“Remember, your father is only one year 1. (old) than you.” That was Mum’s usual excuse when Dad said the wrong things or did something 2. (fool).
Dad quitted drinking exactly one year before I was born. He joined a group of other people. He said they 3. (stop) drinking, too. I loved my dad 4. I hated the way his weekly meetings took him away 5. me. It seemed that they were more important to him than I was. But with my birthday coming up I thought Dad would make an 6. (except). “Can’t you miss it just this time? Saturday is my birthday!” I begged him but 7. (refuse). He said I am chairing the meeting this Saturday. We will have your party on Sunday.”
Saturday evening I sat on my bed, 8. (feel) sorry for myself. Dad started to leave, then paused and said, “Why not
come with me together tonight? It’s an open meeting. All are welcome”. 9. would I do at a meeting? But maybe I needed to see why something Dad every week mattered so much.
After we arrived, Dad announced the theme of the meeting was going to be gratitude. He told his story about giving up smoking. Later, a man 10. (call) Dave also told his story. Only then did I know it was Dad that saved his life from drinking. Showing up week after week and meeting with people, Dad was changing lives. Shame washed over me.
Christmas is a time when everyone is expected to be joyful. Most pe
ople try to put on their best smiles to give the impression that they are really happy, when they have little children who believe in the magic of Christmas. They believe that Santa will come down the chimney with gifts for them.
But Christmas or not, life goes on. Good things happen not-so-good ones. It on Christmas of 2009. I woke up early and gathered my children and husband to sit down by the Christmas tree to open the gifts. The kids were .
After the ceremony, I decided to my emails to see if I had mail from my overseas. The only email I had was from my sister, but I was not for the news I was about to receive. She said that she had been diagnosed with a terminal and that she had little time to live. I tried to speak, but 
failed me. I was terribly.
My husband realized something was wrong. After to find the right words, I said to him: “How do you deal with grief on Christmas morning?” The in my heart was so great, and the memory of that Christmas morning remains in my mind. And five months later she .
After that, every Christmas morning me of her death. In the following years I didn’t want to Christmas because it reminded me that I couldn’t call her to her a merry Christmas. Now, I hav
e tried to turn Christmas morning into a memorial of the good we had together, and every Christmas morning I set aside a moment to honor her.
1.A. especiallyB. frequentlyC. fortunatelyD. finally
2.A. familiarB. funnyC. generousD. boring
3.A. as well asB. other thanC. instead ofD. except for
4.A. appliedB. meantC. continuedD. happened
5.A. disappointedB. excitedC. angryD. frightened
6.A. checkB. changeC. receiveD. cover
7.A. classB. communityC. schoolD. family
8.A. gratefulB. preparedC. celebratedD. eager
9.A. troubleB. fearC. burdenD. disease
10.A. wordsB. messagesC. expressionsD. ideas
11.A.fallingB. shakingC. standingD. striking
12.A. whisperingB. strugglingC. battlingD. requiring
13.A. confidentlyB. honestlyC. politelyD. softly
14.A. painB. shameC. emotionD. doubt
15.A. cautiousB. limitedC. vividD. cruel
16.A. passed awayB. gave awayC. turned awayD. carried away
17.A. informedB. convincedC. remindedD. accused
18.A. reportB. celebrateC. describeD. imagine
19.A. botherB. demandC. wishD. declare
20.A. lessonsB. discussionsC. mannersD. times
Change is scary. 1. It can go hand in hand with the fear that we might hurt someone else if we think about ourselves. The truth is that you’re so much more courageous than you give yourself credit for and far stronger than you realize. Here are some ways that you can use to help yourself make the process of creating change more manageable.
Make change into small bite size pieces. 2. Remember that as long as you attempt to take regular practice towards your goal, such as eating more healthily every day, or walking twenty minutes a day, you’re heading in the right direction to make changes.
From a habit of keeping a diary every day. Writing a journal every night before going to bed can effectively help you cope with the emotional impact of the change process. Go to grab a pen or pencil and remember a journal is not for being neat and tidy with good spelling. 3.
Rest is essential to success. Have a rest and take timeout to build your energy. 4. if we don’t give ourselves time to rest, we just end up burning out by the constant striving and worry. As we don’t have the energy to keep going, we have to give up!
5. Just accept it! I’m sorry to say that unless some people are really secure in themselves and truly happy in their own life, they’re never going to like your changes. This has nothing to do with whether they love you or not. They are just for self-preservation! Th
erefore, giving them a little time to adjust and get used to it.
A.No one else is going to like your changes.
B.Don’t try to eat the elephant in one sitting.
C.It is a step into the unknown.
D.Keep repeating your small steps over and over again.
E.It’s not being lazy to have timeout.
F.It’s a private place where you can speak out your inner thoughts.
G.Creating change is about building your character.
A young fashion designer from Germany is revolutionizing high fashion by designing clothes from milk.
Domaske, 28, has developed a fabric(织物) called QMilch from high concentrations of the milk protein casein (酪蛋白). “It feels like silk and it doesn’t smell----you can wash it just like anything else,“ Domaske told Reuters. Made from all natural materials, QMilch has many health benefits, says Domaske. The amion acids （氨基酸）in the protein fight bacteria and aging, and can help regulate both blood circulation and body temperature, she says.
Domaske’s fashion label MCC is popular among people, and has now started weaving the milk fiber into its collection.
Currently MCC’s line of clothes----which feature flowing wrap dresses with modern cuts and bright patterns----are made from combinations of various fibers, including QMilch. But Domaske plans to design a collection made entirely from the milk fiber.
Milk fabric has been around since the 1930s, but was always produced in environmentally unfriendly ways that used a lot of chemicals. Unlike early forms, QMilch is made almost entirely from casein without chemicals.
