Master Your Deadlines
The struggle begins in high school, sometimes earlier. Deadlines, and lots of them, start to pile up. At college, the pressure sometimes leads to last-minute rush and unsatisfactory work. At work, failing to meet deadlines can easily get you fired. 1. Here are a few best practices.
▪Assign deadlines to what matters.
If the task isn’t of high importance, don’t set a specific deadline. In this way, you are able to keep it on your radar for a while without feeling pressured. 2. This will provide just enough pressure to ensure you get it done.
▪ 3.
Set a personal deadline for yourself a day or two before the actual deadline. 4. If you’re working with a group of people, add in even more time to account for potential follow-ups and the need for approvals.
▪ Keep communicating.
5. This means letting others know when something is taking longer than expected, when a delivery didn’t come in, when a client is not providing the necessary information, etc. Although it may feel embarrassing to admit that something is not on schedule, being honest is much better for relieving your stress.
A. Plan for flexible hours.
B. Finish your project as early as possible.
C. But if an activity is urgent, set a deadline immediately.
D. In this way, you’ll never have to stay up late and feel stressed.
E. But handled properly, deadlines can actually improve productivity.
F. Whenever you feel challenged to finish work on time, communicate.
G. So if anything takes longer than expected, you can still wrap it up and submit it on time.
One night, Pilar was in a deep sleep when she was woken by her cat Inti. Inti was meowing wildly outside Pilar’s bedroom and throwing himself against the closed bedroom door. When Pilar opened her eyes, she saw that her bedroom was filled with smoke. As she escaped her house with Inti in her arms, she saw that a fire was burning in her kitchen. Pilar could easily have lost her life, but Inti would not let that happen. Even though Inti could have escaped the house through a cat door, he wouldn’t leave Pilar.
As amazing as this story is, it is not as uncommon as you may think. Take the example of Charlotte Lee and her horse, Thunder. One summer night, the whole family was asleep with the windows open. It was normally very quiet where they lived. Suddenly, there was a loud noise. Charlotte woke up from her sweet dream, and the noise continued. Then she heard a horse running fast towards the house. The next thing she saw was Thunder standing outside her window, neighing(嘶叫) and shaking his head. She knew something was wrong. Charlotte quickly got everyone out of the house before the earthquake hit. Thunder has saved her life.
There are also stories of wild animals coming to the rescue of humans. One animal known to be a friend of humans is the dolphin. Once, Todd Endris was surfing with his friends when he was attacked by a 13-foot(4-meter) shark. In the middle of the attack, a group of dolphins came to his rescue by forming a protective ring around Endris until he could get safely to shore. Without the help of the dolphins, there is little chance that Todd could have escaped.
No one is sure why animals have so often come to our rescue. However, it is clear that humans and animals enjoy a close relationship. It is important that we care for them as much as we can.
1.Why did Inti throw himself against the door? Because_____.
A. he wanted to get out of the room
B. he was trying to wake up his owner
C. he couldn’t find the way out because of smoke
D. he felt bored and was playing by himself
2.Before the earthquake hit, Charlotte_____.
A. closed the windows B. ran to warn her neighbors
C. got her horse out of the stable D. was sleeping deeply
3.Both Inti and Thunder_____.
A. saved their owners several times B. used to make noise at night
C. were shy and quiet D. were brave, smart and devoted
4.What might Todd say to those dolphins?
A. Thank you so much. B. What are you doing here.
C. Why are you leaving. D. Leave me alone.
Enrique Iglesias is a most successful singer! Born in 1975 in Madrid, Spain, Enrique is the child of the famous singer Julio Iglesias. Enrique’s mother is a journalist. His parents divorced in 1978. Although Enrique lived with his mother, she sent him to live with his father because of concerns about her son’s safety. Enrique wanted to be a singer secretly, he didn’t wish his father to know that and didn’t want to live under his shelter. He sought his dream on his own.
Enrique released(发行) his first album “Enrique Iglesias” in 1995. This album had a collection of rock ballads(民谣) and five singles from it went straight to the top spots in Latin music. This album was followed by another “Vivir” in 1997. Three singles from this album occupied the top spots on the Latin charts yet again! Enrique also found himself nominated(提名) for the “Favorite Latin Artist” at the American Music Awards. By 1998, he had released his 3rd album, “Cosas Del Amor”.This year Enrique won the “Favorite Latin Artist”. “Bailamos” got him great fame. One of the songs in this album was also used in a movie. With the success of “Bailamos”, Enrique now already had many loyal fans. The album, “Enrique”, was released in 1999.
