My Teacher in the School of Life
I spent the opening day of school this year at DeMatha Catholic High School in much the same way I spent the first day of classes __1__ 30 years ago; I sat in Dr. Charles E. Offutt's British literature class, listening to him __2__ what his seniors would learn and getting them excited about the journey they would __3__, I'm principal(校长) of the school now, but for a few minutes I was back in 1975, __4__ what the future held. I have been learning from Dr. Offutt for 30 of the 51 years he has been teaching at DeMatha. He not only taught me to think, he __5__me, as much by example as __6__, that it was my moral duty to do so and to serve __7__. Neither of us could know how our __8__would develop over the years. When I first came back to DeMatha to teach English, I worked for Dr. Offutt, then department chair. After several years, I was __9__ department chair, and our relationship changed __10__. I thought that it might be __11__ chairing the department, since all of my former English teachers were still there, but Dr. Offutt__12__ me throughout. He knew when to give me __13__ about curriculum, texts and personnel, and when to let me design my own course. In 1997, I needed his advice about leaving DeMatha to become principal at another school. If he had asked me to stay at DeMatha, I might have. __14__, he encouraged me to seize the new __15__.
Five years ago, I became __16__ of DeMatha. Once again, Dr. Offutt was there for me, letting me know that I could __17__ on him as I tried to fill such big shoes. I've learned from him that great teachers have a(n) __18__ wealth of lessons to teach. __19__ his students don't know it yet, I know how __20__ they are; I'm still one of them.
A．mostly B．exactly C．only D．simply
A．explaining B．predicting C．speaking D．teaching
A．keep B．achieve C．choose D．take
A．preparing B．discovering C．wondering D．realizing
A．assisted B．reminded C．advised D．convinced
A．words B．action C．explanation D．models
A．the others B．everyone C．others D．anyone
A．relationship B．position C．situation D．condition
A．appointed B．named C．given D．taken
A．already B．yet C．still D．again
A．foolish B．surprising C．uncertain D．challenging
A．promoted B．accepted C．supported D．welcomed
A．advice B．information C．notice D．thought
A．Otherwise B．Therefore C．Furthermore D．Instead
A．choice B．opportunity C．occupation D．possibility
A．teacher B．principal C．officer D．clerk
A．live B．look C．depend D．take
A．rich B．little C．valuable D．endless
A．Once B．Even if C．Unless D．Until
A．fortunate B．curious C．innocent D．satisfied
A businessman was on a business trip to Tokyo（东京）. One day he went to buy some gifts for his employees (雇员) back in his country. He entered a supermarket. A lady smiled and welcomed him. He was very touched, and felt good .Because he was not able to 1 the warmth of her smile, he was watching her as he was 2 . She was giving the same 3 to all the people who walked into the supermarket.
The businessman started thinking if she hated doing the same thing. So he asked, “My dear lady, are you 4 of doing this job?” The lady smiled and said, “No, sir, I have 5 here for the last 10 years and I love my job.” The businessman was surprised and asked, “Why have you stayed here for ten years, and why do you like your job 6 much?” The lady said, “Because I am doing something good for my 7 .” The businessman found this interesting. He asked, “Why?” The lady said, “As most of our customers are 8 , they spend foreign currency（货币） here. So our country has a lot of money and becomes richer. People who are happy with our service will __9___ more often and spend more money in our country.”
Surprised by her 10 , the businessman thanked her. After returning to his own country he worked hard to introduce the same attitude (态度) to his workers, and today his company is one of the best companies in the world.
A．require B．enjoy C．hide D．forget
A．traveling B．working C．singing D．shopping
A．feeling B．smile C．warmth D．watching
A．fond B．tired C．proud D．afraid
A．stood B．learned C．worked D．lived
A．so B．very C．even D．enough
A．home B．country C．supermarket D．boss
A．millionaires B．managers C．strangers D．foreigners
A．sing B．visit C．talk D．save
A．action B．service C．attitude D．help
When I was about 8 years old, I asked my mum to buy me a certain biscuit because it sponsored（赞助）Flash Gordon. Gordon was a super-hero who 31 for good deeds（事情）in outer space.
My mum would buy the 32 for me because I 33 the prize that came with it. The prize was a pair of glasses that Gordon 34 .
