I will never forget the year I was about twelve years old. My mother told us that we would not be _ _ Christmas gifts because there was not enough money. I felt sad and thought, “What would I say when the other kids asked what I’d ?” Just when I started to that there would not be a Christmas that year, three women at our house with gifts for all of us. For me they brought a doll. I felt such a sense of that I would no longer have to be embarrassed when I returned to school. I wasn’t . Somebody had thought of me to bring me a gift.
Years later, when I stood in the kitchen of my new house, thinking how I wanted to make my Christmas there special and memorable, I remembered the women’s visit. I decided that I wanted to create that same feeling of for as many children as I could possibly reach.
So I a plan and gathered forty people from my company to help. We gathered about 125 orphans (孤儿) at the Christmas party. For every child, we wrapped colorful packages filled with toys, clothes, and school supplies, with a child’s name. We wanted all of them to know they were . Before I called out their names and handed them their gifts, I them that they couldn’t open their presents every child had come forward. Finally the they had been waiting for came as I called out, “One, two, three. Open your presents!” As the children opened their packages, their faces beamed and their bright smiles up the room. The in the room was obvious, and wasn’t just about toys. It was a feeling –the feeling I knew that Christmas so long ago when the women came to visit. I wasn’t forgotten. Somebody thought of me. I matter.
1.A. sending B. receiving C. making D. exchanging
2.A. got B. prepared C. found D. expected
3.A. doubt B. hope C. accept D. suggest
4.A. broke in B. turned up C. settled down D. showed off
5.A. achievement B. loss C. relief D. justice
6.A. blamed B. forgotten C. loved D. affected
7.A. enough B. little C. poorly D. highly
8.A. present B. recent C. first D. previous
9.A. hardly B. occasionally C. regularly D. instantly
10.A. importance B. independence C. strength D. safety
11.A. kept up with B. came up with C. caught up with D. put up with
12.A. none B. few C. each D. some
13.A. fine B. normal C. helpful D. special
14.A. convinced B. guaranteed C. reminded D. promised
15.A. until B. after C. when D. since
16.A. chance B. gift C. reward D. moment
17.A. took B. lit C. burned D. cheered
18.A. atmosphere B. sympathy C. joy D. calmness
19.A. such B. it C. something D. everybody
20.A. from B. till C. for D. by
“Three Apples” changed the world. The first one seduced (引诱) Eve. The second one awakened Newton. 1. Here are some famous words from Steve Jobs to share.
On Character
I’m the only person I know that’s lost a quarter of a billion dollars in one year. 2.
On good design
That’s been one of my mottoes — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex — You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.
On his outlook
3. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful, that’s what matters to me.
On your working life
Your work is to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. 4. If you haven’t found it, keep looking. Don’t settle.
On the importance of death
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. 5. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away.
A. It’s very character-building.
B. This is not a one-man show.
C. The third one was in the hands of Steve Jobs
D. And yet death is the destination we all share.
E. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.
F. Being the richest man in the cemetery (墓地) doesn’t matter to me
G.. It’s really hard to design products by focusing on groups.
Every hour spent in watching TV, DVDs and videos as an adult reduces life expectancy by almost 22 minutes, a study suggests. And viewing TV for an average of six hours a day can cut short your life by five years.
The research claims that a sedentary(久坐的) lifestyle is as bad for health as smoking and obesity, because of the dangers caused by inactivity and the greater opportunities it offers for unhealthy eating.
The academics conducting the study set out to calculate the overall risk to life expectancy from watching television. Their research involved more than 11,000 people over the age of 25.
Writing in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, they concluded. "TV viewing time may be associated with a loss of life, which is similar to other major chronic disease risk factors such as physical inactivity and obesity."
The researchers, from the University of Queensland, used information from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study, together with population and death rate data.
But they said: "Although we used Australian data, the effects in other industrialized and developing countries are likely to be similar, considering the large amounts of time spent watching TV and similarities in disease patterns." In the United Kingdom, the average amount of time spent watching TV is four hours a day, compared with five hours in the United States.
Earlier this year, a separate study suggested the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease, or dying early, rises by as much as 20 percent after just two hours a day in front of the box.
England's Chief Medical Officer, Sally Davies, said: "Physical activity offers huge benefits and these studies back what we already know - that a sedentary lifestyle carries additional risks. We hope these studies will help more people realize that there are many ways to get exercise."
1.We can learn from the passage that_______
A. whether you watch TV or not has nothing to do with how long you will live
B. if an adult watches TV for six hours every day, he will die five years earlier
C. physical inactivity and obesity won't shorten your life
D. a sedentary lifestyle offers huge benefits.
2.The word "it" in the second paragraph refers to
A. a sedentary lifestyle
B. eating
C. smoking
D. obesity
3.What do we know from the last three paragraphs?
A. People in the United Kingdom watch TV longer than those in the United States.
B. That a sedentary lifestyle carries additional risks isn't supported by other studies.
C. Watching TV for two hours a day will increase the risk of illnesses or dying early by 20%.
D. It is through these studies that we know a sedentary lifestyle carries additional risks.
4.The passage is intended to _______.
