My hands were shaking uncontrollably. I tried incredibly hard to focus on the words that I spent hours putting down on paper. I tried to conquer my fear of speaking in public on numerous occasions throughout my life. During college and at my first few jobs, I would get ridiculously nervous when I had to give a presentation or lead a meeting. Public speaking had been my nemesis for as long as I could remember.
Then in my mid-thirties, I decided to join the public speaking group Toastmasters. At every meeting, we were rated and forced to compete with other speakers for an award. You would think that I would walk away from these experiences as a polished speaker, but nothing seemed to work.
It wasn’t until recently, when science and scientific institutions were being attacked for unfair reasons during the pandemic, that I decided I must speak out. Science has made this country a place where dreams come true — this is why we all need to protect science. In addition, as a science writer, I try to get readers to understand how science is related to their daily lives.
So I ended up on that frightening stage on that sunny Saturday in April — Earth Day. Despite the body shakes and fear, I persevered. That day, I looked out into the crowd of like-minded science supporters and I felt comfort.
Reaching that milestone goal of getting through a speech truly changed me. At almost forty, I learned that passion can set off a flame in my heart to do things I never dreamed possible. The darkness that led to my speech is sure to lead to new opportunities and adventures.
1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “nemesis” in Para. 1?| A．Advantage. | B．Annoyance. | C．Preference. | D．Confusion. |
| A．He began to feel less worried. | B．He became a polished speaker. |
| C．He remained a shy speaker. | D．Things became worse for him. |
| A．It was a good chance to learn science. |
| B．He must rise up to defend his profession. |
| C．It was a project organized by Toastmasters. |
| D．He couldn’t have people attacking science. |
| A．Passion can motive us to achieve the unachievable. |
| B．Any difficulty can be overcome with great effort. |
| C．Science can lead us to make wonderful changes. |
| D．Frustration can be stepping stones to success. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】When the economy is bad. I stop and remember a story about my great-grandmother.
In 1992, Dad graduated from high school. The depression was at its darkest stage and the family had just lost their farm. Without money, any dreams of going to college seemed hopeless.
But a recruiter from an excellent college called Carleton, 230 miles away in Minnesota, came to his town looking for potential students. Dad had been an outstanding athlete and was a straight-A student all through high school, excelling in math and science. The recruiter was impressed and Dad won a scholarship to attend Carleton. But there were obstacles, no transportation, and not a penny for food. He didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity of a lifetime, but there were no jobs to earn money. Discouraged, he feared he might not be able to go to Carleton.
It was then that my great-grandma took control. She said. “You have to stop thinking so negatively. It’s not what you don’t have; it’s what you do have. And what you have is a scholarship, the ability to work hard.”
And then she looked her wrinkled hands that had labored for 83 years, and dug into the folds of her long skirt, withdrawing from her pucker a five-dollar bill. She rocked the bill into Dad’s shirt packet. “You take this five dollars. It’s all I have. But with this, and faith in the Almighty, all your needs will be provided for. I’m sure of it.”
With nothing but the clothes on his back and a five-dollar bill in his pocket. Dad set out on the road to his future, leaving his childhood home behind him forever. He hitchhiked 230 miles. Throughout his four years at Carleton, he worked as a dishwasher in a restaurant and eventually married the owner’s daughter, my mother.
Great-grandma died at the age of 90. Her faith never changed. During tough times, I will always remember that nothing is difficult for those who don’t give up.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT right?| A．The economy of the family was badly off then. |
| B．Dad could go to college with the assistance of the college. |
| C．Dad didn’t have enough money to buy food. |
| D．The night was the darkest after Dad’s graduation. |
| A．he laughs best who laughs last | B．God helps those who help themselves |
| C．all roads lead to Rome | D．actions speak louder than words |
| A．work harder as a dishwasher in a restaurant |
| B．wait until others give him a hand |
| C．use the money to buy what he needs |
| D．fulfill his task and keep moving forward |
【推荐2】Life comes in a package. This package includes happiness and sorrow, failure and success, hope and despair. Life is a learning process. Experiences in life teach us new lessons and make us a better person. With each passing day we learn to handle various situations.
