I learned about life from an ant farm. When I was seven years old, my family tried to __1__ an ant farm at home. First, we put clean sand in a thin glass box, and then we brought some ants from the backyard and placed them into the __2__ home.

Shortly after the new __3__ were dropped into the glass structure, they got to work making tunnels. I was amazed that each one knew __4__ what to do. After hours of staring, I realized that the ants had particular given jobs. With my mom’s help, I kept a journal of what happened each day and __5__ the ants. My favorite was the biggest, Cinderella. I drew a picture of her in my journal, which I still have.

On day five a disaster __6__ the ant farm. While I was __7__ the ants, I had put my face so close to the structure that I accidentally tipped it over, __8__ in all the tunnels. Although the ants __9__ their earthquake, one by one they began to die. I was __10__ as I watched them give up their tunnel-building to carry the bodies to a corner of the farm. My mother reported that the ants were dying of “frustration”—feeling annoyed and impatient as they couldn’t control the situation. They simply could not __11__ the reality that their tunnels had been destroyed. Cinderella was the last to die; she did so while carrying a dead ant on her back.

Although much time has passed, I still think of that ant farm. Mom had hoped it would teach me about the natural world, __12__ it taught me much more. __13__ the years, I came to realize the ants were a study in the benefits of __14__. Working together, they were able to create a(n) __15__ world for themselves. I also learned that they should be __16__ for their hard work. Day in and day out, each labored at their task. The ant farm demonstrated that teamwork and perseverance are indeed two key __17__ to success. But there was an even larger lesson that I did not __18__ until recently: Disaster is a natural part of life, and must be __19__. Unlike the ants, humans cannot give up when they face __20__. Unlike the ants, we have to realize that if a tunnel caves in, we just have to build another.

1.                A．get            B．buy            C．run  D．find

2.                A．empty          B．new           C．strange   D．distant

3.                A．guests          B．settlers         C．friends   D．members

4.                A．probably        B．roughly         C．exactly   D．normally

5.                A．named         B．trained         C．compared     D．measured

6.                A．affected        B．struck          C．kicked    D．beat

7.                A．removing       B．teaching        C．observing D．collecting

8.                A．turning         B．rushing         C．filling D．caving

9.                A．experienced     B．predicted       C．faced D．survived

10.               A．annoyed        B．horrified        C．moved    D．thrilled

11.               A．reflect         B．ignore         C．confirm   D．stand

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

13.               A．In             B．For            C．From D．Over

14.               A．teamwork       B．devotion        C．responsibility   D．organization

15.               A．relaxing        B．amusing        C．moving    D．amazing

16.               A．supported      B．inspired        C．admired   D．admitted

17.               A．certificates      B．approaches     C．ingredients D．circumstances

18.               A．give           B．realize         C．take  D．adopt

19.               A．accepted       B．suffered        C．achieved D．managed

20.               A．challenges      B．barriers        C．pressure  D．disappointment

When Nancy Lublin got $5,000 from her great-grandfather, she never once considered taking a vacation or paying off her student loans. ___1___, the 24-year-old New York University law student began thinking about the clothing ___2___ faced by most of today’s low-income women. “If she goes for a job interview ___3___ dressed, she won’t get the job,” Lublin says. “But without a job, she can’t ___4___ proper clothing.”

       A few weeks later, Lublin ___5___ Dress for Success and began searching for clothing and volunteers. She asked women to give away ___6___ business clothes that were ___7___ in good condition. She asked the members of diet centers to give away clothes that no longer fitted. At first Lublin ___8___ the clothes in her one-bedroom apartment, but later on she found ___9___ in the Greenwich Village church basement, which now ___10___ as the organization’s main office.

       Today, when women arrive at the office for help with job-hunting, they ___11___ a dress, shoes, a bag, a pair of stocking, jewelry, and self-confidence as well. ___12___ are trying to enter the workforce after being on welfare (福利) for years.

       ___13___Dress for Success fitted its first person who got help a year ago, more than 1,000 women have received help and many have won ___14___. Yarit Polanco was recently ___15___ as a law-firm office manager. “Thanks to Dress for Success, I made a good impression and was accepted,” she says.

       Donations (捐赠) are now ___16___in, including jewelry and 6,000 pairs of trousers and $40,000 worth of handbags. Broadcast journalists have given suits. And Lublin is opening Dress for Success ___17___ in other cities. “Many women have clothes___18___ around that they’ll never wear again,” says a volunteer. “Nancy’s ___19___ is simple and practical and the ___20___ has proved so important to those women who are in great need of it.”

