Anyone who doubts that children are born with a healthy amount of ambition need spend only a few minutes with a baby eagerly learning to walk. No matter how many times the little ones stumble in their first efforts, most keep on trying, determined to master their amazing new skill. It is only several years later, many psychologists and teachers agree, that a good number of kids seem to lose their natural drive to succeed. For the parents of such kids, whose own ambition is often tied to their children’s success, it can be a painful experience.

Figuring out why the fire went out is the first step. Assuming that a kid doesn’t suffer from a learning disability, or isn’t involved in some family crisis(危机) at home, many educators attribute a sudden lack of motivation to a fear of failure or classmate pressure. “Everything is within the kids’ control; their intelligence is changeable,” says Lisa Blackwell, a research scientist at Columbia University. More than any teacher or workshop, Blackwell says, “parents can play a key role in conveying this message to their children by praising their effort, and progress rather than emphasizing their ‘smartness’ or praising high performance alone. Most of all, parents should let their kids know that mistakes are a part of learning.”

Some experts say our education system, with its strong emphasis on testing and separation of students into different levels of ability, also bears blame for the disappearance of drive in some kids. “These programs shut down the motivation of all kids who aren’t considered gifted and talented. They destroy their confidence,” says Jeff Howard, a social psychologist. Howard and other educators say it’s important to expose kids to a world beyond homework and tests, through volunteer work, sports, hobbies and other extracurriculum activities.

“The problem of the issue is that many students experience education as irrelevant to their life goals and ambitions,” says Michael Nakkual, a Harvard education professor. The key to getting kids to aim higher at school is to free them of the idea that class work is irrelevant, to show them how doing well at school can actually help them fulfill their dreams beyond it. They need to understand that you have to learn to walk before you can run.

46．According to the passage, the parents of kids with no ambition        .

A．don’t do a very good job teaching them to walk

B．are to blame if the kids do poorly in school

C．feel pain because ambitions are connected to their success

D．should take part in extracurriculum activities with kids

47．The underlined part “the fire went out” probably means        .

A．the motivation was suddenly lost

B．the fear of failure was suddenly gone

C．the learning disability was suddenly lost

D．the fire was suddenly gone

48．All the following can contribute to a sudden lack of ambition except        .

A．learning disability                                       B．classmate pressure

C．emphasis on testing                                     D．extracurricular activities

49．What is the most important thing for parents in motivating their kids?

A．By punishing kids who don’t display ambition.

B．By emphasizing smartness and high performance.

C．By telling kids that mistakes are a part of learning.

D．By praising the effort and progress they have made.

50．We can infer from the passage that        .

A．children who have lost their ambition will never succeed in life

B．school performance has much to do with students’ later success

C．both the parents and the school are to blame for the lost ambition

D．younger kids learning to walk are more ambitious than older ones

I like swimming，while what my brother enjoys ______.

A. cooking   B. to cook   C. is cooking    D. cook

请根据以下的任务说明和写作要求，以We Cannot Do without Gratitude 为题写一篇150字左右的英语短文，在校园英文小报上的Hot Topic栏目发表。

[任务说明]

“感激”是每个人都应该懂得的一种待人接物的态度。请认真阅读下面的短文，然后完成以下写作任务。

1．概括故事的内容要点，以此引入话题，该部分的词数大约30；

2．就“感激”这个主题发表你的看法，至少包含以下内容要点：

   1）什么是感激（gratitude）？

   2）感激的表现方式。

   3）表达感激最重要在于真诚（sincere）。

   4）故事的启示和你的结论。

[写作要求]

    1．你可以使用实例或其他论述方法支持你的论点，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不要抄袭阅读材料中的句子。

2．短文的开头已给出，不计入所限字数。短文开头：

   The other day I read a story which is about …

[阅读材料]

As I got into a taxi one afternoon, the driver was very angry about something that had happened to him earlier that day. Here’s how he told the story:

“One of my fares (旅客) left a wallet in my cab this morning. Nearly three hundred dollars in it. I spent more than an hour trying to trace the guy. Finally I found him at his hotel. He took the wallet without a word and glared at me as though I’d meant to steal it.”

“He didn’t give you a reward?” I asked.

“Not a cent. But it wasn’t the money I wanted,” he fumbled, then exploded, “If the guy had only said something…”

Why was the driver so upset? All he wanted was something simple, but even more valuable than money: to be thanked for his efforts. In short, what he wanted, what he needed but did not get, was a little bit of gratitude.

The seaside here draws a lot of tourists every summer.Warm sunshine and soft sands make             it is.?

