A few weeks after my first wife, Georgia, was called to heaven, I was cooking dinner for my son and myself. For a _ , I had decided on frozen peas. As I was cutting open the bag, it ________from my hand and crashed to the floor. The peas, like marbles, _______everywhere. I tried to use a broom, ____ with each sweep they just rolled across the kitchen.
For the next week, every time I was in the ____, I found a pea---in a corner, or behind a table leg. They kept _____. Eight months later I pulled out the refrigerator to clean behind it, and ____ 12 frozen peas hidden underneath.
At the time I found those few remaining ____, I was in a new relationship with a wonderful ____ I’d met in a support group. After we married, I was reminded ____ those peas under the refrigerator, and realized that my ____ had been like that bag of frozen peas. It had shattered. My wife had died; I was in a new city with a busy job, and with a son having trouble___ his new surroundings and the ____ of his mother. I was a bag of spilled frozen peas; my life had come apart and scattered.
When life gets you ____, when everything you know comes apart, and when you think you’ll never ____, remember that it’s just a bag of scattered frozen peas. The peas can be ___, and life will move on. You’ll find all the peas ___, including the ones that are hardest to find. And when you’ve got them ___, you’ll start to feel whole again.
The life you know can break apart at any time. But you’ll have to ____, and how fast you collect your peas depends on you. Will you keep scattering them around with a broom, __will you pick them up one by one and put your life back together?
A．drink B．fruit C．vegetable D．meat
A．moved B．walked C．ran D．slipped
A．rubbed B．rolled C．grew D．existed
A．but B．and C． although D． so
A．bedroom B．living room C．kitchen D．storeroom
A．getting B．turning up C．taking up D．using up
A．found B．ate C．left D．planted
A．presents B．cans C．vegetables D．peas
A．man B．child C．woman D．boy
A．of B．for C．with D．in
A．wife B．life C．son D．friend
A．turning to B．leading to C．adjusting to D．adding to
A．thank B．love C．help D．loss
A．down B．near C．close D．wide
A．get it B．make it C．take it D．leave it
A．grew B．bought C．collected D．frozen
A．eventually B．fortunately C．properly D．specially
A．both B．all C．either D．each
A．call on B．put on C．bring in D．move on
A．while B．because C．since D．or
God’s coffee
A group of class friends, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon 36 into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the 37 and returned with a large pot of coffee and a couple of 38 ---porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some 39 looking, some expensive, some delicate --- telling them to 40 themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in 41 , the professor said :“ If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, 42 behind the plain and cheap ones. Whiles it is normal for you to 43 only the best for yourselves, that is the 44 of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself 45 no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. 46 all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you 47 went for the best cups… And then you began __48___ each other’s cups. Now consider this: Life is the ___49____; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not 50 , nor change the quality of life we 51 . Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we 52 to enjoy the coffee God has 53 us. God brews the coffee, not the cups… Enjoy the coffee!”
The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just 54 the best of everything.
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the 55 to God.
A．stopped B．looked C．grew D．turned
A．living-room B．waiting-room C．bedroom D．kitchen
A．cups B．pans C．bowls D．bottles
A．plain B．clean C．ugly D．fine
A．devote B．help C．dedicate D．enjoy
A．stomach B．hand C．mind D．mouth
A．falling B．leaving C．hiding D．keeping
A．hope B．wish C．need D．want
A．source B．resource C．energy D．reason
A．adapts B．puts C．adds D．applies
A．As B．What C．That D．Which
A．consciously B．cheerfully C．deliberately D．bravely
A．looking B．glaring C．eyeing D．glancing
A．tea B．water C．wine D．coffee
A．sign B．mean C．define D．signal
A．spend B．live C．hate D．love
A．fail B．succeed C．tend D．manage
A．shown B．taken C．sent D．provided
A．keep B．take C．make D．hold
A．complex B．remains C．rest D．complaints
A boy came to a wise man living in a beautiful palace to learn about the secret of happiness. The wise man 31 with everyone in his palace, and the boy had to wait for long before his 32 . But the wise man told him he had no 33 to explain the secret of happiness then. He 34 the boy a teaspoon(茶匙) that held some drops of oil and said, “Please 35 the palace and return in two hours, but 36 this spoon without allowing the oil to spill (洒出).”
