My parents had always prepared for hurricanes. It is what people do in Florida because “you never know”. For us, that a white metal cabinet (储藏柜) in our utility room (杂用间) filled with cans of food. We could eat anything out of the cabinet because “you never know” when a hurricane will come.
As a kid, I was about the white cabinet. I thought it was kind of strange to have food in the utility room. But, one look from my mother me from opening the door to glance inside.
One year, Channel 4 reported that Hurricane Dora was for the northern part of Florida. Soon the storm got and the wind blew. Then, the tall pine trees started to sway. And, “sway”, I meant “ fall over or crash down on anything in their way”. We were lucky, as the went other directions and didn’t take our power out.
However, when my mother started cooking, the power was out. I calculated it was time to crack open that white cabinet. But, Dad thought it was time to up the charcoal grill（烧烤架 ） outside where it was raining and windy. To this day, I never a man’s love for his grill.
Our power came back for a while. So, my mother began cooking everything she could and it away, to the neighbors, to friends without power, to anyone with . I was hoping that the fried chicken was going to find its way to our . But, it didn’t. And, just as the last of the food was sent out and she began to work on our dinner, yes, we lost our . It was time for 20 minutes’ eggs on the grill.
Oh, the white metal cabinet. No. We never it. We weren’t “that bad off” as I understand it. And, for years I how bad off we would have to be to eat out of that cabinet. Perhaps it was just the of it, the thought that it was there watching our backs we wanted a can of beans or some potted meat. I don’t know if that was what was in there. Anyway, I never looked inside.
A．brave B．serious C．generous D．smart
A．said B．meant C．showed D．presented
A．forever B．always C．never D．ever
A．doubtful B．concerned C．anxious D．curious
A．banned B．kept C．defended D．protected
A．reaching B．looking C．heading D．going
A．round B．down C．far D．close
A．by B．with C．for D．to
A．walls B．poles C．trees D．bushes
A．Yet B．Otherwise C．Nevertheless D．So
A．start B．use C．break D．hold
A．question B．mention C．investigate D．appreciate
A．putting B．turning C．giving D．clearing
A．love B．power C．diligence D．difficulty
A．cupboard B．room C．bed D．table
A．food B．power C．water D．money
A．opened B．locked C．fixed D．cleaned
A．examined B．analyzed C．wondered D．imagined
A．purpose B．problem C．thought D．conclusion
A．wherever B．whenever C．however D．whatever
There are about fifteen hundred languages in the world.
But ______ a few of them are very ______. English is one of these. Many, many people use it, not only in England and the U. S. A, but in other parts of the world. About 200, 000, 000 speak it as their own language. It is difficult to say how many people are learning it as a ______ language. Many millions are _____ to do so.
Is it easy or difficult to learn English? Different people may have different ______. Have you ever _____ the ads of this kind in the newspapers or magazines?
“Learn English in six month, or your _____ back ...” “Easy and funny? Our records and tapes _____ you master your English in a month. _____ the first day your _____ will be excellent. Just send ...” Of course, it never ______ quite like this.
The only language that seems easy to learn is the mother tongue. We should ______ that we all learned our own language well when we were ______. If we could learn English in the same way, it would not seem so difficult. ______ what a small child does. He listens to what people say. He tries what he hears. When he is using the language, talking in it, and ______ in it all the time, just imagine how much ______ that gets!
So it is ______ to say that learning English is easy, because a good command of English ______upon a lot of practice. And practice needs great effort and ______ much time. Good teachers, records, tapes, books, and dictionaries will ______. But they cannot do the student’s work for him.
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Last summer, I cycled to a small village with my friend Mike. We had a ___ time there. However, when we were ____ a bike on a narrow road, we found a big tree lying across the road.
We had to ____ the bike. And Mike ____ complaining, ”Why did someone put a tree across the road? And why did ____ get it out of the road?” He ___ complaining. I thought he would ask me to help him get the tree out of the road, but he didn’t. ____ , he just stepped over it with his ____ , followed by me. And he still didn’t stop complaining, “I guess nowadays no one is ____ to do something for others.” I thought now he would ____ to remove it, but he still didn’t. He just got on his bike and was about to leave. But I didn’t follow him. Noticing I wasn’t ____, he asked me, “What’s wrong?” I said, ”Let’s remove the ____.” He looked puzzled and asked, “____should we do it? It’s not our responsibility.” But I insisted. ____, he got off his bike and we got the tree out of the road together. “You see, there are still ____ who are willing to do something for others,” after removing the tree, I said laughingly to my friend and he ____, too.
