Some years ago when I was in my second year in university,I heard Salome Bey sing for the first time. The moment was exciting. Salome' s filled the room and brought the theater to life. I was so that I decided to write an article about her.
I Salome Bey,telling her I was from Essence magazine,and that I wanted to meet her to talk about her career. She and told me to come to her studio next Tuesday. When I hung up,I was scared out of my mind. I I was lying. I was not a writer at all and hadn' t even written a grocery list.
I interviewed Salome Bey the next Tuesday. I sat there , taking notes and asking questions that all began with," Can you tell me..." I soon realized that Salome Bey was one thing, but writing a story for a national magazine was just impossible. The was almost unbearable (不可容忍的). I struggled for days draft after draft. Finally I put my manuscript (手稿) into a large envelope and dropped it into a mailbox.
It didn' t take long. My manuscript . How stupid of me ! I thought. How could I in a world of professional writers? Knowing I couldn' t the rejection letter, I threw the unopened envelope into a drawer.
Five years later, I was moving to California. While my apartment,I came across the unopened envelope. This time I opened it and the editor's letter in disbelief:
Dear Ms Profit,
Your story on Salome Bey is fantastic. Yet we need some materials. Please add those and return the article immediately. We would like to your story soon.
Shocked,it took me a long time to . Fear of rejection cost me dearly. I lost at least five hundred dollars and having my article appear in a major magazine. More importantly,I lost years of writing. Today, I have become a full-time writer. Looking back on this , I learned a very important lesson:You can't to doubt yourself.
A.joy B.speech C.voice D.smile
A.active B.moved C.satisfied D.proud
A.visited B.emailed C.phoned D.interviewed
A.refused B.agreed C.hesitated D.paused
A.replied B.discovered C.knew D.explained
A.seriously B.patiently C.nervously D.quietly
A.fooling B.blaming C.inviting D.urging
A.hardship B.failure C.pressure D.comment
A.on B.with C.by D.in
A.disappeared B.returned C.spread D.improved
A.compare B.survive C.compete D.struggle
A.ignore B.deliver C.receive D.face
A.repairing B.cleaning C.decorating D.leaving
A.read B.saw C.found D.noticed
A.memorial B.private C.relevant D.reliable
A.broadcast B.publish C.create D.assess
A.prepare B.escape C.recover D.concentrate
A.enjoyable B.energetic C.typical D.endless
A.success B.experience C.benefit D.accident
A.attempt B.pretend C.afford D.expect
An old friend once came visiting Nasruddin. And he brought along a big to him. Nasruddin’s wife it and they enjoyed the feast for dinner. The next morning, they had delicious chicken soup. The friend enjoyed his stay with Nasruddin. When he was , Nasruddin returned his friend’s thanks by thanking the for bringing the big chicken along. An hour later, Nasruddin heard a knock on the door. When he opened it, a man himself and entered, “I’m a friend of your friend who brought you that big chicken!”
Not wanting to turn away the of a friend, Nasruddin invited the man inside and him to stay for lunch. The man immediately. They had some lovely chicken cooked for lunch, which the man also enjoyed. After lunch, the man left thanking Nasruddin for the chicken.
The next day there was no pause as another entered with the same : “I am a friend of the friend of the friend who had come here with a huge chicken!” Nasruddin and asked the man to come right in and have a . A few minutes later, a bowl of soup was before him. Just one sip(一小口) told the man that this “soup” was nothing but water.
“There is nothing in the soup!” the man protested _ __.
“Not at all!” Nasruddin smiled. “This is the soup of the soup of the chicken!”
Moral of the story: When people your generosity, don’t turn them away rudely. Instead, invite them in and serve them a they will never forget---just as Nasruddin did.
A.Egg B.basket C.dinner D.chicken
A.Valued B.killed C.cooked D.ate
A.Short B.safe C.sudden D.secret
A.Promising B.leaving C.standing D.explaining
A.Latter B.next C.owner D.colleague
A.Expressed B.praised C.admired D.introduced
A.freely B.obviously C.quickly D.frequently
A.Father B.teacher C.relative D.friend
A.Asked B.persuaded C.alarmed D.supported
A.Replied B.accepted C.passed D.prepared
A.tasty B.previous C.usual D.big
A.Child B.thief C.friend D.stranger
A.Rule B.invitation C.tale D.exploration
A.smiled B.doubted C.shook D.agreed
A.rest B.meal C.bath D.smoke
A.hidden B.placed C.pushed D.thrown
A.Bitter B.waste C.polluted D.boiled
A.Sadly B.eagerly C.angrily D.violently
A.take pride in B.take advantage of C.lose sight of D.pay attention to
A.chance B.term C.lesson D.Report
My sons and I decided to go walking around the lake near our home the other day. It is such a place to spend an afternoon in the springtime when flowers are on the trees and grass is coming up through the ground. It has a well path that circles the entire lake. You can walk at your own and delight in all the natural beauty that surrounds you. It is the perfect place to get back to nature and to fill your soul with joy.
