“All I could see was two sets of red eyes below me,” said Dave Gatty, an Australian farmer who spent seven days up a tree in remote bush land to escape crocodiles. Gatty, 52, said he was forced to take such drastic action after he accidentally went into a crocodile-infested area of Queensland. He only had two meat sandwiches to keep him going, as crocodiles moved beneath his tree each night until his rescue. Gatty said he decided it was safer to hold out for a rescue team than try to make a run for it. His problems began after he fell off his horse while out in the northern Australia outback. Dazed and bleeding, he climbed back on his horse and hoped it would lead him home. It was only when he regained his senses he realized that he had been taken into crocodile-infested area. “I had to get off the horse and I fell straight into a crocodile nest,” he told reporters. 

“That frightened me. I couldn’t go back, it was too far and too dangerous, so I headed to the nearest high ground and stayed there, hoping someone would come and find me before the crocs did.”

Gatty explained how each night two crocodiles would sit at the bottom of the tree staring at him. Although Gatty’s two sandwiches ran out after three days, he was able to get running water during the day and knew rescuers were looking for him as he could see helicopters in the air above his tree.

“If I hadn’t seen the crocs circling me, and if I hadn’t fallen into the croc nest, I would have made a push for it. But I knew the safest thing was for me to sit and wait,” he said. A chocolate bar, given to him by rescuers after being moved to safety by using a winch(卷扬机), “was like a gourmet (delicious)meal,” he said.

1.Gaddy felt _______ when he found himself trapped in the crocodile- infested area.

A. panicked but optimistic                           B. nervous and hopeless

C. upset and regretful                         D. frightened but calm

2.Which of the following did not help Gatty survive the accident?

A. Sandwiches                   B. Running water

C. Chocolates                      D. Staying up in a tree

3.What’s the right order of the events related to the accident?

a. Gaddy climbed up onto his horse unconscious.

b. Gaddy climbed up a tree and stayed there.

c. Gaddy was moved by a winch to safety.

d. Gaddy fell off his horse accidentally.

e. Gaddy found himself in a crocodile-infested area.

A. a d e c b               B.     d a e b c                      C. a d e b c                        D. d e a b c

4.The article can be classified as _________.

A. a news story              B. a scientific fiction

C. a personal essay           D. a literary report

I live in a very over populated beach area in the Los Angeles, and I love the beautiful scenery! But because of many people, lots of things are easy to be out of order, and sometimes it’s also easy to lose your cool. Today was a day I wish I did not get out of bed. I mean that if I did not have to wake up and deal with all the things that I deal with on a daily basis, it would have been wonderful.

I had a cup of coffee this morning and that was my meal for breakfast, not healthy I know. Anyway, my stomach was sounding like a truck. So, I jumped in my car and decided to buy some food.

I was in line at Taco Bell (一家墨西哥速食店) and the line was like a long snake! Finally I got to place my order, but a young girl in nice clothes pulled in and was stuck in such a way that unless I moved for her, she wouldn’t be able to get out. So I backed up and waved her into my place in the front of the line.

To my surprise, this young girl did not say thanks. I was cool with it because I thought that I had done something nice for a change. After the girl received her food and pulled away, I pulled into the ordering spot, not mad, but hungry, and the employee said, “Hi, that girl just paid for your food.”

That food was the most satisfying nourishment (营养品) my body had ever taken! If just by chance you are that person who bought my food, I should say “Thank you!”

1.The underlined part in the first paragraph probably means “_____”.

A．be friendly to others                     B．become angry

C．get warmer                            D．remain calm

2.What happened to the author according to the passage?

A．He remained lying in bed all the morning.

B．He didn’t feel well after drinking a cup of coffee.

C．He made room for a girl who jumped the queue.

D．He had a quarrel with a girl who didn’t stand in line.

3.How did the young girl show her thanks to the author?

A．She got out of her car and said thanks.

B．She drove away with her own food.

C．She received her food and waved goodbye.

D．She paid for the author’s food without him knowing.

4.The best title for the passage might be _____.

A．Kindness is spreading

B．Being patient wins respect

C．Being calm is important in accidents

D．Being polite can change the world

Hot words on the Internet don’t stay hot for long. “Geili” and “fuyun”, last year’s biggest linguistic innovations, are practically prehistoric in Internet terms. What’s buzzing now is “hold steady”

The term comes from a segment (片段) on the Taiwanese TV show University which features Miss Lin(Xie Yilin) giving a lecture on how to behave like a fashion queen at parties or on the bus. The extremely funny lecture is mainly an over-the-top mockery(嘲笑) of the fashion world, but Miss Lin makes a point: We need to hold steady in pressure-filled or embarrassing situations.

