When I was thirteen, my family moved from Boston to Tucson, Arizona. ______ the move, my father ______ us in the living-room on a freezing January night. My sisters and I sat around the fire, not ______ that the universe would suddenly change its course. “In May, we’re ______ to Arizona.” The words, so small, didn’t seem ______ enough to hold my new life. But the world changed and I awoke on a train moving across the country. I watched the ______ change from green trees to flat dusty plains to high mountains as I saw strange new plants that ________ mysteries yet to come. Finally, we arrived and ______ into our new home. ______ my older sisters were sad at the loss of friends, I ______ explored our new surroundings.
One afternoon, I was out exploring ______ and saw a new kind of cactus(仙人掌). I crouched(蹲) down for a closer look. “You’d better not ______ that.” I turned around to see an old woman. “Are you new to this neighborhood?” I explained that I was, ______, new to the entire state.
“My name is Ina Thorne. Have you got used to life in the ______? It must be quite a ______ after living in Boston.” How could I explain how I ______ the desert? I couldn’t seem to find the right words.
“It’s vastness,” she offered. “That vastness ______ you stand on the mountains overlooking the desert — you can ______ how little you are in comparison with the world. ______, you feel that the possibilities are limitless.” That was it. That was the feeling I’d had ever since I’d first seen the mountains of my new home. Again, my ______ would change with just a few simple words. “Would you like to come to my home tomorrow? Someone should teach you which plant you should and shouldn’t touch.”
1.A. During B. Until C. Upon D. Before
2.A. gathered B. warned C. organized D. comforted
3.A. hoping B. admitting C. realizing D. believing
4.A. going B. moving C. driving D. flying
5.A. good B. simple C. big D. proper
6.A. picture B. ground C. scene D. area
7.A. suggested B. solved C. discovered D. explained
8.A. settled B. walked C. hurried D. stepped
9.A. If B. After C. Once D. While
10.A. bitterly B. easily C. proudly D. eagerly
11.A. as well B. as usual C. fight away D. on time
12.A. move B. dig C. pull D. touch
13.A. of course B. in fact C. after all D. at least
14.A. desert B. city C. state D. country
15.A. luck B. doubt C. shock D. danger
16.A. found B. examined C. watched D. reached
17.A. why B. when C. how D. where
18.A. prove B. guess C. sense D. expect
19.A. However B. Otherwise C. Therefore D. Meanwhile
20.A. idea B. life C. home D. family
Making Peace with Your Parents
As a teen, you’re going through big changes physically and mentally. Your interests are increasing. 1. Here is the challenge: Kids need to explore the world in new ways, and parents need to protect them from the dangers that are all out in that world. These conflicts can easily set off fireworks in otherwise calm houses. Sometimes conflicts can’t be avoided. But by paying attention to the building blocks of successful relationships, you can work towards making home a happy and healthy place for you and your parents.
For example, try to find a time to talk when your parents are not angry, tired, distracted or hungry. A good time to talk is when you’re all relaxed. Timing is everything. If the conversation begins to turn into an argument, you’d better calmly and coolly ask to stop the conversation for now. 2. Listen to what your parents are saying, and repeat it back to them. This shows them that you’re listening. 3. Respect is the building block of good communication. People who respect each other and care about each others’ feelings can disagree without getting things ugly. 4. How do you build trust? Trust comes by actually doing what you say you’re going to do. Some teens find that doing fun activities with their parents can improve their relationships. Sometimes we forget that parents are more than rule-maker—they’re interesting people who like to watch movies and go shopping—just like their teenagers!
What do you do if you are trying your best, but your relationship with your parents continues to be rocky? 5. You can find supportive adults, such as a teacher or a coach, who can lend an ear. Remember you can only change your own behavior. Your parents are the only ones who can change theirs.
A.You may consider seeking outside help.
B.And then you’ll be able to accept what your parents say.
C.You can pick it up again when everyone’s more relaxed.
D.Faced with the challenge, children don’t know what to do.
E.And your desire to take control of your own life is growing.
F.It also gives them a chance to clear things up if you’re not on the same page.
G.You are more likely to get along with your parents and have more independence if your parents believe in you.
The Coalition for the Homeless is an organization that seeks to address the needs of the homeless population in the United States. It is a network of offices, some of which provide food and houses for the homeless population, and some of which fight for the passing of laws that of over two hundred million people living in the United States,up to three million are homeless—and the number is still growing. Since the late 1970s,fast rising house prices,large cuts in government supported housing programs, and economic recession(经济衰退)have made it impossbile for many Americans to meet housing costs. Sadly, this has resulted in a number of persons being forced to leave their homes and/or unable to find new affordable homes. According to another research,families with children appear to be the fastest-growing part of the homeless population, making up 39% of it.The old idea of a homeless person,that of the single man who gets drunk all the time,is no longer true. A much lager part of the population now finds itself homeless. Even worse, once a person becomes homeless, he often finds it impossible to find a job,since most employers require anyone who wants a job from them to provide a home address on a job application.
1.The word “address” in the first line probably means .
A.talk about B.deal with C.fight for D.write to
2.How many people are homeless in the U.S. according to the Coalition studies?
A.39% of the population. B.200 million people.
C.About 3 million people. D.About one-fifth of the population.
3.Homeless people often have difficulty finding a job because________.
A.they have no home addresses
B.they mostly have a drinking problem
C.they aren't supported by government programs
D.they often don't have enough work experience
4.What is the main cause of the rising number of the homeless in the U.S.?
