It was a freezing, windy winter night in Manhattan. I was walking to catch a train home, totally___in the next day's to-do list, not paying any attention to my surroundings. “Hey man, I love your nice hat!”, said a voice to me from the sidewalk. When I____to see where it came from, I saw a man ___dressed, carrying a garbage bag, standing outside a ____—with a warm smile on his face. As I was about to say thank you, a woman walked by. “Hey lady, you have the most beautiful eyes. Can you____some change?"
This homeless man had no ___of talking to anyone and he was excellent at ___up others. I felt pulled to help him use that___ .I introduced myself, and ___him to dinner inside. “Ralph's the name. Thank you so much, sir!” he said.
As we sat down and ate, I told Ralph that I felt he had an amazing talent for____with people.___ at first, he eventually began to open up. He spoke much about how he used to love to____. He was like a fisherman's encyclopedia ( 百科全书). I asked him what he could see himself doing, and he said that he thought he could be a good __. So I asked him if he ever____going to the store right down the street and telling them he would help them sell their fishing equipment. There was a pause.Ralph put his hands over his face __ he spoke through tears. I'll never ___what he said next. “ I had a job and a family.___ , I didn't know how to handle these things. I____my problems. For 11 years, no one has ever done anything like this for me. It's time for me to make things____again. "
By the end, I was in ___as well. Ralph thanked me for my help, and we went our separate ways.
1.A. interest B. absorbed C. set D. taken
2.A. turned out B. settled down C. got off D. looked back
3.A. casually B. formally C. shabbily D. fashionably
4.A. station B. store C. bookshop D. restaurant
5.A. spare B. show C. make D. introduce
6.A. fear B. tendency C. sign D. courage
7.A. setting B. bringing C. lighting D. picking
8.A. opportunity B. potential C. qualification D. reputation
9.A. pushed B. forced C. guided D. invited
10.A. bargaining B. competing C. connecting D. parting
11.A. Aggressive B. Hesitant C. Cheerful D. Confident
12.A. travel B. beg C. fish D. read
13.A. salesman B. secretary C. fisherman D. teacher
14.A. recalled B. considered C. resisted D. avoided
15.A. unless B. until C. though D. as
16.A. remember B. appreciate C. forget D. forgive
17.A. Otherwise B. Besides C. Therefore D. However
18.A. ran away from B. came up with C. faced up to D. put up with
19.A. easy B. right C. practical D. diverse
20.A. tears B. rags C. panic D. sorrow
Have you ever had the following experience? You have been given the task of organizing a conference, which includes a must-do list about a mile long. There is the conference site, the guest list, the materials, the technology and even the food and drink to think about and plan. If you are beginning to feel the stress, slow down and take a breath. 1..
Write down your goals. You will need to clearly define what you hope to accomplish with this conference because this will shape the rest of your decisions. 2..
Develop your budget. 3.. Then break that budget into different parts such as conference site, materials and speakers' fees. Stick to your budget, and make sure your assistants are keeping their monetary limits as well.
4.. When searching for locations, keep in mind the number of participants, the convenience of the location, parking and closeness to public transportation, airports and hotels. Your goal in finding a place to hold the conference should be making it as easy as possible for participants to attend.
Seek help from the staff of the conference site. If you have chosen a site that is known for holding conferences, you can seek help from the staff there as organizing meeting is what they do every day. 5.. They should be able to answer any questions or concern and provide advice when needed.
Of course, full preparations also include a walk-through. Go to the site and meet with the staff the day before to be certain that everything is in place and to take care of any small details.
A. Decide on a schedule for the meeting
B. Choose your conference site
C. Read the following skills to figure out how to organize a conference
D. Knowing what you want to achieve eases the stress of moving forward
E. Make full use of this important resource
F. You can do nothing without knowing how much money you have to spend
G. Seek help from your colleagues to support every aspect of the meeting
A fourth-grade teacher allowed one of her students to shave her head in the schoolyard, after bullies（仗势欺人者） teased him about his own short buzz cut（短寸头发型）. Tori Nelson got the idea after noticing that Matthew Finney, a shy boy from her homeroom at Winlock Miller Elementary School in Washington state, was standing outside his classroom crying and wearing a winter hat.
Ms. Nelson could see the back of his neck had been shaved, and since Matthew usually had very thick brown curly hair, she realized that he’d had a haircut over the weekend. She asked him what was wrong, and he said he’d gotten a buzz cut for the summer. But this morning, a fifth grader on the bus made fun of him, and he didn’t want to come to class and get teased by other kids. Ms Nelson tried to convince Matthew to come inside, but since school rules prohibit kids from wearing hats indoors he refused – explaining that he was afraid of showing his haircut to the other children in case they also made fun of him.
Finally I said: “If you take off your hat and come to class, I’ll let you give me a buzz cut ,too,"' Ms Nelson told Yahoo Parenting.'I figured it’s just hair, and mine is already short anyway. I might as well get it shorter in time for the warm weather.'
Matthew excitedly took her up on the offer, and Ms Nelson and another teacher gathered all the fourth graders together during break time. A school employee brought in scissors, which Matthew used to the cheers of his classmates, excitedly watching as his teacher’s hair fell away onto the ground in the schoolyard.
'It was a lot of fun for the kids, and it helped Matthew feel better about himself,' said Ms Nelson.'You have to do what it takes to reach children. Teaching isn’t just about reading and writing, it’s about self-esteem and accepting differences.'
