He was 11 years old and went fishing every chance he got from the dock at his family’s cabin on an island in the middle of a New Hampshire lake.
On the day before the bass season opened, he and his father were fishing early in the evening, catching sunfish and perch (鲈鱼) with worms. Then he tied on a small silver lure(鱼饵) and practiced casting. The lure struck the water and caused colored ripples in the sunset, then silver ripples as the moon rose over the lake.
When his peapole doubled over, he knew something huge was on the other end. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully worked the fish alongside the dock.
Finally, he very gingerly lifted the exhausted fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass. The boy and his father looked at the handsome fish, gills playing back and forth in the moonlight. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10 P.M.-- two hours before the season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy.
“You’ll have to put it back, son,” he said.
“Dad!” cried the boy.
“There will be other fish,” said his father.
“Not as big as this one,” cried the boy.
He looked around the lake. No other fishermen or boats were anywhere around in the moonlight. He looked again at his father. Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he caught the fish, the boy could tell by the clarity of his father’s voice that the decision was not negotiable(可协商的). He slowly worked the hook out of the lip of the huge bass and lowered it into the black water.
The creature swished its powerful body and disappeared. The boy suspected that he would never again see such a great fish.
That was 34 years ago. Today, the boy is a successful architect in New York City. His father’s cabin is still there on the island in the middle of the lake. He takes his own son and daughters fishing from the same dock.
And he was right. He has never again caught such a magnificent fish as the one he landed that night long ago. But he does see that same fish-again and again-every time he comes up against a question of ethics (道德规范). Why did the father ask his son to put the perch back?
A.Because the father disliked the perch. |
B.Because the father was afraid of being fined |
C.Because the ethics must be obeyed. |
D.Because the son was more experienced in fishing than his father. |
When does the architect (the father’s son) think of that perch put back?
A.When he takes his own and son and daughters fishing from the same dock. |
B.When he builds many famous buildings. |
C.When he pays a visit to his old father. |
D.When he faces some problems about ethics. |
Which word can not be used to describe the boy’s father?
A.honest | B.noble-minded | C.caring | D.generous |
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop giant Michael Jackson, who took to the stage as a child star, died on Thursday, TMZ website reported. He was 50.
There was no official confirmation of the reported death and spokespersons for Jackson could not be reached for comment. "We’ve just learned Michael Jackson has died," TMZ said. "Michael suffered a cardiac(心脏的) arrest earlier this afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. We’re told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back," the entertainment site said. It added, "A source tells us Jackson was dead when paramedics arrived."
Earlier, the Los Angeles Times said the singer had been rushed to a Los Angeles-area hospital by fire department paramedics who found him not breathing when they arrived at the singer’s home.The newspaper said paramedics performed perfectly at the scene before taking him to the UCLA Medical Center hospital. Jackson had been due to start a series of comeback concerts in London on July 13 running until March 2010. The singer, whose hits included "Thriller" and "Billie Jean," had been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the past two months. The shows for the 50 London concerts sold out within minutes of going on sale in March.
His lifetime record sales tally is believed to be around 750 million, which, added to the 13 Grammy Awards he received, makes him one of the most successful entertainers of all time. There were concerns about Jackson’s health in recent years but the promoters of the London shows, AEG Live, said in March that Jackson had passed a 4-1/2 hour physical examination with independent doctors.What does the underlined word paramedics probably mean?
A.the persons who attend at home. |
B.relatives or friends |
C.the persons who give emergency medical treatment |
D.the artists together with Jackson |
What is the reason of Jackson’s death?
A.He was too tired before his death. |
B.He was so lonely that nobody looked after him. |
C.Maybe Jackson was too excited when he was invited by London. |
D.The text didn’t tell us. |
If Jackson had not died, he __________.
A.would be taken care of by the doctors. |
B.would not practise singing any more. |
C.would give some concerts in London soon. |
D.would retire as a result of his bad health. |
The underlined the singer probably refers to _______.
