During my childhood I experienced greater hardships than most people go through in a lifetime. In my short 17 years of life，I have been ______ five divorces of my parents. Having a new stepmother or stepfather every few years was ______ ，but the constant moving was worse. My father’s cancer diagnosis ______ me apart and his two heart attacks and ______ with diabetes put a huge pressure on the family.
By age 13，I was ______ and emotionally scarred. I felt like I had no one to ______ and that nothing would ever get better. Then I met Maggie，and my attitude towards life changed.
For many summers，I ______ at a horse-riding camp for people with special needs. We taught children，and adults specialized skills ______ their abilities. For example，we would teach a child with autism(自闭症) ______ skills，or a child with cerebral palsy(脑瘫) strength building exercise. Each volunteer was ______a specific child during eight weeks. A few weeks later，I was asked to ______another volunteer who was sick. That was the day my ______ on life changed forever.
As I began to work with her，I looked through her file to get more information，which was ______ . She had been physically abused (肉体折磨) as a newborn and throughout her infancy. Her birth parents ______ her so badly that they caused her a serious brain injury by the age of two. Her skull had been broken however，the amazing thing about Maggie was her ______ attitude.
When I met Maggie，she was 12，and she would say ______but “ I’m happy! ”. If you asked her “ How old are you？” , “ I’m happy ” she replied each time. Everyone at the camp ______ her “Happy Maggie”.
My life growing up was a huge struggle，______ Maggie taught me not to get in the way of happiness.Nothing bad in life should be enough to change ______ I am. She gave me ______ . If I learned anything from Maggie，it would be，no matter what，be happy.
1.A.beyond B.with C.through D.in
2.A.charming B.exciting C.rough D.independent
3.A.broke B.tore C.defeated D.turned
4.A.recovery B.battle C.concern D.suffering
5.A.depressed B.confused C.confident D.pleased
6.A.look after B.appeal to C.turn to D.take after
7.A.volunteered B.handled C.admitted D.recommended
8.A.compared with B.based on C.judging from D.owing to
9.A.analyzing B.creating C.communicating D.calculating
10.A.assigned B.separated C.promoted D.got
11.A.interview B.employ C.replace D.dismiss
12.A.decision B.evaluation C.outlook D.principle
13.A.surprising B.spirit lifting C.disappointing D.heart breaking
14.A.tended B.treated C.opposed D.protected
15.A.unsinkable B.unacceptable C.unforgettable D.unreasonable
16.A.everything B.anything C.nothing D.something
17.A.nicknamed B.complained C.translated D.gave
18.A.and B.yet C.so D.otherwise
19.A.why B.where C.that D.who
20.A.ambition B.hope C.strength D.lesson
5 ways to focus your mind
1. Focus with a purpose
The mistake most people make is lacking a clear purpose -- they want to be more focused, but don’t know what for. Avoidance is the mother of distraction. If you don’t have a concrete reason to stay focused, your mind will jump from one thing to another. Training your mind to pay attention requires something to focus on. 1. When you don’t have a purpose, it’s easier to get distracted. Conversely, having a clear ‘why’ will help you stay focused.
2. Solve a real problem
Most of the times, we are doing meaningless work. We jump from one task to another without accomplishing anything. We end solving the wrong problem and lose our focus. You have to decide what your priorities are—focus on what will advance your daily, weekly or monthly goals. Learn to say no to the rest. 2.. Those who lack focus are busy fighting urgent, but irrelevant fires.
3. Eliminate(消除) other options
3., it’s harder to get distracted. Create rules where you can’t start a new activity until you finished another one first. For example, in a good day, Pink leaves his office at 10-10:30. On a bad day, he might stay ‘disconnected’ until 2 or 3 PM. When you eliminate all options, it’s easier to focus on the only thing that’s left.
4. 4.
When your work and your mental state are not aligned (使一致), they create an emotional disagreement. Focusing is hard, Dealing with this stressful feeling becomes an additional distraction. Adapting your work to your mental state increases your focus. Learn to understand the types of work you do and align them with your mental states.
5. Set deadlines
Deadlines are more than bringing your goals to life. Yes, committing to a specific date increases your chances to achieve an objective. However, the power of deadlines lies in creating a constraint. Limitations benefit both creativity and productivity—by challenging ourselves, we increase our focus.5..
A. Take advantage of your mental state
B. Focusing requires having an intention for your attention
C. Combine your action with your mental state
D. Using deadlines smartly can motivate you with less pressure
E. When you don’t have choices
F. Focus on important things and suppress urgency
G. When you create some rules
In the world of digital health, Silicon Valley-based Mindstrong stands out. It has a remarkable team and tens of millions of funding. It also has a fascinating idea--its app, based on mental functioning research, can help detect troubling mental health patterns by collecting data on person’s smartphone usage--how quickly they type, for instance.
The company’s app collects information about how people are typing and runs it through a machine learning algorithm (计算程序) to determine which data can predict their emotional state. The idea is to use that data to establish a “normal” pattern--so it can be compared with someone’s typing habits on any given day. If the habits change, slower or more anxious than normal, the app can warn a health care provider.
The promise of this technology has made Mindstrong incredibly popular since it was launched last year; already more than a dozen counties in California have agreed to apply the company’s app to patients. Does the app live up to its promise? There’s no way to tell. Almost no one outside the company has any idea whether it works, leading some experts to wonder if the technology is ready for the real world. “I wouldn’t waste all that time and money in the wild until they get sure that some of those things are as specific as they hope they are,” said Rosalind Picard, a researcher at MIT Media Lab, who is familiar with Mindstrongs work.
