Some years ago when I was in my first year in college, 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. I struggled for days with draft after draft. 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 read the editor’s letter in :
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．voice C．speech D．smile
A．proud B．active C．satisfied D．moved
A．visited B．emailed C．phoned D．interviewed
A．agreed B．refused C．hesitated D．paused
A．replied B．discovered C．explained D．knew
A．seriously B．patiently C．nervously D．quietly
A．blaming B．fooling C．inviting D．urging
A．pressure B．failure C．comment D．hardship
A．Finally B．Luckily C．Publicly D．Gradually
A．disappeared B．returned C．spread D．improved
A．compare B．struggle C．promote D．compete
A．ignore B．deliver C．face D．receive
A．decorating B．repairing C．cleaning D．leaving
A．disbelief B．anxiety C．horror D．trouble
A．secure B．related C．private D．reliable
A．broadcast B．create C．publish D．assess
A．recover B．prepare C．escape D．forget
A．energetic B．endless C．typical D．enjoyable
A．experience B．success C．benefit D．accident
A．attempt B．afford C．expect D．pretend
Robeson was born in a very poor family. At seven, he had to pick coal in a deserted mine near his home, then he sold 1 he had picked and earned a few coins to help his parents. He had 2 schooling, for being so poor, how could they 3 school fees?
When he was fifteen, he worked 4 a servant in a school. Looking at other children studying in the classroom, he felt 5 for himself. How he6 to have the same chance! He decided to study by7 . In the daytime, after the sweeping and cleaning was over, he 8 stand by the window outside the classroom trying to catch what the teacher said. At night, he tried his best to remember what he 9 during the day. He worked10 hard at his lessons that he sometimes had just three or four hours to sleep. The more he learned, the greater 11 he showed in his lessons. A maths teacher discovered him and came to like this diligent boy and12 him to sit at the back of the class. In one exam, he was the 13 one in the whole school who reached the highest grade. He would have been given the scholarship if he 14 a regular student of the school.
Robeson 15 through six long years with his study of maths and wrote several articles which captured the 16 of some university professors. They admired his talent 17 his diligence. To give him a good chance, they hired him as a librarian and 18 him free guidance. Robeson felt 19 , for he was sure that before him there was a broad road20 success.
A．whether B．which C．that D．what
A．many B．few C．little D．much
A．buy B．afford C．send D．read
A．as B．like C．for D．by
A．angry B．ashamed C．proud D．sorry
A．hated B．decided C．wished D．regretted
A．the teacher B．himself C．his parents D．his schoolmates
A．could B．ought to C．should D．would
A．had learned B．has been taught C．has heard D．had been written down
A．very B．so C．too D．quite
A．joy B．interest C．time D．taste
A．allowed B．agreed C．let D．refused
A．worst B．only C．last D．laziest
A．had been B．has been C．is D．was
A．learned B．listened C．mastered D．struggled
A．notice B．influence C．eyes D．attention
A．except for B．according to C．as well as D．in spite of
A．taught B．offered C．lent D．sent
A．sad B．angry C．happy D．disappointed
A．leading to B．coming from C．made of D．covered with
In a world where comparisons happen non-stop, it is difficult to look outside yourself and to ever be 46 with who you are. There’s always someone who’s a bit 47 . The only solution is to reach 48 and measure against what Warren Buffett calls your own inner yardstick. There is no more 49 measure for comparison than who your were yesterday, last week or last decade, when you were at your 50 .
Nothing useful ever comes from comparison to others. Either you see yourself as better than someone and you get 51 , or you see someone else as better than you and you feel like all your hard work is for 52 . It is a fool’s game. Not one of us is exactly 53 . The only direct and honest comparison is 54 yourself. Everything else is apples to oranges.
My opinion is that you are only 55 to compare yourself to someone else if their life56 is the same as your own. Good luck finding that 57 . And one thing is for sure. No matter how hard you work and how dedicated（埋头苦干的）you are, there will always be someone who can run a little faster, jump a little higher, score a little better or look a little nicer in a swimsuit. And if there’s not, you can 58 someone is coming up fast 59 you. So how can you always win in life? Become your best 60 .
