Letting go of success
I want to make the most of every day. And, like most people, I've____ that the best way to do it is to let go of past failures. But that's not all. One can never fully ____ today while thinking too much about past successes, either. People never ____ while resting comfortably on their laurels (荣誉). The ___ is that sometimes our successes hold us back more than our failures!
I once ____ a story about the Oscar owner, actor Clark Gable. A friend ____ Gable one afternoon at the actor's home. She brought along her ____ son, who was playing happily with toy cars on the floor. He____ he was racing those cars around a great track, which in ____ was an imaginary circle around a golden statue (雕像). The small statue the boy played with was actually the Oscar Clark Gable ____ for his performance in the 1934 movie It Happened One Night.
When his mother told him the time had come to ____, the little boy asked the actor, “Can I have this?” ____ to the Oscar.
“Sure, ” he smiled. “It's yours.”
The horrified mother ____. “Put that back immediately!”
Giving the child the golden statue, Clark Gable said, “Having the Oscar around doesn't mean anything to me; ____it does.” The actor seemed to know that past success could be a ____ hammock (吊床) upon which he may be tempted to____, rather than a springboard setting him to begin a new start.
You may have learned to let go of past ____ and mistakes in order to free the present. But will you forget past successes and achievements in order to free the ____? Will your past be a springboard or a restful hammock?
“I like the ____ of the future better than the history of the past,” said Thomas Jefferson. I ____. After all, the future, not the past, is where the rest of your life will be lived.
A discovered B. inferred C. hoped D. worried
A．spend B．live C．understand D．enjoy
A．struggle B．work C．succeed D．learn
A．story B．fact C．idea D．news
A．wrote B．told C．knew D．heard
A．saw B．recognized C．met D．visited
A．careful B．small C．lonely D．clever
A．pretended B．believed C．insisted D．suggested
A．reality B．case C．turn D．need
A．cared B．asked C．won D．looked
A．act B．leave C．play D．wait
A．running B．getting C．pointing D．shouting
A．objected B．noticed C．suffered D．breathed
A．selling B．keeping C．earning D．sharing
A．special B．comfortable C．expensive D．necessary
A．rest B．cheat C．stop D．sit
A．difficulties B．events C．failures D．achievements
A．time B．future C．body D．brain
A．idea B．meaning C．dreams D．thoughts
A．obey B．permit C．wish D．agree
III、完形填空(共20分)
It’s a question anyone might ask in the future: Should your household robot be cool? Or practical?
For Sony Corporation, robots ought to be entertaining. The company’s 41 robot, SDR—4 X, can sing and dance.
But for automaker Honda Motor Co Ltd, such 42 should perform useful tasks for their 43 masters.
“It is in the end a machine, a 44 ,” said Masato Hirose, Honda’s chief engineer.
Sony’s chief researcher Toshi Doi said robots performing such tasks as 45for ill or disabled people would not necessarily need a human 46 .
“The attractiveness of the SDR—4 X is its 47”, he said.
“It has feelings. It has instincts(直觉).”
Drawing from its 48of 60,000 words, an SDR—4 X robot 49 last week that it can ask a 50 in a high voice: “Please 51still for a minute while I memorize your face.”
It also 52 off its ability to walk on uneven(不平的)floors, and come to its owner when it’s 53.
While Honda’s robot is 54 used mainly for entertainment, 
it is 55 that one day it will be a useful companion.
So its robot have been 56to be 120cm tall – more than twice the height of the SDR—4 X. Hirose said 120cm is the 5
7a robot that moves around a home should be.
“If you are going to have something that can move with 58 in a human surroundings(环境), then it is better to 59 the robot like a human,” he said.
Hirose said that he hopes the robot will be 60 enough so that he can buy one for himself and let it get him a beer.
41. A. earliest B. latest C. coolest D. smallest
42. A. matters B. people C. machines D. inventions
43. A. human B. own C. creative D. all
44. A. tool B. robot C. toy D. slave
45. A. looking B. working C. leaving D. caring
46. A. form B. character C. job D. ability
47. A. appearance B. purpose C. personality D. material
48. A. storage B. use C. making creation
49. A. said B. announced C. showed D. imaged
50. A. friend B. partner C. servant D. guest
51. A. hold B. lie C. take D. make
52. A. left B. showed C. put D. dropped
53.A. tired B. called C. controlled D. made
54.A. also B. still C. again D. even
55. A. sure B. hoped C. reported D. described
56. A. expected B. raised C. proved D. designed
57 A. cheapest B. dearest C. smallest D. biggest
58. A. ease B. care
C. difficulty D. foot
59. A. buy B. use C. invest
D. design
60. A. useful B. smart C. cheap D. small
选编（二十）
A person may have an idea about himself that will prevent him from doing good work.
