Old Mrs. Lynn was working in the cottage, hanging the washed clothes on the line. What she wasn’t aware was that some children were hiding in a nearby tree watching her every move. They were sure that she was a witch and wanted to find the evidence.
They watched nervously as she took a broomstick to sweep the dirt from her stone steps. But much to their disappointment, she didn’t get on the broomstick and fly off. The old lady only looked up when her hen began to make sounds loudly — signaling that she had laid an egg in the nest on the top of the haystack. (干草堆).
The old lady put aside her broomstick and walked to the haystack, followed by Michael, a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap. With only three legs, it was hard for Michael to keep up with his mistress. The cat was proof for the children that only a witch would own a black cat with three legs! Accidentally, she tripped and crashed to the ground. The children were in horror.
“Should we go and help her?” asked Mia.
“What if it’s a trick?” replied Patrick. “She probably knows we’re here. Witches know things like that!”
After thinking for a while, Julia said, “Anyway, we should go and check whether she is all right.”
Approaching prudently, they could see a wound on the old lady’s forehead. She had knocked her head on a stone and was unconscious.
“Go and get Dad,” Mia yelled to her brothers. “Tell him about the accident.”
Later, in the hospital, the old lady smiled her thanks. “I was so lucky that you lovely children happened to be passing when I fell. I must have yelled quite loudly.” The children exchanged guilty glances, but were very pleased that she was not a witch after all!
1. Mrs. Lynn stopped sweeping when ________.| A．her doorstep became very clean |
| B．she heard the hen making sounds loudly |
| C．she noticed the children in the tree |
| D．her cat Michael managed to get her attention |
| A．He thought that she could be cheating them. |
| B．He was afraid of the three-legged black cat. |
| C．He did not think that she was hurt in the fall. |
| D．He knew he and the others shouldn’t have been in her tree. |
| A．Slowly. | B．Hurriedly. |
| C．Carefully. | D．Quietly. |
| A．Constant dropping wears away a stone. |
| B．Never judge a book by its cover. |
| C．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| D．A good medicine tastes bitter. |
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【推荐1】The unique pink box in the front yard was originally created to serve those in the community. “Ever since my teaching partner told me about Little Free Libraries, I have known I wanted to make one,” says Carrie, a teacher in Illinois. Little Free Libraries, first created in 2009 are a way for people to take a book to read, or leave one for someone else to find.
Carrie’s husband, Matt, promised to make her one for her birthday in May 2020. In June, she was found to have breast cancer. Designing and planning the Little Free Library became a helpful distraction(分散注意力的事).
The book exchanges are often made on different, creative themes. Carrie always posts her adventures with greyhounds Rose and Flattery, German Shepherd Dog Kuster, and Belgian Shepherd Dog Kiva on the Internet, which make a difference to her life. She decided to create a dog-themed library featuring dog related artwork, a metal dog on top and a jar of dog treats. The library took her husband almost a month to build and another few weeks to paint.
The project has given Carrie something positive to focus on as she goes through her treatments. In addition, it has shown her how many people care about her -from her husband and another relative who helped construct it, to a nephew who painted the artwork, to friends who donated books. She also has a better understanding of them. The Little Free Library holds about 25 books. As people stop by, she discovers another benefit. “After many years of living here, we’re finally getting to know some of our neighbors.”
1. Why were Little Free Libraries set up in 2009?| A．To collect books to donate. |
| B．To help neighbors exchange books. |
| C．To serve needy people in communities. |
| D．To draw Carrie’s attention away from cancer。 |
| A．Her battle with cancer. |
| B．Posts about lovely dogs. |
| C．Experiences with her dogs. |
| D．Her teaching partner’s advice. |
| A．It helps her overcome physical pain. |
| B．It focuses on positive things. |
| C．It strengthens her bonds with others. |
| D．It inspires her to support neighbors. |
| A．Sociable and practical. | B．Caring and creative. |
| C．Adaptable and honest. | D．Brave and cautious. |
【推荐2】A handsome middle-aged man walked quietly into the cafe and sat down. Before he ordered, he couldn’t help but noticed a group of younger men at the table next to him. It was obvious they were making fun of something about him and it wasn’t until he remembered he was wearing a small pink ribbon (丝带) on the lapel (翻领) of his suit that he became aware of what the joke was all about.
