When I was a little girl, every time my dad was repairing something, he would ask me to hold the hammer. And so we would have a time for a conversation.
I grew up and left home for college and since then, my dad had been calling me every Sunday morning. And when several years later I bought a house, my dad went to paint it by himself for three days in the summer heat.
Four years ago, my dad was visiting me. He spent hours putting together a swing set (秋千) for my daughter. He asked to bring him a cup of tea and have a talk with him.
One Sunday morning we had a telephone talk as usual. I was in a hurry, so our conversation was short.
After his death I learned much more about him, and even more about myself. All he ever asked me was my time.
| A．A few hours later that day came a call. |
| B．But I had to prepare for a trip that weekend. |
| C．I never saw my dad drinking or taking a night out. |
| D．And now his time has all my attention every single day. |
| E．All he asked was to hold his paint brush and talk to him. |
| F．Now it was he who did not have time for a conversation with me. |
| G．I noticed that my dad had forgotten some things that we discussed lately. |
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【推荐1】Occasionally, life can be impossibly difficult, and it can be hard to keep going. But you always have a choice.
In 2012, I got a call from my family saying that my father’s cancer had fiercely progressed. He died only six months later. My father was a complete inspiration to me. He was always so strong that I honestly thought he would come back to life. I couldn’t believe I would never again hug him.
Shortly after that, my oldest sister complained of a backache. The doctors discovered that she had highly advanced cancer in her bones and that there was nothing they could do. She died a month later. She was my favorite person in the whole world. I never thought I would have to live without her. I was overcome by the shock and extreme heartbreak. Then, something was wrong with my knees and I ended up in the hospital myself.
I remember lying in the hospital bed, looking up at the ceiling and seeing my sister’s beautiful face. I realized that night that I had a choice. I could end my life or I could live it. I looked in my sister’s eyes and decided not to go with her just yet. I decided to stay and complete my journey here. I also decided that I would live the life that I absolutely longed for.
I now live in an adorable cottage with an amazing boyfriend. I spend quality time with the rest of my precious family and cherish every moment I have with them. I connect with my heart often to ensure that I am following my joy. I love myself more deeply every day. Not a day goes by when I don’t miss my father’s huge character or my beloved sister’s gentle eyes, but I know that I will be with them one day. What I have now is so precious that I must grasp the joy in every moment I can.
You choose life every day. But do you choose the life that you love every day?
1. What did the author once suffer from?| A．A heart attack. | B．A backache. |
| C．A knee problem. | D．A bone cancer. |
| A．By your career. | B．By your attitude. |
| C．By your health. | D．By your family. |
| A．Lonely but ambitious. | B．Miserable but easy-going. |
| C．Hopeless but humorous. | D．Unlucky but positive. |
| A．Escape the Fate | B．Love Your Life |
| C．Make a Living | D．Remember Every Moment |
【推荐2】Nowadays parents and their children are spending less and less time communicating with each other.
1. Eat together & listen to each other
Most children today don’t know the meaning of a family dinnertime. Yet the communication and unity built during this time is necessary to a healthy family life. Sharing a meal together allows parents and their children to have the opportunity to talk about each other’s lives.
2. Read often
It’s important for parents to read to their children. The latest research shows that reading to your children develops an interest in knowledge and contributes to language development. It also increases their concentration on things and helps them become more curious.
3. Start a hobby or project
Choose a fun activity that your children are interested in. Activities like cooking, fishing or biking can be their great hobbies.
4. Plan a family outing
| A．It is very important for children to exercise. |
| B．They can open the door to exciting family time. |
| C．Sometimes getting out of the house is important. |
| D．Look for books that your children would enjoy reading. |
| E．New technology has made video games more popular with children. |
| F．This is also a time for parents to listen and give advice to their children. |
| G．As a result, many children are getting less love than their parents once got. |
A mother has lost parts of both of her legs after she saved the lives of her two children by lying on top of them as a deadly tornado swept through their home. Stephanie Decker, 36, lost one leg above the knee and the other above the ankle, yet her son and daughter escaped without a single scratch after the tornado destroyed their Henryville, Indiana home.
Henryville was nearly entirely destroyed by a series of tornadoes that hit the South and Midwest, killing 39 and leaving thousands homeless. But while the Decker family lost their dream home to the severe weather, they are celebrating their safety. Mrs. Decker is now in a stable condition; her husband said, “What I told her was, ‘you are alive and you get to see your kids grow up.’ ” Joe Decker told the reporters.
Mr. Decker said that he had sent a text message to his wife from his workplace to tell her a tornado was heading for their three-story home. She rushed their eight-year-old son Dominic and five-year-old daughter Reese into the basement, where she tried her best to protect them from the storm.
Mrs. Decker typed out what had happened by using an iPad in the hospital. She saw part of the house collapse（坍塌）on her and pulled her daughter out of the way. She doesn’t remember anything after that.
The home, which was partly built by Mr. Decker and his wife’s father, is now completely destroyed, with a bathtub 200 feet away in a filed, the Courier Journal reported. The house took about nine mouths to build and four seconds to fall, Mr. Decker added.
