An elderly carpenter (木匠) was ready to retire (退休). He told his boss that he planned to leave the building business and live a more relaxing life with his wife, enjoying his big family. He would miss the pay check each week, but he needed to retire. He believed they could get by (勉强过活) even on a small amount of money.
The boss was sorry to see his good worker leave and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but soon afterwards he was found to be absent-minded. He used shoddy materials to build the house. How disappointing it was to end his career in this way!
When the carpenter finished all his work, the boss came to inspect (检查) the new house as usual. But after that, he handed the front-door key to the carpenter, saying. “This is your house, my gift to you.”
What a shock! What a shame! If he had known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the worst house he had ever built in his life.
Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or put up a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you ever build. Even if you live it for only one more day, that day deserves (值得) to be lived comfortably.
Life is a do-it-yourself project. Your life today is the result of your attitudes (态度) and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.
1.According to the article, the carpenter _________.
A.was too old to build a fine house B.had a large family to raise
C.was not in need of money D.was not welcome
2.What does the underlined word “shoddy” in the second paragraph probably mean?
A.Beautiful. B.Best. C.Bad. D.Good.
3.The carpenter was ________ when he learned that the house he had built was for himself.
A.excited B.delighted C.worried D.surprised
4.What is the main idea of the fifth paragraph?
A.We should try our best to do things well. B.We should build a good house to live in.
C.We always like doing something. D.We enjoy building the house.
5.What does the writer mainly want to tell us in the text?
A.We should build a house wisely.
B.Building a house is like building a life.
C.We should pursue (追求) a comfortable life.
D.We should have the right attitude towards life.
Death valley (死亡谷) is famous for its moving rocks. Since the early 1900s, visitors to Racetrack Playa, a dry lake bed in California have wondered how the rocks can move on their own.
These rocks leave long tracks (轨迹) behind them. The long tracks show that the rocks have moved along the ground. Those rocks only move at night and only move once every year or two. And they don’t move at the same time or in the same direction. But how do they move? How can a 350-kilogram rock move? Now scientists have known the key to the question!
Here’s how it happens.
Death Valley is one of the hottest places in the world, but it is cold at night. When it rains, the hard ground becomes soft and wet. When it gets cold enough, the water on the ground will change into very thin ice. Then the strong wind can move flat (平的) rocks along the flat ground In the morning, the sun comes up and dries the ground.
Moving rocks can be found at other places in the world as well, but Death Valley is the most famous.
1.What interests the visitors most in Death Valley?
A.The mountains around Death valley. B.The scenery of Death Valley.
C.The reason why the lake is dry. D.The secret of the moving rocks.
2.What shows the rocks can move?
A.The dry lake bed. B.The long tracks behind them.
C.The weight of the rocks. D.The shapes of the rocks.
3.How is the weather in Death Valley?
A.Hot in the day and wet at night. B.Cool in the day and dry at night.
C.Hot in the day and cold at night. D.Cold in the day and windy at night.
4.What can carry the rocks over the lake bed?
A.The wind. B.The heat. C.The rain. D.The visitors.
5.What’s the best title for this passage?
A.Dry Lake Bed B.Soft and Wet Ground
C.Tracks of Rocks D.Moving Rocks in Death Valley
Linda Evans was my best friend. We did everything together, piano lessons, movies, swimming, and horseback riding.
When I was 13, my family moved away. Linda and I kept in touch through letters, and we saw each other on special time—like my wedding and Linda’s. Soon we were busy with children and moving to new homes, and we wrote less often. One day a card that I sent came back, stamped “Address Unknown”. I had no idea how to find Linda.
Over the years, I missed Linda very much, I wanted to share stories of my children and then grandchildren. And I needed to share my sadness when my brother and then mother died. There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Linda could fill.
One day I was reading a newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked a lot like Linda and whose last name was Wagman—Linda’s married name. “There must be thousands of Wagmans,” I thought, but I still wrote to her.
She called as soon as she got my letter. “Mrs. Tobin!” she said excitedly, “Linda Evans Wagman is my mother.”
Minutes later I heard a voice that I knew very much, even after 40 years, laughed and cried and caught up on each other’s lives. Now the empty place in my heart is filled，and there’s one thing that Linda and I know for sure: we won’t lose each other again!
1.The writer went to piano lessons with Linda Evans _________.
A.at the age of 13 B.before she got married
C.after they moved to new homes D.before the writer’s family moved away
2.They didn’t often write to each other because they _________.
A.got married B.didn’t like writing letters
C.had little time to do so D.could see each other on special time
3.There was an empty place in the writer’s heart because she _________.
A.didn’t have a friend like Linda to share her happiness or sadness
B.received the card that she sent
C.didn’t know Linda’s address
D.was in trouble
4.The writer was happy when she _________.
A.read the newspaper
B.heard Linda’s voice on the phone
C.met a young woman who looked a lot like Linda
D.wrote to the woman whose last name was Wagman
5.They hadn’t kept in touch _________.
A.for about 27 years B.for about 40 years
C.since they got married D.Since the writer’s family moved away
Every Friday I went to a senior nursing home (老人院). It seemed as if it needed _________, but little did I know it would help me too.
During my first visit I helped to polish (擦光) some ladies’ nails (指甲). One woman asked me many questions. After she was satisfied with my _________, she started to share some of her hidden hurt. By listening to her, I realized I had helped her a lot, she looked _________ from some of her past pains.
When she was finished, she told me something that _________ me to visit the nursing home every week. She said, “You’re the only person I was able to tell this to. The other volunteers are too busy to _________ me. You’ll come back next week, right?” After gently blowing on her newly coated nails, I smiled and _________, “Yes, I’ll see you next Friday.”
That day, I was glad by the fact that I had helped somebody. I realized an action as _________ as listening became something much more.
Every moment I spend chatting is a chance to tie that connection again, to _________ their worries, and to shape someone’s life. In turn, that _________ also shapes me. I not only learn about life and experiences outside of school, but also receive the __________ of being part of this process-this connection between humans.
1.A.courage B.money C.help D.repair
2.A.answers B.performances C.appearance D.behaviors
3.A.awake B.sure C.afraid D.relaxed
4.A.took B.stuck C.treated D.encouraged
5.A.say to B.listen to C.write about D.made up
6.A.decide B.promised C.shouted D.greeted
7.A.certain B.smart C.simple D.modern
8.A.share B.find C.continue D.break
9.A.thought B.condition C.mess D.moment
10.A.welcome B.message C.gift D.invitation
—Many people play with mobile phones all day now.
—_________ Everyone should be a book lover. Reading is more interesting.
A.Well done! B.I don’t agree. C.That’s too bad. D.You’re welcome.
—Excuse me, do you know _________?
—Sure, there is a supermarket down the street near here.
A.when I can get some drinks B.when can I get some drinks
C.where can I get some drinks D.where I can get some drinks
