Growing old is something that nobody can understand until they experience it for themselves．I may not be "old" but I am certainly beginning to 36 it? turned 18 just over a week ago．I am now an adult．
As a child you 37 adults—or "grown-ups" as I used to call them—to always be in control．to know what is right and wrong． 38 as a teenager, I thought that when I reached 18 I would be far more 39 in many aspects of life．But now that I am 18, 1 know that is not true．
It is clear to me now that you do not 40 learning when you are 18．Every day you learn
something 41 , no matter what your age．However, I do understand when you become an adultyou have to 42 more responsibility．
Whereas before I seldom had to clean the dishes, set the table or help out around the house, now I do all of those．I have already 43 myself the nickname "housekeeper"．
I can even drive now, which is pretty 44 , because of the frequency of accidents．But that's not to say that 18 is not 45 to be．Not only can I drink alcohol, but I can also 46 ．In fact, being 18 has made me really interested in politics because it now means that I can change things on 47 Day．More and more of my friends want to become politicians, and it is great to
think that they can change things for the better．
A．dislike B．feel C．learn D．love
A．expect B．criticize C．deny D．know
A．Even B．But C．So D．Since
A．comfortable B．interested C．assured D．contented
A．continue B．desire C．stop D．refuse
A．interested B．unique C．valuable D．new
A．take on B．put on C．take up D．put up
A．honored B．chosen C．earned D．won
A．scary B．amazing C．fascinating D．difficult
A．adventurous B．tough C．good D．annoying
A．elect B．vote C．volunteer D．involve
A．Labor B．Independence C．Christmas D．Election
A flock of wild ducks were flying in formation, heading south for the winter. They formed a beautiful V in the sky, and were admired by everyone who saw them from below.
One day, Wally, one of the wild ducks in the formation, spotted something on the ground. It was a barnyard with a flock of _ ducks who lived on the farm. They were waddling around on the ground, quacking merrily and eating _ that was thrown on the ground for them every day. Wally liked what he saw. "It sure would be nice to have some of that corn," he thought to himself. "And all this flying is very tiring. I'd like to just __ around for a while."
So after thinking it over a while, Wally left the formation of wild ducks, made a sharp __ , and for the barnyard. He landed _ the tame ducks, and began to waddle around and quack . He also started eating corn. The formation of wild ducks continued their journey South, but Wally didn't care. "I'll __ them when they come back North in a few months," he said to himself.
Several months went by and __ enough, Wally looked up and spotted the flock of wild ducks in formation, heading north. They looked beautiful up there. And Wally was tired of the . It was muddy and he waddled, there was nothing but duck doo. "It's time to leave." said Wally.
So Wally _ his wings furiously and tried to get airborne. But he had gained some from all his corn-eating, and he hadn't exercised his wings much either. He finally the ground, but he was flying too _ and slammed into the side of the barn. He fell to the ground with a thud and said to himself, "Oh, well, I'll just wait until they fly __ in a few months. Then I'll rejoin them and become a wild duck again."
When the flock flew overhead once more, Wally again tried to himself out of the barnyard. But he simply didn't have the strength. Every winter and every spring, he saw his wild duck friends flying overhead, and they would to him. But his attempts to leave were all .
Eventually Wally no longer paid any attention to the wild ducks flying overhead. He hardly even noticed them. He had , become a barnyard duck.
A．tame B．ugly C．beautiful D．wild
A．food B．grain C．corn D．vegetable
A．rest B．waddle C．walk D．fly
A．turn B．dive C．land D．circle
A．hurried B．looked C．left D．headed
A．between B．among C．behind D．within
A．loudly B．sadly C．merrily D．eagerly
A．see B．recognize C．leave D．rejoin
A．strange B．lucky C．sure D．natural
A．barnyard B．corn C．waddling D．quacking
A．every day B．every time C．everywhere D．nowhere
A．flapped B．spread C．removed D．opened
A．strength B．skills C．friends D．weight
A．got off B．got to C．got up D．got back
A．slowly B．fast C．high D．low
A．back B．south C．north D．overhead
A．lift B．fly C．struggle D．rise
A．call out B．come back C．come over D．call back
A．in return B．in need C．in vain D．in place
A．after all B．above all C．therefore D．however
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? This is one of life’s ______ questions and people have been debating about it for thousands of years. Now scientists believe they have solved this ______. Researchers from Sheffield and Warwick Universities in England discovered the answer ____. They used a super computer to observe the shell-making process while a new shell was ____. Then they found one protein called OC17 that is ______ for forming eggshell. This is only found inside a chicken’s body, which is proof that the ______ came first. The team was ______ looking at how animals and birds make eggshells but suddenly made their surprising ______. The big question now is where chickens came from. The ______ is from dinosaurs.
