Christmas is always people’s favorite time of the year. _______, it is no mine, not now. On December 23, I still didn’ t have a single present to put_______ the tree for my seven-year-old son, Joe. How was I ever going to find- let alone _______ -the brand-name(名牌的) model airplane he and all his friends were going _______ about?
“I know Santa will got it for me,” he told me “I’ve been a good boy all year.” How could I _______ that sometimes even good boys didn’t get what they asked for from Santa? My husband had been disabled due to an accident, so I had to take up the family _______ by myself. I’d saved every _______, but I still only had enough for a few secondhand gifts. I hoped that I could _______ buy my son a toy and a photo album, one that would hold his new photos _______ in the secondhand store.
Life was hard for us. I knew that without hope and ________ I’d have nothing. So I believed everything would become better. But the sorry state of everything in sight in the secondhand store ________ me. There was a doll that looked like it had been ________ over by a truck and a set of colored pencils—half of them were almost ________ up... I let out a ________ and walked down another aisle(过道). Maybe I must hadn’t been looking hard enough. ________ enough, the bottom shelf I found an unopened box. It was the brand-name model airplane Joe had asked for ... at only half the original price! What a ________! I grabbed it and excitedly ran to the checkout counter (收根台).
At the checkout counter, something on the counter caught my ________— a photo album, lying facedown. Someone had ________ not to get it and dropped it there, I guessed. I opened it up and found it was just the right ________ for Joe’s new photos. It was ________. It was really a last-minute shopping wonder. I turned the album over. Inscribed(题写) on the front cover was a line: “God will provide all your needs. ”
1.A. However B. Besides C. Therefore D. Otherwise
2.A. on B. in C. under D. behind
3.A. borrow B. produce C. imagine D. afford
4.A. crazy B. worried C. image D. concerned
5.A. prove B. understand C. explain D. forget
6.A. business B. burden C. life D. benefit
7.A. penny B. minute C. drop D. day
8.A. at most B. at least C. after all D. in brief
9.A. actually B. perfectly C. naturally D. effectively
10.A. courage B. luck C. faith D. money
11.A. inspired B. touched C. pleased D. disappointed
12.A. run B. turned C. rolled D. taken
13.A. fixed B. torn C. used D. burnt
14.A. secret B. sigh C. shout D. cry
15.A. Embarrassed B. Strange C. Funny D. Sure
16.A. pity B. shame C. find D. mess
17.A. breath B. hands C. ears D. attention
18.A. decided B. agreed C. planned D. hesitated
19.A. material B. size C. color D. time
20.A. terrible B. interesting C. ridiculous D. amazing
Want to travel easily? Here are some tips that help you reduce the size of your luggage.
Roll clothes instead of folding them. Many people try to fold their clothes into their little suitcase. 1. It actually makes far more sense to roll your clothes rather than fold them. Starting from the bottom, roll up your clothes into very tightly packed cylinders (圆柱体) which you can stack (堆叠) on top of each other.
Use vacuum bags (真空袋), when possible. 2. Buy some vacuum bags and seal all of your clothes up tightly. Having all of your luggage vacuum sealed will reduce the size of your items greatly. That will allow you to take more of what’s needed.
Always take travel bottles. Even though you are allowed to take full sized bottles in your suitcase, to make sure that you are under the weight allowance, it’s recommended that you still stick to travel-sized bottles. 3. Besides, it will also prevent you from wasting any product. If you do run out of anything while you are on holiday, you can always buy more.
4. If you do need to take a coat, you can wear it on the journey so you don’t have to pack it in your suitcase. Another method you can use is wearing multiple layers (多层衣服) on the journey although this isn’t always the most comfortable.
Research the weather in advance. A great way to prevent packing clothes that you won’t end up wearing is to research what the weather is going to be like where and when you go on holiday. 5. You can know how hot it’s likely going to be, as well as how much rain on average the destination receives each month.
A. It will free up enough room for you.
B. Don’t put any shoes in your suitcase.
C. It will make your suitcase much lighter.
D. Purchase a high and soft-sided suitcase.
E. Wear anything that takes up a lot of room.
F. There are plenty of websites that can predict it.
G. This is not the best way to pack your holiday goods.
As the richest man in the world, Bill Gates is no stranger to success. So when the billionaire offers advice, it’s smart to listen. On Monday, Bill Gates hosted an “AMA” or “ask me anything” session（会议） on Reddit, during which a participant asked, “If you could give 19-year-old Bill Gates some advice, what would it be?”
