Like it or not, there will be difficult times in our lives. You might lose your job, fail in your exams or have an illness. 1. Here are some ways not to lose hope during difficult times.
1. Have faith
2. No matter how bad the situation is, things will turn out to be good in the end. Several years ago I failed to get my master’s degree. It was a really bad experience.3. It was of much better quality than my previous university. Experiences like this strengthen my belief that having faith is important during difficult times.
2. Be around supportive people.
Going through difficult times is hard, and going through them alone is even harder. You need a group of positive people who can support you. 4. If you don’t, my suggestion is to start looking for one. Don’t wait until you need it, because it will be too late by then. You need the community before difficult times come.
3. Help others.
An additional benefit of being in a good community is that it encourages you to think about other people. It pushes you to help others and, therefore, think about other people. 5. As a result, your situation won’t look as bad as it would be otherwise. Often the situation looks worse than it really is because we give too much attention. Shifting (移开) some of your attention away will put the situation in a better view.
A. Your community helps a lot.
B. I changed my attitude towards failure.
C. Whatever it is, it’s important not to lose hope.
D. In this way you take your focus away from yourself
E. But I got a scholarship at an overseas university later.
F. You must believe that things will work out well eventually.
G. You should become part of a community that cares for one another.
We live in a material world whose main quality is inertia (惯性), which is also one of our main qualities. Our physical bodies, as well as our personalities, naturally obey the law of inertia—we’re lazy, more or less.
When there is nothing to push us forward, as pain does, we can sink deep into the quicksand of slackness (懒散). It’s our nature and we must not blame ourselves for that. As a consequence, a painful experience arising from that quicksand of our inactivity pushes us ahead. Thanks to these shocks and injuries, we have gained depth of personality. Therefore, our wounds are blessings, too.
However, those painful experiences can leave deep scars in our mind. They inevitably influence our whole life in defeating and limiting ways. They produce negative beliefs, bad habits, wrong decisions, painful emotions, and so on. Although they have enabled us to mature and grow up, it’s obvious that we have to restore them.
The source of our pain is our attachment to countless experiences. Our attachments can be positive or negative, i. e. those experiences that we want to have, or those that we try to avoid. When we cannot gain what we need, or when we cannot avoid what we fear, we suffer. Painful life experiences usually gather within our mind into numerous aspects of personality, such as limiting beliefs, bad decisions, basic negative emotions and so on. They all have huge impact on our lives.
There are only two paths ahead of us: either we will continue to gain the depth of our being through suffering, or we will continue with our growth by dealing with suffering. The latter is much more pleasurable, faster and effective. But it still requires effort and continual work. The decision is up to us only.
1.When we are in the quicksand of slackness, what can push us forward?
A. Our nature. B. Our slackness.
C. Our complaints. D. Painful experiences.
2.What does the underlined word “inevitably” in the third paragraph mean?
A. Accidentally. B. Unavoidably.
C. Positively. D. Completely.
3.What is the fourth paragraph mainly about?
A. The roots of pain. B. The meaning of pain.
C. The positive function of pain. D. The ways to deal with painful experiences.
This could be Micah Fitz, first spring without football practices. The 14-year-old has been playing since he was 3, but because he’s home-schooled, he can’t try out for the local team at Patriot High School in Prince William County, Virginia.
“I can’t play this half of the year and my friends are going to be playing five or six times a week,” he said. “They’re going to be getting better and stronger playing with kids that are good.”
Micah and his family---along with many other home-schooling families across Virginia---are hoping the Virginia General Assemble will approve a bill this year that would allow kids like him to try out for sports on public school athletic teams. The bill, called the “Tebow bill”, is named after football player Tim Tebow, who was home-schooled but was allowed to play on a high school team before going to the University of Florida, where he led his team to two national championships.
Many major statewide education organizations said the bill wouldn’t be fair to public school students. Ken Tilley, the executive director of the Virginia High School League, said the bill would violate two of the league’s most long-standing standards for qualification: enrollment (注册入学) and academic standing.