The research team said eggshells are one of nature’s most ______ creations. Professor John Harding from the team told reporters: “Understanding how chickens make eggshells is fascinating in itself, but it can also be _____ in designing new materials.” Eggshells are very lightweight but incredibly strong. Even the most up-to-date materials _____ by the world’s top engineers cannot produce anything as ______ as an eggshell. Professor Harding added that ______ eggshells could help to cure bone diseases and design materials for the construction industry. “Nature has found wonderful ways that ___ for all kinds of problems in materials science and technology — we can learn a lot from them.” he said.
A．strangest B．best C．oldest D．Closest
A．puzzle B．fact C．history D．opinion
A．on purpose B．by chance C．without hesitation D．at work
A．breaking B．changing C．disappearing D．Forming
A．necessary B．easy C．kind D．impossible
A．egg B．eggshell C．chicken D．dinosaur
A．obviously B．originally C．thoughtfully D．surprisingly
A．invention B．mistake C．statement D．discovery
A．answer B．research C．road D．egg
A．common B．ridiculous C．funny D．amazing
A．interesting B．helpful C．normal D．correct
A．bought B．cut C．designed D．carried
A．brilliant B．ordinary C．1ight D．small
A．finding B．watching C．studying D．making
A．happen B．work C．wait D．Look
A few days ago, my sister Liz and I talked about Dad, and we decided to get him a little something for Father's Day. We talked about the times when we were up and how Mom and Dad used to play the ‘good cop, bad cop’ thing on us. Dad has been a person of few words since we were . He raised us more by than anything else. When he spoke, though we listened, he was always mysterious and difficult to understand. There was always a(n) meaning that I never got, but Liz always to decipher(破解) him. By the time I got to high school, I had wanted a skateboard and I I was too old to ask money from my parents, so I worked at a burger joint (美式汉堡店). One day, I was really angry about annoying burgers. I came home huffing and puffing(气喘吁吁). Dad saw me and asked me what was the . I told him that I was fed up with annoying burgers. He said that we all have to start somewhere, that we may not know it now, but the skills we learn even in a burger joint might come in handy ______in life, ‘Who knows, you might end up having to run a or even own one when you grow up,’ said Dad. He me down and I kept what he said in mind, even though I really didn’t agree with it.
A couple of years later, when I got to college, I worked in a restaurant. During one of the really days that we had, we were short on kitchen staff. Our customers were getting impatient and the were getting delayed. We were sure any minute something terrible would out. I couldn’t stand the any more, so I rolled up my sleeves, got myself a hair net and helped out in the hot kitchen. We caught up with the orders . The owner saw what I did and called me over around time. He said that he was very . He raised my salary and made me the assistant manager even though I could only go part-time. That was I realized that what my dad said to me all those years before was absolutely true.
I’ve never forgotten what my dad said that day. And whenever I have to do something that requires new skills, no matter how insignificant or it seems, I have a new perspective(看法) that it might really help me later on or even right now and I just don’t know it. Experience is everything and it a lot when you take lessons from it. That’s my life’s philosophy.
A．getting B．going C．growing D．coming
A．schoolboys B．kids C．adults D．graduates
A．instruction B．example C．order D．inspiration
A．obvious B．clear C．reasonable D．hidden
A．failed B．refused C．tried D．managed
A．imagined B．promised C．believed D．suggested
A．experience B．matter C．event D．accident
A．later B．sooner C．latter D．late
A．restaurant B．hospital C．school D．plant
A．calmed B．wrote C．1et D．put
A．exciting B．worrying C．busy D．happy
A．meetings B．parties C．menus D．orders
A．break B．show C．go D．set
A．quarrel B．1aziness C．relaxation D．tension
A．eventually B．regularly C．obviously D．thankfully
A．breakfast B．1unch C．opening D．closing
A．influenced B．interested C．inspired D．impressed
A．when B．why C．whether D．where
A．important B．impressive C．interesting D．small
A．works B．counts C．shows D．studies
There was a wonderful old man who loved everything.
