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It seems that self-help books are topping best-seller lists more often these days. More people are turning to self-help books for advice on how to live their lives. Last year, sales of these books in the UK rose 20 percent, reaching a record high of 3 million, the Guardian reported.
Famous people or psychologists( 心理学家) wrote many of the self-help books. They teach you how to deal with problems in your life—for example, how to get along with your classmates, how to manage your time well and how to find happiness in your daily life.
But can these books really help us with our lives? People have lots of different opinions about this.
Julie Hall from London is a big fan of self-help books. After she read more than 300 of them, she set up her own self-help website. Her site helps women succeed in the business world. “They(self-help books) can give you the courage to do whatever you want to do,” she told the Independent.
However, recent research by the University of Montreal in Canada might not agree with that. Researchers surveyed two groups of people—one of the group had read many self-help books, while the other hadn’t. They found that people in the group who had read more self-help books have more stress.
There is no single “quick fix” that can make our lives better. However, it’s always good to know that help is at hand when we need it.
Self-help books help us learn to live 1. | |
Introduction | 2.people are turning to self-help books for advice on how to live their lives. Many of the self-help books were 3.by famous people or psychologists. They teach you what to 4.with problems. |
Opinions | After 5.more than 300 of them, Julie Hall set up her own website. Her site helps women have 6.in the business world. Self-help books can give you the courage to do whatever you 7.to do. |
8.research by the University of Montreal in Canada might not agree with that. A survey shows that people who had read more self-help books were more 9. | |
Conclusion | There is no single “quick fix” that can 10.our lives, but having help at hand is good. |
Joe was an old man. The 75-year-old lived very happily in a village and had a beautiful family. His children grew up and moved to different cities. Now, Joe has four grandchildren, and they visit him during their holidays.
During one vacation, Joe was preparing his home for the kids: cleaning and buying their favorite foods. After he finished working, he realized he lost his favorite watch. The watch was a gift from his wife when their first child was born. Joe treasured the watch very much, especially after his wife’s death. He was very upset about losing it.
Once his grandchildren came, they promised him they would find the watch.
One granddaughter asked: “Grandpa, do you remember when you saw the watch last before it went missing?”
“I guess when I was cleaning the barn!” Joe replied.
The children looked for more than two hours with Joe, but they could not find it. The kids were now also sad, but they tried to comfort their grandfather.
One grandson went back to the barn to look again. Joe asked why he was going there a second time. But the little boy just asked the others not to follow him and to keep silent.
He was there for about 15 minutes and then rushed to his grandfather. He found the watch and happily gave it to Joe.
Joe was surprised and asked how he was able to find it. The little boy replied: ”I sat there without making a noise, and the barn was so silent. After a few minutes, I heard the ‘tick, tick’ sound and found the watch.”
Joe hugged and thanked the little boy.
This is the power of silence. If we stay calm, we are more able to find the solution!
1.From Paragraph 2, we learn that Joe _____.
A. knew his grandchildren very well
B. liked doing housework very much
C. got tired of his grandchildren’s visits
D. looked forward to his grandchildren’s visits
2.The underlined word “Treasure” means________.
A. store for future use B. value highly
C. wear anytime D. mention carefully
3.How did one of the grandchildren find the watch?
A. He did a thorough cleaning of the barn.
B. He searched the barn carefully for two hours.
C. He made no noise and followed the ticking sound.
D. He asked other children for help.
4.Which is the right order of what happened in the story?
a. His grandchildren came.
b. They looked for more than two hours.
c. The little boy sat in the barn without making a sound.
d. One grandson went back to the barn again.
e. Joe lost his watch accidentally.
A. e a b d c B. e b a c d C. a e d b c D. a e c b d
5.What can we learn from the story?
A. Love keeps us busy all the time.
B. Helping those in need makes one feel good.
C. Believe in yourself and you can succeed.
D. Silence sometimes is more powerful than using your voice.
When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book, and a poor man got it.
The book wasn't very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum（羊皮纸）on which was written the secret of the "Touchstone".
The touchstone was a small pebble（鹅卵石）that could turn any common metal into pure gold.
The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this; The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.
So the man sold his house, bought a tent, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up normal pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebbles hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold—throw it into sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea. The days stretched into months and the months into years.
One day, however, about midafternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He was used to throwing each pebble into the sea as soon as he picked it up. So when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.
So it is with opportunity（机会）. Unless we are vigilant, it’s easy to fail to realize an opportunity when it is in hand and it's just as easy to throw it away.
