Many times my friend June would say, “If I ever get rich, I’m getting a completely new wardrobe（衣橱） and moving into a bigger apartment.” I thought her chances of being ____
was about the same as mine. But, to everyone’s ______, a few years ago June did come into a large inheritance(遗产).
At first June said very little about the money. As the initial (最初的) shock ______, she became excited. June is a great believer in making ______, so I wasn’t surprised to find her writing down all the ways she would ______ her new wealth.
As time went on, what had been midway on the list was now at the ______. At last, I said to her, “You know, it isn’t ______ to spend all your inheritance at once. Take your ______; think about it.” “I know, I know,” she answered with a bit of ______. Then one morning June called. “I’ve ______ how to use my new inheritance. I want to see what you think,” she said. This wasn’t something I ______, but we had been friends so long.
As we sat, June ______ a sheet of paper on the table. To my great surprise, she had written only two words: “Charities (慈善事业)”, and “children”. ______ I had sworn to keep quiet, I couldn’t keep from ______ how she came to this decision.
“Well,” she said, “I took your ______ and thought about it.” She added, “Helping others means a lot to me, so I’m hoping the ______ will help people in need.”
I ______, “But what about this big apartment you most hoped to have?”
“At first it was ______, but it doesn’t seem as important any more,” she answered with a smile.
Then June ______ her hand, and I could see a few words written in tiny letters at the bottom of the page. After having a look at the small print, I burst into ______. June had written: “AND one new wardrobe.”
1.A. poor B. rich C. happy D. hard
2.A. surprise B. joy C. curiosity D. disappointment
3.A. fell B. developed C. disappeared D. changed
4.A. suggestions B. headlines C. promises D. lists
5.A. hand out B. give away C. deal with D. bring in
6.A. bottom B. middle C. top D. side
7.A. difficult B. necessary C. funny D. important
8.A. time B. chance C. schedule D. break
9.A. hope B. regret C. joy D. anger
10.A. noticed B. decided C. recognized D. imagined
11.A. came across B. looked forward to C. went through D. looked up
12.A. collected B. passed C. spread D. printed
13.A. Though B. Because C. Unless D. When
14.A. talking B. asking C. seeking D. forgetting
15.A. comment B. praise C. blame D. advice
16.A. award B. lesson C. money D. house
17.A. continued B. interrupted C. wondered D. screamed
18.A. strange B. amazing C. hard D. simple
19.A. shook B. held C. washed D. moved
20.A. laughter B. tears C. confusion D. anger
Getting your children to study can be a little like getting them to eat their vegetables.1. Make a study time and have it at the same time every day. This will help your kids to learn to schedule their day and will give them a sense of control over how they spend their time.
Allow them to study in blocks of time，such as for half an hour with a five-minute break in the middle. 2. Ideal(理想的) study times are after dinner or right after school before dinner.
Never allow your children to study in front of the television，as that will encourage passive activity. 3.You'll also need to help your kids find the right place to study. After you've set up a good study time for little learners，set up a good place where they can get those creative juices flowing. 4. Make sure there is a table or a desk and a comfortable chair.
5. This includes helping them out with their homework sometimes and being there for them with the answers to any questions. The input you give your children during study periods will help form a bond and help make studying enjoyable.
A．Pick a place where your children can study properly.B．Hold them to the schedule they create for themselves.
C．Finally，spend time with your kids when they're studying.
D．Keep the atmosphere light and offer lots of encouragement，too.
E．Instead，use TV as a treat or a reward when the homework is completed.
F．Try to stop this bad habit by offering some sort of reward.
G．One of the best ways to form good study habits for your kids is to design a schedule that they keep to.
Have you ever wanted to travel back in time? What about traveling into the future? There’s an easy way to do it.
One way you can make a time travel journey is by writing a letter to your future self to be opened in the future. To your future self, the letter will be a visit from the past. What can be gained by writing a letter to yourself? It depends on how good your letter is. You have the chance to say something to your future self. What would you want to communicate? You’ll be able to talk to yourself 5, 10, 15 years down the road. There may be instructions for your future self, or you may have goals that you will want to check up on.
There are a lot of things you could include in your letter or letters to yourself. The more you include, the better the letter will be to you. Here are some ideas of things to include in your letter:
Your thoughts and feelings about life, religion, politics, society, etc.
Your feelings for your family.
Your likes and dislikes.
Your dreams.
The type of person you want yourself to become.
…
Be creative with what you put in your letter. Include a picture of yourself or family to show the period from which the letter came.
You can store your letter in many different ways. You can give your letter to a friend or family member to keep and mail to you. If you can get others to take part, have them write letters to themselves as well and ask someone to be the letter holder until it’s time to send the letters. You can also use a service online to store your letter and e-mail it to you.
Make the most of your letter writing, and you will help your future self make the most of the present.
1.How can you travel into the future?
A. By traveling back in time.
B. By writing a letter to your future self.
C. By opening a letter from the past.
D. By paying a visit to the future.
2.If you want to gain more in the future, you should ________.
A. have the chance to say something to your future self
B. talk to yourself 5, 10, 15 years down the road
C. write more about instructions for your future self
D. include as many things as possible in your letter
3.Why do you put a picture in your letter?
A. To check up on your goals.
B. To share your feelings with your family.
C. To show the time when the letter was written.
D. To find out your thoughts and feelings now.
4.Which can be the best title for the passage?
