A group of class friends，highly successful in their careers，got together to visit their old university professor .The conversation soon 36 into complaints about stress in work and life
Offering his guests coffee，the professor went to the 37 and returned with a large pot of coffee and a variety of 38 —porcelain，plastic，glass，crystal，some 39 -looking，some expensive，some delicate—telling them to 40 themselves to the coffee
When all the students had a cup of coffee in 41 ,the professor said：“If you noticed，all the nice-looking expensive cups were taken up， 42 behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to 43 only the best for yourselves，that is the 44 of your problems and stress.
Be assured that the cup itself 45 no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink . 46 all of you really wanted was coffee，not the cup，but you 47 went for the best cups. And then you began 48 each other’s cups.
Now consider this：Life is the 49 ，the jobs，money and 50 in society are the cups . They are Just tools to hold and contain life，and the type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of life we 51 . Sometimes，by concentrating only on the cup，we 52 to enjoy the coffee God has 53 us. God brews the coffee，not the cups…Enjoy your coffee!”
The happiest people don’t have the best of everything . They Just 54 the best of everything .
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply . Speak kindly . Leave the 55 to God .
A．stopped B．looked C．challenged D．turned
A．living-room B．waiting-room C．neighbourhood D．kitchen
A．cups B．pans C．bowls D．bottles
A．plain B．clean C．ugly D．fine
A．devote B．help C．blame D．enjoy
A．stomach B．hand C．mind D．mouth
A．falling B．leaving C．hiding D．keeping
A．hope B．wish C．need D．want
A．source B．resource C．energy D．investigation
A．handles B．puts C．adds D．contributes
A．As B．What C．That D．Which
A．consciously B．consistently C．enthusiastically D．cautiously
A．looking B．glaring C．eyeing D．glancing
A．tea B．water C．wine D．coffee
A．position B．situation C．condition D．environment
A．spend B．live C．hate D．love
A．fail B．attend C．tend D．succeed
A．folded B．taken C．sent D．provided
A．keep B．take C．make D．hold
A．opportunity B．remains C．rest D．complaints
In a world where comparisons happen non-stop, it is difficult to look outside yourself and to ever be 21 with who you are. There’s always someone who’s a bit 22 . The only solution is to reach 23 and measure against what Warren Buffett calls your own inner yardstick. There is no more 24 measure for comparison than who your were yesterday, last week or last decade, when you were at your 25 .
Nothing useful ever comes from comparison to others .Either you see yourself as better than someone and you get 26 , or you see someone else as better than you and you feel like all your hard work is for 27 . It is a fool’s game. Not one of us is exactly 28 . The only direct and honest comparison is 29 yourself. Everything else is apples to oranges.
My opinion is that you are only 30 to compare yourself to someone else if their life31 is the same as your own. Good luck finding that 32 . And one thing is for sure. No matter how hard you work and how dedicated（埋头苦干的）you are, there will always be someone who can run a little faster, jump a little higher, score a little better or look a little nicer in a swimsuit. And if there’s not, you can 33 someone is coming up fast 34 you. So how can you always win in life? Become your best 35 .
Having an image of your most recent past limits is the perfect thing to 36 you to the next level. If you ran 7 flights of stairs yesterday, then do 8 today. Who 37 if the guy next to you did 15? It doesn’t make a bit of 38 . You are a more 39 person today than you were yesterday. Your own 40 is all you need.
A．patient B．strict C．content D．concerned
A．stronger B．better C．lazier D．wiser
A．inside B．out C．for D．up
A．accurate B．useful C．careful D．powerful
A．end B．best C．convenience D．side
A．satisfied B．busy C．inspired D．lazy
A．nothing B．fun C．sure D．success
A．equal B．unique C．alike D．common
A．within B．by C．for D．of
A．instructed B．allowed C．directed D．suggested
A．situation B．position C．occasion D．accommodation
A．game B．match C．friend D．enemy
A．conclude B．bet C．announce D．declare
A．before B．beside C．below D．behind
A．assistant B．competitor C．coach D．teacher
A．contribute B．expose C．push D．devote
A．cares B．says C．wonders D．asks
A．effort B．sense C．difference D．change
A．successful B．happy C．lucky D．fit
A．benefit B．progress C．habit D．result
Embroidering(刺绣)
When I was a little boy living in New York, my mother used to embroider a great deal. I would sit at her knee and look up from the 36 and ask what she was doing. She 37 me that she was embroidering. I told her that it looked like a mess from where I was. As from the underside I watched her work within the 38 of the little round hoop（铁环）that she held in her hand, I complained to her that it sure looked39 from where I sat.
