It was a mid April－a time when the planet Earth turns under the hot rays of the Sun. There was a large desert in Africa with no trace of _______ except a little rose. There was not a bird or a tree in _______ . The sand dunes(沙丘) became piles of burning coal as the days _______ . But the little rose _______ the cruelty of the Sun. The Sun was very _______ to have seen the rose’s ability to _________ such unfavorable conditions.
One afternoon, the Sun said to the little _______ , “Dear Rose! I am the supreme power in this universe. I have the _______ to give and take life. Thousands of living things _______ every day, as they are not able to bear with my heat. But, you have been weathering even my hottest rays ________ any complaint. May I know the source that gave you this great ________ ?”
“Oh, mighty Sun,” the little rose said ________ , “I don’t know much about this desert. But it appears ________ and there seems to be no one else in the whole world my eye could stretch. I began to feel ________ for the loneliness of this desert and ________ to help it as possible as I could. And in this process, I never ________ anything that causes pain to me. My whole ________ has been to be a good friend to this desert and ________ its loneliness.”
________ by the little rose’s care for the large desert, the Sun offered a(n)________－millions of other roses filled the desert with their sweet smells and thus turned the entire stretch into a great oasis of life.
1.A.history B.human C.life D.death
2.A.silence B.sight C.turn D.trouble
3.A.passed by B.set down C.came up D.got through
4.A.stood B.avoided C.conquered D.disliked
5.A.pleased B.surprised C.disappointed D.frightened
6.A.change B.follow C.improve D.survive
7.A.child B.friend C.flower D.animal
8.A.power B.chance C.duty D.right
9.A.grow B.die C.stop D.live
10.A.with B.over C.through D.without
11.A.failure B.force C.strength D.success
12.A.gently B.proudly C.fluently D.rudely
13.A.small B.far C.thick D.large
14.A.sorry B.lucky C.happy D.angry
15.A.refused B.decided C.agreed D.accepted
16.A.experienced B.collected C.solved D.forgot
17.A.courage B.bravery C.kindness D.concern
18.A.play jokes on B.think highly of C.get rid of D.pay attention to
19.A.Attracted B.Touched C.Injured D.Educated
20.A.expense B.salary C.praise D.reward
It is an old expression about some people who are highly motivated about work in itself with the opposite view of someone who works to live. 1. But answering it honestly and accurately is critical to making intelligent career choices, and to your ultimate happiness in life. Unfortunately, many people lack the self-knowledge and realistic expectations necessary to address this vital issue properly.
Certain people, it is said, live to work. Their lives center on their work or careers and that achievement in their professions is a major source of satisfaction and meaning in their lives 2. In some cases, achieving huge levels of pay is considered more as a means of proving your worth than it is for the money itself.
By contrast, other people work to live. These people view their work or careers largely as toil whose purpose is to earn the money necessary to support themselves and their dependents. Their real interests lie elsewhere. 3. Some of these people try to cut comers, to gain the maximum pay for the minimum amount of effort. Others do indeed take great pride in their work and put great effort into doing their jobs well, but their jobs simply are not the centers of their lives.
4. Examples abound of individuals who lose their native passion for work because they cannot find an adequate position or pay in their preferred fields of endeavor. When they settle for jobs in other fields, they often do so strictly for benefits, such as compensation (补偿). 5.
A. It’s critical to understand it.
B. Money may not be a motivation.
C. They may develop-a same attitude.
D. And their work or careers are only means to an end, not an end in itself.
E. There is no right or wrong answer to the question of which attitude is better.
F. The answer for a given individual may differ based on his or her circumstances.
G. Many individuals used to work to live but after a change of career start living to work.
It’s not often sunny in Paris, but people still love to walk along the bank of the Seine. They love the view of the city’s old buildings, especially Notre Dame Cathedral, with its iconic spire (标志性塔尖).
Unfortunately, that view has been forever changed. On April 16 a fire destroyed the spire of the 850-year-old wooden Notre Dame Cathedral built in 1163, and two-thirds of the roof.
The fire shocked and saddened Parisians. Citizens gathered around the giant church, singing hymns (赞美诗) and praying for the hundreds of firefighters who fought the flames.
“The importance of Notre Dame, not only to Catholics (天主教) but to all Parisians, cannot be underestimated (低估),” wrote French author Bernard-Henri Levy. “For many in France, it’s more than a house of worship. It’s a symbol of French culture, architecture and history.”
The church is also home to many religious artworks, paintings and sculptures. Luckily, its world-famous colored glass windows survived the fire. These windows are made of many small pieces of glass and feature various Christian images.
Despite its long history and many treasures, the Cathedral needed the help of a writer to become truly famous. Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, presented the building to a wide audience of readers. The book’s ugly lead character, Quasimodo, serves as a symbol for Paris’ forgotten Gothic (哥特式的) architecture. Hugo wrote the book to remind people of it, with the hope that they would work to protect the beautiful old buildings of Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to reconstruct the historic building. “Note Dame is our history, our literature and it’s our imagery,” he said in a public speech following the fire.
