As a general rule, all forms of activity lead to boredom when they are performed on a routine basis. As a matter of fact, we can see this ___1_____at work in people of all _____2____. For example, on Christmas morning, children are excited about __3_____with their new toys. But their ____4____soon wear off and by January those___5______toys can be found put away in the basement. The world is full of____6_____stamp albums and unfinished models, each standing as a monument to someone’s ___7______interest. When parents bring home a pet, their child____8____bathes it and brushes its fur. Within a short time, however, the__9_____of caring the animal is handed over to the parents. Adolescent enter high school with great____10___but soon looking forward to____11____. The same is true of the young adults going to the college. And then, how many____12_____, who complain about the long drives to work, ___13______drove for hours at a time when they first_____14____  their drivers licenses? Before people retire, they usually  __15_____to do a lot of_16____things, which never had __17___while working. But ___18_____after retirement, the golfing, the fishing , the reading and all of the other pastimes become as boring as the jobs they __19_____. And, like the child in January, they go searching for new___20______.

1．A.principle    B.habit            C.way        D.power

2．A.parties      B.races            C.countries    D.ages

3．A.working     B.living           C.playing    D.going

4．A.confidence   B.interest          C.anxiety     D.sorrow

5．A.same        B.extra            C.funny    D.expensive

6．A.well-organized B.colorfully-printed  C.newly-collected D.half-filled

7．A.broad      B.passing            C.different      D.main

8．A.silently     B.impatiently        C.gladly        D.worriedly

9．A.promise    B.burden            C.right         D.game

10．A.courage     B.calmness        C.confusion     D.excitement

11．A.graduation    B.independence   C.responsibility   D.success

12．A.children    B.students         C.adults         D.retirees

13．A.carefully    B.eagerly         C. nervously     D.bravely

14．A.required    B.obtained        C.noticed       D.discovered

15．A.need      B.learn           C.start          D.plan

16．A.great      B.strange         C.difficult      D.correct

17．A.time     B.money          C.skills        D.knowledge

18．A.only     B.well           C.even          D.soon

19．A.lost     B.choose          C.left          D.quit

20．A.pets     B.toys           C.friends        D.colleagues

A Deed a Day

It was a busy day as usual. I was making sandwiches and balancing the phone between my shoulder and chin. The washing machine sounded as my husband walked in with our daughters. We had only about twenty minutes to eat   41   we had to take the girls to their next activity. My husband seemed a bit   42   that dinner was not on the table.

That night, I had a heavy  43   , thinking we were becoming taskmasters on an assembly line (流水线). We had become too    44   in our own tasks and not very considerate towards those around us. We needed to do something to bring back some meaning into our lives. It needed to be something that would    45   our own agendas and energize us toward the common good.

I bought a notebook, named it “Our Deed Diary” and held a family meeting. I told my family I wanted us all to think about doing a   46   for others every day. It could be for each other or for people outside our  47   . And we all needed to write it down in the notebook.

I thought one deed a day was too easy. However, it was actually   48    than it seemed because it had to be something   49    what we had already done. Sending birthday cards to people we already sent cards to every year would not   50   .

We had a rough   51   . On some days, someone would forget to   52   a good deed, while on other days, we would forget to write our good deeds in the diary. After a few weeks though, I found myself waking up in the morning trying to   53   what good deed I could do for someone that day. My daughters began to rush to me after school to  54    me the good deed they had done.

Now, after a year, I am happy to say that it is making a(n)   55  in our lives. Instead of always   56  what the day will bring for us, we think about what we can do for someone else.

Who would have thought that trying to do a simple kindness a day would be so   57  ? I feel my daughters have felt inner joy that you can only   58  by giving to someone else from your heart. The best thing is that you feel so great about doing something for someone else; you don't even look for or expect anything in   59  . So, when someone does return the favor, it is an enormous and positive   60   .  