Having an image of your most recent past limits is the perfect thing to 61 you to the next level. If you ran 7 flights of stairs yesterday, then do 8 today. Who 62 if the guy next to you did 15? It doesn’t make a bit of 63 . You are a more 64 person today than you were yesterday. Your own 65 is all you need.
A．patient B．strict C．content D．concerned
A．stronger B．better C．lazier D．wiser
A．inside B．out C．for D．up
A．accurate B．useful C．careful D．powerful
A．end B．best C．convenience D．side
A．satisfied B．busy C．inspired D．lazy
A．nothing B．fun C．sure D．success
A．equal B．unique C．alike D．common
A．within B．by C．for D．of
A．instructed B．allowed C．directed D．suggested
A．situation B．position C．occasion D．accommodation
A．game B．match C．friend D．enemy
A．conclude B．bet C．announce D．declare
A．before B．beside C．below D．behind
A．assistant B．competitor C．coach D．teacher
A．contribute B．expose C．push D．devote
A．cares B．says C．wonders D．asks
A．effort B．sense C．difference D．change
A．successful B．happy C．lucky D．fit
A．benefit B．progress C．habit D．result
Although I had left school against the advice of my teachers, I had, without telling anyone, tried to 36 my studies in literature at evening classes. It was a tiresome 37 from one end of the city to another and to 38 among adults was uninteresting. I was the youngest in the 39 , so the friendship I knew at school was 40 . I put up with it for a short period. It was 41 long a walk on cold winter’s nights and it was hard to put my 42 into Shakespeare with wet shoes and trousers. So I continued writing poetry at home.
By chance, I 43 some prizes and awards for literature. A young woman from a 44 company came to the college one day. She told me that I won a national poetry award. I 45 at her in astonishment (吃惊) and disbelief. She wanted to make a short 46 about me, to which I said, “No, I couldn’t do that.” Not that I had any real 47 . I was just frightened. In the end she 48 me that I should do it the following day.
So I did. They made a short film of me reading one of my 49 and I became 50 interested in literature than ever. I 51 what I should do after this, and decided some weeks later that I could not 52 myself spending the rest of my days dealing with machines. So one evening, I hesitatingly (犹豫地) told my parents that I wanted to 53 to school. They were greatly surprised and a little afraid, but they did not try to persuade me not to. They wanted to know if I was 54 , and if I knew what it meant and 55 I realized that if I gave up my job training, it would be very difficult to get a good job. But nothing could stop me, and they asked about the matter no further.
A．stop B．begin C．continue D．walk
A．talk B．journey C．job D．walk
A．do B．sit C．talk D．work
A．family B．class C．city D．country
A．absent B．missed C．lost D．over
A．too B．very C．much D．quite
A．defeated B．beat C．won D．hit
A．TV B．radio C．shoe D．food
A．looked B．fixed C．shouted D．stared
A．talk B．film C．conversation D．speech
A．reason B．cause C．excuse D．wish
A．advised B．suggested C．agreed D．persuaded
A．poems B．stories C．speeches D．plans
A．less B．much C．far D．more
A．wandered B．considered C．discussed D．wondered
A．think B．consider C．spend D．imagine
A．drop B．leave C．return D．go to
A．sure B．clear C．curious D．true
A．whether B．that C．how D．what
During the last fifteen years of my mother's life she suffered with Alzheimer's disease. Until then she had been a bright, __51__ woman deeply interested and involved in the world around her. I would go home to visit her in Virginia and she would look at me in a(an) __52__ way and ask, "Who are you?" I would answer, "I'm your son." "Where do you live?" She would ask. "In California," I would tell her. "Isn't that interesting," she would say, "I have a son in California."
She seemed __53__ forgetful and confused at the beginning of the disease, __54__ later on she would go __55__periods of intense anxiety. She would pace through the house she had lived in most of her life __56__ uneasily that she wanted to go home. Or she would leave home and wander away if she were __57__ for a short time.
Hoping to please her and put her mind __58__ I would take her for a drive, visiting sites where she had lived as a __59__. In the yard of the hillside house in Shipman I sat in the car and admired the view of the old oaks and long green lawn. I __60__ my mother there as a little girl playing with the pet lamb she had been so fond of. I looked to her for some __61__. She shook her head and said, "I want to go home." Over the years I have decided that what my mother was calling home was not a __62__, but a time. I suspect it was a time when she was much __63__, when her children were still underfoot, when her husband was still vigorous and attentive.
