Being young is great. Most of the parts of your body still work great, you have a full head of hair, you’re energetic, and you have a world of opportunity in front of you. However, there’s going to come a time when you start to get older. And as you get older, you’ll have new responsibilities, complete independence, and perhaps most importantly, less time to recover from mistakes.
You see, we all make mistakes in life. Maybe you spent more money than you should have on a car, you passed up on a great job opportunity, or you didn’t try as hard as you could have in school. It’s a part of life and we learn from it. But there are certain mistakes that are much better made while you’re still young and have plenty of time to recover.
I’m definitely not telling you that you should purposely go out and make these mistakes (because they’re a pain to recover from). But these are all mistakes that are much better made when you’re younger so that you can learn from them and not have them ruin your entire life.
Starting the wrong career
Wouldn’t you hate to be 45 years old and discover that you absolutely hate what you do for a living? It’s a reality that a lot of people face and it can be difficult to fix. You see, when you’re 23 and find out you don’t like the career path you’ve chosen, you can easily explore new career options.
We no longer live in an age when people are expected to stay with one company until they retire. You can bounce around a little bit and find out what you want to do. When you get older, just switching careers whenever you want isn’t as simple.
You have to consider your family, retirement, the difficulties you might run into with starting from the bottom in a new industry, and plenty of other issues that someone in their early 20’s just doesn’t have to deal with.
Dating the wrong person
The divorce rate in the U.S is extremely high. Other parts of the world aren’t doing too much better either. While everyone gets divorced for their own reasons, I think we can all agree that it’s better to find out that the person you’re with is wrong for you sooner rather than later.
Hopefully you find out whether or not the person you’re with is right for you before you tie the knot, because around 50% of first marriages end in divorce.
Messing up your credit
Ruining your credit is never a good idea. Even if you ruin it while you’re young, it could affect you in the future. The upside of having bad credit while you’re young instead of older is that you have time to build it back up.
It can take 7-10 years to rebuild your credit if you have a history of late payments, loan defaults, foreclosures, or bankruptcy. During those 7-10 years, you’ll have a hard time financing anything unless you have a cosigner or put down a substantial down payment.
Most people tend to make most of the bigger purchases in life when they get older such as a house or their dream car. If you have bad credit, you can kiss all of that goodbye.
Making bad investments
If you’re investing money for your retirement, making bad decisions can mean you’ll be working your entire life. Whether you choose to pay someone to do the investing for you or handle it all yourself, it’s a lot better to take risks when you’re younger.
If you invest in stock or even real estate while you’re young and the market takes a hit, you’re not ruined. Investing is a long-term venture, so the younger you start, the more fluctuation you can withstand and still come out with a positive return.
Blowing your money
What would you do if you went broke at 60 years old? You would be working your behind off when you really should be relaxing and getting ready to retire soon.
But if you’re 25 and broke, you still have plenty of time to earn more money. Also, nobody will judge you because it’s not unusual for people in their 20’s to not have money these days. You might have blown your money on a nice car or have an obsession with all the newest gadgets.
When you get older, you’ll be able to look back and realize how dumb you were for spending $20,000 on a brand new car when you were only 20 years old. But when you’re older and waste your money, you’ll REALLY have nothing to show for it.
1.The following are all the advantages of being young EXCEPT ___________.
A. you have more time to recover from mistakes
B. most of the parts of your body still work great
C. you have many responsibilities and complete independence
D. you have a world of opportunity in front of you
2.You can bounce around a little bit and find out what you want to do. “Bounce” in this sentence is most similar in meaning to __________.
A. My father would burst into the kitchen bouncing a football.
B. The wind was bouncing the branches of the big oak trees.
C. I was an army brat, I always bounced a lot when I was young
D. The ex-boxer's job is to bounce people who want to enter this private club.
3. What does the author really mean by saying “it’s a lot better to take risks when you’re younger”?
A. You should purposely go out and make these mistakes so that you can learn from them and not have them ruin your entire life.
B. There are certain mistakes that are much better made while you’re still young and have plenty of time to recover.
C. When you get older, you’ll have rich experiences to share with your friends and families however dumb you were
D. The younger you start, the fewer risks you can withstand and still come out with a positive return.
4.We can infer from the passage that ___________.
A. about 50% of first marriages end in divorce in the U.S, much higher than other parts of the world
B. never tie the knot before you make sure he or she will not divorce you
C. it usually takes 7-10 years to rebuild one’s credit if it is broken for any reason
D. it’s unusual for people in their 20’s to have money these days
5.The author wrote this article mainly to tell the young ____________.
