One of my fondest memories as a child is going by the river and sitting idly on the bank. There I would   16   the peace and quiet, watch the water rush   17   and listen to the singing of birds and the rustling of   18   in the trees. I would also watch the bamboo trees   19   under pressure from the wind and watch them   20   gracefully to their original position after the wind had   21   .

   When I think about the bamboo tree's ability to bounce back to its original position, the word "resilience" comes to mind. When used in   22   to a person this word means the ability to readily   23   from shock, depression or any other situation that stretches the limits of a person's   24   .

   Have you ever felt like you are at your   25   point? Thankfully, you have survived the experience to live to talk about it.

   During the   26   you probably felt a mix of emotions that threatened your health. You felt emotionally drained,   27   exhausted and you most likely stood   28   physical symptoms.

   Life is a   29   of good times and bad times, happy moments and unhappy moments. The next time you are experiencing one of those bad times or unhappy   30   that take you close to your breaking point, bend,   31   don't break. Try your best not to let the situation get the best of you.

   A   32   of hope will take you through the unpleasant ordeal (考驗(yàn)). With   33   for a better tomorrow or a better situation, things may not be as bad as they seem to be. The unpleasant ordeal may be easier to   34   if the final result is worth having.

   If life gets   35   and you are at your breaking point, show resilience. Like the bamboo tree, bend, but don't break!

1.A. see           B. hear          C. enjoy          D. touch

2.A. downstream    B. smoothly      C. uphill             D. peacefully

3.. A. fruits        B. branches      C. roots            D. leaves

4.A. move         B. bend         C. fall             D. decline

5.A. go            B. turn          C. return          D. suffer

6.A. died down     B. died off       C. died away       D. died out

7.A. honor of       B. reward to      C. reference to     D. favor of

8.A. recover        B. suffer         C. come          D. escape

9.A. thoughts       B. mind          C. body          D. emotions

10.A. starting        B. breaking       C. standing       D. tiring

11.A. practice        B. experiment     C. victory        D. experience

12.A. possibly        B. terribly        C. mentally       D. probably

13.A. unpleasant      B. unreasonable    C. exciting       D. good

14.A. result          B. change         C. wonder        D. mixture

15.A. events         B. moments        C. adventures     D. changes

16.A. but            B. however        C. though        D. and

17.A. little           B. number         C. measure       D. little

18.A. idea           B. hope           C. imagination     D. search

19.A. deal with       B. look into        C. depend on      D. get stuck

20.A. acceptable      B. wrong          C. tough          D. cozy

 

It is true that good writers rewrite and rewrite and then rewrite some more. But in order to work up the desire to rewrite, it is important to learn to like what you write at the early stage.  
I am surprised at the number of famous writers I know who say that they so dislike reading their own writing later that they even hate to look over the publishers’ opinions. One reason we may dislike reading our own work is that we’re often disappointed that the rich ideas in our minds seem very thin and plain when first written down. Jerry Fodor and Steven Pinker suggest that this fact may be a result of how our minds work. .  
Different from popular belief ,we do not usually think in the works and sentences of ordinary language but in symbols for ideas （known as “mentalese”）, and writing our ideas down is an act of translation from that symbolic language . But while mentalese contains our  thoughts in the form of a complex tapestry （織錦），writing can only be composed one thread at a time . Therefore it should not be surprising that our first attempt at expressing ideas should look so simple. It is only by repeatedly rewriting that we produces new threads and connect them to get closer to the ideas formed in our minds.  
When people write as if some strict critics （批評家） are looking over their shoulder , they are so worried about what this critic might say that they get stuck before they even start. Peter Elbow makes an excellent suggestion to deal with this problem. When writing we should have two different minds. At the first stage, we should see every idea, as well as the words we use to express it ,as wonderful and worth putting down . It is only during rewrites that we should examine what we excitedly wrote in the first stage and check for weaknesses.  
【小題1】What do we learn from the text about those famous writers? 

A．They often regret writing poor works

B．Some of them write surprisingly much.

C．Many of them hate reading their own works

D．They are happy to review the publishers’ opinions.

【小題2】What do people generally believe about the way human minds work? 

A．People think in words and sentences.

B．Human ideas are translated into symbols

C．People think by connecting threads of ideas.

D．Human thoughts are expressed through pictures.

【小題3】What can we conclude from the text? 

A．Most people believe we think in symbols.

B．Loving our own writing is scientifically reasonable.

C．The writers and critics can never reach an agreement.

D．Thinking and writing are different stages of mind at work.

 

I love exploring new places. Whether I travel across America or around the world，a new adventure is always waiting. What I don’t always enjoy is the time spent 9,000 meters（30,000 feet）in the air. Tight spaces, long hours, and unexpected-problems can make air travel stressful. Follow these six tips to make your next flight a braze.

    1. Make a checklist. Before you pack，make a checklist of everything you need and mark item off as you put them in your bag. Be sure you include important documents, such as your passport.

2. Pack light. You don’t need to pack your whole closet. Choose clothes that mix and match for more variety. Wear your largest shoes on the place to save room in your bag. And pack a few old items that you can leave behind to make more room for souvenirs(紀(jì)念品) on the way home.

