A month ago, I broke a nail（指甲）. My other nails looked amazing, but now one was a mess. Clearly, there was no point in keeping the others, so I______ to cut them all off.
―What are you doing, Mom?‖ my daughter______, ―Your nails look great! Don’t cut them!‖
―But they’re ______ ,‖I said, waving the broken one in her face.
―They’re not,‖ she said. ―You ______ have nine nails left!‖
I ______. My nails certainly weren’t perfect anymore, and the ______ of ―perfect‖ is ―disaster‖, right? I mean, this is how I think about most things: it’s all or nothing. I seem to go from ―good‖ to ―complete disaster‖ in a matter of moments. I’ve been ______ why I act this way, but I don’t know what causes this ______. My brain only ______ ―perfect‖ or ―disaster‖.
However, we humans are never just good or bad---we are far more ______. We have wins and we have losses and, occasionally, they are hard to ______. Some people understand this by nature，while others don't. For most of us, learning not to do the thing we’re used to ______ effort and might cause discomfort. However, we should ______ ourselves that we sometimes make mistakes, and that this doesn’t mean we are______. We need to accept that things will sometimes go______.
Somehow, failure is part of life. We all fall______, and we normally get straight back up. And so, with my daughter’s words ______ in my ears, I decided to keep my nine nice nails. I feel ______ every time I look at my hands, but I’m determined to ______ my choice. It’s a perfect exercise in ______.
1.A. expected B. rejected C. decided D. managed
2.A. complained B. criticized C. commented D. cried
3.A. ruined B. broken C. disturbed D. weakened
4.A. even B. still C. just D. ever
5.A. agreed B. admitted C. refused D. hesitated
6.A. opposite B. concept C. misunderstanding D. comparison
7.A. talking about B. worrying about C. thinking about D. setting about
8.A. mistake B. behavior C. condition D. character
9.A. rejects B. abandons C. compares D. sees
10.A. complex B. elegant C. cautious D. aggressive
11.A. possess B. avoid C. distinguish D. accomplish
12.A. motivates B. requires C. acknowledges D. recommends
13.A. remind B. teach C. promise D. inform
14.A. victims B. failures C. winners D. explorers
15.A. bad B. wild C. crazy D. wrong
16.A. helplessly B. casually C. occasionally D. merely
17.A. sticking B. ringing C. whispering D. beating
18.A. vacant B. shallow C. upset D. skeptical
19.A. live on B. live up to C. live through D. live with
20.A. imperfection B. principle C. assumption D. category
Self-confidence is extremely important in almost every aspect of our lives. Self-confident people tend to see their lives in a positive light. 1.. The good news is that self-confidence really can be learned and built on. 2..
★ 3.
It’s easy to lose confidence if you can’t discover your positive attributes, your limitless potential and the beauty of your own existence. Make a list of all the things you, re proud of in your life. It might be as simple as driving your car or giving a speech. Keep the list close by and add to it whenever you do something you’re proud of. When you’re low in confidence, pull out the list and use it to remind yourself you are so excellent.
★ Be prepared to fail with confidence
Self-confidence gives you the freedom to make mistakes and cope with failure without feeling that you are a worthless person. So if you suffer a setback, the best thing you can do is to recognize it, apologize, and make a plan for avoiding it in the future. 4.. Tow self-confidence is often caused by the negative thoughts running through our minds on an endless track.
★ Be comfortable with fear
You may think that people who are self-confident are never fearful. This simply is not true. Fear means you are at your growing edge. Perhaps your fear is speaking in front of a group, introducing yourself to someone you don’t know, or asking your boss for a raise.
★ Look in the mirror and smile
Studies surrounding what’s called the “facial feedback theory” suggest that the expressions on your face can actually encourage your brain to register or intensify certain emotions. So by looking in the mirror and smiling every day, you might feel happier about your appearance, and to accept the way you look. 5..
A.Look at what you’ve already achieved
B.Don’t let the failure make you think you don’t have what it takes to achieve your dreams
C.Those who lack self-confidence, however, are more likely to have a negative perspective about the life
D.Try some of the tips listed below to help you stay confident
E.This will also help you feel more confident in the long run
F.When you are able to confront what you fear, you will gain self-confidence
G.Think about who in your life can really help you build up confidence
February, 2015, a South Korean woman was sleeping on the floor when her robot vacuum (吸尘器) ate her hair, forcing her to call for emergency help. It surely isn’t what Stephen Hawking warned us that intelligent devices “mean the end of the human race”. But it does highlight one of the unexpected dangers of inviting robots into our home.
