I’ve often wondered if I might do more good as a travel agent rather than as a psychologist. It seems that I have been more dramatically affected by certain kinds of travel experiences than I ever have.
My trip to Iceland is a fine example of that. The plan was to spend two days in a remote mountain hut in Iceland. I was working on a photographic book about winter in Iceland and needed to capture images of this amazing region of high mountain peaks, smoky volcanoes, and lakes with floating icebergs.
The moment after we arrived, the weather turned extreme making visibility impossible. It snowed so much and the wind blew so hard that we couldn’t leave the tiny hut. To stay warm, we walked around in circles much of the day inside the tiny hut. We tried to call for help but the radio did not work. Day after day, we watched our supplies of food and fuel grow dangerously short. We got acute cabin fever (幽居病) and started going for walks and ski expeditions outside. Even when the weather finally broke, nobody came to get us even though it was three days beyond our scheduled pickup. By the time the rescue team came to pull us out, we had all given up hope.
From then on, the world looks different to me, as does my life. It would have taken me years of psychotherapy to get to the same point.
Almost everyone has a story to tell, and interestingly, most of these experiences were not altogether pleasant at the time. In fact, it appears that the most constructive life-changing journeys were those that involved some sorts of awful and uncomfortable events that forced the person to develop new resources, increase confidence, and solve problems in new ways.
1.The writer went to Iceland to ______.
A. enjoy the natural beautiful floating icebergs
B. take photos about the region for a book
C. collect materials for psychological research
D. challenge the high mountains there
2.During the trip in Iceland, those travelers faced difficulties EXCEPT that ______.
A. they got lost in the mountain
B. they were short of food and fuel
C. they couldn’t see the surroundings clearly
D. they failed to get in touch with the rescue team
3.From Paragraph 3, we learn that the travelers ______.
A. were in despair before they were rescued
B. stayed in the hut for three days altogether
C. got sick because of going for ski outside
D. got rescued immediately the weather turned fine
4.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. The writer is a travel agent who loves difficult challenges.
B. In Iceland the weather is always extreme and it snows a lot.
C. The travellers were so depressed that they needed psychotherapy.
D. Awful journeys may become life-changing events that inspire people.
假设你是李华，你的英国笔友Bob将于九月到你所在城市的建新华文学校学中文，来信请你在学校附近为他找一套住房。请根据图画提供的信息，写信介绍住房的情况，并告知住房面积为25平方米，月租500元。
注意：1. 词数：100左右。
2. 参考词汇：房租 rent (n.) 。
Dear Bob,
__________________________________________________________________________ _
_______________________________________
__________________________________ ______
Yours,
Li Hua
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空。
Joyce: What do you think of the lead teacher’s speech?
Caroline: I think it was __1.__ (interest).
Joyce: __2.__ do I. I hear Mike is likely to win all the prizes in the exams this year.
Caroline: Yes, his teacher says so. He __3.__ (work) hard at his lessons every evening for months. He want to go to Oxford University next year.
Joyce: I hope he will realize his goal.
Caroline: I hope so. __4.__ I think he works too hard. I hope he’ll go out and enjoy __5.__ for a change. How about your son Carl?
Joyce: Don’t mention him. Carl never starts studying.
Caroline
: You’re joking. I heard that Carl __6.__ (win) the composition prize.
Joyce: You have made __7.__ mistake. That is White Carl. My son is Brown Carl. The whites live in the same community __8.__ we do. White Carl has always been so hard working. He wants to be a __9.__ (write). My son likes going to the concert. He only likes singing.
Caroline: __10.__ he practices singing, he will become a singer in the future.
Joyce: Not all people can become a singer. I don’t think he has the talent.
I am a mom of two young children whom we home-school. This that they are with me almost constantly. Whenever possible I will random acts of kindness; things like paying for the order behind me in the drive-thru lane, holding doors, etc. So, they are very with the concept and are, of course, to also do "nice" things for others.
Just a few days ago we stopped our local grocery store to pick up a few things which quickly turned into an entire cart load of stuff. We got into one of the two open checkout lanes and waited our . While waiting a young man came up behind us with only a few in his basket. I told him to go ahead of us as we were in no .
He seemed very pleasantly surprised and graciously . As he began putting his items on the belt the clerk began to her till tape so we had a fairly long wait in line. My kids were very behaved but they were still children; they asked questions, they talked , they moved around and they were generally very entertaining. (To me, anyway.)
I could see the young man watching and listening with a smile on his face.
We were putting our groceries on the when the clerk finished with order. What I didn't know was that he had heard my kids bubble gum. I had agreed they could have some. , he picked up a pack of bubble-gum and asked the clerk to ring it through twice before putting it back. He then told my kids that he bought their gum their mom was enough to let him go ahead in the queue.
The experience really drove home the that good begets(产生，引起) good for my lovely little kiddos（亲呢的称呼：小伙子）.
