You are about to hear a strange but true story. Legend has it that, Harry Houdini, the master magician, once claimed that he could break out of any jail cell in the world. All he had to do was walk into that jail cell with his street clothes on. 'I will be out of there in one hour. No problem!' He said. A very old jail down South heard about Houdini's claims and they accepted the challenge. On the day of the event, many people gathered outside. Very confidently, Houdini walked into the jail and into the cell and they shut the metal door behind him.
The first thing Houdini did was to take off his coat. Then, very strangely, he took off his belt. Secretly hidden in Houdini's belt, was a ten-inch piece of steel; very tough and very flexible and Houdini started working.
In about 30 minutes, that confident expression Houdini had when he walked in disappeared. In one hour, he was bathed in sweat. And at the end of two hours, Houdini in defeat, collapsed against the door, which then opened. It opened because you see, that door had never been locked. But that's not entirely true is it? That door was locked. It was firmly and thoroughly locked in Houdini's mind, which meant it was locked as if the best locksmith in the world had put his lock on it.
The mind is powerful. How many doors in your life do you think are locked but aren't? how many times have you been stuck in the mental prison of over thinking something that really had a simple solution. There is an ancient African proverb that says when there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do us no harm.
Your mind is the most powerful force you will ever face. It will tell you lies. It will tell you can't do that. You're not meant for that. You're not good enough for that. You can't go on anymore. You don't have the energy. You must thank it for its opinion and carry on. Because as Houdini showed us the only locked doors that exist are in your own mind. The doors in reality are open and all you have to do is walk through.
1.Why couldn't Harry Houdini open the door within two hours?
A.Because he didn't open the door with his mind.
B.Because the door was locked by the best locksmith.
C.Because he had thought the door was locked.
D.Because he overestimated his own ability to open the door.
2.Which of the following story shows the "locked door," in our mind?
A.Bring the painted dragon to life by putting in the pupils of its eyes.
B.One tends to stand still and refuse to make progress.
C.The donkey has exhausted its skills against the tiger.
D.Lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen.
3.We can conclude from the passage EXCEPT ?
A.The biggest enemy in your life is in fact the enemy in your mind.
B.If you walk through the door in mind, your potential will be unlimited.
C.Unless you defeat the enemy outside, you will not defeat your enemy inside.
D.Life is really simple, but we insist on making it rigid and complicated.
Below are four books of the 10 Best Books of 2019. Which one will you add to your booklist?
Exhalation （呼吸）
By Ted Chiang
■ Many of the nine deeply beautiful stories in this collection explore the material consequences of time travel. Reading them feels, like sitting at dinner with a friend who explains scientific theory to you without an ounce of condescension （傲慢）.Each thoughtful, elegantly crafted story poses a philosophical question; Chiang organizes all nine into a conversation that comes full circle, after having travelled remarkab1e val1eys ，，, deserts and plains.
Lost Children Archivef(档案）)）
By Valeria Luiselli
■ The Mexican author’s third novel — her first to be written in English — unfolds against a backdrop of crisis: of children crossing borders, facing death, being confined, being deported unaccompanied by their guardians.
The novel centers on a couple and their two children, who are taking a road trip from New York City to the Mexican border; the couple's marriage is on the edge of collapse and the woman tries to help a Mexican immigrant find her daughters, who've gone missing in their attempt to cross the border behind her. The brilliance of Luiselli's writing stirs anger and pity. Acutely sensitive, Luiselli has delivered an experimental book, one that is as much about storytellers and storytelling as it is about lost children.
The Yellow House
By Sarah Broom
■ In her first extraordinary, fascinating appearance, Broom pushes past the baseline expectations of memoir to create an entertaining and inventive combination of literary forms. Part oral history, part urban history, part celebration of a bygone way of life, "The Yellow House" is a full accusation of the greed, discrimination, indifference and poor city planning that led her family's home to be wiped off the map. Tracing the history of a single home in New Orleans East, from the ' 60s to Hurricane Katrina, this is an instantly essential text, examining the past, present and possible future of the city of New Orleans, and a true reflection of America.
