“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity，” said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I’ ve never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it’ s probably worth listening to.

Her point is that blind luck is very rare. You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you. If you’ re a Chinese，you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump (树桩) for a rabbit to run out and break its neck.

A book by the UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, called The Luck Factor, argues we can all make ourselves luckier. It’ s not about going to a temple to burn some incense (香) in hopes that the gods will give you good fortune; it’ s practical advice you can follow each day.

Wiseman conducted an experiment as part of his studies. First he divided volunteers into two groups：those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not. He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper，” was written in big letters. The unlucky people mostly did not  spot  the message.

It’s easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper. They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity. People who are “lucky”， in fact, keep an open mind and don’t go through the same routine every day.

I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do. Like many foreigners，my plan was to teach English for one year. Seven years later, and still here, I’ ve had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines. I did not dream these would have been possible. I’ ve also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police. Coincidence(巧合)? After reading about Professor Wiseman’ s studies I think not.

As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment. Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational (理性)thinking, but it’s important to consider how you feel about each choice you make. Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential （潜在）problem.

Finally, try to turn bad luck into good. Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English.

1.Which of the following proverbs most agrees with the writer’ s point?

A. Make the best of a bad job.

B. Rome was not built in a day.

C. All is not gold that glitters.

D. A good heart conquers ill fortune.

2.What do you know about Oprah Winfrey?

A. She became famous through her family background.

B. She was very lucky and seldom suffered setbacks （挫折）in her life.

C. She is a British talk show host.

D. She became successful by her own effort.

3.The writer quoted（引用） the Chinese tale of a farmer in order to show________.

A. luck is in your own hand

B. bad luck can turn into good

C. you should not sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you

D. man can conquer nature

4.From the experiment Wiseman drew the conclusion that________.

A. lucky people are quick-minded

B. unlucky people are slow to read

C. lucky people often have an open mind

D. unlucky people are more creative

5.The underlined word “spot” is the closest in meaning to“________”．

A. discover         B. mark   C. make               D. receive

The new idea seems fine but we need to ___ in practice.

    A. point it out   B.set it out   C.hand it out   D.try it out

The Man was very sad. He knew that the Cat's days were numbered. The doctor had said there wasn’t anything more that could be done, and that he should take the Cat home and make him as comfortable as possible.

A tear rolled down the Man’s cheek and landed on the Cat’s forehead, The Cat gave him a slightly annoyed look. “Why do you cry, Man?” the Cat asked. “Because you can’t bear the thought of losing me? Because you think you can never replace me?” The Man nodded “yes”.

“Pick up that piece of string from the floor. There, my ‘toy’. The Man reached over and picked up the string. It was about two feet long and the Cat had been able to entertain himself for hours with it. “Now take each end of the string in one hand,” the Cat ordered. The Man did so.

“The end in your left hand is my birth and the end in your right hand is my death. Now bring the two ends together,” the Cat said. The man did so. Then the Cat continued, “You have made a continuous circle. Does any point along the string appear to be different, worse or better than any other part of the string?” The Man inspected the string and then shook his head.

“Close your eyes.” the Cat said. “Now lick your hand.” The Man widened his eyes in surprise. “Just do it,” the Cat said. “Lick your hand, think of me in all my familiar places, and think about all the pieces of string.”

Licking his hand, he discovered what a cat must know, that licking a paw is very calming and allows one to think more clearly. He continued licking and the corners of his mouth turned upward into the first smile he had shown in days. He waited for the Cat to tell him to stop, and when he didn’t, he opened his eyes. The Cat’s eyes were closed. The Man stroked(轻抚) the warm, brown fur, but the Cat was gone.

One day, not long after, there was a new cat on his lap. She was a lovely white cat. It is very different from his earlier beloved Cat and very much the same.

1.Why did the Cat give the man a slightly annoyed look?

A．Because the man’s tears made the Cat really anxious.

B．Because the Cat didn’t know what made the man burst into tears.

C．Because the Cat couldn’t go to sleep when the man was in low spirits.

D．Because the man didn’t have to be so sad and concerned.

2.According to the text, which of the following is the reason why a cat licks paws?

A．Licking paws can make a cat remain calm and have a clear mind.

B．Licking paws will make a cat happy and energetic.

C．Licking paws will make a cat find out many unknown secrets.

D．Licking paws can make a cat stay tidy and healthy.

3.What does the underlined word “string” in paragraph 3 stand for?

A．Life.              B．Birth.             C．Hope.            D．Power.

4.What's the main idea of the passage?

A．Pets play an important part in our life.

B．Life has no end and death is just a new beginning.

C．We should take a positive attitude towards life and live life to its fullest.

D．It gives us some suggestions on how to relieve ourselves when a pet passes away.

One winter during college in New York, I took an 8 am history class to fulfill a requirement. It was 36 to get up for that class, but every morning I would 37 the cold winds and went to the lecture.

The professor for the class would step 38 into the room. He was terribly nervous about the class and always fixed his eyes on his book, never 39 us.

I felt that I needed to do something to 40 the boredom, so I tried to find something in his lecture to ask him, 41 me to pay attention rather than letting my eyes close. The first time 42 I raised my hand, he was surprised but was obviously 43 to have a question to answer. I continued to do this every day. The professor seemed to become a bit more 44 and some other students even joined in. In fact, his answers were always 45. In this way, I learned quite a lot and realized the professor was indeed a/an 46 in his field.

On the last day of class we 47 our books and headed out. The professor stepped directly in front of me, with obvious 48, putting out his hand. He said, “49 you for making my class so interesting,” shaking my hand and smiling. I was so 50. To me, it had been a pleasant way to 51 the time in his lesson. I had no idea that my 52 had any effect on him or the others at all.

That 53 has stayed with me for 30 years. I don’t 54 the fact I learned in his class, but I’ll never forget the professor who taught me a lesson about the 55 of acts of kindness, indeed or not.

完形填空（共20题，每小题1.5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并将答案填入答题卡中。

When I was younger, I belonged to a club that did community service work. There was one specific event that was 36 for me. We spent four hours handing out warm dinner to the homeless in the streets. After that we went to a(n) 37 shelter.

I was in high school at the time and my sister was too 38 to take part. She wanted to 39 , so she made sixty cookies for us to take and 40 to people. When we got to the homeless shelter we passed out the remaining 41 we had left. Next, we began making sandwiches and pairing them with other goodies(好吃的东西)and 42 them with the crowd. I had the cans with my sister’s cookies in them and began to walk around, offering them to anyone near me.

I 43 an older gentleman and said, “Sir, would you like a 44 ?”He stopped and turned around, 45 ，“What did you say? Did you call me sir?” And I told him I had, and his eyes watered a little bit and he said, “No one has ever called me sir. 46 ”

It  47  me to the core（彻底地）.

I explained I had been taught that everyone deserved respect. It 48  me to think that just because he was homeless, no one afforded him the 49 which every person should get. It broke my 50 , and I couldn’t help but cry. I just didn’t understand 51 no one ever called him sir. Just because he didn’t have money or a place to live in. Every single person 52 to be treated with dignity(尊严). Years later, I 53 carry that memory and the lessons it taught me. Sometimes, what we take for granted as 54 gestures can really make a(n) 55 in someone’s life.