Many adults see teens as energetic. Many of us see ourselves as proud. This thinking   1   many adults and us, too, to have the idea that if we can’t handle school or  2  life well, we’re just not trying.

But in my opinion that may not be  3 .

Earlier this school year, I was leaving my class one Friday,  4   suddenly it felt like I had pulled a muscle in my back. I knew I was ill.

After a few days I stopped eating. This meant I lost  5  ; the clothes that I bought two weeks earlier began   6   loose. This time my parents got scared.   7  , I started sleeping less. My eyelids（眼皮）were constantly   8  .

I refused to   9   that I was ill. I kept my job working 25 hours a week in a shop; I didn’t   10   any classes. When I was hurting, I didn’t mind and kept on going.   11   it kills you, it makes you stronger, right?

But now I find myself thinking. Is it   12   it? I’m taking the classes and writing for the newspaper because it looks good   13   college applications. And I’m working 25 hours a week so that, once I get into my dream school, I can   14   it.

Here I am, already sick from the   15   of work I’m doing in and out of school. So, what good is a（n） 16   application if I’m badly ill? What is the  17  of doing this work if I can’t enjoy the results?

In fact, by writing my   18   I’m telling all the people who   19   much about the future and worry about it now. This is my warning: Don’t climb the   20   dive if you don’t like the deep end.

1．A．makes                   B．forces                   C．causes                  D．intends

2．A．still c                     B．even                     C．just                      D．yet

3．A．true                       B．reasonable             C．useful                   D．valuable

4．A．before                   B．after                     C．until                     D．when

5．A．relief y                  B．hope                     C．weight                  D．direction

6．A．hanging                 B．holding                 C．changing               D．dressing

7．A．In fact                   B．In addition             C．In disorder            D．In general

8．A．weak                     B．shut                      C．loose                    D．heavy

9．A．insist                     B．recognize              C．accept                  D．consider

10．A．lose                     B．drop                     C．give                      D．take

11．A．Unless                 B．If                         C．Though                D．Before

12．A．paid                     B．similar to               C．equal to                D．worth

13．A．at                        B．to                         C．on                        D．with

14．A．control                B．manage                 C．support                 D．afford

15．A．amount                B．set                        C．kind                     D．crowd

16．A．suitable                B．impressive             C．believable              D．unusual

17．A．effect                  B．idea                      C．point                    D．tip

18．A．time                    B．effort                    C．feeling                  D．story

19．A．wonder                B．care                      C．miss                     D．realize

20．A．high                    B．deep                     C．hard                     D．far

Over time, the custom of kissing developed as a way for adults to express their love and affection for one another. The roots of this form of affection can be traced back to primitive times, when mothers fondled their children, much as mothers do today.

　　Much later, in the sixth century, society apparently accepted the custom of kissing between adults as an expression of their affection. Not surprisingly, France first accepted kissing in courtship （求爱）. There, figure dancing was popular, and each dance was sealed with a kiss.

　　The custom of kissing swept from France through Europe to Russia, where Russian nobility loved to imitate the French. Eventually, the kiss was incorporated into marriage ceremonies, and today lip-locks couples into sweet matrimony.

　　The custom of kissing today, as well as in ancient times, serves to pay homage to another.  Early Romans kissed each other on the mouth or on the eyes to greet one another in a manner they thought to be dignified. One Roman emperor even ranked a person's importance by the body part he was allowed to kiss. He allowed important nobles to kiss his lips, less important ones to kiss his hands, and the least important ones to kiss his feet.

In Russia, the highest sign of recognition from the Crown meant a kiss from the Tsar himself. Today, natives of many African tribes pay homage to their Chief by kissing the ground over which he has walked.

1．What’s mainly talked about in the passage?

A．The way to express love and respect.          B．The expression of affection.

C．The custom of kissing.                                    D．The function of kissing.

2．Which of the following can best explain the underlined word “homage” in the 4^th paragraph？

A．recognition              B．respect            C．importance            D．loyalty

3．It can be learned from the passage that ___________.

A．kissing is a widely accepted way to show love and affection

B．kissing used to be a proper way to show love on the wedding ceremony

C．kissing is a widely accepted way of greeting in the world

D．kissing from the Tsar is only sign of being accepted from the Crown

4．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．It was France that made the custom of kissing go to the whole world.

B．Early Africans kissed each other on the mouth or on the eyes to greet one another.

C．One Roman emperor allowed important nobles to kiss his nose.

D．Russian nobility followed the custom of kissing from the French.

5．We can infer from the passage that __________.

A．mothers created the custom of kissing

B．kissing means differently on different occasions

C．figure dancing was usually sealed with a kiss in Russia

D．society found it hard to accept kissing in public in the sixth century

Do you know about a series of books that say they are “for dummies”? These American self-help books have been translated into more than thirty-nine languages including Chinese, Arabic, Russian, French, German, Greek and Spanish.

