One day in September we were doing repair work on my parents’ old house to get it ready for my youngest daughter's wedding. We had to a great climbing plant that had grown a roof beam(房梁)，so that we could repair the roof and the walls.
When my husband was taking the plant away, he found the of a blackbird that had made its home in the leaves. He then something among that mass of earth and straw of the nest. He broke the earth around it into pieces with his finger tips and, to his , saw glittering gold. It was a child’s bracelet(手镯). He ran into the house to me.
“You won’t believe that the blackbirds not only steal the best fruit we to feed on,”he said, “but they also want their children to in a cradle(摇篮) of gold!”
When my daughter came over on the eve of the , we told her about this occurrence(发生的事).
“Don’t you remember, mother?” she said with a loud . “When I was eight, you gave me a bracelet that I a few days later while out playing in the yard? It was this one!”
As the bracelet no longer its owner and was dirty, I decided to take it into my safekeeping.
In December of the following year, the young couple’s baby son was baptized(受洗礼). Among the the newborn baby received, I placed his mother’s bracelet, now shining like . I hope that if my grandson loses it, one of the that live in my backyard is somewhere nearby.
A．cover B．remove C．grow D．water
A．across B．over C．beyond D．through
A．build B．rescue C．paint D．print
A．nest B．baby C．body D．egg
A．moved B．got C．picked D．noticed
A．shiny B．colorful C．nice D．special
A．honor B．surprise C．delight D．disappointment
A．ask B．tell C．give D．show
A．working B．cheating C．thieving D．dreaming
A．buy B．plant C．store D．collect
A．listen B．sing C．lie D．wait
A．party B．Christmas C．birthday D．wedding
A．strange B．important C．terrible D．funny
A．cry B．laugh C．sigh D．sound
A．hid B．threw C．lost D．broke
A．interested B．satisfied C．matched D．fitted
A．jewels B．toys C．clothes D．presents
A．new B．attractive C．modern D．golden
A．almost B．just C．ever D．even
A．grandchildren B．blackbirds C．Neighbors D．mice
In the United States there was an unusual tale telling of the daughter of a mechanic (技工). One day while walking along the bank of a lake, the girl 36 to see 20 eggs laid by a wild goose. After some time the girl 37 the mother would not return to her eggs and she 38 to take them home. There she carefully 39 the eggs in the heat of a lamp. Several days 40 the eggs broke and the baby geese came into the 41.
Geese are known to take the first living thing they see as their mother. 42，to these young geese, the girl was their mother.
As they 43, the girl was able to 44 her birds to run across the grass, but she could not teach them to 45,. The girl became increasingly worried about this, both when 46 and in her dreams. later, she had an 47 She would pilot a plane to guide them in 48 . She asked her father for a plane and he assembled (组装) a small aircraft for her.
Caring about 49 safety, the father decided to pilot the plane himself. However, the birds did not 50 or follow him, and 51 slept in the grass.
One day, the girl 52 into the plane, started it and soon left the 53, Seeing their mother take to the air, the birds 54 flapped (拍打) their wings and 55. She flew the plane freely in the sky, her young birds following.
A．managed B．attempted C．happened D．supposed
A．helped B．decided C．afforded D．meant
A．placed B．protected C．treated D．examined
A．ago B．out C．later D．long
A．family B．lake C．home D．world
A．But B．Also C．Thus D．Still
A．increased B．improved C．rose D．grew
A．ask B．lead C．want D．allow
A．fly B．race C．swim D．sing
A．asleep B．away C．around D．awake
A．idea B．opinion C．explanation D．excuse
A．sky B．heaven C．flight D．plane
A．his B．her C．their D．its
A．respect B．remember C．recognize D．receive
A．so B．instead C．hardly D．too
A．climbed B．looked C．reached D．fell
A．house B．floor C．water D．pound
A．secretly B．disappointedly C．patiently D．eagerly
A．looked away B．set out C．went by D．turned back
I have never met a successful person who wasn’t 100% prepared. Once you realize the advantage that exceptional __21___ gives, it becomes a lifelong habit.
Ivan Lendl is a typical example. He has thought about every side to his game, _22___ it is playing plan against an opponent, or his diet, or fitness program. But what really __23____ me was when he told me he also knew the airline and flight number he was taking to the city in question. That is the way he __24___ everything. It is one element that has made him a champion.
One reason many of us aren’t prepared is that we rarely appreciate it. And if anyone does find out we have prepared carefully to make certain we __25___ our goal, we may well be laughed at. In fact, many people are afraid to be prepared: if they are, they lose an excellent _26____when they fail.
In sport, you meet athletes who let it be known they are not in top condition for a competition. It __27___ the pressure. If they lose, they were not at their best. If they win, they go beyond everyone’s __28___. This is a classic 50% solution: you win some, you lose some. Then there are the people who do their preparation in public. They constantly tell you how hard they are working. That way, if they fail, it is not because they did not try. This is the 75% solution: prepare well, give it your best, let things turn out as they will.
The very best performers, __29___ , spend hidden hours to make sure that they are No. 1. They don’t need or want the world to see them sweat. This is the 110% solution: First determine the __30__ result. Then calculate your effort.
