Just recently I had been wondering if there was much point in doing little acts of kindness. So often they get 36 , and occasionally they come back to bite you!
Then, just last week, after a long travel, I found myself 37 at a bus station. The bus was four hours late! So, I guess I wasn’t in a good 38 .
That’s when a woman asked me if I had any spare 39 to help her get a bus ticket.
“Oh, sure,” I said sarcastically (挖苦地). “How much would you like?”
As I spoke, I mentally kicked myself for my 40 and reached into my bag for some money. As I handed her five dollars, I heard low sounds from her stomach because of real 41 .
I reached back into my bag and brought out a 42 I had bought earlier. I handed it to her with a(n) 43 that I hoped would make up for my earlier tone of voice. Getting a 44 look at her now, I realized she was extremely tired, like she had had several months of 45 days!
As she took the food, a look of 46 washed over her. In return, she tried to give me a Milwaukee bus ticket! I don’t live in Milwaukee and the ticket will probably 47 be used, but I took it.
A few minutes later she came back over, apologized, and told me she was still 48 of five dollars. I took some singles out of my bag and slipped a twenty in there as well. 49 , the voice in my head told me I was being a fool.
Five minutes later she came back again and tried to 50 my twenty. When I said it was for her so she could get something else to 51 , and that I was completely serious and I wasn’t taking it 52 , she started crying and hugged me.
From now on, when I wonder if it is 53 trying to help someone, I will remember that woman. Maybe I am really making a 54 for someone. So, sure, sometimes my efforts might not be noticed, and sometimes they might come back to bite me, but they might actually 55 another human being!
A．ignored B．appreciated C．acknowledged D．forgiven
A．examined B．trapped C．confused D．delayed
A．habit B．place C．mood D．situation
A．change B．time C．hand D．energy
A．appearance B．attitude C．selfishness D．experience
A．pain B．anxiety C．hunger D．fear
A．souvenir B．ticket C．gift D．cake
A．shout B．smile C．apology D．praise
B．gentle C．good D．cold
A．dark B．tough C．mysterious D．special
A．relief B．regret C．doubt D．anger
A．once B．often C．sometimes D．never
A．ashamed B．aware C．short D．proud
A．Eventually B．However C．Therefore D．Besides
A．return B．show C．share D．earn
A．do B．trade C．add D．eat
A．away B．out C．back D．over
A．hard B．fun C．useless D．worth
A．difference B．profit C．decision D．suggestion
A．excite B．help C．educate D．inspire
With time flying, people become aged. Then many people even in their middle age often start to notice that their memory and mental clarity are not what they used to be. We suddenly can’t remember we put the keys just a moment ago, or an old friend’s name, or the name of an old band we used to love. As the brain , we refer to these occurrences as "senior moments". seemingly innocent, this loss of mental focus can potentially have a(n) effect on our social and well-being.
Neuroscientists,experts who study the nervous system, are increasingly showing that there’s actually a lot that can be done. It out that the brain needs exercise in much the same way our muscles do, and the right mental can significantly improve our basic cognitive(认知) . Thinking is basically a of making connections in the brain. To a certain extent, our ability to in making the connections that drive intelligence is inherited(继承). , because these connections are made through effort and practice, scientists believe that intelligence can expand and wave mental effort.
Now, a new Web-based company has taken a step and developed the first "brain training program" designed to actually help people improve and their mental sharpness.
The Web-based program you to systematically improve your memory and attention skills. The program keeps a(n) of your progress and provides detailed feedback(反馈) your performance and improvement. Most importantly, it changes and improves the games you play to up the strengths you are developing-much like a(n) exercise routine which requires you to increase resistance and vary your muscle use.
A．where B．when C．that D．why
A．improves B．fades C．recovers D．falls
A．If B．Unless C．Once D．While
A．irregular B．limited C．damaging D．positive
A．personal B．psychological C．mental D．physical
A．turns B．finds C．points D．figures
A．connection B．responses C．workouts D．associations
A．style B．functions C．circumstances D．atmosphere
A．steps B．condition C．consequences D．process
A．insist B．believe C．succeed D．fail
A．Therefore B．Moreover C．Otherwise D．However
A．according to B．regardless of C．apart from D．instead of
A．back B．further C．aside D．around
A．regain B．reflect C．review D．respond
A．suggests B．makes C．hurries D．allows
A．hold B．record C．order D．pace
A．to B．with C．for D．about
A．irregularly B．habitually C．constantly D．unusually
A．carry B．put C．build D．take
A．risky B．effective C．meaningless D．familiar
A thing happened me last Sunday. It was such a beautiful day I drove to go for a look in the country.