She would smile at me, look down and40 say, "My son, you go about your 41 for a while, and when I am finished with my embroidering, I will put you on my 42 and let you see it from my side."
I would wonder why she was using some dark threads along with the 43 ones and why they seemed so jumbled（混乱的）from my 44 . A few minutes would pass and then I would hear Mother's voice say, " Son, come and sit on my knee." This I did only to be surprised and 45 to see a beautiful flower or a sunset. I could not 46 it, because from underneath it looked so messy.
Then mother would 47 to me, "My son, from underneath it did look messy and jumbled, but you did not realize that there was a 48 plan on the top. It was a 49 . I was only following it. Now look at it from my side 50 you will see what I was doing."
Many 51 through the years, I have 52 up to my Heavenly Father and said, “ Father, what are You doing? ” He 53 , “ I am embroidering your 54 . ”I say, " But it looks like a mess to me. It seems so jumbled. The threads seem so dark. Why can't they all be bright ? " The Father seems to tell me, " My child, you go about your business of doing My business, and one day I will bring you to 55 and put you on my knee and you will see the plan from My side. "
A．floor B．corner C．ceiling D．step
A．demanded B．blamed C．persuaded D．informed
A．decorate B．boundaries C．picture D．surface
A．messy B．dirty C．shabby D．tight
A．smartly B．cautiously C．gently D．precisely
A．complaining B．playing C．embroidering D．imagining
A．back B．chair C．knee D．table
A．white B．black C．bright D．shining
A．eyes B．opinion C．heart D．view
A．hopeful B．thrilled C．expecting D．enthusiastic
A．believe B．consider C．see D．touch
A．talk B．mention C．say D．whisper
A．pre-drawn B．previewed C．preserved D．produced
A．direction B．line C．diagram D．design
A．or B．and C．until D．unless
A．times B．days C．seasons D．chances
A．climbed B．jumped C．shouted D．looked
A．required B．answered C．instructed D．concluded
A．decision B．fortune C．life D．business
A．home B．mother C．America D．Heaven
Travis laughed as he tore at the wrapping paper on his birthday present. He was so 36 ! Finally, he would have the coolest pair of name-brand basketball shoes.
All the guys on his team were wearing the name-brand shoes of a popular basketball 37 , Chuck Hart. 38_ Hart was criticized for his poor sportsmanship and infamous 39_ , he was a great player. In fact, Travis wasn’t thinking about Hart’s behavior; he had only expected to see Hart’s 40 on the side of the box. He realized that something was 41 as he tore away the last piece of paper. Not Hart’s. The new shoes were the name-brand of another player, Robert Ryann, who was 42 for his amazing work in the community.
Travis’s hands 43 ; his heart stopped. It wasn’t that the Ryann shoes weren’t nice, but what would his friends think?
They were the wrong shoes and Travis would be 44 by the other players. When he looked up into his dad’s eyes, however, Travis knew he 45 tell him. “Thanks, Dad. I was really hoping for shoes,” Travis said as he pulled the shoes out of the box.
Next morning his dad drove him to school. When they 46in front of his destination, Travis slowly opened the car door. Just then, his dad stopped him.
“Hey, Travis, wait a minute…” his dad said 47 “Travis, I know those aren’t the shoes you had hoped for, but I saw the names of the two guys and made a(n) 48 . The guy whose name is on those shoes,” he said, pointing down at Travis’s feet, “is someone I 49 . Do you know how often Ryann has found himself in 50 ? ”
“ No,” Travis said.
“ Never. He’s never talked back to his coach or started a fight, and he’s a team player. You could have acted like a(n) 51 when you didn’t get the shoes you wanted, Travis, 52 you were polite and made the best of it. You have honor, like the guy whose name is on these shoes. I’ m hoping that someday, your 53 will be on the coolest pair of shoes I’ll ever see.”
When Travis looked down at his feet, he saw the shoes 54 . His dad had used his mind and heart to give the son a thoughtful 55 .