Home-school advocates argue that they are required by the law to document academic progress. But many opponents say students always have the option of attending public high school. That might be what Sydney Bowman, a 12-year-old from Luchetts, will do to keep wrestling, although she would prefer to continue to be taught at home. In her case, girls’ wrestling teams are rare enough that there aren’t many options other than public school.
But Micah’ mom, Terri Fits, a former public school teacher, said that although they support the local schools and love to cheer on the teams, they like the flexibility of home-schooling.
1.What kind of feeling is expressed in Paragraph 2?
A. Sympathy. B. Disappointment.
C. Embarrassment. D. Satisfaction.
2.If the bill is passed in Virginia, .
A. home-schoolers will be able to compete in public school sport events
B. public high schools will accept home-schooled students
C. home-schoolers will have to reach higher academic standards
D. children will have the right to be taught at home
3.What was Ken Tilley’s attitude towards the bill?
A. He doubted it. B. He was against it.
C. He was curious about it. D. He paid little attention to it.
4.Sydney Bows most likely to .
A. give up team sports B. stop taking part in wrestling
C. go to a public high school D. report her academic progress
They say if you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life. We say if you travel for work, you’ll never have a boring commute(上下班往返) a day in your life. If the typical 9-to-5 isn’t working for you, here are some options that will pay you to travel. No matter your current skill set, you can probably do it somewhere else.
Represent abroad
The State Department is actively hiring Foreign Service Officers, and it’s probably easier than you think to become one. You’ll have to a lot of tests, but if you pass, you’ll spend the next years of your life working around the world. A Junior Foreign Service Officer starts at $71,000 a year.
Teaching English as a Second Language abroad is one of the best ways to deepen understanding of another culture. There’s no need to be a certified English teacher in order to go abroad. In this program in China, soon-to-be teachers go abroad to obtain their Teaching English as a Foreign Language(TEFL) certifications. A beginning teacher in China will earn $2,500 for working six months, plus room and board.
A cruise ship is a floating village. Therefore, any job that you could have in a village you could have onboard a ship-even auctioneering(做拍卖师). Carnival is hiring an art auctioneer to work aboard a luxury cruise ship. The only qualifications necessary are a college degree and public speaking skills. Going…going…sold.
Write the rails
Writers can reimagine themselves as rail-surfing Jack Kerouacs, crossing the country and writing from coast to coast on the Amtrak Writer’s Residency. The application process consists of two questions, as well as the opportunity to provide up to a 20-page writing sample. Amtrak will select 24 writers to participate in the program with the help from a panel of judges. Although the project won’t replace a full-time job, it’s really a fun opportunity. The application period for 2016 has closed, but applications will reopen in the fall.
1.Which job requires a college degree?
A. Representing abroad
B. Teaching English in China
C. Selling art on the seas
D. Writing the rails
2.The advertisement is intended for .
A. those who are tired of their present jobs
B. those who want to have a job with traveling
C. those who just graduate from university
D. those who want to go on vacation abroad
3.What may Jack Kerouacs be?
A. Director of the Amtrak Writer’s Residency
B. A sportsman devoted to rail-surfing
C. An applicant of the program
D. A famous writer
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.When did Jordan go to college?
A. In 1981. B. In 1984. C. In 1990.
2.Where did Jordan win his first Olympic gold medal?
A. In Chicago. B. In Barcelona. C. In Los Angeles.
3.What did Jordan do in 1993?
A. He joined the NBA. B. He retired from basketball. C. He returned to the Bulls.
4.How long did Jordan play professional baseball?
A. About two years. B. About five years. C. About ten years.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Why didn’t the man want to take part in the contest at first?
A. He feels nervous singing alone.
B. He doesn’t like singing.
C. He dislikes his voice.
2.How many people has the woman been practicing with?
A. One B. Two. C. Three
3.What day is it today?
A. Tuesday B. Wednesday C. Thursday
4.Where will the speakers practice together tomorrow?
A. At John’s house.
B. At the school canteen.
C. At the local community center
