Since my family were not going to be helpful, I decided I would look for one all by myself and not tell them about it till I’d got one.
I had seen an agency (中介机构) advertised in a local newspaper. I rushed out of the 1 in search of it. I was wildly excited, and as 2 as if I were going on the stage. Finding the 3 quite easily, I ran breathlessly through a door which said “Enter without knocking, if you please.”
The simple atmosphere of the office 4 me. The woman looked carefully at me 5 through her glasses, and then 6 me in a low voice. I answered softly. All of a sudden I started to feel rather 7 . She wondered why I was looking for this sort of 8 . I felt even more helpless when she told me that it would be 9 to get a job without 10 . I wondered whether I ought to leave, 11 the telephone on her desk rang. I heard her say: “ 12 , I’ve got someone in the 13 at this very moment who might 14 .” She wrote down a 15 , and held it out to me, saying: “ Ring up this lady. She wants a 16 immediately. In fact, you would have to start tomorrow by cooking a dinner for ten people.”
“ Oh yes,” said I — 17 having cooked for more than four in my life. I 18 her again and again, and rushed out to the 19 telephone box. I collected my thoughts, took a deep breath, and rang the number. I said confidently that I was just what she was looking for. I spent the next few hours 20 cook books.
A. bed B house C. agency D. office
A．proud B．pleased C．nervous D．worried
A．family B．door C．place D．stage
A．calmed B．excited C．frightened D．disturbed
A．as usual B．for a while C．in a minute D．once again
A．advised B．examined C．informed D．questioned
A．encouraged B．dissatisfied C．hopeless D．pleased
A．place B．job C．advice D．help
A．difficult B．helpless C．possible D．unusual
A．ability B．experience C．knowledge D．study
A．after B．since C．until D．when
A．Above all B．As a matter of fact C．As a result D．In spite of that
A．family B．house C．office D．restaurant
A．hire B．accept C．suit D．offer
A．letter B．name C．note D．number
A．cook B．help C．teacher D．secretary
A．almost B．never C．nearly D．really
A．answered B．promised C．thanked D．told
A．outside B．local C．closest D．nearest
A．borrowing B．buying C．reading D．writing
The day I was given the news was a cold Saturday. My mom sat me on the floor and opened her mouth to give me the most words I'd ever heard: “Grandma Billie has been diagnosed with cancer.” Tears filled my eyes immediately. Mom continued, “Grandma is old and her body is too . There’s nothing they can do to treat her.” I knew this wasn't my mom’s fault but I was so . I was almost yelling at my mom, “So, they’re just going to let her ?”
We had to just wait for her to die. I couldn't even the thought. We went to the hospital right away. The doctor said, “Billie has a tumor in her . She won't be able to because it hurts her too much. One option is a feeding tube, but there are times when it will be uncomfortable.” At the end, the doctor sighed, “With a feeding tube, she would probably have three at most.”
My whole family on my mom’s side was really and they were all looking to God to make this easy. I couldn't handle it. If God was so wonderful and so then why did he allow all these awful things to happen to good people? Why was he letting my grandma die?
I came and visited every day after practice. Grandma would tell me the stories over and over again, but every time I was just as surprised and excited to hear them. She was getting really fast and every time I came to see her it broke my heart more.
3 weeks later, after the softball practice, I was getting ready to see grandma when mom appeared in the locker room. She opened her mouth but at first no words came out. She again, “You can’t go to see grandma today because she just died.” Silence. I couldn’t anyone else in the room. Mom sat next to me and we both held each other and cried.
A．unforgettable B．regretful C．painful D．indescribable
A．weak B．small C．pale D．thin
A．sad B．mad C．desperate D．anxious
A．pass B．suffer C．go D．die
A．bear B．hate C．take D．dismiss
A．skin B．breast C．throat D．lung
A．feed B．eat C．breathe D．digest
A．years B．months C．days D．hours
A．ambitious B．religious C．mysterious D．cautious
A．delightful B．peaceful C．pitiful D．powerful
A．softball B．school C．social D．music
A．short B．strange C．dull D．same
A．happier B．older C．better D．worse
A．tried B．said C．cried D．opened
A．see B．sense C．hear D．feel
Some years ago when I was in my first year in college, Iheard Salome Bey sing for the first time. The moment was exciting. Salome’s filled the room and brought the theater life. I was so that I decided to write an article about her.
