Have successful people ever felt sad? Do they have any “secrets” to success? The answers to these questions can be found in US president Barack Obama’s “back to school” speech. Here is an excerpt(摘录) from his speech.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense that you can be rich and successful without any hard work—that your ticket to success is through pop music or basketball or being a TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. Not all the homework will seem rather important to your life right this minute. And you may not succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures (the opposite of success). JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was turned down 12 times before it finally came out. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots (投篮) during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures beat(打败) you—you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time.
No one’s born being good at things. You become good at things through hard work.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to tell when you don’t know something, and to learn something new.
And even when you’re struggling(奋斗), even when you’re discouraged (泄气), and you feel other people have given up on you—don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
【小题1】Why does Barack Obama mention (提到) JK Rowling and Michael Jordan in the third paragraph?

完型填空（15分）
I have had thousands of classes since I started school nine years ago. But only one _1_ was the most important.
It happened last term just after I had got a _2_ result in an exam. I was sad and had lost my confidence. I decided to go to a class which can tell me how to be_3_.
The speaker walked into the room. But he did not start talking _4_ a teacher. Instead, he held up a twenty Yuan note(钞票)!
“Who wants this?” he asked. Unsurprisingly, _5_ of us in the class held up our hands.
The speaker smiled. Then he put up the note on the blackboard and asked the same question. Again, we all put up our hands. The speaker smiled again, but _6_nothing. Suddenly, he threw the note onto the floor! Then he asked the same _7_ a third time.
I didn’t _8_ what the speaker was doing. Why was he asking the same question again and again? I didn’t know what to do. I wanted the note, _9_ I put my hand up again. After a while, he _10_ the note and started to laugh. “You have all just told me how to become successful,” _11_ said to us with the note in his hand.
“The note is worth twenty yuan. It is _12_ worth twenty yuan, even though I throw it on the floor. You are like the note. No matter _13_ happens to you, you still have your worth.”
When I heard those words, I was deeply moved. Suddenly, I _14_ I was worth a lot. I may have done badly in an exam, but it doesn’t _15_ I can’t do well in the future. If I believe in myself, I will be successful!

Jim was a 15-year-old boy living with his little sister, Joy. Their parents had passed away long ago. Jim took care of Joy by himself.

One day, Jim woke up at 3 in the morning as usual. When Joy was sleeping alone, Jim left their little house to deliver newspapers. As he did so, he found something unusual. One man was sitting in front of Jim’s house. Jim was so surprised that he stopped to look at him closely. It was an icy morning and he looked very old.

The poor old man didn’t have anything to cover himself with. Jim went into his house to get the old man a blanket(毯子). However, there were no extra blankets, so Jim thought hard and took his father’s coat. It was the only thing of his father’s that he had left. Jim wrote a short note. “Sir, I found you sleeping in front of my house. This is my father’s coat. I hope it fits you well.” He put the note in a pocket of the coat, and covered the old man with the coat. Then he went to work. When he came back three hours later, both the man and the coat were gone. Jim thought that it was the best thing he could have done with his father’s coat.

That afternoon, Jim hurried home after school because Joy was at home alone. However, Joy and the old man were standing in front of the house, and Joy shouted to Jim, “Brother！He’s our grandfather!”

The grandfather smiled and said, “Jim, I have been looking for you all around the country for eight years. I’m not rich. But I can take care of you two. Thank you for giving me the coat and letting me know what a good person my grandson is. This coat was the very one that I gave my own son, a long time ago.”

1.Jim looked after his little sister by himself because ________.

