Ludwig van Beethoven,one of the world's greatest musicians,was born into a musical family in Germany.As a child he spent many lonely hours1.(practise) his music every day.In his late teens he went to Vienna for further study.There he became well2.(know) by people.
One evening as he was out walking,he passed an old house3.he heard someone inside playing one of his compositions.As he stopped4.(listen),he overheard a girl say that she5.(wish) she could hear a real musician play it properly.
Beethoven went6.the house and,noticing the young lady at the piano was blind,offered to play the piece for her.He did so for her for more than an hour7.while he did,darkness fell and the lone candle in the room had gone out.
Outside in the night sky the8.shone brightly and sent its light into the room where Beethoven sat9.(play) beautiful music.He was so inspired by the appreciation of his music by the young lady and the beauty of the atmosphere in the room10.he composed his famous "Moonlight Sonata."
It was summer vacation.Our son,Jack,felt free.He____ride his bike,play his drums,or do nothing at all.I let him enjoy this I'm-on-vacation feeling for several days.
But soon,I noticed that____he was enjoying sitting around,weeds were____in the garden,dirty clothes lying here and there and paint coming off in the old farmhouse.So I said to Jack,"I would like you to____at least two hours a day during summer vacation."
"What?"Jack asked,____."We need your help and we'll____you,"I went on.The boy got quite____and cried, "I'm only a kid!""You'll____have plenty of time to play.Two hours a day isn't too much to____of a 12-year-old."I pointed out.
____,the work became part of Jack's daily routine.Halfway through the summer,the $1 and $5 bills began to ____in his drawer.One day he came to me."Mum,do you have any more work I can do today?"he asked."____?"I was surprised."I____if I work extra,I might be able to buy a new____by the end of the summer,"he explained.
Over the next several weeks,Jack____more and more his free time doing jobs for me.Although August was so hot,there was a light on his face as he worked with his____in his mind.
One day I went out to____his progress and praised him for the nice job he was doing the old farmhouse____ a beautiful view at the hand of Jack."Yeah,this place is starting to look good after all."He said____,as sweat dripped from his dirty face.
____unexpected did happen to Jack.His work had given him something much more precious than that new drum.
1.A. must B. should C. could D. need
2.A. though B. while C. because D. if
3.A. growing B. dying C. dancing D. sleeping
4.A. paint B. study C. rest D. work
5.A. disbelieving B. amazed C. understanding D. satisfied
6.A. thank B. remember C. pay D. support
7.A. interested B. tired C. content D. upset
8.A. ever B. already C. still D. even
9.A. ask B. waste C. offer D. remind
10.A. However B. Otherwise C. Besides D. Then
11.A. break up B. join up C. pack up D. pile up
12.A. What B. When C. Where D. How
13.A. gave out B. watched out C. worked out D. left out
14.A. drum B. bike C. toy D. shirt
15.A. save B. spent C. killed D. stole
16.A. memory B. opinion C. goal D. vacation
17.A. show B. check C. respect D. introduce
18.A. fell into B. turned into C. ran into D. got into
19.A. carefully B. proudly C. shyly D. bravely
20.A. Anything B. Everything C. Nothing D. Something
Your beliefs are very powerful and have the power to create or to destroy your life.1.If you believe that you are loser,that you never get a break in life or that you can't accomplish anything,these things will be your reality. Believe you are unlimited and that you can do anything you commit to doing.When you do,your accomplishments will know no doubts.
You control your beliefs,and that is how you finally control your life.This is a very important point.2.
Many of our beliefs come from our environment,the world we live in on a daily basis.3.If you are constantly around people who are negative and limiting,find other people to hang out with.Get around positive and successful people.
4.That is why it is so important to experience on a regular basis.Set small,achievable goals,and try your best to reach them."I will finish this project by early afternoon.""I will exercise for 20 minutes tonight."When you experience success,you will believe in success,and that leads to more successes.
Beliefs come from knowledge.The more you learn,the more things you will know to be possible.Always take advantage of opportunities to learn something new.It will bring new possibilities into your beliefs and your life.
Most importantly,you can develop new beliefs by setting new goals for your life.5.Then,in your mind,see yourself achieving them in all of their sensory details.Mentally live the experience,see the sights,hear the sounds, smell the aroma and feel the feelings.Your developed beliefs will lead you to their reality.
A.If your environment is limiting your beliefs,work hard to change it.
B.Set your goals in your mind and attempt to reach them.
C.Whatever you believe is what you will become.
D.Beliefs also come from past experience.
E.Define your goals clearly and exactly.
F.Belief comes from achievable goals.
G.So how do you develop beliefs?
"A photograph that one has taken of oneself,typically with a smart phone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website."This is the definition(定义)of the word "selfie" in the Oxford English Dictionary.In fact,it wasn't even in the dictionary until August,2013.It earned its place there because people are now so obsessed(着迷)with selfies—we take them when we try on a new hat,play with our pets or when we meet a friend whom we haven't seen in a while.
But does this obsession actually make sense?Is there any scientific explanation for it?Well,you should probably ask James Kilner,a neuroscientist at University College London.
Through our lifetime we become experts at recognizing and interpreting other people's faces and facial expressions.In contrast,according to Kilner,we have a very poor understanding of our own faces since we have little experience of looking at them—we just feel them most of the time.