He may have the belief that he is not capable (有能力的) of it. A child may think he is __1__ because he doesn’t understand how to make the __2__ of his mental faculties (才能). Older people may be mistaken that they are incapable of learning things new because of their __ 3__.
A person who believe that he is incapable will not make a real __4__ because he feels that it would be useless. He won’t go at a job with confidence necessary for __5__ , and he won’t work his hardest way, even though he may think he is doing so. He is __6__ likely to fail, and the failure will __7__ his belief in his competence (才能) .
Alfred Alder, a famous doctor, had __8__ like this. When he was a small boy, he had a poor __9__ in maths. His teacher told his parents he had no ability in maths in order that they would not __10__ too much of him. In this way, they two __11__ the idea. He accepted __12__ mistaken thinking of his ability, felt that it was useless to __13__ and was very poor at maths, __14__ as they expected.
One day he worked at a problem which __15__ of the other students had been able to solve.
Alder __16__ in solving the problem. This gave him confidence (信心). He now __17__ with interest, determination and purpose, and he soon became especially good at __18__. He not only proved that he could learn maths well, but luckily he learned __19__ in his life from his own experience that if a person goes at a job with determination and purpose, he may __20__ himself as well as others by his ability.
1. A. clever B. shy C. useless D. stupid
2. A. biggest B. most C. highest D. deepest
3. A. ability B. age C. brain D. knowledge
4. A. decision B. success C. effort D. trouble
5. A. work B. study C. improvement D. success
6. A. truly B. really C. however D. therefore
7. A. lead to B. strengthen C. increase D. add to
8. A. an experience B. an example C. a thought D. a story
9. A. state B. mind C. start D. ending
10. A. blame B. expect C. get D. win
11. A. developed B. organized C. discovered D. found
12. A. his B. her C. its D. their
13. A. manage B. succeed C. try D. act
14. A. only B. almost C. just D. then
15. A. none B. no C. no one D. nobody
16. A. gave B. succeeded C. failed D. believed
17. A. lived B. worked C. played D. graduated
18. A. lessons B. medicine C. subjects D. maths
19. A. early B. deeply C. late D. simply
20. A. encourage B. love C. astonish D. disappoint
选编（十九）
A Strange Greeting, a True Feeling Last week I was invited to a doctor’s meeting at the Ruth hospital for incurables. Inoneof the wards a patient, an old man, got up shakily from his bed and moved towards me. I could see that he hadn't long to 1 , but he came up to me and placed his right foot close mine on the floor.
“Frank！” I cried in astonishment. He couldn’t 2 , as I knew, but all the time 3his foot against mine.
My 4raced back more than thirty years to the 5 days of 1941, when I was a student in London. The 6was an air-raid shelter, in which I and about hundred other people slept every night. Two of the regulars were Mrs. West and her son Frank.
7wartime problems, we shelter-dwellers got to 8 each other very well. Frank West 9me because he wasn’t 10, not even at birth. His mother told me he was 37 then, but he had 11 of a mind than a baby has. His “ 12” consisted of rough sounds——sounds of pleasure or anger and 13 more. Mrs. West, then about 75, was a strong, capable woman, as she had to be, of course, because Frank 14 on her entirely. He needed all the 15of a baby.
One night a policeman came and told Mrs. West that her house had been flattened by a 500-pounder. She 16 nearly everything she owned.
When that sort of thing happened, the rest of us helped the 17 ones. So before we 18 that morning, I stood beside Frank and 19my right foot against his. They were about the same size. That night, then, I took a pair of shoes to the shelter for frank. But as soon as he saw me he came running and placed his right foot against mine. After that, his 20to me was always the same.
( )1. A. work B. stay C. live D. expect
( )2. A. answer B. speak C. smileD. laugh
( )3. A. covering B. moving C. fighting D. pressing
( )4. A. minds B. memories C. thoughts D. brains
( )5. A. better B. dark C. younger D. old
( )6. A. cave B. place C. sight D. scene
( )7. A. Discussing B. Solving C. Sharing D. Suffering
( )8. A. learn from B. talk to C. help D. know
( )9. A. needed B. recognized C. interested D. encouraged
( )10. A. normal B. common C. unusual D. quick
( )11. A. more B. worse C. fewer D. less
( )12. A. word B. speech C . sentence D. language
( )13. A. not B. no C. something D. nothing
( )14. A. fed B. kept C. lived D. depended
( )15. A. attention B. control C. treatment D. management
( )16. A. lost B. needed C. destroyed D. left
( )17. A. troublesomeB. unlucky C. angry D. unpopular
( )18. A. separated B. went C. reunited D. returned
( )19. A. pushed B. tried C. showed D. measured
( )20. A. nodding B. greeting C. meeting D. acting
选编（十八）
While attending a conference, I returned to my hotel room late one evening. The overhead light outside my door was burned out and I had 1 finding the keyhole. When I 2 to open the door, I 3 around the wall for a light switch. I found a plate where a switch was 4 installed... but no switch!
