Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own.My mom was one of those people.
My father died when I was nine months old,making my mom a single mother at the age of eighteen.While I was growing up,we lived a very hard life.We had little money,but my mom gave me a lot of love.Each night,she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would change my life,“Kemmons,you are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it.”
At fourteen,I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again.Every day,my mother spoke to me in her gentle,loving voice,telling me that no matter what those doctors said,I could walk again if I wanted to badly enough.She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her.A year later,I returned to school—walking on my own!
When the Great Depression(大萧条)hit,my mom lost her job.Then I left school to support the both of us.At that moment,I was determined never to be poor again.
Over the years,I experienced various levels of business success.But the real turning point occurred on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951.I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels available for families and was angry that they charged an extra $2 for each child.That was too expensive for the average American family.I told my wife that I was going to open a motel(汽车旅馆)for families that would never charge extra for children.There were plenty of doubters at that time.
Not surprisingly,mom was one of my strongest supporters.She worked behind the desk and even designed the room style.As in any business,we experienced a lot of challenges.But with my mother’s words deeply rooted in my soul,I never doubted we would succeed.Fifteen years later,we had the largest hotel system in the world—Holiday Inn.In 1979 my company had 1759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of $1 billion a year.
You may not have started out life in the best situations.But if you can find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself,nothing can stop you.What Kemmons’ mom often told him during his childhood was_______.
A.caring | B.moving |
C.encouraging | D.interesting |
According to the author,who played the most important role in making him walk back to school again?
A.Doctors. | B.Nurses. | C.Friends. | D.Mom. |
What caused Kemmons to start a motel by himself?
A.His terrible experience in the hotel. |
B.His previous business success of various levels. |
C.His mom’s support. |
D.His wife’s suggestion. |
Which of the following best describes Kemmons’ mother?
A.Modest,helpful and hard-working. |
B.Loving,supportive and strong-willed. |
C.Careful,helpful and beautiful. |
D.Strict,sensitive and supportive. |
Which of the following led to Kemmons’ success according to the passage?
A.Self-confidence,hard work,higher-education and a poor family. |
B.Mom’s encouragement,clear goals,self-confidence and hard work. |
C.Clear goals,mom’s encouragement,a poor family and higher education. |
D.Mom’s encouragement,a poor family,higher education and opportunities. |
We all know what a brain is. A doctor will tell you that the brain is the organ of the body in the head. It controls our body's functions, movements, emotions and thoughts. But a brain can mean so much more.
A brain can also simply be a smart person, If a person is called brainy, she is smart and intelligent. If a family has many children but one of them is super smart, you could say, "She's the brains in the family. " And if you are the brains behind something you are responsible for developing or organizing something. For example, Bill Gates is the brains behind Microsoft.
Brain trust is a group of experts who give advice. Word experts say the phrase"brain trust" became popular when Franklin D. Roosevelt first ran for president in 1932, Several professors gave him advice on social and political issues facing the U. S.These professors were called his "brain trust. "
These ways we use the word "brain" all make sense. But other ways we use the word are not so easy to understand. For example, to understand the next brain expression, you first need to know the word“drain." As a verb to drain means to remove something by letting it flow away. So a brain drain may sound like a disease where the brain flows out the ears. But, brain drain is when a country's most educated people leave their countries to live in another. The brains are,sort of,draining out of the country.
However,if people are responsible for a great idea,you could say they brainstormed it. Here,brainstorm is not an act of weather. It is a process of thinking creatively about a complex topic. For example, business leaders may use brainstorming to create new products, and government leaders may brainstorm to solve problems.
If people are brainwashed, it does not mean their brains are nice and clean. To brainwash means to make someone accept new beliefs by using repeated pressure in a forceful or tricky way. Keep in mind that brainwash is never used in a positive way.According to the text, if you're the CEO of Bai Du you can be called________.
A.the brains behind Bai Du |
B.Bai Du's brain trust |
C.the brain drain of Bai Du |
D.the organ of Bai Du |
Why did Roosevelt successfully win the election?
A.Because he was smart at giving advice. |
B.Because word experts were popular. |
C.Because he got his brain trust. |
D.Because he was the brains behind America. |
Which of the following expression is always used in a negative way?