My dear friends, when something is in your ____ next time, you can choose to complain and just ____ it there. But you can ____ choose to get it out of the way. Don’t ____ for others to do that. You can be the one who does something for others.
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I wrote my first poem at the age of seven and showed it to my mother．She read and cried, “Buddy, you really wrote a beautiful poem!”
Shyly but , I said yes．She poured out her . “It was nothing short of talent!”
“What time will Father be home?” I asked．I could hardly wait to my work to him．I spent quite some time for his arrival. I wrote the poem out in my finest handwriting, drew a fancy border around it and I placed it right on my father’s plate on the dining table. My father had begun his motion-picture career as a writer. I was sure he would be able to my poem.
At almost 7 o’clock my father burst in. He seemed . He circled the dining-room table, complaining about his employees.
Suddenly he paused and glared at his plate. “What is this?” He was reaching for my poem.
“Ben, Buddy has written his first poem!” my mother began. “And it’s beautiful, absolutely amaz…”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to decide for myself.” Father said.
I my head as he read that poem. It was only ten lines. But it seemed to take hours. Then I heard him dropping the poem back on the table. Now came the moment of .
“I think it’s terrible,” he said.
I couldn’t look up. My eyes were getting .
“Ben, these are the first lines of poetry he’s ever written,” my mother was saying. “He needs .”
“I don’t know why.” My father held his ground. “Isn’t there enough awful poetry in the world already?”
I couldn’t it another second. I ran from the dining room crying. Up in my room I myself on the bed and cried the worst of the out of me.
That may have been the end of the story, but not of its for me. I realized how fortunate I had been. I had a mother who said, “I think it’s wonderful!” and a father who drove me to hear with “I think it’s .”
Every one of us needs that mother force, from which all flows; and yet the mother force alone is incomplete. It needs the balance of the force that , “Watch. Listen. Review. Improve.”
Those voices of my childhood ring in my ears through the years, like two opposing winds blowing me. Between the two poles of and doubt, both in the name of love, I try to follow my true course．
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阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I was having my dinner at McDonald's one evening when an old couple slowly walked in. They _______ their meal, took a table near the window and started _______ food out of the plate. There was one hamburger, one order of French fries(炸薯条) and one drink. The man _______ the food into two halves and carefully placed _______ before his wife.
He took a sip(一小口) of the drink. His wife also took one and then _______ the cup down between them. "That _______ old couple! All they can _______ is one meal for the two of them, "thought I. _______ the man began to eat his French fries, I _______ to my feet, went over and said that I was _______ to buy another meal for them. But he _______ refused me and said that they made it a ______ to share everything.
_____, the lady didn't take a bite. She sat there _____ her husband eat, and taking turns sipping the drink. Again I ______ to buy them something but was refused. When the man finished eating and was ______ his face with a napkin. I ______ no longer stand it. I made an offer to them a third time. ______ being politely refused. I asked the lady _____, "Madam, why aren't you eating You said that you share everything. _______ is it that you are waiting for " "The teeth," she answered.
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阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
If we want to make friends, let’s put ourselves out to do things for other people --- things that require time, energy, unselfishness, and thoughtfulness.
When the Duke of Windsor was the Prince of Wales, he was to tour South America, and before he on that tour he spent months studying Spanish so that he could make public talks in the language of the country; and the South Americans him for it.
For years I considered it important to find out the of my friends. How? Although I don’t have faith in astrology (占星术), I began by asking my friends whether he or she the date of one’s birth has anything to do with and personality. I then asked him or her to tell me the month and day of birth. he or she said, “November 24,”for example, I kept to myself, “November 24, November 24.”The minute my friend’s back was , I wrote down the name and birthday and would transfer (转写) it to a birthday book. At the beginning of each year, I had these birthday dates scheduled in my calendar pad so that they came to my automatically. When the birthday , there was my letter or telegram. What a big it was! I was frequently the only person on earth who .
If we want to make friends, let’s people with enthusiasm. When somebody calls you on the telephone, say“Hello”in tones that suggest how you are to have the person call. Many companies train their telephone operators to greet all callers in a tone that shows interest and . The callers feel the company is about them. Let’s remember that when we answer the telephone tomorrow.
Showing a genuine in others not only wins friends for you, but may in its customers a loyalty to your company.
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