Dear Seth,
You are only three years old, and at this point in your life you are not able to understand this letter. But some day when you , I hope you will find something in what I am going to share with you.
Life can be . There will be people in your life who won’t be very nice. They’ll you because you are different, for no good reason. You will also face heartbreak and might be by those you love. I hope you don’t have to face these too much, but such things .
Be open to life anyway. You’ll find cruelty and in your journey through life, but don’t let that you from finding new things. Don’t retreat(退却) from life, and don’t or wall yourself off. Be open to new things, new experiences, and new people. You’ll many times, but if you allow that to stop you from trying, you will many chances. Do remember failure is a stepping stone to .
You will meet many people who will try to do than you, in school, in college and at work. They’ll try to have nicer cars, bigger houses, nicer clothes, and so on. To , life is a competition. However, I believe life is a . If you always try your best to others, you’re wasting your life. Learn to enjoy your life and you will make it a journey of , of learning, and of love.
Finally, know that I love you and always will. You are a really wonderful journey, and I will always be there for you.
1.A. grow up B. show up C. cheer up D. calm down
2.A. familiar B. valuable C. normal D. interesting
3.A. unkind B. peaceful C. equal D. simple
4.A. end up with B. get on well with C. laugh at D. look after
5.A. if B. but C. so D. or
6.A. hurt B. found C. accepted D. impressed
7.A. matter B. work C. disappear D. happen
8.A. luck B. pain C. difference D. hope
9.A. protect B. encourage C. prevent D. choose
10.A. forgive B. struggle C. compete D. hide
11.A. leave B. prepare C. escape D. fail
12.A. enjoy B. try C. miss D. meet
13.A. success B. life C. action D. sorrow
14.A. earlier B. better C. less D. faster
15.A. you B. me C. him D. them
16.A. challenge B. drama C. journey D. dream
17.A. change B. pardon C. follow D. beat
18.A. somewhere B. instead C. afterwards D. though
19.A. cruelty B. danger C. happiness D. quietness
20.A. starting B. destroying C. recreating D. replacing
There was once a lonely girl who longed so much for love. One day while she was walking in the woods she found two starving birds 1. . She cared them with love and the birds grew strong. Every morning they greeted her with a wonderful song. The girl felt the great love from the birds.
2. . The larger and the stronger of the two birds flew from the cage. The girl was so frightened that he would fly away. As he flew close, she grasped him wildly. Her heart felt glad at her success in capturing him. 3. . She opened her hand and stared in horror at the dead bird. Her desperate love had killed him.
She noticed the other bird moving back and forth on the edge of the cage. She could feel his great need for freedom. He needed to fly into the clear, blue sky. 4. . The bird circled once, twice, three times.
The girl watched delightedly at the bird’s enjoyment. 5. . She wanted the bird to be happy. Suddenly the bird flew closer and landed softly on her shoulder. It sang the sweetest songs that she had ever heard.
The fastest way to lose love is to hold on it too tight, while the best way to keep love is to give it wings!
A. She gave them some delicious food and left.
B. Suddenly she felt the bird go softly.
C. Her heart was no longer concerned with her loss.
D. One day she left with the two birds at home alone.
E. She took them home and put them in a small cage.
F. One day the girl left the door of the cage open.
G. She lifted him from the cage and threw him softly into the air.
Teenagers are often a difficult group. With all those hormones（荷尔蒙） flooding their bodies, they can be moody, unpredictable, and tend to make uncertain choices. But however confusing their teenage years are, kids can still be generally happy, depending on their lifestyle choices. According to a new research by British scientists, teens who don’t smoke, drink only moderately or not at all, and who don’t eat much junk food are likely to be happier than other teens.
The study looked at 40,000 British families and came up with some interesting findings. For example, kids who never drank alcohol were up to six times more likely to report higher levels of happiness than kids who drank. And teens who smoked were five times less likely to rate high on happiness charts compared to kids who don’t smoke. Same goes for diet and physical activity. The more fruits and vegetables kids eat, and the more hours they spend playing sports, the happier they are.
Now, of course this doesn’t mean that not smoking or drinking, and playing sports guarantees happiness. It could be that kids who have happy character tend to be more active and less addicted to drinking or smoking. And it could equally be the case that kids who are unhappy are more related to drinking and smoking and eating junk food.
Other studies have shown that exercise is a proven way to treat anxiety and depression. Future studies may support the idea that other healthful behaviors, including refraining(克制) from smoking, drinking, and eating too much junk, can avoid sadness and increase happiness, too.
1.What can we learn from the text?
A. Not smoking or drinking guarantees happiness.
B. Teens with flooding hormones can not be happy.
C. Playing sports can decrease teen’s unhappiness.
D. Unhappiness can certainly result in smoking and drinking.
2.Which of the following might help teens quit anxiety?
A. Smoking and drinking. B. Taking exercise.
C. Eating junk food. D. Going on a diet.
3.Which can be the best title for the text?
