My grandmother Adele loved culture and was generous with its gifts. When I was a child, she took me to museums, restaurants, dances. She showered me with gifts from her travels around the world. But I can only remember her giving me one book—a book that, to this day, I have not read. She presented me with her own favorite childhood book: Hans Brinker. My grandmother was happy to share this book with me. She even decorated the title page with her proud writing.
I tried to read it. I adored reading, and would dive into a new pile of books from the library all at once. But something about Hans Brinker just wouldn’t let me in. The story was set in Holland, a long time ago. It felt dull and unfamiliar—even though I was a fan of classics of other times and places. I simply read the first pages over and over. I could not progress.
Standing on a bookshelf in our living room, the book was like something I avoided. It scolded me for not being interested, for not trying hard enough, for disappointing my grandmother.
The book started to fit in, almost forgotten, until Adele asked. Had I read it? Did I like it? Always determined, she wanted to know the answer. I would make some kind of excuse, feel bad, and open it again, hoping for a new reaction. The book weighed on me.
Years passed and finally Adele and I both accepted that I would never read Hans Brinker. Eventually I cleared the book from the shelf. The Hans Brinker experience led me to set a rule that I’ve lived by ever since: Do not ask about a book given as a gift. Don’t ask, despite your desire to discuss it to grow closer. The desire for such connection is what gives book-giving with special meaning—and increases the owner’s possibility to be a letdown.
Guilt is basically the same as for all gifts, though. If the giver doesn’t have the pleasure of seeing or hearing about the gift being enjoyed, and asks whether it is, then the owner—unless she can truthfully say “yes”—either has to admit to not liking the present, or else lie on the spot. Neither is pleasant. So, don’t ask.When the author was a kid, his grandmother ________.
| A．took him to travel around the world a lot |
| B．loved to take him to museums and stores |
| C．shared her childhood stories with him |
| D．gave him many gifts |
What does the author think about the book his grandmother gave him?
| A．Boring. | B．Interesting. |
| C．Puzzling. | D．Disappointing. |
The underlined sentence “The book weighed on me” in Paragraph 4 probably means _______.
| A．the book is too heavy for the author to carry |
| B．the author feels stressful facing the book |
| C．the book is full of powerful viewpoints |
| D．the author keeps reading the book |
The author learns from the Hans Brinker’s experience that never________.
| A．give others books as gifts |
| B．lie to people who give you gifts |
| C．get close to others through gifts |
| D．talk about the books given as gifts |
“Yes, I’ll be ready at nine in the morning. Goodbye, dear, and thanks again.” It had not been an easy telephone call for Mrs. Robson to make. Her daughter had been very kind, of course, and had immediately agreed to pick her up and drive her to the station, but Mrs. Robson hated to admit that she needed help. Since her husband had died ten years before, she had always been proud of her independence. She had continued to live in their little house, alone.
On this evening, however, she was standing at her living-room window, staring out at the SOLD notice in the small front garden. Her feelings were mixed. Of course, she was sad at the thought of leaving the house, as it was full of so many memories. But at the same time she was looking forward to spending her last years near the sea, back in the little seaside town where she had been born. With the money from the sale of the house, she had bought a little apartment there. She turned from the living room window, and looked round at the walls. There was a small fish tank, with two goldfish in it. When asked why, her husband used to say, “It’s nice to have something alive in the room.” Since he had passed away, she had always kept some goldfish, had always had “something alive in the room.”
The next morning, as her train was pulling out of the station, Mrs. Robson called to her daughter, “Kate, you won’t forget to collect the goldfish, will you? The children will love them. It’s …” “I know,” Kate interrupted gently, “It’s nice to have something alive in the room.”According to the passage, we know that Mrs. Robson _________.
| A．was tired of living alone |
| B．was not liked by her daughter |
| C．did not like asking people for help |
| D．did not want to be visited by her daughter |
Mrs. Robson was going to _______.
| A．be in hospital | B．live with her daughter |
| C．travel abroad alone | D．live where she was born |
The feelings of Mrs. Robson on her last night in the house were________.
| A．sad and hopeful | B．regretful and excited |
| C．sad and regretful | D．excited and hopeful |
阅读短文，根据短文的内容判断正误，正确的涂A，错误的涂B。
When my grandmother was raising me in Stamps，Arkansas，she had a particular routine(惯例)when people who were known to be whiners entered her store. My grandmother would ask the customer，“How are you doing today，Thomas？” The person would reply，“Not so good today, Henderson.You see，it’s this summer heat.I just hate it.It just makes me tired.It’s almost killing me.”Then my grandmother would stand calmly，her arms folded，and say，“Uh-huh，uh huh.”
