I grew up 3 hours outside of Pittsburgh, with my mother and 3 younger brothers and sisters. My mom was a single mother and worked a minimum wage job, so we never had much, but that was OK, we made ends meet anyhow.
In Senior 1, I started saving money for college by taking a part-time job. I was accepted into the University of Pittsburgh and received some scholarships. But I couldn’t afford the housing because it was way too expensive for me. As result, put mattress (床垫) in an old van (货车) and had the windows painted. I bought parking pass on campus, chose spot on the top level of the parking garage and lived there for the next 2 years.
The weather in Pittsburgh was bad Being homeless forced me to take advantage of everything the campus had to offer since I wanted to spend as little time in my van as possible. I ended up spending most of my time throughout the week at the library and studying and reviewing classroom material a lot more than I would have if I had the luxury of going home and turning on the TV or falling asleep for hours in my room. I got close to some of my professors because of visiting them often, which really helped me become outstanding among my classmates. I made lot of new friends by attending social events, plays, charities, student life events around campus too.
Before college I would have considered myself shy, I didn’t really speak much unless spoken to, but I move out of my comfort zone and do new things, then develop an outgoing personality.
I really think that having to deal with the struggles that I had to go through really made me a better person.
1.From the first paragraph, we can learn that the author lived a ________ life.
A.hard B.painful C.boring D.happy
2.Where did the author live during his college life?
A.In the van. B.In his own house.
C.In the library. D.In professors’ office.
3.What helped to shape a person according to the author?
A.Being devoted to studies.
B.Living a tough life in college
C.Developing an outgoing personality.
D.Learning to overcome difficulties in life.
You may be familiar with the following famous people, but have you heard of their graduation speeches, in which they either share their unforgettable experiences or give you some great inspiration.
● Michael Dell, University of Texas at Austin
And now you’ve accomplished something great and important here, and it’s time for you to move on to what’s next. And you must not let anything prevent you from taking those first steps... You must also commit to the adventure Just have faith in the skills and the knowledge you’ve been blessed with and go.
● J. K. Rowling, Harvard University
Half my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between my ambition and the expectations from my parents who were not rich... But what I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure. The fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you know little about failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success.
● Steve Jobs, Stanford University
Sometimes life’s going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith... Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking, and don’t settle.
● Bill Gates, Harvard University
We need as many people as possible to have access to the advanced technology to lead to a revolution in what human beings can do for one another. They are making it possible not just for national governments, but for universities, smaller organizations, and even individuals to see problems, see approaches and deal with the world’s inequities (不公平) like hunger, poverty and so on.
1.What Michael Dell said is to encourage us to ________.
A.love our work B.listen to expectations
C.follow our dreams D.follow others’ example
2.When she was in university, J. K. Rowling was afraid ________.
A.to dream B.to fail
C.of being poor D.of being hungry
3.What does Bill Gates suggest students doing?
A.Making contributions to their own country.
B.Taking responsibility for their own behavior.
C.Helping solve some global problems together.
D.Mastering as much advanced technology as possible.
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。
It was one of the hottest days of the dry season. We had not seen rain in almost a month. The crops were dying. Cows had stopped giving milk. The streams were long gone back into the earth.
I was in the kitchen making lunch for the family when I saw my six-year-old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. I could only see his back. He wasn't walking in his usual way. He was obviously walking with a great effort, trying to be as still as possible. Minutes after he disappeared into the woods, he came running out again, toward the house.
Moments later, however, he was once again walking in that slow and long step toward the woods. This activity went on for over an hour—walking cautiously to the woods, then running back to the house. Finally, my curiosity got the best of me. I crept out of the house and followed him on his journey.
He was cupping both hands in front of him as he walked, being very careful not to spill the water he carried. Branches and thorns slapped (拍打) his little face but he did not try to avoid them. He had a much greater purpose. As I came closer, I saw the most amazing sight. Several large deer stood in front of him. Billy walked right up to them, at the sight of which I almost screamed for him to get away. A hug buck (雄鹿) was dangerously close, but it neither threatened Billy nor even moved as Billy knelt down. And I saw a baby deer lying on the ground, obviously suffering from heavy loss of water and heat exhaustion, lifting its head with great effort to lap (舔) up the water in my boy's hands.
