We often talk about ourselves as if we have permanent genetic defects （缺陷） that can never be changed．“I’m impatient．” “I’m always behind．” “I always put things   21 !” You’ve surely heard them．Maybe you’ve used them to describe   22 ．
These comments may come from stories about us that have been   23  for years—often from   24  childhood．These stories may have no   25  in fact．But they can set low expectations for us．As a child, my mother said to me, “Marshall, you have no mechanical （操作机械的） skills, and you will never have any mechanical skills for the rest of your life．” How did these expectations   26  my development? I was never   27  to work on cars or be around   28 ．When I was 18, I took the US Army’s Mechanical Aptitude Test．My scores were in the bottom for the entire nation!
Six years later,   29 , I was at California University, working on my doctor’s degree．One of my professors, Dr．Bob Tannbaum, asked me to write down things I did well and things I couldn’t do．On the positive side, I   30   down, “research, writing, analysis, and speaking．” On the   31  side, I wrote, “I have no mechanical skills．”
Bob asked me how I knew I had no mechanical skills．I explained my life   32  and told him about my   33  performance on the Army test．Bob then asked, “  34  is it that you can solve   35  mathematical problems, but you can’t solve simple mechanical problems?”
Suddenly I realized that I didn’t   36  from some sort of genetic defect．I was just living out expectations that I had chosen to   37 ．At that point, it wasn’t just my family and friends who had been   38  my belief that I was mechanically hopeless．And it wasn’t just the Army test, either．I was the one who kept telling myself, “You can’t do this!” I realized that as long as I kept saying that, it was going to remain true．  39  , if we don’t treat ourselves as if we have incurable genetic defects, we can do well in almost   40  we choose．

It was an autumn morning shortly after my husband and I moved into our first house. Children were upstairs unpacking , and I was looking out of the window at my father moving around mysteriously on the front lawn. My parents lived nearby ,and Dad had visited us several times already. “What are you doing out there?” I called to him .He looked up, smiling. “I’m making you a surprise.” Knowing my father, I thought it could be just about anything. A self-employed jobber, he was always building things out of odds and ends. When we were kids, he always created something surprising for us.

   Today, however, Dad would say no more, and caught ups in the busyness of our new life, I eventually forgot about his surprise. Until one gloomy day the following March when I glanced out of the window. Any yet… I saw a dot of blue across the yard. I headed outside for a closer look. They were crocuses (番红花), throughout the front lawn. Lavender, blue, yellow and my favorite pink ---- little faces moved up and down in the cold wind.

    Dad! I smiled, remembering the things he had secretly planted last autumn. He knew how the darkness and dullness of winter always got me down. What could have been more perfectly timely to my needs?

    My father’s crocuses bloomed each spring for the next four or five seasons, bringing the same assurance every time they arrived: hard times was almost over. Hold on, keep going, light is coming soon.

    Then a spring came with only half the usual blooms. The next spring there were none. I missed the crocuses. I would ask Dad to come over and plant new bulbs. But I never did.

    He died suddenly one October day. My family was in deep sorrow, leaning on our faith. I missed him terribly.

    Four years passed, and on a dismal spring afternoon I was driving back when I found myself feeling depressed. “You’ve got the winter depression again and you get them every year.” I told myself.

    It was Dad’s birthday, and I found myself thinking about him. This was not unusual --- my family often talked about him, remembering how he lived his faith. Once I saw him give his coat to a homeless man.

    Suddenly I slowed as I turned into our driveway. I stopped and stared at the lawn. And there on the muddy grass and small gray piles of melting snow, bravely waving in the wind, was one pink crocus.

    How could a flower bloom from a bulb more than 18 years old, one that had not blossomed in over a decade? But there was the crocus. Tears filled my eyes as I realized its significance.

Hold on, keep going, light is coming soon. The pink crocus bloomed for only a day. But it built my faith for a lifetime.

1.According to the first three paragraphs, we learn that _________.

A. the writer was unpacking when her father was making the surprise

B. the writer knew what the surprise was because she knew her father

C. it was not the first time that the writer’s father had made a surprise

D. it kept bothering the writer not knowing what the surprise was

2.Which of the following would most probably be the worst time of the year as seen by the writer?

