A gust of wind blew a canvas chair across the yard. My eyes followed the circling dirt out to the road and down toward the school bus stop. I was going to miss walking down the road to catch the big school bus that took us into town to school. I enjoyed being with the teachers and the other students. Now that I was finished with school I seemed to have lost some of the excitement from my life.
As I was folding the canvas chair, Chatita Chávez drove into our yard in her father’s old truck. It made short loud sounds and sent out a trail of black smoke out of its tailpipe. She got out smiling as usual and excitedly pointed toward the storm that seemed to be moving toward us.
“I can’t stay long, Nilda. There’s a storm coming and I need to beat it home.” I was glad to see her. “Yes, I think we’re in for some bad weather. Come on in and have a cup of coffee at least,” I said as I took her into our kitchen.
“I’m so excited, Nilda! You’ll never guess what I just did!” I stopped pouring the coffee and turned and looked at her.
“I just went over to Edinburg and registered for junior college,” she said and looked at me and smiled. “Don’t you want to go take classes with me?”
I was astonished. I didn’t know what to say. How could I go to college? I didn’t have any money. I gave Chatita a cup of coffee. “I don’t know. I don’t think I can. Isn’t college expensive?”
Chatita sat down at the table and began adding sugar to her coffee. “Not really, and I’m working part-time at the packing shed(棚)on Canal Road. You could work there, too.”
The wind began to gust causing the house to occasionally make sounds and shake. The lightbulb hanging over the table flashed off and on and I heard a low roll of thunder in the distance.
I hesitantly asked, “Do you think I could get a job at the packing shed?”
“Sure. My cousin is the boss. He’ll give you a job.” Mamá came into the kitchen and exchanged greetings with Chatita. She must have heard our conversation.
“I think it’s nice that you’re going to go to college, Chatita. What will you study?” my
mother asked as she joined us at the table.
“I want to be a teacher.”
“A teacher! How nice!” Mamá said as she patted Chatita’s arm.
“A teacher?” I asked. “Don’t you need a degree?”
“You can start teaching before you get your degree. Clarence Duncan has been teaching in Brownsville since last year and I think Zulema will start this year.”
The lightbulb blinked again and went out. Mamá quickly arose from the table. “I’m going to have to bring in the lanterns. I knew I shouldn’t have packed them away.”
“Well, Nilda, do you want to go? Because, if you do, you can go over to Edinburg with me tomorrow.”
I hesitated, then said, “Yes. I want to go.” My heart was beating fast. I couldn’t believe how happy I was feeling.
“But I have to talk to Mamá and Papá. What if they won’t let me?”
“You can at least go with me tomorrow and find out what it’s all about. I’ll come by for you around eight.”
Chatita left me sitting at the table staring at my cup of coffee. It seemed so unreal, this idea of me going to college. My parents had never had the opportunity for much education. Juana had quit school to get married and Roberto and Zeke had graduated from high school as I had. But college? I would be the first one in my family to go to college. Yes, college was exactly what I wanted.
The day had turned dark and the rain had started. My mother came back into the kitchen with two lanterns.
“Mamá, I need to ask you something.”
She picked up a cloth and began to clean the dust from the lanterns. She looked at me and smiled.
“Mamá, if I could find a way to pay, could I take classes at the junior college?” I asked, trying to control my excitement.
She stopped cleaning and raised her eyebrows. “What would you study, my daughter?”
“I think I want to be a teacher,” I quietly replied.
Mamá sat down at the table across from me. “Then, I would like for you to go to college,” she said in a serious tone.
“What about Papá? Do you think he will allow me to go?”
“Your father wants you to be happy. If going to college and being a teacher makes you happy, then he will probably allow it,” she answered.
I didn’t say anything. I was enjoying the feeling of happiness and sense of wonder that had come over me. The two of us sat in the darkened room without speaking until I saw my mamá rubbing her eyes with the edge of her apron.
“What’s wrong, Mamá.”
“Nothing,” she replied. “I probably got some dust in my eyes. That’s all.”
1.This story is told from the point of view of___________.
A. Chatita B. Mamá C. Nilda D. Papá
2.Chatita responds to Nilda’s hesitancy about going to college with___________.
A. acceptance B. disappointment
C. encouragement D. indifference
3.According to the underlined sentence from the story, what feeling does this realization create for Nilda?
A. Sympathy. B. Frustration.
C. Annoyance. D. Satisfaction.
4.The real reason for Mamá’s tears is most likely because she is___________.
A. proud that Nilda wants to become a teacher
B. concerned about missing Nilda once she leaves
C. worried her husband will stop Nilda from leaving
D. happy that Nilda can work at a job with her friend
5.How does Nilda most show respect for her parents?
