It’s never too late to right your wrongs, big or small.
Working as hard as I had been over the years, I had become disconnected from（失去联系的）the people who mattered most to me. I decided to spend a year reconnecting with my friends and relatives and making amends(补偿). I devoted myself to caring for what I called “my unfinished business”, which has helped me become a more attentive husband, father, son and friend —and a happier, more energetic person.
Now that I’ve had a good opportunity to revisit my past mistakes—and experience the rewards of fixing them—I’d like to share some of the lessons I have learned:
Have you lost touch with people who were important to you? Are there things you’ve done or not done that are in front of you? Are there people in your life you don’t know how much they meant to you? List your unfinished business and take action to deal with it.
Instead of trying to put an end to the cold war dividing your family, begin with a small thing you can control. Apologize to your brother for not attending his Super Bowl party. Respond to an e-mail you should have answered a week ago. Write a note or make a call.
No matter what the wrong is, the most important thing in making it right is your sincerity. If you reach out with a genuine (真诚的)heart, your friends will be glad to hear from you again.
This is the key to learning and growing. Keep a journal, or summarize what you’ve learned in e-mails to friends. The difficulty we face in dealing with our unfinished business can seem impossibly big, but the first step to clearing them can be simple: Again, write a note or make a phone call .Once you discover your fears and get over them, you’ll become a more complete and pleased person.
Topic: 1 ______too late to right your wrongs
| Introduction |
Have you been disconnected from the people who mattered most to you just because of your hard 2__________? Here are some of the 3__________ I have learned. |
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| 4__________ |
Think back to your life |
Make a list of the things you need to do in order to 5__________with friends and relatives. The time has come for 6__________if you want to deal with the unfinished business. |
| Start small |
Begin with small things so that you can keep them in 7__________. |
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| Be sincere |
Sincerity is the 8__________ to improving the relationship. To get in 9__________ with your friends again, you should reach out with your true heart. |
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| Reflect on your experience |
To clear the problems, the first step is simply 10__________ a note or making a phone call. |
Directions: Read the follow
ing text and choose the most suitable heading from the list A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.
E.Record your dreams |
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cious, a way of tapping your inner self. Keep a note pad and pen by your bedside, and a
s soon as you wake, note down whatever snatches of dreams you can recall. Dreams can solve your problems, give you advice, reveal your true feelings, and be a source of inspiration.
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81.
What are you aware of right now? Look at a familiar object in the room as if seeing it for the first time —explore it with your eyes. Next, listen intently to any sounds you can hear. What can you smell and taste at this moment? Touch whatever is within reach, run your hand over and around it —how does it feel? During the next few weeks activate all your senses. Visit an art gallery, walk in a pine forest, luxuriate in a second bubble bath, go to a concert, swim, have a massage. Try to experience it all as if it were totally new to you.
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82.
If you’re right-handed, develop the skills of your left hand or vice versa —allow it to draw something, switch TV channels or drink a cup of tea. Try this exercise: write a list of ten adjectives which characterize your personality using the hand you usually write with. A few days later, repeat the exercise writing with the other hand. Then compare the two lists. You might be surprised at the secrets of your inner self! For example, on the first list you might have written that you’re “witty”, but the second list might say “suspicious”. Then try a similar exercise, making two lists of “ What I would most like to do”.
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83.
Have you ever longed to paint portraits or watercolors, write a novel, draw cartoons, compose a song, design your own clothes, set up a business or landscape your garden? If so, why not start now? Yes, you might discover that your fast efforts are laughable —but try, try again. With a few notable exceptions such as Mozart, most people haven’t developed their creative talents through sheer hard work. Don’t kid yourself that you haven’t any spare time. It’s a question of making time, of seeing your talents as important enough to devote a few hours to each week. Who knows —you might be the next Laura Ashley or Agatha Christie?
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84.
Forget about being told off for daydreaming at school. Daydreaming is good for you! Whether it’s a purely fantasy, or a dream about how life might be in the future, only the right-brain has visions of this kind. Creative visualization, vividly imagining whatever you desire as if it has already happened —and really believing in it, is said to be a powerful way of getting what you want. Many top sports people imagine themselves playing and winning —and it seems to work.Direction: Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest words.
(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS.)
From Buckingham Palace to Oxford, the UK is loaded with wonderful icons(标志) of past eras. But it has also modernized with confidence. It’s now better known for vibrant(充满活力的) cities with great nightlife and a
ttraction. Fashions, fine dining, clubbing, shopping — the UK is among the world’s best.
Most people have strong preconceptions about the British. But if you’re one of these people, you’d be wise to abandon those ideas. Visit a nightclub in one of the big cities, a football match, or a good local pub and you might more readily describe the English people as humorous and hospitable. It’s certainly true that no other country in the world has more bird-watchers, sports supporters, pet owners and gardeners than the UK.
Getting around England is pretty easy. Budget airlines like Easyjet and Rynnair fly domestically. Trains can deliver you very efficiently from one major city to another. Long distance express buses are called coaches. Where coaches and buses run on the same route, coaches are more expensive (though quicker) than buses. London’s famous black cabs are excellent but expensive. Minicabs are cheaper competitors, with freelance (个体的) drivers. But usually you need to give a call first. London’s underground is called the Tube. It’s very convenient and can get you to almost any part of the city.
The UK is not famous for its food. But you still need to know some of the traditional English foods. The most famous must be fish and chips. The fish and chips are deep fried in flour. English breakfast is something you need to try. It is fried bacon, with toast and a pot of tea. Other things like shepherd’s pie and Yorkshire pudding are also well-known as a part of English food culture.
