“In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves… self-discipline（自律）with all of them came first.” — Harry S. Truman

That is the quotation (引語) that had me thinking yesterday. Discipline（紀(jì)律）, in particular self-discipline, is what will get us through most things in life, from writing this simple post to Achieving Greatness for You and I. You may ask, “Why is discipline important in writing this post?” For people who have tried writing, you would know how hard it might get sometimes to actually sit down and finish the whole article in one period without getting up every few minutes to get a drink, a snack or toilet break etc.

Just with most things in life, often we lack the self-discipline to see us through what we are hoping to do or achieve. One area where self-discipline is clearly important is in losing weight. Some people are constantly looking for quick fix to their weight problem; they will jump at anything that is claimed to help them lose weight in the shortest time. They may lose weight fast, but they will find the result short-term especially if they do not change the way they live and the food they eat.

A friend of mine shared his experience going through the journey from 115 kilograms to 56 kilograms in around one year. His journey of losing weight started from a trip with his daughter to the doctor for her check-up. He playfully weighed himself on the weighing machine while his daughter was having the check-up. The doctor saw his weight and made a remark, “If you maintain that balloon weight, you cannot see your grandchildren.”

That made him decide, “Enough is enough!” Not only that, he felt tired easily and his excessive (過多的) weight made him feel like a walking balloon. In that moment of awakening, he made decisions to change his lifestyle and eating habits.

1.What does the author mainly talk about in the passage?

A. His writing hobby.

B. The best way to lose weight.

C. The importance of self-discipline.

D. How to live a healthy life.

2.We know from the second paragraph that the author ____ ______ .

A. can write easily after finishing his routines

B. doesn’t think writing is an easy job

C. writes just for fun

D. must have achieved much in his writing

3.The author’s friend was determined to lose weight when he ____ ______ .

A. had a trip with his daughter and her family

B. knew the doctor was just making fun of him

C. was much touched by the doctor’s remark

D. realized that he would become a grandparent soon

4.The author holds the belief（信念）that ____ ______ .

A. we can’t achieve anything in life without self-discipline

B. only great men need self-discipline

C. self-discipline is most needed in losing weight

D. self-discipline has something to do with one’s lifestyle

單詞拼寫 (共10小題；每小題1分，滿分10分)

根據(jù)下列句子所給英語首字母，寫出空缺處各單詞的正確形式（每空只寫一詞）。

1.He walked alone in the shadows , hoping no one would r him .

2.After his son said sorry to his parents, they changed their a towards him completely.

3.The o language used in most international organization is Engish.

4.I was most g to John for his kindness of sending me the book immediately .

5.I love this house with its beautiful v across the valley .

6.The government moved local people and s___________ them in another place.

7.I couldn’t i____________ his rudeness any more, so I told him what I thought of him.

8.If you look s ahead , you’ll see the church in the distance .

9.The production plan was finished ahead of s .

10.The e on her face told me that she didn’t want to discuss it .

動(dòng)詞填空（用所給動(dòng)詞正確形式填空。共10小題；每小題1分，滿分10分）

1.A new theatre ____________________(build) here. They hope to finish it next month.

2.You can’t imagine what great difficulty I had __________________(find) his address.

3.The boss commanded that the task _____________________ (finish) before 5 o’clock this afternoon.

4.My brother moved to Beijing two years ago and __________________(live) there ever since.

5.He had to walk home as the last bus___________________(leave) five minutes before.

6.In the evenings the judge often ______________ (walk) the dog in the park.

7.It was the third time that I _________ (invite) to join them.

8.We’re told ________________________(not throw) waste paper everywhere.

9.He prefers to watch football rather than _____________________(play) it.

10.When I came back, my sister _______________________ (read) a book.

第三節(jié)：翻譯句子( 共5小題；每小題2分，滿分10分)

1.鄧小平在中國經(jīng)濟(jì)的發(fā)展過程中起著非常重要的作用。（play a part in; economy）

2.二戰(zhàn)期間，安妮在她的日記中記下了一系列有關(guān)她和她家人躲藏的經(jīng)歷。（set down）

3.盡管我姐姐對去某些地方的最佳路線并不清楚，她堅(jiān)持要自己把這次旅游安排的盡善盡美。（insist；properly）

4.由于下大雨，運(yùn)動(dòng)會(huì)不得不延期舉行。（because of; put off）

5.這位青少年有時(shí)的確很固執(zhí)。一旦他下了決心，什么也不能使他改變。（change one’s mind）

書面表達(dá)（滿分25分）

假如你叫李華，是學(xué)校英語報(bào)“Share with you” 欄目的編輯。你收到一封讀者來信。請閱讀此信，并根據(jù)所給信息,結(jié)合自己的學(xué)習(xí)經(jīng)驗(yàn),寫一封回信。

Tips :

? be active in English classes

? watch English programs

? read English texts aloud

? listen to English tapes

? ……

注意：(1) 回信可參考上述要點(diǎn)，并適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié)，以使行文連貫；

(2) 詞數(shù)100左右，信的開頭和結(jié)尾已給出，不計(jì)入總詞數(shù)。

Dear Puzzled,

Thank you for your letter. You asked me about how to improve your listening and spoken English. Here are some tips for you.

Yours,

Li Hua

Thank you for telling me so much. Your experience and _____________ have always been

appreciated.

A. guidance B. expressions

C. purpose D. vocabulary

Modern families require the food to be convenient to cook, high in _________ and low in price.

A. identity B. quality

C. advantage D. attitude

The president of the city's largest lawyers' group said the Occupy Central(占領(lǐng)中環(huán)) action was without _______ grounds and the notion( 觀念) of "peaceful violence" was just "beautiful rhetoric"(花言巧語).

A. native B. sincere

C. legal D. reliable

It is a tough task, but we are _________ not to shrink(退縮) from it.

A. disappointed B. moved

C. amazed D. determined

Becoming ___________ in any language is a dream many people have, but few achieve.

A. interested B. strange

C. fluent D. active