Have successful people ever felt sad? Do they have any “secrets” to success? The answers to these questions can be found in US president Barack Obama’s “back to school” speech. Here is an excerpt(摘录) from his speech.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense that you can be rich and successful without any hard work—that your ticket to success is through rapping (饶舌音乐) or basketball or being a TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. Not all the homework will seem completely important to your life right this minute. And you may not succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was turned down 12 times before it finally came out. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots (投篮) during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures beat you—you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time.
No one’s born being good at things. You become good at things through hard work.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit(承认) when you don’t know something, and to learn something new.
And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged (泄气), and you feel like other people have given up on you—don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.Why does Barack Obama mention (提到) JK Rowling and Michael Jordan in the fourth paragraph?
| A．To compare these two famous persons. |
| B．To explain that writing and sports are difficult skills. |
| C．To show that the two persons were treated unfairly. |
| D．To prove that failure is the mother of success. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．No one can be successful without working hard. |
| B．Failure can be good if you treat it in a right way. |
| C．Those who believe in themselves shouldn’t ask others for help. |
| D．One should try his best to make his dream come true. |
Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?
| A．One should change his mind when others give honest advice to him. |
| B．One should believe in himself no matter what difficulty he is faced with. |
| C．One doesn’t have to work hard when he has failed several times. |
| D．One doesn’t have to take others’ advice when they get away from him. |
We each have a memory（记忆）. That's why we can remember things after a long time. Some people have a very good memory and they can easily learn many things by heart, but some people can only remember things when they say or do them again and again.
A good memory helps one learn a language well. Everybody learns his own language when he is a small child. He hears the sounds, remembers them and then he learns to speak. Some children are living with their parents in foreign countries. They can learn two languages easily because they hear, remember and speak the two languages every day. In school it is not easy to learn a foreign language because the students have little time for it and they have to learn other subjects, too.
Our memory can get better and better if we do more and more exercises. Do you want to learn a foreign language well? If so, you must do a lot of listening and speaking.Why can we remember things after a long time?
Why can some people easily learn many things by heart?
Which conditions（条件） can make a child learn two languages easily?
Is it easy for the students to learn a foreign language well? Why?
What must you do if you want to learn a foreign language well?
Every year thousands of young people in England finish school and then take a year off before they start work or go to university. Some young people go to other countries and work as volunteers .Volunteers give their time to help people. For example, they work in schools or hospitals, or they do something helpful for the environment.
Pauline Jones, 18, lives in Cardiff, Wales. Next year she wants to go to university to study Chinese, but now she’s living in Belize. Pauline says, “I’ m working with other people here to save the coral reefs (珊瑚礁) in the sea near Belize. The reefs here are beautiful, but if the sea water is very polluted (污染), the coral dies. I’m helping to do research on the coral and the fish that live around the reefs. All over the world, coral reefs are dying. We need to do something about the problem before it’s too late.”
“I’m staying with a family here and I help do some housework. I don’t get any money, but that’s OK. I love my work here, and I’m learning a lot about the people of Belize—and myself!
When I finish my work, I want to stay here for another three months. I want to travel around Belize and Central America.”Some young people from England _______ after they finish school.
| A．go to university abroad |
| B．spend one year abroad as volunteers |
| C．go to work for money |
| D．start work in schools or hospitals |
Pauline Jones, an eighteen-year-old girl, is living in _______ now.
| A．England | B．China | C．Belize | D．Cardiff |
Pauline Jones is _______ with other people.
| A．studying Chinese in a university |
| B．working to save the coral reefs |
| C．helping do some housework |
| D．doing some research in Wales |
From the passage, we know that the coral reefs ______.
| A．will die because of the pollution |
| B．are not as beautiful as before |
| C．cannot live without fish in the sea |
| D．will probably be sold for money |
Pauline Jones wants to after she finishes her work as a volunteer.
| A．stay there for another year |
| B．go back home to start work |
| C．learn about the people home |
| D．travel around Central America |
The farmer and his cow
A farmer had a cow. He took very good care of his cow. One day it was ill, the farmer was very worried. He telephoned the vet.
