Since childhood I’d been accustomed to a life where I would be afraid of everything. I saw myself as an insecure and ______ individual. But then, all too suddenly, something ______, and over a period of 6 months I firmly managed to ______ one of my diets, and lost 30 pounds. This ____ me from overweight straight down to underweight. The ______ taught me that I could change myself.
I heard about a public speaking ______ going on at my university, and for the first time, I actually managed to ______ the courage to go there. It was ______. For the first time I shared my story in front of dozens of people ______ judging me, and suddenly all the ______ fears about speaking publicly started ______. This taught me I could get rid of my ______.
My road to change, from that point on, went from a（n）______ to a neat and orderly highway, and I started changing rapidly.
Using the fact that I could get rid of my fears, I started working on them one by one. My fear of ______ strangers, my fear of asking simple ______ I should “make ______ of by myself”, my fear of hanging out with people. All of them were gone. And I still continue to ______ to this day without ______.
At the end, my weakness of being socially incompetent for so long became my ______ as it taught me how to change, as I now fight to become far better than the ______, and the absolute best I can be.
1.A. unconfident B. dissatisfied C. surprised D. thoughtful
2.A. missed B. jumped C. polished D. struck
3.A. account for B. apply for C. stick to D. see to
4.A. produced B. brought C. exposed D. introduced
5.A. failure B. adventure C. experience D. connection
6.A. organization B. instruction C. idea D. event
7.A. gather B. observe C. attract D. balance
8.A. offering B. liberating C. blinding D. confusing
9.A. impatiently B. hopefully C. potentially D. cheerfully
10.A. temporary B. comfortable C. limited D. random
11.A. accelerating B. disappearing C. removing D. convincing
12.A. fears B. urges C. appointment D. anger
13.A. chance B. order C. moment D. mess
14.A. treating B. witnessing C. greeting D. remembering
15.A. occasions B. questions C. purposes D. promises
16.A. sense B. notes C. fun D. knowledge
17.A. progress B. promote C. complain D. research
18.A. example B. discovery C. stop D. information
19.A. feeling B. height C. contribution D. strength
20.A. typical B. average C. extra D. precious
Now that you’re already in the workforce, you know what works for you. This knowledge can not only help you find a good job. 1.
The golden rule is to keep your job hunt separate from your current work. Don’t look for jobs while you’re working, and never use a work computer to search job listings. 2.
When you go on job interviews, your potential employer will ask why you’re looking to leave your current job. 3. Always answer positively, even if the truth is negative.
Great a networking tool as social media is, NEVER post that you’re looking for a job on Facebook or any other social media accounts. 4. You don’t want to start any rumors（传言）that you’re searching for a job, and you definitely don’t want anyone, especially your boss, to find out from someone else, especially from your social media account.
5. It presents an opportunity for you and your boss to have a frank discussion about what could make the job a better fit for you. Maybe you’ll end up getting the advancement or salary increase or other career path that would make you want to stay.
A. It can also help your job search, saving precious time.
B. If your current employer talks to you about it, be honest.
C. This is not the time to complain about your boss or the company.
D. Otherwise, this message will find its way to people from your office.
E. Try not to connect with anyone from work if you’re looking for another job.
F. It’s likely that you’re lonely because you don’t like your boss and coworkers.
G. You see, your work computer belongs to the company, and they have access to everything on it.
Researchers say they have developed technology that could predict heart attacks years before they happen. They report using mathematical systems to examine CT images of a patient’s heart. A CT scan uses X-rays and a computer to make detailed pictures of bones, organs and other tissue inside the body.
The new method was developed by researchers at the University of Oxford in England. A report on their study was published in the medical journal The Lancet. Also taking part in the study were teams from Germany and the US.
Most heart attacks result from a build-up of fatty tissue inside arteries（动脉）that carry blood from the heart to other areas of the body, thus blocking this flow of blood and causing a heart attack.
Currently, doctors use CT scans to learn when a sticky substance called plaque has already built up inside an artery. The new technology is designed to predict which arteries are at risk for future buildup.
The researchers reported using computers to examine CT scans to measure how much fat is present around heart arteries. That fat changes when an artery becomes affected, serving as an early warning system for heart attacks.