The year 2001 brought more success for him. His album, “Escape” had a few singles that reached the top spots. Enrique became a household name. This album is his biggest successful album so far. “Hero” and “Don’t Turn Off the Lights” soon turned Enrique into a super star. His next release in 2002 was a Spanish album “Quizas”. This album brought Enrique a “Latin Grammy Award” for the Best Pop Vocal Album. In 2007, he released another album “Insomniac” and the song “Do You Know” became an instantly popular song.
1.Why didn’t Enrique tell his father about his dreaming of becoming a singer?
A. Because he wanted to try a new singing style.
B. Because he hated his father for his carelessness.
C. Because he didn’t want to benefit from his father’s fame.
D. Because he planned to give his father a surprise when he succeeded.
2.Which of the following albums has a song adopted in a movie?
A. “Vivir” B. “Bailamos”.
C. “Cosas Del Amor”. D. “Enrique Iglesias”.
3.How does the author mainly develop the third paragraph?
A. By following the order of time.
B. By making comparisons of his albums.
C. By following the order of his albums’ influence.
D. By analyzing the style of his albums.
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. Enrique Iglesias’ lucky life
B. Enrique Iglesias’ wonderful singing skills
C. Enrique Iglesias’ secret to success
D. Biography of Enrique Iglesias
On Sunday 23 April, more than 30, 000 people participated in the 2017 London Marathon, running 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers) around the city centre.
The London Marathon has taken place every year since 1981. At the first one just6,225 people completed the course, and since then it has grown into one of the biggest sporting events in the world. It is one of the “World Marathon Majors”, which is a competition made up of six global marathon events. The overall male and female winners receive $ 1 million in prize money between them. There are eleven people who have run every London Marathon since it began—they call themselves the “Ever Presents”.
This year, the winners of the London Marathon were surprisingly both from Kenya— Daniel Wanjiru, who finished in 2 hours and 5 minutes, and Mary Keitany, whose time was 2 hours and 17 minutes.
However, most marathon runners are not professional athletes. They are amateurs who have trained for months to raise money for charity or just as a personal challenge. For example, Tom Harrison took three days just to reach the run’s halfway point, as he is crawling the course on his hands and knees dressed as a gorilla(大猩猩), trying to raise money and attention for the charity “The Gorilla Organization”.
Matthew Rees was another runner to encourage people, as he stopped just before the finish line to help David Wyeth run the last 200m. They did not know each other before, but Matthew saw that David was exhausted and possibly close to collapsing, and wanted to help him finish.
Every year there are lots of touching stories like this from the London Marathon, and it is a huge achievement even to run the 26.2 miles!
1.What do we know about London Marathon from the text?
A. It has been held continuously for 37 years.
B. Most of its runners are professional athletes.
C. Each winner can receive $ 1 million in prize money.
D. It’s the most influential sporting event in the world
2.What makes the winners of London Marathon this year special?
A. Their speed B. Their nationality.
C. Their prize money. D. Their purpose.
3.Why does the author mention the story of Tom Harrison?
A. To tell us competitors can help each other.
B. To prove some amateurs are not good runners.
C. To indicate participation matters more than success.
D. To show the sports event means charity for some people.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A. Touching Stories behind Marathon
B. Impressive Marathon Runners
C. The London Marathon
D. The History of the London Marathon
Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The next building was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could see her seated by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading.
After several months had gone by, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window. I would say to myself, “I wonder why that woman doesn’t wash her window. It really looks terrible.”
One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including washing the window on the inside.Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly visible. Her window was clean!
Then it dawned on me. I had been criticizing her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window.That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own shortcomings?
Since then, whenever I wanted to judge someone, I asked myself first, “Am I looking at him through my own dirty window?” I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world about me more clearly.
1.“It dawned on me” in paragraph 4 probably means “________”.
A. I knew it grew light B. it cheered me up
C. I began to understand it D. it began to get dark
2.It’s clear that ___________.
A. the writer had never met the woman before B. the writer often washed the window
C. they both worked as cleaners D. they lived in a small town
3.From the passage, we can learn___________.
A. one shouldn’t criticize others very often
B. one should often make his windows clean
C. one must judge himself before he judges others
D. one must look at others through his dirty windows
假如你是李华，你的美国朋友Mary在电子邮件中邀请你暑假期间赴美国参加她的生日聚会，请用英语给她写一封回信，包括以下要点：
1. 表示感谢；2. 礼貌但委婉地拒绝她的邀请并解释原因；3. 邀请她来中国玩。
注意：1. 字数100左右；2. 可以适当增加细节，以使文章行文连贯。
Dear Mary,
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Yours,
Lihua
