Have successful
people ever felt sad? Do they have any “secrets
”
to success? The answers to these questions can be found in US president Barack
Obama’s “back to school” speech. Here is an excerpt(摘录) from his speech.
I know that sometimes, you hope that you can be rich and successful without any hard work—that your ticket to success is through pop music or basketball or being a TV star, when chances come, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. Not all the homework will seem rather important to your life ,but you should try your best. And you may not succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures (the opposite of success). JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was turned down 12 times before it finally came out. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots (投篮) during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures beat(打败) you—you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time.
No one’s born being good at things. You become good at things through hard work.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to tell when you don’t know something, and to learn something new.
And even when you’re struggling(奋斗), even when you’re discouraged (泄气), and you feel other people have given up on you.but you should remember, don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
1.Some of the most successful people in the world have are the ones who’ve had the______ failures.
A. fewest B. most C. saddest D. valuable
2.What can be found in US president Barack Obama’s “back to school” speech ?
A. secrets to success.
B. being successful is easy.
C. your failures beat you.
D. Asking for help is a sign of weakness.
3.Why does Barack Obama mention (提到) JK Rowling and Michael Jordan in the third paragraph?
A. To compare these two famous persons.
B. To explain that the more failures he has, the more successful he is.
C. If you want to be successful, you should fail first.
D. To show that failure is the mother of success.
4.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. No one can be successful without working hard.
B. Failure can be good if you treat it in a right way.
C. Those who believe in themselves shouldn’t ask others for help.
D. One should try his best to make his dream come true.
5.Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined sentence?
A. One shouldn’t ask questions because it is a sign of strength.
B. One should believe in himself though he will face much difficulty.
C. One doesn’t have to work hard when he has failed several times.
D. One doesn’t have to ask for help because it is a sign of weakness.
A teacher began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see, and asked the students, " How much do you think this glass weighs?"
"50 g!" "100 g!" "125 g!" the students answered.
"I really don't know unless I weigh it," said the teacher, "but my question is what would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?"
" Nothing! " the students said.
"OK. What would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?" the teacher asked.
"Your arm would begin to ache," said one of the students.
"You're right. Now, what would happen if I held it for a day?"
"Your arm could go numb. Have to go to hospital for sure!" said another student. All the students laughed.
"Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?" asked the teacher.
"No." the students said.
"Then what caused the arm ache and the muscle (肌肉) stress?"
The students fell silent for a moment.
"Put the glass down!" said one of the students.
"Exactly!" said the teacher. "The
problems of life are something like this. Hold them for a few minutes in your
head, and it seems OK. Think of them for a long time and they begin to make you
ache. Hold them even longer and you will not be able to do anything. It's
important to think of the challenges(挑战) in
your life, but it' s even more important to put them down at the end of every
day before you go to sleep. That way, you are not stressed. You wake up fresh
and strong an
d
can deal with any challenge that comes your way!"
Remember to put the glass down today.
1. How much do you think this glass which was held by the teacher weighs?
A.50g B.125g C.I don’t know. D.100g
2.What would happen if the teacher held the glass up like this for an hour?
A. One of the students thought his arm could go numb.
B. One of the students thought his arm would begin to ache.
C. One of the students thought his arm would be changed.
D. One of the students thought his arm would be lost.
3. Why did the teacher hold up a glass in his class?
A. Because he wanted to know how much the glass weighs.
B. Because he wanted to ask some student to weigh the glass.
C. Because he wanted to make his class more interesting.
D. Because he wanted to explain it was important to put the challenges in life down at the end of every day.
4. In this passage, the underlined words "go numb" means_______.
A．疼痛不止 B．消瘦萎缩 C．松弛下垂 D．失去感觉
5. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A. The teacher told his students to face the challenges bravely.
B. The teacher taught his students how to deal with the problems.
C. The teacher used to begin his class with a glass of water.
D. The teacher usually begins his class by holding a glass of water.
You want to know about my staying in America, right? Well, to tell you the truth, it is really an eye-opening experience to study here.
In China, I had English classes five times a week since fifth grade. However, I didn’t know how different textbook English could be from everyday English until I came to Hotchkiss School, Connecticut.
When I first studied English, I was told to say, “I am
fine.” when people say “How are you?” But in the US, I found t
hat
people say, “I am good.” or “I’m tired.”
One day, someone greeted me with “What’s up?” It made
me confused(不知所措). I thought for a moment and then smiled
because I
didn’t know what to say.
Since then, I have discovered more and more differences between Chinese and US cultures.
To my surprise, US girls spend a lot of time in the burning sun to get a tan(晒黑). However, in China, girls try every possible way to get their skin paler, or “whiter”.
I was also surprised by how hard-working US students are.
In China, schoolwork is almost everything, so we study hard and that’s it. But here, a “good” student gets good grades, does a lot for the public and plays sports or music.
