It was a very cold January evening, the end of a day Bill thought would never end. His doctor told him that he might go blind. Bill wasastounded. He couldn’t believe such a terrible thing would happen to him. After all, he thought, how could he—a husband, a father of two beautiful children, a man who had been healthy in his whole life—go blind?

  But Bill was a lucky man. After being totally blind for five months, he regained his vision and was able to see his amazing family again. After he regained his vision, he decided to do something to help others. He wanted to be of service to the less fortunate.

  Having decided to help others, Bill asked himself, “Whom should I help?”. Bill always loved children and that was his first thought. He then decided to focus his energies on helping children with illnesses and disabilities. He wanted to help them make their dreams come true and receive treatment, so Bill started the non-profit (非盈利) foundation—Reachout America, with the duty to send kids with illnesses and disabilities to camps. The camps could help them stay with children who were dealing with some of the same things they were dealing with.

  Since June 2006, Reachout America has not only sent many kids to various camps across America, including awesome（精彩的） horse- riding camps and space camps for children who dream of flying to the moon, but also helped them receive treatment and recover.

  Bill’s personal nightmare（噩梦）changed into a blessing and a dream has come true for hundreds of sick and disabled children across America. You can help, too. Reachout America continues to raise money through various programs and seek volunteers so that many other children can continue to go to camps and receive treatment. Offer your help if you are interested.

第一节:阅读表达

 People around us, especially our friends, have a strong influence on our lives. We all want to

believe that they are the best but sometimes it is not so. As you change over the years, people and your friends change, too. If you are following a path of growth, then you must be prepared to grow new friendships too.

Be open to meeting new people. No matter whether your life has changed or not, always be open to letting new people into your life. They are like a fresh wind on a hot day. They can inspire you. They can give you new ideas. They can become your new best friends. Don’t limit yourself to the circle of people you already know, or you will limit your own ways to grow.

Make sure that you are a friend that you would like to have. Are you always there for your friends? Do you help them? Do you actually listen to them? Can you accept and understand the changes that happened or are happening in their lives? Do you enjoy giving as much as receiving? Answer these questions for yourself first and see if you are the one who needs to grow to the level of your friends.

Explore new ways to make friends. New people won’t just suddenly appear in your life. If you want to meet somebody then you need to start exploring the world. You can make friends online. You can start a new hobby. You can just start talking to a stranger who seems interesting to you. Be the one who starts the relationship, not the one who is waiting for something to happen.

Never go into a supermarket hungry! This is a good piece of advice. If you go shopping for food before lunchtime, you’ll probably buy more than you plan to. Unfortunately, however, just this advice isn’t enough for consumers these days. Modern shoppers need an education in how and how not to buy things at the store. First, you check the weekly newspaper ads. Find out the items that are on sale and decide if you really need these things. In other words, don’t buy anything just because it’s cheaper than usual! “New and Improved!” or “All Nature” on the front of a package influence you. Instead, read the list of contents on the back. Third, compare prices; that is, you should examine the prices of both different brands and different sizes of the same brand.

Another suggestion for consumers is to buy ordinary items instead of famous brands. Ordinary items in supermarkets come in plain packages. These products are cheaper because producers don’t spend much money on packing or advertising. The quality, however, is usually as good as the quality of well-known brands. In the same way, in buying clothes, you can often find high quality and low prices in brands that are not famous. Shopping in clothing stores that are discounting can help you save a lot of money. Although these stores aren’t very attractive, and they usually do not have individual dressing rooms, not only are the prices low, but you can often find the same famous brands that you find in high-priced department stores.

Wise consumers read magazine ads and watch TV commercials, but they do this with one advantage: knowledge of the psychology behind the ads. In other words, well-informed consumers watch for information and check for misinformation. They ask themselves questions: is the advertiser hiding something in small print at the bottom of the page? Is there any real information in the commercial, or is the advertiser simply showing an attractive image? With the answers to these questions, consumers can make a wise choice.

(no more than 10 words)

(2)Please explain the underlined word “plain” in the second paragraph in English?