The man pretended not to notice it, but the whisper and laughter began to get to him. He looked one of the rude young men straight into the eye, placed his hand beneath (在…下方) the ribbon and asked, “This?”
With that the young men all began to laugh out loud. The man he spoke to said, “Hey, sorry, man, but we were just commenting on how pretty your little pink ribbon looks against your blue jacket!”
The middle-aged man calmly invited the joker to come over to his table, and politely seated him. As uncomfortable as he was, the young guy had to, not really sure why. In a soft voice, the middle-aged man said, “I wear this ribbon to bring awareness about breast cancer. I wear it in my mother’s honor.”
“Oh, sorry. She died of breast cancer?”
“No, she didn’t. She’s alive and well. But her breasts nourished (抚养，滋养) me as a baby, and were a soft resting place for my head when I was scared or lonely as a little boy. I’m very grateful for my mother’s breasts, and her health.”
“Umm,” the young replied, “yeah.”
“And I wear this ribbon to honor my wife,” the man continued.
“And she’s okay, too?” the young guy asked.
“Oh, yes. She’s fine. Her breasts have been a great source of loving pleasure for both of us, and with them she nurtured (养育，培育) and nourished our daughter 23 years ago. I’m grateful for my wife’s breasts, and her health.”
“Uh, huh. And I guess you wear it to honor your daughter, also?”
“No. It’s too late to honor my daughter by wearing it now……”
Shaken and ashamed, the young guy said, “Oh, I’m so sorry, mister.”
“So, in my daughter’s memory, too, I proudly wear this little ribbon, which allows mo the opportunity to enlighten (启发，教导) others. And here…” With this, he reached in his pocket and handed the young roan a little pink ribbon. The young guy looked at it, slowly raised his head and asked, “……?”
1. The young men joked about the middle-aged man’s .| A．looks | B．ribbon |
| C．attitude | D．clothes |
| A．She died of breast cancer. |
| B．She was ill with cancer. |
| C．She had gone abroad. |
| D．She got married. |
| A．May I give it to my mother? |
| B．Can you help me put it on? |
| C．Will you please forgive me? |
| D．Shall we have some drink together? |
| A．An Unusual Meeting. |
| B．An Impressive Lesson. |
| C．Be Grateful to Your Beloved. |
| D．Little Pink Ribbon |
【推荐3】Once there was a poor farmer and his farm belonged to (属于) a rich man. One day he brought a basket of apples to the rich man’s house. On the doorsteps, he met two monkeys dressed like children. They jumped onto the basket to eat the apples and threw some on the ground. The farmer politely took off his hat and asked the monkeys to get off. They obeyed (服从) and the farmer went into the house. He asked to see the rich man. A servant (仆人) took him to the room where the rich man was sitting. “I have brought you the basket of apples you asked for,” he said. “But why have you brought a half-empty basket?” the rich man asked. “I met your children outside, and they stole (偷) some of the apples.”
1. Why did the farmer bring apples to the rich man? Because .| A．he was poor | B．he liked the rich man |
| C．his farm belonged to the rich man | D．the rich man’s children liked apples |
| A．They jumped and jumped. | B．They played. |
| C．They ran away. | D．They ate some of the apples. |
| A．they had thrown apples on the ground |
| B．the farmer had politely asked them to get off |
| C．they were afraid of the hat |
| D．the farmer was angry with them |
| A．pleased | B．unhappy | C．excited | D．moved |
| A．The monkeys. | B．The servant | C．The children | D．the rich man |
【推荐1】As you work to develop your career (事业), whether you are applying for a job right now or planning what you will do in the future, three things are vital: your passion (激情), your value and your goals. These are three obvious but related beliefs that you need to both know for yourself and be able to communicate to others.
