Without any hesitation, he said, “I’d be better off dead.” Hearing those words come out of my best friend’s mouth tore my heart apart. He has repeated that phrase more than once, and my mind continually plays it over like a voice recording.
I met my best friend about three years ago. After knowing me for six months, he told me about his struggles with depression. Sadness was not the only emotion that came over me; I was shocked. He seemed so outgoing and happy all the time. I soon learnt that he was physically and emotionally abused as a young child, causing him to have suicidal (自杀的) thoughts.
He refuses to talk to others about his depression because he now distrusts adults, especially those in his family. In spite of this, he feels as if I understand him and that I know the right words to say. Thus, when it comes to helping him, convenience is not in my vocabulary. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I am doing, for he takes priority. Sometimes he just needs the assurance of my voice telling him that everything is going to be okay and that I will not let him down.
Many students at his school laugh at him when they notice the scars on his arms from cutting. It seems that other kids have every right to make fun of him and to look down on him. But no one holds such a right, so I encourage him to ignore the heartless kids who treat him badly. When he feels the weight of judging eyes or hateful voices, I always remind him that I care about him unconditionally. Just hearing me say I will always be his best friend seems to give him the security he needs to keep on going.
My best friend once told me that if he hadn’t had me, he wouldn’t be alive. He said that my encouraging words convinced him not to take his life. Our friendship has taught me that a single word can impact on someone’s life. With the fragility of life as it is, I believe in the necessity of encouragement.
1.The author’s friend got into depression mainly because _____ .
A.he lived without his parents |
B.he had poor health |
C.he received little care at school |
D.he had a bitter childhood |
2.We know from the passage that the author’s friend_____.
A.was better off three years ago |
B.thought little of others’ judging eyes |
C.appreciates the author’s help |
D.wants to communicate with his parents |
3.What is the best title for the passage?
A.I believe in encouragement. |
B.I enjoy friendship. |
C.My friend and I. |
D.The story of my friend. |
Yesterday was my stepmother’s birthday. I haven’t been home for a long time, so I wanted to stop by the house to 36 her on this special day. I have been 37
on a low income so I was afraid that I couldn’t afford the long 38 . Gas is so expensive nowadays! 39 , I filled my tank with gas and set off.
I 40 at a shopping mall and found a present. It was the 41 gift and I knew she would love it. 42 when I got to the cashier, my card was 43 !
I didn’t have enough money to 44 the gift!
So I thought about the 45 for a few minutes. I could put it back and get something 46 , but I knew there was 47 else in the store she would have liked as much. So, I transferred some money from my saving account and was able to buy the gift. It took a 48 part of my savings but I wanted her to have something special.
It turned out that she loved the gift and I 49 that even though I had spent almost all my money, my stepmother 50 the best. I was glad I gave her the best I could.
Before I 51 my parents’ house, my dad took me to one side and, with our secret handshake, he gave me some money. I hadn’t 52 anything to him about my financial 53 , but I guessed my dad just knew. When I got to the car, I saw the 54 he gave me was three times what I had spent on the gas and the gift! It shows that doing the right thing always comes with great 55 .
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The sales _____ steadily, the factory needs an increasing supply of raw material.
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We prefer to measure our football team’s success _____ the number of fans attending rather than the number of games won.
A.in addition to |
B.in terms of |
C.in honor of |
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阅读下面短文,按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求,在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空,并将【
When we read books we seem to enter a new world. This new world can be similar to the one we are living in, or it can be very 1 . Some stories are told 2 they were true. Real people who live in a normal world do real things; in other words, the stories are about people just like us doing what we do. Other stories, such as the Harry Potter books, are not 3 . They are characters and creatures that are very different from us and do things that would be 4 for us.
But there is more to books and writing than this. If we think about it, even realistic writing is only 5 . How can we tell the difference between what is real and what is not real? For example, when we read about Harry Potter, we do seem to learn something about the real world. And when Harry studies magic at Hogwarts, he also learns more about his real life than 6 . Reading, like writing, is an action. It is a way of 7 . When we read or write something, we do much more than simply look at words on a page. We use our 8 --- which is real --- and our imagination ---which is real in a different way --- to make the words 9 in our minds.
Both realism and fantasy use the imagination and the “magic” of reading and writing to make us think. When we read 10 realistic, we have to imagine that the people we are reading about are just like us, even though we know that we are real and they are not. It sounds 11 , but it works. When we read, we fill in missing information and 12 about the causes and effects of what a character does. We help the writer by pretending that what we read is like real life. In a way, we are writing the book, too.
Most of us probably don’t think about what is going on in our 13 when we are reading. We 14 a book and lose ourselves in a good story, eager to find out what will happen next. Knowing how we feel 15 we read can help us become better readers, and it will help us discover more about the real magic of books.
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