A.Brain trust | B.Brain drain |
C.Brainstorm | D.Brainwash |
Giving Back
Fair Way
The Westborough High School golf team had taken the official photos with the state prize. The other teams, disappointed, were on the bus heading home. And the Westborough instructor Greg Rota noticed something wrong on one of the score cards. A 9 had been recorded as a 7. They were not the state prize winner; Wobum High had won. "No one would have known, said Wobum's instructor, Bob Doran. For Rota, it wasn’t a difficult decision: “The prize wasn’t ours to take.”
Coin Stars
"College students are lazy. but they also want to help," says University of Pennsylvania graduate. Dan Hork. So she made it easy, placing cups in rooms where students could leave their spare coins, and handing out cups to first-year students to keep in their rooms. Her "Change for Change" effort has collected$40,000 for charities, which were decided upon by students .
Never Forgotten
A school in Massachusetts received a $ 9. 5 million check from Jacques LeBermuth. But it took officials several days of digging to discover his connection to the school. Records showed the LeBermuth came from Belgium and studied in the school in the1920s. When his family fell on hard times, he was offered free room and board.LeBermuth became a trader, owned shares of AT&T and lived off the earnings until he died , at age 89.What did Greg Rota probably do in the end?
A.Returned the prize to the organizer, |
B.Apologized to Wobum High School. |
C.Took photos of the state prize. |
D.Had a meeting with Doran |
Greg Rota's decision shows that he was .
A.polite | B.honest |
C.careful | D.friendly |
The underlined word "Change" in the second paragraph means__________.
A. Idea | B. Decision | C. Cups | D.Coins |
Jacques LeBermuth gave the money to the school because _________.
A.the school asked for it |
B.he had no need for that much money |
C.the school had helped him in the past |
D.he wanted to be remembered by the students |
Knowing how much her own children loved presents at Christmas, Ann Sutton always tried to seek help for one or two poor families. With a social worker mother, the Sutton children had inherited(继承)her commitment to service, and knew never to take their good fortune at Christmas for granted. This year, Kinzie, her seven-year-old daughter was thrilled that Santa Claus would make a special visit to a 22-year-old mother named Ashley who worked in a factory raising her 12-month-old son by herself.
The phone rang on Sunday. A representative from a local organization was calling to say that the aid Ann had requested for Ashley had fallen through. No Santa Claus, no presents, nothing.
Ann saw the cheer fade away from her children's faces at the news. Without a word, Kinzie ran into her bedroom. She returned, her face set with determination. Opening up her piggy bank, she put all the coins onto the table: $3.30. Everything she had.
“Mom," she told Ann, “I know it's not much. But maybe this will buy a present for the baby.”
At a breakfast meeting the next day, Ann told her coworkers about her daughter story. To her surprise, staff members began to open their purses. and empty their pockets to help Kinzie .
On Christmas Eve, Ann drove through the pouring rain to the small trailer where the Ashley’s lived. Then she began to unload the gifts from the car, handing them to Ashley one by one.
Ashley was very moved. Reflecting on a little girl's generosity, Ashley says she'll one day be able to do something similar for someone else in need. "Kinzie could have used that money for herself, but she gave it away," Ashley says. "She's the type of kid I'd like my son to grow up to be."According to the text, Ann Sutton .
A.only cares about poor children |
B.has possessed a good fortune |
C.is warm-hearted and ready to help others |
D.is a single mother with a 12-month-old boy |
When hearing the aid had fallen through, Kinzie .
A.was not sad but cheerfu1 |
B.put all her coins away immediately |
C.told her mother to ask the coworkers for help |
D.decided to buy a present for the baby with all her allowance |
From the text we can learn that _______. .
A.Ann would act as Santa Claus to hand out the Christmas presents |
B.the Sutton children always got lots of presents at Christmas |
C.Kinzie's generosity influenced others and they did something similar |
D.Ashley was moved and promised to return the money |
What does the text mainly talk about?
A.How a warm-hearted mother shows her love to a poor family. |
B.How a mother and her young daughter helped a poor family. |
C.Many people make contributions to those in need. |
D.What happened to a poor family on Christmas Eve. |
More than 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed across the globe each day, and it’s likely that many taste bitter.
