Many years ago, I worked in a marathon. I was required to stand by the road to give out water to the runners. I felt so excited to ____ all the different kinds of runners who passed by and quickly took a cup of water. Some walked past, some jogged past and a few________ past.
The next year, I signed up for the________ and gave it a try. With________running practice, I just wanted to finish.
On the day of the race, it was terribly hot. Only after 2 miles, I felt sweat________off me and my legs swelling (肿胀).I began to________, “Why am I doing this? What was I thinking? I must be________And at one moment, I said to myself: "I am never doing this gain." For the following miles, I jogged. I walked. I jogged and walked. At times, I wonder if I could________.
Near the end, a 70-year-old man rushed past me, very ________ , and I felt a little ________ that I was more than 50 years younger than him and I couldn’t keep up with him. But then I ________ something: he was running his race and I was running mine. He had ________abilities, training and goals for himself. I had mine. How often in life do we________ourselves with others and feel _________in ourselves when we really shouldn’t?
We are all unique human beings with unique ________. It’s really no good focusing on others’ race. I decided that I would not ________ running, and that one day I would be one of those ________ people who were still running races. As I crossed the finishing line, I was ________ of myself.
In life we all have those moments when we compare ourselves with others. It’s only ________. Don’t allow those moments to weaken you. Turn them into ________ and let them inspire you.
1.A.see B.inspect C.stare D.notice
2.A.struggle B.dragged C.rushed D.moved
3.A.service B.race C.experiment D.task
4.A.some B.little C.much D.any
5.A.jumping B.taking C.pouring D.setting
6.A.doubt B.remember C.imagine D.suppose
7.A.friendly B.crazy C.generous D.tired
8.A.win B.stop C.make D.finish
9.A.slowly B.gently C.heavily D.fast
10.A.pleased B.frightened C.delighted D.embarrassed
11.A.remembered B.forgot C.realized D.abandoned
12.A.valuable B.wonderful C.different D.proper
13.A.compare B.devoted C.recommend D.show
14.A.disappointed B.surprised C.astonished D.satisfied
15.A.significance B.pace C.principle D.experience
16.A.insist on B.look up to C.put up with D.give up
17.A.elderly B.professional C.international D.educated
18.A.aware B.ashamed C.proud D.afraid
19.A.terrible B.frequent C.important D.natural
20.A.condition B.motivation C.situation D.protection
Communication is the sharing of information or ideas. No matter our age or background, it is important to know communication is a valuable skill. It’s also a skill that everyone can learn. Skillful communication can even turn a potential fight into a productive talk.1.
Place yourself on even ground. Make sure not to stand over the other person as you are talking.2.If your listener is sitting, you should sit with them.
Listen to the other party. Let listeners share how they feel and wait until they are finished talking before speaking yourself.
Speak in a calm voice.3. You can try taking deep breaths to calm down.
4.Sometimes a conflict takes time to work itself out. Rather than trying to rush a decision, consider stopping the discussion with a plan to revisit it at a later point.
Use “I” messages. When raising concerns, try to start your sentences with “I...” instead of “You,” stating clearly how you feel about the situation rather than blaming others.5.For instance, instead of saying “You’re messy and it drives me crazy,” you might say, “I’m really uncomfortable surrounded by clutter like this. Is there something we can do to deal with it to keep it from being a problem?”
Good communication is a great tool. Practicing will help you get better at it. Having strong communication skills will improve your relationships. You’ll see a difference at home, at school and anywhere else you go.
A.Speak clearly but simply.
B.Don’t force an agreement.
C.Don’t yell or attack the other person or their behavior or actions.
D.This posture can make people uncomfortable and may even upgrade a conflict.
E.“I messages” improve the chances that listeners will consider your point of view.
F.Whether you mean to or not, disrespecting others will hurt the communication process.
G.There are some steps to take to communicate better when you are in conflict with someone.
Those who work on the “996” model (where employees work from 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week) must envy their counterparts (对应的人)in an American company, because they have a shorter work week. Basecamp, a Chicago-based web application company gives all his employees a short work week: just four days—a total of 32 hours, between May and September every year. Also, they usually work five days a week for the rest of the year.
“That’s plenty of time to get great work done. This is all we expect and all we want from people,” says Jason Fried, a co-founder. “Working 60-plus, or 70-plus hours is unnecessary. In fact, if you have to work 60-plus or 70-plus hours a week, there’s a management problem.”
The company’s summer workload must fit reduced hours, Mr. Fried insists, otherwise the benefits of a shorter week - to recover from work, enjoy time with family and develop outside interests - would be undone.
His new research finds that it is not just long hours that are harmful to employees’ physical and mental health. It is also the intensity (强度)of work. Moreover, it suggests that intensity work harms career prospects (前景).That is because unbearable hours and intensity are in the opposite direction, reducing the quality of the work.
The research concludes that the level of intensity we apply to the work we do is generally “a stronger predictor of unfavorable outcomes than overtime work”. The research compared people of similar jobs and education levels, and found they were more likely to suffer poorer happiness and worse career prospects, including satisfaction, security and promotion, when they worked at an intense level for long periods.
1.What do we know about Basecamp’s four — day work week?
A.It lasts nearly half a year. B.The work pressure is too high.
C.There are some management problems. D.Employees work more than 8 hours a day.
2.What does Mr. Fried intend to say in paragraph 2?
A.Given plenty of time, people can do more.
B.To get work done well needs plenty of time.
C.People can do a job very well in a short work week.
D.A long work week is appropriate for reduced workload.
3.What does the research mentioned in the text want to tell us?
A.Getting much more rest. B.Improving work quality.
C.Refusing a five-day work week. D.Avoiding working too intensely.
4.What can be the best title for this passage?