Not discouraged easily, I remembered 5 a lamp by the bed when I deposited my luggage 6 in the day. I found the bed in the 7 and then the lamp, but when I switched it on, nothing 8 ! I thought that perhaps if I opened the curtains I might be able to use whatever light comes in from the 9 to find another lamp. So I 10 my way slowly across the room to the curtains and... no drawstring! I finally stumbled（跌跌撞撞地走）around 11 I found a desk lamp which actually 12 !
That evening I discovered in a whole new way just how dark the world 13 be and how necessary light is! But even more necessary than 14 light is the light that shines from people --the light of 15 and faith. Because, for many people, the world is a dark and 16 place. For someone today just may be stumbling in discouragement or sadness or fear and in 17 of some light. So let your light shine. Whatever light you 18 may be a beacon of hope and encouragement. And if you feel that your light is 19 a candle in a forest remember -- there isn’t enough darkness in all the world to 20 the light of one small candle.
1. A. confidenceB. respect C. adimiration D. difficulty
2. A. managed B. failed C. wished D. meant
3. A. touched B. felt C. sensed D. looked
4. A. alreadyB. never C. still D. once
5. A. equiping B. producing C. spotting D. removing
6. A. later B. earlier C. lower D. upper
7. A. lightB. dark C. room D. corner
8. A. happened B. operated C. fired D. developed
9. A. machine B. street C. room D. car
10. A. wound B. forced C. made D. lost
11. A. after B. untilC. while D. since
12. A. helped B. affected C. worked D. inspired
13. A. can B. shallC. will D. must
14. A. mental B. psychological C. electrical D. physical
15. A. existence B. love C. truth D. wisdom
16. A. lonely B. colourful C. friendly D. complex
17. A. short B. favour C. face D. need
18. A. make B. offerC. take D. contribute
19. A. not more than B. other than C. no more than D. rather than
20. A. put out B. give out C. get over D. set up
选编（十七）
Several years ago, while attending a communication course, I experienced a most unusual process. The instructor asked us to list ___1___ in our past that we felt ___2___ of, regretted, or incomplete about and read our lists aloud.
This seemed like a very ___3___ process, but there’ s always some ___4___soul in the crowd who will volunteer. The instructor then ___5___ that we find ways to ___6___ people, or take some action to right any wrong doings. I was seriously wondering how this could ever ___7___ my communication.
Then the man next to me raised his hand and volunteered this story: “Making my ___8___, I remembered an incident from high school. I grew up in a small town. There was a Sheriff ___9___ of us kids liked. One night, my two buddies and I decided to play a ___10___ on him.
After drinking a few beers, we climbed the tall water tank in the middle of the town, and wrote on the tank in bright red paint: Sheriff Brown is a s.o.b.(畜生). The next day, almost the whole town saw our glorious ___11___. Within two hours, Sheriff Brown had us in his office. My friends told the truth but I lied. No one ___12___ found out.”
“Nearly 20 years later, Sheriff Brown’s name ___13___ on my list. I didn’t even know if he was still ___14___. Last weekend, I dialed the information in my hometown and found there was a Roger Brown still listed. I tried his number. After a few ___15___, I heard, “Hello?” I said, “Sheriff Brown?” Paused. “Yes.” “Well, this is Jimmy Calkins.”
“And I want you to know that I did it？”Paused. “I knew it!” he yelled back. We had a good laugh and a ___16___ discussion. His closing words were: “Jimmy, I always felt bad for you ___17___ your buddies got it off their chest, but you were carrying it ___18___ all these years. I want to thank you for calling me...for your sake.”
Jimmy inspired me to ___19___ all 101 items on my list within two years, and I always remember what I learned from the course: It’s never too late to ___20___the past wrongdoings.
1. A. something B. anythingC. somebodyD. anybody
2. A. ashamed B. afraidC. sureD. proud
3. A. private B. secretC. interestingD. funny
4. A. foolish B. politeC. simpleD. brave
5. A. expected B. suggestedC. ordered D. demanded
6. A. connect with B. depend onC. make apologize to D. get along with
7. A. improve B. continueC. realize D. keep
8. A. notes B. listC. planD. stories
9. A. any B. mostC. noneD. all
10. A. part B. gameC. trickD. record
11. A. view B. signC. attentionD. remark
12. A. also B. evenC. stillD. ever
13. A. appears B. considersC. presentsD. remembers
14. A. angry B. happyC. doubtfulD. alive
15. A. words B. ringsC. repeatsD. calls
16. A. coldB. plainC. nervousD. lively
17. A. in case B. so long asC. unlessD. because
18. A. around B. out C. onD. away
19. A. build up B. make upC. clear upD. give up
20. A. regret B. forgiveC. rightD. punish