When I was 8, a gentleman came to my orphanage（孤儿院）and taught us how to do woodworking projects.
I remember my first project—a small table. I was so ______ of it that I looked upon it as if I had created a(an) _______ . It was absolutely beautiful and it had taken me six weeks to ________it. I could hardly wait to give it to Mother Winters as a _______. She was the head mistress of our orphanage, who was always _______ with us.
As the tables were not dry from the clear coating, the man told us to wait a few days before taking them to our dormitories. But I was just so ______and happy that I couldn’t wait. I dashed out like a ________ , carrying my table, smiling from ear to ear.
When I reached the dormitory I placed the little table beside my bed. I was _______it when Mother Winters entered. She walked over to the table. Running her hand _______ it, she noticed that it was still wet.
“Were you ________to bring this home?” she asked.
“No, ma’am,” I _______ with my head down.
She ordered me to throw the table out and so I did. After she left, I immediately opened the door to get it back. There was _______stuck all over. I brushed and cried, but it would not come off.
I hid the table in my closet and never _______it. A year later while cleaning up, I gave the table to Mother Henderson, my houseparent（宿管员）, thinking that she would _______it away.
Thirty years later at a reunion, I ______that Mother Henderson was living nearby, so I drove up to see her. We talked cheerfully for long. As I was about to leave, she asked me to come down to her_______ to get something important. I followed her _______ into a dark corner. She picked something up. _______she turned around, I could see that she was holding a little table.
Mother Henderson kept the little table that I had given up for lost so long ago.
Today, I look at that table with bittersweet memories but full of _______to Mother Henderson, who kept it for a young orphan who tried very hard to _______ .
1.A. tired B. ashamed C. proud D. aware
2.A. award B. wonder C. record D. product
3.A. design B. invent C. paint D. buy
4.A. gift B. reward C. prize D. souvenir（纪念碑）
5.A. satisfied B. strict C. patient D. angry
6.A. upset B. amazed C. confident D. excited
7.A. thief B. hero C. sword D. flash
8.A. drying B. observing C. admiring D. hiding
9.A. into B. across C. above D. after
10.A. supposed B. embarrassed C. encouraged D. determined
11.A. agreed B. sighed C. whispered D. argued
12.A. dirt B. glue C. paint D. wood
13.A. removed B. touched C. shook D. split
14.A. put B. give C. take D. throw
15.A. learned B. expected C. remembered D. recommended
16.A. bathroom B. balcony（阳台） C. basement D. bedroom
17.A. curiously B. unwillingly C. doubtfully D. worriedly
18.A. Before B. Since C. As D. Until
19.A. admiration B. gratitude C. sympathy D. regret
20.A. adapt B. study C. perform D. please
It was pouring outside. We all stood there________, some patiently；others annoyed________ nature messed up their hurried day. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens________ away the dirt and dust of the world.
“Mom, let’s run through the rain,” a girl’s voice_______ me.
“No, honey. We’ll wait until it_______ down a bit,” Mom replied.
The young girl waited about another minute and_________: “Mom, let’s run through the rain.”
“We’ll get wet if we do,” Mom said.
“No, we won’t, Mom. That’s not what you said this morning,” the young girl said as she_________her Mom’s arm.
“This morning? ______ did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?”
“Don’t you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, ‘If God can get us through this, he can get us through_________.’”
The entire crowd turned__________. Mom paused and thought for a moment about_________she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. ______ then, we heard, “Honey, you are__________. Let’s run through the rain. If we get wet, maybe we just need washing,” Mom said. Then _______ they ran.
We all stood_______, smiling and laughing as they ran past the cars. Yes, they got wet. But they were________ by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the__________to their cars. Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, and they can even take away your_________. But no one can take away your precious __________. So, don’t forget to make time and take the _______ to make memories every day! I hope you still take the time to run through the rain.
