My husband Jeff and I moved into our new home in Scottsbluff last year just before Christmas. I did not have the or energy to carry out my traditional Christmas decorating and baking activities. What was the point, anyway? It was going to be a Christmas after all.
, the neighborly nature of west Nebraska residents started to trickle (陆续来临) in.
There was a on the door one evening. It was Jeff’s new colleague, John Smith, and his wife, Phyllis. The Smiths had stopped by to us with a loaf of homemade bread. They pointed out a on the porch (门廊). Apparently the doorbell wasn’t working in the cold snowy weather and we had a visit from the Browns, our across-the-street neighbors, who brought us a Christmas card and more Christmas cookies.
The feelings brought by these thoughtful gestures lasted longer than the food.
As Jeff and I were pre-Christmas snow from our driveway, Ernie Guzman came over from next door to us to dig out.
Then, we received an invitation to a Christmas Eve meal with our neighbors, Ernie and Nancy Sommer, and their —a 90-year-old lady, who also had no family in the immediate area with whom to spend the holiday.
Our Christmas Eve was quite merry, thanks to our . Our Christmas morning was special, thanks to the Smiths’ gift of bread. I was so for these gestures of welcome, especially during the holidays.
This year, we were again unable to be with our families for Christmas. The and work schedules just made things too difficult. that sense of Christmas isolation (孤立) all too well, we decided to try to round up some other folks who were in the holidays.
Lonely people are all around us, but most of us notice them. Just take a look around you. Sometimes, the smallest gesture can make a world of difference.
1.A. chance B. anxiety C. time D. ability
2.A. lonely B. free C. merry D. usual
3.A. Therefore B. However C. Somehow D. Meanwhile
4.A. sign B. knock C. card D. note
5.A. invite B. welcome C. drive D. send
6.A. tree B. flower C. mail D. package
7.A. forgot B. missed C. arranged D. received
8.A. warm B. deep C. true D. mixed
9.A. buying B. clearing C. preparing D. giving
10.A. teach B. urge C. help D. forbid
11.A. prepare B. share C. taste D. exchange
12.A. guest B. aunt C. maid D. partner
13.A. folks B. relatives C. neighbors D. colleagues
14. A. call B. greeting C. meeting D. breakfast
15.A. sorry B. eager C. grateful D. ready
16.A. season B. expense C. distance D. situation
17.A. Knowing B. Showing C. Studying D. Discovering
18.A. happy B. busy C. alone D. active
19.A. always B. usually C. finally D. seldom
20.A. careful B. kind C. pretty D. patient
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Quick tips for better time management
Are you a good time manager? If your answer is “no”, here are some tips on how to be a better time manager:
1. Create a daily plan. Plan your day before it starts. The plan gives you a good description of how the day will go on. That way, you will be ready to deal with most of the things you meet. 1.
2. Focus. Are you multi-tasking so much that you’re just not getting anything done? 2. Only focus on what you’re doing. You’ll be more efficient that way.
3. Stay away from your time wasters. What takes your time away from your work? QQ? Email checking? 3. One thing you can do is make it hard to check them — remove them from your browser quick links.
4. 4. Don’t take on more than you can deal with. For the distractions that come in when you’re doing other things, give a firm no. Or do it later.
5. Decide to be early. When you prepare to be on time, you’ll either be on time or late. 5. However, if you decide to be early, you’ll most likely to be on time. For appointments, try to be early. For your deadlines, meet them earlier than required.
A. Learn to say “No”.
B. Most of the time you’ll be late.
C. Great ways to know your time spent.
D. Cut off when you need to.
E. Stop checking them so often.
F. Your job for the day is to follow the plan as best as possible..
G. If so, focus on just one key task at one time
Can technology improve your trip? Meet Judy Williams. When she and her husband recently checked into Blu Hotel in Zurich, a clerk asked them to sign the dotted line on a room rate hundreds of dollars higher than their online offer.
“It was not a cheap stay,” says Williams, a lawyer from Billings, Mont. But it became more of one after her husband fired up the Booking.com app he’d used to book their room on his smart phone. “As soon as we showed him the cost, he honored it,” Williams says.
