In this modern world, we rush around all day, doing things, talking, sending and reading messages. We are always on, always connected, always thinking, always talking. There is no 36 for stillness.
And when we are 37 to be still because we’re in line for something, or waiting at a doctor’s appointment, or on a bus or train, we often 38 something to do. Some will play with mobile devices, others will read something. Being still isn’t something we’re 39 .
This comes at a 40 : we lose that time for 41 , for observing and listening. We lose peace.
And 42 yet: sometimes too much action is worse than no action at all. You can run around crazily, but get 43 done.
Take a moment to think about 44 you spend your days. Are you constantly rushing around? Are you constantly reading and answering 45 or checking on the news and the latest stream of information? Are you always 46 through your schedule?
Is this how you want to spend your 47 ? If so, peace be with you. If not, take a moment to be 48 . Don’t think about what you have to do, or what you’ve done already. 49 be in the moment.
Then after a minute or two of doing that, consider your life, and how you’d 50 it to be. See your life with less movement, less doing, less rushing. See it with more stillness, more consideration, more 51 .
Then be that vision.
It’s pretty simple: all you have to do is sit still for a little bit each day. 52 you’ve gotten used to that, try doing less each day. Breathe when you feel yourself moving too 53 . Slow down. Find happiness now, in this moment, instead of 54 for it.
55 the stillness. It’s a treasure, and it’s available to us, always.
A．place B．chance C．freedom D．time
A．forced B．ordered C．invited D．told
A．have B．find C．buy D．get
A．familiar with B．curios about C．used to D．interested in
A．cost B．risk C．loss D．danger
A．play B．food C．sleep D．consideration
A．further B．worse C．farther D．deeper
A．everything B．anything C．nothing D．something
A．how B．where C．why D．whether
A．questions B．problems C．phones D．messages
A．walking B．rushing C．stepping D．going
A．school B．youth C．work D．life
A．silent B．patient C．still D．quiet
A．Nearly B．Just C．Ever D．Already
A．like B．decide C．choose D．need
A．activity B．peace C．study D．research
A．Because B．Until C．Once D．Unless
A．frequently B．slowly C．fast D．quickly
A．asking B．sending C．calling D．waiting
A．Value B．Miss C．Owe D．Hold
完形填空(共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分)
If you ever feel as if you are being knocked about by life, think about the amazing bird called the Water Ouzel. I can’t imagine this waterbird knows what it is to have a day. The little creature is often found living next to waterfalls and rivers rushing fast. And however threatening the weather, however the water, in snow and rain, the tough and cheerful Water Ouzel can be chirping and singing. What's more, while the of most songbirds, however melodious in warm weather, fall over long winter months, the hearty Water Ouzel on through all seasons and every kind of . I have to wonder: does this little creature know anything I don't?
It's as if the knows that every violent storm will eventually sunshine; every dark night will finally fade into . And isn't it true? Even our bleakest and stormiest times do not forever. Like the poor man in the cement mixer(混凝土搅拌机), there is almost always an end to the .
As the incredible humanitarian novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe said, “ you get into a tight place and everything you till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will .” I have had that more times than I can remember.
Maybe this is one of those days you feel as if you are the cement mixer. If so, do you need to a little longer?
A．dull B．long C．bad D．wonderful
A．violent B．distant C．calm D．slow
A．deep B．cold C．clear D．dirty
A．recorded B．kept C．taught D．heard
A．sizes B．colors C．voices D．shapes
A．silent B．sleepy C．ill D．deaf
A．lives B．sings C．survives D．flies
A．time B．river C．music D．storm
A．bird B．novelist C．man D．farmer
A．take place of B．get away from C．give way to D．catch up with
A．dawn B．dusk C．noon D．night
A．come B．last C．stay D．go
A．concerned B．cared C．complained D．puzzled
A．party B．story C．trouble D．day
A．when B．because C．although D．whether
A．takes in B．goes against C．gets over D．cuts off
A．end B．go C．rise D．turn
A．experience B．memory C．idea D．sight
A．beside B．on C．in D．with
A．take up B．hold on C．put off D．bring in
完形填空(共20小题，每小题1.5分，满分30分)
In schools all over the world boys and girls are learning foreign languages. knows his own language, but is very useful, especially when we travel to other countries. If we go to France, we ought to be able to speak , and in Germany people will us to understand German.
