It might be difficult to make yourself better. If you try the following ways, they may help you.
(1) You can’t decide what you look like, but you can decide what you want to be. So accept yourself, and then anything will be possible.
(2) Learning is a lifelong journey. No matter how old you are, there will always be lessons in front of you. As the saying goes, “It’s never too old to learn.”
(3) Good leaners keep practicing what they have learned. Try new things and practice them over and over again to make yourself better and better.
(4) Life is like a mirror. If you smile at it, it will smile back at you. There is a lot of trouble in your life. Keep smiling when you are in trouble.
(5) Maybe you don’t dare to take part in school activities. That’s because you don’t believe in yourself. But actually you are great. Just have a try.
(a)根据短文内容,从方框中选出每段的主旨大意,其中有一个选项是多余的。
A. Trust yourself. B. Smile at your life. C. Talk with others. D. Never stop learning. E. Try to accept yourself. F. Practice makes perfect. |
(b)根据短文内容,补全下面的表格,每空一词。
The (6) making yourself better |
★It's never too (7) to learn. |
★Try new things and (8) them again and again. |
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★Keeр smiling (9) you are in trouble. |
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★Believe (10) yourself. |
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★Accept yourself. |
The best tool you can use in communicating with parents is to keep talking to them, no matter what. Strong relationship (关系) depend heavily on keeping the lines of communication open. Try to talk about everyday things with your parents. That doesn’t mean telling them everything. In fact, turn the focus onto them for a change: Ask about their day — just as they do with you.
David, 16, is a senior school student. One evening, after he mentioned at dinner that he was thinking of trying out for the school play, his mom kept asking about it for weeks. And later, it also felt like she was getting too involved (参与) in something he wanted to do himself. Instead of telling his mom how he felt, David decided it would be easier not to tell her anything he was doing in the future.
A good way to get a parent to ask fewer questions is to offer some information on your own. This puts the communication in your hands. The more you keep a parent told about everyday things, the less they need to ask. Communicating everyday things has another advantage: It can show your parents that you’re responsible enough to make good decisions.
It won’t always be easy. You may get frustrated (受挫) at times. But try not to give up. It may take a bit for a parent who is used to making all the decisions to adjust (适合) to the independent-thinking person their child is becoming. Parents also don’t want to see their sons and daughters suffer (受苦) if the choices they make on their own aren’t the “right” ones. To many parents, it seems easier to step in and take control simply because they believe their years of experience put them in a better position to make decisions. If you feel that’s the case (情况) with your parents, talk to them about it.The underlined part “turn the focus onto them” probably means ____.
A.talk the things about them |
B.have a good time with them |
C.show your thanks to them |
D.do something good for them |
In the third paragraph, you are advised to ____.
A.let your parents know everything about your daily life |
B.tell your parents more information before you are asked |
C.keep your parents asking you more questions of your things |
D.be responsible to help your parents make good decisions |
What causes parents to take control of children?
A.They find their children wrong. |
B.They do well in almost everything. |
C.They think they can make better decisions. |
D.They are used to making choices for children. |
The main idea of the passage is how to ____.
A.make decisions on your own |
B.learn from your parents |
C.think carefully for yourself |
D.communicate with parents |
Knowing how to ask for information and help politely is important. In English, “Where are the restrooms?” and “Could you please tell me where the restrooms are?” are similar requests (请求) — both are correct English, but the first could sound rude. It’s important to use correct language, but sometimes this alone is not enough — we need to learn how to be polite when we make requests.
In English, just like in Chinese, we change the way we speak when talking with different people. The expressions you use might depend on whom you are speaking to or how well you know them. If you say to your teacher, “Where is my book?” this will sound rude. But if you say, “Excuse me, Mr West. Do you know where my book is?” your question will sound much more polite. On the other hand, it might be alright to say “Where is my book?” to the people you know well.
And you would not usually say, “Peter, lend me your pen.” A very direct order like this can sound rude in English. Usually in English polite questions are longer and include extra (附加的) language, such as “Could you please...?” or “Can I ask...?” It sounds more polite to say, “Peter, could you please lend me your pen?” If you stop a stranger in the street, we might first say, “Excuse me. I wonder if you can help me.” or “I’m sorry to trouble you but…” before asking him for help.
It might seem that speaking politely is more difficult than being direct, and in a way this may be true.When we make requests, we need to speak in a ____ way.
A.polite | B.careful | C.different | D.direct |
You should say “____” when you ask a stranger for a way.
