Over the course of a few days when I was in a nursing home to recover, I started to really appreciate the housekeeper, an elderly lady who didn’t speak English. Every morning at 6:30 she would try to get into my room so she wouldn’t disturb me. However, every time I would and see her. She would try to and at the same time gave an amazing smile. , I would be just waiting to see her come in and give that wonderful .
I from a nurse that there was an employee rewards program. I asked her to write a(an) 47 card for my housekeeper and put it up. About ten minutes later, another nurse came into my room and told me that the housekeeper was out in the hall her eyes out. Had I done something wrong or inappropriate ? Then the nurse to tell me that the housekeeper had worked there for thirty years and had never a rewards card.
It me like a ton of bricks. Just a few simple words made such a .
From that day forward I tried to admire someone every day for the good things they showed. The results were . People came in with smiles, they talked more, they laughed more, and they life more. , it seems the more I tried to praise others, the I got.
I’m out of nursing home now and almost recovered. I thank my housekeeper for helping me see just how unbelievably life is.
Do a favor and tell your loved ones just how much they to you. It can make the world of difference with both them and you.
A．quickly B．quietly C．happily D．slowly
A．wake B．stand C．sit D．go
A．leave B．hide C．explain D．apologize
A．Eventually B．Gradually C．Suddenly D．Occasionally
A．greeting B．apology C．smile D．word
A．knew B．learned C．found D．got
A．invitation B．congratulation C．appreciation D．appointment
A．laughing B．shouting C．screaming D．crying
A．went on B．came up C．set out D．got up
A．accepted B．received C．created D．afforded
A．beat B．knocked C．hit D．touched
A．difference B．profit C．mistake D．contribution
A．disappointing B．interesting C．amazing D．embarrassing
A．understood B．valued C．enriched D．enjoyed
A．However B．Therefore C．Meanwhile D．Otherwise
A．less B．more C．worse D．better
A．barely B．fully C．really D．rarely
A．dangerous B．beautiful C．tough D．enthusiastic
A．yourself B．you C．themselves D．them
A．bring B．take C．give D．mean
It was Thanksgiving morning. In the crowded kitchen of my small home I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey____the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in ____ clothes and thin little sandals(凉鞋), staying together at the door on the top step.
“Any old____， lady？” asked one of them.
I was ____. I wanted to say “no” until my eye____their sandals, which were wet with heavy snow.
“____and I’ll make you a cup of hot cocoa.”
They walked ____and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the____. I served them cocoa and bread with jam to fight____the freezing cold outside.____I went back to the kitchen and started again on my household budget for Thanksgiving Day.
The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice，“Lady, are you____？”
I looked at my old sofa covers. The girl put her cup back in its saucer(托盘)____and said, “Your cups match your saucers.” Her voice was____with a need that no amount of food could supply.They left after that，____their papers against the wind.They hadn’t said“Thank you.”They didn’t need to.They had____me that I had so much for which to be grateful.Plain blue china cups and saucers were____worth five pence. But they matched.
I tasted the potatoes and the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over our heads, my man with a good steady job—these____， too.
I moved the chairs back from the fire and____the living room. The muddy(沾上泥的)____of small sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should begin to____how rich I am.
A．before B．while C．when D．as
A．worn B．strange C．ordinary D．smart
A．clothes B．papers C．cups D．shoes
A．sad B．nervous C．busy D．happy
A．fell upon B．came at C．went through D．got into
A．Stand back B．Turn around C．Get out D．Come in
A．over B．out C．off D．on
A．door B．floor C．ground D．wall
A．about B．against C．for D．in
A．Thus B．But C．Then D．So
A．rich B．kind C．helpful D．healthy
A．curiously B．hopefully C．carefully D．silently
A．hungry B．pleasant C．deep D．cold
A．turning B．delivering C．pushing D．holding
A．reminded B．promised C．persuaded D．told
A．really B．even C． well D．only
A．matched B．worked C．mixed D．agreed
A．decorated B．equipped C．emptied D．cleaned
A．lines B．prints C．signs D．steps
A．realize B．doubt C．forget D．prove
My friend BJ Gallagher once worked as a training manager for a large newspaper, which was more than a hundred years old. The company’s past had blinded the authorities to the need for change, and they new ideas and would say “This is the way we’ve always done it.”. As the years went by, BJ grew more and more with their short-sightedness. Finally, she left the company. But she found that she hadn’t left her behind when she resigned. She carried it with her, like “rocks in the stomach”.
“I finally decided to about my experiences and my feelings. I it would be a good mental health . I wanted to be rid of that company and those people, once and for all. So I wrote and wrote. It wasn’t just a story that poured out — it was a whole ! My resentment (怨恨) my writing. The whole world would know how they were!”
“What when the book came out?” I asked BJ.
“Not much,” she replied, “The newspaper kept doing what it had done. My feelings didn’t them one bit, but it took me several more years to finally my negative emotions. Finally, the time came when I decided to make amends (修正) for the angry things I had said about the company. I my former boss to dinner and made my . I told him I was sorry for being so resentful. It was a great healing process for me.”
“What was the outcome?” I asked her.
“Gratitude,” she replied, “Not only wasn’t I resentful any more, but I was grateful to the company. If I hadn’t had those experiences, I never would have written a book. And the book became hugely successful — now in 21 languages. In short, my resentment gave way to gratitude.”
She smiled, “I owe them a debt of thanks for giving me such a great tale to tell.”
Trading resentments for gratitude isn’t always easy. But it’s worth it, gratitude is a far happier feeling than resentment.