A. She picks up a chair from their yard.
B. She seeks their approval to go to college.
C. She sits with her mother without speaking.
D. She tells her mother she plans to become a teacher.
6.Which sentence from the story best supports Nilda’s sense of fulfillment?
A. “Now that I was finished with school I seemed to have lost some of the excitement from my life.”
B. “I haltingly asked, ‘Do you think I could get a job at the packing shed?’ ”
C. “ ‘Mamá, if I could find a way to pay, could I take classes at the junior college?’ ”
D. “I was enjoying the feeling of happiness and sense of wonder that had come over me.”
I learned a long time ago that hair has meanings—plenty of meanings. Growing up in the 1960s, my friends and I struggled without parents’ control over the length and style of our hair.
At the time, hair represented our need to break free from adults in our lives. Long hair represented our freed inner selves.
My clients are often surprised when I asked them questions about their hairstyle—why they choose it, how else they’ve worn their hair, how they feel about it, and so on. However, while it may seem to be a simple topic, even today our hairstyles still have many psychological and emotional meanings. Understanding some of those meanings can lead to understanding of many different aspects of a person’s mind. How we view our hair, for example, can show something about how we view ourselves.
Our hair can show physical and emotional wellbeing, desirability, and even social and financial status. When it becomes dull or fragile, it can communicate emotional and physical diseases. But hair can also show unrecognized and often unspoken daydreams about oneself and one’s world. One woman—a successful professional—wore her long hair in a thick bun(发髻).
But one day she showed me that tangled(缠结的) hair was kept in the bun. She said that she never brushed out the tangles because the hair showed her secret image of herself as a helpless, disturbed woman, like Ophelia in the play Hamlet.
Another woman came to therapy in a huge shirt and huge pants that she believed they could hide the weight she had put on since the birth of her child. She talked about how much she hated her body and how helpless she felt about doing anything about it. But her hair was always beautifully coloured and decorated. When I pointed out that she seemed to have a different relationship with her hair from she did with her body, she said that her hair had been thinning and that she was trying to make it look as good as she could. I pointed out that what she was doing with her hair and her body was kind of contradictory, and wondered if she had any thoughts about that.
She was surprised. But as we talked about her contradictory attitudes towards different parts of her physical self, we began to open up all sorts of other thoughts and ideas about her inner self.
And interestingly, as we continued opening those internal doors, changes started to happen. She started eating differently and exercising regularly. One day some months later, she appeared in my office in skinny jeans and a tight sweater, and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. “I decided to see what would happen if I stopped trying to hide myself, ” she said with a big smile.
“And…? ” I asked. “People keep smiling at me in the street. My husband hugged me this morning for the first time in ages. And I feel good! ”
Besides, selfrespect in both men and women can be damaged by thinning hair；they may feel alone even though they are really not. Given our cultural focus on physical appearance, youth, and health, hair loss can be unpleasant for both men and women. The market is filled with hairenhancing treatments, but there are those who have decided to be against the system and change to the “bald is beautiful” position. But it is much harder for women to take the “bald is beautiful” approach to hair loss. We tend to try to hide it in one way or another.
But no matter what approach you use, it is important to remember that the thickness of your hair has nothing to do with your value in the world. Remember that you have nothing to be ashamed of if you have thinning hair. Thinning hair may not be something you can change, but it doesn’t have to control how you represent the person who lives underneath it.
1.In the 1960s, long hair represented___________.
A. fashion B. honesty C. peace D. freedom
2.Why does the author ask clients questions about their hairstyle?
A. Because this topic can reduce clients’ pain.
B. Because the hairstyle can reflect one’s inner self.
C. Because it’s a simple topic to start a conversation.
D. Because this is a topic most people are interested in.
3.The author mentioned stories of two women in order to___________.
A. prove her idea
B. introduce the topic
C. make comparisons
D. stress the importance of good hair
4.What can we know about the woman wearing her long hair in a thick bun?
A. She had long but thinning hair.
B. She was helpless and disturbed.
C. She was too busy to brush her hair.
D. She loved the play Hamlet very much.
5.What does the author advise us to do in the last two paragraphs?
A. Not to be affected by thinning hair.
B. To take the “bald is beautiful” position.
C. To find suitable treatments for thinning hair.
D. Not to pay too much attention to our physical appearance.
Bluebirds looking secretly from nest boxes. Tadpoles swimming in a pond. Tiger swallowtails flying quickly around a butterfly bush. And over here, a class of students watching it all. A field trip to a nature center? No, it’s a schoolyard. With some work on your part, it could even be your schoolyard.
