阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
On arriving in the United States, I felt everything was different. There were many new things I had to adapt to. One thing that really 1. (take) me a long time to adapt to was speaking the language.
I remember 2. (clear) that I had to struggle to learn English because I couldn’t even write a short paragraph to introduce myself at the first day of my English class.
The teacher asked me 3. it was difficult for me. If it was, I could change to level one! However, I was stubborn and swore that I was going to succeed.
I started to spend many 4. (hour) per day, even though it was stressful, because I wanted to take advantage 5. this special chance to study English in the U.S.A.
I felt depressed because I couldn’t understand 6. people were saying even though I studied hard. However, I still kept 7. (try) and never gave up.
Now, I can tell you that I have improved a lot, but sometimes it is still easy for me to get 8. (lose) if I don’t know what topic people 9. (talk) about. To adapt to this new language, I had to tell 10. ( I ) that I could do it. I really believe I can!
When my son Gene was about 12 years old, I started helping him learn to work. I __ twenty chickens and asked him to ____ them. I told him that they would be his own chickens and we would ____ the eggs from him. However, he would have to buy chicken ____ with the money he made from the eggs. Whatever money was ____ would be his to keep. Gene was _____, thinking he would make his first ____ .
After several weeks’ successful work, I began to ____ that egg production was going down. I ____ nothing about it. Then one night, Gene told me he didn’t have ____ money to buy the feed. He said the chickens had never ____ a meal and he could not figure out why some of them had stopped ____ eggs.
Then I asked him if he had ____ the amount of feed he had given the chickens. He was ___. It was like he did not think anyone would ever ____ what he had done. After a long ____, he said yes. He thought he would make more money if he gave them ____ food. I asked him, “Did you fool the chickens?”
I was just astonished at the question in my own ____. I was dumbfounded at the ____ of it. Yes, you can fool everyone else, but you can’t“fool the chickens”, because ____ , you will find out, as the saying goes,“What goes around comes around.”
1.A. sold B. killed C. caught D. bought
2.A. take care of B. observe C. train D. play with
3.A. save B. borrow C. buy D. keep
4.A. nest B. soup C. meat D. feed
5.A. given back B. picked up C. left over D. brought in
6.A. thrilled B. worried C. satisfied D. discouraged
7.A. deal B. contribution C. fortune D. choice
8.A. hear B. notice C. predict D. imagine
9.A. said B. found C. thought D. recalled
10.A. private B. honest C. many D. enough
11.A. missed B. wasted C. enjoyed D. finished
12.A. hatching B. laying C. gathering D. hiding
13.A. balanced B. checked out C. cut down D. measured
14.A. delighted B. shocked C. tired D. disappointed
15.A. forgive B. allow C. discuss D. know
16.A. silence B. absence C. negotiation D. preparation
17.A. heavier B. fresher C. less D. more
18.A. life B. job C. case D. mind
19.A. explanation B. significance C. trick D. example
20.A. in this respect B. in the end C. in contrast D. in addition
Most successful people attach importance to why learning from mistakes is important. Every unsuccessful attempt can help you gain important experience. 1.. Here are some of the top reasons why mistakes are valuable.
2.
Do you remember your first bad grade for a test? Do you remember an embarrassing moment when a teacher caught you cheating during an exam?
These are common struggles but they are actually a great way to build good future habits. Once you have the experience, you will no longer make the mistakes you did before. 3. .
Encourage different thinking
As we make mistakes, we remove certain ways of reaching our goal. When an approach is proven wrong, people immediately start looking for different ways to resolve a situation. 4.. If your initial idea did not work, you are more likely to take a different stand and think of ideas you wouldn’t have thought if that didn’t happen.
Build characters
This is quite the tricky benefit since people can go either way when it comes to building characters. Very often, too many mistakes make people depressed. Too many failures convince them to just give up on their dreams. However, once you start learning from mistakes, you’ll gain confidence from them. 5.. And they will help you become a more passionate, successful person.
A. Give us experience
B. Reveal weaknesses
C. As we make mistakes, we learn from them
D. We have to practice, fail and rise up again
E. They will help you build a stronger character
F. Basically, mistakes encourage you to find a new solution
G. And mistakes can even be more valuable than achievements
Are you a morning person? You might not like the findings in this new research.
From a lack of air and drinking water to solar radiation, theoretical Mars pioneers face any number of potential obstacles to settling on the red planet. Now, scientists have found something else to add to the list: seriously messed-up biological clocks.
One day on Mars - which scientists refer to as the solar day, or“sol”- is 37 minutes longer than a day on Earth. A team of European scientists recently demonstrated why that could be a problem.
Circadian rhythms are the body’s natural cycles of rest and waking, which tend to follow roughly 24-hour light-dark cycles. These natural rhythms - which play a role in biological functions including brain wave activity and hormone production - can be interrupted by things like jet lag（时差）and night shift work.
For the study, the researchers compared mice with healthy, 24-hour circadian clocks to mice with a genetic change that caused them to have shorter, 20-hour circadian clocks. The mice with healthy biological clocks were more likely to survive and reproduce, while the mice with shorter biological clocks were more likely to die off.