How many languages are there in the world? There are about fifteen hundred, but many of them are not very . English is one of the most important languages so many people use it, not only in England and the USA, in other parts of the world. More than 200 million people speak it their native language, and about another 200 million people use it as a second language. It is to say how many people are learning it. Many millions of school boys and school girls are trying to do so.
English children study French, is also a very important language. An Englishman can find someone in almost all parts of the world who is able to talk to him in either English or .
Which is the best way to learn a language? We should remember that we all learnt our own language well when we were children. If we could learn a second language in the same way, it would not seem so . Think of what a child . It listens to what people say, and it tries to imitate(模仿) what it hears. When it wants something, it ask for it. It is the language, talking in it, and thinking in it all the time. If people had to use a second language all the time, they would learn it quickly.
is also important to remember that we learn our own language by hearing people speak it, not by seeing they write. We imitate what we hear. In school, you learn to read and write as well as to hear and speak, it is to learn all the new words first through the ear. You can read them, spell them, and write them later.
A．No one B．Someone C．Everybody D．Any one
A．one B．the one C．the others D．another one
A．France B．French C．Language D．English
A．hope B．insist C．expect D．help
A．necessary B．easy C．important D．difficult
A．because B．although C．when D．and
A．and B．or C．but D．nor
A．as B．like C．for D．with
A．easy B．interesting C．different D．difficult
A．as B．which C．that D．what
A．hardly B．sometimes C．easily D．freely
A．German B．Russian C．Japanese D．French
A．useful B．easy C．difficult D．useless
A．does B．speaks C．learns D．likes
A．ought to B．is able to C．has to D．decides
A．learning B．using C．studying D．trying
A．That B．This C．It D．What
A．what B．how C．why D．as
A．because B．although C．as soon as D．among
A．necessary B．best C．better D．possible
第二部分 完形填空(共20小题，每小题1.5分, 满分30分)
We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Eric in a high chair and noticed everyone was eating and talking. Suddenly, Eric screamed with and said, "Hi there." His fat baby hands hit the high chair tray, and his eyes were wide with excitement.
I looked around and saw the of his enjoyment. It was an old man with a worn and oily coat. And his hair was uncombed and unwashed. I was sure he . His hand waved．"Hi there, baby; I see ya," the man said to Eric．
My husband and I looks. Eric continued to laugh and answer, "Hi, there." Everyone in the restaurant noticed this. My husband and I were .
We finally the meal and for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat me and the door． "Lord, just let me out of here he speaks to me or Eric," I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be . As I did so, Eric leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's " " position. Before I could stop him, he had himself to the man's arms. Eric, in an act of total and love, laid his tiny head upon the man's torn shoulder．
His hands full of dirt, pain and hard labor gently, so gently, cradled (抱着) my baby's and patted his back. I stood amazed. After a while, he pushed Eric from his chest as though he were in pain, saying "God bless you, ma'am. You've given me the best Christmas gift."
I had just witnessed a genuine love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin(罪恶), who made no .The ragged old man, , had reminded me that a genuine love is one which the essence (本质) of love is realized.
