I used to hate being called upon in class mainly because I didn’t like attention drawn to myself. And    51    otherwise assigned（指定）a seat by the teacher, I always    52    to sit at the back of the classroom.

All this    53    after I joined a sports team. It began when a teacher suggested I try out for the basketball team. At first I thought it was a crazy    54    because I didn’t have a good sense of balance, nor did I have the    55   to keep pace with the others on the team and they would tease me. But for the teacher who kept insisting on my “  56    for it”, I wouldn’t have decided to give a try.

Getting up the courage to go to the tryouts was only the    57    of it! When I first

started    58    the practice sessions, I didn’t even know the rules of the game, much    59   what I was doing. Sometimes I’d get    60    and take a shot at the wrong direction—which made me feel really stupid.   61   , I wasn’t the only one “new” at the game, so I decided to    62    on learning the game, do my best at each practice session, and not be too hard on myself for the things I

didn’t    63    “just yet”.

I practiced and practiced. Soon I knew the    64    and the “moves”. Being part of a team was fun and motivating. Very soon the competitive    65    in me was winning over my lack of confidence. With time, I learned how to play and made friends in the    66    — friends who respected my efforts to work hard and be a team player. I never had so much fun!

With my    67    self-confidence comes more praise from teachers and classmates. I have gone from   68   in the back of the classroom and not wanting to call attention to myself,   69   raising my hand— even when I sometimes wasn’t and not 100 percent    70    I had the right answer. Now I have more self-confidence in myself.

1. A. as            B. until                C. though               D. unless

2. A. hoped         B. chose           C. meant            D. agreed

3.  A. changed          B. continued            C. settled              D. started

4. A. plan              B. idea                 C. belief               D. saying

5.  A. right            B. ability              C. chance               D. patience

6.  A. cheering         B. looking              C. going                D. applying

7. A. point             B. rest             C. half                 D. basis

8.  A. enjoying         B. preparing            C. watching             D. attending

9. A. worse        B. later           C. less            D. further

10.  A. confused       B. motivated        C. embarrassed          D. committed

11. A. Fortunately      B. Interestingly        C. Obviously            D. hopefully

12.  A. try             B. act              C. rely            D. focus

13.  A. want            B. know             C. support              D. do

14.  A. steps           B. rules            C. orders               D. games

15.  A. roles           B. mind                 C. part             D. value

16.  A. situation       B. operation        C. movement         D. process

17. A. improved         B. expressed        C. preserved        D. recognized

18. A. dreaming         B. hiding           C. relaxing             D. playing

19.  A. by              B. for              C. to               D. with

20.  A. lucky           B. happy            C. satisfied            D. sure

The Diet Zone: A Dangerous Place

   Diet Coke, diet Pepsi, diet pills, no-fat diet, vegetable diet…We are surrounded by the word “diet” everywhere we look and listen. We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us. We are paying for products that harm us psychologically and physically。

Diet products significantly weaken us psychologically. On one level, we are not allowing our brains to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the consumption of fatty, high—calorie, unhealthy foods. Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the scale(秤) instead. All we have to do is to swallow or recognize the word “diet” in food labels.

On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects. Every time we have a zero—calorie drink, we are telling ourselves without our awareness that we don’t have to work to get results. Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without resistance and struggle.

The danger of diet products lies not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause. Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients. Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products. Diet products may not be nutritional, and the chemicals that go into diet products are potentially dangerous.

Now that we are aware of the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them. Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals .Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological and physical harm that comes from using them.

From Paragraph 1, we learn that __________.

   A. diet products are misleading people

B. people have difficulty in choosing diet products

   C. diet products fail to bring out people’s possibility

D. people are fed up with diet products

One psychological effect of diet products is that people tend to ______.

   A. try out a variety of diet foods   B. watch their weight rather than their diet

C. pay attention to their own eating habits D. hesitate before they enjoy diet foods

In Paragraph 3, “gain comes without pain” probably means ________.

   A. diet products bring no pain   B. it costs a lot to lose weight

   C. losing weight is effortless   D. diet products are free from calories

Diet products indirectly harm people physically because such products ______.

   A. are over-consumed     B. provide too much energy

C. are short of chemicals   D. lack basic nutrients

I was late for the school bus and rushing to get ready. My dog, Tippy, got to the front door and lay down in front of it – his way of asking to be petted. I___36___his begging for affection (喜爱), hurdled over him and ran for the waiting bus.

