You feel happiest when you create a healthy balance between giving and receiving. If you give and give without making time to fill your own needs, then it’s likely you will burn out, or feel upset .When you take and take without giving anything back, you never feel fulfilled, so you are always searching for ways to fill the void in your life.
The way to create a healthy balance between giving and receiving is to know and then live by your values. I break values up into two groups which I call being and having values. Your being values are the character traits of the ideal person you would like to be. I suggest to my clients that they choose three being values that they are willing to make a commitment to live by. An example of some being values are: kind, loving, generous, inspirational, peaceful, wise and even powerful. By acting on these values you give to others through your actions and you inspire others by being a positive role model. Mastering being these character traits becomes your life purpose.
Your having values are the feelings you need to create in order to be happy. These could be companionship, achievement, support, being valued or financial security. This is what you receive. You take responsibility for filling your own needs by taking steps to create these feelings and conditions in your life.
When you make a commitment to live by your being values, it becomes easier to make conscious choices rather than reactionary ones. If your usual pattern is to talk about your problems, you could choose to think and act like a calm person. A calm person might go for a walk, meditate, or set a time limit before responding. If your usual pattern is to worry, you could choose to act like a responsible or wise person. In other words, you would act like the person you choose to be—this is the key to personal power.
When you choose to act on your values, you not only feel good about yourself, you reinforce your chosen beliefs. Over time acting in this way changes how you see the world, and in turn the way other people think of you.The main purpose of this passage is to .
| A．persuade the readers to make a commitment |
| B．explain to the readers what personal values are |
| C．inform the readers how to be truly happy |
| D．instruct the readers how to make wise choices |
According to the text, living by your being values, you would .
| A．gain a lot of power | B．form positive personality |
| C．seek all human virtues | D．fill your own needs |
The underlined word “void” in Paragraph 1 means .
| A．a feeling of emptiness | B．an absence of one’s mind |
| C．a break of continuity | D．a state of confusion |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．Having values are better than being values. |
| B．A calm person does not choose to complain. |
| C．The way other people think of you decides who you are. |
| D．A responsible person does not care about financial security. |
I can’t count how many times people have complained, while shaking their heads in obvious disappointment,“just don’t know what is with teenagers today.”
The other day I was in my car on my way to the farmers market when I passed two teens standing by the side of the road with a car washing sign. My car was filthy and my heart was full, so I pulled over. There was a group directing the cars and another group spraying them down. As sponges(海绵) were wiped over every square inch of my dirty car, I sat enjoying the little water bottles. I was amazed at why forty to fifty teenagers had devoted their Saturday to washing cars.
After I handed them a twenty-dollar bill I asked what they were raising money for. They explained to me that a friend of theirs, C.T.Schmitz, had recently died of cancer. He was only fifteen years old. He had gone to school with a lot of the teenagers who were there that day and each of them had memories of a boy sweeter than any they had known. His friend Kevin had decided to put this car wash together because he wanted to honor his friend and also bring together his classmates with his boy scout troop(童子军). He told me that they wanted to plant a tree in front of their school and if they raised enough money they would put a plaque(纪念匾) there also. Both would be in memory of their friend C.T.
They handed me a bag of homemade cookies with my receipt(收据) saying“Thanks for helping us plant a tree of C.T.”
Yeah! I don’t know what is with teenagers today!From the passage we can know that the boys were raising money to ______.
| A．buy a plaque for their school . |
| B．help those who suffered from cancer. |
| C．first plant a tree in memory of their friend. |
| D．put a plaque near their friend’s home |
From the passage, we can infer that C.T.Schmitz was _____.
A. kind-hearted but lonely B. brave and popular with his classmates
C. shy and sensitive D. a boy you can get a good impression ofWhat does the underlined word “ filthy”mean?
| A．new | B．dirty | C．good-looking | D．ordinary |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Teenagers Today | B．A Special Day |
| C．My view on Teenagers | D．An Exciting Experience |
After her husband had gone to work, Mrs Richards send her children to school and went upstairs to her bedroom. She was too excited to do any housework that morning. In the evening she would go to a fancy dress party with her husband. She wanted to dress up as a ghost and as she had made her costume the night before, she was impatient to try it on. Though the costume consisted only of a sheet, it was really splendid. After putting it on, She went downstairs to find out whether it would be comfortable to wear.
Just as Mrs Richards was entering the dining-room, there was a knock on the front door. She knew it must be the baker. She had told him to come straight in if ever she failed to open the door and to leave the bread on the table. Not wanting to frighten the poor man, she quickly hid in the small store-room under the stair. She heard the front door opened and heavy footsteps in the hall. Suddenly the door of the store-room was opened and in came a man. Mrs Richards realized it must be the man from the Electricity Board who had come to read the meter. She tried to explain the situation, saying “It’s only me. ”but it was too late, the man let out a cry and jumped back several paces. When Mrs Richards walked towards him, he fled, losing the door heavily behind him.The reason for Mrs Richards’ excitement that day was that____.
