Things You Should Stop Doing to Be Successful
Are you a happy person? How often do you think of reasons why everyone around you is successful though they are not better than you in general? What do you do wrong? Here are some things you should stop doing to be successful.
1.1.
Different people may interpret “success” in different ways： some of them measure it in money, other ones — in positive changes to people around them and the world in general.2.Don’t worry about what other people think but come after what makes you happy.
2. Do not believe anything without questioning it. 3.They are critical thinkers, and they understand that we all are ruled by our prejudices, so they will always question new information.
3. Do not worry about all unpredictable things that may happen to you.
If you want to be successful, stop thinking about everything that MAY happen to you.4.Be ready to improve and change your deeds and decisions when things suddenly don’t go according to your plan.
4. Do not care about what other people think of you.
5.Your attempts to become “good” for everyone will turn into nothing but new worries, stresses, and problems. Successful people do not concentrate on the quantity of people to please, but worry about their quality and focus on developing friendships with people they really care about.
A. Do not wait for the “right time” to do anything.
B. Do not let others decide what “success” is for you.
C. Successful people do not just accept any new information to be true.
D.As far as we all know, it’s impossible to please all the people who surround us.
E. Try to feel comfortable with the reality and accept the fact your future can’t be predicted.
F. If you want to be successful, do not let others force their interpretation of success on you.
G. Successful people never ignore or avoid problems，no matter how big and awful they seem.
If you visit the new Mummies(木乃伊) show at the American Museum of Natural History(AMNH), in New York City, don’t miss the Gilded Lady. Scientists say she probably died of lung disease when she was in her 40s---about 2,000 years ago---in Egypt. They even have a model of her skull(头骨). Based on that, an artist was sure how she may have looked when she was alive. And yet, the mummy’s coffin has never been opened. Instead, scientists used a machine called a CT scanner(扫描仪) to look inside.
CT scanners were developed to help doctors examine patients. But the machines turned out to be perfect for studying mummies, too.
“A hundred years ago, scientists would usually open mummies’ coffins. This did a great deal of harm to those mummies,” say AMNH president Ellen V. Futter. “We just don’t do that anymore. We can do so much better. By using CT scanners, scientists can know about an ancient person’s diet from some of a mummy’s hair. Pieces of bone can show who was related to whom.”
Some mummies in Peru were buried with a skull hanging from their neck. Scientists thought these mummies wore the skull of an enemy. But DNA evidence showed that the mummies were buried with the skull of an ancestor(祖先).
The 19 mummies in the show are from Egypt and Peru. They had completely different reasons for mummifying the dead. The ancient Egyptians believed that mummification allowed an ancestor to live on in the next world. The people who prepared the Gilded Lady thought she would continue to see, hear, and smell. In ancient Peru, people practiced mummification to stay connected with their ancestors. Some families kept mummies in their home.
Futter calls the mummies in the show “messengers from another time.” With the help of technology, scientists will continue to uncover mummies’ secrets so we can understand it.
1.What did scientists find about the Gilded Lady?
A. She was a great artist.
B. She died a natural death.
C. She lived in ancient Egypt.
D. She had an amazingly long life.
2.What do Futter’s words suggest?
A. Pieces of bone show a person’s diet.
B. CT scanners do great harm to mummies.
C. Mummies usually wore the skull of an enemy.
D. Technology plays an important role in mummy studies.
3.Why did the ancient Peruvians make mummies?
A. To do traditional medical research.
B. To keep close ties with their relatives.
C. To help their families live a better life.
D. To let their ancestors live in another world.
4.What does the underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refer to?
A. The technology.
B. Their message.
C. Their family.
D. The show.
A young painter had just completed a beautiful painting. To get people's opinions about his painting skills, he put his painting at a crossing on a busy street and put up a board that read," Gentlemen, I have painted this piece. Since I'm new, I might have made some mistakes in my work. Please put a cross wherever you see a mistake. ”
When he came back in the evening, he was completely shocked to see that the whole painting was filled with crosses. He ran to his master and said to him, "I’m useless and if this is what I have learned to paint, I'm not worth teaching.”
The master smiled and said, "I'll let you know that you are a great artist. Now go to paint the same painting again and give it to me.”
Then they went to the same street the next morning and put the same painting exactly at the same place. Now the master took out another board which read, "Gentlemen, I have painted this piece. I might have made some mistakes in my painting. I have put a box with colors and brushes just below. If you see a mistake, pick up the brush and correct it. " Two days later, they came back to the place. The young painter was surprised to see that actually there was not a single correction.
If you want to help people improve their behavior, you’d better learn how to help people change their behavior, attitudes and skills. Also, always remember not to judge yourself by someone else’s criticism(批评), because you are the best judge to judge yourself.