A.TMZ | B.AEG | C.Michael Jackson | D.unknown |
Kids who receive special education are, without doubt, the hardest working children in any school. When they are having difficulty learning basic literacy and number concepts, when they break rules, when they need more services, support and adult attention than their peers, then they are struggling the hardest. In psychology, we are trained to think that if we are feeling angry or confused when sitting with a patient, then we are probably feeling just what our patient is feeling. The same is true for students with disabilities. Whatever we feel when we work with them, they are probably feeling as they work with us.
If you have a disability that affects your education, then you have a brain disorder. Because education, even in mathematics, is largely verbal(用言辞), most brain disorders responsible for educational disabilities affect language, and how you process words and ideas in written and oral form. To imagine how much effort a child with a language disability spends each school day, imagine yourself attending a school today taught in a language you had a basic understanding of. Imagine though, that while you seem fluent to others, you have trouble when people talk too fast, use idioms or expressions.
When adults and classmates blame, or criticize kids who receive special education, they are struggling with their own confusion. It is difficult to imagine the world as it is lived by someone with an educational disability. It is difficult to understand how someone who can be so "normal" can have so many problems. It is so easy to imagine that if they just tried harder... without understanding that just to do the ordinary, kids with disabilities are making an extraordinary effort.What is the purpose of the author by writing the passage?
A.to introduce how hard to be a special education teacher. |
B.to think highly of the children with disabilities. |
C.to show the disabled have much trouble in understanding. |
D.to call on the society to care for the disabled. |
If a disabled kid learns number concepts, he __________.
A.won’t work as hard as a normal. |
B.will work double as hard as a normal. |
C.will be as patient as the normal. |
D.will think of his disability first. |
If a kid has a disability affecting his education, he will ________.
A.have a hard time using the language. |
B.be too foolish to learn maths . |
C.not![]() |
D.have a lot of trouble in remembering words. |
Before you intend to blame a kid receiving
special education, __________.
A.you should try to understand what he is saying. |
B.you should imagine the world he lives in. |
C.you should imagine yourself in his shoes. |
D.you should think of the education he has received. |
A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.
As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, "With all your money you give me a Bible?" He then stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.
Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realizing his father was very old, he thought perhaps he should go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make the arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.
When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he was reading, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words. "PAID IN FULL".
How many times do we miss blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.
Sometimes we don't realize the good fortune we have or we could have because we expect "the packaging" to be different. What may appear as bad fortune may in fact be the door that is just waiting to be opened.According to the passage we can infer that _________.
A.the author’s father was once very rich. |
B.the author’s father didn’t love him. |
C.the author’s father had not enough money to buy a run car. |
D.the author’s thought was wildly unrealistic. |
When author graduated from his school, his father sent him _________.
A.a beautiful run car | B.a new leather-bound Bible |
C.a gift he hoped for | D.only an empty box |
After graduation, author _________ before his father died.
A.often went to see his father | B.had never gone home |
C.went home once in the while | D.always contacted his father by phone |
The passage can imply that _________.
A.Good fortune lies within bad, bad fortune lurks within good. |
B.The author’s father didn’t understand his child. |
C.where there is a will, there is a way. |
D.Every man is the son of his own works. |
One fine day, an old couple around the age of 70, walks into a lawyer's office. Apparently, they are there to file a divorce. Lawyer was very puzzled, after having a chat with them, he got their story.
This couple had been quarreling all their 40 years of marriage nothing ever seems to go right. They hang on because of their children, afraid that it might affect their up-bringing. Now, all their children have already grown up, have their own family, there's nothing else the old couple have to worry about, all they wanted is to lead their own life free from all these years of unhappiness from their marriage, so both agree on a divorce.
While they were signing the papers, the wife told the husband. “I really love you, but I really can't carry on anymore, I'm sorry.” "It's OK, I understand." said the husband. Little did she know that, over the years, the husband has been trying all ways to please her, little did she know that drumsticks were the husband's favorite. Little did he know that she never thought he understands her at all, little did he know that she hates drumsticks even though all he wants is the best for her.