Charalambos, a professor at Oxford University, said he believes the research shows this method could be very effective in getting patients to take early steps to prevent future problems, adding that researchers had yet to estimate exactly how many heart attacks could be prevented. But he said he believes the technique could help identify between 20 to 30 percent of people at risk of having one.
He added that the new technology will make such predictions easier because it works together with existing CT technology. The research was based on two large, independent studies of 4,000 patients in Germany, and the US. A company with ties to Oxford University is developing a service to examine CT scans of patients around the world, Reuters reported.
1.What’s the aim of the new technology?
A. To predict ways to block fatty issues in heart arteries.
B. To provide detailed pictures of how arteries work.
C. To build computer models of the image of a heart.
D. To decide which arteries are likely to have fat built up.
2.When does a heart attack generally happen according to the text?
A. When the CT scan affects the flow of blood in the heart.
B. When fat around heart arteries blocks the flow of blood.
C. When a sticky material flows into an artery near the heart.
D. When bones and organs of the body begin to be weak.
3.What is an early warning for heart attacks?
A. A change of fat happening around heart arteries.
B. The finding of a sticky material in the blood.
C. The presence of fat around the bones and organs.
D. The aging and failure of arteries near the heart.
4.What’s the main idea of the text?
A. The harm of fat build-up to heart arteries.
B. The use of CT scans to prevent of heart attacks.
C. Research into the early warning of heart attacks.
D. The warning the body gives about heart attacks.
At a time when almost anything can be purchased with just one click, it’s become an automatic response to simply replace what breaks. Generations raised in the earlier half of the 20th century will say that this wasn’t always so: household appliances（器具）, clothing, electronics and more used to be bought under the assumption that, with the occasional repairs, they would last a lifetime.
Now, some conscientious consumers are taking matters into their own hands and joining the Repair Café movement. Founded in Amsterdam in 2009 by sewing expert Martine Postma, the original nonprofit has expanded to more than 1,500 locations worldwide. These pop-up events, which are run by volunteers, offer lessons in how to fix anything from fixing a button to an unresponsive laptop.
“There’s juice and treats and you get to meet new people,” says Bennett, a retired civil servant and volunteer fixer at the Repair Cafe Toronto, where she mends jewellery. She brings her own specialized tools but says most items could be repaired by anyone with a pair of pliers and some determination. “Something that is broken took time and resources to make, so if you’re throwing it out, you’re wasting those resources. ”
If you can’t find a Repair Cafe near you, it’s easy to start one. RepairCafe. org offers a starter manual with step-by-step instructions.
Changing how we acquire things is necessary, but there’s also something to be said for simply not getting them in the first place. “Most of us have more than what we need,” says Marina. “This can lead to a lot of anxiety, like—think about everything packed in the back of your closet; do you own those things or do they own you?” She suggests we train ourselves to make mindful purchases.
Lazarovic, whose delayed purchase went even further, explains that less shopping has freed up more time for family activities, dinner with friends and making art. By doing so, as she puts it, “I got out of that need-to-buy-it craze and in the end I feel good that I’ve made something.”
1.How would people raised in the 1940s deal with broken home appliances?
A. Sell them at a lower price. B. Press the button to find the fault.
C. Repair them to last longer. D. Donate them to recycling stations.
2.What does Bennett say about her work?
A. She likes the good food people bring for her work.
B. Helping make repairs means saving resources.
C. She will set up her own Repair Cafe soon.
D. She learned to repair jewels after she retired.
3.Which of the following best explains “conscientious” underlined in Paragraph 2?
A. Responsible. B. Generous.
C. Powerful. D. Irreplaceable.
4.What good does Lazarovic think less shopping will do to us?
A. It’ll make us less anxious about used things at home.
B. It’ll force us to make donations of unwanted things.
C. It’ll lead us to explore the world more responsibly.
D. It will provide us more time for beneficial events.
If it were up to me, I’d write this piece next week or even later. Let the dust settle a bit. But I have my father’s insistent voice in my head: the story is now, so you write it now. No one wants to read last week’s news.
My father Michael was a journalist. He started at age 16 on his local paper, the Luton News, and after nine years there, he went on to a six-decade career that saw him write more than 40 biographies of Hollywood stars and spend a quarter-century presenting a weekly radio show.
