In the doorway of my home, I looked closely at my 23-year-old son, Daniel. In a few hours he would be flying to France to a different life. It was a transitional (过渡的) time in Daniel's life. I wanted to him some words of significance. But nothing came from my lips, and this was not the time I had let such moments pass.
When Daniel was five, I took him to the bus stop on his first day of kindergarten. He asked, "What is it going to be like, Dad? Can I do it?" Then he walked the steps of the bus and disappeared inside. The bus drove away and I said nothing. A decade later, a similar played itself out. I drove him to college. As I started to leave, I tried to think of something to say to give him and confidence as he started this new stage of life. Again, words me.
Now, as I stood before him, I thought of those opportunities. How many times have I let such moments ？ I don't find a quiet moment to tell him what they have to me. Or what he might to face in the years ahead. Maybe I thought it was not necessary to say anything.
What does it matter in the course of a lifetime if a father never tells a son what he really thinks ofhim? as I stood before Daniel, I knew that it did matter. My father and I loved each other. Yet, I always never hearing him put his into words. Now I could feel my palms sweat and my throat tighten. Why is it so to tell a son something from the heart?
My mouth turned dry, and I knew I would be able to get out only a few words clearly. "Daniel," I said, "If I could have picked, I would have picked you." That's all I could say. He hugged me. For a moment, the world , and there were just Daniel and me. He was saying something, but tears misted my eyes, and I couldn't understand what he was saying. All I was of was the stubble (茬) on his chin as his face pressed mine. What I had said to Daniel was . It was nothing. And yet, it was .
A．experience B．spend C．enjoy D．shape
A．show B．give C．leave D．instruct
A．last B．first C．very D．next
A．upward B．into C．down D．up
A．sign B．scene C．scenery D．sight
A．interest B．instruction C．courage D．direction
A．failed B．discouraged C．struck D．troubled
A．future B．embarrassing C．obvious D．lost
A．last B．pass C．fly D．remain
A．counted B．meant C．valued D．eared
A．think B．want C．expect D．wish
A．But B．And C．Instead D．So
A．wondered B．regretted C．minded D．tried
A．views B．actions C．feelings D．attitudes
A．important B．essential C．hard D．complex
A．disappeared B．changed C．progressed D．advanced
A．sensitive B．convinced C．aware D．tired
A．by B．against C．on D．with
A．clumsy B．gentle C．absurd D．moving
A．none B．all C．anything D．Everything
John Perry stood up and looked around again. The island had been a good place to find shells. But now how could he make the move out to sea…? If they swam out to sea he could jump in and get to shore they saw him.
He saw the sharks rolling and playing. Their was now gone and they were killing for fun. How could he make them move away?
He drew his knife from his belt. Sharks can blood, he thought. He put the knife against his leg and cut deep into the . The blood ran out and he caught it on his white shirt. When the shirt was red and wet he tied some cloth around his leg to the flow of blood. He then tied a long piece of cloth to the shirt, threw it into the water and it with the piece of cloth.
The sharks smelled the blood and came toward the shirt. He ran down the sand reef pulling the shirt and the sharks raced after it. He was them away from shore. Suddenly he dropped the cloth, turned toward the and ran as fast as he could. He jumped in the water and swam.
He was halfway across he turned to look back. A high bony fin (鳍) was through the water toward him. He put his face in the water and kicked and splashed himself as fast as he could. The shore was near now.
He lifted his head again to and he saw the shore very near. From behind he left the water rush toward him, almost pushing him, helping him. And then a great gray body hit him and almost rolled him over in the water. He touched the shore with 35 and he pulled himself up the stones. The shark, by the smell of blood and the chase (追逐), went wildly after him. Its great body crashed against .
The end came quickly and the water was covered with the shark’s blood. The injured shark was eaten up by others as it tried to escape.
Perry slowly struggled his feet.
“So,” he said, “you did not get me.” And he looked down at the sharks still eating 40 they weren’t hungry. He climbed up the stones and walked toward the village.
A．boats B．sharks C．soldiers D．shells
A．before B．after C．until D．when
A．food B．hunger C．anger D．wish
A．fear B．taste C．drink D．smell
A．sand B．shark C．flesh D．mat
A．stop B．keep C．join D．cause
A．pulled B．wrapped C．connected D．caught
A．running B．racing C．swimming D．jumping
A．driving B．keeping C．preventing D．leading
A．sea B．shore C．island D．sand
A．before B．while C．unless D．when
A．going B．running C．cutting D．swimming
A．forward B．backward C．upward D．downward
A．cry B．breathe C．swim D．escape
A．his feet B．a stick C．his fingers D．the shirt
A．interested B．frightened C．disappointed D．excited
A．the shore B．Perry C．the stones D．the shells
A．lively B．alive C．dead D．friendly
A．on B．by C．to D．with
A．as though B．even though C．as soon as D．as long as
We always celebrated my Dad’s November birthday on Thanksgiving Day, even after he entered a nursing home. As years went on, these events took on a(n) meaning – a traditional birthday party for Dad, and a personal for all that he had done for me in my life.
When we knew that it might be Dad’s birthday, the whole family decided to come together for a huge birthday celebration at the nursing home. It was a crowded party ___all of us sitting around him. Dad was a wonderful , and here was a biggest audience he’d ever had.
During a quiet moment, I announced that it was now Dad’s turn to stories from us. I wanted everyone to tell Dad what we loved about him. , we told stories from our hearts, Dad listened with wet, flashing blue eyes. We all kinds of lost memories – stories about when we were little, stories about when Dad was young and stories that are shared as family . Even the littlest grandchildren couldn’t to tell their grandfather why they loved him. For a man who had been kind to so many people in his life, here was our to honor him.
