When I was younger I developed an interest in stories of magic. I ______ books where wizards (巫师) and fighters ______ the powers of darkness in strange worlds. I was very happy when they ______ to bring peace and happiness to their lands in the end. Like most of the readers of these stories I secretly ______ for magical powers for myself. I wanted to be able to magically make my pain disappear, to make my problems ______, and to have power over this world that so ______ has power over us.
As I got older, however, I ______ that there was no such thing as magic and how ______ the reality of life was. I had daily pain from a back injury that never healed (治愈) right. I went through a ______ period of poverty for many years. I felt ______ when both of my sons were diagnosed with Autism (自闭症). I still sometimes daydreamed of magic ______ even that faded away.
Then one day it struck me that there was a ______ kind of magic, which grew ______ in my heart, soul, and mind day by day and year by year. This magic was called LOVE. It ______ me to my own highest self and to all of the other ______ in this world. It didn’t get rid of my ______ but it made every day of my life feel richer. It didn’t cure my sons, Autism, but it helped me see them as the beautiful, loving, and joyful souls that they ______ are. It didn’t make me a wizard or a fighter.______, it helped me to drive the darkness of this world with my own ______.
May you choose it, share it, and live in it every single day of your life. May you use it to ______ others, and to heal this world.
1.A. borrowed B. wrote C. read D. bought
2.A. controlled B. battled C. owned D. lost
3.A. started B. managed C. failed D. refused
4.A. learned B. looked C. fought D. wished
5.A. go away B. noticed C. pass by D. change
6.A. seldom B. much C. often D. little
7.A. guessed B. realized C. imagined D. hoped
8.A. unusual B. exciting C. cruel D. normal
9.A. boring B. meaningful C. short D. long
10.A. tired B. nervous C. serious D. hopeless
11.A. because B. but C. and D. so
12.A. common B. pure C. different D. similar
13.A. deeper B. bigger C. stronger D. thicker
14.A. connected B. introduced C. compared D. limited
15.A. patients B. souls C. friends D. neighbors
16.A. poverty B. fear C. trouble D. puzzle
17.A. hardly B. possibly C. totally D. truly
18.A. Otherwise B. Moreover C. Still D. Therefore
19.A. light B. life C. calmness D. silence
20.A. attract B. persuade C. make D. help
Daily to-do lists can help you get focused and organized. Follow these tips to create a good to-do list.
Notice the order.
It may help you to develop some sort of system for your to-do list. 1.you can even use a number system and mark them from 1 to 5. Items that are marked 1 might be done later, while the 5s are tasks you should deal with first.
Reduce the list.
2.. If you have 15 minutes to spare, find something on the list that you can complete in that time period. You may think that 15 minutes is not enough to do something, but several 15 minutes add up to something huge.
Add in something fun.
Yourto-do list is no doubt full of things you may not like. That’s why adding in fun activities and tasks should also be important. A fun item doesn’t feel like work. It may even feel like a break. 3. .
Don’t list too much.
It’s important not to overwhelm yourself. 4. . If there’s too much on your plate or you have to work too fast, you can’t possibly enjoy yourself and you’ll only end up being frustrated and overwhelmed.
5. .
Your list needs to be organized in a way that makes you feel comfortable. There are many choices nowadays. However, the old-fashioned pen and paper method may work best for you. You can also use the Internet or even your cell phone to keep your list organized.
A.Keep it organized.
B.Avoid too much stress.
C.Write it the night before.
D.Certainly every item on the list can’t be equally important.
E.You need to complete talks or part of tasks one step at a time.
F.When you return to the less interesting items, you’ll be more active to get them done.
G.Everything that goes on your to-do list should be something important that you need to do.
To travel abroad, we often meet the problem of what to take and how to take it. Take as little as possible. Choose clothes for your use in different kinds of situations and when you have made your final choice, take half of it! It’s always a big problem to take too many things, and anyway if necessary, you can buy what you need in America. Things like jeans, T-shirts and other clothes are good buys in the US. If you hunt around you can usually find something on sale.