A.The passing of new housing laws.
B.The fast growth of family size.
C.The slow construction of houses.
D.The ever-rising price of housing.
I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my profession stand in the way of being a good parent.
I no longer consider myself the center of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends, and they to me. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today.
So here's what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a desire of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house.
Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an e-mail. Write a letter. And realize that life is the best thing and that you have no business taking it for granted.
It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, our minutes. It is so easy to exist instead of to live. I learned to live many years ago. Something really, really bad happened to me, something that changed my life in ways that, if I had my choice, it would never have been changed at all. And what I learned from it is what, today, seems to be the hardest lesson of all.
I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and totally. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned.
By telling them this: Read in the backyard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy. And think of life as a deadly illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived.
1.The best title of this passage probably is
A.Love your friends B.Live a real life
C.Don't waste time D.Be a good mother and wife
2.How did the author form her view of life?
A.Through working and social experience. B.By learning from her friends.
C.Through an unfortunate experience. D.From her children and husband
3.By the underlined sentence "It is so easy to exist instead of to live" in the fifth paragraph, the author really means that people tend to .
A.make a living rather than live a real life B.work rather than enjoy life
C.waste a lot in life D.forget the most important lessons in life
4.What's the author's attitude toward work?
A.Do it well to serve others. B.To earn enough money to make life better.
C.Try your best to get higher position and pay. D.Don't let it affect your real life.
I promised Michael I wouldn’t mention this until the season was over. Now l think it's time.
Early last season, I wrote a column about an art of kindness I had seen Jordan do to a disabled child outside the stadium. After it ran，I got a call from a marl in the western suburbs. He said，“I read what you wrote about Jordan. but I thought I should tell you another thing I saw. ”
Here it comes, I thought. It always does. Write something nice about a person, and people call you up to say that the person is not so nice.
A few weeks later Jordan and I were talking about something else before a game, and I brought up what the man had said. Was the man right? Had Jordan really been talking to those two boys in that poor and dirty neighborhood?
"Not two boys," Jordan said. "But four."
And he named them. He said four names. And what did they talk about?
"Everything,” Jordan said. " Anything. I’ve asked to see their grades so that I can check to see if they're paying attention to their study. If it turns out that one or two of them may need teaching, I make sure they get it."
It's just one more part of Michael Jordan's life one more thing that no one knows about, and one more thing Jordan does fight for. The NBA season is over now, and those boys have their memories. So do J! When the expert reviewers begin to turn against Jordan as they surely will, I'll think about those boys under the streetlight, waiting for the man they know to come. For someone they can depend on.
1.The writer wrote this story about Jordan and his young friends because ______
A.he thought highly of Jordan's deeds
B.he hated to see Jordan do something bad
C.he believed it was time to help the disabled
D.he felt sure he needn't keep the promise then
2.A man in the western suburbs made a call to ______
A.know why Jordan stopped in a bad area
B.get a chance to become famous himself
C.let the writer know Jordan was not that nice
D.offer an example to show how Jordan helped others
3.Jordan talked with the boys because he ______.
A.needed their support
B.had promised to do so
C.liked to teach them to play basketball
D.wanted to make sure they all studied well
4.The text implies that Jordan is ______.
A.an excellent basketball player
B.good at dealing with problems of life
C.always ready to make friends with young people
D.willing to do whatever he can for the good of society
The United States has about 475,000 school buses — all painted yellow. Each day they carry more than 25,000,000 children, half of all schoolchildren in the country. But these buses, on average, use four liters of diesel ( 柴油) fuel to travel less than sixteen kilometers. When the school year began last fall, diesel averaged 55 cents a liter nationally. The price nearly doubled, to a dollar and 8 cents, by the end of school in June.
Bob Riley speaks for the American School Bus Council. He says fuel prices for schools are not much lower than others have to pay. As a result, schools are looking for ways to reduce transportation costs. Bus routes are being redrawn or, in some cases, canceled. Some areas are buying buses that use natural gas or other alternative fuels. Other steps include fewer field trips and less travel by sports teams. And some school districts may end any bus service not required by law.
Studies show that school buses are the safest form of transportation to and from school. The American School Bus Council says cuts in bus service are bad for children and possibly the environment. It says removing buses from the road will mean an increase in other vehicles transporting students. Spokesman Bob Riley says another concern is that reducing bus services might reduce attendance.
But it could also get more children to walk or bicycle to school. And that would surely make people happy at the National Center for Safe Routes to School. More kids walking or biking safely to school is the aim of a three-year-old federal program, part of an international movement. The goal is to increase physical activity and reduce air pollution. The United States will celebrate Walk to School Day on October eighth this year. But for some students, high fuel prices could make every day a walk-to-school day.
1.What does this passage mainly tell us?
A.High fuel prices’ influences on school buses.
B.New measures to transport school students.
C.The safest form of student transportation.
D.The origin of Walk to School Day.
2.In order to cut down transportation cost, many schools take the following measures EXCEPT ______ .
A.changing some bus routes
B.stopping some bus routes
C.asking parents to drive children to and from school
D.using other types of fuels
3.The National Center for Safe Routes to School encourages more children to walk or bike to school in order to ______.
A.save more fuels and diesel for the country
B.keep the children safe on their way to school
C.make the children live a simple life
D.keep the children healthy and the environment clean
