When Hailey was 35 years old, she entered college. Every night, she had to walk ___ three blocks to have classes after work.

One night, the storm came. The wind was so strong that she couldn’t hold her ___. The heavy rain beat on her continuously and she was wet. ___ she still moved forward against the wind with difficulty. Even worse, the mobile phone went dead. She couldn’t get in touch with other classmates. So she didn’t know ___ the classes would be canceled tonight. She hesitated(犹豫) for a moment and kept ___. At last, she got to the college. The ___ was very dark. An old teacher on duty told her that ___ came to have classes except her. What he said let ___ up. Having noticed that she was wet and cold, the old man invited her to his office for a break and made a cup of coffee for her. He said, “You’ll achieve your dream in the future. The heavy rain is like a sieve(筛子). Those who stick to their dreams can ___ all the difficulties.” She drank the warm coffee and thought about his words. She came to understand: She wasn’t the cleverest among the students, but she was the most determined(决心的). After the heavy rain, she became more ____. She worked harder and finally became a successful writer.

She thanked the old teacher because he taught her a lot and encouraged her to try her best in the face of difficulties.

1.A. behind B. through C. under

2.A. umbrella B. videos C. newspapers

3.A. So B. Because C. But

4.A. where B. whether C. why

5.A. moving B. thinking C. crying

6.A. bedroom B. office C. classroom

7.A. anybody B. nobody C. somebody

8.A. her B. she C. herself

9.A. overcome B. face C. understand

10.A. important B. confident C. careful

One’s attitude is always important. If you are lazy and weak, you will never taste success. But if you are ___, success and happiness will be more likely to come to you.

You love eating persimmons（柿子）. But you can’t get them ___ autumn. If you try them before the right time, they probably ___ bad.

In Grade Six, because of my poor grades, my parents were ___ that I wouldn’t be able to get into an excellent middle school. They ___ me to study harder. But I didn’t ___ understand why they were so anxious.

Summer came and I studied hard. The hot weather made me sleepy and I couldn’t concentrate（集中精力） on my textbooks. But every time I wanted to stop ___, my dad would say, “Think about your ___. If you don’t work hard, you will regret.” I had to sit back down again and return to my textbooks. But all I thought about was playing with my friends.

My dad would say to me, ___ a serious look on his face, “If a persimmon tree doesn’t grow in summer, it can’t bear fruit in autumn! Only by working hard can you get good results.” A few months later, I succeeded in ____ the key middle school. I was so happy. My dad was right, if a persimmon tree doesn’t grow in summer, there will be no fruit in autumn. I worked hard and I enjoyed the fruit of my hard work!

1.A. busy B. clever C. hard-working

2.A. until B. unless C. when

3.A. look B. taste C. turn

4.A. embarrassed B. worried C. excited

5.A. made B. allowed C. pushed

6.A. really B. quite C. quickly

7.A. thinking B. working C. playing

8.A. future B. hobby C. wealth

9.A. for B. with C. in

10.A. failing B. reaching C. entering

Every Friday night， Winston would stand at the gate of the railway station to play his violin happily. He smiled to everyone and many people put money into the ___ in front of him. One day， Winston showed up and put his hat on the ground as usual. But ___ from what he always did in the past days， he took out a large piece of paper and laid it on the ground.

It said： Last night， a gentleman ___ George Miller left an important thing into my hat by mistake. Please help to find Mr. Miller. ___ half an hour later， a middle-aged man rushed to Winston in a hurry and said， “It is you! I know that you are an ___ man and will certainly be here.”Winston asked， “Are you Mr. Miller? Did you lose anything yesterday?” “Yes，a lottery ticket （彩票）!” answered the middle-aged man quickly. Winston then ___ it to the man. When the man knew that his ___ was worth ＄500，000 yesterday， he was so excited! ____ he threw some money into the young man’s hat， later he realized that he threw the ticket together with the money!

Someone asked Winston，“You play the violin to make money. ___ didn’t you keep the ticket and take the prize for yourself?” Winston replied， “Although I don’t have much money， I live ____ now. But if I lose honesty， I won’t be happy forever.”

1.A. hat B. bag C. paper

2.A. usual B. different C. free

3.A. had B. talked C. named

4.A. In B. About C. At

5.A. interesting B. unhappy C. honest

6.A. returned B. offered C. sent

7.A. watch B. clothes C. ticket

8.A. So B. But C. And

9.A. Why B. When C. Where

10.A. happily B. angrily C. silently

Nowadays, we use digital devices in many ways, such as waking us up in the morning, listening to music, communicating with friends and so on. But studies have found that overuse of electronics can affect our sleep, our study and work.

To help people take a break from their always-on lifestyles, America set the National Day of Unplugging in 2010 to encourage people to put away their electronics for 24 hours, which is on the second Friday of March every year.

