I was broke after the bankruptcy(破产) of my company and before that, my marriage also came to an end, which may be the hardest truth to me.
Suddenly, I got __________ lost. That “one can start from nothing” thing was much like nonsense. It was never easy! So I chose to __________ myself at home. Unexpectedly, my mom came to my __________ and took me to the hospital.
After my ________, she paid for my exercise class in a gym just to ________ my mind.
One day, my mom was driving me back from __________. We were talking. All was well. The __________ slowly went on. And she said, smiling, “By the way, today’s my birthday. No one __________ me so I thought I should just say so.”
I went __________.
She laughed. A laugh so ________! I wanted to cry. She hadn’t had a proper birthday celebration in twenty years.
She ______ again, “It’s OK. It’s a little thing. But do you know what the ________ truth is? That is, love is one sided, most of the time. That’s _________ most people want love but not the responsibility(责任) it ________. Parents take all that responsibility. They take it ________. I promise you. They’ll take it to their grave, even if they __________ get it back.”
I bowed my head.
She continued, “When you were __________, I was as heartbroken as you, if not more heartbroken __________ you. When you were killing yourself, you were __________ my body. I would always like to be tortured by the one-sided love. Very much! But I just expect you to become __________. Much braver.”
1.A. actually B. hopelessly C. gradually D. surprisingly
2.A. kill B. calm C. upset D. thank
3.A. power B. apartment C. company D. office
4.A. job B. success C. recovery D. graduation
5.A. pack B. change C. swap D. strengthen
6.A. survey B. study C. practice D. examination
7.A. car B. talk C. road D. day
8.A. reminded B. asked C. praised D. ignored
9.A. blank B. loose C. fluent D. straight
10.A. happy B. sweet C. strange D. painful
11.A. stopped B. gossiped C. requested D. laughed
12.A. hardest B. interesting C. half D. entire
13.A. why B. because C. when D. how
14.A. comes up B. comes across C. comes with D. comes out
15.A. little B. some C. much D. all
16.A. never B. frequently C. always D. maybe
17.A. smiling B. listening C. speaking D. crying
18.A. before B. than C. for D. as
19.A. suffering from B. adding up C. cutting off D. setting down
20.A. free B. lonely C. brave D. grateful
Friendship is a very beautiful bond(联系) in which no one is big or small, no one is rich or poor, and no one is ugly or beautiful. 1. In friendship, there are no terms and conditions. There is no age factor in friendship. Each person has his or her own mind, own views, and own perspective on life. You can learn a lot from every one of your friends.
2. It is best to have one good friend who accepts you as you are, who bridges gaps and never lets you fall. As the ancient Greek poet Euripides put it, “Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness.”
Be happy and cheerful about your friends’ success. 3. Never be selfish, and always try to give more and expect less. Give whatever you want from your friends, like honesty, love, support and understanding, and never boast to your friends when you are more successful.
If you are looking for a friend who is faultless, you will be friendless. 4. And for a good friendship, we need patience, because patience is the key to everything. A beautiful friendship is like a childhood friendship, free of jealousy and full of love. Children are unaware of bad feelings, where anger can suddenly arise. This is the quality that makes children pure and special. For a good friendship, one needs true love, and children are full of love. 5.
A.Everybody has flaws.
B.The best mirror is an old friend.
C.Friendship means understanding, bonding and helpfulness.
D.Ask your new friends questions about themselves.
E.That is why they are loved by everyone.
F.One good friend is better than thousands of ordinary friends.
G.Always stand by your friends in every situation.
You might not get what you wish for, but you always get what you work for. I want to be a professional ballerina(芭蕾舞者) with the American Ballet Theatre in New York when I grow up, and I work toward my dream by training over 18 hours a week. I even started homeschooling so I could make more time for dance. I love dancing more than anything. It makes me feel strong and invincible(不可战胜的), like nothing could ever bother me. Most important, it’s helped me deal with the most difficult event of my life — the death of my dad when I was seven.
My dad died of a heart attack while playing hockey, his favorite sport. When my mom first told me, it didn’t hit me that I would never be able to see him again. It was also hard to tell my friends and classmates because I didn’t know what to say, and they never knew how to respond. But four years later, everything that I do, I do in memory of my dad. I did my first dance solo. “The Love Lives On.” to him when I was nine.
I would have never gotten through the experience without my mom. She comforted me when I was in grief and pain, and we wrote down all the memories I had with my dad in a special book. Now that I’m older, my mom and I do get on each other’s nerves more often — for a while, my schedule was very busy and we were so stressed that our little miscommunications would rise into huge arguments. But after we attended counseling(心理咨询) and I started homeschooling, things got much better, and now my mom and I have more quality time to spend together.
I’ve learned that talking and communicating are the most important things to do in any relationship, and that definitely includes friendships, too! When I hang out with my friends, I try not to look at my phone. It’s so awkward(尴尬的) when you’re sitting at a table with someone else, and she’s texting instead of talking to you. I think a good friend is kind, respectful, fair, and funny — and I’ll always try to be all of these things in person, not just on the phone!
1.Why did the author train ballet so hard?
A. To memory her father.
B. To please her mother.
C. To be a good friend.
D. To work for her dream.
2.What does the underlined part in Para. 3 mean?
A. Offer help to each other.
B. Be concerned about each other.
C. Argue with each other.
D. Get along with each other.
3.In a relationship, are the most important.
A. working and dancing
B. training and arguing
C. talking and communicating
D. laughing and dreaming
If you ask people to name the one person who had the greatest effect on the English language, you will get answers like "Shakespeare," "Samuel Johnson," and "Webster," but none of these men had any effect at all compared to a man who didn’t even speak English-William the Conqueror.