A few months later, at Dad’s memorial service, we fully realized what we had given Dad that night. Those were the stories people normally tell at a . They are told, then, full of tears, with the hope that the departed will somehow hear the outpouring of love._ _ we had given those loving to Dad when he was , told through laughter, accompanied by hugs and joy. I’m sure the stories and memories over in his mind during his last months and days.
Words do , and they are enough. We need to say them, to speak them to the ones we love, for everyone else to hear. That’s the way to love, and our chance to honor a person in life.
A．original B．modern C．complex D．double
A．congratulation B．wish C．thanking D．apology
A．late B．lost C．living D．last
A．with B．as C．though D．by
A．writer B．listener C．storyteller D．reader
A．hear of B．listen to C．make up D．talk about
A．Little by little B．Now and then C．All at once D．One after another
A．if B．because C．while D．before
A．recalled B．recorded C．regretted D．remembered
A．thoughts B．treasures C．possessions D．tales
A．afford B．help C．wait D．offer
A．chance B．task C．duty D．decision
A．burial B．party C．meeting D．wedding
A．And B．But C．So D．Or
A．kindness B．memories C．care D．hugs
A．healthy B．old C．young D．alive
A．went B．flew C．rolled D．came
A．benefit B．matter C．work D．mean
A．publicly B．properly C．consciously D．correctly
A．fall in B．search for C．hand over D．give back
When he was a small boy, he had loved butterflies. Now a grown man with his first son to be born in a few weeks, he found once again fascinated with a cocoon（茧）．He had it at the side of the park path. Somehow the twig(嫩枝）had been knocked from the tree and the cocoon had undamaged and still woven to the branch.
As he had seen his mother do，he gently protected it by it in his handkerchief and carried it home. The cocoon found a home in a jar with holes in the lid. The man it every day. One day, for the first time，the cocoon moved. He watched more closely and soon the cocoon was trembling with activity but nothing else . The cocoon remained tightly glued to the twig and there was no of wings.
Finally the shaking became so ，the man thought the butterfly would die from the .He removed the lid on the jar，took a sharp pen knife from his desk drawer and made a tiny slit(切口)in the side of the cocoon. Almost immediately，one wing appeared and then outstretched the other. The butterfly was !
It seemed to its freedom and walked along the edge of the jar. But it didn’t fly. At first the man thought the 54 needed time to dry but time passed and still the butterfly did not .
The man was worried and called up his neighbor who high school science. He told the neighbor he had found the cocoon，placed it in the mason jar, and the terrible trembling as the butterfly struggled to get out. When he how he had carefully made a small slit in the cocoon，the teacher stopped him, “Oh, that is the . You see，the struggle is what gives the butterfly the strength to fly.”
And so it is with us. Sometimes it’s the struggles in life that us the most.
A．them B．us C．itself D．himself
A．searched B．raised C．found D．pulled
A．survived B．appeared C．existed D．hidden
A．hanging B．covering C．hiding D．wrapping
A．awful B．temporary C．forever D．luxurious
A．realized B．noticed C．watched D．recognized
A．happened B．arose C．helped D．proved
A．scene B．mark C．signal D．sign
A．nervous B．strong C．constant D．weak
A．struggle B．beat C．quarrel D．fight
A．confidently B．finally C．carefully D．proudly
A．different B．free C．happy D．alive
A．hate B．share C．desire D．enjoy
A．wings B．arms C．feet D．hands
A．bring up B．get down C．take off D．come out
A．observed B．invented C．searched D．taught
A．how B．why C．when D．where
A．reported B．described C．expressed D．imagined
A．excuse B．purpose C．reason D．evidence
A．strike B．strengthen C．trouble D．impress
Most essays are made up of a beginning, a middle and an end．The beginning arouses the reader’s interest to his attention to the subject of the essayor the necessary background information. The middle gives us clear and logical of the facts and ideas the writer intends to put forth.The end winds up the essay with a forceful statement to influence the reader’s impression and shows consequences of the argument.
To the writer the beginning is often the hardest part of an essay, because he has to decide from what point to , and in what direction to go. The end is important because it often gives the reader the deepest impression. It should be short, forceful and thought-provoking. No ideas should be introduced in a concluding paragraph.
Sometimes it is good to the concluding paragraph to the introduction. If, for instance, a question is raised in the beginning, an answer should be given in the end．
A．support B．secure C．change D．follow
A．provides B．proves C．confirms D．directs
A．indication B．direction C．expectation D．presentation
A．final B．good C．deep D．unique
A．state B．deliver C．start D．practice
A．ordinary B．general C．important D．new
A．spread B．link C．lead D．contact
There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest （寻求）, , to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. The first son went in winter, the second in spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in fall.
When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to what they had seen. The first son said that the tree wasugly, bent, and . The second son contradicted—it was covered with green buds and full of . The third son , saying it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful. It was the most graceful thing he had seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.
The man then to his sonsthat they were all right, because they had each seen but one season in the tree’s life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are—the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life—can only be at the end, when all the seasons are up.
If you give up when it’s winter, you will the hope of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall. Don’t let the of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Don’t judge a life by one season.
A．determine B．judge C．analyze D．explore
A．by chance B．as usual C．in turn D．for sure
A．describe B．classify C．compare D．review
A．twisted B．wounded C．woodened D．deserted
A．delight B．pride C．faith D．promise
A．agreed B．approved C．argued D．announced
A．never B．ever C．once D．later
A．falling B．slipping C．going D．hanging
A．excused B．sighed C．explained D．instructed
A．measured B．considered C．affected D．committed
A．change B．develop C．miss D．taste
A．comfort B．pleasure C．regret D．pain
A．difficult B．magic C．lonely D．light