Last spring, I was fortunate to be chosen to participate in an exchange study program. In my application letter, I was careful to how much I wanted to see France; evidently, my excitement really came through in my words. Once I that I was going, all I could think about was the fun of foreign travel and making all sorts of new and friends. While traveling was inspiring and meeting people was , nothing about my term in France was what I .
The moment I arrived in Paris, I was by a nice French couple who would become my host parents. My entire experience was joyous and exciting I received some shocking news from my program coordinator（协调人）: there had been a death in my host parents’ extended family. They had to travel outside France for several weeks. That afternoon, I had to out of one family’s house into another. The exchange coordinator told me I’d have a this time and asked whether I could share a bedroom with an English speaker. To avoid the temptation(诱惑) to my native language, I asked not to be with an English-speaking roommate. When I got to my new room, I myself to my new roommate Paolo, a Brazilian（巴西人） the same age as I, whom I was surprised to find playing one of my favorite CDS! In just a few hours, we knew we’d be good friends for the rest of the .
I left France with many , so when people asked me what my favorite part of the trip was, they are always to hear me talk about my Brazilian friend Paolo and scores of weekdays in class, weeknights on the town, and weekends France we enjoyed together. I love how people seem so different, but end up being so . The most valuable lesson I gained from studying in France wasn’t just to respect the friend people to respect all people, for your next best friend could be just a continent away. I would recommend an exchange program to anyone who wants to experience foreign cultures and gain meaningful .
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Everyday on the way to work I drive down a street lined with pine trees. One tree in particular ______ my attention. It must have suffered some ______. Part of its trunk grew nearly parallel to the ground, and then in an effort to _____ its own course of life. The trunk took a 90-degree turn ______ to stand tall and stretch toward the sun.
This tree became a ______ for me. Each day as I drove by, I saw this bent but determined tree and I would be ______. It was a reminder to me that ______ I may not have had the best start in life, I could change ______ in the parts of my life at any time.
I was planning to stop one day to get a perfect ______ of my kindred-spirit (志趣相同) tree. But that week I was ______. After that busy week, I still didn’t take any action. Every time I drove by the tree I would ______ myself, “Tomorrow, I’ll stop tomorrow to take one.” Then one day, as I ______ by “my” tree, I glanced over, and much to my ______, I found a sawed-off stump (树桩) where that symbolic tree had stood. Gone. I had ______ my plan until “tomorrow” and tomorrow proved to be too ______.
A picture of a tree is not of great ______. But my lesson rang through clearly ______ I found out one of my colleagues had been ______ with stage-four cancer. He may no longer have many ________.
What have you been putting off? What would you do today if you knew you would _______ have the opportunity to do it again? Why not do those things that you have been putting off until tomorrow?
A．paid B．caught C．fixed D．escaped
A．damage B．influence C．experience D．defeat
A．continue B．design C．change D．imagine
A．applying B．attempting C．happening D．learning
A．shelter B．Signal C．sign D．symbol
A．interested B．satisfied C．encouraged D．educated
A．even though B．as if C．in case D．if only
A．purpose B．plan C．habit D．direction
A．glance B．view C．picture D．knowledge
A．busy B．free C．worried D．bored
A．call B．help C．tell D．see
A．wandered B．drove C．rode D．ran
A．surprise B．pleasure C．regret D．happiness
A．taken off B．cut off C．put off D．called off
A．cold B．far C．sunny D．late
A．value B．achievement C．fun D．disappointment
A．when B．before C．because D．unless
A．linked B．combined C．provided D．diagnosed
A．lives B．tomorrows C．lessons D．opportunities
A．surely B．almost C．ever D．never
Learning to save money when you're young is an important lesson. All good lessons and habits begin early, and saving is a skill that everyone ____. Many people—adults included—do not have a good ____ of saving for the long run.
I have been ___ to learn this lesson early because I have had a grass cutting business since I was 10 years old. __ the money I make I spend about 10 percent and save the other 90.
Making sure you save and don't spend too much is a good way to ____ wealth. I have put my earnings in a bank. Many teens I know spend all the money they earn so it never has a chance to ___. Young people should ___ that their teenage years are a great time to begin saving.
If you have a job at high school, you ___ have fun with some of the money. But you should also save some ____ it will grow. Then you can begin planning for your future. When you spend money, you not only lose that money, ____ lose the interest you could have earned by saving it.
After high school, college is ____， with expenses such as food and rent. If you can ____ a good percentage of the money you earn as a teen, going to college and buying a house will be much easier. If you are in your thirties without any savings, you will always have to ____.
Later in life it can be hard to start saving ___ general cost of living is more expensive and you may only have enough to pay your ___. If you want to buy a house and have a family, you need money to start with, which ____ saving.
Many say money cannot make you happy, and this is true. But money can help you to lead a ____ life.
Saving early will mean you will have to work for fewer years when you are older. It will also _____ you to spend time doing the things that you want to do.____， it will mean you can live the way you want to without __.