Gates said: “I would explain that smartness is not single dimensional and not quite as important as I thought it was back then. I would say you might explore the developing world before you get into your forties. I wasn’t very good socially back then, but I am not sure there is advice that would fix that--maybe I had to be awkward and just grow up...”
In short: Intelligence isn’t one-dimensional-and it’s not the only ingredient required for success.
This isn’t the only time Gates has given out advice on navigating your years as a young adult. One of his best pieces of wisdom comes from fellow billionaire and friend Warren Buffett: Keep things simple. In a 2009 interview with CNBC. Gates said: “You look at his calendar; It’s pretty simple. You talk to him about a case where he thinks a business is attractive, and he knows a few basic numbers and facts about it. And he knows a few basic numbers and facts about it. And if it gets less complicated, he feels like then it’s something he’ll choose to invest (投资) in. He picks the things that he’s got a model of, a model that really is predictive and that’s going to continue to work over a long-term period. And so his ability to boil things down, to just work on the things that really count, to think through the basics —it’s so amazing that he can do that. It’s a special form of genius(天才).”
1.What can we learn about 19-year-old Bill Gates?
A. He was not a smart youth.
B. He overvalued the importance of smartness.
C. He had developed great social skills.
D. He thought intelligence was multidimensional.
2.What’s Warren Buffett’s motto?
A. Keep learning. B. Keep things simple.
C. Intelligence isn’t one-dimensional. D. Intelligence is the key to success.
3.What does the underlined phrase “boil things down” mean?
A. Take things down clearly and in detail.
B. Break things down into many smaller pieces.
C. Make things shorter by leaving out unnecessary parts.
D. Do things at a slower pace in order to be careful.
4.What does Bill Gates think about Warren Buffett?
A. Hard to understand. B. Easygoing and talkative.
C. Fearless in investment. D. Wise and extraordinary.
In the book I’ve been reading lately, “On Living” by Kerry Egan, she shares so many powerful stories — each story a parting gift from a hospice (救济院) patient who never knew when a newly arriving might be their last.
What a profound (深刻的) way to live! In a sense, I guess we all live that way, each and every day. But as I read this book, I get the feeling that only hospice patients really know this. Sometimes I realize it, like when I am faced with a choice to work more to earn more money or to go to spend the day with a loved one and earn no money. On the one hand, money, income, rent. On the other hand, love, connection, moments that make life feel like worth living for.
Near the end of “On Living,” Egan shares a story about a patient she calls Linda. Events from decades past were preserved in their mind like precious heirlooms(传家宝), but a new face could be forgotten in as little time as it took to leave the room and return again.
Linda said that she spent her days trying to be caring. She shared: We shower so much love on babies and children. But as we grow up, it stops. No one showers love on grown-ups. Life gets harder, not easier, but we stop loving each other so much, just when we need love most. She then went on to say: One day, when I was lying here, I realized how God is. He is so old. He must need so much love. People are always demanding so much from him, but who is there to shower him with love? So I thought that was something I could do. That’s what I do all day: I try to love God....I can lie here and love God and maybe it will help him.
This is the kind of story that I find impossibly inspiring and provides great impetus for me to make a change. Luckily, I read it on one of the former and it made me realize that there is always a way to help. There is always something we can do. We don’t have to be brave, able-bodied or even of particularly sound(健全的) mind to contribute to the good. We can be caring. We can love. We can be the very love that we need.
1.According to the author, most people ________.
A. give up love to earn income or money
B. seldom go to care for hospice patients
C. are faced with a very difficult choice in life
D. ignore the fact that life is short and precious
2.Linda talked about God to indicate that ________.
A. all people should love God
B. God teaches us to love all people
C. the older one is, the more he/she needs love
D. only hospice patients know they should love God
3.What does the underlined word “impetus” mean?
A. Convenience. B. Motivation.
C. Chances. D. Suggestions.
4.What does the author want to tell us in the last paragraph?
