Secret Santa of Kansas City In 1971 a young man who grew up very poor was traveling across the country, trying to make a new start for himself. Along the way he had run out of money and was to spend the night in his .
This continued until one morning, after a week of in his car, he walked into a restaurant and a big breakfast. After eating his first good meal in weeks, he found himself to the waiter, telling him he had "lost his wallet". The waiter, who was also the owner, walked behind the chair where the young man had been .
He ，and came up with a $ 20 bill that looked as if it had fallen on the floor. " Son, you must have this，" the owner said. The young man couldn't believe his ！ He quickly paid for the ，left a tip, bought gas with the change, and headed west. On the way out of town, it dawned on him，" Maybe dropped the money at all. Maybe the waiter just knew I was in and he helped me in a way that didn't me. "
Now older, the man lives near Kansas City. Each year he thousands of dollars, primarily in increasements（递增）of $100. He is as the "Secret Santa"，because at Christmas time each year, he personally hands out to those on the street or at restaurants.
" I've lived the story, so I know it's definitely more blessed to than receive, because it comes back to you many, many times over，" he says. He is to be able to share the gift that blessed his life so many years ago.
A．completely B．never C．hardly D．nearly
A．permitted B．advised C．forced D．persuaded
A．celebrating B．sleeping C．crying D．researching
A．proudly B．excitedly C．nervously D．happily
A．exchanged B．cooked C．sold D．ordered
A．explaining B．reading C．lying D．announcing
A．arguing B．sitting C．shopping D．praying
A．bent down B．turned up C．went out D．praying
A．demanded B．dropped C．owned D．praying
A．practice B．memory C．character D．luck
A．everybody B．somebody C．nobody D．anybody
A．confusion B．somebody C．nobody D．anybody
A．encourage B．inspire C．embarrass D．fool
A．brings in B．gives away C．puts away D．gets back
A．known B．awarded C．scolded D．introduced
A．works B．tools C．knowledge D．money
A．charge B．give C．collect D．deliver
A．afraid B．sorry C．uncertain D．grateful
（2014届安徽省马鞍山市高三第一次教学质量检测英语试卷）
I have been in love with China since 2010.
After one year in Zhejiang University, I got a great — to work as an assistant manager in a big hotel. The best part of this job was that I was the only , so I got a good chance to understand Chinese culture and practice my .
Actually, I have got I supposed to. I have got valuable experience, devoted friends and the feeling that I am not laowai anymore.
Guests were pleasantly surprised to see me there, because I was an interpreter, trip adviser, and guide at the same time, which made their life much . I met people from all over the world, who came to China for the first time, who knew China better than me. my Chinese colleagues, who had answers to all the questions about , I could explain why you should before you buy, why Chinese don’t let guests dinner, why it is not common to book a taxi and why it is better to catch on the street. I also had chances to the development of China.
The waiters and managers were not only my teachers, but my friends. If I needed help, they were to help me. I enjoyed our small conversations they were kind and educated. I was very proud and happy of the fact that all of them me and I don’t feel anymore.
The best part of my job was to see people coming the hotel. When they recognized me, they share their adventures, burdens, even thoughts with me. It means the world to me.
I spent there 8 months and it was a period when I was proud to be who I am.
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（2014届江西省师大附中鹰潭一中宜春中学等重点中学高三联考英语试卷）
Life is filled with challenges. As we get older we realize that those challenges are the very things that us and make us who we are. It is the same with the challenges that come with .
When we are faced with a challenge, we usually have two . We can try to beat it off, or we can decide that the thing the challenge isn't worth the and call it quits. Although there are certainly when calling it quits is the right thing to do, in most all that is needed is and communication.
When we are committed to something, it means that no matter how or how uncomfortable something is, we will always choose to it and work it through instead of running away from it. Communication is making a for discussion and talking about how you feel as opposed to just saying what the other person did wrong. you can say to a friend,"I got my feeling hurt," "You hurt my feelings," you are going to be able to solve the problem much faster.
In dealing with the many challenges that friendship will bring to you, try to see them for they are: small hurdles you need to jump or on your way through life. Nothing is so big that it is to get over, and hurt only to make us stronger. It is all part of growing up, it to everyone, and some day you will all of this and say, "Hard as it was, it made me who I am today. And that is a good thing."
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（2014届吉林省长春市吉大附中高三下学期第三次模拟考试英语试卷）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
There are two types of people in the world. Although they have equal degrees of health and wealth and the other comforts of life, one becomes happy, becomes unhappy. This from the different ways in which they consider things, persons, and events, and the resulting effects upon their minds.
