Long ago there was a poor farmer in Russia. He had been very with everything he had. However, when he found his elder brother was than him, he felt disappointed. So he hard about how he could also be richer. Finally he got an idea. He started to spend less money on food and clothes to some money to buy more land. Once he had enough money, he started for land.
He that on the neighboring land, there were some nomads (游牧民) living there. He bought some gifts and went to their head. He presented the gifts to the head and told him the of his visit. The head welcomed him, accepted the gifts and agreed to his to get the land. The head told him that he could have the land giving him anything. He can take as much land as he could by walking through the land before sunset (日落). He should start in the morning and whatever distance he could travel during the , he could have it.
The farmer became very when he heard this offer. Now he could have lots of without paying anything. He came the next morning and started running, not walking, he could cover the largest area. To reach his goal, he neither ate food, nor drank water, nor had any rest. He just continued . Without eating, or drinking, or resting he just got very . When he came back to the head in the evening, he right on the spot. Sadly his son buried him in a piece of land about 6 x 4 feet.
Don’t be greedy (贪婪的) or you will everything finally.
A．careful B．pleased C．bored D．busy
A．healthier B．stronger C．richer D．cleverer
A．thought B．learned C．tried D．worked
A．borrow B．spend C．make D．save
A．waiting B．looking C．preparing D．caring
A．explained B．hoped C．noticed D．guessed
A．see B．follow C．help D．cheat
A．chance B．result C．condition D．purpose
A．promise B．request C．suggestion D．order
A．for B．by C．without D．before
A．cover B．farm C．buy D．have
A．year B．month C．week D．day
A．interested B．sad C．happy D．calm
A．land B．crop C．experience D．knowledge
A．quietly B．early C．finally D．suddenly
A．so that B．even if C．because D．whether
A．dreaming B．walking C．speaking D．running
A．nervous B．excited C．tired D．worried
A．refused B．died C．appeared D．rested
A．lose B．face C．change D．defeat
Don’t Wait Until Flowers Fade
Each spring brings a new blossom of wildflowers in the ditches (路沟) along the highway I travel daily to work.
There is one blue flower that has always my eye. I’ve noticed that it blooms only in the morning hours, and the afternoon sun is too warm it. Every day for approximately two weeks, I see those beautiful .
This spring, I started a wildflower garden in our yard. I can look out of the window while doing the dishes and see the flowers. I’ve often thought that those lovely blue flowers from the ditch would look in that bed alongside wildflowers.
Everyday I drove the flowers thinking, “I’ll stop on my way home and dig them.” “Gee, I don’t want to get my good clothes ...” Whatever the reason, I never stopped to dig them. My husband gave me a folding shovel(铁锹) one year to be used for that purpose.
One day on my way home from work, I was to see that the highway department had moved the ditches and the pretty blue flowers were gone. I thought to myself, “Way to go, you too long. You it when you first saw them blooming this spring.”
A week ago we were shocked and saddened to learn that my oldest sister-in-law has a terminal brain tumor(脑瘤晚期). She is 20 years older than my husband and , because of age and distance, we haven’t been as as we all would have liked.
I couldn’t help but see the between the pretty blue flowers and the between my husband’s sister and us. I do believe that God has given us some time left to plant some valuable that will bloom every year for us.
And yes, if I see the blue flowers again, you can bet I'll stop and them to my wildflower garden
A．sweet B．interesting C．different D．particular
A．fascinated B．struck C．caught D．charm
A．for B．to C．with D．on
A．plants B．flowers C．ones D．wilds
A．open B．main hall C．front D．kitchen
A．great B．well C．horrible D．ugly
A．many B．various C．other D．colorful
A．passed B．past C．pass D．pasted
A．damaged B．ready C．dirty D．smelly
A．ever B．once C．never D．even
A．expressed B．temporary C．unfinished D．permanent
A．annoying B．saddened C．interested D．helpless
A．wasted B．ignored C．thought D．waited
A．would have done B．need have done C．should have done D．muse have done
A．unconsciously B．fortunately C．unfortunately D．consciously
A．close B．closely C．closed D．near
A．connection B．difference C．meaning D．significance
A．friendship B．relationship C．support D．relative
A．trees B．memories C．species D．roses
A．dig B．rescue C．transmit D．transplant
In the middle of a beautiful day, I was feeling lost, as if the world was crashing on me. didn't know which way to go, except to head out to the countryside. I went to the spot where I used to take my kids-when I still had kids. Now they had and were leaving.