Whatever baggage you take, make sure it is easy to take. Getting on and off buses and trains, even just changing planes, can be a test if your bags are too heavy or too many. The best way is to take one holdall, like a suitcase or a backpack, and then a smaller bag. Even when you have to check in your holdall, at the airport or bus station, you can keep all your money and documents by your side. It is also a good idea to keep a change of clothing in your shoulder bag in case your suitcase or backpack gets lost by an airline or a bus company.
The means you choose to travel around the US will depend on your money, you time and something else. Since there are certain discounts available to travelers who buy their tickets outside the US, it is a good idea to make travel plans before you go. Also, when you buy your tickets outside the US, you save the eight percent sales tax. Travel is like everything else in America---you have to shop around for the best busy. Never be afraid to ask for the cheapest fare. The clerk seldom offers you the cheapest one.
1.What is the writer’s idea about what to take while travelling abroad?
A. Take as many clothes as possible
B. Take as few things as you can
C. Take only your tickets and money
D. Take whatever you can use in different situations.
2.The writer thinks travelers had better put their money and documents in ____________.
A. a suitcase B. a backpack
C. a shoulder bag D. a coat pocket
3.From the last paragraph we can learn that ______________.
A. travelling around the US will cost you little money
B. clerks always show you the cheapest things
C. asking prices is not good manners in the US
D. buying tickets outside the US is cheaper
4.The passage is mainly about some advice about_____________.
A. travelling in America
B. shopping in America
C. the means to travel around the US
D. the ways to save money in the US
Moments before I could lift my case to put it in the plane’s overhead locker ahead of our recent holiday to Europe, my father gently urged me to stop. He held the thick handles of the case and lifted it with his thin arms, pushing it into place with a sigh. “You should relax and be the lady, and let me do the heavy tasks,” he said seriously. “In the future, someone special will come into your life and take over such tasks from me, but that will never happen if you do everything yourself.”
I was stunned into silence. This was not the father I remembered from childhood, who trained me to study hard at school, asked me to earn my own pocket money as a teenager at a local coffee shop, and even taught me household chores so that my life alone in London wouldn’t turn into a mess. But then, eight years after I left home and started a new life in the UK, I realized for the first time that my dad still has expectations for me to be like a princess and to stay dependent and delicate, which were considered necessary qualities of women in traditional China.
Well, that came a little late, Little did Dad know that over the three years of my university life, I moved flats five times all by myself, dragging suitcases of books and clothes, and waiting for the taxi in the rain while holding tight onto cardboard boxes. Meanwhile, living in the UK – a country currently led by a female prime minister – I have never thought there is anything girls cannot do. Most of my female friends are professionals working in the City of London, and after work, we frequently go down to the pub for a drink, just like the guys do – something my mother never did.
I wondered how I might make Dad understand the new world his little girl has entered. Perhaps one day, he will realize the “someone special” in my life will appreciate my confidence and independence above dependence, and admit that times have changed.
1.What does the underlined word “stunned” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A. Annoyed. B. Embarrassed.
C. Surprised D. Excited.
2.What qualities of women did traditional China appreciate according to Paragraph 2?
A. Dependent and gentle. B. Hardworking and tough.
C. Beautiful and confident. D. Independent and ambitious.
3.What’s the author’s purpose by mentioning her stay in London?
A. To complain how strict her father was.
B. To describe how hard her life in the UK was.
C. To regret not working hard enough at school.
D. To show she was used to living independently.
4.What can we infer about the author according to the last paragraph?
