How to develop courage by overcoming daily fears
At times, when it comes to courage, we tend to believe it only applies to rare and uncommon situations. Yet our ordinary lives can also be full of courage, even if we are not facing the end of a gun, a wild animal or a dangerous criminal. Courage doesn’t just mean doing heroic acts. 1. In fact, where there is fear on a daily basis, there are opportunities for you to show your courage. Here are some suggestions to develop courage by overcoming daily fears.
Recognizing your fears.
By realizing that you’re fearful, you are more likely to get to the bottom of what your fear is. 2. You might come to understand that you’re afraid of failing or taking chances. You may be fearful simply because you don’t have confidence in yourself. The key is not to dwell on your fear, but rather to understand what it is that you’re worried about.
Ask yourself what is the worst that can happen.
If you hesitate to take action, ask yourself this: what’s the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then go on to improve on the worst. Is failure the worst thing that can happen? No, absolutely not. 3.. Doing nothing is actually the worst thing that can happen. When you take no action, you are assured of getting nowhere.
Take action.
4.. You cannot think courage comes just in one day. You need to act to overcome your fear. Your action may put you into discomfort, but you have to just do it. And your action can prevent you from being stuck.
5. To build up your confidence, you need to do the same thing over and over again. Soon you will discover that less courage is needed because you have already gained mastery. You are able to move decisively forward.
A. Share your fears with others.
B. Practice, practice and practice.
C. So you are already in a comfort zone.
D. Courage comes from taking action
E. Each undesired result is just one more step towards your goal.
F. Finding out what is truly holding you back,
G. You needn’t wait for an emergency to occur to develop courage.
Did you know that sixty percent of your body weight is water? However, a loss of only two percent of this water through dehydration (脱水) during exercise can significantly affect your performance. The more you sweat, the more your exercise performance declines, unless you drink enough to replace your loss of fluids (液体).
When you lose too much water, you can overheat quite easily, especially in a warm environment. But this is not the only problem you may face. Dehydration leads to your heart pumping much faster, which means exercise becomes more difficult and requires more effort. Despite these problems, however, many of us simply do not take enough fluids in when we head for the gym or set out on a run.
So why is this? How do we manage to lose so much water without simply drinking more to replace it? Well, it’s easier than you think. When we are at rest, we quickly become aware that we are thirsty and will put that right by having a drink. When we exercise, on the other hand, our thirst mechanism (结构) does not work as effectively, so we don’t notice early enough that we are actually thirsty. In fact, we only start to fed thirsty when we have already lost around two percent of our body weight.
Another problem is that, the more dehydration we become during exercise, the more difficult it is to prevent further dehydration-because our stomachs become intolerant (不能容忍的) to fluids and we do not absorb water properly, just when we need it most.
The key thing about fluids and exercise is to manage your intake properly-regular small amounts are preferable, and some should be drunk before the period of exercise begins. You also need to match your intake to the sort of exercise you are doing. For example, for one hour of exercise, such as taking part in a 10 km run, you need to drink about two extra litres of water. For longer periods of exercise, sports drinks are recommended.
1.We know from the text that during exercise, dehydration .
A. can be easily avoided.
B. will lead to poor performance.
C. can cause many health problems.
D. will be controlled whenever we drink again.
2.Why do people suffer from dehydration easily during exercise?
A. Their thirst mechanism stops working.
B. Their focus is on the exercise.
C. Their thirst response is slow.
D. Their stomachs are full.
3.When exercising, you are advised to .
A. have regular breaks.
B. drink water properly.
C. drink sports water in advance.
D. have at least two liters of water.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Keep fit B. Say no to sports!
C. Time to get drinking! D. Ways to avoid dehydration
Some of the most famous universities in America are urging students to consider the idea of putting off college for a year. It’s called a “gap year.” And while it’s been common and popular in Australia and the U.K. for decades, the concept is now starting to gain significant steam here in America.
Why? A growing number of high school seniors are tired of riding the academic conveyor belt from preschool all the way to university. They’re burnt out. Or not quite ready. Or they want to explore a few interests before deciding what to study in college, they’re volunteering in New Orleans or teaching in Thailand. They’re starting the great American novel, or working for a short time to help figure out what they want to do with their lives.
Understandably, that makes a lot of parents nervous. But a gap year does not mean that a student will remain degree-less forever. While there are no formal studies on the number of students who don’t finally go to college after the gap year, evidence from admissions officers across the country says very few actually leave college without finishing their courses. Taking a gap year can actually make kids more focused and ready for future academic life. In fact, Harvard University believes so much in the gap year that it encourages every student it admits to consider a year off before matriculation (入学).
The reason behind higher education’s support of the gap year is clear: Better-prepared students mean higher completion rates. And it’s completion that matters. Parents should remember that getting a kid into college is only half the battle. According to the College Board, three out of five students who enter a public four-year college don’t manage to obtain a degree within five years. And nearly 30 percent of all students who enter college don’t return after the gap year. Considering the fact that this year’s average price at a four-year private college is about $ 23,712 per year, it’s a pretty expensive place to play around.