Love
Love plays a pivotal role on our life. Love makes you feel wanted. Without love a person could go Hayward (不归路) and also become cruel and ferocious. In the early stage of our life, our parents are the ones who show us with unconditional love and care. They teach us about what is right and wrong, good and bad. But we always tend to take this for granted. It is only after marriage and having kids that a person understands and becomes sensitive to others’ feelings. Kids make a person responsible and mature and help us to understand life better.
Happiness and Sorrow
Materialistic happiness is shortlived, but happiness achieved by bringing a smile on others’ face gives a certain level of fulfillment. Peace of mind is the main link to happiness. No mind is happy without peace. We realize the true worth of happiness when we are in sorrow. Sorrow is basically due to death of a loved one, failure and despair. But these things are temporary and pass away.
Failure and Success
Failure is the path to success. It helps us to touch the sky, teaches us to survive and shows us a specific way. Success brings in money, fame, pride and selfrespect. Here it becomes very important to keep our head on our shoulder. The only way to show our gratitude to God for bestowing success on us is by being humble, modest, courteous and respectful to the less fortunate ones.
Hope and Despair
Hope is what keeps life going. Parents always hope their children will do well. Hope makes us dream. Hope builds in patience. Life teaches us not to despair even in the darkest hour, because after every night there is a day. Nothing remains the same we have only one choice keep moving on in life and be hopeful.
Life teaches us not to regret over yesterday, for it has passed and is beyond our control. Tomorrow is unknown, for it could either be bright or dull. So the only alternative is work hard today, so that we will enjoy a better tomorrow.
1. In the passage, the author compares life to ________.| A．package | B．joy and sorrow |
| C．failure and success | D．hope and despair |
| A．Opinions. | B．Politics. | C．Education. | D．Lifestyles. |
| A．In order of rules. |
| B．In order of frequency. |
| C．By making comparison. |
| D．In order of importance. |
| A．To encourage people to love each other. |
| B．To tell people how to deal with happiness and sorrow. |
| C．To remind people of keeping having a beautiful dream. |
| D．To give readers some information about life. |
【推荐3】I had difficulty in finding work when I was in my twenties. Finally, Seagulls Reuse in Leeds took me on as a volunteer. It's an environmental social enterprise that rescues 400 tonnes of paint from landfill (垃圾填埋池) annually and repurposes it to offer a bespoke (定制的) paint-mixing service. I carved out my own role, mixing paint, working with other volunteers and assisting customers, before being hired as a decorator and full-time member of staff. It wasn't until then, in my late 20s, that I realised I'm colour-blind.
Mixing paint is nothing like the colour wheel you learn at school; blue and green doesn't just make green. You don't even mix different greens to make green paint. It's more technical and complex than that, and there are so many subtle (微妙的) variations.
Dulux and other big companies let machines do all the work, but our process is nothing like that. We can also only use the colours we have in the warehouse that day, so we sometimes have to get creative. They have scientists, but we have our intuition (直觉), years of experience and an essential human touch and eye.
I'm 38 now, and have been at Seagulls for 11 years. I've learned that I struggle most with colours. I see green in dark browns and creams and some reds I see as pink. So, along with the knowledge I've now memorised, I use different skills with customers. I get them involved by explaining how I'm creating their paint and encourage feedback (反馈). That way, we're both helping each other get the perfect result. I write down things I do wrong, so I don't repeat them.
If I tell customers I'm colour-blind, they're always shocked and say they'd never have guessed. I do have a visual problem, but I'm not angry about it and wouldn't change it even if I could. It's made me push myself harder.
1. Why did the author volunteer to work in Seagulls Reuse?| A．It accepted colour-blind staff. |
| B．It helped to save the environment. |
| C．He had no other better jobs to do. |
| D．He possessed a talent for the work. |
| A．It's rather challenging. |
| B．It's compulsory at school. |
| C．It's attractive to teenagers. |
| D．It's unbearable to the author. |
| A．By learning from his mistakes. |
| B．By depending more on machines. |
| C．By turning to experts if necessary. |
| D．By managing to see colours correctly. |
| A．We shouldn't regret what we’ve done. |
| B．We should do what we're really good at. |
| C．We shouldn't let our problems hold us back. |
| D．We should keep learning new things all our life. |
But despite her worries，she let me go on my own. As I moved into my teens，she continued to give me space to grow and learn，even when it might have been difficult for her. When I reached my senior year，I decided to move away for college. Once again I found that I differed from my peers：While many of them wanted to stay close to home，I couldn’t wait to be out in the world on my own. While my mom may not have been happy at the thought of my going away，she was supportive and excited for me.
