阅读下列每个句子，根据空白处的汉语提示填入适当词汇。每空仅限一词。 1.She’...

We are all faced with challenges constantly in every area of our lives.   71  

The truth is that you will have to deal with difficult problems throughout your life, whether it is in your personal life or career. Most of us get really afraid and run away from problems because we don’t want to accept reality. Running away from your problems is the worst thing you can do to deal with the challenges you are faced with. Here are some tips for you on learning how to deal with everyday challenges.

Please bear in mind that you shouldn’t overact when coming across challenges. Overacting to a problem will cause you to make bad decisions.  72   Next time you are faced with a challenge, stay calm so you can make smarter decisions.

  73   If you cannot accept reality, you will feel very frustrated with your life. Once you can accept reality, you will be able to be calmer and think more clearly about how to get a step closer towards your goals every day.

Many people make a habit of blaming others for all their problems. They fail to take full responsibility for the decisions they have made in life. The more you blame others for the challenges you are faced with, the more you will make people dislike you and not want to be around you.  74  

Don’t compare your lifestyle with others. Of course, it is really difficult not to compare ourselves with other people. However, the more often we do that, the more frustrated we will feel.   75  The key thing to remember is that you create your own story and success in life.

E. When we are not in control of our emotions, we will make decisions that we will regret later.

F. However, most people have a hard time accepting and dealing with these challenges that arise.

G.As a result, the first thing you should do when faced with a personal challenge is not point fingers at others.           

While success is surely sweeter than failure, it seems failure is a far better teacher, and organizations that fail spectacularly often flourish more in the long run, according to a new study by Vinit Desai, assistant professor of management at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. Researchers have found that people missing their goals perform much better in the long run. That is because they gain more knowledge from their failures than their successes and the lessons are more likely to stay longer in their minds.

“We found that the knowledge gained from success was often fleeting while knowledge from failure stuck around for years,” said professor Desai, who led the study. “But companies often ignore failure. Managers may fire people or turn over the whole workforce while they should treat the failure as a learning opportunity.”

Prof Desai compared the flights of the space shuttle Atlantis and the Challenger. During the 2002 Atlantis flight, a piece of insulation (绝缘体) broke off and damaged the left solid rocket booster (助推火箭) but didn’t influence the program. There was little investigation. The Challenger was launched next and another piece of insulation broke off. This time the shuttle and its seven–person crew were destroyed. The disaster led to a major investigation resulting in 29 changes to prevent future disasters.

The difference in response in the two cases came down to this: Atlantis was considered a success and the Challenger a failure.

“Despite crowded skies, airlines are extremely reliable,” he said. “The number of failures is extremely small. And past researches have shown that older airlines, those with more experience in failure, have a lower number of accidents.”

Prof Desai doesn’t recommend finding out failure in order to learn. Instead, he advises organizations to analyze small failures to collect useful information rather than wait for major failures.

1.Why did experts pay little attention to the problem of Atlantis?

2.Fewer accidents happen to older airlines in that _____.

3.The passage is written mainly to _____.

4.Which writing strategy is NOT used in developing the passage?

When many people see birds cleaning their feathers, they attribute it to vanity on the part of the bird. But, in reality, what they are doing is maintaining their wings, the instruments that they depend on for safe flight. If a bird’s wings are not in perfect condition, the bird either won’t be able to fly or won’t be able to control its flight. That is why after a long flight and even throughout the day, you will see them cleaning their feathers.

Most birds, if they get a chance, will take a bath at least once a day. They do this to get rid of the dust that has accumulated in their feathers throughout their flight s during the day. In dry or desert areas, birds will not always be able to find water in which to bath, but they still need to clean their feathers. What many birds will do is to take dust baths. They will roll around in dust until it covers their feathers. They will stand up, shaking the dust out, and then clean their feathers with their beaks (鸟嘴) as usual.

