【推荐1】Worth the pain in the end

I used to hate running. It seemed too hard and pushing outside my comfort zone was not something I was raised to do.

In fact, I wouldn’t have become a _______ if it weren’t for my husband Charles. He had been a serious competitive runner for many years. After our marriage, he wouldn’t stop talking about how much he missed it.

“So start running again, why don’t you?” I was getting _______ of hearing about it.

So he picked it up again, and after about a year, I started to join him at the track (跑道). Just a few weeks later, Charles signed us both up for a five-kilometer race. I _______about doing it. It was too soon.

But on _______ day, there I was.

The gun went   _______.Thousands of runners pushed forward.

The first kilometer was _______.

“I don’t think I’m going to make it.” I was already breathing heavily and painfully aware of the group of runners   pounding past me.

“No, you’re doing _______”, said Charles. He was trying to encourage me, to get me focused on something other than my   _______.

“I can’t,” I said, barely audibly (听得见地).

He tried a different way to _______ me. “Just make it to that house and let’s see how you feel.”

After another minute I saw the three-kilometer   ________. All I could think of was that I was dying and that my husband was torturing (折磨) me.

Miserable doesn’t even begin to describe   ________ I felt. And there was so much pain.

“You’ll be fine. You’ve got less than a kilometer to go.”

I rounded a corner and saw both sides of the street thick with people watching the race, all cheering the runners on. I willed my legs to keep going.

Then I looked up and saw the clock. The seconds ticking away (一分一秒地过去) gave me an incentive (助力). I knew that if I finished this race, I would have achieved something. So, I straightened up, and kicked it.

I had my arms held higher when I passed ________the finish line. A volunteer put a   ________ around my neck.

“You did great! I’m so proud of you!” Charles was thrilled that I’d ________ it.

“That was AMAZING! I want to do another race. This running stuff is amazing!” I proudly hugged my medal as we started to walk to the post-race festivities.

My lungs and my comfort zone both ________.

1.

A．runner

B．traveler

C．racer

D．cheerleader

2.

A．afraid

B．tired

C．aware

D．confident

3.

A．thought

B．dreamed

C．hesitated

D．cared

4.

A．race

B．sport

C．show

D．task

5.

A．on

B．off

C．up

D．down

6.

A．long

B．short

C．easy

D．tough

7.

A．wrong

B．right

C．great

D．bad

8.

A．disability

B．dishonor

C．disgrace

D．discomfort

9.

A．advise

B．persuade

C．urge

D．force

10.

A．signal

B．symbol

C．point

D．mark

11.

A．how

B．what

C．when

D．why

12.

A．by

B．over

C．across

D．through

13.

A．ring

B．necklace

C．medal

D．scarf

14.

A．done

B．made

C．taken

D．caught

15.

A．developed

B．expanded

C．changed

D．progressed

【推荐1】My mother is the sweetest person you would ever want to meet. She was always bright and selfless. She is also someone whose_________is being damaged and whose identity is being lost slowly because of Alzheimer’s disease (阿尔茨海默症/老年痴呆症). For me, it is a slow letting go and a_________process. Although she couldn’t_________herself，she at least still knew her immediate family. I knew the day would come when that would change and finally, about two﹣and﹣a﹣half years ago, that day came.

My parents would visit us almost daily and we would have a pleasant time, but one day there was a connection missing. My mother no longer_________me as her daughter. She would tell my father “Oh, they are such nice people.” Telling her I was her daughter made no_________at all. When I would hug her good﹣bye, I would close my eyes and_________that this was my mother from years ago. I would drink in (陶醉于) every familiar (熟悉的) feeling I have known for 36 years﹣her warm comforting body, and the soft, sweet smell that was hers alone. Every day, I prayed (祈祷) for her.

One late summer afternoon, my prayers were_________and I was taken by surprise. My parents were outside in the garden when my mother suddenly jumped up_________she had been hit by lightning. She ran into the kitchen, grabbed me gently from behind and_________me around. With a sparkle (闪光) in her eyes, she__________asked me if it was true, was I her baby? Tears welling up, I said, “yes, it was true”. We hugged and cried and neither of us wanted to let go of this magical moment. I knew it could disappear as quickly as it came. She said she always felt a__________to me and that I was nice, but that it had come to her suddenly that I was her child. We felt__________.I took this reward from God and savored (享受) it, even if it were to last just for that moment. We had a special connection again.

__________my mother’s condition has continued to worsen, she remembers who I am and it has been a year since that__________afternoon. A month ago when we had another visitor, she started stroking my hair and told them__________, “Did you know that she was my baby?”

1.

A．hearing

B．brain

C．hand

D．eyesight

2.

A．painful

B．quick

C．happy

D．natural

3.

A．donate to

B．worry about

C．care for

D．speak for

4.

A．described

B．knew

C．pictured

D．valued

5.

A．mistakes

B．difference

C．decisions

D．progress

6.

A．consider

B．regret

C．doubt

D．imagine

7.

A．gone

B．said

C．balanced

D．answered

8.

A．so that

B．now that

C．as if

D．even if

9.

A．turned

B．showed

C．followed

D．kept

10.

A．thankfully

B．patiently

C．tearfully

D．curiously

11.

A．distance

B．duty

C．closeness

D．function

12.

A．joy

B．concern

C．alarmed

D．upset

13.

