I knew I could sing but I had to prove it. I don’t care what life gives me; I’ll it. It was my ninth time in front of a music executive to try to get a record deal. The first eight interviews had cold refusals.
When I found out the was at 6 a.m., I went a little crazy, for I had to get up very early in order to get to the audition (试唱) room on time. This audition was at the office of Sony Music’s president, John Grady. to sing songs for a man behind a desk, I was . It’s very hard to let someone whether you’re worthy of a commercial career in 10 minutes. But, in this business, it was something I had to do.
I grew up in a rural area. farming, there wasn’t much of a local economy. If one wanted new horizons, he had to learn a(n) that could take him out of there. That’s how I my singing. I took up singing at an early age. When I was 15, I made money from singing. That was a huge for me.
It was in the middle of my singing that John Grady didn’t appear at all. About halfway through, I saw him write something down. From where I stood, I could see him write the letter 'n’, by the letter 'o’. I guessed he didn’t me.
As we said good-bye, Grady gave me a . Though my hands were , I found the to read the note. It didn’t say, "No." It said, "Now." Just then, I knew that my of becoming a professional musician was starting to come true.
A．handle B．operate C．encounter D．recall
A．recognizing B．accessing C．appearing D．Approaching
A．resulted from B．ended with C．turned down D．made up
A．appointment B．information C．reply D．competition
A．particular B．simple C．regretful D．amusing
A．Permitting B．Failing C．Welcoming D．Waiting
A．excited B．nervous C．hopeful D．helpless
A．finish B．judge C．solve D．persuade
A．Apart from B．Free from C．Absent from D．Far from
A．experience B．profession C．skill D．trick
A．viewed B．questioned C．required D．practiced
A．progress B．process C．stop D．step
A．interested B．embarrassed C．amazed D．puzzled
A．angrily B．clearly C．straightly D．hardly
A．proved B．supported C．hidden D．followed
A．appreciate B．understand C．trust D．refuse
A．record B．note C．chance D．promise
A．waving B．removing C．shaking D．Moving
A．courage B．patience C．imagination D．determination
A．plan B．dream C．preference D．tendency
Do you love libraries? If you love books as much as I do, then I’m certain you must.
My library card has a(n) place in my wallet, and some of my favorite of childhood come from the public library in my hometown. It is a(n) house, much like the one introduced in Secrets of the Blue Hill Library, coming this summer.
The children’s section(区) of our library is on the lower level, and I felt when I walked down the steps, opened the small door (just right for a child) and entered the room with many rows of shelves. It was a wonderland where new adventures (奇遇) and friends awaited(等待).
I clearly the pleasant smell of books — a mix of new and smell — that attracted me deeply, and, like a bee moving from flower to flower, I book after book as I took in varieties of on those shelves and tried to choose the next ones I would take home. I preferred to read books about real-life heroes, whose lives me a lot. From the books on our library shelves, the world was opened to me in an attractive way.
, of course, my reading took me up the steps and into the library on the first and second floors, where I continued reading every book with much . To be honest, I can’t how different my life would have been if it had not been for the variety of reading I at the library. I can say for certain that, its strong and comforting presence in my life, I would not be the person I am today — a successful writer.
In the book Secrets of the Blue Hill Library, the people of this small town have no . But two wonderful women come together to provide both a nice library for the town and a home for Anne, the leading character. But that is only the beginning of the adventures that await Anne—and you as my fellow library lover.
A．open B．secret C．proud D．safe
A．poets B．memories C．scenes D．books
A．visiting B．running C．cleaning D．painting
A．ancient B．beautiful C．national D．free
A．tired B．embarrassed C．worried D．excited
A．mostly B．usually C．truly D．simply
A．catch B．remember C．describe D．carry
A．bitter B．strange C．old D．sharp
A．picked up B．checked out C．gave out D．put away
A．sizes B．pages C．titles D．prices
A．warned B．encouraged C．surprised D．challenged
A．Somehow B．Besides C．Regularly D．Finally
A．college B．research C．adult D．video
A．thought B．interest C．time D．success
A．explore B．imagine C．compare D．show
A．examined B．bought C．discovered D．wrote
A．Since B．But C．While D．So
A．from B．for C．without D．in
A．young B．new C．present D．busy
A．forest B．museum C．library D．market
I think I’m one of the luckiest people in the world because of the time I’m able to spend with young people who are not afraid to show their excitement and zest for life. , I would prefer a person with passion and enthusiasm to a person with and talent any day of the week. You can teach and develop skills, you cannot develop a love of life and an optimistic attitude. These are of a person and appear at all times during work or play. Furthermore, they are traits that one is born with and they will never them.