On the way back home, my stopped. It was out of gas on a road far from a town! I decided to walk until I found someone could sell some gas. I had walked almost a mile 7 I finally found a house near the __ _. I was glad to see it because it was getting dark.
I knocked at the door and a little old lady with long white hair . She said, “I’ve been _ __for you here for a long time. Come in. is almost ready.”
“But I only came for some gas,” I answered. I couldn’t what she was talking about.
“Oh, Alfred! Gas? You tea,” said she.
I quickly that my car was out of , but she didn’t seem to listen to me. She just kept me Alfred and talking about how long it had been she had seen me. She was acting very strangely and I wanted to leave. As soon as she went to get tea, I went out of the house as fast as I .
Fortunately（幸运地）, there was another house down the road and I was able to buy the gas I needed. When I told the man about my he said, “Oh, that’s Miss Emily. She lives by herself in that big house. She’s strange(奇怪的), but she wouldn’t anybody. She is still waiting for the man she was going to marry thirty years ago. The day before their wedding he left home and never came back because of the war.”
A．happy B．strange C．common D．bad
A．on B．in C．upon D．to
A．and B．so C．but D．that
A．car B．bus C．bike D．truck
A．narrow B．lonely C．crowded D．busy
A．what B．whom C．who D．how
A．before B．after C．while D．as
A．street B．path C．way D．road
A．came B．answered C．opened D．appeared
A．asking B．looking C．calling D．waiting
A．Gas B．Coffee C．Tea D．Lunch
A．consider B．understand C．accept D．think
A．like B．love C．used to like D．liking
A．answered B．explained C．refused D．promised
A．gas B．tea C．strength D．energy
A．calling B．call C．to call D．called
A．until B．before C．since D．when
A．could B．can C．would D．wanted
A．accident B．incident C．experience D．surprise
A．hit B．injury C．hurt D．frighten
I was recently invited to dinner by a friend. During the meal, the manager of the restaurant came and said that our meal was free. He stood there at me and he seemed a little to me but I couldn’t quite remember him. I asked him if he knew me. He laughed and said I had probably him, but that I’d changed his life. My friend was quite and asked him how I’d done this.
He said that twelve years ago he a stress（压力）management（管理）class that I was giving. I asked the group what their greatest was and most of them, including him, said it was their bosses.
He said I listened and then took a chair and placed it in the center of the room. I on the chair for a few moments and then I everyone to come and do the same. I wanted them to look at the room from up there. After everyone had done it, I asked the group to how the room looked different when they changed their perspective（角度）.
Then I asked them to their bosses. Was this the same person who had seen their good and hired them? Did they remember how happy they were to be for the job? But how did these wonderful people become terrible bosses?
He said I looked at him and asked if he had said thank you to his boss for the to earn a living. He answered he hadn’t. Then I asked him why he hadn’t tried being to his boss.
He told us his changed that night. He went back to work the next day with a thank-you card to his boss. He said I’d him to look at life from different perspectives and express thanks.
A．over B．out C．back D．on
A．glaring B．smiling C．knocking D．shouting
A．similar B．attractive C．strange D．familiar
A．Immediately B．Suddenly C．Finally D．Firstly
A．disliked B．forgotten C．known D．ignored
A．anxious B．curious C．happy D．calm
A．missed B．attended C．prepared D．heard
A．stress B．hero C．liking D．trouble
A．regretfully B．disappointedly C．carefully D．doubtfully
A．stood B．lay C．sat D．rested
A．invited B．forced C．stopped D．warned
A．work on B． look into C．think about D．fill out
A．remember B．dislike C．consider D．respect
A．personalities B．qualities C．experiences D．looks
A．chosen B．meant C．refused D．forgiven
A．still B．actually C．ever D．never
A．right B．solution C．opportunity D．ability
A．grateful B．polite C．friendly D．gentle
A．job B．life C．luck D．company
A．ordered B．allowed C．persuaded D．taught
I arrived late one night, on a business trip, and had dinner in a restaurant. As I was finishing my meal, an old couple came in to dine. They were holding hands and had smiles on their faces. Shortly after I ended a 20-year , I still had pain in my heart and I was at the love they show for one another. As a result, when I paid my bill I gave the waiter another $50 to pay the couple’s bill and then left without them.