I was sitting alone in my car when I saw a man in his seventies, whose problem appeared bigger than mine. He stood near the edge of the road, a kite spindle(风筝线锭) in his hands. Apparently, lost in thought, he stared skyward. I my neck to see how successful he had been in the clouds. Following his string with my eyes, I almost lost 0f the other end. Finally, the kite rested on what seemed to be the highest branch of the tree in the park. Obviously, that was his grandson's kite! The kite was a replica (复制品) of a beautiful bald eagle, and its wings spread 0pen. Grandpa had only one to his problem: cut the string.
"You wanted it to fly as high as it could. Bill. didn't you?" "Yes, Grandpa, wanted to keep it forever. " "There just comes a time when the only thing you can do is to cut the string and let it go. Perhaps by doing that, when it flies very high like real eagles do, it will come back to us. " Grandpa said.
I how the old man cut the string to let fly the kite. As the two walked away, looked to the . There I saw my answer, too. Today I have to cut the final strings that kept my two boys my reach. Though I want to keep them forever, I have taught them to fly like an eagle. Maybe by doing this, when it's time to soar like real eagles do. one day they would come back to me.
A．grown up B．turned up C．picked up D．taken up
A．carrying B．grabbing C．keeping D．holding
A．raised B．spread C．stretched D．expanded
A．reaching B．touching C．getting D．climbing
A．scene B．sight C．interest D．control
A．thickest B．strongest C．tallest D．largest
A．widely B．wide C．tightly D．closely
A．method B．hope C．solution D．result
A．and B．so C．or D．but
A．sensed B．glanced C．watched D．found
A．car B．sky C．kite D．tree
A．within B．in C．beyond D．with
Most people believe they don’t have much imagination. They are ____. Everyone has imagination, but most of us, once we become adults, forget how to ____ it. Creativity isn’t always ____ with great works of art or ideas. People at work and in their free time ____ think of creative ways to solve problems. Maybe you have a goal to achieve, a tricky question to answer or you just want to expand your mind! Here are three techniques to help you.
Making connections This technique involves taking ____ ideas and trying to find links between them. First, think about the problem you have to solve or the job you need to do. Then find an image, word, idea or object, for example, a candle. Write down all the ideas/words ____ with candles: light, fire, matches, wax, night, silence, etc. Think of as many as you can. The next stage is to relate the ____ to the job you have to do. So imagine you want to buy a friend an original ____; you could buy him tickets to a match or take him out for the night.
No limits! Imagine that normal limitations don’t ____. You have as much time/space/money, etc. as you want. Think about your goal and the new ____. If your goal is to learn to ski, ____, you can now practice skiing every day of your life (because you have the time and the money). Now ____ this to reality. Maybe you can practice skiing every day in December, or every Monday in January.
Be someone else! Look at the situation from a ____ point of view. Good businessmen use this technique in trade, and so do writers. Fiction writers often imagine they are the ___ in their books. They ask questions: What does this character want? Why can’t she get it? What changes must she make to get what she wants? If your goal involves other people, put yourself in their ____. The best fishermen think like fish!
A．wrong B．unbelievable C．reasonable D．realistic
A．put up with B．catch up with C．make use of D．keep track of
A．equipped B．compared C．covered D．connected
A．skillfully B．routinely C．vividly D．deeply
A．familiar B．unrelated C．creative D．imaginary
A．presented B．marked C．lit D．associated
A．ideas B．ambitious C．achievement D．technique
A．experience B．service C．present D．object
A．work B．last C．exist D．change
A．possibilities B．limitations C．tendency D．practice
A．in fact B．in particular C．as a whole D．for example
A．devote B．adapt C．lead D．keep
A．private B．global C．different D．practical
A．features B．themes C．creatures D．characters
A．positions B．dreams C．images D．directions
How often do you change your hairstyle or ask for new dresses? You may be __ to follow trends in Western countries, but young people in the United States don’t care as much about__ as you do.
A recent survey among high school ____ in China, Japan, South Korea and the US found that __ teenagers care more about their appearance than young people in the US.
