In the fall of 1985，I was a brighteyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twentyone years later I am later I am still a brighteyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.
My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to withdraw from college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.
Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopt and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was fantastic...and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed son No. 3. In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.
You can imagine how fully occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of 8！Our home was a complete zoo...a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college fulltime. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant talking as few as one class each semester.
The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to quit.But I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree!
I am not special, just singleminded. It always struck me that when you're looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you're in the midst of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won't arrive in your life on one day. It's a process. Remember；little steps add up to big dreams.When the author went to Howard University, her dream was to be ________.
| A．a writer | B．a teacher | C．a judge | D．a doctor |
Why did the author quit school in her second year of college?
| A．She wanted to study by herself. |
| B．She fell in love and got married. |
| C．She suffered from a serious illness. |
| D．She decided to look after her grandma. |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 4 and 5?
| A．She was busy yet happy with her family life. |
| B．She ignored her guilty feeling for her sons. |
| C．She wanted to remain a fulltime housewife. |
| D．She was too confused to make a correct choice. |
What does the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?
| A．Failure is the mother of success. |
| B．Little by little，one goes far. |
| C．Every coin has two sides. |
| D．Well begun, half done. |
Become a confident speaker. How to improve your English speaking skills and make you able to communicate more easily and effectively? The following tips will help you to become a more confident speaker.
Practice where you can and when you can. And practice is good — whether you speak to someone who is a native English speaker or not.
It’s important to build up your confidence. If possible, use the simple sentence structure that you know is correct, so that you can concentrate on getting your message across.
Try to experiment with the English you know. Apply (应用) words and phrases you know to new situations. Native English speakers are likely to correct you if you use the wrong word. They usually don’t mind if you use wrong grammar.
Try to respond to what people say to you. You can often get clues to what people think by looking at their body language. Respond to them in a natural way.
Never translate everything into your own language. It takes you much time and you’ll find it difficult to find an English answer right away. You don’t know how to do well. The more you want to act well, the more slowly you act. This will make you hesitant.
If you forget a word, do what native English speakers do all the time, and say things that ‘fill’ the conversation. This is better than remaining completely silent. Try using ‘um’, ‘er’, if you forget the word.
Don’t speak too fast! It’s important to use a natural rhythm (节奏) in speaking English, but if you speak too fast it will be difficult for people to understand you.
Try to relax when you speak, and you’ll find that your mouth does most of the pronunciation work for you. Speak English at a normal speed.
Final tips: Try to become less hesitant. Don’t be shy to speak — the more you do it, the more confident you’ll become. Remember to be polite — use “please” and “thank you” if you ask someone to do something for you.What is the text mainly about?
| A．Good ways of studying English well. |
| B．Suggestions on becoming a confident speaker. |
| C．Things to pay attention to when speaking English. |
| D．How to correct your mistakes as you speak English. |
How many tips does the author offer in this text?
| A．9. | B．10. | C．11. | D．12. |
In this passage, the underlined word “hesitant” in the sixth paragraph means “________”.
| A．sure about what to do |
| B．fast to make a good decision |
| C．successful in answering questions |
| D．uncertain about how to express yourself |
This text is most probably written for ________.
| A．English beginners | B．native English speakers |
| C．English teachers | D．language experts |
Young Jack moved to a new house. When entering his new bedroom, he saw that it was full of toys but it was tidy. That day he played all he liked, but went to bed without tidying up.
The next morning, when Jack got up, he found all the toys had been put back in their proper places. He was sure that no one had entered his bedroom, but the boy didn’t pay much attention to it. The exact same thing happened that day, and the next day. But on the fourth day when he went to get his favourite toy, the toy jumped out of his hands and said, “I don’t want to play with you!”
Jack felt surprised, but the same happened with every toy he touched. Finally, one toy said to him:
“We don’t want to play with you. You always leave us so far away from our proper places. You don’t know how arduous it is for us to climb back up onto the shelves, or jump into the box. We feel most uncomfortable and unhappy. You don’t know how uncomfortable and cold the floor is! We don’t play with you any more if you don’t promise to leave us in our proper places before you go to bed.”
Jack remembered how comfortable he felt in his bed and how bad he felt when he had once slept in a chair. He realized how badly he had treated his friends, the toys. He asked for their forgiveness(原谅)， and from that day on he always put his toys nicely in their proper places before he got into bed.when Jack moved into his bedroom, .
| A．it needed to be cleaned | B．he found lots of toys |
| C．he brought lots of toys | D．he put away his toys |
Why did all the toys refuse to play with Jack?
| A．because he always broke them. |
| B．because he didn’t like them any more. |
| C．because he only played with his favourite one. |
| D．because he did’t put them in their proper places. |
The underlined word “arduous” in Para.4 probably means .
| A．difficult | B．easy | C．regular | D．useful |
The purpose of the text is to tell us that .
| A．we should have a good sleep |
| B．we should be fair to every friend |
| C．we should treat our friends well |
| D．we should always keep our rooms tidy |
He says the problem with teachers is, “What will a kid learn from someone who chose to become a teacher?” He reminds the other dinner guests that it’s true what they say about teachers: Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.
I decide to bite my tongue instead of biting his and stop myself from reminding the other dinner guests that it’s also true what they say about lawyers－that they make money from the misfortune of others.
“I mean, you’re a teacher, Taylor,” he says to me.” Be honest. What do you make?”
I wish he hadn’t asked me to be honest, because now I have to teach him a lesson.
You want to know what I make?
I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I can make a C+feel like a great achievement and an A-feel like a failure.
How dare you waste my time with anything less than your very best?
I make parents tremble in fear when I call them:
I hope I haven’t called at a bad time.
I just wanted to talk to you about something Billy said today.
