In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming for a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed and one with quite a different story to tell.
My grandma, a(n) woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that . But one year after I entered college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to withdraw from college to her. This meant that school and my personal dream would have to .
Then I got married with another dream: building my family from a of adopted and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. A year later came our second adopted boy. , the following year, we adopted son number three. In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.
You can how totally occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of eight! Our home was a complete zoo－a joyous zoo. Not surprisingly, I never did it back to college full-time. But I never my dream either. I had only one choice: make it work. That meant taking as as one class each term.
The hardest part was feeling about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to . But I knew I should set a(n) for them to follow for the rest of their lives.
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years, but I got my college degree!
I am not , just single-minded. It always me that from the , challenges look huge, but when you’re in the midst of them, the same ones seem . Not everything you want arrives in your life in one day. It’s a (n) . Remember: little steps can lead to big dreams.
A．judge B．graduate C．housewife D．dreamer
A．sensitive B．desperate C．amazing D．curious
A．plan B．goal C．decision D．record
A．care for B．turn to C．approve of D．stand by
A．grow B．wait C．expect D．keep
A．connection B．relation C．combination D．comparison
A．Therefore B．Then C．Otherwise D．Finally
A．imagine B．state C．observe D．doubt
A．take B．make C．intend D．get
A．build up B．focus on C．refer to D．gave up
A．few B．little C．much D．many
A．satisfied B．inspired C．confused D．guilty
A．head B．leave C．find D．stay
A．break B．continue C．quit D．relax
A．leader B．time C．example D．challenge
A．proud B．special C．responsible D．usual
A．hurt B．failed C．struck D．troubled
A．end B．bottom C．outside D．inside
A．normal B．funny C．unbearable D．strange
A．experiment B．solution C．performance D．process
I arrived late one night, on a business trip, and had dinner in a restaurant. As I was finishing my meal, an old couple came in to dine. They were holding hands and had smiles on their faces. Shortly after I ended a 20-year , I still had pain in my heart and I was at the love they show for one another. As a result, when I paid my bill I gave the waiter another $50 to pay the couple’s bill and then left without them.
The next day my business meeting two hours before the flight back to Houston. So I had enough time left to enter the restaurant to dine . After I had been , the waiter, from the night before, came up to my table . She can’t wait to tell me what happened after I last night: when the old couple were that another guest had paid for them, they asked whom it was. The waiter said that she had never me before, and told them what I told her, “I just wanted to repay for the true love that they were showing.” Feeling surprised , they , and paid the bills for another two young couples saying “Love begets (产生) love”. I with delight and said “ That’s nice”. Then I read the menu and my meal.
When my dinner was and I intended to pay, my waiter was to be found. I had to walk over to the Hostess Stand and that I needed to pay for my meal and hurry to the . She said that my had paid for me just to repay the joy that I brought to the faces of the elderly couple and the amazement of the two young couples.
A．bitter B．lovely C．standard D．stressful
A．job B．date C．marriage D．journey
A．amazed B．angry C．confused D．sad
A．comparing B．encountering C．recognizing D．greeting
A．lasted B．started C．ended D．held
A．again B．either C．instead D．altogether
A．seated B．served C．dressed D．focused
A．anxiously B．crazily C．hopefully D．quickly
A．arrived B．left C．slept D．escaped
A．comforted B．reminded C．warned D．told
A．charged B．appreciated C．seen D．helped
A．you B．me C．her D．them
A．looked around B．turned up C．went over D．dressed up
A．believed B．admitted C．smiled D．shook
A．booked B．ordered C．paid D．finished
A．full B．over C．cold D．available
A．somewhere B．anywhere C．nowhere D．everywhere
A．protested B．explained C．declared D．remarked
A．hotel B．office C．airport D．station
A．waiter B．boss C．hostess D．friend
When I was six years old, my parents and I were in London for a one-month vacation. One day when my mother and I were down Oxford Street, I felt too to walk any more, so I asked my mother to take the subway.
