1、完形填空Inspiration“Mama, when I grow up, Im going to be one of those!” I said this after seeing the Capital Dancing Company perform when I was three. It was the first time that my _1_ took on a vivid form and acted as something important to start my training. As I grew older and was exposed to more, my
2、 interests in the world of dance _2_ varied but that little girls dream of someday becoming a _3_ in the company never left me. In the summer of 2005 when I was 18, I received the phone call which made that dream a _4_; I became a member of the company _5_ back to 1925.As I look back on that day now
3、, it surely _6_ any sense of reality. I believe I stayed in a state of pleasant disbelief until I was halfway through rehearsals (排练) on my first day. I never actually _7_ to get the job. After being offered the position, I was completely _8_. I remember shaking with excitement.Though I was absolute
4、ly thrilled with the change, it did not come without its fair share of _9_. Through the strict rehearsal period of dancing six days a week, I found it vital to _10_ up the material fast with every last bit of concentration. It is that extreme _11_ to detail (细节) and stress on practice that set us ap
5、art. To then follow those high-energy rehearsals with a busy show schedule of up to five performances a day, I discovered a new _12_ of the words “hard work.” What I thought were my physical _13_ were pushed much further than I thought possible. I learned to make each performance better than the las
6、t.Today, when I look at the unbelievable company that I have the great _14_ of being a part of, not only as a member, but as a dance captain, I see a _15_ that has inspired not only generations of little girls but a splendid company that continues to develop and grow-and inspires people every day to
7、 follow their dreams.1. A. hobby B. plan C. dream D. word2. A. rarely B. certainly C. probably D. consistently3. A. director B. trainer C. leader D. dancer4. A. symbol B. memory C. truth D. reality5. A. bouncing B. dating C. turning D. tracking6. A. lacks B. adds C. makes D. brings7. A. Cared B. Exp
8、ected C. Asked D. Decided8. A. motivated B. relaxed C. convinced D. astonished9. A. challenges B. profits C. advantages D. adventures10. A. put B. mix C. build D. pick 11. A. Attention B. association C. attraction D. adaptation12. A. function B. meaning C. expression D. usage13. A. boundaries B. pro
9、blems C. barriers D. efforts14. A. talent B. honor C. potential D. responsibility15. A. victory B. trend C. tradition D. desireBPeanuts to ThisProudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glance
10、d toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real talk I received in my new school. It see
11、med simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the sa
12、me name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; flip (掷) a coin. Headsthe commander, and tails
13、the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classma
14、te began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quite! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?Obviously, my grade was awful. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I t
15、alked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance. Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sit
16、ting in the headmasters office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade. Justice is sweet!60. What did the authors classmate
17、s think about his report?A. Controversial. B. Ridiculous.C. Boring. D. Puzzling.61. Why was the author confused about the task?A. He was unfamiliar with American history. B. He followed the advice and flipped a coin.C. He forgot his teachers instruction. D. He was new at the school.62. The underline
18、d word “burning” in Para. 3 probably means _.A. annoyed B. ashamedC. ready D. eager63. In the end, the author turned things around _.A. by redoing his task B. through his own effortsC. with the help of his grandfather D. under the guidance of his headmasterCDecision-making under StressA new review b
19、ased on a research shows that acute stress affects the way the brain considers the advantages and disadvantages, causing it to focus on pleasure and ignore the possible negative (负面的 ) consequences of a decision.The research suggests that stress may change the way people make choices in predictable
20、ways.“Stress affects how people learn,” says Professor Mara Mather. “People learn better about positive than negative outcomes under stress.”For example, two recent studies looked at how people learned to connect images(影像) with either rewards or punishments. In one experiment, some of the participa
21、nts were first stressed by having to give a speech and do difficult math problems in front of an audience; in the other, some were stressed by having to keep their hands in ice water. In both cases, the stressed participants remembered the rewarded material more accurately and the punished material
22、less accurately than those who hadnt gone through the stress.This phenomenon is likely not surprising to anyone who has tried to resist eating cookies or smoking a cigarette while under stress at those moments, only the pleasure associated with such activities comes to mind. But the findings further
23、 suggest that stress may bring about a double effect. Not only are rewarding experiences remembered better, but negative consequences are also easily recalled.The research also found that stress appears to affect decision-making differently in men and women. While both men and women tend to focus on
24、 rewards and less on consequences under stress, their responses to risk turn out to be different.Men who had been stressed by the cold-water task tended to take more risks in the experiment while women responded in the opposite way. In stressful situations in which risk-taking can pay off big, men m
25、ay tend to do better, when caution weighs more, however, women will win.This tendency to slow down and become more cautious when decisions are risky might also help explain why women are less likely to become addicted than men: they may more often avoid making the risky choices that eventually harde
26、n into addiction.64. We can learn from the passage that people under pressure tend to _.A. keep rewards better in their memory B. recall consequences more effortlesslyC. make risky decisions more frequently D. learn a subject more effectively65. According to the research, stress affects people most
27、probably in their _.A. ways of making choices B. preference for pleasureC. tolerance of punishments D. responses to suggestions66. The research has proved that in a stressful situation, _.A. women find it easier to fall into certain habitsB. men have a greater tendency to slow downC. women focus more on outcomesD. men are more likely to take risks