41. A. though                    B. unless                   C. before                   D. while

42. A. annoyed                      B. puzzled                 C. embarrassed             D. frightened

43. A. shoulder                B. stomach                C. foot                       D. heart

44. A. absorbed                     B. interested            C. confident                     D. successful

45. A. repeat                   B. relate                            C. refocus                 D. recall

46. A. kindness                B. task                       C. job                         D. copy

47. A. room                      B. home                            C. school                   D. town

48. A. stranger                 B. sweeter                 C. harder                  D. bigger

49. A. beyond                B. from                       C. about                           D. between

50. A. matter                  B. count                            C. last                        D. happen

51. A. time                        B. life                         C. start                             D. idea

52. A. praise                           B. check                           C. record                   D. do

53. A. describe                B. decide                  C. remember                   D. explain

54. A. bring                     B. teach                          C. offer                      D. tell

55. A. effort              B. choice                   C. difference                    D. fortune

56. A. forgetting           B. believing               C. knowing                D. wondering

57. A. tiring                   B. moving                  C. surprising                    D. rewarding

58. A. experience                   B. imagine              C. predict              D. exchange

59. A. silence                   B. return                     C. time                   D. order

60. A. effect                      B. bonus                    C. attitude                 D. contribution

       More teens begin to realize the basic principle _____ there is more to a person than physical beauty.

       A. that                                                      B. whether

       C. in which                                               D. when

Millions of sports lovers are still thinking about one thing----the Winter Olympics in Sochi Russia. Close to 2900 men and women competed in the 2014 Winter Games about a month ago.

The Olympics brought a lot of attention to Sochi, a city on the Black Sea, which is a popular area for vacation travelers. The area is known for its mild winters.

At least $50 billion was spent on the 2014 Winter Games, making it the costliest Olympics in history. Seven billion dollars was spent on the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada. Olympic officials chose Sochi to host the 2014 games almost seven years ago. At that time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the games would cost about $13 billion. Yet the actual expenses exceeded his estimate. So where did all the money go?

    Some observers say the high cost is partly the result of security measures. Brian Jenkins, a terrorism expert from the RAND Corporation, gave the following explanation. There were anywhere between 70,000 and 100, 000 policemen and military troops deployed around the city.

    The main threat came from separatist and Islamist groups from the North Caucasus, especially from Chechnya and Dagestan. One group claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings in Volgograd last December. The attacks killed more than 30 people. The city is only about 600 kilometers away from Sochi.

    Bruce Hoffman is a terrorism expert from Georgetown University in Washington DC. He says the increased security made Sochi a difficult target for terrorists.

    It is thought that the terrorists' intention was to make life difficult for the Russians and to create some sort of incident that would take away the enjoyment.

The last Olympians from around the world on Russian soil were in 1980. That was a year after Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan. More than sixty countries didn’t take part in the Moscow Summer Games to show their anger.

25. According to the passage, why did the Sochi Winter Olympics cost so much?

A. Because it was held at an area popular for vacation travelers.

B. Because the Russian government wanted to make it the best ever held.

C. Because security measures at Sochi were stricter than before.

D. Because the original plan was made 7 years before.

26. It can be known from the passage that Bruce Hoffman was        .

A. a terrorism expert from the USA               B. the writer who wrote this article

C. an athlete who competed in Sochi             D. a terrorism expert from RAND Corporation

27. Which of the following is false?

   A. Sochi Olympics cost about 4 times as estimated.

   B. Next winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver.

   C. Many countries refused to attend the 1980 Olympics.

   D. Security is often a problem in international sport games.

28. The terrorists might have attacked Sochi Olympics because       .

   A. they wanted to make trouble for the Russians

   B. they thought Russia shouldn't spend so much on sport

   C. they thought Putin was not a nice president

   D. they were not interested in winter sports 

 In France, Sophie Marceau, 36, is one of the top 15 actresses. It's a country where mature women are considered attractive and film mirrors this, _________America's love of fresh faces and glamour.

A. with regard to                     B. on account of           C. in contrast to            D. in response to

The bridegroom,Matthew,the bride,Teresa,and their photographer,Kevin made a daring rescue.The couple___21___ by the river while their photographer was preparing to take pictures.

They were so___22___that they did not___23___a girl walking by with her grandfather.Suddenly they heard "Help!" They___24___and saw a man jump into the river and swim toward the girl.The man was___25___her above the water with one arm and patting water（拍水）with___26___.

It wasn't clear how___27___he could hold on in the strong current.

Matthew grasped the edge of the wall and___28___himself toward a piece of wood___29___out from the wall.He stepped on the wood,balancing with one___30___,and reached out his hands toward the___31___pair.He grabbed the girl's one arm while Kevin caught her other arm.Together the two men___32___her up.

