Five months after my husband Steve died, I woke up one morning to the maddening sound of a leaking faucet（水龙头）. I knew it needed repairs badly, but it
All our
But how could such a good man have his life cut short so suddenly! I had been so sad and angry that I completely
I got a workman named Ahmed. Entering the house, he stopped before a picture of Steve and me. "Doesn't your husband
"He died months ago. When he was alive, he did all the repair jobs
He did a(n)
By fixing a faucet, Ahmed mended my soul. Although I would sure carry the pain of
hurt
puzzled
cost
disappointed
separate
shared
spiritual
social
active
boring
careless
practical
attracting
sheltering
driving
prohibiting
ignored
hated
cleaned
missed
come up with
face up with
look forward to
step away from
begin
check
like
find
gratefully
firmly
bravely
wonderfully
strangely
innocently
painfully
sympathetically
terrible
excellent
important
dangerous
loss
failure
fear
regret
friendship
devotion
kindness
justice
B
Some people think if you are happy, you are blind to reality. But when we research it, happiness actually every single business and educational outcome for the brain. Why do people have this social about happiness? Because we assumed you were average.
Many people think happiness is genetic. That’s only half the story. When we stop studying the average and begin positive outliers — people who are above average for a positive aspect like optimism or intelligence — a different picture appears. Our daily decisions and habits have a huge impact upon both our levels of happiness and success.
, happiness is a choice. It is a choice about where your single processor brain will devote its limited resources as you process the world. If you scan for the first, your brain really has no resources left over to see the things you are grateful for or the meaning embedded (嵌入) in your work. But if you scan it the other way round, you start to acquire an advantage.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A
On my way to work every day, I drive down a street lined with pine trees. One tree in particular my attention. It must have suffered some . Part of its trunk grew nearly parallel to the ground, and then in an effort to its own course of life, the trunk took a 90 degree turn to stand tall and stretch toward the sun.
Each day as I drove by, I saw this bent but determined tree and I would be . It was a reminder to me that I may not have had the best start in life, I could change in the parts of my life at any time.
I was planning to stop one day to get a perfect of my kindred-spirit (志趣相同的) tree. But that week I was busy. After that week, I still didn’t take any action. Every time I drove by the tree I would myself, “Tomorrow, I’ll stop tomorrow to take one.” Then one day, as I drove by “my” tree, I glanced over, and much to my , I found a sawed-off stump (树桩) where that tree had stood. I had my plan until “tomorrow” and tomorrow proved to be too .
What have you been putting off? What would you do today if you knew you would have the opportunity to do it again? Why not do those things that you have been putting off until tomorrow?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
第二部分：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
Last spring, I was fortunate to be chosen to participate in an exchange study program. In my application letter, I was careful to how much I wanted to see France; evidently, my excitement really came through in my words. Once I that I was going, all I could think about was the fun of foreign travel and making all sorts of new and friends. While traveling was inspiring and meeting people was , nothing about my term in France was what I .
The moment I arrived in Paris, I was by a nice French couple who would become my host parents. My entire experience was joyous and exciting I received some shocking news from my program coordinator（协调人）; there had been a death in my host parents' extended family. They had to travel outside France for several weeks. That afternoon, I had to out of one family's house and into another. The exchange coordinator told me I'd have a this time and asked whether I could share a bedroom with an English speaker. To avoid the temptation（诱惑） to my native language, I asked not to be with an English-speaking roommate. When I got to my new room, I myself to my new roommate Paolo, a Brazilian（巴西人）, the same age as I, whom I was surprised to find playing one of my favorite CDs! In just a few hours, we knew we'd be good friends for the rest of the .
I left France with many , so when people ask me what my favorite part of the trip was, they are always to hear me talk about my Brazilian friend Paolo and the scores of weekdays in class, weeknights on the town, and weekends France we enjoyed together. I love how people seem so different, but end up being so . The most valuable lesson I gained from studying in France wasn't just to respect the foreign people to respect all people, for your next best friend could be just a continent away. I would recommend an exchange program to anyone who wants to experience foreign cultures and gain meaningful .
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A boy was walking home from school when he saw a large, tempting apple on one of the branches of an apple tree hanging out over a tall fence. The boy wasn’t much of a fruit-eater, ___ a bar of chocolate if given the choice, ____ , as they say, the forbidden fruit can be tempting. Seeing the apple, the boy wanted it. The more he looked at it, the ____ he felt and the more he wanted that apple.
He stood on tiptoe, ___ as high as he could, but even at his tallest ___ he was unable to touch It. He began to ____ up and down, as high as he could, at the ___ of each jump stretching his arms to get the apple. Still it remained out of ____.
Not giving up, he thought , if only he had something to ____ on . His school bag wouldn’t give enough height and he didn’t want to ____the things inside, like his lunch box, pencil case, and Game boy. Looking ____ he hoped he might find an old box, a rock, or, ____ luck, even a ladder, but it was a tidy neighborhood and there was nothing he could use.
He had tried everything he could think to do. ____ seeing any other choices, he gave up and started to walk ___ . At first he felt angry and disappointed thinking about how hungry he had become from his ____, and how he really wanted that apple. The more he ____ like this, the more unhappy he became.
____, the boy of our story was a pretty smart guy, even if he couldn’t always get what he wanted .He started to say to himself. This isn’t ____, I don’t have the apple and I’m feeling miserable as well. There’s ____ more I can do to get the apple. That is unchangeable, but we are supposed to be able to ____ our feelings. If that’s the case, what can I do to feel better?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Check Engine Light
As I turned from the parking lot, heading for home, I noticed a yellow light on my dashboard(仪表板)had come on. The symbol indicated that I was to the engine. I noted the water temperature and the oil light quickly to see there were problems that would an overheated engine. Noticing these two gauges (仪表) were okay, I I could ignore the little yellow light that caused such great for at least the moment.
After I reread my owner manual(用户手册), I the check engine light comes on to indicate that there is a problem and that is required. Malfunctions（故障）will often be indicated by the before any problem appears, which may more serious damage to the vehicle. This system is to assist you and your technician in diagnosing any malfunction.
Reading the manual made me think of how we need in our lives to be our “check engine light”. We need to know when a(n) occurs and when service is required in our lives. We need to correct our problems before serious damage surfaces. We need a light to in our minds to help us avoid conflict, pain or disaster. We need a(n) to come on to tell us not to give in to temptation. We need to be that we shouldn’t ignore good and work to make life better for all of us.
God makes a magnificent “check engine light”. He gives you an awareness to keep your pathway . He shows you the beauty of the earth to you to him. He brings people who care about you to help your living. He has provided his word to point the . No one can deny there are many helpful people like “God” around you to lead your pathway from the problems that could damage your living.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
粤公网安备 44130202000953号