1.Detective novels used to hold a special _____(吸引) for me.
2.My brother’s opinions would often s ________ from one extreme to the other.
3.The boy was __________(好奇的)about everything he saw.
4.Mike ______（猛冲）into the room, grabbed his bag, and ran out again.
5.National Day was celebrated t_________the country.
Do you like trying different things? Are you afraid 1. things that you think you’re bad at?
Last year I started to learn t’ at chi in order to improve my health and reduce my stress. It was something new for me, and I found it to be quite difficult, very 2. (difference) form anything I’d ever learned before. Small 3.move） are important in t’ ai chi. I was used to being fast and active ,4. to learn t’ ai chi I had to learn patience. Now I’ve found that I’m a much more patient person than before, and t’ ai chi isn’t nearly as difficult as it 5.(be ) before.
We tend 6.(like) things we are good at — that’s normal. For example, I’m naturally very good at badminton and tennis, but I’m very had at anything 7.involves keeping balance, such as skating, skiing and gymnastics. T’ ai chi has 8. (great) improved my balance which has been a very good thing for me.
My point is that you can keep 9.(do) the things you know you’re good at and live in your comfort zone, or you can try something new. If you don’t try new things, you’ll never know what it would be like to try something new. Challenge 10. (you). It will definitely pay off in the end.
When my sister Diane began playing the violin, she was seven. How did she sound? Terrible. But she didn’t _________. At twelve, she asked our parents if she could _________ a full-time music school. They said no. Actually, everyone agreed that my sister __________ talent.
I was better at my _________. My teacher had told my parents that I had great __________. So my parents found the best piano teacher in the area to _________ me. But the only time he was _________was Saturday afternoons at 3 P. m. Back then, I was _________ about the British TV show “The Avengers”, which was ________ every Saturday at 3 P. p. m. I let nothing take up my “Avengers” hour . So I _________ this amazing opportunity. Today, I don’t even have a ________ in my house.
My sister became an engineer, but she _________stopped making music. When she was in her 40s, she switched （转换）_________. She went back to college, got a _________ in music education, and became a music teacher. She starts kids out on their first instrument and gives them all the encouragement and support she never _________.
Recently, she and a pianist pal put on a recital（音乐独奏会）. A big crowd of friends and family _________ for her. As she played, I looked around at the _________. Everyone was _________enjoying the music. It occurred to me that I was the only person who remembered that 7-year-old kid making those perfectly _________ sounds and knew how far she had come, despite _________.
Talent is important. But enthusiasm is even more important.
1.A. admit B. advance C. quit（停止） D. improve
2.A. attend B. join C. leave D. visit
3.A. admired B. lacked（缺乏） C. had D. instrument（仪器）
4.A. major B. project C. composition D. instrument
5.A. ambition（雄心 ） B. patience C. enthusiasm D. potential（潜力）
6.A. examine B. train C. Correct D. challenge
7.A. available（有空的） B. punctual（守时的） C. skillful D. occupied
8.A. sensitive B. serious C. crazy D. particular
9.A. aired（播送） B. filmed C. Designed D. commented评论
10.A. grasped B. valued C. waited for D. turned down
11.A. book B. play C. piano D. violin
12.A. already B. even C. never D. once
13.A. attitudes B. careers（职业） C. plans D. positions
14.A. degree B. chance C. scholarship D. sponsor赞助商
15.A. expected B. provided C. imagined D. received
16.A. paid off B. showed off C. stayed up D. turned up
17.A. audience B. students C. spotlights D. platform
18.A. appropriately（适当地） B. anxiously C. obviously D. desperately绝望地
19.A. sweet B. awful C. powerful D. unique
20.A. everybody B. everything C. something D. somebody
Scientists often see the first ten years of a child's life as the "window of opportunity,"1.And studies show that the following activities can benefit their brain greatly.
2.
Free playtime has always been an important part of "being a kid",but it is also important to a child's development."Free play" not only helps kids develop different skills,it also helps them develop into happy healthy adults in the future.
Read with kids.
Reading has long been known to improve children's intelligence.3.For parents who don't have much time, just surrounding your kids with books goes a long way too.
Put kids to bed early.
4.Preschool children should get at least eleven hours of sleep and kids up to age 12 should try to get at least ten hours of sleep.
Learn a second language.
Early studies in this field have shown that bilingual（双语的）kids can perform better under pressure.Young children can learn new languages with nearly perfect fluency（流利）and pronunciation.
Praise good effort not intelligence.
Your kids may be smart but you should mainly praise the effort they put into tasks.Kids,who are praised on intelligence,often feel it is a fixed quality,and mistakes or failures badly hurt their self-confidence.Kids who are praised on effort often focus more on learning.5.
A.Play some helpful games.
B.Give them enough playtime.
C.And they are not afraid to fail and try again.
D.Kids still need time away from the TV to do homework.
