On the very first day, God created the cow. He______ to the cow, “Today I have created you!______ a cow, you must go to the field with the______all day long. You will work all _____ under the sun! I will give you a life_____ of 50 years.”
The cow objected, “What? This kind of a _____life you want me to live for 50 years? Let me have 20 years, and the 30 years I’ll give back to you.” So God agreed.
On the second day, God created the dog. God said to the dog, “What you are____ to do is to sit all day by the door of your house. Any people that come in, you will have to______ at them! I’ll give you a life span of 20 years.”
The dog objected, “What? All day long to______by the door? No way! I’ll give you _____ my other 10 years of life!” So God agreed.
On the third day, God created the monkey. He said to the monkey, “Monkeys have to______people. You’ve got to make them laugh and do monkey _____ I’ll give you 20 years life span.”
The monkey objected. “What? Make them laugh? Do monkey faces and tricks? Ten years will______, and the other 10 years I’ll give you back.” So God agreed.
On the fourth day, God created______ and said to him, “Your job is to sleep, eat, and play. You will enjoy very much in your life. All you need to do is to enjoy and do nothing. This kind of life, I’ll give you a 20 year life span.”
The man objected. “What? ______ a good life! Eat, play, sleep, do nothing? Enjoy the best and you______me to live only for 20 years? No way, man! Why don’t we make a(n) _____? Since the cow gave you back 30 years, and the dog gave you back 10 years and the monkey gave you back 10 years, I will _____them from you! That makes my life span 70 years, right?” So God agreed.
AND THAT’S WHY...
In our first 20 years, we eat, sleep, play, enjoy the best and do nothing much. For the next 30 years, we______all day long, suffer and get to ____ the family. For the next 10 years, we entertain our grandchildren by making monkey faces and monkey tricks. And for the last 10 years, we stay at home, sit by the front door and bark at people!
1.A. spoke B. said C. told D. talked
2.A. Be B. With C. Like D. As
3.A. doctor B. worker C. farmer D. teacher
4.A. year B. time C. day D. night
5.A. span B. length C. width D. distance
6.A. rough B. tough C. hardly D. easy
7.A. accustomed B. devoted C. supposed D. admitted
8.A. bark B. knock C. laugh D. look
9.A. stand B. seat C. lie D. sit
10.A. back B. away C. off D. up
11.A. enrich B. establish C. entertain D. encourage
12.A. job B. tricks C. work D. move
13.A. make B. enough C. do D. rich
14.A. woman B. child C. man D. baby
15.A. So B. Such C. Much D. Many
16.A. expect B. face C. think D. hope
17.A. bargain B. mistake C. act D. deal
18.A. take B. bring C. hold D. set
19.A. rest B. stay C. work D. enjoy
20.A. hold B. provide C. protect D. support
No one likes to fail. Whether it’s at work, at home, or in another area of your life, failure is painful and it can also be costly in terms of time, money, or both.1. If you never suffer a failure, then you’re probably not pushing yourself to your full potential. The following are some tips on how to pick yourself up after you’ve failed.
Remember that other people fail too. 2. They’ll tell you about that great new contract(合同) they signed, not the deal that failed eventually though they worked on it for months. But failure is normal, and lots of people fail time and time again before meeting with success.
Remind yourself of your past successes. Failing doesn’t mean that you’re worthless, or that you’ll never achieve the things you want.3. Maybe you had high marks last term, or you lost weight, or you learned to play a musical instrument. You might want to write down a list of successes---things that you’ve accomplished over the past few years, whether big or small. If you ever lack confidence, you can go back and read over that list.
4. Your past successes are important, but so are your past failures. You’ve made mistakes before, and you’ve survived them. Perhaps you did badly in an exam, or lost your temper and had to apologize. It’s not fun to think about the times when things went wrong, but by acknowledging your failures, you can remind yourself that today is no different. Just as you recovered in the past, you can recover from your recent failure too.
5. Whatever goes wrong, you’re probably facing some sort of decision. Don’t rush into making a hasty decision, but do look for a forward path. That might require some deep thinking.
A. Make a decision.
B. Limit the damage caused.
C. Remind yourself of your past failures.
D. However, failure is a normal part of life.
E. Get some advice and support from others.
F. Most people don’t talk openly about their failures.
G. Think of all the times in the past when you’ve succeeded.
This happened when I was ten.
My girl cousin had decided to be a boy for Halloween, so my aunt called my mom to borrow some of my clothes. The next morning, they came to our house early before school. My cousin told me that she was going to be a boy for Halloween and wear some of my clothes. I told her that I didn’t care. Then, with a big grin(咧嘴笑) on her face, she told me that I was going to be a girl. I told her she was crazy but she said that she had overheard my mom’s plan and that her mom had brought some of her clothes for me.
So I went to the living room to see our moms. Then I knew she wasn’t lying. There was a wig(假发）on the table and my mom and aunt were both smiling at me. I shook my head and told them “ NO WAY!” before they even said a word. My aunt said that it would be really cute. Then Mom told me not to be a stick-in-the-mud. She said that it would be fun and she wanted to see what I’d look like as a little girl. I told them I absolutely would not do it!
I was still refusing twenty minutes later… when my aunt was putting make-up on me. I was wearing a pink party dress, the blond wig with pigtails(辫子) and earrings. My cousin wore one of my sweatshirts, my jeans and a baseball cap. We were sent to school like that, where I spent a sad day. The kids thought it funny that we were dressed that way and made stupid comments about us. They also played jokes on us and I’ve never been so uncomfortable.