After that,they hurried to her grandfather.___33___each of them caught one of the old man's hands,the two were unable to lift the man's feet.Without___34___,Teresa quickly joined them to save the old man___35___.

Shortly after the___36___,the couple's friends and relatives arrived.They were surprised by how___37___the bridegroom and the bride were.Mom kept telling___38___that she had a brave son-in-law.The guests___39___and joked about how this ___40___young man would think nothing of "saving a life" as he was "getting a wife."

21. A. talked    B. stood    C. walked    D. ran

22. A. relaxed    B. determined    C. devoted    D. absorbed

23. A. remember    B. notice    C. observe    D. mind

24. A. turned around    B. looked up    C. watched over    D. showed off

25. A. stopping    B. preventing    C. keeping    D. making

26. A. other    B. the other    C. others    D. another

27. A. soon    B. much    C. long    D. far

28. A. placed    B. left    C. set    D. lowered

29. A. sticking    B. rising    C. bringing    D. taking

30. A. leg    B. hand    C. foot    D. finger

31. A. flowing    B. struggling    C. swimming    D. floating

32. A. showed    B. cheered    C. pushed    D. pulled

33. A. Until    B. As    C. While    D. If

34. A. doubt    B. permission    C. difficulty    D. hesitation

35. A. in time    B. at convenience    C. with ease    D. by accident

36. A. incident    B. matter    C. event    D. affair

37. A. patient    B. calm    C. sincere    D. anxious

38. A. everyone    B. no one    C. anyone    D. someone

39. A. screamed    B. argued    C. sighed    D. laughed

40. A. discouraged    B. generous    C. courageous    D. gentle

46．Which of the four books above was published the latest?

    A． The Help．                                       B． The Hunger Games．

    C． Publication Manual．                    D． Diary o f a Wimpy Kid．

47．Suzanne Collins' book was published by          ．

    A． Berkley Trade

    B． Amer Psychological Assn

    C． Scholastic Press

    D． Amulet Books

48．What is the list price of Josie Wags' book?

       A．$9.                         B．$14                        C．$16                        D．$28

49．Which of the four books have something to do with science?

    A． The Hunger Games and Publication Manual．

    B． The Hunger Games and Diary of a Wimpy Kid ．

    C． The Help and Publication Manual．

    D． The Help and Diary of a Wimpy Kid．

 The __________ of severe punishments plays a major role in the growing road safety problem.

   A. presence                 B. absence           C. existence        D. evidence

 It is strongly ________ the teenager not eat too much KFC, ________ won’t be good for his health.          

A. advised; that                   B. suggested; that             C. advised; which        D. agreed; which

  Two excited kids begged their father for his permission to see a film. Having read some

  41   about the movie on the Internet, he firmly   42   their request with the reason that movie presents immorality (不道德) as being   43  . “But dad, those scenes are merely a few minutes of the   44   film, in which good   45   evil eventually. In addition, there are other   46   themes like courage and determination making up for its   47  !”

But the father didn’t   48  , and the two teenagers were cast down. Then they heard the sounds of their father preparing something in the   49  . One of the teenagers said, “Dad must be feeling   50  , and now he’s trying to   51   us with some tasty food.” Soon their father appeared with a plate of warm cakes and said, “Before you eat, I want to tell you something: I love you both so much.”

The teenagers smiled and   52   with each other knowing glances. Dad was softening. Looking at the mouth-watering cake, the two boys were getting   53   about the father’s long speech. “But I want to be   54   with you. I added one ingredient (配料) that is not   55   found in cakes.”

“To make it more delicious? Oh, come on, Dad! Please just tell us what it is.”

“OK, if you   56  . That   57   ingredient is dog waste.”

Both teens   58   stopped chewing the cake, spit it out and dropped the   59   cake back on the plate.

“DAD! Why did you do that?”

“That is the same reason why I won’t allow you to watch that movie. You won’t   60   a little dog waste in your cake, so why should you put up with a little immorality in your movies?”