The people who are to be happy their attention to the conveniences of things, the pleasant parts of conversation, the well-prepared dishes, the goodness of the wines, and the fine weather. They enjoy all the cheerful things. Those who are to be unhappy think and speak only of the things. They are, , continually unsatisfied. By their words, they complain about the pleasure of society, offend many people, and themselves disagreeable (不受欢迎的) everywhere. If this turn of mind were founded in nature, such unhappy persons would be more to be pitied. The intention of criticizing and being disliked is perhaps taken up by imitation (模仿). It grows into a habit, unknown its possessors. The habit may be strong, but it may be cured when those who have it are its bad effects on their interests and tastes. I hope this little warning may be of service to them, and them change this habit.
Although in fact it is chiefly an act of imagination, it has serious in life, since it causes deep sorrow and bad luck. Those people offend many others, nobody loves them, and no one treats them with more than the most politeness and respect. This puts them in bad temper and draws them into arguments. If they aim at obtaining advantages in social position or fortune, nobody wishes them success. Nor will anyone start a step speak a word to favor their hopes. If they cause themselves public objections (反对), no one will or excuse them, and many join to criticize their wrongdoings. These people should change this bad habit and be pleased with what is pleasing, worrying needlessly about themselves and others. If they do not, will be good for others to avoid any contact with them. Otherwise, it can be disagreeable and sometimes very inconvenient, when one becomes mixed up in their quarrels.
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（2014届江苏省扬州中学高三4月阶段测试英语试卷）
Thanks to a combination of young businessmen, large numbers of university students and revitalization (新生) efforts by the local and national governments, today’s Nanjing has an of youthful exuberance (繁茂) that would have been only a few decades ago. , the city, a booming city of 6.5 million on the banks of the Yangtze River some 185 miles west of Shanghai, bears resemblance to the former capital of China that suffered the worst cruelty and violence of World War II.
Nanjing has shown a remarkable capacity for reinvention during its 2,500-year history. And in recent years, the city has moved its tragic past to become a vital engine of China’s economic growth, thanks to its position in the middle of China’s prosperous eastern seaboard. Growth has also thanks to improved ground transportation: A new bullet train linking Nanjing and Shanghai started service last year, travel time between the cities from several hours to just 75 minutes, and a Beijing-Shanghai high-speed line is to open later this year, with a stop in Nanjing. Within the city, two metro lines were built in the last few years; 15 more are planned to begin service by 2030.
Signs of Nanjing’s wealth and optimism can be seen everywhere. In the heart of the downtown Xinjiekou district, a bronze statue of Sun Yat-sen, the father of modern China, looks over a busy area.
There is perhaps no more symbol of the city’s transformation than the Zifeng Tower, a 1,480-foot skyscraper that opened its doors last May. offices, restaurants and an InterContinental hotel, the tower is the second-tallest building in China and billed as the seventh-tallest in the world.
Underlying all this development is a large Chinese and student population — there are several major universities, plus a branch of Johns Hopkins’s international studies school. In fact, art and music in all sorts of places.
On a larger , local government officials and private investors are pushing the city as a rising center for contemporary art and architecture, hoping to attract from the neon-bathed streets of its neighbor Shanghai.
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（2014届辽宁省锦州市高三第一次质量检测考试英语试卷）
I never knew how well Mother could keep a trust until I was going through her things after she died．I discovered something I had forgotten, something that happened to me as a child．
One day, as I went to sleep after my sisters and I had said our prayers, I recalled the events of the day and how I had behaved toward Mother．“I must make things right now,”I thought．
Quietly I out of bed and picked up the pencil and paper from the dresser, and then tiptoed into the hall．The from the living room shone dimly． I knew Mother was downstairs still doing some sewing．
I quickly a note asking Mother to excuse me for being so ．I didn’t want my sisters to know my so I added a postscript, “Please don’t let anyone else see this．”
Then I moved into my parents’bedroom and put the letter under Mother’s pillow．
The next morning when I my bed after breakfast, I found a return note under my pillow．Mother wrote that she loved me and me．This became my way of whenever I talked back or disobeyed．Mother always left a return note, but she never our under-the-pillow messages in front of the family．Even when we were , she never mentioned them when we sisters our childhood．
When Mother passed away, I had to go through her personal belongings．In her desk was a bundle of notes tied with a faded ribbon．On top was a message in handwriting which read,“In the event of my death, please these．”
I the package and glanced at the handwriting on the bottom．To my , I recognized my childish writing, “P．S．Please don’t let anyone else see this．Love, Edie．”I gently placed the unopened bundle in the along with other things for the rubbish burner．“Lord,”I prayed,“Make me like ．”
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