Last year I went on holiday to Spain． But _______， after two days in Madrid， I started to get severe ________ pain． I was in such suffering that I went to the local hospital for a(n)_______．
No sooner had I arrived than I was ________to a small room， and I had not been waiting too long________ a surgeon came to examine me． He didn't speak English and I only spoke a few words of Spanish． He ________that I had to remove my clothes and he gave me one of those funny hospital gowns （罩衣） which hardly ________anything．
He then asked me in Spanish if I was embarrassed． "Si， unpoco （Yes， a little）"， I replied with my face turning red． You see， not only did I feel embarrassed at ________ my clothes in front of a stranger but also this _________stranger was an extremely handsome man． He looked at me as though I was out of my________ and then he quickly ________ down the passage．
I was beginning to ________what had happened to him when he suddenly reappeared， this time with a group of ________students， and again asked the same question in Spanish． Now I was feeling ________， and shouted in English， "Yes， I'm extremely embarrassed． I think you would mind too if you had to talk to a crowd of strangers with almost no clothes on．" Then a female doctor in the group ________ my arm gently and ________ in perfect English， "I think I see the problem． My___________ wants to take a photograph of your back﹣an X﹣ray﹣so he wants to know if you are ________a baby． You see， embarazada means pregnant in Spanish．"
No sooner had she told me this than I realized the ________of the misunderstanding． We all had a laugh, ________ I must admit that I felt rather stupid as well．
1.A. unfortunately B. unwillingly C. unbearably D. unusually
2.A. arm B. back C. muscle D. stomach
3.A. appointment B. operation C. visit D. examination
4.A. invited B. carried C. shown D. welcomed
5.A. before B. since C. after D. until
6.A. urged B. said C. inquired D. gestured
7.A. hide B. cover C. find D. expose
8.A. putting down B. putting on C. taking off D. taking away
9.A. unique B. particular C. awkward D. aggressive
10.A. mind B. idea C. heart D. sight
11.A. slid B. waved C. screamed D. disappeared
12.A. find B. know C. wonder D. see
13.A. medical B. physical C. experienced D. amateur
14.A. better B. upset C. strange D. dull
15.A. seized B. removed C. squeezed D. held
16.A. stated B. shouted C. whispered D. prayed
17.A. colleague B. staff C. patient D. student
18.A. delivering B. defending C. wanting D. expecting
19.A. result B. cause C. problem D. effect
20.A. as B. when C. although D. since
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” — Lao Tzu
If you are in a city where everyone rushes, realize that you don’t have to be like everyone else. You can be different. You can walk instead of driving in rush hour traffic. Your environment doesn’t control your life — you do. I’m not going to tell you how to give you a step-by-step guide to moving slower. 1.
1. Do less.
Cut back on your projects, on your task list, on how much you try to do each day. Focus not on quantity( 数量) but on quality(质量). 2. Save smaller, routine tasks for later in the day, but give yourself time to focus.
2. Have fewer meetings.
3. And they eat into your day, forcing you to squeeze the things you really need to do into small windows, and making you rush.
3. 4.
When you do the some things with focus, without rush, there will be things that get pushed back, and that don’t get done. And you need to ask yourself: how necessary are these things? What would happen if I stopped doing them?
4. Practice mindfulness.
Simply learn to live in the present, rather than things so much about future or the past. When you eat, fully appreciate your food. When you are with someone, be with them fully. When you are walking, appreciate your surroundings, no matter where you are.
Try these things out. Life is better when unrushed. 5.
A. Start to put off or cancel the unnecessary.
B. Meetings are usually a “big waste of time”.
C. The world likely won’t end if you don’t pass one of the examinations.
D. But here are some things to consider and perhaps adopt, if they work for your life.
E. Remember the quote: if nature can get everything done without rushing, so can you.
F. Pick 2-3 important things — or even just one important thing — and work on those first.
G. Give yourself more time to get ready and get there.
Vacation is a time for refreshment. In work, we are often called to think. Sometimes, it’s good to give our brains a rest. Without a break, we may not be able to perform up to our potential. This can be a problem, not only for the employee, but for the employer as well.
“The main benefit of vacation is for the worker to come back energized,” says Weaver. “If they haven’t had a break, then they’re not coming back with new energy. They haven’t had a chance to step back and get perspective（远景）, and come back with renewed enthusiasm.”
Long working hours without a break, insecurity about one’s job, and other work-related worries can lead to burnout and stress. Humans can usually adapt to pressure, but not for a limitless amount of time.
“It is a problem of relating good workers and having them loyal to the firm while they’re there,” says David Maume, PhD, professor of sociology at the University of Cincinnati. He says burnout can also affect employees’ productivity, creativity, and effectiveness.
In addition, high levels of stress may lead to depression, which can hit both the employer and employee’s pocketbook. Even people who manage to remain productive at work can have problems. If they’re always at work, then they’re not with their family and friends. If they’re working while on vacation, for the time that they’re on the job, they’re not really present.
An unbalanced emphasis on work can strain family and social life. When you come up for air, you may see that you’re alone, or that your relationships have gone on without you.
1.What’s the main benefit of a vacation?
A. The manager can be more creative.
B. The worker can step back and get more excited
C. The worker can come back with new energy.
D. The worker can adapt to pressure much better.
2.The underlined word “there” in the fourth paragraph probably refers to ____ .
A. the vacation B. the home
C. the university D. the company
3.When a worker is always at work, he is likely to get more and more ____.
A. absent-minded B. energetic
C. skillful D. active
4.Which of the following is the best title of the text?