However, in order to get the prize I had to 35 the whole box of biscuits out because it was at the 36 . I didn’t dare to think of 37 my way to the prize because I was too 38 . Yes, I wanted to be like Flash Gordon! 39 the glasses came out from the bottom, I put them on. I felt like my favorite 40 . I wore them everywhere my mum and I went. I even tried to wear them to 41, but the teachers didn’t want a super-hero flying around the playground.
Over the years there were other prizes from many 42 brands（牌子）of biscuits, but I was never really 43 the biscuits, only the 44 .
When you think about it, 45 itself can be like a box of biscuits. Even as adults, we keep 46 that prize at all costs. Just 47 what we do at times. We become greedy（贪婪的）to get what we think is the prize.
Try to look at it from a different view. Wouldn’t it be better to 48 the journey along the way ? In other words, don’t be impatient and pour the box. That will only spoil（破坏）the 49 meaning of the prize. Enjoy what you have and be grateful. I promise your prize will 50 , without having to push others out of the way to get it.
A．paid B．prepared C．fought D．waited
A．biscuit B．toy C．book D．space
A．designed B．deserved C．offered D．wanted
A．made B．sold C．owned D．wore
A．throw B．pour C．put D．leave
A．beginning B．side C．bottom D．top
A．changing B．losing C．eating D．finding
A．impatient B．lazy C．weak D．nervous
A．Although B．Since C．While D．Once
A．soldier B．hero C．model D．player
A．cinema B．school C．hospital D．shop
A．old B．famous C．different D．special
A．interested in B．afraid of C．good at D．angry at
A．color B．price C．box D．prize
A．success B．life C．love D．wealth
A．looking at B．looking after C．looking for D．looking up
A．think about B．set down C．pack up D．go through
A．cut B．stop C．plan D．enjoy
A．new B．real C．funny D．strange
A．appear B．disappear C．flow D．enrich
You must know the “ding dong ditch”. Person A rings Person B’s doorbell, and then quickly runs away or hides before Person B answers. Person B hurries to answer the door, only to find that no one’s there. After the 1 thing is repeated several times, this is called “ding dong ditch”.
Sharon Mardis, a single mother of four, told ABC News that she 2 a “ding dong ditch” when she 3 to her door at 1:00 am last night.
“My doorbell started ringing, 4 I came to the door,” Sharon told ABC News. “There was5 at the door. I went back in the house. I got ten or twenty 6 and the doorbell started ringing again. I came back to the door, still nobody at the door.” She got 7 and stepped outside, shouting, “Who’s that? What on earth are you going to do?” There was just 8 .
But after Sharon returned to the house, she 9 something. Smoke! Sharon quickly 10 her kids and the family pets and ran out of the house. Only then did she 11 how bad the fire was. The12 of the house fell down; the house was quickly 13 by flames. The smoke detectors(探测器) had never 14 : they were out of batteries. Good thing for the doorbell.
The 15 is who had rung it. 16 found that the flames has fused(熔化) the wires of the doorbell together, causing it to ring. But 17 , the fire had nothing to do with the doorbell wiring at all. It had started in the bathroom, well down the hall. From there, the flames didn’t spread to the nearby 18 , where the children and Sharon were sleeping. 19 , they surprisingly reached the doorbell first, making it ring repeatedly, and 20 Sharon to avoid danger.
Sharon believes it happened that way thanks to an angel.
A．special B．same C．important D．serious
A．experienced B．followed C．learned D．practiced
A．fell B．turned C．responded D．returned
A．though B．but C．because D．and
A．somebody B．nobody C．something D．nothing
A．miles B．centimeters C．feet D．kilometers
A．tired B．angry C．worried D．interested
A．cry B．noise C．silence D．laugh
A．hit B．touched C．heard D．smelled
A．gathered B．settled C．comforted D．frightened
A．wonder B．dream C．realize D．agree
A．paintings B．roof C．lights D．floor
A．covered B．separated C．blocked D．stopped
A．moved off B．left off C．taken off D．gone off
A．fact B．opinion C．mistake D．question
A．Nurses B．Firefighters C．Teachers D．Doctors
A．fortunately B．strangely C．honestly D．clearly
A．kitchen B．hall C．bathroom D．bedroom
A．Instead B．Therefore C．Thus D．Then
A．ordering B．encouraging C．warning D．advising
A certain student passed all his examinations. Then he went to college to 1 his studies. There he wrote down his 2 for a course in English, but after the first3 , he didn’t go to it any more.