What does this all have to do with space travel? Since the Martian sol is longer than a day on Earth, people with shorter circadian clocks could suffer from health problems as they try to adapt to the rotational speed of the red planet.
Unfortunately, the body is unlikely to adapt to the new conditions or“learn”to develop a longer clock. As Loudon explained,“Learning is not a likely option.”
In other words: Sorry, super-early risers - NASA might not want you for the next Mars mission.
1.From the passage, people can face the following troubles living on Mars EXCEPT ______.
A. absence of air B. a lot of fierce creatures
C. lack of drinking water D. messed-up biological clocks
2.According to scientists, how long does one day on Mars last?
A. 24 hours. B. 23 hours and 23 minutes.
C. 24 hours and 37 minutes. D. 12 hours and 37 minutes.
3.How did the researchers study what effect living on Mars has on sleep?
A. By comparing different mice. B. By analyzing computer data.
C. By experiments in spaceships. D. By observing and judging.
4.Life on Mars would seriously mess with your sleep because ________.
A. the brain wave activity will be interrupted
B. the body’s natural cycles can be shortened
C. hormone production will hurt biological functions
D. the Martian sol is longer than a day on Earth
These days, it seems like everything is going digital. You can find almost everything on the Internet.
Many people find this way of life more convenient, because they can complete their daily chores（琐事） from the comfort of their own home.
Firstly, online shopping can be far less stressful than hitting the high street shops. There are no huge crowds of people or boring long queues. With online shopping, it’s just you and your computer. It’s like you have the whole shop to yourself! Secondly, online stores don’t have opening and closing times. This is perfect for anyone with a busy schedule. If you want to, you can even place an online shopping order at three o’clock in the morning!
In the busy modern world, there are clearly many advantages to online shopping. However, in my experience, there are also several cons… With online shopping, you can’t try before you buy, and that’s a definite disadvantage for me. Often, when my new clothes arrive, I find they don’t fit very well. It’s always annoying when a dress is a little too big, or when sleeves are too short… Sometimes, the clothes are not what I was expecting. A piece of clothing might look great in photos online, but quite different in real life.
In these cases, you want to return the item, but here lies the biggest problem with online shopping. You have to pay for your order’s delivery, and for an item to be returned to the warehouse! These charges are often very expensive, which suddenly make online shopping seem a little less convenient… That’s why I don’t choose to shop online very frequently. For now, I will continue to find the time for a trip to a real shop, where I know exactly what I’m buying!
1.What’s the main idea of the third paragraph?
A. The differences among online stores.
B. The methods of online shopping.
C. The opening time of online stores.
D. The advantages of online shopping.
2.Which word can replace the underlined word“cons”in the fourth paragraph?
A. Comparisons. B. Concentration.
C. Disadvantages. D. Disagreements.
3.According to the author, what is the biggest problem with online shopping?
A. The waste of time and electricity.
B. The expensive charges for the returned item.
C. The disadvantages of not trying before you buy.
D. The lost experience of walking in a real shop.
4.What’s the author’s attitude towards online shopping?
A. Disapproval. B. Doubtful.
C. Curious. D. Favorable.
At the end of August this year I moved from London, UK, to a small town in Quebec, Canada, called Matane to work as an English language assistant. Patience is a word that has appeared in many forms over the past two months.
I don’t see myself as being the most patient person in the world but there was something that struck me on my first week of work. I had just finished a session with two students and just as they were leaving the classroom, one of the students turned back and said, “Thank you for your patience.” That was an early reminder of the importance of being patient as a teacher. It also made me reflect on the language teachers that I have had over the years, ones that demonstrated a high level of patience and understanding that has shaped my language learning path. Moreover, it helped me to realize the importance of demonstrating patience in the classroom as it can be the difference between building someone’s confidence in a language or breaking down their confidence entirely.
Living my life constantly in French is not easy but the people of Quebec are very patient. They repeat things several times and they are more than happy to wait while I find the correct words to express myself and find the correct word order. It’s a learning process but with the patience of others, the process is slightly less nervous. At the end of the day, making mistakes shows you are trying and I think that is greatly appreciated by Quebecers.
When I first arrived in Matane I kept getting headaches from having to concentrate all the time due to the language and even overhearing other people’s conversations was hard work! I had to keep reminding myself that it would take time, and two months later the headaches are a distant memory and my ears have become more tuned to their accent. The key is to be patient with yourself.
1.According to Paragraph 2, what does the writer think is important as a teacher?
A. Understanding. B. Patience.
C. Confidence. D. Help.
2.In a small town called Matane, which language do the local people speak?
A. English. B. Spanish.
C. French. D. Italian.
3.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The writer went to Matane to learn the importance of patience.
B. Doctors in Quebec are good at treating headaches.
C. Practice makes perfect for learning a foreign language.
D. The writer first noticed the importance of patience on hearing a student’s appreciation.
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. Patience Brings a Surprise
B. Attractions of Quebec
C. My Work Experience in Quebec
D. Learn a Foreign Language with Patience