“We have developed an all-natural fiber consisting of a very high concentration of casein, with a few other natural ingredients – and in only two years,” Domaske, a fo
rmer microbiology student, say.
The casein is taken from dried milk powder and then heated up in a type of meat-mincing machine（绞肉机）with other natural ingredients. The fiber comes out in threads and is then made into yarn（纱线）on a spinning machine.
Domaske says it would take about 6 liters of milk to produce an entire dress, which costs about $200 to $270. Luckily, for that kind of money, the clothes don’t come with a date when they are no longer usable----during the heating process, the molecules（分子）bond in such a way that the protein won’t break down.
Due to its anti-bacterial qualities, the fiber can also be used in medicine and makeup, and some auto companies have ever looked into using it in car seat covering.
1.Which of the following feature of QMilch is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. It is beneficial to one’s health.
B. It feels soft and has a special smell.
C. It is easy to clean.
D. It is a man-made fiber that uses no chemicals.
2.We can learn from the passage that MCC’s line of clothes ?
A. are fashion labels created by Domaske’s students
B. are characterized by their modern cuts and bright patterns
C. are made completely from various chemicals
D. are produced in environmentally unfriendly ways
3.Put the following in order in which clothes can be produced from milk.
a. Casein is heated
b. Milk powder is acquired.
c. Casein is taken from dried milk powder.
d. The fiber is spun into yarn.
e. Threads of fiber are produced.
f. Clothes are woven.
A. a,c,b,e,d,f B. b,c,a,d,e,f.
C. b,c,a,e,d,f D. c,a,e,b,d,f
4. We can infer from the passage that .
A. this new type of clothing will never go out of fashion
B. these new clothes are reasonably priced
C. the new clothes are heat-resistant
D. milk fiber will have a good sales market
Having experienced a shocking electrical accident, which caused him to become both blind and deaf, James Franco’s world became completely dark and quiet for almost ten years. The loss of sight and hearing threw him into such sorrow that he tried a few times to put an end to his life. His family, especially his wife, did their best to tend and comfort him and finally he regained the will to live.
One hot summer afternoon, he was taking a walk with a stick near his house when a thunderstorms started all at once. He stood under a large tree to avoid getting wet, but he was struck by the lightning. Witnesses thought he was dead but he woke up 20 minutes later, lying face down in muddy water. He was trembling badly, but when he opened his eyes, he could hardly believe what he saw: a tree and muddy road. When Mrs. Franco came running up to him, shouting to their neighbors to call for help, he could see her and hear her voice for the first time in nearly ten years.
The news of James regaining his sight and hearing quickly spread and many doctors came to examine him. Most of them said that he regained his sig
ht and hearing from the shock he got from the lightning. However, none of them could give a compellent answer as to why this should happen. The only reasonable explanation given by one doctor was that, since James lost his sight and hearing as a result of a sudden shock, perh
aps, the only way for him to regain them was another sudden shock.
1. The reason why James attempted to kill himself was that _________.
A. a terrible electrical accident happened to him
B. nobody in the whole world cared about him
C. he was struck by the lightning once more
D. he had to live in a dark and silent world
2.What was James doing when he was struck by the lightning?
A. Taking a walk with a stick
B. Putting an end to his life
C. Sheltering from the rain under a tree
D. Lying on the ground
3.What does the underlined word “compellent” in paragraph 3 mean?
A. Unexplained. B. Convincing.
C. Wrong D. True
4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A. A Terrible Electrical Accident
B. What a Sudden Shock
C. An Unforgettable Experience
D. James Franco and His wife
When I had breast cancer I had to have chemotherapy (化疗). The hardest part of that entire experience was losing my hair. It was like having a tattoo(纹身) across my forehead that said “chemotherapy patient.” I am a very active and athletic person, so to have people looking at me with pity as if I was an invalid was very hard to take. Of course they never said anything, but if I got in an elevator. Everyone looked away because they didn’t know what to say. But I didn’t blame them.
The best compliment I ever received was when I was at work one day, wearing my scarf over my bald head, and a UPS guy came in to deliver a package. He looked me right in the eye and said, “So, are you on chemotherapy?” I said, “Yes, thank you for asking. You are the first person to actually acknowledge that fact.” It felt so good to be talked to like a “real” person, without any pity, just the facts. I asked him what made him decide to say something, and he told me that a woman he worked with had just gone through the same thing several months before.
I had some joke business cards that said my job title was “Supreme Commander of the Universe”, so whenever this same UPS guy came to deliver a package, he would also say, “Hey, Supreme Commander, how is it going?” Then my company moved to a new location, and since that time I hadn’t seen the UPS guy-Bryan- in probably two years.
I went to answer my door at home one day, and there was Bryan with a package. Small world. “Hey, Supreme Commander, long time no see!” he said. He sees so many people all day long, every day, delivering packages but he remembered me after two years. What a great compliment! Of course, I remembered him, too, because he was the only person who could see me during that time when I was “the invisible woman.”
1.Why did the author say “It felt so good to be talked to like “real” person”?
A. Because her friends didn’t realize the fact that she got sick before.
B. Because her friends didn’t want to talk with her since she had cancer.
C. Because her friends treated her as a patient.
D. Because her friends were afraid of infection.
2.What can be inferred from the third paragraph?
A. It was the author’s cancer that helped her to be remembered by a stranger.
B. The UPS guy had become a good friend of the author’s.
C. The guy was very polite.
D. The author didn’t want to be remembered for her cancer.
3.What was the author’s attitude towards her cancer?
A. Surprised. B. Regretful.
C. Positive. D. Depressed.
4. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. The author experienced something miserable after she had cancer.
B. The author got a great compliment that a stranger remembered for her cancer.
C. the author became strong and 
positive after she was ill.
D. The author recognized that she was not a normal person any longer.