A. inform the readers of a research on watching TV
B. warn the readers of the harm of watching TV and hope they do sports
C. tell the readers watching TV is also a good way to relax
D. tell the readers large amounts of people often watch TV
A woman Vicki once knew a young person named Susan at church. Susan always seemed happy, although Vicki knew she had faced struggles in her life. Her long-awaited marriage had quickly ended in divorce, but her whole face seemed to smile.
One day Vicki asked Susan,“How is it that you are always so happy, you have so much energy, and you never seem to get down?”
With her eyes smiling, Susan said,“I know the secret!”
“What secret is that? What are you talking about?”Vicki asked.
Susan replied,“The secret is this: I have learned there is little I can do in my life that will make me truly happy. I must depend on God to make me happy and meet my needs. When a need arises in my life, I have to trust God to supply according to HIS riches. I have learned most of the time I don’t need half of what I think I do. He has never let me down. Since I learned that secret, I am happy.”
Vicki thought first, “That’s too simple!” But upon reflecting over her own life, she remembered how she thought a bigger house would make her happy, but it didn’t! She thought a better-paying job would make her happy, but it didn’t. When did she realize her greatest happiness? Sitting on the floor with her grandchildren, playing games, eating pizza or reading a story, this is a simple gift from God.
1.What do we know about Susan?
A. She lived a very happy life with her family.
B. She always wore a pretended smile on her face.
C. She had her own share of trouble in life.
D. She could overcome every difficulty in life.
2.What is Susan’s secret of happiness?
A. Carrying out your promise
B. Never wanting much in life
C. Depending on God
D. Brushing away your worries
3.Vicki used to _____.
A. get happiness from better –paying work
B. live a happy life in a big house
C. be at a loss as to what the real happiness was
D. enjoy the simple things in life
4.After hearing Susan’s words , Vicki ________.
A. sold her big house and quit job
B. changed her idea about happiness
C. still doubted about her life
D. found a simple gift from God .
As the pace（步速） of life continues to increase , we are fast losing the art of relaxation. Once you are in the habit of rushing through lift, being on the go from morning till night, it is hard to slow down. But relaxation is completely necessary for a healthy mind and body.
Stress is an natural part of everyday lift and there is no way to avoid it. In fact , it is not the bad thing it is often supposed to be. A certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and give purpose to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health.
The amount of stress a person can withstand(忍受) depends very much on the individual. Some people are not afraid of stress, and such characters are obviously prime material for managerial responsibilities. Others lose heart at the first signs of unusual difficulties. When exposed to stress, in whatever form, we react both chemically and physically. In fact we make choice between "fight" or "flight" and in more primitive days the choice made the difference between life or death. The crises（危机）we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme, but however little the stress, it involves the same response. It is when such a reaction lasts long, through continued exposure to stress, that health becomes endangered. Such serious conditions as high blood pressure and heart disease have established（确定的）links with stress. Since we cannot remove stress from our lives (it would be unwise to do so even if we could), we need to find ways to deal with it.
1.Which of the following statements is true, according to the passage?
A. We can find some ways to avoid stress
B. Stress is always harmful to people’s health.
C. It is easy to change the habit of keeping oneself busy with work.
D. Different people can withstand different amounts of stress
2.In the last sentence of the passage, “do so” refers to .
A. “expose ourselves to stress”
B. “find ways to deal with stress”
C. “remove stress from our lives”
D. “establish links between diseases and stress”
3.According to the author, the right attitude toward stress is .
A. to avoid it
B. to try to deal with it
C. to regard it as a vital motivation
D. to find some relaxation
The Sahara Festival is a three-day African celebration of the very recent past, which takes place every year either in November or December. It is part military display and part competition. The military display comes first. It is very popular with tourists and local people and especially with government leaders.
During the opening ceremonies, the government leaders first make speeches. They welcome everybody to the display and hope that everyone will enjoy themselves. Then there is a display of soldiers who march very smartly in front of the place where the government leaders sit. Then horsemen from several different countries show off their beautiful clothes and their good riding skills. One after another they come and dancers from all over the Sahara take their turns to show off their wonderful traditional clothes and dances. They are accompanied by men playing drums and beating strong rhythms for the dancers.
The highlight of the opening ceremony are the races which take place in the evening. It is the grand finale of the day. Men ride their horses very fast. Some ride with their legs in the air, others ride in pairs on different horses. It is so fast and so wonderful!
1.The Sahara Festival is a festival which .
A. has a very long history in North Africa
B. is not celebrated on the same dates each year
C. is attended mainly by the people in the Sahara
D. is celebrated only by travelers from different countries
2.Before the races begin, take part in the activities during the opening ceremonies.
A. horsemen, dancers, horses and soldiers
B. horsemen, horses, government leaders and dancers
C. government leaders, horsemen, dancers and soldiers
D. musicians, soldiers, government leaders and soldiers
3.The underlined word “finale” in the third paragraph most probably means the of the opening day.
A. first part B. middle
C. last part D. whole
4. This passage mainly tells readers .
A. what happens on the opening day of the Sahara Festival
B. how people celebrate during the three-day Sahara Festival
C. what takes place at the closing ceremonies of the Sahara Festival
D. how animals race on the first and the last days of the Sahara Festival