That night, both of them couldn't sleep, toss and turn, toss and turn. After hours, the old man couldn't take it anymore, he knows that he still loves her, and he can't carry on life without her, he wants her back, he wants to tell her, he is sorry, he wants to tell her, "I love you." He picked up the phone, started dialing her number. Ringing never stops. He never stops dialing.
On the other side, she was sad, she couldn't understand how come after all these years, he still doesn't understand her at all, she loves him a lot, but she just can't take it any more. Phone's ringing, she refuses to answer knowing that it's him. "I want to keep it this way, if not I will lose face. "She thought. Phone is still ringing. She has decided to pull out the cord. Little did she remember, he had heart problems.
The next day, she received news that he had passed away. She rushed down to his apartment, saw his body, lying on the couch still holding on to the phone. He had a heart attack when he was still trying to get through(接通) her phone line.The old couple wanted to file a divorce because __________.
A.they had no child. | B.their children didn’t like ![]() |
C.they didn’t understand each other actually. | D.the old man didn’t love the old woman. |
Why didn’t they file a divorce before they were at the age of 70?
A.Because they were loving each other then. |
B.Because they had no time to lawyer’s office. |
C.Because they wanted to make their divorce open. |
D.Because they didn’t wish to affect their children’s up-bringing. |
According to the passage we can know that ______.
A.the old man still loved his wife really. | B.the wife didn’t love her husband at all. |
C.their children still lived with old couple. | D.they were in harmony over 40 years. |
After the last paragraph the old woman would be _______.
A.wild with joy | B.wild with grief | C.un![]() |
D.angry at that |
Unfortunately, I believe that happiness escapes mostly because they misunderstand the process and journey of finding it. I have heard many people say that, “I’ll be happy when I get my new promotion.” or “I’ll be happy when I earn that extra 20 pounds.” The list goes on and on. You probably have a few of your own you could add if you want.
This thinking is dangerous because it presupposes that happiness is a “response” to having, being or doing something. In life, we all experience stimulus and response. Stimulus is when a dog barks at you and bares his teeth. Response is when your heart beats faster, your palms get sweaty and you prepare to run. Today, some people think that an expensive car is a stimulus. Happiness is a response. A great paying job is a stimulus. Happiness is a response. A loving relationship is a stimulus. Happiness is a response. This belief leaves us thinking and feeling: “I’ll be happy when…”
It has been my finding that actually the opposite is true. I believe that happiness is a stimulus and response is what life brings to those who are truly happy. When we are happy, we tend to have more success in our work. When we are happy, people want to be around us and enjoy loving relationships. When we are happy, we more naturally take better care of our bodies and enjoy good health. Happiness is NOT a response — rather, it is a stimulus.
Happiness is a conscious choice we make every day of our lives. For unknown reason to me, many choose to be painful, unsuccessful and angry most of the time. Happiness is not something that happens to us after we get something we want — we usually get things we want AFTER we choose to be happy.
I have made only one simple rule for my own happiness: Every day above ground is a GOOD day. Therefore, I tend to have a lot of good (and happy) days continually.The second paragraph mainly tells us that people seek happiness_______.
A.in the same way![]() |
B.in different ways | C.by working hard | D.by taking drugs |
What does the underlined phrase “This thinking” refer to?
A.The thinking of being promoted. |
B.The giving up of happiness. |
C.The process and journey of finding happiness. |
D.The misunderstanding of happiness. |
The underlined word “stimulus” in para.4 probably means_______.
A.something causes an action | B.somethin![]() |
C.attention | D.improvement |
The purpose of
the author in writing this passage is to________.
A.tell people how to enjoy happiness |
B.encourage people to seek happiness |
C.express his attitude towards happiness |
D.criticize the wrong ideas about happiness |