During my review for the medical boards, I gained 101 pounds in four months and promised to exercise when all of this was over. I successfully passed the medical boards and now I have to face the music.
One morning, I woke up and decided to go to a park to start working out. I got out of bed, washed my face, brushed my teeth and put on my sports shoes. Then I headed for the park. While going there, I decided to set a goal for myself, that, I had to finish 10 rounds before I went home.
Upon reaching the park, I joined the people in walking around the park. I was enjoying every step, breathing in fresh air, appreciating the green grass and looking at the dried leaves falling from the trees while listening to my iPod.
On my 5th round, I felt tired, hungry and thirsty. I thought of giving it up, going home and sleeping again. As the idea battled in my mind, I was reminded about the goal I had set just a while ago. I kept on walking and as I looked around, I saw myself in the midst of men and women much older than me who continued to move on. Some even suffered from a stroke(中风) that had difficulty walking, some took on small steps with a cane on hand and some took on pauses before they continued their walk but still they kept on walking.
Suddenly I realized that each of us has set our own goals in our lives, such as reaching a dream, building up a career, correcting a past mistake or starting a business. The process won’t be easy. We may encounter(遇到) a lot of difficulties and obstacles that may push us to just give up.
Amazed by the men and women whom I walked with that morning, I finished my goal in the end.
Let us be inspired with the people around us who experience the same or even a greater amount of difficulty but still don’t give up and continue until they reach their goals and now are savoring(享受) their success.
【小题1】What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 mean?

A friend of mine was in low spirits one day. He usually dealt with this state of mind by avoiding people until the mood passed. But on that day Fred had an important meeting with his boss, so he decided to put on a false front. During the meeting Fred smiled, joked and played the part of a happy, good-natured person. To his surprise, he soon discovered he was no longer depressed. 

Without realizing it, Fred chanced to find an important new principle of psychological research: acting a part can help us feel the way we want to feel — more self-assured in a trying situation, more cheerful when things go wrong.

How can you put this principle to work in your own life? There’s more involved than simply mimicking a few expressions. You have to be systematic about it. Here’s how:

Smile to cheer yourself up.

Relax to reduce anxiety or fear.

Look your best to increase your self-confidence.

Keep cool in a crisis.

Using our bodies and actions to change the way we feel can be a useful tool in helping us through life’s difficult times. As novelist George Eliot wrote more than a century ago, “Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.” People who remember that — and act upon it — can only be richer and happier for the experience.

1.In paragraph 1 the underlined phrase “to put on a false front” means ______.

A．to wear a wrong coat

B．to act a part unsuccessfully

C．to show a pretended happy appearance

D．to put on airs

2.According to Paragraph 1, Fred ______before the meeting.

A．had very few spirits

B．had many spirits

C．was in bad mood

D．was in good mood

3.The underlined phrase “mimicking” in Paragraph 3 most probably means ______.

A．learning quickly

B．making faces

C．behaving well

D．imitating others

4.In the last paragraph, the quotation “Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds” may show that ______.

A．actions speak louder than words

B．the more we do, the happier we are

C．our feeling cannot change our behavior

D．actions are very important for us to beat bad moods for good

During my review for the medical boards, I gained 101 pounds in four months and promised to exercise when all of this was over. I successfully passed the medical boards and now I have to face the music.

One morning, I woke up and decided to go to a park to start working out. I got out of bed, washed my face, brushed my teeth and put on my sports shoes. Then I headed for the park. While going there, I decided to set a goal for myself, that, I had to finish 10 rounds before I went home.

Upon reaching the park, I joined the people in walking around the park. I was enjoying every step, breathing in fresh air, appreciating the green grass and looking at the dried leaves falling from the trees while listening to my iPod.

On my 5th round, I felt tired, hungry and thirsty. I thought of giving it up, going home and sleeping again. As the idea battled in my mind, I was reminded about the goal I had set just a while ago. I kept on walking and as I looked around, I saw myself in the midst of men and women much older than me who continued to move on. Some even suffered from a stroke(中风) that had difficulty walking, some took on small steps with a cane on hand and some took on pauses before they continued their walk but still they kept on walking.

