Make the right choices
What is life’s gift? 1. Choice is the ability to select one course of action from a set of alternatives to achieve a goal. What is so great about choice? It transforms us from dumb animals into artists. Each of us becomes another Michelangelo. Choice becomes nothing other than the tool we use to sculpt (雕刻）our life. The tool doesn’t come free, however, for the price of choice is responsibility. 2. The reward is happiness.
Life is not still. It is a flow. 3. We constantly need to monitor where we are on our journey. We need to ask questions: Am I moving closer to my goals? If not, what corrective measures can I take? What action will I take now to readjust myself to my goals? Choice is power. Choice is at the heart of life. It is the creative power of life.
4. And your life becomes more convenient or comfortable because of them. For example, you decide which stores to shop at and which gas station to go to. But the decisions that we make to sculpt our lives are far more important than deciding where to shop. The more we appreciate the difference between minor and major decisions, the greater the probability that we will experience happiness and fulfillment.
All chess lovers realize that it isn’t necessary to win to enjoy the game. The pleasure is in the playing. Life is like a chess game. 5.
A.But when we accept ad carry it out, we get a great return.
B.Make the best moves you can under the circumstances.
C.Life is full of hard choices, and the bigger they are, the harder they get.
D.Every choice we make leads us closer to or farther from our goals.
E.Choose to carry out responsibilities not because you have to, but because you want to.
F.You have to make choices every day.
G..It is free will or choice.
The implication(含义) of saying “You are the prettiest girl in class,” or talking about the goals she scored but not her overall effort, is that you love her only when she looks the best, scores the highest, achieves the most. And this carries over to the classroom.
Social psychologist Carol Dweck, PHD, tested the effects of over-praise on 400 fifth graders while she was at Columbia University. She found that kids praised for “trying hard” did better on tests and were more likely to take on difficult assignments than those praised for being “smart”.
“Praising attributes(品质) or abilities makes a false promise that success will come to you because you have that quality, and it devalues effort, so children are afraid to take on challenges,” says Dweck, now at Stanford University, “They figure they’d better quit while they’re ahead.”
1.
A. tired of being praised B. worthy of being praised
C. very proud of being praised D. extremely fond of being praised
2.
A. better-known B. better-organized
C. more persuasive D. more interesting
3.
A. praise for efforts should be more encouraged
B. praise for results works better than praise for efforts
C. praising a child’s achievements benefits his or her success in life
D. praising a child’s abilities encourages him or her to take on challenges
Lions are opportunists. They prefer to eat without having to do too much work. When resting in the shade, they are also watching the sky to see what is flying by, and even in the heat of the day they will suddenly start up and run a mile across the plains to find out what is going on. If another animal has made a kill, they will drive it off and take the dill for themselves. A grown lion can easily eat 60 pounds of meat at a single feeding. Often they eat until it seems painful for them to lie down.
The lionesses, being thinner and faster, are better hunters than the males. But the males don’t mind. After the kill they move in and take the test share.
Most kills are made at night or just before daybreak. We have seen many, many daylight attempts but only ten kills. Roughly, it’s about twenty daytime attempts for one kill.
When lions are hiding for an attack by a water hole, they wait patiently and can charge at any second. The kill is the exciting moment in the day-to-day life of the lion, since these great animals spend most of their time, about 20 hours a day, sleeping and resting.
Lions are social cats, and when they are having a rest, they love to touch each other. After drinking at a water hole, a lioness rests her head on another’s back. When walking, young lions often touch faces with older ones, an act of close ties among members of the group.
1.By describing lions as “opportunists” in the first paragraph, the author means to say that lions ________.
A. like to take advantage of other animals B. are clever animals
C. are cruel animals D. like to take every chance to eat
2.According to the text, which of the following is true?
A. Lions make most kills in the daytime.
B. It doesn’t take lions too much time to make a kill.
C. Males care more about eating than active killing.
D. Lions are curious about things happening around them.
3.How can we know that lions are social animals?
A. They depend on each other. B. They look after each other well.
C. They readily share what they have. D. They enjoy each other’s company.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Lions, Skilled Hunters B. Lions, Social Cats
C. Lions at Work and Play D. Powerful Lions
Still seeking a destination for your weekend break? There are some places which are probably a mere walk away from your college.
