An old man had been working for many years for a town. His job was to clear away natural waste from the pool water in the hills, which made up the lovely river flowing through the town nearby. Quietly and 36 , the old man guarded the hills, 37 the leaves and branches, and cleaned up the dirt that would have 38 and polluted the fresh flow of water . The town soon became a popular attraction for tourists. Elegant swans (天鹅) floated along the clear river and the view was so beautiful 39 words.
Years passed. One evening the town 40 met. As they reviewed the budget, one man’s 41____caught sight of the salary 42 being paid to the seldom seen keeper of the river. He asked , “Who is the old man? Why do we 43 to employ him? No one in town ever 44 him. For all we know, the strange keeper of the hills isn’t doing his job. His position isn’t 45 any longer.” Then they voted to 46 the man.
For several weeks, nothing changed….
By early autumn, the trees began to 47 their leaves. Small branches broke off and fell into the pools of the hills, 48 the flow of the shining water. One afternoon, someone noticed a slight yellowish-brown 49 in the river. A few days later, the water was much 50 . Within another week, an oily something covered some sections of the water along the banks, and a terrible 51 was soon sensed. Swans left and so did the 52 . The only thing that was now visiting the village was disease and sickness.
Quickly, the 53 town committee called a special meeting. Realizing their huge error in 54 , they rehired the old keeper of the river again, and within a few weeks, the river began to clear up. Swans and tourists came back again and new life returned to the small town in the Alps.
Never ignore the seeming smallness of a task, job or life. They may all make a 55 .
A．regularly B．suddenly C．naturally D．actually
A．cut B．burned C．removed D．selected
A．carried B．poured C．changed D．blocked
A．beyond B．with C．in D．after
A．office B．association C．department D．committee
A．eye B．care C．hand D．mind
A．list B．form C．figure D．account
A．promise B．continue C．stop D．tend
A．visits B．hires C．tells D．sees
A．powerful B．important C．necessary D．suitable
A．find B．fire C．support D．forgot
A．lose B．miss C．fall D．grow
A．pulling B．speeding C．slowing D．pushing
A．fish B．color C．flower D．leaf
A．deeper B．cooler C．warmer D．darker
A．sound B．smell C．wave D．taste
A．managers B．passengers C．villagers D．tourists
A．embarrassed B．annoyed C．discouraged D．diappointed
A．arrangement B．assignment C．judgement D．amusement
A．suggestion B．difference C．progress D．decision
It was my birthday last Thursday. I decided to celebrate it by inviting a few friends out to supper. I chose a restaurant in a part of town. It is one of my favorite restaurants because the food is good and the waiters are friendly. It is ever crowded, because not many people know about it, so it is not usually to book a table. In any case, Thursday is not a busy evening .
When we entered the restaurant, we were surprised to find it completely . I looked around but not table was free. One of the waiters me. He came across and explained the situation. “A party of tourists came in about half an hour ago.” he said. “It was like an invasion(侵略). Suddenly the place was full! We can hardly . ”
The waiter then pointed to a table in the corner. “The people there are about to , ” he said, “Just hold on and you’ll a place there.” He was right. Fifteen minutes later, the people the corner table paid their , got up and left. I led my friends across and we all sat down.
our table was almost out of sight. We tried to call the attention of the waiter sent us there, but he, like all the other waiters, the party of tourists. They ordered lots of food. At last, an hour later, the tourists were finishing their meal and looking very with life. The waiter, now very tired, appeared at our table. I advised my friends about the best dishes and finally the waiter went off with our
A few moments later he returned to our table. We could tell from his face that he had for us. a little sorry, he told us that there was left. “All we can offer you” he said, “is an omelet(煎蛋卷) !”