A. they were too poor B. their grandfather left them

C. he was old enough D. their parents had died

2. Jim got up early in the morning to ________.

A. take care of his sisterB. deliver newspapers

C. sit in front of the house D. find something unusual

3. What did Jim do when he saw an old man was sitting in front of his house?

A. He took a blanket and gave it to him.

B. He took his father’s coat to cover him.

C. He stopped and talked to him.

D. He wrote a letter to the police.

4. When Jim came back home that afternoon, Joy told him that ________.

A. the old man was their grandpa

B. the old man and the coat were gone

C. their grandpa was looking for them

D. she couldn’t find their father’s coat

5. Which of the following is NOT true about the old man?

A. He was happy to find his grandchildren.

B. He thought Jim was a good boy.

C. He was poor and could not take care of them.

D. The coat helped the old man find his grandchildren.

6. The best title of the passage is “________”.

A. Jim and JoyB. A newspaper boy

C. An icy morningD. Father’s coat

On a British Airways flight from Johannesburg, a middle-aged ,rich white South American lady found herself sitting next to a black man. She called the cabin stewardess(机舱乘务员)over to complain about her seating.

“What seems to be the problem, Madam?” asked the stewardess.

“Can’t you see?” she said. “You’ve sat me next to a black man. I can’t possibly sit next to this kind of human. Find me another seat!”

“Please calm down, Madam,” the stewardess replied. “The flight is very full today, but I’ll tell you what I’ll do---I

Will go and check to see if we have any free seats in Club(商务舱)or First Class.”

The lady had an unfriendly look at the outraged(被激怒的)black man beside her.

A few minutes later the stewardess returned and said to the lady with a self –satisfied smile, “I’m sorry, Madam, this Economy(经济舱)is full, and Club is also full. However, we do have one seat in First Class.”

The lady could not help looking at the people around her. But before she had a chance to get up or make any answer, the stewardess continued , “ We seldom make this kind of upgrade(升级),however, and I had to report it to the captain(机长).When the captain heard this,he said that it was not proper to make someone sit next to such an obnoxious(令人讨厌的)person.” Having said that, the stewardess turned to the black man sitting next to the lady, and said, “So if you’d like to get your things, sir, I have a seat ready for you…”

At this time, the people around stood up and clapped their hands. The black man walked up to the front of the plane.

That was an unforgettable flight for me, for I was the black man who had never flown First Class before.

1.Where did this story happen?

   A. At the booking office.                        B.In the Economy cabin.

   C.In the Club cabin.                            D.In the First Class cabin.

2.The black man was finally upgraded to the First Class cabin because _____________.

   A. the stewardess loved him                      B. he was angry with the white lady

   C.the captain knew him                          D.the white lady was too impolite

3.What might be the correct order of the cabins from the front to the back on this plance?

   A.Club→Pilots’ →Economy →First Class          B. Pilots’ →Club →Economy →First Class

   C. Club→Economy→ First Class→ Pilots’          D. Pilots’ → First Class →Club→ Economy

4.What can be the best title of this article?

   A. Flying First Class                            B.On a British Airways Flight

   C.Sitting Next to a Lady                         D.An Unforgettable Free Flight

先阅读短文，然后从文中每小题的四个选项中选出一个可以填入短文中相应空白处的最佳答案。

I did very badly at school. My headmaster thought I was useless and when I was 14, he said, “You’re never going to be    (1)  but a failure(失败者).

After five years of poor jobs, I fell    (2)  with a very nice girl. But her mother said to me, “You’ve    (3)  in everything you’ve ever done. You can’t give any happiness to my daughter!” It was the frustrating thing that could have changed me later. I decided to do something    (4)  about my life, because I wanted to show her that what people said about me was    (5) .

So I tried hard with my writing and went to college. My first book came out while I was at college. After college I    (6)  during the day in high schools and went to evening classes at college. Later, I gave up that job to write full time. At the same time, I was offered a part­-time job as a    (7)     at Leeds University. I began to feel    (8)  of myself –here was once a poor boy who’d left school early, now teaching at the university. My writing career(生涯)   (9)  when I discovered my own style.

Now I’m rich and    (10)  , have been on TV, and met lots of film stars. But what does that mean? I just wish all the people who have put me down had said: “I believe in you. You’ll succeed.”