Christmas was near a season that we took seriously in our house. But a week or so before the 25th, my father would give each of his children $ 20. This was the 1970s, and $ 20 was quite a bit of money.
But I saw it differently. My father trusted me to have the smart to spend money wisely. Even better, he gave me the means to get it. On a very basic level, my father was giving me a shopping spree (狂欢) every year.. But he was also giving me charge over my own fun, trusting my ability to manage money and making me feel like a grown-up. He didn’t buy me Sherlock Holmes, but he gave me the means to walk into the bookstore and choose it for myself, so it felt like a gift from him.
My mother had a gift for giving me what I needed, usually right at the moment I needed it most. This was when I was 25, I failed at being an adult on my very first try. I had quitted my previous job but had no new one. But when my mother paid me a visit, I put on a good show, telling her I had started my own company.
My mother knew that I was trying hard and failing at that time. It wasn’t until after she left that I noticed at the foot of my bed an envelope thick with cash. She knew how desperately I needed it. She knew that had she just shown up with groceries, or offered to pay my rent, she would have made me feel much worse. The cold, hard cash meant she was helping me. And, funnily enough, the distance with which she gave the gift felt like she was giving me space to fix my life and preserve my dignity. My mother and father both did the same thing. One was giving me the means to take my own decisions, and the other was giving me a second chance when those decisions had cost me dearly.
1.What can we learn about the author from the first two paragraphs?
A. His family once celebrated Christmas happily.
B. His father gave the author chances to make decisions.
C. His best memories about Christmas were in the 1970s.
D. He used to choose books as his father’s gift on Christmas.
2.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A. money offered by his father. B. father generous with money.
C. Christmas being important. D. the means of spending money.
3.When he was 25 years old, the author .
A. planned to open his company B. became interested in shows
C. gave his mother a gift D. was out of work
4.Which word can best describe the author’s mother?
A. sensitive. B. optimistic.
C. considerate. D. determined.
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport is a major international airport in west London,England,United Kingdom.Heathrow is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the busiest airport in Europe by passenger traffic.Heathrow is also the third busiest airport in the world by total passenger traffic.In 2016,it handled a record 75.7 million passengers,a 1.0 percent increase from 2015.
Location
Heathrow is 14 miles west of central London.The airport is surrounded by the built-up areas of Harlington. Harmondsworth,Longford and Cranford to the north and by Hounslow and Hatton to the east.To the south lie Bedfont and Stanwell while to the west Heathrow is separated from Colnbrook in Berkshire by the M25 motorway.
History
Heathrow Airport started in 1929 as a small airfield on land south-east of the hamlet of Heathrow from which the airport takes its name.At that time there were farms and market gardens and orchards there.Development of the whole Heathrow area as a very big airfield started in 1944: it was stated to be for long-distance military aircraft bound for the Far East.But by the time the airfield was nearing completion,World War Ⅱ had ended.The government continued to develop the airfield as a civil airport;opened as London Airport in 1946 and renamed Heathrow Airport in 1966.
Facilities
Heathrow Airport is used by over 90 airlines flying to 170 destinations worldwide.The airport is the primary hub of British Airways,and is a base for Virgin Atlantic.Of Heathrow's 75.7 million passengers in 2016,93% were international travellers;the remaining 70% were bound for UK destinations.The busiest single destination in passenger numbers is New York,with over 3 million passengers flying between Heathrow and JFK Airport in 2016.
1.We can know from the text that Heathrow Airport is named after a(n)____.
A. person B. animal
C. place D. plant
2.What can we learn about London Heathrow Airport from the text?
A. It has a history or over 90 years.
B. It handled fewer than 70 million passengers in 2016.
C. Most of its passengers are bound for UK destinations.
D. It has the third largest number of passengers in the world.
3.What is the purpose of the text?
A. To introduce basic information about Heathrow Airport.
B. To attract more travelers to Heathrow Airport.
C. To indicate the history o f Heathrow Airport.
D. To show the convenience of Heathrow Airport.
When I was a child in 1970s, my 1. was very poor, just like other average families in the countryside. The second-hand clothes and rain leaking roof of old house became part of my memory. However, the worst 2. (impress) is that I was feeling hungry all the time. Sometimes hunger bit me so severely 3. I regarded dried sweet potato slices as delicious snack. At that time, my dream was getting enough to fill my empty stomach.
In the early years of 1980s, as the reform and opening-up policy4.(carry) out, the children dream came true. And then,5.dream became clear and clear in my mind---I must try my best to escape out of my poor and backward hometown. I worked 6.(hard) at my study than most of my classmates, and , after luckily 7.(succeed) in the national college entrance examination, I realized my dream again: after graduation, I became a citizen working in a city. 8. the first college graduate out of a remote village, my success set an example for my folks. 9. came to realize that schooling is a good way to change one’s fate. In the following years, there were fewer dropouts and more college graduates in my village, of 10. I am proud even today.
