One Saturday afternoon, my daughter Alice asked me, “Are all people the same even if they are different in color?”
I thought for a minute, and then I said, “I’ll explain, you can just wait until we make a quick at the grocery store. I have something to show you. ”
At the grocery store, we some apples --- red, green and yellow ones. Back home, I told Alice, “It’s time to your question.” I put one apple of each on the table. Then I looked at Alice, who had a look on her face.
“People are like apples. They come in all colors, shapes and sizes. On the , some of the apples may not look as the others. ” As I was talking, Alice was each one carefully. Then, I took each of the apples and peeled(削皮)them, them back on the table, but a different place.
“Okay, Alice, tell me which is which.”
She said, “I tell. They all look the same now. ” “Take a bite of . See if that helps you which one is which. ”
She took , and then a huge smile came across her face. “People are like apples! They are all different, but once you the outside, they’re pretty much the same on the inside. ”
She totally it. I didn’t need to say or do anything else.
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请认真阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题纸(卡)上将该项涂黑。
A little boy wanted to meet God. He thought it was a long trip to where God lived, he packed his suitcase with lots of food and drinks and he started his .
When he had gone about three blocks, he an elderly man. The boy sat down next to him and his suitcase. He was about to take a drink when he noticed that the man looked , so he offered him a drink.
The man it and smiled at the boy. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he him another one.
The man smiled at him. They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.
As it grew dark, the boy it was time to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he , ran back to the man, and gave him a hug. The man him his biggest smile ever.
When the boy home a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of on his face. She asked him what made him so happy.
He replied, “I had lunch with God, and God’s got the most beautiful I’ve ever seen!”
Meanwhile, the elderly man returned to his home. His son was by the look of joy on his face and asked him the question as the little boy’s mother. The elderly man replied, “I ate and drank in the park with God.” However, he , before his son responded, “You know, he’s much than I expected.”
Too often we underestimate the of a touch, a smile, a kind word, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. We should treat the people we meet ; they come into our lives for a reason. Embrace all equally!
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阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并标在答题卷的相应位置。
Last weekends, my kids along with few other kids from the neighborhood volunteered to help me wash my car. My 10-year-old daughter came up with the idea of____ other people’s cars as well. It was pretty ____ outside and I had no plans to ___ being in the bright sun. She ____ wanted to give lemonade(柠檬汽水)to passers-by for free. I had seen little kids ____ and sell fresh lemonade for a small cost but not free. Although I felt ____ , I decided to help her.
Then she asked me, “What if we ____ this a smile car wash?” I couldn’t hold ____ my tears and ____ her and the other kids to go outside the house and come up with ____ ideas. While I kept myself busy in drying the car, the group walked up to me with a(n) ____ with beautiful images of smiles. They had “Free Car Wash” written on it and the ____ of their exercise was “smile”. It was pretty neat to see a team of kids ranging 5--11 years with the ____ to do something for others.
All that seemed ____ and came right from their heart. Nothing seemed to ____ to them: their playtime, the heat outside—they just wanted to ____ others and do something nice in the community!
I helped them make some fresh lemonade and brought out some additional ____ to help clean cars. Passers-by were ____ and one even shouted back to them saying “God Bless You, my kids…” One of them even tried giving them 5 dollars, which they refused. A pretty heartwarming ____!
I feel blessed by being ____ by such wonderful and loving souls.
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阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B, C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
In the depths of my memory, many things I did with my father still live. These things have come to represent, in fact, what I call and love.
I don’t remember my father ever getting into a swimming pool. But he did the water. Any kind of ride seemed to give him pleasure. he loved to fish; sometimes he took me along.
But I never really liked being on the water, the way my father did. I liked being the water, moving through it, it all around me. I was not a strong , or one who learned to swim early, for I had my . But I loved being in the swimming pool close to my fathers’ office and those summer days with my father, who come by on a break. I needed him to see what I could do. My father would stand there in his suit, the person not in swimsuit.