Watching my mother's suffering set me wondering __64__ I would have in mind if someday I couldn't find __65__ and wanted to go there. In this family we tend to be long-lived and we grow fuzzy (糊涂的) minded as the years go by. At eighty I have already noticed some __66__ symptoms. My doctor says the forgetfulness is only __67__ and that it comes with age. Still the fear of Alzheimer's is haunting there. Someday __68__ and when I become even more __69__ minded than I am now, unable to drive and unable to tell you where "home" is, my dear son, I expect I will ask you to take me home, I know you will do your best to find the place I need to be. I leave these notes for your __70__.
A．accessible B．cheerful C．hopeful D．considerate
A．excited B．doubtful C．puzzled D．amazed
A．greatly B．hardly C．totally D．simply
A．but B．so C．and D．though
A．with B．through C．by D．over
A．declaring B．suggesting C．crying D．commenting
A．unsettled B．unattended C．unconcerned D．uninspired
A．in place B．under control C．in order D．at ease
A．lady B．student C．child D．mother
A．told B．pictured C．stated D．encouraged
A．response B．smile C．reasons D．answers
A．name B．dream C．symbol D．place
A．prettier B．younger C．happier D．healthier
A．that B．where C．which D．when
A．memory B．passion C．home D．way
A．deadly B．alarming C．interesting D．allergic
A．natural B．special C．rare D．unique
A．if B．what C．until D．whether
A．mechanical B．cloudy C．clear D．stubborn
A．appreciation B．satisfaction C．guidance D．convenience
One day，a man in rags begged from door to door along the street. With an old wallet in
his hanD. he was asking for a few coins to buy something to eat. He kept complaining（抱怨）
about his bad fortune and kept 36 why those who had so much money were never 37
and were always desiring more.
"As far as I'm concerneD. if I had only enough to 38 and to wear, I would not want anything more.”
Just at that moment Goddess Fortune, who came down the 39 ，saw the beggar and said to him, "Hi, I have wished to 40 you for a long time. Now, open your 41 and I will pour my gold into it. But I will do that only on this 42 ：All that falls into the wallet will be pure gold; but every piece falling upon the 43 shall become dust. Do you unde stand?""I see.”said the beggar."Then you should 44 ！It's obvious that your wallet is a(n) 45 one，so don't to it too heavily,”said the Goddess Fortune.
The excited beggar could hardly 46 to have gold He quickly opened his wallet, anc
47 of yellow coins was poured into it. The wallet grew heavier and heavier.
"Is that enough? Isn't it cracking?" asked Fortune.
"Never 48 ．It's still strong enough now.，’answered the beggar.
The wallet was filled with so many coins that the beggar's hands began to 49 . "A if only the golden stream would 50 forever! Just a little more，”said the beggar,“ 51 just a handful or two.”
"There! It's full. The wallet will 52 ．”warned the Goddess, but the beggar reque teD.“It will 53 a little more, just a little more.”
One more piece was added and the wallet split. The 54 fell upon the ground and came dust, The greedy beggar had nowto 55 but his broken bag.
A．showing B．explaining C．proving D．wondering
A．relaxed B．satisfied C．worried D．depressed
A．learn B．watch C．eat D．play
A．street B．bridge C．yard D．forest
A．praise B．forgive C．help D．comfort
A．coat B．pocket C．box D．wallet
A．occasion B．suggestion C．situation D．condition
A．hand B．feet C．ground D．corner
A．look out B．look after C．look up D．look down
A．large B．empty C．worn D．full
A．stand B．wait C．breathe D．think
A．stream B．piece C．pair D．variety
A．disturb B．request C．fear D．insist
A．spread B．close C．loose D．shake
A．pour B．end C．dry D．melt
A．take B．add C．lend D．send
A．flow B．burst C．disappear D．change
A．attract B．permit C．include D．hold
A．present B．food C．treasure D．metal
A．nothing B．anything C．everything D．something