___37___, that afternoon, when I came home, Mom said to me___38___, “Honey, I have some___39___news that I need to tell you. This morning, while you were at school, Tippy was hit by a car and___40___. I’m so sorry.”

“No! It’s not true!” I was___41___. I couldn’t believe her. “Tippy, come here! Come on, boy!” I called and called for him. I waited. He didn’t come. Feeling___42___, I wandered into the living room. I didn’t cry that night. I still couldn’t believe that he was___43___.

When I got off the bus the next day, the___44___at home was deafening. Finally, my sobs (哭泣) bubbled up and erupted (喷发) like lava (熔岩) from a volcano. I couldn’t stop___45___. I hadn’t even petted him when I left.___46___could I have known that was my last chance? I cried until I felt empty inside.

Time passed, and against my will, I started to___47___some things. I realized what little control any of us have over what happens ___48___ a dog. We can do everything right, but___49___things can still happen. But good things can happen too. That’s___50___. The best way to deal with the hard times is to___51___what you need to do to get through them when they come, and to remember that hard times always___52___.

I now deeply understand the “circle of life”. Everyone is born, everyone___53___, and that’s the way it is. If dogs never died, there would be no___54___for others like Belle – my new dog.

Best of all, I realized that Tippy___55___all of my good memories of him. And they come to me every time I call!

1 

   I used to hate being called upon in class mainly because I didn’t like attention drawn to myself. And   36    assigned（指定）a seat by the teacher, I always   37  to sit at the back of the classroom.

All this   38  after I joined a sports team. It began when a teacher suggested I try out for the basketball team. At first I thought it was a crazy  39   because I didn’t have a good sense of balance, nor did I have the  40   to keep pace with the others on the team and they would tease me. But for the teacher who kept insisting on my “  41  for it”, I wouldn’t have decided to give a try.

   Getting up the courage to go to the tryouts was only the   42   of it! When I first started  43    the practice sessions（练习赛）, I didn’t even know the rules of the game, much   44  what I was doing. Sometimes I’d get    45   and take a shot at the wrong direction—which made me feel really stupid.   46   , I wasn’t the only one “new” at the game, so I decided to   47   on learning the game, do my best at each practice session, and not be too hard on myself for the things I didn’t    48  “just yet”. 

STRANGERS parties go wild these days. The main idea of them is to never let the people know who their matches are until the last minute. These are some popular practices that are storming the world’s youth on this V-day.

Speed dating

It’s exactly what the name implies. Complete with a timer, a whistle and 50 willing singles, speed dating is not the traditional dinner and a movie type of first date. Singles pay US $35 for three minutes with more than two dozen future dates. They ask questions and try to get to know each other. At the sound of a whistle, they do the same thing all over again―25 times in all.

Lock and key party

Women are given a lock and men are given a key, upon arriving at the party. Each key and lock has several matches. One can hunt for his/her later-to-be sweetheart in various groups, and try out the key or lock. Each time a lock and key match the pair are entered into a ballot (票数） for top prizes!

Dinner in the dark

Waiters wearing night vision glasses guide the guests through the pitch-black dining room. They are seated at the table and familiarized with the wine glass and plate. Food is handled with the fingers. People will not see the food they are eating or the guests at their table until the dessert course. At that moment, dining partners will appear.

Message party

Have A Cocktail, Leave A Message! When you arrive, you get a tag with a number and a pad of post-it notes. If you see someone you like, write a message on the message board. But wait… You’ve got a message… Go and collect it! You can make new friends and win lots of gifts. The more messages you leave on the bulletin board, the more chances you have of winning prizes.

What do you think the similarities of these parties are?

   A. All the parties have very strict rules for their members.

   B. If you want to go to any of the parties, you have to buy a ticket.

   C. All the parties are aimed at strangers who want to be lovers.

   D. All the parties are suitable not only for the young but for the old.

In which party does a participant have to be careful with the time?

A. Speed dating.       B. Lock and key party.    

C. Dinner in the dark.         D. Message party.

If you go to the Dinner in the dark, ____________.

      A. you have to wear night vision glasses            

       B. you have to eat with your hands

      C. guests eat all the courses in the darkness

      D. your dining partners will help you choose the food

How many of the parties offer gifts or prizes?

   A. 1.                  B. 2.     C. 3.                            D. 4.