From him I learned about deadlines and accuracy, and absorbed his rule about professional clothing, one he had been taught by his first boss. Even when he was working at home, my father would follow that rule: shirt and tie, every day.
There were other less obvious lessons. The first is about being manly. Driven and competitive, he wasn’t present for the birth of any of his three children, but he was the very model of being loving and faithful. My father never took me to the football or taught me to change a tyre. In a pub, he might manage some drinks, but his main focus would usually be the food menu. He was a model of a different kind of maleness.
But perhaps the biggest lesson I learned from him was about resilience. He got deep blows, losing both his wife and firstborn child, my sister Fiona, within two years of each other. And yet, somehow, he got back up again. He taught himself to cook and continued to dress neatly, picking out a bright jacket that ensured he stood out in a room. He would meet editors and write stories with the same hunger he had 65 years earlier. Younger colleagues keep using the same word about him: appealing.
I hope I learned his resilience, the way I learned about being a journalist. People keep telling me that my father was proud of me; and the truth is I was proud of him. Raised in a hard-up corner of wartime England, he went off to see the world—and he never stopped looking forward and upward, staring at the stars.
1.What has made the author write down the text so soon?
A. His father’s words motivated him to do so.
B. He wanted to settle down after the writing.
C. He wanted to write it before he forgot it.
D. It was the story he insisted on writing.
2.What was the author’s impression of his father?
A. He always managed to dress up following the fashion.
B. He sometimes had a hard time meeting the work deadline.
C. He trained the author to be manly and do the basic things.
D. He was competitive at work and remained a loving Dad.
3.What was the best lesson the author learned from his father?
A. The necessity of keeping good shape.
B. Quick recovery from suffering or blow.
C. The ability to get a content career.
D. The pride one takes in his/her parents.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. Dad Left a Deep Impression on Me for His Work
B. Dad Proved Faithful and Loving for the Family
C. My Dad Showed How to Be a Journalist and a Man
D. I Learned to Recover Quickly after a Suffering
The Children and Family Research Center, located in Illinois, is an independent research organization to promote public child welfare research activities. The following are our 2018 research briefs.
The Child Endangerment Risk Assessment Protocol（CERAP）
Tamara L. Fuller
CERAP is a safety assessment protocol（协议）used in child protection investigations and child services in Illinois. It is designed to evaluate the potential harm to a child and take quick action to protect children. Workers use the protocol to help focus their decision-making to determine whether a child is safe with their family, and decide what action to take to assure the child’s safety.
10 Things to Know about Child Welfare System
Catherine, Michael, and Steve
In March 2018, researchers Michael and Steve partnered with professor Catherine to present a webinar（在线研讨会）titled 10 Things to Know about Child Welfare System, focused on explaining the child welfare system. Topics included process of making a hotline call, ways to support families who have experienced childhood sufferings.
Highlights from the Child Death Review Team Annual Report
Steve and Tamara
This research brief focuses on the findings from the most recent CDRT annual report on child deaths in Illinois in 2016, presenting summary information about child deaths in Illinois by age, manner of death, and category of death, as well as recommendations to prevent child deaths.
Promoting Widespread Improvement in Practice
Ted Cross and Irit
This article by CFRC’s psychologist（心理学家）Ted Cross and Dr. Irit explores the contribution of psychology to child protection and suggests opportunities for psychology to contribute more, choosing 3 selected areas. Across these areas, psychology has contributed both to the knowledge base and to available assessment and intervention（干预）methods.
1.Which event aims at determining the safety of children within the family?
A. Promoting Widespread Improvement in Practice
B. 10 Things to Know about Child Welfare System
C. The Child Endangerment Risk Assessment Protocol
D. Highlights from the Child Death Review Team Annual Report
2.Who wrote a report about prevention of child deaths?
A. Steve and Tamara. B. Catherine, Michael, and Steve.
C. Tamara L. Fuller. D. Ted Cross and Irit.
3.Which of the following deals with child protection in a psychological way?
A. Highlights from the Child Death Review Team Annual Report
B. 10 Things to Know about Child Welfare System
C. The Child Endangerment Risk Assessment Protocol
D. Promoting Widespread Improvement in Practice
