One Friday, a businessman decided to ask his boss for a salary raise．Before going to , he told his wife about it．All day long he felt and uneasy．Finally, in the late afternoon, he gathered the courage to approach his employer．To his , the boss agreed to give him a raise．
That evening, the husband arrived home and was surprised to see a beautiful table set with their best china and candles．Smelling the aroma （香味）of the wonderful meal, he that someone from the office had called his wife and tipped her off （透露消息）．
Finding her in the kitchen, he eagerly the details of his good news．When they sat down to the meal, next to his plate he found a note that read: ''Congratulations, darling．I knew you'd get the ．This dinner is to show you how much I love you．''
After dinner, on his way to the to help his wife serve dessert, he noticed a second card had slipped out of his wife's pocket．Picking it up, he read: ''Don't worry about not getting the raise．You it anyway．This dinner is to show how much I love you．"
A．school B．work C．home D．dinner
A．nervous B．relaxed C．curious D．dangerous
A．anger B．disappointment C．sorrow D．delight
A．careful B．cheerful C．helpful D．wonderful
A．deserted B．burned C．lighted D．used
A．heard B．found C．guessed D．forgot
A．shared B．told C．knew D．talked
A．position B．note C．raise D．news
A．office B．living-room C．kitchen D．study
A．donate B．devote C．demand D．deserve
When I was about to go back home, it was dark. In order to get home as soon as possible, I hired a taxi. The car was along the road, now well-lit, now sank in darkness. I broke the on purpose, that the driver might be too tired to drive. “When do you go back home in the evening?” “9 o’clock. I’ll go after this trip.”
“Then when do you come out in the morning?” I another question.
“9 o’clock, too. And I go home for lunch and dinner, just as if I worked at an office.” His easiness surprised me, because every time I ride in a taxi, what I hear from are only complaints. They complain that they work , that it is to earn money, that they are bullied (欺侮) by the policeman, or that the corporation leaders are seated, , and enjoy the of others’ work. It seems that they have a grievance (不满意) against everything. But this driver told me, “I find it to be a section chief as I was before. I don’t like management work. I like driving, just for . It’s that I drive without a passenger. So I can earn two or three thousand Yuan a month with ease. Any ? Yes, I never follow an empty taxi. If it goes , I go northward. If it goes along the highway, I turn into a street. In this way I always get customers.
His words showed his satisfaction with his life and the pride he in his job. Such feelings are so among people nowadays as oxygen in high mountains. As an ancient saying , “Neither joy in material gains nor grieve over personal setbacks (挫折).” How many people nowadays can show high ideals by simple living and go far with a calm mind? I couldn’t help feeling curious when I found such a state of mind in a stranger on a cold winter night.
A．running B．flying C．driving D．Walking.
A．silence. B．stillness C．calmness. D．quietness
A．in order B．for fear C．in case. D．on condition.
A．threw out B．gave up C．let off D．set off
A．driver B．passenger C．taxi D．radio
A．need B．should C．must D．have to
A．from morning till afternoon B．from dawn till dark C．from night till morning D．from morning till night
A．hard B．impossible C．possible D．easy
A．busy B．lazily C．lazy D．busily
A．gains B．fruits C．results D．achievements
A．excited B．exciting C．tiring D．tired
A．work B．pleasure C．interest D．money
A．fortunate B．wise C．unfortunate D．likely
A．hardly B．often C．seldom D．usually
A．secret B．method C．trick D．skill
A．eastward B．westward C．southward D．northward
A．lonely B．narrow C．wide D．empty
A．kept B．had C．took D．made
A．much B．little C．rare D．common
A．goes B．talks C．says D．suggests
My class and I visited Chris Care Center in Phoenix, Arizona to comfort the old people who needed a little cheering up during the holiday season.
The first two there were for persons requiring help in taking care of themselves. We sang for them. They loved our sweet songs and the flowers that we left with them.
As we were on the third floor for old people with Alzheimer (老年痴呆症), most of them off at the walls or floor. However, one lady my eye. She was sitting by the door, in a wheelchair, singing songs to herself. They weren’t the songs that we were singing, at least they didn’t like that. As we got with each festive song, she did as well. The louder we got, the louder she got. she was singing, she was also out to us with her hands and body. I knew that I should have gone over to her, but I thought that my were to my students. People who worked at the care center could to her, I thought. Just when I stopped feeling about not giving her the attention she needed, one of my students, Justin, showed me what the holiday season is really about.
Justin also the same lady. The difference between us is that he on her needs, but I didn’t. During the last song, “Silent Night,” Justin walked over to her and held her hand. He looked this aged lady in her and with his actions said, “You are important, and I will take my to let you know that.”
This tired, elderly lady stopped singing and held his hand. Then she touched his cheek with the other hand. Tears began to fall down her face. No can completely describe that touching moment...
It a boy to teach me, a man, about kindness and love. Justin’s example of a complete, selfless attitude toward another was a that I will never forget. He was the teacher that day, and I consider myself to have witnessed his lesson.
A．floors B．buildings C．rooms D．groups
A．beautifully B．shyly C．madly D．bravely
A．singing B．meeting C．gathering D．dancing
A．shut B．stared C．paid D．glared
A．looked B．hurt C．escaped D．caught
A．appear B．hear C．sound D．feel
A．faster B．nearer C．louder D．higher
A．Because B．Though C．Since D．As
A．moving B．reaching C．coming D．spreading
A．interests B．abilities C．responsibilities D．feelings
A．speak B．object C．attend D．compare
A．guilty B．sure C．afraid D．scary
A．feared B．noticed C．helped D．avoided
A．called B．acted C．insisted D．kept
A．tears B．hands C．face D．eyes源:
A．body B．flower C．time D．cheek
A．songs B．poems C．expressions D．words
A．made B．wasted C．caused D．took
A．lesson B．message C．activity D．class
A．clever B．lucky C．right D．foolish
You Did More Than Carry My books
Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the boy ahead of him had dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with a baseball bat and several other things. Mark down and helped the boy pick up these articles. they were going the same way, he helped to carry some of them for him. As they walked, Mark the boy’s name was Bill. He video games, baseball and history, but he was having with his other subjects and that he had just broken with his girlfriend.
They arrived at Bill’s home first and Mark was in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed with a few laughs and some shared small talk, and then Mark went home. They to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, and then both ended up from the same high school. Just three weeks before , Bill asked Mark if they talk.
Bill him of the day years ago when they had first met. “Do you wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill. “You see, I 4 out my locker because I didn’t want to leave a mess anyone else. I had planned to run away and I was going home to my things. But after we spent some time together and laughing, I realized that I had done that, I would have a new friend and missed all the fun we would have together. So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you did a lot more. You my life.”
A．fell B．sat C．lay D．knelt
A．Although B．Since C．After D．Until
A．discovered B．realized C．said D．decided
A．played B．loved C．tried D．made
A．questions B．ideas C．trouble D．doubt
A．up B．out C．off D．away
A．called B．helped C．invited D．allowed
A．peacefully B．willingly C．freely D．pleasantly
A．continued B．agreed C．forced D．offered
A．graduation B．movement C．separation D．vacation
A．would B．should C．could D．must
A．demanded B．reminded C．removed D．asked
A．ever B．usually C．even D．never
A．checked B．took C．cleaned D．put
A．over B．into C．with D．for
A．find B．pick C．pack D．hold
A．talking B．playing C．reading D．watching
A．before B．if C．while D．as
A．forgotten B．passed C．left D．lost
A．helped B．recovered C．improved D．changed
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