A. Spring.  B. Summer.        C. Autumn.        D. Winter.

3.Which of the following is NOT true, according to the passage?

A. The writer’s father planted the crocus to lift her low spirit.

B. The crocuses bloomed each spring before the writer’s father died.

C. The writer often thought about her father since her father died.

D. The writer’s father died some years after he planted the crocus.

4.The writer’s father should be best described as_________.

A. a full-time gardener with skillful hands

B. a part-time jobber who loved flowers

C. a kind-hearted man who lived with faith

D. an ordinary man with doubts in his life

5.Crocus was viewed as the symbol of _________ by the writer.

A. faith      B. family    C. love       D. friendship

We often talk about ourselves as if we have permanent genetic defects （缺陷） that can never be changed．“I’m impatient．” “I’m always behind．” “I always put things   21 !” You’ve surely heard them．Maybe you’ve used them to describe   22 ．

These comments may come from stories about us that have been   23  for years—often from   24  childhood．These stories may have no   25  in fact．But they can set low expectations for us．As a child, my mother said to me, “Marshall, you have no mechanical （操作机械的） skills, and you will never have any mechanical skills for the rest of your life．” How did these expectations   26  my development? I was never   27  to work on cars or be around   28 ．When I was 18, I took the US Army’s Mechanical Aptitude Test．My scores were in the bottom for the entire nation!

Six years later,   29 , I was at California University, working on my doctor’s degree．One of my professors, Dr．Bob Tannbaum, asked me to write down things I did well and things I couldn’t do．On the positive side, I   30   down, “research, writing, analysis, and speaking．” On the   31  side, I wrote, “I have no mechanical skills．”

Bob asked me how I knew I had no mechanical skills．I explained my life   32  and told him about my   33  performance on the Army test．Bob then asked, “  34  is it that you can solve   35  mathematical problems, but you can’t solve simple mechanical problems?”

Suddenly I realized that I didn’t   36  from some sort of genetic defect．I was just living out expectations that I had chosen to   37 ．At that point, it wasn’t just my family and friends who had been   38  my belief that I was mechanically hopeless．And it wasn’t just the Army test, either．I was the one who kept telling myself, “You can’t do this!” I realized that as long as I kept saying that, it was going to remain true．  39  , if we don’t treat ourselves as if we have incurable genetic defects, we can do well in almost   40  we choose．

第二节  完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36~55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

We often talk about ourselves as if we have genetic defects (基因缺陷) that can never be changed. “I’m impatient.” “I’m always behind.” “I always put things   36  !” You’ve surely heard them. Maybe you’ve used them to describe   37  .

These comments may come from stories about us that have been   38   for years. These stories may have no   39    in fact. But they can set   40   expectations for us. As a child, my mother said to me, “Marshall, you have no mechanical (操作机械的) skills, and you will never have any mechanical skills for the rest of your life.” How did these expectations   41   my development? I was never   42   to work on cars or be around tools. When I was 18, I took the US Army’s Mechanical Aptitude Test. My scores were in the   43   for the whole nation!

Six years later,   44  , I was working on my doctor’s degree. My professor, Dr. Bob Tannbaum, asked me to write down things I did  45    and things I couldn’t do. On the  46    side, I took down, “research, writing, analysis, and speaking.” On the other side, I wrote, “I have no mechanical skills.”

Bob asked me   47   I knew I had no mechanical skills. I explained my life   48   and told him about my   49   performance on the Army test. Bob then asked, “Why is it that you can solve   50   mathematical problems, but you can’t solve simple mechanical problems?”

Suddenly I realized that I didn’t   51   from some sort of genetic defect. I was just living out expectations that I had chosen to   52  . At that point, it wasn’t just my family and friends who had been   53   my belief that I was mechanically hopeless. And it wasn’t just the Army test, either. I was the one who kept telling myself, “You can’t do this!” I realized that   54   we don’t treat ourselves as if we have incurable genetic defects, we can   55   in almost anything we choose.

