When I was walking through the forest, I heard someone weeping. I_______the sound of the soft cry until I saw a woman sitting on the snow. Her eyes were filled with tears for her heavy_______due to hard life. I sat on the cold snow with her and_______her my shoulder and my ears.
“What is your name?”, she asked. I smiled at her. _____, my name is Jane, but to comfort her, I said, “My first name is _____, my middle name is Hope and my last name is Compassion(同情) .” I saw a ______smile come upon her face as I asked her “what is your name?” “My name is Ann _____I had given up hope.” I read her a poem through which I_______the message of self-worth to her. Others will______us when we love ourselves. ______, it was important for one to have self- worth. After I shared the poem, we talked a while and then I picked a wild rose that was in the snow. It was _____that there was a wild rose in such weather. I placed the rose in her hand and a big ______appeared on her face. Then I felt kind of______at her change and handed her a piece of paper with my ____on it. I walked away. She called me cheerfully the next day and expressed her _____to me. She told me I truly ____my name. Obviously, she had found her faith, her hope and her compassion.
We all need someone in life to say I believe in you. _____is as rare as a rose in the snow. When you ____ it, don’t let it ever die. Life is too _____to thank all the people who have encouraged us. We should receive and give encouragement rather than let unimportant things stand _______our way.
1.A. heard B. followed C. reflected D. enjoyed
2.A. heart B. head C. body D. waist
3.A. shared B. brought C. fetched D. offered
4.A. Eventually B. Deliberately C. Actually D. Specially
5.A. Career B. Inspiration C. Motivation D. Faith
6.A. puzzled B. forced C. tired D. worried
7.A. but B. so C. because D. or
8.A. transformed B. left C. conveyed D. took
9.A. tolerate B. serve C. hate D. treasure
10.A. Therefore B. However C. Otherwise D. Moreover
11.A. usual B. rare C. frightful D. admirable
12.A. worry B. satisfaction C. smile D. shock
13.A. interest B. security C. disappointment D. relief
14.A. name B. number C. address D. photo
15.A. regret B. apology C. gratitude D. concern
16.A. lived up to B. looked up to C. came up to D. made up for
17.A. Pleasure B. Friendship C. Passion D. Encouragement
18.A. pas B. receive C. choose D. create
19.A. good B. slow C. short D. happy
20.A. in B. on C. by D. under
Students usually have great fun during the vacation. When it’s time to return to school, they usually feel sad. 1.It can be hard to adjust from the dog days of a long vacation to the busy and fast pace of the school year. Here are some tips to get back into the school mode and start this year in a right way.
2.I highly suggest getting folders and binders(活页来)with patterns and designs to make note taking more fun. During the first day of class most teachers will tell you everything they require for their courses. Make sure that you get the specified supplies so that you are able to keep up with the class work and stay organized.
Get an agenda. The school year is such a busy time. Between taking tests, doing homework, and attending activities and school events, it can be really hard to keep track of everything. By keeping an updated agenda you can better mange your time. 3.Time management is the key to being successful and staying on top of everything you need to do.
4.It is very important to know what your teachers are expecting from you. Pay attention to what the teacher is saying about the workload of the class and what they are hoping for you to get out of it. Knowing their expectations and achieving them will help your year start smoothly. Always remember that communicating with your teachers is the key to understanding their expectations.
Make a list of your academic goals. Write out a list of goals that you want to achieve for the upcoming school year. Do you want to play the lead role in they play, have a wonderful performance on the basketball team or improve your grades? When you write down the goals, you are able to plan and know what you need to do to prepare for them. 5.
A. Know what is expected from you.
B. Prepare folders and binders for your classes.
C. Remember where there is a will, there is a way.
D. You can also know what you have to accomplish
E. You can reach all the goals you have set for this year
F. The relaxing days are over and they’ll get busy again
G. Have the proper school supplies that you need for your classes.
I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming themselves. One January, I had to hold two funerals on days in a row for two elderly women in my community. Both had died “ full of years”, as the Bible would say. Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence(吊唁) calls on the two families on the same afternoon.
