In 1977, a dead author of detective stories saved the life of a 19-month-old baby in a most 1.(usual) way. The author was Agatha Christie, one of the most successful writers of detective stories in the world.
In June that year, a baby girl became 2.(serious) ill in Qatar, near Saudi Arabia. Doctors were unable to find out the cause of her illness with 3.(confident), so she was sent to big hospital in London 4.specialist help was available. A team of doctors hurried to examine the baby only 5.(discover) that they, too, were confused by the very unusual disease. Just then, a nurse asked to speak to them.
"Excuse me," said the nurse, "6. I think the baby is suffering from thallium(铊) poisoning. "
"What makes you think that?" Dr. Brown asked. "Thallium poisoning is extremely rare."
"I read a detective novel 7. Agatha Christie a few days ago,” the nurse explained, "and in the book, somebody suffers from thallium poisoning, and all the symptoms 8.(describe). They’re exactly 9. same as the baby's."
The tests showed that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium, a rare metallic substance10. (use) in making special glass. Once they knew the cause of the illness, the doctors were able to give the baby the correct treatment. She soon recovered and was sent back home.
完形填空
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从1--20各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I often read of incidents of misunderstanding or conflict. I’m left_____.Why do these people create mistrust and problems, especially with those from other____?
I was growing up in Kuala Lumpur in the early 1960s,____children from different races and religions played and studied_____in harmony. At that time my family lived a stone’s______from Ismail’s. And no one was bothered that Ismail was a Malay Muslim and I was an Indian Hindu-we just______our differences. Perhaps, our elders had not filled our heads with unnecessary advice, well____or otherwise.
We were nine when we became friends. During the school holidays, we’d____the countryside on our bicycles, hoping to____the unexpected. At times Ismail would accompany my family as we made a rare shopping trip to town. We would be glad of his_____.
When I was twelve, my family moved to Johor. Ismail’s family later returned to their village, and I____touch with him.
One spring afternoon in 1983, I stopped a taxi in Kuala Lumpur. I_____my destination. The driver acknowledged my_____but did not move off. Instead, he looked____at me. “Raddar?”he said, using my childhood nickname(绰号). I was astonished at being so____addressed(称呼). Unexpectedly! It was Ismail! Even after two_____we still recognized each other. Grasping his shoulder, I felt a true affection, something_____to describe.
If we can allow our children to be____without prejudice, they’ll build friendships with people, regardless of race or religion, who will be_____their side through thick and thin. On such friendships are societies build and_____we can truly be, as William Shakespeare once wrote, “we happy few, we band of brothers”.
1.A. interested B. pleased C. puzzled D. excited
2.A. parties B. cities C. villages D. races
3.A. why B. which C. how D. when
4.A. together B. around C. alone D. apart
5.A. drop B. throw C. move D. roll
6.A. refused B. made C. sought D. accepted
7.A. paid B. meant C. preserved D. treated
8.A. explore B. search C. discover D. desert
9.A. get through B. deal with C. come across D. take away
10.A. arrival B. choice C. effort D. company
11.A. lost B. gained C. developed D. missed
12.A. stated B. ordered C. decided D. chose
13.A. attempts B. instructions C. opinions D. arrangements
14.A. anxiously B. carelessly C. disappointedly D. fixedly
15.A. familiarly B. strangely C. fully D. coldly
16.A. departures B. months C. years D. decades
17.A. possible B. funny C. hard D. clear
18.A. them B. themselves C. us D. ourselves
19.A. from B. by C. with D. against
20.A. still B. otherwise C. then D. instead
Four Habits to Help You Succeed
We all want to succeed, whether it’s in losing weight or learning the guitar. For those who have tried and failed, success seems difficult to understand. Why does one person succeed where another person fails? 1.
1. Identify your core values.
Finding your core values is in line with creating inner motivation. 2.Pick a handful of things and actually write them down. Remind yourself of your values every day, and reflect on whether you are honoring those values through your work.
2. Pick a goal and focus on it.
Choose one goal to start something large enough that will give you a sense of achievement, while adjusting well to your core values. Focus is key here. 3.If you perform many tasks at a time, you might never complete your projects because they will take far too long.
3. Set a deadline for success.
Set a date for success. Identify when you hope to achieve your goal. 4.By setting a time limit, you are making the process more real.
4.5.
Failure can’t be avoided when you take risks. By its very definition, the desire to succeed means you are risking failure. Many people tend to give up far too early. Don’t fall into this trap! Remember your mindset earlier. Know it will happen. A failure is merely you working out the details, and learning what works and what doesn’t. Use failure. Treat it as a good thing, and move on!
A. Stick to your goal.
B. Make the right decision.
C. I’ve made a list of four habits to help you set goals and achieve them.
D. Sit and reflect on what you value most.
E. Keep it realistic, while not giving you too much time.
F. The more focused you are on one goal, the higher chance you have of success.
G. Push yourself to be courageous, and take that next step.
Blind imitation is self-destruction. To those who do not recognize their unique worth, imitation appears attractive: to those who know their strength, imitation is unacceptable.
