I did very badly at school. My headmaster thought I was 21 and when I was 14 he said, “You’re never going to be 22 but a failure.”
After five years of 23 jobs, I fell in love with a very nice middle-class girl. It was the best24 that could have happened to me. I 25 I wanted to do something positive (积极的) with my life because I wanted to prove to26 that what people said about me was 27. Especially her mother, who had said to me, “Let’s28 it, you’ve failed at everything you’ve ever done.” So I tried hard with my29 and went to college. My first novel (小说)30 while I was at college.
After college I taught during the31 in high schools and attended evening classes at London University, where I got a 32 in history. I became a lecturer at a college and was thinking of33 that job to write full time 34 I was offered a part-time job at Leeds University. I began to feel proud of myself — 35 was a working-class boy who’d 36 school early, now teaching at the university.
My writing career (职业) took off when I discovered my own style. Now I’m rich and 37 , have been on TV, and met lots of film stars. 38 what does it mean? I39 wish all the people that have put me down had 40 : “I believe in you. You’ll succeeD．”
21．A．bright B．useless C．simple D．hopeful
22．A．anything B．something C．everything D．nothing
23．A．low B．poor C．good D．useful
24．A．support B．happiness C．surprise D．thing
25．A．admitted B．decided C．planned D．told
26．A．me B．them C．her D．it
27．A．wrong B．right C．stupid D．faulty
28．A．see B．know C．understand D．face
29．A．experiment B．practice C．writing D．composition
30．A．came on B．came in C．came out D．came back
31．A．day B．night C．month D．year
32．A．graduation B．pass C．degree D．success
33．A．giving in B．giving back C．giving out D．giving up
34．A．while B．if C．when D．or
35．A．there B．here C．it D．that
36．A．left B．attended C．changed D．graduated
37．A．tired B．calm C．nervous D．famous
38．A．And B．But C．However D．Well
39．A．just B．exactly C．so D．very
40．A．praised B．said C．answered D．advised
One of my fondest Christmas memories was also one of our family’s bleakest（最令人沮丧的）．We were just little kids，and on Christmas Day my mom ______ us all around her to tell us, ______, that there would be no presents because all we really wanted was to _____ for our daddy．He was very sick．I don’t remember anything else except four little girls surrounding my mother，crying _____ a miracle（奇迹）．
At that very moment，someone ______ loudly on the door．______ behind him was a merry group of soldiers from the Army base where my father ____ as a minister．News had ___ that we were in trouble，and his colleagues knew we needed some _____．
With all the excitement，even my dad，_____ in a blanket to keep warm，came down and sat in front of a roaring fire in our room to watch his children be _____ by good Samaritans（乐善好施的人）．The presents were unwrapped，and we girls ____ packages and found a doll each and four board games．
What is _____ to me is that I don’t even remember what sickness my father was suffering from．I _____ remember an evening of laughter and _____．There were no expensive toys but ______ moments of friendship and fun given by young men who knew that a family was having a(n）______ time．They gave their time and their _____ to little children who needed to laugh．
The most important things in life aren’t things．And what about the true ______ of holidays? I hope we all are able to remember a thing about the holidays that stirs（搅动）our hearts，that isn’t really a thing at all，but the smile on a child’s face because we take a moment to hug or ______ a tear．
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It was in my high school science class. I was doing a task in front of the classroom with my favorite shirt on.
A ____ came，“Nice shirt，” I smiled from ear to ear. Then another voice said，“That shirt belonged to my dad. Greg's mother works for my family. We were going to ____ that shirt away，but gave it to her ____.” I was speechless. I wanted to hide.
I ____ the shirt in the back of the closet and told my mum what had happened. She then dialed her ____，“I will no longer work for your family，” she told him. That night，Mom told my dad that she couldn't clean anymore; she knew her life's ____ was something greater.
The next morning，she ____ with the personnel manager at the Board of Education. He told her that without a proper education，she could not teach. So Mom decided to ____ a university.
After the first year in college，she went back to the personnel manager. He said，“You are ____，aren't you? I think I have a ____ for you as a teacher's assistant. This opportunity deals with children who are mentally challenged with little or no chance of____.” Mom accepted the opportunity very ____.
