I’ve loved my mother’s desk since I was just tall enough to sit above the top of it. Mother sat writing letters. Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pens, and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be a most wonderful thing in the world.
Years later, during her final illness, Mother kept different things for my sister and brother. “But the desk,” she said again, “is for Elizabeth.”
I never saw her angry, never saw her cry. I knew she loved me; she showed in action. But as a young girl. I wanted to have heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter.
They never happened. And a gulf opened between us. I was “too emotional ”. But she lived “on the surface ”.
As years passed and I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive me.
My hope turned to disappointment, then little interest and, finally, peace – it seemed that nothing happened. I couldn’t be sure that the letter had even got to Mother. I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not.
But the present of her desk told me, as she’d never been able to, that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside – a photo of my father and a one-paper letter, folded and refolded many times. It was my letter.
“In any way you choose, Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words.”The writer began to love her mother’s desk________.
A.after Mother died |
B.before she became a writer |
C.when she was a child |
D.when Mother gave it to her |
The passage shows that_________.
A.Mother was cold on the surface but kind in her heart to her daughter |
B.Mother was too serious about her daughter in words |
C.Mother wrote to her daughter in careful words |
D.Mother wrote to her daughter in careless words |
The underlined word “gulf” in the passage means_______.
A.deep understanding between the old and the young |
B.different ideas between mother and daughter |
C.free talks between mother and daughter |
D.part of the sea going far in land |
What did Mother do with her daughter’s letter asking for forgiveness?
A.She had never received the letter. |
B.For years, she often talked about the letter. |
C.She didn’t forgive her daughter at all in all her life. |
D.She read the letter again and again till she died. |
What’s best title of the passage?
A.My letter to Mother |
B.Mother and children |
C.My Mother’s Desk |
D.Talks between Mother and me |
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Many people think of guys as being carefree when it comes to their appearance. But in fact, a lot of guys spend plenty of time in front of the mirror. 1.
Body image is a person’s opinions and feelings about his or her own body and physical appearance. 2. You appreciate your body for its capabilities and accept its imperfections.
So, what can you do to develop a positive body image? Here are some ideas:
Recognize your strengths. Different body types are good for different things. What does your body do well? Maybe your speed, strength, or coordination makes you better than others at a certain sport. That may be basketball, table tennis, mountain biking, dancing, or even running. Or perhaps you have non-sports skills, like drawing, painting, singing, playing a musical instrument, writing, or acting. 3.
Exercise regularly. Exercise can help you look good and feel good about yourself. Good physiques (体形) don’t just happen. 4. A healthy habit can be as simple as exercising 20 minutes to one hour three days a week. Working out can also lift your spirits.
Respect your body! Practicing good habits --- regular showering; taking care of your teeth, hair, and skin; wearing clean clothes, and so on --- can help you build a positive body image.
5. Your body is just one part of who you are. Your talent for comedy, a quick wit (智慧), and all the other things makeyou unique. So try not to let small imperfections take over.
A. Use this as an opportunity to discover what you’re good at. B. Be yourself. C. They care just as much as girls do about their body image. D. Just explore talents that you feel good about. E. They take hard work, regular workouts, and a healthy diet. F. The good news is that self-image and body image can be changed. G. Having a positive body image means feeling satisfied with the way you look. |
The common cold is the world’s most widespread illness, which is plagues(疫病) that people receive.
The most widespread fallacy(谬误) of all is that colds are caused by cold. They are not. They are caused by viruses(病毒) passing on from person to person. You catch a cold by coming into contact, directly or indirectly, with someone who already has one. If cold causes colds, it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos to suffer from them forever. But they do not. And in isolated arctic regions explorers have reported being free from colds until coming into contact again with infected people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes.
During the First World War soldiers who spent long periods in the trenches(战壕), cold and wet, showed no increased tendency to catch colds. In the Second World War prisoners at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp(奥斯维辛集中营), naked and starving, were astonished to find that they seldom had colds. At the Common Cold Research Unit in England, volunteers took part in experiments in which they gave themselves to the discomforts of being cold and wet for long stretches of time. After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be with cold water, and then stood about dripping wet(湿透)in drafty(通风的)room. Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion. Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose.
If, then, cold and wet have nothing to do with catching colds, why are they more frequent in the winter? Despite the most pains-taking research, no one has yet found the answer. One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other time, and this makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on.
No one has yet found a cure for the cold. There are drugs and pain suppressors(止痛片) such as aspirin, but all they do is relieve the symptoms. The writer offered _______ examples to support his argument.
A.4 | B.5 | C.6 | D.3 |
Arctic explorers may catch colds when _______.
A.they are working in the isolated arctic regions |
B.they are writing reports in terribly cold weather |
C.they are free from work in the isolated arctic regions |
D.they are coming into touch again with the outside world |
Volunteers taking part in the experiments in the Common Cold Research Unit probably _______.