1.Which of the following is true about Notre Dame Cathedral?
A.It is a representative architecture of France.
B.It is made of wood and metal.
C.It is a place for entertainment.
D.It will be rebuilt in a different style.
2.What makes the Cathedral known to the world?
A.Its famous spire.
B.Its colored glass windows.
C.Victor Hugo’s novel.
D.Religious treasures inside.
3.What’s the writer’s attitude towards the damage to the church?
A.Uncaring. B.Regretful.
C.Negative. D.Optimistic.
Josh Morrison，17，dreamed of raising $ 100,000 to build a home for a low-income family. After years of hard work，his dream has come true. The house is now in the early stages of building.
Six years ago. Josh and his dad went into a Habitat for Humanity Restore，a home improvement store and donation center run by the nonprofit organization. They were there to buy a sink. Josh.then 11.also noticed a collection of pennies. “I instantly felt the urge to help out with that.” he said. Josh set a fundraising deadline of four years. Many people doubted whether he could reach his goal of S 100,000.but it didn’t shake his faith. He raised money at his school and other nearby schools. He collected money from neighbours，got publicity from local newspapers，and placed cans in stores so that people could donate extra change.
Josh’s fundraising efforts began to produce results. Still，there were challenges. Four months before his deadline，he was $30,000 short. He decided to hold Family Fun Fair and Spaghetti Dinner in Uxbridge，which is in the province of Ontario. The event raised $19,000.
“I didn’t care how long it took me.”Josh said.“I would raise $100,000.” With three weeks left，a company called Josh’s house，offering to donate $18,000. Eventually. Josh reached a total of $134,000 before the deadline.“The momentum just kept going，and we decided to do more.”he said.“Josh’s Penny House”is being built by Hahitat for Humanity in the city of Oshawa，along with 24 new townhouses. Josh has helped with some of the construction，as have other volunteers. He will choose the family that moves into the unit.
Next year，the 17-year-old will head to college in British Columbia. Canada’s westernmost province. As a 11-year-old kid when starting fundraising .Josh was able to send a powerful message across the world. No matter how old you are，if you have a dream and are willing to do anything to achieve it，it can come true.
1.Which word can best describe Josh Morrison in Paragraph 2?
A.Cautious. B.Straightforward.
C.Open-minded. D.Determined.
2.Why was the Family Fun Fair and Spaghetti Dinner event held in Uxbridge?
A.To attain his goal. B.To call for more attention.
C.To win approval from the locals. D.To find sponsors for a family.
3.What does the underlined sentence in Para. 4 mean?
A.He received continuous donations. B.His project became more popular.
C.He got more support from his family. D.The result was beyond expectations.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.Kindness from a Company B.The Penny House Dream
C.An Astonishing Fundraiser D.A Boy with a Warm Heart
There are so many expressions in American English that sound good but are not.
“Face the music” is a good example. When someone says they have to face the music, it does not mean they are going to a musical show or concert. To face the music means to accept the bad results of an action.
Imagine a friend asks you to take care of her beautiful red sports car. She gives you the keys and says, “Thanks so much for watching my car while I’m away. But please do not drive it. It is a very fast car and you are not on the insurance (保险).”
But you do not listen. You want to show it to some friends and pretend (假装) the car is yours. So, you drive it around town one night. As bad luck would have it you lose control of the car and drive it into a stop sign. The damage is serious. When your friend returns you must tell her what you have done and “face the music”.
The “music” here is the result of your actions. It could be losing her friendship or paying for repairs to her sports car or both. Whatever the music is, you must face it.
There are other American expressions that mean the same as “face the music”.
To “take your medicine” means to accept the results from something bad you have done. And if someone says, “You made your bed. Now lie in it.” He means you created a bad situation and now you will experience the results, or as we say in American spoken English, you must deal with it!
“Pay the piper” also means the same as “face the music”. But, that expression has its own very interesting beginning. We will talk about that in the next Words and Their Stories.
1.What’s the main idea of this text?
A.To invite a friend to go to a musical performance.
B.To tell people how to deal with a bad situation.
C.To give people a lesson on an action.
D.To introduce some expressions.
2.Which action belongs to “take your medicine”?
A.You broke the traffic rules and caused an accident.
B.You worked hard but failed in the exam.
C.You caught a cold and took some medicine.
D.You moved to a new city and lost touch with your old friends.
3.What may the next programme talk about?
A.Other words and their stories.
B.The beginning of “pay the piper”.
C.The wider use of “face the music”.
D.An example of “take your medicine”.
假如你是Ms Wang，你的学生李华给你写了封信，诉说他无法融入班集体及交友的苦恼，请你根据以下要点给他回一封建议信。
1. 积极参加班级活动；2. 了解同学们的兴趣爱好； 3. 乐于助人
注意：1. 词数100左右；2. 可适当增加细节，使行文连贯；3. 信的开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Li Hua,
I’m sorry you are having trouble in making friends. However, the situation is easy to change if you take my advice. Here are some tips to help you.
Yours, Ms Wang