Pubbing and Clubbing are the main forms of English nightlife, especially for the young. Pubbing means going to a pub with friends, having drinks, and chatting. Clubbing is different from pubbing and includes going to a place of music, or a bar, or any other place to gather with friends. Clubbing can be found everywhere. Usually there is some kind of dress code for clubbing, such as no jeans, no sportswear, while pubbing is much more casual.If you are involved in the real life of local residents, you may find them ______________________________.
How many kinds of transportation forms are mentioned in the third paragraph? Give examples (at least four).
_____________________________________________________________.When you go clubbing in the UK, you should not ______________________________.
What aspects are introduced about UK according to the passage?
_____________________________________________________________.
Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
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E. stressed |
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| F. surprisingly |
G. impressed |
H. questions |
I. cooperation |
J. increasingly |
Barack Obama has been a hit in China. Apart from holding talks with Chinese leaders, the president ___41___ the Chinese with a lively question-and-answer session with college students. In fact, he is the first U.S. president to visit China inside his first year in office.
“The United States insists we do not seek to contain China’s rise,” he told Chinese students in Shanghai. “On the contrary, we welcome China as a strong and ___42___ and successful member of the community of nations.”
The U.S.-China relationship has opened the door to partnerships on ___43 ___ global concerns including economic recovery, clean energy, climate change, and the ___44___ of peace and beyond, he added.
Indeed, given these pressing issues, China and the United States have ___45___ found their future linked together. They discovered that the largest developing nation and the most powerful industrialized country have to work in concert.
Obama’s visit to China on November 15-18 highlighted the complexity of arguably the most important bilateral (双边) relationship in the world. Moreover, for all their differences and disagreements, Beijing and Washington are ___46___ to manage their relations in a way that will contribute to world peace and development.
Obama kicked off his first state visit to China in the country’s financial and economic centre, Shanghai, where he held a “town hall” meeting with more than 500 Chinese students. The one-hour discussion, during which Obama took ___47___ ranging from antiterrorism to recipes for success with his signature charisma (领袖魅力), was broadcast live on the websites.
He ___48___ that young people could help build bridges in U.S.-China ___49___ — a process that he said must grow beyond the two countries’ governments to take root in the people.
In a society such as America or Canada, which has many national, religious, and cultural differences, people highly value individualism—the differences among people. Teachers place a lot of importance on the qualities that make each student special. The educational systems in these countries show these values. Students do not memorize information. Instead, they work individually and find answers themselves. There is often discussion in the classroom. At an early age, students learn to form their own ideas and opinions.
In most Asian societies, by contrast (对比), the people have the same language, history, and culture. Perhaps for this reason, the educational system in much of the Orient (东方) reflects society’s belief in group goals and purposes rather than individualism. Children in China, Japan, and Korea often work together and help one another on assignments. In the classroom, the teaching methods are often very formal. The teacher lectures, and the students listen. There is not much discussion. Instead, the students recite rules or information that they have memorized.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both of these systems of education. For example, one advantage to the system in Japan is that students there learn much more math and science than American students do by the end of high school. They also study more hours each day and more days each year than North Americans do. The system is difficult, but it prepares students for a society that values discipline (纪律) and self-control. There is, however, a disadvantage. Memorization is an important learning method in Japanese schools, yet many students say that after an exam, they forget much of the information that they have memorized.
The advantage of the educational system in North American, on the other hand, is that students learn to think for themselves. The system prepares them for a society that values creative ideas. There is , however, a disadvantage. When students graduate from high school, they haven’t memorized as many basic rules and facts as students in other countries have.
| Students in the US and (71)__________ |
Students in China, Japan and Korean |
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| What do they value? |
(72)__________ |
(73)_________ goals and purposes |
| Ways of study |
working individually |
listen to the teachers |
| forming their own ideas and opinions |
memorizing (74)__________ |
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| a lot of discussion in the classroom |
not much discussion |
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| (75)________ |
Learning to think for themselves |
learning much more maths and (76)__________by the end of high(77)__________ |
| studying more hours each day and more days each year |
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| good for a society that values(78)__________ ideas. |
good for a society valuing (79)__________ and self-control |
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| disadvantages |
students haven’t memorized many basic rules and facts before(80)__________ |
Information is forgotten easily |
阅读下面对话，掌握其大意，并根据所给首字母的提示，在标有题号的右边横线上写出一个英语单词的完整、正确形式，使对话通顺。
A：Excuse me, sir, but I’m writing a report on what people prefer to do on holiday. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?
B：No, not at all. Please go (76)a_______.
A：How often do you go on holiday?
B：I generally have two weeks’ holiday a year.
A：And what do you prefer to do when you are on holiday?
B：Well, I don’t usually visit my family. We live quite(77) c_____ and I can see them any time. But I do like to visit museums, (78)e__________ if there is a special exhibition on. I don’t like to stay at home, though my parents do. (79)I________, I prefer to get away from the city and just (80)e________ the peace of the country. You know, just sit under a tree, listen to the birds in the morning, or maybe go walking over the hills.
A：Have you ever (81)t_________ abroad?
B：No, I haven’t .It’s too (82)e__________ for me. But my wife loves to visit the coast, so if the (83)w_________ is good we often go swimming in the sea, or maybe just lie on the (84)b________ and bathe in the sun.
A：OK. Well, thank you very much for your time.
B：You are (85)w_________.