CEO Carl J. Tyler praised the Deckers who lost everything and said that the company has set up a trust fund to help pay their medical bills and the losses they suffered. He added, “They are some of the hardest working, giving people you could ever want to meet.”
1. The Deckers’ attitude towards their suffering from the tornado is .
| A．pessimistic | B．optimistic | C．angry | D．unsure |
| A．setting out to go back home |
| B．working by using an iPad |
| C．sending text messages to other workers |
| D．reminding his wife about the tornado |
| A．Mrs. Decker’s brave deed is thought highly of. |
| B．Mrs. Decker was asked to apply for a trust fund. |
| C．The Deckers are considered to be the hardest workers. |
| D．The Deckers are under great pressure to pay medical bills. |
【推荐1】Social media has given rise to a cool phenomenon called “selfie（自拍）”. It refers to a picture of yourself, usually shared on any social networking website.
Everyone takes selfies, but the younger crowd seem to be especially involved in the trend. Young people are relatively heavier digital users. They are interested in staying connected to their friends.
There are also kinds of psychological（心理的）factors driving people to take a selfie and upload it to a social networking site.
Finally, there are things to be careful about when you’re posting selfies. It’s easy to think you’re sharing a photo with a few people.
| A．There are lots of selfie styles. |
| B．The rise of selfies has become universal. |
| C．But the whole world of social media is public and everyone can see it. |
| D．Social media, to some extent, is the driving force of their selfie activity. |
| E．The desire to get “likes” on selfies goes back to biological behavior. |
| F．There are also people who take selfies because they have nothing else better to do. |
| G．The leading factor is that people want to get attention from as many people as possible. |
Emoji and Workplace Communication
In Asia, messaging platforms are growing rapidly, with users in the hundreds of millions, both at work and play. The popularity of these platforms is spreading globally. It’s been reported that 76 percent of employees in some western countries are using emojis at work.
Written communications can often read as cold and dull. Using emojis can add humor and feeling, keeping intention clear. Messages with emojis feel more conversational, encouraging better and more frequent communication.
In any given office, employees can range from age 22 to 70 and beyond, and finding common ground in communication style can be a challenge. An easy way to bring all work generations together is with a chat platform. While the younger generations prefer to communicate visually, for those used to working with traditional tools like email, it may feel like a learning curve (曲线). The good news is that it’s simple to learn and can be worth the effort.
There is also the matter of tone (语气). Who hasn’t received an email so annoying that it ruined an entire day? Even a formal email can seem cold and unfriendly. Emoji can help communication feel friendlier, and even a serious note can be softened with an encouraging smile.
Studies show that friendlier communication leads to a happier workplace and emoji can contribute directly to that positive outcome. And when your employees begin adding smiling emojis to their business communication, you’ll know you have succeeded in improving your work culture.
1. According to the passage, what is the function of using emojis in communication?2. Please paraphrase the underlined part in your own words.
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
➢ An emoji in a formal business email can make it informal.
4. Think of an occasion where you use emojis and explain why. (about 40 words)
【推荐3】When I was young, I thought that boys and grown men shouldn’t cry. The tears were signs of being weak. A man isn’t supposed to be like that. This was even strengthened in my young mind with the popular song, Boys Don’t cry, in the early 1980s.
But just last June, I discovered that courage wasn’t all about trying to keep all the pain inside. Courage wasn’t all about trying to hide the tears. It was the opposite — the tears reinforced (加强) the heart’s courage. And I saw this in my father.
My 18-year-old sister eloped and with it, I saw how vulnerable (脆弱的) my father’s heart was. We were used to seeing him as a strong figure and an iron-willed father. For three days after my sister eloped, he wouldn’t talk. He would just sit quietly outside our house in the dark. On the fourth night, I sat beside him and asked him to tell me what he felt about everything.
It has been years since I have laid my hand on my father’s shoulder as we have drifted farther while I am growing up. That night, I sensed my father trying to control his pain and I wanted him to be able to let it out. We all cried over what had happened except him.
The simple touch and my words “Dad, it’s not your fault”broke my father’s dam. In the darkness, he began to cry. I felt his shoulders shaking as he whispered, “Where did I go wrong? All I ever wanted was for my children to grow up right. Why couldn’t your sister wait? How can she go away with such a boy?”
I understood then why he preferred to be in the dark. By being there, he hoped to spare his family’s feelings. His tears, though we didn’t see them before that night, were there all the same.
I saw his courage that night when my father cried with my hand on his shoulder, and understood his pain.
1. We can know from the first paragraph that ________.| A．the author often cried when he was young |
| B．the tears are not the signs of being weak |
| C．Boys Don’t cry was popular in the early 1980s |
| D．men are supposed to keep their secrets |
| A．should try to keep all the pain inside |
| B．should do what they can to show they are brave |
| C．shouldn’t hide the tears if they want to cry |
| D．shouldn’t be so strict with their children |
| A．he should set an example to people around |
| B．he was very disappointed with his daughter |
| C．he had been trying to control his great pain |
| D．he felt sorry for what he had done before |
| A．Boys don’t cry. | B．My great father. |
| C．Never lose heart. | D．The day father cried. |
