I stood in my father’s garden one late summer evening, watching my three kids dig in the dirt with toy bulldozers (推土机). I had driven up to my parents’ house that afternoon in a fit of desperation. My husband was working a double shift, my twins hadn’t napped, and I was one misstep away from a complete breakdown.
“Come up,” my mom said, “Let’s rest for a while.”
As the day of temporary relaxation drew to a close, I wandered along Dad’s once-neat garden rows and noticed the tomato plants Dad had planted.
“Roma tomatoes, the kind for sauce. Remember when your mom used to make sauce?” my father said.
I hadn’t thought of it in years actually. It was a recipe passed from my Italian immigrant great-grandmother down to my grandmother and then my mother. And that’s where it had stopped. Though I liked cooking, I didn’t want to waste much time on the dish. Why should I simmer tomato sauce all day when I could make different kinds of dishes?
Dad gave me an idea. “I’m going to make sauce,” I said. My father raised a skeptical eyebrow but grabbed some boxes and told the kids to start picking. The twins threw tomatoes like softballs to each other as the youngest begged to join me. Everyone was crying at one point, and I almost gave up on my grand scheme. Yet something inside me fought back, a deep-seated fancy for finding the link between the recipe’s owner and me.
As last, I successfully finished my sauce and it was approved by my parents. The efforts I made with those boxes of tomatoes gave me a sense of accomplishment. Each crank of the handle each slice of the knife, each stir of the stockpot was a prayer for comfort and confidence. Like most things that are worthwhile, the mess was part of the process.
1. The author went to her parents house that afternoon to_____________.| A．pick up her children | B．visit her father’s garden |
| C．learn to cook tomato sauce | D．relieve herself from daily chores |
| A．It was hard to grasp. | B．It was troublesome. |
| C．It stood for her culture. | D．It deserved to be promoted. |
| A．Her children’s requirement. | B．The encouragement from her father. |
| C．Her desire to follow a family tradition. | D．The expectation from the recipe’s owner. |
| A．Ups and downs make one strong. |
| B．A strong-willed soul can reach his goal. |
| C．Experience helps to promote excellence. |
| D．Life is most beautiful when it is imperfect. |
相似题推荐
I was sitting in a chemistry class when I and six other kids were called down to the counselor’s (顾问) office. It was pretty strange because none of us were “ problem ” students. We were all curious about what she wanted to say.
This was when she told us she would be choosing one of us to be nominated (提名) for the largest scholarship in Canada. It was a very strange moment; I never realized I was that excellent. She said, since we all had a similar high average, she would talk to our teachers to see who was the most deserving.
A week later, I got an email from the counselor; it was addressed to me and another student at the meeting. I was shocked; this must have meant we were the two people she would be choosing from. We were required to write about where we see ourselves in ten years; I knew I had to make this count. I spoke from the heart, depicting my perfect life: living in the big city, having finished my degree, doing what I loved every day.
About a week later, I got called back to her office, only me. I didn’t want to be overexcited because maybe she was being personal, telling me I wasn’t chosen. She told me I was the one picked. Nobody could have controlled my smile, what a moment.
She told me about all the nice things my teachers said about me; I never realized I was held in such high-regard to them. Over 350,000 students graduate from high school every year and I was one of the only 1,500 kids nominated for this scholarship across all of Canada.
Unfortunately, I didn’t win but I’d still like to thank everyone who helped me get to where I am today.
1. Why did the author feel surprised when he was called to the office? ( no more than 10 words )2. Why did the school went to choose from the six students? ( no more than 5 words )
3. What does he underlined word “ depicting ” in the third paragraph probably men? ( 1 word )
4. What was the purpose of the counselor calling the author to her office again? ( no more than 10 words )
5. What do you want to say to those who ever have given you recognition and help? ( no more than 20 words )
【推荐2】When it comes to earning wealth, some people admire wealth to an extreme level, overlooking spiritual values. One of the most significant and incomparable spiritual values is wisdom.
The invaluable qualities wisdom inherits(继承)in a person cannot be bought by wealth. A wealthy individual may experience the most luxury and comfort on the Earth.
Albert Einstein once said. “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” One needs to develop a positive mindset and the willingness to be polite and should possess a sense of sympathy.
You can consider wisdom as the person’s capability to make correct decisions and choices.
| A．How is wisdom superior to wealth? |
| B．Wisdom is comprehensive and timeless. |
| C．All such qualities can contribute to wisdom. |
| D．No worldly possession can compare to wisdom. |
| E．However, if he lacks wisdom, all his wealth is fruitless. |
| F．In personal and professional life, wisdom conveys admiration. |
| G．How can your wisdom enhance your ability to influence others? |
【推荐3】My neighbor Mrs. Gargan first told me about it; " Have you seen the tree? she asked as was sitting in the backyard enjoying the October twilight.