1.A. talking B. waiting C. complaining D. expecting
2.A. as if B. even if C. because D. that
3.A. taking B. putting C. driving D. washing
4.A. caught B. broke C. impressed D. called
5.A. keeps B. comes C. pushes D. slows
6.A. asked B. repeated C. required D. added
7.A. pulled B. touched C. waved D. felt
8.A. Why B. How C. When D. Where
9.A. rain B. disease C. anything D. something
10.A. still B. angry C. serious D. silent
11.A. what B. how C. whether D. if
12.A. However B. But C. After D. Though
13.A. stupid B. wrong C. right D. clever
14.A. off B. along C. on D. over
15.A. sighing B. joking C. discussing D. watching
16.A. followed B. guided C. respected D. praised
17.A. time B. way C. same D. best
18.A. house B. money C. health D. time
19.A. children B. experience C. courage D. memories
20.A. possibilities B. opportunities C. risk D. challenge
Don’t you just love ice skating every winter? I am sure that since winter is approaching, your skates are set to come out, just waiting to be used. Impress your friends with your new trick on how to ice-skate backwards with the help of these tips.
Stand straight
The first thing that you need to do is, stand straight. 1. , if you feel that you are falling backwards. Don’t worry; this happens to all.
Confidence is what you need
The most important step while learning how to skate backwards, is having enough confidence in yourself and in what you are doing. How can you achieve this? By practice. One of the important ice skating tips and techniques is that if you feel that you are losing your balance, then scissor（做剪式运动）your skates. 2. .
Maintain speed
Try sculling（滑）with one skate while rolling in a straight line with the other.3. . Now bring the skate which you are using to scull, and then again, repeat the same process. Make sure that you put most of your weight on the skate which is moving straight and not the one with which you are sculling.
Now, try the same thing using the other foot.
4. .
Once you are confident that you can scull with either foot, the next thing that you have to do is increase your speed. Try some of your own tricks now. Scull with either foot or with both at the same time.
Scull and be aware
While you keep one foot straight, keep sculling with the other. You can do that with both feet at the same time. 5. , but don’t get so involved that you don’t see where you are going. If you are not watching your back, you might just bang against something or someone.
A．That is, keep pushing yourself backwards with an outwards stroke（滑动）
B．While going backwards, just get used to the feeling of moving backwards
C．Keep practicing this till you are confident about it
D．Increase your speed now
E．One must be brave enough to learn to ice-skate backwards
F．Concentrate on what you are doing
G．Just put your chin up and slightly bend your knees
Shyness May Be Partly Inherited(遗传)
About 92 million Americans are shy, and according to recent research about half of them inherited the trait.
The studies were discussed at the American Psychological Convention.
One study, by Harvard University, was of babies 21- 48 months old. It concluded that these babies had a high heart rate when shown unfamiliar people or different toys.
Although shyness is not new, it has only recently become of interest to researchers. The first study on the genetic connection was in 1979.
According to Warren Jones of the University of Tulsa, social relations these days are more complex. "With less ritual(仪式) and more complex situations," he said, "shyness is a national concern."
Not all shy people are anxious and fearful, according to another study. Evidence shows that only half of shy people are tense, worried, and fearful in social situations.
Many men use shyness as an excuse for failing in social situations, according to C.R. Snyder of the University of Kansas. "This is not true of females. Perhaps,
American men are pressured to be assertive(自信的) and successful. So they would rather say they're shy than admit they're incompetent."
Shy people may do very well socially after the first meeting with someone. In fact, shy people tend to be more stable.
The psychologists said shyness seems to be cultural. Japan has the highest rating. China and Israel have the lowest rating. The United States rated in the middle.
1.The word "trait" in the first paragraph means ______.
A. way B. tradition
C. character D. possession
2.Those babies studied were ______ when they saw unfamiliar people or different toys.
A. tense or fearful B. calm
C. as usual D. stable
3.Which of the following statements is Wrong?
A. Researchers began to study shyness when it was known to them.
B. According to Warren Jones, shyness had something to do with social relations.
C. Some shy people are anxious and fearful, some not.
D. Shyness can perhaps make people do very well socially.
4.Why would American men rather say they're shy than admit they're incompetent（无能）?
A. shyness is usually used as an excuse by them.
B. shyness is a good excuse.
C. females don't use shyness as an excuse.
D. they are under the pressure of social situations.
5.We can learn from this passage that ______.
A. shyness is naturally inherited
B. shy people have virtues as well as shortcomings.
C. females don’t use shyness as an excuse
D. which country has shy people.
In every British town, large and small, you will find shops that sell second-hand goods. Sometimes such shops deal mostly in furniture, sometimes in books, sometimes in ornaments（装饰） and household goods, sometimes even in clothes.