A．quiet B．calm C．busy D．silent
A．hard B．often C．hardly D．always
A．necessary B．possible C．important D．certain
A．as before B．as a matter of fact C．as usual D．as is known to all
A．empty B．full C．free D．quiet
A．all B．every C．a single D．a double
A．realized B．recognized C．comforted D．settled
A．watch B．care C．try D．manage
A．start B．leave C．end D．pay
A．find B．find out C．wait D．see
A．by B．beside C．at D．near
A．Luckily B．Fortunately C．Generally D．Unluckily
A．whom B．which C．he D．who
A．were kept busy B．was busy with C．kept busy with D．were busy with
A．exciting B．tired C．pleased D．disappointed
A．dishes B．food C．order D．menu
A．good presents B．good news C．bad news D．bad presents
A．Looking B．Seeing C．Looked D．Found
A．no meat or fish B．no meat and fish C．meat and fish D．not meat or fish
Travis laughed as he tore at the wrapping (包装) paper on his birthday present. He was so ! Finally, he would have the coolest pair of name-brand basketball shoes.
All the guys on his team were wearing the name-brand shoes of a popular basketball , Chuck Hart. Hart was criticized for his poor sportsmanship and infamous he was a great player. In fact, Travis wasn’t thinking about Hart’s behavior; he had only expected to see Hart’s on the side of the box. He realized that something was as he tore away the last piece of paper. Not Hart’s. The new shoes were the name-brand of another player, Robert Ryann, who was for his amazing work in the community.
Travis’s hands ; his heart stopped. It wasn’t that the Ryann shoes weren’t nice, but what would his friends think?
They were the wrong shoes and Travis would be by the other players. When he looked up into his dad’s eyes, however, Travis knew he tell him. “Thanks, Dad. I was really hoping for shoes,” Travis said as he pulled the shoes out of the box.
Next morning his dad drove him to school. When they in front of his destination, Travis slowly opened the car door. Just then, his dad stopped him.
“Hey, Travis, wait a minute…” his dad said “Travis, I know those aren’t the shoes you had hoped for, but I saw the names of the two guys and made a(n) . The guy whose name is on those shoes,” he said, pointing down at Travis’s feet, “is someone I . Do you know how often Ryann has found himself in ? “
“ No,” Travis said.
“ Never. He’s never talked back to his coach or started a fight, and he’s a team player. You could have acted like a(n) when you didn’t get the shoes you wanted, Travis, you were polite and made the best of it. You have honor, like the guy whose name is on these shoes. I am hoping that someday, your will be on the coolest pair of shoes I’ll ever see.”
When Travis looked down at his feet, he saw the shoes . His dad had used his mind and heart to give the son a thoughtful .
A．surprised B．ashamed C．excited D．worried
A．team B．player C．coach D．game
A．skill B．performance C．behavior D．action
A．name B．photo C．sign D．model
A．strange B．wrong C．true D．funny
A．known B．encouraged C．adopted D．influenced
A．fell B．froze C．shook D．folded
A．questioned B．noticed C．teased D．attacked
A．mustn’t B．needn’t C．wouldn’t D．couldn’t
A．pulled up B．put up C．took up D．turned up
A．peacefully B．hesitantly C．delightedly D．naturally
A．choice B．effort C．comment D．mistake
A．believe B．miss C．admire D．remember
A．danger B．anger C．sorrow D．trouble
A．teammate B．adult C．kid D．student
A．so B．but C．and D．or
A．honor B．courage C．name D．belief
A．clearly B．carefully C．patiently D．differently
A．gift B．smile C．wish D．lesson
Dad is a liar(说谎者)certainly. He never tells the truth about anything bad, or anything that he thinks is bad to me, even though I’ve told him I don’t hearing these things. He’s the man I have ever met, who never hurts others, as well as the cruelest man, for he’s always hard on himself. Every time I phoned home from college and asked dad how his was getting on, he would always reply, “Oh, couldn’t be better!” When I asked mum the same question on the phone, , she honestly told me every with dad’s business. I didn’t blame(责怪) dad for his . Instead I showed concern(关心) for him.
Dad is a miser(吝啬鬼), undoubtedly. I hardly see dad wear clothes. In fact, his closet is half empty. Even in this half, two-thirds is used by mum’s clothes and the other one-third him. I begged him to buy some new clothes, but he simply shook his head, “ The old clothes are still good enough. ” Were they? I saw holes in them!