At first, she to take it because she said the weather was very and it was better to walk. I started . She told me to stop immediately, but I didn’t pay attention to what she was . For about an hour, I didn’t stop crying. My mother became very with me. I didn’t stop. I just ran away from her. I ran as as I could.
The street was really crowded, so she couldn’t me. Then, I entered one of the biggest shops. There was a coffee house on the second floor. I went , sat in a chair, and started crying again. All of the people in the coffee shop came around me. They were to me, but I didn’t understand English at all. After that, they the police station, and a policeman came to the coffee shop. He tried to talk to me, but I just crying. Then he took the small bag that I was , opened it and found my hotel address and number. When he phoned the hotel, my answered the phone.
In the end, the policeman took me to the . My father was standing in front of the hotel door. He talked to the policeman, and then he asked me what had and where my mother was. I told him everything, and I also told him that I was that my mother was very angry with me.
When my mother came back, she was crying. But when she saw me, she hugged me and kissed me. She talked to my father about everything. of them told me not to do anything like that in the future because maybe one day I wouldn’t find anyone to help me. They wouldn’t forgive（原谅） me if I did it again.
A．running B．walking C．visiting D．driving
A．tired B．mad C．happy D．sad
A．agreed B．refused C．suggested D．managed
A．horrible B．windy C．nice D．cold
A．talking B．laughing C．singing D．crying
A．hearing B．regarding C．thinking D．saying
A．angry B．strict C．satisfied D．familiar
A．excitedly B．slowly C．quickly D．carelessly
A．search B．educate C．forgive D．follow
A．outside B．inside C．upon D．down
A．advising B．talking C．listening D．coming
A．called B．remembered C．measured D．left
A．stopped B．preferred C．regretted D．continued
A．catching B．carrying C．gaining D．buying
A．serial B．lucky C．phone D．license
A．mother B．guide C．father D．waiter
A．hotel B．shop C．street D．station
A．forgotten B．happened C．damaged D．lost
A．worried B．concerned C．afraid D．angry
A．None B．Either C．Neither D．Both
A businesswoman got into a taxi in midtown. As it was the rush hour and she was in a to catch a train, she a quick way to reach it. “I have been a taxi driver for 15 years!” the driver said . “You don’t think I know the best way to go?”
The woman tried to explain that she hadn’t to annoy him, but the driver kept . She finally realized that he was too annoyed to be , so she changed her . “You know, you are right,” she told him. “It must seem for me not to think you know the best way the city.”
, the driver glanced at his in the rearview mirror（后视镜）, turned down the street she wanted and got her to the train on time. “He didn’t say another word the rest of the ride,” she said. “ I got out and paid him. Then he thanked me.”
When you find yourself with people like the taxi driver, you will always try to your idea. It can lead to longer arguments, lose job chances or marriages. I have discovered one simple extremely unlikely method that can prevent the disagreement or other difficult situations from in a disaster.
The is to put yourself in the other person’s shoes and look for the in what that person is saying. Find a way to , and the result may surprise you.
A．hurry B．rush C．moment D．way
A．chose B．made C．found D．suggested
A．jokingly B．angrily C．anxiously D．curiously
A．supposed B．expected C．meant D．decided
A．apologizing B．driving C．asking D．shouting
A．reasonable B．thoughtful C．normal D．practical
A．road B．mind C．direction D．manner
A．strange B．wrong C．terrible D．stupid
A．across B．in C．through D．along
A．Surprised B．Worried C．Annoyed D．Disappointed
A．rider B．speaker C．helper D．comer
A．until B．after C．because D．since
A．satisfied B．concerned C．crowded D．faced
A．give up B．turn down C．stick to D．point out
A．combine B．destroy C．suffer D．divide
A．and B．that C．but D．though
A．lying B．resulting C．setting D．leading
A．problem B．importance C．key D．reply
A．fact B．meaning C．expression D．truth
A．agree B．argue C．explain D．escape
David grew up poor. He started working in the 7th grade and by high school he was only going to school half days, at 11 am to go to work.