21A. chance B. possibility c. preparation D. ambition
22A. whether B. when c. whatever D. if
23A. amused B. delighted c. astonished D. confused
24A. works out B. deals with c. gets to D. acts as
25A. acquire B. achieve c. possess D. have
26A. reason B. explanation c. prediction D. excuse
27A. relieves B. releases c. rejects D. regulates
28A. expectations B. wishes c. ideas D. opinions
29A. yet B. however c. besides D. furthermore
30A. desired B. acquired c. admired D. prepared
Small moments sometimes last a very long time. And a few words—though they mean 21at the time to the people who say them—can have great power.
I recently heard a story from Malcolm Dalkoff, who has been a professional 22 for the last twenty-four years, mostly in advertising.
As a boy, Dalkoff was terribly shy and23. He had few friends and no self-confidence. Then one day, his high-school English teacher, Ruth Brauch, asked the class to write their own chapter that would 24the last chapter of the novel since they had been reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Dalkoff wrote his chapter and turned it in. Today he cannot recall anything special about the chapter he wrote, or what 25Mrs. Brauch gave him. 26, what he does remember is the four words in the paper: “This is good writing.” Four words. They 27his life.
“Until I read those words, I had no idea of who I was or what I was or what I was going to be,” he said, “After reading her 28,I went home and wrote a short story,29I had always dreamed of doing but never believed I could do.”
Over the rest of that year in school, he wrote many short stories and always brought them to Mrs. Brauch for instruction. “She was 30, helping and honest. She was just what I needed,” Dalkoff said.
| 21 |
A. much |
B. little |
C. well |
D. ill |
| 22 |
A .report |
B. designer |
C. writer |
D. teacher |
| 23 |
A .weak |
B. independent |
C. troublesome |
D. helpless |
| 24 |
A. follow |
B. change |
C. connect |
D. explain |
| 25 |
A .help |
B. encouragement |
C. grade |
D. words |
| 26 |
A. Therefore |
B. However |
C. Meanwhile |
D. Besides |
| 27 |
A .improved |
B. developed |
C. changed |
D. enriched |
| 28 |
A. chapter |
B. novel |
C. note |
D .explanation |
| 29 |
A. everything |
B. something |
C. nothing |
D. anything |
| 30 |
A. encouraging |
B. careful |
C. strict |
D. effective |
The Arhat Who Bares His Heart (开心罗汉)
Here is a story about one of the 18 arhats (阿罗汉) in the Buddhist temple.
Shubo Jia (戌博迦) was a crown prince. He did not really want to become the __21__ of his small state. Instead, he wanted to leave the world of red dust and follow the Buddha and find enlightenment. But he __22__ he had responsibilities to his kingdom.
His younger brother, however, wanted very much to become king, and was __23__ to mount (发动) an armed rebellion against Shubo Jia in order to claim the throne.
And so, to calm his brother and to prevent a war, and above all to pursue the path he had decided he must follow to find enlightenment, he called his __24__ to him, and explained that there was no desire in his heart __25__ the land. All that was in his __26__ was the Buddha nature.
His brother did not believe any of this, for, in his mind, whatever the Buddha nature might be, it could not __27__ with the joy of running a kingdom, even a small kingdom and having everyone obey one’s every command. And so his brother suspected that Shubo Jia was __28__ trying to fool him with some unworthy ruse.
SHubo Jia protested that he was completely __29__. And with that, he pulled __30__ his gown, and the face of a Buddha was seen peering out from the middle of his chest, for indeed in his heart there was only the Buddha nature.
So that is how he is represented in art today. And it is why he is called “The Arhat Who Bares His Heart.”
21. A. head B. king C. prince D. ruler
22. A. knew B. guessed C. thought D. said
23. A. anxious B. afraid C. prepared D. interested
24. A. men B. father C. wife D. brother
25. A. to rule B. to take C. to keep D. to follow
26. A. state B. power C. heart D. eyes
27. A. compete B. deal C. connect D. compare
28. A. certainly B. justly C. merely D. sincerely
29. A. sincere B. true C. faithful D. eager
30. A. down B. open C. off D. out
Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the boy ahead of him had tripped(绊倒) and dropped all his books. Mark 21and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles. Then as they walked along together, Mark discovered the boy’s name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball and history, 22he was having lots of trouble with his other subjects. He also learned that he had just 23with his girlfriend.
They arrived at Bill’s home first and Mark was 24in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed pleasantly. They then became good friends and later entered the same senior high school where they had brief contacts over the years. Finally the long awaited senior year came and three weeks 25graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk. Bill 26him of the day years ago when they had first met. “Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill. “You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn’t want to leave a 27for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mother’s sleeping 28.But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I 29that if I had killed myself, I would have 30that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books that day, you picked up my life as well.”
21. A. sat down B. lay down C. knelt down D. slowed down
22. A. and B. but C. but hat D. and that
23. A. fallen in love B. broken up C. got along well D. done away
24. A. invited B. allowed C. stopped D. interested
25. A. after B. from C. before D. since
26. A. asked B. informed C. remembered D. reminded
27. A. note B. message C. sign D. mess
28. A. medicine B. pilled C. bags D. clothes
29. A. wondered B. doubted C. realized D. forgot
30. A. missed B. lost C. seized D. spent