“It has passed the gold-standard clinical tests for depression and anxiety,” said Dr. Paul Dagum, the company’s founder. “We’re confident, and we’re already seeing some really exciting results.” Mindstrong officials said that among their most encouraging results is that its app can even predict how a person will feel next week, kind of like a weather app for your mood. “For a clinician or someone looking after a patient, they know that it could be very, very powerful,” Dagum said.
1.What can Mindstrong’s app do?
A.Improve its users’ mental health.
B.Get its users to type more quickly.
C.Discover its users’ mental state.
D.Work out the causes of its users’ trouble.
2.What is the second paragraph mainly about?
A.The ways of collecting data.
B.The app’s working principle.
C.The analysis of typing habits.
D.The development of the app.
3.What is Rosalind Picard’s attitude towards the app?
A.Skeptical. B.Positive.
C.Uncaring. D.Defensive.
4.What can we infer about Dagum’s opinion on the app?
A.The app has a powerful effect on anxiety.
B.The app can also predict weather conditions.
C.Care providers could be advocates of the app.
D.Doctors benefit more from the app than their patients.
I have learned something about myself since I moved from Long Island to Florida three years ago. Even though I own a home in Port St. Lucie just minutes from the ocean, an uncontrollable urge wells up to return to Long Island even as others make their way south. I guess I am a snowbird stuck in reverse. Instead of enjoying Florida’s mild winters, I willingly endure the severe weather on Long Island, the place I called home for 65 years.
I’m like a migratory bird (候鸟) that has lost its sense of timing and direction, my wings flapping against season.
So what makes me fly against the tide of snowbirds? The answer has a lot to do with my reluctance to give up the things that define who I am. Once I hear that the temperature on Long Island has dipped into the range of 40 to 50 degrees, I begin to long for the sight and crackling sound of a wood fire. I also long for the bright display of colors -- first in the fall trees, and then in the lights around homes and at Rockefeller Center. Floridians decorate too, but can’t create the special feel of a New England winter.
I suppose the biggest reason why I return is to celebrate the holidays with people I haven’t seen in months. What could be better than sitting with family and friends for a Thanksgiving turkey dinner, or watching neighbors children excitedly open gifts on Christmas? Even the first snowfall seems special. I especially enjoy seeing a bright red bird settling on a snow-covered branch. (My wife and I spend winters at a retirement community in Ridge, and I’m grateful that I don’t have to shovel.)
While these simple pleasures are not unique to Long Island, they are some of the reasons why I come back. Who says you can’t go home?
1.What does the underlined word “reluctance” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A.Coincidence. B.Expectation. C.Unwillingness. D.Motivation.
2.Which of the following words can best describe the author?
A.Imaginative and outspoken. B.Hard-working and serious.
C.Homesick and easy-going. D.Anxious and painful.
3.What’s the author’s purpose in writing the text?
A.To describe his dream to be a free bird.
B.To explain the reasons for moving from his hometown.
C.To praise the beauty and warmth of his hometown.
D.To express his feeling of missing his hometown.
Restaurants play a major part in defining the characteristics of a city. They reveal the diversity of the place，the pace of the nightlife and the financial health. Beijing，a metropolis that is home to 20 million people，has tens of thousands of restaurants. Here are some special restaurants in Beijing.
Diaoyutai State Guest Restaurant
Traditionally，Diaoyutai State Guest Restaurant only served visiting dignitaries(达官贵人).But since 1980，it has opened to the public. It offers not only Chinese cuisine at its best but also secluded dining experience in an otherwise buzzing(嘈杂的) metropolis.
Location:No.2 Fucheng Road，Haidian District，Beijing
Cost:$222.01 per person
Heritage in Wanda Plaza
Heritage offers French cuisine，which is famous for its rich taste and subtle nuances. Location:Wanda Plaza，No.93 Jianguo Road，Chaoyang District，Beijing Cost:$ 125.49 per person
Kyoto Kaden Minokichi Kaiseki Ryori(怀石料理) in Pangu Hotel
Located in the only 7 star hotel in Beijing，Kyoto Kaden Minokichi Kaiseki Ryori is undoubtedly the most expensive restaurant in the city. Kaiseki is a traditional multi course Japanese diner. Kaiseki only uses seasonal ingredients and is prepared by master Japanese chef to reflect change of seasons.
Location:Pangu 7 Star Hotel，Beijing 27 Central North 4th Ring Road Chaoyang District，Beijing
Cost:$1159.29 per person
China Grill
People come for food but stay for the view. Situated on the top floor of a landmark building in the heart of CBD，China Grill offers an unparalleled view of Beijing landscape.
Location:66/F Park Hyatt,2 Jianguomen Wai，CBD，Beijing
Cost:$ 130.79 per person
1.What does the underlined word “secluded” mean in the second paragraph?
A.Fashionable. B.Crowded. C.Popular. D.Peaceful.
2.What can we learn about Kyoto Kaden Minokichi Kaiseki Ryori?
A.It only served visiting dignitaries when first opened. B.Its food is prepared by master Chinese chef.
C.It is the most expensive restaurant in Beijing. D.It is located in Haidian District in Beijing.
3.What is special about China Grill among the restaurants mentioned above?
A.It is the only one that serves Chinese food. B.It is the cheapest one of the four.
C.You can enjoy the view of Beijing when dining there. D.It is famous for its rich taste.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.Who is the speaker?
A.A student. B.A professor. C.A teacher’s helper.
2.What is the class mainly about?
A.Electricity. B.Modern science. C.Science in ancient Greece and Rome.
3.What was calculated correctly by an ancient Greek?
A.The size of the earth. B.The size of the moon.
C.The distance between the moon and the earth.
4.What will the speaker do next?
A.Talk about Archimedes. B.Explain a math problem. C.Answer some questions.