No Visible Bruises
By Rachel Louise Snyder
■ Snyder's thoroughly reported book covers what the World Health Organization has called "a global health problem of epidemic proportions." In America alone, more
than half of all murdered women are killed by a current or former partner; domestic violence cuts across lines of class, religion and race. Snyder exposes myths (restraining orders are the answer,: abusers never change) and writes movingly about the lives of people on both sides of the equation. She doesn't give easy answers but presents a wealth of information that is its own form of hope.
1.If you are a fan of science fiction, which book will you choose?
A.Exhalation Lost B.Children Archive
C.The Yellow House D.No Visible Bruises
2.According to the passage, which of the following sentences is TRUE?
A.In the book Exhalation, Ted Chiang describes a story told by his friend.
B.Lost Children Archive is Valeria Luiselli's first novel in English.
C.Several stories of literary forms make up the book, The Yellow House.
D.No Visible Bruises shows nothing but restraining orders are answers to family violence.
For years, I thought a present and a gift as the same thing.
I grew up in a household where presents marked special _______ There was always a box
for each of us under the tree at Christmas. ____ Dad always gave Mom something each Valentines Day and anniversary. He would carefully plan his shopping trips to find just the _____thing. His joy in the hunt was proof of the _____ of giving and of his love for her. I saw these presents as the ______ of a husband's devotion.
So when I married a man who did not give presents on a regular basis, it was a(an)____.
I wrestled with my _____ . Gary did not___ avoid gift-giving. Gary would return from sea __ with a brown paper bag inside of which was something that reminded him of me.
I tried to change him______.I prepared gifts for Christmas and for his birthdays _______ .
He appreciated the caring, but refused to do the same thing for me.
I dropped hints, they fell on_______ ears.
I began to tell him what I wanted, giving______ instructions. When Gary left for the market one Saturday, I asked him to find me diamond earrings as a birthday present. Yet he came home with a road scraper （刮路机）.
______when the snowstorm Mt later that year and he was at sea, I used the road scraper to plow （犁）out both our driveway and our neighbor's, thinking how______ earrings would have been was then that I realized he had been giving me gifts ail along. The gestures, large and small, born of his caring and concern were the _______that he gave daily.
We ___to teach others how to love us. In that struggle, we often forget how to _______the love they already give us as only they can give it.
I finally began to understand the_______ between a present and a gift. A present is a thing. But a gift is a small act of kindness, the willingness to_______to another's needs, the sacrifice of time and effort.
1.A.locations B.situations C.occasions D.conditions
2.A.Additionally B.Originally C.Fortunately D.Consequently
3.A.cheap B.astonishing C.splendid D.right
4.A.pleasure B.ambition C.intention D.addiction
5.A.example B.emphasis C.reminder D.expression
6.A.improvement B.adjustment C.despair D.disaster :
7.A.expectations B.dilemma C.conscience 、 D.anxiety
8.A.actively B.willingly C.intentionally D.wholly
9.A.supplied B.armed C.decorated D.filled
10.A.by tradition B.by force C.by example D.by accident
11.A.on purpose B.in order C.at random D.on time
12.A.sharp B.big C.deaf D.sensitive
13.A.some B.specific C.brief D.unusual
14.A.And B.So C.Though D.But
15.A.precious B.practical C.useless D.ugly
16.A.promises B.gifts C.blessings D.instructions
17.A.struggle B.fail C.attempt D.decide
18.A.express B.appreciate C.return D.share
19.A.distance B.similarity C.difference D.conflict
20.A.subscribe B.take C.connect D.bend
The actor lately released a new film, which has met with a mixed _____ from his fans.
A.assumption B.reception C.composition D.description
There is no quick fix for the climate crisis we're facing right now. To talk about alternative energy is merely to _____ of something much deeper.
A.push the limits B.give it the edge C.scratch the surface D.land on the feet
— Tommy, you seem to be overjoyed!
—_____ ? I have just received the offer from the Sydney University.
A.Guess what B.What for C.What if D.So what