"The one down at the corner," she explained. "It's a beautiful- all kinds of colors. You ought to see it."
I told her I would. But I soon forgot about the tree. Three days later, I was jogging down the street, my mind swimming with worries, when a splash of bright orange caught my eye. For an instant, I thought someone’s house had caught fire. Then I remembered the tree.
As I approached it, I slowed down. There was nothing remarkable about the shape of the tree, a medium-sized maple. But Mrs. Gargan had been right about its colors. With its varied nation of color, this tree seemed to become a globe, embracing (拥抱) in its broad branches all seasons and continents: the spring and summer of the Southern hemisphere in the light-and dark greens, the autumn and winter of the Northern in the bunting yellows and bare branches.
As I wondered at this beauty, I thought of Ralph Waldo Emerson's words about the stars. If the stars appeared only once in a thousand years, he observed in Nature, imagine what an exciting event it would be. But because they're up there every night, we barely give them a look.
I felt the same way about the tree. And I had almost missed it.
Once when Emily Dickenson's father noticed a brilliant display of northern lights in the sky over Massachusetls, he lolled (鸣钟)a church bell to alert town's people. That’s what I felt like doing about the tree. I wanted to become a messenger of autumn, awakening the countryside to its wonder. I didn’t have a church bell, but as I walked home, I did ask each neighbor I passed the same simple question "Have you seen the tree?"
1. Why did the author forget about the tree?| A．He had a lot of worries. | B．He was engaged in work. |
| C．He didn't take it seriously. | D．He never passed by the corner. |
| A．Its sinking size. | B．Its rich colours. |
| C．Its amazing shape. | D．Its broad branches. |
| A．Commented. | B．Obeyed. | C．Noticed. | D．Celebrated. |
| A．Ring the church bell. | B．Awaken the town's people. |
| C．Deliver the message of wonder. | D．Check the answer to the question. |
【推荐1】It's fight night in Berlin club. The lights go down, the door opens and out walks a salesman from San Francisco, David “Dowble D” Depto has travelled 8,000 kilometres in search of glory. As he first walks, then jogs, towards the boxing ring, the muscular, bare-chested American looks cool and confident. But so does his opponent. Waiting for him in the blue corner is Frank Stoldt, a tall, strong German policeman, who calls himself “anti-terror Frank”. For obvious reasons, the crowd is on his side.
The bell rings. Round one! The fighters come out. But then, something rather strange happens. The two players sit down at a table which has a chessboard on it and start playing chess-in the middle of the boxing ring.
“Why?” you may ask yourself. Well, this is chessboxing, and tonight is the final of the first chessboxing World Championship.
The rules of a chessboxing match are simple. There is one round of chess and then one round of boxing. Punching power alternates with brain power. All in all, you have 11 rounds in which to checkmate your opponent-or knock him out.
Two sports in one means double the pain, and double the pressure. Before this big fight, Frank spent hours doing exercises that prepared his mind as well as his muscles. Winners in chessboxing are people whose mental strength equals their physical strength.
But why do it in the first place? Why put yourself through this physical and mental torture? For David Depto, it is all about proving that you can be a boxer and still have a brain. The sport has taken off in Germany, where they are preparing the next generation of chessboxing champions. It is even being taught in a Berlin school.
Back in the ring, it is round seven and the players are locked in battle around the chessboard, sweat pouring from their foreheads. Suddenly, Frank Stoldt sees an opening and moves in to finish the match. Queen to G7… checkmate!
The referee stops the match, the crowd erupts-the local hero has won and is given the world title belt, which proves that, when it comes to mixing brains and muscle, Germany really is the Grand Master.
1. Why is it "obvious" that the crowd wants Frank Stoldt to win?| A．He is a policeman. | B．He has powerful muscle. |
| C．He is a host player. | D．He fights against terrorism. |
| A．Either checkmate the opponent or knock him out. |
| B．One of the players gives up or is sent to hospital. |
| C．The referee counts down eight to zero in the round of chess. |
| D．The player finds the opening into the court which is locked. |
| A．Compared with boxing, it means half danger and half stress. |
| B．It requires more mental strength than physical strength. |
| C．The sport is popular in Germany, where it is a school subject. |
| D．The players play chess in the middle of the boxing ring. |
| A．leave the stadium | B．burst into cheers |
| C．interrupt the ceremony | D．fight with the opposing fans |
【推荐2】William Berloni, 59, is Broadway’s dog expert, training and managing dogs for musicals and plays that need a well-behaved dog. He also works on movies and TV shows with all kinds of animals, including cats, pigs, sheep, snakes and rats. His retired actors, including 30 dogs that have acted in shows such as “Annie” and “Oliver!” live with him and his wife on a farm in Connecticut.
