One day, a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They waited anxiously at their desks for the test to begin. The professor______ the question papers，with the text facing down as usual. ______ he handed them all out, he asked his students to _______ the page and begin. To everyone’s surprise, there were no ______, just a black dot in the center of the page.
The professor, seeing the expression on everyone’s face, told them the following：
“I want you to write what you ______ there.”
The students, ______, got started on the inexplicable (费解的) task.
At the end of the class, the professor ______ all the answer papers and started reading each one of them aloud in front of all the students. All of them, with no ______, described the black dot, trying to explain its position in the middle of the sheet, etc. After all had been ______, the classroom was silent, and the professor began to explain：
“I’m not going to grade (打分) this. I ______ wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the ______ part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot, and the same happens in our ______．We have a white paper to observe and ______, but we always focus on the dark spots. Our life is a ______ given to us with love and care, and we always have ______ to celebrate：nature renewing itself every day, our friends around us, the job that ______ our livelihood and the miracles we see every day.
______, we insist on focusing only on the dark spots：the health issues that bother us，the lack of money, the ______ relationship with colleagues, the ______ with a friend, and etc.
The dark spots are very ______ compared to everything we have in our lives, but they are the ones that pollute our minds.”
1.A. wrapped up B. handed out C. referred to D. pointed at
2.A. Since B. After C. If D. Until
3.A. turn B. fold C. open D. use
4.A. exercises B. questions C. choices D. scores
5.A. see B. imagine C. study D. remember
6.A. surprised B. curious C. confused D. displeased
7.A. finished B. collected C. marked D. selected
8.A. exception B. doubt C. excuse D. explanation
9.A. said B. answered C. read D. returned
10.A. also B. finally C. even D. just
11.A. white B. black C. beautiful D. big
12.A. classrooms B. lives C. colleges D. studies
13.A. send B. keep C. show D. enjoy
14.A. burden B. lesson C. pressure D. gift
15.A. time B. reasons C. freedom D. festivals
16.A. threatens B. ruins C. changes D. provides
17.A. Besides B. Therefore C. However D. Moreover
18.A. close B. special C. complicated D. strong
19.A. stay B. contact C. disappointment D. satisfaction
20.A. dark B. small C. round D. dirty
We all wish we had just a bit more time. Just think what you could do with an extra hour or two each day: you could finally stick to an exercise routine, or spring-clean the house, or write your novel, or learn the guitar and so on.
1. But I can help you find more hours in your day for the things that really matter.
◆ Get Out of Bed Earlier
If you normally get up at 7：30 a．m., try getting up at 7：00 a．m. That half-hour might not sound like much, but it could be time that you use to exercise, to read that book you've been meaning to finish. 2.
◆ Do the Important Tasks First
Once you get to work, get the important ones done first (not the easy ones, or even the urgent ones). You can afford to spend at least an hour working on big, important tasks rather than on all those little urgent ones.
3. The urgent tasks will still get done, and you won't miss the important ones.
◆ Reduce Interruptions
If colleagues have a habit of hanging around your desk to chat, or if the phone is constantly ringing, you might find that it takes you half the day to finish a simple task like writing a letter. Constant interruptions don't just eat up time, they also break your concentration.
When you've got a big task to focus on, let your calls go to voicemail. 4. Wearing headphones makes it less likely that people will try to strike up a conversation.
◆ 5.
A few minutes' chatting, browsing the web, and so on, can easily turn into hours of wasted time over the course of a day.
When you're working, work. If your concentration is slipping, take a proper break: go and get a glass of water, or stretch your legs a bit. And if you're facing a difficult task, try breaking it into small steps or stages so that it's easier to deal with.
A．Or simply to get your day off to a calm and organized start.
B．I can't magically make all your days 25 hours long.
C．Take Breaks When Necessary
D．Would you want me to make your day longer?
E．If you have an office door, close it
F．If you work like this, you'll usually save time.
G．Stay Focused on Your Work
Having a learning disability doesn’t mean you can’t learn, but you’ll need somehelp and need to work extra hard. Ifyou have a learning disability such as dyslexia ordyscalculia, remember that you are not slow or stupid.
Learning disabilities can be genetic. That meanstheycanbepasseddowninfamilies through the genes. But kids today have an advantage over their parents. Learning experts now know a lot more about the brain and how learning works, andit’s easier for kids to get the help they need.
Dyslexia is a learning disability that means a kid has a lot of trouble reading andwriting. Kids who have trouble with math may have dyscalculia. Other kids may havelanguage disorders, meaning they have troubleunderstanding languageandunderstanding what they read.