1.According to the passage, the touchstone is a stone __________.
A.that you can touch
B.that can turn common metal into pure gold
C.that can bring you thousands of pebbles
D.that can bring you good luck
2.The man threw the touchstone into the sea because __________________.
A.it was cold
B.it was a normal pebble
C.he was too tired to hold it
D.he had formed a habit
3.How did the man probably feel when he realized it was the touchstone?
A.Excited. B.Moved. C.Interested. D.Regretted.
4.What's the meaning of the underlined word “vigilant” in the last paragraph?
A.Brave enough. B.Hard-working enough.
C.Careful enough. D.Strong enough.
5.What does the writer want to tell us?
A.Opportunity knocks but once.
B.Use it or lose it.
C.Where there is a will, there is a way.
D.Practice makes perfect.
Monday
Today, I visited Jim for the first time. He is in his 80s and lives with a pet dog. Jim can’t walk easily, so he doesn’t leave the house very often. I made a cup of tea for him. We sat in his lounge (客厅) and talked. Jim enjoys playing chess and watching Western films on TV. He told me about his family.
Tuesday
I took Jim out today. He walked through his front garden and stood at the gate for a little while. The postman said hello to Jim. He was tired. We will go to the shop next time.
Wednesday
Jim wanted to go out again today. We did not get to the shop on the corner, but Jim was getting better at walking. He enjoyed the fresh air.
Thursday
I bought some food for Jim. I helped him clear the cupboard. He found it hard to reach, so some of the food was there for a long time. I put the new food in the bottom of the cupboard so that he could reach it more easily.
Saturday
Today we played chess. I have been reading about how to play, but I am not very good. Jim said it didn’t matter. He said he was out of practice too! He still won the game.
1.What does Jim enjoy doing?
A. Making tea. B. Talking with his pet.
C. Walking with his family D. Watching television.
2.When did Jim meet the postman?
A. On Monday. B. On Tuesday. C. On Wednesday. D. On Saturday.
3.The writer did all of the following for Jim EXCEPT _________.
A. buy food for him B. talk with him
C. shop with him D. play chess with him
4.On Thursday, the writer __________.
A. told Jim about his family B. took Jim for a walk
C. helped Jim clean out his cupboard D. cooked some food for Jim
5.Why was some food in the cupboard for a long time?
A. Jim couldn’t reach the food in the bottom.
B. Jim didn’t like eating the food.
C. Jim couldn’t reach the food that was put too high.
D. Jim spent too much time playing chess so he had no time to eat the food.
Once upon a time, there lived a kind -hearted king. He liked birds and animals, and had a huge bird sanctuary（禁猎区）in his kingdom. He never ______ the animals and birds. He even did not ______ them for their meat. One day, the king looked up and ______ two birds. One bird was flying very high, very quickly. ______, the other bird just sat on the branch（树枝）and didn't move even a step. The trainer said that he had tried everything he could but still ______ to make the bird move. Soon, the king ______ that anyone who could make the other bird move and in a week would be given a bag of ______.
The news spread very quickly. A few days later, an old man reached the king' s palace and promised that he would make it ______ the other one. The king asked the trainer to take the old man to ______ the bird.
The next day, the king went to visit the old man. He was very ______ to see the other bird fly like the first one to great heights in rapid speed. The king was very happy and offered the old man a bag of gold and asked the old man ______ he had done to make the bird fly in just a ______. Without saying too much, the old man ______replied, "I just cut down the branch of the tree where the bird ______to sit"
Many of us are like this. We have ______ to fly; we know how to fly, and where to fly. Still we sit doing nothing or doing something that makes us inferior（较差的）to others.
1.A. harmed B. protected C. bought D. fed
2.A. teach B. kill C. watch D. find
3.A. heard B. saw C. felt D. smelled
4.A. Anyway B. Besides C. Moreover D. However
5.A. managed B. failed C. preferred D. forgot
6.A. asked B. discovered C. doubted D. announced
7.A. apples B. vegetables C. rice D. gold
8.A. for B. to C. like D. with
9.A. throw B. catch C. punish D. train
10.A. nervous B. proud C. surprised D. worried
11.A. what B. why C. when D. how
12.A. second B. minute C. day D. week
13.A. loudly B. suddenly C. quickly D. simply
14.A. happened B. used C. continued D. decided
15.A. arms B. feet C. feathers D. wings
---_____. Hope is always around you.
--- Thank you, Mr Green.
A.Never give up. B.Don’t be late.
C.Don’t thank goodness D.Never get so proud.
