One summer vacation in my college, my roommate Ted asked to me to work on his father’s farm in Argentina. The idea was exciting. Then I had second thoughts. I had never been far from New England, and I had been homesick my first few weeks at college. What about the language? The more I thought about it, the more the idea worried me.

Finally, I turned down the invitation. Then I realized I had turned down something I wanted to do because I was scared and felt depressed(沮丧). That experience taught me a valuable lesson and I developed a rule for myself: do what makes you anxious(焦虑); don’t do what makes you depressed.

In my senior year, I wanted to be a writer. But my professor wanted me to teach. I hesitated. The idea of writing was much scarier than spending a summer in Argentina. Back and forth I went, making my decision, unmaking it. Suddenly I realized that every time I gave up the idea of writing, that downhearted feeling went through me.

Giving up writing really depressed me. Then I learned another lesson. To avoid the depression meant having to bear much worry and concern.

When I first began writing articles, I often interviewed big names. Before each interview I would get butterflies in the stomach. One of them was the great composer Duke Ellington. On the stage and on television, he seemed very confident. Then I learned Ellington still got stage fright（害怕）. If Ellington still had anxiety attacks, how could I avoid them? I went on doing those frightening interviews. Little by little, I was even looking forward to the interviews. Where were those butterflies?

In truth, they were still there, but fewer of them. I had learned from a process psychologists（心理学家） call “extinction”. If you put an individual in an anxious situation often, finally there isn’t anything to be worried about, which brings me to a conclusion: you’ll never get rid of anxiety by avoiding the things that caused it.

The point is that the new, the different, is definitely scary. But each time you try something, you learn, and as the learning piles up, the world opens to you.

1.We can infer from the passage that the author________. 

A．finds it difficult to make decision

B．has found out what causes anxiety

C．was encouraged by Duke Ellington’s stage fright

D．no longer feels anxious about new experiences

2.What does the word “extinction” in Paragraph 6 means?

A．a person’s loss of confidence little by little

B．the natural development of a child’s abilities

C．the inborn ability to avoid anxious situations

D．the process of losing fear by keeping facing anxiety

3.Which of the following opinions does the writer probably accept?

A．Anxiety can be a positive drive

B．Hesitation leads to depression.

C．Avoiding anxiety reduces depression.

D．Depression is a signal that one is growing up.

4.What's the best title for the passage?

A．Confidence: Key to Success

B．Anxiety: Challenge by Another Name

C．Depression: A Psychological Appearance

D．Success: A Trip Through Anxiety and Depression

You have been thinking about it all week. It kept you awake last night. Now, as you walk to the front of the class, your throat is dry and your stomach feels funny. ___1.__. However, by making a small preparations and rehearing(预演)carefully, you can be a public speaking star, too.

___2.__. Being excited about your topic is necessary for all the good speeches, so it's important to choose carefully. If you enjoy your topic, your audience(观众) will, too. Even if you are given a topic, try to find something about it that it is exciting or funny.

Next do some research. Don't just research your topic. ___3.__. If you can, study videos of a great speaker to see how they move, speak, and pause(停顿). Copying their style will help you to write a great speech.

After researching, it’s time to write your speech. During this stage, think of your audience all the time. Entertaining your audience is important. It helps you relax if you know that your audience is enjoying your speech.

Finally, rehearse. You really need to rehearse a lot. Measure your speech with a watch, and practice in front of a mirror. ___4.__ . If you have followed all these steps, you should be ready for your audience. Good luck!

A. You are a very successful speaker

B. Learn from some great speakers as well

C. Start by choosing something that you are interested in

D. Many students find it difficult to give a public speech

E. You can check your hand movement and facial expression

Born in 1949, Diana Nyad took an early interest in swimming as a sport and was a Florida State High School swimming champion（冠军）. Like many young trainers, she had Olympic dreams, but a serious illness prevented her from competing in the Games. The disappointment didn’t stop her from going forward. Instead, she became interested in marathon swimming.

For ten years Nyad devoted herself to becoming one of the world’s best long-distance swimmers. In 1970, she swam a ten-mile marathon in Lake Ontario, setting the women’s record for the course. In 1972 she set another record by swimming 102.5 miles from an island in the Bahamas to the coast of Florida. Then she broke a third record when swimming around Manhattan Island in 1975.

Nyad attempted to swim the distance between Florida and Cuba in 1978. Though the span(跨度) of water is less than 100 miles wide, it is rough and dangerous. After battling(与---作战) the water for two days, she had to give up for the sake of her own health and safety. Even so, she impressed the world with her courage and strong desire to succeed. It did not matter that her swim came up short; she believed she had touched the other shore.

When Nyad ended her career as a swimmer, she continued to try new things---travelling the world as a reporter, writing books and giving public speeches about her life. Diana Nyad works to inspire others, just as she did when she swam the waters of the world.

1.What was Nyad’s early interest?

2.When did Nyad set the record for a ten-mile marathon swimming?

3.According to the passage, how many times did Nyad join the long-distance swimming?

4.What did Nyad do after she finished swimming?

5.What can we learn from the passage?

根据中文意思完成句子。

1.是时候出去放松一下了。

_____________ go out to relax.

2.快考试了，你最好别浪费时间。

The exam is coming. _______________ waste your time.

3.西方的圣诞节和中国的春节一样重要。

Christmas in the west is ___________the Spring Festival in China­­­­­.

4.想成功，不要轻易放弃很重要。

In order to achieve success, ________________________ easily.

5.人们往往特别害怕犯错以致于不能解决问题。

People usually _______________________________________solve problems.

假设你是张丽，是家住四川芦山地震灾区林娜的笔友。她给你发来了一封电子邮件，请看后给她回复，针对她的问题给她一些建议，并谈谈你的想法。

This isn’t my T-shirt. ______ is blue.

A．I                B．Me               C．Mine             D．My

Flowers usually come out ______ spring every year.

A．in               B．at                C．on               D．of

— ______ is a ticket to Garden Expo?

— It’s about 100 yuan.

A．How much         B．How many         C．How long          D．How often

There ______ a park near here. Shall we take a walk?

A．be               B．were             C．is                D．are

Which is ____________, the telephone, the computer or the light bulb?

A．useful            B．more useful        C．most useful        D．the most useful