Ann’s neighbor Tracy found a lost dog wandering around the local high school. She asked Ann if she could keep an eye on it. Ann said that she could ______ it only for the day.
Tracy took photos of the ______ and printed off 400 FOUND fliers (传单), and put them in mailboxes. Meanwhile, Ann bought some pet ______ in the dollar store nearby, and warned her two ______ not to fall in love with it. At the time, Ann’s son Thomas was 10 years old, and Jack, who was ______ from a heart operation, was 21 years old.
Four days later Ann was still ______ the dog, whom they had started to ______ Riley. When she arrived home from work, the dog ______ itself against the screen door and barked ____ at her. As soon as she opened the door, Riley ______ into the boys’ room where Ann ____ that Jack was suffering a heart attack. Riley ran over to Jack, and as soon as Ann bent over to _____ him the dog went_____
“If it hadn’t come to get me, the ______ said Jack would have died,” Ann reported to a local newspaper. At this point, no one had called to ______ the dog, so Ann decided to keep it.
The next morning Tracy got a call. A man named Peter ______ his dog and called the _____ on the flier. Tracy started ______, and told him, “That dog ______ my friend’s son.”
Peter drove to Ann’s house to ______ his dog, and saw Thomas and Jack crying in the window. After a few moments Peter said, “Maybe Odie was supposed to find you, maybe you should keep it.”
1.A. accept B. control C. watch D. train
2.A. dog B. neighbor C. school D. house
3.A. books B. toys C. clothes D. supplies
4.A. sons B. brothers C. daughters D. sisters
5.A. escaping B. resigning C. recovering D. dying
6.A. playing with B. looking after C. thinking of D. worrying about
7.A. call B. visit C. mean D. mention
8.A. rested B. supported C. knocked D. threw
9.A. angrily B. madly C. aimlessly D. weakly
10.A. stared B. reached C. dashed D. followed
11.A. believed B. found C. heard D. remembered
12.A. wake B. calm C. carry D. help
13.A. silent B. crazy C. sad D. angry
14.A. reporter B. doctor C. writer D. owner
15.A. retreat B. greet C. comfort D. claim
16.A. appreciated B. missed C. recognized D. raised
17.A. name B. number C. witness D. paper
18.A. arguing B. explaining C. crying D. shouting
19.A. saved B. trusted C. needed D. understood
20.A. show off B. give up C. see off D. pick up
How to improve vocabulary fast
Your vocabulary refers to the words in a language you are familiar with. We should learn some ways to expand it.
Read every day.1.. Choose reading material that is slightly above your level and keep a dictionary with you to look up words you do not know.
2..If you do not meet with an unfamiliar word in your daily reading, use your dictionary to search for one.
Learn the correct definition and pronunciation for each new word. Pronunciation is as important as definition because in order to add a word to your active vocabulary, you must be able to use it in speech.
Elaborate (详尽阐述) on the meaning of the word. If you have just learned the word “stubborn”, think about the neighbour who will not lend you his car.3..
Use your new word in speech and in writing. E-mail your sister about how your cat is stubborn about sleeping on your pillow. 4..But the more you use it, the more fluent you will become in its use. Soon it will be a regular part of your active vocabulary.
Tell everyone you are trying to increase your vocabulary. Encourage them to ask you what your latest word is.5.. The more you explain the meaning of a word to someone, the more likely you are to remember it.
A. Or let them ask for the definition of a new word you have used.
B. The first time you use a new word in speech it may seem strange.
C. Your vocabulary contains the words you understand.
D. Find a new word every day.
E. Imagine him shaking his head, and think of him as ‘stubborn in his refusal.”
F. The more often you read, the faster your vocabulary can grow.
Nearly everyone has bad habits.That's because，try as we might，bad habits are hard to break.On the other side，good habits，such as eating more healthfully or exercising regularly，never seem to stick.As a result，most people throw up their hands and surrender．
But now a new book，Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by best-selling author Gretchen Rubin，offers some useful solutions.
Rubin，who became interested in habits during her research on happiness，which resulted in two popular books，The Happiness Project (2009) and Happier at Home (2012)，found that our inability to master unwanted behaviors was a major downer (令人沮丧的因素)．So，after guiding millions of readers down the path of true contentedness，Rubin turned her investigative skills toward habits.
Her most important find? Change is possible if we do some soul searching and identify how we respond to expectations.And，just about everybody falls into one of four personality categories：Questioners，Obligers，Rebels and Upholders.
Rubin believes herself to be a classic Upholder，someone who forms habits relatively easily because she responds well to both other people's deadlines and her own.As to the other types，Questioners will only form a habit if it makes sense to them; Obligers work hard to meet other people's expectations but often let themselves down.And Rebels resent (反感) habits.
“Think about the habit that you want to form and then think: “What's everything I could do to set myself up for success？” says Rubin.For example，if you want to exercise more and you're an Obliger，call your friend who lives across the street and meet at 6：30 every morning for a walk.
One common pitfall (陷阱)，says Rubin，especially when it comes to changing your diet，is lack of clarity (清楚)．“You can't make a habit out of eating more healthfully，” she says.Instead，your habit should be something like: “I'm going to pack a lunch every day and bring it to work instead of eating out.”