I Salome Bey, telling her I was from Essence magazine, and that I wanted to meet her to talk about her career. She and told me to come to her studio next Tuesday. When I hung up, I was scared out of my mind. I I told a lie. I was not a writer at all and hadn’t even written a grocery list.
I interviewed Salome Bey the next Tuesday. I sat there , taking notes and asking questions that all began with, “Can you please tell me…” I soon realized that Salome Bey was one thing, but writing a story for a national magazine was quite . The pressure was hard to .Then I struggled for days wondering what to write. Finally I put my manuscript (手稿) into a large envelope and it into a mailbox.
It didn’t take long. My manuscript . How stupid of me! I thought. How could I compete in a world of professional writers? Knowing I couldn’t the rejection letter(拒绝信), I threw the unopened envelope into a drawer.
Five years later, I was moving to California. While my apartment, I came across the unopened envelope. This time I opened it and read the editor’s letter in .
Ms. Profit,
Your story on Salome Bey is . Yet we need some more relevant(相关的) materials. Please 52 those and return the article immediately. We would like to publish your story soon.
Shocked, it took me a long time to get better. I lost at least five hundred dollars and the chance of having my article in a major magazine. More importantly, I lost years of writing. Today, I have become a full-time writer. Looking back on this experience, I’ve learned a very important lesson: You can’t to doubt yourself.
A．voice B．joy C．smile D．speech
A．in B．on C．to D．with
A．proud B．moved C．satisfied D．active
A．visited B．emailed C．interviewed D．phoned
A．refused B．agreed C．hesitated D．stopped
A．explained B．discovered C．knew D．replied
A．seriously B．nervously C．patiently D．quietly
A．fooling B．telling C．inviting D．thanking
A．the other B．the others C．others D．another
A．reduce B．believe C．understand D．stand
A．landed B．gave C．dropped D．hold
A．disappeared B．improved C．spread D．returned
A．face B．send C．forget D．receive
A．moving B．repairing C．leaving D．cleaning
A．anxiety B．disbelief C．fright D．trouble
A．strange B．normal C．awful D．fantastic
A．increase B．change C．add D．mix
A．show B．appear C．write D．read
A．energetic B．enjoyable C．boring D．endless
A．afford B．try C．expect D．pretend
Dear Malia and Sasha,
I know that you’ve both had a lot of these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn’t have let you have. But I also know that it hasn’t always been easy for you and Mom, and that even though you both are excited about that new puppy, it doesn’t for all the time we’ve been apart. I know I’ve missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.
When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me—about how I’d my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never to fill my heart and light up my day.
I want all our children to go to schools of their potential—schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill (灌输) in them a sense of about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college their parents aren’t rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own and retire with dignity.
I want us to the boundaries of discovery so that you’ll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach the divides of race and region, gender and religion that us from seeing the best in each other.
That was the your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean .
She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better and that the work of perfecting our union falls to each of us.It’s a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to we know America should be.
These are the things I want for you, to in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That’s why I’ve taken our family on this great adventure.
I am so proud of both of you. I love you you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, self-confidence, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.
Love, Dad
A．play B．fun C．pain D．gain
A．take up B．pick up C．make up D．put up
A．how much B．how many C．how soon D．how long
A．lose B．make C．take D．walk
A．world B．family C．position D．place
A．succeed B．come C．tend D．fail
A．worth B．worthless C．worthwhile D．worthy
A．humor B．happiness C．wonder D．sadness
A．even if B．as if C．as D．now that
A．friends B．kids C．boys D．girls
A．rush B．catch C．push D．pull
A．to B．in C．into D．beyond
A．keep B．let C．make D．warn
A．way B．method C．means D．lesson
A．quantity B．quality C．equality D．quarter
A．everything B．something C．anything D．nothing
A．unfinished B．finished C．unfinishing D．finishing
A．which B．who C．what D．that
A．wake up B．grow up C．come up D．get up
A．rather than B．other than C．less than D．more than
Friends are very important in our everyday life. When in trouble, we need friends to us encouragement and help. As a human being, one can hardly do anything without a friend, life without friends will be a lonely voyage in the vast dark sea . Everyone friends. We all like to feel close to someone. is nice to have a friend to talk to, laugh, and do things . , sometimes we need to be alone. We don’t always want people . But we would feel lonely if we had a friend.
