One morning, the door opened and a new teacher, Mrs Cosby, walked in. She looked too _______ to handle us. And we surely gave her a _______ time, but she never lost her temper. And then came the last day of the first month. She _______ a bunch of papers. We feared the worst — a test. But oh no, it was something that _______ surprised us.
Mrs Cosby asked us to come to the front of the class, and gave each of us a _______, in which she had written what the student in question had been _______ at during the last month.
You see no one had ever _______ us. No one ever liked us. We were constantly told how good-for-nothing we were. And here, _______, was someone who had been _______ us closely for a month. We made things as difficult for her as we could. And yet she could find something ________ to say about each of us.
Mrs Cosby did this every ________ from then on. Each month we got a paper that emphasized our ________. She commented on my courage, how punctual I was, how good to ________ arguments if I wanted. Her ________ influenced our class. We did not want to ________ her feelings anymore. We actually started to ________.
At the graduation ceremony, Mrs Cosby hugged us and told us with tears in her eyes how ________ she was of us. Then she ________ each one of us a book. All the encouraging letters through the years wee there, in hard covers.
She said, “I want you each to keep this book and if you feel ________, open this and read how good you are. You can be anything you want to be ________ you believe in yourself. Promise me you’ll remember that!”
1.A. soft B. short C. foolish D. ordinary
2.A. happy B. hard C. beautiful D. valuable
3.A. took back B. took out C. took on D. took off
4.A. partly B. nearly C. hardly D. totally
5.A. sentence B. comment C. paper D. letter
6.A. poor B. angry C. glad D. good
7.A. forgotten about B. played with C. believed in D. looked for
8.A. naturally B. generally C. suddenly D. gradually
9.A. teaching B. praising C. following D. observing
10.A. strange B. positive C. negative D. interesting
11.A. day B. week C. month D. year
12.A. shortcomings B. mistakes C. strengths D. wishes
13.A. start B. continue C. settle D. write
14.A. attitude B. thinking C. reaction D. effect
15.A. understand B. know C. share D. hurt
16.A. study B. play C. fight D. joke
17.A. tired B. proud C. ashamed D. kind
18.A. promised B. bought C. handed D. suggested
19.A. energetic B. unlucky C. unworthy D. worthy
20.A. even if B. as long as C. unless D. as though
How to Say “Help Me” in American Sign Language
American Sign Language (ASL) is the standard sign language used by the deaf community in the United States. ASL is a means for the deaf to communicate. ASL is not a replication(复制) of English. It is vastly different from British Sign Language (BSL). 1. To sign the phrase “help me” in American Sign Language, use these steps.
★Make the “help” sign. Place the right first on top of the flat left palm（手掌）. Elbows should be slightly out. Raise hands together. 2. Some people do this sign by placing the left fist on the right palm. Do it however your local teachers or deaf friends do it.
★Combine with movement. 3. In this phrase, start the movement toward the person being addressed. If you are talking to someone in front of you and start the sign to your right and bring it nearer to you, it means “He helps me.” If you start the sign near to the other person and bring it toward yourself, it means “You help me.” However, the sign can be made without having to sign each word.
★Add facial expressions. American Sign Language is a visual language. 4. Raised eyebrows, for example, usually convey a question, such as “You help me?” or “Will you help me?” A harsh or frowning expression means importance or urgency, as in “Help me!”
★5. American Sign Language has an entire alphabet using finger signs. By learning the entire alphabet, an individual can use his/her fingers to spell any word, as in this case “Help!”
★Tips & Warnings: Signing should be comfortable. Hold hands and arms where they are most comfortable; for older people, this may be lower.
A. Learn to fingerspell.
B. Ask someone for help.
C. Facial expression add greatly to the meaning.
D. This is similar to the gesture of assisting something upwards.
E. ASL has a clear vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure.
F. We acquire sign language in the same way as we acquire spoken language.
G. ASL uses the direction of the movement to determine the subject of the phrase.
Business depends on productivity and employee’s interaction(互动) with customers. The more productive a company is and the better its customer service is, the more income it makes. Productivity is measured by the output of employees. No other factor influences productivity and customer interaction more than how the employees think about their job.
