I’ve always had strong opinions of how love should be expressed, but others had their own ways of showing care.
What I_______most about visiting my boyfriend’s parents is the loud tick of the clock in the dining room as we_______ate our meal. With so little conversation I was quick to_______his family as cold. When we got into the_______to go home, his father suddenly appeared._______, he began to wash his son’s windscreen. I could feel he was a caring man through the glass.
I learned another lesson about love a few years later. My father often_______me early in the morning. “Buy Xerox. It’s a good sharp price,” he might say when I answered the phone. No pleasant_______or inquiry about my life, just financial instructions. This manner of his_______me and we often quarreled. But one day, I thought about my father’s success in business and realized that his concern for my financial security lay behind his_______morning calls. The next time he called and told me to buy a stock, I__________him.
When my social style has conflicted with that of my friends, I’ve often felt__________. For example, I always return phone calls__________and regularly contact with my friends. I expect the same from them. I had one friend who rarely called, answering my messages with short e-mails. I rushed to the__________: She wasn’t a good friend! My anger__________as the holidays approached. But then she came to a gathering I__________and handed me a beautiful dress I had fallen in love with when we did some window-shopping the previous month. I was__________at her thoughtfulness, and regretful for how I’d considered her to be__________. Clearly I needed to change my expectations of friends.
Far too often, I ignored their__________expressions, eagerly expecting them to do things in my__________. Over the years, however, I’ve learned to__________other persons, love signs.
1.A.remember B.enjoy C.value D.admire
2.A.excitedly B.nervously C.silently D.instantly
3.A.regard B.treat C.take D.think
4.A.bus B.train C.car D.plane
5.A.Punctually B.Carefully C.Proudly D.Coldly
6.A.visited B.interrupted C.warned D.telephoned
7.A.greeting B.meeting C.apology D.explanation
8.A.interested B.angered C.encouraged D.surprised
9.A.long B.short C.warm D.polite
10.A.praised B.remembered C.blamed D.thanked
11.A.content B.guilty C.curious D.disappointed
12.A.in order B.in turn C.without delay D.without difficulty
13.A.feeling B.suggestion C.judgment D.belief
14.A.disappeared B.grew C.helped D.declined
15.A.opened B.refused C.hosted D.invited
16.A.depressed B.upset C.fascinated D.shocked
17.A.uncaring B.dishonest C.unhappy D.uncooperative
18.A.unique B.common C.pleasant D.familiar
19.A.opinion B.way C.mind D.life
20.A.send B.read C.give D.express
How to be a Good Listener
Being a good listener can help you see the world through the eyes of others. 1. Good listening skills can provide you with a deeper level of understanding about someone’s situation. If you want to know how to be a good listener, read on to get started.
1. Place yourself in other people’s shoes It’s easy to only consider the impact of the other person’s “telling” on you. But you must open out and look at the problems from the other person’s view. 2.
2. Avoid comparing the person’s experiences to your own. You may think that the best thing you can do to really listen is to compare the person’s experiences to your own. But this type of thinking actually makes the person feel like you’re not really listening at all. 3. That means that you’re focusing more on yourself than on the person’s situation.
3. 4. Some people think that, when they’re listening, they should find a quick and easy solution to the person’s problem. According to the research, it is totally wrong to do so. Instead focus on absorbing everything the person is saying to you. Only after that can you really try to help.
4. Know what not to do. Knowing what to avoid when you’re trying to be a good listener can be almost as helpful as knowing what to do. If you want the speaker to take you seriously you’d better not interrupt in the middle of a point. 5. Make eye contact with the person so that he or she realizes that you are listening with interest.
A.Don’t try to help immediately.
B.Avoid saying “I” or “me” a lot.
C.Try to solve the person’s problem quickly.
D.Don’t try to change the subject even if it’s a little uncomfortable.
E.If so, you would see your way through the problems much faster.
F.Therefore you’d better listen to what the person is saying carefully.
G.It enriches your understanding and expands your capacity for empathy (同情).
Many science fiction stories tell about explorers arriving in a new world. The explorers then use some kind of high-tech device to test for breathable air or signs of life. But here on Earth, science fiction is becoming reality through a new sampling technology called environmental DNA, or e-DNA for short. Scientists can use it to identify rare species or estimate fish populations with just a little air or water.
Environmental DNA can be used in two ways. One is to identify the creatures that live in a certain place. The other is to confirm the presence or lack of a specific creature.
Caren Goldberg is one of the first biologists in the northwestern United States to take the technology from the testing stage to actually using it. She sees e-DNA as a way to get answers more efficiently, and with less destruction compared to traditional survey techniques. Until recently, scientists depended on diving deep, netting or using an electric current to temporarily catch fish.
This newer way to identify what lives in the environment is becoming popular around the world. Animal experts in Vietnam are using the e-DNA to find the last, wild Yangtze giant softshell turtles. One researcher on the Caribbean island of Trinidad is using the sampling technology to find endangered golden tree-frogs. And in Madagascar, it is being used to identify amphibian (两栖动物) diseases.
Ms. Goldberg has used e-DNA testing to confirm the local extinction of a leopard frog in the American state of Idaho. She has also been asked to document the spread of the New Zealand mud-snail in the state of Washington. The creature has been found in lakes and other waterways across the state.
