I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to spread a little love and kindness today. I had doctor’s_____ in a town that’s about 45 minutes from where I live. After both my appointments were _____, I started walking away from the building and _____an elderly woman standing at the gate anxiously. I ______myself and asked if she was waiting for someone or she needed ______ .
As it turned out, she was having _______walking the distance and had asked for a wheelchair and a staff member to ______her up but no one had come yet. Virginia heat was kind to no one, and I was ______for this dear lady’s health.
I asked her to _______while I went to get her wheelchair myself. I ran to the help desk and asked for a _____to assist a lady outside. The receptionist asked me, “Is the ______?” I was upset at the question and answered, “She’s a bit large, I suppose, but if transporting her is a(n) ______for you, I am willing to do it myself.”
She looked sort of shocked by my ______, but the woman outside needed help, no matter her ______. The help desk woman and I walked to the end of the passage to the now seated lady. Help desk person ______ her hand to help the lady, but she said “No, I’m fine. I want to grab on to her _____help.” She was talking about me. I helped the woman into the wheelchair but first locked the brakes so that she would be ______. After she was seated, she softly ___ me for my help.
When I returned home, what happened to me today kept going through my mind and reminded me how much I ____ the opportunity to help the lady. It gave me a sense of fulfillment and a ______heart.
1.A. calls B. orders C. examinations D. appointments
2.A. made B. done C. arranged D. booked
3.A. recognized B. knocked C. noticed D. greeted
4.A. excused B. helped C. expressed D. adjusted
5.A. advice B. reference C. treatment D. assistance
6.A. pressure B. trouble C. danger D. fear
7.A. pick B. get C. make D. keep
8.A. ready B. responsible C. thankful D. concerned
9.A. help B. move C. wait D. stand
10.A. wheelchair B. car C. friend D. stranger
11.A. heavy B. sick C. old D. weak
12.A. business B. mistake C. issue D. choice
13.A. wisdom B. comment C. persuasion D. calmness
14.A. shape B. age C. character D. size
15.A. gave up B. reached out C. gave out D. stuck to
16.A. with B. by C. for D. about
17.A. stronger B. steadier C. slower D. faster
18.A. called B. begged C. asked D. thanked
19.A. appreciated B. needed C. expected D. found
20.A. enjoyable B. familiar C. peaceful D. needy
Being a teenager can be tough. “Troubled” and “rebellious(叛逆的)” are often labels that people give kids in their teens. There are even scientific theories explaining that the likelihood of teenagers taking is due to the fact that their brains aren’t fully developed yet. 1.
But a new study by researches at the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University may have finally cleared up this misunderstanding. 2.They simply are easily attracted by new things and are eager to explore the world.
The adolescents(青少年) lack experience. 3.This personality trait(特征)is called “sensation seeking”, which is shared by a lot of people and usually peaks during adolescence.
Instead of being something to worry about, sensation seeking is actually necessary, since the process of learning usually goes hand in hand with taking risks. "Teenagers need to build experience so that they can do a better job in making the difficult and risky decisions in later life. ‘Should I take this job? or ‘ 4.’ ”said Valerie Reyna, co –author of the study.
“5.If they don't make a mistake in their teenage years, they will have no life experience when they turn 18 and step out of their parents' protection and into a world that 's unknown to them. Kids need the freedom to test out boundaries while still in a safe environment,” wrote Ann Robinson, editor of The Guardian.
A. Should I marry this person?
B. It turns out that teenagers are fine
C. Adolescents should do as follows
D. What can parents do to help the kids?
E. There s something scarier than taking a risk.
F. in other words, they just can t help it.
G. Therefore, they keep trying things out for the first time in their life.
The next time your brain refuses to recall a simple fact or name, be thankful. That could be a sign that your brain is getting rid of unnecessary information so that it can operate more efficiently, and help you make better decisions.
The researchers say there are numerous neurobiological(神经生物学的)studies conducted on how the brain stores information, a process called persistence (暂留). However, scientists also assumed that our occasional inability to recall facts was due to a are an the brain. In 2013, scientists discovered that as new neurons combine with the hippocampus(海马区)----a region of the brain that plays a significant role in learning and remembering---they overwrite old memories, making them harder to access. There is also evidence that the brain weakens or removes connections between neurons, in which memories are encoded.
The scientists have a theory on why the brain spends so much energy erasing memories. They say what the brain decides to forget is determined by our daily life. An example is that our brains remember phone numbers according to the need. Instead of storing this irrelevant information that our phones can store for us, our brains are freed up to store the memories that actually do matter for us. They also believe that memorizing too much detail could prevent us from making good decisions.
So the next time you are unable to recall a seemingly important fact, don’t be hard on yourself. Just throw it to your brain’s “rubbish can” to make room for information that can contribute to making you smarter! Remember, even Albert Einstein was absent-minded!
1.What can we know from the first two paragraphs?
A. Persistence is not a process to store information
B. Once information is stored in the brain, it will last forever
C. Learning and memorizing take place in the hippocampus
D. New neurons will strengthen old memories
2.The brain has to erase memories to __________.
A. recall important information
B. store more important information
C. store detail
D. remember phone numbers
3.If some unimportant information is stored, it will be _________.
A. combined with the hippocampus
B. processed and memorized permanently
C. stored and decoded immediately
D. removed and forgotten soon
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A. Scientists encourage us to forget things
B. The way our brains memorize and encode
C. Forgetting things may make you smarter
D. Why was Albert Einstein absent-minded?
Educators across the US are calling for major changes to the admissions process in higher education. The Harvard school of Greduate Education, along with 80 other schools and organizations, released a report called "Turning the Tide Making Caring Common” in January, 2016. The report argues that the process schools use to choose students causes major problems.