The only is that with the path being so near the water, erosion(侵蚀) sometimes creates holes. It was while we were to walk along it the other day that one of them caught my oldest boy . He stumbled and almost fell but thankfully was able to reach out and take my hand. I him and we walked on for a while holding hands and feeling in our love for each other.
I think that sometimes the we face in our long life are a lot like those holes in the ground. They are always there causing us to stumble and sometimes even to fall. It is good to know, , that we can always reach out and take the hands of our beloved ones. They are always there by our side to pick us up and steady us. They are always for us to take their hands and walk on with them connected in love without .
The next time you stumble and fall on your through life then reach out and take loving hands. And you take them never let them go again. Walk on with them forever, choosing love and sharing joy with each you take. Always remember too that with the loving hands your walk you can use your other hands to reach out and help those who have fallen as well. The life journey, , is always better when you are holding the hands of those you love.
A.common B.secret C.remote D.glorious
A.coming out B.picking out C.showing off D.running off
A.decorated B.worn C.paved D.repaired
A.pace B.expense C.request D.service
A.forget B.recognize C.touch D.protect
A.excitement B.difference C.problem D.memory
A.warm-hearted B.light-hearted C.absent-minded D.narrow-minded
A.unwillingly B.ultimately C.occasionally D.unexpectedly
A.blamed B.encourage C.steadied D.accompanied
A.connected B.ignored C. blocked D.surprised
A.chances B.troubles C.changes D.responsibilities
A.therefore B.however C.besides D.otherwise
A.waiting B.learning C.forgetting D.hoping
A.free B.available C.convenient D.ready
A.purpose B.effort C.difficulty D.hesitation
A.direction B.destination C.journey D.experience
A.after B.before C.unless D.because
A.advice B.step C.choice D.measure
A.dragging B.leading C.guiding D.balancing
A.above all B.first of all C.after all D.in all
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。
When I was 8 years old, a gentleman came to my orphanage(孤儿院)and taught us how to do woodworking projects.
I remember my first project—a small table. I was so of it that I looked upon it as if I had created a(an) . It was absolutely beautiful and it had taken me six weeks to it. I could hardly wait to give it to Mother Winters as a . She was the head mistress of our orphanage, who was always with us.
As the tables were not dry from the clear coating, the man told us to wait a few days before taking them to our dormitories. But I was just so and happy that I couldn’t wait. I _ out like a flash, carrying my table and smiling from ear to ear.
When I reached the dormitory I placed the little table beside my bed. I was it when Mother Winters entered. She walked over to the table. Running her hand it, she noticed that it was still wet.
“Were you to bring this home?” she asked.
“No, ma’am,” I with my head down.
She ordered me to throw the table out and so I did. After she left, I immediately opened the door to get it back. There was stuck all over. I brushed and cried, but it would not come off.
I hid the table in my closet(橱柜) and never it. A year later while cleaning up, I gave the table to Mother Henderson, my houseparent(宿管员), thinking that she would it away.
Thirty years later at a reunion, I that Mother Henderson was living nearby, so I drove up to see her. We talked cheerfully for long. As I was about to leave, she asked me to come down to her to get something important. I followed her into a dark corner. She picked something up. she turned around, I could see that she was holding a little table.
Mother Henderson kept the little table that I had given up for lost so long ago.
Today, I look at that table with bittersweet memories but full of to Mother Henderson, who kept it for a young orphan who tried very hard to .
A.tired B.ashamed C.aware D.proud
A.award B.record C.wonder D.product
A.complete B.invent C.paint D.design
A.reward B.gift C.prize D.souvenir
A.satisfied B.angry C.patient D.strict
A.upset B.excited C.confident D.amazed
A.dashed B.walked C.stepped D.climbed
A.drying B.admiring C.observing D.hiding
A.into B.after C.above D.across
A.supposed B.embarrassed C.encouraged D.determined
A.agreed B.sighed C.whispered D.argued
A.glue B.dirt C.paint D.wood
A.removed B.shook C.touched D.split
A.throw B.give C.take D.put
A.recommended .. B.expected C.remembered D.learned
A.bathroom B.basement C.balcony D.bedroom
A.unexpectedly B.unwillingly C.curiously D.worriedly
A.Until B.Since C.Before D.As
A.gratitude B.admiration C.sympathy D.regret
A.adapt B.study C.please D.perform
Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A. B. C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.