1.Students want to take a gap year mainly because .
①they want to have an experience of foreign education
②they want to escape academic pressure for a while
③they want to read more books before college
④they are not completely prepared for college
⑤they can’t decide what to learn in college
A. ①③④ B. ①③⑤
C. ②③④ D. ②④⑤
2.What makes parents feel concerned about the gap year?
A. The high cost of the gap year.
B. The safety risks outside school.
C. Their kids dropping out of college
D. Their kids falling behind in their lessons.
3.Why do some universities encourage the gap year?
A. It means students will have enough money to pay for college.
B. It allows students to finish college in less than four years.
C. It gets students more involved in their studies.
D. It makes students develop a competitive spirit.
4.What is the author’s attitude towards the gap year?
A. Surprised. B. Supportive.
C. Critical. D. Doubtful.
Camp Bestival is a British music festival. It is held annually, in July, at Lulworth Castle in Dorset and is targeted at families with small children. It can hold 30,000 people. It won the Best New Festival award from the UK Festival Awards in 2008 and the Best Family Festival in 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014.
Camp Bestival has a variety of activities-and entertainment throughout the festival, including comedy shows, literature programmes, a kids area, workshops and performances.
Food stalls (摊位) and tents are available all over the festival site.
Camp Bestival 2015 Weekend Ticket Prices:
Adult Weekend Ticket-£195
Student Weekend Ticket-£180
Age 15 to 17 Weekend Ticket-£113
Age 11 to 14 Weekend Ticket-£88
Age 5 to 10 Weekend Ticket-£20
Age 4 & Under Weekend Ticket-FREE
General Terms and Conditions:
• Weekend Ticket holders (Thursday arrivals): Car parks open at 10 am and the campsites open at midday on Thursday 30th July.
• Weekend Ticket holders (Friday arrivals): Car parks open at 7 am and the campsites open at 9 am on Friday 31st July.
• No entry to the site after midnight (each night). Campsites close at 2 pm on Monday 3rd August.
• You will not be allowed to bring in glass bottles of any kind. Broken glass is very dangerous for kids. Small stoves can be used to cook food but ONLY in allowed cooking areas.
• The Lulworth Castle site is a beautiful natural site and we want to keep it that way, so please help us by keeping it clean—Keep Bestival Tidy!
1.According to the text, Camp Bestival .
A. has won awards each year since 2008
B. attracts 30,000 people every year
C. is aimed at young kids
D. is held every summer
2.If a couple brings their 3-year-old child to Camp Bestival 2015, they should pay .
A. £ 375 B. £ 380
C. £ 390 D. £ 410
3.For Friday arrivals, they .
A. may stay in the campsites till midnight on Monday
B. are refused entry to the campsites after 2 pm
C. are required to park their cars before 9 am
D. can enter the campsites in the morning
4.We can infer from the text that Camp Bestival is .
A. new-born
B. smoke-filled
C. student-centered
D. environmentally-friendly
Have you ever been to the world’s smallest bookstore?
The World’s Smallest Bookstore, whose official name is just these three words, sits quietly about 100 miles northeast of Toronto.
The bookstore is about 10 feet by 10 feet，so it is easy to imagine how tiny it really is. The bookstore is open 24 hours a day. Inside the bookstore are various books, especially literary books and classic authors’ works. So if you are looking for something less popular, you may get a bit disappointed there.
Another special feature of this bookstore is that each book only costs three dollars. All the expenses are paid on the honor system, which means buyers should make a note of what they’ve bought and leave their money by themselves. So the tools of the trade in this bookstore are quite simple: pens, papers, light bulbs and a label-maker.
In order to catch passers-by’s attention, the billboards (广告牌) of the bookstore are several times bigger than the store itself. With these large eye-catchers, many people are willing to stop by and have a visit.
1.What’s the passage mainly about?
A. The popular books nowadays.
B. A strange way of selling books.
C. The world’s smallest bookstore
D. The popular bookstores in the world.
2.Which of the following books might you most probably get in the store?
A. Books on popular science.
B. Books on economic control.
C. The year book of a university.
D. Literary books.
3.How could you buy a book from the store?
A. Choose the book(s) and leave the money there.
B. The salesman will get the money for the book.
C. The salesman will help you find the book.
D. Pay on the net and then get the book(s) in the store.
请你根据所给背景材料、建议以及要求写一篇英文短文。
背景材料
编者按：本期刊出Henry的来信，欢迎读者就信中谈到的问题提出建议并给出理由。
Dear editor,
The summer holidays come to an end and a new school year begins. Although school is all about getting knowledge and learning is a part of our life, it's not only exciting but also exhausting, boring and stressful. I am worried about the coming duties.
建议1.心态乐观 2.课后活动3.健康饮食。
要求l、词数100左右
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯
3.开头语和结尾语已为你写好
Dear Henry,
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Yours ,
Mike
