In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their selfworth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often lifeanddeath affairs. In their singleminded pursuit of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn't matter because I really didn't try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one's selfrespect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve can we discover a new meaning in competition.
1.What does this passage mainly talk about?
A.Competition helps to set up selfrespect.
B.Opinions about competition are different among people.
C.Competition is harmful to personal quality development.
D.Failures are necessary experiences in competition.
2.The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means ________.
A.those who try their best to win
B.those who value competition most highly
C.those who are against competition most strongly
D.those who rely on others most for success
3.What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”？
A.One's worth lies in his performance compared with others'.
B.One's success in competition needs great efforts.
C.One's achievement is determined by his particular skills.
D.One's success is based on how hard he has tried.
4.Which point of view may the author agree to?
A.Every effort should be paid back.
B.Fear of failure should be removed in competition.
C.Winning should be a lifeanddeath matter.
D.Competition should be encouraged.
On the day the tornado hit, there was no sign severe weather was on its way—the sky was blue and the sun had been out. My husband Jimmy and I were watching TV upstairs.
No sooner had we got the coverage of the tornado than it was on top of us. It was the loudest thing I have ever heard. The bones of the house shook, and the power went out. We had three flights of steps to get through to get to the relative safety of the first floor.
As we struggled to reach the last flight of steps, our front door blew out. Pieces of glass that looked like crushed ice flew everywhere. Suddenly, a three-foot-long tree branch flew over our heads, missing us by inches. Had we been one step up, it would have impaled us.
By the time I reached the closet, Jimmy pushed me down to the closet floor, but he couldn’t get inside himself because of the wind. I grasped Jimmy’s arm and tried to bring Jimmy with it. My knees and head were full of glass, but in that moment, I felt no pain. If I had let go, Jimmy would have flown right out the back of the house and into the bay.
“Hold on! Hold on!” he yelled. But there was nothing in this closet to hold on to.
All of a sudden, Jimmy lifted off his feet like people in tornadoes do in the movies. I thought he was gone. And then everything stopped. He landed on his feet. In those first quiet moments, I couldn’t believe it was over. Jimmy said he’d go outside to check. “No,” I said. “Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me.”
Our neighbor says the storm lasted four minutes. In that time, four of the twelve town houses in our unit were completely destroyed. Of the houses left standing, ours suffered the most damage. Amazingly, none of us were severely injured.
1.Which of the following sentences is NOT the evidence to show the tornado is violent?
A. It was the loudest thing I have ever heard.
B. The bones of the house shook, and the power went out.
C. Our neighbor says the storm lasted four minutes.
D. Pieces of glass that looked like crushed ice flew everywhere.
2.From the passage, we can infer that______.
A. The couple had predicted the arrival of the tornado in advance.
B. Jimmy flew right out the back of the house and into the bay during the tornado.
C. The three-foot-tree flew over the couple’s head and injured them badly.
D. The author still felt scared when the tornado was suddenly over.
3.Why did the author feel “no pain” in paragraph4?
A. She didn’t hurt badly enough to sense the pain.
B. She was severely injured and failed to sense the pain.
C. Her attention was fully focused on her husband.
D. She had let her husband go away from her hand.
4.Which of the following phrases best describes the couple’s experience in this tornado?
A. A thrilling adventure B. A narrow escape
C. A risky attempt D. A serious accident
Family fights are never pleasant. Whether you are dealing with a loud sister or a stubborn mom or dad, the situation can be bad. At least that’s what we have learned to expect.
What if it could be different? What if family fights and conflicts could be turned into opportunities to become closer? What if problems could be solved with everyone walking away feeling more deeply cared for and loved?
Family fighting is, on one level, about power. Someone is telling someone else what to do. In a short moment, emotions can be brought out and the fight is on. You can go down that old road or you can try something different.
In any fight, you have a need to be listened to and understood. People raise their voices and shout at each other because they’re not being listened to. It’s totally unconscious. You want your mom or dad to listen and understand. But you always seem to forget the person you’re fighting with has the same need to be listened to. So if you can put aside your need for a few minutes, the situation will change quickly. Give the other person some time to express his or her feelings, and you will earn your turn to be listened to.
And while you are listening, you have to listen for the right information. The best way to do this in emotional situations is to forget most of the words because many people can’t express what they are feeling with words alone, especially when they are upset.
But if the situation starts to get out of hand, it would be wise to just calm down and leave the problem until later because many fights happen at the wrong time. The situation will die down quickly, usually in less than 30 seconds. You can either move on to problem solving or reach an agreement to work on it at a better time.
This way, everyone will feel respected and listened to, even when there is conflict. Emotions will be understood and respected, and it will bring your family closer together.
1.From the first 3 paragraphs, we can conclude that ________.
A.people had better avoid family fights.
B.family members fight to control each other
C.family fights can be changed into something positive
D.when family members fight, it’s worse as they know each other’s weakness
2.In the author’s opinion, the key to dealing with family fights is to ________.
A.satisfy the need to be listened to first
B.make sure that you’re the first to be listened to
C.pay no attention to what others say in emotional situations.
D.stop quarrelling when you feel you are giving orders
3.When the situation gets out of control, it’s best to ________.
A.wait for a suitable moment to speak B.let the other person express their feelings
C.work on a written agreement first D.move on to problem solving
单词拼写
1.Thanks to his research, the UN has more tools in the battle to r____________ the world of hunger.
2.What made her succeed later on was the kindness and ____________ (体谅) she showed to all her patients.
3.He has struggled for millions of Chinese farmers for the past five ____________(年代), that is, for the past 50 years.
4.Over the past half century, using chemical ____________ (肥料) has become very common in farming.
5.When you finish writing your summary, please swap it with your partner and give each other____________(评论).
6.The patient is ___________ (稍微) better today.
7.The professor has brought in a good ___________ (系统) of teaching languages from abroad..
8.China is in Asia, one of the seven___________(洲) on the earth.
9.His illness ___________ (做出解释) for his absence.
10.People say the city is Canada’s most beautiful city,___________(围绕) by mountains and the Pacific Ocean.
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Dear Peter,
I'm very glad to receive your email asking for information about the host family we have arranged you to stay with.
Locating in a beautiful and quiet neighborhood, the house was big enough to enable you to have a room of your own. Apart from the convenient public transportation, our private car will make your visits easily. Because all the family members can speak fluently English and have outgoing personalities, I'm sure you will have no trouble to communicating with them. Above all, they hosted the American student last year, through that they gained lots of experience.
In addition, the hostess cooking will guarantee you a wonderful chance of tasting delicious Chinese food.
Hope you enjoy your stay here.
Yours,
Li Hua
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
One day, Nick invited his friends to supper. He was cooking some delicious food in the kitchen. Suddenly, he1.(find)that he had run out of salt. So Nick called to his son, "Go to the village and buy some salt, but pay a fair price for it: neither too much2.too little. "
His son looked surprised. "I can understand why I shouldn't pay too much, Father, but if I can pay less, 3.not save a bit of money? "
"That would be a very4.(reason)thing to do in a big city, but it could destroy a small village like ours," Nick said.
Nick's guests, 5.had heard their conversation, asked why they should not buy sale more cheaply if they could. Nick replied, "The only reason a man would sell sale6.a lower price would be because he was desperate for money. And anyone who took advantage of that situation would be showing a lack of respect7.the sweat and struggle of the man who worked very hard to produce it."
"But such a small thing couldn't8.(possible)destroy a village."
"In the beginning, there was only9.very small amount of unfairness in the world, but everyone added a little, always10.(think)that it was only small and not very important, and look where we have ended up today. "
