I've always loved pigeons(鸽子). Some years ago I managed to persuade my wife to let me buy a few and start 16 them myself. They cost a lot of money and so it spoilt(破坏) our 17 a bit, but my wife never actually stopped me so I 18 carried on. I learnt so much about them that I could 19 a good racer anywhere and I bought some beauties. My pigeons won some top races, and I even began to make a bit of 20 .
You see, people are prepared to pay big prices if they get to know that your pigeons are 21 big prizes.
My wife had been changing her 22 to the pigeons over the last year or two anyway. She was quite 23 of all the prizes we’d won. Then there was the travelling, which she liked. You see some one has to take the pigeons a 24 way off and set them free. Some of the 25 were really nice. I never travelled. I used to like to wait at home and see them come in. They’ve got this wonderful sense of 26 , which can bring them back home so quickly. They’d flown hundreds of miles sometimes 27 storms or against strong winds. And there they’d come, tiny white birds against the great 28 . Then I'd watch them 29 round and come down onto the landing shelf. I'd look at my watch and think, “My goodness, that’s a good 30 . ”And I'd take off the little leg ring and push it through the machine to 31 what time he’d arrived. Then my wife would 32 up and say, “Has he arrived yet?” Then we would work out if we’d won 33 .
Then last year we had a 34 ! All of them got some sort of flu and 35 . It was terrible. I had to burn them all. We lost a fortune, of course.
A．racing B．feeding C．tending D．flying
A．dream B．work C．marriage D．hobby
A．just B．even C．almost D．hardly
A．notice B．learn C．imagine D．recognize
A．living B．fun C．money D．change
A．losing B．winning C．giving D．making
A．subject B．decision C．relation D．attitude
A．proud B．fond C．careful D．sure
A．different B．1ong C．short D．far
A．distances B．activities C．trips D．movements
A．direction B．sight C．hearing D．touch
A．over B．across C．with D．through
A．heaven B．mountain C．cloud D．sky
A．turn B．dance C．circle D．whistle
A．fly B．time C．day D．1ook
A．write B．record C．count D．memorize
A．come B．show C．phone D．cheer
A．again B．finally C．only D．accidentally
A．disadvantage B．chance C．problem D．disaster
A．flew B．died C．cured D．lost
My son Joey was born with club feet(天生特厚的畸形脚). The doctors promised us that with treatment he would be able to walk , but would never run very well. The first three years of his life were in surgery(手术). By the time he was eight, you wouldn’t know he had a when you saw him walk.
The children in our neighborhood ran around as most children do during , and Joey would jump right in, run and play, too. We told him that he probably wouldn’t be able to as well as the other children. So he didn’t know.
In seventh grade he to go out for the cross-country team. Every day he with the team. He worked harder and ran than any of the others—perhaps he sensed that the that seemed to come naturally to so many others did not come naturally to him. the entire team runs, only the top seven runners have the chance to points for the school. We didn’t tell him he probably would never make the team, so he didn’t know.
He to run four to five miles a day, every day —even the day he had a 103-degree fever. I was , so I went to look for him after school. I found him all alone. I asked him how he felt. “Okay,” he said. He had two more to go. The sweat ran down his face and his eyes were glassy（目光呆滞的） from his fever. he looked straight ahead and kept running.
Two weeks later, the names of the team runners were . Joey was number six on the list. Joey had made the team. He was in grade —the other six team members were all eighth-graders. We never told him he shouldn’t to make the team. We never told him he couldn’t do it… so he didn’t know. He just did it.
A．quickly B．slowly C．normally D．comfortably
A．spent B．wasted C．suffered D．lost
A．pain B．problem C．treatment D．surgery
A．holidays B．day C．fun D．play
A．seldom B．never C．always D．once
A．study B．run C．walk D．behave
A．decided B．preferred C．refused D．agreed
A．gathered B．camped C．trained D．competed
A．more slowly B．less C．faster D．more
A．ability B．strength C．power D．energy
A．Since B．Because C．After D．Although
A．increase B．score C．hold D．take
A．continued B．stopped C．liked D．hoped
A．sad B．surprised C．angry D．worried
A．running B．resting C．crying D．sleeping
A．tests B．miles C．lessons D．examinations
A．Otherwise B．So C．Yet D．Thus
A．included B．found C．shown D．called
A．sixth B．eighth C．seventh D．fifth
A．manage B．determine C．expect D．attempt
Every morning at eleven, a bright new car drove through the central park in New York．Inside the car a driver and his boss, a well-known millionaire（百万富翁）.
