In a used furniture business, unlike new, you cannot order stock from a catalogue. People call in, and you have to go out and make an offer. “You can't ______ what you don't have，” my father would say.
When I was aged thirteen, my father ______ his store manager, a one－armed guy who could do more with his one arm than many will do with two. With his ______ gone, my father came to me. “Will you come in while I go out to ______ the day's calls ______ I find the right person？” he asked. The store has tens of thousands of ______. “People like to bargain，” he told me. “So I don't ______ prices. You just have to know a ______．”
He took me around and said, “A quarter－horse motor you can sell for four dollars. For a refrigerator, depending on the______，you can sell for thirty－five dollars to sixty dollars. However, if it has a freezer all the way across, sell it for eighty dollars; ______ excellent condition, maybe one hundred dollars. Dishes come in with a houseful of furniture, and I don't even figure them in when I give a price. You can sell them for a nickel to a quarter. Something really nice.”
Every day after ______，I would pedal(骑自行车) down to the store. Soon after, I was writing up a sales slip(纸条) for an attractive plate when my father walked in. I had asked a dollar and the guy did not hesitate. I was very ______. My father glanced down at what I was doing, ______ the customer and said, “You sure got a______ today. My employee gave you the price and that's the price.” Afterward, I asked my father, “What was that all______？”
It turned out that it was a(n) ______ plate, worth a few hundred dollars. I was shocked. Here I was ______ to help my father in the business and instead I was losing money for him.
He said, “I could have stopped the sales if I'd wanted to. You were just writing up the slip and hadn't yet taken the money. ______， by civil law, you're ______ age. But，a man stands by his word and the word of his agent.” It ______ my father a small amount of money, but I learned a lifelong lesson in integrity(正直)．
1.A. buy B. sell C. order D. store
2.A. missed B. fired C. dismissed D. lost
3.A. manager B. boss C. servant D. salesman
4.A. ask B. return C. answer D. give
5.A. if B. when C. until D. unless
6.A. items B. materials C. facilities D. instruments
7.A. offer B. decide C. mark D. create
8.A. name B. range C. variety D. catalogue
9.A. price B. situation C. condition D. quantity
10.A. on B. for C. by D. in
11.A. school B. work C. study D. play
12.A. upset B. worried C. embarrassed D. pleased
13.A. turned on B. turned to C. turned up D. turned down
14.A. plate B. reward C. bargain D. fortune
15.A. about B. for C. around D. to
16.A. ordinary B. fragile C. antique D. delicate
17.A. willing B. waiting C. managing D. trying
18.A. However B. Therefore C. Besides D. Consequently
19.A. under B. above C. at D. of
20.A. spent B. cost C. took D. wasted
Overcome Culture Shock in the Classroom
Culture shock occurs in a classroom when students are exposed to a new situation.1.. However, it can also happen to students moving from a small town to a large city, to home－schooled students starting formal school education or to students progressing from one level of education to another. There are several strategies that teachers can use to help students overcome culture shock.
Make group rules
Brainstorm(集体讨论) group rules with the class as a whole to create a safe space and good learning environment.2.. Rules could include respecting differences, listening when someone is speaking and not teasing, for example.
Provide a partner
Find a partner for the new student in the adjustment period.3.. A good partner is someone who is friendly, outgoing and patient. The partner should show the new student around the school, spend time with him or her after class and eat lunch with him or her.
Know the source of a problem
Identify problems early and work with the student and his or her family to deal with them. 4.. It can also be caused by overseas or home school environment. Students and parents need to be aware of all the rules and customs that apply.
5.
Create lessons that include information about different countries and traditions. These could include story reading, geography, cultural studies and history. Encourage the student to share some information about himself or herself.
A. Create special lessons
B. Respect other cultures
C. They have lost their own language and culture
D. Explain the rules and require everyone to follow them
E. A partner can help him or her quickly adapt to the new environment
F. Classroom culture shock is often caused by the very different environment of a classroom
G. Typically, this happens when a new immigrant(移民) arrives in a classroom for the first time
Nations in the UN have agreed that the world needs to completely stop plastic waste from entering the oceans. The UN resolution(决议) has no timetable. But ministers at an environment summit believe it will set the course for much tougher policies and send a clear signal to business.