Passion is what drives you. Your passion is what brings a smile to your face, what lights your creative engine and what makes you approach a problem with passion. Your passion could be for a specific field, profession, industry, customer, type of problem, or some combination.
Goals are what you want to do.
Knowing your passion can help you better define (界定) your value and clarify your goals. And understanding your goals can help you go better to your passion and pronounce your value.
| A．But what are they exactly. |
| B．Thus how can we behave properly. |
| C．Value is what you offer to a partner. |
| D．Your goals may be personal or professional, a big picture or otherwise. |
| E．When your work performs your passion, it’s no need rewarding yourself. |
| F．Whatever your career is, you are to learn cooperation and communication. |
| G．The more you know about these three, the better you can build your career. |
【推荐2】While I was growing up, I often heard my teachers say, “Oh, Bob is gifted in math.” While watching the Olympics, my parents would say, “These gymnasts are born with such ability.” Statements like these made me believe people were born with certain talents (天赋) and if they didn’t have a particular one at birth, then they never would. Therefore, I hardly applied myself to math. Nobody told me that if you keep trying and trying, one day a difficult task will seem easy.
Actually, I learned this from my young daughter, Samaya. One day, I was finishing some paperwork and I said, “Oh no, how could I have made that mistake!” Samaya immediately said, “Mum, don’t worry. Mistakes make your brain grow bigger.”
In fact, we all need to be reminded that mistakes or failures are just fine and that they are a huge part of growth and success. However, the common and popular belief is the opposite. We must correct this with our children. We must encourage them to make mistakes because that means they are trying out new ideas.
Billionaire Sara Blakely, founder of the shapewear business Spanx, has seen many failures. She made a living by selling fax machines for seven years. Knocking on many doors and making a lot of mistakes was a journey she considers educational. Sara Blakely owes her risk-taking skills to the weekend talk she had with her father.
As a child, her father would ask her the same question every weekend. “What did you fail in this week, Sara?” He did not care how high her scores were. He wanted to know what she had tried but failed in. When she told him about her failures and mistakes, he would give her a high five. In this way, he programmed her mindset (思维) to believe that mistakes and failures are fine.
So go ahead and ask yourself and your children, “What did we fail in this week?”
1. Why didn’t the author make efforts to learn math?
| A．She wasn’t allowed to learn it. | B．She thought she was not talented. |
| C．She wasn’t interested in it. | D．She thought it was useless. |
| A．Keep trying is necessary. | B．Failure is a path to success. |
| C．Mistakes are not acceptable. | D．Encouragement is important. |
| A．Trained and built. | B．Planned and arranged. |
| C．Operated and challenged. | D．Instructed and controlled. |
| A．A key to Success | B．The Power of a Good Mindset |
| C．A Method of Education | D．The Magic of Mistakes |
【推荐3】You are about to hear a strange but true story. Legend has it that, Harry Houdini, the master magician, once claimed that he could break out of any jail cell in the world. All he had to do was walk into that jail cell with his street clothes on. 'I will be out of there in one hour. No problem!' He said. A very old jail down South heard about Houdini's claims and they accepted the challenge. On the day of the event, many people gathered outside. Very confidently, Houdini walked into the jail and into the cell and they shut the metal door behind him.
The first thing Houdini did was to take off his coat. Then, very strangely, he took off his belt. Secretly hidden in Houdini's belt, was a ten-inch piece of steel; very tough and very flexible and Houdini started working.
In about 30 minutes, that confident expression Houdini had when he walked in disappeared. In one hour, he was bathed in sweat. And at the end of two hours, Houdini in defeat, collapsed against the door, which then opened. It opened because you see, that door had never been locked. But that's not entirely true is it? That door was locked. It was firmly and thoroughly locked in Houdini's mind, which meant it was locked as if the best locksmith in the world had put his lock on it.
The mind is powerful. How many doors in your life do you think are locked but aren't? how many times have you been stuck in the mental prison of over thinking something that really had a simple solution. There is an ancient African proverb that says when there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do us no harm.
