Tim Becker and his neighbors are doing something to make their neighborhood a trouble-free area.
When Tim Becker gets in his car to go shopping, he doesn’t ___1___ drive to a store and back home. He always looks ___2___ up and down the streets of his neighborhood. He looks for anything ___3___ such as strange cars, loud noises, ___4___ windows, or people gathering on street corners.
Tim ___5___ to a neighborhood watch group in Stoneville, Indians, USA. The neighborhood watch group ___6___ on the third Wednesday of every month. That’s ___7___ Tim gets together with about ten of his neighbors to discuss community ___8___. Members of the neighborhood watch group want to help the police ___9___ their homes, streets, and families safe.
Tina Stedman, president of ___10___ neighborhood watch group, agrees with Tim. “People seem to think that crime (犯罪) happens to other people but not ___11___ them. Well, it’s never happened to me.” She said, “But I don’t think anyone has the ___12___ to steal from other people or to make them feel ___13___ sitting in their own homes.”
Alex, a member of the group, said that all the neighbors ___14___ out for one another. “We ___15___ each other’s homes. We keep watch on the neighborhood at night and on weekends. Usually a ___16___ of four or five of us goes out together. If something doesn’t look right, then we call the ___17___. For example, if we notice a group of teenagers who seem to be looking for ___18___, or someone destroying property (财产), we report to the police.”
Alex feels the neighborhood watch groups ___19___ a lot in keeping crime down. Her husband Jim agrees, “Police are good people, but they can’t do ___20___.”
1. A. yet B. still C. just D. rather
2. A. carefully B. clearly C. nervously D. coldly
3. A familiar B. unusual C. expensive D. interesting
4. A. curtained B. open C. old D. broken
5. A. attends B. belongs C. goes D. turns
6. A. meets B. quarrels C. sings D. searches
7. A. where B. why C. when D. how
8. A. politics B. wealth C. health D. safety
9. A. keep B. hold C. let D. protect
10. A. its B. his C. their D. your
11. A. round B. on C. about D. to
12. A. right B. chance C. courage D. mind
13. A. unlucky B. unsafe C. disappointed D. discouraged
14. A. set B. let C. hold D. look
15. A. care B. enter C. watch D. manage
16. A. group B. set C. number D. crowd
17. A. judges B. police C. firemen D. doctors
18. A. work B. burden C. service D. trouble
19. A. produce B. find C. get D. help
20. A. anything B. everything C. harm D. wrong
I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I used to give a lot of money to the homeless, feeling 31 for them. But as time passed, I became a mom with no home, a huge 32 , and hardly any income. As a result, I 33 giving money to the people on the side of the road and became very 34 .
Things started to change for me 35 . I had a home, a backyard for my daughter, and plenty of food, and I started to 36 myself out of debt. One day we saw a homeless person with the 37 , “Will work for food.” I 38 . My daughter commented. “Mommy, you used to always give money to those people in 39 .” I replied, “Honey, they just use that money for 40 , or other bad things.” She didn’t respond. 41 when I said that, I didn’t feel right.
Three days later, I was driving to 42 my daughter from school. A man was standing on the corner, and something deep 43 me said, “Just help the guy.” So I 44 down my window, and he ran over excitedly. He said, “God bless you, I only need 77 cents.” I 45 into my ashtray (烟灰缸) and strangely enough, there 46 three quarters and two pennies.
I picked them up and gave them to him. He 47 with joy and tears in his eyes. “Wow, you just made it 48 for me to see my mom for Christmas! Thank you so much; the 49 that had this great sale is leaving in 20 minutes!” It was a moment I’ll 50 forever. I think that man won’t forget it either, but I was the one who got the best gift in life—GIVING.
A.angry B.grateful C.sorry D.strange
A.problem B.burden C.disease D.debt
A.continued B.stopped C.hated D.appreciated
A.rich B.bitter C.relaxed D.pleased
A.slowly B.immediately C.quickly D.greatly
A.save B.pull C.run D.feed
A.determination B.sign C.child D.advertisement
A.ran away B.turned back C.passed by D.sped up
A.danger B.love C.need D.sadness
A.life B.book C.food D.smoking
A.And B.So C.But D.Even
A.bring up B.carry out C.pick up D.take out
A.on B.inside C.behind D.over
A.rolled B.pushed C.blew D.took
A.reached B.went C.knocked D.shouted
A.hid B.stood C.sat D.slept
A.burst out B.turned up C.set out D.stood up
A.wonderful B.meaningful C.possible D.interesting
A.plane B.man C.woman D.bus
A.thank B.remember C.respect D.hold
I consider myself something of an expert on apologies. A quick temper has 36 me with plenty of opportunities to make them. In one of my earlier 37 , my mother was telling me “Don’t watch the 38 when you say, ‘I’m sorry’. Hold your head up and look at the person in the 39 , so he’ll know you 40 it.”
