At seventeen, Shaun should be enjoying the time of his life. Instead, he’s using time he has left to a message. “Live life to the because you never know what’s going to ,” Shaun says in a video he sent online.
Born with a disease Shaun spent his childhood in and out of . He’s had almost 1000 operations in total, and his first heart transplant just eight-year-old.
He had another transplant at thirteen, but his body didn’t it. “It could be six months, could be twelve months—don’t know. It’s for me as a father that Shaun will close his eyes and not up again. One day that will be it,” his dad Cameron said.
“I have the heart rejection where the arteries became narrow, and it’s difficult for the blood to ,” Shaun explained. So why did he make the video which has so many? “I made it to let my Face Book friends know what was going on,” Shaun said. “It was hard to make the video, but it’s harder to watch the video. It that you have heart rejection and you will die soon.”
Shaun’s You Tube video has gone , with more than 50000 hits already. People who were inspired by his message, called into offering . His airfares to Disneyland were for by a kind person. Another offered to buy his Disneyland tickets.
“There’ll be a lot more to come,” said Cameron, who is looking for a to turn his son’s story into a book. Life may be but Shaun will live it to the fullest, each day as a gift.
A.pay B.spend C.share D.gain
A.fullest B.worst C.hardest D.longest
A.happen B.end C.fail D.serve
A.lung B.heart C.head D.stomach
A.factory B.hotel C.restaurant D.hospital
A.in B.at C.over D.with
A.question B.operation C.relation D.education
A.need B.believe C.accept D.refuse
A.quick B.slow C.hard D.good
A.wake B.cut C.call D.break
A.turn out B.get through C.block out D.dress up
A.frightened B.confused C.satisfied D.touched
A.persuades B.reminds C.warns D.asks
A.rare B.good C.sad D.popular
A.books B.gifts C.thanks D.prizes
A.cared B.paid C.used D.devoted
A.comfort B.explanation C.support D.rescue
A.worker B.writer C.doctor D.cleaner
A.curing B.fading C.expanding D.remaining
A.teaching B.killing C.helping D.enjoying
Years ago, I had the opportunity to conduct a seminar. This was a motivational one basically designed to people in changing their lives, their personal barriers in life.
It was always to meet the seminar attendees. Some of them couldn’t wait to get started, others were about what they would get for their money, and others attended often being forced by pressure.
This last group was always the most to work with. They sit there with crossed, rarely participating in any of the specific exercises meant to help them build positive behaviors to old habits and thoughts.
In the end, I started to look through the evaluations paying particular attention to find the form submitted by one of the attendees who had seemingly less attentiveness. To my disappointment, in this , there was no form. I left that day thinking that I had this person.
As I my preparation for the next seminar afterwards, one day I received a phone call —it was the attendee who had not submitted the evaluation form! My immediate was to prepare for a request for a total refund(退款).
It was not the case, . He took his time to tell me how much the seminar had already helped him change his ways, and how much more comfortable he was with himself now that he knew how to overcome his own personal barriers success both personally and professionally. I was surprised and glad to be to him.
Actually we all have power to affect the of others, but this power can also be negative if you use it wrongly or improperly. Power — you all have it — use it because you never know what impact you have on other people even when you think .
A.rescue B.assist C.sponsor D.treat
A.breaking down B.working against C.breaking through D.working out
A.fascinating B.frightening C.incredible D.mysterious
A.conscious B.explicit C.roundabout D.skeptical
A.willingly B.reluctantly C.voluntarily D.naturally
A.inspiring B.daring C.challenging D.shocking
A.hands B.wrinkles C.smiles D.arms
A.impress B.conquer C.twist D.spin
A.displayed B.paid C.clarified D.requested
A.court B.case C.guilt D.generation
A.succeeded B.managed C.anticipated D.failed
A.went about B.turned over C.put away D.set off
A.arbitrary B.bored C.very D.suspected
A.reaction B.feeling C.effort D.mind
A.but B.although C.though D.while
A.to B.beyond C.opposite D.against
A.hopeful B.helpful C.handy D.holy
A.gestures B.functions C.emotions D.behaviors
A.wisely B.foolishly C.regularly D.regularly
A.additionally B.alike C.otherwise D.overall
Born in America, I spoke English, not Chinese, the language of my ancestors. When I was three, my parents flashed cards with Chinese at my face, but I pushed them . My mom believed I would learn I was ready. But the never came.