Your mind is the most powerful force you will ever face. It will tell you lies. It will tell you can't do that. You're not meant for that. You're not good enough for that. You can't go on anymore. You don't have the energy. You must thank it for its opinion and carry on. Because as Houdini showed us the only locked doors that exist are in your own mind. The doors in reality are open and all you have to do is walk through.
1. Why couldn't Harry Houdini open the door within two hours?| A．Because he didn't open the door with his mind. |
| B．Because the door was locked by the best locksmith. |
| C．Because he had thought the door was locked. |
| D．Because he overestimated his own ability to open the door. |
| A．Bring the painted dragon to life by putting in the pupils of its eyes. |
| B．One tends to stand still and refuse to make progress. |
| C．The donkey has exhausted its skills against the tiger. |
| D．Lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen. |
| A．The biggest enemy in your life is in fact the enemy in your mind. |
| B．If you walk through the door in mind, your potential will be unlimited. |
| C．Unless you defeat the enemy outside, you will not defeat your enemy inside. |
| D．Life is really simple, but we insist on making it rigid and complicated. |
【推荐1】On a typical day, off the coast of a small Brazilian island, Pereira headed out to fish. He was disheartened to find that an oil leak had polluted the waters. Staring out at the waves with their oil sheen(光泽), he decided it was not a good day to fish. But walking on the beach that day, he found a struggling penguin, covered in oil and starving.
Pereira took the penguin home, gently cleaned it and spent the next week nursing it back to health. He named it Dindim, which belongs to a species known for living in the seas of South America. In order to bear babies, they must return to Patagonia, 8,000 kilometers from Pereira’s home. Pereira patiently took Dindim back to the ocean and taught it how to swim again. Soon enough, it was time for Dindim to return to life in the wild. Pereira watched Dindim swim away, believing it would be the last time he saw it.
But the next June,Dindim returned. The two shared a warm-hearted greeting, and Dindim stayed for a month,wandering around the fisherman’s house. The time to leave arrived, and Pereira thought this surely would be the last time he would see Dindim. But in the same month of the year after next, the penguin with a long memory returned again.
It is a common belief among scientists that animals have short memories. So, a couple of them put a tracking device on Dindim to seeif it was indeed the same penguin that returned year after year. To their surprise, but not Pereira’s, Dindim returned, year after year, for more than a decade.
1. Why was Pereira upset about his fishing that day?| A．His fish was eaten up by a penguin. | B．The waves were too huge to fish. |
| C．His fishing area was polluted by oil. | D．It was too cold for him to fish outside. |
| A．He abandoned it into the oily water. | B．He drove it away from the danger. |
| C．He fished it out from the sea. | D．He rescued it from danger. |
| A．10 months. | B．11 months. |
| C．12 months. | D．13 months. |
| A．Scientists generally think much of animals’ memories. |
| B．Pereira is quite sure about his friendship with Dindim. |
| C．It’s not the same penguin that returns to Pereira’s home. |
| D．The tracking device was used to find where Dindim went. |
【推荐2】The mom had died when the rescuers found her after the terrible earthquake. She was covered by a destroyed house. Through gaps (缝隙) of those ruins, the rescuers could see her last posture (姿势). It was something like an ancient person who was kowtowing (叩头), but it just looked strange because she was out of shape by pressure.
The rescuers confirmed her death by touching her through the gaps of the ruins. They shouted at the ruins again and again, knocked the bricks using various tools, but no reply inside.
Then the rescuing team went to the next building. Suddenly the leader ran back, calling “Come here.” He came to the body, put his hands under the woman, feeling and touching, then shouted loudly and gladly, “There is someone, a baby, still living.”