Technology may create challenges for travelers but it can also solve them. It’s more than making sure of a hotel cost. The latest Booking.com can help users select hotels by location, make a secure booking and view the confirmed (已确认的) cost so they never need to re-discuss their hotel price.
Another pain point for travelers is traffic that eats away precious vacation time. There’s a new app called Commute which is aimed at users who have to make the same trip every day. But if you’re headed to Los Angeles or Honolulu, where visitors can easily get stuck in hours of heavy traffic, Commute can help.
Just input basic information about your destination and expected leaving time, and the app will start sending you traffic information 15 minutes before you leave. Testing Commute proved to be a challenge for me, because my home address is about 900 miles from my place of work. But if you have only a short distance to travel through a heavily populated area, you can use Commute to avoid traffic jams.
Another source of travel-related problems is money. That’s particularly true when you’re dealing with a foreign currency. The latest Travel Money Tracker helps travelers prevent currency mix-ups. It immediately changes a country’s native currency to yours, so you know exactly how much that Espresso (浓咖啡) in Milan costs in dollars. It can also warn you when you’re overspending, which can sometimes be a problem when you’re on vacation. The only catch, of course, is that you have to remember to record all your purchases.
Taken together, these apps solve some of the most common travel problems. But not all of them. Some things, no smart phone can fix, which means I get to keep my job – for now at least.
1.What does the writer want to tell through the example of Judy Williams?
A. The cost of Blu Hotel was higher than that of others.
B. The clerk was very friendly and patient.
C. The smart phones have many functions.
D. Technology can make our trips better.
2.Commute is not suitable for those who_______________.
A. have a long journey
B. go on the same trip every day
C. can easily get stuck in traffic jams
D. travel a short distance downtown
3.What is the function of Travel Money Tracker?
A. It tells people how much Espresso costs.
B. It warns people when they are shopping.
C. It changes the native currency to yours.
D. It records all people’s purchases.
4.What is the purpose of this passage?
A. To encourage people to travel.
B. To introduce some new apps.
C. To help people with technology problems.
D. To provide people with traveling information.
It may not be as easy as you think to build a foundation for your child of family values. Often we believe that our child will pick up on our values if they live in the same home. While they may pick up many of our values, parents need to remember they are not the only influence in their child’s life. These outside values often compete with family values for your child’s attention. If we do not make a conscious effort to instill our values into our children, they may not get instilled at all.
I wish I had learned that lesson a little earlier. I thought if I lived my values for my children they would pick them up and make their own. Sometimes this happened and sometimes it didn’t. I often see twenty-something “kids” who have no faith in many of the values of their family in favor of the values of their friends. Children will often pick up the negative you show quicker than the positive, so the positive things need extra focus to set them.
Some of the influences your children face every day include their church, their school, their friends, any clubs or sporting groups they are part of and more. Kids spend many hours a day at school and with their friends. Sometimes in the business of life, we suppose our children will obtain that foundation we want for them.
Instilling a foundation of family values to sustain(维持) your child requires more than living it in front of them. That is important, but building up your child with this important foundation must become intentional.
That means we plan times to gather as a family. We plan activities together that show the values we want to pass on. We talk about our values; we live our values; we discuss the values of others and how they differ from ours; we constantly look for opportunities and make our own opportunities to share these values in word or deed with our children.
Family values give our children a foundation to build upon. It helps them know they are loved and gives them a sense of belongings. Upon this sure foundation, they can spread their wings and grow to become parents who share these same values with their own children.
1.The underlined word “instill our values into” in the 1st paragraph probably means “______”.
A. get our ideas out of B. impress our ideas on
C. collect our ideas for D. force our ideas upon
2.We can learn from the passage that children ______.
A. sustain their family values easily
B. will hold their family values with age
C. often discuss family values of others
D. accept negative values more quickly
3.Family values can be passed on if ______.
A. we live with our children
B. parents show positive things
C. parents foster them intentionally
D. we plan times to gather with other families
4.The passage mainly tells us about ______.
