I planted two seeds side by side in the soil in my backyard. The first says, “I want to grow! I want to send my roots ______ into the soil, and try to ______. I want to feel the ______ of the sun on my face!” and it grew. The second seed says, “I am ______. If I send my roots into the ground below, I don’t know what I will meet in the ______. If I push my way through the hard soil, I may ______ my small sprouts (芽). What if a small child may pull me ______ from the ground. No, it is much better for me to wait ______ safe.” A hen walking around for food found the waiting seed and ______ ate it.
I sometimes ______ myself -- What if I stop focusing on the worst and go for the ______? Most people can do ______ things if they have the confidence to take the ______. Yet most people don’t, there are lots of people ______ on the sofa saying: I’m going …They will do it when they are rich and when they get ______ and their children are perfectly grown.
The ______ is that your life can never be perfect. Part of it might be, though. Step away from the sofa sitters who are ______ a single perfect day to begin ______ their dreams.
Believe in yourself and know that you can do ______! However, those who ______ to risk get controlled by life finally.
1.A. high B. wide C. short D. deep
2.A. get up B. blow up C. pick up D. come up
3.A. warmth B. violence C. strength D. coolness
4.A. happy B. afraid C. wrong D. excited
5.A. sky B. sea C. dark D. bright
6.A. damage B. grow C. help D. touch
7.A. in B. down C. up D. on
8.A. though B. once C. when D. until
9.A. frequently B. kindly C. seriously D. immediately
10.A. blame B. ask C. answer D. control
11.A. worst B. smallest C. best D. farthest
12.A. unusual B. humorous C. boring D. useless
13.A. food B. money C. risk D. invitation
14.A. walking B. jumping C. sitting D. standing
15.A. married B. rich C. young D. handsome
16.A. quality B. truth C. dream D. advantage
17.A. spending B. organizing C. suffering D. waiting
18.A. realizing B. reaching C. hurting D. affecting
19.A. both B. nothing C. little D. anything
20.A. start B. accept C. refuse D. employ
Thomas Edison was one of the most successful inventors the world has ever seen.1.
Bui people found that although Edison was good at inventing new things, he was a poor fisherman. He used to spend an hour almost every day sitting at the side of a river and fish. He always fished all alone by himself.2.
People asked Edison, “Why are you so crazy about fishing when you are so bad at it?” His answer was, “I really never caught ant fish because I have never used any bait (诱饵).” Another question followed, “Why would you fish without bait?” Edison answered, “Because when you fish without bait, people don’t disturb you and neither do the fish.3.”
Sometimes the world’s best inventor was the world’s worst fisherman. In fact, because Edison was the world’s worst fisherman, he could become the world’s greatest inventor.
Are you setting aside some time for yourself to think?4. Here are some ideas for you:
► Slowing down and taking long showers is a good idea.
► 5.
► Long walks are good too.
► Afternoon naps have been proved to improve creativity.
A. But he never caught any fish.
B. It provides me my best time to think.
C. So is listening to some soft classical music.
D. In all, Edison has thousands of inventions.
E. He was asked the reason behind him being a fisherman.
F. To make your brain work better, you need to take a rest.
G. Set aside 15-20 minutes per day so that you can do nothing.
A famous study was done in a school by a professor from a university. At the start of the school year, the teachers were given the names of five children. They were told that these five were the most excellent students in the class. But the fact was that these students were only average, and they were not the best students at all. Well, guess what? At the end of the year, all the five average students scored among the highest in the class.
What made these average students change so much to become top students? The only difference was the change in their teachers’ attitude. Because the teachers believed that these five kids were the top students, they expected (期望) more from them. And so these five average students began to believe and expect more from themselves. So they worked harder to do as well as they could.
Do you know why? If you expect the best from people, they’ll usually want to give you their best. A great leader said, “Treat (对待) a person just how he appears to be on the outside, and you’ll make him even worse. But treat a person like he’s already a success, and you’ll help make him the best he can be.”
Like the true story of 7-year-old Johnny, his teacher got so angry with him that one day she said, “Johnny, you’re the naughtiest (最顽皮的) boy in this class. I’m sure you’ll never change.” The next year Johnny had a new teacher. And on the first day of class, she met with Johnny after school and said, “Johnny, I’ve heard a lot about you! But do you know that I don’t believe a word of it.” And every day after that, this new teacher treated Johnny as if he was one of the smartest students even when Johnny did naughty things. Later on, Johnny became a school leader. Because that’s the power of our belief and attitude toward children.
1.The professor started his research by .
A. teaching the five children himself
B. asking the five children to find a new teacher
C. telling the five students to work harder than ever before
D. telling the teacher the five students were the best in the class
2.The five average students became top students mainly because of .
A. the professor’s study
B. the teachers’ hard work
C. the change in the teachers’ attitude
D. the change in the professor’s attitude
3.Why did the writer tell us the story of 7-year-old Johnny?
A. To let us know how good his new teacher was.
B. To show the importance of encouragement
C. To show that the boy was clever enough.
D. To let us know the famous boy.
4.The writer writes the passage mainly by .
A. giving reasons and result
B. giving result and examples
C. describing what he thinks
D. asking and answering questions
5.What does the passage mainly tell us?
A. If you want to get more, you should have new teachers.
B. A professor’s study can help you score highest.
C. Only teachers can make you a top student.
D. Attitude and belief can change a person.
The Internet plays a big part in human life. We use it for work and entertainment. We can find new recipes on the Interact or advice on staying healthy. We can even use it to learn a new language. We use the Internet to keep in contact with family and friends and stay in touch with issues we care about. The list goes on and on.