A. How to spend the vacation effectively. B. Why the workers need a vacation.
C. How to deal with the daily pressure. D. Why the workers need new energy.
English is the most widely used language in the history of our planet. One in every seven human beings can speak it. More than half of the world’s books and three quarters of international mail are in English. Of all languages, English has the largest vocabulary — perhaps as many as two million words.
However, let’s face it: English is a crazy language. There is no egg in an eggplant, neither pine nor apple in a pineapple and no ham in a hamburger. Sweet-meats are candy, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.
We take English for granted. But when we explore its paradoxes (探讨它的矛盾), we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, public bathrooms have no baths in them.
And why is it that a writer writes, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth? One goose, two geese — so one moose, two meese?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the next?
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects (反映) the creativity of human beings. That’s why, when stars are out, they are visible (能看见的); but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it; but when I wind up this essay, I end it.
1.According to the passage ______.
A. sweet-meats and sweetbreads are different things B. there should be egg in an eggplant
C. pineapples are the apples on the pine tree D. boxing rings should be round
2.Which of the following is the correct plural(复数)?
A. Beeth. B. Geese.
C. Meese. D. Tooth.
3.Which of the following includes two items which have the similar meaning?
A. A wise man and a wise guy. B. Overlook and oversee.
C. Quite a lot and quite a few. D. Hot as hell and cold as hell.
4.The underlined words “wind up” in the last paragraph probably mean “______”.
A. blow B. roll up
C. get hurt D. finish
One day after school, I went to the teacher’s office to see my teacher, but nobody was there. As I was about to leave, I noticed a piece of paper on the floor. I picked it up and saw the words “FINAL-TERM EXAMINATION” at the top. I put the paper into my school bag secretly and ran out of the room.
After I came back home, I took out the paper quickly. It was the exam paper of my worst subject, History. I felt excited. My heart beat fast. I took out my History book and started working on the answer. I had never answered any questions so seriously.
On the day of the History exam, I went into the exam hall confidently. When the paper was sent to me, I dreamt of getting the highest mark in the whole grade and could not help smiling. “My History teacher always encouraged me to work hard and get better grades, but I let him down time and time again. This time I will give him a big surprise,” I thought.
When the teacher said we could start, I turned the paper over. To my great surprise, all the questions were different. Later I felt nervous. In the end, I almost left the paper undone. After the exam . I ran to the toilet, took out the paper and carefully read it from the top. Oh! It was last year’s exam paper. I read all the questions but I hadn't read the date.
This is a lesson in which I know I have to put my feet on the ground. I regretted doing such a silly thing. After that, I told my teacher the truth and I promised to be honest. From then on, I worked harder than ever before.
1.The writer went to the teacher’s office to _________.
A. take an exam B. ask some questions
C. get his school bag D. see his teacher
2.The writer always _________ in his History exams.
A. got high marks B. did silly things
C. let his teacher down D. left the paper undone
3.The writer felt _________ when he first saw all the questions were different.
A. astonished B. excited
C. nervous D. crazy
4.What might the writer write in his diary?
A. I'm glad that I did very well in the exam. I gave my teacher...
B. After the exam, my teacher asked me to go to his office. My heart...
C. When I turned over the paper, I couldn't help smiling. My teacher...
D. I’m truly sorry for what I did. Everyone should be honest. I’ll ..
I was reading these interesting stories behind a group of great logos（商标） in the world. Personally Nike is my favorite one﹣it's so simple. And I liked the stories behind them, which made me forget all other things. McDonald's, Apple, and Mercedes Benz own great logos as well, and they are among my favorites.
Nike
In the Greek myth, Nike is the goddess of victory and the source of inspiration for soldiers. This logo represents the wing in the famous statue of the Greek goddess. Nike's logo was designed by Carolyn Davidson in 1971 for﹩35, and was registered as a trademark in 1995.
McDonald's
The logo was designed in 1962 by Jim Schindler to resemble the arch shaped （拱形的） signs on the side of the company's then walk﹣up hamburger stand. Later on, the two golden arches were combined together to form the M. The McDonald's name was added to the logo in 1968.
Apple
There are different stories behind Apple's logo. The first logo was a reference to the religious story of Adam and Eve, in which the apple represented the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. One year later, the second logo was designed in 1977 by Steven Jobs and Ronald Wayne, and it described Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. This logo didn't stay long. One year later it was replaced almost immediately by graphic designer Rob Janoff's "rainbow apple", a rainbow﹣colored silhouette （轮廓） of an apple with a bite taken out of it. And then the rainbow﹣colored apple was replaced by the one﹣colored logo in 1998. It has not been changed so far.
Mercedes Benz
The Mercedes Benz logo, which was originally created by Gottlieb Daimler in 1909, consists of a simple description of a three﹣pointed star that represents its rule of the land, the sea and the air. The company was founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. Mercedes is the name of Maybach's elder daughter, while Benz came as a result of a combination with Benz Cie and DMG in 1926.
1.What does the author think of the stories of the great logos?
A. They are boring. B. They are attractive.
C. They are out of date. D. They are practical.
2.We can learn that Apple's present logo is ___.
A. a bitten apple with only one color B. Newton's sitting under an apple tree
C. the religious story of Adam and Eve D. the rainbow﹣colored bitten apple
3.Which of the following time orders describes the births of the great logos?
A. Nike ﹣ McDonald's ﹣ Apple ﹣ Mercedes Benz．
B. Mercedes Benz ﹣ Apple ﹣ Nike ﹣ McDonald's．
C. Mercedes Benz ﹣ McDonald's ﹣ Nike ﹣ Apple．
D. Nike ﹣ Mercedes Benz ﹣ McDonald's ﹣ Apple．