 “Dummy” is a word for a stupid person. The dummies books are not really for stupid people. They are designed to show people how to do something they may never have tried before, like painting a house or learning a language. The books all say in a funny way that they are for dummies, such as World History for Dummies, Rabbits for Dummies, Chinese Cooking for Dummies, and Wedding Planning for Dummies. The first such book, DOS for Dummies, was published in 1991. It helped people learn how to use the DOS operating system for computers. Since then, more than one hundred fifty million dummies books have been sold.

The dummies.com website explains the idea behind the books. It says that they show that people can be taught to do anything. First they can make fun of ideas that are difficult to understand. Then they show how the information can be interesting and easy. The publishers say that the books do not provide more information than necessary. They give readers just enough information to do what they want. They say that the dummies books give the best and easiest way to do something. And the books use simple and easy language.

There are more than one thousand different dummies books. A report in New York Times says that the top-selling dummies books are those that explain technology and personal finance.

The publishers say that the best-selling dummies books are those providing information many people need---like information about diseases, education and cooking. People interested in opera, car repair and wine can also find dummies books to help them. And there are even more dummies books to come. The publishers say that they publish about two hundred new dummies books every year.

1．Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A．Books for Dummies                           B．The Easiest, the Best

C．Books for Stupid People                            D．New Ideas Behind the Books 

2．According to the dummies.com website, people can ________ with the help of dummies books.

A．do some personal things                           B．learn any foreign language

C．become expert in cooking                    D．do anything they want

3．The dummies books have been popular because ______.

A．they provide just what is needed and are easy to understand

B．they provide abundant information on the concerning subject

C．people can learn to do anything with just one copy

D．people can save lots of money through self-teaching

4．According to New York Times, we know that books on ______ sell best.

A．diseases and education                                     B．opera and car repairing

C．technology and personal finance                 D．cooking and world history

5．What can we learn from the passage?

A．The first dummies book was on Chinese cooking.

B．The dummies books will continue to be popular.

C．Fifty million different dummies books have been published.

D．The simple language was intended for child readers.

A brush with death can actually improve a person’s outlook on life. That, at least, was one of the major findings of a study of some 200 people who come close to dying. Some had come through heart attack; some had fallen, come close to drowning; or survived a terrible car wreck, yet despite the variety of circumstances, they reported strikingly similar reactions to their experiences.

Perhaps most surprisingly, many said they were less frightened of death now than they were before. Like most people, before their near-death incidents many had thought death would be painful, the ultimate horror—but they didn’t find it was.

Surviving a nearly fatal experience also gave many people a sense of invulnerability（不会受伤害）that made them feel special and even religious. Several believed they had been saved because they were to fulfill some special mission in the remainder of their lives.

Perhaps not so surprisingly, these survivors also reported an increased zest for life and a determination to enjoy life more.

A few of the survivors did report negative reactions to their experience. A dozen said they felt more vulnerable, and some even felt a sense of helplessness and a loss of control over their lives. Some had become phobic about activities associated with the accident; for example, several said they could no longer swim for fear of drowning.

Yet most of those interviewee said they came away with a strong sense of renewal or rebirth. In studying their reactions researchers have concluded that these people have come to understand the relationship of life and death better and more intimately than most of us, they have come to understand how life is actually defined by death. Life is given meaning by the fact that it will end someday.

1．From the passage, we can infer that the effects of near-death experiences on the survivors’ life __________.

A．differ due to the variety of circumstances 

B．vary greatly from person to person

C．are mostly positive in terms of their outlook on life  

D．are neither positive nor negative

2．The word “phobic” （in the fifth paragraph） most probably means ________ .

A．very careful         B．very casual         C．very curious        D．very fearful

3．The title below that best expresses the ideas of this passage is ________

A．How to Improve a Person’s Outlook on Life.    

B．The Effects of Near-Death Experience.

C．Is Death Really Horrible?

D．Near-Death Accidents and their Survivors.

4．The positive effect of near-death experience was that ______________.

A．some people loved life better because they realized its new meaning

B．some people felt a sense of helplessness

C．some people felt a loss of control over their lives

D．some people wanted to seek extreme happiness because they knew life was too limited

5．Which effect of the near-death experience was the one that people had seldom expected?

A．Some people felt more vulnerable.

B．Some people did not worry too much about death any more.

C．Some people paid more attention to the value of life.

D．Some people tended to be too pessimistic about death.

You may be spending far too many of your present moments in efforts to win the approval of others, or in being concerned with some disapproval that you have encountered. We all enjoy applause, compliments and praise, and approval in itself is not unhealthy. Approval-seeking is an misleading zone only when it becomes a need rather than a want.