A．skill B．management C．success D．business
A．resisted B．got C．broke D．shaped
A．moved B．frustrated C．excited D．surprised
A．sadness B．worry C．doubt D．anger
A．think B．care C．write D．talk
A．proved B．figured C．concluded D．agreed
A．exercise B．suggestion C．lecture D．theory
A．diary B．lesson C．accident D．book
A．prevented B．delayed C．fueled D．corrected
A．sensitive B．successful C．greedy D．stupid
A．happened B．reported C．received D．resulted
A．sometimes B．always C．recently D．already
A．forgive B．reward C．bother D．cheat
A．think of B．get over C．pass on D．look through
A．invited B．called C．persuaded D．followed
A．promise B．apology C．plan D．decision
A．only B．natural C．direct D．final
A．useful B．funny C．painful D．shameful
A．finished B．edited C．read D．published
A．for B．though C．but D．and
Buenos Aires in Argentina is the second biggest city in South America, with about 13 million people. To the city at night requires over 125,000 streetlamps. As you can imagine, that uses a lot of and costs a lot of money. But the city has decided to deal with this problem in a way that can save energy and reduce pollution and make the city at night.
After a public bidding(竞标) , Philips has been selected to replace the majority of the city’s streetlamps with new LED ones. These LED streetlamps are expected to energy use by 50% for the city, which means a significant reduction in CO2 emissions (排放), and they offer a that is 5 times longer than traditional lighting.
That’s just one city. It’s that if cities around the world made a switch to LED streetlamps like Buenos Aires, would add up to $180 billion in reduced energy costs each year.
A．put up B．light up C．cheer up D．take up
A．money B．equipment C．energy D．space
A．quieter B．prettier C．cleaner D．safer
A．process B．task C．moment D．suggestion
A．produce B．reduce C．multiply D．strengthen
A．method B．length C．plan D．lifetime
A．said B．reported C．estimated D．known
A．savings B．prices C．expenses D．users
I was 14 when Mr. Ingram hired me as a farmhand. It was the first time I was actually for work. One day Mr. Ingram found an old truck that was in the soft, sandy soil of our field. It was full of melons that someone had tried to38 from our farm before his truck got caught in the mud.
Mr. Ingram explained that the truck’s owner would be soon, and he wanted me to watch and learn. It wasn’t long a local guy with a terrible reputation for fighting and stealing showed up with his two fully-grown sons. They looked really .
Calmly Mr. Ingram said, “Well, I see you want to some watermelons from us.”
There was a long before the man answered, “Yeah, I guess so. What are you for them?”
“Twenty-five cents each.”
“Well, I suppose that would be enough if you help me get my truck out of here,” the man said.
It turned out to be our biggest sale of the summer, and an awful, perhaps violent incident had been . After they left, Mr. Ingram smiled and said to me, “Son, if you don’t forgive your , you’re going to run out of friends.”
A．trusted B．ready C．paid D．offered
A．stuck B．broken C．deserted D．lost
A．remove B．steal C．sell D．hide
A．purchasing B．bargaining C．returning D．searching
A．till B．before C．that D．since
A．astonished B．anxious C．familiar D．angry
A．borrow B．buy C．steal D．carry
A．break B．discussion C．watching D．silence
A．getting B．offering C．paying D．finding
A．necessary B．helpful C．easy D．fair
A．stopped B．avoided C．handled D．taught
A．mistakes B．neighbors C．enemies D．Melons
We, Patty and I, had been best friends since Grade Four. Just about everywhere we went, people we were best friends. We secrets about popcorn（爆米花）and soda year after year. The best part about having a best friend was taking sleeping over on Friday nights.
Then in Grade Eight everything changed. Suddenly, my interest in make-up and clothes my mom. I believe Patty started the first day of school the same pigtails（辫子）she had worn forever. What was happening? Other girls seemed more than Patty.
I started avoiding her and making excuses. , during the middle of the year, as we were sitting in the backyard, the broke out. I said, “Go home, Patty, and don’t come back.” Then I ran into the house crying. Mom sat me down and I told her . I’ll never forget her words. She said, “ will come and go in and out of your life forever. You are and it’s okay for both of you to make new friends. is happening is hard but perfectly .”
Time healed（治愈）a lot of the , and over the next few years we clearly walked along paths. Still, when I saw her in the halls of high school, I 5 a strange sadness. I thought if I went back and “fixed” everything between us, we could somehow start all over friends. But that was a fantasy（幻想）. Our differences were too great, and I could only she understood.
I’ll always remember the years when Patty and I were best friend, but Mom was right. can change, and we have to let them go when it’s time.
A．realized B．believed C．knew D．understood
A．shared B．spared C．kept D．remembered
A．beds B．places C．turns D．sides
A．surprised B．scared C．frightened D．satisfied
A．wouldn’t B．shouldn’t C．couldn’t D．needn’t
A．wearing B．dressing C．keeping D．staying
A．boring B．interesting C．pleased D．exciting
A．Finally B．Naturally C．Generally D．Especially
A．tears B．words C．anger D．hate
A．matter B．everything C．trouble D．nothing
A．Interests B．Friends C．Sadness D．Childhood
A．changing B．studying C．quarreling D．imagining
A．What B．Which C．Why D．When
A．common B．ordinary C．regular D．normal
A．unhappiness B．loneliness C．memory D．emotion
A．different B．same C．hard D．separate
A．remembered B．thought C．felt D．lost
A．like B．as C．with D．on
A．suppose B．believe C．hope D．suggest
A．Environments B．Opinions C．Friendships D．Attitudes