I didn’t think I had a passion(激情). I would sit in front of the TV all day, thinking about nothing but the next show. It was not long ago that I first learned how important having a passion is to life.
That day I went with my mum to drive my sister to the gym. I was bored. Then, as my mum stopped at a red light, someone on the side of the road caught my eye（吸引我的世界）. It was a man dressed in rags (衣衫褴褛). He was homeless. That didn’t interest me, for I had seen many like him before.
But in some ways he was different. This man was not sitting down with a sad expression(表情). He had a radio in his hand and was dancing happily to the music. The radio seemed to be the most precious(珍贵)thing he had.
“Mum, why does that man have a radio even thought（尽管） he’s homeless?” I asked.
“He bought it,” she replied. I was still unable to understand.
“But if he’s homeless, why doesn’t he use the money to buy food or clothes? He wasted it on something he doesn’t need.”
“Well, Sarah, sometimes food and clothes aren’t the most important things. We need happiness, too.”
The man must care too much about music to buy a radio instead of food clothes. I soon realized（意识到）that happiness is the key to life. Without it, there’s nothing to look forward to.
Since then I’ve never gone a day without thinking of what’s truly important. A home, a meal, clothes—these things are only part of the picture. What’s often forgotten is that we all need a pleasure, a light in a dark day. We all need a passion.
【小题1】How would Sarah spend her days long ago?

Once, a circle lost a piece of its own. The circle wanted to be whole, so it went around, looking for its ? piece. But because it was not complete, it could only roll (滚) very slowly. It enjoyed the flowers and the sunshine ? the way. It talked with worms. It found lots of different pieces, but ? of them fit. So it left them all by the side of the road and kept on ? for the lost piece. Then one day the circle found a piece that fit ? . The circle put the piece into ? . It could be whole with nothing lost. It was so happy and began to roll. As it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to see flowers or talk to worms. It realized how different the world was when it rolled so quickly. It felt so sad ? it stopped, left its found piece by the side of the road and rolled very slowly.

Sometimes we are perfect when we lose something. A man ? has everything is poor in some ways. He will never have hopes, dreams or something ? . He will never know someone loves him or someone is giving him something he has always wanted or never had.

We couldn’t be perfect. But we must be brave enough to love, strong enough to forgive, kind enough to share ? with others and clever enough to know there is enough love around us and then we can always have a wonderful time in our life.

1.A. miss????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. lose????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. missing????????????? ????????????? D. losing

2.A. at????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. of????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. in????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. along

3.A. none????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. all????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. every one????????????? ????????????? D. each

4.A. look????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. looking????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. to look????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. looked

5.A. perfectly????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. perfect????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. part????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. partly

6.A. it????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. itself????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. them????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. themselves

7.A. which????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. whether????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. that????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. what

8.A. who????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. which????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. where????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. when

9.A. bad????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. worse????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. good????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. better

10.A. kindness????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. sadness????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. happiness????????????? ????????????? D. illness

When I was 14, I decided to make some pocket money by mowing lawns (修剪草坪) in summer. I worked hard because that was my first part-time job. After working for one week, Mr Miller said that he had no money for me. Oh, dear! He wouldn’t pay for my work! That surprised me greatly. I argued with him, and then I went back home.
My parents told me not to complain about Mr Miller. He was in difficulties. Then my mother call up Mr Miller and they talked about something on the phone. A few days later, my mother asked me to return to Mr Miller’s garden, because he was too weak to look after it.
When I came back, Mr Miller said, “Sorry, I have no money, but I can do something for you.” He played CD for me. Hearing the beautiful music, I was so interested in it that I forgot the money and did the work with pleasure. At last, Mr Miller gave me a ticket to a concert.
After that, I became very interested in music. And now, I have been a popular musician. I should thank Mr Miller greatly.
【小题1】Why did the author argue with Mr Miller?

 We are in a world full of competition. Our parents compete (竞争) with others in their offices, our brothers and sisters compete with others in their colleges, and we compete with our classmates in school. Many of us give up in the face of competition and will never be successful. ①can’t, others, why, we, do, better, than One important reason is that we have no self-confidence (自信).

In fact, everyone is born equal. You can do what others do. Although your classmates may be better than you in some ways, you may be better than them in other subjects. So everyone has his or her own advantages. Don’t look at things from a single (单个的) point of view. Try to discover your own advantages, and believe that you can do better than others in those ways.

Competition is not so terrible. Don’t be afraid of it. And don’t be afraid of those classmates who are better than you. ②Remember that self-confidence is the first step to success. Believe in yourselves, and you will be successful one day.

任务一: 1. Are we living in a world full of competition?

任务二: 2. How can you improve your self-confidence according to the passage?

任务三: 3. 将①处画线部分单词连成一个完整的特殊疑问句。

任务四: 4. 将②处画线部分译成中文。

任务五: 5. What’s the main idea of this passage?