There are many examples of intelligent technology going bad, but more often than not, they involve cheating rather than physical danger.
Meanwhile, increasing evidence suggests that we, especially children, tend to tell our deepest, darkest secrets to human robots. So how do we protect ourselves from giving-away code?
Once you’ve invited a robot into your home, you need to manage your expectations. Movies and marketing may have told us to expect deep interaction with robots friends but we’ve still got a long way to go before they are as socially aware as described. Given the gulf between expectation and reality, it’s important to avoid being tricked.
The message is clear: as robots became increasingly connected to the internet, and able to respond to natural language, you need to especially cautious about figuring out who or what you are talking about.
We also need to think about how information is being stored and shared when it comes to robots that can record our every move. Some recording devices may have been designed for entertainment but can easily be adapted for more dangerous purposes. Take Nixie, the wearable camera that can fly off your wrist at a moment’s notice and take shots around you in the air. It doesn’t take much imagination to see how such technology could be taken advantage of.
Most people protect their secrets in the presence of a recording device. But what happens once we get used to a robot around the house, answering every instruction and call? We may be at risk of letting our guard down, treating them as extended member of our family. If the technology around us is able to record and process speech, images and movement, or listen secretly to us, what will happen to that information? Where will it be stored？Who will have access? If our internet history can be a mirror, these details could be worth their gold weight to advertisement company. If we grow accustomed to having trustworthy robots getting into our daily lives, our words and deeds could easily become over-exposed.
So, what is the safest way to welcome robots into our homes, public spaces, and social lives? We should be cautiously optimistic that intelligent machines could become enriching companions, while acknowledging that we need to determine strict boundaries for robots.
We might think of expanding the reach of consumer protection agencies or creating new robot-centered policies. Advances in robots may call for a body responsible for the combination of robots with society. There should be someone to turn to should your robot commit a crime, steal your car… or try to eat your hair.
1.The hair-eating story in Paragraph 1 is intended to_________..
A.show the poor quality of the product B.warn us to keep far away from vacuum
C.introduce the topic of the discussion D.appeal to us to take pity on the victim
2.According to the writer, it is wise to_________..
A.tell our deepest, darkest secrets to human robots straightly
B.have deep interaction with robots friends eagerly
C.make robots more socially aware than they are described
D.manage our expectations and adjust our trust towards robots
3.The last two paragraphs are mainly about_________..
A.some reasons why we should be careful with robots
B.some background information of the writer ’s conclusion
C.some measures to be taken to deal with the problem
D.some conclusion drawn from a series of experiments
4.The writer’s attitude to our over-trusting robots can best be described as_________..
A.positive B.objective
C.optimistic D.critical
UK physicist Isaac Newton once said, “Nature is pleased with simplicity and nature is no dummy (傻子).” Indeed, Mother Nature can provide almost everything human beings need if we follow her rules. But if we break the rules, she is likely to be cruel and lash out at (抨击) us.
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (新型冠状病毒肺炎, NCP) in China and some other countries at the beginning of this year is an example. According to Xinhua News Agency, the new coronavirus is similar to a virus found in a bat in 2017 and probably has an intermediate host (中间宿主).
It’s once believed that the virus originated from the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, Hubei province, where live wild animals were sold.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Dr Peter Daszak, president of the US-based health organization EcoHealth Alliance, said, “This outbreak is a lesson for us. On a global scale (规模), human population density (密度), wildlife diversity, and land use change are what drive new pandemics (流行病).”
In ancient times, people needed to rely on nature to survive so they held it in awe (敬畏). For example, the American Indians believed that humans are a part of nature and nature is a part of humans. Chinese ancients always pursued the harmony between nature and human beings.
However, as human beings master more knowledge and make more advanced tools, people try to change and even conquer nature. They use more land to make buildings, genetically modify (改变) plants, capture some wild and rare animals to suit their own needs. In this process, humans gradually lose contact with nature and even throw it out of balance. For example, cutting a large number of forests means carbon dioxide must build up in the atmosphere and it contributes to global warming.
