My good friend and neighbor is dying. She has more healthy problems through the years than anyone that should have to tolerate. Now as she approaches her 57th birthday she knows that it will be her last. She has started a lot of her things. She has given all of us around her much more than just her things though. She has also given us her friendship, her kindness, and her smile. She has given us her shining spirit that has made all of our lives so much . When a local dog was killed by a bear, my friend welcomed it into her home andnursed it back to . When any of us needed anything she was there doing all that she could with a full of love and a soul full of goodness.
She did all of this too while her health to grow worse and worse. My friend, , is not afraid of death. She has told me several times that she believes it will only be like a brief and then she will awaken in Paradise(天堂). I am as well that she will fit right there because she already has a lot of paradise within herself. It is the paradise within her that she has so and beautifully given to us all.
We all have a bit of paradise within ourselves. She has shown me that the best way to enjoy that paradise is to it with everyone you meet. I wish my friend only joy in her days here and endless love and life in her coming days in Paradise.
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- 题型:24
- 难度:中等
- 浏览:447
In our life, we have rarely expressed our gratitude to the ones who have lived with us. In fact, we don’t have to wait ______ anniversaries to thank the ones close to us----the ones so
______ (easy) overlooked. If I have learned anything about giving thanks, it is to“give it now!” Saying thanks is such
______ easy way to increase the world’s happiness.
Of course, there are times ______ you can’t express gratitude immediately. In that case don’t let embarrassment sink you into
_______ (silent) ----speak up the firs
t time you have the chance.
Once a young minister, Mark Brian, ______ (send) to a remote parish of Kwakiutl Indians in British Columbia. The Indians, he had been told, did not have a word for “thank you”. But Brian soon found that these people had exceptional generosity. Instead of
______ (say) thanks, it is their custom to return every favor with a favor of their own, and every kindness with an equal or superior kindness. They do their thanks.
I wonder ______ we had no words in our vocabulary for thank you, would we do a
_______ (good) job of communicating our gratitude? Would we be more sensitive, more
_______ (include) ourselves.
- 题型:2
- 难度:中等
- 浏览:1045
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till without stopping, and continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3-year-old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most beautiful pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment.
The outlines were: in a commonplace(普通的) environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we enjoy beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected situation?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?”Few people stopped to listen to Joshua Bell playing because____________.
A.people were in a hurry |
B.they were not interested in music |
C.it was too cold in the subway |
D.the p![]() |
When children stopped to look at the violinist, their parents ____________.
A.would give him some money |
B.would stop to enjoy the music |
C.would applaud for the performance |
D.would urge them to continue walking |
Which of the following is true about Joshua Bells performance?
A.Nobody gave him money |
B.Nobody recognized him. |
C.Nobody appreciated it |
D.Nobody organized it |
Joshua Bell played in the metro station in order to ____________.
A.make more money |
B.practice his skills in playing music |
C.made an advertisement for his concert |
D.find out people’s reaction under such a circumstance |
The purpose of the passage is to _________.
A.set us to think about our life |
B.show us how to play music |
C.tell us the importance of music |
D.report a subway performance |
- 题型:25
- 难度:中等
- 浏览:1717
Kids undergo a large amount of pressure and stress during their school exams, which can often become quite overwhelming for them. It may be the first experience of stress, at this level, they have ever experienced and therefore quite frightening. Yes, you may say that it's all a part of growing up and therefore good lessons for them to learn, and to an extent I agree with you. However, it’s important to learn how to prepare for life’s challenges so that they aren’t overwhelming or scary and so that we are able to manage them the best we can.
Here are some tips you can use during your kids exam time.
Break their revision plan down into small parts. Doing this will help transform what once seemed like a huge impossible task into a more manageable one.
Help them arrange properly so that the subjects they like the least (perhaps ones that require more time and effort) are worked on first; once they are out of the way, it will help reduce the worry.
Plan week on week to make sure they are on track. Ticking items of a list each week will help them to feel good about themselves and their progress.
