B
One of my fondest memories as a child is going by the river and sitting idly on the bank. There I would enjoy the peace and quiet, watch the water rush downstream and listen to the chirps of birds and the rustling of leaves in the trees. I would also watch the bamboo(竹子) trees bend under pressure from the wind and watch them return gracefully to their upright or original position after the wind had died down.
When I think about the bamboo tree’s ability to bounce back or return to its original position, the word resilience （恢复力）comes to mind.  When used in reference to a person, this word means the ability to readily recover from shock, depression or any other situation that stretches the limits of a person’s emotions.
Have you ever felt like you are about to snap（突然折断）? Have you ever felt like you are at your breaking point? Thankfully, you have survived the experience to live to talk about it.
　　During the experience you probably felt a mix of emotions that threatened your health. You felt emotionally drained, mentally exhausted and you most likely endured（忍耐） unpleasant physical symptoms（症状）.
　　Life is a mixture of good times and bad times, happy moments and unhappy moments. The next time you are experiencing one of those bad times or unhappy moments that take you close to your breaking point, bend, but don’t break. Try your best not to let the situation get the best of you.
　　If the going gets tough and you are at your breaking point, show resilience. Like the bamboo tree, bend, but don’t break!
60．When the writer talks about the bamboo trees, he wants to tell us          .
A．he can’t forget those bamboo trees
B．he used to watch them bend under pressoure and return to their upright position
C．he still remembers the good days as a child
D．he admires the character of the bamboo trees
61．Which of the following is TRUE?
A．When you have overcome some depression, you show resilience.
B．When you are about to snap, we say you are resilient.
C．If you feel like you are at your breaking point, you are fortunate.
D．If you feel mentally exhausted, you are likely to experience pleasant physical symptoms.
62．What does the writer mean by saying “Try your best not to let the situation get the best of you?”
A．You should make the best of the situation.
B．You should try your best to get the best situation.
C．You should try your best not to be defeated by the situation.
D．You should try your best not to give up the best situation.
63．What would be the best title for the passage?
A．My fondest memories     B．Good times and bad times
C．Enjoy the peace and quiet       D．Bend, but don’t break

B

       One of my fondest memories as a child is going by the river and sitting idly on the bank. There I would enjoy the peace and quiet, watch the water rush downstream and listen to the chirps of birds and the rustling of leaves in the trees. I would also watch the bamboo(竹子) trees bend under pressure from the wind and watch them return gracefully to their upright or original position after the wind had died down.

When I think about the bamboo tree’s ability to bounce back or return to its original position, the word resilience （恢复力）comes to mind.  When used in reference to a person, this word means the ability to readily recover from shock, depression or any other situation that stretches the limits of a person’s emotions.

Have you ever felt like you are about to snap（突然折断）? Have you ever felt like you are at your breaking point? Thankfully, you have survived the experience to live to talk about it.

　　During the experience you probably felt a mix of emotions that threatened your health. You felt emotionally drained, mentally exhausted and you most likely endured（忍耐） unpleasant physical symptoms（症状）.

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

　　If the going gets tough and you are at your breaking point, show resilience. Like the bamboo tree, bend, but don’t break!

60．When the writer talks about the bamboo trees, he wants to tell us          .

       A．he can’t forget those bamboo trees

       B．he used to watch them bend under pressoure and return to their upright position

       C．he still remembers the good days as a child

       D．he admires the character of the bamboo trees

61．Which of the following is TRUE?

       A．When you have overcome some depression, you show resilience.

       B．When you are about to snap, we say you are resilient.

       C．If you feel like you are at your breaking point, you are fortunate.

       D．If you feel mentally exhausted, you are likely to experience pleasant physical symptoms.

62．What does the writer mean by saying “Try your best not to let the situation get the best of you?”

       A．You should make the best of the situation.

       B．You should try your best to get the best situation.

       C．You should try your best not to be defeated by the situation.

       D．You should try your best not to give up the best situation.

63．What would be the best title for the passage?