Although we don’t know for sure what first caused the NCP outbreak, Brian Lamacraft at Medium said it’s time for people to “reflect on our relationship with our planet” and “reconnect with this world and everything that we’ve been given”. After all, according to US poet Gary Snyder, “Nature is not the place to visit. It’s our home.”
1.What lesson did Daszak think human beings should learn from the NCP outbreak?
A.Bats are one of the most dangerous wild animals.
B.It’s impossible to prevent new pandemics globally.
C.We should stop the wildlife trade around the world.
D.Humans should live peacefully with nature.
2.What is the main idea of Paragraph 5?
A.How human beings become their own masters.
B.How human activities cause global warming.
C.How human beings break the balance of nature.
D.How humans use technology to improve their lives.
3.What is the author’s purpose in writing this article?
A.To reflect on the NCP outbreak.
B.To explain what led to the NCP outbreak.
C.To describe experts’ predictions on new pandemics.
D.To compare ancient and modern attitudes toward nature.
Eat healthier. Exercise twice a week. Read more books. Lose weight. We make the same resolutions (决心) every year, but most of us fail, dying out after only a few days or, at best, weeks. Even the most successful among us crash and burn when it comes to personal change. President Barack Obama struggles to get out of his cigarette habit.
Professionals who help people make changes in their lives suggest the change is decided not by one’s surroundings, but one’s mind. Beginning with small goals or steps usually leads to a better result later, they say. But they notice that the experience is different for everyone.
“People are more likely to make positive changes in their lives not only when their friends do, but when their friends of friends do, and when their friends of friends of friends do,” said Nicholas Christakis, a professor of medical sociology at Harvard University. “People are better able to make changes in their lives—lose weight, quit smoking, become happy—when they do this with a large number of other people, and so taking advantage of your social network ties can contribute to your own efforts.”
Johnny Augustin understands that well. His resolution for 2008 was to reduce 30 pounds from his 237-pound frame. But the change didn’t come easily. He said, “I’m a huge procrastinator, I kept putting it off until tomorrow. I didn’t get to do it until the summer.” However, Augustin got encouraged when he saw his older brother working out. Today, Augustin weighs 190 pounds.
“Of course, change can happen only if people don’t set their expectations too high or try to deal with too many changes at once; one of the biggest mistakes we make is setting unrealistic goals,” said Dalia Liera, a psychologist at Lesley University. “You can’t accomplish in a few weeks what you haven’t accomplished in a few years,” said Liera.
1.From the first paragraph we can infer that _________.
A.change for a person is challenging
B.famous people have great resolutions
C.most people don’t want to change themselves
D.personal change is beyond belief
2.The word “procrastinator” in Paragraph 4 refers to those who_________.
A.have great determination to make a change
B.put off work especially because of laziness
C.have habitual carelessness and laziness
D.have no desire to do something great
3.According to the passage, Dalia Liera suggested that __________.
A.people should understand their goals well
B.people should try their best to change themselves
C.people should have confidence and positive habits
D.people should start with setting small goals to meet
阅读下面材料,根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段,使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。
Growing up on a small farm, I lived a life that I took for granted. My father worked in the city as a plumber(水暖工).He was not highly educated, but he was smart, looking at problems in an engineer’s way. He was a man made of leather, brass and chewing tobacco who tried to teach my brother and me useful things, including respect. He also had a temper and was strict with us for he would scold us when we made some careless mistakes. Sometimes, my father seemed like a distant enemy to me and I didn’t like him very much.
One day I came home from primary school and his car was already there. Once inside, I was told by my mother that he didn’t feel well. His back hurt. My father never missed work; in fact, when he came home, he went to the barn to work even more. I remember looking at him secretly around the corner as he lay on his bed in the middle of the day.
Later, my mother told me he got multiple myeloma(多发性骨髓瘤),a type of cancer. As the cancer grows, the person will shrink because the disease destroys the body’s energy and the abnormal antibodies cause problems for other cells and tissue. Bones eventually look like Swiss cheese, and when they break, they may never heal. But I didn’t realize that my father’s time was rather limited and just treated him the same way I used to.
For the last year of my fathers life, his entire day consisted df rising from his hospital bed in the living room and walking to his chair to sit and think. He was predictably in that chair when I came home one day during the ninth grade. I do not remember where my mother and brother were, but the two of us were alone.
Paragraph 1 :
He asked me to sit down and what he told me still moves me these decades Later.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2 :
At that moment, I realized that he was doing more than telling.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