It can be confusing, though. What qualifies as “trouble" enough to be diagnosedas a learning disability? Reading, doing math, and writing letters may be tough forlots of kids at first. But when those troubles don’t fade away and it’s reallydifficult tomake any progress, it’s possible that the kid has a learning disability.
Finding out you have a learning disability can be upsetting. You might feeldifferent from everyoneelse. But the truth is that learning disabilities are prettycommon. And if your learning specialist or psychologist has figured out which oneyou’re facing, you’re on the right track. Now, you can start getting the help you needto do better in school.
But for this special help to really work, you’ll need to practice the new skillsyou’re learning. It may take a lot ofefforts every day.That can be a challenge, but youcan do it soon, you’ll enjoy the results ofall your hard work: more fun and success atschool.
1.Children are likely to have a learning disability __________.
A. if they don’t get help in time
B. ifthey are not interested in a subject
C. if their parents have the same problem
D. if they don’t work hard
2.How can you know ifyou have a learning disability?
A. Your teacher says you are a slow student.
B. Your learning style is different from others.
C. You have trouble with some lessons at first.
D. You can’t make progress after hard work.
3.What’s the main purposeof the text?
A. To find out the reasons for the learning disability.
B. To get parents to know more about their children.
C. To askteachers to help students with learning disability.
D. To help people know and handle learning disability.
My teenager son Karl became withdrawn after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes. In this way he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.
One night I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as a head teacher, “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences (缺席).” Before he could say another word I choked up (哽咽). And said sadly, “I love my son. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands.” For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The head teacher seriously said, “Thank you for your time.”
Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. He was even on the list of the best students at school. In his fourth year, I took part in a parent-teacher meeting. I noticed that his teachers were surprised at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the head teacher last year?” I nodded. “That was me. I thought I’d play a joke but I heard you said, It really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”
1.Which of the following has the similar meaning to the underlined word “withdrawn”?
A. Quiet and lonely.
B. Relaxed and excited.
C. Active and lively.
D. Happy and easy going.
2.According to the first report card, Karl ________.
A. often went to school late. B. didn’t do well at school.
C. did a good job at school. D. failed in the exams.
3.When the mother said“it’s out of my hands” to the head teacher, she meant that she _________.
A. would have to hang up.
B. would drive her son away from the house.
C. had no money to support the family.
D. didn’t know what to do about her son.
4.Who telephoned Karl’s mother that day?
A. The head teacher. B. The school adviser.
C. The passage doesn’t tell us. D. Karl himself.
5.From the passage we can learn that ________.
A. mother’s love is important to teenager’s life.
B. children in single-parent families always have mental problems.
C. parents should give their children everything that they need.
D. school education still works well without the support from parents.
Though Grant and I are typically more traditional, we actually met online, through Facebook. As a single mom, it was always a nightmare trying to date, as I have full custody (抚养权) of my daughter and very little “me” time. But that wasn’t the only challenge we had to overcome as a couple -we also lived four and a half hours away from one another. But when two people are meant to be, life sure has an interesting way of bringing two people together.
Nine months ago, I randomly added him on Facebook. After weeks of messaging back and forth, we had our first four-hour phone call, and the long call led to our first date.
In the six and half months that we dated, I got to witness an attractive, charming bachelor become a positive, loving and selfless father to my little girl.
On the day of our engagement(订婚), he took my daughter and I to breakfast. I had a feeling that he was planning something. But after anxiously eating breakfast, hoping and praying he wasn’t going to get down on one knee in the middle of a very busy Saturday morning brunch, we left. Then, we walked a mile into the woods. It was quite the adventure. Finally, we got to a wooden bridge in the middle of the forest and he got down on one knee.
After proposing to me, Grant got back to propose to my daughter. He said, “Adrianna, can I be your daddy, to promise to love and protect you for the rest of your life?” As soon as he spoke those sweet words, I once again broke down in tears.
My daughter replied in complete shock, “thank you!” He then presented her with a beautiful heart necklace. The necklace symbolizes a piece of his heart that she can always carry with her.
Our beautiful little family of two has become three. My daughter and I both got our fairy tale ending.
1.What challenges did the author and Grant face as a couple?
①She had little time to date.
②They met each other online.
③There was a long distance between them.
④They were traditional people.
A. ①② B. ①③
C. ③④ D. ②④
2.How could the author probably describe Grant.
A. Generous and grateful. B. Humorous and gifted.
C. Responsible and caring. D. Optimistic and patient.
3.Why did the author feel anxious on the day of their engagement?
A. She had no idea what their future would be.
B. She didn’t know how to respond to Grant.
C. She was afraid Grant wouldn’t accept her daughter.
D. She thought that Grant would propose to her in public.
It was a very ______ article---terrible punctuation and lots of spelling mistakes.
A. bad-writing B. badly-writing
C. badly-written D. bad-written