Under the resolution, governments would establish an international task force(特遣小组) to advise on fighting what the UN's oceans chief has described as a world crisis. One controversial issue is the wish to include businesses on the global task force. Ministers say the problem will not be solved without business, but green groups point out that some firms in the plastics industry have been against restrictions for decades. Vidar Helgesen, a leading voice in the talks, told BBC News, “Business is listening to markets and seeing how marine litter(海洋垃圾) is a growing popular concern. It's possibly the fastest－growing environmental problem and it's therefore a fast－growing problem for business. We need to bring on board those companies that want to change things, and then look at taxes and regulations to make more companies act.”
Certainly, there has been resistance from plastics firms to the bans. One UN delegate, who did not want to be named, stated that journalists in some countries were being paid by the plastics industry to write stories about job losses following the plastic bag ban. But they did not mention the jobs being created in alternatives, such as labour－intensive basketwork, which provides work for the rural poor. But some governments are standing firm, and the meeting has witnessed individual nations declaring tougher action against single－use plastic bags.
The UN's spokesman Sam Barratt told BBC News, “Of course we would have liked to have gone further, but this meeting's made real progress. There's now a sense of urgency and energy behind the issue that we haven't quite seen before. What is obvious, though, is that the UN can't solve this problem on its own. We need to do it in partnership with governments, businesses and even individuals.”
1.What can we know about the UN resolution on plastic waste?
A. Plastic waste should be banned on land too.
B. Plastic waste should be recycled by business.
C. The UN made exact time to stop it entering oceans.
D. The UN may make stricter policies in the future.
2.What can we infer from what Vidar Helgesen said?
A. Business doesn't see the problem of marine litter.
B. Fastest－growing marine litter is a new problem.
C. Governments should force companies to act by policy.
D. Most companies want to stop marine life from disappearing.
3.Why did some companies pay journalists to write articles about job losses?
A. To express their satisfaction with governments.
B. To struggle against the strict plastic bag ban.
C. To show difficulties in labour－intensive basketwork.
D. To make governments stand firm against plastic bags.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A. The UN is committed to handling ocean plastic waste
B. The UN tries to protect the marine life
C. We should solve the plastic waste problem
D. We should ban plastic waste completely
Even the hardest days contain lessons that will help you be a better person. Feeling down？Consider these things to remember when you're having a bad day.
No one promised life would be perfect. If you look for perfection, you'll never be content. Don't condition your happiness on meeting every expectation you set for yourself. It is good to be ambitious，but you'll never be perfect. If you expect otherwise, your life will be filled with disappointments.
Success doesn't happen overnight. Trees__that__are__slow__to__grow__bear__the__best__fruit.__Don't kid yourself into thinking success will come quickly. It isn't easy to be patient，but anything worth doing requires time. If you get frustrated, remind yourself why your goal is important.
There is a lesson in every struggle. And once the storm is over，you won't remember how you made it through or how you managed to survive. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about. Don't complain about how terrible your life is. If you search for the lesson in your present struggle, you'll be able to make positive changes that would prevent similar situations in the future.
Without hard times, you wouldn't appreciate the good ones. Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to give in, that is strength. It is hard to find much to smile about when you fail, but how else would you improve yourself？If you look at failure as a part of your evolutionary process, you'll stay positive and pursue your goals for as long as it takes.
1.Which of the following summarizes this passage best?
A. Every person has to go through hard times.
B. Perfection doesn't exist in life.
C. We should accept the fact that life is not perfect.
D. Things to remember when you are having a bad day.
2.What does the underlined sentence mean?
A. Success will come quickly. B. Hard work leads to success.
C. Success calls for patience. D. Confidence is the first step to success.
3.We can learn from Paragraph 4 that ______．
A. lessons from struggles make us stronger
B. all things are difficult before they are easy
C. we should forget how we managed to survive
D. similar situations in the future will never appear
4.Which statement agrees with the passage?