As a and an Independent Education and Career Planning Advisor, I too many children and young adults who are on a road to despair unless someone can find a way to change their attitude towards and indeed life itself!
, society has turned out too many children and young that are unwilling to put much or thought into their work. Whenever I come across such people— or old, I’m reminded of a boy who went with his mother on a blueberry picking hike into the . The boy filled his mostly with moss(苔藓) and then covered the moss with a thin layer of blueberries so that it looked . But the next morning, he found the blueberry pie which his mother for him was moss.
So , whether you are in school or , if you have enthusiasm and if you are to put in consistent effort along with passion, you will receive the . If, on the other hand, you are and prefer to take short-cuts, you should not expect to achieve the same results.
A．Obviously B．Personally C．Luckily D．Quickly
A．skills B．ideas C．kindness D．courage
A．or B．for C．but D．if
A．choices B．requests C．appearances D．characters
A．use B．deserve C．lose D．cherish
A．journalist B．doctor C．colleague D．teacher
A．search for B．come across C．care about D．depend on
A．learning B．donating C．speaking D．greeting
A．Eventually B．Unfortunately C．Hopefully D．Perfectly
A．equipment B．information C．effort D．possession
A．innocent B．young C．poor D．stupid
A．woods B．corner C．park D．market
A．mouth B．pan C．basket D．hand
A．delicious B．beautiful C．clean D．full
A．collected B．baked C．kept D．bought
A．promise B．guess C．remember D．look
A．in danger B．in distance C．in hospital D．at work
A．willing B．confident C．proud D．careful
A．crop B．trust C．votes D．rewards
A．lazy B．busy C．curious D．stubborn
People in the US thought Ebola was only a disease, accompanied with fever and found in Africa at the beginning. then a man from west Africa died from Ebola at a hospital in Dallas, Texas. And two nurses for him became infected(感染) with the virus, which made the US government publish new guidelines to health workers．
Top American have repeatedly said that most people have little chance of being infected．Experts have that Ebola can only be spread through infected person’s body fluids — like blood．But it many Americans are what they have heard．
A recent survey found more than 80 percent of Americans believe that Ebola can be spread in many , including air forced through the nose or mouth. The Harvard School of Public Health the findings. The study also showed that most adults fear there will be a(n) of Ebola in the United States soon.
survey found that more than 70 percent of Americans would support calls to travel to and from Ebola-affected parts of Africa.
Thomas Frieden heads the U.S．Centers for Disease Control and Prevention．When asked whether officials had considered a travel ban, Mr．Frieden had to say：“We won’t be able to check travelers for when they leave or when they arrive. We won’t be able, as we do , to take a detailed history to see if they were when they arrive. When they , we wouldn’t be able to impose quarantine（强加隔离）as we now can if they have high-risk touch.”
Last week, President Barack Obama urged Americans not to what he called “ panic or fear ”.
This week，the administration announced that all travelers reaching the United States from some African nations are to pass through one of five airports.
A．Just B．Yet C．So D．Even
A．arranging B．caring C．searching D．standing
A．treat B．attend C．inspect D．protect
A．officials B．officers C．physicists D．doctors
A．stated B．suggested C．considered D．regretted
A．proves B．happens C．says D．appears
A．studying B．discussing C．questioning D．determining
A．means B．areas C．organs D．countries
A．announced B．received C．admitted D．rejected
A．increase B．income C．decrease D．outbreak
A．The other B．Another C．The same D．One
A．forbid B．expect C．require D．allow
A．foreign B．royal C．African D．federal
A．that B．this C．nothing D．those
A．change B．money C．fever D．crime
A．immediately B．previously C．presently D．regularly
A．examined B．searched C．explored D．exposed
A．leave B．arrive C．live D．stay
A．look forward to B．pay attention to C．give in to D．add up to
A．persuaded B．required C．advised D．guided
One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town claiming(宣称) that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole country. A large crowd gathered，and they all agreed that his heart was because there was not a single scar(疤痕) in it. The young man was very proud.
