Lilly was a French Canadian girl who grew up in a farming community. When she was ，her father 16 her to drop out of school to contribute to the family income. With English as her second language and
education, the
didn't look bright for Lilly. Lilly's father was a stubborn man who
took "no" for an answer. He
Lilly to find a job. With small hope of gaining
，each day she would just ride to the city, walk
about and at dusk return home. On one of her
，Lilly saw a sign at a big company.
，she knocked on her very first door. In her
English, Lilly told the office manager she was interested in the secretarial position. The manager
to give the girl a chance. He directed her to type a single letter, and then
. Lilly looked at the clock and saw it was 11:40 a. m. She thought everyone would be leaving for
at noon, when she could
away in the crowd.
But she knew she should the letter. On her first try, Lilly
one line of five words and made four mistakes. On her second at-tempt, she completed a full paragraph, but still made many mistakes. She looked at the clock ： 11:55-five minutes to
. Just then, the manager walked in. He came directly over to Lilly, read the letter and said，"Lilly, you're doing
work ！ "
With those simple words of encouragement, her desire to escape disappeared and her began to grow. Lilly thought，" Well, if he thinks it's good, then it must be good. I think I'll stay ！ " Lilly did stay-all because someone had given a
and uncertain girl the gift of self-confidence when she knocked on the door.
A. reminded B. forced C. encouraged D. helped
A. poor B. formal C. good D. modern
A. advice B. promise C. future D. change
A. always B. usually C. sometimes D. rarely
A. warned B. told C. allowed D. begged
A. employment B. experience
C. judgment D. independence
A. carefully B. happily C. aimlessly D. rapidly
A. steps B. trips C. purposes D. choices
A. Bravely B. Proudly C. Calmly D. Cautiously
A. broken B. perfect C. written D. fluent
A. refused B. decided C. pretended D. failed
A. stopped B. continued C. left D. sighed
A. lunch B. life C. fun D. luck
A. break B. slip C. pass D. drive
A. read B. write C. attempt D. deliver
A. went over B. picked up C. gave away D. got through
A. freedom B. success C. discussion D. reward
A. terrible B. excellent C. honest D. easy
A. belief B. patience C. confidence D. strength
A. shy B. lonely C. selfless D. modest
A group of class friends, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the and returned with a large pot of coffee and a couple of — porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some looking, some expensive, some delicate — telling them to themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in , the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is for you to choose only the best for yourselves, that is the of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went the best cups. And then you began each other’s cups. Now consider this: Life is the ; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define nor the quality of life we . Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we to enjoy the coffee God has for us. God brews the coffee, not the cups…Enjoy your coffee!”
The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just the best of everything.
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the to God.
A．devoted B．exchanged C．thought D．turned
A．sitting-room B．living-room C．bedroom D．kitchen
A．cups B．pans C．bowls D．aprons
A．plain B．clean C．ugly D．fine
A．devote B．help C．take D．pick
A．stomach B．hand C．eye D．mouth
A．running B．leaving C．hiding D．piling
A．wise B．important C．normal D．necessary
A．reason B．energy C．resource D．source
A．likes B．reduces C．adds D．relies
A．As B．What C．That D．Which
A．for B．into C．by D．on
A．looking B．guiding C．eyeing D．exchanging
A．tea B．water C．wine D．coffee
A．worsen B．beat C．change D．rise
A．dislike B．live C．make D．use
A．fail B．succeed C．wish D．try
A．sold B．gave C．bought D．provided
A．keep B．say C．make D．do
A．cups B．argument C．rest D．thinking
“A” for Attitude
English was always my favorite subject. In my freshman year of high school, I could write a killer composition. In my second year, my teacher me to give spelling tests to the class. I had a time of my junior year. Mrs Alexander me to sit at her desk and take over the class when she had to leave the room. Only my senior English class was , as we had a teacher right out of college who expected work. Every student received a "C" or "D" grade the first quarter. But English was still my favorite subject.