One big thing I realized during my senior year，as my mom granted me more freedom，was that she actually believes in me and trusts me. That means a lot. Most of my life，and especially when I was little，the main person I tried to impress in my schoolwork or other things was my mother. I knew she expected nothing but the best from me. Sometimes it was hard to live up to her standards；getting a single B on my report card would make me feel bad because I knew she wanted me to have all A’s.
I know that her high standards have helped me stay focused on what’s important，like education，and made me who I am. I am thankful for her support and involvement in my life .Most of all I respect her. She is the strongest woman I know and that’s why I have turned out so strong and independent.
1. When the author decided to go to Puerto Rico，his mother________.
| A．wanted to go with him |
| B．worried about his safety |
| C．didn’t allow him to do so |
| D．asked his grandmother for advice |
| A．be different from his peers |
| B．keep away from his mother |
| C．be independent in the outside world |
| D．make his mother unhappy |
| A．had a high expectation of him |
| B．was too strict with him |
| C．used to expect nothing from him |
| D．cared little about his learning |
| A．his long way to becoming independent |
| B．his good relationship with his mother |
| C．the importance of a mother’s trust and support |
| D．his mother’s deep love for him |
【推荐2】Brad Ryan returned to his hometown after six years to pursue his studies. But he avoided contact with his grandmother, Grandma Joy, aged 85, due to a past disagreement.
Years later, while hiking the Appalachian Trail, he found himself thinking a lot about his grandmother and the time they spent at Blue Rock State Park looking for crawfish. Then, Brad decided to visit Grandma Joy.
Grandma Joy did what came natural to her. She gave him a big hug. “It was familiar and yet strange,” said Brad. “It looked the same. But I was looking at a woman who had aged.” They made small talks but then there was an awkward pause. Brad broke the ice by suggesting a visit to Blue Rock State Park.
On the way there, Grandma Joy admitted she had many regrets in her life. One of them was that aside from this state park, she’d never had the chance to see the great outdoors. When they arrived at the creek, the special place where long ago they’d searched out the crawfish, they stood
To make up for Grandma’s sadness of not seeing more of nature, Brad planned a camping trip to Great Smoky Mountains with Grandma. Despite Grandma Joy’s age, she surprised Brad by eagerly agreeing to go.
That night, they sat by the campfire, feeling its warmth and gazing at the stars. Bra d and Grandma opened the lock box of their past. They talked about families and parents, about loss, pain and regret, telling each other they’d wasted too many years being separated.
The camping trip ended, but their outdoor adventure continued. Since then they have visited 62 national parks, covering over 50,000 miles in Brad’s car. Their age difference doesn’t matter as they are still on their way.
1. What can be inferred about Brad from the first two paragraphs?| A．He was fond of travelling. | B．He longed to visit state parks. |
| C．He was touched by past memories. | D．He avoided contact with his family. |
| A．Awkward and confused. | B．Amused and sympathetic. |
| C．Regretful and sad. | D．Surprised and relieved. |
| A．To surprise Grandma Joy. | B．To realize Grandma Joy’s wish. |
| C．To break the ice with Grandma Joy. | D．To recall the trip of Grandma Joy’s youth. |
| A．They decided to explore more parks. | B．They brought back a lock box from the trip. |
| C．They felt stressed because of age difference. | D．They used to explore the great outdoors often. |
【推荐3】Architecture is amazing. It has changed the way I look and interact with the world and my environment. It has trained me to be hyper-sensitive (过度敏感) to the built environment, to recognize problems and find solutions that an untrained eye would never notice.
As much as I love this profession, it is very easy to get lost in architecture. I get so focused that I have forgotten about everything else. Luckily my passion for cycling kept me sane (清醒的) while I was becoming an architect. I faced a lot of obstacles and challenges taking a bicycle ride across the United States. Looking back, cycling across the America was actually one of the smartest things I ever did.
I have actually bicycled across the continental USA twice; East to west. Atlantic Ocean to Pacific Ocean, both times. Bicycling across America isn’t as hard as you think.
I rode alone on my first trip in 2005 from Virginia Beach to the coast of Florence, Oregon. In the end it was 4,547 miles over the course of 77 days.