After swimming, I would go his office and sit on the wooden chair in front of his big desk, where he let me anything I found in his top desk drawer. Sometimes, if I was left alone at his desk he worked in the lab, an assistant or a student might come in and tell me perhaps I shouldn’t be playing with his . But my father always and said easily, “Oh, no, it’s .” Sometimes he handed me coins and told me to get an ice cream...
A poet once said, “We look at life once, in childhood; the rest is .”And I think it is not only what we “look at once, in childhood” that determines our memories, but , in that childhood, looks at us.
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阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
People say one man’s trash(垃圾) is another man’s treasure. That________comes to me as I________the house purchased in 1962 by my parents. My mother passed away in 1996. My father left the house ________ my sister and me when he died a few months ago.
After Dad was ________ , we looked around the________ house where we grew up and that Dad loved so much. At first we felt so ________ all the stuff left. Like so many of their generation, my parents ________ everything. And like many in my generation, we faced anxious ________ about what to abandon and what to keep.
As we started throwing out old phone books and every medical bill from every ________my parents ever saw, I also ________many hidden treasures. Mom's pocketbook was in their bedroom closet, which had everything in it, ________ her hairbrush with hair, as if she were still here. And Dad, who was a World War II veteran(退伍兵) and a world traveler, ________ everything—from little spoons from all over the world to every letter he wrote to his parents while in the ________ . The letters he wrote during the war ________ his thoughts as a young man. Later, in the basement, I ________ our old kitchen table, which brought back ________ of my parents and sister and me having breakfast together.
I'm realizing all these things ________ my parents' life journey. Each time I go to________ , I find something that reminded me of my childhood or teaches me something about my parents I ________ knew. ________ , from the shabby furniture to all the hidden treasures, means more to me than all the money in the world.
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阅读下面的短文,掌握其大意,然后从1—20各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中,选出最佳选项.
On a cold November afternoon,my mother and I were walking home from a .We were dressed .I was feeling a little as I was carrying our shopping,and decided to throw away something.So I started to walk towards a when I noticed a poor man walking out of the restaurant in front of us.He over to another nearby dustbin and started looking through it.
I suddenly felt very guilty because I was about to throw away a new drink just because it was .I walked up to him and handed the and some snacks(小吃)over to him.The man looked up and took what I gave him.A huge smile across his face and this me to feel indescribable satisfaction.I felt I couldn’t be happier myself.But then he said:“Wow,this is my son’s lucky day!”
With that,he thanked me happily and started off on his bike,I heard him whistling a song as he rode away.
I got a warm inside.I now understand is meant by the saying “giving is getting”.
Although it only a little action and a few words,I gained and learned more in those two minutes than I did in the rest of the month.Everyone in the world needs ,everyone can help and everyone will be helped by kindness.
The image of that man’s happiness caused by my small gift appears in my mind every I have the chance to do sething nice.
This is the of charity(慈善行为).
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第二部分 完形填空(共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分)
阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B, C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
When I was 8, a gentleman came to my orphanage(孤儿院)and taught us how to do woodworking projects.
I remember my first project—a small table. I was so ____ of it that I looked upon it as if I had created a(an) _____ . It was absolutely beautiful and it had taken me six weeks to ______it. I could hardly wait to give it to Mother Winters as a _____. She was the head mistress of our orphanage, who was always _____ with us.
As the tables were not dry from the clear coating, the man told us to wait a few days before taking them to our dormitories. But I was just so ____and happy that I couldn’t wait. I dashed out like a ______ , carrying my table, smiling from ear to ear.
When I reached the dormitory I placed the little table beside my bed. I was _____it when Mother Winters entered. She walked over to the table. Running her hand _____ it, she noticed that it was still wet.
“Were you ______to bring this home?” she asked.
“No, ma’am,” I _____ with my head down.
She ordered me to throw the table out and so I did. After she left, I immediately opened the door to get it back. There was _____stuck all over. I brushed and cried, but it would not come off.