On a Chinese New Year’s Eve, my uncle spoke to me in Chinese, but all I could do was at him, confused, scratching my head. “Still can’t speak Chinese?” He me, “You can’t even buy a fish in Chinatown.”
“Hey, this is America, not China. I’ll get some with or without Chinese.” I replied and turned to my mom for . “Remember to ask for fresh fish, Xin Xian Yu,” she said, handing over a $20 bill. I the words, running downstairs into the streets of Chinatown.
I found the fish surrounded in a sea of customers. “I’d like to buy some fresh fish,” I shouted to the fishman. But he my English words and turned to serve the next customer. The laugh of the people behind increased their impatience. With every , the breath of the dragons(龙)on my back grew stronger---my blood boiling--- me to cry out, “Xian Sheng Yu,please.” “Very Xian Sheng,” I repeated. The crowd erupted into laughter. My face turned and I ran back home , except for the $20 bill I held tightly in my pocket.
Should I laugh or cry? They’re Chinese. I’m Chinese. I should feel right at . Instead, I was the joke, a disgrace(丢脸)to the language.
Sometimes, I laugh at my fish , but, in the end, the joke is on . Every laugh is a culture ; every laugh is my heritage(传统)fading away.
A.custom B.games C.characters D.language
A.ahead B.around C.along D.aside
A.when B.before C.unless D.until
A.success B.study C.time D.attempt
A.aim B.joke C.nod D.stare
A.cared about B.laughed at C.argued with D.asked after
A.right now B.from now C.at times D.in time
A.decision B.permission C.information D.preparation
A.repeated B.reviewed C.spelled D.kept
A.farm B.stand C.pond D.market
A.guessed B.forgot C.doubted D.ignored
A.by B.as C.with D.from
A.second B.effort C.desire D.movement
A.forcing B.allowing C.persuading D.leading
A.bright B.blank C.pale D.red
A.open-mouthed B.tongue-tied C.empty-handed D.broken-hearted
A.service B.home C.risk D.root
A.trade B.deed C.challenge D.incident
A.it B.us C.me D.them
A.thrown B.lost C.divided D.Reflected
As I got out of the car, I saw many cars parked around Ah Mah’s house. Uncle Harry stood at the , urging us to go in quickly. I saw all my there. Aunt Lanny, Aunt Nancy, and Aunt Ping were sitting on the sofa choking and wiping their tears. Uncle Harry told me to stay as my parents and my brother went in Ah Mah’s room. During this time some thoughts about my Ah Mah kept racing through my mind.
Ah Mah was my grandmother, but I her because she liked boys more than girls. She had a way of thinking that boys were more than girls. She made her prejudice clear when she announced that she would leave all her to the men of the family and nothing to the women after she . I hated her way of thinking; , she and I never got along.
My thought was suddenly when my parents and my brother came out. Mother was crying.
What happened to Ah Mah? I my way through and forced the door wide open. My eyes fell on her almost hairless head. I froze. After a few seconds, she to me. Slowly, I walked over to her.
She was . She looked tired, and her eyes were open. Most of her hair had fallen out. She held her hands out to me, but I was afraid to her. She pointed to her desk and , “Futju.” The “futju” was her most prized possession, her Buddha beads(佛珠). I went over to her desk and took the “futju.” By now, I was crying, even without my knowing, and I just her. She called my name, breathing quickly with short breaths and . She said, “Keep…forgive me... .”
I ran over to her and tried to seize her out-stretched(伸出) hand but it was too .
A.exit B.table C.door D.stop
A.friends B.companions C.neighbors D.relatives
A.inside B.away C.outside D.down
A.liked B.remembered C.missed D.disliked
A.valuable B.optimistic C.mature D.positive
A.furniture B.belongings C.clothes D.goods
A.passed B.left C.died D.disappeared
A.therefore B.instead C.however D.otherwise
A.awakened B.accepted C.started D.interrupted
A.pushed B.cleared C.explored D.smoothed
A.pointed B.signed C.shouted D.appealed
A.scared B.stubborn C.skinny D.sensitive
A.curiously B.barely C.automatically D.surprisingly
A.strong B.flexible C.dirty D.trembling
A.touch B.meet C.trouble D.shake
A.screamed B.whispered C.announced D.repeated
A.grand B.moral C.holy D.splendid
A.glared at B.glanced at C.smiled at D.stared at
A.struggling B.laughing C.rising D.crying
A.dark B.late C.difficult D.far
Even at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), a top-ranked high school in the US, senior Pooja . She has got a 4.57 grade-point average, a 2390 (out of 2400) on the SAT, and earned all 13 of her Advanced Placement (先修课程)exams. She a national non-profit program that encourages middle-school girls to in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs. She has developed a mobile app that analyzes speech patterns and predicts with 96 percent accuracy a person has Parkinson’s disease(帕金森氏病).