Suddenly I realized that each of us has set our own goals in our lives, such as reaching a dream, building up a career, correcting a past mistake or starting a business. The process won’t be easy. We may encounter(遇到) a lot of difficulties and obstacles that may push us to just give up.

Amazed by the men and women whom I walked with that morning, I finished my goal in the end.

Let us be inspired with the people around us who experience the same or even a greater amount of difficulty but still don’t give up and continue until they reach their goals and now are savoring(享受) their success.

1.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．Now I don’t feel like listening to my iPod.

B．Now I have to care more about my health.

C．Now I have to take physical exercise.

D．Now it is time for me to listen to music.

2.What did the author do on his way to the park?

A．He worked out a plan for his future.

B．He reflected on the causes of his overweight.

C．He decided to finish 10 rounds that morning.

D．He planned to take exercises every day.

3.When the author was walking the 5th round _____.

A．he didn’t want to continue walking

B．he found it easy to keep his promise

C．he was enjoying walking in the park

D．he was too tired to keep up with others

4.What inspired the author to finish 10 rounds that morning?

A．The goal he kept in mind.                 B．His strong will to keep fit.

C．The good figure he wanted.                D．The people exercising in the park.

C

One Sunday, my family had gathered at my parents’ house to feast upon Mom’s wonderful cooking. During the normal dinner chatter (闲聊), I noticed that my father was slurring (说话含混) his words. No one mentioned this during dinner, but I felt compelled to discuss it with my mother afterward.

We decided that there was something seriously wrong and that Dad needed to see the doctor.

Mom phoned me two days later. “The doctor found a brain tumor (肿瘤). It’s too large at this point to operate. Maybe they can do something then, but the odds are long.”

Even with the treatment, my father’s condition worsened, and the doctor finally informed us that this condition was terminal (晚期的). During one of his stays in the hospital, we brought our baby daughter Chelsey with us when we visited him. By this time he had great difficulty speaking. I finally figured out that he wanted Chelsey to sit on his stomach so he could make faces at her.

Watching the two of them together, I realized I was living an experience that would stay with me forever. Though grateful for the times they could share, I couldn’t shake the feeling of a clock ticking in the background.?

On the visit to my parents’ home during what we all know was my father’s last days, my mother took Chelsey from my arms and announced, “Your father would like to see you alone for a minute.”

I entered the bedroom where my father lay on a rented hospital bed. He appeared even weaker than the day before.

“How are you feeling, Dad?” I asked. “Can I do anything for you?”

He tried to speak, but he couldn’t make out a word.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t understand you,” I said.

With great difficulty he said, “I love you.”

We don’t learn courage from heroes on the evening news. We learn true courage from watching ordinary people rise above hopeless situations. In many ways my father was a strict, uncommunicative man. He found it difficult to show emotion. The bravest thing I ever saw him do was overcome that barrier to open his heart to his son and family at the end of his life.

1.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．The writer accompanied his father to a medical examination.

B．The writer’s father got worse after the removal of the brain tumor.

C．The writer was quick to notice the strange condition of his father.

D．The writer’s father had known about his illness before the writer discovered it.

2. What does the underlined sentence “the odds are long” mean?

A．There’s little possibility for Father to recover.

B．It takes a long time for Father to recover.

C．Father needs love and care from his family.

D．They need a proper time to operate on Father.

3.The father had never said “I love you” to the writer before because ________.

A．he believed in strictness and punishment

B．he was not so attached to the writer

C．he thought there was no need to tell the writer

D．he was not used to openly showing his emotions

4.What does the writer attempt to tell us?

A．We don’t often value health until we lose it.

B．Don’t wait to see a doctor till it is too late.

C．Life is short, so live your life to the fullest.

D．Bravely express your love for your family.