A. Ways to treat anxiety and depression.
B. Exercise and teenagers’ health.
C. Teenagers shouldn’t drink or smoke.
D. Teenagers’ lifestyle and their happiness.
The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2 September 1666. In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city, where most of the houses were wooden and close together. One hundred thousand people became homeless, but only a few lost their lives.The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King's baker in Pudding Lane. The baker, with his wife and family, was able to get out through a window in the roof. A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.
By eight o'clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Paul's and the Guildhall among them.
Samuel Pepys, the famous writer, wrote about the fire. People threw their things into the river. Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment. Birds fell out of the air because of the heat.
The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.
After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect, wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone. In fact, the streets are still narrow; but he did build more than fifty churches, among them was new St Paul's.
The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.
1.It seems that the writer of the text was most sorry for the fact that ______.
A. many famous buildings were destroyed
B. the birds in the sky were killed by the fire
C. some people lost their lives
D. the King's bakery was burned down
2.Why did the writer cite (引用)Samuel Pepys’ words?
A. Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire.
B. Because Pepys also wrote about the fire.
C. To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire.
D. To show that poor people suffered most.
3.How was the fire put out according to the text?
A. Houses standing in the direction of the fire were pulled down.
B. All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed.
C. People managed to get enough water from the river.
D. The king and his soldiers came to help.
4.Which of the following were reasons for the rapid spread (扩散)of the big fire?
(a) There was a strong wind.
(b) The streets were very narrow.
(c) Many houses were made of wood.
(d) There was not enough water in the city.
(e) People did not discover the fire earlier.
A. (a) and (b)
B. (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e)
C. (a), (b), (c) and (d)
D. (a), (b) and (c)
Two students started quarreling at school. One student shouted dirty words at the other, and a fight began. What can be done to stop fights like this at school? In some schools, the disputants sit down with peer mediators(同龄调解者). Peer mediators are students with special training in this kind of problems.
Peer mediators help the disputants to talk in a friendly way. Here are some of the ways they use:
1) Put what you think clearly but don’t say anything to hurt the other. Begin with “I feel…” instead of “You always…”
2) Listen carefully to what the other person is saying. Don’t stop the other person’s words.
3) Keep looking at the other person’s eyes when he or she talks.
4) Try to see the other person’s side of the problem.
5) Never put anyone down. Saying things like “You are foolish” makes the talk difficult.
6) Try to find a result that makes both people happy.
Peer mediators never decide the result or the winner. They don’t decide who is right and who is wrong. Instead, they help the two students to find their own “win-win” result.
1.The underlined word “disputants” refers to the students ________.
A. who make peace B. who give in C. who are lazy D. who quarrel
2.When there is a fight at school ________.
A. the peer mediators decide who the winner is
B. the peer mediators and the disputants talk together
C. the students who quarrel decide who the winner is
D. the two students sit down and listen to the peer mediators
3.Peer mediators’ work is ________.
A. to give lessons to disputants
B. to find out who starts a quarrel
C. to give students some special training
D. to help find a way to make both sides happy
4.Which of the following ways is not used by Peer mediators in finding a “win-win” result?
A. Listen carefully to what the other person is saying.
B. Try to see the other person’s side of the problem.
C. Never say things like “You are foolish”
D. Never keep looking at the other person’s eyes when he or she talks.
In the past ten years, many scientists have studied the differences between men and women. And they all got the same answer: The sexes(性别) are different, because their brains are different. And this, the scientists say, makes men and women see the world in different ways.
Boys, for example, generally are better than girls at mathematical ideas. Boys also generally are better than girls at the kind of hand and eye movements necessary for ball sports. Girls, on the other hand generally start speaking earlier than boys. And they generally(通常) see better in the dark than boys and are better at learning foreign languages.
What makes men and women better at one thing or another? The answer is the brain. The brain has two sides connected by nerve(神经) tracks. The left side generally is used for mathematics, speech and writing. The right side is used for artistic creation(创造) and the expression for emotions(情感). In men and women, different areas in each side of the brain develop differently. In boys, for example, it’s the area used for mathematics. In girls, it is the area used for language skills. Another interesting difference is that the two sides of a man’s brain are connected by a smaller nerves than the two sides of a woman’s brain are.
1.Which of the following is best to outline(概括) the article?
A. Research on the brain. B. Differences between men and women
C. People’s different brains. D. Who Are Better, Boys or Girls
2.________men and women think differently.
A. Sex makes. B. The different brains make
C. The different experiences make. D. The influences of society make.
3.According to the article, girls are generally better than boys at __ in your school.
A. mathematics B. physics C. English D. Chemistry
4.Which of the following is true?
A. The right side of brain in boys generally develops better than that in girls.
B. The left side of brain in girls generally develops better than that in boys.
C. Men are better than women in all things.
D. The area in girls’ brain used for language skills develops better.