I hid the table in my closet and never _____it. A year later while cleaning up, I gave the table to Mother Henderson, my houseparent(宿管员), thinking that she would _____it away.
Thirty years later at a reunion, I ____that Mother Henderson was living nearby, so I drove up to see her. We talked cheerfully for long. As I was about to leave, she asked me to come down to her_____ to get something important. I followed her _____ into a dark corner. She picked something up. _____she turned around, I could see that she was holding a little table.
Mother Henderson kept the little table that I had given up for lost so long ago.
Today, I look at that table with bittersweet memories but full of _____to Mother Henderson, who kept it for a young orphan who tried very hard to _____ .
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阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I have been driving for over 30,years, but I can remember what happened that day when I drove a car for the-first time.My mom had driven our big Plymouth to a and deserted back road and parked it.
The road was only one lane(车道)and had a wall built with river rocks along the side of it Mom knew there was little chance of meeting any on it that day.With a smile, she gave me the key and _ . seats with me.And then she told me to start the car, to petit into drive and to 46 push on the gas pedal.In my , though, l miscalculated what " gentle "meant.After I pushed on the gas pedal, the car sped forward. I could turn the wheel, I heard the ;scraping c副擦声) of metal the stone wall.I stopped the car and looked over at my Mom.Her face was pale and her hand’s were _.Slowly, she opened her _ and started checking the car. Then she walked _ around the car to the driver's side door.I kept waiting for her to me but she just and said, “Well, that’s enough for today. We’ll try again tomorrow.”
As I looked and on that day. I am amazed at the amount of kindness, love and my Mom showed me. In the years that followed, I many times in many ways.Often I didn't feel worthy to be , but each time I could feel Mom's gentle voice, "We'll try again tomorrow," When we fall today, don't down.Rise up and be to try again tomorrow.
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I spend this morning clearing up the home where I live Now I am not talking about the house I am sitting in right now. As I I can see the sink is still full of dirty dishes.
Dust is starting to on the pictures, tables ,and even my computer again Dirt to he swept from the floor and pet hair needs to be cleaned the couch. What is more, the in the turtle’ s aquarium(鱼缸)has to be changed.
Yet, as I looked my dirty, little house I have to smile because I know that the Home in which I live is right now. That home is my soul. When I this morning I noticed that it also had become again I wasn't willing to let it the way for long, though I have learned that a dusty soul leads to a terrible day and the terrible days lead to a(an) life.
I spent the morning clearing my soul from top to_ I swept the negative thoughts from my mind and the feelings from my heart. Worries, anger and fear were into the garbage can. When I was done I felt in my home once more.
The house in which I sit may need a lot of ,but it will have to wait its turn. The home in which I live is what I am most about. I hope that the same is for you. I hope that you always make efforts to keep your soul ,beautiful and full of love and care.
Remember some day you will leave your house behind, but you will your home with you.
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My son Tom taught me a beautiful lesson today. He is three years old and it is amazing watching him grow up.
He called out to me today saying“Papa, sit.” That usually means everything and going next to him and sitting down to play with him. I did that, as he can be stubborn and will not stop calling out until I . He was playing with beads (珠子) , pushing a string through them. Then after he finished playing with the beads, it was time to put back in the box that they are stored in. I saw him pick up each bead, look at it as if it were made of chocolate and then placed it into its box.
With over a hundred beads to go, I was getting . “ What a long time it will take ! Why cannot he grab ten beads in one go and drop them in?” said my anxious mind. I noticed that he did this with as much as he had while we were playing. I didn’t see any difference between his play and his the toy. Obviously he enjoyed both.
Then it suddenly me that this boy was enjoying the whole .The journey was his goal. For him the was in the game and after the game, not just in the fun part. What a great perspective to live each moment as it is the moment; to do each task as it is the most awesome task. Nothing else matters.
Looking at how my son was putting beads into the box me that the process was the goal.
