Please Beat Me
I once had the opportunity to meet Dan Miller, an Amish neighbor of mu dad. He told me that years ago my dad had______to him that his apple trees looked beautiful but weren’t producing any apples. After listening______, Dan told my dad to go home, grab a hammer and give his trees a severe beating around the________He said they needed to have something to______them up-that life had been too______and they needed a challenge to come alive. While this seemed contrary ____the careful fertilizing, watering and nurturing my dad had been giving his prized trees, he ____the wisdom of his Amish neighbor.
The next year the trees produced so heavily that my dad saw branches______under the weight of the number of apples. With a little research I now find that this is a______approach. We know that roses,_______left to themselves, will grow leaves but few_______ The best way to get them to produce what they are______to do is to cut them back severely and annually ____ growing roots.
Is there a_______in this for us? Every day I hear from people who have had all the______—famous university degrees, fine homes, cars and positions. And they suspect the easy life they’ve been given is keeping them from the_______of adventure that would release the best version of themselves.
Are you taking the “______” route in life to avoid the stresses and challenges that are trying to release your biggest______?
And no, you probably don’t need to find someone to______you or to create a stressful situation in your life. I know that in mine, those things have just______consistently. But I hope I’m getting smarter in seeing “What does this make possible?”
1.A. complained B. suggested C. explained D. reported
2.A. angrily B. gladly C. anxiously D. carefully
3.A. root B. trunk C. branch D. field
4.A. cut B. bring C. wake D. send
5.A. easy B. long C. hard D. busy
6.A. with B. to C. for D. in
7.A. proved B. doubted C. trusted D. learned
8.A. hanging B. waving C. flying D. breaking
9.A. crazy B. mysterious C. strange D. common
10.A. if B. because C. unless D. though
11.A. fruits B. roses C. grasses D. bushes
12.A. approved B. scheduled C. expected D. exposed
13.A. put down B. dig up C. pull out D. cut off
14.A. lesson B. skill C. secret D. fact
15.A. chances B. advantages C. results D. concerns
16.A. course B. price C. challenge D. danger
17.A. rough B. short C. familiar D. safe
18.A. harvest B. courage C. emotion D. knowledge
19.A. comfort B. support C. love D. beat
20.A. sorted out B. left out C. shown up D. set down
This habit was picked from my teacher back in 1988. Back then it seemed trivial（琐碎）and not likely to make any significant influence on my life.1.
The habit that has made the greatest influence on my life is scheduling. In my mind, it is the tiny daily habit that indeed can be life-changing. Scheduling is not just about the ordering of tasks throughout the day. 2.If you are able to design the right schedule and follow it, you are able to gain massive rewards for your work.
3.However, everything is likely to boil down to the most precious asset（财富）, namely time. If you are able to master your time and follow the schedule, you will not lose any minute doing things that do not matter or add no value. The tiny daily habit of scheduling your day is important. In the short term, it might seem boring and inefficient. 4.It can provide you with the greatest opportunity possible.
5.
A. Master your time
B. Only time will tell.
C. Forming tiny daily habit is not an easy task for us.
D. However, a few years later I realized its true power.
E. It is about the proper allocation and usage of your time and effort.
F. One can endlessly argue about the things that have the biggest value in our lives.
G. However, in the long run, the habit of scheduling your tasks and plans will pay off.
Nisha Pradhan is worried. The recent college graduate just turns 21 and plans to live on her own. But she’s afraid she won’t be able to stay safe. That’s because she isn’t able to smell.
Back home, her family do her smelling for her. She’s moved in with them for now, but she’s looking for a place of her own. “Now that I’m searching for ways or place to live as an independent person, I find that the sense of smell is important to how we live our lives,” Pradhan says.
She says when she was a child she liked to eat and ate a lot. But there came a point where she lost interest in food.