A. How to Write a Letter to Your Future Self.
B. What to Communicate with Your Future Self.
C. What to Include in a Letter to Your Future Self.
D. How to Make the Most of Your Letter.
The First Rule of Finance is to live within your means by spending no more than 80% of your take-home pay．If you take home $ 100 per week, spend no more than $80．
But ever look at what people spend their money on? I have relatives and friends deeply in debt, spending $ 12 for every $ 10 they earn instead of the $ 8 you know they should be spending．When I see them, they're proud of their new whatever．"What do you think of my new truck?" asked one from the driver's seat．"Do you like my new shoes?" asked another on high heels．"Check out my new big screen．" said a third while holding the remote in his living room．We've all heard people fishing for compliments on their new toys．
Every one of them was proud of what they'd financed．They seem to have bought it for the purpose of being proud, of showing off, of keeping up with the Joneses．"Look at my new …?"is everybody's favorite phrase, even when the object in question isn't theirs at all and won't be new when they've finally paid for it, if they ever do．
They're proud of being stupid．They think it's cool to drive the financed car, wear the financed shoes, and watch the financed TV, but to smart people, whose opinions are the only ones we should respect, these people look dumb as rocks．
The Joneses, nine times out of 10, are financially stupid．That's why they have all that stuff on borrowed money．Why try to copy them? Worse, why try to impress them? Copy and impress smart people, the ones who own their stuff．If you want to impress smart people, debt is the last way to go about it．Trying to impress a money-smart person by going into debt is like trying to impress Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps by drowning in a pool．Michael Phelps is impressed by good swimming and a money-smart person by good money management．
1.According to the author, the "new toys" in Paragraph 2 are examples of______.
A. symbol of wealth B. unnecessary purchases
C. impressive stuff D. things available
2.The underlined words "smart people" in Paragraph 4 refer to people ______.
A. having high IQs B. earning enough money
C. creating new ideas D. managing money well
3.The author is trying to ______.
A. advise people to be money-smart
B. persuade people to keep off fashions
C. blame people for copying others
D. criticize people for over consumption
4.According to the author, buying new objects on borrowed money is ________.
A. unwise B. shameful
C. understandable D. impressive
He was once referred to as the Picasso of poetry. Beloved by Chileans of all classes, he is one of the most widely read and respected poets in history. And this year is the 100th birthday of Pablo Neruda (1904-1973).
Born with the name Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basolto, he was a tall, shy and lonely boy. He loved to read and started to write poetry when he was ten. The American poet Walt Whitman, whose framed picture Neruda later kept on his table, became a major influence on his work.
However, his father did not like the idea of having a poet for a son and tried to discourage him from writing. To cover up the publication of his first poem, he took the pen name Pablo Neruda.
In 1924 Neruda gained fame with his most widely read work “Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair’’. Yet his rich experience as a diplomat and exile made him go beyond the theme of love. His work also reflected the political struggle of the left and development of South America. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971.
Neruda loved the sea which he saw as creative, destructive and forever moving. He found inspiration in the power and freedom of the waves and the seabirds on the coast. “I need the sea because it teaches me,” he wrote. “I move in the university of the waves.” He loved how the sea forever renewed itself, a renewal echoed in his work.
1.The underlined word “Picasso” can probably be replaced by “________”.
A. most important person B. famous person from Picasso
C. freedom fighter in Picasso D. poem fan
2.Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basolto took the pen name Pablo Neruda because ________.
A. literary greats usually used the pen name
B. his father encouraged him to use the name
C. he wanted to prevent his father knowing the publication
D. he was greatly influenced by other poets
3.Which of the following is not the theme of his works?
A. Love. B. Political struggle.
C. Social reform. D. Development of South America.
4.The last paragraph mainly tells us ________.
A. the sea gave Neruda vast writing inspiration
B. the beautiful scenery along the Chile coast
C. Neruda’s poems were widely read overseas
D. Neruda loved to write his poems near the sea
To most people, noise pollution is a jet flying over their head. For one Spanish woman, it is a neighbor playing the piano. The woman has taken her neighbor to court. Now she wants to send her neighbor to prison for over seven years on the charges of psychological damage and noise pollution.
In a country known for its noisiness, the case has raised eyebrows. Neighbors often complain about street noise in Spain, but people seeking prison time for someone practicing the piano is
unheard of. At the trial, Sonia Bosom says she has been suffering noise pollution up to now due tothe practice sessions of Laia Martin, who lives below her. Martin, 27, didn’t admit that she played at home that often, saying she took regular classes in other towns and mostly practiced at home on the weekends.
On the first day of the trial, the newspaper reported that Bosom told the court she now hated pianos so much that she couldn’t even stand seeing them in a film.Bosom says years of hearing
constant playing has caused her “psychological injury”. Medical reports show she has suffered
from a variety of problems, including insomnia (失眠), anxiety, and panic attacks.
She says tests by local authorities have found that the sound levels made by the piano are up
to10 decibels （分贝）higher than the limit. City authorities have asked the family several times to either stop the piano playing or soundproof (隔音) the room. The family told the court that they carried out soundproofing work twice but the complaints continued.
The court hasn’t made a final decision. A spokeswoman says the trial will end before May.
1.Bosom wants to send Martin to prison because _______.
A. Martin’s playing the piano damaged her health
B. Bosom suffered from heart attack
C. Martin refused to take regular classes in other towns
D. Martin flew a jet over her head
2.How did Laia Martin respond to the complaints?
A. She stopped playing the piano.
B. She soundproofed the room.
C. She didn’t admit she played at home.
D. She took her neighbor to court.
3.Which of the following may probably be the best title for the passage?
A. A 7-year Sentence Caused by the Piano
B. A Pianist Accused of Noise Pollution
C. Health Problems of a Spanish Woman
D. Actions Against Noise by Local Authority