The next day my business meeting two hours before the flight back to Houston. So I had enough time left to enter the restaurant to dine . After I had been , the waiter, from the night before, came up to my table . She can’t wait to tell me what happened after I last night: when the old couple were that another guest had paid for them, they asked whom it was. The waiter said that she had never me before, and told them what I told her, “I just wanted to repay for the true love that they were showing.” Feeling surprised , they , and paid the bills for another two young couples saying “Love begets (产生) love”. I with delight and said “ That’s nice”. Then I read the menu and my meal.
When my dinner was and I intended to pay, my waiter was to be found. I had to walk over to the Hostess Stand and that I needed to pay for my meal and hurry to the . She said that my had paid for me just to repay the joy that I brought to the faces of the elderly couple and the amazement of the two young couples.
A．bitter B．lovely C．standard D．stressful
A．job B．date C．marriage D．journey
A．amazed B．angry C．confused D．sad
A．comparing B．encountering C．recognizing D．greeting
A．lasted B．started C．ended D．held
A．again B．either C．instead D．altogether
A．seated B．served C．dressed D．focused
A．anxiously B．crazily C．hopefully D．quickly
A．arrived B．left C．slept D．escaped
A．comforted B．reminded C．warned D．told
A．charged B．appreciated C．seen D．helped
A．you B．me C．her D．them
A．looked around B．turned up C．went over D．dressed up
A．believed B．admitted C．smiled D．shook
A．booked B．ordered C．paid D．finished
A．full B．over C．cold D．available
A．somewhere B．anywhere C．nowhere D．everywhere
A．protested B．explained C．declared D．remarked
A．hotel B．office C．airport D．station
A．waiter B．boss C．hostess D．friend
When I was six years old, my parents and I were in London for a one-month vacation. One day when my mother and I were down Oxford Street, I felt too to walk any more, so I asked my mother to take the subway.
At first, she to take it because she said the weather was very and it was better to walk. I started . She told me to stop immediately, but I didn’t pay attention to what she was . For about an hour, I didn’t stop crying. My mother became very with me. I didn’t stop. I just ran away from her. I ran as as I could.
The street was really crowded, so she couldn’t me. Then, I entered one of the biggest shops. There was a coffee house on the second floor. I went , sat in a chair, and started crying again. All of the people in the coffee shop came around me. They were to me, but I didn’t understand English at all. After that, they the police station, and a policeman came to the coffee shop. He tried to talk to me, but I just crying. Then he took the small bag that I was , opened it and found my hotel address and number. When he phoned the hotel, my answered the phone.
In the end, the policeman took me to the . My father was standing in front of the hotel door. He talked to the policeman, and then he asked me what had and where my mother was. I told him everything, and I also told him that I was that my mother was very angry with me.
When my mother came back, she was crying. But when she saw me, she hugged me and kissed me. She talked to my father about everything. of them told me not to do anything like that in the future because maybe one day I wouldn’t find anyone to help me. They wouldn’t forgive（原谅） me if I did it again.
A．running B．walking C．visiting D．driving
A．tired B．mad C．happy D．sad
A．agreed B．refused C．suggested D．managed
A．horrible B．windy C．nice D．cold
A．talking B．laughing C．singing D．crying
A．hearing B．regarding C．thinking D．saying
A．angry B．strict C．satisfied D．familiar
A．excitedly B．slowly C．quickly D．carelessly
A．search B．educate C．forgive D．follow
A．outside B．inside C．upon D．down
A．advising B．talking C．listening D．coming
A．called B．remembered C．measured D．left
A．stopped B．preferred C．regretted D．continued
A．catching B．carrying C．gaining D．buying
A．serial B．lucky C．phone D．license
A．mother B．guide C．father D．waiter
A．hotel B．shop C．street D．station
A．forgotten B．happened C．damaged D．lost
A．worried B．concerned C．afraid D．angry
A．None B．Either C．Neither D．Both