阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

    He was known everywhere as a great artist. People1 from miles around to admire his beautiful2 His name was Pygmalion，and he lived long，long3 in Athens，Greece.

    Pygmalion4 his art for many years. His desire 5excellence made him spend months6a single work of art. He would not stop7he felt it was perfect.8the years passed，his work became9 Pygmalion painted flowers which looked 10natural that people tried to11them. He painted fruits which looked so12that people wanted to eat them. Everyone13 looked at the pictures he had painted was14by their beauty.

    As the years passed it15only his pictures that made him famous，Pygmalion16 made perfect pieces of sculpture.He could take a plain piece of wood17stone and make it beautiful. He could make a rough stone as18as glass. He worked long and hard to make his statues as real as possible. Often visitors who came to see his work began talking to someone. They were surprised when that person didn't19They were even more surprised20they realized they were talking to a statue. It always gave Pygmalion pleasure when people were surprised this way.

    Madison Williams was studying in her bedroom when the door burst open. Her mother, Leigh, hurried into her daughter's room, making a(n)1 “Can you help?”

    Madison and her mother ran to a neighbor's yard, where they found a 2woman and other adults 3a septic tank (化粪池) opening a few inches above the lawn. A boy, aged only two, had 4an eight-foot-deep tank.

    Madison quickly 5 the situation. She knew she was the only one who could 6 through the small hole. Without 7 she told the adults to lower her in. Leigh and others held her waist and 8Madison shook her arms and shoulders until she got through the 9 into the dark and smelly tank. In the process, she10one hand severely. Rather than tend to her injury, Madison scanned the11of the water, hoping to feel the boy. Every once in a while, she could see his little12in the water but failed to catch his foot. Minutes ticked by before she saw the 13of his foot again. Madison shot her good hand out and grasped the foot14 Then both of them were lifted out.

    But the boy wasn't out of 15 He had been short of oxygen so long that he wasn't 16 He was placed on his side, and an adult 17him hard on the back until the boy coughed up fluids. Then they were rushed to the hospital.

    It took Madison longer to18 than the boy, who returned home soon. She,19 stayed there for her injury. “Madison's a hero,” the boy's mother says, “What other teenage girls will 20to go into a septic tank?”

Joy to the World

    Lights, decorations and Christmas trees filled the stores. Many people were there   because Christmas was only two days 1.

    Thirteen-year-old Joy had just 2 her Christmas shopping. Joy went out of the store and 3 her classmate, Nick, the least 4 student in school, who wore strange clothing and had a face only a mother could love.

    "What are you doing for Christmas?" said Nick with a smile that showed all his yellow teeth.

    "I'm buying presents and having dinner with my 5 ," said Joy, trying to be polite. "What about you?"

    "My parents are away," he said. "I live with my uncle, who doesn't like me very much."

    Joy wasn't sure how to 6, so she said goodbye with an awkward(尴尬的) smile. She felt sorry for Nick since he must feel 7. But it wasn't really her problem.

    On Christmas Eve, Joy's family were busy around 8 for the holiday. Joy's parents were cooking in the kitchen. Joy was a child for holiday cheer, dancing around the house.

    After dinner, the family got into their car and 9to church for the Christmas Eve service. When they walked into the old building, they were 10 by the flow of beautiful songs. A man stood up with Bible and 11 the story Joy had learned on her mother's knee. It was about a baby named Jesus who came to live on Earth to help people who 12 him.

    Joy's thoughts kept turning back to Nick. It must be 13 to be lonely on Christmas, a day that celebrated God's Son coming to Earth. Tears started to run down her 14, but she brushed them away.

    Joy lay awake that night 15 everyone else was sleeping like a baby. She was thinking of ways to help Nick. 16 she heard parents get up, she jumped out of bed. She found them in the kitchen and told them about Nick. Then she asked, "Can we invite him 17 today?" "Sure," answered Joy's mother, who was always happy when 18 came. Her father smiled.

    When Joy called Nick later that day, he was excited. After getting his uncle's 19he joined them for dinner. To her surprise, Joy enjoyed spending time with him.

    Joy came to understand 20 Christmas cheer is a joy to Nick, even to the whole world.

    When we're young, especially in our twenties or even thirties, we may feel uncertain about our future. For years I have had no idea what I have been doing with my life, I was a thirty-year-old lawyer in New York. 1 being a lawyer was never my dream or goal in life. I honestly wanted to be a writer. I have a great 2 and would write amazing stories in my head. But I always knew that being a writer was 3 possible for me because it was a better 4 decision to stay a lawyer.

