George Springer helped his team Houston Astros win the World Series in 2017. He was awarded the Most Valuable Player, ______ his struggle is mostly hidden. His ______ is not in trying to hit a fastball, but in ______ it. He stutters(口吃).
Growing up in Connecticut, Springer was the kid who would ______ raise his hand in school, the kid ______ every time he opened his mouth.
“I was the guy who didn’t talk,’’ he said. “I would ______ speaking at all costs.’’
He was often ______. Sometimes he was bullied(欺侮). The phone was suffering to him. ______were worse. If he wanted a dish that he knew would be tough to say, he would ______. If he was with his family, his sister Nicole would ______ for him.
He remembers a couple of attempts at speech therapy(治疗), but he said he was ______ with encouraging parents, an ability to ______ himself in sports, and a small group of friends who ______.
“If therapy works for you, ______. But for me, I also developed my own ______ to handle it,’’ he said. “Besides, when I was around all my friends, it didn’t really seem to ______ them. If I did it, they would ______ until I was done, then finish the conversation.’’
To help other kids ______ the same issue, Springer frequently appeared in interviews and even agreed to wear a microphone ______ during the 2017 All-Star Game. He then added “I can’t let anything in life I can’t ______ slow me down or stop me from being who I want to be.’’ These 22 words proved it.
1.A. so B. yet C. and D. since
2.A. strength B. fault C. goal D. difficulty
3.A. talking about B. dealing with C. thinking about D. playing with
4.A. even B. sometimes C. often D. never
5.A. in delight B. in fear C. in relief D. in trouble
6.A. forbid B. prefer C. regret D. avoid
7.A. deserted B. scared C. teased D. attacked
8.A. Classes B. Restaurants C. Foods D. Debates
9.A. gesture B. weep C. signal D. beg
10.A. take B. pay C. order D. cook
11.A. blessed B. getting along C. provided D. fed up
12.A. refresh B. relax C. enjoy D. express
13.A. cared B. forgave C. understood D. approved
14.A. interesting B. great C. unique D. strange
15.A. ways B. interest C. habits D. taste
16.A. amaze B. hurt C. aid D. bother
17.A. laugh B. press C. wait D. panic
18.A. raising B. facing C. confusing D. settling
19.A. on field B. in school C. at home D. on stage
20.A. grasp B. possess C. control D. defend
Are you ready for your exam?
So, it’s exam time again -have you done the necessary work to get good marks? Sleeping with the textbook under the pillow in the hope that knowledge will be magically absorbed into your brain as you sleep doesn’t work. The best strategy is to space your practice out, rather than cram(突击学习)it all together. 1.!
In an article, Tom Stafford, a lecturer in psychology and cognitive(认知的) science at the APF--University of Sheffield, advises, “If you organize five hours of study into one hour a day, you’ll remember more than if you study for five hours a day.”
2.—get pen and paper and start working. Students who can test themselves in advance will be better at getting back material from their memory and learning that material in the long run. You should start by reading a textbook using your favorite highlighter(荧光笔). 3. Instead of just reading those, you basically try to test yourself on them.
4., but if you are still anxious, there’s no harm in performing a personal ritual(仪式). In Japan, for example, it seems to be a tradition for students to eat Katsudon before a test. 5.. The name of the dish reminds people of the word “katsu”, meaning“ winning”. The bottom line is that you need to study, sleep well on the eve of the test, eat a nutritious meal, drink plenty of water and believe that your efforts will pay off. Good luck in your exam.
A. Don’ t rely on memory alone
B. That means hit the books early
C. Good revision should give you confidence
D. Then make flashcards of all the important concepts
E. They believe they could wash all the knowledge out of their head
F. This is a warm bowl of rice topped with egg and a slice of deep-fried pork
G. In different countries there are always those who swear by their “lucky underwear”
In a paper published in the journey Science Advance, researchers describe how Matabele ants, a species of large ant known for attacking termite colonies (白蚁群落), will, after the battle, pick up injured fellow soldiers and carry them back to the nest where they can recover.