The boy wandered around, keeping his eyes 37 the spoon. After two hours, he returned.
“Well”, asked the wise man, “Did you see the wonderful 38 hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the 39 it took the gardener ten years to create? ”The boy’s 40 turned red. He said his only 41 was not to spill the oil.
“Then go back and 42 my palace”, said the wise man, “You cannot 43 a man if you don’t know his house”.
Relieved (放松下来),the boy picked up the 44 and returned to his exploration of the palace; this time observing all of the works of art and all the 45 in the garden. Upon returning to the wise man, he described in 46 everything he had seen.
“But where are the drops of oil I gave you?” asked the wise man. Looking 47 at the spoon he held, the boy saw the oil was48 .
“Well, this is the only 49 I can give you”, said the wise man, “The secret of happiness is to see all the wonders of the world and 50 to forget the drops of oil on the spoon”.
A．argued B．talked C．fought D．played
A．duty B．place C．turn D．distance
A．time B．room C．ability D．idea
A．bought B．made C．lent D．handed
A．get through B．look around C．tear down D．build up
A．carry B．hide C．weigh D．test
A．covered with B．reminding of C．escaping from D．fixed on
A．designs of dishes B．works of art C．vegetables of seasons D．carpets of colors
A．garden B．palace C．city D．hall
A．eyes B．hands C．face D．nose
A．business B．concern C．interest D．regret
A．find B．reach C．protect D．observe
A．trust B．greet C．cheat D．hate
A．chance B．spoon C．oil D．way
A．stones B．marks C．mystery D．beauty
A．trouble B．order C．detail D．return
A．down B．up C．over D．out
A．hot B．cold C．frozen D．gone
A．gift B．news C．advice D．reward
A．also B．even C．never D．always
On my birthday this year, I decided to do something very different. I had been 31 so much and I wanted to reach out to bring happiness to someone else. So, that 32 , I bought some flowers and went to a hospital. I had no 33 who I was going to present the flowers to, but I would find someone who needed 34 .
I asked the nurses in the hospital, who thought it 35 that I didn’t have anyone in particular to see. 36 , they gave me the room number of a(n) 37 lady, who needed some comfort.
I entered the room with the flowers. The elderly woman looked up, staring at me 38 . She was greatly moved when I told her about my 39in being there. She was an amputee(被截肢者) and she explained to me that she was very worried 40 they were going to fit her with prosthetic leg(假肢). She knew that as she was getting used to the “ 41 ”leg, she would be in 42 .
Later, in the following two hours, we 43 a lot and both felt very happy. I 44 until it was dark. I will always remember how 45 she was the moment she received the flowers from me—a 46 . She called me her angel and said she had no more 47 .
I 48 that story with my neighbor and she 49 that she was going to do the same thing on her birthday. And I hope that she will 50 others to be kind and do the same thing. You never know you might be considered someone’s angel one day.
A．shown B．told C．given D．bought
A．week B．afternoon C．hour D．night
A．belief B．sense C．message D．idea
A．paying attention to B．cheering up C．looking after D．looking down upon
A．strange B．lucky C．difficult D．true
A．Instead B．Still C．Besides D．Therefore
A．young B．old C．happy D．strong
A．angrily B．suddenly C．quickly D．confusedly
A．purpose B．experience C．failure D．trouble
A．unless B．but C．because D．until
A．thin B．long C．short D．new
A．surprise B．pain C．need D．sight
A．talked B．asked C．imagined D．smiled
A．worked B．stood C．stayed D．rested
A．busy B．shy C．disappointed D．moved
A．stranger B．friend C．relative D．doctor
A．fun B．interest C．fear D．challenge
A．repeated B．shared C．learned D．changed
A．agreed B．forgot C．joked D．promised
A．force B．warm C．allow D．encourage
A man was exploring caves by the seashore when he found a bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls．It was like someone had 36 the balls and left them out in the sun to bake．
They didn’t look like much, but they 37 the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him．As he walked along the beach, he 38 the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could．He thought little about it 39 he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open（裂开）on a rock．Inside was a beautiful, precious stone! 40 , the man started breaking open the 41 balls．Each contained a similar treasure．He found thousands of dollars’ 42 of jewels in the 20 or so leftover ones．
Then it 43 him．He’d been on the beach a long time, throwing maybe 50 or 60 of the balls, with their hidden treasure, into the 44 ．Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he 45 have taken home tens of thousands but he had just thrown it away!