1.Why did the young painter put his painting on a busy street?
A. To let others know he was skillful
B. To make money by selling his painting
C. To get others' ideas about his painting skills.
D. To let his teacher know he was a good student
2.How might the young painter feel when he saw the crosses on the painting?
A. Proud. B. Excited.
C. Sad. D. Moved.
3.How did the master help his student know he was a great painter?
A. By teaching the student more painting skills.
B. By asking people not to put any crosses on the painting
C. By painting a different painting himself and putting it on the street.
D. By putting up a board with different words beside the same painting.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A. Be proud of yourself B. Learn how to help
C. Don't judge other people D. Never give others crosses
Born in 1965, Shania Twain was the second of five children in her family. At the age of two, she moved with her mother and two sisters to Timmins, a town north of Toronto. When Shania was eight years old, her mother took her to many different bars, clubs and concerts to perform. In high school, Shania joined a local band, with which she often performed. After that, Shania moved to Toronto, where she continued singing.
When Shania was 21 years old, her parents were killed in a car accident. She had to take over the role of parent to her younger siblings(兄弟姐妹). Taking care of two teenage brothers and a sister was a Gordian knot. Suddenly, she had to pay the bills, keep food on the table, and make a living. Anyway, Shania managed to pay the bills by singing here and there.
In 1991, Shania went to Nashville, the home of the country music industry. In 1993, she recorded Shania Twain, her first CD. In 1995, her next CD, The Woman in Me, which had eight hit songs, sold more than ten million copies. Her third CD, Come on Over, was also popular and she had another hit song.
Shania and Robert Lange, a famous producer, got married in 1993. After finishing her 2000 world tour, she decided to take a break from performing. In August 2001, they had a lovely son, whom they named Eja. After September 11th, Shania decided to spend more time on her family and stayed at home until the fall of 2002. Her reappearance in the music world put her face on magazine covers and country music publications. She also began to promote(宣传) her new CD, Up, on TV shows.
1.According to the text, Shania ___________.
A. went to Timmins in 1965
B. was born into a musical family
C. recorded her first CD in high school
D. began singing in public at an early age
2.The underlined part “a Gordian knot” in Paragraph 2 probably means __________.
A. a big business
B. a difficult task
C. a social activity
D. a simple problem
3.What’s the right order of the events in Shania Twain’s life?
a. She moved to Nashville.
b. She married Robert Lange.
c. She lost her parents forever.
d. She promoted Up on TV shows.
e. She recorded The Woman in Me.
A. c,a,b,e,d B. a,c,e,b,d
C. c,b,a,d,e D. a,b,e,d,c
4.What does the author mainly talk about in the text?
A. Why Shania Twain chose to be a singer.
B. How difficult it is to become a singer.
C. A girl’s road to success as a singer.
D. Shania Twain’s opinion on music.
Two travelling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family were rude and refused to let the angels stay in the guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied: “Things aren’t always what they seem.”
The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable(好客的)farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had，the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night’s rest. When the sun came up the next morning，the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their only income, lay dead in the field.The younger angel was very angry and asked the older angel, “How could this happen？” “Why did you not watch out for the cow？ The first man had everything, yet you watched over his house,” she accused. “The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you did not help.”“Things aren’t always what they seem.” the older angel replied. “When we stayed in the basement，I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so greedy and unwilling to share his good fortune, I asked God if I could seal(封口) the wall so he wouldn’t find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I asked God if the angel could take the cow instead. Things aren’t always what they seem.”
1.The younger angel was very angry because .
A. the older angel treated the two families unfairly.
B. the older angel killed the farmer’s cow.
C. the wealthy man gave them a bad place to live.
D. the angel of death took the cow away.
2.Why did the older angel let the farmer’s cow die？
A. Because she wanted to save the farmer’s wife.
B. Because she wanted to teach the younger angel a lesson.
C. Because she was sympathetic to the rich.
D. Because God wanted the older angel to take the cow.
3.The story tries to tell the reader that .
A. the young should always learn from the old
B. angels are always ready to help the poor.
C. angels are always ready to help the rich.
D. sometimes things are not what they seem.
假如你是李华，你校外教Mr. Brown春节期间看到邻居房门上的福字是倒着贴的，感到很好奇，写信向你询问此事。请你给他回一封信，介绍福字倒贴的原因和这一传统的寓意，同时邀请他高考后来你家过端午节。
参考词汇：端午节the Dragon Boat Festival；福字the character Fu
注意：1.词数：100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头和结尾已经为你写好，不计入总词数。
Dear Mr. Brown,
I’m really glad to receive your letter. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Looking forward to your reply.
Yours,
Li Hua
