I lost my sight when I was four years old by falling off a box car in a freight yard in Atlantic City and landing on my head．Now I am thirty two．I can slightly remember the brightness of sunshine and what color red is．It would be wonderful to see again, but a calamity（灾难） can do strange things to people．It occurred to me the other day that I might not have come to love life as I do if I hadn't been blind．I believe in life now．I am not so sure that I would have believed in it so deeply, otherwise．I don't mean that I would prefer to go without my eyes．I simply mean that the loss of them made me appreciate the more what I had left．
Life, I believe, asks a continuous series of adjustments to reality. The more readily a person is able to make these adjustments, the more meaningful his own private world becomes. The adjustment is never easy. I was totally confused and afraid. But I was luck. My parents and my teachers saw something in me--a potential to live, you might call it --which I didn’t see, made me want to fight it out with blindness.
The hardest lesson I had to learn was to believe in myself．That was basic．If I hadn't been able to do that, I would have collapsed and become a chair rocker on the front porch for the rest of my life．When I say belief in myself I am not talking about simply the kind of self confidence that helps me down an unfamiliar staircase alone．That is part of it．But I mean something bigger than that: an assurance that I am, despite imperfections, a real, positive person; that somewhere in the sweeping, intricate（错综复杂的） pattern of people there is a special place where I can make myself fit．
It took me years to discover and strengthen this assurance．It had to start with the simplest things．Once a man gave me an indoor baseball．I thought he was making fun of me and I was hurt．"I can't use this．" I said．"Take it with you," he urged me, "and roll it around．" The words stuck in my head．"Roll it around! "By rolling the ball I could hear where it went．This gave me an idea how to achieve a goal I had thought impossible: playing baseball．At Philadelphia's Overbrook School for the Blind I invented a successful variation of baseball．We called it ground ball．
All my life I have set ahead of me a series of goals and then tried to reach them, one at a time．I had to learn my limitations．It was no good trying for something that I knew at the start was wildly out of reach because that only invited the bitterness of failure．I would fail sometimes anyway but on the average I made progress．
1.We can learn from the beginning of the passage that _______
A. the author lost his sight because of a car crash．
B. the author wouldn't love life if the disaster didn't happen．
C. the disaster made the author appreciate what he had．
D. the disaster strengthened the author's desire to see．
2.What's the most difficult thing for the author?
A. How to adjust himself to reality．
B. Building up assurance that he can find his place in life．
C. Learning to manage his life alone．
D. How to invent a successful variation of baseball．
3.According to the context, “a chair rocker on the front porch” in paragraph 3 means that the author __________
A. would sit in a rocking chair and enjoy his life．
B. would be unable to move and stay in a rocking chair．
C. would lose his will to struggle against difficulties．
D. would sit in a chair and stay at home．
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. A Miserable Life B. Struggle Against Difficulties
C. A Disaster Makes a Strong Person D. An Unforgettable Experience
Suppose you’re in a rush, feeling tired, not paying attention to your screen, and you send an email that could get you in trouble.
Realisation will probably set in seconds after you’ve clicked “send”. You freeze in horror and burn with shame.
What to do? Here are four common email accidents, and how to handle.
Clicking “send” too soon
Don’t waste your time trying to find out if the receivers has read it yet. Write another email as swiftly as you can and send it with a brief explaining that this is the correct version and the previous version should be ignored.
Writing the wrong time
The sooner you notice, the better. Respond quickly and briefly, apologizing for your mistake. Keep the tone measured: don’t handle it too lightly, as people can be offered, especially if your error suggests a misunderstanding of their culture(I.e. incorrect ordering of Chinese names).
Clicking “reply all” unintentionally
You accidentally reveal(透露)to entire company what menu choices you would prefer at the staff Christmas dinner, or what holiday you’d like to take. In this instance, the best solution is to send a quick, light-hearted apology to explain your awkwardness. But it can quickly rise to something worse, when everyone starts hitting “reply all” to join in a long and unpleasant conversation. In this instance, step away from your keyboard to allow everyone to calm down.
Sending an offensive message to it’s subject
The most awkward email mistake is usually committed in anger. You write an unkind message about someone, intending to send it to a friend, but accidentally send it to the person you’re discussing. In that case, ask to speak in person as soon as possible and say sorry. Explain your frustrations calmly and sensibly—see it as an opportunity tic hear up any difficulties you may have with this person.
1.After realizing an email accident, you are likely to feel _______.
