As a saying goes, when life gives you lemons, then make lemonade. But how is delicious lemonade made from sour lemons?

Singer-actor Yu Haoming knows how. He’s   36__ difficulties by returning to the stage. After a   37___ left him scarred, the 25-year-old man   38___ for the first time on Hunan TV’s New Year Concert on Dec. 31, 2012.

His comeback captured (吸引) audiences’   39___. They went to his Weibo page and left messages such as, “You’ve taught me what toughness means.” and “I’m   40___ of your courage. You moved me to tears by taking off your mask and    41___ onward in confidence. ”

Only Yu himself knew how   42 __it was to stand on his feet again after disaster   43 __When his career as a handsome Super Boy singer and   44   actor took off, Yu got seriously burnt. He was hurt in 2010 when an explosive scene in the TV drama I Have a Date With Spring went wrong   45__ His wounds became worse because of delayed   46___ .

The bums were far more than just wounds and pain for Yu. “You can’t   47___ what kind of sufferings he’s been through and how hard he’s been working to get well，” said his father on the singer’s blog.

His recovery has been long and difficult. Some people might have   48 __during such a process, but Yu has   49  _ not to. He says he still has his dreams.

__ 50   medicine, checkups and therapy (治療）exercises, he plays the piano a bit every day, reads books about acting and learns English.

The idiom, “  51__ bitten, twice shy”，doesn’t really apply to him. In August he restarted to film his   52__ in the drama，although he admitted that fears still haunted (縈繞) him sometimes.

“Why should I let the experience stop me going after my   53___ ?” he told the Southern Metropolis Entertainment Weekly in early December.

How did Yu make lemonade? “Life gave me the   54___ gift, and I’ve just got to get on with it and turn difficulties into    55   , ’’ he told the magazine.

1.                A．won           B．overcome       C．realized  D．left

 

2.                A．mistake         B．blow           C．fire  D．scene

 

3.                A．sang           B．showed         C．practiced D．tried

 

4.                A．praises         B．thoughts        C．messages D．hearts

 

5.                A．aware          B．afraid          C．proud    D．short

 

6.                A．walking         B．marching        C．living D．touring

 

7.                A．terrible         B．strong          C．harmful   D．hard

 

8.                A．beat           B．crashed         C．struggled D．struck

 

9.                A．promising       B．confident       C．simple    D．reliable

 

10.               A．unexpectedly    B．fiercely         C．completely D．surprisingly

 

11.               A．protection      B．examination     C．treatment  D．performance

 

12.               A．feel           B．imagine        C．understand D．believe

 

13.               A．broken down    B．given away      C．pulled through  D．died away

 

14.               A．hoped         B．managed       C．intended  D．decided

 

15.               A．Instead of       B．Except for       C．Apart from D．Regardless of

 

16.               A．Unless         B．Until           C．While D．Once

 

17.               A．part           B．appearance     C．play  D．talent

 

18.               A．happiness       B．careers         C．dreams    D．success

 

19.               A．meaningful      B．unusual        C．valuable   D．rewarding

 

20.               A．abilities        B．realities        C．actions    D．opportunities

 

 

Celebrity endorsements
Despite the fact that companies believe celebrities had a lot of pull with regard to the buying trends of consumers, researchers have discovered that this does not seem to be the case. British and Swiss researchers carried out a study showing that advertisements made by celebrities like David Beckham and Scarlett Johansson are not as effective as those by ordinary people.
In a sample of 298 students, researchers presented a magazine advertisement for a digital camera that was endorsed (為…做廣告宣傳) by a fictional student claiming the camera was “hot” and his “preferred choice”. The same advertisement was shown to other students, but with a difference: The camera was endorsed by a famous person in Germany.
While the students said that both advertisements were beneficial, the one made by the student topped the celebrity one if students aimed to impress others with their purchases (購買). More than half of the students, who admitted purchasing products that would impress others, said they were influenced by the student’s advertisement. Only 20％ said the celebrity one would affect their buying decision.
Professor Brett Martin of the University of Bath’s School of Management, explained that the findings could be used not only in Germany, but in other countries as well. “ Our research questions whether celebrities are the best ways to sell products,” said Prof Martin.“Celebrities can be effective but we found that many people were more convinced by an endorsement from a fictional fellow student. This is because many people feel a need to keep up with the Jones when they buy.”
【小題1】Some companies think the celebrities endorsement          ．

A．is popular with the consumers

B．can pull all the consumers into the shops

C．can affect the consumers’ purchasing

D．is as effective as an endorsement from common people

【小題2】Which of the following ads would be more effective to common consumers, according to
the experiment?
An ad featuring lovely pandas.
An ad made by David Beckham.
An ad made by fictional common people.
An ad with beautiful natural scenery.
【小題3】The underlined words “the Jones” in the last paragragh refer to“     ”．

A．someone called Jones	B．common people
C．the Jones family	D．celebrities

【小題4】We can infer from the passage that       ．

A．celebrities cheat consumers in advertisement

B．the researchers here are against celebrity endorsement

C．the student’s ads are more reliable than those made by celebrities

D．companies needn’t spend so much money on celebrity endorsement

【小題5】We can probably read the article in       ．

A．a local newspaper	B．a science report
C．an academic journal	D．a textbook

When something goes wrong, it  can be very satisfying to say, “Well, it’s so­and­so's fault.”or “I know I'm late, but it's not my fault; the car broke down.”It is probably not your fault, but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation, you are a loser. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to remedy the situation.This is the winner's key to success.

Winners are great at overcoming problems. For example, if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you need to have your car examined more regularly. Or，you might start to carry along with you the useful phone numbers, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your colleague causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or don't rely on this person. You should accept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well.