Oh, and she’s 17.
Pooja earned admission to all eight Ivy League schools. Ivy League schools are generally as the best universities worldwide. Earning an letter from one Ivy League school is a rare achievement for most high school students. It is rare for a student to get into all eight, a few each year manage to do so. This year, Long Island student Harold Ekeh announced that he, too, had been accepted to all the Ivies.
Pooja’s adviser, Kerry Hamblin, said that she worked very hard to herself in the classroom, which helped her to be the best among her classmates. “She’s taking the hardest courses, the most that we offer, and has succeeded beyond anyone’s in all of them,” Hamblin said.
“She is really outstanding as a TJHSST kid has taken the mission(任务,使命) of the school as as it can go,” said principal Evan Glazer. “She’s a STEM superwoman who her interests in curious ways.”
Pooja has taken classes in computing, artificial intelligence and DNA science. Pooja wrote one of her college application essays being a woman interested in a career in computer science, a field strongly mainly by men for a long time. She said she’s often one of just girls in her technology classes. “I want to encourage in the field,” she said.
A.sticks out B.pushes out C. stands out D. puts out
A.scored B.graded C.bet D.arrived
A.found B.founded C.set D.based
A.undertake B.enjoy C.practice D.participate
A.also B.either C.ever D.never
A.whether B.what C.why D.how
A.sighted B.thought C.viewed D.looked
A.appointment B.acceptance C.acquirement D.allowance
A.fully B.hopefully C.badly D.extremely
A.though B.if C.even D.then
A.make B.push C.remind D.help
A.interesting B.tiring C.challenging D.disturbing
A.exceptions B.respects C.thoughts D.expectations
A.who B.as C.which D.where
A.good B.far C.low D.well
A.went B.progressed C.approached D.moved
A.about B.in C.for D.to
A.committed B.required C.existed D.influenced
A.a handful of B.a lot of C.a large number of D.an amount of
A.similarity B.diversity C.imbalance D.excellence
On a summer evening, I was reading a newspaper in my garden. Then my 18-year-old son,Max , wandered out to me. We spent about an hour chatting together, . Then he went out to have another night out with his .
As he left to meet his friends, I on how our evening together had been one of my life’s golden moments. , such treasured times were drawing to a . In less than a week, Max will go off to Israel, where he will study art for three years. Of course, Max’s is part of the natural order. Life is rushing in, and he is moving on. I’m that my son has the drive and energy to plan his own , which is the most important thing.
To , we’ll have the phone and e-mail, but why do it happen so ? I wondered how Max felt about leaving. He isn’t the one to his inner thoughts, and he prefers to use rather than noise to make his point. However, on my birthday last week, he gave me a card as a(n) . Inside, he had placed a scratch card(刮刮卡)with a top of $100,000, as well as a message. His message read, “Dear Mum, I discovered on the Internet that the average cost of a child until adulthood is $106,428, so I want to show my . I hope you win. Then you can go on holiday to all the places you love.” Reading his words, I , cried and gave him a huge hug.
I’m going to my boy. But he’s no longer a boy, is he? I’m going to miss this lovely young man. I didn’t a bean on the scratch card, but looking at Max, I know I’ve been a winner anyway.
A.wake B.join C.disturb D.call
A.tired B.delighted C.shocked D.moved
A.friends B.teachers C.classmates D.parents
A.reminded B.revised C.recovered D.reflected
A.Besides B.Therefore C.However D.Then
A.close B.wonder C.trick D.past
A.regretting B.maturing C.studying D.leaving
A.worried B.proud C.sad D.curious
A.happiness B.luck C.future D.business
A.keep in touch B.live out C.start with D.go through
A.quickly B.strangely C.generally D.hardly
A.hide B.bury C.ignore D.show
A.chances B.dreams C.wisdom D.wealth
A.memory B.gift C.praise D.honor
A.class B.remark C.grade D.prize
A.delivering B.adopting C.raising D.educating
A.gratitude B.doubt C.action D.opinion
A.puzzled B.broke C.complained D.laughed
A.thank B.miss C.admire D.lose
A.find B.plant C.win D.buy