The English lecturer 4 this student was always absent (缺席的) and thought he had 5 to another course, so he was 6 when he saw the boy’s name on the list of students who wanted to take the English 7 at the end of this year.
The lecturer had 8 a difficult paper, which followed his 9 closely, and he was eager (急切的) to see 10 this student would answer the questions. He 11 the boy’s answers would be very bad, but when they 12 him and he examined them 13 , he was able to find only one small mistake in them. As this surprised him greatly, he 14 the paper repeatedly but still couldn’t find more than one, so he 15 for the student to question him about it.
When he came and sat down, the lecturer asked him, “I 16 you came to my first lecture and you’ve been absent from all the others. But I’ve examined your 17 carefully and I’ve found only one small mistake in it. I’m curious (好奇的) to know your 18 .”
“I’m very 19 about that mistake,” answered the student. “After the examination, I 20 what I should have done. I would not have made that mistake if I had not been confused by your first lecture.”
A．value B．continue C．improve D．begin
A．questions B．answers C．problems D．name
A．week B．lecture C．meet D．sight
A．heard B．regretted C．noticed D．believed
A．adapted B．devoted C．gone D．changed
A．surprised B．angry C．pleased D．unhappy
A．test B．subject C．note D．course
A．discovered B．prepared C．invented D．found
A．ideas B．reports C．lectures D．texts
A．when B．what C．why D．how
A．hoped B．proved C．expected D．wished
A．showed B．gave C．handed D．reached
A．carelessly B．carefully C．slowly D．happily
A．enjoyed B．kept C．did D．examined
A．cared B．called C．sent D．looked
A．promise B．know C．advise D．guess
A．lessons B．paper C．notebook D．exercises
A．wisdom B．experience C．method D．explanation
A．glad B．nervous C．bitter D．sorry
A．realized B．understood C．remembered D．suffered
“I am going home to Denmark, Son, and I just want to tell you I love you.”
In my dad’s last telephone call to me, he __36__ that line several times in half an hour. I wasn’t listening at the right level. I heard the words, but not the message, and__37__not their deeper meaning. I believed my dad would live to be 100 years old, __38__my great uncle lived to be 107 years old. I hadn’t felt his __39__over Mum’s death, understood his loneliness or__40__most of his friends had left the world. He often asked my brother and me to create grandchildren__41__he could be a devoted grandfather. I was too busy with my business to really listen.
“Dad’s dead,” sighed my brother not long after dad went back to Denmark.
I was__42__ and just cried for the loss of my dad. This isn’t the __43__it’s supposed to happen. If I had known these were to be dad’s final days, I would have asked to go with him to Denmark. If I had been really listening and thinking, I would have offered comfort during his final hours. After all, a loved one should hold his hand and__44__him as he makes the transition(过渡) from reality to another world. Dad __45__ his departure(离开) repeatedly, but I__46__it. I felt sadness, pain and regret. Why had I not been there for him? He’d always been there for me. In the mornings when I was nine years old, he__47__come home from working 18 hours and __48__ me up by patting my back lightly with his strong powerful hands and whispering, “Time to get up, Son.” __49__I was dressed and ready to go, he had put my schoolbag in my bicycle basket. Recalling these__50__moments with dad brings tears to my eyes.
Now my heart is still in__51__because dad was there for me and I wasn’t there for him. My hearty__52__is: always, always seize the moment to__53__ your love with your loved ones, and keep them__54__when they leave the world. Experiencing the__55__of death with one you love will make you understand the meaning of life better.
A．held B．repeated C．signed D．declared
A．possibly B．fortunately C．certainly D．occasionally
A．and B．so C．as D．while
A．sorrow B．shock C．disappointment D．disadvantage
A．achieved B．regarded C．admitted D．realized
A．in case that B．so that C．now that D．for fear that
A．speechless B．hopeless C．useless D．homeless
A．thing B．result C．case D．way
A．comfort B．believe C．blame D．educate
A．abandoned B．afforded C．announced D．allowed
A．damaged B．missed C．lost D．replaced
A．would B．should C．could D．might
A．dress B．bring C．break D．wake
A．The moment B．The first time C．In time of D．By the time
A．terrible B．sweet C．stressful D．delighted
A．trouble B．danger C．confusion D．pain
A．advice B．wish C．dream D．aim
A．provide B．spare C．share D．mix
A．safe B．company C．alive D．informed
A．possibility B．process C．strength D．warning