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A
I had arrived at the airport about 30 minutes before the check in.It had been a very busy three days for me with lots of meetings.So I was glad to have the time to make my notes on what I needed to do the following day,but suddenlythe announcement came that my flight had to be delayed.
As I sat waiting for my to be called,I reflected on my last meeting of the day.It was not a business meeting but rather a very enjoyable with an old business friend I had not seen for over 12 years.Our lunch was spent recalling times gone by filling each other in what had happened in our lives over the last 12 years.We both laughed and smiled as we the good times and the great experiences we had shared together.
It was great to have this additional time to replay in my mind what we had talked about.I realized just how important it was to have regular of the good times in our life.I was enough to have had the chance to take a short break and look back on the good things that had happened in my life.It was somewhat like looking at an old photo album in a cupboard in your house.There before your eyes are lots of wonderful memories that take you back to times and places,and most importantly to those peoplewho are in the .
My flight home was finally called three hours later.I smiled as I the plane and realized that I was not at all about the delay in the flight,as I had been able to spend the time reflecting on the good times from days gone by.
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Self-confidence does not necessarily imply a belief in one's ability to succeed. For instance, one may be at a particular sport or activity, but remain "confident", simply because one does not a great deal of emphasis on the result of the activity. When one does not always think of negative results, one can be more "self-confident" because one is far less about failure or the of others following potential failure. One is then more likely to focus on the actual situation, which means that enjoyment and success in that situation is also more probable. Belief in one's abilities to perform an activity comes successful experience and may add to a general sense of self-confidence. Studies have also found a between high levels of confidence and wages. , those who self-report they were confident earlier in schooling earned better wages and were promoted more quickly over the life course.
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When we’re young, we dream of love and fulfillment. We perhaps think of nights in the moon or walks along the beach at sunset.
No one tells us that the moments of a lifetime are flashing by, unplanned and nearly always catch us off guard.
Not long ago, as I was reading a bedtime story to my seven-year-old daughter, Annie, I became aware of her look. She was staring at me with a charmed expression. , completing The Tale of Samuel Whiskers was not as as we first thought. I asked what she was thinking about.
"Mommy," she , "I just can't stop looking at your pretty face."I almost dissolved on the spot.
Not long after, I took my four-year-old son to an elegant department store, where the sweet notes of a classic love song us toward a musician playing a grand piano. Sam and I sat down on a marble bench nearby, and he seemed as absorbed in the pleasant as I was.
I didn't realize that Sam had next to me until he turned, took my face in his little hands and said, " with me."
those women walking under the Paris moon knew the of such an invitation made by a round-cheeked boy with baby teeth! Although openly laughed and pointed at us as we glided and whirled around the open atrium(中庭), I would not have a dance with such a charming young gentleman if I'd been offered the universe.
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My grandma is good at gardening. She could make anything bloom(开花). _ __ me. In my eyes, she was inspiring and __ __. For most of her life, she lived on a farm, where she brought up four children, and buried my grandpa.
I visited her on weekends. After the gardening work, I was __ __ to climb the mountain, singing songs and gathering flowers. Sometimes the plants scratched me. She would say, "Beauty has a ___. I hope it was worth it."
"Yes, ma' ma," I'd say. "_ __ was."
I loved gathering flowers on my own. But what I loved best was gathering them with her. Even then, as a child, I knew what I wanted most from my grandma was not her flowers, but her __ __. She's been gone for years, but sometimes, when I __ __down to pick a flower or pull a weed, I see her __ __, not mine.
I thought I'd grow up to be a gardener too. I told myself, someday my children had children, I'd be a gardening grandma. Then the grandbabies started showing up, and I discovered 1'd much rather run after them __ __ go digging. Actually I'm no gardener. I'm a __ __, not a planter. I differ from my grandma in lots of ways, but this: I will always carry __ __ me a heart she made from her own.
I needn’t plant a garden. My children are my flowers. They delight and complete me with a beauty that is worth any price. All I need to do is __ __ them with time, water them with love, and hope that someday, when they hold their first grandchild, they might see my hand.
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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.
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