It’s like that 46 people．We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, but we 47 see the clay shell．It doesn’t look like much from the 48 ．It isn’t always beautiful or shining, so we 49 it．We see that person as less important than someone more 50 or stylish or well known or wealthy．But we haven’t taken the time to find the treasure 51 inside that person．
There is a treasure in each and every one of us．If we take the time to get to know that person and ask God to show us that person the 52 he sees them, then the clay begins to 53 and the brilliant jewel begins to shine forth．May we not come to the 54 of our lives and find out that we’ve thrown away a 55 in friendships because the gems （宝石） were hidden in balls of clay! May we see the people in our world as God sees them．
A．invented B．rolled C．handled D．bounced
A．confused B．encouraged C．interested D．relaxed
A．dipped B．pushed C．kicked D．threw
A．until B．when C．since D．though
A．Frightened B．Determined C．Excited D．Disappointed
A．shining B．floating C．surviving D．remaining
A．worth B．value C．cost D．wealth
A．shocked B．rejected C．struck D．delighted
A．caves B．waves C．seashore D．storms
A．might B．must C．could D．should
A．with B．towards C．about D．between
A．hardly B．actually C．simply D．luckily
A．distance B．outside C．weight D．pattern
A．removed B．suspected C．ignored D．reserved
A．beautiful B．cautious C．positive D．grateful
A．lost B．hidden C．divided D．mixed
A．moment B．point C．degree D．way
A．come off B．break away C．take over D．fall down
A．sight B．best C．middle D．end
A．relation B．position C．fortune D．memory
I had planted different hot peppers in my garden. A Mexican fellow called Sam worked for me. He_36_ hot peppers, too. It was late summer and a beautiful sunny day. My son, Marcus, eight, and my daughter, Ellen, ten, picked several 37 hot peppers and entered our workroom, with their38 ．They wanted to see if Sam could 39 more hot peppers than I. After a little joking with them we agreed to the contest but they had to 40 ，too. That was not 41 terms for them so they left the room.
They 42 about an hour later with a new proposal and new hot peppers they had just picked． 43 they had reasoned that when a pepper was 44in color it was the hottest kind. Marcus and Ellen would eat the green colored peppers 45 Sam and I would eat the red colored peppers. Giving Sam a wink（使眼色），we 46 . Showing good sportsmanship（体育精神），I had the kids 47 the peppers that Sam and I would eat. They picked the largest two red peppers. Then they picked a 48 green one for themselves. Knowing what was going to 49 ，I told them I would make it 50 for them. I cut one pepper in half and removed the 51 to reduce the heat a little. The contest was one of speed rather than 52 ．Each child had pepper in hand and was 53 to start .
Looking at my 54 I said, OK, on three. One, Two, THREE. So much happened all at once. Tears, screams and spitting running around, the children 55 their mouth with fast waving hands. A short time later, Sam and I agreed that the red tasted better than the green.
A．ate B．liked C．sold D．studied
A．heavy B．colorful C．large D．green
A．proposal B．tricks C．imagination D．plans
A．plant B．pick C．harvest D．eat
A．taste B．participate C．contribute D．share
A．acceptable B．comfortable C．profitable D．tolerable
A．entered B．returned C．responded D．reached
A．Somehow B．Unfortunately C．Unexpectedly D．Anyhow
A．purple B．green C．red D．orange
A．while B．but C．so D．if
A．smiled B．understood C．agreed D．jumped．
A．prepare B．select C．cut D．cook
A．fresh B．small C．delicious D．hot
A．take in B．take on C．take place D．take effect
A．more convenient B．more interesting C．happier D．easier
A．seeds B．leaves C．skin D．flesh
A．time B．skill C．quality D．quantity
A．nervous B．eager C．willing D．glad
A．watch B．children C．partner D．pepper
A．opened B．covered C．fanned D．washed