One day while walking through the woods, the nice old man a cocoon（茧）. He to take the cocoon home to watch its from a little cocoon to a beautiful butterfly.
He softly placed the cocoon on his kitchen table and it for days.
One day the cocoon started to move. It moved quickly! The old man felt for the little butterfly inside. He watched it struggle（挣扎）and struggle! So he softly cut the cocoon with a knife so the butterfly could more quickly. The butterfly broke free from its cocoon, couldn’t move at all.
The old man didn’t know why and decided the thing he could do for the butterlfy was to place it softly back into its cocoon.
He placed a drop of honey on it to the cocoon, leaving the butterfly in its state.
The next day he noticed that the cocoon was moving . It struggled and struggled. the butterfly broke free from its cocoon. Its beautiful wings were filled with wonderful colors! It took off! It was !
That wonderful butterfly flew and flew till it was out of the old man’s sight. What a ! He shouted. But then he started to think. What did I do at first? The old man went to the library and read every he could find on butterflies and cocoons.
Finally the appeared. The butterfly has to struggle while the cocoon. That’s how it gets its strength（力量）. That’s just why they are created to in order to be strong and beautiful.
A．lost B．ate C．found D．threw
A．refused B．feared C．decided D．agreed
A．dream B．change C．mistake D．difference
A．beat B．cooked C．watched D．caught
A．ready B．good C．happy D．sorry
A．go back B．give up C．come in D．come out
A．and B．but C．so D．or
A．best B．easiest C．worst D．hardest
A．create B．mend C．fill D．open
A．warm B．clean C．strange D．natural
A．again B．later C．alone D．too
A．Usually B．Generally C．Unfortunately D．Finally
A．drinking B．running C．flying D．smiling
A．never B．still C．almost D．always
A．joy B．pity C．fool D．shame
A．well B．simply C．wrong D．fast
A．letter B．diary C．picture D．book
A．news B．plan C．person D．answer
A．behind B．inside C．under D．beside
A．learn B．struggle C．work D．understand
Frank was walking down the 6th Street on a hot sunny day when he saw smoke coming out of the street. He could the smoke, and it was getting thicker. Seeing the smoke coming out of a storm drain(雨水沟), Frank called the fire department immediately. “The storm drain is fire!” he said. The fire department asked for his whereabouts and he said he was near the 6th and Main. They said they be right there to investigate the situation. Frank needn’t to go anywhere, so he waited for the to arrive. He was curious what could be burning beneath the street. As far as he knew, there wasn’t anything beneath the street concrete(混凝土). And everyone that concrete doesn’t burn.
A fire truck arrived a few later. “Are you the man who ?” asked the driver. “Yes. ” Frank answered. By now Frank could not only smell the but also hear crackling sounds, just like wood burning. The firemen didn’t seem to consider it an emergency. “ do you think it could be?” Frank asked the driver. “Oh, we know what it is. We have to a problem like this every few months. It’s the homeless people in their “ ”. ”
Homeless people have been living under the streets for years. their knowledge of the storm drain system, they their own “houses” beneath the streets. These living areas have tables, mattresses, chairs, and sofas. The settlers often “borrow” electricity by connecting to a live wire above ground to their own lights and even TVs underground. Either this electricity or a cigarette can cause an occasional fire.
Frank watched some firemen lifted a manhole cover (井盖) and went beneath the street with a fire hose (消防软管). Then a few minutes later, the smoke turned white. Shortly , the firemen reappeared with a person who seemed to have just been woken up.
A．touch B．hear C．smell D．taste
A．in B．at C．to D．on
A．would B．had C．may D．will
A．policeman B．firemen C．postmen D．powermen
A．excuse B．express C．exact D．except
A．know B．knows C．knew D．knowing
A．seconds B．hours C．minutes D．quarters
A．called B．smelt C．investigated D．saw
A．fire B．smoke C．storm drain D．burn
A．What B．Why C．Which D．Which
A．suffer B．solve C．survive D．survey
A．flats B．apartments C．houses D．sections
A．Learning B．Taking C．Using D．Giving
A．set down B．set out C．set about D．set up
A．power B．strengthen C．force D．energy
A．bought B．brought C．booked D．borrowed
A．for B．as C．with D．since
A．black B．red C．blue D．brown
A．westward B．backward C．afterward D．forward
A．careless B．selfless C．helpless D．homeless