A person should make as many friends as he can. The more friends he has, the meaningful his life will be. No two people are . Friends don’t get on well. That doesn’t mean that they no longer like each other. Most of the time they will make up (言归于好) and become again.
Sometimes friends move away. Then we feel very 33 . We miss them very much, but we can them and write to them. And we can new friends. It is encouraging to find out how we like new people when we get to know them.
There’s more good news for people who have friends. They live than people who don’t. Why? Friends can make us feel happy. happy helps you stay well. Or it could be just done that someone cares. If someone cares about you, you take care of .
A．bring B．take C．offer D．buy
A．for B．so C．but D．yet
A．loves B．hates C．needs D．becomes
A．It B．He C．There D．Someone
A．at B．in C．on D．with
A．Hardly B．Nearly C．Suddenly D．Certainly
A．alone B．away C．all over D．around
A．ever B．never C．just D．really
A．more B．much C．little D．less
A．friendly B．kind C．just the same D．quite different
A．always B．sometimes C．often D．usually
A．friendly B．good C．pleased D．friends
A．angry B．sad C．happy D．alone
A．call B．ask C．tell D．talk with
A．look for B．find C．make D．know
A．long B．much C．far D．many
A．Longer B．shorter C．slower D．faster
A．Smelling B．Being C．Sounding D．Making
A．less B．better C．little D．no
A．you B．your C．yours D．yourself
One miserable rainy night, a man named Mark decided to end his life. In his mid-fifties, Mark had never been married, the joy of having children or spent holidays with his family. Wet and unhappy, he walked along the streets, feeling as if there was in the entire world that cared about whether he lived or died , I was sitting in my room watching the rain hit my window. When I heard the doorbell ring, I jumped from my chair and out. But my mother was already at the door. Opening it, she found herself face-to-face with a very dirty-looking man with tears streaming down his face. My mother, overcome by , invited the man inside, and he sat with my parents in our living room．
, I walked secretly downstairs so that I could get a better look. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but the of the man, holding his head in his hands and crying, made my chest ache(胸口疼痛). I raced back to my room and stuck(伸进) my hand into my money jar. Pulling out my only half-dollar coin, I ran back downstairs.
When I the door of the living room, I walked right in .The three adults looked at me in as I quickly made my way over the stranger. I put the half-dollar in his hand and told him that I wanted him to have it. Then I gave him a , turned and ran as fast as I could out of the room and back upstairs. I felt excited but happy.
Downstairs, Mark sat quietly with his head bowed(低着) . Tears streamed down his face as he tightly held that coin. Finally looking at my parents, he said, “It’s that I thought nobody cared. For the last twenty years, I have been so . That is the first hug(拥抱) I have ever got. It’s hard to believe that somebody .”
Mark’s life changed that night. When he left our house, he was to live instead of die. we never saw Mark again, we received letters from him every once in a while, letting us know that he was doing fine.
My life changed that night, too, as I witnessed the huge healing power of , even if it’s only a gift of fifty cents.
Before Mark left, my parents asked him why he had knocked on our door. Mark said that he’d walked along the streets that rainy night, helpless and ready to , he had noticed a sticker(贴纸) on the car. It read: SOMEBODY LOVES YOU.
A．believed B．noticed C．experienced D．understood
A．everybody B．somebody C．anybody D．nobody
A．Later B．First C．Afterwards D．Meanwhile
A．looked B．raced C．spoke D．broke
A．pity B．anxiety C．guilty D．fear
A．Worried B．Curious C．Puzzled D．Annoyed
A．sense B．thought C．sight D．look
A．upstairs B．downstairs C．in D．out
A．answered B．fixed C．found D．reached
A．anger B．delight C．peace D．surprise
A．hug B．kiss C．smile D．handshake
A．down B．away C．up D．into
A．just B．still C．also D．even
A．anxious B．stressed C．lonely D．bored
A．cares B．gets C．makes D．knows
A．lucky B．proud C．hesitant(犹豫) D．ready
A．Since B．When C．Although D．Unless
A．receiving B．giving C．loving D．taking
A．if B．as C．until D．before
A．die B．cry C．leave ` D．Regret