A.suffered a lot | B.never caught colds |
C.often caught colds | D.became very strong |
The passage mainly discusses _______.
A.the experiments on the common cold |
B.the fallacy about the common cold |
C.the reason and the way people catch colds |
D.the continued spread of common colds |
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with the City of Melbourne's tourism program.
If you would like to receive an email advising you of the next recruitment(招募) intake, please email tourism@melbourne.vic.gov.au.
Information about volunteering with Tourism Melbourne
Volunteers play a vital role in the City of Melbourne’s tourism services.They provide information on Melbourne to around twomillion visitors each year. Their love and knowledge of the city and regional Victoria adds to Melbourne's reputation as a friendly, welcoming and culturally vibrant (有活力的) city.
The City of Melbourne’s tourism branch generally conducts two volunteer recruitment intakes each year for the following tourism programs:
A.In classified tourism advertisements. |
B.In a radio report of a tourism program. |
C.In a book review about volunteering. |
D.On a local government website. |
Which of the following is NOT one of the requirements for a volunteer?
A.Owning a driver’s license. |
B.Enjoying meeting people. |
C.Having computer skills. |
D.A four-hour shift each week. |
It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A.the program’s recruitment takes place every two years |
B. Go Volunteer offers more information about Melbourne’s volunteer program |
C.if you know Melbourne well, you are sure to be admitted as a tourism volunteer |
D.even though you are interested in the program, you can’t be its member right now |
What would be the best title for the passage?
A.Does Volunteering Pay Back? |
B.Welcome to the City of Melbourne! |
C.Tourism Volunteer Program. |
D.Interest and Tourism Volunteering. |
Attention to detail is something everyone can and should do — especially in tight job market. Bob Crossley, a human-resources expert notices this in the job applications that come across his desk every day. “It’s amazing how many candidates cross out themselves,” he says.
“Resumes (简历)arrive with faults. Some candidates don’t bother to spell the company’s name correctly. Once I see a mistake, I cross out the candidates,” Crossley concludes. “If they cannot take care of these details, why should we trust them with a job?”
Can we pay too much attention to details? Perfectionists struggle over little things at the cost of something larger they work toward. “To keep from losing the forest for the trees,” says Charles Garfield, the professor at the University of California, San Francisco, “We must constantly ask ourselves how the details we’re working on fit into the larger picture. If they don’t, we should drop them and move to something else.”
Garfield compares this process to his work as a computer scientist at NASA. “The Apollo II moon launch was slightly off course 90 percent of the time,” says Garfield. “But a successful landing was still likely because we knew the exact position of our goal. This allowed us to make adjustments as necessary.” Knowing where to go helps us judge the importance of every task we undertake.
Too often we believe what accounts for others’ success is some special secret or a lucky break. But rarely is success so mysterious. Again and again, we see that by doing little things within our grasp well, large rewards follow.According to the passage, some job applicants were rejected because .
A.they failed to present resumes that are free of mistakes |
B.they failed to give a detailed description of their background |
C.they crossed out their names from the applicants list themselves |
D.their handwriting on the resume was hard to recognize |
The underlined word “cross out” in the first paragraph probably means ______.
A.neglect | B.recommend | C.wipe | D.introduce |
The third paragraph is intended to state that .
A.trees are as important as forests |
B.we should pay much attention to details |
C.we shouldn’t go too far in details to lose our goals |
D.perfectionists are capable of achieving perfect results |
The example of Apollo II moon launch is given to show that .
A.minor mistakes can be ignored |
B.failure is the mother of success |
C.adjustments are the key to the successful completion of any work |
D.keeping one’s goal in mind helps decide which details can be overlooked |
Wishing to encourage her young son to make more progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her. Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually found his way through a door marked “NO ADMITTANCE.” When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing.
Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. To her horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.
At that moment, the great pianist made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy’s ear, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.” Then leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child and he added a melody. Together, the old master and the young beginner transformed a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was amazed and, as it finished, they cheered.
That’s the way it is in life. What we can accomplish on our own is hardly noteworthy. We try our best, but the results aren’t exactly graceful flowing music. But when we put our trust in the hands of a Greater Power, our life’s work can be truly beautiful. Next time you set out to accomplish great feats, listen carefully. You can hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, “Don’t quit, and keep playing.”The reason why the boy went to the piano was that ________.
A.he was encouraged to explore |
B.his mother forced him to have a look |
C.he was invited by the pianist |
D.he was exploring the concert hall |
What the famous pianist did at the beginning of the concert showed ________.
A.what a great pianist he was |
B.what a skilled pianist he was |
C.what an upright man he was |
D.what a strong man he was |
What did the author really want to tell us in the last paragraph?
A.Not being interrupted by others is important. |
B.Life needs one’s own effort combined with guidance and cooperation. |
C.It is necessary for us to keep doing everything. |
D.It is important for us to get help from a famous person. |