一、(2025·南京市秦淮区一模)方框选词。
trust, gifts, out of, difficulty,
instead of, make a difference
Have you ever wanted to know why some of your classmates learn harder and never give up easily? The answer lies in the Pygmalion Effect—a special mind power that turns people's thoughts into real-life changes. It is said that once a man named Pygmalion made a sculpture of a woman a stone. He strongly believed that the woman would come to life and became his wife. His dream did come true at last! This tale explains how hopes influence results—if you your ability, you can work harder to achieve success. For example, in a study, a teacher told some non-top students that they had for Maths and Science. By the end of the term, those students' test scores improved a lot because of the teacher's strong trust. Similarly, encouragements in our daily lives also . "You're a great teammate!" or "You can do this!" will push you to try harder. Remember that your mind is like a garden. Plant "I can try" "I can't". Water it with efforts and over time, just as Pygmalion's strong wish brought the stone to be alive, your efforts will grow into something beautiful.

二、（2024·苏州）综合填空。
When cultures meet, not just their languages or clothing may be different. Often their food will be (great) different too.
People on both sides can discover new chances for trading. This text (tell) how some common food plants spread around the world.
As early as 5000 BC, (potato) were traded in South America as a valuable type of food. They were (take) to Europe in the 1500s and their use soon spread across it.
Tea drinking started in China. By the early 1600s, traders had begun to ship tea from China to Europe. Tea drinking soon (become) fashionable there but because its high price, it remained a drink for the wealthy.
Sugar cane(甘蔗) was first used to produce kind of sweet juice over 8,000 years ago on the island of New Guinea. Its use soon spread across South East Asia and then to the (wide) world.
Cocoa was used to make a cold, spicy drink in Central America over 3,000 years ago. The Europeans brought it back with (they) in the 1520s and added sugar to make the sweet, hot drink we know today. it's expensive, many people still love it.

三、(2023·南京市鼓楼区一模)完形填空。
Masaru Ibuka, the chairman of Sony, was once at a company planning meeting. Suddenly he had a great idea. He 1 the meeting and asked everyone what would happen if Sony sold headphones with a tape player. Almost everyone thought he was crazy. Still, Ibuka kept thinking about his idea and worked at 2 it. The result, of course, was the successful Sony Walkman.
Good ideas often start with a really 3 question. Bill Bowerman was making breakfast one day. As he stood there making waffles(华夫饼) for his son, he wondered what would happen if he poured rubber(橡胶) into his waffle pan. Later, he tried it and the result looked 4 like the bottom of today's sports shoes. Still, when he took this idea to several famous shoe companies, he was simply laughed at. In fact, every single company turned him down. 5 he was refused, Bowerman didn't give up and went on to start his own company, making NIKE athletic shoes.
Sometimes good ideas grow out of failure. When Fred Smith was a 6 at Yale University, he had some paperwork that he needed to deliver(投递) across the country the next day. Smith was amazed to find out that overnight delivery was impossible. He sat for a long while wondering 7. He decided to design an overnight mail service and turned it into a class project. His professor gave him only a C for his efforts. 8, Smith kept on working and finally turned his ideas into one of the first and most successful overnight mail services in the world—FedEx.
We know today, of course, that each of these ideas 9 an unbelievable successful product or service. The best questions are usually open-ended and are often silly. Children aren't afraid to ask such questions, but 10 usually are. Think how different the world might be if people never asked "silly" questions!
1. A. continued B. began
C. stopped D. finished
2. A. introducing B. improving
C. recommending D. explaining
3. A. silly B. creative
C. simple D. difficult
4. A. anything B. everything
C. nothing D. something
5. A. When B. Because
C. Until D. Though
6. A. teacher B. student
C. librarian D. worker
7. A. when B. where
C. what D. why
8. A. Moreover B. Instead
C. However D. Otherwise
9. A. led to B. started from
C. came out D. carried out
10. A. adults B. parents
C. managers D. professors