At the first home, the son of the deceased(已故的)woman said to me, “ If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today. It’s my fault that she died.” At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, “ If only I hadn’t insisted on my mother’s going to Florida, she would be alive today. That long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate, was more than she could take. It’s my fault that she’s dead.”
You see that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out bad, they believe that the opposite course—keeping Mother at home, putting off the operation—would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?
There seem to be two elements involved in our willingness to feel guilty. The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens that leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds.
The second element is the view that we are the cause of what happens , especially the bad things that happen. It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believe that every disaster is our fault. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.
A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to its tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him , and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.
1.We learn from the passage that the two deceased elderly women_____________
A. lived out a natural life.
B. died of exhaustion after the long plane ride.
C. weren’t used to the change in weather.
D. died due to lack of care by family members.
2.People feel guilty for the deaths of their loved ones because they believe _____.
A. they are responsible
B. they overlook the natural course of events
C. they can’t find a better way to express their sorrow
D. they didn’t know things often turn in the opposite direction
3.According to the passage, the underlined part in paragraph 4 probably means that_____.
A. everything in the world is predetermined
B. the world can be explained in different ways
C. there is an explanation for everything in the world
D. we have to be sensible in order to understand the world
4.What’s the idea of the passage?
A. Life and death is an unsolved mystery.
B. Every story should have a happy ending.
C. Never feel guilty all the time because not every disaster is our fault.
D. Usually, the survivors will feel guilty about the people who passed away.
Twenty years ago, the following news item probably wouldn’t have made much sense to most Americans.
Muslims in Iran went to the streets today to support an ayatollah①’s call for a revolution. Meanwhile, in Israel, Palestinian leaders urged support for the intifada②, ①leader ②struggle
These words come from Arabic, a language with which few Americans are familiar. Yet by 1990 these words were routinely used in both broadcast and print news. How did these words find their way into English?
Like all existing languages, English is continually changing. The adoption of foreign words into English vocabulary, called borrowing, is anything but a new phenomenon. In fact, it’s been going on from the time the language first began to take shape around A. D. 450. English has been borrowing words from the conquered(被征服者), trading partners, immigrants, and a variety of other sources.
So when the events in the Middle East commanded the world’s attention during the latter part of the twentieth century. English simply borrowed the words it needed to describe what was happening in that area. The more often such words were used, the less “foreign” they sounded. Eventually, these borrowed words came to be used routinely in speech and writing.
Borrowed vocabulary from foreign language is not the only source of new words in English. As fresh ideas evolve and innovative technology are developed, new English words are created to describe them. These words may be words borrowed(WB) from other languages, existing words taking on new meanings(EWNM), acronyms, blends, compounds, or newly coined words, as the following examples and the chart show.
Kwanza | borrowed from Swahili: seven-day African-American cultural festival |
rap | old word, meaning to knock quickly, taking on a new meaning; a form of music |
AIDS | acronym for acquired immune deficiency syndrome |
exercycle | blend of existing words: exercise + bicycle |
skateboard | compound of existing words |
cellulite | new word for fatty deposits on the hips and legs, coined in 1971 |
In the next four lessons, you’ll be introduced to some of the history and mechanisms(体系)that have shaped and continued to influence the language we use. Whether the words we speak are borrowed or created, they show a vital feature of English---adaptability. English is alive.
1.What does the word “commanded” in the fourth paragraph probably mean?
A. Ordered B. Instructed
C. Controlled D. Drew
2.The word “mouse” may belong to an example of __________.
A. WB B. EWNM
C. Acronyms D. Blends
3.Where does this text probably come from?
A. A cultural section of a newspaper
B. A language book review
C. A language course advertisement
D. A language lesson book
4.Which of the following can best cover the main idea of the passage?
A. The language in the media is changing
B. English has been borrowing words
C. English is a living language
D. A new phenomenon appears in English
While reading, you may focus on the Q(question) and A (answer) on the following web page.