A．hurriedly B．happily C．sadly D．quietly
A．delight B．surprise C．anger D．satisfaction
A．source B．reason C．effect D．origin
A．smiled B．smelled C．felt D．cheated
A．transformed B．separated C．exchanged D．replaced
A．embarrassed B．astonished C．excited D．curious
A．got up B．got through C．got over D．got off
A．moved B．headed C．reached D．advanced
A．in front of B．against C．next to D．between
A．though B．since C．before D．if
A．holding B．fighting C．taking D．breathing
A．let-me-go B．pick-me-up C．put-me-down D．take-me-on
A．jumped B．devoted C．driven D．thrown
A．independence B．trust C．desire D．devotion
A．tough B．strong C．old D．firm
A．legs B．head C．neck D．bottom
A．eagerly B．violently C．unwillingly D．gladly
A．decision B．judgment C．conclusion D．choice
A．strangely B．powerfully C．unknowingly D．gratefully
A．realistic B．false C．loyal D．true
In 2013, a France television company sent its reporters to the Paris Metro(地铁). They took ______ to see what passengers would do if they saw someone ______ on the platform or trains. The incidents looked ______ but they were all done with the help of actors. However, very ______ people tried to help, and most passengers ______ not to notice. In one of the ______, a foreigner was attacked by three men. The attack was on a ______ which was quite full, and although the man tried to get ______ passengers to help, they all refused. This is not only a French ______. A British newspaper reported in 2012 that a professor of Social Psychology in New York had ______ his students out to rob their own cars. The students didn’t try to ______ what they were doing. About 80 people ______ 250 car thefts, and only twelve of them tried to ______ the student robbers. In a typical incident, one man stopped, looked, and then put his hands over his ______ and shouted “I didn’t see that!” About forty people ______ to help the thieves, and two people ______ sat down next to the car and ______ to buy a camera and a television set a student was ______ from the back seat of his own car. The professor ______ whether it is a problem of big cities or would be the ______ thing as happens anywhere.
A．notes B．cameras C．trains D．newspapers
A．wounded B．stolen C．attacked D．struck
A．great B．serious C．terrible D．real
A．many B．few C．old D．large
A．seemed B．pretended C．managed D．asked
A．passengers B．actors C．incidents D．accidents
A．train B．plane C．truck D．bus
A．the other B．all C．more D．another
A．situation B．problem C．agreement D．accident
A．brought B．took C．sent D．put
A．hide B．expose C．tell D．find
A．realized B．discovered C．found D．watched
A．help B．refuse C．report D．stop
A．face B．head C．ears D．eyes
A．offered B．expected C．hated D．liked
A．bravely B．actually C．surely D．certainly
A．wanted B．waited C．needed D．loved
A．taking B．sending C．offering D．robbing
A．knows B．learns C．wonders D．asks
A．same B．different C．former D．small
I lived in a big city in Australia and I used to give much money to the homeless around, feeling sorry for their misfortune. But later I became a single mom with no home, a huge and hardly any income. As a result, I stopped giving and became very .
Things started to change. I became enough to have a home, and even a backyard, and I started to pull myself out of debt. One day we saw a person with the sign, “Will work for food.” I . My daughter asked why I no longer helped the people in . I replied, “Honey, they just use that money for or other bad things.” She didn’t respond. But when I said that, it didn’t feel right.
Three days later, I was to pick up my daughter from school. A man was standing on the corner and something deep inside my heart drove me to help him. So I stopped my car, and he ran over with . He said, “God bless you, I only need 77 cents.” I reached into my ashtray（烟灰缸） and enough, there sat 3 quarter and 2 pennies.
Greatly shocked by this , I gave him all the money in the ashtray. He tears with joy, “You just made it for me to see my mom for Christmas! The bus this great sale is leaving right away!”
Undoubtedly, it was a moment I, together with the man will never forget, but I was the one who got the best gift in life--giving. It also me that nothing is a coincidence, and everything has meaning.
A．debt B．responsibility C．shadow D．pressure
A．awkward B．hopeless C．sensitive D．bitter
A．fortunate B．wealthy C．generous D．successful
A．hopeful B．careless C．homeless D．aimless
A．got back B．pulled out C．passed away D．passed by
A．emergency B．need C．danger D．panic
A．alcohol B．food C．medicine D．entertainment
A．cycling B．jogging C．wandering D．driving
A．courage B．care C．enthusiasm D．anxiety
A．amusingly B．strangely C．gradually D．naturally
A．incident B．condition C．coincidence D．circumstance
A．broke into B．burst into C．let out D．poured out
A．necessary B．difficult C．possible D．suitable
A．offering B．demanding C．delivering D．serving
A．impresses B．informs C．persuades D．reminds