“What’s the problem?” the vet asked the farmer when he arrived. “My cow is ill,” said the farmer.” I don’t know what’s the matter with her. She’s lying down and doesn’t eat. She’s making a strange noise.”
The vet looked at the cow. “She’s certainly ill,” he said, “ and she needs to take some strong medicine.”
He took a bottle out of his box, put two pills into his hand and said, “ Give her these. The pills should make her better.”
“How should I give them to her? The farmer asked.
The vet gave him a tube(管子) and said, “Put this tube in her mouth, then put the pills in the tube and blow. That’ll make it.”
The next day the vet came to the farm again. The farmer was sitting outside his house and looked worried.
“How’s your cow?” asked the vet.
“No change,” the farmer said, “ and I’m feeling very strange myself.”
“Oh?” the vet said, “Why?”
“I did what you said,” the farmer answered. “I put the tube in the cow’s mouth and then put the two pills down it.”
“And?” the vet asked.
“The cow blew first,” the farmer said. From the story, we know that a vet is ________.
| A．the farmer’s friend | B．a milk factory |
| C．a hospital for cows | D．a doctor for animals |
The farmer asked the vet for help when his cow _______.
| A．couldn’t lie down | B．didn’t eat pills |
| C．couldn’t make any noise | D．was not well. |
What medicine did the vet give the farmer?
| A．A bottle of pills. | B．A long tube. |
| C．Two pills. | D．A small box. |
The vet taught the farmer how to _______.
| A．blow the tube | B．make the cow take the pills |
| C．take the medicine | D．put the tube in his mouth |
Which of the following is true?
| A．The farmer ate the pills. |
| B．The cow got better after taking the medicine. |
| C．The vet came and gave the farmer another cow the next day. |
| D．The farmer waited outside the vet’s house the next day. |
Hi, my name is Millie. I’m from New York but I’m living in a small town in England now. There is one wide road in this town and there is no train. You can see a shop, a restaurant and a pub along the road. There is a church near the shop. We usually go to the church on Sunday mornings. There is a lake to the east of the town. Many people like to have a picnic near the lake.
My house is not very big but it is very beautiful. I have a garden in front of my house and I often grow some flowers in it. There is a table and some chairs in the garden, too. I often read books and drink tea there. Sometimes my friends come to visit me and we like to talk in my garden. My life here is comfortable so I am very happy.
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。
| A．Cambridge | B．Paris |
| C．New York | D．London |
| A．On Saturdays. | B．On Sundays. |
| C．On Mondays. | D．On Fridays. |
| A．Play sports. | B．Have a picnic. |
| C．Take photos. | D．Drink tea. |
| A．种植 | B．生长 |
| C．购买 | D．参加 |
| A．sad | B．famous |
| C．busy | D．happy |
Do you like telling jokes in your English study? Jokes can make your words colourful and interesting. If (如果) you make people laugh, you can know that people are interested in your topic.
In order to get jokes, you can watch comedies or talk shows on TV. When you hear David Letterman’s jokes in his programme, you’d better write them down. Then you can have more jokes to tell when you talk with others. If your English is good enough, you can also write your own jokes to tell at a party or to break the ice before a speech.
How to make your jokes more interesting? Not all the English words sound funny. Some English words sound funny by themselves, while others can get a laugh only in phrases and sentences. You have to choose. Different people may have different feelings on a joke. So don’t be sad if others don’t laugh after you tell a joke. After all, telling English jokes is just a way to help you with your English study.
| A．bad | B．colourful |
| C．boring | D．easy |
| A．bored with | B．sad about |
| C．interested in | D．good at |
| A．movie actor |
| B．English writer |
| C．language learner |
| D．host (主持人) of a talk show |
| A．Almost all the English words sound funny. |
| B．Your words can’t be interesting without jokes. |
| C．You can write your own jokes to get a laugh. |
| D．People always like the same jokes when they listen to a talk show. |
| A．Colouring Your Life. |
| B．Making Friends at Parties. |
| C．Famous English Jokes. |
| D．Learning English by Telling Jokes. |