(no more than 10 words)

(3)How do wise shoppers react to loads of information as is explained in the passage?

 (no more than 25 words)

(4) In what way are not-so-famous stores a better choice for customers than famous ones?

 (no more than 20 words)

(no more than 20 words)

阅读下面的短文,请根据短文后的要求答题（请注意问题后的字数要求）

As you have probably noticed, some students are more successful than others when taking exams, often because they have better test-taking skills. These are abilities that really have nothing to do with their understanding of the subjects. They are strategic skills that make taking tests easier, and lead to better results.

Here are some tips that will make it easier for you to take a test successfully.

Do not insist on completing each question before going to the next. If you spend a lot of time on one question that you don’t understand, you will both lose time and make yourself nervous. If you lose time, you may not get to later questions that you could have answered easily.

Furthermore, if you become nervous, you might lose your concentration. Go through the test a second time with any time you have left at the end to work out the answers to the more difficult questions. You’ll feel more confident by now and you may find that the questions you’ve already answered will help you answer the more difficult ones. Few people are aware that sometimes questions are answered later in a test in a different context. Do keep in mind that to take advantage of this you need to have finished the test and still have some time remaining to return to the questions you have problems with.

If you have a strong feeling about your first answer to a question, don’t go back and change it later. Usually (but not always) a strong first impulse means you know the answer, and don’t have to think about it again. Going back will make you unsure and often lead to an error. This is very common, so be careful!

Are we more narcissistic than ever before?

Like the flower, narcissism(自恋) has continued to flourish in modern civilization, which has become such a part of culture. But narcissism in psychology is more than a single question can capture, which really has three types of narcissism. Problems arise when people discuss narcissism without identifying the form.

Grandiose(浮夸) narcissism is the outgoing, extraverted(外向) form. The narcissistic individual believes he or she is smarter, better looking and more important than others. And, of course, he or she gets special treatment for this fact. In fact, some of them can be very charming, likable and enjoy people. On the opposite side, narcissistic relationships are often not very emotionally warm or caring.

Vulnerable(脆弱) narcissism is the second flavor of narcissism. It is harder to see than grandiose narcissism. Vulnerable narcissists think they have the right to get special treatment and greatness but actually have low self－confidence and are not typically extraverted. Imagine someone living in his mumˈs small room. He spends his evenings watching X Factor believing he should be the next famous star singing act. Unfortunately, he hasnˈt the confidence to do it and instead becomes a net citizen, who posts offensive, controversial, or divisive materials on an Internet community.

The third form of narcissism occurs when narcissism is extreme and causes clinically serious problems in a personˈs life－marriages fall apart, friends are lost, a career is over. When this occurs narcissism can be identified as a personality disorder－narcissistic personality disorder (also known as NPD), containing a mix of both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. Can you change narcissism or NPD? There is no simple answer to this. For grandiose narcissism, what I often do is suggest practicing caring and compassion, doing what you are passionate about rather than what gets you attention and being responsible for your mistakes as well as successes. For vulnerable narcissism I would add to this list with practices that reduce depression and anxiety. Develop a sense of belonging or a friendship network; participate in physical exercise; or practice a form of emptying your mind of thoughts and feelings. For NPD, there is no single, scientifically affirmed treatment of choice. But pay attention to the following. First, people with NPD are often reluctant to enter treatment because in their mind they do not have a problem—everyone else does. Second, it is challenging for doctors to keep individuals with NPD in treatment.

Narcissism is increasing and while social media hasnˈt been proven to actually create narcissism, it does give them a new platform to gain attention and admiration. Still, I remain optimistic that people can change if they are motivated, have the right tools, and know what type of narcissism they are dealing with.

Are we more narcissistic than ever before？

Every day, in all kinds of weather, a lot of men or women go jogging (慢跑). （1）为什么慢跑如此流行呢? Most people start jogging because they hear it is a very good form of exercise. Jogging makes the heart strong and helps people control their weight or stay slim. If you keep jogging regularly, （2） 你没必要服药or skip meals to lose weight. （3）Jogging can also make you feel better about yourself.

