Do you love libraries? If you love books as much as I do, then I’m certain you must.
My library card has a(n) place in my wallet, and some of my favorite of childhood come from the public library in my hometown. It is a(n) house, much like the one introduced in Secrets of the Blue Hill Library, coming this summer.
The children’s section(区) of our library is on the lower level, and I felt when I walked down the steps, opened the small door (just right for a child) and entered the room with many rows of shelves. It was a wonderland where new adventures (奇遇) and friends awaited(等待).
I clearly the pleasant smell of books — a mix of new and smell — that attracted me deeply, and, like a bee moving from flower to flower, I book after book as I took in varieties of on those shelves and tried to choose the next ones I would take home. I preferred to read books about real-life heroes, whose lives me a lot. From the books on our library shelves, the world was opened to me in an attractive way.
, of course, my reading took me up the steps and into the library on the first and second floors, where I continued reading every book with much . To be honest, I can’t how different my life would have been if it had not been for the variety of reading I at the library. I can say for certain that, its strong and comforting presence in my life, I would not be the person I am today — a successful writer.
In the book Secrets of the Blue Hill Library, the people of this small town have no . But two wonderful women come together to provide both a nice library for the town and a home for Anne, the leading character. But that is only the beginning of the adventures that await Anne—and you as my fellow library lover.
A．open B．secret C．proud D．safe
A．poets B．memories C．scenes D．books
A．visiting B．running C．cleaning D．painting
A．ancient B．beautiful C．national D．free
A．tired B．embarrassed C．worried D．excited
A．mostly B．usually C．truly D．simply
A．catch B．remember C．describe D．carry
A．bitter B．strange C．old D．sharp
A．picked up B．checked out C．gave out D．put away
A．sizes B．pages C．titles D．prices
A．warned B．encouraged C．surprised D．challenged
A．Somehow B．Besides C．Regularly D．Finally
A．college B．research C．adult D．video
A．thought B．interest C．time D．success
A．explore B．imagine C．compare D．show
A．examined B．bought C．discovered D．wrote
A．Since B．But C．While D．So
A．from B．for C．without D．in
A．young B．new C．present D．busy
A．forest B．museum C．library D．market
It was the first time in Cindy’s 12 years that she had tried to make a cake, but it wasn’t exactly a success. The cake was well lumpy (结成块的). And it tasted ____, as if she ____ the sugar. Besides, the ____ was in a mess with all the fixings for cake out of place.
But Cindy wasn’t thinking about the mess. She was anxious for her parents to ____ home, so she could ____ her gift to them. She turned off the lights and waited ____ in the darkness. When at last she saw the ____ of the car’s headlights, she ____ herself in the kitchen doorway. When she heard the ____ sliding into the front door, she was close to exploding.
Her parents entered quietly, but Cindy would have ____ of that. She turned on the lights dramatically and gestured towards the kitchen ____, where a slightly off-balance cake awaited ____ praise. But her mother saw nothing but the ____. She shouted, “How many times have I talked to you about cleaning up after yourself?”
“But, Mom. I was only…”
“Clean this up immediately.”
____, Cindy’s mother isn’t the only parent who ____ the occasional inability to see the wood for the trees. Sometimes we allow ourselves to be ____ to things of long-term significance by the thing that seems ____ now — but isn’t. ____ kitchen sanitation (卫生设备) is important, is it ____ the sacrifice (祭品) of tender feelings and relationships? As patents, there are times when we ____ need to see the mess in the kitchen, and times when we only need to see the cake.