    Lately, I couldn't fall asleep 5 my usual time of 10 p. m. and when I did fall asleep I had the same dream 6. The dream starts with me in the ocean 7 to go for a swim and I'm searching for something, but I start to 8 and have no control over my 9. Then a light shines through the waters and when I look up, all I can 10 is myself in a bright white mom writing a 11. Then I hear a voice say 12, “Now is the time to try something new: now is the time to try something new.

    Something indescribable always stayed in my mind. It wasn't just a dream; it was my 13 to make something good out of my life. That afternoon, I 14 my job at the law firm and I couldn't have been any 15. My life started at 30, and every day 16 that point I haven't stopped enjoying life. I started to 17 and have been on the best-sellers list for the last two months. Things have definitely 18 well.

    19 is a good thing; it gives us an opportunity to take a chance. So my two favorite words I live by and so 20 you are "change and chance".

The Sweetest Thing

    When I was ten, I was crazy about candy. Whenever in our small-town store with my mom, I would 1 my fingers through my favorite candy on the shelf.

    Once there, thinking about all things sweet, I noticed a man a few feet away pressing buttons on the ATM machine. Dressed in a suit, he seemed to be late for something, 2 waiting for his cash to appear. The machine made a noise, and he immediately 3 a pile of bills and headed out. Curiously, I walked over to the ATM, where I started pressing the buttons as if knowing the 4. Then I looked into the bottom of the machine. There I saw it: a beautiful, crisp $ 20 bill! 5 I wanted to believe my magic made the cash appear, I knew the man in the suit must have left it behind.

    I held the money in my hand, staring at the number "20" and feeling 6 than I ever had. I thought about slipping the money into my pocket. No one would know, but I just didn't feel it was 7. I knew it didn't belong to me. I had to find its owner and give it back! So I told my mom what had happened. "We'll look for him." she said kindly. We rushed out and found him stepping into his car in the parking lot! We 8 him and asked whether he had left money at the cash machine.

    "Let me 9" he said, pulling out his wallet and bills. "Twenty, forty, eighty...Oh! You're right," he said with surprise, "I'm 10 a $20 bill."

    "Here you go," I said, smiling with pride, as if I was a(n) 11 who had solved a mystery. "Thank you so much," he said, bending down and shaking my hand. My heart swelled. Before saying goodbye, he asked my mom for my name and 12. "I want to send your daughter a thank-you card," he said.

    On my way home, my 13 was racing. Twenty dollars. What could I have done with it? I bet I could have bought a puppy or every single candy bar in town! But now 14 of that would happen. Yet I knew I had done the right thing.

    A few weeks later, I got a box with a note. I ripped it open to find packages of candy. "Dear Felice, thank you very much for 15 my $20. You are a great girl, and I appreciate your 16. I hope you enjoy this candy. Best wishes, Tom." Tom included his business card. It 17 that he was vice-president for the candy company. The candy tasted sweet, each 18 reminding me that what I had done mattered. Although my honesty wouldn't always be 19 with candy, it would make a difference to someone. And that was the 20 part of all.

Strategies to Overcome Self-Doubt Once and For All

Being self-confident is not easy and not everyone can do it, but it doesn't need to be that difficult. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Going through life can be very challenging at times. When we were young, no one told us how hard it will be in the future but here we are {#blank#}2{#/blank#} And it is unpleasing and can kill your confidence levels if not controlled from the beginning.

We will all experience some self-doubt, which is natural. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It happens to us during normal days or whenever we are going to start a new job, a new task, or a new relationship, anything new in life will make you self-doubt. This sort of feeling puts you into dark days when nothing seems to go right and you might feel like giving up, and that is the time to be strong.

 {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Self-doubt is when you are unsure about one or more aspects of yourself. For example, when starting a new job, you might feel inexperienced or might think that you are not fit enough for the job, and this is a prime example of self-doubt.

 {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Low-level of self-criticism is actually good for you. It motivates you and pushes you to be better in life, to become greater than yesterday. This type of feeling will push you to work harder and faster than before and will also increase your productivity, but it should be a low level of self-criticism. You don't want to punish yourself over things that are beyond your control.

A. We needn't take it seriously.

B. It's impossible for us to deal with it.

C. One of the big problems of adult life is having self-doubt,

D. Self-doubt isn't all that bad, let us tell you why.

E. Let's explore to find ways to remove self-doubt forever.

F. It will take long for us to solve this problem.

G. There are some people mistaking self-doubt for something else.