My mother thus made the key point of a(n) 41 apology: It must be direct. You must never 42 to be doing something else. You do not 43a pile of letters while apologizing to a person 44 in position after blaming him or her for a mistake that turned out to be your 45 . You do not apologize to a hostess, whose guest of honor you treat 46 , by sending flowers the next day without mentioning your bad 47 .
One of the important things we should do for an 48 apology is a readiness to 49 the responsibility for our careless mistakes. We are used to making excuses, which leaves no 50 for the other person to 51 us. Since most people are open-hearted, the no-excuse apology leaves both parties feeling 52 about themselves. That , after all, is the 53 of every apology. It 54 little whether the apologizer is wholly or only partly at fault. Answering for one’s 55 encourages others to take their share of the blame.
A.provided B.mixed C.compared D.treated
A.dreams B.courses C.memories D.ideas
A.side B.ground C.wall D.bottom
A.mind B.soul C.face D.eye
A.imagine B.enjoy C.mean D.regret
A.useful B.successful C.equal D.basic
A.pretend B.forget C.refuse D.expect
A.hold on B.put away C.look through D.pick up
A.poorer B.weaker C.worse D.lower
A.fault B.reason C.result D.duty
A.cruelly B.freely C.roughly D.foolishly
A.manners B.excuses C.efforts D.roles
A.active B.effective C.extra D.easy
A.raise B.perform C.admit D.bear
A.situation B.need C.sign D.room
A.advise B.forgive C.warn D.blame
A.wiser B.warmer C.better D.cleverer
A.purpose B.method C.end D.advantage
A.cares B.matters C.depends D.remains
A.facts B.states C.rights D.actions
How often do you let other people’s nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, impolite waiter,rude boss, or an insensitive employee 1 your day?
Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson in the back of a New York City taxi cab. One day I was in a taxi and we headed 2 the airport. We were driving in the 3 lane when suddenly a black car drove out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his 4, slide sideways,and at the very last moment our car stopped and 5 the other car by just inches!The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, looked around and started6 at us.
My taxi driver just 7 and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was 8, so I said,"Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!” This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call "The Law of the Garbage Truck".
He said, “Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of 9 full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage 10 up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on 11 . Don’t take it personally; Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Believe me. You’ll be 12 .”
So I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and 13 it to other people at work, at home, or on the street? It was then that I said, “I don’t want their garbage and I’m not going to spread it anymore.”
Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with 14 . The mark of your success is how quickly you can refocus on what’s15 in your life. See, Roy Baumeister, a psychology researcher from Florida State University,found in his extensive research that you __16 bad things more often than good things in your life. You store the bad memories more easily, and you __17 them more frequently. So love the people who treat you right. Ignore the ones who don’t. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you _18 it!The odds are against you when a Garbage Truck comes your way, but when you follow “The Law of the Garbage Truck”,you take back control of your life. You make room for the good by 19 go of the bad.
Have a Garbage-Free Day!Have a marvelous, garbage-free day!The seeds you plant today 20 the harvest you reap tomorrow.
A.enrich B.ruin C.spare D.obtain
A.through B.to C.in D.for
A.latter B.right C.opposite D.free
A.brakes B.door C.window D.seat
A.knocked B.overtook C.missed D.lost
A.laughing B.throwing C.glancing D.yelling
A.wondered B.smiled C.ignored D.guessed
A.friendly B.angry C.tired D.disappointed
A.expectation B.passengers C.garbage D.goods
A.turns B.pushes C.holds D.piles
A.roads B.children C.you D.dustbin
A.upset B.happier C.pitiful D.frightened
A.spread B.share C.explain D.contribute
A.surprise B.pleasure C.doubt D.regrets
A.funny B.important C.strange D.embarrassing
A.remember B.forget C.value D.appreciate
A.enjoy B.exchange C.recall D.imagine
A.inspire B.take C.mend D.notice
A.letting B.consisting C.making D.dreaming
A.distinguish B.deserve C.deliver D.determine
It was a sunny day. A city man was driving along a country road with a new wagon(马车)and a beautiful pair of horses. He didn’t pay a lot of 1 to where he was going. Pretty soon he 2 that he was lost, but he 3 to drive, expecting to find his way or to 4 someone who could tell him how to get back to the 5 .