1. A. Anyway        B. Instead              C. Fortunately        D. Meanwhile

2. A. condition              B. direction            C. design               D. plan

3. A. poorly                  B. well                  C. better                D. worse

4. A. make                    B. find                   C. wear                 D. afford

5. A. reached                B. called                C. founded            D. visited

6. A. used                     B. needed                     C. new                  D. torn

7. A. yet                       B. already              C. almost               D. still

8. A. hid                B. stored               C. discovered         D. hanged

9. A. space                   B. employers          C. work                D. office

10. A. regards               B. serves               C. looks                D. lies

11. A. buy                    B. sell                    C. receive              D. watch

12. A. Both                   B. None                 C. All                    D. Some

13. A. When                 B. Once                 C. Although           D. Since

14. A. jobs                    B. shoes                C. business            D. prizes

15. A. fired                   B. hired                 C. interviewed        D. considered

16. A. giving                 B. pouring             C. showing            D. sending

17. A. schools               B. trades                C. races                D. branches

18. A. lying                   B. appearing           C. collecting          D. coming

19. A. promise                     B. belief                 C. idea                  D. opinion

20. A. help                    B. work                 C. shop                 D. money

ARGENTINA’S new government faced public anger over its recent decision to greatly reduce the dollar value of its citizens’ bank savings. More than two-thirds of Argentine bank savings were in US dollars. The country’s recession (衰退)，which is in its fourth year, has left a third of Argentine’s 36 million people in poverty.

A few angry people took the streets on January 21, beating pots and pans in protest. And a group of unemployed Argentines demanding jobs blocked a major highway into Argentina’s capital city, Buenos Aires.

Argentines fear they could lose up to half the dollar value of their savings. Some on the street said the country’s fifth president in the past month has already failed them.

After three weeks in power, President Eduardo Duhalde has broken his first and biggest promise. He said he would return people’s savings in the currency in which were deposited(开户). Duhalde aims to make exports more competitive. But this is expected to have a serious effect on ordinary families, for the simple reason that in Argentine, 80 percent of loans and mortgages(抵押) are in dollars. The government froze all the bank savings made in dollars, worth US$45 billion in total to stop a run on banks. This cause huge street protest earlier this month and contributed to the downfall of two governments. “Most of my life savings were just taken away from me, “ said Jose, a 38-year-old citizen. “I was going to move to Italy but now I can’t because my money is trapped here. Argentina is like a prison.”

The government loosened the new banking rules a little bit on January 17. However, people still don’t have free access to their bank account. They are only allowed to take out rapidly devaluing pesos, even though their savings are in US dollars.

The banking controls will remain in place for about three months, with a few exceptions for the elderly or people with sever illnesses who need crash.

1.How many people have been left in poverty because of Argentina’s economic recession?

A. all Argentines people                    B. 24 million people

C. 12 million people                    D. 36 million people

2.What cause Argentines to protest in the streets earlier this month?

A. Argentina’s economic recession.

B. Argentina’s new government made its people angry.

C. Argentina’s government froze all the bank savings made in US dollars.

D. Two of Argentina’s governments failed to make exports more competitive.

3.What does the sentence… my money is trapped here” mean_____?

A. My bank savings have been frozen by the government.

B. I don’t want to take my money away.

C. I don’t have any money in the bank.

D. My money has been taken by the Italian government.

4.According to the article, which of the following sentences is correct?

A. people can get their money from the bank freely.

B. People are only allowed to get US dollars from the bank.

C. The government will only allow people to get pesos from the bank.

D. The banking controls will loosen a little in three months’ time.

5.Argentines cannot get US dollars from the bank unless they are_____.

A. ordinary people                  B. rich or government officials

C. poor people                      D. old or seriously ill

I told my friend Graham that I often cycle two miles from my house to the town centre but unfortunately there is a big hill on the route. He replied, “You mean fortunately.” He explained that I should be glad of the extra exercise that the hill provided.
My attitude to the hill has now changed. I used to grumble as I approached it but now I tell myself the following. This hill will exercise my heart and lungs. It will help me to lose weight and get fit. It will mean that I live longer. This hill is my friend. Finally I comfort myself with the thought of all those silly people who pay money to go to a gym and sit on stationery exercise bicycles when I can get the same value for free. I have a smile of satisfaction as I reach the top of the hill.
Problems are there to be faced and overcome. We cannot achieve anything with an easy life. Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a university degree. Her activism and writing proved inspirational. She wrote, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can vision be cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.”
One of the key factors of success in life is our attitude towards adversity (逆境). From time to time we all face hardships, problems, accidents, afflictions and difficulties. Some are of our making but many confront us through no fault of our own. While we cannot choose the adversity we can choose our attitude towards it.
Douglas Bader was 21 when in 1931 he had both legs cut off following a flying accident. He was determined to fly again and went on to become one of the leading flying aces in the Battle of Britain with 22 aerial victories over the Germans. He was an inspiration to others during the war. He said, “Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t do this or that. That’s nonsense. Make up your mind, and you’ll never use crutches (拐杖) or a stick, and then have a go at evening. Go to school, and join in all the games you can. Go anywhere you want to. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible.”
The biographies of great people are full of examples of how they took steps to overcome the difficulties they faced. The common thread is that they did not become depressed. They chose their attitude. They chose to be positive. They took on the challenge. They won.
Nevertheless, there is still the problem of how you change your attitude towards adversity.
【小题1】The underlined word “grumble” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to ________.