A. curious B. tired
C. awful D. funny
2.If you have written the wrong name in an email, it is best to ________.
A. apologise in a serious manner B. tell the receiver to ignore the error
C. learn to write the name correctly D. send a short notice to everyone
3.What should you do when an unpleasant conversation is started by your “reply all” email?
A. Try offering other choices. B. Avoid further involvement(参与).
C. Meet other staff members. D. Make a light-hearted apology.
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Defining email errors. B. Reducing email mistakes.
C. Handling email accidents. D. Improving email writing.
Vincent Van Gogh was the son of a pastor (牧师) in Holland. Around his early twenties he decided to become an artist. He felt that color was his main influence and he used it to express himself. The way he painted was very unusual during the late 1800s because he paid much attention to colorful abstract art. Van Gogh had many paintings that have changed the way we look at art. His paintings weren’t popular during his lifetime because of an illness that was possibly a mental disorder. However, they are now considered to be the most popular forms of art in the world today. In what ways can we appreciate his paintings?
Learn about the artistic style of expressionism. In Van Gogh’s artwork, the style that he used was expressionism, which was the only one of this kind compared to other paintings.
Look for key symbols that would help you understand his artwork better such as the background of the objects.
Try to understand the artist’s aims. You can do this by watching the use of colors, perspectives, and the subject. Knowing the artist’s aims, you will be able to understand why he created the work.
Take what you have learned from the artwork and put it in your feelings to see how it affects you and is related to you. This will allow you to make a connection with the artist.
1.The article is mainly about _____.
A. how we should appreciate Van Gogh’s paintings
B. how Van Gogh expressed himself in paintings
C. why Van Gogh wanted to become an artist
D. why Van Gogh wasn’t famous in his lifetime
2.Van Gogh wanted to become an artist because _____.
A. his father was a famous artist B. he liked to express himself with color
C. he had a serious mental illness D. he grew up in a religious culture
3.According to the passage, which of the following about Van Gogh is NOT true?
A. Expressionism was usually used to describe his work.
B. He was likely to have suffered from a mental disorder.
C. When he was alive, his artwork wasn’t popular.
D. Like many others, he focused on colorful abstract art.
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A. Van Gogh’s paintings were difficult to understand.
B. Van Gogh’s illness helped him paint.
C. Only after death can painters become famous.
D. We can’t understand Van Gogh’s feelings from his artwork.
Basketball Statistician Help Wanted
The Athletic Department is looking for students to help assist staff during the Fall 2018, Winter 2018 – 2019 and Spring 2019 semesters（学期）. Students in this position will be keeping live statistics （计分）during basketball games. Students must meet all of the following requirements:
Good computer skills
Available evenings and weekends
Knowing basketball rules and statistics
Students interested in working for the Athletic Department should contact the Athletic Coordinator at their own campuses(校区).
TP/SS Athletic Coordinator, Michael Simone, 240-567-1308
Rockville Athletic Coordinator, Jorge Zuniga, 240-567-7589
Springfield Athletic coordinator, Gary Miller, 240-567-2273
Germantown Athletic Coordinator, Gauri Chavan, 240-567-6915
1.When will the job start?
A. In May 2018. B. In May 2019.
C. In September 2019. D. In September 2018.
2.Who is more likely to get the job?
A. Ted, computer major, basketball fan, free on evenings and weekends.
B. Judy, IT staff with night classes, children’s basketball team coach.
C. Sam, English major, member of the college football team.
D. Molly, part-time programmer, high school basketball player, new mother.
3.Whom should you contact if you want to apply for the job in Rockville?
A. Michael B. Jorge
C. Gauri D. Gary
假如你是小华, Jane是美国人。在她暑假来中国游玩时你们相识,并成为好朋友。Jane回国后,你很想念她,于是给她写了一封信,并且和她谈了你对高一新生活的感受。信头信尾均已给出；词数100左右。
Dear Jane,
Yours sincerely,
Xiaohua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处，每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I love camping. It’s my favorite way to spent the summer vacation. Last year, my family and me went camping in the countryside. It was one of the most excited experiences I had never had. We slept in a tent and went for a long walk every day. We cooked over a fire and the food always tasted wonderfully. For a whole week, I appreciated lovely mountain views or breathed fresh air. At the night, I heard the gentle wind blowing in the tree, and I felt so peaceful. It doesn’t cost many to camp. I believe it’s the best way to get close nature and enjoy its beauty.
