A decade ago, colored lights danced around the living room on New Year's Eve and happy music was played. Upstairs, the children were asleep. But I wasn't feeling happy. In mid-December, my husband and I had been informed that he had cancer and that he was going to die. He had less than a year left, the doctors said.
In the years since that painful season, I have come to look back upon New Year's Eve as an ending and a beginning. New Year's Eve brings a halt to the endless commitments that fill our daily lives and a chance to reflect.
New Year's Eve is full of possibility, and anticipation. What will be the surprising experiences and delightful successes in the coming year? But also, what disappointments are waiting for us in the next twelve months?
In many ways, New Year's Eve and the days that surround it are a line between past and future. That line is made up of a series of moments of transition that take us out of the old and into the new. Transition can be challenging for many of us. It's about letting go of the familiar and diving headlong （迅猛地）into the unfamiliar.
Just as, back then, I had to face letting go of the life I had led with my beloved husband and stepping into a new world as a widowed（丧偶的）mom. I find that each year I have to step out of the version of me that suited the year that is ending and ease into the version of me who will rise to the goals I am holding for myself for the year ahead.
Last year at this time, I sat in a chair in southern France and drank in the stillness and beauty of the countryside around me. The three children and I had brought into this world talked and laughed around the table beside me as we enjoyed a lunch of bread and cheese.
I was filled with a sense of joy and I had a glowing （热情洋溢的）heart that was full of hope. It was another ending and another beginning. May we all transition into the best of what lies ahead. May we all find happiness in this holiday season.
1.What made the author unhappy on New Year's Eve a decade before?
A.The pressure she faced in her work.
B.The health problem her husband faced.
C.The information received from her family.
D.The relationship between her and husband.
2.What does the underlined word "halt" in Paragraph 2 mean?
A.Stop. B.Beginning. C.Meaning. D.Tradition.
3.What does the author think people should do at a new year?
A.Set challenging goals for the next year.
B.Break with daily routines and form a new habit.
C.Spend more time with family members.
D.Think about the past and get ready for the future.
4.What is the author's attitude toward the future?
A.Calm. B.Indifferent. C.Doubtful. D.Expectant.
5.What is the main purpose of the article?
A.To memorialize her husband.
B.To show how she got through a hard time.
C.To share her view of New Year's Eve.
D.To remind us that uncertainty is part of life.
Headington Oxford
Headington Oxford Summer School is located in the beautiful city of Oxford, just a short walk from the centre. The summer school takes place at Headington School, one of the UK's top boarding schools.
Ages: 13-16
Dates: Wednesday 15 July — Wednesday 19 August
Location: Headington School in Oxford Certification: Academic Progress Report & Certificate
Academic Program
Headington Oxford Summer School offers students 15 hours of English teaching per week. Students can choose between our General English, Summer Study and Global Young Leaders courses. All classes at Headington Oxford Summer School are multi-national with a maximum of 15 students per class.
Social Program
At Headington Oxford Summer School, students enjoy a varied and fun multi-activity program, with a range of activities in the afternoon and evenings. Students can also choose English Plus+ options, to replace the multi-activity program, oil two afternoons per week for an additional cost. Social program is a supplementary(补充)to the Academic Program.
Excellent Education
At Summer Boarding Courses, our English Summer School programs help students to develop and use their English language skills in a real world setting. With students from over 95 different countries, we limit the number of students that speak the same language so that students are able to communicate with each other in English throughout their stay. Trips, project work and presentations throughout our British Summer School courses, help to develop the students' confidence and use of language in real life situations.
A Key Part of the Educational Journey
Joining a British Summer School is part of a student's educational journey. Whether they're attending one of our summer schools to learn English for the first time, develop their English language skills to study in the UK, or intending to prepare for further study at university, we have courses suitable to meet their needs.
CONTACT US MAKE A BOOKING
+44 (0)1943 878518infb@suinmerboardingcourscs.co.uk
1.What do you know about Headington Oxford Summer School?
A.It is far away from the city centre.
B.It offers programs to elementary school students.
C.Its programs are open to students from all over the world.
D.Its programs last no more than 4 weeks.
2.It can be known that the Social Program_______.
A.doesn't include English courses
B.is conducted during the day
C.is an addition to the Academic Program
D.allows students to participate voluntarily
3.Why does the summer school limit the number of students using the same language?
A.To encourage students to make friends.
B.To make students practice English more.
C.To build up students' confidence.
D.To attract more students to the courses.
4.The part "A Key Part of the Educational Journey" ______.
A.further promotes the summer school
B.explains the benefit of joining the summer school
C.explains the development of the summer school
D.predicts the future of the educational area in the UK
With a combined total of 211 years between them, Charlotte and John Henderson, from Austin, Texas, are celebrating their 80th wedding anniversary. The two are _______ the oldest living couple on earth, according to Guinness World Records. John Henderson is 106 _______ Charlotte Henderson is 105.
The pair met in 1934 as _______ at the University of Texas, where Charlotte was studying to be a teacher and John played football. John was very _______ of football. Since 2010, he has had the _______ of being the oldest living former UT football player, and he _______ a game every year. The Hendersons, who have no children, have _______ at a retirement community in Austin, for the past decade. It is _______ that the retirement home helped to _______ an anniversary party for the couple. “In our ages, we’ve slowed down somewhat,” John Henderson ______________. “We used to go on cruises, but now we have to take it ______________. We like watching sports and talking about what we’re going to do.”
Henderson’s nephew Jason Free said the two were his ______________ role models. They love and really care for each other. “They don’t always ______________ the past,” Free said. “You won’t hear them say, ‘Oh, if only it were 1952 again, ______________ would be great.’ Instead, they are making plans for their ______________ together.”
Free noted that when his uncle is at a UT game or out ______________ friends, Charlotte usually will call to ______________ him. “She likes to know when John is going to be coming back to eat with her,” Free said.
As for the ______________ to their longevity, John Henderson puts it down to exercise and having a positive ______________. Then with a ______________ he added, “But some people think it’s because we’ve never had kids!”
1.A.naturally B.officially C.individually D.normally
2.A.so B.but C.as D.and
3.A.participants B.professors C.students D.players
4.A.fond B.sure C.afraid D.tired
5.A.qualification B.confidence C.truth D.distinction
6.A.organizes B.attends C.sponsors D.appreciates
7.A.aimed B.researched C.lived D.arrived
8.A.reported B.assumed C.suggested D.confirmed
9.A.deliver B.find C.show D.throw
10.A.announced B.recommended C.explained D.complained
11.A.seriously B.easy C.off D.away
12.A.relationship B.behavior C.career D. concept
13.A.overlook B.recall C.believe D.see
14.A.something B.anything C.everything D.nothing
15.A.choices B.children C.retirement D.future
16.A.cheating B.inviting C.meeting D.making
17.A.pick up B.care about C.wait for D.check on
18.A.introduction B.tendency C.secret D.guide
19.A.attitude B.method C.theory D.comment
20.A.laugh B.sigh C.nod D.gesture
We have entered into an age _______ dreams have the best chance of coming true.
A.which B.what C.when D.that
Tom is so independent that he never asks his parents’ opinion ________ he wants their support.
A.since B.once
C.unless D.after
Although he did not do it___________, he definitely had some responsibility.
A. instantly B. deliberately
C. accidentally D. casually