This survey was held in 156 high schools in the four countries. More than 7,000 teenagers were__ about their views on life and the world. South Koreans, at 83 percent, cared most about their looks. They were__ by the Chinese and Japanese, while US students showed the least interest in fashion at only 33 percent.
“The different results show ___ of cultural background,” said Sun Yunxiao from the China Youth and Children Research Centre. He explained that in the US there are many different__ of beauty, so teens are more__ to be confident about their appearance.
US teenagers’ high self-confidence is displayed in the___ . About 85 percent are happy with themselves. The percentage of self-confident Chinese students stands at only 30 percent.
What’s __ , US students showed more individuality, with 88 percent____ _ that “people should follow their own interests rather than__ of others”. This is much__ than South Korea’s 69 percent, China’s 49 and Japan’s 48.
Japanese students, at 52 percent, are most dissatisfied with modern society. Chinese and Koreans follow at second and___ most dissatisfied.
“__ to the survey, Chinese students are happy and disciplined. They have a strong wish to make a difference.__ Chinese students need to be more independent and learn how to relax,” said Sun.
The students have different___ backgrounds. But home and places where friends gather are the favorite places all teens seek happiness.
Exams and worries about life after graduation cause much___ _ among most of the teens ____ for the survey.
A．absorbed B．willing C．careless D．unhappy
A．hairstyle B．dresses C．fashion D．culture
A．teachers B．students C．citizens D．colleagues
A．Asian B．American C．African D．Western
A．answered B．requested C．persuaded D．questioned
A．followed B．decreased C．reduced D．compared
A．relations B．barriers C．customs D．differences
A．awareness B．standards C．consciences D．expenses
A．admirable B．confused C．likely D．unbelievable
A．survey B．setting C．reference D．paper
A．worse B．better C．less D．more
A．disagreeing B．observing C．agreeing D．puzzling
A．those B．that C．it D．one
A．lower B．larger C．smaller D．higher
A．first B．third C．fourth D．last
A．leading B．devoting C．appealing D．According
A．But B．And C．So D．Or
A．political B．cultural C．economical D．commercial
A．expectation B．hesitation C．concern D．ambition
A．interviewed B．advised C．overlooked D．invested
Failure，they say, is the best teacher. We learn and have more confidence in what we know through trial and error, which onetime or another has failure. You don’t have to your failure if what you really want to achieve is .
For every achievement, there have been one or more failures. But those who we call successful are those who to accept failure and believe success is the other side of failure. The incandescent light (白炽灯) was after 1,000 failures. If Thomas Edison had after he tried 100 times without the desired result, what would have been the of such effort?
Any time you see products and new inventions, think in terms of failures that are not accepted. everything in a microform (微缩过程) today is a result of failure not accepted.
Any time your effort is not bringing a(n) result, you don’t have to call it a failure. Call it a challenge. What is the between the two? One is negative, the other is ; one demotivates , the other motivates.
What you need is positive thinking and motivation to success. Failure is an end thing; is an open thing. Failure means there is no way out, no alternative, but a challenge is a question mark another way out of the situation, an alternative to the problem.
Keep dreaming, keep moving; that is the solution to success.
A wise man once said if you cannot fly, run. If you cannot ,walk. If you cannot walk, crawl; just keep moving. If you fall down, you have to and start moving. If not, other people will step on you towards their . What you call failure and is what someone will step into with just a little additional effort to reach achievement.
A．come from B．resulted in C．resulted from D．come across
A．deny B．receive C．accept D．gain
A．dreams B．imaginations C．barriers D．success
A．successful B．creative C．difficult D．important
A．prepare B．try C．refuse D．attempt
A．used B．discovered C．found D．invented
A．forgot B．stopped C．regretted D．succeeded
A．meaning B．importance C．result D．cause
A．Moreover B．Therefore C．However D．Otherwise
A．desired B．imagined C．poor D．final
A．similarity B．characteristic C．relationship D．difference
A．reasonable B．meaningful C．positive D．beneficial
A．achieve B．enjoy C．miss D．avoid
A．chance B．motivation C．challenge D．effort
A．reflecting B．asking C．suggesting D．offering
A．response B．key C．entrance D．solution
A．rise B．fly C．run D．stand
A．lie flat B．get up C．sit still D．run away
A．advantage B．destination C．achievement D．strength
A．quit B．hate C．prefer D．continue