It was the first day of school. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a little old lady smiling at me. She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?”
I laughed and said, “Of course!” And she gave me a big hug. “Why are you in college at such an age?” I asked.
She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have kids and then retire and travel.”
“No seriously.”
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!”
We became friends at once. Over the course of the year, Rose easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she was happy with the attention given to her from the other students. At the end of the term we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet(宴会). I’ll never forget what she taught us in her speech.
“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one useful thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything, I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity to do productive things. Have no regrets(遗憾;后悔). The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but we regret for things we did not do.”
At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral to honor the wonderful woman!While meeting Rose at the college for the first time, the author was curious about _______.
A.her age | B.her life | C.her purpose | D.her dream |
By saying “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have kids and then retire and travel”, Rose was trying to be ___________.
A.humorous | B.amazing | C.confident | D.smart |
What else did Rose most probably say at the football banquet?
A.“It seems that my young days are over.” |
B.“Don’t do much in order to stay young.” |
C.“The people who fear death are those with regrets.” |
D.“When we are old, we can do nothing.” |
The story of Rose in the text shows that ___________.
A.it is good to make friends with old people |
B.it is necessary to have a college education for old people |
C.it is important to have a healthy body when people are getting old |
D.it is never too late to be what you can possibly be |
For Children
Museum: Children’s Museum, Sundays, 89 North Street, 67641235
Story time: Children’s Library, 106 Green Street, Wednesdays during 9:30 a.m -5:00p.m. 66599624
Sports: Soccer Club, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 16 Yangtze Road, 96725643
Basketball Club, Wednesdays and Fridays, 79071632
Cinema: New films for children, 99 Brick Road, 69001354
Useful Phone Numbers
Fast Food Restaurant: 66387901
Hospital: 68787451
Visitor Information Center: 800-120-9847
Taxi: 79210583
Visitor Hotel Information: 800-739-7302It’s Friday afternoon,you can go to _______ .
A.visit the museum | B.play soccer |
C.read children’s stories | D.play basketball |
If children want to watch new films,they should go to ________.
A.16 Yangtze Road | B.99 Brick Road |
C.106 Green Street | D.89 North Main Street |
If you dial 66387901,you can __________.
A.order fast food in a restaurant |
B.do some shopping |
C.have a good story time |
D.ask for some hotel information |
Lily’s father is ill.She should dial ________.
A.800-120-9847 | B.79210583 | C.6878745l | D.96725643 |
You can not get any information about ________ from the two notices.
A.looking for a hotel | B.eating fast food |
C.doing eye exercises | D.taking a taxi |
Yoga(瑜伽) is an ancient practice that helps create a sense of union in body, mind, and spirit. It brings us balance. I practice hatha yoga at least twice a week, but consider yoga to be part of my daily life because after a while you no longer just practice yoga — you live it.
Yoga becomes part of your physical life. Your body grows stronger, more toned, and more flexible as you move from one asana-or pose-to the other. I spent a week in Mexico at a yoga retreat, and it was the first vacation on which I lost weight. "Rather than building muscle, yoga builds muscle tone," says Shakta Kaur Khalsa, author of the K. I. S. S. Guide to Yoga. "Because yoga helps maintain a balanced metabolism (新陈代谢), it also helps to control weight. Additionally, yoga stretches muscles length-wise, causing fat to be eliminated around the cells, thus reducing cellulite(皮下脂肪团) . "
Do yoga poses throughout the day. After hours at my computer, I stretch my stiff shoulders and arms. When I need a boost of energy, I do energizing poses. When I am feeling exhausted at the end of the day, I do restorative poses.
Yoga becomes part of your mental life. Yoga teaches you to focus on breathing while you hold the poses. This attention to breath is calming; it dissolves stress and anxiety. I use yogic breathing on the tennis courts, in the dentist's chair, and when I'm stuck in traffic.
You should always leave a yoga practice feeling energized, not tired. If you feel tired after yoga, it means you spent the time "fighting" yourself, trying to force yourself into poses. In yoga, you "surrender" (放弃) to the pose by letting go of the tension.From the passage we know that _______.
A.not all the people are fit to do yoga |
B.yoga is part of everyone's life |
C.yoga does good for our health |
D.yoga has a short history |
According to the third paragraph, yoga can help ________.
A.a person who wants a good job |
B.a person who wants to lose weight |
C.a person who wants to travel |
D.a person who wants to make friends |
What will be talked about following this passage?
A.Yoga becomes part of your spiritual life. |
B.Yoga becomes popular all over the world. |
C.The disadvantages of yoga. |
D.Encouraging people to do yoga. |
What's the best title of this passage?
A.What's Yoga? |
B.How Do I. Do Yoga Poses? |
C.The Benefits of Yoga |
D.The Varieties of Yoga |
A cancer-stricken British teenage said Thursday she had been moved by messages of support from around the world after writing an online "Bucket List" of things she wanted to do before dying.
Alice Pyne, 15, created an Internet blog in which she described her fight against a cancer of the white blood cells. "I've been fighting cancer for almost four years and now I know that the cancer is gaining on me and it doesn't look like I'm going to win this one," she wrote.
For her list, at the site www.alicepyne.blogspot.com, she has included making everyone sign up to be a bone marrow donor(骨髓捐赠者), swimming with sharks, meeting the boy band Take That and getting a purple iPad computer.
