When a rare disease ALD threatened to kill the four-year-old boy Lorenzo, his parents refused to give up hope. Doctors explained that there was no cure for ALD, and that he would probably die within three years. But Lorenzo’s parents set out to prove the doctors wrong.

The parents devoted themselves to keeping their son alive and searching for a cure. But doctors and the families of other ALD patients often refused to take them seriously. They thought the efforts to find a cure were a waste of time, and drug companies weren’t interested in supporting research into such a rare disease.

However, the parents still refused to give up and spent every available hour in medical libraries and talking to anyone who would help. Through trial and error, they finally created a cure from ingredients (调料) commonly found in the kitchen. The cure, named "Lorenzo’s Oil", saved the boy’s life. Despite the good results, scientists and doctors remained unconvinced. They said there was no real evidence that the oil worked and that the treatment was just a theory. As a result, some families with ALD children were reluctant to try it.

Finally, the boy’s father organized an international study to test the oil. After ten years of trials, the answer is: the oil keeps ALD children healthy.

1.Doctors said that Lorenzo might die within three years because_____ .

A. they had never treated the disease before????

B. Lorenzo was too young to be cured

C. no cure had been found for ALD????????????

D. ALD was a rare disease

2.The families of other ALD patients thought that _____ .

A. the research for the new cure would cost too much money

B. the efforts of Lorenzo’s parents were a waste of time

C. Lorenzo’s parents would succeed in finding a cure

D. Lorenzo’s oil was a real cure for ALD

3. Scientists and doctors believed that Lorenzo’s Oil_____.

A. was really effective???????????????????? B. was a success story

C. only worked in theory?????????????? D. would save the boy’s life

4. From the passage we can conclude that_____.

A. doctors remain doubtful of the effectiveness of the cure

B. many ALD patients still refuse to use the oil

C. various cures have been found for ALD

D. the oil really works as a cure for ALD

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.

1.The underlined word “grumble” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to ________.

A．tremble           B．complain          C．speed up          D．slow down

2.Which of the following is true according to the author of the passage?

A．Climbing hills on bicycles is the best way to take exercise.

B．People are wise to pay to go to the gym.

C．Those who want to achieve success can’t expect to live an easy life.

D．People’s attitude towards adversity is the only factor that determines whether they will succeed.

3.By quoting what Douglas Bader said, the author intends to tell us “________”.

A．Failure is the mother of success.

B．A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit.

C．If you venture nothing, you will have nothing.

D．Nothing is difficult to the man who will try.

4.Following this passage, the author will further talk about ________.

A．how his friend helped him to change his attitude towards the adversity he faced

B．what steps to take to change your attitude towards the adversity you face

C．what great people have in common

D．why it is important to keep optimistic in face of adversity

5.Which of the following can best function as the title of the passage?

A．Face adversity with a smile

B．Different attitudes towards adversity

C．Nothing is impossible

D．Life is full of adversity

People do not analyse every problem they meet. Sometimes they try to remember a solution from the last time they had a  36  problem. They often accept the opinion or ideas of other people. Other times they begin to act without   37 ; they try to find a solution by trial and error. However, when all of these methods  38  , the person with a problem has to start analysing. There are six  39  in analysing a problem.

  40 , the person must recognize that there is a problem. For example, Sam’s bicycle is broken, and he cannot ride it to class as he usually does. Sam must   41  that there is a problem with his bicycle.

Next the person must  42  the problem. Before Sam can repair his bicycle, he must know why it does not work. For example, he must  43  the parts that are wrong.

Now the person must look for  44  that will make the problem clearer and lead to   45  solutions. For example, suppose Sam  46  that his bike does not work because there is something wrong with the brakes.  47 , he can look in his bicycle repair book and read about brakes, talk to his friends at the bike shop, or look at his brakes carefully.

After  48  the problem, the person should have several suggestions for a possible solution. Take Sam as an example  49, his suggestions might be: tighten or loosen the brakes; buy new brakes and change the old ones.

In the end, one  50  seems to be the solution to the problem. Sometimes the  51  idea comes quite  52  because the thinker suddenly sees something in a  53  way. Sam, for example, suddenly sees there is a piece of chewing gum stuck to a brake. He immediately hits on the solution to his problem: he must  54  the brake.

Finally the solution is  55 . Sam does it and finds his bicycle works perfectly. In short he has solved the problem.

