confidence will come from real, solid achievement. No one can take this away from you!

As you sow, so will you reap. With your perseverance (毅力) and improvement, you are getting closer to success. At this stage, wait for others to give congratulations and compliments on your achievements. “Thanks, I really worked hard on it. I’m pleased you recognize my efforts.” The congratulations and compliments from others will promote you to gain further success.

Self-confidence is extremely important in almost every aspect of our lives, and it is no wonder that so many people struggle to find it. Self-confidence really can be learned and built on. Besides, whether you’re working on your own self-confidence or building the confidence of people around you, it’s well worth the effort!

1.Those who are truly confident _______.

A．succeed without effort and hard work

B．encourage people around to become confident

C．appear more attractive and thus become successful

D．gain the confidence of others and feel successful

2.The underlined word “mock” (Paragraph 2) is closest in meaning to _______.

A．praise            B．imitate (模仿)      C．punish            D．laugh at

3.When others congratulate us on our achievements, we are supposed to _______.

A．praise them in return

B．gain further improvement

C．politely accept the compliments

D．expect them to congratulate you again

4.Which of the following proverbs (sayings) best goes with Paragraph 4?

A．Look before your leap.

B．It is no use crying over spilt milk.

C．Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.

D．Learn from past mistakes and avoid future ones.

5.The purpose of the text is to _______.

A．tell people how to become successful

B．convince people to do what they believe to be right

C．encourage people to build confidence and achieve success

D．criticize people who lack confidence and thus fail in their career

I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs or toast. When others had cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different from the other kids' also. But at least, I wasn't alone in my sufferings. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.

    My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were on a chain gang. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. She insisted if we said we'd be gone an hour, that we be gone one hour or less — not one hour and one minute.

    We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath everyday. The other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of insults because she made our clothes herself, just to save money.

    The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and up at eight the next morning. We couldn't sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept --- my mother actually had the nerve to break the Child Labor Law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, learn to cook and all sorts of cruel things. I believe she laid awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us.

    Through the years, things didn't improve a bit. We could not lie in bed, "sick" like our friends did, and miss school. Our marks in school had to be up to par. Our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother, being as different as she was, would settle for nothing less than ugly black marks.

    As the years rolled by, first one and then the other of us was put to shame. We were graduated from high school. With our mother behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the pleasure of being a drop-out.

    My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Out of four children, a couple of us attained some higher education. None of us have ever been arrested or divorced. Each of my brothers served his time in the service of this country. She forced us to grow up into God-fearing, educated, honest adults. Using this as a background, I am now trying to raise my three children. I am filled with pride when my children call me mean. Why? Because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the whole world.

What can we infer from the passage?

A. The author is not happy to have such a mean mother.       

B. The author's mother broke the Child Labor Law to make money.

C. The author's mother failed to educate her children to be honest adults

D. The author is strict with her children.

Why couldn’t the author eat candy for breakfast?

  A. Because she preferred cereal, eggs or toast to candy.

  B. Because her mother couldn’t afford for candy.

  C. Because her mother thought it not good to eat candy for breakfast.

  D. Because her mother had to gave candy to the author’s sister and two brothers.

The author’s mother made her children work because _________ .

   A. she had trouble falling into sleep

   B. she could not keep such a big family without her children’s help

   C. she was teaching her children to live by themselves.

   D. she had no time to do housework.

For a long time I saw happiness as a huge banner (旗帜）across the finish line of a long race. I felt that only when I 36 _____ certain things could I finally be happy in my life. Most of the time I felt like a tortoise believing that being slow and 37 _____ would win the race. At other times I would 38 _____ like a rabbit trying different side roads at a dangerous 39 _____ hoping to reach that banner a little faster. 40 _____ , I began to see that no matter how long I raced towards it, the banner was never any 41 _____ I finally decided one day to 42 _____ and take a break. It was then that I saw my 43 _____ sitting beside me.

It had been with me as I 44 _____ hard to support my family, as I played with my children and heard their 45 _____ and even when I was 46 _____ with my wife at my side looking after me. It had been with me as I raced towards that stupid banner. I just didn’t have the 47 _____ to see it.