Through some efforts, rescuers cleaned up the ruins which blocked her. Under her body lay her baby, who was covered by a small red quilt (棉被). He was about 3 or 4 months’ old. Since well protected by his mother’s body, he was safe. He was in a deep sleep when the rescuer carried him out, and his lovely and peaceful face warmed everyone around him. The doctor, along with the rescuing team, took the baby out of the quilt to check if the baby was all right, and he found there was a mobile phone in the quilt. The doctor looked at the screen; a written message was already there: “My dear baby if you could live, don’t forget how much I love you.” As a doctor, he experienced much of this type of separation; but at this moment, he cried. The mobile phone was passed, and every person who saw this message shed (流出) tears.
1. When the rescuers found the mom, she________.| A．was using her mobile phone to ask for help | B．begged the rescuers to save her baby first |
| C．was struggling with the pressure | D．didn’t have the normal shape |
| A．was smiling a lot | B．was fast asleep |
| C．was listening carefully | D．was frightened to death |
| A．Moved | B．Excited | C．Excited | D．tired |
| A．a story of saving a mother and her baby | B．the disaster of a terrible earthquake |
| C．the great love of a mother in the earthquake | D．the rescuers’ hard work after an earthquake |
"How did you write your advertisement?" asked one of the listeners, a merchant.
"Here it is," said the man, taking out of his pocket a slip（纸条） cut from a newspaper. The other man took it and read, "Lost from the City Church last Sunday evening, a black silk umbrella. The gentleman who finds it will receive ten shillings（先令） on leaving it at No.10 Broad Street."
"Now," said the merchant, "I often advertise, and find that it pays me well. But the way in which an advertisement is expressed is of extreme importance. Let us try for your umbrella again, and if it fails, I'll buy you a new one."
The merchant then took a slip of paper out of his pocket and wrote: "If the man who was seen to take an umbrella from the City Church last Sunday evening doesn't wish to get into trouble, he will return the umbrella to No. 10 Broad Street. He is well known."
This appeared in the paper, and on the following morning, the man was astonished when he opened the front door. In the doorway lay at least twelve umbrellas of all sizes and colours that had been thrown in, and his own was among the number. Many of them had notes fastened（系牢） to them saying that they had been taken by mistake, and begging the loser not to say anything about the matter.
1. who would receive ten shillings according to the first advertisement ?
| A．Anyone who found the thief |
| B．Anyone who gave a message to the loser of the umbrella |
| C．Anyone who left the umbrella in the City Church |
| D．Anyone who left the umbrella at No. 10 Broad Street |
| A．the man got his umbrella back | B．the man wasted some money advertising |
| C．nobody found the missing umbrella | D．the umbrella was found somewhere near the church |
| A．buy a new umbrella | B．go on looking for his umbrella |
| C．report to the police | D．write another advertisement |
| A．he was quite sure of his success | B．he was not sure if he could get the umbrella back |
| C．he did not know what to do | D．he was rich enough to afford a new umbrella |
| A．a useless advertisement | B．how the man lost and found his umbrella |
| C．how to make a helpful advertisement. | D．what the businessman did for the umbrella owner |
【推荐1】Abbey Inn is a special hotel. You might spend a holiday there and never meet any other people. No other guests, sometimes. No full-time employee.
The place looked pretty to Katrina Arthur. So she and her husband booked a weekend holiday last year. However, things started to go wrong as soon as they walked into the room.
“Smelt terrible,” Arthur said, “The air conditioning didn’t work, either. We started checking the sheets and the bed. They were really dirty.” She went to the desk to complain, but no one was there. Arthur found no employees in the hotel at all. So she cleaned the room herself. When they woke the next day, they still found no one else in the hotel. So they put the room key in a drop box and got away.
Later she left a statement online. “I was honest; I wanted people to know.” she said.
The next month, Andrew Szakaly, owner of Abbey, sent a letter to Arthur, saying her statement had caused injury to the hotel, and Szakaly would sue(起诉) her unless she took it down.
Arthur was scared. She deleted(删除) the statement, but still the hotel asked her for an extra $350 anyway.
Now the state is suing Abbey Inn for asking guests for extra money for bad statements.