Messages of support and offers of help quickly flooded her webpage and it became one of the most talked-about subjects on Twitter.
"Oh, dear and I thought that I was just doing a little blog for a few friends!" she wrote after her site attracted huge attention. "Thank you so much for all your lovely messages to me."
Pyne, who lives with her family in the northwest English town of Ulverston, revealed (透露) the management of Take That had arranged for her to see the band after reading her blog. A group of local lawmakers have also joined forces with the Anthony blood cancer charity to encourage people to join its stem cell register.What happened after Alice Pyne wrote her "Bucket List?
A.People around the world sent messages to support her. |
B.People sent gifts to her from all over the world. |
C.A lot of people offered to donate bone marrow to her. |
D.The media called on people to help her. |
Alice Pyne wrote her "Bucket List" to ____________.
A.catch people's attention |
B.say goodbye to a few friends |
C.give comfort to two terminally ill men |
D.express her last few wishes |
It can be inferred from the second paragraph that Alice Pyne _______.
A.is unaware of her own conditions |
B.is very sad to know that she will die |
C.is calm to know that death is approaching |
D.is still quite confident in fighting against cancer |
Which of the following is NOT on Alice Pyne's "Bucket List"?
A.To ask people to donate bone marrow. |
B.To get a cool computer. |
C.To swim with sharks. |
D.To meet a boy. |
"Take That" will arrange to _____
A.meetPyne in person |
B.helpPyne in any possible way |
C.donate money to Pyne |
D.invitePyne to join the band |
When Boris left school, he could not find a job. He tried hard and pestered (纠缠) his relatives, but they had problems of their own. He answered advertisements until he could not afford to buy any more stamps. Boris grew annoyed, then depressed, then a little hardened. Still he went on trying and still he failed. He began to think that he had no future at all.
"Why don't you start your own business?" one of his uncles told him. "The world is a money-locker. You'd better find a way of opening it. "
"But what can I do?"
"Get out and have a look round," advised his uncle in a vague sort of way. "See what people want; then give it to them, and they will pay for it."
Boris began to cycle around the town and found a suitable piece of waste ground in the end. Then he set up his business as a cycle repairer. He worked hard, made friends with his customers and gradually managed to build up his goodwill and profit. A few months later, he found that he had more work than he could deal with by himself. He found a number of empty shops but they were all no good: in the wrong position , too expensive or with some other snags(小障碍). But at long last, he managed to find an empty shop on a new estate where there were plenty of customers but no competition.
Boris and his assistant taught themselves how to repair scooters and motor-cycles. Slowly but surely the profits increased and the business developed. At last, Boris had managed to open the money-locker and found bank notes and gold coins inside. What's the passage mainly about?
A.The key to success. |
B.A story of a graduate from despair to success. |
C.No education, no future. |
D.Difficulty of starting a small business. |
Which of the following best describes Boris' job hunting experience?
A.Surprising. |
B.Encouraging. |
C.Boring. |
D.Disappointing. |
Boris started his career by _______.
A.cycling around the town |
B.developing a waste ground |
C.repairing cycles |
D.buying empty shops |
Boris finally chose an empty shop on a new estate because ______.
A.it was not so expensive |
B.he had a lot of old customers there |
C.he could make good use of his skills there |
D.there were good opportunities there |
We can infer from the last paragraph that Boris _______.
A.still couldn't make good profits |
B.succeeded in his career |
C.found a lot of gold coins by accident |
D.had great difficulty running his business |
Before she appeared on the reality show(真人秀) Britain's Got Talent, Susan Boyle was just an ordinary middle-aged British woman. Now all this is going to change.
She lives in a house with her cat Pebbles in a tiny Scottish town. Because of learning difficulties, she doesn't have much education. But what she does have is a very good voice. As a kid, she sang in church and choirs and school plays. For a living, she sang at local pubs.
When she took the stage on April lOth, her hair was untidy and her clothes seemed just one step up from rags. The audience laughed at her.
But when she opened her mouth, the laughing audience went silent. A beautiful voice was singing I Dreamed a Dream from the musical Les Miserables. Everyone was amazed. At the end of her song, the audience jumped to their feet and applauded wildly.
Almost overnight, Susan became a household name. She won fans and millions of admirers. Her online videos have drawn over 85. 2 million hits.
Susan's story proved the truth of an old saying: "Never judge the book by its cover." Susan may look ordinary, and doesn't have much dress sense, but she can certainly sing.
Susan's fans admire her courage, as much as they do her voice. She has experienced mockery and many disappointments, but her love for music has kept her going, which is worth anyone's respect. According to the passage, Susan Boyle ________.
A.is a famous young actress |
B.became famous after a show |
C.used to be a good student |
D.is good at dancing and has millions of admirers |
The underlined phrase "just one step up from" in the third paragraph probably means "________".
A.far from |
B.close to |
C.different from |
D.the same as |
The audience jumped and applauded wildly because ______.
A.her hair was untidy and her clothes seemed just one step up from rags |
B.she looked very funny |
C.she sang so well that everyone was amazed |
D.she made a foolish mistake in the end |
Susan Boyle has many fans now because of ________.
A.her beautiful face |
B.her knowing how to dress |
C.her good education |
D.her beautiful voice and courage |
The passage is mainly about _________.
A.how to win fans |
B.how to sing well |
C.a woman's sudden success |
D.a woman's simple life |