You are enrolled in a full – time school called “life”. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or hate them, but you have designed them as part of your curriculum.
Why are you here? What is your purpose? Humans have sought to discover the meaning of life for a very long time. What we and our ancestors have overlooked, however, is that there is no one answer. The meaning of life is different for every individual.
Each person has his or her own purpose and distinct path, unique and separate from anyone else’s. As you travel your life path, you will be presented with numerous lessons that you will need to learn in order to fulfill that purpose. The lessons you are presented with are specific to you; learning these lessons is the key to discovering and fulfilling the meaning and connection of your own life.
As you travel through your lifetime, you may encounter challenging lessons that others don’t have to face, while other spends years struggling with challenges that you don’t need to deal with. You may never know why you are blessed with a wonderful marriage, while your friends suffer through bitter arguments and painful divorces, just as you cannot be sure why you struggle financially while your peers enjoy abundance. The only thing you can count on for certain is that you will be presented with all the lessons that you specifically need to learn; whether you choose to learn them or not is entirely up to you.
The challenge here, therefore, is to align (与……保持一致) yourself with your own unique path by learning individual lessons. This is one of the most difficult challenges you will be faced with in your lifetime, as sometimes your path will be completely different from others’. But, remember, don’t compare your path to the people around you and focus on the difference between their lessons and yours. You need to remember that you will only be faced with lessons that you are capable of learning and are specific to your own growth.
Our sense of fairness is the expectation of equality – the assumption that all things are equal and justice will always prevail. Life is not, in fact, fair, and you may indeed have a more difficult life path than others around you, deserved or not. Everyone’s circumstances are unique, and everyone needs to handle his or her own circumstances differently. If you want to move toward calm, you will be required to move out of the complaining phase of “it’s not fair”. Focusing on the unfairness of circumstances keeps you comparing yourself with others rather than appreciating your own special uniqueness. You miss out on learning your individual lessons by distracting yourself with feelings of bitterness and anger.
1.According to the passage, how can the meaning of your life be realized?
A. Having the same opinions as others.
B. Taking the distinct path from others.
C. Learning the lessons presented to you.
D. Doing the different things from others.
2.What can we conclude from the passage ?
A. everyone has his own track to follow
B. the same things usually happen to the peers
C. a painful divorce must lie in financial problems
D. a wealthy man must have a wonderful marriage
3.In your lifetime, the lessons you are faced with_________.
A. are beyond your power B. keep you from growth
C. limit your development D. help you with your success
4.Which of the following is TRUE?
A. All things are equal and justice will always prevail.(流行)
B. You should learn to appreciate your specific uniqueness.
C. One has to fix his mind on unfairness of circumstances.
D. You have to complain “it’s not fair” whenever possible.
There are two types of people in this world: those who regularly wash their office coffee cup. And those who only take it off their desk to cover up the coffee mark at the bottom with a fresh pour, driving away their shame with the reasoning that the heat must kill the bacteria or spine thing.
Depending on which type of person you are, this will be either mildly annoying or more-than-mildly exciting. As Heidi Mitchell wrote in a recent Wall Street Journal column, it’s fine to never wash your cup, as long as you’re not sharing it with anybody else.
There are two warnings to that statement, infectious-disease expert Jeffrey Strake, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine, told Mitchell; One, it only applies if you’re not sharing the cup with anybody else. And two , if you leave cream or sugar in your cup over the weekend, that can certainly cause mold(霉) to grow – in which case, wash it out.
Otherwise, though, there’s not really much to worry about. “If I went and cultured the average unwashed coffee cup, of course I would find bacteria.” Starke said. “But remember the vast majority came from the person who used the cup.” Even if you drink from it while sick, it’s pretty hard to re-infect yourself with the same cup; most viruses don’t live long outside the body, which means that just letting your cup live in its own dirt may be a safer bet than the alternative; cleaning it with the disgusting sponge(海绵) in the office kitchen “The sponge in the break room probably has the highest bacteria count of anything in the office.” Starke said if the idea of not washing horrifies you , just stick the sponge in the microwave before using. Otherwise, though, reel free to continue your lazy ways without guilt.
1.What does the passage intend to tell us?
A. It is harmful to drink coffee with sugar.
B. It’s okay not to wash your coffee cup regularly.
C. The hot water contributes to the bacteria growing.
D. Drinking from unwashed coffee cups causes diseases easily.
2.What do we know from Stark’s words?
A. The coffee cup in the office must be put in the microwave to clean.
B. It’s easy to get infected if you often use the same unwashed cup.
C. The coffee cup shouldn’t be shared in the office.
D. It’s good way to grow bacteria in an unwashed cup.
3.What does the underlined part “your lazy ways” refer to ?
A. Leaving your coffee cup unwashed. B. Sticking the sponge in the microwave
C. Using Paper cups only in the office D. Cleaning your coffee cup with sponge.
4.Where does the passage probably come from?
