How many people have I met who have told me about the book that they have been planning to write but have never yet found the time? Far too many.
This is Life, all right, but we do treat it like a rehearsal (排演) and, unhappily, we do miss so many of its best moments.
We take jobs to stay alive and provide homes for our families, always making ourselves believe that this style of life is merely a temporary state of affairs along the road to what we really want to do. Then, at 60 or 65, we are suddenly presented with a clock and several grandchildren and we look back and realize that all those years waiting for Real Life to come along were in fact real life.
In America they have a saying much laughed at by the English:“Have a nice day!” They speak slowly and seriously in their shops, hotels and sandwich bars. I think it is a wonderful phrase, reminding us, in effect, to enjoy the moment: to value this very day.
How often do we say to ourselves, "I'll take up horse-riding (or golf, or sailing) as soon as I get a higher position," only to do none of those things when I do get the higher position.
When I first became a reporter, I knew a man who gave up a very well paid respectable job at the Daily Telegraph to go and edit a small weekly newspaper. At the time I was astonished by what appeared to me to be his completely abnormal (反常的) mental state. How could anyone turn his back on Fleet Street in central London for a small local area?I wanted to know.
Now I am a little older and possibly wiser, I see the sense in it. In Fleet Street the man was under continual pressure. He lived in an unattractive London suburb and he spent much of his life sitting on Southern Region trains.
1.The first paragraph of the passage tells us that .
A.we always try to find some time to write a book
B.we always make plans but seldom fulfill them
C.we always enjoy many of life's best moments
D.we always do what we really want to do
2.The underlined phrase "turn his back on" (paragraph 6) most probably means .
A.leave for B.return to C.give up D.rely on
3.The man ( paragraph 6) left his first job partly because he was .
A.in an abnormal state B.under too much pressure
C.not well paid D.not respected
4.What is probably the best title for the passage?
A.Provide Homes For Our Family B.Take Up Horse-riding
C.Value This Very Day D.Stay Alive
How men first learnt to invent words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a mystery. All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters. These letters could be combined to represent those sounds, and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken, or written in letters, we call words.
The power of words, then, lies in their associations---the things they bring up before our
minds. Words become filled with meaning for us by experience, and the longer we live, the more certain words recall to us the glad and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases. Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and emotions. This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary style. Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can convey his meaning in words which sing like music and which by their position and association can move men to tears. We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they will make our speech silly and vulgar(粗俗的).
1.Which is TRUE about the origin of language?
A.Men, as well as animals, in vented certain sounds to express thoughts.
B.The origin of language is a complicated question.
C.Words did not haven written form, at first.
D.Words were invented to represent meanings.
2.The power of words lies in .
A.the fact that it can associate the things in the world with the ideas in our minds.
B.the fact that once word is connected with another
C.the fact that it can associate one person with another
D.the fact that it can recall to us the events of our past
3.The following statements are true EXCEPT that .
A.the more we read and learn, the larger our vocabulary will be
B.the longer we live, the number of words that mean something to us increases
C.words can be used to represent various meanings
D.literary style is usually very charming
4.What does this passage primarily concern?
A.The Meaning of Words.
B.The Characteristics of Words.
C.The Origin of Words.
D.The Power of Words.
完形填空(共20小题:每小题1.5分,满分30分)
阅读下面短文,从短文所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
For Senior 3 students, choosing which college to attend can be the most exciting and thrilling time in their entire school lives. This is also true for an American girl 21 Melanie.
Melanie’s dad, James Porter, who is the chief of police for a Chicago suburb, wants Melanie to 22 nearby Northwestern University, where she’s 23 been accepted. But Melanie, 17,really wants to go to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C, where she’s been wait-listed.
When she gets an unexpected 24 from Georgetown University, she decides to 25 a road trip with a few 26 female friends. Melanie believes it is her first step 27 adulthood.
But 28 the fact that this trip is “girls only”, James isn’t 29 with the prospect(期望) of his little princess 30 the world without him. He wants to protect her, so he joins the girls and hopes he can convince Melanie to go to Northwestern. 31 Melanie’s father only has the best of 32 , his presence 33 an endless series of comic encounters(遭遇).
After following their faulty device 34 into the backwoods (偏远地区), James and Melanie 35 Melanie’s little brother and his pet pig have been hiding in the spare compartment (隔间). What should be a simple change 36 the expensive car rolling down a mountain, forcing them to hike to a nearby hotel…
All these disasters add spice to their trip while along the way a father and a daughter 37 get the chance to really 38 each other.
All parents, 39 they have college students or not, can relate to the bittersweet realization that their kids are growing up. 40 what Melanie and James have done, we all can find the delicate (脆弱的) balance between staying connected and letting go.
1.A.named B.naming C.namely D.names
2.A.join B.send C.attend D.pass
3.A.still B.always C.yet D.already
4.A.appointment B.interview C.visit D.meeting
5.A.provide B.offer C.take D.hold
6.A.closing B.close C.closed D.closely
7.A.toward B.for C.during D.with
8.A.though B.in spite C.once D.despite
9.A.satisfying B.successful C.comfortable D.meaningful
10.A.seeking B.examining C.searching D.exploring
11.A.Since B.Because C.While D.When
12.A.intentions B.attempts C.efforts D.planning
13.A.comes about B.leads to C.calls in D.turns out
14.A.lately B.late C.deeply D.deep
15.A.discover B.invent C.recognize D.realize
16.A.succeeds in B.brings in C.results from D.certainly
17.A.hopefully B.finally C.firstly D.certainly
18.A.agree to B.speak to C.talk to D.turn to
19.A.whether B.if C.what D.why
20.A.As B.Like C.For D.Except
Why is he not allowed to stay here? , it’s his home.
A.In all B.After all C.In other words D.To be frank
She is a diligent student, and all her spare time she has staying in the library.
A.is spent B.spent C.to spend D.to be spent
I still remember how many years ago I last met her in the countryside.
A.when it was B.was it that C.when was it D.it was that