1. Why did Arthur think Abbey Inn was a pretty place at first?| A．Because it was in the city. | B．Because it gave guests a private place. |
| C．Because it had many guests. | D．Because it was free of charge. |
| A．bad smell | B．air conditioning going wrong |
| C．many mice | D．dirty sheets and bed |
| A．She stole the room key. |
| B．She didn’t pay the hotel expenses on time. |
| C．She broke the rules made by Abbey Inn. |
| D．She left a bad statement online and it caused injury to them. |
| A．Arthur is a difficult guest. |
| B．Arthur shouldn’t leave her statement online. |
| C．Szakaly shouldn’t ask Arthur for extra payment. |
| D．Szakaly has a good reason to ask Arthur for extra money. |
【推荐2】ROME— four people, including the wife of the factory's owner, died on Wednesday after explosions （爆炸）at the Barcelona Pozzo di Gotto fireworks company, Italian media reported.
According to online reports by La Republic and TGCOM24, at least one other person is missing and three others are seriously injured, with two of them in dangerous condition. Among the dead was 71-year-old Venera Mazzeo, the wife of the factory owner Vito Costa. Mazzeo reportedly died on the scene. Antonio Costa, the owner's son, was seriously injured and was transported to a hospital in the regional capital of Palermo for treatment. Less seriously injured persons were moved to the nearby Milazzo Hospital to be treated for burns and other injuries. Many were transported by local people who reached the scene before ambulances could arrive, reports said.
The factory, located near the northeast of the southern Italian island of Sicily, near the city of Messina, has been in operation for more than ten years without any accident. Police reports showed that two separate explosions took place, with the first explosion likely causing the second one. Media reports said that police have guessed that sparks （火花）from a repairing project reached some of the explosive material stored in the factory and was likely the cause of the first explosion.
Reports also showed that firefighters were able to control the flame, which burnt buildings on the factory and threatened nearby structures.
1. How many people lost their lives in the accident except Venera Mazzeo?| A．Three. | B．Four. |
| C．Five. | D．Six. |
| A．One worker's cigarette spark. |
| B．A fire nearby the factory. |
| C．The explosive material in the factory. |
| D．The sparks from a repairing project. |
| A．Antonio Costa died on the scene because of the flame. |
| B．Most injured persons were sent to hospital by ambulance. |
| C．The factory had been in safe operation before the explosions. |
| D．There were three explosions in total in the accident. |
| A．A travel guide. | B．A newspaper. |
| C．A magazine. | D．A science report. |
【推荐3】Interested in becoming a skydiver? Learn to skydive in SC with Skydive Carolina.We offer the most comprehensive skydive training in the United States with our AFP — Accelerated Freefall Progression program. All jumps are video recorded and are used during video debriefs (任务报告) after the skydive for immediate feedback and learning.
What is AFP?
AFP is a comprehensive, 16 jump program designed to train an individual with a strong foundation to become a solo, certified skydiver by building strong freefall and canopy skills. Upon completion of the AFP program, students will need to make 9 solo jumps and learn to pack in order to attain an A license.
What is an A license?
An A license certifies that a skydiver can safely jump with other skydivers and visit other skydiving centers.Attaining an A license requires a physical test, passing of a written test, a United States Parachute Association membership, a minimum of 25 jumps and showing ability to pack a parachute.
How is AFP different from tandem training?
Unlike a tandem skydive, your first jump will have you at the controls flying your very own parachute! On your first skydive, two instructors will jump alongside you giving you feedback using hand signals throughout the skydive. At the end of the freefall, you will deploy your own parachute and our ground crew will then talk you down via wireless radio giving you instructions based on the flight plan introduced during the first jump course. Click here to see an example of what jump number one looks like!
1. When you have skydive training with AFP,________.| A．you can watch video before skydiving |
| B．your jumps will be set down immediately |
| C．you will get feedback by watching videos |
| D．you must do some video debriefs first |
| A．will be flying your very own parachute |
| B．will be accompanied by two instructors |
| C．can talk to the instructors via wireless radio |
| D．can get feedback by watching video |
| A．A travel journal. |
| B．A sports magazine. |
| C．A newspaper. |
| D．A website. |