| A．she had sent her children to school |
| B．she was to attend an evening party |
| C．she wouldn’t do any housework that morning |
| D．she had made a special costume the night before |
Mrs Richards went downstairs with the costume on so as to____.
| A．made sure that the costume fitted her well |
| B．frighten the person who was knocking on the door |
| C．find out if she had finished the costume |
| D．receive the bread and do some cooking |
The man who was knocking at the door was____.
| A．a baker | B．a thief | C．her husband | D．an electricity man |
What did the man do after he knocked on the front door?
| A．He entered just as Mrs Richards had told him to. |
| B．He did not do anything as Mrs Richards had expected him to. |
| C．He stepped directly towards the meter. |
| D．He went straight in so as to find Mrs Richards. |
The man ____ and that made him cry out and run away.
| A．thought he must have met a ghost |
| B．recognized Mrs Richards |
| C．found out Mrs Richards was walking towards him |
| D．thought that Mrs Richards must have recognized him |
Watching some children trying to catch butterflies one hot August afternoon, I was reminded of an incident in my own childhood．When I was a boy of 12 in South Carolina, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage.We lived on the edge of a wood, and every evening at dusk the mockingbirds would come and rest in the trees and sing. There isn’t a musical instrument made by man that can produce a more beautiful sound than the song of the mockingbird.
I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way would have my own private musician.
I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, in its fright at being captured, the bird fluttered about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.
I had left the cage out on our back porch, and on the second day of the bird’s captivity my new pet’s mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I how to feed her baby.
The following morning when I went to see how my captive was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened! I had taken excellent care of my little bird, or so I thought.
Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, happened to be visiting my father at the time, hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had occurred. “A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poison berries. She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in captivity.”
Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.Why did the writer catch a mockingbird when he was a boy of 12?
| A．He had just got a new cage. | B．He liked its beautiful feather. |
| C．He wanted it to sing for him. | D．He wanted a pet for a companion. |
The mockingbird died because it ______.
| A．was frightened to death | B．ate the poisonous food its mother gave it |
| C．refused to eat anything | D．drank the poisonous water by mistake |
An ornithologist probably means ______.
| A．a religious person | B．a kind person |
| C．a schoolmaster | D．an expert in birds |
What is the most important lesson the writer learned from the incident?
| A．Freedom is very valuable to all creatures. |
| B．All birds put in a cage won’t live long. |
| C．You should keep the birds from their mother. |
| D．Be careful about food you give to baby birds. |
A farmer had some puppies to sell. He painted a sign advertising them on the edge of his yard.One day, a little boy came to buy one of the puppies. With a whistle(口哨), the farmer called, “Here, Dolly!” Out from the doghouse ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy stood against the fence. His eyes danced with delight.
As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared, something wrong with its legs, doing its best to catch up.“I want that one,” the little boy said.
The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, “Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would.”
With that, the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so, he showed a steel brace(固定器) running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, “You see, sir, I don’t run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.”How did the farmer advertise his puppies?
| A．Advertise them in the newspaper. |
| B．Put up a sign in his yard. |
| C．Show them to his neighbors. |
| D．Send pictures to a magazine. |
The underlined words “four little balls of fur” refer to “______”.
| A．four toy balls | B．four balls made of fur |
| C．four lovely dogs | D．four puppies with no fur |
Why did the boy choose the last dog?
| A．Because they have something in common. |
| B．Because he didn't have enough money. |
| C．Because it was the most lovely one. |
| D．Because the farmer wouldn't sell other dogs. |
According to the story, we know that the boy .
| A．didn't like dogs at all | B．needed a dog to help him |
| C．could run as fast as others | D．had an artificial(假的) leg |
Amanda Clement grew up in Hudson，South Dakota．Baseball was always her favorite sport．Once in a while her brother Hank and his friends would let her play first base in their games．More often，however，they asked her to umpire(裁判) for them，because they knew her calls would be fair and there would be no arguing．
One day in 1904，Amanda and her mother traveled to Hawarden，Iowa，to watch Hank play for the home team against Hawarden．When they arrived at the ball field，two local teams were waiting to play a preliminary(预备) game．The umpire hadn’t arrived，so Hank argued that the teams should let his sister serve as umpire．The players finally agreed．
Amanda，then sixteen and standing five feet，ten inches tall，made perfect calls．She was so good that players for the main game asked her 10 umpire for them and even offered to pay her．Thus，at sixteen，Amanda Clement became the first paid female baseball umpire on record．She is honored in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown，New York．Hank and his friends often asked Amanda to umpire for them because
| A．they wanted to make her happy |
| B．she called them brothers |
| C．no one else wanted to do it for them |
| D．she knew the rules well and was fair |
Amanda went to Hawarden in order to
| A．serve as umpire |
| B．make money |
| C．watch her brother play |
| D．help the local teams |
Amanda most probably learned how to umpire a baseball game
| A．in her P．E．classes at school | B．in an umpire training school |
| C．by watching and playing the games | D．from her mother，a baseball umpire |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Amanda Clement．First Female Umpire |
| B．A Family of Baseball Fans |
| C．Baseball Games in Hawarden，Iowa |
| D．The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown |