阅读下面短文，从短文后所给的四个选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

　　My husband and I insisted that our children were old enough to clean their rooms and make their beds．But they thought 　　1　　．My complaints, even self-justified shouting, were always landing on 　　2　　 ears．Very often a whole hour's scolding would end with their 　　3　　 into tears, I felt very frustrated(沮丧的)．I realized I needed to 　　4　　 my method of “mothering”．

　　One day when they were at school, I spent some time 　　5　　 their rooms．On their desks, in plain 　　6　　, I left the cards：“Dear Bill(the other card was 　　7　　 to Sarah), your room was messy this morning and I'm sure you like it clean．Love, the Room Fairy．”　　8　　 arriving back, the children were 　　9　　 excited to receive the little note from the Room Fairy．The next day, their rooms were fairly tidy．Sure enough, there was another note from the Room Fairy 　　10　　 for them, thanking them for their nice “gift” of a clean room and 　　11　　 asking them to play a certain violin 　　12　　．Each day, thank-you notes would be written differently to keep the ideas 　　13　　．

　　Sometimes the Room Fairy would propose a little 　　14　　：“If you can finish your homework and 　　15　　 your lessons before dinner, I’ d like to watch a particular television program with you tonight．” Sometimes some colored markers or other little items would be left in 　　16　　 of well done jobs the day 　　17　　．

　　　　18　　 I can't remember how long “the Room Fairy” continued leaving her love notes．When they were age appropriate, we used various versions of Post-Its(贴条)．The bathroom mirror became the 　　19　　 centre of our home．Appointments, notices about visiting relatives, lesson schedules, and changes in plans could be posted．

　　We all benefited from and 　　20　　 the idea of sharing reminders and daily details of life through notes．I believe the true advantage of the Room Fairy notes survives in our frequent and enjoyable communication．

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Directions：For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C andD．Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context．

　　The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, inhabited island．He prayed feverishly for God to 　　1　　 him, and every day he 　　2　　 the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming．Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little 　　3　　 out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions．But then one day after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in 　　4　　, heavy smoke rolling up to the sky．

　　The worst had happened：everything was lost．He was stunned(晕)with grief and 　　5　　 "God, how could you do this to me? ” he cried．

　　Early the next day, however, he was 　　6　　 by the sound of a ship that was 　　7　　 the island．It had come to rescue him．‘‘How did you know I was here? asked the weary man of his rescuers．‘‘We saw your 　　8　　 signal． “ they replied．

　　It's easy to get 　　9　　 when things are going bad．But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and 　　10　　

　　Remember, next time your little hut is 　　11　　, it just may be a smoke signal that summons(召唤)the grace of God．For all the 　　12　　 things we have to say to ourselves, God has a positive answer for it．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Based on my own experiences over the years I have compiled a short list of my favorite off-season destinations in Europe：

　　Amsterdam in April

　　Enjoy the Queen's Birthday Celebration(Koninginnedag), a large street festival held all over the city on April 30．

　　The Alps in October

　　For those travelers who enjoy mountains and hiking, the most pleasant weather in the Alps lies in early fall．Kids are back in school at that time, and you will share the magnificent mountains only with local hikers．

　　The Greek Islands in May

　　This is a great time to enjoy Greece without the crowds．The weather is pleasant, beaches are empty, and you will only find locals on the islands that are otherwise crowded with tourists．

　　Provence in September

　　Provence in southern France is one of the country's most charming regions, but it gets crowded in the summer．Beginning in fall, local life returns to normal, and visitors will have a more quiet and enjoyable experience of the local culture and natural beauty．

　　Tuscany in Spring

　　Once Easter is over, there are fewer visitors in Tuscany until the summer season picks up．This is a great time to travel：The landscape is lush and green, trees and flowers are in blossoms, and you can experience the local charm of cities and towns without crowds．

　　Algarve in February

　　Portugal's southernmost province is best known as a beach destination, but for those interested in the magnificent scenery and local culture, late winter and early spring is a great time to visit．This is when the almond trees are in flowers, and when the region's historic towns and monuments are free from tourists．During the winter, busy tourist destinations take on again their traditional character as small fishing villages, and the locals go about their business as usual．

　　Andalusia in Winter

　　Southern Spain experiences cold spells from time to time, but the weather is usually quite pleasant in the winter．This is a great time to visit the region's cultural treasures such as the Alhambra in Granada, the Alcázar palace in Seville, and the historic center of Córdoba．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Forgiving someone who has hurt you or let you down is never an easy thing．Several new studies, however, say that it could have a lot of health benefits．When you think of forgiveness, you probably don't think of it as being a health or medical problem．Studies from Stanford University, on the other hand, show that something like anger can change your well-being．

　　When cartoon book characters like the Incredible Hulk get angry, they change colors and often gain special power．In the real world, anger is less obvious and may be more dangerous．That's why Professor Fred Luskin, founder of the Stanford forgiveness project and author of Forgive for God, says holding on to anger and hatred can harm your physical and mental health．Two new studies seem to show the same idea．