1.A．tellsB. leavesC. means D. ensures
2.A. entertainB. serveC. functionD. perform
3.A. importantB. impressiveC. suitableD. simple
4.A. satisfiedB. occupiedC. familiarD. pleased
5.A. supportedB. taughtC. encouragedD. supposed
6.A. nearB. by C. withD. against
7.A. opportunityB. returnC. turnD. time
8.A. fruitB. vegetablesC. itemsD. sales
9.A. timeB. hurryC. caseD. sense
10.A. acceptedB. collectedC. carriedD. agreed
11.A. changeB. removeC. continueD. stop
12.A. badlyB. poorlyC. wellD. ill
13.A. constantlyB. immediatelyC. usuallyD. rudely
14.A. beltB. benchC. basketD. cart
15.A. herB. hisC. their D. our
16.A. complain aboutB. allow forC. ask forD. concern about
17.A. SoB. ButC. OrD. For
18.A. when B. unlessC. becauseD. until
19.A. happyB. helpfulC. seriousD. nice
20.A. ideaB. rewardC. chance D. instruction
Mary is digging in the ground for a photo, when along
comes John. Seeing that there is no one in sight, John starts to scream. John’s angry mother rushes over and drives Mary away. Once his mum has gone, John helps himself to Mary’s potato.
We’ve all experienced similar annoying tricks when we were young—the brother who stole your ball and then got you into trouble by telling your parents you had hit him. But Mary and John are not humans. They’re African baboons(狒狒). ___1.___
John’s scream and his mother’s attack on Mary could have been a matter of chance, but John was later seen playing the same tricks on others. ___2.___
Studying behavior like this is complicated but scientists discovered apes(猿) clearly showed that they intended to cheat and knew when they themselves had been cheated. ___3.___ An ape was annoying him, so he tricked her into going away by pretending he had seen something interesting. When she found nothing, she “walked back, hit me over the head with her hand and ignored me for the rest of the day.”
Another way to decide whether an animal’s behavior is deliberate is to look for actions that are not normal for that animal. A zoo worker describes how an ape dealt with an enemy. “He slowly stole up behind the other ape, walking on tiptoe. When he got close to his enemy, he pushed him violently in the back, then ran indoors.” Wild apes do not normally walk on tiptoe. ____4.___ But looking at the many cases of deliberate trickery in apes, it is impossible to explain them all as simple copying.
It seems that trickery does play an important part in ape societies. ____5.___ Studying the intelligence of our closest relative could be the way to understand the development of human intelligence.
A. In most cases the animal probably doesn’t know it is cheating.
B. An amusing example of this comes from a psychologist working in Tanzania.
C. And playing tricks is as much a part of monkey behavior as it is of human behavior.
D. So the psychologists asked his colleagues if they had noticed this kind of trickery.
E. The ability of animals to cheat may be a better measure of their intelligence than their use of tools
F. This use of a third individual to achieve a goal is only one of the many tricks commonly used by baboons.
G. Of course it’s possible that it could have learnt from humans that such behavior works, without understanding why.
Have you ever noticed that the more you have the more you want? Let’s face it. Thinking our life is good enough doesn’t come naturally to many people. When we have high expectations of everything in life we will run into disappointment. Only when we are aware that needs are different from desires can we live with satisfaction. Here are a few ideas to help you be happier with what you have and who you are.
Focus on what you are thankful for. Most people want things to be better than
they are, or when things are going well, we forget to appreciate what we have. Learn to reflect on how much better things are than they could be. Focus on what you are thankful for. Write down 5 things you are grateful for right now.
When we hold onto regrets from decisions we have made, it can really poison our well-being. Many people regret something they can no longer change, which ends up holding them back from moving forward in a more positive manner. What happened in the past is done and gone, so work to stay present and be mindful of the current moment to find more joy and fulfillment.
When we use other people as the measuring stick for our personal success and quality of life we are likely to be less satisfied. Social comparisons can provide useful information when we try to learn from others, but they also hold our perspective in a discontented position. Compare yourself less with others so you can be satisfied more.
When you are focused on your big ambitions and future goals you might elide the daily pleasures that surround you. Learn to slow down and absorb the wonder and beauty around you. Stay present and focus on the task you’re undertaking at the moment. Don’t let the life pass you by because you’re always on the go and distracted by ambition.
Practice looking at life through the lens of contentment and it will become more natural.
1.How can we live with contentment?
A. To change our lifestyle.
B. To have a motivation in life.
C. To give less attention to what we are grateful for.
D. To realize the difference between needs and desires.
2.What’s the main idea of Paragraph 3?
A. Make wise decisions. B. Know the present situation
C. Let go of regrets. D. Remember the past.
3.The underlined word “elide”(in Paragraph 5) probably means “__”.
A. enjoy B. change C. create D. neglect
4.What should you do to put yourself in a good mood?
A. Make time for simple pleasures.
B. Learn from successful people.
C. Focus on your future goals.
D. Create chance to learn more.