As soon as the complainer was out of the store，my grandmother would call me to stand in front of her.Then she would say the same thing she had said at least a thousand times，it seemed to me.“Jane，did you hear what so-and-so complained about？”And I would nod.Grandmother would continue，“Jane，there are people who went to sleep all over the world last night，poor and rich and black and white，but they will never wake again.Those dead people would give anything，anything at all for just five minutes of this weather that person was complaining about.So you watch yourself about complaining，Jane.What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it.If you can’t change it，change the way you think about it.Don’t complain.”
I have learned a lot from my grandmother.Her opinions always hit the nail on the head.Whining is not only impolite, but can be dangerous.The underlined word “whiners” in Paragraph 1 refers to those people who enter a store regularly.
From what the author’s grandmother said we can infer that she was against whining.
The author’s grandmother told her to treasure every moment of her life.
The author was told different things after the whiners left Grandmother’s store.
The purpose of the author in writing the passage is to show that complaining is not only rude but harmful.
We’ve all been hurt by another person at one time or another. This pain causes problems. It not only causes us to be unhappy, but can ruin relationships, distract(使分心) us from work and family and other important things, make us unwilling to open up new things.
We need to learn to let go. We need to be able to forgive, so we can move on and be happy. Forgiveness does not mean you erase（忘却；抹去）the past, or forget what has happened. All it means is that you are letting go of the anger and pain, and moving on to a better place.
It’s not easy, but you can learn to do it.
Think about the advantages and disadvantages. Think of all the problems this pain causes you, and realize you need to change. Then think of the benefits of forgiveness—— how it will make you happier, free you from the past and the pain, and improve your relationships and life in general.
Try to put yourself in that person’s situation. Try to understand why the person did what he did. What could he have felt as he did it, and what did he feel afterward? How does he feel now? You aren’t saying what he did is right, but are trying to understand instead.
Understand your responsibility. Try to figure out how you could have been partly responsible for what happened. This isn’t to say you’re taking all the blame, or taking responsibility away from the other person, but to realize that we are not victims(受害者) but participants in life.
Allow peace to enter your life. As you focus on the present, try focusing on your breathing. Imagine each breath going out is the pain and the past, and imagine each breath coming in is peace, entering you and filling you up.
Title: How to let go and forgive
| Making us unhappy; distracting from daily life; Ruining relationships; making us close to new things. |
|
| Definition of forgiveness |
●Letting go of the ●Moving on to a better place. |
| Benefits of forgiveness |
●Making you happier; ● ●Improving your relationships and life in general |
| ●Thinking about the advantages and disadvantages; ●Trying to understand the other person as if you were in the same situation； ●Figuring out ●Allowing peace to enter your life. |
The Local Ness Monster is said to be a creature or a group of creatures living in the Loch Ness , a lake near the city of Inverness in northern Scotland.
The first modern sighting occurred on May 2,1993. The newspaper Inverness Courier reported a story of Mr. and Mrs John Mackay, who saw a very large animal rolling and plunging (跳入) into the water. The report attracted thousands of readers, of whom some were brave enough to see and even try to capture the animal.
A photograph taken by surgeon R.K Wilson on April 19,1934 seemed to show a large creature with a long neck gliding through the water. However ,decades later the photo was said to have been faked by Marmaduke Wetherell after he was hired by the Daily Mail.
In 1962, the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau was formed to act as a research organization .Whatever the result of their research is, the Loch Ness has become a real place which attracts millions of tourists every year.Where is the lake Loch Ness?
When was the first modern sighting?
The underlined word “capture” can be replaced by________?
Canada is a very large country. It is bigger than China. China is the third largest country in the world. Canada is the second largest . It has an area of nearly 10 million. Canada has a very long coastline. To the west is the Pacific Ocean. To the east is the Atlantic Ocean. The Arctic Ocean is in the north. There are many islands off the Pacific coast and off the Arctic coast. The biggest one in the west is Vancouver Island. In the east there is New Foundland, and in the Arctic Ocean the biggest islands are Baffin Island and Victoria Island.(Greenland is not part of Canada. It is a part of Denmark, a country in northern Europe.)
Canada has a long border with the USA in the south. In the northwest Canada borders on the American “State of Alaska”. Canada is a northern country. The Arctic Circle (Latitude 16°N) passes through the northern part . in the south, half of the border with the USA follows line of latitude 49°NWhich of the following statements is true?
| A．USA is the second largest country in the world. |
| B．Canada has nearly 10 million sq. km. So it is the second largest country on the world. |
| C．China is as large as Canada and the secong largest country in the world. |
| D．Russia is the second largest country in the world. |
What ocean is in the north of Canada?
| A．The Pacific Ocean | B．The Atlantic Ocean |
| C．The Indian Ocean | D．The Arctic Ocean |
There are many islands in Canada, and Vancouver Island is_______.
| A．in the west | B．in the east | C．in the north | D．in the south |
Alaska is one of the states of America. It is on the___ of Cananda.
| A．northeast | B．southeast | C．northwest | D．southwest |