When I was 11, I spent days worrying about a school concert. I was terrified that I would perform 1. (bad) and that my classmates would laugh 2. me. I told my dad about my fear. He said I should regard it as 3. opportunity to be brave. Courage doesn’t mean not being afraid. It means 4. (do) what you need to do even when you are afraid.
Failure is part of our life. It can teach you 5. you need to do. You gain skills by doing 6. (challenge) things, even if they don’t work out. When I was learning English, mistakes sometimes 7. (help) me. When friends corrected my mistakes, they actually helped me remember the right words.
If people see you fail, you may be 8. (embarrass) and worry that you are not good enough. But failure doesn’t make you a 9. (lose). The only way 10. (deal) with the fear is to face it bravely. Every time you try something new, your fear will be easier to conquer.
1.In fact, apart ______ the hair he looked totally unchanged.
2.The poor baby was left outside ______ the mercy of the storm.
3.On my way home I was surrounded by some people begging ______ food.
4.I came _______ my childhood friend unexpectedly while I was on a visit on business in France last summer.
5.The note pinned on the door reminded me ______ a game played in the childhood.
6.No sooner had I heard the knock ______ I opened the door.
7.______ you respect other people’s religions, conflicts may occur.
8.It was requested that there ______ be more tables in the dining hall.
9.______ did this will sooner or later be caught and punished.
10.Nobody can belie
ve that it was in the small village ______ I was born.
1.John immediately felt __________(refresh) after a cold shower.
2.Having a large vocabulary is of great __________(important) for middle school students.
3.Pencils need to __________(sharp) before being used.
4.The __________(vary) weather in London often makes the tourists awkward.
5.__________(drag) a big bag of waste iron, he headed to the waste recycling station.
The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intentions. It was a ________ day and I was going to the funeral (葬礼) of a little boy named Bobby. Bobby died after ________ from and being caught under the tractor which was ________ by his mom, Sue. I knew that I ________ to be there for my friend Sue.
While I was getting dressed for the funeral, a good ________ came to buy Lisa, Bobby’s ________, a stuffed toy (毛绒玩具). I knew this idea to buy the stuffed toy must be ________, since I had never done anything like this before, or even ________ it. For that matter, I left the house ________, stopped at a local store and bought a cute stuffed animal. I didn’t have time to decorate it, so I ________ a pretty gift bag and some ________ tissue paper. I put the stuffed animal in the bag and put the tissue paper over the top of it.
When I walked into the funeral home, I saw little Lisa sitting with her ________ hanging down. I walked over and handed her the pretty gift bag. Lisa ________ with tears in her eyes and gave me a weak ________. She removed the tissue paper, took the stuffed animal out of the ________ and held it close throughout the ________, as if it was her brother. I could see that ________ this stuffed animal made Lisa feel better.
That the smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intentions is ________. I could have ignored this thought to buy the stuffed animal and give it to Lisa. ________, I am very happy that I ________ a small act of kindness that day.
1.A. regular B. long C. busy D. sad
2.A. failing B. playing C. falling D. sleeping
3.A. directed B. driven C. repaired D. pushed
4.A. expected B. happened C. needed D. tended
5.A. idea B. answer C. problem D. aim
6.A. girlfriend B. sister C. mother D. neighbor
7.A. great B. popular C. clever D. old
8.A. found out B. believe in C. complained about D. thought of
9.A. safely B. excitedly C. early D. secretly
10.A. opened B. borrowed C. made D. bought
11.A. thin B. colored C. waste D. new
12.A. arms B. head C. hair D. legs
13.A. looked up B. turned up C. stayed up D. reached out
14.A. suggestion B. smile C. excuse D. introduction
15.A. house B. store C. bag D. car
16.A. night B. ceremony C. performance D. party
17.A. protecting B. ordering C. choosing D. holding
18.A. true B. simple C. possible D. common
19.A. Meanwhile B. Besides C. Still D. However
20.A. did B. remembered C. returned D. received
You have heard it said many times — the only thing constant in life is cha
nge. Change happens in every area in our lives, such as moving into a new apartment or home and changes in career or business. So we cannot avoid change in life. 1. Here are some of the benefits of change:
Change leads to opportunities. You will realize that each change in your life is actually an invitation to new opportunities. Remember every new opportunity has its own benefits.2. However, it is always advisable to consider the benefits that those new opportunities will bring. If you accept changes in your life, you will benefit from each new opportunity.
3. If you are used to doing the same thing over and over again, you may get bored, and lose the interest in your life. Change ensures that your experiences differ from day to day, month to month. Remember that the world is always in a continuous motion.4. These make life exciting.
Change means progress. If you look back to your life ten years ago, you were very different from what you are today. 5. This is called progress. And these growth experiences are the reason why you should appreciate changes in your life.
There, we should take advantage of change and make it work for us in positive ways.
A. Luckily, change is important in our lives.
B. Technologies, trends, and politics keep on changing.
C. Change is one thing that makes our lives interesting.
D. You may reject these opportunities, whenever they come.
E. Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
F. You have the power to make every day a good day by accepting changes.
G. There are many things that have happened in your life, which helped you grow.
Laughter is a universal way to express joy. But as it turns out, your laughter reveals a lot more than the fact that you are happy. It enables listeners, even those that cannot observe you, immediately to realize if you are having a good time with a close friend or laughing politely with a complete stranger.
At least that is the conclusion reached by a team of scientists led by Greg Bryant, an associate professor of Communication Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. The researchers began by requesting participants from across the globe to send them audio clips(音频片段) of people laughing. The 48 tapes they received ranged from recent recordings of laughter between two college friends to ones from conversations that occurred a decade ago. The clips also had all possible combinations — interactions between friends, strangers, all-male groups, all-female groups, as well as a mix of both genders(性别).
The team then played the short recording, each lasting less than a second, to 966 people spread across 24 different cultures around the world. The listeners ranged from people living in remote areas to those living in some of the world’s most modern cities. To the team’s astonishment, despite the cultural and regional differences, the listeners were able to identify the difference in laughter between friends and strangers, 61% of the time.
The scientists, who published their findings in the Scientific Journal, say that the accuracy was even higher when it came to recordings of only women laughing. The researchers think that this is probably because women are more transparent in expressing their feelings than men.
Bryant says that the results of this cross-cultural examination show that people all over the world perceive laughter in similar ways. As Neuroscientist Carolyn McGettigan at the Royal Holloway University of London puts it, “A laugh among friends is a special sound, no matter where you live!”
1.What can we learn about Greg Bryant’s research?
A. It was based on tapes from 966 people.
B. Its findings were beyond the team’s expectations.
C. It proved that laughter is a universal way to express joy.
D. Most of his findings were published in the Scientific Journal.
2.Why did the listeners identify all-female laughing more accurately?
A. Women are sensitive to interesting things.
B. Women are less likely to hide their feelings.
C. Women prefer to express their joys by laughing.
D. Women are good at communicating with others.
3.What does the underlined word “perceive” probably mean?
A. Understand. B. Receive.
C. Explain. D. Spread.