A．surprised B．ashamed C．excited D．worried
A．team B．player C．coach D．game
A．Unless B．If C．Because D．Although
A．skill B．performance C．behavior D．action
A．name B．photo C．sign D．model
A．strange B．wrong C．true D．funny
A．known B．encouraged C．adopted D．influenced
A．fell B．froze C．shook D．folded
A．questioned B．noticed C．teased D．attacked
A．mustn’t B．needn’t C．wouldn’t D．couldn’t
A．pulled up B．put up C．took up D．turned up
A．peacefully B．hesitantly C．delightedly D．naturally
A．choice B．effort C．comment D．mistake
A．believe B．miss C．admire D．remember
A．danger B．anger C．sorrow D．trouble
A．teammate B．adult C．kid D．student
A．so B．and C．but D．or
A．honor B．courage C．name D．belief
A．clearly B．carefully C．patiently D．differently
A．gift B．smile C．wish D．lesson
“Look, it’s Baldy!” A boy shouted in my direction across the playground. Even though I was
used to regular insults（侮辱）because of the 41 on my head, it was 42 horrible to hear. I sighed as I headed back to the class.
When I was just 20 months old, I suffered serious 43 after a bowl full of hot oil fell on my head. I was 44 to hospital and had to stay there for weeks while the doctors 45 to save my life. “Holly’s very 46 to be alive,” they told Mum and Dad. “But she’ll be 47 with scars on her head, and of course her hair won’t grow there.”
As a child, I cared much about my scars, so I 48 wore a scarf to cover them up when I left home. 49 I didn’t, people would call me horrible names like Baldy. Although my friends were always comforting me, they never 50 understood how it felt.
Then through the hospital I was 51 to a children’s burns camp, where children like me can get any help. There I 52 14-year-old Stephanie, whose burns are a lot more serious than mine. But she is so 53 that she never lets anyone put her down. “You shouldn’t 54 what people say about what you look like because we’re not different from anyone else, Holly, ” She 55 me. “And you don’t need to wear a scarf because you look great 56 it!” For the first time in my life I could speak to someone who’d been through something 57 . So weeks later, at my 13th birthday party, 58 by her bravery, I gave up my scarf and showed off my scars. It felt amazing not having to 59 away behind my scarf.
Now, I am 60 of what I look like and much happier, because I have realized it is your personality that decides who you are.
A．hat B．scarf C．scars D．cuts
A．still B．just C．never D．seldom
A．hunger B．cold C．defeats D．burns
A．rushed B．led C．invited D．forced
A．learned B．fought C．returned D．decided
A．happy B．lucky C．lonely D．poor
A．pressed B．occupied C．left D．painted
A．possibly B．usually C．finally D．nearly
A．Although B．Since C．If D．Before
A．correctly B．roughly C．easily D．really
A．promoted B．introduced C．reported D．carried
A．met B．recognized C．remembered D．caught
A．honest B．strong C．active D．young
A．write down B．agree with C．pass on D．listen to
A．promised B．encouraged C．ordered D．calmed
A．in B．for C．without D．beyond
A．similar B．strange C．hard D．important
A．allowed B．required C．guided D．inspired
A．hide B．give C．keep D．put
A．sick B．awake C．tired D．proud
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
In the future, schools will teach at least one thing we do not teach today: the art of self-discovery. There is nothing more___1__in education. We turn out students from our universities who know how to give answers, but not how to___2__questions.
Our students do not really get into the centres of wisdom in our culture. They__3___ universities with skills for the workplace, but with no knowledge of how to live, or what___4__is for. They are not taught how to see. They are not taught how to listen. They are not taught the great___5__of obedience（遵守、服从）.
They are not taught the true art of___6__. True reading is not just passing our__7___overwords on a page, or__8___information, or even understanding what is being read. True reading is a__9___act. It means seeing first, and then using the__10___. Higher reading ought to be a new subject. As we read, we should try to get something new. I meet people in all__11___of life, and most known in the fields of literature and science, who, though professionals, do not___12__read what is in front of them. They only read what is__13___known to them. I suspect this is happening now, even as you read this__14___.
All our innovations(革新), our discoveries, our__15___come from one source: being able first to see what is there, and what is not; to hear what is said, and what is not; but also to think clearly.
A．technical B．important C．serious D．common
A．afford B．tell C．repeat D．ask
A．attend B．enter C．leave D．enjoy
A．learning B．working C．living D．thinking
A．art B．theme C．idea D．style
A．listening B．speaking C．reading D．writing
A．lips B．arms C．hands D．eyes
A．gathering B．delivering C．sending D．passing
A．native B．creative C．detective D．sensitive
A．appreciation B．imagination C．presentation D．instruction
A．walks B．kinds C．sides D．items
A．generally B．obviously C．actually D．deliberately
A．even B．forever. C．still D．already
A．top B．page C．subject D．book
A．creativity B．possibility C．program D．project