Make the Most of College
Dear Daughter,
As we drove off from Columbia, I wanted to write a letter to you to tell you all that is on my mind.
First, I want to tell you how proud we are. Getting into Columbia is a real testament of what a great well-rounded student you are. You should be as proud of yourself as we are.
Your college years will be the most important of your life. It is in college that you will discover what learning is about. This will be the period where you go from teacher-taught to master-inspired, after which you must become self-learner. So do take each subject seriously, and even if what you learn isn’t critical for your life, the learning skills you acquire will be something you will cherish forever.
Follow your passion in college. Take courses you think you will enjoy. Don’t be trapped by what others think or say, but make up your own mind.
Most importantly, make friends and be happy. College friends are often the best in life. Pick a few friends and become really close to them – pick the ones who are genuine to you. Don’t worry about their hobbies, grades, looks or even personalities.
Start planning early – what would you like to do? Where would you like to live? What would you like to learn? I think your plan to study fashion is good, and you should decide where you want to be, and get onto the right courses.
Whether it is summer-planning, or coursework planning, or picking a major, or managing your time, you should take control of your life. I will always be there for you, but the time has come for you to be in the driver’s seat – this is your life, and you need to be in control. Being in control feels great. Try it, and you’ll love it!
College is the four years where you have:
The greatest amount of free time
the first chance to be independent
the most flexibility（灵活性）to change
the lowest risk for making mistakes
So please treasure your college years – make full use of your free time, become an independent thinker in control of your destiny, be bold to experiment, learn and grow through your successes and challenges.
May your years at Columbia be the happiest of your life, and may you blossom into just what you dream to be.
Love,
Dad (&Mom)What does the author think college life holds in store for his daughter?
| A．Uncertainty | B．Pure enjoyment. |
| C．Successes and challenges. | D．Experimentation with life. |
What does the author advise his daughter to do in college?
| A．Plan everything. |
| B．Party with friends in her free time. |
| C．Ignore what others think or say. |
| D．Treasure and make the best of her college years. |
Which of these pieces of advice is given in the article?
a. think and live independently
b. learn how to learn
c. choose friends with similar personalities
d. be genuine and sincere
e. try new things
| A．abe | B．bce | C．cde | D．abc |
From the text, we can conclude the father ______.
| A．is worried about his daughter |
| B．is strict with his daughter |
| C．is optimistic about his daughter’s future |
| D．is sad that his daughter is leaving home |
◆The Big Cake Show comes to the WestPoint Arena in Exeter, England, March 21-22. Hopefully, cakes of all sizes will be on sale and on show. An impressive list of famous people sharing their great knowledge and skill includes Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood and Gregg Wallace. Tickets, from ￡12, are available online (bigcakeshow.com).
◆From January 17 to March 8, RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey, England has some special guests to brighten the winter: beautiful butterflies. Butterflies in the Glasshouse introduces a group of butterflies from other countries feeding on fruit and the juice-rich plants of the Exotic Zone, Tickets for adults are ￡13.20, for children are ￡6.60. For a family with 2 adults and 2 children, they should pay ￡32.75 in total. For groups of more than 10 adults, each should pay ￡10.80 (rhs. org.uk/wisley).
◆The week-long London Wine Week starts from May 18. Buy a ￡5 wristband to qualify for a pocket-sized guidebook and discounted wine around the capital. Partnering with London' s best bars and restaurants, we will be organizing events such as master classes and meet-the -maker time, plus offering discounts to wristband wearers ( londonwineweek.com ).
◆The World Shakespeare Festival begins in April, with everything from foreign productions of Shakespearean plays at Shakespeare's Globe to Shakespearean plays at the Royal Opera House. Plays will run until the end of the year in London, Birmingham, Newcastle and Gateshead. And there' s a programme of events such as director talks and family workshops, Prices start from ￡60 (worldshakespearefestival.org. uk).We can infer that Paul Hollywood is most likely to be ___________.
| A．a ticket dealer | B．a professional cook |
| C．the event organizer | D．the cake show host |
If you want to buy wine at lower prices, you should _____________.
A. eat in the specific restaurants
B. pay ￡5 for a discount card
C, buy a wristband first
D. obtain a guidebookWhich of the following activities lasts for the longest time?
| A．The Big Cake Show. |
| B．The London Wine Week. |
| C．Butterflies in the Glasshouse. |
| D．The World Shakespeare Festival. |
Liverpool city council want to clear the city of fat pigeons. They say that people are feeding the birds, which makes them fat. The pigeons get bigger because their normal diet would consist of seeds and insects, not high-fat junk food they are eating in the city centre.
The council want people to know that everyone who feeds the pigeons is responsible for the streets being so crowded with these birds. They hope to encourage the birds to move away from the city centre and into parks and open spaces.