In the early stages of skill or character development, imitation is helpful. When I first learned to cook, I used recipes and turned out some tasty dishes. But soon I grew bored. Why follow someone else’s way of cooking when I could create my own? Imitating role models is like using training wheels on a child’s bicycle; they help you get going, but once you find your own balance, you fly faster and farther without relying on them.
In daily life, imitation can hurt us if we subconsciously(下意识地) hold poor role models. If, as a child, you observed people whose lives were bad, you may have accepted their fear and pain as normal and gone on to follow what they did. If you do not make strong choices for yourself, you will get the results of the weak choices of others.
In the field of entertainment, our culture glorifies celebrities. Those stars look great on screen. But when they step off screen, their personal lives may be disastrous. If you are going to follow someone, focus on their talent, not their bad character or unacceptable behaviors.
Blessed is the person willing to act on their sudden desire to create something unique. Think of the movies, books, teachers, and friends that have affected you most deeply. They touched you because their creations were motivated by inspiration, not desperation. The world is changed not by those who do what has been done before them, but by those who do what has been done inside them. Creative people have an endless resource of ideas. The problem a creator faces is not running out of material; it is what to do with the material knocking at the door of imagination.
Study your role models, accept the gifts they have given, and leave behind what does not server. Then you can say, “I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors’ tragedies and stories, and know that they are cheering me on.”
1.To avoid the bad result of imitation, we should ________.
A. forget daily fear and pain B. ask others for decisions
C. choose the right example D. stay away from stars
2.According to the author, the world moves on because of those who are ________.
A. desperate to insurance others with their knowledge
B. willing to accept others’ ideas
C. eager to discover what their ancestors did
D. ready to turn their original ideas into reality
3.What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
A. To highlight the importance of creatively.
B. To criticize the characters of role models.
C. To compare imitation with creation.
D. To explain the meaning of success.
If Confucius(孔子) were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It’s nothing personal. Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But this doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually include Chinese art, history and philosophy(哲学). Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks(缺点) of Western philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.
So the old thinker’s ideas are still alive and well.
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.
1.The opening paragraph is mainly intended to ________.
A. provide some key facts about Confucius
B. attract the readers’ interest in the subject
C. show great respect for the ancient thinker
D. prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations
2.We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students ________.
A. have a great interest in studying Chinese
B. take an active part in Chinese competitions
C. try to get high scores in Chinese exams
D. fight for a chance to learn Chinese
3.What is the best title for the passage?
A. Forgotten Wisdom in America
B. Huge Fans of the Chinese Language
C. Old Thinker with a Big Future
D. Chinese Culture for Westerners
4.The passage is likely to appear in ________.
A. a newspaper B. a history paper
C. a biography D. a philosophy textbook
In my living room, there is a plaque(匾) that advises me to “Bloom(开花) where you are planted.” It reminds me of Dorothy. I got to know Dorothy in the early 1980s，when I was teaching Early Childhood Development through a program with Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky. The job responsibilities required occasional visits to the classroom of each teacher in the program. Dorothy stands out in my memory as one who “bloomed” in her remote area.
Dorothy taught in a school in Harlan County, Kentucky, Appalachian Mountain area. To get to her school from the town of Harlan, I followed a road winding around the mountain. In the eight-mile journey, I crossed the same railroad track five times, giving the possibility of getting caught by the same train five times. Rather than feeling excited by this drive through the mountains, I found it depressing. The poverty level was shocking and the small shabby houses gave me the greatest feeling of hopelessness.
From the moment of my arrival at the little school, all gloom(忧郁) disappeared. Upon arriving at Dorothy's classroom, I was greeted with smiling faces and treated like a queen. The children had been prepared to show me their latest projects. Dorothy told me with a big smile that they were serving poke greens salad and cornbread for “dinner” (lunch). In case you don't know, poke greens are a weed-type plant that grows wild, especially on poor ground.
Dorothy never ran out of reports of exciting activities of her students. Her enthusiasm never cooled down. When it came time to sit for the testing and interviewing required to receive her Child Development Associate Certification, Dorothy was ready. She came to the assessment and passed in all areas. Afterward, she invited me to the one-and-only steak house in the area to celebrate her victory, as if she had received her Ph.D. degree. After the meal, she placed a little box containing an old pen in my hand. She said it was a family heirloom (传家宝), but to me it is a treasured symbol of appreciation and pride that cannot be matched with things.
1.“Early Childhood Development” in Paragraph I refers to ________．
A. a course given by the author
B. an organization sponsored by Union College
C. a program directed by Dorothy
D. an activity held by the students
2.Upon arriving at the classroom, the author was cheered up by ________．
A. the sight of poke greens
B. a warm welcome
C. Dorothy's latest projects
D. a big dinner made for her
3.What can we know about Dorothy from the last paragraph?
A. She was invited to a celebration at a restaurant.
B. She got a pen as a gift from the author.
C. She received her Ph.
D. degree.
4.What does the author mainly intend to tell us?
A. Whatever you do, you must do it carefully.
B. Whoever you are, you deserve equal treatment
C. However poor you are, you have the right to education.
D. Wherever you are, you can accomplish your achievement.