       A．My fondest memories     B．Good times and bad times

       C．Enjoy the peace and quiet       D．Bend, but don’t break

After a few days in Pittsburgh, I was happy to leave the city and enjoy the harmony of the countryside. I left my hotel early and drove south to the Bear Run Nature Reserve. As I arrived, I was immediately impressed by the charming Laurel Highlands and other natural sights. However, I was not there to enjoy beauty: I was there to see a house, one of the most famous houses in the world.

The house I had come to see is Fallingwater. It is called Fallingwater because it was built over a waterfall. As most houses are built on solid ground, this house’s location instantly made it famous. When you approach the house, surrounded by forest, streams and mountains, it looks as though the clear blue water were flowing through it, since the stream rushes out from under the ground floor of the building.

The house was designed by the architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, for businessman Edgar Kaufman and his family. As I toured the house, I learnt that it took Wright three years to build the place. The Kaufman family had asked him to design them a home in the middle of the countryside where they could enjoy the sights and sounds of the natural world. Though they lived in the city, they loved to come to the mountains to spend some time in the peace and quiet of nature, where they could go camping in the forest and play in the stream with their children. In fact, they loved the water so much that they asked Wright to design a house that would let them view the beautiful waterfall every day.

Many people have suggested that this incredible building is a work of art, and I would agree that this beautiful house is a masterpiece of design. It also demonstrates how important it is to live side-by-side with nature and to respect it rather than try to dominate it. 

65. ______ impressed the author first as he arrived at the location of Fallingwater.

A. The beauty of nature                                    B. The sight of the waterfall

C. The designer of the house                              D. The preservation of the environment

66. Fallingwater quickly became famous because ______.

A. a famous architect designed it                        B. it was built over waterfall

C. blue water flowed through it                         D. it was situated in a nature reserve

67. The Kaufman family had the house built there in order to ______.

A. move to the countryside                            B. live in a masterpiece

C. enjoy the harmony of nature                         D. create a new scenic spot

68. What is the best title of the passage?

A. A Talent Designer and His Masterpiece          B. Human and Nature

C. A House over Waterfall                                D. Life in Fallingwater

Once upon a time there was a precious sword. Now, this sword belonged to a great King, and for as long as anyone could remember, the King spent all his time in his place, enjoying its shows and competitions with other swords. One day a great dispute（争端）arouse between this King and the King of a neighbouring country. It ended with both declaring war.
The sword was greatly excited at the prospect of taking part in its first real battle. It would show everyone how truly brave and special it was, and would become well-known throughout the kingdom. On the way to the front line, the sword imagined itself the winner of many battles. However, when it arrived, the first battle had already broken out, and the sword got to see the results of the war. What it saw had nothing in common with what the sword had imagined. No elegant shining knights, successful, with their weapons shining in the sunlight. Instead, all the sword saw was broken weapons, and a large crowd of hungry and thirsty men. There was hardly any food left. Everything was covered in dirt and disgusting smell. Many were half dead and scattered on the ground, bleeding from multiple wounds.
Seeing this, the sword realized it liked neither wars nor battles. It decided it preferred to live in peace and spend its time taking part in tournaments and competitions. So, on the night before what was going to be the big final battle, the sword tried to find a way to prevent it from taking place. After a while, the sword started to vibrate（颤抖）. First it gave out a low buzz, and then this gradually got louder, until it became an annoying metallic noise. The swords and armour（盔甲）of the soldiers asked the King’s sword what it was doing. It told them, “I don’t want there to be a battle tomorrow. I don’t like war.”
One answered, “No one likes it, but what can we do?”
“Make yourself vibrate, just like what I’m doing,” said the King’s sword. “If we make enough noise, no one will sleep.”
So the weapons started vibrating, and the noise became deafening. It was so loud that it reached the enemy camp, and the weapons there, which were equally sick of war, joined the protest.
The next morning, when the battle should have begun, not a single soldier was ready to fight. No one had managed to get even a wink of sleep, not even the King or the Generals. So they spent the whole day catching up on sleep. During the evening they started to wake up, and decided to put off the battle until the next day.
However, the weapons, led by the King’s sword, spent the night repeating their peace song, and again no soldier could rest. The battle had to be postponed yet again, and this carried on for the next seven days. On the evening of the seventh day, the Kings of the two armies met to see what they could do about the situation. Both were very angry at their previous disputes, but after being together for a while they started to discuss their sleepless nights, the surprise on their soldiers’ faces, the confusion between day and night, and the amusing situations all this had created. It wasn’t long before both were laughing, like friends, at these little stories. Fortunately, they forgot their old disputes and they put an end to the war, each returning to their own land with the double joy

1. 1.