Create rewards for all the ticks - a favourite TV programme, a delicious snack, an hour’s surfing the Internet, computer games or whatever it was that they enjoy the most. This will encourage them to carry on and make them feel good.
Think of strategies on how to deal with exams calmly so their anxieties don't get the better of them.
Talk about times in their lives when they had been successful at something and look at the qualities they used to get them there - determination, persistence, hard work, patience, positivity, dedication - discuss how they can apply these skills to their exams.
Acknowledge that if they do their best that is good enough
Ensure they realize that this period in their lives will pass and that exams are only a temporary time in their lives; nothing can and does last forever.
Ensure they keep their eye on the prize: enjoying their long summer holiday when the exams are finished; giving them something to look forward to will help to motivate them and provide a positive end in sight.According to paragraph 1, its important to learn how to prepare for exams because___.
A.it is a part of growing up. |
B.it is the first experience of stress |
C.it helps kid release stress and do better. |
D.it is important to get a good mark in exams. |
Which subject should be worked on first?
A.Their best ones. | B.Their favourite ones. |
C.the easiest ones | D.the most difficult ones |
The underlined expression get the better of in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to ______.
A.defeat | B.worry |
C.keep sb. calm | D.make sb. feel better |
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
A.Kid should become aware of the importance of exams. |
B.Kids should learn to deal with exam pressure independently. |
C.Parents should keep their kids away from entertainment. |
D.Parents should care about the psychological development of children. |
Who are the intended readers of the passage?
A.Kids. | B.Parents. |
C.Educators. | D.People in general. |
- 题型:25
- 难度:中等
- 浏览:1540
You may not pay much attention to your daily elevator ride. Many of us use a lift several times during the day without really thinking about it. But Lee Gray, PhD, of the University of North Carolina, US, has made it his business to examine this overlooked form of public transport. He is known as the Elevator Guy.
“The lift becomes this interesting social space where etiquette (礼仪) is sort of odd (奇怪的),” Gray told the BBC. “They [elevators] are socially very interesting but often very awkward places.”
We walk in and usually turn around to face the door. If someone else comes in, we may have to move. And here, according to Gray, lift users unthinkingly go through a set pattern of movements. He told the BBC what he had observed.
He explained that when you are the only one inside a lift, you can do whatever you want – it’s your own little box.
If there are two of you, you go into different corners, standing diagonally (对角线地) across from each other to create distance.
When a third person enters, you will unconsciously form a triangle. And when there is a fourth person it becomes a square, with someone in every corner. A fifth person is probably going to have to stand in the middle.
New entrants to the lift will need to size up the situation when the doors slide open and then act decisively. Once in, for most people the rule is simple – look down, or look at your phone.
Why are we so awkward in lifts?
“You don’t have enough space,” Professor Babette Renneberg, a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin, told the BBC. “Usually when we meet other people we have about an arm’s length of distance between us. And that’s not possible in most elevators.”
In such a small, enclosed space it becomes very important to act in a way that cannot be construed (理解) as threatening or odd. “The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye contact, she said.The main purpose of the article is to _____.
A.remind us to enjoy ourselves in the elevator |
B.tell us some unwritten rules of elevator etiquette |
C.share an interesting but awkward elevator ride |
D.analyze what makes people feel awkward in an elevator |
According to Gray, when people enter an elevator, they usually _____.
A.turn around and greet one another |
B.look around or examine their phone |
C.make eye contact with those in the elevator |
D.try to keep a distance from other people |
Which of the following describes how people usually stand when there are at least two people in an elevator? ________
The underlined phrase size up in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to _____.
A.judge | B.ignore |
C.put up with | D.make the best of |
According to the article, people feel awkward in lifts because of _____.
A.someones odd behaviors |
B.the lack of space |
C.their unfamiliarity with one another |
D.their eye contact with one another |
- 题型:25
- 难度:中等
- 浏览:2066