       If you want the approval, you are simply happy to have the recognition of the other people. But if you need it, you are going to collapse if you don’t get it. That’s when the self-destructive forces move in. Similarly, when approval-seeking becomes a need, you give up a chunk（相当大的数量）of yourself to the “outside person” whose advocacy（拥护）you must have. If they disapprove, then you are immobilized（使丧失机动性）（even in a small way）. In such a case, you have chosen to wear your self-worth on your sleeve for someone to rub or not to rub as they see fit. You feel good inside only if they decide to administer some praise to you.

       The need for approval of another person is bad enough, but the real trouble comes with the need for the approval of everyone for every act. If you carry around such a need, then you are bound for a great deal of misery and frustration in your life. Moreover, you will be incorporating a wish-washy（软弱无力的）non-person self-image that will result in the kind of self-rejection.

The need for approval must go! No question makes there. It must be eradicated from your life if you are to gain personal fulfillment. Such need is a psychological dead end, with absolutely no benefits to you.

1．Approval-seeking is healthy when        .

A．you need the approval

B．you only want the approval

C．you need the approval of everyone for every act

D．you don’t care about the approval

2．The self-destructive forces move in when        .

A．you need the approval and you get it        B．you feel good inside

C．you need the approval but you don’t get it    D．you are immobilized

3．The underlined sentence in the 2^nd paragraph means you’ve decided to_______________.

A．give up your self-worth in order to get the approval  

B．change your self-worth in order to get the approval

C．show your self-worth to others and allow them to make a judgment

D．put your self-worth in other’s hand and allow them to keep it or hurt it as they like

4．The need for the approval of everyone for every act will eventually result in          .

A．self-rejection       B．real troubles         C．unhappiness         D．enthusiasm

5．What can we infer from the passage?

A．People can benefit from the need of the approval.

B．Both the want and need for approval are unhealthy.

C．The need for the approval is a destructive feeling and people must get rid of it.

D．Since everyone enjoys praise and compliment, it’s natural for us to need approval.

1）  It didn’t o___________ to me that you would object.

2）  Although they are brothers, Patrick d_________ from Mike in many ways.

3）  Snow forced many drivers to __________（放弃） their vehicles.

4）  I _________（犹豫） to tell him the truth.

5）  I’m afraid I have no a__________ but to ask you to leave.

6）  Fresh air is b___________ to our health.

7）  Mary was reading a piece of science f_________ and lost in the book.

8）  The squirrel was scared and f_________into the woods when he saw us.

9）  He didn’t know how to o__________ the remote controller because he had never seen one before.

10）Our ___________（代理人） in Guangzhou deals with all our business in Guangdong.

根据汉语填入词组的适当形式，使句子通顺。

1）他对我讲了他们的计划，我表示同意。

   He has told me their plan, and I am ______ __________ ________ it.

2）她5岁开始学跳舞。 She _________ ________ learning dancing at age of 5.

3） 我们很幸运可以接触到机密资料。

We are lucky to _________ __________ ________ secret information.

4）上海现在展露出一种新面貌。

  Shanghai starts to ________ ______ a new look now.

Confidence: you’ve either got it or you haven’t, right? Wrong. Most people learn confidence

as they go through life.

       Even if you are shaking like a leaf on the inside, you’ll make a lasting impression if you can come across as confident. Here are some confidence-building tips.

       Fake（假装） it! If you can pretend that you feel confident when you don’t and keep on doing so, your fake confidence will soon turn into real confidence. It only takes a few repetitions of an activity for it to become a habit—so get in the habit of         .

       Think it. For an instant encouragement to yourself-esteem （自尊心）, recall three things that give you positive emotions. It could be a great compliment somebody paid you, a special time when you felt happy and popular, or when you really excelled （胜过别人） at something. Bringing them to mind will help you to feel good instantly—and when you feel good, you have greater confidence.

       Focus it. Difficult situations, such as interviews or new jobs, can make you feel shy. If you’re feeling anxious about yourself, stop thinking about yourself and focus on something else. It could be that you focus on something normal, like the view out of the window, or that you pay more attention to the task at hand—getting the job! Either way, you'll feel less awkward.

       Talk it. If you keep telling yourself that you're not good at something, you’ll start to believe it. Next time you blame yourself, ask yourself whether you'd talk to your friends like that. So quit being negative and start recognizing and appreciating the things you are good at.

       Walk it. Great posture can signal great confidence. Walk with a purposeful stride, walk with your back straight and with your head held up high!

1．What is the best title of the passage?  （within 8 words）

2．Please fill in the blank in the 3rd paragraph with proper words to complete the sentence. 

    （within 6 words.）

3．Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?

       Stop finding fault with yourself and try to think more about your advantages.

4．Which of the tips given in the passage will work best with you? Why? （within 30 words.）

5．Please translate the underlined sentence in the third paragraph into Chinese.

I’ll be publishing my results only when I have _________ my research．

A．concerned        B．connected         C．conducted          D．concluded

A completely new situation will _________ when the examination system comes into existence．

A．rise         B．arise            C．arouse           D．raise