Now, a new study suggests that coffee fans can make their drink taste sweeter by simply changing the colour of their cups.
Scientists claim that blue and glass mugs, which are popular in some coffee shops, can reduce coffee’s bitterness, without any need for sugar, and that coffee drunk from white cups tastes the bitterest.
To prove their claims, the researchers invited 36 volunteers and used three different colored cups -- blue, white and transparent glass -- to do an experiment.
In the experiment, coffee consumed from the white cup was found to taste less sweet when compared to the other two colored cups, while the blue cup made the coffee taste the sweetest.
The scientists believe that the colour brown may be associated with coffee’s bitterness because coffee in a white cup appears the brownest and tastes the bitterest.
“Our study clearly shows that the colour of a coffee cup does influence the perceived (感受到的) taste and flavor of coffee,” said Dr George Doorn of Federation University Australia, “but the potential effects may be different between a one-time purchase and a return customer.”
“Anyhow, the effect of the colour of the cup on the flavor of the coffee suggests that café owners, baristas (服务员), as well as coffee cup manufacturers should carefully consider the colour of their cups, ” he added.
However, the idea that colour can alter the taste of food and drink is not new.
A study published last year revealed that red, strawberry-flavored mousse (慕斯蛋糕) served on a white plate was rated as 10 percent sweeter and 15 percent more flavorous than the same food presented on a black plate. What color of the cup can best reduce coffee’s bitterness without adding sugar?
A.Blue. | B.Brown. | C.White. | D.Transparent. |
The scientists used ________ to do the experiment to prove their claims.
① different brands of coffee
② different colored coffee cups
③ several volunteers
④ several manufactures
A.① ② | B.② ③ | C.② ④ | D.③ ④ |
Why does coffee in white cups taste the least sweet?
A.Because white cups are not as beautiful as other cups. |
B.Because white cups make coffee appear the brownest. |
C.Because white cups reduce the sugar in them. |
D.Because white cups are better used to serve cakes. |
According to the article, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.Black plates increase the sweetness of food and drink. |
B.Strawberry-flavored mousse is 10 percent sweeter than coffee. |
C.People consume more than 2.5 billion cups of coffee across the globe every year. |
D.People can make coffee taste sweeter by changing the color of their coffee cups. |
An African proverb says that a single hand cannot tie a bundle. Everyone needs companions to help them sail through the rough seas of life. Even the strongest and richest person still needs friends. Our money and strength would have no value if we had no friends to share with us. The best friendship is a give-and-take relationship. We need the support of our family, friends and the community. In turn we also give support to the society, our friends and our family.
The word “friend” has many meanings. It could be the bus driver who takes you to and from work every day. It could be a parent, a colleague, a wife or husband, a brother or sister, or even the unknown person who helped you just once when you could not find your way. Real friends share not only our happiness but our sorrows as well. This may explain why we have the expression “a friend in need is a friend indeed”.
Friendship is like the sunshine that keeps us warm. It is like the refreshing raindrops on the fields that give the farmers hope of a good planting season. Without friends our life would be like a desert where our only friend would be loneliness and sadness. The most fortunate person is the one who has friends from all levels in the society. A driver might find friends not only among his colleagues but among farmers, bankers, traders, students, politicians or teachers. We should never forget our old friends when we make new ones. We should treasure each of our friends whether poor or rich, beautiful or not. Each friend is unique in his or her own way. And all together, they enrich life and make it very colourful. What is the main topic of the passage?
A.How to sail through the sea of life. |
B.Friends and friendship. |
C.A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
D.Never forget old friends when making new ones. |
What is the correct understanding of friends according to the writer?
A.Friends who share our happiness are not real friends. |
B.Friends will take us through rough seas. |
C.Friends never expect anything from others. |
D.Friends can be different people around us. |
An unknown person can be a friend as well when .
A.he helps you with what you need |
B.he is told how to find his way |
C.he becomes one of your family |
D.he is a driver taking you from and to work |
The underlined word “unique” in the last paragraph most probably means “ ”.
A.special | B.poor | C.rich | D.Valuable |