A year ago I lost my wonderful friend and colleague Rachael Bland. She died at the age of just 40, two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Her death knocked me for six. I knew it was coming and we had talked about it—but nothing prepared me for actually not having her in my life every day. The thing was, while we only knew each other for a short period of time, she had a huge impact on me. When I got diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, I made a whole new group of friends. Rachael was up there with the best of them. She understood exactly what I was going through, she shared my fears and was always there at 3 am to reassure me. She was my rock.
After Rachael died, I had a nervous breakdown. I hit numerous brick walls in the weeks and months that followed. My cancer was progressing and I fell into a dark place. I pushed it away but ignored the terror of it all and inevitably it all came crashing down around me. Great Sorrow hit me when I least expected. Her death felt like a bad dream. The emotional bit aside, one of the things I found really hard was to actually accept she died.
Rachael hoped that by starting the conversation around cancer, she could help other women avoid getting cancer too. It was her absolute determination and bravery at helping to break down taboos (禁忌) that will live on for generations to come.
Rachael showed me how to live with cancer. Even in her darkest days she was determined to show that cancer didn’t get to take over. She helped remind me to get busy living with cancer rather than worry about dying of it. She was in the bottom of my heart forever.
1.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 mean?
A.I was beaten six times.
B.Her death gave me the strength.
C.She was knocked down and died.
D.Her death made me very shocked.
2.Why did the author hit the brick walls?
A.She wanted to end up her life.
B.She couldn’t stand the pain of cancer.
C.She had been suffering from nightmares.
D.She was too sorrowful to accept Rachael’s death.
3.What is Rachael’s wish?
A.To help women fight against fear.
B.To assess women’s conversational skills.
C.To prevent other women from getting cancer.
D.To inspire sick people to hope for their future.
4.Which of the following best describes Rachael?
A.Optimistic. B.Weak.
C.Humorous. D.Demanding.
Hotels in Canberra
University House ANU
Location: 1 Balmain Cres, 2601 Canberra, Australia
Set within the ANU Campus, University House ANU offers rooms with a balcony, a flat-screen TV and a refrigerator. Located on site, Boffins Restaurant offers Asian-influenced, contemporary dishes and a wide selection of local and imported wines. The hotel is within 10 minutes' bus ride of Parliament House, the National Gallery of Australia and the National Library of Australia.
Couples rate it 9. 4 points for a two person trip.
Vibe Hotel Canberra Airport
Location: 1 Rogan Street, 2609 Canberra, Australia
Featuring free WiFi and a fitness centre, Vibe Hotel Canberra Airport offers spacious accommodation, situated at Canberra Airport. This hotel features picturesque views of Lake Burley Griffin and an on-site restaurant. Vibe Hotel Canberra Airport is conveniently located within 10 minutes' drive of Canberra 8 many attractions.
Couples rate it 8.1 points for a two person trip.
Southside Village
Location: 250 Canberra Avenue, 2609 Canberra, Australia
Set in Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory region, Southside Village offers accommodation with free private parking. The holiday park offers a children's playground. After a day of hiking, cycling or fishing, guests can relax in the garden. Manuka Shopping Area is 2.8 km from Southside Village. The nearest airport is Canberra Airport, 7 km from the accommodation.
Couples rate it 7. 3 points for a two-person trip.
Forrest Hotel & Apartments
Location:30 National Circuit. Forrest, 2603 Canberra, Australia
Located in the quiet Canberra suburb of Forrest, this hotel is less than 10 minutes' drive from Parliament House and the National Gallery of Australia. Forrest Hotel & Apartments offers modern accommodation with free cable TV, 500 MB of free WiFi and free private parking.
Couples rate it 6.7 points for a two person trip.
1.Which hotel may most couples like best?
A.Southside Village. B.Vibe Hotel Canberra Airport.
C.University House ANU. D.Forrest Hotel & Apartments.
2.Which location is best for passengers to catch early flights?
A.1 Rogan Street, 2609 Canberra. B.1 Balmain Cres,2601 Canberra.
C.250 Canberra Avenue, 2609 Canberra. D.30 National Circuit, Forrest, 2603 Canberra.
3.What do Southside Village and Forrest Hotel & Apartments have in common?
A.They both offer free WiFi.
B.They both offer free private parking.
C.They both offer a children's playground.
D.They are both within 10 minutes' drive from Parliament House.
阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。
I looked out at the smiling faces packed into the school hall. Flashes from cameras lit up in all directions. The applause filled my ears. I had done it. I had really done it.
Just a few months earlier, I would never have pictured myself acting in a play in front of two hundred people."Not for a million dollars," I would have said. But when the time came, I got up on stage and faced one of my greatest fears-and discovered I could do more than I ever gave myself credit for. I found a new person inside me, a much more daring, outgoing person who had been hidden all along, just waiting for the opportunity to appear.
