限时训练
第一部分完形填空
For most people, graduation is an exciting day, but my graduation day was not.
I remember that weekend two years ago. Family and friends had flown in from across the country to 1 the celebration. But just like everyone else in my class, I had watched the 2 turn from bad to worse in my senior year. Almost all of us graduates had degrees, but very uncertain 3 . The weeks ahead weren’t 4 . I knew my small university town couldn’t offer me any opportunities, 5 I packed up my car and drove to Southern California to find work. But what I thought would take a 6 dragged into two, and then four, and 100 job applications later, I found myself in the exact same 7 as I was before.
You know that feeling when you wake up in 8 ? That feeling became a constant in my life. Days felt like weeks, weeks like months, and those many months felt like everlasting 9 . And the most annoying part was no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t seem to make any 10 .
So what did I do to keep my good sense? I decided to 11 . Something about putting words on a page made everything seem a little clearer —a little brighter. Something about writing gave me 12 . And if you want something badly enough, sometimes a little hope is all you 13 !
I put my 14 into a children’s book. Beyond the River was the story of an unlikely hero, a little fish, who 15 to give up his dream.
And then one day, without any sort of writing degree or contacts in the writing world — just a lot of hard work and determination — I was offered a 16 contract (合同) for my first book! After that, things slowly began to fall into 17 . I was offered a second book deal. Then, a few months later, I got an interview with the Walt Disney Company and was 18 shortly after.
Don’t give up. Even if things look 19 now, don’t give up. If you work hard, things will always get better. Often times our dreams lie in wait just a little further upstream ... all we need is the 20 to push beyond the river.
1. A. attend B. hold C. prepare D. enjoy
2. A. environment B. economy C. opportunity D. climate
3. A. choice B. danger C. desire D. future
4. A. quiet B. busy C. easy D. long
5. A. so B. but C. for D. or
6. A. day B. week C. month D. year
7. A. town B. direction C. situation D. habit
8. A. surprise B. fear C. delight D. peace
9. A. glory B. complaint C. love D. pain
10. A. appointment B. progress C. commitment D. decision
11. A. read B. think C. write D. paint
12. A. hope B. wisdom C. pleasure D. inspiration
13. A. lack B. find C. bury D. need
14. A. disapproval B. disagreement C. dissatisfaction D. disadvantage
15. A. refused B. managed C. failed D. decided
16. A. writing B. translating C. publishing D. reviewing
17. A. ruin B. place C. pieces D. despair
18. A. rewarded B. paid C. fired D. hired
19. A. different B. unimportant C. strange D. tough
20. A. courage B. chance C. time D. dream
第二部分阅读理解
A
Millions of British people have ditched the traditional ‘thank you’ and replaced it with the less formal ‘cheers’, according to a survey.
Although the average person will say ‘thank you’ nearly 5,000 times a year, one in three are more likely to throw in a ‘cheers’ or ‘ta’ where it’s needed, rather than risk sounding old fashioned.
One in 20 now say ‘nice one’ instead, while younger generations are more likely to offer a ‘cool’ than a ‘thank you’.
‘Merci’, ‘fab’ and even ‘gracias’ were also listed as common phrases to use, as was ‘much appreciated’.
One in twenty who took part in the survey of 2,000 people by the Food Network UK for Thank You Day, which is marked on November 24, 2011, said a formal ‘thank you’ was now not often needed in everyday conversation. More than one in ten adults said they regularly won’t say thank you if they are in a bad mood.
Most people declared that saying thank you was something drilled into them by their parents. A huge 70 percent of those questioned will say thank you to a person’s face without even meaning it, while a fifth avoid saying it when they know they should — on at least two occasions every day.
It seems our friends and family get the brunt (压力) of our bad manners with half admitting they’re not good at thanking those closest to them —many justifying (为……辩解) the lack of thanks because their family ‘already know I’m grateful’.
When spoken words won’t do, it falls to a nice text to do the job for most people.
A third will still send a handwritten thank-you note —but 45 percent admit it’s been more than six months since they bothered to send one.
A quarter of British people say thank you with food, with 23 percent cooking a meal to show their appreciation to someone. Another 15 percent bake a cake.
It follows that 85 percent of people will be annoyed at not getting the gratitude (感激) they feel they should receive.
24. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Most people express their gratitude to others by buying food for them.
B. About fifty percent of people try not to say thank you when they should.
C. Most people may feel natural when they fail to rece ive others’ gratitude.
D. Many people think it unnecessary to say thanks to their family members.
B
Two talented Sheffield High School pupils have just found out they’ve been shortlisted in the top five of their categories in the new national Ambition AXA Awards.