Before 1066, in the land we now call Great Britain lived peoples belonging to two major language groups. In the west-central region lived the Welsh, who spoke a Celtic language, and in the north lived the Scots, whose language, though not the same as Welsh, was also Celtic. In the rest of the country lived the Saxons, actually a mixture of Anglos, Saxons, and other Germanic and Nordic peoples, who spoke what we now call Anglo-Saxon(or Old English), a Germanic language. If this state of affairs had lasted, English today would be close to German.
But this state of affairs did not last. In 1066 the Normans led by William defeated the Saxons and began their rule over England. For about a century, French became the official language of England while Old English became the language of peasants. As a result, English words of politics and the law come from French rather than German. In some cases, modem English even shows a distinction(区别)between upper-class French and lower-class Anglo-Saxon in its words. We even have different words for some foods, meat in particular, depending on whether it is still out in the fields or at home ready to be cooked, which shows the fact that the Saxon peasants were doing the farming, while the upper-class Normans were doing most of the eating.
When Americans visit Europe for the first time, they usually find Germany more "foreign" than France because the German they see on signs and advertisements seems much more different from English than French does. Few realize that the English language is actually Germanic in its beginning and that the French influences are all the result of one man’s ambition.
1.Before 1066, people in Britain mainly spoke .
A. Welsh and Scotlish B. Nordic and Germanic
C. Anglo-Saxon and Germanic D. Celtic and Old English
2.How did William the Conqueror have a great effect on English?
A. By defeating the Saxons.
B. By speaking good English.
C. By teaching people in Britain to speak English.
D. By bringing French to Britain to greatly influence English.
3.Why does Americans feel France is less foreign than Germany?
A. They know French better than German.
B. They know little history of the English history.
C. In France most of the advertisements appear in English.
D. There are more similarities between English and French.
4.What is the main idea of this passage?
A. The history of Great Britain.
B. The French effects on English language.
C. The difference between English and French.
D. The great people who had effect on English.
The United States of America is mainly an English-speaking country. The majority of the population speak English as their native language. Besides, education, social activities, etc. are conducted in English. Across but for the most part, Americans speak one common language. This language is sometimes called American English.
However, not everyone in the USA is a native speaker of English. Most immigrants(移民) are speakers of other languages. There are hundreds of communities around the USA where English is not the most commonly used languages. Chinese, Italian, German, Greek, Spanish and French are all spoken in various communities in the USA. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language after English. It is widely spoken in New York and across the southern part of the country. For speakers of other languages, learning English is important, but teaching people to speak English as a second language was given little attention. Non-English speakers were expected to pick up the language by meeting with others in public. Recently, this has changed.
Today, most large public schools and community colleges have ESL(English as a Second Language) programs; American English teachers feel that English students should learn the language the way they will use it. Therefore, ESL programs offer different English lessons to different students. Some programs teach students to communicate in English in public. Other programs teach the kind of English people who will need for their jobs. American ESL instructional methods do not lay emphasis on grammar or translation, but on the importance of communication. The goal is to get the English learners to learn by using the language.
1. is the most widely used language in most parts of the USA.
A. Chinese B. English
C. Spanish D. French
2.In old days, the non-English immigrants .
A. paid little attention to learning English
B. didn’t have much chance to learn English
C. also spoke English as their native language
D. never thought learning English was important
3.The underlined phrase “pick up” in Para.2 means .
A. to lift up B. to recover
C. to collect D. to learn
4.What do American ESL programs think is the most important in learning English?
A. Learning difficult grammar.
B. Doing much translation.
C. Finding a good job.
D. Using the language.
I’ll be the first to admit that I am a technophobe(对技术有恐惧感的人). Who would have guessed that a website would help repay a 20-year-old loan?
I’ll always remember my last day at school. My best friend, Jenny, had organized a party in the Sixth Form Common Room.
Jenny asked me to go to the supermarket with her to buy all the snacks. “I'm really looking forward to this party, Stingy," she said. Everyone called me Stingy instead of Debbie because they thought I didn’t like to spend money. Actually, it was true.
“There’s lots of money in the kitty. Let’s go crazy!” Going crazy meant buying enough snacks to feed an army. It came to ￡19.90, which was a lot of money in 1982.
Jenny gave me a guilty(内疚的) look. “I've left-the kitty money in the common room. Can you pay and I’ll give you back the money?”
“Sure,” I replied, trying to look relaxed. “Neither a lender or a borrower be” was my motto(座右铭) but I didn’t want to look stingy. I gave ￡20 to the impatient shop assistant.
Well, the Party was a great success. So great that I completely forgot about my loan until I was flying to America the next day. I was going to live with my uncle’s family until I started university.
I tried to get in touch with Jenny but her family had moved. My ￡20 was lost. Until...
I’d heard about a website called Friends Reunited which helped people contact old school friends. My husband helped me log on and find my school. There she was, Jenny Frost.
I’m now married with a beautiful daughter called Debbie. Does anyone know how to get in touch with Debbie “Stingy” Jones? I still owe her ￡20!
We met two months later and the ￡20 was returned, plus interest(利息) of course. After all, I’m a bank manager now, so loans are my business.
1.Everyone called the author Stingy because they thought .
A. she was poor
B. she was mean
C. she was lovely
D. she was friendly
2.Why did Stingy lend her money to Jenny?
A. Because Jenny lost her money.
B. Because Jenny never borrowed money from her.
C. Because Stingy had a lot of money in the kitty.
D. Because Stingy wanted to be generous with her friend.
3.When did Stingy get her loan back?
A. The next day. B. At the last day at school.
C. Two months later. D. About 20 years later.
4.What can be the best title?
A. Neither a lender or a borrower be.
B. Always be a “Stingy”.
C. Friends and Money Reunited.
D. A loan has to be paid back.