If not for my teacher, Mrs Sather, I might never have found that opportunity.
In the first and second grade, I was extremely shy. I had friends, but it just wasn't in my personality to be very outgoing, even when I knew someone well. I was afraid I would do or say something wrong, so usually I just smiled and listened to other people's conversations. I did well in school and I loved to write. However, I would escape into my writing, where I could be myself and never had to worry about what other people thought of me. In my stories, I was never shy.
My teacher, Mrs Sather, always encouraged me to write more. She told our class to go after our dreams and dig in with both hands. I think she was one of the first people to see my inner strength. One day, she announced that our class was going to perform a play she had written." I'll begin to cast everyone tomorrow," she said." I need someone who is not afraid to be on stage in front of a lot of people to play the lead part of Dorothy. Anybody want to try?" A few excited hands shot up-mine, of course, was not one of them-and Mrs Sather smiled." We'll talk more about it tomorrow," she said. Then the bell rang and my classmates slowly left the classroom.
Paragraph 1:
When I was loading up my backpack, Mrs Sather asked me to go to her.
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Paragraph 2:
Hearing Mrs Sather's words,I realized it was time to make a change.
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假定你是校报的编辑李华，本报计划在毕业季开展以“Highlights of My Senior Year”为主题的征文比赛。请你用英语为此事写一则通知，刊登在校报上。内容包括：
1. 活动目的；
2.参赛作品的内容及要求；
3.作品提交的时间及方式。
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Notice
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The School Newspaper
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
You may not want to admit it,but actually at one time in your life,you've talked to an animal.Maybe it was letting a dog know it was a good dog 1. asking a cat where it had been.Maybe you gave words of 2.(encourage)to an elephant or scolded a sheep. Whichever animal it was you talked to,one thing is for sure:it probably didn't talk back. What if it could? 3.（science)are working on ways to not only understand what animals are saying,but also study whether they can talk back one day.Maybe their work will change 4.way we think about animals in the future.
So far,no one 5. (prove)that an animal or a species has a language,partly because there is no 6.(universe)idea of what can be considered as a language.But 7.(broad)speaking,language should be a distinct and organized form of communication, 8.has been learned and used willingly.When your dog barks,you don't consider it as language.The reason is that dogs are born with the ability.But some studies suggest that some animals do communicate in a very complex manner 9.（show)characteristics of language.So,maybe we are close 10.talking with animals.
An act of kindness doesn't have to be a grand gesture. Even those small acts of kindness can make a difference in someone's day. That was just the case for Amie Mickey when she _______ a bumper sticker on her car reading: You Matter.
Amie started to do this several years ago. At first, she wondered if people would_______it. However, much to her surprise, she began seeing a flood of _______ every time she hit the road. More often than not, people _______slowly near her car would roll down their windows, raising their_______,waving and smiling. Sometimes, she even found some sticky notes left on her windshield saying things like “You _______too! “Once while she was driving down the highway, she became_______ when a man driving a sports car at a high speed pulled his car alongside suddenly, waving and mouthing, “You matter!” Though it took her some time to recover from the_______,she still felt happy. Last year, someone _______ her car while she was waiting for her friend in the car by the roadside, saying to her, “It is a(an) ________sticker. I’ve seen various stickers before, but none of them have touched me as your sticker has done. “The two small words on the sticker seem simple enough, but they really struck a chord with many complete strangers who________to catch sight of the sticker.
Stories like Amie's really________the rest of us. Sometimes a kind word or gesture may lift our________ and it doesn't cost a thing except for a little extra thought. Maybe it means offering a friend a hug, praising the children when their children ________well in school, helping someone out or volunteering at animal shelters or shelters for the homeless. Acts of kindness are waiting everywhere. Small as they seem, they can make a ________ impact on the world, and help form general goodness.
1.A.tore up B.picked up C.fixed up D.put up
2.A.watch B.overlook C.notice D.neglect
3.A.attention B.strangers C.confusion D.trouble
4.A.running B.driving C.walking D.riding
5.A.voices B.hats C.shoulders D.thumbs
6.A.count B.share C.value D.matter
7.A.frightened B.frustrated C.embarrassed D.disappointed
8.A.parking B.speed C.incident D.event
9.A.approached B.blocked C.repaired D.cleaned
10.A.important B.special C.typical D.skeptical
11.A.happened B.occurred C.managed D.offered
12.A.shock B.inspire C.delight D.satisfy
13.A.feelings B.thoughts C.spirits D.minds
14.A.work B.exercise C.conduct D.behave
15.A.reliable B.subjective C.positive D.brief
