It was a normal Monday morning at an assembly, and the old headmaster was giving the students a speech about important things in life and about _______ourselves to what is important to us. This is_______the story went: An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he _______wake up every morning and go to the _______, where he got the train right to Central London, and then sat at the street corner, _______. He did this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years. His house was dirty, and it smelled_______. The neighbors could not _______the smell anymore, so they asked the police officers to _______the place. The officers knocked down the _______ and cleaned the house. There were small bags of ________ all over the house that he had ________over the years. The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a ________. They waited outside his house expecting to share the good news with him. When he arrived home that evening, he was met by one of the officers who told him that there was no need for him to beg any more ________ he was a rich man now. He said ________at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the street and ________ to beg. ________, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything important for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying ________ the things we enjoy doing. We should remain true to our course, which may mean devoting yourselves to things that people around you may disapprove . Let nothing prevent us from being happy, let nothing else decide our fate (命运), but ________. What makes us happy is what ________ in the end…not what we gain.
This particular story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I don’t focus on courses, I ________ myself of this story.
1.A.attracting B.agreeing C.devoting D.believing
2.A.why B.how C.where D.when
3.A.might B.would C.should D.must
4.A.street B.factory C.airport D.subway
5.A.begging B.waiting C.attempting D.sleeping
6.A.pleasant B.delicious C.terrible D.serious
7.A.bear B.forget C.judge D.get
8.A.control B.remove C.clear D.look
9.A.old man B.door C.neighbor D.wall
10.A.rubbish B.waste C.money D.food
11.A.earned B.collected C.managed D.stole
12.A.manager B.gentleman C.millionaire D.gift
13.A.as B.unless C.until D.though
14.A.something B.anything C.nothing D.everything
15.A.discouraged B.found C.managed D.continued
16.A.Actually B.Obviously C.Surprisingly D.Generally
17.A.focused on B.called on C.turned to D.acted out
18.A.others B.us C.some D.ourselves
19.A.considers B.matters C.achieves D.faces
20.A.reminded B.admitted C.warned D.tired
How to Sleep Better
If you’re having trouble getting good sleep through the night (turning, waking up more than once, for example), this text will tell you what you can do to ensure a peaceful night’s sleep.
1. Get up on time. Changing your sleeping time by more than an hour can severely disturb (干扰) your sleep quality. 1. For example, if you normally wake up at 6 am on weekdays to get to work, you might go to bed around 10 pm, because that’s when you start to feel sleepy, and it’s also a good time to ensure 8 hours of sleep. If, on the weekend, you sleep until 9 am, you probably won’t be able to fall asleep that night until 1 am.
2. 2. Wait at least three hours after dinner before going to sleep. Digestion(消化) slows down while asleep, and a full stomach may interrupt(打搅) sleep. Similarly, you should avoid going to bed on an empty stomach, as a completely empty stomach may equally disturb your sleeping patterns(模式).
3. 3. Exposure(暴露) to light during the time when you’re supposed to be sleeping can disrupt(扰乱) your body’s internal clock. Turn your light off, or use a very dim night light. 4.They include windows, LED clocks, computer lights and cable boxes.
4. Change your sleeping position. You may think that it’s impossible to control what position you sleep in since you don’t fully understand what you are doing, but it is possible and it can make a big difference. 5.
A. Try to avoid all sources of light.
B. Keep the room as dark as possible.
C. Make note of unusual circumstances (状况).
D. Be mindful of what you eat or drink before bed.
E. Sleep is considered to be adequate only when there is no daytime sleepiness.
F. In other words, sudden change of sleeping time will affect your “biological(生物的) clock”.
G. If you wake up in the middle of the night, make an effort to have a comfortable position.
If it really is what’s on the inside that counts, then a lot of thin people might be in trouble.
Some doctors now think that the internal fat surrounding important organs like the heart liver could be as dangerous as the external fat which can be noticed more easily.
“Being thin doesn’t surely mean you are not fat”, said Dr Jimmy Bell at Imperial College.
Since 1994, Bell and his team have scanned nearly 800 people with MRI machines to create “fat maps” showing where people store fat.
According to the result, people who keep their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are slim.
Even people with normal Body Mass Index scores can have surprising levels of fat deposits inside. Of the women, as many as 45 percent of those with normal BMI scores (20 to 25) actually had too high levels of internal fat. Among men, the percentage was nearly 60 percent.
According to Bell, people who are fat on the inside are actually on the edge of being fat. They eat too many fatty and sugary foods, but they are not eating enough to be fat. Scientists believe we naturally store fat around the belly first, but at some point, the body may start storing it elsewhere.
Doctors are unsure about the exact dangers of internal fat, but some think it has something to do with heart disease and diabetes (糖尿病). They want to prove that internal fat damages the body's communication systems.
The good news is that internal fat can be easily burned off through exercise or even by improving your diet. “If you want to be healthy, there is no shortcut. Exercise has to be an important part of your lifestyle,” Bell said.
1.What is this passage mainly about?
A.Thin people may be fat inside. B.Internal fat is of no importance.
C.Internal fat leads to many diseases. D.Thin people don't have diabetes.
2.Doctors have found _____.
A.the exact dangers of internal fat
B.being slim is not dangerous at all
C.internal fat is the cause of heart disease
D.being slim doesn’t mean you are not fat inside
3.From the last paragraph, we can find that _____.
A.internal fat leading to disease has been proved
B.thin people usually have internal fat even if they are slim
C.it is easier to burn off internal fat than external fat
D.exercise plays an important role in people’s life for keeping healthy
4.The underlined part “shortcut” in the last paragraph means _____.