I left for the second trip in 2007 with my two best friends from Bar Harbor, Maine to Portland, Oregon, which was a 4,886 mile ride over 90 days. At that time, I fell in love with the idea of leaving the east coast behind, starting a whole new life and career in a new city. I ended up in Portland. After arriving in town on a bike, I eventually found a job, a place to live and an amazing dog.
I share all this not to convince anyone to go biking across America, but only to share how doing this has changed my life. Architecture has given me a wonderful life and career but it isn’t everything. Thankfully I have also been very passionate about: my friends, traveling, bicycles, punk rock, technology, the internet, my dog, and even yoga. My architecture background has definitely sweetened my relationship with all those things.
Becoming an architect is a noble pursuit, but you should keep pursuing everything else that you are passionate about. It will enhance your architecture career and ultimately make you a more interesting person, which in my opinion is really more important than being another silly architect.
1. What’s the advantage of cycling according to the author?| A．Changing his negative attitude to architecture. |
| B．Keeping himself focused on his career all the time. |
| C．Enabling him to find solutions without training. |
| D．Making him a much better architect and person. |
| A．They are harder than what he expected before. |
| B．They show the benefits of riding with friends. |
| C．They give him some extraordinary experiences. |
| D．They guarantee him a new life and career in Portland. |
| A．Don’t get completely lost in your hobbies. |
| B．Don’t abandon hobbies for your profession. |
| C．Don’t feel ashamed of stopping your hobbies. |
| D．Don’t weigh your family against your profession. |
| A．take up the pursuit of becoming an architect |
| B．find what we are really passionate about |
| C．appreciate other people’s good intentions |
| D．avoid our career taking over other pursuits |
【推荐1】As a child, Darrin, who was born and raised in Cameroon, was fascinated by Chinese martial arts. He dreamed about learning the discipline and visiting China one day.
In 2016, Darrin, who was a university student majoring in material science in Cameroon, started to learn Chinese at the Confucius Institute (孔子学院). Aside from martial arts, he got to know about the country through photos and videos. After a year of learning Chinese, Darin arrived in Kaifeng, as a language student at Henan University.
“When I saw the kung fu masters practice, it was like a dream come true. I was told that martial arts is more than the powerful movements. Like self-defense, it is about a way of life, which is full of Chinese philosophy,” says Darrin.
Since 2017, Darrin has entered many martial arts competitions, especially for tai chi, and won a number of awards. He says that tai chi helps him become strong and healthy, stay in good shape and develop excellent concentration, “Tai chi helps me gain my balance, physically and mentally,” says. “It changed me.”
Besides tai chi, Darrin also learned to perform Yuju Opera, which is known for its melodic singing, amazing martial arts movements and stories. In 2017, Darrin watched a Yuju Opera performance, Hua Mulan, for the first time after arriving in Kaifeng. “The story is full of drama. The singing of the performers and the live band were full of energy,” recalls Darrin, who later studied Yuju Opera with artist Li Shujian, “Since Yuju Opera is performed in the Henan dialect, he had to learn the dialect first. He learned and practiced very hard,” says Li.
In 2019, Dari performed Yuju Opera on the popular TV show, Li Yuan Chun, produced and broadcast by Henan TV. Under his Chinese name, Liu Banjing, Darrin won second place in one of the TV shows. Darrin notes that Kaifeng was formerly known as Bianjing in ancient China.
“I have made lots of rinds here and I am considering living and working in China after graduation,” says Darrin.
1. What does the fourth paragraph mainly talk about?| A．Martial arts’ influence on Darrin. | B．Tai chi’s strict discipline. |
| C．Darrin’s numerous awards. | D．Darrin’s new dreams. |
| A．To honour his opera teacher. | B．To express his love for the city. |
| C．To show his achievements. | D．To attract more fans. |
| A．Optimistic and generous. | B．Humorous and determined. |
| C．Ambitious and multi-talented. | D．Adventurous and realistic. |
【推荐2】I was lucky enough to have a chance to study in the United States as an international student from Ukraine when I was fourteen years old. I went to a wonderful school, West Seattle High School, for my freshman year.
I remember my first day at that school as if it were yesterday. I was very nervous, and I could feel my heartbeat on the tips of my toes. My main fear was that I would not be able to express myself due to the language barrier (语言障碍). I was trying to have as little communication as I possibly could. And I almost succeeded, until we had to introduce ourselves in front of the class.