A．delicious B．sweet C．fresh D．bad
A．had run out B．had been given out C．had been worn out D．had used up
A．kitchen B．bedroom C．garden D．lab
A．leave B．visit C．return D．miss
A．send B．present C．share D．prepare
A．patiently B．excitedly C．nervously D．politely
A．shadow B．flame C．flash D．body
A．positioned B．managed C．adapted D．dropped
A．window B．car C．chair D．key
A．much B．part C．none D．something
A．floor B．table C．knife D．wall
A．their B．her C．his D．Cindy’s
A．chance B．result C．cake D．mess
A．Hopefully B．Luckily C．Happily D．Unfortunately
A．gives up B．suffers from C．shows off D．takes in
A．blinded B．addicted C．opposed D．devoted
A．necessary B．important C．ordinary D．clean
A．As B．If C．Although D．Since
A．across B．like C．towards D．worth
A．sadly B．only C．really D．hardly
One effective way of destroying happiness is to look at something and focus on even the smallest fault. It’s like looking at the tiled (铺瓦的) ceiling and concentrating on the space where one tile is .
Once I heard a bald man said, “Whenever I enter a room, all I see is hair.” Once you’ve what your missing tile is, explore whether acquiring it will make you happy. Then do one of the three things: get it, replace it with a different , or forget about it and the tiles in your life that are not missing.
We all know people who have had a relatively life, yet are essentially unhappy, while people who have suffered a great deal generally remain happy.
The first is gratitude. All happy people are grateful. Ungrateful people cannot be happy. We tend to think that being unhappy leads people to , but it’s truer to say that complaining leads to people becoming unhappy.
The second secret is awareness. We should that happiness is a byproduct (副产品) of something else. The most obvious are those pursuits ( 追求) that give our lives purpose---anything from studying insects to playing baseball. The more passions we have, the more happiness we are to experience.
Finally, the belief that something permanent goes beyond us and that our has some larger meaning can help us to feel happier. We need a spiritual faith, or a philosophy of life. Whatever your philosophy is, it should this truth: if you choose to find the in every situation, you will be blessed, and if you choose to find the awful, you will be cursed. As for happiness itself, this depends on your decision to make.
A．different B．short C．missing D．broken
A．imagined B．predicted C．assumed D．determined
A．really B．naturally C．hopefully D．completely
A．ceiling B．brick C．tile D．house
A．go on B．focus on C．put on D．rely on
A．easy B．difficult C．ordinary D．peaceful
A．factor B．secret C．rule D．key
A．upset B．quarrel C．depress D．complain
A．realize B．decide C．prove D．suppose
A．answers B．results C．sources D．goals
A．curious B．satisfied C．tentative D．likely
A．value B．existence C．survival D．destination
A．include B．tell C．absorb D．mean
A．worst B．positive C．disgusting D．negative
A．absolutely B．totally C．largely D．exactly
There is one word that is on the lips of Americans , day and night -"Sorry."
Once as I was walling on the street, a young man ran by ,brushing against my handbag. Even as he continued on his .way, he back and said "sorry" to me. Even in a rush, he didn't forget to apologize.
One day, after I bought some apples, the salesman was giving me the change, but I wasn't ready for it And a dropped on the ground. "I'm sorry," he said while bending down to pick it up. I was -why would he apologize when it was my .
Another time ,I stepped a man's foot in a lift At the same time, we both said "sorry"．I thought it interesting at first - was it really for him to apologize?
Later on, an American friend o me that according to the American ideas, the lift is a place everyone should be able to stand in. After someone occupies a position in the lift, making it for someone else to find a place to stand in ,isn't it necessary to an apologize?
During my stay in America ,I gradually that when friction（摩擦）happen in daily life, Americans don't care much about who is responsible. Someone is troubled, a "sorry" is always necessary. The "sorry” would cool tempers the other person is hurt. Perhaps this is why I saw anyone quarreling on the buses, subways or street in America.
A．excitedly B．hurriedly C．happily D．hopefully
A．drove B．held C．watched D．turned
A．coin B．handbag C．wallet D．bill.
A．impressed B．moved C．annoyed D．puzzled
A．duty B．attitude C．fault D．business
A．over B．on C．in D．at
A．necessary B．important C．surprising D．polite
A．lied B．explained C．pointed D．admitted
A．crowded B．common C．public D．free
A．unfit B．impossible C．narrow D．difficult
A．express B．receive C．expect D．tell
A．realized B．remembered C．agreed D．meant
A．Although B．What C．Unless D．If
A．as if B．even if C．as soon as D．before
A．always B．often C．never D．sometimes
【改编】Life became hard when I was 14. My mother and I moved to New York to join my father, who’d moved there to find better-paying work when I was three years old. He had a at a restaurant and only visited us once every couple of years.