1.                A．serious         B．usual           C．similar    D．common

2.                A．practice        B．thinking         C．understanding D．help

3.                A．fail            B．work           C．change   D．develop

4.                A．ways           B．conditions       C．stages    D．orders

5.                A．First           B．Usually         C．In general D．Most importantly

6.                A．explain         B．prove          C．show D．see

7.                A．judge          B．find            C．describe  D．face

8.                A．check          B．determine       C．correct   D．recover

9.                A．answers        B．skills           C．explanation    D．information

10.               A．possible        B．exact          C．real  D．special

11.               A．hopes          B．argues         C．decides   D．suggests

12.               A．In other words   B．Once in a while   C．First of all  D．At this time

13.               A．discussing       B．settling down    C．comparing with D．studying

14.               A．secondly       B．again          C．also  D．alone

15.               A．suggestion      B．conclusion      C．decision   D．discovery

16.               A．next           B．clear           C．final  D．new

17.               A．unexpectedly    B．late            C．clearly    D．often

18.               A．simple         B．different        C．quick D．sudden

19.               A．clean          B．separate        C．loosen    D．remove

20.               A．recorded       B．completed      C．tested D．accepted

Listening to music can help me focus better. Since I discovered it two years ago，I've used music to get through boring work or to focus creatively. I've found that it can make even the dullest jobs enjoyable and help clear mental blocks to creativity.

I first noticed the good effects of music while playing video games. It was a few days before Christmas in 2005 and I was playing online video games. My parents had just given me a new MP3，so I decided to listen to music through the headphones while I played. After a few minutes I noticed a great change in my style of play. I was playing more naturally. The music relaxed me，and，to a certain extent，distracted me from the game，allowing my subconscious(潜意识的)talent to come through. The music also helped me block out the outside world. With those headphones on I was like a machine，moving from one task to the next without unnecessary thoughts or actions.  

Music can also have a great effect on mood. If I'm in a bad mood at work，I'll listen to some of Bob Marley's and get down to business. It always takes my mind off what I'm doing and makes me a happier person. The same is true for classic rock. One summer，I did a boring job collecting bottle openers by hand. Without a radio playing classic rock in the background，I would have hated life.

Listening to music with relaxing rhythms and a positive message helps you forget your work and think happy thoughts. But the results you see will depend heavily on your personal tastes. Experiment with the types of music you listen to during certain tasks. By trial and error you'll finally discover your best choice.

I'm always looking for new concentration aids，so I'd love to know what type of music works best for me.

1.We can infer that the passage was written in ________.

2.The author first discovered the effects of music ________.

3.The author mentions the experience of collecting bottle openers in Paragraph 3 to ________.

It was the summer of 1965. DeLuca, then 17, visited Peter Buck, a family friend. Buck asked Deluca about his plans for the future. “I’m going to college, but I need a way to pay for it,” Deluca recalls saying. “Buck said, ‘you should open a sandwich shop.’ ”

That afternoon, they agreed to be partners. And they set a goal: to open 32 stores in ten years. After doing some research, Buck wrote a check for $ 1,000. DeLuca rented a storefront (店面) in Connecticut, and when they couldn’t cover their start-up costs, Buck kicked in another $1,000.

But business didn’t go smoothly as they expected. DeLuca says, “After six months, we were doing poorly, but we didn’t know how badly, because we didn’t have any financial controls.” All he and Buck knew was that their sales were lower than their costs.

DeLuca was managing the store and going to the University of Bridgeport at the same time. Buck was working at his day job as a nuclear physicist in New York. They’d meet Monday evenings and brainstorm ideas for keeping the business running. “We convinced ourselves to open a second store. We figured we could tell the public, ‘ We are so successful, we are opening a second store.’” And they did — in the spring of 1966. Still, it was a lot of learning by trial and error.

But the partners’ learn-as-you-go approach turned out to be their greatest strength. Every Friday, DeLuca would drive around and hand-deliver the checks to pay their suppliers. “It probably took me two and a half hours and it wasn’t necessary but as a result, the suppliers got to know me very well, and the personal relationships established really helped out,” DeLuca says.

And having a goal was also important. “There are so many problems that can get you down. You just have to keep working toward your goal,” DeLuca adds.

DeLuca ended up founding Subway Sandwich, the multi-million-dollar restaurant chain.

1.Deluca opened the first sandwich shop in order to _________________________.

A. support his family                            B. pay for his college education

C. help his partner expand business          D. do some research

2.Which of the following is true of Buck?

A. He put money into the sandwich business.

B. He was a professor of business administration (管理).

C. He was studying at the University of Bridgeport.

D. He rented a storefront for DeLuca.

3.What can we learn about their first shop?

A. It stood at an unfavorable place.

B. It lowered the prices to promote sales.

C. It made no profits due to poor management.

D. It lacked control over the quality of sandwiches.

4.They decided to open a second store because they ______________________.

A. had enough money to do it

B. had succeeded in their business

C. wished to meet the increasing demand of customers

D. wanted to make believe that they were successful

5.What contributes most to their success according to the author?

A. Learning by trial and error.               B. Making friends with suppliers.

C. Finding a good partner.                    D. Opening chain stores.