Donald Robbins, who is 42 years old and works in an office, began jogging a few years ago because he was overweight. At first, （4） he could only run about 300 meters, but two years later, he ran a marathon – over 42 kilometers.

Do you jog? If you do, be sure to ask your doctor for advice. （5） Jogging costs you almost nothing. But it is very important to have a pair of good shoes that are made especially for jogging. If not, when you run on hard ground for a long time, it may cause your feet to hurt.

Is your family interested in buying a dog? A dog can be a happy addition to your family, but if you choose the wrong kind of dog, the consequences can cause you a lot of trouble.

Families should sit down and thoroughly discuss the problems involved before buying a dog. Even if the children in your family are the ones who want the dog, the parents are the ones who are really responsible for seeing that the animal is properly cared for. If you don't know much about dogs, it's a good idea to go to the library for or the ASPCA for books about various kinds of dogs, as well as books about how to train a puppy. In reading about the different breeds, you should know that a dog described as very alert may be too jumpy and bouncy. When a book describes a dog as an ideal hunting dog, it probably means that the dog won’t be happy living in a small apartment. Dogs breeds vary in popularity as the years go by.One of the most popular dogs these days is the German shepherd (牧羊犬).This is because it provides protection as well as companionship. The family should be warned that these dogs grow up to the very big, and may be too powerful for children to handle. If space is limited, a toy dog may be a good choice. These dogs are very small and easy to train. They don't need to be walked daily, since they can exercise in the space available in the home.

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As the weather warms, Liu Xing is welcoming more and more customers to her stall(货摊) at a night market in Harbin. “During the past two months, I have been able to earn about 300yuan a day,” said the 28-yeat-old mother. But the money that flows in is only a fraction of what she needs for the treatment of her 4-year-old triplets(三胞胎).

Liu’s daughters, who were born in 2012 were diagnosed with cerebral palsy(脑瘫) when they were 17 months old. “The doctors told us that at the time they would not be able to walk because of the disorder, which affects a person’s ability to move and maintain a balance. But after treatment, it would be highly possible that the girls would be able to recover the ability to walk normally. But the treatment would cost at least 600,000 yuan, which was an astronomical number for us,” the young mother said.

Liu said more people began to know the family’s story after it was reported in local media, and since then, many people have tried to help. What touches the couple the most is the kindness of strangers who drop by their stall and give them money or who send cash without leaving their names. Liu said, “ So far, we have received nearly 300,000 yuan in donations.”

Last year, the couple took the triplets to Shenyang, where they received two rounds of treatment at a local hospital. “ Every round of treatment costs about 180,000 yuan, and the daily rehabilitation(康复) services cost about 9,000 yuan a month,” Liu said. But she says the treatment has led to a great improvement and the triplets can now walk slowly without the assistance of others.

Even though the couple has a heavy burden to shoulder, smiles never disappear from their faces. “We don’t know how many difficulties we will have to face in the future, but we will never give up,” Liu said.

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When many people first heard “active listening”, they often wondered why it was so important. Doing it successfully can often mean the difference between success and failure, particularly when it comes to getting a job.

To be a good active listener, you must focus on the person you are speaking with, making him your center of attention. When you do not put down what you are doing when people are speaking with you, you can make them quite annoyed. The next step towards becoming an active listener is to show people that you are listening to what they are saying.

There are a number of ways you can do this. One of the best ways is to ask the person you are speaking with to explain certain statements that you consider to be ambiguous(有歧义的). You can also use body language to show people you are listening to them. One of the best ways to do this is nodding your head when you agree with something.

However, you do not want to just pretend that you are listening to them by doing these things, since you will get caught if they ask you to explain what they just said.

If you are speaking with someone who dislikes showing emotions, or who has a hard time showing his feelings, you will need to watch for visual clues(视觉线索). By looking for these clues, you may have an idea of the point that he is trying to make. However, you’d better not reveal to him that you are watching his visual responses, since this can cause him to feel uncomfortable. You can also ask questions which may allow you to get an idea of his true feelings.

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