Without any doubt, many people find that the unplugged day seems longer than a typical day. “Without my phone, my breakfast was too short and I did not know what to do next,” one participant of last year’s unplugging experiment wrote. Another shared his grief at not being able to look at his phone during bus and train rides, calling the day”the longest time of my life”.

But others see the experiment as a way to experience what life was like before the rise of electronics. “My friend and I has dinner in the evening, and we both discussed about how much more present we felt—how we could hear what each other was saying,” one participant wrote.

Although living without electronics seems impossible in today’s world, unplugging from time to time allows people to slow down and reflect on life. “At the end of the day, I was missing neither social media nor having a digital connection,” one participant noted. “I note. “I was happy for the opportunity to challenge my unhealthy daily habits, because this gave me the chance to discover a slower, clearer way of life.”

1.Using digital devices too often might .

A. help us study better

B. keep us away from music

C. have an effect on our sleep, our study and work

2.The National Day of Unplugging was set to .

A. encourage people to get rid of electronics

B. help people take a break from busy work

C. to make people away from their electronics for a day

3.The underlined word “grief” means _______.

A. rudeness B. sadness C. happiness

4.Some participants of the experiment .

A. thought that it was impossible for them to slow down

B. didn’t know what to eat for breakfast without phones

C. enjoyed hearing each other by discussing face to face

5.What is the best title for this passage?

A. Get Back to Real Life.

B. Unhealthy Daily Habits

C. The Digital Connection

According to a survey， many people think genes （基因） and intelligence have something to do with students’ success or failure. But there aren’t any researches to support this opinion. And in fact, it is not right at all. There is one thing that can finally decide students’ success or failure. That is how they learn. A few students are clever and lucky. They find good ways for themselves to study every subject well. But others aren’t so lucky like them. They don’t find correct ways of their own and fail in the end.

To teachers， what is the best way to teach languages? Dr. Asher found a way called“Total Physical Response”. This was helpful to students. Studies in San Jose State University showed that if students moved their bodies when they were learning English， they were able to learn a lot more new words and grammar in a very short time. But if they sat still and didn’t move， they could learn less. And after a year， the students who moved their bodies when learning still remembered 80% or more things they learned. But others forgot more than 80%.

Now you may know how to learn English. Keep moving when you learn. So when you listen to a story or an article，take action as soon as you hear it. And you can imagine you are the person in the story or the article. By doing like this，you can learn more English and you can remember it longer. The most useful thing is that you can use it more easily. Stop your old method. Try this one at once!

1.What is the aim of Dr. Asher’s “Total Physical Response”?

A. For students to remember words.

B. For teachers to teach languages.

C. For parents to help their children.

2.According to this method， when you learn new words， what can help you learn them well?

A. Moving the body.

B. Listening to stories.

C. Talking to others.

3.The underlined word “intelligence” means “______” in Chinese.

A. 耐力 B. 魄力 C. 智力

4.What can you imagine when you listen to a story or an article?

A. I am the writer of the story or article.

B. I am a character of the story or article.

C. I am the teller of the story or article.

5.The writer wants to tell us ways to ________.

A. do much more exercise

B. make new sentences

C. help students learn well

These days， more and more Chinese people enjoy sending and receiving messages on the phone. It can help them to get the latest news and communicate with friends. But I think I should read more books besides the textbooks， the more， the better. It can open up my eyes and improve my language skills. Of course， it also can help me to get good grades. Do you know how to read more and learn more?Here are some tips for you.

Clear your purpose for reading

Before you start reading， ask yourself why you are reading this book. Most people read for two main reasons， pleasure or knowledge. Clearing about your reading purpose can not only help you choose the books you really need to read， but also remind you why reading the book is important to you， so you will keep reading and complete the book faster.

Read only what you are interested in

No matter what you are reading， it is important to enjoy what you read. Your friends may tell you the books they love， but those books might not necessarily be the ones you enjoy.

Give up the books that you don’t enjoy

You may have chosen books that you are interested in， and they are right to your purpose. But while you are reading them， there may still be some books that you don’t enjoy reading. Whenever you realize that you aren’t enjoying the book you are reading， give it up. Remember reading shouldn’t be a chore （令人厌烦的任务）.

Set a reading goal

It is interesting that I read the books borrowed from libraries faster than those I bought. The reason is that the books I bought don’t have a due date! I don’t need to return those books. Having a reading goal helps you work out how much reading you need to do in a week or even a day. Before you read each book， ask yourself what time you need to complete this book by.

1.According to the passage， the writer might be a _______.

A. teacher B. doctor C. student

2.Why do most people read books?

A. To get the latest news and communicate with friends.

B. For pleasure or knowledge.

C. To open up their eyes and improve their language skills.

3.What should you do when you find the book which you are reading is boring?

A. Keep on reading.

B. Set a reading goal.

C. Give up the book.

4.The underlined words “due date” mean “_______” in Chinese.

A. 星期 B. 借期 C. 还期

5.This passage mainly tells us _______.

