This is my third story. When I was 17，I read a quote(引用) that something like，If you live each day it was your last，someday you’ll most certainly be right. Since then，for the past thirtythree years，I’ve looked the mirror every morning and asked myself：If today were the last day of my life，would I want to do what I am about to do today? And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a ，I know I need to change something.
About a year ago I was with cancer. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable，and that I should to live no longer than three to six months. They advised me to go home and get my in order，which is doctors’ practice for prepare to ．Later that evening when the doctors the cells taken from my pancreas(胰腺)under a microscope，they started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is with surgery(外科手术).I had the surgery and， ，I’m fine now.
That was the closest I had been to facing death，and I hope it’s the closest I get for a few more decades. Death is the we all share. No one has escaped it. And that is it should be，because death is very likely the single invention of life. It’s life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make for the new. Your time is ，so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma(信条)—which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly，have the courage to your heart and intuition(直觉)．They already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
A．said B．described C．went D．expressed
A．unless B．as if C．even if D．as long as
A．in B．at C．through D．on
A．row B．minute C．sense D．word
A．connected B．infected C．affected D．diagnosed
A．want B．dream C．expect D．imagine
A．duties B．businesses C．affairs D．life
A．work B．start C．talk D．die
A．looked B．viewed C．realized D．noticed
A．curable B．possible C．acceptable D．suitable
A．carefully B．thankfully C．anxiously D．hopefully
A．possession B．destination C．expectation D．position
A．ever B．even C．never D．still
A．when B．while C．as D．since
A．better B．worst C．worse D．best
A．use B．difference C．sense D．way
A．endless B．repeated C．countless D．limited
A．others B．other C．anyone’s D．some others
A．listen B．follow C．take D．accept
A．however B．whatever C．somehow D．somewhat
My father brought home a sailboat when I was ten, and almost each Sunday in summers we would go sailing. Dad was quite skilled in sailing, but not good at 36 . As for me, I 37 both before twelve because of living close to Lake Ontario.
The last time Dad and I set sail together is really 38 . It was a perfect weekend after I graduated from university. I came home and 39 Dad to go sailing. Out we set soon on the__40__ lake. Dad hadn’t sailed for years, but everything 41
well with the tiller (舵柄) in his hands.
When we were in the middle of the lake, a 42 wind came all of a sudden. The boat was hit __43 . Dad was always at his best in any 44 , but at this moment he 45 .
“John! 46 !” he shouted in a trembling voice, with the tiller still in his hands.
In my memory he could fix any 47 . He was the one I always 48 for strength and security. Before I could respond, a 49 of water got into the boat. I rushed to the tiller 50 it was too late. Another huge wall of water 51 the boat in a minute. We were thrown into the water, and Dad was struggling aimlessly. At that moment, I felt fiercely 52 of him.
I swam to Dad 53 and assisted him in climbing onto the hull (船壳) of the boat. Upon sitting on the hull, Dad was a little awkward about his flash of 54 . “It’s all right, Dad. We are safe now,” I comforted him.
That was the first time Dad had counted on me in a moment of emergency. More importantly, I found it was my turn to start 55 for my father.
A．boating B．running C．swimming D．teaching
A．enjoyed B．desired C．hated D．learned
A．unforgivable B．unforgettable C．cheerful D．regretful
A．sent B．ordered C．invited D．allowed
A．calm B．icy C．stormy D．thundery
A．finished B．went C．seemed D．sounded
A．strong B．gentle C．cold D．hot
A．repeatedly B．lightly C．hardly D．violently
A．danger B．place C．sport D．job
A．suffered B．fell C．froze D．withdrew
A．Look B．Help C．Run D．Jump
A．problem B．relationship C．machine D．boat
A．turned to B．lived with C．argued with D．objected to
A．fountain B．stream C．shower D．wave
A．if B．for C．after D．but
A．got through B．poured into C．turned over D．lifted up
A．ashamed B．protective C．tired D．afraid
A．hopelessly B．quickly C．slowly D．helplessly
A．pain B．anger C．fear D．shame
A．making up B．getting ready C．paying off D．looking out
Everyone in business has been told that success is all about attracting and retaining (留住) customers. It sounds simple and achievable. But,1, words of wisdom are soon forgotten. Once companies have attracted customers they often2the second half of the story. In the excitement of beating off the competition, negotiating prices, securing orders, and delivering the product, managers tend to become carried away. They forget what they regard as the boring side of business-3that the customer remains a customer.