It’s been so long that I can’t remember the crime, but I’ll never forget the punishment: Dig up the fig tree (无花果) in the backyard and plant it at Mumsy’s place in the country. As I often did when appointed to do a hard job in the garden, I this was my parents’ way of getting me to do their dirty work.
It was a Sunday morning. With some tools, I went at the tree, dismantling (拆卸) it branch by branch and limb by limb, until all that remained of the once-proud specimen was a sorry-looking stump of a thing.
“What did that ever do to you?”, my father said, “You left some taproot (主根), at least. Go and load up the truck.” On any other day before, during the to mumsy’s, we would have pleasantly school as usual, but I fenced myself off that time.
Then, at Mumsy’s, instead of sitting back to watch me work, he me. As my father and I took turns to work, I could feel my anger , making room for the simple satisfaction of working at my father’s side towards a common goal.
“ Well,” my father said when we finished, “ we’ve done what we can do.” “Do you think there’s any that it can grow up?” I asked. “It’s rich dirt. They say you can plant toenails in it and grow little kids.” My father answered. I never tried the toenail trick, but I did watch as it settled in, took root, and began to prosper. I was amazed and when bowls of figs began to fill the fridge.
In a fair world, I don’t deserve the reward. I had hurt the tree for my own complaints. What right did I have to the fruit? Years later, I put this to my father. Watching him slide a bowl of figs from the fridge one morning, I felt a sudden stab of shame for my boyhood . My father took a fig from the bowl and let me think of the fruit as forgiveness. “You,” he said, “ some of that.”
A.Convinced B.informed C.suspected D.inspected
A.truck B.tool C.tree D.taproot
A.rest B.flight C.walk D.ride
A.thought over B.talked about C.broke into D.gave up
A.Forgave B.tricked C.entertained D.joined
A.Disappeared B.Concentrated C.approached D.exposed
A.Relationship B.value C.advantage D.chance
A.confused B.relieved C.regretful D.disappointed
A.perfectly B.partly C.mostly D.probably
A.task B.answer C.question D.strategy
A.Misery B.misfortune C.sorrow D.rudeness
A.Deserve B.receive C.protect D.suspect
I lost my sight when I was four years old when falling off a train to Atlantic City. But I was . My parents and my teachers saw something in me -a potential to live, you might call it -which I didn't see, and they encouraged me to blindness.
The hardest lesson I had to was to believe in myself. If I hadn't been able to do that, I would have walked with a stick for the rest of my life. When I say belief in myself I am not _ talking about the kind of self-confidence that helps me down an staircase alone. That is part of it. But I mean something bigger than that. Although imperfect in some aspect, I am a real, positive person. There is a special place where I can make myself fit.
It took me years to discover and this self-confidence. It had to start with the most basic things. Once a man gave me an indoor baseball. I thought he was making fun of me and I was .
"I can't use this," I responded.
"Take it with you," he urged me, "and roll it around. "
The words stuck in my head. "Roll it around! " By rolling the ball I could where it went. This gave me an how to achieve a goal I had thought impossible: playing baseball. At Philadelphia's Overbrook School for the Blind I invented a new kind of baseball. We called it ground ball.
All my life I have set ahead of me a series of goals and then tried to them one by one. I also knew my limitations. It was no good trying something that I knew at the start was wildly out of reach because that only the bitterness of failure. I would fail sometimes anyway but on the average I made .
A.unfortunate B.disappointed C.lucky D.ashamed
A.share with B.play with C.toy with D.fight with
A.meet B.learn C.avoid D.prepare
A.simply B.slightly C.frequently D.directly
A.unusual B.unfair C.unfamiliar D.uncomfortable
A.lengthen B.strengthen C.deepen D.widen
A.hurt B.amused C.greeted D.praised
A.find B.see C.smell D.hear
A.event B.offer C.idea D.excuse
A.receive B.achieve C.classify D.follow
A.refused B.removed C.caused D.replaced
A.sense B.mistakes C.friends D.progress