3. Carry on essential （基本的）items. Unfortunately, dependable baggage service is hard to come by. When you fly, be sure to pack your medicine, important documents, and a change of clothes in your carry-on bag.

4. Pack water and snacks. No one wants to get stuck on a runway for hours without food, water. But bad weather or mechanical problems could leave you stranded（進(jìn)退兩難的）. Pack water and crackers in your carry-on. But leave fresh foods at home. Most countries won’t allow you to bring them across their borders.

5. Stretch your legs. More and more travelers suffer from blood clots caused by sitting too long in tight spaces. You can help prevent this problem by doing stretches in your seat taking short walks every hour.

6. Entertain yourself. A long trip can either mean hours of boredom or an exciting adventure. Plan ahead to keep yourself busy with books，magazines and portable CD player. Just don’t forget to bring extra batteries.

Research airlines before you book your reservations. For just a few dollars more，some airlines offer personal entertainment systems. Singapore Air gives you nearly 70 choices of movies，music channels, and other entertainment！

With a little planning ahead，you’ll be able to sit back and enjoy the ride.

1. It is advised by the writer in this passage to _____ for your flight.

A. pack all the things you will need    B. leave your important documents behind

C. carry some fresh foods with you    D. take some books, magazines and CD players

2. Which of the following tips isn’t mentioned in this passage？

A. Researching airlines before reservations.    B. Staying still during the whole flight.

C. Carrying some water and essential items.     D. Making a list of the things you need.

3. The underlined phrase “come by” in tip 3 probably means _____.

A. receive by chance    B. obtain by effort    C. pass by    D. offer in satisfaction

4. We can conclude from this passage that _____.

A. you will get sick during the long flight hours

B. old items are not allowed to bring back on the way home

C. you are not allowed to carry things as freely as you want

D. you can also board the plane without your passport

 

選詞填空

從下面所給的詞組中，選擇適當(dāng)?shù)脑~組填入下列各句中，每一詞組最多只選一次。

be worried about     turn up     get stuck   benefit from   stand by   according to

thanks to   take up    get across  except for  back out   in search of   be responsible for

86.The boys went _________________________ something to eat.

87.You must drive carefully , for you should _____________________________the passengers’ safety.

88.Don’t bother to look for my umbrella; it will _________________________somewhere.

89.George promised to contribute $200, but __________________of it when the time came.

90. ___________________ your practical advice,  I passed the license test yesterday.

91.Harry ________________ the tale at the point where John had left off.

92.All the books in the library are placed on the shelves ____________­­_______ the authors

93. I spoke very slowly, but my meaning still didn’t _______________.

94. ____________ one old lady, the bus was empty.

95.I will __________________ you whatever happens.

 

 Fourteen – year – old Richie Hawley had spent five years studying violin at the Community School of Performing Arts in Los Angeles when he took part in a violin contest. Ninety two young people were invited to the contest and Hawley came out first．

The contest could have been the perfect setup for fear, worrying about mistakes, and trying to impress the judges．But Hawley says he did pretty well in staying calm. “I couldn’t be thinking about how many mistakes I’d make—it would distract me from playing,” he says．“I didn’t even remember trying to impress people while I played． It’s almost as if they weren’t there． I just wanted to make music．”

Hawley is a winner． But he didn’t become a winner by concentrating on winning． He did it by concentrating on playing well．

“The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part,” said the founder of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin．“The important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle．The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well．”

A characteristic of high performers is their intense, pleasurable concentration on work, rather than on their competitors or future glory or money, says Dr．Charles Garfield, who has studied 1,500 achievers in business, science, sports, the arts, and professions．“They are interested in winning, but they’re most interested in self-development, testing their limits．”

One of the most surprising things about top performers is how many losses they’ve had and how much they’ve learned from each． “Not one of the 1,500 I studied defined losing as failing,” Garfield says．“They kept calling their losses ‘setbacks’．”

A healthy attitude toward setbacks is essential to winning, experts agree．

“The worst thing you can do if you’ve had a setback is to let yourself get stuck in a prolonged depression． You should analyze carefully what went wrong, identify specific things you did right and give yourself credit for them．” Garfield believes that most people don’t give themselves enough praise． He even suggests keeping a diary of all the positive things you’ve done on the way to a goal．

1.Hawley won the contest because _______．

A．he put all his mind to his performance

B．he cared much about the judges’ feelings

C．he tried his best to avoid making mistakes

D．he paid close attention to the people around

2.High performers is that they tend to give priority to _______．

A．glory          B. wealth        C. pleasure    D. work

3.According to the passage, successful people concentrate on _______．

A．challenging their own limits         B．learning from others

C．defeating their opponents  D．a(chǎn)voiding setbacks

4. It can be learned from the passage that top performers are not _______．

A．interested in winning              B．free of losses

C．a(chǎn)ccustomed to failures             D．concerned about setbacks

5.The passage tells us that “praise” in times of trouble _______．

A．helps people deal with their disappointment

B．makes people forget their setbacks

C．makes people regret about their past

D．helps people realize their goals