After the earthquake hit northeast Japan on March 11, 2011, many touching stories that I saw with my own eyes happened around me.
I had to walk home since all the ________ had stopped after the quake. On my way home I ________ an old Japanese lady at the bakery shop who was giving out free bread, which made my heart ________. A middle-aged Japanese man was holding a sign that said, "Please use our ________." He was ________ his house for people to go to the restroom.
My friend wanted to ________ others. He stood in the cold with a sign "If you are okay with a motorcycle, I will ________ you to your house." And then I saw him take one gentleman home, all the way to faraway place!
Then the next day I drove to ________ my car with gas. There was a ________ gas now and many gasoline stations were either closed or had very ________ lines. I got ________, since I was behind 15 cars. Finally, when it was my ________, the man smiled and said, "________ this situation, we are only giving $30 worth gas per person. Is that alright?" "Of course, I'm just glad that we are all able to ________," I said. His smile gave me so much ________.
I saw a man at the evacuation(疏散) center ________ when people brought food to him, It was the first time in three days that food has been brought to their center. However, after he wiped the tears, his next ________ surprised me. "I am very ________ that we are provided with food. But people in the city next to us haven't ________ any food at all. Please go to that centre as well." And when hearing that, I realized there is a bright future on the other side of this ________.
1.A. trafficB. rescueC. communicationD. businesses
2.A. missedB. caughtC. noticedD. heard
3.A. hungryB. softC. brokenD. warm
4.A. toiletB. hotelC. hospitalD. house
5.A. advertisingB. openingC. repairingD. decorating
6.A. encourageB. saveC. chargeD. assist
7.A. driveB. followC. leadD. send
8.A. startB. fillC. checkD. wash
9.A. plentyB. lackC. varietyD. diversity
10.A. directB. straightC. longD. short
11.A. worriedB. luckyC. excitedD. annoyed
12.A. timeB. turnC. dutyD. decision
13.A. Apart fromB. Together with
C. Because ofD. Instead of
14.A. shareB. offerC. tolerateD. transform
15.A. comfortB. pleasure
C. troubleD. entertainment
16.A. waitingB. grabbingC. sleepingD. crying
17.A. promisesB. rolesC. actionsD. words
18.A. upsetB. gratefulC. surprisedD. proud
19.A. boughtB. suppliedC. preparedD. received
20.A. cityB. centerC. lessonD. disaster
What is a big dream? 1. or, is a big dream something that provides only entertainment? Children dream big dreams, but there are three barriers(障碍) to realizing dreams. They often kill them before they ever have a chance to grow.
The Self
Immediately following the birth of a big dream, a negative self-talk takes over and gives all the reasons why it can’t happen. This inside voice is the ego (自我). It is there for protecting and should be listened to. Sometimes it is right, but more often it is wrong. 2.
That’s why only a handful of people make their dream come true.
3.
Family and friends are a lot like the ego. They want to protect those they love, so they will often list all the reasons why the big dreams won’t come true. Sometimes, family and friends destroy dreams of those they love most, out of their own fear of being left behind.
The World
If one gets past the first two barriers, one has to face the world. 4. In the past, big dreamers were locked up and sometimes even killed when they were shown to the world. Fortunately, in most of the world today, big dreamers just get laughed at.
The way to realize a big dream is with confidence and action. When children have confidence and then take action, they will be ready to accept any failure. The truth is that every great dreamer whose dreams have never seen the light of success knows failure well. 5.
A. How Big Dreams Die
B. Family and Friends
C. They simply fail until they succeed.
D. Does a big dream show one’s future?
E. Most people are influenced by the inside voice.
F. It is the last and the most terrible barrier.
G. And their big dream is to be a rock star or a famous artist.
“Have a nice day!” may be a pleasant gesture or a meaningless expression. When my friend Maxie says “Have a nice day!” with a smile, I know she sincerely cares about what happens to me. I feel loved and secure since another person cares about me and wishes me well.
“Have a nice day. Next!” This version(版本) of the expression is spoken by a salesgirl at the supermarket who is rushing me and my groceries out the door. The words come out in the same tone with a fixed procedure. They are spoken at me, not to me. Obviously, the concern for my day and everyone else’s is the management’s attempt to increase business.
The expression is one of those behaviors that help people get along with each other. Sometimes it indicates the end of a meeting. As soon as you hear it, you know the meeting is at an end. Sometimes the expression saves us when we don’t know what to say. “Oh, you just had a tooth out? I’m terribly sorry, but have a nice day.”
The expression can be pleasant. If a stranger says “Have a nice day” to you, you may find it heart-warming because someone you don’t know has tried to be nice to you.
Although the use of the expression is an insincere, meaningless social custom at times, there is nothing wrong with the sentence except that others who speak it without thinking may not really care about my day. But in a strange and comfortable way, it’s nice to know they care enough to pretend they care when they really don’t care all that much. While the expression may not often be sincere, it is always spoken. The point is that people say it all the time when they like.
1.How does the author understand Maxie’s word?