A. the importance and the way to pick up family values
B. a lesson the writer learned in educating his(her) kids
C. the influences the children face while growing up
D. some negative and positive family values
Have you ever thought of getting in touch with your inner child from time to time? Obviously some people are willing to pay big money for the chance to do so in a proper environment．A Brooklyn-based adult preschool is charging customers between $333 and $999 for the chance to act like a kid again．
At Preschool Mastermind in New York adults get to participate in show-and-tell，arts-and-crafts such as finger paint，games like musical chairs and even take naps．The month-long course also has class picture day where the adults are expected to have a field trip and a parent day．
30-year-old Michelle Joni Lapidos，the brain behind the adult preschool，studied childhood education and has always wanted to be a preschool teacher．She’s always on the lookout for new ways to get people in touch with the freedom of childhood．A friend encouraged her to start the mastermind course instead．
According to Candice，her blogger friend，Preschool Mastermind gives adults a chance to relearn and master the things that they failed to understand as children．“I realized all the significances of what we learn in preschool，”said founder Michelle Joni，“People come here and get in touch with their inner child．It’s magical．We are bringing ourselves back to another place，another time with ourselves when we are more believing in ourselves，more confident and ready to take on the world．”
“One person’s here because they want to learn not to be so serious．”Michelle said．“Another's here to learn to be more confident．”She explained that most of the classes were planned．However，Joni added that while the planned activities were fun，it was often the spontaneous(自发的)moments that attracted students．“It’s the things you don’t plan for，the sharing between friends and learning from each other．’’
1.What is the purpose of Preschool Mastermind?
A．To give adults a chance to return to childhood．
B．To help parents understand their children better．
C．To provide practical training courses for teachers．
D．To introduce some ways of playing with children．
2.What is mainly discussed about Preschool Mastermind in Paragraph 2 ?
A．Its customers． B．Its activities．
C．Its environment． D．Its schedule·
3.According to Candice，people come to this program to________.
A．enjoy freedom of thinking
B．realize their childhood dreams
C．discover their inner abilities
D．figure out childhood puzzles
4.What do we know about Michelle Joni?
A．She used to be a preschool teacher．
B．She likes to make plans in advance．
C．She founded Preschool Mastermind．
D．She gained confidence by sharing．
The value-packed, all-inclusive sight-seeing package that combines the best of Sydney’s harbor, city, bay and beach highlights.
A Sydney Pass gives you unlimited and flexible travel on the Explore Buses: the ‘red’ Sydney Explorer shows you around our exciting city sights while the ‘blue’ Bondi Explorer visits Sydney Harbor bays and famous beaches. Take to the water on one of three magnificent daily harbor cruises(游船). You can also travel free on regular Sydney Buses, Sydney Ferries or City Rail services (limited area), so you can go to every corner of this beautiful city.
Imagine browsing at Darling Harbor, tasting the famous seafood at Watsons Bay or enjoying the lights on an evening ferry cruise. The possibilities and plans are endless with a Sydney Pass. Wherever you decide to go, remember that bookings are not required on any of our services so tickets are treated on a first in, first seated basis.
Sydney Passes are available for 3,5 or 7 days for use over a 7-calendar period. With a 3 or 5-day pass you choose on which days out of the 7 you want to use it. All Sydney Passes include a free Airport Express inward trip before starting your 3,5 or 7 days, and the return trip is valid (有效的) for 2 months from the first day your ticket was used
Sydney Pass Fares
| Adult | Child* | Family** |
3-day ticket | $90 | $45 | $225 |
5-day ticket | $120 | $60 | $350 |
7-day ticket | $140 | $70 | $350 |
*A child is defined as anyone from the ages of 4 years under 16 years. Children under 4 years travel free.
**A family is defined as 3 adults and any number of children from 4 to under 16 years of age from the same family.
1.A Sydney Pass doesn’t offer unlimited rides on _________.
A. the Explorer Buses B. the harbor cruises
C. regular Sydney Buses D. City Rail services
2.With a Sydney Pass, a traveler can _______.
A. save fares from and to the airport
B. take the Sydney Explorer to beaches
C. enjoy the famous seafood for free
D. reserve seats easily in a restaurant
3. If 5-day tickets were to be recommended（推荐）to a mother who travelled with her colleague and her children, aged 3,6 and 10, what would the lowest cost be?
A. $225 B. $300 C. $360 D. $420