E.Kids who read often develop earlier writing and number skills as well.
F.Everything at this time is very important to the development of a person's brain.
G.Studies show that kids with regular bedtimes are better at languages,math and reading.
On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that 42% of Americans could be overweight by 2030. Our expanding waistlines lead to not only a medical problem, but according to a recent article In The New York Times, it could also endanger personal safety in some situations—in an airplane crash, for example.
The New York Times’ Christen Negroni reports that engineers and scientists are questioning whether airplane seats are adequately constructed to protect overweight travelers. Government standards for airplane seat strength（强度）— first set moe than 60 years ago — require that the seats be made for a passenger weighing 170 pounds (77kg). Today, the average American man weighs nearly 194 pounds (88kg) and the average woman 165 pounds (75kg). Negroni reports:
“If a heavier person completely fills seat, the seat is not likely to behave as intended during a crash,” said Robert Salazar, the leading scientist at the Center for Applied Biomechanics at the University of Virginia. “The energy absorption that is built into the aircraft seat is likely to be overpowered and the passengers will not be protected properly.”
“Nor would the injury be limited to that passenger only,” Dr. Salzar said. “If a seat or a seat belt fails,” he said, “those people who are seated nearby could be endangered from ‘the uncontrolled movements of the passenger’.”
Most complaints about airplane seats focus on their lack of comfort and high ticket price, and whether overweight passengers should be made to buy two seats. But The New York Times’ article brings up another reason to feel anxious about flying. Investigators of the issue got in touch with the airplane seat and seat belt makers, but they refused to comment on the problem. Experts agreed that crash testing should be done with overweight dummies （人体模型）. Both airplane seats and seat belts should be tested, they said.
Fortunately, however, according to Nora Marshall, a senior adviser at the National Transportation Safety Board, the board’s investigators have never seen an accident involving a commercial plane in which the weight of a passenger was a problem.
1.What is the article in The New York Times mainly concerned with?
A. The size of airplane seats and seat belts.
B. Safety of overweight airplane passengers.
C. Airplane crashes involving commercial planes.
D. A medical problem caused by being overweight.
2.Robert Salzar would probably agree that .
A. overweight passengers should buy two seats
B. the government should help produce safer planes
C. standards for airplane seat strength should be raised
D. passengers should know how to protect themselves
3.We can learn from the text that .
A. airplane seat makers have taken action now
B. there are few complaints about airplane seats
C. those seate near the overweight may suffer too
D. only a small number of airplane accidents involve the overweight
4.What is the best title for the text?
A. Why Do Passengers Feel Anxious about Flying?
B. Will 42% of Americans Be OVERWEIGHT BY 2030?
C. When Will the Overweight Enjoy Their Flight?
D. Are Airplane Seats Safe Enough for the Overweight?
Aerial performer Jennifer Bricker was born without legs, but she never let it stop her.
Wrapped in a loop of red silk hung from the ceiling Jennifer Bricker climbs and twists to the music. Her head hangs down and her strong arms let go as she balances on her back, high above the ground a move that’s all the more daring because she has no legs.
Jennifer was a few months old when she was adopted by Sharon and Gerald Bricker. She had big brown eyes, a bright smile, and huge amounts of energy. When a doctor advised her adoptive parents to carry her around in a kind of bucket, they refused.
Jennifer soon learned to walk — and run — on her hands and bottom, and grew up fearlessly climbing trees and bouncing on the trampoline（蹦床） with her three older brothers. “My parents didn’t treat me differently so I didn’t grasp the concept that I was different. I knew I didn’t have legs but that wasn’t stopping me from doing the things I wanted to do.”
At the age of three she was fitted with artificial legs, but she never really took to them — she moved more freely without.
In 1996 the Olympic Games took place in Atlanta. Jennifer loved to watch the women’s gymnastics team, and especially adored the 14-year-old Dominique Moceanu who competed for the US. When Moceanu and the women’s team won gold, Jennifer decided she was going to be a gymnast, too. She took up power tumbling, which involves performing floor exercises down a runway. But Jennifer did not want any allowances to be made for her disability.
At the age of 10 she took part in the Junior Olympics and by age 11 she was tumbling champion for the state of Illinois.
Jennifer now travels the world as an inspirational speaker and acts as an aerial performer.
1.Why did Jennifer determine to be a gymnast?
A. She knew that she was different from others.
B. She wanted to make allowances for her disability.
C. She was eager to participate in the Junior Olympics.
D. She was greatly influenced by Dominique Moceanu.
2.What do we know about Jennifer Bricker?
A. She felt embarrassed without legs.
B. She was carried in a bucket as a baby.
C. She was brought up as a normal child.
D. She lost her legs when she was adopted.
3.Which of the following can best describe Jennifer Bricker?
A. Self-respected. B. Cautious.
C. Sensitive. D. Clever.