“One of the first things that people notice whenever they have a smell problem is that food doesn’t taste right any-more,” says Beverly Cowart, a researcher. That’s because eating and smell go hand in hand. How food tastes often relies on what we smell. “When you lose your sense of smell, your whole sense of food flavor s changed and reduced,” Cowart says, “You can still taste the basic tastes. What you’re missing are the small distinctions.”
“When I go out to eat I have often found that that food is very tasteless to me. I never feel full,” she says. “I think a lot of us today like to pretend to be food lovers and we all like to talk about ‘Oh, I think this could use a little bit more flavor,’ or ‘I think this has a hint of meat,’ I can’t really participate in those conversations,” she says.
Pradam thinks her smell loss also may have affected her memory. Pradhan may be on to something, according to biologist Paul Moore. “When smell signals come in, you feel about them first. And then you think about it and then the memory is laid down. So without the feel part, the thinking about its part doesn’t come. And that means no new smell memory gets created.”
1.What problem does Pradhan meet with at present?
A. That she has no sense of smell.
B. That she doesn’t have her own house.
C. That she lacks life skills to live alone.
D. That she is too nervous to live alone.
2.What can we infer from what Beverly Cowart said?
A. People with a smell problem have no food tastes.
B. Lack of smell sense makes eating a dull experience.
C. Different food tastes the same for people of smell loss.
D. People feel hungry easily for lack of smell sense.
3.When eating out, Pradhan_______.
A. has a sense of being full quickly B. often has a good appetite
C. pretends to have good smell sense D. feels left out sometimes
4.What does the underlined sentence mean?
A. Pradhan may be crazy. B. Pradhan may be foolish.
C. Pradhan may be right. D. Pradhan may be forgettable.
Before leaving his job in Brooklyn, Brian Peter had one thing he wanted to do on his last day-say thank you to the city he loves. Peter decided to use the money he made for a day’s work, as well as the $10 per year he earned for his service, to give back to his community.
“I've got nothing but good things from the city and the citizens,” Peter said. “I take what I make in a day and add that $120 that the police association was going to give me, and I’ll just add it up to $500 and get some gift cards for people.”
So after fourteen years’ serving as a police officer, Peter spent his last day doing that. Using his own money, Peter purchased five gift cards from Target and five gift cards from the grocery chain Cub Foods worth $ 50 each and handed them out to strangers in Brooklyn Center.
It took him about two hours to give away the cards and that he could put smiles on a lot of people’s faces, including one woman he stopped after noticing the condition of her car. “Her car was really old and really damaged. I saw her windshield wipers were stuck in the up position,” Peter recalled. “I explained what I was doing and gave her a gift card, and immediately, she lit up with a smile.”
Once people overcame the initial shock of what he was doing, Peter said he received a lot more hugs that day. Monique Drier, who stayed with Peter, said Peter has always wanted to give back and didn’t really want the attention. “He didn’t even have a going-away party,” Drier said.
Peter, who started his new job three days ago, said he still wanted to continue giving back to the community. “Community service is extremely important, and when you’re fortunate in life, you should give back to others who aren’t as fortunate as you,” Peter said. “That’s what makes the world go round.”
1.We can learn from the passage that Peter______.
A. decided to retire from his position as a police officer
B. was interested in making friends with some strangers
C. showed his kindness to strangers before leaving his job
D. earned ten dollars a year for his service as a police officer
2.The woman in a car is mentioned in the passage in order to show____.
A. how Peter’s gift card influenced her attitude
B. how Peter added happiness into others’ daily life
C. how Peter found others in trouble and helped them
D. how Peter received hugs from those who were grateful
3.How does Peter think the world can go round according to the passage?
A. By involving other in community service.
B. By sharing what we have with the unfortunate.
C. By giving rewards to those who help others.
D. By offering new jobs to unfortunate people.
4.What is the main idea of this passage?
A. A police officer knew how to cheer up people in trouble.
B. Peter spent his last day giving gift cards to strangers.
C. The best way to help a community can be learnt from Peter.
D. Peter returned what he earned in his work to the police station.
A British friend told me he couldn’t understand why Chinese people love eating sunflower seeds as a snack so much “I’ve met a lot of older Chinese and many have a crack in their front teeth; I believe that’s from cracking the seeds,” he said.