The furniture may often be “antique”, and it may well have changed hands many times. It may also be very valuable, although the most valuable piece will usually go to the London salerooms, where one piece might well be sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds. As you look around these shops and see the polished wood of chests and tables, you cannot help thinking of those long-dead hands which polished that wood, of those now-closed eyes which once looked at these pieces with love.
The books, too, may be antique and very precious; some may be rare first printings. Often when someone dies or has to move house, his books may all be sold, so that sometimes you may find whole libraries in one shop. One the border between England and Wales, there is a town which has become a huge bookshop as well. Even the cinema and castle have been taken over, and now books have replaced sheep as the town’s main trade.
There are also much more humble shops, sometimes simply called “junk shops”, where you can buy small household pieces very cheaply. Sometimes the profits（利润）from these shops go to charity（慈善事业）. Even these pieces, though, can make you feel sad; you think of those people who once treasured them, but who have moved on to another country or to death.
Although the British do not worship（崇拜）their ancestors, they do treasure the past and the things of the past. This is true of houses as well. These days no one knocks them down; they are rebuilt until they are often better than new. In Britain, people do not buy something just because it is new. Old things are treasured for their proven worth; new things have to prove themselves before they are accepted.
1.Books found in second-hand book shops may .
A. be copies of the earliest printings B. be on sale for the first time
C. never be worth very much D. never be rare
2.What is the small town on the border between England and Wales famous for?
A. Its sheep. B. Its bookshops.
C. Its cinema. D. Its castle.
3.Second-hand goods sometimes fill you with sadness because .
A. they are too expensive for average buyers B. they remind you of the original owners
C. they are now forgotten D. they are sold for charity
4.The average British person .
A. does not respect old things because they are not fashionable
B. likes to build new houses simply because it is fashionable to do so
C. likes to buy new things because they are fashionable
D. does not like to buy things simply because they are fashionable
5.What does the underlined word “them” (Paragraph 4) refer to?
A. junk shops. B. profits from shops.
C. old things. D. old houses.
Years ago, when I started looking for my first job, wise advisers urged, "Barbara, be enthusiastic! Enthusiasm will take you further than any amount of experience."
How right they were. Enthusiastic people can turn a boring drive into an adventure, extra work into opportunity and strangers into friends.
''Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm, wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is the paste that helps you hang in there when the going gets tough. It is the inner voice that whispers, I can do it! " when others shout, "No, you can't."
It took years and years for the early work of Barbara McClintock, a geneticist（遗传学家） who won the 1983 Nobel Prize in medicine, to be generally accepted．Yet she didn't let up on her experiments. Work was such a deep pleasure for her that she never thought of stopping.
Author and poet Samuel Ullman once wrote, "Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul".
Enthusiastic people also love what they do, regardless of money or title or power. If we cannot do what we love as a full-time career, we can treat it as a part-time interest, like the head of state who paints, the nun(修女) who runs marathons, the official who handcrafts（手工制做） furniture.
We can't afford to waste tears on "might- have-beens". We need to turn the tears into sweat as we go after ''what-can-be".
We need to live each moment wholeheartedly, with all our senses — finding pleasure in the fragrance of a back-yard garden, the crayoned （蜡笔的）picture of a six-year-old, the enchanting beauty of a rainbow. It is such enthusiastic love of life that puts a sparkle in our eyes, a lilt in our steps and smooths the wrinkles from our souls.
1.What can be the best title of this passage?
A. Find pleasure in what you are doing.
B. Wake up your life.
C. To give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
D. No pains, no gains.
2.What conclusion does the writer draw through the experience of finding a job?
A. Enthusiasm will take you further than any amount of experience.
B. Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
C. We can't afford to waste tears on "might- have-beens.
D. Enthusiastic people can turn a boring drive into an adventure, extra work into opportunity and strangers into friends.
3.Which of the following statements is WRONG according to the passage?
A. No one can achieve great success without enthusiasm.
B. Enthusiasm will take a person further than any amount of his experience.
C. We should make great effort to do the thing that can be done instead of regretting for the past.
D. Barbara McClintock was generally accepted many years before she won the Nobel Prize.
4.Which of the following can replace the underlined phrase let up ?
A. continue. B. make less effort.
C. make great effort. D. stop.
5.We can learn from the last paragraph that it is that makes our life meaningful.
A. love of gardening B. love of drawing pictures with the crayon of a six-year-old child
C. love of life D. love of beautiful rainbow