41. A. parts                 B. chapters          C. adaptations     D. reviews

42. A. repeated           B. rejected           C. made               D. agreed to

43. A. unbelievable    B. acceptable         C. personal          D. favorable

44. A. popular                 B. original            C. exciting            D. total  

45. A. threatens          B. attacks                    C. affects        D. defeats   

46. A. inspiring            B. general            C. interesting              D. powerful

47. A. education          B. meaning          C. disadvantage   D. success       

48. A. give out                 B. give in                     C. give away        D. give off

49. A. house               B. bedroom          C. garden        D. kitchen   

50. A. sad                   B. upset               C. regretful          D. guilty

51. A. persuade          B. comfort       C. join                  D. supply

52. A. screamed          B. provided          C. exchanged             D. talked

53. A. impatient       B. unhappy         C. sorry                D. cruel

54. A. honest                  B. satisfied           C. strict                D. patient

55. A. surprisingly           B. easily               C. usually        D. daily              

56. A. like                    B. permit                     C. refuse                     D. insist

57. A. common        B. secret                C. terrible             D. wonderful

58. A. unwillingly      B. helplessly        C. gratefully         D. instantly

59. A. remaining       B. whole              C. strange            D. warm

60. A. expect            B. add                  C. tolerate            D. overcome

 The newly built café, the walls of_______ are painted light green, is really a peaceful place for us, specially after hard work.

A. that     B. it    C. what     D. which

How has smoking been controlled in recent years?

People were asked to stop smoking in a range of public places --- such as doctors' surgeries, cinemas, theatres and churches --- over the second half of the 20th century but it was after the King's Cross Underground fire on November 18, 1987, caused by a cigarette end which resulted in 31 deaths, that restrictions on smoking in public places gained rapid and widespread acceptance.

How did a ban on smoking in public places come into place?

In 1998 the Smoking Kills White Paper set out a national strategy to reduce smoking prevalence(流行) and passive smoking, including in public places. The measures were voluntary and poorly carried out. After a public conference in England in 2004, the Government decided to choose for lawmaking. Scotland went first, with a ban in 2006, followed by the other nations a year later.

What is the current law?

Any person who smokes in enclosed public places, including pubs, offices, on public transport and work vehicles, is breaking the law. It does not extend to private houses. It is also an offence for people in charge of premises(经营场所) to permit others to smoke in them.

How was it received?

It was welcomed by most organizations --- except for some pub owners and restaurateurs. Many workplaces in the UK had already introduced smoke-free policies consistent with the legislation(法律, 法规) before it was carried out, while others have gone beyond its basic requirements.

All railway facilities, including platforms, footbridges and other areas --- whether or not fitting the definition of an enclosed public space --- are covered, as are all football grounds and some cricket and athletics stadiums. School grounds are not required to be smoke-free under the legislation, but the majority now are.

How has it been forced?

Compliance(服从) in public premises has been high, with inspections suggesting that 99 percent of places were sticking to the rules. The number of people charged for smoking in cars has been very low, which was due to the problems defining and identifying “work” vehicles. They said that a total ban on smoking in vehicles would end this confusion.

Has it improved health?

Studies in early adopters of the law, including in Scotland, suggest a reduction in hospital admissions for heart disease, which has been shown to be linked to passive smoking. There is also strong evidence of improved rates of smoking end and a drop in the number of cigarettes consumed by those who continue to smoke.

79. Which of the following behaviors may NOT be against the law?

A. Jack often smokes in the office when he is alone.

B. A taxi driver is smoking with a lady in his car.

C. Tom smokes while thinking of his future at home.

D. Max smokes for relaxation during time­out in the stadium.

80. Who might feel unhappy about the law according to the article?

A. A restaurant owner.   B. A company manager.        C. A car owner.     D. A policy maker.

81. What can you infer from the article?

A. Most heart diseases have been proved to be linked to passive smoking.

B. A new law will soon come out with a total ban on smoking in vehicles.

C. The 1987 fire has convinced more people that smoking is bad for health.

D. Most of the school grounds are not smoke­free, as it is not banned in the law.

Every year, when the air turns sharp, I think about my mother. She was always the first to point out the signs of autumn.

There were lessons to be learned from nature in the fall. To mother, autumn was a great book that she’d make up a sea of stories. “You must remember,” she would say, “that the leaves which die in the fall are born again in the spring.”    

Balance and counterbalance; harmony and disharmony; lose and renewal. These seemed to be the themes that ran through my mother’s stories ─ and her life.

   A memory: when I was seven, on the night of my mother’s fortieth birthday, she took me outside to stand beneath a bright moon. “Look through these,” said my mother, handing me a pair of binoculars(双筒望远镜). “You see that reddish part? That’s the Sea of Tranquility. And the blue shadow to the side? That’s called the Ocean of Storms.” Then she said something about how in life it was necessary to learn to navigate both.