A. if you are to take risks, the earlier, the better
B. it’s better for the young to take any risk than the older
C. that they should make big purchases such as a house when they get older
D. if you don’t take risks when young, your youth will be dumb
Chinese International School
Application Form
Before an applicant can be invited to take part in an assessment, an application form should be returned to the Admissions Office, and the application fee of HK$1,000 cannot be returned. For overseas applicants wishing to pay in currencies other than HK dollars, the fee is US$145. Checks are also good for payment to “Chinese International School”.
The application should include:
※ Applicant’ academic report from the last school year.
※ A recent passport-sized photo (attached to the application form).
※ A copy of the applicant’s Hong Kong ID card or a passport showing a valid Hong Kong visa.
※ Only for applicants applying under a Corporate Nomination(提名) Right: A company letter confirming the nomination.
Please note that the application fee is non-refundable. Applicants who would like to re-apply for another academic year are asked to submit a new application and application fee.
Acceptance
Applicants will be informed of their acceptance status in writing by postal mail. Initial (最初的) offers for Reception will be sent out from late March once all assessments have been completed.
Some applicants who have been assessed may be held on a reserve list. Acceptances may also be made on a conditional basis among the applicants on the reserve list.
Applicants who have been assessed but who have not been admitted are welcome to reapply for the next academic year. Please note that such applicants will be asked to submit a new application and application fee.
Confirmation of Acceptance and Enrollment (录取)
Once an applicant has been admitted, the applicant family will be asked to confirm acceptance and hold the student’s place with immediate payment of the required fees for the Nomination Right (HK$ 500), plus the sum of HK$ 7,500 as the first tuition (学费) payment.
In addition, enrollment will not be considered complete until the following have been received, normally one month before the start of the new school year:
Physical examination results
Tuition (first month)
1. According to the passage, if the applicants reapply for an academic year, ______.
A. the application fee can be reduced to a half
B. applicants on a reserve list needn’t be assessed
C. the initial application form should be returned to the Admissions Office
D. a new application and application fee are to be required
2.Which of the following is true?
A. Once applicants are refused, they can’t apply for it again.
B. Applicants held on a reserve list will not be admitted.
C. The applicants should show either a Hong Kong visa or a Hong Kong ID card.
D. Applicants don’t have to get a company letter to confirm their application.
3.How will the applicants possibly be informed of the acceptance status?
A. By fax. B. By e-mail.
C. By regular mail D. By telephone.
4.According to the Application Process, the first tuition payment is ______.
A. HK$ 500 B. HK$7, 500
C. HK$1, 000 D. US$ 145
5.If an applicant has been admitted, the applicant family ______.
A. will be asked to submit a new application
B. will receive physical Examination results
C. will be asked to only pay the first month fee
D. will be asked to confirm acceptance and pay the fees
More than a hundred reporters from around the world thronged and bustled in the Stock Exchange Building in Stockholm's Old Town for about an hour before the doors to the Swedish Academy swung open. Notably, there were many Japanese reporters present, hoping to break the news that Haruki Murakami had won the prize. Finally, the Swedish Academy's Permanent Secretary Peter Englund stepped out from the doors and said Canadian short story writer Alice Munro has won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature.
The following is a truncated Q&A with reporters and Englund. (The questions have been simplified and clarified.)
Why did Alice Munro win?
We gave her the Nobel Prize in Literature because she is a master of the contemporary short story.
Which book to begin with?
One of the amazing things about her is that she has no weak works in her writing. She has always worked to the best of her ability; she has always cultivated the short story to perfection. And she has never really written a weak or bad book. So you can take your pick. 'The Moons of Jupiter' was the first book I read by her and you can see both her different themes in that book and also her very special narrative mode, you can find it there. She tells her stories a bit like nobody else. She has a very economical language and sparse style. You can find that in 'The Moons of Jupiter.' You can take your pick. The latest one is obviously very interesting, 'Dear Life,' which contains a number of autobiographical sketches at the end that gives a key to the entire authorship of Alice Munro.
How was she informed?
Well, I left a message on her answering machine. I couldn't reach her and it was of course pretty early in the morning. But she will be notified by courier, by email to her both agents, by standard mail and so on.
What kind of message did you leave?
Basically, congratulations! You've won the Nobel Prize in literature.
What's the Importance of a woman winning?
Don't ask me. We picked her for excellence, nothing else. Of course it matters when you start doing the headcount. But she is no representative. She has received this prize just because of what she has done. Nothing else.
