Living gratefully has a huge transforming power,not just when something wonderful or special happens,but every day no matter what is happening.
I've recently been involved with two people whose lives were challenged by bad luck.I have seen how grateful living had the power to keep one of them going and how it's beginning to lift the other.One was a friend and the other is my sister.
My friend seemed to be in good health when she received a deadly diagnosis(诊断）：a disease with no effective treatment.She had all the emotions that a tragedy(悲剧）brings,but she also had a powerful response to despair that gave her"the happiness that doesn't depend on what happens."She wrote online daily,honestly sharing the details of her situation.
She wrote that even though it was difficult to move,this gave her more time to notice small things.
She was grateful not only for the love and help of family and friends,but also for time to see the sun rise and watch the birds in her yard.No opportunity for gratefulness was wasted.
She taught that gratefulness is not a false cheerfulness.It's taking every opportunity to celebrate the blessings of small things.We can be grateful for the challenges that help us develop compassion(同情）for each other.Life is a precious gift.
She repeatedly blogged(写博客）that she was happier than she had ever been.
When she wrote about"the worst day",she ended with"life is still a lovely gift."She died later that day.
Her message,however,changed my sister's life.My sister's health was getting worse and worse, though nothing life-threatening.She did have a very painful knee.Her life was in danger from her defeated spirit.She was bedbound(卧床不起），getting weaker and weaker.Fearful,angry and depressed,she felt out of options for recovery.
I read my sister a few of my friend's messages.I was careful not to say,"Why can't you be more like her?"Instead,I let the words do their work.I'm grateful to say that an attitude of gratitude began to replace her anger and fear.I believe this helped her to heal.
We can't be grateful for all that happens,but we can practice gratefulness for all that happens,but we can practice gratefulness for life itself,for all we can learn to deal with,for all the ways we can help each other grow and heal.
1.How did the author's sister feel when she was ill?
A.calm.
B.lonely.
C.sad.
D.confused.
2.What happened when the author's friend found she had an incurable disease?
A.She complained that life was unfair to her.
B.She started to appreciate and enjoy the small things in life.
C.She tried her best to look for treatment.
D.She repeatedly blogged about how painful it was.
3.What message does the article mainly convey?
A.A friend in need is a friend indeed.
B.Gratitude has the power of lifting people's spirits.
C.Health is the most important thing for people.
D.Families will always be there no matter what happens.
You know the old phrase,"Practice makes perfect."That may not always be true.According to a recent study published in Royal Society Open Science,there are other factors for reaching elite(最优秀的）levels of ability.
The researchers set out to replicate(复制）the process of a new-famous 1993 study of top-level violinists and pianists.On average,the earlier study found that top-ranked musicians had clocked over 10,000 hours of practice by the age of 20.It put their success down to the hours spent practicing, downplaying the importance of natural,learning skills and other factors.
Author Malcolm Gladwell later relied on this study for his 2008 book,Outliers.He called 10,000 hours"the magic number of greatness”.
Questioning this conclusion,Brooke Macnamara and Megha Maitra,from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio,US,sought volunteers to put the 10,000-hour rule to the test.
The pair organized violinists into three groups,based on whether their tutors rated them as the best players,good players,or average players.They were then told to record how long they practiced every week.
They found that the“average”players had around 6,000 hours of practice.However,there was little separating the good from the best musicians.Both groups had approximately 11,000 hours of practice by the age of 20.In all,the number of hours spent practicing accounted for about a quarter of the skill difference across the three groups.
＂Once you get to the highly skilled groups,practice stops accounting for the difference,"Mannamara told the Guardian."Smaller factors then determine who goes on to that superelite level."
＂The factors depend on the skill being learned:in chess it could be intelligence or working memory,in sport it may be how efficiently a person use oxygen,"she said.She also pointed out the factor of motivation and the interactions of different factors.
Ralf Krampe,a co-author of the 1993 study,disagrees,saying the quality of practice and teaching does matter.“....I still consider deliberate(刻意的）practice to be by far the most important factor,"he told the Guardian.
It should be said that neither side discounts the value of making an effort.Even if you aren't destined（命中注定）to be the world's greatest violinist,practice will make you a little bit better than you were yesterday.
1.What can we learn from the 1993 study?
A.The 10.000-hour rule applies to everything.
B.Natural talent is particularly important for musicians.
C.Practice is the key to mastering a skill.
D.It's better to learn an instrument at a young age.
2.What did the study by Macnamara and Maitra find?
A.The three groups of violinists varied a lot in their practice times.
B.The mastering of different skills required different hours of practice.
C.Motivation and talent determined whether one could become an elite violinist.
D.Practice time didn't make much difference between"the best"and"good"violinists.
3.The underlined word"discount"probably means
A.prove B.ignore
C.recognize D.consider
If you walk through a park,you may enjoy the scents(气味）of flowers,water and soil.If you are especially lucky,you will get to smell fresh-cut grass.It's a beloved scent that transports many people back to their childhood.But there's a dark side to that smell.Indeed,we are in love with the scent of fear.