Paragraph 1:
When the water was gone, Billy jumped up to run back to the house.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
This time I joined him, with a small pot of water from the kitchen.
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假定你是李华，是学校的学生会主席。请你用英语写一则通知，告知你校的外国留学生，受新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情的影响，学校将延期开学。内容包括：
1.严禁在疫情期间到校；
2.开展在线教育、心理指导；
3.如有调整，另行通知。
注意：1.词数80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3.参考词汇：新型冠状病毒novel coronavirus心理指导psychological guidance
NOTICE
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Students' Union
I sat on the park bench beneath the branches of a tree, feeling _______. The world seemed to be against me.
A young boy _______ me, out of breath. He stood right before me with his head bowed down and said with great _______ , "Look what I found!" In his hand was a flower, but its petals (花瓣) were all _______ .Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play, I _______ a small smile and then looked away.
Instead of leaving, the boy sat down next to me. He placed the flower to his _______ and said, “It smells pretty and it's beautiful, too. That's why I _______ it. Here, it's for you.”
I _______ I must take it, or he might never leave. So I reached for the flower. _______ , he didn't place it in my hand. Instead, he held it in midair. It was then that I noticed the boy was ________ .
I heard my voice. ________ , tears shone in the sun as I thanked him for giving me the best one. "You're welcome," he smiled, and then ran off to play, unaware of the ________ he'd had on my day.
I sat there and ________ how he managed to see a sad woman under the tree. Perhaps he'd been blessed with true sight in his ________ . At that moment I knew for all of those times I myself had been blind. I vowed (发誓) to see the beauty in life, and ________ every second that's mine.
1.A.cheerful B.content C.angry D.upset
2.A.approached B.found C.chased D.frightened
3.A.voice B.sorrow C.excitement D.curiosity
4.A.fresh B.old C.worn D.fallen
5.A.hid B.forced C.developed D.showed
6.A.face B.nose C.mouth D.hand
7.A.searched B.bought C.picked D.held
8.A.assumed B.hoped C.dreamt D.suspected
9.A.Sadly B.Surprisingly C.Obviously D.Aimlessly
10.A.lame B.dumb C.deaf D.blind
11.A.rising B.dropping C.trembling D.floating
12.A.flower B.manner C.visit D.impact
13.A.wondered B.imagined C.recalled D.checked
14.A.body B.hand C.head D.heart
15.A.count B.appreciate C.spare D.operate
While everyone enjoys listening to good music, not many of us are what the world calls "musician" —the ones with the ability to play a musical instrument. This could be due to not having the chance to learn as kids or simply due to lack of proper instruction. 1. And here are four good reasons as to why everyone should learn to play a musical instrument.
It teaches patience. 2. It is the daily efforts of everyday practice that can help a musician learn how to play without mistakes. Most musicians go through years of regular practice that may include doing daily musical exercises and dealing with progressively difficult musical pieces, which in turn help them acquire the virtue of patience.
It promotes a sense of achievement. The process of learning how to play an instrument can be both time consuming and tiring. 3. The more time and effort you put into mastering an instrument, the greater your sense of achievement will be.
4. Playing a musical instrument can bring the joy factor into your life. Music has the special ability to bring joy, peace peace and fulfillment that help lift the spirit and make life enjoyable for everyone involved.
It regulates mood. Research shows that creating music reduces stress. Playing music can also act as an emotional way to express your feelings. 5.
A.It brings pleasure.
B.It improves listening skills.
C.However, music is something that is never too late to learn.
D.Overcoming this directly results in a sense of achievement and pride.
E.Playing an instrument is not something that can be learned overnight.
F.Regularly playing any instrument is a great form of exercise for the brain.
G.Creating your own music can change your sadness or joy into a real work of art.