A. Maxie really wishes the author a good day.
B. Maxie shows her anxiety to the author.
C. Maxie encourages the author to stay happy.
D. Maxie really worries about the author’s security (安全).
2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. The salesgirl is rude.
B. The salesgirl is bored.
C. The salesgirl cares about me.
D. The salesgirl says the words as a routine(惯例).
3.By saying “Have a nice day.” a stranger may ________.
A. express respect to you
B. give his blessing to you
C. try to be friendly to you
D. share his pleasure with you
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A. Have a nice day—a meaningless expression
B. Have a nice day—a Heart-warming Greeting
C. Have a nice day—a Social Custom
D. Have a nice day—a Polite Ending of a Conversation
When you choose to send one of our free E-cards, you save paper and give friends and family the opportunity to enjoy the wonder of nature.
Celebrate the beauty of our natural world and send an E-card to friends and family who care about protecting our planet. Feel free to set your E-card to arrive on any day you please.
Looking for something to do besides sending an E-card?
Check out our Everyday Environmentalist page with eco-tips on how to live greener, and become an e-member of our free global online community or calculate(计算) your carbon footprint. You can even upload your photos to our site and your photo may be featured in an E-card next year!
1.For what purpose is the passage written?
A. Offering free E-cards to call on planet protection.
B. Celebrating the beauty of our natural world.
C. Introducing various cheap and wonderful E-cards.
D. Advertising the E-cards for some commercial profit.
2.To your little sister who is an animal lover, you’d better send her ________.
A. a special occasion E-card
B. a habitat E-card
C. a seasonal E-card
D. a wildlife E-card
3.For your father’s birthday, you’d better choose an E-card from column ________.
A. Seasonal E-card
B. Special Occasion E-card
C. Habitat E-card
D. Best of Nature E-card D
You may think that sailing is a difficult sport, but it is really not hard to learn. You do not need to be strong. But you need to be quick. And you need to understand a few basic rules about the wind.
First, you must ask yourself, “Where is the wind coming from? Is it coming from ahead or behind or from the side?” You must think about this all the time on the boat. The wind direction tells you what to do with the sail.
Let’s start with the wind blowing from the behind. This means the wind and the boat are going in the same direction. Then you must always keep the sail outside the boat. It should be at a 90° angle to the boat. Then it will catch the wind best.
If the wind is blowing from the side, it is blowing across the boat. In this case, you must keep the sail half way outside the boat. It should be at a 45°angle to the boat. It needs to be out far enough to catch the wind, but it shouldn't flap(摆动). It shouldn’t look like on a flagpole. If it is flapping, it is probably out too far, and the boat will slow down.
Sailing into the wind is not possible. If you try, the sail will flap and the boat will stop. You may want to go in that direction. It is possible, but you can’t go in a straight line. You must go first in one direction and then in another. This is called tacking. When you’re tacking, you must always keep the sail inside the boat.
1.What should you consider first while sailing?
A. Sailors’ strength.
B. Wind directions.
C. Size of sail.
D. Wave levels.
2.What does the word “It” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A. The sail.B. The wind.C. The boat.D. The angle.
3.What do you have to do when sailing against the wind?
A. Move in a straight line.
B. Allow the sail to flap.
C. Tack the boat.
D. Lower the sail.
4.Where can you probably find the text?
A. In a tourist guidebook.
B. In a physics textbook.
C. In an official report.
D. In a popular magazine.
Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel.
Green said, “Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority.”
Blue interrupted, “You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life.”
Yellow chuckled(咯咯地笑). “The sun is yellow, as well as the moon and the stars. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile.”
Red could bear it no longer. “I am the ruler of all of you. I am blood-life’s blood! I am the color of danger and bravery. I bring fire into the blood. I am the color of passion and love.”
Purple stood at his full height. “I am the color of royalty(皇室) and power. I am the sign of authority (权力) and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and obey.”
Finally Indigo(靛蓝) spoke with determination, “Think of me and I am the color of silence. I represent thought and reflection. You need me for balance and contrast(对比), for prayer and inner peace.”
The colors went on boasting(吹嘘), each showing off his or her own advantages. Suddenly there came a flash of bright lightening. Thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down. The colors were scared to death.
In the midst of the quarrelling, rain began to speak, “You foolish colors. Don’t you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me.”
Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands.
From then on, when it rains, colors will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color.
Whenever a rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another.
1.Why did the colors quarrel?
A. Because they often fought for some reasons.
B. Because they were not liked by each other.
C. Because they all claimed to be the best.
D. Because they all wanted to rule other colors.
2.To show their power, the kings would prefer to ________.
A. yellowB. redC. indigoD. purple
3.We can know that ________.
A. the colors lived in peace at last
B. rain was the ruler of the colors
C. the colors kept quarrelling all the time
D. thunder was angry with the boasting
4.The rainbow across the sky reminds us that ________.
A. the rain bow is the sign of the rain
B. each color is unique and different
C. everything should be put in right order
D. joining hands makes perfect