Scientists working with the technology say they do not expect robots to replace field biologists anytime soon. But the old-fashioned field work could soon be more targeted.
1.By using e-DNA, Caren Goldberg has ________.
A.succeeded in catching many fishes.
B.found the existence of golden treefrogs.
C.documented the spread of softshell turtles.
D.proved the disappearance of the leopard frog in Idaho.
2.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.Robots will replace scientists soon.
B.Some scientists are against using e-DNA.
C.The old-fashioned field work may disappear.
D.Many biologists are unwilling to do the field work.
3.The passage can be sorted as a(n) ________.
A.science fiction B.experiment report
C.science report D.bio-diversity discovery
I have received many Christmas gifts over the years. The best gift I ever received was presented to me by a stranger. I never even knew his name and I only had contact with him for less than 60 seconds. His Christmas present to me changed the way I think about people and about Christmas.
It was several years ago when my wife asked me to meet her at the local department store on Black Friday morning. They had advertised a child’s bike that she wanted to purchase for our son. We stood with a very large crowd, waiting for the manager to blow the whistle. I told my wife that if we got a bike, fine, but if we did not, I was OK with that too.
As the shelf of bikes began to gradually decrease in size, I saw my polite opportunity to wrap my hands around the corner of one of the boxes. I lifted it off the box and suddenly felt some mild resistance. I looked up to see one of the largest gentlemen I had ever seen in my life. Threat was not the word to describe his presence. He was decorated with numerous belts of metal pointed leather around both arms and even his neck. Tattoos (纹身) were an obvious passion of his.
I started to return anxiously the box but he gently pushed it back in my direction and back into my hands. He then directed it into my shopping cart. He looked at me, smiled, and said, “Merry Christmas.” My wife and I went to the checkout, paid for the bike and went home. All the way home I was thinking that this moment was by far the best Christmas gift I had ever received. The kindness of a stranger that broke all previous views I may have had of stereotypes and prejudices. I will never forget the tenderness of a human heart in a simple act.
1.Why does the author see the gift as best?
A.Because it was given by a stranger. B.Because it was donated by a charity.
C.Because it improved his level of living. D.Because it changed his way of thinking.
2.What is the attitude of the author towards whether to get a bike or not?
A.He is eager for it. B.It doesn’t matter.
C.It depends on its price. D.He doesn’t like it at all.
3.What can we infer about the stranger mentioned in the text?
A.Strong and kind. B.Tall and cautious.
C.Lovely and energetic. D.Handsome and polite.
4.What may be the best title of the passage?
A.A True Gentleman I Met B.The Best Gift I Ever Received
C.A Choice That Changed My View D.A Stranger Who Gave Me a Gift
My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s (老年痴呆症) last summer. Suddenly, it was difficult for me to accept that the roles were now changed — my mother became my child, and I became her mother. I became impatient, argued with her, once I even yelled at her. Gradually, I was used to this kind of life. Now I am able to deal with her and the situation better. I have learned a lot of life lessons from the experience.
My mother reacts very sensitively to my feelings. That is typical of Alzheimer’s patients. When I visit her, feeling hectic and tense, she reacts immediately, takes on my mood, and becomes nervous and negative. But when I appear cheerful and attentive, she is happy. This has taught me to pay more attention to my own feelings when I am with other people.
Through the illness my mother has developed a childlike tactlessness (不得体). Eating out in restaurants, for example, is a bit embarrassing when she shouts at the waiter that the food is so bad or talks about people at the next table in a loud voice. Of course I make sure that my mother doesn’t hurt anyone, but I’ve stopped complaining about others and have become more tolerant.
I have also learned that everything has special value. When my mother got sick I didn’t want to burden my two daughters with it. They are young and have enough going on with their education, and starting their careers. I felt that it was simply my job as my mother’s daughter. The most wonderful discovery I’ve made through my mother’s disease may be that my children not only offer to help me, but that they take care of my mother on their own actively. They visit her often, play cards with her, and look at photo albums together with her. It shows me that it’s all worth it.
1.What does the underlined “hectic” in the Paragraph 2 mean?
A.delighted. B.touched.
C.surprised. D.stressed.
2.Which of the following is the common behavior of Alzheimer’s patients?
A.Being particular about clothes. B.Being curious about feelings.
C.Being afraid of strange people. D.Being sensitive to others’moods.
3.What can we know about the writer’s daughters according to the passage?
A.They are naughty. B.They are considerate.
C.They are traditional. D.They are selfish.
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A.How I Cared for My Sick Mother. B.How I Became More Tolerant.
C.What I Have Learned from Alzheimer’s. D.Why I Am Feeling stressed.
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1.What do we know about 1234 PENS?
A.It has a history of over 30 years.
B.It has built up a large pen market.
C.It has its name printed on each pen.
D.It charges a low price for extra service.
2.What is mainly discussed in Paragraph 3?
A.The different types of the products.
B.The high quality of the products.
C.The trade shows of 1234 PENS.
D.The quick service of 1234 PENS.
3.What is special about the pens produced in 1234 PENS?
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A.persuade people to order the products
B.explain the process of making logo pens
C.show people how to choose different pens
D.introduce the different services of 1234PENS