4to concentrate on retaining as well as attracting customers costs business huge amounts of money annually. It has been estimated that the average company loses between 10 and 30 per cent of its customers every years. In constantly changing5, this is not surprising. What is surprising is the fact that few companies have any idea how many customers they have lost.
Only now are organizations beginning to wake up to those lost opportunities and calculate the6implications. Cutting down the number of customers a company loses can make a big7in its performance. Research in the US found that a five per cent decrease in the number of defecting (流失的) customers led to8increases of between 25 and 85 per cent.
In the US, Domino's Pizza estimates that a regular customer is worth more than $5,000 over ten years. A customer who receives a poor quality product or service on their first visit and9never returns, is losing the company thousands of dollars in10profits (more if you consider how many people they are likely to tell about their bad experience).
The logic behind cultivating customer11is impossible to deny. "In practice most companies' marketing effort is focused on getting customers, with little attention paid to12them", says Adrian Payne of Cornfield University' School of Management. "Research suggests that there is a close relationship between retaining customers and making profits.13customers tend to buy more, are predictable and usually cost less to service than new customers. Furthermore, they tend to be less price14, and may provide free word-of-mouth advertising. Retaining customers also makes it15for competitors to enter a market or increase their share of a market.
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Do you still remember your dreams from childhood? They’re like flowers that never fade, “23-year-old Liu Wei told a happy audience during a broadcast of the nationwide talent competition China’s Got Talent. Liu, an ___16____ pianist from Beijing, was named one of the show’s finalists.
Liu once had arms. At the age of 10 he accidentally grabbed a high-voltage wire and lost his arms. “My family and I were so ___17____ then,” Liu recalled. He credits a disable boy he met at the hospital who gives him the __18_____ to cheer him up.
He was forced to __19_____ playing soccer (his favorite sport) but bounced back and ___20____himself to learn swimming. After two years, Liu had won two gold medals and one silver at the National Swimming Championship for the disabled in 2002.
By the age of 19, Liu had taught himself __21_____ to play the piano with his feet, fulfilling a childhood ___22____ of composing and producing music, he said ___23____ a big smile. “__24_____ enough time, I could be just as same as anyone.”
“I can read music and have __25_____ the ‘toeing’ by myself,” he told. According to Liu, the big toe is the most __26_____ digit when “toeing,” but that he can only reach five keys at the same time. “It means I
have to train my toes to move more ___27____,” he said.
One of the show’s hosts, Cao Kefan, told press.“He was __28_____ so hard his feet were constantly cramping,” Cao said.
“ We’ve all __29_____ our dreams when we were young, but no one has fought as hard as you,” commented Gao Xiaosong. Gao is one of the show’s judges and one of most ___30____ music producers in China.
“You tell us that to __31_____ our dream, we need to s
pare no pains,” said Yi Nengjing, a show judge and Taiwanese pop star.
“I’ve received a lot of letters of support, all ___32____ me to focus on my music,” Liu said. When asked what he would do when the show was ___33____, he revealed several music companies had asked to __34_____ him. But whatever happened, he added he is sure he would keep __35_____ his dream.
“Music is like water an
d air to me,” he said. “I can’t live with out it.”
A．aimless B．legless C．armless D．forceless
A．desperate B．happy C．angry D．nervous
A．power B．strength C．energy D．enthusiasm
A．give away B．give in C．give up D．give off
A．let B．devoted C．abandoned D．challenged
A．what B．how C．whether D．which
A．idea B．purpose C．dream D．thought
A．at B．to C．in D．with
A．given B．if C．when D．only if
A．carried out B．figured out C．worked out D．gave out
A．flexible B．available C．sensible D．advisble
A．heavily B．rapidly C．slowly D．slightly
A．looking B．working C．exercising D．practicing
A．looked for B．fought for C．make for D．took for
A．influential B．beneficial C．potential D．official
A．make B．gain C．get D．realize
A．letting B．discouraging C．inspiring D．encouraging
A．by B．out C．over D．off
A．offer B．sign C．answer D．find
A．pursuing B．looking C．thinking D．promising
From the time each of my children started school, I packed their lunches. And in each lunch ,I___26_____ a note. Often written on a napkin (餐巾)， it might be thank you for a ____27____ moment ,a reminder of something we were happily expecting,or a bit of __28_______ for the coming test orsporting event.
