When middle-aged Alex gave up his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell surely whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work．
After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote．But Alex determined to put his dream to the test-even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadow land （虚幻世界） of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．
One day Alex got a call, "We need an assistant, and we're paying $ 6,000 a year．" $ 6,000 was real money in 1960．It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more．Besides, he could write in his spare time．As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses．He had dreamed of being a fulltime writer．"Thanks, but no," Alex said firmly and swiftly.
After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself," There's everything you've made of yourself so far．I'm not sure I ever felt so low．"
Finally his work was published in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experience．The shadows had turned into focus of attention．
Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before．Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence （坚毅） it takes to stay the course (坚持到底)in the shadow land．
【小题1】Why did Alex give up his job?

A．Because he didn't like the working conditions．

B．Because he couldn't earn enough to make a living．

C．Because he felt he had no potential in his job．

D．Because he wanted to be a full-time writer．

When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work．
After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote．But Alex determined to put his dream to the test—even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadowland（虚幻世界）of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．
One day Alex got a call, "We need an assistant, and we’re paying $ 6,000 a year．” $ 6,000 was real money in 1960．It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more．Besides, he could write in his spare time．As the dollars were dancing in Alex’s head, something cleared his senses．He had dreamed of being a writer? Full time．"Thanks, but no," Alex said firmly and swiftly, "I’m going to stick it out and write．"
After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself," There’s everything you’ve made of yourself so far．I’m not sure I ever felt so low．"
Finally his work was published in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experienced．The shadows had turned into focus of attention．
Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before．Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence it takes to stay the course in the shadowland．
【小题1】Why did Alex give up his job?

When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work．

After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote．But Alex determined to put his dream to the test—even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadowland （虚幻世界） of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．

One day Alex got a call, "We need an assistant, and we're paying $ 6,000 a year．" $ 6,000 was real money in 1960．It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more．Besides, he could write in his spare time．As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses．He had dreamed of being a writer ?full time．"Thanks, but no," Alex said firmly and swiftly, "I'm going to stick it out and write．"

After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself," There's everything you've made of yourself so far．I'm not sure I ever felt so low．"

Finally his work was published in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experience．The shadows had turned into focus of attention．

Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before．Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence （坚毅） it takes to stay the course （持续到底） in the shadowland．

1.Why did Alex give up his job?

2.What did Alex express when he answered the call?

3.What kind of person is Alex?

4.Which of the following can summarize the passage best?

Nothing succeeds like confidence. When you are truly confident, it radiates from you like sunlight, and attracts success to you like a magnet.  Besides, those who are self-confident can in turn inspire 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 under any circumstances, 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. Don't hesitate 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 shall you reap. With your perseverance and improvement, you are getting closer to success. At this stage, wait for others to congratulate you on your accomplishments and compliments graciously. "Thanks, I really worked hard on that prospectus. 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" (Para. 2) is closest in meaning to

A．praise            B．imitate            C．talk to            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 best goes with Paragraph 4.9

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

II语言知识及应用（共两节，满分35分）
第一节 完形填空（共10小题；每小题2分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21~30各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A fox one day fell into a deep well and could find no means of escape. A goat, suffering from   21  , came to the same well, and seeing the Fox, asked if the water was good.    22    to be happy and merry, the fox praised the delicious taste of the water and   23   him to go down. The goat, mindful only of his thirst,   24   jumped down. But just as he drank, the fox informed him of the difficulty they were both in and suggested a   25   for their common escape. “If,” said he, “you will place your forefeet upon the wall and   26   your head, I will run up your back and escape, and will help you out afterwards.” The goat readily agreed and the fox jumped upon his   27  . After he safely reached the mouth of the well, the fox ran off as fast as he could. When the goat blamed him for   28   his promise, he turned around and cried out, “You   29   old fellow! You should never have gone down before you had inspected the way up, nor should you have exposed yourself to the   30   from which you had no means of escape.”
Remember to look before you leap!
21. A. hunger                       B. tiredness                   C. thirst                 D. anger
22. A. Pretending                 B. Wishing                   C. Happening         D. Deciding
23. A. warned                      B. encouraged               C. ordered             D. allowed
24. A. carefully                    B. thoughtlessly            C. generously         D. clumsily
25. A. rest                           B. plan                         C. place                D. dream
26. A. shake                         B. nod                          C. turn                  D. bend
27. A. tail                                   B. legs                         C. stomach            D. back
28. A. breaking                    B. making                    C. remembering     D. keeping
29. A. strange                      B. stubborn                   C. foolish                     D. rude
30. A. danger                       B. water                       C. darkness            D. happiness