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Nick Santonastasso has one arm equipped with one finger. He has no legs. He also has no limitations (缺陷).

“I know anythings possible,” the 12-year-old told TODAYs Ann Curry.

He can play baseball and football, play the keyboard and drums, and play video games with his brothers.

When Nick was born, he suffered a disease only found in 11 other people. The Santonastassos had three other children, and they decided to treat Nick the same as others, with love but without excuse.

“Were supposed to be heroes to our children, but Nick is a hero to us,” his father Michael said. But heroes have heroes, too, and Nicks is Tiki Barber, the former football superstar who retired last year and became a reporter for TODAY. Curry told Nick that for his birthday, the show wanted to give him a new skateboard. The person who presented it to him was Barber.

“Youre an inspiration,” Barber said. “There are a lot of kids who might be at a disadvantage. You give them strength.”

Curry observed that most parents try to protect their kids from failure, but the Santonastassos didnt do that to Nick.

“Absolutely not,” Nicks mother Stacey said. “If you do have a small failure, it just makes you stronger to succeed at the next stop.”

“It builds self-confidence in yourself to try it again,” Nick added.

Recently, Nick entered a drawing in a statewide contest in New Jersey. His drawing was a tree with a spreading canopy (樹冠) and deep roots. Above the tree were the words, “The roots of a family are...” Below the ground, the roots spelled out the final word for the message, “Love”.

He won the contest. The judges didnt know Nick physical condition. He won on merit (憑才能), the same way he does everything else in life.

1. How did the Santonastassos treat Nick?

A. They gave him much more care.

B. They treated him as a normal boy.

C. They made excuse for his failure.

D. They protected him from failure.

2. How many other people have the same disease as Nicks?

A. Two. B. Three.

C. Eleven. D. Twelve.

3. In the opinion of Barber, Nick ＿＿＿ .

A. would learn a lot from his failure

B. proved a real hero to other heroes

C. set a good example to other disabled kids

D. would become a star in playing skateboard

4. What message did Nicks drawing express?

A. Love is the “root” of a family.

B. Roots are the most important of a tree.

C. Each family has its own value among its members.

D. Trees without deep roots cant grow tall and strong.

5. What might be the most suitable title for the passage?

A. Nick and His Skateboard

B. Nothing Is Impossible

C. Keep Trying Forever

D. The Roots

B

Everyone has good days and bad days.

Sometimes, you feel as if you were on top of the world. But occasionally you feel horrible, and you lose things and you cannot focus on your schoolwork.

For more than 20 years, scientists have suggested that high self-esteem (自尊心) is the key to success. Now, new research shows that focusing just on building self-esteem may not be helpful. In some cases, having high self-esteem can bring bad results if it makes you less likeable or more upset when you fail in something.

“Forget about self-esteem,” says Jennifer Crocker, a psychologist at the University of Michigan, US. “Its not the most important thing.”

Feeling Good

Crockers advice may sound a bit strange because it is good to feel good about yourself.

Studies show that people with high self-esteem are less likely to be depressed, anxious, shy, or lonely than those with low self-esteem.

But, after reviewing about 18,000 studies on self-esteem, Roy Baumeister, a psychologist at Florida State University, has found that building up your self-esteem will not necessarily make you a better person.

He believes that violent and wicked people often have the highest self-esteem of all. He also said, “Theres no evidence that kids with high self-esteem do better in school.”

Problems

“All types of people have problems. People with high self-esteem can have big egos (自我) that can make them less likeable to people at the same age,” said Kathleen Vohs, a psychology professor at Columbia University.

People with high self-esteem tend to think more of themselves, Vohs says. People with low self-esteem are more likely to rely on their friends when they need help.

What to Do

Researchers say it is best to listen to and support other people. Find positive ways to contribute to society. If you fail in something, try to learn from the experience. “The best medicine is to recognize your faults,” Vohs says. “Its OK to say, ‘Im not so good at that, and then move on.”