I graduated from high school, early and had children. about my English, I often helped my kids with their English homework. And I wrote long articles and beautiful poetry as a columnist for a newspaper. Fifteen years later, I went to college, and because I had been an "A" student, I remained an "A" student. I up to my own expectations.
Yesterday, I my high school report cards when I was reading old papers. That bundle of report cards back the old days. I remembered sitting in my advisor's office, explaining that I had always be at English, and recommending that I did not deserve a '"D" from that inexperienced teacher of my senior year. The advisor was but unable to change a（an） . Reading through my old report cards revealed something else too. I wanted to them or hide them. I was not an "A" student in high school English! Somehow, I had myself of this, when the grades clearly reflected an average student with an "A" or "B" but mostly "C” S.
Had I lived up to those grades and myself according to those letters, I would have never confidently sought my writing career. Had I my early grades instead of myself, I would have allowed my fear of failure to enthusiasm and damage my creativity. Instead, I my younger self as an "A" English student, except for that undeserved "D".
A．scolded B．allowed C．ordered D．reminded
A．bad B．complex C．terrible D．wonderful
A．approved B．appointed C．expected D．urged
A．flexible B．creative C．disappointing D．controversial
A．college-level B．based C．difficult D．easy
A．married B．worked C．succeeded D．progressed
A．Sad B．Confident C．Anxious D．Curious
A．added B．lived C．grew D．went
A．counted B．remembered C．approached D．discovered
A．brought B．turned C．held D．kept
A．nervous B．excelled C．poor D．terrible
A．impolite B．impatient C．inexperienced D．sympathetic
A．grade B．figure C．paper D．entry
A．tear B．fire C．cry D．escape
A．warned B．reminded C．informed D．convinced
A．average B．enthusiastic C．outstanding D．occasional
A．considered B．defined C．reflected D．described
A．abandoned B．given C．believed in D．doubted
A．change B．risk C．defeat D．reminded
A．looked B．viewed C．sang D．criticized
When I arrived in Hamburg Germany, my colleague who worked there arranged a welcome party for me in a . We noticed a few customers including several old ladies, were having their meal. When a dish was , the waiter would distribute the food for them, and they would every bit of the food on their plates.
As I was hungry, my local colleague much food for me. Since there were other things to do, we did not much time dining. When we planned to leave, there was still about one third of unconsumed(没吃光的) food left. When we were the restaurant, we someone calling us. When the old ladies spoke to us in English, we understood that they were about us wasting so much food.
“We for our food; it is none of your how much food we left behind”, my colleague told the old ladies. They got angry and one of them made a call to someone. After a while, an officer in arrived. Upon knowing what had happened, he issued us a 50-euro . The officer told us in a stern(严厉的) voice, “Order you can consume. Money is yours, the resources belong to the society. You have no wasting them.” Our faces turned red. We all agreed with him in our colleague took out a 50-euro note and repeatedly to the officer.
My colleague copied the fine ticket and gave a copy to each of us as a souvenir. We all it to remind us that we should never be .
A．restaurant B．company C．family D．bank
A．cooked B．served C．gathered D．missed
A．desert B．refuse C．oppose D．finish
A．kept B．sold C．ordered D．made
A．save B．spend C．divide D．find
A．reaching B．passing C．leaving D．seeing
A．appointed B．knew C．realized D．heard
A．curious B．unhappy C．nervous D．optimistic
A．paid B．asked C．applied D．accounted
A．business B．matter C．mind D．question
A．excitedly B．immediately C．passively D．regularly
A．rags B．fashion C．uniform D．dream
A．award B．fine C．food D．souvenir
A．how B．what C．it D．that
A．or B．but C．and D．so
A．ability B．problem C．power D．reason
A．words B．faces C．hearts D．ears
A．accused B．apologized C．admitted D．approved
A．stuck B．threw C．broke D．kept
A．hopeful B．grateful C．wasteful D．merciful
It is nice to know what the weather will be like when we plan a trip. Do you know anything about the history of weather? Don’t look at the sky. Don’t look for old weather reports. Looking at the tree rings is more important. Correct weather reports date back only one century, but some trees can provide an exact record of weather even further back.