1.What mainly led to Matthew’s standing outside the classroom?
A. His fear of being laughed at
B. His willingness to learn
C. His violating school rules
D. His not finishing his homework.
2.Why did Ms. Nelson have her head shaved?
A. To show sympathy for Matthew.
B. To comfort and encourage Matthew.
C. To prepare for the warm weather.
D. To show her unique personality.
3.What is Ms Nelson like?
A. responsible and caring B. knowledgeable and creative
C. Humorous and easygoing D. Strong and determined
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. The real meaning of teaching
B. Stand up to school bullying
C. Teach kids to respect differences
D. A haircut full of love
Melinda Skaar wasn't expecting any phone calls. Skaar was working late in her office at the First Internet bank of California. By 10:45 that night she was almost ready to go home when the phone rang. Picking it up, she heard a guard shouting, “There is a fire! Get out of there.” Skaar didn't panic. She figured that it was just a small fire. Her office building was huge. There were 62 floors and her desk was on the 37th floor. Skaar called out to office mate Stephen Oksas, who also stayed late to work. But when they got out to the hallway, they were met by a cloud of black smoke. Rushing back, Skaar shut the door and filled the space at the bottom of the door with her jacket to keep the smoke out.
Then they called 911. Before they could call their families, however, the line went dead. That meant that they were completely cut off from the outside world. All they could do was wait and hope someone would come to rescue them.
Minutes ticked by. Smoke began to float into the office. Soon it became hard for them to breathe. Looking around, Skaar noticed a small workroom. It seemed to have cleaner air. So they crowded there. That helped for a while, but in time even the workroom was filled with deadly smoke. Hopeless, they tried to break the windows, but the glass was not breakable. Everything they threw at it just bounced back. Defeated, they struggled back to the workroom. They felt weak and dizzy. Soon Skaar found Oksas had passed out.
As Skaar and Oksas lay near death, rescuers were rushing to find them. At last, at about 4 a.m., firefighters found them.
Skaar and Oksas knew they were lucky to be alive. Sunday is my birthday, Skaar told a reporter. She would be turning 29, but she knew she had already got the best present possible—the gift of life.
1.What did Skaar and Oksas do when they were stopped by the fire?
A. they tried to run down the stairs. B. they called their families.
C. they waited where they were. D. they rushed back and shut the door.
2.The following helped Skaar and Oksas survive the fire except .
A. calling 911 for help
B. shutting the door and keeping the smoke out with a jacket
C. breaking the windows to get some fresh air
D. crowding in a small workroom for clean air
3.what can we conclude from Skaar's action in the fire?
A. she was trained as a firefighter
B. she was cleverer than Oksas
C. she had had the experience of being caught in fire.
D. she remained calm in the face of danger
Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.
My father is famous in our family for saying “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table.
I don’t only avoid those “if only” moments when it comes to safety. It’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you” or “I forgive you.” When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he was 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.
I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only” about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.
1.Which of the following is an example of the “extra minute” rule?
A. Start the car the moment everyone is seated.
B. Leave the room for a minute with the iron working.
C. Move an object out of the way before it trips someone.
D. Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better.
2.The underlined word “foregone” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to______..
A. abandoned B. avoided
C. lacked D. taken
3.The author decided to go to her office on Good Friday to ________.
A. join in the holiday celebration of the company
B. keep her appointment with the eye doctor
C. finish her work before the deadline approached
D. meet her father who was already an old man
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. The Two Saddest Words B. The Most Useful Rule
C. The Peace of Mind D. The Emotional Well-being
The National Postal Museum is divided into galleries that explore America's postal history. Visitors will have a full picture of the creation and fantastic varieties of postage stamps.
World of Stamps
Video images bring stamps to life and attract visitors who explore the surrounding displays. Visitors encounter the world’s first postage stamp — the 1840 Penny Black and learn how it revolutionized communication. Stamp images, including Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech and the stamp that helped raise almost $72 million dollars for breast cancer research, explain how stamps have shaped history and honored people and places worldwide.
Gems of American Philately
Visitors have the opportunity of examining 13 of the most rare and highly valued stamps in the world of the stamp collection, including the most famous American stamp of all, the 1918 Inverted Jenny. A video explains why the Inverted Jenny and other stamps displayed here are the most valuable. The treasures in this area are rarely available for public viewing. Each tells a story about an important event in US history.
Mail Marks History
The markings on mail provide valuable clues to the surprising ways mail has been transported over time, including challenges and even disasters encountered along the way. You will understand these markings by following the journeys of three historic letters.
Connect with US Stamps
Visitors explore their own connections with stamps. At three touch screen tables, they create their own stamp collection based on the topics that interest them most. They can also create their own stamp designs. Visitors have the chance to view videos in which stamp designers talk about their craft, stamp collectors explain what they collect and why, and footage(片段) shows the process of making stamps.
1.What can you do at World of Stamps?
A. Photograph some nice stamps on display.
B. Learn more about the great importance of stamps.
C. Donate money to cancer research.
D. Listen to a speech by Martin Luther King on video
2.What can you see at Gems of American Philately?
A. Some famous designers in the US.
B. Some newly released stamps in the US.
C. Some of the most valuable US stamps.
D. Some important public reviews of stamps.
3.Where can you see how stamps are created?
A. Connect with US Stamps B. Gems of American Philately
C. Mail Marks History D. World of Stamps
4.Where does this text come from?
A. An official report. B. An exhibition guide.
C. An announcement. D. An art show review.