The kids here are so talented, I am starting to be sorry that I gave up playing the piano at an early age and that I have never thought about sports.
1.How many English classes a week were there when the writer was in fifth grade in China?
A. 4 B. 5 C. 6 D.7
2.According to the writer, textbook English is ______ everyday English.
A. quite different from B. the same as C. more difficult than D. easier than
3.What did the writer do when he didn’t understand what someone greeted him?
A. He thought for a moment and smiled B. He greeted with “What?”
C. He didn’t how to say D. He was surprised
4.A good US student spends his / her time ______.
A. only in doing homework
B. only on sports or music
C. only in working for the public
D. on studies, sports or music and public work
5. Which of the following is NOT true ?
A. The writer is now staying in the US.
B. American girls love to have white skin.
C. The US students are hard-working.
D. Schoolwork is almost everything in China.
Mo Yan, a well-known Chinese writer, won the Nobel Prize for literature(文学) in 2012. He was also the first Chinese writer who got this prize in history. When he was interviewed, he said he was only a normal person who could tell stories. He especially thanked his mother. He thought his mother had a strong influence on him.
Mo Yan was born in a poor family in China’s rural area. When he was young, he was a little bit shy because he thought he wasn’t good-looking. His classmates often played jokes on his look. That made him very upset. His mother encouraged him to face the fact bravely. She told him not to look down on himself. She said it didn’t matter if a person didn’t have a good look and it was important to work hard and never give up. She hoped that his son would be a useful person in society.
Mo Yan didn’t let her mother down. He worked hard at
writing. He wrote many famous novels, such as Hong Gao Liang(《红高粱》)and Wa(《娃》). His
success tells us a truth,“Nobody can beat you unless you beat yourself.”Hold on
to your dream and y
our
dream will come true in the end.
1.When did Mo Yan win the Nobel Prize?
A. In 2010. B. Last year. C. In 2013. D. Last month.
2.Mo Yan was the first Chinese _________ in history.
A. to be interviewed about the Nobel Prize for Literature
B. to be a normal person who could tell stores
C. to win the Nobel Prize for literature
D. to be influenced strongly by his mother
3.Why
did Mo Yan feel upset when he was a
little boy?
A. Because he was poor.
B. Because he couldn’t 
tell
stories.
C. Because his classmates often laughed at his look.
D. Because he didn’t work hard.
4.What is the most important for a person according to the article?
A. Working hard. B. Money. C. A good job. D. A good look.
5.What can we learn from the story?
A. Mo Yan’s classmates were friendly to him.
B. Mo Yan was born in a rich family.
C. Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize for peace.
D. Mo Yan’s mother helped him a lot.
Imagine the situation. You are driving a car along a desert or on a mountain. You have no idea you are. You passed the last house two hours ago. Then your breaks down. It is night and it is cold. You have no mobile phone. What do you do? Well, next time take a with you. This invention may be able to help you. It is a device(装置) which uses satellites to find the user’s position(位置). It can find your position to within 20 metres. A GPS cannot start your car, but at least you will where you are.
GPS, which means Global Positioning System, is a small receiver. It looks like a mobile phone. You can hold it in your hand, or put in your pocket. It is sometimes put into a watch or a . We also find GPS devices in cars, planes, or boats. Some of these devices have electronic , so you know where you are. For example, in a city they can tell you the name of the .
There are parts to the Global Positioning System. The first part is the . You can either hold it in your hand have it fixed into your car, plane, etc. The second part is a group of satellites orbiting the Earth. The receiver contacts at least four of the satellites and calculates(计算) its position. The third part of the system is a network of ground stations. They are all over the world. They the satellites and make sure they are working well.
Some people think that in the future the GPS will be
as as the mobile. They are
becoming and more and more accurate(精确的). The
re
are also new uses for the GPS. Perhaps they will become like .
Everyone will have one and you will never be lost again.
1.A.where B. what C. who D. how
2.A.ship B. car C. train D. plane
3.A.watch B. ring C. clock D.GPS
4.A.advise B. know C. represent D. speak
5.A.radio B. TV C. robot D. machine
6.A.room B. office C. road D. mobile phone
7.A.parts B. maps C. video D. music
8.A.studio B. teenager C. bus D. street
9.A. five B. four C. three D. two
10.A. sender B. receiver C. Internet D. system
11.A.and B. then C. but D. or
12.A.control B. achieve C. allow D. imagine
13.A.expensive B. special C. new D. common
14.A. cheaper B. easier C. more expensive D. bigger
15.A.computers B. robots C. satellites D. watches
---I visited the Qinhu Lake last Sunday.
---______ Why didn’t you tell me earlier?
A. Have a good time B. I hope so. C. You did? D. It’s kind of you.