There is an old Chinese proverb that says, “Tension is what you think you should be. 48 _____ is who you are” Perhaps we all should stop our race towards the 49 _____ life we think we should have and 50 _____ the life we have now. Happiness will never be found under some banner far away. If will be found 51 _____ your own heart, soul and mind. It will be found when you 52 _____ that others love you just as you do.

Don’t be a tortoise or a rabbit when it comes to your happiness. Be a playful puppy and carry your stick of 53 _____ with you everywhere you go. 54 _____ yourself out of the race and realize that when it comes to love and happiness you are 55 _____ there.

1.                A．forgot          B．missed         C．overcame D．accomplished

2.                A．safe           B．steady          C．calm D．quiet

3.                A．act            B．run            C．jump D．walk

4.                A．place          B．height          C．speed    D．time

5.                A．Generally       B．Gradually       C．Unfortunately  D．Firstly

6.                A．clearer         B．lower          C．closer    D．smaller

7.                A．settle in        B．start off         C．stop by   D．sit down

8.                A．happiness       B．goal            C．success   D．friendship

9.                A．studied         B．fought          C．exercised D．worked

10.               A．laughter        B．complaints      C．stories    D．breathing

11.               A．lonely          B．tired           C．sick  D．hungry

12.               A．courage        B．chance         C．wisdom   D．strength

13.               A．Stress          B．Relaxation      C．Failure    D．Pain

14.               A．real           B．perfect         C．common   D．colorful

15.               A．enjoy          B．change         C．improve   D．create

16.               A．from           B．on            C．over  D．in

17.               A．realize         B．believe         C．hope D．admit

18.               A．sorrow         B．responsibility    C．fortune   D．joy

19.               A．Carry          B．Make          C．Push  D．Take

20.               A．never          B．still            C．already    D．ever

Daniel Boone was born in the United States in 1734. He didn't go to school and couldn't read, although he learned all about the forests, streams and hunting. He could move silently like an Indian leaving no marks. He loved to live alone in the woods where nothing frightened him.

When he grew up, he married and tried to settle down on a farm. A year later, however, he wasn't satisfied and decided to go into the unknown western lands, crossing the Appalachian Mountains. When he returned after two years, he became famous for his long journey. He brought valuable animal skins and told stories about the Indians.

After this, he chose to keep travelling to unknown places. Once he lost to the Indians in battle and was taken away. The Indians liked him and became his friends.

Daniel Boone died at the age of 86. He is remembered as an explorer(探险者)and a pioneer who lived an exciting life in the early years of American nation.

1.Daniel Boone's early life was mainly spent in ______ .

A．learning about nature

B．hunting with his friends

C．learning useful skills from the Indians

D．studying at home because he couldn't go to school

2.When he got married, Daniel Boone first planned to ______.

A．set up a large farm

B．go on a journey with his wife

C．find food, new land for his farm

D．live a peaceful life with his family

3.Daniel Boone became famous because ______ .

A．he travelled a lot in the western lands

B．he was very good at telling stories

C．he found better animal skins than others

D．he was the first to climb the Appalachian Mountains

4.Why did the Indians want to make friends with him?

A．Because they wanted to learn from him.

B．Because he wanted to make peace with them.

C．Because they wanted to make friends with white people.

D．No reason is told in this article.

5.In this article, Daniel Boone is best described as ______ .

A．warm-hearted                          B．strong

C．careful                               D．brave

短文改错（共10小题，每小题1分，满分10分）

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在其下面写出该词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线（ ），并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1.每处错误及修改均仅限一词;

2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分

Of all my teachers, Mr. Smith is one who impresses me most. Although he is 40 and ordinary, but he looks very young. And he is one of the most popular teacher in our school. Compared with other teachers, he paid more attention to his way of teaching. He tries various ways make his classes interesting. In her opinion, we should not only know “what” but also understanding “why”. So, instead of giving us answers immediate, he encourages us to think by ourselves when he puts forward questions. Under his help, we have learned how to analyze and settle problems. How a wonderful world of “why” he leads us to!