My wife and I moved into our home two years ago．We had a yard with a lot of ．Very often when we have flowers, Denise or I would plant some between the rocks, just to add some to the area．
Last summer, I found a tiny little in the yard that I could not immediately identify．I knew I didn’t plant it and Denise said she didn’t either．We decided to let it growing until we could find out what it was．
Weeks passed and as I made my way back to the plant, it appeared to be a sunflower．I decided to the weeds around it．As I pulled rocks from the area to get to the weeds, I noticed something ．The sunflower had not where I saw it begin．It actually had begun under a big and grown under and around it to reach the ．
That’s when I that if a tiny little sunflower didn’t let a big rock stand in its of developing, we too have the ability of doing the same thing．If we ourselves like that little sunflower, we can reach where we to go and get what we need for growth．
We need to believe in ourselves knowing we have the to achieve our goals．Like the , it knew it had the ability to get over the rocks because it had in itself that it would succeed．Stand tall like the sunflower and be who and what we are, then the environment will begin to us．We will find a way to go under or any “rocks” in order to reach our goals．
1.A．flowers B．insects C．rocks D．vegetables
2.A．color B．water C．fertilizer D．shape
3.A．weed B．seed C．rock D．plant
4.A．stop B．continue C．improve D．escape
5.A．weak B．lonely C．strange D．pretty
6.A．remove B．tend C．watch D．collect
7.A．wonderful B．terrible C．valuable D．unusual
8.A．passed B．started C．left D．died
9.A．tree B．table C．rock D．wall
10.A．air B．top C．sun D．house
11.A．realized B．doubted C．regretted D．hoped
12.A．place B．way C．course D．process
13.A．fill in B．put in C．worry about D．believe in
14.A．forget B．hate C．aim D．wait
15.A．ability B．wish C．plan D．idea
16.A．yard B．sunflower C．home D．summer
17.A．energy B．virtue C．courage D．faith
18.A．aware of B．afraid of C．proud of D．tired of
19.A．support B．affect C．upset D．forgive
20.A．into B．around C．through D．from
1. Sometimes they try to get out of a class to escape a teacher they don’t like．Here is some advice to solve this problem．
Ask yourself, “What can I learn from this teacher?” Even if you don’t worship （崇拜） his or her personality or lectures, dig deep until you find a subject in which he or she is very knowledgeable．Focus on that part of the teacher’s personality, and use him or her as a tool for learning．Not only will you gain more knowledge in that subject, but a closer relationship with your teacher may help you understand one another better．2.
Talk to students who are doing well in the class and ask them for tips, tools, and a plan of action to get along with the teacher better．3.
If you still can’t get along, make an appointment with the school guidance counselor （辅导员）．He or she will offer many tips and suggestions for you to get out of difficult teacher relationships．4. That means they can help you and your teachers get rid of the bad impression on each other．
5. Your parents can meet with your teacher and try to work it out．
Teachers are there for more than just homework, and they know about more than just their subject matter．They can help you learn how to function as an adult and a lifelong learner．
Undoubtedly, these will be a few teachers along the way who you will always remember and who might change your life forever．
A．Sometimes a guidance counselor can act as a mediator between you and the teacher．
B．If you’re too shy to talk to another student, study his or her actions and behavior in the classroom and try to follow that lead．
C．Guidance counselors have the right to blame teachers．
D．There must be something good in every teacher for you to learn from．
E．Students find it easy to get along well with their teachers．
F．If your relationship problems can’t be solved in school, then it’s time to tell your parents or guardians．
G．Students don’t always get along well with their teachers．
In Los Angeles, drivers spend sixty-one hours every year stuck in traffic．These drivers know all too well how bad the traffic can be．“There're too many cars, and you can't move around a lot．”
Professor Cyrus Shahabi also knows about traffic jams．He lives more than 65 kilometers from his office at the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles．He is always late even with the help of a navigation （导航） system．
He decided to develop a program called ClearPath for that．He says his program uses historical data to predict traffic conditions even before the driver leaves the house． “What’s unique is that we use a lot of data that’s currently become available including traffic data, weather data, and we analyze that so that we can predict what's going to happen in front of you when you leave home．”
Professor Shahabi says his system does more than just respond to current traffic conditions．With ClearPath, he says, a driver can decide what time he wants to leave, and ClearPath will give the fastest route．It looks at the entire road network, including surface streets as well as highways, before the driver hits the road．Professor Shahabi hopes to have ClearPath available nationwide and overseas once they can collect traffic data from other cities．
“I always thought thatLos Angeles had the worst traffic, but now I know that Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo, believe it or not, Singapore, Hong Kong certainly are examples that can immediately use this．”
Professor Shahabi hopes to share this new technology with companies that already have navigation systems, such as Google and Apple．
1.Drivers in Los Angeles were mentioned in order to__________．
A．show care for them B．introduce their life
C．solve traffic problems D．raise the topic
2.What is unique about ClearPath?
A．It can use a lot of information all over the world．
B．It can ensure that you will never be late for work．
C．It helps drivers see clearly what happens on the road．
D．It helps drivers know the road conditions ahead of time．
3.The underlined word “hits” in the fifth paragraph probably means __________．
A．have an accident B．get to
C．turn left or right D．collect traffic data
4.What's Professor Shahabi’s attitude toward his invention?