Holding steady, Internet slang for “staying poised”, is one of the qualities the public has been looking for lately as pressures on marriage, work and money can easily drive people crazy. The quality was demonstrated by a girl named Su Miaoling this year. The contestant in the TV singing competition Super Girl carried herself with an air of confidence on stage and kept her cool when others got anxious. “I like your poise(淡定). Very few contestants on this stage can keep calm like you do,” said one of the show’s judges, Hu Haiquan, to Su. Internet users dubbed Su “Sister Poise”.

Poise is also appreciated in Western culture as an essential quality of a well-mannered person. Each year, the National League of Junior Cotillions of the US releases a list of the Ten Best Mannered People. Kate Middleton made it onto the list in 2011 “for the poise and dignity with which she conducts herself in the public spotlight”. The Duchess of Cambridge was also acclaimed earlier this year for her remarkable poise at the royal wedding.

Good news for many, poise is not genetic----it can be acquired with a bit of effort. A personal growth guidance gives tips on how to stay poised. “Take a few deep breaths when you are facing a situation that tests your patience; practice yoga regularly to calm your nerves; use self-affirmation by saying ‘I choose to be calm in any situation’; write down your affirmation daily to imprint the goal,” reads the site.

1.According to the passage, what does “hold steady” mean?

2.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

3.Which of the following is NOT the way to hold steady?

4.The purpose of this passage is to_______.

It is common and usual to see people freak out when they face challenges in their life. We all pass in different life problems and challenges. No one is free of life problems. Only a dead man faces no problem. As long as you are alive, challenges are everywhere.

How do you face problems and challenges in your life? Problems and challenges are the building blocks of your personality. They make you who you are. Besides, whether what happened in your life builds or destructs you depends on how you look at it. If you take your problems as troubles, they will be troubles and may cause destruction. If you take them as constructive tools, you are going to be built up on them.

Problems are everywhere. No one can avoid them. And they are good too. They open up a different look and opportunity if you are willing to see. When you face troubles, do not frustrate or freak out. Just cool yourself to think in a different direction. Think in a positive way. Every problem has its own good as well as bad sides. Focus on the good one. Look at the bright side.

Besides, there is always a good person, perhaps your mom or dad, or one of your friends, right beside you who can turn everything into your best if you are willing to turn to them. No matter what happens­, they will be there to help you. Trust them and they will never let you down. All you need to know is that you are loved wherever you are.

1.What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “freak out” in Paragraph 1?

A. feel shy.   B. feel upset.   C. keep up.    D. stay calm.

2.In Paragraph 2, the writer implies that ______.

A. problems cause troubles

B. challenges can be avoided

C. attitude is everything

D. personalities are built on failures

3.According to the last paragraph, when we're in trouble, we ______.

A. can only depend on our parents    B. are not confident

C. should only believe ourselves      D. are not alone

4.What’s the writer’s purpose to write the passage?

A. To explain.         B. To compare.

C. To prove.                     D. To encourage.

Mickey was a nice, cheerful, optimistic boy. No one could remember ever having seen him 36;it seemed he didn’t 37 whatever people said to him. Even his teachers admired his good 38. It was so unusual that a story was going around that Mickey’s 39 must be due to some special secret. They asked Mickey so much that, one afternoon, he 40 his favorite teacher, Mr. Anthony, to tea. When they had finished, Mickey 41 Mr. Anthony around the house. When Mickey opened his bedroom door, the teacher 42 . The huge wall was a unique collage (拼贴画) of thousands of colors and shapes! It was the loveliest 43 Mr. Anthony had ever seen.

“Some people at school think I 44 think badly of anyone,” Mickey started to explain, “and that 45 at all bothers me, but that’s not true at all. I’m just like anyone else. I used to get angrier than all the other kids. 46 years ago, with the help of my parents, I started a small collage. With every little piece I stuck on I added some bad thought or act.”

It was 47. The teacher looked closely at the wall. In each one of the small 48 he could read, “fool”, “silly”, “pain”, “bore”, and a thousand other 49 things.

“This is how I started 50 all my bad times into an opportunity to 51 to my collage. Now I like the collage so much that, each time someone makes me angry, I couldn’t be 52 . They’ve given me a new piece for my work of 53 .”

That day, the teacher was impressed by Mickey’s secret to having an optimistic character. Without telling anyone, on that very day, Mr. Anthony 54 his own collage. He would often 55 it to his students. Years later, each house contained its own beautiful works of art, made by those cheerful and optimistic children.