King's Art Centre
A day at the Centre could mean a visit to an exhibition of the work of one of the most interesting contemporary artists on show anywhere.This weekend sees the opening of an exhibition of four local artists.
You could attend a class teaching you how to ‘learn from the masters’ or get more creative with paint—free of charge.
The Centre also runs two life drawing classes for which there is a small fee.
The Botanic Garden
The Garden has over 8,000 plant species；it holds the research and teaching collection of living plants for Cambridge University.
The multibranched Torch Aloe here is impressive.The African plant produces red flowers above bluegreen leaves，and is not one to miss.
Get to the display house to see Dionaea muscipula，a plant more commonly known as the Venus Flytrap that feeds on insects and other small animals.
The Garden is also a place for wildlifeenthusiasts.Look for grass snakes in the lake.A snake called ‘Hissing Sid’ is regularly seen lying in the heat of the warm sun.
Byron's Pool
Many stories surround Lord Byron's time as a student of Cambridge University.Arriving in 1805，he wrote a letter complaining that it was a place of “mess and drunkenness”.However，it seems as though Byron did manage to pass the time pleasantly enough.I'm not just talking about the pet bear he kept in his rooms.He spent a great deal of time walking in the village.
It is also said that on occasion Byron swam naked by moonlight in the lake，which is now known as Byron's Pool.A couple of miles past Grantchester in the south Cambridgeshire countryside，the pool is surrounded by beautiful circular paths around the fields.The cries of invisible birds make the trip a lovely experience and on the way home you can drop into the village for afternoon tea.If you don't trust me，then perhaps you'll take it from Virginia Woolf—over a century after Byron，she reportedly took a trip to swim in the same pool.
1.As mentioned in the passage，there is a small charge for ______.
A. attending the masters' class B. working with local artists
C. learning life drawing D. seeing an exhibition
2.We can infer from the passage that Byron seemed ______.
A. to finish university in 1805 B. to fear pet bears
C. to be a heavy drinker D. to like walking
3.In the passage Byron's Pool is described as a lake ______.
A. surrounded by fields B. owned by Lord Byron
C. located in Grantchester D. discovered by Virginia Woolf
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Some places for weekend break.
B. A way to become creative in art.
C. The colourful life in the countryside.
D. Unknown stories of Cambridge University.
One day I saw a boy wrapped in a towel on the side of the pool. He was no bigger than I was, so I thought him______Coming secretly behind, I pushed him in, holding on to his towel so that it would not get wet, I was surprised to see an angry face come out from the water, and a being of great strength masking its way by face strokes (猛力地划)to the shore. I fled, but in vain. He overtook me, seized me violently, and threw me into the deepest part of the pool. I soon climbed out on the other side, and found myself surrounded by a crowd of younger boys.” Do you know what you have done?” they said, “It’s Amery; he is in Grade Six. He is champion at gym; he has got his football honor.”
I was frightened and felt ashamed. How could I tell his position when be was wrapped in a bath towel and so small.” He didn’t seem pleased at all, so I added in a most brilliant word,” My father, who is a great man, is also small.” At this be laughed, and after some general words about my rude behavior and how I had better be careful in the future, signified the incident was closed.
1.
A. was of similar size
B. was fond of games
C. looked like an animal
D. was good at sports
2.
A. he was laughed at by other boys
B. he played a joke on an outstanding athlete
C. Amery turned out to be in the same grade
D. he pushed Amery hard and hurt him
3.
A. challenged Amery B. threatened Amery
C. admired his father D. tried to please Amery
4.
A. The writer could run faster than Amery.
B. Amery forgave the writer for his rude behavior.
C. The writer liked playing on boys of all sizes.
D. Amery was a student in Grade Four.
假定你是一位即将毕业的高三学生，学校将为高一新生举办主题为“What to learn in senior high school？”的英语沙龙活动，特邀你谈谈自己的体会。请根据以下提示准备一份英语发言稿。
1. 学习：有效地学习，学习习惯等；2. 做人：与人友好相处等。
注意：1. 词数100左右；2. 发言稿开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：efficiently(高效地）、effective(有效的）
Good morning, everyone! It is my honor to be here to share with you my opinions on what to learn in senior high school.
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Thank you!