As for exercise，Rubin recommends a strategy called pairing—coupling two activities，one that you need or want to do and one that you don't particularly want to do.Rubin，for example，only allows herself to read magazines while on fitness equipment at the gym.
1.What does the underlined word “surrender” in Paragraph 1 mean?
A. Catch up. B. Settle down.
C. Calm down D. Give up.
2.Why did Rubin start to study habits?
A. She used to suffer from some bad habits.
B. Good habits make people successful.
C. Bad habits make people unhappy.
D. Her two books about habits sold quite well.
3.Which kind of people try to meet other people's expectations instead of theirs?
A. Rebels. B. Questioners.
C. Upholders. D. Obligers.
4.The pairing strategy________．
A. forces people to do something necessary
B. is used to make people more efficient
C. encourages people to enjoy themselves
D. can help people have a healthy diet
Your local grocery store is a psychological minefield (布雷区)，where even the bananas are ripe with mystery.
1．Southpaws (左撇子) have an invisible (看不见的) advantage
You've probably seen that stores keep go-to items—produce，meats，dairy—on the outer edge.But did you notice that most of them are set up to make you run counterclockwise (逆时针)? Ninety percent of us are right-handed，so we buy more when it's counterclockwise.You'll also often find the dairy section in the back left corner：Because dairy is likely on your list，stores make sure you take the longest route to get there.In fairness，it's also a more convenient place to put a fridge.
2．Everything is in its place
It's safe to say that nothing you see on a shelf is there by chance.The cookies on sale at the end of a passage are likely the result of smart product placement.More expensive items are usually placed at an adult's eye level，while colorful treats and other products for kids are positioned lower—to catch the attention of children.
3．Time goes by so slowly
Stores rarely have windows or clocks.With no reference to the outside world，customers can easily lose track of how long they've been there so that they can buy more.Grocery stores may use another trick to control your sense of time: small floor tiles (瓷砖)．
1.Why do stores usually put dairy in the back left corner?
A. Because it is a quiet place.
B. To attract people's attention.
C. To make people buy more.
D. Because most people are right-handed.
2.You are more likely to find toys________．
A. in corners B. at the end of a passage
C. at an adult's eye level D. on lower shelves
3.Why are there usually no windows or clocks in stores?
A. They are useless. B. To make customers stay longer.
C. There is no space for them. D. To allow customers to enjoy themselves.
4.Which can be the best title for the text?
A. Advantages of stores B. Secrets of stores
C. How to shop in stores D. How to operate a store
Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.
My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp comers of a glass coffee table.
I don’t only avoid those “if only” moments when it comes to safety. It’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you” or “I forgive you.” When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.
I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only” about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.
1.Which of the following is an example of the “extra minute” rule?
A. Move an object out of the way before it traps someone.
B. Leave the room for a minute with the iron working.
C. Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better.
D. Start the car the moment everyone is seated.
2.The author decided to go to her office on Good Friday to ___________.
A. keep her appointment with the eye doctor
B. join in the holiday celebration of the company
C. meet her father who was already an old man
D. finish her work before the deadline approached
3.The underlined word "foregone" in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ___________.
A. abandoned B. lacked
C. avoided D. abused
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. The Emotional Well-being B. The Peace of Mind
C. The Most Useful Rule D. The Two Saddest Words
There are numerous amusement parks all over the world. A famous magazine, Amusement Today, does a survey among park lovers every year both in the US and overseas, based on which, “Top 5 List of the Best Amusement Parks in the World” has come out as follows:
Disneyland, California
Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California, the US. More than 515 million guests have traveled to this American landmark from around the world since the park first opened to guests on July 17, 1955. The park consists of many world-famous sections, such as Main Street, Adventure Land, New Orleans Square, and so on.
Magic Kingdom, Disney World, Florida
Magic Kingdom is a theme park within the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando opened on October 1, 1971. It is the most famous theme park in Florida. The park’s design and attractions don’t make much difference from Disneyland Park in Anaheim.
EPCOT, Disney World, Florida
EPCOT is the second theme park built at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. The park opened on October 1, 1982, and was named EPCOT Center from 1982 to 1993. It was the largest Disney theme park in the world until 1998, when Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened.
Disney-MGM Studios, Florida
MGM’s streets are the home for some great movie-themed attractions with a history of less than 30 years. With the addition of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Rock and Roller Coaster, the park is now home to Disney World’s most thrilling rides.
Universal Studios, Florida
Go behind the scenes, beyond the screen and jump right into the action of your favorite movies at Universal Studios, the number one movie and TV theme park in the world.
1.Which park has the longest history?
A. Magic Kingdom, Disney World, Florida.
B. Disneyland, California.
C. EPCOT, Disney World, Florida.
D. Disney-MGM Studios, Florida.
2.Which of the following theme parks have similar attractions?
A. EPCOT & Disney-MGM.
B. Disneyland, California & Magic Kingdom.
C. Disneyland, California & Universal Studios.
D. Magic Kingdom & Universal Studios.
3.What’s the purpose of the passage?
A. To attract tourists to these theme parks.
B. To compare attractions in different theme parks.
C. To increase the sales of Amusement Today
D. To introduce world’s best amusement parks.