Working environments are not the same. Blame Donais, in his book Workplaces That Work, defines culture as “a system of shared beliefs, values and norms(规范) that shape behavior”. This system of shared beliefs creates the atmosphere in which the employees work and determines their worth in the company, their opportunities within the company and their opinions of their managers.
A review of the culture of the workplace helps the management team to create models that inspire a more productive and employee-friendly culture. Understanding the workplace culture gives the management insight（洞察力）as to what hinders(阻碍) production, what can be changed and what policies can be added.
Negative cultures discourage employees, form having opinions. This is generally a result of a management team that only sees employees for their production values. Employees who don’t feel valued move on to companies that encourage their input. The high turnover results in less qualified employees.
Positive workplace cultures keep more employees. Employees who remain in positions for extended periods of time develop relationships with preferred customers and can often be the reason that a customer does business with a company. Motivated employees value the company’s assets（资产）more, and their decisions reflect this value.
Joan Hodgins, a management psychologist, insists that “Research shows organizations that are committed to developing and maintaining a culture of ‘dignity at work’, harvest the benefits in terms of financial results.” Blame Donais advises that large workplaces be aware of subcultures that can develop in different regions in the world. Large companies may need outside help to create national or global platforms to encourage a united culture among all their locations.
1.What influences a company most according to the text?
A. Its customer service. B. Its efficient production.
C. Its managers’ work attitude. D. Its employees’ opinions about work.
2.What can we learn about Blame Donais’ attitude?
A. He thins people have different opinions on negative cultures.
B. He thinks large workplaces should maintain a different culture.
C. He thinks the system of shared beliefs is not fit for workplaces.
D. He thinks subcultures are of great importance to large workplaces.
3.What way be the best title for the text?
A. The Importance of Workplace Culture
B. The Disadvantages of Workplace Culture
C. How to Choose a Qualified Company
D. How to Employ Qualified Employees
Today, we talk about a common object that appears in many expressions — buttons! Buttons, which are usually small and round and made of metal or plastic, are found on all sorts of clothing. They fasten or connect one piece of clothing to another in order to make sure your clothes don’t fall off.
To be cute as a button is an old saying, which means to be attractive or sweet, but in a small way. Babies are often described as cute as a button. Language experts don’t know why. But they do say this expression dates back to the late 1860s.
Here is another expression related to button: button-down. People often wear button-down shirts to the office. Button-down as an adjective means to be conservative or traditional. People described as button-down stay as close as possible to the normal way of dressing and behaving.
When buttoning a button you slip it into a buttonhole. A buttonhole traps the button. So, to buttonhole someone means you have trapped them in a spoken conversation. Now, let’s say you find yourself buttonholed in a conversation at a party. Someone just keeps talking and talking and talking! Finally, you can’t take it any longer. You tell the person to button it! This is a direct, but unacceptable way of saying “Stop talking!” Button your lip is another equally rude but effective way to stop a person who talks too much.
Another kind of difficult person is someone who pushes one’s buttons. To push one’s buttons means to know exactly how to get that person angry or upset. People who like to push other people’s buttons usually do it for selfish reasons. They find a person’s weak point and then they use it to upset them.
1.What do you think of someone who wears a button-down shirt to the office?
A. Funny. B. Traditional.
C. Crazy. D. Fashionable.
2.What will you probably say to get rid of a long and boring talk?
A. Button your lip. B. Be cute as a button.
C. Push your buttons. D. Be button-down.
3.How does the fourth paragraph mainly develop?
A. By giving examples. B. By making contrasts.
C. By listing figures. D. By analyzing cause and effect.
4.What does the underlined phrase “pushes one’s buttons” in Paragraph 5 mean?
A. Learns of one’s secret. B. Shouts loudly.
C. Gets someone to lose his temper. D. Argues with someone.
“I’ve never used that road,” I said doubtfully. After a weekend of camping, it’s time for us to go home. The question was, which way?