36. A. away                     B. off                                 C. up                                 D. down

37. A. them                     B. myself                           C. yourself                         D. others 

38. A. said                       B. spoken                          C. spread                          D. repeated 

39. A. basis                                B. plot                                C. cause                  D. ending 

40. A. high                                 B. low                                 C. general                          D. realistic 

41. A. lead                      B. improve                        C. affect                            D. quicken  

42. A. encouraged         B. forced                          C. forbidden                     D. ordered    

43. A. middle                             B. bottom                         C. front                    D. beginning  

44. A. therefore                       B. moreover                     C. instead                          D. however 

45. A. well                                 B. badly                    C. carefully                          D. honestly  

46. A. passive                           B. positive                        C. negative                        D. subjective 

47. A. when                               B. where                           C. how                       D. whether  

48. A. values                               B. styles                               C. experiences                   D. goals  

49. A. unexpected                   B. poor                             C. excellent                       D. average 

50. A. complex               B. special                          C. common                        D. primary 

51. A. arise                                B. separate                       C. come                             D. suffer

52. A. believe                            B. suspect                        C. drop                     D. resist  

53. A. weakening                    B. abandoning                  C. strengthening              D. accepting 

54. A. as                            B. though                                    C. unless                           D. if 

55. A. compete                           B. cooperate                    C. fight                      D. succeed

完型填空（共20 小题；每小题1．5分；满分30分）

    阅读下面短文，然后从下列各题所给的A、 B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

We often talk about ourselves as if we have permanent genetic defects (缺陷) that can never be changed. “I’m impatient.” “I’m always behind.” “I always put things   36  !” You’ve surely heard them. Maybe you’ve used them to describe   37  .

These comments may come from stories about us that have been   38   for years—often from   39   childhood. These stories may have no   40   in fact. But they can set low expectations for us. As a child, my mother said to me, “Marshall, you have no mechanical (操作机械的) skills, and you will never have any mechanical skills for the rest of your life.” How did these expectations   41   my development? I was never   42   to work on cars or be around    43  . When I was 18, I took the US Army’s Mechanical Aptitude Test. My scores were in the bottom for the entire nation!

Six years later,   44  , I was at California University, working on my doctor’s degree. One of my professors, Dr. Bob Tannbaum, asked me to write down things I did well and things I couldn’t do. On the positive side, I   45    down, “research, writing, analysis, and speaking.” On the   46   side, I wrote, “I have no mechanical skills.”

Bob asked me how I knew I had no mechanical skills. I explained my life   47   and told him about my   48   performance on the Army test. Bob then asked, “  49   is it that you can solve    50   mathematical problems, but you can’t solve simple mechanical problems?”

Suddenly I realized that I didn’t   51   from some sort of genetic defect. I was just living out expectations that I had chosen to   52  . At that point, it wasn’t just my family and friends who had been   53   my belief that I was mechanically hopeless. And it wasn’t just the Army test, either. I was the one who kept telling myself, “You can’t do this!” I realized that as long as I kept saying that, it was going to remain true.   54   , if we don’t treat ourselves as if we have incurable genetic defects, we can do well in almost   55   we choose.

1. A. away          B. down                 C. up               D. off

2. A. yourself     B. myself           C. them                 D. others 

3. A. said              B. repeated         C. spread       D. spoken

4. A. as long as        B. as much as       C. as well as  D. as far back as

5.A. cause          B. plot         C. basis        D. meaning 

6. A. affect            B. improve          C. lead     D. change 

7.A. hoped          B. demanded     C. encouraged       D. agreed 

8.A. means          B. hammers   C. facilities       D. tools

9.A. therefore          B. however     C. instead      D. somehow

10.A. took          B. turned       C. settled          D. got 

11.A. negative      B. active  C. passive          D. subjective 

12. A. roads       B. trips    C. experiences      D. paths 

13. A. unexpected  B. average      C. excellent            D. poor

14.A. When          B. Why      C. How              D. What

15.A. common        B. advanced         C. complex          D. primary 

16.A. suffer        B. separate         C. arise       D. come 

17.A. adopt         B. suspect          C. believe      D. receive 

18. A. weakening    B. accepting            C. abandoning       D. strengthening

19. A. As a result          B. On the contrary     

C. In addition         D. At the same time

20. A. nothing          B. something        C. anything D. all