A．Since

B．When

C．Until

D．Although

14.

A．sweet

B．busy

C．sad

D．ordinary

15.

A．proudly

B．calmly

C．rudely

D．carefully

【推荐2】My grandmother was always encouraging me to set goals and work hard to achieve them. She would tell me not to be a follower and not to set___________on what I could achieve. She_________ believed that there were not limits and that you could___________whatever you wanted.

I would never forget the following story that she once told me:

A farmer won first___________at the country fair for his huge radish(小萝卜)that was the exact shape and ___________ of a milk bottle.

Many were ___________ as to how the farmer was able to grow this radish that was the exact shape of a milk bottle.

___________one gentleman went up to the farmer and asked the question.The farmer replied, “It was___________.I got the seed growing and then I put it into the milk bottle.It had_________ else to go.”

You can use this story as an analogy(比喻)to life---our lives are____________by the kind of surroundings we place ourselves in, the people that we allow to______________us, and the goals we give ourselves.

If we only____________and take no action, then we get to no further.But if we______________,set a goal and take action, then our life takes a____________shape.

Goals and actions can help us accomplish more in a year than what some people will accomplish in a lifetime.To prove this______________, rad the biographies of______________people and you will see that goals and actions______________played a big role in their success.

Remember the____________of Mary Kay Ash, who said, “Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do.You can go____________your mind lets you.Whatever you believe, remember, you can achieve.”

In summary, don’t put yourself in a bottle, in other words, move out of what is____________and secure if you want to move forward.

1.

A．expectations

B．rules

C．limits

D．lines

2.

A．truly

B．naturally

C．tightly

D．partly

3.

A．win

B．grasp

C．realize

D．achieve

4.

A．remark

B．prize

C．position

D．award

5.

A．size

B．length

C．weight

D．height

6.

A．doubtful

B．worried

C．anxious

D．curious

7.

A．Immediately

B．Gradually

C．Finally

D．Actually

8.

A．strange

B．easy

C．funny

D．secret

9.

A．nowhere

B．everywhere

C．somewhere

D．anywhere

10.

A．shaped

B．formed

C．controlled

D．improve

11.

A．understand

B．help

C．influence

D．contact

12.

A．dream

B．refuse

C．doubt

D．change

13.

A．struggle

B．insist

C．continue

D．plan

14.

A．beautiful

B．different

C．solid

D．clear

15.

A．theory

B．lesson

C．point

D．evidence

16.

A．successful

B．brave

C．friendly

D．careful

17.

A．as usual

B．above all

C．at all

D．in fact

18.

A．example

B．wisdom

C．statement

D．speech

19.

A．as if

B．in case

C．as far as

D．as long as

20.

A．comfortable

B．valuable

C．ordinary

D．boring

【推荐3】阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
I sat in the chair reflecting on the past year. At that time, my _______ Charley came into the room. Charley took one look at my face and she could _______ I was off in another world. Charley said, “You have that _______ on your face! Tell me what you were _______ ”. “Well, Charley,” I replied, “I was listening to a song on the radio that asked _______ you have done over the last year. When I _______ on the year, I’ve realized I have had such good fortune, with a few bumps (碰撞) along the way.”
Charley immediately asked, “Tell me about the three things that _______ you the most during this year.”
I sat thinking if I had to _______ only three things that influenced me, what would they be? After a few minutes, I said, “OK, here are the three things that influenced me the most: My family. Throughout the year I had many _______ , but my family were always there ________ support and encouragement. My friends. Over the years I have ________ my dreams and my goals with my friends. Some goals I have ________ and other goals I have not. ________ friends like you always supported and ________ me. My colleagues. I have worked with some ________ people over the last year. I have been very ________ to have the opportunity to work with these excellent people over the last year.”
Charley smiled and said, “Do you realize that everything you have said has one thing in________?”
“What are you saying, Charley?” I asked.
She replied, “Neither the material things in your life, nor your job has had the most meaning in your life. It is the   ________ in your life that have made the biggest ________in your life!”
I smiled. Material things are not _______, and while our jobs provide the means of existence for us, the important things in life are the people who touched our lives.1.

A．sister

B．classmate

C．mother

D．friend

2.

A．argue

B．suggest

C．tell

D．wonder

3.

A．look

B．appearance

C．mark

D．mask

4.

A．doing

B．thinking

C．listening

D．annoying

5.

A．where

B．that

C．what

D．why

6.

A．call

B．talk

C．insist

D．reflect

7.

A．influenced

B．demanded

C．entertained

D．motivated

8.

A．write

B．pick

C．get

D．own

9.

A．plans

B．experiences

C．challenges

D．achievements

10.

A．receiving

B．expecting

C．winning

D．offering

11.

A．shared

B．provided

C．connected

D．compared

12.

A．set

B．realized

C．failed

D．scored

13.

A．But

B．Meanwhile

C．Otherwise

D．Unless

14.

A．accepted

B．satisfied

C．replaced

D．encouraged

15.

A．stupid

B．brave

C．amazing

D．ordinary

16.

A．fortunate

B．miserable

C．unhappy

D．surprised

17.

A．character

B．store

C．common

D．nature

18.

A．effort

B．spirit

C．motivation

D．people

19.

A．choice

B．difference

C．problem

D．progress

20.

A．useful

B．important

C．practical

D．unnecessary