　　The studies find that people who are able to forgive feel less stress, less back pain, and less depression．They also have fewer headache, lower blood pressure, and fewer problems on sleeping．

　　So it doesn't matter if your anger is caused by the traffic or the other things．Learning to let it go is important．Techniques such as deep breath or thought can help．Or just ask yourself if it's worth hurting yourselves by staying anger with someone else．

　　Forgiveness does not mean that you simply accept what happened and say it's OK．Instead, it's a way of making peace with yourself about what happened in the past．

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阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　All throughout life we deal with some types of disappointment, whether they are from our job, family or friends．Disappointment is 　　1　　．It is not a matter of “if” it comes, it is “ 　　2　　 ” it comes．

　　Several days before my 15^th birthday, my dad 　　3　　 me that they had bought me a car and it would be 　　4　　 on the morning of my birthday．You can imagine the 　　5　　 I felt．

　　That morning, I stood outside waiting for my car to arrive．I 　　6　　 a red sports car and could feel the wind blowing through my hair as I took the car from 4^th to 5^th gear(挡)．

　　Several minuets later, I noticed a tow truck(拖车)coming down the street．I couldn't 　　7　　 it! It wasn't a red sports car like I had pictured．　　8　　 , on the back of this tow truck sat a(an) 　　9　　 , multicolored, 1972 Ford truck．There were no words to 　　10　　 the ugliness of this truck．

　　My dad walked out of the 　　11　　 and gave directions where it was to be 　　12　　．Clearly my dad saw the 　　13　　 in my face and told me that we had one year to work on the truck and get it in 　　14　　 shape．

　　Throughout the next year I would 　　15　　 my truck every weekend with my dad．After much hard 　　16　　, the moment had finally arrived．My dad and I managed to get it running again and off．I went for my first 　　17　　 in my “new” truck．

　　I have learned through the 　　18　　 that there is something to learn from our disappointment．The truck gave me an opportunity to actually know my dad．It is through disappointment that we are 　　19　　．In every disappointment there is a 　　20　　 to be learned．However, it is up to you to look for the lesson．

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阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

Run Freely-A Lesson About Courage

　　One afternoon, many years ago, I went to pick up my mother from work．I got there a little early so I 　　1　　 the car by the roadside and waited for her．

　　As I looked 　　2　　 the car window, there was a small park where I saw a little boy, around one and a half to two years old, 　　3　　 freely on the grass as his mother watched from a short 　　4　　．The boy had a big smile on his face 　　5　　 he had just been set free from some sort of 　　6　　．The boy would then fall to the grass, 　　7　　 , and without hesitation or without looking back at his mother, run as fast as he could, again, still with a 　　8　　 on his face．

　　Kids, when they fall down, don't view their falling down as failure, but 　　9　　, they treat it as a learning experience．They try and try again until they 　　10　　．Not only was I touched by the boy's persistence, but I was 　　11　　 touched by the manner in which he ran．With each attempt, he looked so 　　12　　 and so natural-no signs of fear, nervousness, or of being discouraged．His only 　　13　　 was to run freely and to do it as effectively as he could．He was just being a 　　14　　 -just being himself-being completely in the moment．He was not looking for 　　15　　 or was not worrying about whether 　　16　　 was watching．He wasn't concerned about being judged．He didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that maybe someone would see him 　　17　　 and that it would be 　　18　　 if he did fall．No, all that 　　19　　 to him was to him was to accomplish the task, to feel the experience of running fully and freely．I learned a lot from that 　　20　　 and experience, and have successfully brought that lesson with me in my many pursuits in life．

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Reading Comprehension

Cloze Test

　　Think you're good at reading people's expressions? Well, think again．New software is ten per cent better at it than the average person．There's even a device to improve your emotional intelligence．

　　Every time you interact with people, you 　　1　　 unconscious signals that you're following what they're saying．　　2　　, you might nod to show that you're following or squint(眯眼看)a bit to show that you've lost track．However, we're not very good at interpreting these signals．　　3　　 we only get it right about half of the time．

　　Now social X-ray glasses can help you 　　4　　 some of these signals better by means of a built-in camera 　　5　　 to software which 　　6　　 facial expressions．The six basic 　　7　　 facial states it recognizes are：thinking, agreeing, concentrating, interested, confused and disagreeing．The device can read 24 'feature points' on a face and 　　8　　 which of these six general facial states is being 　　9　　．You get the information via an earpiece, which tells you how the listener is responding．There's also a traffic light system displayed on the lens with a red, amber(yellowishbrown)or green light to show that the listener is interested, 　　10　　 interested or not interested．If it shows red, it's time to shut up!