Natalie Chan-Lam (Year 12) and Clare Rees-Zimmerman (Year 11) are both in the running to win a prize that will help them to achieve their ambition. The new national Ambition AXA Awards have been created to recognize excellence in 11—18 year olds. The national awards programme covers five categories: The Arts, Sport, Science, Enterprise and Community. Natalie is up for the Ambition AXA Award for Sport while Clare has earned her top five place in the Ambition Award for the Arts. The Ambition AXA Award for Sport aims to find the young person who thinks they may one day win an Olympic medal. Natalie is a Badminton International who has a long string of singles and double National titles behind her from U11 National Singles Champion (冠军) right through the ages to the latest U17 UK Schools Games, as well as a run of titles won with the England Badminton team over the last few years. Through her achievements in badminton and through her promotion of the sport in school and at club level, Natalie has inspired many other students to take up the sport and badminton is now a major sport at Sheffield High School. Amazingly, she still makes time to play for and coach school teams, encouraging and assisting others to have the opportunity to reach their own level of personal excellence. Natalie’s ambition is to be selected for the Olympics in 2016.
The Ambition Award for the Arts is awarded to a young person who dreams of reaching the top in their field. Clare is a remarkable musician who has already, at the age of fifteen, achieved the highest marks ever seen at SHS for grade 8 violin and viola. Clare’s music teacher Val Linnemann says of Clare, “To me, one of the most outstanding things about Clare is her total willingness to listen and ask intelligent questions. She is patient and good-natured and willing to help with other players.” If she were to receive an Ambition Award, Clare has plans to use this money to enhance (增加) opportunities for others through workshops.
If they get enough votes, they’ll make the top thr ee in the country and be one step further towards the top awards. To vote for them, click on this link.
25. The Ambition AXA Awards are meant for ________.
A. anyone who is the best in one of the five categories
B. those who are likely to be future stars in certain fields
C. some pupils who have won great success in certain fields
D. children who have ambitions in all the five categories
26. We can conclude from the passage that Natalie and Clare are both girls with ________.
A. belief, patience and confidence
B. courage, curiosity and enthusiasm
C. caution, sympathy and experience
D. ability, kindness and achievements
27. The main purpose of the passage is ________.
A. to introduce the Ambition AXA Awards
B. to tell us what the two girls have done
C. to persuade us to vote for the two girls
D. to inspire more people to win the awards
C
The Importance of Setting Speech Goals
A speech is a wonderful opportunity to inform, persuade or entertain. The best speeches often take on a combination of all three of these components. However, before you can go about the writing of a great speech, it is important to set goals. Goals keep you, your speech and your audience
focused.
What a goal is
In the context of a speech, a goal is the purpose of the speech, and what it hopes to accomplish. For example, the goal of a eulogy (颂歌) might be to celebrate the life of a loved one. The goal of a speech at a political gathering would be to inform the crowd about the political position of a candidate and persuade them to vote and campaign for the candidate in question.
Why a goal is important
Without a goal, a speech is without direction. The goal informs the structure and content of the speech. For example, if a speech’s goal is to convi nce people that smoking is bad for them, the speech will be structured with persuasive arguments to back up the goal. A speech with a goal of informing the audience will keep the information fair and factual.
A goal is incredibly important to the speech’s ability to connect with an audience. If the speaker is unaware of the goal of the speech, the audience will likely be unaware as well. This severely reduces the effectiveness of the message.
Aside from informing the audience of the content and structure, a speech’s goal drives the speaker to greater heights. If a speaker is asked to speak on a specific subject, but never establishes the goal, they won’t know where to start in the research, organizing and writing of the speech.
___________________________________
If you have been charged with (被委以) delivering a speech, establishing a goal can seem difficult at first. There are several things to take into consideration. First, think about who you will be speaking to. The demographic (人口统计) of your audience will likely determine whether you will be able to persuade them, or whether they will be able to sit through. Second, think about the topic itself. If the topic is something controversial, it may worth your while to consider an informative approach to present both sides of the issue. Finally, consider your resources. A speech with an informative or persuasive goal usually requires a great deal of research, and sometimes takes more time to write.
28. According to the passage, what three components does the best speech combine?
A. Informing, delivering and entertaining.
B. Informing, persuading and entertaining.
C. Informing, writing and delivering.
D. Informing, writing and persuading.
D
Kepler 22b, a planet more like Earth than any yet discovered, has been identified as a potential