6. The new research comes to the conclusion that high self-esteem ＿＿＿ .

A. is not important at all

B. may not be the key to success

C. has taken on a different meaning

D. does not help you do better in school

7. The underlined word “better” in Paragraph 7 most probably refers to “＿＿＿”.

A. helpful or supportive

B. gentle or powerful

C. friendly or kind

D. strong or healthy

8. We can conclude from the Problems that ＿＿＿ .

A. people with low self-esteem have big egos

B. people with high self-esteem are more likeable

C. people with low self-esteem are often more popular

D. people with high self-esteem usually dont seek help from other people

9. We can infer that the best medicine mentioned in the last paragraph is mainly for people ＿＿＿ .

A. who need support

B. with low self-esteem

C. with high self-esteem

D. who focus on building self-esteem

從下列方框里10個單詞中選擇8個適當(dāng)單詞的正確形式填入下列各句中，使其句意完整。每個單詞只使用一次。

alien bend cottage marry profound

punish revenge square utter wicked

1. Anything that is ＿＿＿＿ has four equal sides and four equal angles.

2. Over the past twenty years apple production methods have changed ＿＿＿＿ .

3. Sophia, ＿＿＿＿ over her books, made no answer to the person who spoke to her.

4. The killings were said to have been in ＿＿＿＿ for the murder of her lover.

5. His wife, to whom he had been ＿＿＿＿ for thirty years, was childless.

6. He was in the control of evil men who forced him to do ＿＿＿＿ things.

7. Thanks to the fine weather, we had a very restful holiday at our country ＿＿＿＿ .

8. The enemy was severely ＿＿＿＿ by our machine guns.

1. 因為太頑皮，杰克剛買幾天的T恤已經(jīng)穿得完全走樣了。

2. 盡管他們?nèi)兆舆^得很艱苦，但是他們沒有伸手要政府的救濟。

3. 你是現(xiàn)在付款還是讓我記在你的賬上？

4. 在他結(jié)婚后，赫拉成功地對他施以詛咒，讓他殺死他的妻子。

1. The retired man donated most of his savings to the school damaged by an earthquake, ＿＿＿ the students to return to their classrooms.

A. having enabled B. to enable

C. enabling D. enabled

2. Whoever breaks the law should not escape ＿＿＿ .

A. being punished B. punished

C. being punishing D. punishing

3. So many troublesome problems ＿＿＿ , the newly-elected minister is leading a hard time now.

A. settled B. to be settled

C. having settled D. having been settled

4. — How long ＿＿＿ David and Vicky ＿＿＿ married?

— For about three years.

A. were; being B. have; been

C. have; got D. did; get

5. There is too much noise outside; I cant ＿＿＿ my attention on my book.

A. fill B. pay

C. fix D. connect

6. This is one of the punctuation marks ＿＿＿ that something has already been completed.

A. indicating B. indicate

C. to indicate D. to be indicating

7. All flights ＿＿＿ called off because of the terrible weather, they had to go there by train.

A. were B. had been

C. being D. having been

8. At the age of 29, Dave was a worker, ＿＿＿ in a small apart-ment near Boston and ＿＿＿ what to do about his future.

A. lived; wondering B. living; wondering

C. lived; wondered D. living; wondered

9. Laws must be made by the government to ＿＿＿ those who catch animals as food.

A. patrol B. praise

C. punish D. possess

10. ＿＿＿ their hats into the air, the fans of the winning team let out loud shouts of victory.

A. Throwing B. Thrown

C. To throw D. Being thrown

There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. 1 of them liked antiques (古董) and pottery (陶器), especially teacups.

One day in a beautiful 2 they saw a beautiful teacup. They said, “May we see that? Weve 3 seen one so beautiful.” As the owner of the shop 4 it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke:

You dont 5 . I havent always been a teacup. There was a time when I was red and I was clay (粘土). My 6 took me, rolled me and patted me over and over... I couldnt bear it any longer and 7 out, “Let me alone!”, but he only smiled, “Not yet.”

Then he put me in an oven. I never felt so 8 . I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I shouted and knocked at the door. I could see him 9 the opening and I could read his lips as he 10 his head, “Not yet.”

Then I knew there wasnt any 11 . I would never make it. I was ready to 12 . But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on a shelf. One hour later he handed me a 13 and said, “Look at yourself.” And I did so. But what I saw 14 me. “Thats not me; that couldnt be me. Its 15 .”

“I want you to remember,” then he said, “I know it hurt to be rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, youd have 16 . I know it was hot and 17 in the oven, but if I hadnt put you there, you would have 18 . Now you are a finished product. You are 19 I had in mind when I first began with you.”

Its really a turn: If you do not 20 the wind and rain, how can you see the rainbow.

1. A. All B. Both C. Neither D. None

2. A. garden B. church C. shop D. hall

3. A. never B. often C. always D. ever

4. A. found B. handed C. lent D. threw

5. A. mind B. doubt C. care D. understand

6. A. father B. brother C. owner D. friend

7. A. went B. died C. put D. shouted

8. A. good B. hot C. cold D. hungry

9. A. through B. by C. across D. over

10. A. nodded B. lifted C. hit D. shook

11. A. future B. hope C. help D. time

12. A. give up B. take up C. stay up D. set up

13. A. cup B. mirror C. paper D. telephone

14. A. hurt B. terrified C. stopped D. surprised

15. A. ugly B. lucky C. beautiful D. strange

16. A. given B. dried C. grown D. broken

17. A. terrible B. comfortable C. valuable D. changeable

18. A. succeeded B. remained C. died D. split

19. A. who B. which C. what D. that

20. A. avoid B. experience C. expect D. prevent