I always reflect on what happened in my life. I think this is important—to appreciate our wins, losses, new passions, insights, etc. 1. Here are some tips for you on reflection.
1. Focus on the process and not the outcome.
This thought was beautifully summed up by Srikumar Rao. He explains how we fail because
we focus our energies on the outcome rather than the- process itself. When a child learns to walk, she never focuses on the outcome but on the process.
2. Failure is a lead not a stop sign.
When you hit a wall and things don’t turn up the way they are intended, no one is saying to you, “This is where you stop because you failed”. If you do, you are reading the wrong information. Failure tells us, “ 2. Try another method.”
3. Happiness is not the destination but the journey.
We think that happiness is a result that comes after having acquired or achieved something we don’t have. This is not quite right. 3. It’s about stepping back and enjoying the ride rather than expecting it at your destination point.
4. Wisdom comes from the balance between your knowledge and your heart.
Let your heart talk more; it’s wiser than you think. You can be as knowledgeable and clever as one can be. 4. Wisdom is really having reached a stage where you balance all your knowledge with your heart.
5. Gratitude is the energy-drink of the soul.
Say thank you to the universe every morning. Appreciation can lift your soul from anxiety which weighs you down. Try it out. 5. It will help you appreciate life with more depth and perspective.
A. Failure is the mother of success.
B. Happiness is when we accept and enjoy everything as it is.
C. This method and the intended result do not match.
D. Be thankful to at least one thing in your day.
E. Not reflecting on our lives and experiences is a wasted chance for growth.
F. Happiness means achieving your goals and getting what you want.
G. But if your mind doesn’t go with your heart, you are losing energy in internal conflicts.
In many African countries, the care of orphans has been mainly led by foreign donor organizations. However, Sister Florence has changed all that. Using her own resources, Sister Florence is leading the work of raising orphans from different backgrounds. Sister Florence Wanjala’s biggest motivation to start the orphan program was when she saw a little boy whose parents had died. The boy was living with a cruel grandparent and he would visit the grave of his mother, crying for support. Sister Wanjala wanted to give a helping hand and give him hope. From that time, she started feeling the call to help a larger number of orphans.
She opened an office with a few friends and coordinated (协调)a program to help the orphans. All the registrations were done in the office and the program so far has 8000 children. Sister Wanjala said, “My dream is to help the orphan to live a holistic (完整)life and be a good Kenyan citizen to help this country. Many people think that the way to support orphans is to put them in an institution. Others support them up to the age of eighteen, but here, we do it very differently.” For Sister Wanjala, putting a child in an institution is normally her last choice. She prefers the orphans to live in a foster home.
She said, “I’m so encouraged and happy to see the orphans succeeding. When they come first or second in class, it shows how the program has helped them, and that’s encouraging to me as I continue to coordinate the program.” Through her charity work, more than 1000 orphans have been able to find a home. Sister Wanjala, as a mother, takes care of her own family.
1.What inspired Sister Wanjala to start the orphan program?
A. Her preference for kids. B. Her own similar experience.
C. A sad story about an orphan. D. Her successful charity work.
2.Sister Wanjala opened an office mainly to ______.
A. set up as many institutions as possible for orphans
B. start a program to offer orphans a foster family
C. provide school education for those orphans
D. raise more money for the homeless kids
3.What does the underlined sentence probably mean?
A. She didn’t want orphans to live in an institution.
B. She preferred to put orphans into an institution.
C. She had no choice but to put orphans in institutions.
D. She sent orphans into an institution in the end.
4.What can we learn from the text?
A. Sister Wanjala finally adopted the little boy.
B. Sister Wanjala found foster homes for 8000 orphans.
C. Sister Wanjala was too busy to care for her own family.
D. Sister Wanjala was not alone in helping orphans.
Dieters' who eat meals high in protein might lose a bit more weight than those who get less protein and more carbohydrates (碳水化合物)一all other things being equal, a new analysis of past studies suggests. Researchers found that over an average of 12 weeks, people having a high一protein diet lost about 1.8 extra pounds, and more body fat, than those having a standard-protein diet.
Wycherley from the University of South" Australia in Adelaide, the lead author on the study says it’s possible that the body may spend more energy and bum more calories while dealing with protein, compared to carbohydrates. Another explanation for the link his team observed is that eating protein helps preserve muscle mass and muscle mass bums more calories, even when the body is resting, than other types of mass. He says people in the studies tend to get protein from a variety of animal and vegetable sources. Vegetable sources of protein include beans.
It is not obvious why a higher protein-to-carbohydrate ratio might help people lose more pounds——and one obesity researcher not involved in the new analysis questioned whether the trials were strong enough to make that conclusion. “The studies are generally far too short to tell effect,” Dr. James Levine from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, told Reuters Health in an e-mail. But given the limitations of the present evidence, Levine said, “It makes no real difference which of the weight-loss ways one chooses.”
1.According to Wycherley’s analysis, dieters should take in more ______.
A. fat B. carbohydrates C. protein D. calories
2.What can we learn from the studies?
A. It bums more calories to deal with carbohydrates.
B. Protein helps keep muscle mass which bums calories.
C. Vegetables contain more protein than animals.
D. No more calories are burned while the body is resting.
3.What is Levine’s attitude towards the conclusion of the studies?
A. Doubtful. B. Supportive. C. Curious. D. Agreeable.
Legends about the development of coffee are varied and interesting, involving chance occurrences, political tricks, and the pursuit of wealth and power.
According to one story, a sheepherder named Kaldi, as he tended his sheep, noticed the effect of coffee beans. He noticed that the sheep became excited after eating the red “cherries" from a certain plant when they changed pastures (牧场). He tried it himself, and was soon as overactive as his sheep. Another story relates that a monk happened to discover that this fruit from the shiny green plant could help him stay awake.