A．needs B．likes C．arranges D．expects
A．knowledge B．experience C．form D．sense
A．foolish B．fundamental C．lucky D．grateful
A．With B．Of C．In D．From
A．divide up B．build up C．keep up D．make up
A．break B．run C．make D．grow
A．recognize B．realize C．research D．doubt
A．must B．dare C．should D．may
A．so that B．in case C．in that D．but for
A．but B．and C．also D．or
A．expensive B．cheap C．boring D．bitter
A．hold out B．hold up C．hold onto D．hold back
A．survive B．struggle C．tolerate D．die
A．if B．as long as C．while D．since
A．bills B．taxes C．attention D．consequences
A．results from B．gets from C．comes from D．escapes from
A．happy B．simple C．miserable D．secure
A．forbid B．allow C．advise D．request
A．In addition B．Above all C．On the contrary D．Believe it or not
A．consulting B．worrying C．resting D．thinking
People in communities have slowly been pushed apart over the years，mostly because people simply aren’t taking the time to say a simple “hello”．After considering this phenomenon，I decided I was going to the way I was doing things．
My came one morning when I was in the community library . I passed by a girt who her books out of her locker(夹子）．Thinking like most that someone else would help her pick them up，I continued my way．However，when I had to because I stupidly forgot my book，I noticed she had just finished packing them up by herself．No one had stopped to her．
“OK，”I thought to myself，“this is where I should have changed．”
My best opportunity came a few days later when I saw a man by himself waiting for the library to open, so I sat down next to him and began a ．It was difficult to get started，and even when I had to say goodbye，almost every from my new friend had a tone(语气)of doubt in it．And who could blame him?
People aren’t used to making an chat with a stranger．But a change，no matter how it is needed，doesn’t just happen．It takes people like us to make it possible．I you to take a small step out of your comfort zone and try to make someone’s day a little brighter. Together，we can really make society come as a whole．
A．change B．explain C．1earn D．show
A．trouble B．doubt C．wish D．opportunity
A．took B．dropped C．got D．pulled
A．go back B．stand by C．come out D．turn up
A．please B．greet C．help D．praise
A．sitting B．walking C．riding D．running
A．discussion B．lesson C．report D．conversation
A．joke B．cry C．response D．story
A．unchangeable B．Unprepared C．unforgettable D．unfinished
A．desperately B．frequently C．simply D．widely
A．allow B．warn C．order D．advise
A．1ater B．straighter C．closer D．Slower
From my second grade on，there was one event I feared every year：the piano recital(独奏会)．A recital____I had to practice a boring piece of music and perform before strangers．Each year I___ask my father if I could skip the recital “just this once”．And each year he’d shake his head，muttering(嘀咕) about building self-confidence and working towards a ．
So it was with really great that I stood in church one recent Sunday，video camera in hand，and my 68-year-old father sweating in his shirt rising to play the piano in his very first recital．
My father had longed to play music since childhood，but his family was poor and couldn’t lessons．He could have gone on regretting it， too many of us do．But though he was rooted in his past，he wasn’t there．When he retired three years ago，he his church music director to take him as a student．
For a moment after my father sat down at the keyboard，he stared down at his fingers．
Has he forgotten the ? I worried，remembering those split seconds ago when my mind would go blank and my fingers would ．But then came the beautiful melody(旋律)，from the fingers that once baited(装饵于)my fishing lines．And I he had been doing what music teachers always stress： the music and pretend the others aren’t there．
“I'm of him for starting something new at his age，”I said to my son Jeff．
“Yeah，and doing it so ，”Jeff added．
With his first recital，my father taught me more about courage and determination than all the words he used those 30-plus years ago．
A．reflected B．explained C．meant D．proved
A．would B．could C．might D．should
A．nothing B．everything C．anything D．something
A．goal B．stage C．journey D．chance
A．trouble B．satisfaction C．strength D．disappointment
A．kept B．sent C．watched D．felt
A．through B．from C．against D．before
A．miss B．afford C．select D．understand
A．as B．once C．if D．while
A．educated B．protected C．stuck D．spoiled
A．allowed B．invited C．inspired D．persuaded
A．roughly B．simply C．merrily D．curiously
A．words B．videos C．notes D．lessons
A．decades B．weeks C．hours D．moments
A．play B．freeze C．click D．adjust
A．same B．warm C．different D．dirty
A．predicted B．realized C．imagined D．insisted
A．pass over B．turn up C．concentrate on D．bring in
A．ashamed B．aware C．tired D．proud
A．casually B．anxiously C．nicely D．frequently
About 20 years ago, I was lucky to teach a disabled young woman named Audrey. Not only was she good at math and science, but she was also very in art. She could draw and paint beautifully. When Audrey graduated from university, she got two , one in fine arts and one in chemistry. Not too many people do well in two such areas of study. 根据上文：one in fine arts and one in chemistry.
Just before her high school graduation, Audrey me a wonderful gift. It was a watercolour painting of a mother and her baby. A tear from the mother’s eye as she looked at her child. Under the painting, Audrey had these words: “The deep love from Mother, me, touches another.” What a beautiful gift! I had the piece of art framed and in my office.
Years passed with many from one office to another and I the painting. Last year, after about eight years of not knowing where it was, I a phone call from a former colleague who said she had of mine. It was the picture Audrey had painted for me 18 years earlier. When cleaning out a storage room, she had my gift.
I was struck that the gift came back. I knew Audrey very well. When she was four years old, Audrey had a serious . What’s worse, her father left the house. It was her mother who brought her up with much trouble. She it but was disabled.
To , it is just a painting, but to me it shows how a mother’s love has helped a talent and how its pushes me ahead.
A．interested B．talented C．buried D．absorbed
A．degrees B．choice C．chances D．jobs
A．similar B．distinguishing C．different D．scientific
A．gave B．promised C．afforded D．presented
A．sank B．flooded C．escaped D．fell
A．quietly B．lovingly C．warmly D．gently
A．described B．marked C．written D．signed
A．past B．on C．with D．through
A．hung B．decorated C．painted D．added
A．migrations B．moves C．turns D．circles
A．left B．forgot C．lost D．ignored
A．accepted B．made C．dialed D．received
A．something B．books C．gifts D．letters
A．searched B．discovered C．observed D．touched
A．ancient B．colorful C．precious D．abstract
A．symptom B．fault C．heart D．disease
A．survived B．recovered C．struggled D．managed
A．someone else B．anyone else C．everyone else D．nobody else
A．encourage B．become C．develop D．practise
A．energy B．force C．strength D．power