A.Which is the way to the zoo? |
B.How can I get to the zoo? |
C.Do you know the way to the zoo? |
D.Excuse me. Can you tell me the way to the zoo? |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.We should use long sentences when we ask for information and help. |
B.When we ask for help from others, polite language must be used. |
C.The way of speaking is important when we ask different people for help. |
D.In English, polite questions are as neccessary as rude and direct ones. |
Rose sat behind Kate in the classroom. They got on well with each other. But one day, Rose didn’t see her school IC card at lunch time. She asked her classmates and looked for it everywhere. But she couldn’t find it. Later, one girl said that she saw Kate take a card from Rose’s desk. Hearing this, Rose got very angry.
When she met Kate in the afternoon, Rose shouted, “You have stolen my card!” Hearing this, Kate began to cry, “No, no, I didn’t steal it! I only took it by mistake.” But Rose didn’t think so and she began to say bad words to Kate.
Just then a teacher came up and asked what had happened. Kate told the whole story. She said a middle school classmate of hers came to see her in the morning. She was so excited that she took the card on the desk and rushed out. Then they went for lunch happily. “I used the card, but I had thought it was mine. I didn’t know it was Rose’s until she looked for it. I was too afraid to explain it to her. So I decided to put the card back with some money secretly. I am sorry, Rose.” Kate said in a low voice.
“It’s just a misunderstanding (误会)!” said the teacher. Tears came into Rose’s eyes. Then she said, “I was very sorry, Kate! I hope we are still good friends.” Kate smiled when she heard the words. Hand in hand, they walked toward the classroom building.Rose was very ____ when she heard someone took her IC card away.
A.quiet | B.sorry | C.excited | D.angry |
Kate didn’t find her mistake until ____.
A.she finished lunch | B.Rose looked for the card |
C.one girl told her | D.the teacher asked her |
From the end of the story, we can learn that Rose and Kate would ____.
A.be good friends again | B.say sorry to the teacher |
C.go on fighting later | D.explain more to each other |
Some students are talking about who’s a better singer, Andy Lau or Jacky Cheung? |
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![]() Jim |
Some people say Jacky is the best Chinese singer. I don’t think so! Andy is the best. I went to his concert last year. It was so wonderful. I almost cried! OK, I did cry, but that’s because Andy is so handsome! |
![]() Li Tao |
I don’t agree with Jim. Andy sounds like every other singer. His voice is nothing special. On the other hand, Jacky’s voice is different from others, and his songs are so romantic (浪漫的). |
![]() Linda |
I think they’re about the same. But Andy is a better actor. I’ve seen almost all of his movies. Remember the one where he was a pilot and his plane crashed (坠毁) near a farm? I love that movie! |
![]() Zhang Fang |
I also think Jacky is a better singer. I prefer his Cantonese (粤语) songs. Maybe they sound better because Cantonese is his first language. |
![]() Liu Ying |
I agree. Jacky’s Cantonese songs are better than his Mandarin (普通话) songs, though I still like all his songs! |
How many students are talking about Andy and Jacky?
A.3. | B.4. | C.5. | D.6. |
____ thinks Andy is the best Chinese singer.
A.Jim | B.Li Tao | C.Linda | D.Zhang Fang |
Linda likes Andy’s ____ very much.
A.movies | B.voice | C.language | D.songs |
Once there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it every day. He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.
Time went by — the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree every day. One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad. “Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy. “I’m no longer a kid. I wouldn’t play around the tree any more.” the boy replied. “I want toys. I need money to buy them.” “Sorry, I don’t have money. But you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money.” The boy picked all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples.
One day, the boy returned and the tree was so excited, “Come and play with me,” the tree said. “I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help?” “Sorry, I don’t have a house. But you can cut off my branches to build your house.” So the boy cut all the branches off the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.
One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was pleased. “Come and play with me!” the tree said. “I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?” “Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy.” So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.
Finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I don’t have anything for you any more. The only thing left is my dying root,” the tree said with tears ①
“Good! Old tree root is the best place to lean on and rest. Come and sit down with me and rest.” The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears ② ……Why did the boy pick all the apples on the tree? Because __________.
A.he wanted to eat them |
B.he needed money to buy toys |
C.he liked the tree without apples |
D.he wanted to share them with friends. |
When did the boy come back to the apple tree? He came back _________.
A.whenever he was happy | B.if he missed the apple tree |
C.when he was in times of difficulty | D.as soon as he was free |
What did the boy want at last? He wanted ___________.
A.to have a house to live in | B.nothing except a place to rest |
C.the root of the apple tree | D.anything that the apple tree had |
What can we learn from the story? We should _________.
A.plant more apple trees | B.learn from the boy |
C.always stay at home | D.be thankful to our parents |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A.The phrase “with tears ①” means that the apple tree was sad because the boy asked for too much. |
B.The phrase “with tears ②” means that the apple tree was still happy because she could help the boy for the last time. |
C.Each time the boy asked the apple tree for help, the tree tried her best to satisfy him. |
D.After reading the passage, we can easily think of the old Chinese saying “Parents’ love is universal!” |