A．Disappointed． B．Proud．
C．Optimistic． D．Worried．
Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day．“I was a clothes addict．” he jokes．“I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled．” Today David wears casual clothes—khaki pants and a sports shirt—to the office．He hardly ever wears a necktie．“I am working harder than ever．” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable．”
More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work．In the United States, the change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual．In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday（but only on Friday）．This became known as “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday”．“What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing．” said business consultant Maisly Jones．
Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code．” “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative（保守的）dress code．” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes．In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale（心境，士气）．Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative influence on productivity．Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money．“Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said．“For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes．”
1.David Smith refers to himself as having been “a clothes addict,” because ________．
A．he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt
B．he couldn’t stand a clean appearance
C．he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time
D．he didn’t want to spend much money on clothes
2.David Smith wears casual clothes now, because__________．
A．they make him feel at ease when working
B．he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes
C．he looks handsome in casual clothes
D．he no longer works for any company
3.In this passage, the following advantages of casual office wear are mentioned EXCEPT __________．
A．saving employees’ money
B．making employees more attractive
C．improving employees’ motivation
D．making employees happier
It must be something that many American companies hold a baby contest．Of course, babies are wonderful, and many parents would be the first to agree．Companies really bring in much money．
Walgreens Baby contest
If you play the new Baby Milestones Challenge Contest by BabyCenter & Walgreens, you could win $1,000 in Walgreens & Beauty．com Gift Cards and Certificates．You can play the instant winner if you get a $25 Walgreen’s gift card, but you also have to write down your email address and receive all their sales and other information for the contest．
Kids and Babies
Kids and Babies are accepting entries for May 2014 Free Photo Contest．Baby Photo Galley with theme albums and age group albums is moved to the new website Cute Baby Gallery．Check KidsandBibs．com for their Baby Photo Contest blog’s latest update．The grand prize is $25,000．The catch: Winners are decided by the visitors coming to the site and voting for their favorite babies, so you have to advertise their site for them．
Parents．com
Parents．com has a website only for their members, but if you are into baby photos, it is well worth surfing．You could receive offers on free samples, money-saving coupons （优惠券）, and chances to win the latest contests．
Avon
Avon is another company that has a baby photo contest this spring．Avon is advertising their newest collection．It is Avon’s only collection for the photos of babies．Babies’ age: newborn to 2 years．Just go to TinyTillia．com and upload your recent baby’s photos．The first place baby will be featured in a Tiny Tillia Storybooks and win a $5,000 U．S．Savings Bond．Ten beautiful girls will win $300 worth of Tiny Tillia products．
The tip is to run a search engine for all the latest contests going on and start entering them today．You could be lucky and win enough to put your baby through college! Have fun!
1.What is the basic condition for you to play the instant winner in Walgreens & Beauty．com?
A．Getting a gift card．
B．Getting a certificate．
C．Winning 1,000 dollars．
D．Receiving information for the contest
2.If you want your baby to win the 2014 Free Photo Contest, you will _______．
A．have to spend $ 25,000
B．take your baby to the gallery in May
C．upload more photos of your baby
D．have to help to advertise their site
3.What can we learn from this passage?
A．Free Photo Contest will be held in March, 2014．
B．Avon is a website that will hold a baby photo contest．
C．Parents．com accepts the photos of all kinds of people’ babies．
D．Parents can upload their one-year-old baby’s photos to TinyTillia．com．
4.In the last paragraph, the author advises parents to _________ ．
A．try their best to take good care of their baby
B．enter the contests as soon as possible
C．encourage their kids to go to college when they grow up
D．find more tips for winning the contests
After a terrible electrical accident, which caused him to become both blind and deaf, the whole world became completely dark and quiet for Robert Edwards for almost ten years．The loss of sight and hearing threw him into such sorrow that he tried a few times to put an end to his life．His family, especially his wife, did their best to tend and comfort him and finally he regained the will to live．
One hot summer afternoon, he was taking a walk with a stick near his house when a thunderstorm started all at once．He stood under a large tree to avoid getting wet, but he was struck by the lightning．Witnesses thought he was dead but he woke up some 20 minutes later lying face down in muddy water at the base of the tree．He was trembling badly, but when he opened his eyes, he could hardly believe what he saw: a plough and a wall．When Mrs. Edwards came running up to him, shouting to their neighbors to call for help, he could see her and hear her voice for the first time in nearly ten years．
The news of Robert regaining his sight and hearing quickly spread, and many doctors came to examine him．Most of them said that he regained his sight and hearing from the shock he got from the lightning．However, none of them could give a convincing answer as to why this should have happened．The only reasonable explanation given by one doctor was that, since Robert lost his sight and hearing as a result of a sudden shock, perhaps, the only way for him to regain them was by another sudden shock．
1.The reason for Robert’s attempts to kill himself was that _________．
A．a terrible traffic accident happened to him
B．he had to live in a dark and silent world
C．he was struck by the lightning once more
D．nobody in the world cared about him
2.What was Robert doing when he was struck by the lightning?
A．Sheltering from the rain under a tree．
B．Driving a car．
C．Taking a walk with a stick．
D．Lying on the ground．
3.We can infer from the text that ________．
A．there was no accurate explanation for Robert’s recovery
B．many doctors came because Robert was badly injured
C．Robert’s wife sent for doctors immediately after the shock
D．a sudden injury in the head led to Robert’s recovery
4.What’s the best title of the whole passage?
A．A Terrible Electrical Accident
B．Robert Edwards and His Wife
C．What a Sudden Shock
D．An Unforgettable Experience