A. Hard times make us lose heart and be short of courage.
B. Perseverance in time of hardships develops our strengths.
C. Smiles when you fail will not help to improve yourself.
D. We should try to avoid failures in the evolutionary process.
Everyone can try his best to achieve something. We don't need to be the best, but to challenge the limits of what we are capable of. I gained this belief from my third grade teacher, the most special, honored, trustworthy, and beloved person in my life.
Mr. Myrus was always perfectly dressed and spoke with the belief that talking to an eight－year－old child didn't mean he had to sacrifice proper statements or grammar. And he was demanding,__but he wasn't unreasonable or cruel. He simply felt that no matter what your best was, you should achieve it.
Luckily enough, I met him again as my eighth grade math teacher. I was not, nor ever will be, gifted in math. I remember my struggles in class. “I don't know the answer，” I would say. “I can't do it！” “Perhaps you don't know the answer，” he would say quietly. “Do you think we might figure it out together? How do you know what you can do if you don't have a try？”
Mr. Myrus lived around the corner, and I would often stop by to talk while he worked in his garden. I knew there was someone who let me know that if I had really tried, that was enough. “Don't be so hard on yourself，”he'd say.“Stop blaming yourself. Did you try your best? Well，then you're not a failure，” he often told me these words.
Mr. Myrus died in 1978. I had never thought about his death. He was too young. I felt sorry. But when I think about him now, I don't feel so sorry. He taught me to be kind, not only to others，but to myself. He taught me my own value. He taught me about honor, about truth, and about doing my best and he also taught me that all feelings and beliefs have dignity and deserve respect. And of all the things I know, I believe that we can't all be “the best”， but we can, each of us, be our best. And I know that's true because Mr. Myrus told me that.
1.What does the underlined word “demanding” in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?
A. Strict. B. Indifferent.
C. Critical. D. Careful.
2.Why did the author think he was lucky in Paragraph 3?
A. Mr. Myrus became his teacher again.
B. Mr. Myrus was his teacher for eight years.
C. He became interested in math because of Mr. Myrus.
D. He developed a good relationship with Mr. Myrus.
3.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A. The author may have become a teacher.
B. The author liked to recall his childhood.
C. The author believed he would be the best of all.
D. The author ended up being a man of self－confidence.
4.What can we learn about Mr. Myrus according to the passage?
A. He is usually indifferent to the students.
B. He is responsible for his students and his teaching.
C. He is a person who isn't particular about what he wears.
D. He is sometimes cruel and unreasonable to his students.
Pacific Science Center Guide
◆Visit Pacific Science Center’s Store
Don’t forget to stop by Pacific Science Center’s Store while you are here to pick up a wonderful science activity or souvenir to remember your visit. The store is located(位于) upstairs in Building 3 right next to the Laser Dome.
◆Hungry
Our exhibits will feed your mind, but what about your body? Our café offers a complete menu of lunch and snack options, in addition to seasonal specials. The café is located upstairs in Building 1 and is open daily until one hour before Pacific Science Center closes.
◆Rental Information
Lockers are available to store any belongings during your visit. The lockers are located in Building 1 near the Information Desk and in Building 3. Pushchairs and wheelchairs are available to rent at the Information Desk and Denny Way entrance. ID required.
◆Support Pacific Science Center
Since 1962, Pacific Science Center has been inspiring a passion(热情) for discovery and lifelong learning in science, math and technology. Today, Pacific Science Center serves more than 1.3 million people a year and brings inquiry-based science education to classrooms and community events all over Washington State. It’s an amazing accomplishment and one we cannot achieve without generous support from individuals, corporations, and other social organizations. Visit pacificsciencecenter.org to find various ways you can support Pacific Science Center.
1.Where can you buy a souvenir at Pacific Science Center?
A. In Building 1.
B. In Building 3.
C. At the last Dome.
D. At the Denny Way entrance.
2.What does Pacific Science Center do for schools?
A. Train Science teachers.
B. Distribute science books.
C. Distribute scientific research.
D. Take science to the classroom.
3.What is the purpose of the last part of the text?
A. To encourage donations.
B. To advertise coming events.
C. To introduce special exhibits.
D. To tell about the Center’s history.