The paper is the latest in a growing body of research that this form of helping behavior, previously observed in some mammals and birds, may not require complex emotion, and may, therefore, be far more widespread in nature than previously thought.
“Here we have an example of an individual saving another individual,” says lead researcher Erik Frank who conducted the research. “We can be quite certain that the ants don’t know why they are doing what they are doing.”
It’s a behavior that pays off for the colony. Our classic conception of worker ants is that they are essentially abandoned, but Mr. Frank and his colleagues calculated that the practice of rescuing nest mates results in a colony size that is a 28.7 percent larger than it would be had the ants left their fellow soldiers for dead.
“These injured ants are able to recover from their injuries, ” says Frank. “They are essential for the safety and the betterment of the colony. ”
When a Matabele ant is injured, as often happens during battles with termites, its body will give off two smelly chemicals that tell other ants to carry it back to the nest. Indeed, the researchers found that using these chemicals to seek help from uninjured ants will effectively activate the rescue behavior, supporting their theory that the ants were acting on pure instinct(本能), not more complex emotions.
“The more we study rescue behavior in ants and other animals, the more we are going to realize that it’s not just limited to the species we’ve observed so far, ” says Karen Hollis, a professor at Mount Holyoke College, mentioning studies that found that dolphins help other injured dolphins to the surface for air, capuchin monkeys defend each other during intergroup battles, and rats free other rats that are trapped.
1.What does Frank say about Matabele ants’ helping behavior?
A. It proves they can feel sympathy. B. It exists only in some individuals.
C. It happens only termite colonies. D. It is something they were born with
2.How will the helping behavior benefit the ants?
A. It will expand the size of the colony.
B. It will help them catch more termites.
C. It will improve their fighting abilities.
D. It will help them escape enemies’ attacks.
3.How can Matabele ants know one needs rescuing?
A. Through its special noise. B. Though the smell of its blood.
C. Through its chemical signals. D. Though the search after a battle
4.What is the main purpose of the text?
A. To promote research on ants. B. To describe termites’ battles.
C. To introduce a new species. D. To report a research result
When success comes quickly, as a result of hard work meeting opportunity, one tends to forget that it may not always continue on trend.
Like me, most people do not “hit it big”. We tend to take a more circuitous(迂回的) route toward success. Believe that great success is not always be given the lucky but those who go after it long and diligently.
Recently I have conversations with many people that are in the “success” stage, not happy where they currently are or feeling “unsuccessful”. Society has made us confirm that we need to be wealthy in order to be successful. I tell them not to get on the “way off track”. Success doesn’t have to be financial, it could be relationships, it could be fulfilling your passions, and it could be your health level. I know many successful people that are not wealthy but are rich in their career or spirit. The worst thing people can do is chase the “money” by any kind of means. Success is made by serving others, and in turn, you will get the rewards of financial success.
It’s not easy travelling down the roads of patience, risk and uncertainty. You must stay flexible because the road to success is always under construction. You must concentrate because someone or something will throw a roadblock in the middle of the road. So, get ready for difficulty and delays. Stop worrying about failure.
The road to success is not a straight line, it’s over mountains and down in the valleys. With persistence and belief, you will most certainly get there. Trust you will have powerful and new breakthroughs as long as you get rid of the hurdle of self-doubt and never give up. And, even if all else fail, remind yourself that: I couldn’t wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
1.When success comes quickly a person probably .
A. forgets it is not easy to be successful B. forgets successful trend continues
C. forgets success may not be always true D. remembers success may come suddenly
2.What does the underlined phrase “hit it big” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A. Have a big dream B. Achieve great success
C. Solve a big problem D. Hit something heavily
3.According to the author most people have the wrong opinion that .
A. the rich are successful B. the poor may be successful
C. to succeed needs money D. success belongs to the lucky
4.Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
A. Success needs courage B. The road to success
C. What leads to success D. Success is our dream
I was working the overnight shift in a remote hospital in the Rocky Mountains. Late in the evening, a young African teenager was brought into the emergency department. He lived at sea level and had never been in the mountains. After skiing all day, he felt really ill. Everyone assumed it was altitude sickness.