Lack of money meant lack of educational opportunities, but he had a to learn. In his spare time he read books that he thought would him succeed somewhere down the road.
He was a hard worker, and rose above(克服) his of higher education to provide for his family, factory life had a bad effect on him physically, emotionally and . It was, in his mind, killing him like a slow poison.
In 1995 he bought his first computer and a few months later discovered the Internet. He wanted to be a part of it, and worked 48 or hours a week in the factory, and worked another 40 or more hours a week himself computer skills. He worked harder than he 4 had in his life, surfing the Internet over 100 hours a week.
David began jobs in the Internet and computer fields. He was many times, but he never gave up. He had a goal and kept after it he didn’t feel like it because else seemed so hopeless. That kind of drive and perseverance almost always . David left the factory and took a job in the computing field.
This is a true story about , a story about believing in ; a story about finding what you love to do and your dreams.
My hope in writing this story is that, if you have a dream, you’ll be enough to see it through(进行到底). It’s up to you to it. Remember that even the farthest always starts with the first step.
A．starting B．leaving C．arriving D．studying
A．time B．hope C．hunger D．chance
A．let B．have C．see D．help
A．lack B．choice C．favor D．desire
A．and B．so C．but D．as
A．individually B．spiritually C．energetically D．evidently
A．more B．fewer C．smaller D．some
A．showing B．teaching C．improving D．acquiring
A．even B．never C．ever D．just
A．doing B．creating C．applying for D．taking up
A．turned off B．put down C．held up D．turned down
A．even when B．if only C．even the D．as if
A．anywhere B．somewhere C．anything D．something
A．pays back B．puts off C．gets in D．pays off
A．wealth B．determination C．hardship D．love
A．yourself B．himself C．herself D．itself
A．developing B．following C．continuing D．reaching
A．demanded B．expected C．inspired D．attracted
A．get B．make C．conduct D．perform
A．journey B．distance C．life D．future
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C、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。
Childhood curiosity can last a lifetime and I learned this from my son, Bill. When he was very young, I often took him to the . He loved to read and often needed to the books he’d read in order to borrow more books. One unintended of his nonstop reading habits was that he even at the dinner table. His mother, Mary, and I did our best to him that, on certain social , reading while dining with others was not a good thing.
Every summer the teachers at his school give the students a reading list, and there was a contest to see who could read the most books. He was so , and he always wanted to win. And he often . But the main reason why he read so obsessively (着迷地) was that he was so . He didn’t just want to learn about things. He wanted to learn about everything.
We helped his curiosity in every way. an unfamiliar word came up in conversation, we’d turn to the , looking up the word, and reading the definition aloud. Thus my son came to realize that if you have a question, the exists somewhere. All you have to do is it.
Bill remains as much of a today as when he was a child, and he seems to everything he reads. He’s often to share what he’s learned with the next person he meets. He reads at the dinner table, though — which is a good thing because the books he’s attracted to now are increasingly unappetizing (引不起食欲的): The Eradication of Infectious Diseases, Mosquitoes, Malaria & Man, and Rats, Lice, and History.
A．school B．library C．office D．museum
A．pick B．store C．talk D．return
A．advantage B．explanation C．discovery D．consequence
A．play B．laugh C．read D．study
A．advise B．promise C．warn D．convince
A．issues B．occasions C．services D．duties
A．could B．should C．would D．might
A．sincere B．crazy C．competitive D．positive
A．went B．did C．failed D．proved
A．confident B．curious C．diligent D．excellent
A．simple B．past C．some D．any
A．develop B．protect C．examine D．follow
A．If B．Until C．Though D．Because
A．teacher B．newspaper C．dictionary D．partner
A．person B．answer C．book D．matter
A．use B．find C．tell D．ask
A．reader B．speaker C．maker D．user
A．imagine B．believe C．remember D．create
A．afraid B．eager C．careful D．sure
A．now and again B．at all time C．just now D．no longer