Suddenly, an old man appeared and said, “Why, your heart is not nearly as beautiful as .”The crowd and the young man looked at the old man’s . It was strongly, but full of scars. It had places pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn’t fit quite right, and there were several edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gaps(缺口) where whole pieces were missing.
The young man laughed. “ your heart with mine, anyone with his eyes can see mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars.”
“Yes,” said the old man, “Yours looks perfect but I never trade with you. You see, every represents a person I have given my love. I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they _ me a piece of their heart that fits into the _ place in my heart. But because the pieces aren’t exact, I have some rough edges, which I treasure, because they remind me of the love we .
“Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart , and the other person hasn’t returned a _ of his or her heart to me. These are the empty gaps—giving love is a chance. Although these gaps are painful, they open, reminding me of the love I have for those people too, and I hope someday they may return where I have been waiting and fill the space. So now do you see what true beauty is?’’
Tears running his cheeks, the young man walked up to the old man, his own perfect heart, and tore out a piece. He it to the old man with trembling hands.
The old man placed it in his heart, then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man’s heart. It , but not perfectly, as there were some rough edges.
The young man looked at his heart, not perfect any more but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man’s heart flowed into his.
They hugged and walked away side by side.
A．ugly B．perfect C．good D．hurt
A．mine B．his C．theirs D．ours
A．coat B．appearance C．face D．heart
A．knocking B．striking C．beating D．hitting
A．that B．which C．where D．whose
A．smooth B．rough C．broken D．pretty
A．Comparing B．Compared C．Compare D．Compares
A．might B．would C．could D．should
A．one B．heart C．piece D．scar
A．on whom B．in whom C．with whom D．to whom
A．take B．give C．lend D．pass
A．empty B．full C．red D．first
A．had B．gave C．shared D．owned
A．in B．away C．off D．up
A．lot B．sheet C．piece D．pile
A．taking B．making C．keeping D．bringing
A．last B．cut C．come D．stay
A．carried away B．reached into C．took out D．brought up
A．returned B．took C．offered D．served
A．fit B．hit C．beat D．set
An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother．All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money left．When she heard her daddy say to her mother with whispered desperation（绝望）, “ a miracle（奇迹）can save him now”, the little girl went to her bedroom and took out her piggy bank．She all the change out on the floor and counted carefully．Then she her way six blocks to the local drugstore（药店）．
“And what do you want?” asked the chemist．
“It’s my little brother,” the girl answered back．“He’s really, really sick and I want to buy a ．His name is Andrew and he has something growing inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him.”
“We don’t miracles here, child．I’ m sorry,” the chemist said, smiling at the little girl.
In the shop was a customer．He stooped （弯腰）down and asked the little girl, “What kind of miracle does your brother ?”
“I don’t know,” she replied．“He’s really sick and mommy says he needs ．But my daddy can’t pay for it, so I have brought my .”
“How much do you have?” asked the man．
“One dollar and eleven cents, I can try and get some more,” she answered quietly.
“Well, what a coincidence（巧合）,” smiled the man．“A dollar and eleven cents — the price of a miracle for little brothers． me to where you live．I want to see your brother and your parents.”
That well dressed man was Dr Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon（外科医生）．The operation was completed without charge and it wasn’t long Andrew was home again and doing well.
The little girl was ．She knew exactly how much the miracle ．one dollar and eleven cents ..．plus the faith of a little child.
A．tearful B．hopeful C．hopeless D．kind
A．Simply B．Just C．Only D．More than
A．drew B．pulled C．took D．poured
A．walked B．made C．brought D．felt
A．to B．as C．for D．on
A．hope B．doctor C．favor D．miracle
A．bad B．small C．extra D．impossible
A．give B．offer C．sell D．store
A．seriously B．sadly C．strangely D．coldly
A．well dressed B．kind hearted C．well behaved D．good looking
A．have B．need C．care D．like
A．a doctor B．a medicine C．an operation D．a kindness
A．savings B．wishes C．ideas D．suggestions
A．since B．as C．after D．but
A．same B．exact C．wrong D．necessary
A．tell B．Help C．Take D．Follow
A．save B．encourage C．persuade D．meet
A．that B．until C．before D．after
A．sad B．angry C．well D．happy
A．worth B．cost C．paid D．spend