He was sweating and had abdominal (腹部的) pain. His heart rate increased. We sent off his lab work, and his blood sugar came back at almost 600 — normal is less than 100. His platelets (血小板), necessary for stopping bleeding, came in at 10,000; they should have been over 150,000. I did an ultrasound of his abdomen, and it looked like his belly was full of blood. This wasn't altitude sickness. And in the short time I'd been trying to figure out what was wrong, he was getting sicker. The friends he was traveling with were terrified, and rightly so.
The mystery was finally solved with an old-fashioned microscope. When we looked at his blood, we saw some sickled (镰形的) red blood cells. That's how we were able to diagnose sickle cell trait. If you have sickle cell trait — which means you got the sickle cell gene from just one parent instead of two — you have no symptoms at low altitude, but high altitude can sometimes cause the red blood cells to turn into sickle shapes and take oxygen from vital organs. This teenager didn't know he had it, but the effect of the altitude on his blood cells was so extreme that after just a short time in the mountains, he suffered great pain.
He needed platelets immediately, but we didn't have enough at the remote hospital. And there was a snowstorm, so the medical helicopters couldn't fly. It was a scary night. Just as we were abandoning all hope, we met an ambulance that drove halfway up from the city with blood products and transferred him to the city hospital for emergency surgery. The story has a happy ending: He recovered fully.
1.What do we know about the African teenager?
A. He only skied for a short while.
B. He lived in the Rocky Mountains.
C. He had never heard of altitude sickness.
D. He was unaware of the danger of high altitude.
2.What was the teenager's condition when rushed to the hospital?
A. He was feeling cold. B. He was bleeding continually.
C. His heart rate was going down. D. His blood contained little sugar.
3.How did the doctor diagnose the teenager's sickle cell trait?
A. By doing an ultrasound. B. By examining his parents.
C. By using a traditional approach. D. By doing a chemical experiment.
4.Which of the following played a part in saving the teenager according to the last paragraph?
A. Luck. B. Money.
C. Fame. D. Belief.
Oliver and the Seawigs by Philip Reeve
Published by OUP Press
ISBN: 978-0-192-73455-6
Oliver grew up in a family of explorers—but his biggest adventure is about to begin! Along with his new friends, Oliver goes off to look for his missing parents.
I really like this book because it’s not one of those short stories that are over too quickly, but a longish book that takes time to read. I recommend this book and give it 5 stars.
Ginny, age 8
Lady Lydia: Read Me a Story by Anne Lavis
Published by A H Stockwell
ISBN: 978-0-722-34327-2
Lady Lydia is old and eccentric (古怪的), but she is never lonely. She shares her home with bats and mice and spiders, and all the animals round about are her friends too.
My lovely daughter Alice likes all the pictures of the animals in this book, but she doesn’t like it when the pages have lots of writing on with no pictures. Alice rates this book 2 out of 5.
Alice, age 4
I Am a Woolly Hat (EARLY READER) by Salma Koraytem
Published by Orion Books
ISBN: 978-1-444-00844-9
Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing and reading together.
This book makes my sweetheart Lucie feel lovely inside and the drawing are not as good because the colors are not bright like other books. Lucie rates this book 3 out of 5.
Lucie, age 4
A Royal Fairytale by Ink Robin
Published by Egmont
ISBN: 978-1-405-26843-1
See Kate and Will’s romance develop from their studying days at Edinburgh through to their happy wedding at Buckingham Palace with the royal family, even the queen, in tow.
My little angel Amy likes the book. The best parts are the wedding and fireworks as she likes fireworks and the colors on the page are really bright. Amy rates it 4 out of 5.
Amy, age 4
1.Which book might an animal lover prefer?
A. A Royal Fairytale. B. Oliver and the Seawigs.
C. Lady Lydia: Read Me a Story. D. I Am a Woolly Hat (EARLY READER).
2.Who likes bright colors?
A. Ginny and Alice. B. Lucie and Amy.
C. Ginny and Amy. D. Alice and Lucie.
3.Whose book shows romance and happiness?
A. Philip Reeve. B. Anne Lavis.
C. Salma Koraytem. D. Ink Robin.