So the sexual balance doesn't count?
We don't have these kinds of quotas; thank god ... We don't have any quotas. We could, if we wanted to, award this prize four times in a row to a children's book writer working in the United States. If we wanted to. We can do as we please. We don't have to fill any quotes in any direction. We just give it to authors who show an extraordinary literary quality. One of these is Mrs. Alice Munro.
1.Why were there so many Japanese reporters in the Stock Exchange Building in Stockholm's Old Town?
A. They were waiting there to report who would win the 2013 Nobel Prize in 2013.
B. They had expected that Haruki Murakami would win the prize.
C. They just wanted to be the first to report the 2013 Noble Prize winner.
D. They were waiting in the stock market to give the world a big surprise.
2.Alice Munro would most probably be informed of her winning by ________?
A. picking up her answering machine B. email from both of her agents
C. standard mail D. The passage doesn’t clarify it.
3.According to the passage, Alice Munro was awarded the 2013 Noble Prize in Literature mainly for ________.
A. she has an obvious advantage over Haruki Murakami
B. it is rare for a woman to have written so many perfect stories
C. she is a master of the contemporary short story
D. she deserves a prize for her hard work for so many years
4.Alice Munro is best known for her work ________.
A. “Dear Life”, which contains a number of autobiographical sketches that gives a key to her entire authorship
B. “The Moons of Jupiter”, which represented both her different themes and also her very special narrative mode
C. “Dance of the Happy Shades”, which helped her win the first Governor General’s Award
D. no specific work, but the uniqueness and perfection reflected in all her works
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21—40题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
I was in the ninth year at St Joseph’s High School, when I began to suffer depression. My parents noticed, but felt that since I’d always been a responsible girl and a good student, this was just a temporary 21 .
Unfortunately, that was not to be. I didn’t have many friends. I could never share my 22. A deep insecurity destroyed my self-confidence. Soon I 23 to attend classes for many days. I would shut myself in my room for hours.
The examinations were approaching, 24 I simply didn’t care. My parents and teachers were surprised at my bad performance.
One morning, after a particularly 25 lecture from Dad, I stood depressed, in the school assembly. 26 , as the other students marched to their classroom, our principal 27 me. I made my way to Sister Sylvia’s office.
The next 45 minutes were the most 28 moments of my life. Sister Sylvia said she’d noticed a big 29 in me. She wanted to know why I was lagging in studies, so frequently 30 and unhappy. She took my hand in hers and 31 patiently as I spilled out my worries. She then 32 me as I sobbed my pent-up （压抑的）emotions out. Months of frustration and loneliness 33 in her motherly hug.
No one had tried to 34 what the real problem was, but my principal had done it with her simple act of just listening to me with such 35 and caring.
As the examinations approached again, I studied 36 . When the results were 37 , everybody was pleased, but happiest of all was my principal.
I soon made new friends and was happy 38 . But whenever I had a problem, I could always slip into Sister Sylvia’s office for a(n) 39 .
Today I’m a 40 young woman doing my MA and hoping to become a writer. I’ve become an inspiration to several of my friends and cousins, thanks to a kind nun who cared.
1.A. basis B. stageC. adjustment D. solution
2.A. viewpointsB. experiences C. problems D. dreams
3.A. skipped B. refused C. regretted D. forgot
4.A. otherwiseB. thoughC. butD. or
5.A. severe B. public C. popularD. formal
6.A. Also B. Therefore C. Still D. Then
7.A. attractedB. accompaniedC. calledD. instructed
8.A. preciousB. curious C. anxious D. serious
9.A. quality B. change C. mistake D. faith
10.A. absent B. dishonestC. aggressiveD. calm
11.A. looked B. waited C. listened D. worked
12.A. hugged B. acknowledge C. observed D. educated
13.A. passed awayB. rode awayC. drove awayD. melted away
14.A. reveal B. understand C. realizeD. doubt
15.A. dignityB. courageC. attentionD. satisfaction
16.A. hard B. aloneC. closelyD. abroad
17.A. declaredB. obtainedC. appliedD. compared
18.A. foreverB. againC. anyhowD. instead
19.A. requestB. effectC. reasonD. chat
20.A. mature B. quietC. smartD. happy
David dislikes television heroes who smoke, __________?
A. do they B. don’t they
C. doesn’t he D. does he
— I was hoping you were able to lend me the money.
— __________________
A. That’s right! B. You can forget that!
C. You are welcome. D. Never mind.