For almost five years，as a teacher's assistant，she saw teacher after teacher give up on the children and quit，feeling ____.Then one day，the personnel manager and the principal ____ in her classroom. The principal said，“We have watched how you ____ the children and how they communicate with you and admire your hardworking ____ over the last five years. We are all in agreement that you ____ be the teacher of this class.”
My mom spent more than 20 years there.____ her career，she was voted Teacher of the Year. All of this came about because of the ____ comment made in the classroom that day. Mom showed me how to handle ____ situations and never give up.
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I arrived in the classroom, ready to share my knowledge and experience with 75 students who would be my English Literature class. Having taught in for 17 years, I had no about my ability to hold their attention and to on them my admiration for the literature of my mother tongue.
I was shocked when the monitor shouted, “ !” and the entire class rose as I entered the room, and I was somewhat about how to get them to sit down again, but once that awkwardness (尴尬) was over, I quickly my calmness and began what I thought was a fact-packed lecture, sure to gain their respect --- perhaps their admiration. I went back to my office with the rosy glow which comes from a sense of achievements.
My students diaries. However, as I read them, the rosy glow was gradually by a strong sense of sadness. The first diary said, “Our literature teacher didn’t teach us anything today. her next lecture will be better.” Greatly surprised , I read diary after diary , each expressing a theme (主题). “Didn’t I teach them anything? I described the entire philosophical (哲学的) framework of Western thought and laid the historical for all the works we’ll study in class,” I complained. “How they say I didn’t teach them anything?”
It was a long term, and it became clear that my ideas about education were not the same as of my students. I thought a teacher’s job was to raise questions and provide enough background so that students could their own conclusions. My students thought a teacher’s job was to provide information as directly and clearly as possible. What a difference!
, I also learned a lot, and my experience with my Chinese students has made me a American teacher, knowing how to teach in a different culture.
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The 28-year-old had spent six years working nights while she gained her university degree during the day. When she finally , she had her eye on a teaching at a nearby primary school. With the help of her friends, she had with the Head.
“I noticed a tiny in one of my stockings earlier.” she recalled. “I thought about them, but I knew I’d be if I did. And by the time I got to the interview，it was bigger. I walked in apologizing for not looking my best.” The would-be teacher didn’t the job. In fact her friends told her that the Head’s only comment was, “If someone doesn’t take the time to her best image at an interview, what kind of is she going to be?”
In job-hunting, personal is very important. After all, you’re selling a product— —to an employer. When going to a job interview, always brush your hair tidily, polish your shoes and above all, yourself properly. It will give you a competitive and a positive first . The above idea was also suggested in a best-seller for jobseekers named Dress for Success.
First impressions a
re ones. In other words, if you’re viewed positively within the critical first four , the person you’ve met will feel everything you do is positive. Leave the interviewer a bad impression, and often he will guess you have a lot of other characters. In a word, he may not take the time to give you a second . Most employers believe that those who look as if they care about will care about their jobs.
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My fiance (未婚夫) and I were excited about shopping for our first home. But our funds were , and none of the houses in our price range seemed satisfactory.
One agent a house in particular. Although her description sounded wonderful, the price was our range, so we declined. But she kept urging us to have a look .
We finally did and it was at first sight. It was Our Home, small and charming, overlooking a quiet lake. Walking through the rooms and talking with the owners, a nice elderly couple, we felt the warmth and of the marriage within that home. As perfect as it was, the price remained too high for us. But every day, we would sit by the lake, looking at the house and dreaming of it would be like to live there.
Days later, we made a(n) —far below the asking price. Surprisingly, they didn’t us. They renewed their offer . It was also much more than we could afford, but far than the original asking price.
The next day, we got a message that another buyer had offered a much higher price. Even so, we decided to talk with the directly. We made our final offer, which was thousands of dollars less than the other buyer’s bid. We knew it, we had to try.
“Sold!” said the owner. Then he : He’d seen us sitting by the lake all those times; he knew how much we loved the place and that we’d the years of work they had put into their home; he realized he would take a by selling it to us, but it was worthwhile; we were the people they wanted to live there. He told us to consider the in the price “an early wedding present.”
That’s how we found our home and how I learned that when people are they are not strangers, only friends we haven’t yet met.
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