A. Kindness is always the strongest power.
B. We can make a great difference to others.
C. We should be brave enough to love others.
D. Whatever kind of person we are, we can be caring.
You may hear about 12 people who have walked on the moon. Of the outstanding astronauts listed below, who do you think was the most influential in Humans’ history?
Neil Armstrong (Space Flight: Apollo 11; Time on Moon: 21h 31m 20s)
Armstrong’s biggest moment came in 1969, when he was chosen for NASA’s first manned lunar mission (任务). On July 21, 1969, he set foot on the surface of the moon, which made him the first human to do so. After returning, Armstrong became an international icon(偶像) and was honored worldwide. His words also impressed the world.
Pete Conrad (Space Flight: Apollo 12; Time on Moon: 31h 31m 12s)
•During his childhood, Pete suffered from dyslexia (读写困难）. He failed in the 11th grade and had to leave school. Then he joined Darrow School, where he performed so well that he won a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) scholarship. Before joining NASA, Pete was a fighter pilot. He was chosen as the commander of Apollo 12, and landed on the moon on Nov 19, 1969.
Edgar Mitchell (Space Flight: Apollo 14; Time on Moon: 1d 9h 30m 29s)
Edgar was selected by NASA, in 1966, and was later made the lunar module (分离舱) pilot of Apollo 14. He followed his commander Alan Shepard onto the moon, becoming the sixth person to do so. Edgar has expressed his firm belief that UTOs belong to other planets. He also firmly believes that the US government is in possession of some “recovered alien bodies”, and is covering up this issue so that the truth doesn’t come out.
John Young (Space Flight: Apollo 16; Time on Moon: 2d 23h 02m 13s)
Young was made the commander of Apollo 16, which landed on the moon on April 16, 1972. He was the ninth person to set foot there. John was chosen as the commander of the first space shuttle flight in 1981. Young retired from NASA after serving for around 42 years, which made him the man ever to work for NASA for the longest time.
1.What was Neil Armstrong noted for in history?
A. Being a famous international hero.
B. Being the first to walk on the moon.
C. Being the first astronaut of NASA.
D. Being respected the people worldwide.
2.What was Edgar Mitchell’s firm belief?
A. America has known some secrets of aliens.
B. Humans should be cautious about UFOs.
C. Much truth about aliens should be made public.
D. UFOs had set foot on the moon before humans’ arrival.
3.Who stayed on the moon for the longest time?
A. Neil Armstrong. B. Pete Conrad.
C. Edgar Mitchell. D. John Young.
4.What do the four astronauts have in common?
A. They were honored all over the world.
B. They all set foot on the moon in the 1960s.
C. They were members of NASA’s Apollo program.
D. They retired shortly after they returned to the earth.
Supreet Kaur, 28, was reporting the Saturday morning bulletin（新闻快报）for news channel（电视台）IBC24 in Chhattisgarh, eastern India. She delivered a breaking news report about a car crash and spoke with a reporter on the phone who gave additional details. While the reporter didn’t identify the three victims by name, there were enough details for Kaur to realise her husband, Harshad Kawade, had been killed. She knew he had been travelling on the same road, at the same time with four friends in the same type of car identified in the accident —a Renault Duster.
But brave Kaur kept her professionalism and continued to read the headlines for another ten minutes — before breaking down in tears off camera.
Colleagues were full of admiration for the way the 28-year-old mother of one handled the situation. One editor told the “Indian Express”: “It clearly shows her sense of duty and professionalism that she continued and kept calm for another 10 minutes. The moment the cameras were off she began calling her relatives and broke down. She left for the accident site after that. Kaur has worked with us for nine years and is one of the most popular news presenters in the State. "We stand with our colleague in pain.” Another colleague told the ‘‘Hindustan Times; “She is an extremely brave lady. We are proud of her as a news presenter, but what happened today has left us in shock.”
Viewers on social media were also full of praise for the way Kaur calmed herself down.
1.What happened to Supreet Kaur’s husband?
A. He was murdered.
B. He died in a car crash.
C. He killed 3 people by accident.
D. He got lost when traveling with friends.
2.Right upon learning what happened to her husband, Supreet Kaur ________.
A. doubted the truth of the news
B. kept calm and continued her work
C. rushed to the accident site at once
D. burst into tears before the camera
3.What’s the theme of this passage?
A. Friendship. B. Teamwork.
C. Understanding. D. Professionalism.
