What is real success? I am sure many would come up with answers like lots of money, a big house, a new car, and so on.
It has been interesting to see how my own idea of success has through the years. When I was young, I was eagerly reaching for material success. I chose my jobs accordingly and ended up in . Sure enough, I did earn some pretty good pay checks.
But then a different feeling started to . I began to realize selling was not what I wanted to do all my life. After all I was often forced to sell products that did not really suit customers. All that matters is the amount of money that is made. I became very unhappy.
I came to realize that even with big pay checks I did not feel successful. That is when my search for success turned inwards, I sales and chose another profession–helping people. The feeling of relief and belonging was great–and suddenly I felt successful again. Even though I earned than before, I was much more content.
Then I returned to my old love–writing.
I realized I felt most successful when I loved what I did never the money. Then for my own I define success by the feeling of contentment.
Always remember–you are not here to anyone else’s life but your own. It is not your obligation (义务) to please others with your life – only yourself, because only if you are happy yourself can you happiness to others. You cannot give what you do not have.
So be true to yourself and your own joyful path to your own of success.
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A Leap(跳跃) to Honor
Leaping on a narrow balance beam(平衡木) is not easy. But Lola Walter, a 13yearold gymnast, is an expert at it.
To perfect her skills, Lola ____ for four hours a day, five days a week. At the state championships in March, she finished seventh out of 16 girls.
That's especially impressive, ____ she is legally blind, born with a rare condition that causes her eyes to shift(移动) constantly. She often sees double and can't ____ how far away things are.
When she was little, her mom ____ that even though she couldn't see ____， she was fearless. So her mom signed her up for gymnastics when she was three. She loved the ___ right away and gymnastics became her favorite.
Though learning gymnastics has been more ____ for her than for some of her teammates, she has never quit. She doesn't let her ____ stop her from doing anything that she wants to.
She likes the determination it takes to do the sport. Her biggest ____ is the balance beam. Because she has double vision, she often sees two beams. She must use her sense of touch to help her during her routine. Sometimes she even closes her eyes. “You have to ____ your mind that it'll take you where you want to go，” says Lola.
To be a toplevel gymnast, one must be brave. The beam is probably the most ____ for anyone because it's four inches wide. At the state competition, Lola didn't fall ____ the beam. In fact, she got an 8.1 out of 10—her highest score yet.
Lola doesn't want to be ____ differently from the other girls on her team. At competitions, the judges don't know about her vision ____. She doesn't tell them, because she doesn't think they need to know. Her mom is amazed by her ____ attitude.
Lola never thinks about ____. She is presently at level 7 while the highest is level 10 in gymnastics. Her ____ is to reach level 9. She says she wants to be a gymnastics coach to pass down what she's learned to other kids ____ she grows up.
Lola is ____ of all her hard work and success. She says it's helped her overcome problems in her life outside gymnastics too. Her ____ for other is “just believe in yourself”．
A．runs B．teaches C．trains D．dances
A．since B．unless C．after D．though
A．tell B．guess C．assume D．predict
A．suspected B．remembered C．imagined D．noticed
A．deeply B．well C．ahead D．closely
A．task B．sport C．event D．show
A．boring B．enjoyable C．difficult D．satisfactory
A．talent B．quality C．nature D．condition
A．doubt B．advantage C．challenge D．progress
A．examine B．express C．open D．trust
A．fearful B．harmful C．unfair D．inconvenient
A．to B．on C．off D．against
A．greeted B．treated C．served D．paid
A．pains B．stresses C．injuries D．problems
A．positive B．friendly C．flexible D．cautious
A．defending B．quitting C．winning D．bargaining
A．standard B．range C．view D．goal
A．until B．as C．when D．before
A．proud B．tired C．ashamed D．confident
A．plan B．advice C．reward D．responsibility
I used to be a very selfcentered person, but in the past two years I have really changed.I have started to think about other people ____ I think about myself.I am happy that I am becoming a ____ person.