Baths are important for another reason. During the course of the day and night, many parasites (寄生虫) are attracted to birds. Bugs, mites, fleas and so on will try to reach birds and suck from their blood. Daily baths help to keep the parasites to a minimum.

Some birds, especially those that spend a lot of time in or around water, have skin glands (皮肤腺) that produce oil. After bathing, these birds will squeeze the glands to spread the oil over their wings to keep them free of water.

If you are a bird lover and have bird houses in your yard, it can be good to go to the extra step, providing a bird bath. Once the birds in your neighborhood discover it, you will be surprised at how popular it becomes as they periodically stop by to take their daily bath.

1.What’s the passage mainly about?

2.What does the underlined part in Para 1 probably mean?

3.According to Para 3, birds’ feather cleaning _____.

4.In the last paragraph, the author further reminds us that _____ .

Have you ever wanted to feel like you were in a western film? Or maybe you wanted to feel like you were a pioneer traveling the west? It is possible to experience such things during a Wild West vacation! Here are four of the best Wild West vacation locations available:

Walk the Lewis and Clark Trail

Walk some or all of the 3,700 miles trail that was traversed by Mariwether Lewis and William Clark, two of the world’s greatest explorers. Though not all the trails are marked, there are various stops that have been preserved by various historic societies. There is also a coach (长途客车) that makes a 16-day trek following the trail. This begins in St. Louis, Missouri, and ends in Astoria, Oregon.

Venture Route 66

Take a tour or go to see it yourself — ride on the famous Route 66. The road is nearly 2,500 miles long. Harley Davidson offers motorcycle tours that last two weeks. Route 66 will provide an experience that may only be found on the open road. The historic road is still well taken care of.

Visit the Grand Canyon

Visit the greatest canyon in the world, located in Northern Arizona. Raft down the Colorado River, or hike the various trails that run throughout the canyon. If walking is not your thing, there are donkey and horse riding adventures available. In addition, there are motorized boats that float down through the canyon in a week’s time.

Visit Deadwood

Located in South Dakota, Deadwood is a historic landmark. It is the kind of town that comes to mind when one thinks of an old western film. Actors who act as gunslingers (杀手) will often be seen in the streets playing their roles. Winter activities are popular in this old town, and there is always something to do.

1.The underlined word “trek” (Para 2) can be replaced by      .

2.Which of following riding adventures can tourists take on Route 66?              

3.If you want to hike various trails you are advised to      .

4.What do we know from the passage?

Without any hesitation, he said, “I’d be better off dead.” Hearing those words come out of my best friend’s mouth tore my heart apart. He has repeated that phrase more than once, and my mind continually plays it over like a voice recording.

I met my best friend about three years ago. After knowing me for six months, he told me about his struggles with depression. Sadness was not the only emotion that came over me; I was shocked. He seemed so outgoing and happy all the time. I soon learnt that he was physically and emotionally abused as a young child, causing him to have suicidal (自杀的) thoughts.

He refuses to talk to others about his depression because he now distrusts adults, especially those in his family. In spite of this, he feels as if I understand him and that I know the right words to say. Thus, when it comes to helping him, convenience is not in my vocabulary. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I am doing, for he takes priority. Sometimes he just needs the assurance of my voice telling him that everything is going to be okay and that I will not let him down.

Many students at his school laugh at him when they notice the scars on his arms from cutting. It seems that other kids have every right to make fun of him and to look down on him. But no one holds such a right, so I encourage him to ignore the heartless kids who treat him badly. When he feels the weight of judging eyes or hateful voices, I always remind him that I care about him unconditionally. Just hearing me say I will always be his best friend seems to give him the security he needs to keep on going.

My best friend once told me that if he hadn’t had me, he wouldn’t be alive. He said that my encouraging words convinced him not to take his life. Our friendship has taught me that a single word can impact on someone’s life. With the fragility of life as it is, I believe in the necessity of encouragement.

1.The author’s friend got into depression mainly because _____ .

2.We know from the passage that the author’s friend_____.

3.What is the best title for the passage?