A. A travel brochure. B. A science magazine.
C. An official statement. D. An entertainment program.
A thief who dropped a winning lottery ticket at the scene of his crime has been given a
lesson in honesty. His victim, who picked up the ticket, then claimed the $25,000 prize, managed to trace him, and handed over the cash. The robbery happened when maths professor VinicioSabbatucci, 58, was changing a tire on an Italian motorway. Another motorist, who stopped “to
help”, stole a suitcase from his car and drove off. The professor found the dropped ticket and put it in his pocket before driving home to Ascoli in eastern Italy.
Next day, he saw the lottery results on TV and, taking out the ticket, realized it was a winner.He claimed the 60 million lire(里拉)prize. Then he began a battle with his conscience. Finally, he
decided he could not keep the money despite having been robbed. He advertised in newspapers
and on the radio, saying, “I’m trying to find the man who robbed me. I have 60 million lire for him—a lottery win. Please meet me. Anonymity(匿名)guaranteed.”
Professor Sabbatucci received hundreds of calls from people hoping to trick him into
handing them the cash. But there was one voice he recognized and he arranged to meet the man
In a park.The robber, a 35‐year-old unemployed father of two, gave back the suitcase and burst
into tears. He could not believe what was happening. “Why didn’t you keep the money?” he
asked. The professor replied, “I couldn’t because it’s not mine.” Then he walked off, spurning the thief’s offer of a reward.
1.The sentence “Then he began a battle with his conscience.” in Paragraph 2 implies all of the
following except that _________.
A. he thought for a moment of avenging himself on the robber
B. he hesitated about keeping the money for some time
C. he knew what he should do as soon as he saw the lottery results
D. he came to realize that honesty is more important than money
2.Why did hundreds of people phone Professor Sabbaturcci ?
A. wanted to make fun of him B. hoped to get the money
C. knew who the robber was D. lost the lottery ticket
3.How did the robber feel when the victim wanted to find him?
A. Excited B. Frightened C. Ashamed D. Incredible
4.If the story appears in a newspaper,what might be the best title ?
A. A Thief’s Lucky Day B. A Popular Maths Professor
C. A Magic Lottery D. A Reward of Honesty
This brief book is aimed at high school students, but speaks to anyone learning at any stage of life.
Its formal, serious style closely matches its content, a school-masterly book on schooling. The author, W. H. Armstrong, starts with the basics: reading and writing. In his opinion, reading doesn’t just mean recognizing each word on the page; it means taking in the information, digesting it and incorporating it into oneself just as one digests a sandwich and makes it a part of him. The goal is to bring the information back to life, not just to treat it as dead facts on paper from dead trees. Reading and writing cannot be completely separated from each other; in fact, the aim of reading is to express the information you have got from the text. I’ve seen it again and again ：Someone who can’t express an idea after reading a text is just as ineffective as someone who hasn’t read it at all.
Only a third of the book remains after that discussion, which Armstrong devotes to specific tips for studying languages, math, science and history. He generally handles these topics thoroughly and equally, except for some weakness in the science and math sections and a bit too much passion(激情）regarding history to his students, that was a hundred times more than my history teachers ever got across. To my disappointment, in this part of the book he ignores the arts. As a matter of fact, they demand all the concentration and study that math and science do, though the study differs slightly in kind. Although it’s commonly believed that the arts can only be naturally acquired, actually, learning the arts is no more natural than learning French or mathematics.
My other comment is that the text aged. The first edition apparently dates to the 1960s—none of the references(参考文献)seem newer than the late 1950s. As a result, the discussion misses the entire computer age.
These are small points, though, and don’t affect the main discussion. I recommend it to any student and any teacher, including the self-taught student.
1.According to Armstrong, what is the goal of reading?
A. gain knowledge and expand one’s view
B. express ideas based on what one has read
C. understand the meaning between the lines
D. gets information and keeps it alive in memory
2.The author of the passage insists that learning the arts_________.
A. is as natural as learning a language B. demands real passion C. is less natural than learning maths
D. requires great efforts
3.What can this passage be classified as?A. an advertisement B. a book review C. a feature story D. a news report
假定你是李华，你的美国笔友David对你校开设的一些选修课（optional course）非常感兴趣，来信向你询问有关事宜。请根据以下内容提示给他写封回信。
1.选修课程包括：英语戏剧，模型制作（model making）等；
2.每门课程的优点；
3.你希望增加的课程及理由。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头语已为你写好，不计入总词数。
Dear David,
Looking forward to your reply.
Yours,
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在此符号下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
It is no doubt that health is the most important thing in our life.As a Chinese proverb go, “Health is blessing”.Should we be always ill in bed, how can we enjoy life?
To keep healthy, we must develop a healthy way of life.First of all, we should keep on doing sports on a regularly basis, because it can strengthen both our body and mind, refresh ourselves and making us work more efficiently.Secondly, we must keep balanced diet to provide our body with various nutrition we need, but we should refuse junk food.Remember, it is through the mouth where diseases enter into our body.Thirdly, a good sleep is also vital to our health.Stay up too late at night often results in poor health.As middle school students, we need better sleep to do better in our lessons.