Interested in building a schoolyard habitat? Here’s how to get started.
Gather a Team
Students can do a lot on their own, but you’ll need adults for a project this big. Get teachers, parents, and even the headmaster interested. Don’t forget the maintenance(维修)staff—they know more about your school’s yard than anyone else and can give you lots of help. Also, ask around your neighborhood for gardeners, naturalists, and others willing to give advice.
Map Your Site
Which part of the schoolyard can you turn into a habitat? Is there an unused corner of the playground? Part of a lawn or field you could let go wild? You’ll need to make a map of the area showing what’s there now. Then you can figure out how you want to change it. For that, you need a plan.
Plan a Habitat
Here’s what you’ll need to make your area attractive to wildlife.
Food: Plant flowers, bushes, and trees. These provide seeds, berries, leaves, flowers, and sweet liquids. And all of these feed birds, and insects. You can also add some feeders for squirrels and birds. Where possible, stick with native plants—wild plants that grow naturally in your area. They need less care, which means less work for you.
Water: A small pond, birdbath, or even a shallow dish of clean water in the ground will attract birds. Other small animals like insects may visit as well.
Shelter: Bushes and trees make great escapes for birds. Tall grass and “weeds” are home to grasshoppers, garter snakes, and some ground-nesting birds. You can also add stone piles and brush piles.
Places to Raise Young: Butterflies need special plants to lay their eggs on. Frogs and toads lay eggs only in shallow water. Many birds use birdhouses; others nest in trees and bushes. In fact, nearly all your shelters may become homes for wild young.
Put It on Paper
Using the map you made of your area, draw in the changes you want to make. Mark where the plants, nest boxes, and other items will go. Remember, this is a long-term plan—you don’t have to do everything this spring. Maybe you could put up a few birdhouses and plant some butterfly bushes now and save the trees and bushes for next year. Even a small start is a big step for wildlife.
Reach for Resources
To make the habitat happen, you’ll need lots of plants, seeds, and other supplies. You’ll also need to buy or borrow tools and maybe even some heavy equipment. Now’s the time to reach out for donations. Start by asking your parent-teacher organization. Then go to garden clubs, garden stores (they might give you a discount), local government agencies, and businesses. If they can’t donate supplies or money, ask if they can donate workers!
The workers can help build the habitat. You’ll also need people to help maintain it. Some schools ask their students’ families to take turns during the summer. Each family maintains the habitat for a couple of weeks.
Build Your Design
Now you can dig in. Set a date, and get growing!
1.What is this article mostly about?
A. How to start a wildlife habitat.
B. Making a place where animals can hide.
C. How to gather food for a wildlife habitat.
D. Creating places for people to plant gardens.
2.The section “Plan a Habitat” is mostly about___________.
A. finding a place to use for the habitat
B. how to raise money for the habitat
C. finding people to work on the habitat
D. how to attract wildlife to the habitat
3.The main purpose for creating a nature habitat at school would be to___________.
A. improve the school’s appearance
B. raise money for other school projects
C. teach students more about nature
D. convince people to work as volunteers
4.How has the author organized the article?
A. By giving step-by-step instructions.
B. By listing both sides of an argument.
C. By telling a story, from beginning to end.
D. By listing facts, from most to least important.
There’s a small town in the central part of England called Gotham. Some say it’s a town of fools. Others say all the villagers are wise. Let me tell you about the people of Gotham so you can decide for yourself.
Long ago, England was ruled by a cruel king named John. One day, the people of Gotham heard that King John and his men would soon be riding through their town.This worried the villagers, for they knew the greedy king would demand food and accommodation for his men. What’s more, if he saw anything to his liking, he would surely take it.
A town meeting was called. After much discussion, the townspeople decided to cut down a number of huge trees to block the roads leading into Gotham. When King John and his men reached the outskirts of the village, they could not pass. Angry, King John ordered his men to go into the town and punish the villagers.
When the king’s officers finally made their way over the trees, they found a village of fools. Some say that was because the people of Gotham had a plan—they had decided to act like fools since they had never heard of anyone being punished for being a noodlehead. Others say that’s just the way they were.
In the village, the king’s men encountered a man riding a donkey. The man was bent over because he carried a huge bag of grain on his own shoulders. He looked exhausted. One of the king’s men approached him and asked, “Why, in heaven’s name, are you carrying that bag? Why don’t you just put it behind you on your donkey’s back?”
“You see,” replied the man from Gotham, “my donkey is feeling poor today. It’s bad enough that she has to carry me, so I decided to lighten her burden by carrying the bag myself.”