This is what being a winner is all about—creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don't have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own talents. So，stop focusing on “whose fault it is.”O(jiān)nce you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stone for success.

1.According to the passage, winners __________.

A．meet with fewer difficulties in their lives

B．have responsible and able colleagues

C．blame themselves rather than others

D．deal with problems rather than blame others

2.The underlined word remedy in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to __________.

A．improve          B．avoid             C．accept            D．consider

3.When your colleague brings about a problem, you should __________.

A．blame him for his lack of responsibility

B．tell him to find the cause of the problem

C．find a better way to handle the problem

D．ask a more able colleague for help

4.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．A Winner's Opportunity.                  B．A Winner's Problem.

C．A Winner's Secret.                      D．A Winner's Achievement.

 

Beat the Burglar

Don’t invite crime---take basic, sensible precautions. Your house and possession are valuable and must be properly protected. When you buy a lock, you buy time. The best prevention is delay and noise which could mean discovery. 

When you leave it---lock it!

First of all, fit security locks to all doors and windows and a safety chain on the front door. Secondly, use them!

If you have any ladders or tools, don’t leave them lying about in the garden, lock them away.

“Safe” or “secret” places for keys and valuables are not reliable --- nine times out of ten, they are the first place a thief will look.                                         When you move house…

When you move into a new home even if it is fitted with security locks, change them. You don’t know who else may have keys.

Never let strangers into your house. An official-looking cap is not enough, ask for proof of identity and look at it carefully --- if you are still not satisfied, don’t let the person in.

Valuables need special protection

Valuables should really be given special protection --- preferably by leaving them with your bank. A small security safe works too, but not to the most determined burglar. It is also important to keep an up-to-date list of valuables and their descriptions. In the case of fine art, paintings, or jewelry, color photographs can sometimes be of assistance to the police if you are unfortunate enough to have them stolen. Enter the details on the back of the pictures. But don’t keep such documents in your house, keep them at the bank or with your insurance company.                                 Going on holiday?

Don’t talk about your holidays and future plans loudly in public. Do remember to cancel the milk and newspapers and also to draw curtains back.

Operate a “Good Neighbor” program to ensure that mail is taken in, the house is checked regularly and that lights are put on.

Call at your local police station and tell them you are going away. Make sure that they know how to contact you in case of trouble.

Don’t leave cash or valuables in the house --- take them with you or put them in the bank.

1.When moving into a new house, you are supposed to __________.

A．buy a safe                             B．change the locks

C．visit your neighbors                      D．stay away from strangers

2.Which is the safest way to protect your valuables?

A．Taking pictures of your valuables.

B．Putting your valuables in your safe.

C．Keeping your valuables at the bank.

D．Giving a list of your valuables to the police.

3.When you are away for holidays, you __________.

A．should cancel your mail

B．shouldn’t leave your keys to your neighbors

C．shouldn’t make it known that your home is empty

D．should ask the police to check your house regularly

4.What is the purpose of the passage?

A．To inform people of safety standards.

B．To introduce the advantages of banks.

C．To prove the importance of security locks.

D．To educate people on prevention of burglars.

 

Of all the websites, one that has attracted attention recently is myspace.com. Most of this attention has come from the media and tells every reason why the website should be shut down. The danger of internet predators(竊掠者) is indeed a tough reality, but shutting down the site is not the answer. If myspace.com were shut down, another site would quickly take its place. Therefore, the right way is to teach teens how to use the site safely and educate them about who may be predators and how to avoid them.

     The key to staying safe on the Internet is to make sure that your profile(個人資料) is secure. The simplest way is to change the privacy setting on your profile to “private”, which protects your information so that only the people on your friend list can view it. Although this is effective, it is not perfect. Predators can find ways to view your profile if they really want to, whether through hacking(非法侵入) in or figuring out their way onto your friend list. Thus, you should never post too much personal information. Some people actually post their home and school addresses, date of birth, and other personal information, often letting predators know exactly where they will be and when. The safest information is your first name and province. Anything more is basically inviting a predator into your life.

     Another big problem is photos. I suggest completely skipping photos and never posting a photo of a friend online without asking permission.

     Most importantly, never, under any circumstances, agree to a real-life meeting with anyone you meet online. No matter how well you think you know this person, there are no guarantees that they have told the truth. But you could feel free to chat with people you meet on the site, but just remember that not everyone is who they say they are. Hopefully, the next time you edit your profile, you’ll be more informed about the dangers of Internet predators and take the steps to defend yourself.

Lastly, do not send money to anyone you meet online. A common scam among Internet criminals is to request to pay for “expensive Internet charges” or “unreasonable Internet cafe fees”. While it is indeed true that many countries in Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and South America do not yet have Internet service readily available in all cities and towns, a sincere friend from one of these countries will be more than happy to pay their own Internet charges. Never, under any circumstances, should you send money to a stranger from another country(or within your own country for that matter) who claims monetary assistance is required to continue their contact with you.

1.Kids can avoid web predators successfully by________.

A. attracting more public attention

B. shutting down the “myspace.com”

C. learning different ways to try other sites

D. recognizing and getting away from them

2.68. We can learn from the text that________.

A. everybody you meet online isn’t honest and reliable

B. it is not acceptable to post a photo of a friend online

C. it is not safe to chat with grown-ups on the website

D. only you and your friends can view your personal profile

3.What does the underlined word “scam” in the last paragraph mean?

A. A thing that you can have two choices. 

B. An unpleasant task that tests one’s ability.

C. A possibility of something happening.

D. An illegal plan for making money.

4.What could be the best title of this passage?

A. Personal Safety.                                                                     B. Web Safety for Teens.

C. Web Hackers in the past.                                                     D. Predators’ Tricks.