Related Information Hotel Deals Today's deals Hotel Guide Hotel details Hotel Directory Contact info
My Travel Hotel Preference Check Reservations Tool Weather Maps Driving Directions | Q My husband and I would like to spend five or six days in the Maldives. Could you suggest some low-priced hotels? We'll be there in November. Jan Davies, email. A Prices in the Maldives are high. The cheaper hotels (and there aren't many) mightn't be much to look at, with unpleasant rooms, iron roofs, old buildings, poor and rough vegetation and basic facilities, but they get their atmosphere from cheerful customers and an untidy, free island feel. Angaga (South Ari Atoll, phone 0011 960 450510), Asdu Sun Island (North Male Atoll, email info@asdu.com.mv) are both a bit like this. You'll be there in the low season (May to November), when its' still warm, but there's a greater likelihood of rain, so you should be able to get a double (standard ) room with full board (three meals a day) for $ 100 a night. However, pricing structures for the hotels are enormously complex for standard, superior and luxurious rooms. Q My husband and I are from Australia. We are planning a four-week trip to London, Dublin and Paris in October and we are shocked by the cost of hotels. We have searched the Internet and hotel books given to us by tourist authorities but we can't find anything cheaper than $ 150 a night. Joan Maloney, email. A For Australians traveling Europe, especially its capital cities, is expensive. You may have to increase your budget . However, if you can't afford these costs, then you should consider staying in hotels where the cheapest twin rooms with shared bathroom cost about$20 a person in Dublin and Paris and $35 in London. The minimum you would pay for a double room in a central area is $50 a person in Dublin and Paris and $70 in London. These prices are for shared bathroom facilities, though you will get a wonderfully unhealthy cooked breakfast thrown in. Not all hotels are equal, of course, and it's a good idea to consult a guidebook with a good reputation. |
1.The hotel Angaga in the Maldives_________.
A. attracts untidy people B. has some basic facilities
C. has the best landscape D. can be contacted by email
2.If you spend your holiday in the Maldives in February, _________
A. there is a greater likelihood of rain
B. standard, superior and luxurious rooms are all available
C. the weather will probably be better than that of the low season
D. a standard room with full board will cost less than $100 a night.
3.What is the advice for the couple planning to visit Europe in October?
A. They should stay in hotels in a central area
B. They could live in hotel rooms of lower standard
C. They should put up with the wonderfully unhealthy cooked breakfast.
D. They should buy a reliable guidebook instead of increasing the budget.
Once I spoke at a high school. After the speech, I was asked to see a special student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me, and it would mean a great deal to him. I agreed.
He was Matthew. When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to see five, then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal weight lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles(障碍) and going for my dreams.
I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain. He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weight with me.
When we finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”
Last summer I got the news that Matthew had passed away and a letter Matthew had written me a few days before:
Dear Rick,
My mom said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. The doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live any more. But I still smile as much as I can.
I told you some day I was going to the Olympics and win a gold medal. But I know now I’ll never make it. But I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you.
Thank you for loving me.
Your friend,
Matthew
1.The boy wished to meet the author because ________.
A. he admired the author very much
B. he wished to take part in the Olympics
C. he hoped to make friends with the author
D. he enjoyed going in for weighting lifting
2.Which of the statements is TRUE?
A. Matthew was good at weight lifting.
B. Rick had the similar disease as a child.
C. Matthew remained optimistic in face of disease.
D. Rick encouraged the boy to become a champion.
3.Why did the boy refuse the author’s medal?
A. He thought he was not worthy of it.
B. Rick looked on the medal as treasure.
C. The gold medal was very dear to Rick.
D. He didn’t want to be pitied by others.
4.What can be inferred from Matthew’s letter?
A. Rick was unhappy before death.
B. Rick kept in touch with Mathew.
C. Mathew sent some pictures to Rick.
D. Mathew got an Olympic gold medal.