   My mother loved the wind. When I was growing up, she would often recite this poem to me:

                    Who has seen the wind?

                         Neither you nor I,

                 But when the trees bow down

                         Their heads,

                     The wind is passing by.

   There’s an old photo of my mother, who is about ten years old, holding the small gray cat. The wind is blowing her long and dark hair. This girl who loved the wind is smiling — perhaps at the feel of the breeze touching her face.

As I smiled at the child my mother was, I could think of her without deep feelings of sadness and loss. I thought I could begin to find my new place in the world without her.

And so I sat the other night on the floor of my room holding my mother’s handbag. I had brought it home with me from the hospital on the day of her death, but had not been able to open it.

Inside, along with the wallet and photos of her grandchildren, I found a folded piece of paper upon which my mother had written these lines from nature writer Wendell Berry:

   “Always in the big woods when you step off alone into a new place there will be, along with curiosity and excitement, a little nagging of dread. It is the ancient fear of the unknown, your first bond with the wilderness you are going into.”

   Just the sort of thing Mother would say, who could still teach me after all these years.

   I went downstairs and opened the door. And suddenly a breeze blew in. “You’ve been six years out of the wind,” I thought. Then I found myself saying, to no one in particular.

                      Who has seen the wind?

                       Neither you nor I,

                   But when the trees bow down

                       Their heads,

                       The wind is passing by.

 51. Why was my mother always the first to point out the signs of autumn?

     A. Because she believed autumn was the best season of a year.

     B. Because there were lessons to be learned from nature in autumn.

     C. Because only then could she make up stories.

     D. Because the evening sky was more interesting.

52. What were the themes that ran through my mother’s stories — and her life?

     A. Balance and counterbalance.       B. Harmony and disharmony.

     C. Loss and renewal.                D. All the above.

 53. What did my mother love?

A. The sky.          B. Little animals.     C. The wind.       D. The poem.

 54. What could I find without my mother?

     A. My new place in the world.              B. A folded piece of paper.

     C. The poem she loved best.                D. The wallet and the photos.

55. Which do you think is the best title of the passage?

A. A great mother, a plain living           B. I’ll never forget my mother

     C. A gentle breeze and a cat             D. The girl who loved the wind

The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, the US space agency insisted Monday in a rare campaign to dispel widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie.

The latest big screen offering from Sony Picture, 2012, arrives in theaters on Friday, with a 200milliondollar production about the end of the world supposedly based on myths (虚构的故事) backed by the Mayan calendar. It is claimed that the end of time will come as a Planet X — or Nibiru — heads toward or collides with the Earth.

Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet’ s existence, but the US space agency denounced such stories as an “Internet hoax(恶作剧) ”. “There is no factual basis for these claims，” NASA said in a question and answer posting on its website. “If such a collision were real, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012，” it insisted. “After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years，” added NASA.

There is another planet, Eris, floating in space. But the small planet similar to Pluto will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the Earth, according to NASA.

Initial theories set the disaster for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter in 2012 to coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar.

NASA insisted the Mayan calendar in fact does not end on December 21, 2012, as another period begins immediately afterward.

And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be “negligible”， NASA said.

“And while comets and asteroids (小行星) have always hit the Earth, big hits are very rare，” NASA noted. The last major impact was believed to be 65 million years ago，resulting in the end of dinosaurs.

“We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs，” the space agency said.

49．________played a key role in the spread of the rumors.

A. A new book                                   B. The Internet and a new Hollywood movie

C. NASA                                       D. An Indian calendar

50．The film 2012 is________.

A. about the end of the world                 B. based on the scientific prediction

C. well accepted in the science field            D. about a romantic love story

51．We can infer that________.

A. people didn’t take the rumor seriously

B. Planet X — or Nibiru does exist

C. astronomers have been tracking Planet X for over ten years

D. the rumor caused a panic among some people

52．Which of the following is the best title?

A. New Hollywood movie 2012            B. December 21, 2012, NOT the end of the world

C. End of the ancient Mayan calendar     D. How rumors came into being

 —Excuse me. May I ask a favor of you?

  —______.

    A. It’s my pleasure      B. Sure, go ahead     

C. Ask, please          D. I’ve no time

We had a really bad time about six months ago but now things are_______.

A. picking up  B. coming up    C. making up     D. turning up