一、完形填空

Sarah came running in saying， “Look what I found.” Over the top of the paper I was reading I saw a long object that made me 1 . It was a piece of snakeskin that had been shed（脫皮） by one of our many garden snakes.

“Isnt it beautiful？” said my wide-eyed seven-year-old daughter.

I 2 at it and thought to myself that it really wasnt that beautiful， but I did not want to 3 Sarah. Everything children see for the first time is basic to their 4 of beauty and creativity. They see only worth and excellence in the world.

“Why does it do this？” Sarah asked.

I like to teach my children that there is something else 5 on besides what they see in front of them. “Snakes shed their skin because they need to renew themselves，” I explained. “Why do they need to renew themselves？” Sarah asked.

“We often need to shed our 6 ， those coatings that we cover ourselves with，” I said to my now 7 daughter. “We outgrow some things and find other things 8 . This snake no longer needs this skin. It is probably too old for him， and he probably doesnt think he looks as smart in it as he once did. It is just like buying a new suit.”

Of course， Im sure this 9 wont sit well with naturalists（博物學(xué)家）. But Sarah was getting the 10 . As we talked， I knew that she began to understand， that renewal is part of 11 ； that we need to take a good look at ourselves， and our rooms and schoolwork and creativity and see what we need to keep and what we need to 12 off. I was careful to point out that this is a natural process， not one to be 13 .

“Snakes dont take off their skin 14 they feel like it.” I explained. “It happens as part of their 15 .”

“I see， Dad，” said Sarah. She then slipped .16 my lap， grabbed the snakeskin， and 17 .

I hoped she would remember this. Often， in order to find our real selves beneath the coating of community and culture we are covered in year after year， we need to start 18 these coatings. We need to 19 remove some， as we recognize them to be worthless， unnecessary， or at best， remember the things we throw away to teach us how we can 20 .

1. A. smile B. think C. jump D. greet

2. A. knocked B. pointed C. stared D. shouted

3. A. disturb B. annoy C. worry D. disappoint

4. A. knowledge B. sense

C. meaning D. comprehension

5. A. going B. looking C. taking D. coming

6. A. minds B. skins C. features D. functions

7. A. astonished B. convinced

C. absorbed D. devoted

8. A. unimportant B. unpleasant

C. unlikely D. unnecessary

9. A. presentation B. comment

C. explanation D. reason

10. A. concept B. point C. image D. inspiration

11. A. progress B. procedure

C. programme D. project

12. A. switch B. cast C. cut D. break

13. A. rewarded B. awarded

C. produced D. forced

14. A. until B. after C. when D. before

15. A. growth B. length C. rebirth D. health

16. A. off B. beyond C. down D. away

17. A. left off B. ran off

C. set off D. showed off

18. A. examining B. analyzing

C. testing D. viewing

19. A. acutely B. academically

C. relevantly D. gently

20. A. distinguish B. simplify

C. exaggerate D. improve

二、閱讀理解

Findings from a new study were presented at a recent meeting of the American Psychosomatic（身心的） Society. Researchers in the united States studied 100，000 women during an eight-year period， beginning in 1994. All of the women were fifty or older. The study was part of the Womens Health Initiative organized by the National Institutes of Health.

The women were asked questions measuring their beliefs or ideas about the future. The researchers attempted to identify each womans personality eight years after gathering the information.

The study found that hopeful individuals were 14% less likely than other women to have died from any cause. The hopeful women were also 30% less likely to have died from heart disease after the eight years.

Hilary Tindle from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania was the lead author of the report. She said the study confirmed earlier research that linked optimistic feelings to longer life.

The researchers also gathered information about peoples education， financial earnings， physical activity and use of alcohol or cigarettes. Independent of those things， the findings still showed that optimists had less of a chance of dying during the eight-year period.

Some women who answered the questions were found to be hostile（敵意的）， or highly untrusting of others. These women were 16% more likely to die than the others. They also were 23% more likely to die of cancer.

The study also found women who were not optimistic were more likely to smoke and have high blood pressure or diabetes. They were also more likely not to exercise.

Tindle says the study did not confirm whether optimism leads to healthier choices， or if it actually affects a persons physical health. She also says the study does not prove that negative（消極的） emotions or distrust lead to bad health effects and shorter life. Yet there does appear to be a link that calls for more research.

1. Researchers carry out the study to .

A. decide who is more likely to enjoy a happier life

B. gather information for the National Institutes of Health

C. find out the link between personality and health

D. compare each womans personality changes

2. What cant be inferred from the passage？

A. Negative emotions cause a shorter life indeed.

B. The more optimistic you are the longer life you may enjoy.

C. Its uncertain whether optimism affects ones health.

D. There may be some link between personality and health.

3. Who is more likely to die of cancer according to the passage？

A. A woman who doesnt exercise.

B. A woman who always doubts what others say.

C. A woman with high blood pressure.

D. A woman with poor physical health.

4. Whats Hilary Tindles opinion of the study？

A. Necessary. B. Useless.

C. Unfair. D. Reliable.

三、短文寫(xiě)作

請(qǐng)根據(jù)以下提示，并結(jié)合自己的生活事例，用英語(yǔ)寫(xiě)一篇短文。

Praise will never be superfluous （多余的）；actually， a sincere praise may be better than 10，000 severe reproaches（批評(píng)）.

注意：1. 無(wú)須寫(xiě)標(biāo)題；

2. 內(nèi)容必須結(jié)合生活中的一個(gè)事例；

3. 詞數(shù)為120左右；

4. 除詩(shī)歌外，文體不限；

5. 文中不得透漏個(gè)人姓名和學(xué)校名稱。