When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings. Week by week her list grew: I was very thin; I wasn’t a good student; I talked too much; I was too proud and so on. I tried to bear all these things as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.
He listened to me quietly, then he asked, “Are the things she said true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you are really like? Well, you now have the girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said, mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to other things she said.”
I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half of the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I got a fairly clear picture of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it, “That’s just for you,” he said. “You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just closing your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something that is said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to other people’s opinions, but hear the truth and do what you think is right.”
Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.
1.The underlined sentence “Week by week her list grew” means “__________”.
A. Week by Week, my shortcomings grew more serious
B. She had made a list of shortcomings and kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer
C. I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on
D. Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and point them out
2.Why did her father listen to her quietly?
A. Because he believed that what her daughter’s enemy said was mostly true.
B. Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while.
C. Because he didn’t believe in his daughter
D. Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth.
3.What did the father do after he heard his daughter’s complaint?
A. He told her not to pay any attention to what her “enemy” said.
B. He criticized her and told her to overcome her shortcomings.
C. He told her to write down all that her "enemy" had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true.
D. He refused to take the list and have a look at it.
4.Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?
A. Not an Enemy, but a Best Friend
B. My Father
C. The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had
D. My Childhood
It is winter in many parts of the world. For some areas, that means snow. Maybe even lots of snow. If you don’t have to drive in it or remove it, snow can be very beautiful. When snow covers everything around you, the world looks like a “winter wonderland”. That is the name of a very popular song about winter. Richard Smith and Felix Bernard wrote the song back in 1934. There are hundreds of recordings of this happy song.
But winter is not always such a beautiful and happy time. It’s cold outside. You try hard to keep warm. The days are darker and shorter. The sun rarely shines. The leaves on the trees are brown. It isn’t surprising that some people are sad in winter. And some people dream about being somewhere else where it’s warm and pretty—like the state of California. The Mamas and the Papas recorded this famous song “California Dreaming”.
During the 1960s, many other famous rock groups released songs about winter. Here is a poetic song by Simon and Garfunkel called “A Hazy Shade of Winter”. They sing about life and hope and possibilities.
In 1968, the group Blood, Sweat and Tears recorded this gentle, sad song about winter. They sing about a lost love and forgotten memories in “Sometimes in Winter”.
In the early 1990s, Tori Amos wrote and recorded the beautiful song called “Winter”. She enjoyed singing about winter when she was a child.
Finally, on a happier note comes this song written and recorded by Fountains of Wayne in 2003. They sing about a snowstorm in a New England town. Nothing unusual there. But instead of being sad or tense about the snow, they write a song about it.
1.When is snow beautiful?
A. When people drive in it.
B. When people don’t have to take it away.
C. When it has snowed heavily.
D. When people sing in the snow.
2.According to the second paragraph, winter is ________ .
A. beautiful and happy
B. happy and warm
C. lovely and hopeful
D. cold and sad
3.Which of the songs can bring us hope of life?
A. Winter Wonderland.
B. California Dreaming.
C. A Hazy Shade of Winter.
D. Sometimes in Winter.
4.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A. Songs about winter.
B. Different ideas about winter.
C. Winter in different areas.
D. Winter is cold but happy.
Bowen was grown-up, and for his birthday that year his father gave him a without any pictures in it!
Bowen’s father found he was not about it, and told him, “Son, this isn’t just any book; it’s a magic (有魔力的) book. But to discover its magic you’ll have to it.”
Well, that was better. Bowen liked to do with magic. He started reading it, he wasn’t very willing to.
The next morning, his asked him, “Have you found the magic ?”
So… there was a key to find! Bowen flicked through (快速翻阅) the book, but there was no of the key.
And then his father him, “You won’t find it like that. You have to read the book. ”
Bowen didn’t have much patience (耐心) , thinking his father just told a .A little later, his little sister, Rainer, asked him the book. After several days, she shouted, “I’ve found the key! ” And she wouldn’t stop all the places she had visited using the magic key.
This made Bowen read the book again. At first it was a ; there wasn’t even one single in the book. But, gradually, Bowen became the adventurous (冒险的) prince’s life. Then, suddenly, he was there.
The book was the key!
It was true that every time he it, he felt going to its valleys and seas, and he lived the adventures of the prince.
From then on, with every new book, Bowen never being attracted by the letters and words inside.
1.A. diary B. book C. box D. bag
2.A. sad B. surprised C. happy D. angry
3.A. ordinary B. special C. new D. famous
4.A. keep B. take C. read D. value
5.A. somebody B. everything C. nothing D. anybody
6.A. though B. so C. and D. or
7.A. uncle B. father C. mother D. aunt
8.A. key B. page C. word D. stick
9.A. mark B. signal C. sign D. way
10.A. asked B. praised C. told D. followed
11.A. will B. story C. joke D. lie
12.A. for B. of C. to D. back
13.A. badly B. happily C. slowly D. quickly
14.A. working out B. turning down C. talking about D. looking for
15.A. pity B. pleasure C. success D. pain
16.A. note B. picture C. text D. title
17.A. interested in B. busy with C. tired of D. good at
18.A. it B. yourself C. itself D. himself
19.A. put B. opened C. threw D. covered
20.A. stopped B. tried C. felt D. began
Don’t annoy me again. I must warn you that my patience is almost_______.
A. in charge B. in ruins C. at present D. at an end
I’m afraid I can’t attend your wedding ceremony, but thanks for the invitation_______.
A. personally B. briefly C. anyway D. totally
－How can we get to the airport? It’s too far and too expensive to take a taxi.
－Don’t worry. There is a ________bus service to the airport.
A. regular B. general C. normal D. Usual