Ten robotic birds have been brought into the city centre to scare the pigeons away and visitors are asked not to give the pigeons any food. The mechanical birds - known as “robops” - will sit on the roofs of buildings. They can be moved around to different locations. They look like a peregrine falcon, which is a bird that kills pigeons. They even make noises and flap their wings to scare the pigeons. They hope that the pigeons will go away before the city becomes the European Capital of Culture in two years.What do Liverpool city council try to do?
| A．They want people to feed the pigeons with healthy food. |
| B．They want the pigeons to move out of the city centre. |
| C．They want people to keep the pigeons at home. |
| D．They want to keep robotic birds instead of pigeons. |
The robotic birds are used to _________.
| A．help feed the pigeons | B．make the city colorful |
| C．drive away the pigeons | D．show people directions |
This passage is most probably a(n) __________.
| A．news report | B．notice |
| C．short story | D．Advertisement |
Today is Sarah’s birthday. She is seventy-five. We asked a few old friends to dinner.
Like most elderly people, I suppose, we spent most of the evening talking about old times. Thirty years ago, the village used to be a quiet place. Now it has changed. Every Sunday hundreds of cars pass through the village at what I think a dangerous speed. They make the village almost as noisy as the streets of a large town. As a boy I enjoyed riding on the backs of the farm horses. Things are different now. Today there are very few horses working on the farms. The farm workers today drive tractors, not horses. A man is not of much use on a farm unless he knows all about machines. Now almost every house in the village has a TV set. Is it a good thing for children to spend the evening sitting in front of a TV set? When I was young I did not waste my time indoors. I would spend the long summer evenings outdoors. I would play with my friends, go fishing or walk by the river. When my grandchildren asked me the reason why I haven’t bought a TV set, I tell them there are many books I still want to read. I can’t find time for both reading and watching TV.The old like to talk about _______.
| A．themselves | B．others | C．the past | D．nothing |
When I was a boy, I _______ riding on farm horses.
| A．used to see people | B．disliked |
| C．was fond of | D．saw some elderly people |
Which is NOT right according to the passage?
| A．In the past the village was a quiet place. |
| B．It is a good time for children to watch TV all evening. |
| C．On Sundays many cars pass through the village at a dangerous speed. |
| D．When I was young I didn’t waste my time indoors. |
I would rather _______ than _______.
| A．watch TV; do some reading |
| B．play with friends; go fishing |
| C．do some reading; watch TV |
| D．go fishing; play with friends |
Everybody in this world is different from one another. But do you know that understanding differences can help you better manage your money?
As we grow up, we gradually develop a set of our own values or beliefs. These are influenced by society, our family, the education we receive and so on. Once this value system is set up, it’s not easy to change later in life.
Financial experts say that everyone also has their own belief of how to manage their finances. This is part of our value system and it has a great impact on the way we look after our money.
According to our different values, experts put us in three categories. They are: the ant, the cricket and the snail.
The ant—works first
Just like ants who work heart and soul in summer in order to store food for winter, these people don’t care about enjoying the moment. They work very hard and save money they earn so that they can enjoy life when they get old and retire. The ant loves to save but they could make more out of their money if they were willing to invest in some funds and stocks with low risk.
The cricket—fun first
The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn’t think too much about the future. They even borrow money when they really want something. Many young people now belong to this group. These people have little savings. When they get old, they might have problems. They should learn to save and buy insurance.
The snail—lives under pressure
The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves. They take big long-term loans from the bank in order to buy things such as luxury houses. They are happy to take big loans even though they are not sure whether they can afford it. This can cause problems in the future. They should plan more carefully.People with the character of the snail would like to __________.
| A．enjoy life at the moment without thinking much about the future |
| B．put work before everything else |
| C．live a luxury life at all costs |
| D．take the risk of investing a large sum of money |
Our beliefs and values are affected by the following except __________.
| A．society | B．our family |
| C． money | D．education |
This passage mainly talks about __________.
| A． the relation between man and insects |
| B．the spending nature of people |
| C．the insects in nature |
| D．the problems with dealing with money |
Which of the following has the character that the author prefers?
| A． The cricket. | B． The ant |
| C．The snail. | D．None of the above. |
I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of career(职业).
I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career.
I then found myself a job. Looking after two little girls, it wasn’t too bad at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn’t often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up, because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children.
One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification (资格证书)if I wanted to work with children. I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got on a part-time course. I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten.
Now I’ve got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career, even if you aren’t top of the class at school.What is the author’s present job?
| A．Working part-time in a college. |
| B．Taking care of children for a family. |
| C．Helping children with their schoolwork. |
| D．Looking after children at a kindergarten. |
When staying with the two girl’s family, the author_________.
| A．was paid for extra work. |
| B．often worked long hours. |
| C．got much help from her boss. |
| D．took a day off every other week. |
Why did the author leave her first job?
| A．She found a full-time job. |
| B．She was fed up with children. |
| C．She decided to attend a part-time course. |
| D．She needed a rest after working extra hours. |
What has the author learned from her own experiences?
| A．Less successful students can still have a career. |
| B．Qualifications are necessary for a career. |
| C．Hard work makes an excellent student. |
| D．One must choose the job she likes. |
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