Each morning the millionaire a poorly-dressed man on a park bench(长凳)．The man always sat staring at the hotel in which the rich man lived．One day the millionaire was so in the man that he asked his driver to stop the car and he to the bench．He said to the poor man, “Excuse me, I just have to know why you sit staring at my hotel every morning.” “Sir, ”said the poor man, “I’m a failure．I have no job, no family and no ．I sleep on this bench and every night I dream that day I will sleep in this hotel.” The rich man had ．He said to the poor man, “Tonight your dream will come . I’ll for the best room in that hotel for you for .” The millionaire smiled and felt of himself.
A few days , the millionaire went by the poor man’s room to ask him how he himself．To his great , he found that the poor man had moved out of the hotel, back to his park bench．When the millionaire asked why, the man said, “You see, when I’m here sleeping on the bench．I always dream I’m up there in the hotel．It’s a wonderful dream．But when I was up there in the hotel, I dreamed I was here on this cold bench．It was dream and I could not get any sleep at all.”
A．stayed B．stood C．sat D．seated
A．had B．noticed C．laughed D．heard
A．thinking B．lying C．sitting D．resting
A．down B．up C．there D．here
A．interested B．surprise C．strange D．nervous
A．rushed B．swam C．raced D．walked
A．but B．so C．and D．because
A．food B．bed C．home D．shoes
A．each B．one C．that D．every
A．a talk B．an advice C．a friend D．an idea
A．easy B．here C．true D．real
A．pay B．look C．work D．prepare
A．the first time B．two days C．two times D．a whole month
A．pleased B．proud C．glad D．sorry
A．past B．ago C．later D．before
A．liked B．enjoyed C．treated D．satisfied
A．joy B．surprise C．anger D．sorrow
A．down B．below C．up D．under
A．much B．still C．even D．besides
A．a terrible B．a surprised C．a moving D．an exciting
What is it that you love to do but never feel that you get it quite right? Perhaps you don't even try any more because you think what you do is not enough．
Discouragement seems to follow us a good part of the time, however hard we work, it seems that there is someone else who can do it much better．
I have always enjoyed music and it is to me that every musician has a of their own．My father _ several instruments and when he played with other people, it was not difficult to his sound in a group．Whether it was guitar or another instrument, he had his own sound．
I heard of a music teacher who commented to a discouraged student, " else can make the sound that you make．" The sound that you make may not be the same as someone else's, but who is to say which is ．It is said that, " is in the eye of the beholder .” . Perhaps it could be said that a delightful sound is in the ear of the ．
Every person has a different tone of voice that only to them, we all know people with an unforgettable laugh or a way of that is unique to them．It might not be the sound of your music or your voice at all．It be the way you whistle or the sound of your footsteps．
Each person has a（an） on the world in some way．Someone else can do what you do, but they cannot do it in the same way that you do it．The next time you feel , remember nobody else can make the sound that you make．
A．easy B．good C．simple D．hard
A．because B．although C．when D．if
A．seldom B．always C．never D．sometimes
A．satisfying B．convincing C．inspiring D．interesting
A．gift B．sound C．life D．song
A．played B．designed C．created D．checked
A．turn down B．call up C．pick out D．give off
A．loud B．powerful C．perfect D．special
A．once B．yet C．even D．still
A．Anybody B．Somebody C．Nobody D．Everybody
A．bigger B．better C．deeper D．lower
A．Beauty B．Interest C．Patience D．Honesty
A．speaker B．receiver C．listener D．looker
A．devotes B．adds C．adapts D．belongs
A．but B．yet C．and D．for
A．running B．walking C．jumping D．speaking
A．must B．might C．would D．should
A．choice B．opinion C．duty D．effect
A．exactly B．carefully C．cautiously D．seriously
A．annoyed B．puzzled C．discouraged D．bothered
People say one man's trash(垃圾) is another man's treasure. That comes to me as I the house purchased in 1962 by my parents. My mother passed away in 1996. My father left the house my sister and me when he died a few months ago.