I still don’t like Halloween to this day!
1.The author’s______ decided him to be a girl for Halloween.
A. girl cousin B. mother
C. aunt D. teacher
2.The author thought the idea of being dressed like a girl______.
A. amazing B. cure
C. traditional D. disappointing
3.By saying “a stick-in-the-mud”, the mother______.
A. thought the author was stubborn B. showed her preference for girls
C. decided to give in D. expressed her anger
4.When the students saw the way the author was dressed, they______.
A. liked it very much B. showed admiration
C. made fun of him D. felt uncomfortable
Watching some children trying to catch butterflies one hot August afternoon, I was reminded of an incident in my own childhood．When I was a boy of 12 in South Carolina, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage.
We lived on the edge of a wood, and every evening at dusk the mockingbirds would come and rest in the trees and sing. There isn’t a musical instrument made by man that can produce a more beautiful sound than the song of the mockingbird.
I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way would have my own private musician.
I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, in its fright at being captured, the bird fluttered about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.
I had left the cage out on our back porch, and on the second day of the bird’s captivity(囚禁) my new pet’s mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I how to feed her baby.
The following morning when I went to see how my captive was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened! I had taken excellent care of my little bird, or so I thought.
Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, happened to be visiting my father at the time, hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had occurred. “A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poison berries. She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in captivity.”
Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.
1.Why did the writer catch a mockingbird when he was a boy of 12?
A. He had just got a new cage. B. He liked its beautiful feather.
C. He wanted it to sing for him. D. He wanted a pet for a companion.
2.The mockingbird died because it ______.
A. was frightened to death B. ate the poisonous food its mother gave it
C. refused to eat anything D. drank the poisonous water by mistake
3.An ornithologist probably means ______.
A. a religious person B. a kind person
C. a schoolmaster D. an expert in birds
4.What is the most important lesson the writer learned from the incident?
A. Freedom is very valuable to all creatures.
B. All birds put in a cage won’t live long.
C. You should keep the birds from their mother.
D. Be careful about food you give to baby birds.
Her Fearful Symmetry
By Audrey Niffenegger
RRP $ 12.48(original price) $11.23(special price)—Save $ 1.25
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Julia and Valentine Poole are normal American teenagers. But everything changes when they receive notice that an aunt whom they didn’t know has died and left them her flat in London.
Published: 05 July 2010
Format: Paperback 496 pages
Sales rank: 114
The Book Thief
By Markus Zusak
RRP $ 12.48(original price) $9.13(special price)—Save $3.35
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Liesel, a nine-year-old girl is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the people of her street when the bombs begin to fall.
Published: 01January 2008
Format: paperback 560 pages
Sales rank: 188,505
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
By John Boyne
RRP $12.48(original price) $11.39(special price)—Save $1.09
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The book tells the story of a nine-year-old boy called Bruno. And sooner or later the reader arrives with Bruno at a “fence”, which is not meant to be crossed.
Published: 11 September 2008
Format: paperback 224 pages
Sales rank: 113
The Help
By Kathryn Stockett
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It’s Jackson, Mississippi, 1962. No one would believe they’d be friends; fewer still would tolerate it. But as each woman finds the courage to cross boundaries, they come to depend and rely upon one another. Each is in search of truth.
Published: 13 May 2010
Format: Paperback 464 pages
Sales rank: 16
1.Which book mentioned above sells best?
A. Her Fearful Symmetry B. The Book Thief
C. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas D. The Help
2.What do the books mentioned above have in common?
A. They were all published in the same year.
B. They are delivered worldwide for free.
C. They are all written by famous writers.
D. They are all best-sellers at the moment.
3.Which book mentioned above is sold at the least discount?
A. Her Fearful Symmetry B. The Book Thief
C. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas D. The Help
It was another frustrating day. I came home from school, changed my clothes and got ready for work. I worked at a local restaurant in town.
I went to work feeling down. It’s the same thing over and over again, dealing with customers who complain about their food—how the piece of pie that they are served is too big or too small. Three elderly ladies walked in and sat by the windows. I was working since 5:00 pm. and we were quite busy. But these elderly women were watching me as I was working really hard to make sure every table was clean and ready for the next customers.
When they were finished with their meals, I took their plates back to the kitchen. They talked to me for a while about school, how I was doing, which grade I was in and what I planned to do in the future.
As they were leaving, they walked past me and one of them said to me in a confident and gentle voice, “You are going places.” They left the restaurant and I was pretty much in awe. I had tears in my eyes, because they gave me a reason to believe in myself. They picked my spirits up from being down and out and gave me a reason to keep on working hard and to give it my all.
1.From the passage we learn that the author ____.
A. had a part-time job B. worked in the restaurant all day
C. loved his job at first D. did very well in his lessons
2.The underlined sentence “You are going places” in the fifth paragraph probably means ____.
A. you are on a trip B. you should go to a better place
C. you’ll be successful D. you are in the right place
3.The author felt sad because ____.
A. he didn’t want to work there
B. it was difficult to make the customers happy
C. he had to do the same thing again and again
D. the work was too hard for a teenager
4.The passage tells us that ____.
A. encouragement can be important for your success
B. everyone should treat elder people gently
C. people doing all kinds of jobs should be respected
D. students should make money to support themselves