A.a long road B.an easy way
C.a clear difference D.a short distance
One day last summer, watching the boys and girls trying to catch butterflies I remembered something happened when I was young. When I was a boy of 12 in South Carolina, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage.
We lived on the edge of a wood, and every evening the mockingbirds would come and rest in the trees and sing. No musician can sing more beautiful than the birds. I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way would have my own private musician.
I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, the bird flew about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.
I had left the cage out, and on the second day my new pet’s mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I about how to feed her baby.
The following morning when I went to see how my bird was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened! I had taken good care of my little bird.
Arthur Wayne, the famousornithologist, happened to be visiting my father at the time. Hearing me crying over the death of my bird, he explained what had occurred. “A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poisonous (有毒的) berries(干果). She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in cage.”
Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.
1.Why did the writer catch a mockingbird when he was a boy of 12?
A.He had just got a new cage.
B.He liked its beautiful feather.
C.He wanted a pet for a companion.
D.He wanted it to sing for him.
2.The mockingbird died because it ______.
A.drank the poisonous water by mistake
B.was frightened to death
C.ate the poisonous food its mother gave it
D.refused to eat anything
3.What is the most important lesson the writer learned from the incident?
A.Freedom is very valuable to all living things.
B.All birds put in a cage won’t live long.
C.You should keep the birds from their mother.
D.Be careful about food you give to baby birds.
Study Books
Basic Study Manual Hardcover (精装书): $ 37
Future success depends on the ability to learn. Here are the answers to the questions most often asked by parents, teachers, business trainers and by students themselves. Read this book and learn:
●What the three barriers (障碍) to study are and what to do about them.
●What to do if you get tired of a subject you are studying.
●Twenty-six simple drills to help you learn how to study easily, rapidly and with full understanding.
Buy and read Basic Study Manual and use it do dramatically improve your ability to study.
Study Skills for Life Hardcover: $32
L. Ron Hubbard’s study technology for children opens the door to their future success by giving them the ability to study and learn. Fully illustrated (说明，阐明) for easy comprehension.
Learning How to Learn Hardcover: $25
The basics of effective study for 8 to 12-year-olds, fully illustrated. Children who read and apply the materials in this book regain their liking for study and their ability to apply this knowledge in life. Get this book for a child you want to see win at his studies!
How to Use a Dictionary Picture Book for Children Hardcover: $36
In spite of billions of dollars spent on “educational research”, children are not taught the most basic skills of learning, even the most basic of these: how to use a dictionary. In fact, a research of educational books for children found no book that told them how to use a dictionary or that one should. Written for children 8 to 12-year-olds, this fully illustrated book will teach your child:
●How to find words in a dictionary.
●The different ways that words are used.
●What the different marks and symbols that are used in a dictionary mean.
●How to use a dictionary to correctly pronounce words.
It includes a section for parents and teachers showing you how to use this book with children. Buy this book and give it to your children to unlock their education. What’s more, you will just pay 50% for it before May 1, 2014.
1.According to the advertisements, the four books are all intended for ____.
A.teachers B.children C.adults D.women
2.Some of the four books were illustrated in order to _______.
A.persuade foreigners to buy all of them
B.reduce the cost of them
C.help readers understand them and make a better choice
D.make them suitable to different reader.
3.If you buy the four books on April 30, 2014, you will have to pay ______ for them.
A.$130 B.$112 C.$65 D.$18
4.The purpose of the passage is to _______.
A.show readers how to use the four books
B.help children to learn English
C.enrich students knowledge about nature
D.sell the four books to students.
Christmas Traditions
The Origin of Christmas
Since about 400 AD, Christmas Day has been celebrated on 25th December. This date was the old mid-winter festival in pre-Christian times, around the time of the longest night and the shortest day. Christmas in the 21st century has many traditions: Christmas trees, cards and presents.
Presents and shopping
Shops can make about 60 percent of their year’s income in the three months before Christmas. So most shops get ready for it in October. The shopping centres are beautifully decorated and stay open late at night. The first time this happened was in 1867 when Macy’s, a famous shop in New York, stayed open until midnight on Christmas Eve (24th December).
Trees
By mid-December, almost every house, shop and street has a Christmas tree. This tradition was started by the Germans as early as 700 AD. In the northern countries of the world, winter is cold and dark and most trees lose their leaves. The beautiful green trees decorated with lights and coloured glass balls give people hope that spring will come again.
Cards
The tradition of sending cards to friends was started in 1840 in the UK and now millions of Christmas cards and emails are sent all round the world. Cards are a good way of keeping in touch with family and friends who live far away.
Father Christmas
Father Christmas is known across the world with his white hair, red coat and big bag of toys. Young children are told that he lives in the north of Finland and makes toys for them. By tradition, he brings the toys to children at midnight, on the night before Christmas.
Food
On Christmas day a traditional meal is eaten, usually turkey (like a big chicken) and a rich, spicy cake. Some people hate Christmas. Others feel it is a magical and exciting time. They love seeing family and friends; they also love the traditions. Love it or hate it, Christmas is a time to look back over the old year — and forward to the new one.
1.Christmas has been celebrated ______.
A.for over 3000 years B.since the start of the 21st century
C.for about 1600 years D.for about 2400 years
2.Christmas is important for shops because ______.
A.much of their income is made around Christmas time
B.they can stay open later
C.they are beautifully decorated
D.they can prepare for it long before Christmas
3.Christmas trees are popular because ______.
A.they make people think of Germany B.they make people think of winter
C.they make people think of spring D.they are beautiful and colourful
4.Father Christmas is ______.
A.a magical story for small children B.a character in a film
C.a real person who lives in Finland D.an old man who bring toys to children