Another legend gives us the name for coffee, “mocha”. Omar, an Arabian was thrown to the desert with his followers to die of starvation. In desperation, Omar had his friends boil and eat the fruit from an unknown plant. Not only did the soup save the group, but the residents of the nearest town, Mocha, took their survival as a religious sign. The plant and its beverage (饮料) were named Mocha to honor this event.
Coffee was introduced much later to countries beyond Arabia, whose inhabitants believed it to be a tasty thing and guarded its secret as if they were top secret military plans. The government forbade transportation of the plant out of the Moslem nations. The actual spread of coffee was started illegally. One Arab named Baba Budan smuggled (走私) beans to some mountains near Mysore, India, and started a farm there. Early in this century, some of those original plants were found still growing fruitfully in the region.
Coffee today is grown and enjoyed worldwide, and is one of the few crops that small farmers in third-world countries can profitably export.
1.What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?
A. A sheepherder used coffee beans to keep sheep excited.
B. Coffee was a special kind of red cherry from a certain plant.
C. A sheepherder and a monk accidently discovered coffee’s effect.
D. Sheep ate a lot of coffee beans while they changed pastures.
2.Which of the following involves political tricks?
A. Kaldi’s story. B. The monk’s story.
C. Omar’s story. D. Baba Budan’s story.
3.Mocha is originally the name of ______.
A. a town B. an Arabian C. a kind of coffee D. a sheepherder
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A. The Secret of Coffee B. The Tales of Coffee
C. People’s Love for Coffee D. The Function of Coffee
One day I walked down to get to my car, thinking about what I had to accomplish and scolding myself for being late for work, but surprisingly the car was nowhere to be found.
This was at 8 a.m. in the morning. I made trips to all the towing places and police stations, all the time thinking that it was towed (拖走）by cops (巡警).By around 10 a.m., the cops decided that it was actually stolen. After filing a report with them, I finally got to work thinking how my day was completely messed up.
Later in the day I went to pick up a rental car at Enterprise only to realize that my license was missing, too, along with my car. I told the enterprise guy the whole story and he offered to take me to the closest DMV and get a duplicate (副本) license. 1 was totally shocked. I did not know why this complete stranger would want to take some time off his day to help me. He actually took me to DMV, got a duplicate and then rented me a car. I was upset the whole day because of the events happening to me but somehow this simple act of kindness from a complete stranger made it all worth it. It cheered me up and made me forget all the troubles of the day. I was so moved by this kind act that the next day I made sure someone else got a similar surprise. I took some smiley shaped chocolates and left them on some of my colleagues’ desks.
There is still a lot of goodness out there in the world. We just need to take the time to notice it. I hope that this story would inspire many others like me to do more acts of kindness.
1.The moment the author found the car missing, he thought ______.
A. it was stolen by a stranger B. it was towed by the police
C. he placed it in a wrong place D. he should rent another one
2.We can infer that DMV is ______.
A. an office for license B. a towing place
C. a renting place D. a parking lot
3.Why did the author put some chocolates on his colleagues’ desks?
A. His colleagues were fond of chocolates.
B. He wanted to thank his colleagues.
C. He was touched and hoped to cheer others.
D. He wanted to do his colleagues a favor.
4.The author writes about his experience ______.
A. to criticize the person stealing his cars
B. to praise the rental place at Enterprise
C. to tell us a surprising but moving story
D. to encourage people to do acts of kindness
It was the summer of my freshman year of college. Instead of heading home for a nice long 1 , my friends and I had decided to 2 and take some extra courses. We had 3 the top floor of an old house to live in. My bed was 4 into a stuffy (愁闷的)former laundry room and each night was a new 5 in humidity. Still, it felt 6 to be in my own place for the first time. After the first few weeks, 7 , the thrill faded and 8 set in. I found myself sitting alone each night 9 my home and my parents.
My summer holidays had always been a 10 time. I spent hours playing basketball and swimming. I talked to my Mom while she tended her flowers. I 11 helping my Dad drag firewood for the winter. And every night I sat at a dinner table full of delicious food 12 with love while my family filled the room with the sound of sweet 13 . Now I found myself missing them 14 than ever.
Finally when my 15 were at their lowest, I heard a 16 at the door. I opened it and was 17 to see my parents standing there with big smiles to fill my 18 heart and a box full of food to feed my hungry friends. We spent the afternoon eating 19 , and just being together. It felt so good, and I felt so loved.
Victor Hugo wrote that, “The supreme happiness of life is the 20 that one is loved; loved for oneself, or better yet, loved despite oneself.” It was that gift of happiness that my parents gave me that afternoon and every day of my life.
1.A. journey B. term C. break D. way
2.A. leave B. stay C. relax D. travel
3.A. rented B. bought C. painted D. repaired
4.A. made B. changed C. jammed D. hidden
5.A. wish B. pleasure C. experiment D. adventure
6.A. exciting B. boring C. astonishing D. moving
7.A. anyway B. though C. therefore D. instead
8.A. headache B. loneliness C. satisfaction D. homesickness
9.A. forgetting about B. relying on C. thinking of D. referring to
10.A. special B. terrible C. specific D. difficult
11.A. gave up B. had trouble in C. put off D. took pride in
12.A. frozen B. prepared C. tasted D. kept
13.A. laughter B. scream C. whistle D. sigh
14.A. less B. more C. worse D. better
15.A. minds B. dreams C. spirits D. thoughts
16.A. kick B. hit C. crash D. knock
17.A. disappointed B. surprised C. puzzled D. encouraged
18.A. hungry B. open C. sick D. gentle
19.A. making up B. getting up C. catching up D. taking up
20.A. sign B. chance C. secret D. belief