The king’s men said, “But sir, don’t you see that if you’re riding on top of the donkey, she’s
still carrying the weight of the bag?” The man didn’t reply. He just looked at the king’s men as if they were crazy and went on his way. The king’s officers giggled at the foolishness of the man. Before long, they passed a pond where they found a number of villagers in the midst of a great argument. Two of them were holding a big eel. “Quiet down,” commanded one of the king’s men. “What’s the problem here?”
One of the villagers stepped forward and said, “Last year we took all the extra fish we [caught and put them in this pond so they would multiply. But this year when we came back, all we caught was this one huge eel. Obviously it has eaten all of our fish! Since then, we have argued long and hard over how to punish this bad eel. But we have finally agreed on the perfect punishment. We are just about to drown the eel in this very pond!” The king’s officers couldn’t believe their ears. Drown an eel whose home is in the water? These men were sillier than the first man they met!
Before long, they reached the center of the village, where they were in for another surprise. There they found the rest of the townspeople building a towering stone wall. When the soldiers inquired what was going on, one of the villagers replied, “Every spring a cuckoo comes to live in our village. It always brings warm weather. When it leaves, the cold weather returns. Last year we decided that if we could get the cuckoo to stay here all year, we would always have warm weather. We built this stone wall, but it obviously wasn’t high enough because the bird flew away. This year we’re determined to build it so high that the cuckoo can’t escape.”
The king’s officers had heard enough. They couldn’t bring themselves to punish such stupid people. They returned to King John and told him all about the fools of Gotham. Whether it’s fair or not, the people of Gotham have been known as fools ever since.
What do you think? Were the villagers of Gotham wise or foolish?
1.This story is most like___________.
A. a news article B. a folktale
C. realistic fiction D. historical fiction
2.The story is set in___________.
A. A city B. A forest
C. A royal palace D. A small village
3.Why do the townspeople cut down the trees?
A. To make room for their crops.
B. To block the roads to the village.
C. To create a gift for the king’s men.
D. To build accommodation for the king’s men.
4.The townspeople are worried about the king’s visit because he will___________.
A. laugh at them
B. cut down their trees
C. take anything he wants
D. want to move to their town
5.Based on the story, why might the townspeople be considered wise?
A. They trick the king’s men into thinking they are fools.
B. They think ahead by putting their extra fish into a pond.
C. They make sure their donkeys are healthy enough to work.
D. They realize the importance of warm weather to their crops.
If you have ever driven in the mountains on a cool autumn morning, then you know what fog is. Today , I just drove right into a of fog. I quickly slowed down and my headlights. Seeing the road ahead was a . I felt as if I had been transported into a shadow world. I looked was only dark grayness. Even the trees the road had become frightening, me of some frightening stories. I drove on and on through the waves of dark and wondered it would end.
After a while, , the sun broke through the fog and the world was transformed. The golden light beams the landscape. The red and yellow leaves shone on the . The river along the road shone in the sunshine. Everything seemed full of and joy again. I smiled and drove, singing a song in my heart. I thanked God for both the sunshine and the 32 , because he reminded me again of just how this world can be.
In our lives the fog can roll in sometimes too. Things can go . Problems can appear. Difficulties, pains and troubles can seem to us and block out all the light in our life.
When this happens and the world seems in gray, we need to remember that we can break through the fog. We can the shadows away with love. We can transform the world with our joy. We also can light a way the dark for others to follow. God is willing to our souls with his love and light. All he asks is that we share their shine. May all of your foggy days be then. May your soul shine brightly. And may you forever struggle to live in God’s light.
1.A. photo B. sea C. picture D. drop
2.A. turned on B. put on C. turned off D. put off
3.A. challenge B. disappointment C. devotion D. pain
4.A. Nowhere B. Somewhere C. Anywhere D. Everywhere
5.A. ranging B. lining C. standing D. planting
6.A. warning B. informing C. accusing D. reminding
7.A. why B. what C. if D. unless
8.A. otherwise B. though C. besides D. therefore
9.A. bathed B. changed C. broke D. impressed
10.A. mountains B. roads C. headlights D. trees
11.A. light B. smile C. heat D. smoke
12.A. weather B. air C. fog D. dark
13.A. peaceful B. beautiful C. small D. quiet
14.A. smooth B. mad C. well D. wrong
15.A. surround B. remove C. encourage D. improve
16.A. moved B. touched C. covered D. attracted
17.A. knock B. drive C. beat D. pour
18.A. across B. over C. through D. above
19.A. replace B. conduct C. match D. fill
20.A. lasting B. endless C. brief D. late
—I’ve just finished my interview. I’m pretty hopeful.
—______. I hope it works out for you.
A. It’s all right B. Good idea
C. All the best D. That sounds great