   From the first paragraph, we can infer that _________

   1. A.
      the great King was fond of his precious sword
   2. B.
      a disagreement led to a war between Kings
   3. C.
      the two Kings were once good friends before the war
   4. D.
      the precious sword was used to entertain the great King
2. 2.

   What is the best word to describe the mood of the sword when it heard about the war?

   1. A.
      Worried
   2. B.
      Fearful
   3. C.
      Eager
   4. D.
      peaceful
3. 3.

   When did the sword change its attitude to war?

   1. A.
      When it fought at the first battle
   2. B.
      After it realized that it was not powerful
   3. C.
      When it was on the way to the front line
   4. D.
      After it saw the terrible results of the first battle
4. 4.

   What is the right order of the following events?
   a. The noise was loud enough to reach the other side
   b. The battle had to be postponed because the soldiers in both armies lacked sleep.
   c. It let out continuous low noise
   d. It persuaded other swords to join in.
   e. All the weapons in both side confused day with night

   1. A.
      a, b, c, d, e
   2. B.
      b, a, c, e, d
   3. C.
      c, d, a, e, b
   4. D.
      d, b, a, e, c
5. 5.

   According to the passage, how many times was the battle put off?

   1. A.
      Seven
   2. B.
      Eight
   3. C.
      Nine
   4. D.
      Ten
6. 6.

   What do the underlined words in the last paragraph refer to?

   1. A.
      Both King’s sleepless nights
   2. B.
      The end of war and being friends
   3. C.
      The surprise on the soldiers’ faces
   4. D.
      The confusion of day with night

By choosing to let go of the past, we sweep out all the ashes that weigh us down and affect every aspect of our health, and our peace of mind.

  My friend Jean was divorced after a thirty-year marriage that produced three daughters, one son and eight grandchildren. Because she actually raised them single-handedly, Jean was hurt and angry that the children didn't take her part after the divorce. For months she refused to attend any family celebration to which her former husband Jim was invited. When I reasoned that her children’s understanding of the relationship with and between the parents was probably altogether different from hers, she stuck to the belief that she was right.

  One day Jean called in tears. “Saturday is my granddaughter's birthday, and I want to be with her, but I can’t bring myself to face my former husband.”  “Jim isn't the problem,” I said gently, “it's false pride. Instead of holding on to the painful past, which is over and done, let the feelings go and get on with your life. You're depriving yourself of the joy of sharing in these important occasions, while Jim feels free to experience them. Tell me, would you rather be right, or be happy?”

  That must have done the trick because when Saturday arrived, Jean appeared at her daughter's home carrying her famous chocolate-chip cookies and a beautiful birthday

cake.

How great it feels to let go! And the more we practice the art of letting go of all negativity, the better able we become to devote our thoughts, our time, and our energy to living joyfully in the present, what ever age we happen to be.

It can be inferred that ____.

   A. Jim did very little to bring up the children during their marriage.

   B. The writer thought Jean and Jim shouldn't have divorced.

   C. The children were on their father's side and didn't invite Jean to any family celebration.

   D. Jean had been too tough on Jim before they divorced.

The underlined phrase “depriving yourself of” is closest in meaning to ____ .

   A. persuading yourself to get              B. taking away from yourself

   C. taking false pride of yourself            D. talking yourself into showing

In the writer's opinion, ____.

A. Jean and Jim should be remarried

B. a broken family could live together in peace

C. to be happy is more meaningful than to be right

D. everyone should look into the future