Before I moved, I knew that people in the US spoke English. But , I didn’t stop to analyze the situation when I was to leave . Just like I assumed I could easily become a doctor or a lawyer. I assumed that I had the skills to learn in a few weeks.
When I in the US and started 8th grade at Ditmas Middle School in Brooklyn, everyone was a(n) foreign language I couldn’t understand. I that life had subtitles（字幕）, like in foreign movies.
was such a serious place here. Sometimes I felt like I was in a geek（呆子） class. The teachers were always watching my moves so I couldn’t even throw a paper ball at a classmate’s head. And the thing was having to read newspaper.
But after almost seven months of about everything, I realized that complaining didn’t change things. It just made my life worse. If I was going to in this new concrete jungle, I had to adapt. I began to learn English by reading newspaperson my own after . After about four months, I started enjoying reading the crime and sports stories. After six months of studying, my teachers notice my and moved me into a more modern English class. I could go to the storeand ask for things that I wanted to buy any frustration. For the first time I felt like I was living on earth again because I didn’t hear talk. I could understand people.
A．work B．friend C．job D．cook.
A．luckily B．eventually C．gradually D． honestly
A．attempting B．packing C．managing D．trying
A．English B．German C．French D．Chinese
A．got B．reached C． arrived D．entered
A．talking B．speaking C．telling D．saying
A．wished B．hoped C．expected D．wanted
A．Restaurant B．Home C．Hospital D．School
A．happiest B．strange C．worst D．most
A．complaining B．quarreling C．fighting D．discussing
A．live B．study C．survive D．continue
A．school B．work C．graduation D．meals
A．mistakes B．accent C．embarrassment D．progress
A．for B．without C．with D．in
A．foreign B．similar C．familiar D．native
Another secret of animals’ survival is telepathy（心灵感应）. This sense becomes atrophied（衰退） in man, but a(n) thought-communication functions in animals. Elsa, the lioness, frequently when George and I intended to visit her camp, even though it 180 miles from our home in Isiolo. On most when we made our irregular visit she was waiting for us. By following the spoor（野兽的足迹），we that she had sometimes walked 50 or 60 miles to meet us.
The same thing when I took Elsa’s sisters to Nairobi to be flown to the Rotterdam zoo, Elsa’s zoo. Elsa stayed behind with George in Isiolo 180 miles . He did not know when I was coming back, no person knew. But Elsa knew. On the morning of my she sat down at the entrance and wouldn’t make any until I arrived in the evening.
I have known this kind of thought-communication with the animal with whom I’ve lived. When Elsa died, I woke in the night, knowing what had happened, even though I was several miles away. The same thing later with one of Pippa’s cubs.
I don’t this sensitivity with my own kind. Feel far more in tune with what is going on when I am in the bush than when I am in London on Nairobi. We don’t know much yet about this telepathy from which gland（腺体） it comes, or how it . But if men could awaken or it in themselves, and then cooperate by trusting each other, fearing and treating one another , the world would be a far better place.
A．extremely B．completely C．thoroughly D．definitely
A．sensed B．aware C．feels D．concerns
A．lay B．lies C．located D．stood
A．case B．conditions C．occasions D．situations
A．discussed B．dismissed C．discovered D．distrusted
A．happened B．broken out C．replaced D．took over
A．far B．farther C．away D．far from
A．turn B．return C．reality D．reappear
A．emotions B．feelings C．exchanges D．movement
A．burst forth B．burst C．appeared D．occurred
A．command B．confirm C．possess D．prohibit
A．starts B．comprehends C．manufactures D．works
A．create B．plant C．cultivate D．produce
A．rather than B．other than C．would rather D．or rather
A．suspiciously B．suspecting C．prosperously D．doubtfully