And the moment the word “international” flew out of my mouth, I was surrounded by thirty people who were asking questions one after another. I remember some of the questions were “Where is Ukraine? Is it a kingdom?” “Do you have McDonald’s? Does it taste the same?” and “Say something in your language”. It turned out to be the opposite of less communication, but it was so much fun.
During the first three months, I certainly experienced a bit of cultural shock. I think Americans are the nicest people I have ever met in my entire life. They always smile and say, “Hi, how are you?”
One day, I noticed the students looking at me suspiciously. Finally, my classmate came up to my locker and whispered, “Is that true that you are a princess and that you came to study here so that nobody would recognize you?” At one point, I even had an image of myself wearing a gown (长袍) and waving at the crowd. What? People do have a wild imagination! During my study abroad experience, I saw a totally new world, experienced great culture, met a lot of incredible people and improved my language. This trip inspired me to learn foreign languages. That is one of the reasons why I speak five different languages today.
1. Why was the author afraid on the first day of school?| A．Because her toes were hurt. |
| B．Because she was unwilling to introduce herself. |
| C．Because she could not communicate with others well. |
| D．Because she was not good at the subjects in this school. |
| A．Her classmates tried to know less about the author’s hometown. |
| B．Her classmates showed interest in her country. |
| C．Her classmates were eager to make friends with her. |
| D．Her classmates played a joke on her. |
| A．Disappointedly. | B．Thankfully. | C．Angrily. | D．Doubtfully. |
| A．The author was a princess from Ukraine. |
| B．The author couldn’t adapt to the school environment later. |
| C．The author always told her classmates about her cultural background. |
| D．The author got lots of benefits through studying abroad. |
【推荐3】Johannes Fritz, a biologist, needed to come up with a plan, again, if he was going to prevent his rare and beloved birds from going extinct.
To survive the European winter, the northern bald ibis (秃鹃) — which had once disappeared entirely from the wild on the continent — needs to migrate south for the winter, over the Alps, before the mountains become blocked. But shifting climate patterns have delayed when the birds begin to migrate, and they are now reaching the mountains too late to make it over the peaks, locking them in an icy death trap. Determined to save them, Mr. Fritz decided he would teach the birds a new, safer migration route by guiding them himself in a tiny aircraft. And he was confident he could succeed in this daring, unusual plan —because he had done it before.
Mr. Fritz was his young pupils’ only provider of food and love since they’d been just a few days old, and the ibises eagerly followed their teacher. He learned to fly, modifying a tiny aircraft so it would fly at speeds slow enough for his winged students to keep up. In 2004, three years after some experiments, Mr. Fritz led the first flock from Austria to Italy, and has since led 15 such migrations. Over that time, he has rewilded (放归) 277 young ibises, many of which then started to pass the route on to their own young. For now, however, the main worry is getting the birds to follow the aircraft. “While they have a strong bond with their ‘mothers’ and follow them around on the ground, flying is more difficult,” Fritz said.
“Fly Away Home was a huge hit with us biologists,” Mr. Fritz said, recalling the 1996 movie in which a Canada geese was led to migrate by an aircraft. When Mr. Fritz claimed he’d do the same with the ibises, he was initially laughed at. But through years of trial and error, he succeeded. He even learned to fly like a bird, he said, laughing with ease. Mr. Fritz’s two sons, both now teenagers, followed their flying father and the migrating birds on the ground, and his family and colleagues witnessed the risks he was taking. But the unexpected risks are “necessary”, Mr. Fritz said.
“It’s not so much a job,” he added, “but my life’s purpose.”
1. What made Mr. Fritz believe he would make it this time?| A．Confidence. | B．Experience. | C．Bravery. | D．Determination. |
| A．Whether the birds can fly after the aircraft. |
| B．Tight schedule to modify a tiny aircraft. |
| C．The extreme weather that prevents flying. |
| D．Limited support from the local government. |
| A．Imaginative and out-going. | B．Generous and easy-going. |
| C．Purposeful and strong-willed. | D．Energetic and open-minded. |
| A．Mr. Fritz once starred in a film in 1996. |
| B．Mr. Fritz was favored by those around him. |
| C．Mr. Fritz had no difficulty with what he did. |
| D．Mr. Fritz thought what he did was worthwhile. |
