III. 阅读理解(20分)

A

From now on, never spend your precious time thinking of reasons for your failures and shortcomings. Instead, realize that the seeds of success were planted within you when you were born. Only you have the power to make those seeds grow.

The seeds, and the power to grow them, are contained in the most awesome machine ever created：the human mind. Success is a choice and not a chance. You were born a winner. You were born rich. You can be a success if only you make the right choice.

You cannot be successful without first developing your self-confidence. Your level of self-confidence is always based on the degree of control that you are able to exercise over yourself, and thus over your life. People with low self-confidence are people who do not believe that they have any power, or responsibility for their lives. They are mere victims. They are leaves tossed (摇摆) by the winds of chance blown about with any sudden change in the weather.

You can exercise control over your life only to the degree that you believe that you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. Failures think that everything happens by accident and chance. Successful people realize that they are responsible.

Everything happens as a result of something. If we can identify the cause, we can control the effect. We are responsible for what we choose to think and believe. One generally rises to the level that one expects. We are responsible for setting our expectations. Our success is dependent upon our level of confidence.

If you associate with positive-thinking people, you are definitely going to achieve success. On the contrary, the opposite happens. We are responsible for finding, planting, and nurturing the seeds that contain future victory, born from setbacks.

In short, in all areas of your life, whether they be financial, physical, emotional, or spiritual, you are responsible. Once you recognize this, accept it, and firmly believe it, you are on the road to success.

31. People with low self-confidence are compared to leaves because they____________.

A. are ready to change their minds            B. are easily affected by windy weather

C. don't have the power to face their fate     D. can't control themselves in life

32. Losers would think that ___________.

A. success is the result of hard work          B. working hard will lead to success

C. their failure is only because of bad luck     D. they don't make efforts to succeed

33. It can be inferred from paragraph 5 that ___________.

A. whether we will succeed depends on our attitudes

B. developing confidence is the key to future success

C. thoughts and beliefs are the result of creative mind

D. setting our expectations is essential before taking action

34. The last paragraph serves as ____________.

A. the proof of the author's points    B. the conclusion of the argument

C. an introduction to another topic    D. a comparison between two views

35. Which is the best title for the text? _______________.

A. Success is a choice      B. The secrets of success

C. Develop our confidence     D. How to achieve success

B

In September 2008 the World Health Organization issued a statement warning smokers that there was no evidence to back up claims that e-cigarettes could help them quit. So what do we know about them?

E-cigarettes were invented by Hon Lik of electronics company Ruyan in Beijing, China. Ruyan sold its first electronic cigarette in May 2004, and e-cigarettes have been growing in popularity ever since. Accurate figures are hard to come by, but Ruyan — the world’s biggest manufacturer — claims to have sold over 300,000 in 2008. Smart Smokers, one company which sells Ruyan’s cigarettes in the UK, says sales are rising exponentially. In the US, hit TV show The Doctors featured the e-cigarette in the top 10 health trends of 2008. In a world where smoking is increasingly socially unacceptable, the e-cigarette looks like a success story in the making.

The device itself is pretty simple. It resembles a normal cigarette in shape and size but instead of containing cured tobacco it is mostly full of battery and an LED. The disposable filter holds a cartridge containing nicotine dissolved in propylene glycol(丙二醇), the liquid that is vaporized in nightclub smoke machines. When you take a drag, a pressure sensor switches on an electric heating coil that vaporizes the PG and releases the “smoke”. The strongest cartridge contains about the same amount of nicotine as a regular?strength cigarette, but lasts for about 300 puffs in comparison with a regular cigarette that lasts for about 15. The cartridges don’t “burn down” but deliver a puff whenever you choose to take one. Cartridges come in high, medium, low and zero-nicotine strength and cost around $1. 50 each.

However, on a per puff basis, the strongest cartridge only delivers around one-third the amount of nicotine delivered by a puff on a normal cigarette, says Murray Laugesen, a public health researcher who campaigned against tobacco smoking in New Zealand and is now studying the impact of smoking e-cigarettes.

36. What’s the meaning of the underlined words in the first paragraph?

A. Hold back.    B. Take back.     C. Support.    D. Explain.

37. We can know from the passage that        .

A. “Smart Smokers” are those smokers who smoke

B. “The Doctors” are the doctors who help quit smoking

C. “The Doctors” is a popular TV programme

D. “Smart Smokers” are people good at selling e-cigarettes

38. What can we infer from the second paragraph?

A. E-cigarettes are more and more popular in the world.

B. E-cigarettes were first made in 2004.

C. It was awarded the best health trend of 2008.

D. A hit TV show featured the e-cigarette.

39. The device itself        .

A. is similar to a normal cigarette but smaller in size

B. contains some cured tobacco

C. has a comparatively large battery and an LED

D. could last up to 30 times as many puffs than a normal cigarette

40. What will the passage discuss next?

A. The Advantages of the e-cigarette.

B. The impact of smoking e-cigarettes.

C. How to make the device last more puffs.

D. How to let e-cigarette smokers take in more.

IV. 语法填空(共10小题;每小题1. 5分，满分15分)

阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卡标号为16—25的相应位置上。

There is an old Chinese tale about a woman whose only son died. She went to the holy man and said, “What magical things do you have  41  (bring) my son back to life?”

The holy man said to her, “Fetch me a mustard(芥菜) seed  42  a home that has never known sorrow. I will use it to drive  43  sorrow out of your life. ” The woman went off at once in search of that magical mustard seed.

She went first to a splendid house,  44  (knock)at the door and said, “I am looking  45  a home that has never known sorrow. Is this such a place?” The family told her, “You’ve certainly come to the wrong place. ” And they began to describe all the tragic things  46  had happened to them.

The woman said to 47  , “Who is better able to help these poor,  48  (fortune) people than me, as I have had misfortune of my own?” She stayed to comfort them, and then went on in search of a home that had never known sorrow. But  49  she turned, in palaces or huts，she found one tale after  50  of sadness and misfortune. She became so busy helping others to remove sadness that finally she forgot about her own sorrow.