Berloni’s main playmates as a kid were his dog, cat and rabbit, but he says he never thought he would become a professional anima1trainer. He wanted to be an actor. But while working as an assistant for the pre-Broadway production of “Annie” in 1976, he was given the job of finding a dog to play Sandy.
Berloni visited an animal shelter, where lost dogs and other pets are kept until they are adopted. Shelters take in a lot of animals — so many that some shelters kill pets that aren’t quickly adopted. “I didn’t know that animals were killed,” says Berloni, who ended up adopting a dog on the day it was supposed to be put down.
The dog, which Berloni named Sandy, turned out to be a perfect fit for the show after a little training. The pair learned from each other, with Berloni becoming better and better as a trainer. Sandy starred in almost al1of the show’s 2,377 Broadway performances and enjoyed retirement on Berloni’s farm when the production’s first Broadway run ended in 1983.
Since then, Berloni has made a point of finding al1 his dogs at shelters. Nessa is one of his dogs who plays Toto in “The Wizard of Oz”. After about a year of working together, Berloni and Nessa are like old friends. She’s happy to lie on his leg, even when she’s not performing. Nessa gets prizes in return for performing, but “Love is the big motivator (动力),” Berloni says.
1. What do we know about Berloni?| A．he was once a Broadway actor. |
| B．he is good at dealing with animals. |
| C．he keeps all kinds of animals on his farm. |
| D．he wanted to be an animal trainer when he was a child. |
| A．rescued out | B．moved down | C．kept in | D．made dead |
| A．prizes | B．good training | C．affection | D．the desire to survive |
One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot travel in space, because there’s no air. At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to become a sort of musical astronaut.
With the help of a lot of time, books and work, Brenda built a space bubble. This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out all the air inside. All that would be left inside was a drum kit（成套设备）and a chair. Brenda got into the space suit she had made, entered the bubble, turned on the machine, and played those drums like a wild child.
It was’t long before Brenda Bongos came very famous. Many people came to see her play in her space bubble. Shortly afterwards she came out of the bubble and started giving concerts. Her fame spread so much that the government suggested that she be part of a unique space journey. Finally, Brenda was a real musical astronaut, and had gone far beyond her first ambition of playing drums in a band.
Years later, when asked how she had achieved all this, she thought for a moment, and said, “If those old people next – door hadn’t mattered so much to me, I wouldn’t have found a solution, and none of this would have ever happened.”
1. Why did Brenda try to play in the strangest places?
| A．Because she didn’t want others to hear her play |
| B．Because she didn’t mean to disturb others. |
| C．Because she didn’t have her own room |
| D．Because she didn’t like her neighbors. |
| A．after she practiced in her space bubble |
| B．when she became part of the unique space journey |
| C．after she became a real musical astronaut |
| D．when people came to see her in the space bubble |
| A．she was good at music and science |
| B．she invented a special way of practice |
| C．she became a real musical astronaut |
| D．she played well and had a talent |
| A．He laughs best who laughs last |
| B．Two heads are better than one |
| C．It’s never too old to learn |
| D．One good turn deserves another |
【推荐1】On Thursday morning, Cathy Brennan sat on a sofa at the Washington sailing Marina in Alexandria preparing to start her nine-and-a-half-foot kayak (皮艇) on day 25 of the journey. The Mississippi is on her wish list. What she had prepared were simple: sleeping bag, small tent, rain jacket, change of clothes, first aid kit. Apples, granola bars, cheese sticks. When she’s thirsty, she scoops water from the rivers and pumps it through a filter (过滤器). “I always drink the river,’’ she says.
Every few days Brennan will find a hotel for the night where she can get a shower and eat a cheeseburger. She’ll check in with her husband John, who has helped her select the river and research the trips at their new Jersey home. “He’s my virtual Sherpa (牧羊人) with benefits,’’ Brennan says, laughing. But most of her time is paddling on the river or camping on its banks. She has a phone with her but hardly calls or texts anyone. Her husband and her grown children can keep track of her via the transponder (应答器) that sends them her location every 10 minutes or so.