The campsite in the mountainous Nyanga District of Zimbabwe was an hour and a half’s drive from our house in Mutare. There’s one road between Mutare and Nyanga that everyone uses. We’d driven on it many times. But just before we left for our holiday, a friend had emailed to say she’d heard of another route. So now here we were, with two roads from which to choose.
“Let’s try it,” I said to my husband. “Surely it can’t be too bad.”
Unlike me, an English girl who would never forget her four years in Paris, my husband grew up in this part of the world. He knew the fear of breaking down miles from anywhere with no cellphone signal. But to my surprise, he turned right at the Bonda Mission sign. Almost immediately, the magic began.
“Look, Mum,” Sam, who was 10, cried. “It’s that famous school!”
Sure enough, just past Bonda Mission there was a road sign to Knows tics Academy, a small rural school that nobody had heard of until last year when two of its pupils got the best results in the world for their history final exams, set by the University of Cambridge. We’d read about it in Zimbabwe’s main state-run newspaper but had no idea we’d see it today!
Sometimes I think of what my life might have been like if I’d stayed in Paris, if I’d kept to the main road, the one almost certain to have taken me where I thought I wanted to go. And then I remember what coming across the unknown in Zimbabwe has given me: wonderful experiences I could never have dreamed of.
1.What puzzled the author’s family at the moment of leaving the campsite?
A. How to get home. B. Which route to take.
C. Which city to go to first. D. How to contact their friend.
2.What did the author’s husband do after hearing her suggestion?
A. He expressed his strong fear. B. He found their car broke down.
C. He put it into practice. D. He turned to his cellphone for help.
3.What can we infer from Paragraph 6?
A. It was an unexpected experience to see Knows tics Academy.
B. It was a part of their travel schedule to see Knows tics Academy.
C. Knows tics Academy inspired the author’s son to study harder.
D. Seeing Knows tics Academy was a suggestion given by the author’s friend.
4.What does the author feel according to the last paragraph?
A. She regrets giving up the main road.
B. She can’t help missing her life in Paris.
C. She dreams of settling in Zimbabwe one day.
D. She likes her experiences in Zimbabwe.
Things to Do in Atlanta This Weekend
Start the year off by experiencing something new this weekend! Here are our favorite events picked for this weekend.
The Glenn Miller Orchestra at Spivey Hall, Saturday
The music of Glenn Miller has an unusual sound. Combine that with the perfect sound affects at Spivey Hall, and you get a concert that is sure to have your toes tapping. And really, who doesn’t love Challanooga Choo Choo?
Garden Lights at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Saturday
This is the last night for this annual light show at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. It is particularly unusual that the magical sound of frogs in the conservatory(温室) is not from a recording. That magic is coming from the real frogs that live there. If it’s not too crowded, stop along the way, close your eyes and just listen.
Children’s Workshop: Egyptian Hieroglyphs(象形文字), Saturday
Does your child dream of becoming a historian when he grows up? If you answer “yes”, you will want to take him to the Michael C. Carlos Museum. Participants will learn how to read and write ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs from Egyptologist Annie Shanley. Children will have an opportunity to discover the meaning of hieroglyphs on tomb reliefs and statues.
Colin Mochrie at Dad’s Garage Theatre, Saturday and Sunday
Set the tone for a great 2018 with laughter. Colin Mochrie comes to Dad’s Garage Theatre and brings his lightning-quick creativity and humor.
If you want to look at all the events happening this weekend, check out our full events calendar.
1.Where can people enjoy Glenn Miller’s works?
A. At Spivey Hall. B. At Dad’s Garage Theatre.
C. At the Atlanta Botanical Garden. D. At the Michael C. Carlos Museum.
2.What makes the light show at the Atlanta Botanical Garden unusual?
A. The perfect light effects.
B. The sound from real frogs.
C. The specially designed conservatory.
D. The magical sound from a recording.
3.What can tourists do at the Michael C. Carlos Museum?
A. Interview Annie Shanley.
B. Meet some sinners face to face.
C. Learn to read ancient Egyptian writing.
D. Carve hieroglyphs on tomb reliefs and statues.
4.Which of the following can best describe the event to be held at Dad’s Garage Theatre?
A. Challenging. B. Educational.
C. Historic. D. Amusing.