This has been proved in previous studies in which participants were shown images of themselves and asked to match their facial expressions in the pictures.In most cases,they failed to accurately produce the same facial expressions without being able to see themselves in the mirror,according to BBC.
To further test how we actually sense our own faces,Kilner carried out another study.He showed people different versions(版本)of their own image—the original which had been edited to look less attractive and one that was made more attractive—and asked them to pick the version which they thought looked most like them.Kilner found that most people chose the more attractive picture.This suggests that we tend to think of ourselves as better-looking than we actually are.
But what does it say about selfies?Well,isn't that obvious?Selfies give us the power to create a photograph—by taking it from various angles,with different poses,using filters(滤镜)and so on—that better matches our expectations with our actual faces.
"You suddenly have control in a way that you don't have in non-virtual(非虚拟的)interactions,"Kilner told the Canada-based CTA News.Selfies allow you "to keep taking pictures until you manage to take one you're happy with", he explained.
1.According to Kilner's studies,it can be learned that we .
A. know about our own faces well
B. tend to recognize our own faces easily
C. become poor at reading others' facial expressions
D. believe we have better images than we actually do
2.What does the underlined word "it" in paragraph 2 refer to?
A. Selfie. B. This obsession.
C. The history of selfie. D. The rise of selfie.
3.According to Kilner,why do people like taking selfies?
A. It enables them to improve their skill of taking a photograph.
B. It meets their needs to know their own faces better.
C. It makes them possible to reach their expectation.
D. It offers them a way to control the virtual world.
4.What might be the best title of the passage?
A. What Is Selfie
B. Selfie Beautify Yourself
C. How Do People Take Selfies
D. Selfies Improve Your Confidence
I am a working woman with a secret life: I keep house.An off-an-on lawyer and professor in public,in private I launder and clean,cook and devote serious time and energy to a domestic(家务的)routine,not so different from my grandmothers did as "housewives."When I want a good read,I reach for my collection of old housekeeping handbooks.I enjoy housekeeping and the comforts it provides.
I have almost entirely hidden this passion for housekeeping though I am writing a long story about it.No one meeting me for the first time would doubt that I spend my time knitting and remembering household facts.I knew I would not want this information about me to get around.After all,I belong to the first generation of the women who worked more than they stayed home.
Being viewed as over domestic can get you socially ostracized.When I made hand-rolled pasta(意大利面)for a dinner,I learned the hard way that some guests will find this annoying,as they do not feel comfortable eating a meal that they regard as the product of too much trouble.When my son was in nursery school,I made the mistake of spending a few hours sewing for him a Halloween dressing,receiving hard stares of many fellow parents who had bought a Batman or Esmeralda costume.Many times my courage in writing the story failed me when painful silences followed my confession(坦白)about the long book,"NO,not a history of housework,an explanation of it—a practical book on how you make the bed and make a comfortable home."I managed to hold on partly because not everyone responded with that stare;there was support as well.And I was struck that no one responded with coldness.The topic was clearly hot-too hot for some people to handle,heartwarming to others.
1.What makes the author enjoy housekeeping?
A. The joy and comfort from housekeeping.
B. Her wish to be different from others.
C. The influence of her grandmothers.
D. Her love to her family.
2.Which is closest in meaning to the underlined word in Paragraph 3?
A. Interested. B. Rejected.
C. Accepted. D. Concerned.
3.We can learn that the author .
A. gives up writing her story at times B. does housekeeping as her full job
C. receives some unfair treats D. thinks her book useful to all
You drive down the highway with your family or friends in the car,camping equipment and spare clothes in the back.Your windows are down and the wind is hitting you in the face.These are the makings of a classic US road trip.
Road trips are quite common in the country,especially during the Thanks-giving holiday,which is the busiest travel time of the year in the country for families and friends who want to get together.
And for students,going on a road trip is traditional after graduating from high school or college with their schoolmates.It usually involves traveling great distances across the US and camping out whenever possible. Destinations are different depending on where in the country someone is located.But they all show the same kind of adventure.Popular spots to travel to include Yellowstone National Park,the Grand Canon.
However,the most famous of all road trip journey is travelling across the US on Route 66.Route 66 begins in Chicago and ends in Los Angeles.The route goes past many of the lesser-known states.However,it's the bizarre(稀奇古怪的)and wonderful small attractions that draw many road trippers to them.The attractions one sees on these trips are quite strange and very difficult to explain to non-American.They are filled with gas stations that still look like they did back in the 1950s and small restaurants known as "mom and pop restaurants" where you can eat a greasy cheeseburger with a delicious milkshake.Route 66 is also filled with quite unusual,but still fascinating wonders.
Deep down,US road trips show the spirit of freedom and openness.The idea is that if you have a car,you have freedom to escape,to discover,to find yourself,to lose yourself.It's a powerful call,one that is part of the US' identity and culture.It is a must-do for anyone who plans to spend time in the US to see the country and all of its wonders.An old saying—"It's not the destination,it's the journey"—best explains what the experience of a road trip truly offers.
1.The first paragraph is designed to .
A. present the topic B. list some facts
C. raise a question D. give an example
2.What attracts US road trippers most on Route 66?
A. Lesser-known states.
B. Mom and pop restaurants.
C. Gas stations and delicious foods.
D. Strange attractions and fantastic wonders.
3.What is the author's purpose in writing the text?
A. To introduce US road trips.
B. To spread American culture.
C. To stress the importance of a road trip.
D. To attract US road trippers to Route 66.