David Hawkins is the Executive Director for Educational Content and Policy at the National Association for College Admissions Counseling. Hawkins told Voice of America that most colleges and universities require many things from students when they apply. Schools usually ask for an essay describing a student's interests or why they want to study at that school. The schools also ask for letters from teachers or other responsible adults describing why a student is a good candidate. But, Hawkins says, the area that schools are most concerned about is a student's high school grades and standardized test results.
The report suggests that paying attention to academic success over other qualities works well for some students but hurts others. In addition, academic success is not the most important quality a student should have. More attention should be paid to showing whether or not a student wants to do well in the world, according to the report.
The report goes on to state that the best way to change the admissions process is by changing college applications. It suggests that schools should ask for evidence that students care about other people. But the report does have its critics. Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director for the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, said that every few years, someone makes the same argument for changes, but no real change has happed yet. Even many of the schools that agree with the report still make no changes.
Lloyd Thacker, Executive Director of the Education Conservancy, said that until a majority of schools agree to make the changes, there will still be problems. However, he said, the admissions process was better in the past. If bad changes can affect the process, so can good ones.
1.What is the problems of the admissions process according to the report?
A. The schools ask too many things from the applying students.
B. The schools attach too much importance to students’ academic records
C. The number of students getting admitted is too small
D. Admissions officers consider too many unimportant factors
2.What is usually missing in an essay?
A. The reasons to attend the school
B. A description of interests
C. Recommendation letters from adults
D. Evidence that students care about others
3.Bob Schaeffer argues that _________.
A. not all changes are good
B. the largest schools are expected to make changes first
C. no schools currently agree with the report
D. some schools don’t make changes even if they agree
4.What’s Lloyd Thacker’s attitude toward the possible change in the admissions process?
A. Confident B. Negative
C. Doubtful D. Unclear
I was ever bullied badly when I was in high school. One kid in particular would try to make me feel worse in every way he knew. For example, he would throw stuff at me constantly, hit me on the head, punch(殴打)me, call me ugly and stupid, make fun of me and, of course tell me he would beat me up if I ever fought back. It was like his daily mission.
And it was my daily mission to just get through the day. What could I say? It made my world very small because that was my main focus- just surviving. Everything else fell by the wayside. Unfortunately, that included any form of social life. So not only was my world tiny, but it was very lonely
Looking back to that time, which was about 11years ago, my biggest mistake was not bringing anyone into that world of mine. I was too proud (and embarrassed) to get help. I would rather not face the fact that I needed help because in my mind, that would mean that the bully won. It would also mean that I was weak.
Let me just say this: bullying someone is a weak choice. The only reason why they come after you is that they think you won't do anything about it. Does that make anyone strong? Absolutely not. Be stronger-ask a parent, a teacher or a friend for help. Simply admit that you are struggling and need help.
You can put it like this, "Somebody who is weak and trying to build himself or herself up has chosen to do that by putting me down. The only reason why they are doing that is that I am nice and I haven't done anything about it yet. Well I am through putting up with this. I have basic human rights that they are trying to take away to feel better and that is just not OK. How do I handle this? I don't want the pain cycle to continue and I don't want to become someone I don't want to be.
1.The underlined word "It" in the first paragraph refers to___________.
A. calling the author's nicknames
B. making friends with fellow students
C. hurting the author by using force or threats
D. going through a difficult time with schooling
2.What did the author do when he was bullied?
A. He just hoped that he could survive the day.
B. He fell by the wayside
C. He called for help immediately
D. He fought back bravely.
3.The author suggests____________ to fight bullies.
A. getting used to the pain as soon as possible
B. keeping it a secret inside and reducing your social life
C. looking for help from parents, teachers or friends
D. promoting the understanding of basic human rights
4.The author probably wrote this article to________________
A. admit that he had been treated badly at school
B. describe how he got rid of his weak
C. show how grateful he was to those who helped hit
D. share his experience and ideas on dealing with bullies
Feeling down? Why not visit one of these four websites?
Collegehumor.com
This site was created in 1999 and gets about seven million visitor per month. Two of its videos have been chosen as winners for the Webby Awards: Pixar Intro Parody and Web Site Story. Other funny videos to looks out for include a debate on the advantages and disadvantages of going to college.
Funnyordie.com
This site has lots of really funny videos And as the name suggests, users vote on videos, choosing the options “funny” or “die”. If the video receives too many “die” votes, it's sent to the site's “crypt”. But if it gets enough “funny” votes, it goes into the Hall of Fame. The site was crated in 2006 by comedians Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. The site’s first video. The Landlord has had over 70 million views Videos to watch out for include Just a Tip: Taxi, with some valuable advice on how to catch a taxi, and Over Analyzing Texts, with some tips on how to respond to text messages
Reddit.com
Founded in 2005, Reddit.com is a social news and entertainment website. Registered users put funny content in the form of the video link or texts on the website. Other users then vote these things “up” or “down”. The most recent and well-liked content appears at the top on the front page of the site.
Theonion.com
First appearing as a satirical newspaper in 1988, Theonion.com has hundred of videos and articles on news and current affairs, and receives an average of 7.5 million visitors a months. It’s famous for its amusing items, such as Michelle Obama Seen Outside Walking Family Rhinoceros or Dad Can’t Believe Lawn.
1.If you want to watch videos ever winning the Webby Awards, you can visit____________.
A. Reddit. com B. Collegehumor. com
C. Theonion.com D. Funnyordie.com
2.Videos on the website Funnyordie.com are __________.
A. watched over 70 million times
B. voted by their users
C. based on newspaper stories
D. created by users
3.What do Reddit.com and Theonion.com have in common?
A. They include funny videos
B. They include valuable advice
C. They include debates on education
D. They provide satirical news