A. how to read more and learn more

B. how to choose a good book

C. how to read faster

It’s a big challenge for you to complete any personal goal in time. And it always seems that you won’t have enough time to finish all you need to do. Do you know the way to make the time for your goal? Here are some tips which may help you. Focus on(集中) one thing at a time. Remember not to take on too many goals at a time, or your energy will be used up soon. Once one goal is finished, you can go to the next one. Set up at least a month per goal.

Prioritize(优先处理)the most important. We have more than one thing to complete. If we put all the things before our goal, we won’t ever find the time for it. If we put our goal at the first place, we’ll make the time.

Keep your goal simple. It’s important not to make your goal too difficult. If you want to be slim, for example, you just need to develop the habit for your health, walking each day (or running, or cycling etc), drinking more water, eating fruits and vegetables instead of junk snacks.

Shut your door. Try to set a time that you won’t be disturbed (打扰). If you are disturbed from time to time, you really don't have the time to help out. So you must shut your door when working on the most important tasks. If so, you will get them done better.

Stop wasting time. In our daily life, there are many things wasting your time, such as watching drama series and going to bars. If you don’t do them, it won’t make a great difference to your life. So stop doing them to free up time for your goals.

If you follow the above, you will succeed in achieving your goal.

What do you do when you come across a problem while doing your homework? Andy would take out his smart phone, open a special app and searched the problem. Answers soon appeared on the screen.

Nowadays, many students do homework with the help of the Internet like Andy. They search for information online, use apps or discuss through social networks like QQ and WeChat.

“It’s convenient.” Andy said. “You also learn by seeing how others work them out.”

“It also improves students’ abilities.” said John, another student. He said it’s true for new types of homework.

John’s Chinese teacher often asks students to give speeches on great authors. When it comes to John’s turn, he usually searches online, picks out certain stories and makes PowerPoint presentations.

“I’ve become skilled at finding information online and using Microsoft Office,” Wang said.

However, many students think this trend (趋势) also brings up problems. Some students just copy the answers online without thinking. They become lazy.

A head teacher in Andy and John’s school said that knowing how to use the Internet is important. The key is to have good self-control.

“No matter how difficult the problem is, think about it independently (独立地) first,” the teacher said. “Be sure to understand the reasons behind the answers, or you won’t make progress. If you don’t have confidence about your self-control, ask your parents for help.”

Getting Help on Screen

任务型阅读请阅读下面短文，在短文后表格中的空白处填上适当的单词（注意：每空1个单词）。

If we agree that education is used to prepare us for life, then there is very little time to waste. So, while we can, we should teach children something really useful. Here is what our school should teach．

Politeness is a mark of civilization(文明). The sooner children learn this, the better. In any case, a lot can be achieved by a smile and good manners. Like it or not, our adults work hard for money, but we don't make an effort to teach children how to manage it. So our schools have a duty to teach them this ability from the beginning．

We're likely to accept something we are told, but that's not what educated people do. Educated people are reasonable and they look at facts. If our schools teach nothing else, they should at least teach critical(批判性的) thinking．

Children should learn to take care of their health. They should know that if they eat junk food, they will become fat and unhealthy. They should be very clear about what happens to their bodies when they drink or smoke．

All of us are part of society. We have rights and duties. We should understand what they are. We have to know a little bit of history and geography, because we need to have an environment in which to communicate with the people around us.

In a word, our schools should spend every moment they have telling this to our children: “This is life, this is what you are going to face, and this is how you deal with it."

阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容，在文章后第1～10小题的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填1个单词。

Let’s face it: homework can be almost as frustrating (沮丧) for parents as it is for kids. Getting kids to do their homework can be a challenge, and when they do sit down to study, a lot of other problems can appear.

Doing homework may not be as fun as playing video games or chatting with friends, but it shouldn’t be something that kids hate. Your children’s assignments (任务) should help them build a skill or learn something new.

You can help by being a homework monitor, stepping in to answer questions or offer encouragement. This gives you a chance to see what they are learning and how well they understand the material. It helps you understand their learning style and shows you care about their education.

Many kids refuse to study by asking why they have to learn things they’ll never use in real life. If your son or daughter shows little interest in their assignments, you can make them seem more important by pointing out ways you use them in daily life.

If parents feel that their kids are overloaded (超负荷), they can talk about it with the teachers. If you think it takes your child too long to finish homework, try to make a decision whether the problem lies in having too much work or managing time poorly.

If your child complains of boredom while doing homework, give him or her the following suggestions:

Get help from friends: if your children are bored with an assignment, let them call a friend for help or invite a friend over to work on it with them.

Add physical activity: set mini-goals for homework and allow time for relaxing, jumping around, or a snack after each goal is completed. For a kid who can’t sit still, find active ways to study.

Turn the tables: let your children teach you a lesson. Let them give you a test on the things they have just learned.