I think my ____ started when I was at Palomar College.At first, I just wanted to get my ____ and be left alone.I thought I was smarter than everyone else, so I hardly ever ____ to anyone in my classes.By the end of my first semester, I was really ____.It seemed as if everyone but me had made friends and was having fun.So I tried a(n) ___.I started asking people around me how they were doing, and if they were having trouble I ____ to help.That was really a big ____ for me.By the end of the year, I had several new friends, and two of ____ are still my best friends today.
A bigger cause of my new ____， however, came when I took a parttime job at Vista Nursing Home.One old lady there who had Alzheimer's disease became my ____.Every time I came into her room, she was so ____ because she thought I was her daughter.Her real daughter never ____ her, so I took her place.She let me ___ that making others feel good made me feel good too.When she died, I was ____， but I was also very grateful to her.
I think I am a much ____ person today than I used to be, and I hope I will not ____ these experiences.They have ____ me to care about other people more than about myself.I ____ who I am today, and I could not say that a few years ago.
A．since B．before C．or D．unless
A．famous B．simple C．different D．skilled
A．education B．career C．tour D．change
A．balance B．homework C．degree D．interest
A．talked B．wrote C．lied D．reported
A．careful B．lonely C．curious D．guilty
A．argument B．game C．experiment D．defence
A．dared B．offered C．hesitated D．happened
A．dream B．problem C．duty D．step
A．us B．which C．them D．whom
A．attitude B．hobby C．hope D．luck
A．friend B．partner C．guide D．guest
A．polite B．happy C．strange D．confident
A．bothered B．answered C．visited D．trusted
A．explain B．guess C．declare D．see
A．homeless B．heartbroken C．badtempered D．hopeless
A．quieter B．busier C．better D．richer
A．forget B．face C．improve D．analyze
A．forced B．preferred C．ordered D．taught
A．miss B．like C．wonder D．expect
While I lived in Ireland, part of my college course was to work in the area of children with special needs. I was selected to ____ in a school with children with ____. I had numerous rooms to ____ from. I chose to work in the ____ that was apart from the school. Children ___ 5—16 with severe disabilities. They had no speech and most were in a wheelchair.
The ____ of that room asked if I would work with one girl who had ____ of epilepsy(癫痫症), autism(自闭症), and other brain development disabilities. She was 15 years old. At her school they would think that just being able to zip up(拉上拉链) her own coat was a(n) ____ . I saw more in her. She always wanted to put ____ through the shaped blocks to make a necklace. For the 5 years she was in the school, the teachers always tried to ____ her do all the work. I knew this smart girl could do ____ and so I encouraged her. She had a thumb which she could not move but I ____ her so much to try. She got very ____ most days and sometimes I wanted to quit. ____ after a week, this young girl was able to do ____ she had been wanting to do by herself for so many years. Her teacher cried when she saw what this ____ was able to do with just some encouragement.
People with disabilities should never be ____ that they can't. We are all human and with just some encouragement we can do it. The ____ on that girl's face when she was able to do it herself ___ the world to me. I wish everyone would encourage people rather than telling them they can't ____ doing it for them.
A．rest B．work C．study D．compete
A．confidence B．danger C．disabilities D．depression
A．learn B．benefit C．suffer D．choose
A．room B．school C．factory D．hospital
A．arranged B．aged C．graded D．selected
A．nurse B．doctor C．teacher D．manager
A．fears B．doubts C．interests D．symptoms
A．accident B．evidence C．reputation D．achievement
A．string B．pole C．nail D．finger
A．get B．help C．order D．forgive
A．less B．nothing C．more D．fewer
A．encouraged B．frightened C．concerned D．satisfied
A．happy B．upset C．proud D．unfortunate
A．Hopefully B．Obviously C．Eventually D．Occasionally
A．whom B．which C．that D．what
A．girl B．boy C．friend D．baby
A．supported B．told C．said D．reminded
A．lines B．ideas C．look D．feeling
A．trained B．accused C．touched D．meant
A．or B．and C．so D．but
We always want what we cannot have. When we're young, we want to stay out late, have romantic relationships, and be ____. However, when we're ____， we want to go back to being young and we ___ the days when we didn't have to worry about complex love affairs, ___ pressure, and money problems.
Young people believe adulthood ____ freedom from parents and schoolwork. When they get older, they feel that ____ is freedom from work pressure and family responsibilities. To ____ this feeling, people say, “The grass is always ____ on the other side of the fence.”
