I will never forget the very moment that caused me to leave my gift behind because I wanted the gift that my older sister Maria had.
My family was spending a week at the beach. One morning, Maria went to the beach early, but I stayed behind to finish a drawing of a seashell. After finishing the drawing, I walked to join Maria. She was a top gymnast (体操运动员). Her show was perfect as she wheeled along the beach. The beauty of that sight froze me, and I decided immediately that I too would become a gymnast like her.
I knew that I had never been very good at sports. However, when I told my parents I wanted to take a gymnastics class, they agreed with me in surprise. The next week, I went to a beginners’ class.
If only my parents had talked me out of this misguided plan! Five minutes into the first class, it was clear that I didn’t have the gift of a gymnast. But I kept at it.
During this time, drawing and painting—which had been my two favorites—all but left my mind. It must have been hurting for my family as they watched my hopeless efforts. I blindly decided to be like Maria. I just would not give up.
At the same time, on the advice of Ms. White, my art teacher, I hurriedly handed in my seashell drawing for an art contest in our town. One night as I was having a hard time practicing, the phone rang. It was Ms. White. “Alice, you won the contest!” she said loudly.
“Really?” was all I could reply.
“Yes,” Ms. White said. “They’re going to give you a prize. And that’s not all. The winner is also accepted into Wildale’s Summer Fine Arts Institute.” I couldn’t believe what I heard. Only a handful of young artists were accepted each summer.
That night I didn’t go back into the living room to continue practicing. Gymnastics was Maria’s gift, not mine. It had taken me a while, but I realized that I had a gift of my own.
【小题1】Alice wanted to be a gymnast because ________.

阅读短文，根据短文内容补全表格中所缺的信息。（每空一词）
Now you’ve finished three years of English study. There’s one way to demonstrate(展示)what you’ve learned-take a test!
Do you have any special methods(方法) you use to help you do better on a test? How well you do is often a matter of how well prepared you are. Here are some ways to make sure you’re at your best on test days.
Go to bed early. The night before a test is not the time to stay up watching TV. You want to be rested and wide-awake for test day.
Have a good breakfast. Test day isn’t a morning for donuts(面包圈).Nor is it a time to starve yourself. Eat plenty of low-sugar, high-energy food to keep your brain and body working their best.
Be prepared, Make sure you have two pencils and anything else you were asked to bring.
Watch the numbers. Make sure that the number of the items(项目)on your answer sheet matches the number of the question.
Look over all the answer choices(选择). Don’t assume(假定)that choice A is correct until you’ve checked the others. You may find a better one. And it is wrong to eliminate(排除)any choice that you can see at once. You’ll have a better chance of finding the right answer.
Check the clock. Make sure you allow yourself enough time to answer every question and go back and check your answers .Don’t spend too much time on any difficult question .Skip(跳读)it and come back to it later.
Keep up with your school work all year long That’s how you get the skills you need for taking tests.

Today was not a good day. Everything went wrong. First, I slept late and Mom shouted at me to wake up. When I went to the kitchen for breakfast, there was no cereal. I decided to have some toast instead, but I burned it. I had to eat it anyway because there was no more bread. The juice bottle was empty, so I had a glass of cold water.
When I was getting on a bus, I realized that I had forgotten my wallet, so I had to go back home to get it.
Of course, I missed the bus and had to wait for the next.
I was late for school and the teacher told me to stay in the classroom at lunchtime to catch up on(弥补) the school work I had missed. After lunch, it was time to give the teacher our homework. I reached into my bag to get it, but it wasn’t there. I had left it at home. I was in trouble again.
When I got home, I went straight to my room to catch up on my homework. Mom cooked fish for dinner. She knows I don’t like fish, but she thinks it is good for her son. How terrible! I hope tomorrow will be better.
【小题1】What happened to the boy on this bad day?

Now you’ve finished three years of English study. There’s one way to demonstrate(展示)what you’ve learned-take a test!

Do you have any special methods(方法) you use to help you do better on a test? How well you do is often a matter of how well prepared you are. Here are some ways to make sure you’re at your best on test days.

Go to bed early. The night before a test is not the time to stay up watching TV. You want to be rested and wide-awake for test day.

Have a good breakfast. Test day isn’t a morning for donuts(面包圈).Nor is it a time to starve yourself. Eat plenty of low-sugar, high-energy food to keep your brain and body working their best.

Be prepared, Make sure you have two pencils and anything else you were asked to bring.

Watch the numbers. Make sure that the number of the items(项目)on your answer sheet matches the number of the question.

Look over all the answer choices(选择). Don’t assume(假定)that choice A is correct until you’ve checked the others. You may find a better one. And it is wrong to eliminate(排除)any choice that you can see at once. You’ll have a better chance of finding the right answer.

Check the clock. Make sure you allow yourself enough time to answer every question and go back and check your answers .Don’t spend too much time on any difficult question .Skip(跳读)it and come back to it later.

Keep up with your school work all year long That’s how you get the skills you need for taking tests.

四、填写表格，每空一词（10分）