Once upon a time there was a precious sword. Now, this sword belonged to a great King, and for as long as anyone could remember, the King spent all his time in his place, enjoying its shows and competitions with other swords. One day a great dispute（争端）arouse between this King and the King of a neighbouring country. It ended with both declaring war.
The sword was greatly excited at the prospect of taking part in its first real battle. It would show everyone how truly brave and special it was, and would become well-known throughout the kingdom. On the way to the front line, the sword imagined itself the winner of many battles. However, when it arrived, the first battle had already broken out, and the sword got to see the results of the war. What it saw had nothing in common with what the sword had imagined. No elegant shining knights, successful, with their weapons shining in the sunlight. Instead, all the sword saw was broken weapons, and a large crowd of hungry and thirsty men. There was hardly any food left. Everything was covered in dirt and disgusting smell. Many were half dead and scattered on the ground, bleeding from multiple wounds.
Seeing this, the sword realized it liked neither wars nor battles. It decided it preferred to live in peace and spend its time taking part in tournaments and competitions. So, on the night before what was going to be the big final battle, the sword tried to find a way to prevent it from taking place. After a while, the sword started to vibrate（颤抖）. First it gave out a low buzz, and then this gradually got louder, until it became an annoying metallic noise. The swords and armour（盔甲）of the soldiers asked the King’s sword what it was doing. It told them, “I don’t want there to be a battle tomorrow. I don’t like war.”
One answered, “No one likes it, but what can we do?”
“Make yourself vibrate, just like what I’m doing,” said the King’s sword. “If we make enough noise, no one will sleep.”
So the weapons started vibrating, and the noise became deafening. It was so loud that it reached the enemy camp, and the weapons there, which were equally sick of war, joined the protest.
The next morning, when the battle should have begun, not a single soldier was ready to fight. No one had managed to get even a wink of sleep, not even the King or the Generals. So they spent the whole day catching up on sleep. During the evening they started to wake up, and decided to put off the battle until the next day.
However, the weapons, led by the King’s sword, spent the night repeating their peace song, and again no soldier could rest. The battle had to be postponed yet again, and this carried on for the next seven days. On the evening of the seventh day, the Kings of the two armies met to see what they could do about the situation. Both were very angry at their previous disputes, but after being together for a while they started to discuss their sleepless nights, the surprise on their soldiers’ faces, the confusion between day and night, and the amusing situations all this had created. It wasn’t long before both were laughing, like friends, at these little stories. Fortunately, they forgot their old disputes and they put an end to the war, each returning to their own land with the double joy

1. 1.

   From the first paragraph, we can infer that _________

   1. A.
      the great King was fond of his precious sword
   2. B.
      a disagreement led to a war between Kings
   3. C.
      the two Kings were once good friends before the war
   4. D.
      the precious sword was used to entertain the great King
2. 2.

   What is the best word to describe the mood of the sword when it heard about the war?

   1. A.
      Worried
   2. B.
      Fearful
   3. C.
      Eager
   4. D.
      peaceful
3. 3.

   When did the sword change its attitude to war?

   1. A.
      When it fought at the first battle
   2. B.
      After it realized that it was not powerful
   3. C.
      When it was on the way to the front line
   4. D.
      After it saw the terrible results of the first battle
4. 4.

   What is the right order of the following events?
   a. The noise was loud enough to reach the other side
   b. The battle had to be postponed because the soldiers in both armies lacked sleep.
   c. It let out continuous low noise
   d. It persuaded other swords to join in.
   e. All the weapons in both side confused day with night

   1. A.
      a, b, c, d, e
   2. B.
      b, a, c, e, d
   3. C.
      c, d, a, e, b
   4. D.
      d, b, a, e, c
5. 5.

   According to the passage, how many times was the battle put off?

   1. A.
      Seven
   2. B.
      Eight
   3. C.
      Nine
   4. D.
      Ten
6. 6.

   What do the underlined words in the last paragraph refer to?

   1. A.
      Both King’s sleepless nights
   2. B.
      The end of war and being friends
   3. C.
      The surprise on the soldiers’ faces
   4. D.
      The confusion of day with night