A.what                                   B.which                              C.how                          D.where

Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the boy ahead of him had tripped(绊倒) and dropped all his books. Mark  21  and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles. Then as they walked along together, Mark discovered the boy’s name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball and history,  22   he was having lots of trouble with his other subjects. He also learned that he had just  23  with his girlfriend.

They arrived at Bill’s home first and Mark was  24  in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed pleasantly. They then became good friends and later entered the same senior high school where they had brief contacts over the years. Finally the long awaited senior year came and three weeks  25  graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk. Bill  26  him of the day years ago when they had first met. “Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill. “You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn’t want to leave a  27  for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mother’s sleeping 28  .But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I  29  that if I had killed myself, I would have  30  that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books that day, you picked up my life as well.”

21. A. sat down    B. lay down      C. knelt down    D. slowed down  

22. A. and         B. but           C. but hat       D. and that

23. A. fallen in love               B. broken up     C. got along well  D. done away

24. A. invited     B. allowed       C. stopped       D. interested

25. A. after       B. from          C. before        D. since

26. A. asked       B. informed      C. remembered    D. reminded

27. A. note        B. message       C. sign          D. mess

28. A. medicine    B. pilled        C. bags          D. clothes

29. A. wondered    B. doubted       C. realized      D. forgot

30. A. missed      B. lost          C. seized        D. spent

阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卡标号为31-40的相应位置上。

"Where is the bus?" I asked myself. I was going to be late and the manager wasn't going to be pleased." Thank God, here it is!" The bus   31    (come) round the corner and I got on. Ten minutes later I was walking into the bank where I work," Twenty-five past nine, I hope the manager doesn't notice. "But no such luck!

"Smith!" shouted the manager." Late again. What's your excuse this time?" "I'm afraid the bus is late, Mr Brown."" Get up   32    (early) tomorrow! Anyway, go to your place at the counter(柜台).We'll be opening in a few minutes."

    My first customer(顾客)was a pretty girl   33    (wear) a red dress. Behind her was a young man of about 25.He seemed very nervous, and every few seconds he looked towards the main entrance. The girl asked about        ___34____(open) a bank account (帐户).I gave her the necessary information and she walked out. Then, I noticed a tall man by the door, carrying something   35    (cover) with brown paper. Turning to my next customer, I was terrified to see a gun stuck out of his coat. The next moment a loud noise filled my ears. Everything went black. I was falling… __36__ what seemed a very long time, I opened my eyes and found    37_   (me) －in bed! Still shaking from the memory of this terrible dream, I got dressed and ran out of the house. As usual, the bus wasn't on time, and I got to the bank at 9:25.

    "Smith!" the manager cried out in __38__ voice like thunder." None of your excuses! Go start work at once!"        ___39___ my surprise, the first customer was a girl    40   a red dress and behind her stood a man carrying something wrapped in brown paper. The dream! Wasn't that the surprise of my life!

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21~30各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Alfred Nobel became a millionaire and changed the ways of mining，construction，and warfare as the inventor of dynamite（炸药）. On April 12，1888，Alfred's brother Ludwig died of heart attack. A major French newspaper _21_ his brother for him and carried an article _22_ the death of Alfred Nobel. “The merchant of death is dead.”The article read. “Dr. Alfred

Nobel，who became  _23_  by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before，died yesterday. ”Nobel was _24_ to find out not that he had died，but that，when his time was up，he would be thought of only as one who profited from _25_ and destruction.

To make sure that he was _26_ with love and respect. Nobel arranged in his _27_ to give the largest part of his money to _28_ the Nobel prizes，which would be awarded to people who made great _29_ to the causes of peace，literature，and the sciences. So _30_ ，Nobel had to die before he realized what his life was really about.

A. found      B. misunderstood   C. mistook      D. judged

A. introducing     B. announcing C. implying    D. advertising

A. famous    B. sick    C. rich    D. popular

A. upset       B. anxious      C. excited       D. pleased

A. death       B. disease       C. trouble       D. attack

A. repaid     B. described    C. supported   D. remembered

A. book       B. article C. will    D. contract

A. establish  B. form   C. develop      D. promote

A. additions B. sacrifices    C. changes      D. contributions

A. generally      B. basically     C. usually       D. certainly

 Jane was disappointed that most of the guests   ______when she _______ at the party.

  A. left; had arrived       B. left; arrived

  C. had left; had arrived   D. had left; arrived

She devoted herself __________ to her research and it earned her a good reputation in her field.

A. strongly       B. extremely        C. entirely        D. freely

—— What do you think of the concert?—— Oh, it was______success.

A. a very        B. quite a            C .so               D. really