Billy said, “Leave the kid alone. I still cry sometimes, don’t you?”
And it was the bravest act I have ever seen.
I make parents see their children for who they are and what they can be.
You want to know what I make?
I make kids wonder.
I make them question.
I make them criticise.
I make them think.
I make them apologise and mean it.
I make them write, write, write.
And then I make them read.
I teach them to solve math problems that they once thought impossible.
I make them understand that if you have brains then you follow your heart and if someone ever tries to judge you by what you make, you teach them a lesson.
Let me make this simple for you, so you know what I say is true:
I make a great difference! What about you?What is the tone of the passage?
| A．Upset and disappointed. | B．Cheerful and positive. |
| C．Angry and proud. | D．Humorous and light-hearted. |
What do we know about the man that the author is speaking to?
| A．He dislikes lawyers. | B．He is actually a lawyer. |
| C．He is respectful to teachers. | D．He is in the author’s home. |
What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．Requirements of a Good Teacher | B．An Argument Between Two Guests. |
| C．A Dinner Conversation | D．What Teachers Make |
The underlined phrase “bite my tongue” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to .
| A．stop myself saying what I really think | B．say something that is wrong |
| C．speak out honestly but carelessly | D．keep silent about myself |
A growing number of workers at Google Inc., Facebook Inc. and other employers are trading in their sit-down desks for standing ones, saying they feel more comfortable and energized. They also are motivated by medical reports saying that sitting for too long leads to increased health risks.
A standing desk sits high off the floor so a worker can either stand at it or sit on a high stool to use it. Officials at Palo Alto-based Facebook say a number of employees asked about standing desks after news articles were published about the health risks of sitting all day.
The stories cited medical studies that tied excessive sitting to increased obesity and other health problems because of factors including a drop in physical activity. A 2010 study by the American Cancer Society found that women who sat more than six hours a day were 37% more likely to die prematurely than women who sat for less than three hours, while the early-death rate for men was 18% higher. The American College of Cardiology released a study in January that found increased mortality (死亡率) among people who sat longer at home than those who didn't.
No one seems to compile statistics on the standing-desk trend. But anecdotal reports suggest Silicon Valley is embracing the movement.
Facebook officials say they have seen an upsurge in requests for standing desks to five to eight a week with a total of between 200 and 250 deployed (配置) at the company of more than 2,000 employees. Facebook also is trying out a treadmill station ─ where a worker can walk or run on a treadmill while tapping at a computer.
Google spokesman Jordan Newman said that 'many employees at Google opt for standing desks, and we offer them as part of our wellness program' though he said he didn't know the exact number.
Greg Hoy, 39 years old, asked for a standing desk shortly after joining Facebook seven months ago as a design recruiter. 'I don't get the 3 o'clock slump anymore,' he said. 'I feel active all day long.'The underlined word “motivated” in paragraph 1 can be replaced by .
| A．frightened | B．inspired | C．missed | D．discouraged |
According to paragraph 3, we can know that .
| A．a drop in physical activity was the only reason why excessive sitting caused increased obesity. |
| B．women who sat longer were more likely to die prematurely according to a 2010 study by American College of Cardiology |
| C．according to the study, the early-death rate for men was 18% higher than that for women. |
| D．the mortality among people who didn’t sat long at home was lower than that among people who did. |
According to paragraph 5, which of the following statements is true about a treadmill station ?
| A．is a computer that a worker can take along when he walks or runs |
| B．has been tried out by Facebook and now is very popular with other companies |
| C．is a place where workers can exercise while working. |
| D．is a treadmill on which workers can run or walk only after work |
The passage mainly talks about .
| A．sitting for too long leads to increased health risks |
| B．standing desks have replaced sit-down ones in Facebook Inc. |
| C．more and more workers choose standing desks instead of sit-down ones |
| D．many employees at Google opt for standing desks |
I sometimes wonder if old Finchley has the right personality to be a research scientist. He keeps asking when he’ll be coming back. After all, it was his own fault. Nobody tries out what has just been invented on themselves any more but Finchley. Well, he must have pumped about a thousand cc into himself before I noticed he was clearly becoming smaller.
It was funny watching him, because his clothes remained the same in size. They simply piled up around him so that he looked like a small boy in his father’s clothes. But he kept getting smaller and smaller. As my colleague Dawson and I watched him, he disappeared! All we could see was Finchley’s clothes on the floor. They looked so strange, because the lab coat was on top, shirt and trousers inside and, I suppose, underclothes inside again. It gave me a strange feeling, and I think Dawson was a bit shaken, too.
Dawson was sitting on his chair in front of a microscope he’d been using to examine a family of mites(螨). He looked through the scope kind of absently again, and was nearly scared to lose awareness when he found old Finchley waving back from the other end.
It seems as if Finchley had taken a free ride on a dust mite and landed on the land of the mite family. Of course, we didn’t know till Finchley told us later. But anyhow, as I said, Dawson nearly passed out. He jumped off his chair and pointed at the microscope, too shocked to speak.It can be inferred that Finchley, Dawson and the writer have possible invented .
| A．a machine to make people small | B．a new way to study the family of mites |
| C．a new powerful microscope | D．some kind of medicine |
Finchley disappeared because .
| A．he tried out what has just invented on himself |
| B．his father’s clothes totally covered him up |
| C．he took something poisonous |
| D．he was changed into a dust mite |
It can probably be concluded that Finchley .
| A．will remain tiny all the time | B．is a devoted scientist |
| C．is not fit to be a scientist | D．passed out there and then |
It frightened Dawson to see Fincley .
| A．got out of his scope by accident | B．was waving through his scope |
| C．suddenly got lost in his clothes | D．gradually disappeared in the lad |