　　The other novelty(something new)is sociometric badges．These are 　　11　　 to provide feedback on how often you're speaking, for how long and who with．Each person is represented by a dot, which is larger if you're talkative and smaller if not．If you speak in a monologue the dot will turn red, but if it's a dialogue it turns white．The interaction between speakers is represented by lines between them, so a thick line if two people speak a lot to each other and very thin if they 　　12　　 speak．The information is sent wirelessly to any device that can display it graphically．In one experiment, 　　13　　 some of the speakers started with very different dots, by the end of the experiment all the dots were more or less the same size and color, 　　14　　 that people had changed their behavior and made the interaction more even．

　　Think how differently our interactions with people could be if we could read their 　　15　　 to what we're saying with x-ray specs and track how well we work as a group with a sociometric badge! It's early days, but these devices may well transform how we interact with each other in the future．

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阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　I never knew how well Mother could keep a trust until I was going through her things after she died．I discovered something I had 　　1　　 forgotten, something that happened to me as a child．

　　One night, as I lay in bed 　　2　　 my sisters and I had said our prayers, I recalled the events of the day and how 　　3　　 I behaved toward Mother．“I must make things right before going to sleep, ” I thought．

　　Quietly I 　　4　　 out of bed and picked up pencil and paper from the dresser, then tiptoed into the hall．The 　　5　　 from the living room shone dimly．I knew Mother was downstairs mending socks．

　　I quickly 　　6　　 a note asking Mother to forgive me for being so 　　7　　．I didn't want my brothers and sisters to know my 　　8　　, so I added a postscript： “Please don't let anyone see this．” Then I quietly moved 　　9　　 my parents’ bedroom and put the letter under Mother's pillow．

　　The next morning, when I 　　10　　 my bed after breakfast．I unexpectedly found a 　　11　　 note under my pillow．Mother wrote that she loved me and 　　12　　 me．

　　This became my 　　13　　 of apologizing whenever I talked back or disobeyed．Mother always left a return note, but she never 　　14　　 our under-the-pillow messages in front of the family．Even when we were 　　15　　 , she never mentioned them when we brothers and sisters recalled our childhood．

　　When mother 　　16　　 , I had to go through her personal belongings．In her desk was a bundle of notes tied with a faded ribbon．On top was a message in her handwriting．It read, “In the event of my death, please 　　17　　 these．”

　　I 　　18　　 the packet and glanced at the handwriting on the bottom．To my surprise I 　　19　　 my childish writing, “P．S．Please don't let anyone see this．Love, Edie．”

　　I gently placed the unopened bundle in the 　　20　　 along with other things for the rubbish burner．“Lord, ” I prayed “make me like my mother．”

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阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　You must have heard these words like how happy it is to be a child．But would you 　　1　　 change places with a child? Think of the years at school：the years 　　2　　 living in constant fear of examinations and school 　　3　　．Every movement you make, every thought you think is 　　4　　 by some adults．Think of the 　　5　　 you had to go to bed early, you had to eat 　　6　　 thing that was supposed to be good for you．

　　Remember what "gentle" 　　7　　 was given to you with words like "If you don't do as I say, I will…" I'm sure you will never forget! 　　8　　 , these are only part of child's 　　9　　．No matter how kind and loving parents may be, children often 　　10　　 from some terrible and illogical 　　11　　 since they can't understand the world around them．They often have such fears in the dark or in the dream．Adults can 　　12　　 their fears with other adults 　　13　　 children have to face their fears alone．

　　But the most 　　14　　 part of childhood is a period when you 　　15　　 to go out of it, the period when you go into adolescence(youth)．Teenagers start to be against their parents and this causes them great 　　16　　．There is a 　　17　　 lack of self-confidence during this time．Adolescents pay much attention to their 　　18　　 and the impression they make on others．They feel shy, awkward and clumsy．Feelings are strong and hearts 　　19　　 broken．Teenagers 　　20　　 moments of great happiness or black despair．And through this period, adults seem to be unkind than ever．

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阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Once, my father and I were waiting to buy tickets for the circus．Finally, there only one family 　　1　　 us and the counter, who made a big 　　2　　 on me．There were eight children, all probably under 12．You could 　　3　　 they weren't rich．Their clothes weren't expensive but 　　4　　．The children were well-behaved．, standing in line behind their parents and 　　5　　 talking about what they would see that night．

　　One could 　　6　　 they had never bee no the circus before．The mother was holding her husband's hand while the father was smiling in 　　7　　．The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted．He proudly 　　8　　, “Eight for children and two for adults, please．”

　　The ticket lady told him the price．The man's wife let go of 　　9　　 hand, her head dropped, and his lip began to tremble．The father leaned a little 　　10　　 and asked, “How much did you say? ”

　　The ticket lady 　　11　　 the price．The man didn't have enough money．　　12　　 was he supposed to turn and tell his kids that he didn't have enough 　　13　　 to take them to the circus? Seeing this, my father put his hand in his pocket, 　　14　　 a ＄20 bill and dropped it on the ground．Then my father 　　15　　 down, picked up the bill and said the man, “Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket．”

　　The man knew what was going on．He wasn't begging for it but certainly 　　16　　 the timely help in such an 　　17　　 situation．He took my father's 　　18　　 in both of his, squeezed(紧捏)tightly onto the 　　19　　, and with a rear running down his cheek, he replied, “Thank you, sir．This really 　　20　　 a lot to me and my family．”

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