It is natural that a tree would grow best in a climate with plenty of sunlight and rainfall. It is also expected that little sunlight or rainfall would reduce the growth of a tree. The change from a favorable to an unfavorable climate can be found out by the reading pattern of rings in a tree trunk. To find out the weather of ten years ago, you can count the rings of a tree trunk from the outside to the inside. If the tenth ring is far from the other rings, then it is certain that plenty of sunny and rainy weather occurred. If the rings are close together, then the climate was bad for the tree.
Studying trees is important not only for the history of weather, but also for the history of man. In an area of New Mexico you can find only sand — no trees or people. However, many centuries ago a large population lived there. They left suddenly. Why?
A scientist studied the pattern of the rings of dead trees that had grown there. He made up his mind that the people had to leave because they had cut down all the trees. Trees were necessary to make fires and buildings. So, after the people destroyed the trees, they had to move.
In this example studying tree rings uncovered an exciting fact about the history of man.
We can find out the weather of five years ago by counting the rings of a tree trunk ____.
A．from the left to the right B．from the right to the left C．from the inside to the outside D．from the outside to the inside
A．bad B．sunny C．favorable D．rainy
A．why the people had to leave B．where the people had to go C．what the people had to eat D．how the people left
A．trees provided an exact record of weather for research B．trees could supply them with fruit and food to live on C．trees could supply them with shades D．trees were materials for fires and buildings
A．trees can’t live in the area without population B．that studying trees is important for the history of man and weather. C．what the real relation is between tree rings and the history of man and weather D．the history of man is important for the history of trees
Have you ever gone hungry? I did after a day of hard work. When I woke next morning, I was dying of ___. I seemed to have a hole instead of a ___. I dressed quickly and hurried down to the dinning-room. It was a big room with six tall windows and the ugliest wallpaper I had ever seen! __, I had been told the hotel was not beautiful but that you were better ____ there than in any other hotel; and that was ___ I wanted just then.
The waiter came hurrying up. Before I came downstairs I had prepared carefully for what I must . I had looked three times in my dictionary to make sure ____the English for “breakfast”. I had tried to get the right and I had stood in the front of a mirror and twisted my mouth until it ached.
The waiter asked me I could not understand, but I spoke only my one prepared word “breakfast”. He looked at me in a way. So I repeated it. Still he did not understand. It was that English people didn’t understand their language. The waiter his head and went away, but he came back in a minute and brought a tray with tea, bread and butter--- enough to feed a small army--- and went away. But I was hungry, and I left . When the waiter came back I thought his face showed a little , but you can never what a waiter’s face really shows. In another minute he brought___ tray with some bacon and some eggs. He__ have misunderstood me, but I thought it was no use explaining to people who don’t understand their own language , so I just set to work on the bacon and eggs, wondering whether I could possibly clear that plate.
Well, I finished the bacon and eggs. I got up and made my way back slowly - at least five pounds . I never believed until then that any meal could me, but on that day I met my Waterloo(滑铁卢).
A．hunger B．cold C．anger D．illness
A．stone B．head C．breast D．stomach
A．Therefore B．Otherwise C．So D．However
A．received B．fed C．cared D．eating
A．what B．just C．that D．why
A．English B．meal C．questions D．myself
A．say B．answer C．speak D．explain
A．that B．about C．of D．to
A．pronunciation B．meaning C．form D．spelling
A．something B．whether C．when D．what
A．surprised B．friendly C．puzzled D．touched
A．unbelievable B．true C．thought D．a pity
A．waved B．shook C．bowed D．patted
A．much B．a little C．nothing D．empty
A．pleasure B．surprise C．pride D．satisfaction
A．read B．look C．see D．think
A．other B．another C．more D．me
A．should B．might C．would D．must
A．lighter B．heavier C．weightier D．more
A．hurt B．fat C．defeat D．please