As ____， we like to be like adults but as young adults, we ____ to be young again. We think about staying out late and ____ our own money to spend. Suddenly, they see that love can result in ____ hearts; staying out late makes it hard to get ready for ____ the next morning. They find out that adult life is not as ____ as they thought it would be and suddenly, ___ becomes very scary.
Life is ____. It gives us time to ____ but also requires us to work. The time will come when we must grow up and we will always look back wishing we ____ being young a bit longer. That time will not come back. It is normal to want what we cannot have but the ____ is that to be happy is to appreciate what we have. That is the first step to grow up. ____ life becomes more complex, we will not regret the time we wasted wishing we were adults.
A．comfortable B．dependent C．independent D．polite
A．older B．defeated C．married D．confident
A．like B．forget C．regret D．miss
A．study B．job C．age D．health
A．creates B．shows C．means D．limits
A．childhood B．adulthood C．parenthood D．neighborhood
A．reduce B．describe C．experience D．understand
A．greener B．thinner C．yellow D．colorful
A．researchers B．teenagers C．adults D．elders
A．wish B．decide C．return D．stop
A．making B．having C．worrying about D．showing off
A．healthy B．ambitious C．broken D．excited
A．breakfast B．school C．exercise D．work
A．rich B．busy C．poor D．easy
A．life B．love C．career D．future
A．long B．short C．fair D．beautiful
A．study B．think C．play D．live
A．stopped B．enjoyed C．imagined D．tried
A．reason B．result C．dream D．truth
A．If B．When C．Unless D．Before
The tale of a heroic pet
Luke has always been my closest companion these past five years. In fact, he is very obedient to me ____ when I take care of other furry friends in our shelter.
As you already know, there have been a lot of forest fires during the ____ season. Many forests are badly ____ by fire each year. Not far from our shelter, a forest caught fire during this hot summer and a heat wave has been going on for three days.
Luke rushed towards the forest where flames gave out a fierce heat. There's no longer any ____ at the moment to wait for Luke to come back to the shelter. ____， I was waiting for the fireman to ____ me his death in the forest. Suddenly, a fireman burst into my office and ____ me that my dog Luke succeeded in saving four kittens that were ____ by the flames. According to the fireman, Luke seized the kittens, one by one moving them to a(n) ___ place.
I ____ accompanied the firemen to the forest to pick up the rescued kittens. Once on the ____ of the incident, Luke was not there. Then we heard the sound of a dog came from the forest barking furiously. I ___ the sound of my dog Luke. The firemen followed the tracks of the dog ___ they found him barking loudly by the side of a(n) ____ fireman who was lying on the ground and desperately waiting for ___.
Thanks to Luke, four kittens and a fireman were saved. That day, I was very proud of Luke for his heroic ___. Luke showed much compassion for both animals like him and for a man trying to put out the fire with his ____. Honestly, my happiness is great and immeasurable.
I visited the fireman in his house accompanied with Luke. What a ____ scene when the fireman hugged Luke ____ to his chest! “One thousand thanks, Luke, for saving my life，” the fireman said.
This true story of love and compassion shows us that pets are loving and caring. We should love and protect them, for little animals can make enormous things for ____.
A．specially B．especially C．obviously D．simply
A．spring B．summer C．winter D．autumn
A．damaged B．disappeared C．harmed D．injured
A．sign B．point C．use D．hope
A．As usual B．At last C．In fact D．In general
A．call B．tell C．persuade D．visit
A．suggested B．comforted C．informed D．encouraged
A．struck B．burnt C．discovered D．trapped
A．ideal B．safe C．unusual D．homely
A．immediately B．politely C．closely D．suddenly
A．scenery B．view C．sight D．scene
A．recognized B．found C．caught D．focused
A．before B．unless C．until D．when
A．brave B．excited C．calm D．injured
A．dogs B．firemen C．rescue D．passersby
A．tales B．actions C．responses D．events
A．tools B．devices C．colleagues D．friends
A．memorable B．terrible C．lovely D．threatening
A．tightly B．carefully C．slowly D．slightly
A．firemen B．dogs C．kittens D．humans