It tore my heart up when I saw dad cough terribly with his hand covering his mouth. When the pains（疼痛） became very serious, he took some medicine.
So it surprised when the day came that dad got sick. He was lying in bed, and all the family gathered(聚集) around him. I knelt（跪） by his bedside, tears filling my eyes.
Dear dad, you’ve been pushing yourself too hard, which you should not have. I know I might as well expect a river to flow backwards as hope to take you out of working so hard.
A．mind B．suggest C．enjoy D．allow
A．cleverest B．strongest C．biggest D．kindest
A．health B．experiment C．business D．treatment
A．also B．anyway C．therefore D．however
A．change B．difference C．decision D．problem
A．lies B．opinions C．purposes D．excuses
A．cheap B．new C．clean D．old
A．leads to B．belongs to C．replies to D．returns to
A．still B．even C．only D．ever
A．somebody B．nobody C．anybody D．everybody
For parents, sitting down together for dinner with children may help to reduce(减少) the number of problems that develop in parent-child communication, according to a new study by US researchers. The was done on about 5,000 middle school students in Chicago public schools.
The students were studied at the beginning and the end of sixth grade and again at the end of the seventh and eighth grade. They were asked they ate dinner with their parents. They were asked how often their parents had a conversation with them that lasted more than ten , praised them when they did well, asked them where they were going and asked how they were doing in school. The study that children who often ate dinner with their parents had problems of communication than children who ________ ate dinner with their parents.
“ Family meals are a good to keep in touch with children, ” said Jayne Fulkerson, a member of the study team. “ You can get to know what’s going on in their lives better. ”
However, Fulkerson also that parents should choose suitable(合适的) topics. Topics grades and homework are not good choices.
A．experience B．study C．plan D．communication
A．how long B．how many C．how often D．how much
A．also B．even C．ever D．either
A．seconds B．minutes C．hours D．days
A．asks B．thinks C．hopes D．shows
A．fewer B．more C．many D．much
A．often B．always C．hardly D．usually
A．party B．example C．dinner D．chance
A．disagreed B．believed C．suggested D．called
A．for B．like C．with D．from[
I know it's not always easy to do well in school．I know a lot of you have in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork．
I it．I know what it's like．My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was by a single mom who had to work and who even struggled to pay the bills．There were times when I missed having a father in my life．There were times when I was lonely and I felt like I didn't ．
So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been on school, and I did some things I'm 41_ of, and I got in more trouble than I ．And my life could have __ _ taken a turn for _ ._ , I was lucky．I got a lot of second chances, and I had the opportunity to go to college and law school and my dreams．
Some of you might not have those ．Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need．Maybe in your family there's not enough money to Maybe you live in a neighborhood _ 49 you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right．
But at the end of the day, the of your life — you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home —none of that is an excuse for not finishing your homework or having a bad in school．That's no excuse for talking to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school．There is no excuse for not trying．
Where you are right now doesn't determine where you'll_．No one's written your destiny for you．You make your own future．
A．alternatives B．challenges C．commitment D．amusement
A．master B．get C．say D．catch
A．brought B．taught C．raised D．served
A．as usual B．for a moment C．sooner or later D．at times
A．turn up B．fit in C．show off D．give in
A．cheerful B．ashamed C．proud D．proper
A．should B．would C．would have D．should have
A．easily B．fortunately C．hardly D．unfortunately
A．worse B．the worse C．better D．the better
A．However B．Therefore C．Thus D．Besides
A．full B．realize C．finish D．recognize
A．advantages B．disadvantages C．conveniences D．companions
A．go around B．go off C．go into D．go against
A．which B．so that C．where D．even if
A．circumstances B．connections C．choices D．collections
A．what B．who C．how D．which
A．approach B．access C．attitude D．aspect
A．against B．beyond C．back D．along
A．obviously B．necessarily C．largely D．simply
A．end up B．go on C．turn up D．live with