Do not push yourself too hard
One Friday earlier this school year, all of a sudden it felt like I had pulled a muscle in my back. I knew I was _____. After a few days I stopped eating, which meant I lost ______; the clothes bought two weeks earlier began hanging _____. In addition, I started _____ so less that my eyelids were constantly heavy. My parents got ______. I thought fear wasn’t going to ______my life. Yet, I spent every minute of every day _____ how I was going to get myself out of trouble, and it made me mad.
Then I _____ to accept I was ill. I kept my job working 25 hours a week in a shop; I didn’t ____ any classes. When I was _____, I sucked it up and kept on going. _____ it kills you, it makes you stronger, right?
But now I find myself thinking whether that’s _____ it. I’m taking the classes and writing for the newspaper because it looks _____ on college applications. And I am working 25 hours a week so that, _____ I get into my dream school, I can afford it.
Here I am, already sick from the amount of work. So, what good is a(n) _____ application if I’m dead? What is the ____ of doing this work if I can’t enjoy the results?
____, by writing my story I’m not only _____ that I can’t take it, but I’m telling all the people who are too concerned with the _____ to worry about now. This is my warning: Don’t ______ the high dive if you don’t like the deep end.
1.A. tired B. ill C. sad D. cold
2.A. heart B. chance C. confidence D. weight
3.A. loose B. proper C. regular D. tight
4.A. protecting B. sleeping C. amusing D. observing
5.A. annoyed B. disturbed C. scared D. shocked
6.A. control B. lose C. take D. explore
7.A. noticing B. showing C. answering D. wondering
8.A. refused B. agreed C. determined D. managed
9.A. attend B. choose C. drop D. expect
10.A. leaving B. training C. performing D. hurting
11.A. Since B. If C. Though D. Unless
12.A. unfair B. honest C. worth D. equal
13.A. firm B. good C. curious D. serious
14.A. once B. though C. unless D. whether
15.A. expensive B. impressive C. instructive D. sensitive
16.A. point B. duty C. promise D. action
17.A. In case B. In return C. In fact D. In all
18.A. regretting B. reporting C. desiring D. admitting
19.A. income B. education C. pressure D. future
20.A. cross B. escape C. climb D. avoid
Informal conversation is an important part of any business relationship. 1.Latin Americans enjoy sharing information about their local history, art, and customs. They expect questions about their family and are sure to show pictures of their children. The French think of conversation as an art form. 2.For them, arguments can be interesting---and they can cover pretty much or any topic---as long as they occur in a respectful and intelligent manner.
In the United States, business people like to discuss a wide range of topics, including opinions about work, family, hobbies, and politics. 3.They do not share much about their thoughts, feelings, or emotions because they feel that doing so might take away from the harmonious business relationship they’re trying to build. Middle Easterners are also private about their personal lives and family matters. It is considered rude, for example, to ask a businessman from Saudi Arabia about his wife or children.
4.This can get you into trouble, even in the United States, where people hold different views. Sports is typically a friendly subject in most parts of the world, although be careful not to criticize a national sport.5.
A.Instead, be friendly and praise your host’s team.
B.You may feel free to ask your Latin American friends similar questions.
C.Before you start a discussion, however, make sure you understand which topics are suitable in a particular culture.
D.In Japan, China, and Korea, however, people are much more private.
E.In addition, discussing one’s salary is usually considered unsuitable.
F.They enjoy the value of lively discussions as well as disagreements.
G.As a general rule, it’s best not to talk about politics or religion with your business friends.
I used to believe courtesy was a thing of the past. Very seldom have I encountered a courteous human being in this modern era.
Recently, I had to change my thinking, when I came face to face with just such a human being in a coffee place, with my two daughters. The place was crowded as usual and we had to climb steep stairs in order to find an empty table. After enjoying coffee and snacks, we went down the narrow stairs, where there was hardly any space for another person to either climb up or come down.
Just as I was in the middle of the stairs, a gentleman entered the main entrance of the restaurant which was right in front of the staircase. I was sure I would be pushed roughly by this man going up. I kept coming down as fast as I could. My daughters were already down, looking up at me worriedly, hoping I would reach them before the stranger started walking up the stairs, knowing I was a nervous sort.
Nearly reaching them, I noticed the man still standing near the door. I reached my daughters and passed the stranger at the entrance door which he kept holding open. I looked back thinking he was still at the door, deciding whether to go in or find another less crowded place. I saw him going up the stairs, two at a time. I told my daughters about it and all three of us felt bad that we did not even thank the courteous gentleman who was actually holding the door open for us ladies to pass through before going up.
Such well mannered people are hard to find these days, when pushing is very common in our advanced but aggressive society. We applauded for his chivalry(骑士精神).
1.What did the author think of the man at the first sight of him?
A. He was in a hurry. B. He would wait for her.
C. He would cross her rudely. D. He was a man with good manners.
2.Why did the author’s daughters worry about her?
A. She was too old to walk fast. B. She was easy to be disturbed.
C. She took up too much space. D. She focused too much on the man.
3.What can we learn about the man from Paragraph 4?
A. He might be a waiter of the café.
B. He might have an urgent business to do.
C. He fell in love with one of the author’s daughters.
D. He would hold the door open for all.