After Dad was , we looked around the house where we grew up and that Dad loved so much. At first we felt so all the stuff(东西) left. Like so many of their generation, my parents everything. And like many in my generation, we faced anxious about what to abandon and what to keep.
As we started throwing out old phone books and every medical bill from every my parents ever saw, I also many hidden treasures. Mom's pocketbook was in their bedroom closet, which had everything in it, her hairbrush with hair, as if she were still here. And Dad, who was a World War II veteran(退伍兵) and a world traveler, everything -- from little spoons from all over the world to every letter he wrote to his parents while in the . The letters he wrote during the war his thoughts as a young man. Later, in the basement, I our old kitchen table, which brought back of my parents and sister and me having breakfast together.
I'm realizing all these things my parents' life journey. Each time I go to , I find something that reminded me of my childhood or teaches me something about my parents I knew. , from the shabby furniture to all the hidden treasures, means more to me than all the money in the world.
A．coincidence B．goal C．principle D．thought
A．looked for B．looked through C．looked into D．looked after
A．to B．for C．with D．by
A．retired B．ill C．gone D．injured
A．clean B．strange C．empty D．modern
A．pleased with B．familiar with C．astonished at D．disappointed at
A．saved B．enjoyed C．purchased D．designed
A．decisions B．bargains C．challenges D．responsibilities
A．person B．doctor C．neighbor D．child
A．bought B．discovered C．buried D．lost
A．just B．even C．only D．yet
A．liked B．bought C．kept D．lost
A．countryside B．school C．college D．army
A．receive B．direct C．sense D．describe
A．repaired B．cleaned C．spotted D．set
A．introductions B．memories C．descriptions D．communications
A．represented B．recognized C．instructed D．confirmed
A．the supermarket B．church C．my office D．the house
A．merely B．always C．really D．never
A．Everything B．Nothing C．Anything D．Something
Flood damage cleanupis anunforgettableexperienceforme. I have seen a number of news reports on television showing houses that have been by natural flooding and how the different there are coping and starting their flood damage cleanup. I have always felt for the families that have become victims of flooding however I couldn’t imagine what they were because I have never experienced flooding or flood damage cleanup at first until two years back.
My experience happened when I woke up early one morning because of the of water. As I started to get out of bed to turn on the light, I felt cold muddy water at my . I then realized that the power was . This probably happened due to the heavy and strong wind that were brought by a hurricane during the .
As the rains stopped, I decided to do my flood damage cleanup . Because I had only moved in the house and had only a few belongings, the amount of damage was . It involved only washing shoes and bags soap and water.
It was a good thing that most of my things were inside plastic buckets and most of the furniture that I bought was made of and plastic. This made my flood damage cleanup a lot easier. My cleanup work only the removal of mud from the apartment floors. It was also a good thing that the had hardwood floors. Had the apartment been covered with carpet, I would have had to a lot having the carpet cleaned if not replaced with a new one.
A．drowned B．washed C．affected D．removed
A．citizens B．householders C．owners D．residents
A．sorry B．worried C．excited D．glad
A．feeling B．doing C．speaking D．thinking
A．view B．hand C．thought D．sight
A．cleanup B．flooding C．earthquake D．landslide
A．smell B．shape C．taste D．sound
A．head B．neck C．feet D．breast
A．out B．in C．on D．down
A．rain B．snow C．frost D．fog
A．morning B．afternoon C．evening D．night
A．slowly B．gradually C．quickly D．frequently
A．unfolded B．unpacked C．uncovered D．unloaded
A．great B．big C．small D．tiny
A．with B．by C．through D．in
A．thrown B．dipped C．displayed D．stored
A．wood B．metal C．paper D．leather
A．undertook B．began C．involved D．engaged
A．bedroom B．kitchen C．building D．apartment
A．spend B．cost C．pay D．take