A.More Work, More Profits B.Shorter Week, Better Reward
C.Less Work, Less Benefits D.Longer Hours, Higher Intensity
If you’re concerned about climate change, should you feel guilty about hanging out online? Maybe not.
Data, or information, is often processed and stored on a computer. A computer that provides data to other computers is called a server. Servers also store data such as videos, pictures and emails. A building that holds many servers is known as a data center. Without data centers and servers, we could not access websites on our own computers and phones every day.
Some people worry that data centers use a lot of energy, which could be bad for the environment. But recent studies found that data centers do not use as much energy as they thought.
Eric Masanet, a professor at Northwestern University, is the study’s main author. Masanet and his team looked at the energy used by data centers around the world, and found that data centers have improved. They saw a 20 percent energy improvement each year.
These improvements are due to better servers. They use less energy than servers once did. Other technologies have also improved.
Masanet said to make sure computers use energy effectively, some things need to happen. Businesses and governments should get involved. Countries need to be open about how much electricity their data centers use. Large data companies also need to source their electricity from renewable energy, such as sunlight and wind. For example, Google and Apple both purchased or generated enough renewable electricity to match 100 percent of their data center energy use in 2018.
“People should care about the energy data centers need,” said Masanet. “But we don’t have to feel bad about staying connected.”
1.Why do people need data centers?
A.To help people reduce time on computers.
B.To store information and let them use websites.
C.To provide energy needed to run people’s phones.
D.To save data on the Internet instead of on servers
2.What caused data centers to have a 20 percent improvement in energy use?
A.Less fuel is being burned in the atmosphere. B.Fewer people are online at the same time.
C.Servers and technologies have improved. D.More information is stored in phones.
3.What does the underlined word “source” in paragraph 6 mean?
A.Measure. B.Store. C.Choose. D.Obtain.
4.According to Eric Masanet, how to make sure computers use energy effectively?
A.Businesses and governments should be involved. B.The boundaries of countries should be opened.
C.People need to spend less time online. D.People need to rely on big data companies.
If you want your life to stand for peace and kindness, it’s helpful to do kind, peaceful things. One of my favorite ways to do this is by developing my own helping actions. These little acts of kindness are opportunities to be of service and reminders of how good it feels to be kind and helpful.
We live in a rural area of the San Francisco Bay Area. Most of what we see is beauty of nature. One of the exceptions to the beauty is the litter that some people throw out of their windows as they are driving on the rural roads. One of the few shortcomings to live in the mountainous area is that public services, such as litter collection, are less available than those are closer to the city.
A helping action that I practice regularly with my two children is picking up litter in our surrounding area. We’ve become so used to doing this that my daughters will often say to me in exciting voices, “There’s some litter, Daddy, stop the car!” And if we have time, we will often pull over and pick it up. It may seem strange, but we actually enjoy it. We pick up litter in parks, on sidewalks, practically anywhere. Once I even saw a complete stranger picking up litter close to where we live. He smiled at me and said, “I saw you doing it, and it seemed like a good idea.”
Picking up litter is only one of endless supplies of possible helping actions. You might like holding a door open for people, visiting lonely elderly people in nursing homes, or removing snow off someone else’s driveway. Think of something that seems effortless yet helpful .It’s fun, personally rewarding, and sets a good example. Everyone wins.
1.What does the author think of developing helping actions?
A.It helps us to be winners. B.It is very difficult.
C.It requires lots of effort. D.It makes us feel good about ourselves.
2.What do we know about the area where the author lives?
A.It’s in the center of San Francisco. B.People can see beautiful sceneries here.
C.It’s very easy to find litter collection. D.Few people drive on the rural roads.
3.How does the author support his own opinion?
A.By sharing his own experience. B.By listing reasons for giving help.
C.By explaining different methods to be helpful. D.By making a comparison with others.
4.What does the author mainly want to tell us?
A.Parents are the best teachers to their children. B.Everyone should set good examples to others.
C.Small kind acts make the world a better place. D.Protecting the environment will benefit all of us.
Are you interested in working with animals? Now here comes the CHANCE. Kirby Wildlife Park has set up the unique "Keeper Experience" package. The fantastic experience is available to anyone over the age of 18 who is reasonably fit. We regret that for health and safety reasons, participants who are pregnant, in a wheelchair or suffering from illnesses cannot take part.
A typical day
9:15 Arrival
9:30 Health and Safety Briefing
10:00 Apes and Monkeys
While cleaning out the enclosure (围场)you will find out about how enclosures are enriched with novel items and new smells to stimulate (刺激)the animals* senses and imitate their natural environment.
12:00 Lunch
14:00 Big Cats
On the highlight of most volunteers’ day, you will feed the cats and learn about their nutritional needs. The keeper will give you an introduction to how cat behavior can be read to get an idea of their welfare and health.
16:30 Meet the Team
Meet more of the staff and learn how you can get further involved with work at the park. Learn about our animal adoption plan, what it takes to be a good keeper and where to obtain the right qualifications for a career in animal welfare.
Booking and cancellation
The Keeper Experience is available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year, and must be booked at least two weeks in advance. Full payment is needed when booking.
Cancellations must be made more than fourteen days before the event, or you won’t receive a full refund (退款).
1.What kind of people can experience working with animals in Kirby Wildlife Park?
A.A teenager boy sitting in a wheelchair. B.A man who is quite healthy.
C.A pregnant woman. D.A girl under the age of 18,
2.When can you know something about an animal adoption plan?
A.At 12:00. B.At 9:30. C.At 10:00. D.At 16:30.
3.What is the requirement of cancelling a booking of the Keeper Experience?
A.A booking must be cancelled over two weeks before the event.
B.Anyone can cancel a booking throughout the year.
C.The cancelling is available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
D.You can cancel a booking with a full refund at any time.