It was a long 6 road. For many hours he kept on driving. When it was almost 7 , he saw in a 8 a tall farmer ploughing the land. He stopped his 9 team of horses near the fence and called out, “Hello, farmer.”
“Hello, yourself,” the farmer replied, 10 ploughing.
“Where does the horse 11 ? He asked without knowing his languages mistakes.
“I haven’t seen it go anywhere. It 12 stays right where it is,” said the farmer, 13 stopping his work.
“How far is it to the next town?” said the city man, speaking a little 14 .
“Don’t know. I never 15 it,” replied the farmer. By this time the city man was getting 16 . “What do you know? You’re the biggest fool I 17 saw.”
18 stopping, the farmer turned and looked for a long time 19 at the city man. Then he said, “Maybe I don’t know much. 20 I am a fool. But at least I’m not lost!”
A.signs B.orders C.attention D.direction
A.realized B.recognized C.accepted D.received
A.stopped B.used C.wanted D.continued
A.miss B.meet C.look D.lose
A.town B.country C.capital D.village
A.lonely B.busy C.dirty D.crowded
A.at noon B.at night C.raining D.dark
A.truck B.pile C.field D.store
A.strong B.tired C.weak D.tiring
A.but B.went on C.stopped D.still
A.go B.lead up C.get D.show
A.always B.often C.sometimes D.seldom
A.began B.still C.without D.already
A.clearly B.lower C.more loudly D.more politely
A.judged B.measured C.saw D.studied
A.sad B.lovely C.friendly D.angry
A.ever B.often C.even D.never
A.Still B.Not C.With D.Finally
A.gladly B.immediately C.in silence D.excitedly
A.Really B.Perhaps C.Certainly D.Fortunately
My sister, Cathy, who lives in Vancouver, sent me a package full of Christmas gifts. She told me that she had 36 it in advance to make sure it would arrive at my house weeks before the 37 . Christmas was drawing near, but no package arrived. Cathy checked the tracking number every 38 with Canada Post, and every evening she would call me to 39 if there was any sign of it on our end.
The 40 always started with questions about the package, but twenty minutes later we would still be 41 . We talked about our family, such as parents, our kids, 42 and so on. Of course we also talked about our jobs. We had never made so much 43 for each other! The talk always took us back to the hours we spend together in our childhood.
By Christmas Eve we finally had to 44 the fact that the package was 45 lost. On Christmas morning, Cathy got on the phone with everyone in my 46 and told them what she had sent. Later on, after a big Christmas dinner, I had forgotten all about the 47 package when there was a knock on the door. Who could it be at such a time? As I 48 the door, a man was standing there. “I 49 this is yours.” he said, holding a package. Just then I 50 that it had been delivered to the wrong address. “I just got home from vacation,” he explained, “51 I wanted you to have this in time to open for Christmas.” I thanked this 52 stranger for taking so much trouble to 53 this gift to us on Christmas Day, and 54 thanked God that the package had been lost in the first place.
The real gift that holiday season was the new 55 to my sister who lives far away from us. Now there’s one gift I never want to give back!
A.booked B.decorated C. listed D.mailed
A.appointment B.deadline C.holiday D.party
A.year B.morning C.week D.month
A.pick out B.take out C.figure out D.find out
A.complaint B.conversation C. discussion D.quarrel
A.chatting B.arguing C. kidding D.scolding
A.gifts B.secrets C.husband D.clothing
A.food B.time C.achievement D.money
A.consider B.ignore C. accept D.study
A.entirely B.simply C.mostly D.suddenly
A.restaurant B.office C.house D.class
A.terrible B.outstanding C.big D.missing
A.opened B.locked C.left D.watched
A.understand B.forget C.know D.believe
A.expected B.dreamed C.realized D.remembered
A.because B.but C.or D.so
A.generous B.honest C.polite D.kind
A.show B.present C.return D.offer
A.silently B.carefully C.gently D.actually
A.connection B.guide C.recognition D.closeness