In the early grade school they __29____ their notes. But as children grow older they become self-conacious(有自我意识的),and _30_______ he reached high
School,my older son ,Marc, informed me he no longer_31________ my daily notes.Telling him that he no longer needed to _32______them but I still needed write them, I___33_____ untill the day he gratuated
Six years after high school graduation, Marc called asked if he could move__34_____for a couple of months.I had spent those years well,graduating from college,__35______two internships()in Washington,DC,and __36_____,becoming a technical assistant in Sacramento.____37______ short vacation visits,hower,he had lived away from home .With his younger sister leaving for college, I was ___38____ happy to have Marc back.Since Iwas __39____ making lunch for his younger brother, I _40______ one for Marc,too.Imagine my __41______ when Igot a call from my 24-year-old son,__42___ his lunch.
Did I do something __43_____? Don’t you love me _44_____,Mom ? werejust a few of the questions he threw at me as I _45_____asked him what was wrong.
My note,Mom, he answered,Where is my note?
A．carried B．found C．included D．held
A．difficult B．special C．comfortable D．separate
A．congratulation B．improvement C．explanation D．encouragament
A．loved B．answered C．wrote D．examined
A．lately B．by the way C．by the time D．gradually
A．received B．understood C．enjoyed D．collected
A．copy B．read C．take D．send
A．held up B．gave up C．followed D．continued
A．out B．home C．to D．to Sacramento
A．organizing B．planning C．comparing D．completing
A．hopefully B．forfinally C．particularly D．certainly
A．Because of B．Instead of C．Except for D．As for
A．especially B．immediately C．equally D．generally
A．once B．again C．still D．even
A．packed B．fetched C．bought D．filled
A．fear B．surprise C．. anger D．disappointment
A．waiting for B．worrying about C．caring for D．asking about
A．wrong B．funny C．strange D．smart
A．any more B．enough C．once more D．better
One day, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work, I discovered that I had about 500 pounds of bircks left over! 36 carry the bricks down by hand I decided to lower them by a pulley（滑车）, which fortunately was _37 to the side of the building on the sixth floor.
Fastening the rope at the ground level, I went up to the roof and _38 the bricks into a barrel (桶). Then I went back to the _39 and untied the rope, 40 it tightly to insure a__41__ fall of the 500 punds of bricks. You know, I only weighed 135 pounds. Due to my__42 _ at being pulled off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and _43 to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I went on at a rather _44 _ rate up the building.
Near the third floor, I met the barrel __45 , which made my collarbone（锁骨）broken,__46 _ only slightly, I didn’t stop. At approximately（大约）the same time, the barrel _47__ the ground, and the bottom fell out of the barrel. 48 the bricks, the barrel now weighed about 50 pounds. I refer you again to my weight of 135 pounds. _49 you might imagine, I began a rapid down.
Also near the _50 _ floor, I met the barrel coming up, which made my legs broken. The encounter（相遇）with the _ 51 _ slowed me enough to reduce my _52 when I fell onto the pile of bricks, and 53 , only three vertebrae（椎骨）were broken. However, as I __54__there on the bricks in pain, unable to move, and _55 the barrel six stories above, I again lost my presence of mind. I let go of the rope!
A．Rather than B．Other than C．Better than D．Instead of
A．connected B．attached C．added D．joined
A．brought B．carried C．loaded D．took
A．ceiling B．floor C．roof D．ground
A．grabbing B．pulling C．fastening D．holding
A．sudden B．quick C．slow D．peaceful
A．carelessness B．surprise C．excitement D．joy
A．forgot B．had C．took D．began
A．slow B．rapid C．strange D．special
A．coming down B．going up C．going down D．coming up
A．Slowed B．Calmed C．Relaxed D．Cooled
A．fell B．beat C．hit D．knocked
A．Besides B．Without C．With D．Beyond
A．As B．When C．While D．Which
A．first B．ground C．second D．third
A．bricks B．barrel C．pulley D．rope
A．pain B．weight C．injuries D．speed
A．unluckily B．surely C．undoubtedly D．fortunately
A．sat B．lay C．stood D．bent
A．noticed B．remembered C．watched D．saw