Well, there may be no going back to an Internet-free life. But can using the Internet too much be bad for our health? It might be, say researchers. A new study finds that heavy Internet use may be connected to high blood pressure in an unlikely group---teenagers. So, try to be a responsible guardian for your children.
The study results show that teens who spend at least 14 hours a week online are more likely to have high blood pressure. High blood pressure makes your heart and blood vessels work too hard. Over time, this extra strain increases your risk of a heart attack or stroke. High blood pressure can also cause heart, kidney and brain diseases.
The Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan did the study. It involved 335 young people, from 14 to 17 years old. One hundred and thirty-four of the teens were described as “heavy Internet users”. Researchers found that out of these 134 teens, 26 had high blood pressure. The researchers say the study is the first one to connect heavy web use with high blood pressure. Another research has connected that heavy Internet use with health problems including anxiety, depression and obesity.
The lead researcher of the study is Andrea Cassidy-Bushrow. For the purpose of the study, she explains, teens considered heavy Internet users were online on average “25 hours a week”. In a statement she said, “Using the Internet is part of our daily but it shouldn’t consume us.”
Ms. Gassidy-Bushrow adds that it is important for teens to take regular breaks from their computers or smart phones and to do some kinds of physical activities. She also suggests that parents limit their children’s use of the Internet to two hours a day, five days a week.
1.The author mainly wants to tell us .
A. how to prevent high blood pressure.
B. too much Internet use may be bad for teenagers.
C. it’s necessary for teenagers to avoid the Internet.
D. heavy Internet use will worsen teenagers’ memory.
2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 mean?
A. People shouldn’t buy goods through the Internet.
B. People shouldn’t waste too much time on the Internet.
C. People shouldn’t fall in love with the Internet.
D. People should control the time length of using the Internet
3.According to Casssidy-Bushrow, teenagers’ use of the Internet should be limited to .
A. 25 hours a week B. fourteen hours a week
C. ten hours a week D. five hours a week
4.The text is mainly intended for .
A. parents B. teachers
C. web-designers D. students
Kenyon Scudder once told me a story about his friend, Michael. Michael happened to be on a train sitting next to a young man who seemed worried. Finally the young man told the friend that he was a convict (罪犯) returning home from a prison for away. What he did had brought shame on his family, and they had neither visited him nor written to him. He hoped, however, that this was only because they were too poor to travel and too busy to write.
When he was set free he had written to tell them he wanted to go home. To make matters easy for them, however, he had asked them to put up a signal (信号) for him when the train passed their little form. If the family had forgiven (原谅) him, they were to put up a white ribbon (丝带) in the big apple tree near the railway. If they didn’t want him back, they were to do nothing, and he would stay on the train, and go far away.
As the train neared his hometown, his suspense became so great that he was afraid to look out of the window. He asked Michael to watch for the big apple tree. They changed seats. In a minute, Michael put his hand on the young convict’s shoulder. “There it is,” he said, his eyes filled with sudden tears. “It’s all right. The whole tree is white with ribbons.”
1.For which of the following reasons might the young man be worried?
A. His family might not allow him to go home.
B. His family would not remember him.
C. His family hadn’t written to him frequently.
D. His family hadn’t visited him for a long time.
2.The word “suspense” underlined in the last paragraph can best be replaced by .
A. pain B. fright
C. worry D. happiness
3.Why was Michael asked to watch for the apple tree?
A. The young convict was afraid that he was refused by his family.
B. The young convict’s seat was far from the window.
C. The young convict was afraid of seeing a white ribbon in the tree.
D. The young man was sure that his family would accept him.
Time zone:
Eastern Standard Time (EST): GMT+l0 hours.
There is no daylight saving time in Queensland.
Legal drinking age:
18 years and older. Always keep your ID with you to prove your age.
Alcohol (酒) shops & hotels are the only places where alcohol can be bought.
Dangers:
Dial 000 from a fixed line or 112 from a mobile phone. Police, ambulance, fire.
Electricity:
240/250 volts AC 50Hz Universal outlets for 110 volts (shavers only) standard in hotels, apartments, motels.
Telephones:
Australian international code is 61.
Road rules:
Left hand side driving. There is a 50kmh speed limit in most living areas and on open highways 100-110 kmh, seat belts must be worn all the time. If you want to hire a car, take along your driver’s license.
No smoking:
Indoors: Indoor areas are no smoking.
Poker Machines: Poker machine areas are no smoking.
Outdoors: Non-enclosed eating and drinking areas are no smoking.
Swimming safety:
ALWAYS SWIM BET WEEN THE RED AND YELLOW FLAGS and pay attention to the life guards’ advice. Gold coast beaches are guarded by skilled life guards and volunteers at weekends.
1.The above information is most probably taken from a(n) .
A. science magazine B. education newspaper
C. travel guide book D. horror novel
2.We can learn from the above information that in Queensland .
A. smoking is not allowed in lots of places
B. people can buy alcohol anywhere with ID
C. people can swim beyond the red and yellow flags
D. when a building is on fire, dial 112 from a fixed line
3.If Mr. Black in having a holiday in Queensland, he can .
A. drive on the right hand side
B. hire a car with his driver’s license
C. drive at the speed of 120kmh on high ways
D. drive his car without wearing the seat belt