A. She has a misunderstanding of her father.
B. She thinks women should be independent.
C. She longs to meet her life partner in the UK.
D. She is thankful for her father’s strict training.
I was raised in a house where my sisters and I weren’t trusted by our mother to manage our own appearance．As a result，there were rules，and trends were largely ignored. A few years ago，I was home for a visit when my mom，now in her early 70s，called me into her bedroom．We were about ready to leave for dinner．“I don’t know what to wear” she complained “You girls always look so good．”
I paused in the doorway and looked at her,wondering if I'd misheard．“What do you mean?”I asked her．“You know what to wear‘'No．”she answered．“I don’t．Can you pick something?”I was so surprised．
This was the same woman who，in 1989，told my younger sister she wasn’t allowed to leave the house wearing a pair of ripped(有破洞的)jeans；the same woman who，in high school，called me while l was out at a party to ask if my hair was up．“You look better with it down，”she told me，before I could answer I realized，suddenly,that my mother—always so strong—not only wanted my opinion，but needed it．I pulled a pair of blue jeans from the closet and a light blue sweater from her drawer “Wear this with your black shoes，”I told her．She did My mother certainly doesn’t need anyone to take care of her．In fact，she still cares for my grandmother who lives with her．But with that one question，my mother and I started the role reversal(转变)that happens with all parents and all children，from caregiver to receiver．
Now,if I’m visiting or we’re together,it's rare for her to wear anything without checking with me first．But every so often，it seems like she asks me just to be able to disagree with my answer and pick out something on her own．And when she does，I just tell her what I think of the way she looks. Sometimes it's“great”．And sometimes it’s“awful．’’
1.When the author was young，she____.
A. could never know what to wear
B. always wore trendy clothes and hairstyles
C. was not allowed to go to parties at night
D. had to pick her clothes according to her mother’s rules
2.The first time the author’s mother asked her for advice on clothes，she____.
A. was happy to do something for her mother
B. came to realize that her mother needed her care
C. was worried that her mother was too old to live alone
D. had no idea what was suitable for her mother
3.When the author gives her opinion about clothes，her mother____.
A. always accepts her suggestions happily
B. sometimes chooses to follow her own ideas
C. is often surprised by what the author says
D. still shows uncertainty about what to wear
4.The author wrote this article mainly to____.
A. show what it is like to have a strict mother
B. remind readers to visit their parents often
C. stress her mother’s great influence on her
D. show how the role of parents and their children call change
Cosmetic surgery (整容手术) is not something to be entered into lightly. Unfortunately, in this modern world, we have become confused by very narrow standards of beauty. Images of stars who never seem to age are seen everywhere these days. We forget the fact that most of these images are the result of super photo manipulation (处理), driven by the extremely powerful beauty industry. We are all different — why should we all look the same? Isn’t there more to life than having surgery in order to have the same boring face that everybody else wants to have?
—Dr Elisabeth McKenna, Psychologist
Yes, it’s not real! That’s what I told my friends when they started asking me about my nose job. I’d always been sensitive to my nose, but it took me a long time before I decided to go for cosmetic surgery. I took advice from several doctors and after careful consideration I finally decided to have it done. I had been saving money from my part-time job and my parents helped me out with the rest. It was quite expensive but I don’t regret a penny of it. In fact I wish I’d had it done a few years ago. I’ m sure I wouldn’t have been laughed at so much at school.
—Debbie Caron, Student
It makes me really angry to think of the millions of people who spend much money on cosmetic surgery. Surgery should be carried out for medical purposes, not vanity (虚荣心). I would rather all the money spent on cosmetic surgery was used to treat people around the world who are in need but can’t get proper medical treatment. Furthermore, there are thousands of under-qualified doctors out there who only care about getting as rich as possible as quickly as possible. They don’t care about the psychological and physical damage they do. The whole industry makes me sick. We should do something to stop it.
—Danny Glass, Student
1.What does Dr Elisabeth McKenna suggest?
A. Don’t be fooled by “perfection”.
B. Cosmetic surgery often goes wrong.
C. The beauty industry needs improving.
D. It’s unnecessary to set new standards of beauty.
2.What did Debbie Caron’s cosmetic surgery bring to her?
A. More friends. B. More worries.
C. More self-confidence. D. More job opportunities.
3.How does Danny Glass feel about those who have cosmetic surgery?
A. They should be treated as patients.
B. They hurt themselves psychologically and physically.
C. They can have a new start.
D. They waste money and medical resources.