I had never noticed the habit, but once he mentioned it, I suddenly became more aware. I realized that whenever I’m watching TV or typing a report, I always start mindlessly cracking sunflower seeds. My friend doesn’t like sunflower seeds, and, to him, it seems unnecessary to work so much just to get one small seed.
When we were young, the whole family would usually get together for Chinese New Year. Then, we all lived close to one another, usually in a small city, and sometime even neighbors would go door-to-door on Chinese New Year’s Eve to check out what every household was making.
I remember my parents would be in the kitchen cooking. Out in the living room , a large table would already be laid out, complete with fancy tablecloth, ready-made dumping fillings, and dishes full of candy, fruits and sunflower seeds.
Some of the dishes were to be offered to our ancestors later, while others were for neighbors and children to eat be-fore the evening feast. I must have learned how to crack sunflower seeds back then.
I don’t think it’s right to criticize one’s choice in food or eating habits, no matter how strange they may seem.
It’s not only in China. When I went abroad, I found people had all sorts of strange habits when it came to food. In Denmark, they put salted red fish on bread and eat it for dinner, no matter how much it ruins your breath. They think it’s a delicacy, and it’s connected to their culture. I think it’s a wonderful tradition.
1.What did the writer become aware of?
A. She had ever typed a report about seeds.
B. She are various snacks while watching TV.
C. She had a habit of cracking sunflower seeds.
D. She damaged her teeth by eating sunflower seeds.
2.What does the writer prove by mentioning Chinese New Year?
A. The traditions of celebrating it disappear.
B. Children can eat delicious food on that day
C. The families get together for it.
D. Eating sunflower seeds is related to it.
3.The writer’s to Denmark’s way of eating bread is______.
A. acceptable B. critical
C. neutral D. doubtful
4.What lesson can we learn from the story?
A. One kind of food doesn’t necessarily suit everyone.
B. Eating habits come from a certain culture.
C. It is good to form healthy eating habits.
D. Changing your eating habits will change your life.
Spain Environmental Project
Full Description
Greenheart Travel? Casita Verde (Green House) is an incredible eco-center situated in a beautiful valley near the village of San Jose, Ibiza. This great Mediterranean island is renowned for its rich culture and incredible scenery. Casita Verde is considered an experiential eco-education center, and showcases the best practices for sustainable living and alternative energies. The center includes almost 14 acres of working farm land created to demonstrate ecological development powered by wind and sun energy.
How You Will Make a Difference:
—Maintain and improve the farm facilities
—Install an alternative energy system
—Promote environmental awareness among visitors
—Cook delicious, organic meals for visitors
—Learn farming that emphasizes the use of renewable natural resources and the enrichment of local ecosystem
Assist with Sunday community visit/meals
Dates: Flexible dates available
Duration: 1 to 12 weeks
Cost Details: fee includes: housing, fool, medical insurance, in-country staff support, pre-departure orienta-tion, in-country orientation, 24-hour emergency contact
A Great Opportunity for: Teens/Professionals
Skills Needed/Experience
Participants should have an active interest in environmental studies/ecology, and strong desire to contribute to the international effort to protect the environment. Those who are interested in it must have extensive hands-on conservation experience and be willing to live rustically（淳朴地）in an alternative community. Some knowledge of Spanish is helpful but not required.
1.What do we know about Casita Verde?
A. It covers about 14 acres in size.
B. It is powered by renewable resources.
C. It is the center of a beautiful valley.
D. It develops its unique culture.
2.What can you do in Casita Verde?
A. Teach visitors how to grow organic plants.
B. Help the local promote environmental awareness.
C. Prepare organic meals for visitors on Sunday.
D. Make research into an alternative energy system.
3.Who are the intended readers of the text?
A. Travelers. B. Famers.
C. Workers. D. Volunteers.