Plants have many different chemical defenses.That smell is one of them,as the grass responds to an attack,signaling(向......示意）to the surrounding grass that danger is coming.The fresh,"green”scent of a just-mowed lawn is the lawn trying to save itself,says a story at science website Real-Clear Science.
The smell is produced by a mix of chemicals called green leaf volatiles(GLVs,绿叶挥发物）.When the leafy plants are injured by animals eating them, people cutting them, or any other rough treatment-they give off GLVs into the air.These GLVs are a warning to neighbouring plants that their flowers might be removed,so they can move resources like sugar toward their roots and away from their flowers.This reduces a plant's potential losses and can help it grow back later.
The rush of GLVs does a few other things,too.One chemical helps to close the wound on the damaged plant.Others act as antibiotics(抗生素）and prevent bacterial infections.
Some GLVs may also react with animals that eat plants.Silke All-mann and Ian T.Baldwin, researchers from the University of Amsterdam,Netherlands,found that some caterpillars(毛虫）are changed by the GLV compounds(化合物）when they eat a tobacco plant.Tobacco makes the caterpillars more attractive to predators(捕食者）.For the tobacco plants,this is like having an older brother come to beat up your bully(欺凌者）.
Thankfully,nothing is coming to eat you when you mow the lawn.Instead,we human get treated to some great-smelling GLVs.One is a compound known as"cis-3-hexenal".This is the same chemical that gives strawberries their sweet scent.Similar compounds are also found in apples and olives.
＂Just about all fresh vegetables have some GLV scents to them,"Baldwin told Live Science,and fruits may release the compounds as they soften."Throughout evolutionary history,we've used that information to know when something is ripe,"Baldwin said.Now we can use it to know when grass is frightened.
1.What do we know about GLVs?
A.They are harmful to humans. B.They are unique to flowering plants.
C.They tend to stay in the air for a long time. D.They are released when plants get hurt.
2.How may plants react to the GLVs produced by neighbouring plants?
A.They grow more quickly. B.They produce more flowers.
C.They absorb more water. D.They transport resources to their roots.
3.In paragraph5,the underlined part"an older brother"refers to
A.a kind of antibiotic B.a predator. C.a caterpillar. D.a tobacco plant.
4.According to Baldwin,GLVs can
A.tell us whether fruits are ready to eat. B.protect plants from pests.
C.help fruits grow more quickly. D.help people choose delicious fruits.
你校将举办一次主题为“保护海洋”的图片展。请你根据以下要点为校宣传栏“英语天地”写一则通知：
1. 活动目的； 2.活动时间、地点、具体内容等。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：展览exhibition
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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一下作文。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：把多余的词作斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，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。
This afternoon after school, our English group get together with our English teacher. To start with, we sang a popular English song happy and then we practiced our speak English. The topic we were talking about was the different between Chinese festivals and Western ones. Most students compared the Spring Festival to Christmas and others chose the Mid-Autumn Festival or Thanksgiving Day as a match.
As we had been talked too many, all of us got quite thirsty. Seeing this, our teacher took some bottles of water from hers car and handed them out to us. What timely offer! Thank you, my dear teacher!
Nicolas Stacy-Alcantara was a 17-year-old high school student from Fresno. He said he______his friend near Salt Lake City last week and decided to go for a day-long hike alone with______to return in time for dinner.
Stacy-Alcantara said the weather had been______when he began his planned way from Millcreek Canyon(峡谷)to Park City. However, by late afternoon it became_____and snow began to fall. The weather______Stacy Alcantara to stop his journey. His cellphone had no______and his feet began to freeze(冻僵).
Being trapped in the snow, he______a cave to keep himself warm. He rubbed his hands against his______to keep the blood flowing.
“I knew my chest was more______than my feet,”he told reporters.
“I______if I lost those, I could still______, so I just tied the ends of my clothes together.
As the______fell, the teen______his friends were in the cave and had what he believed could be his______conversations with them. He also______letters to his family in case he didn't make it out alive.
He walked out of the______when the sun rose in the morning.______, he came across some skiers(滑雪者) who had a satellite phone. Later, he was______and he was about 6 miles from where he______his hike.
“I’m very______,” Stacy-Alcantara said. “I shouldn’t even be alive right now.”
1.A.lost B.visited C.cheated D.missed
2.A.plans B.excuses C.answers D.choices
3.A.windy B.wet C.cloudy D.warm
4.A.clear B.nice C.cold D.wild
5.A.forced B.helped C.reminded D.inspired
6.A.camera B.brand C.service D.map
7.A.decorated B.dug C.explored D.repaired
8.A.face B.head C.leg D.chest
9.A.important B.useful C.special D.comfortable
10.A.heard B.wondered C.asked D.knew
11.A.lie B.live C.study D.sleep
12.A.silence B.fear C.night D.sadness
13.A.guessed B.doubted C.explained D.imagined
14.A.simple B.final C.next D.normal
15.A.wrote B.sent C.read D.gave
16.A.cave B.room C.city D.valley
17.A.Suddenly B.Obviously C.Fortunately D.Interestingly
18.A.examined B.saved C.remembered D.warned
19.A.enjoyed B.followed C.avoided D.started
20.A.proud B.strong C.lucky D.clever