Brennan knows that solo kayaking is not for everyone and she’s not careless. Brennan grew up on a lake and was a strong swimmer and boater from an early age. She moved around rough rapids and watches the weather carefully. Brennan is careful about where she camps and who is around her. She has packed up her equipment and headed back out on the river when she has felt unsafe.
However, she persists because she loves being on the rivers, seeing the bald eagles above, deer on the banks and a fascinating number of bugs and insects that never find their way into homes and offices. She wants others to see that, too, especially women. “Women, I think, are unreasonably afraid about being alone,” she said. “Sometimes people think kayaking alone is so dangerous. And I tell them in my imagination, that is far more dangerous than what I do.”
1. How can we describe Brennan’s kayak trip according to the passage?| A．easily-achieved | B．heavily-cost |
| C．widely-known | D．simply-prepared |
| A．Her husband keeps track of her |
| B．Her husband accompanies her on the river |
| C．Her husband provides a lot of support and help |
| D．Her husband always contacts her with calls and texts |
| A．It is acceptable of a woman to be afraid of being alone |
| B．It is hard to estimate how dangerous kayaking is |
| C．It is her hope that more women can enjoy the adventure of kayaking |
| D．Kayaking is suitable for everyone to take part in |
| A．generous and determined | B．dependent and careful |
| C．curious and warm-hearted | D．confident and outgoing |
【推荐2】A few months ago someone gifted us a robot cleaner. We already had a regular cleaner and I didn’t really see the need to use this new one, so it just satin its box.
One of our neighbors is moving away to a new house next week and I thought of asking her whether this might be something she could use. It turned out that she replied yes! Her new place had hardwood floors and her daughter was asking if they could get a robot cleaner but she said they would have to wait and see....and now she didn’t have to buy one!
I couldn’t tell you how overjoyed I was to see her daughter’s response when she came over. She was also as excited about the flower seeds I gave her from our backyard to plant in their new home.
The nice thing was that the daughter would still be working in our town, and I told her that if she ever needed to stay over instead of driving 45 minutes to the new house, our home was always here for her.
She also told me that she was so touched that I drew a big pink heart on the front of our house for their going-away party. I told her maybe after they moved I would clean it up. Or maybe not—I like being reminded of how our hearts are connected to everyone.
1. Why did the author give away the robot cleaner?| A．She liked to giveaway gifts. |
| B．She already had one at home. |
| C．She showed off before her neighbor. |
| D．She met the need of her neighbor’s daughter. |
| A．It is surrounded by some flowers. |
| B．It has a door with a “heart” on it. |
| C．It saw a goodbye party for the author. |
| D．It is far from her daughter’s workplace. |
| A．Love never fails | B．Hearts connect us |
| C．Little acts add up | D．Family warms hearts |
【推荐3】Jenna had a secret. Her mum is the head teacher of her school. She didn’t want anyone to know this as her classmates would think that she got special treatment. Not even her friends knew about it. When her friends asked to go to her house, she just refused and said that her parents didn’t allow her to invite guests.
“Bring Your Mum to School” day was coming. Jenna usually told her friends in the past that her mum was out of town. “What does your mum do?” her friends asked. “She is a researcher, so she travels a lot.” Funnily enough, Jenna’s mum was always at “Bring Your Mum to School” day at her high school. A teacher once asked her, “Do you have a daughter?” Jenna’s mum said, “Yes, she is in college now.”
Jenna was very close to getting an A in her calculus (微积分) class. There was only one exam left. Jenna would have to get 100% on the exam to push her grade to an A. The teacher offered the students extra credits (附加分) if they brought their mum to the class on the “Bring Your Mum to School” day. Jenna told her mum that she wanted to tell everyone about their relationship. Jenna’s mum agreed. On “Bring Your Mum to School” day, Jenna brought her mum to her calculus class. She felt her heart was beating fast. She was afraid her classmates would not talk to her because she had told a lie. “Hi, our head teacher. What brings you here?” asked the calculus teacher. “I’m Jenna’s mum,” she answered. All the students in the classroom were surprised and they told Jenna she had a cool mother.
1. Why did Jenna refuse to take her friends to her home?| A．She tried to hide her mum’s identity. | B．She didn’t like her friends. |
| C．Her parents didn’t welcome guests. | D．Her house was too far away. |
| A．She is quite funny. | B．She likes travelling. |
| C．She lied about her daughter. | D．She dislikes the school day. |
| A．Surprised. | B．Proud. | C．Worried. | D．Calm. |
| A．Jenna’s Classmates | B．Jenna’s Secret | C．An Interesting Lesson | D．A Head Teacher |
