A long time ago, there was an emperor who told his horseman that if he could ride on his horse and cover as much land area as he liked, then the emperor would give him the area of land he would have covered.
Sure enough, the horseman quickly jumped onto his horse and rode as fast as possible to cover as much land area as he could. He kept on riding and riding, whipping the horse to go as fast as possible. When he was hungry or tired, he did not stop because he wanted to cover as much as possible.
Finally, the horseman was exhausted and dying. He asked himself, “Why did I push myself so hard to cover so much land area? Now I am dying and I need only a very small area to bury myself.”
The story above is similar with the journey of our life. We push very hard everyday to make more money, to get power. We don’t pay attention to our health, time with our family and to appreciate the surrounding beauties and the hobbies we love. One day when we look back, we will realize that we don’t really need that much.
Life is not only about making money, getting power. Life is definitely not only about work! Work is only necessary to keep us living so as to enjoy the beauties and pleasures of life. Life is a balance of work and play. Happiness is also the meaning and the purpose of life.
So, take it easy! Do what you want to do and appreciate nature. Life is fragile and short.
1. What did the emperor promise to the horseman?| A．He could ride his horse. |
| B．He could get much land. |
| C．He could ride as fast as he wanted. |
| D．He could get as much land as he had covered on the horse. |
| A．He got what he wanted. | B．He got a lot of land area. |
| C．He got nothing. | D．He got a very small area. |
| A．We should enjoy life. |
| B．We only should pay attention to the work. |
| C．We should not only work hard but also enjoy the life. |
| D．We should work hard to make much money and get much power. |
| A．Because work is necessary. |
| B．Because life is fragile and short. |
| C．Because we couldn’t get enough power. |
| D．Because we couldn’t get enough money. |
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【推荐1】About five weeks ago, I noticed the skin of our pet lizard (蜥蜴) was growing dusty. It worried me. I reported the strange surface on the skin of the lizard to my husband and children the next morning. Seconds later, our lizard emerged from its tank with its old skin flowing behind it.
I didn't think about it much until a morning last week when I knocked my favorite teapot off the table. It burst into hundreds of pieces. As I swept up the mess, I wondered why we had been breaking so many things over the months.
The destruction started three months ago. It was my husband's birthday. He had just lost his job. The uncertainty was starting to wear on us, so I wanted to do something special.
"Let's make a cake for Dad!" I cried.
My kids screamed with joy. We baked, iced and sprinkled for most of the day. Candles on the cake! Balloons on the walls! Flowers on the table!
Two hours before my husband came back home from another job interview, my daughter climbed up to grab a glass vase from a high shelf. It fell and crashed beside the cake. Tiny pieces of glass were everywhere. She sobbed loudly as I threw the cake away. My husband had banana pudding for his birthday.
Three days ago, the light in our living room suddenly went out. After several frustrating hours of unsuccessful attempts to fix it, my husband suggested watching the Michael Jordan documentary (纪录片) series The Last Dance.
The poignancy (酸楚) of Jordan retiring from his beloved basketball to play baseball and what had pushed him to make such a tough decision took me by surprise. As I watched him take off his basketball uniform and replace it with a baseball uniform, I saw him leaving behind the layer that no longer served him, just as our lizard had. Neither of them chose the moment that had transformed them. But they had to live with who they were after everything was different. Just like us. I realized that we have to learn to leave the past behind.
Humans do not shed skin (脱皮) as easily as other animals. The beginning of change is upsetting. The process is tiring. Damage changes us before we are ready. I see our lizard, raw and nearly new.
Jordan said that no matter how it ends, it starts with hope. With our tender, hopeful skin, that is where we begin.
1. What can we learn about the pet lizard from Paragraph 1?| A．Its tank grew dirty. | B．Its old skin came off. |
| C．It got a skin disease. | D．It went missing. |
| A．The birthday cake was ruined. | B．The author made good puddings. |
| C．Pudding was his favorite dessert. | D．They couldn't afford a birthday cake. |
| A．letting go of the past | B．looking for a new job |
| C．getting rid of a bad habit | D．giving up an opportunity |
| A．Love of family helps us survive great hardships. |
| B．It's not the end of the world if we break things. |
| C．We should move on no matter what happens. |
| D．Past experiences should be treasured. |
Life comes in a package, which includes happiness and sorrow, failure and success, hope and despair. Life is a learning process.
Happiness achieved by bringing a smile on another face gives a certain level of fulfillment.
Hope is what keeps life going.
| A．Life teaches us not to despair even in the darkest hour, because after every night, there is a day. |
| B．With each passing day we learn to deal with various situations. |
| C．Different people have different attitudes towards success and failure. |
| D．Hope makes us dream. |
| E．Failure is the path to success. |
| F．Never stop doing whatever you are fond of. |
| G．Only when we are in sorrow can we realize the true worth of happiness. |
【推荐3】One day in summer,little Jack was playing on the beach with his father.Suddenly,he saw a little tortoise moving slowly on the sand.He started to look at it carefully and began to touch it with his hand.To his surprise,the tortoise stopped moving.It pulled in its head and legs,and closed its shell tightly.He touched it again but the tortoise didn’t move at all.Jack became angry.He used a stick and tried to force it to open.
When his father saw this,he stopped him and said,“No,son,you mustn’t do that!You will kill the tortoise.You won’t get it open with a stick.”Jack was curious and asked,“Why?”
“Just wait and see,”his father replied.Then he picked up the tortoise and put it in a bag.
After they came back home,the father took the tortoise out of the bag.He put it near the fireplace.After a few minutes,the tortoise began to move a little.The tortoise stretched out its head and legs.At last,the tortoise began to crawl across the room.How excited Jack was when he saw this.
“Son,now you see,”said his father,“sometimes,you can’t force someone to do things he doesn’t like.But if you get him warm first,he will do what you want him to do.”
1. One day Jack and his father was playing_______.| A．in the zoo | B．on the beach | C．in the garden | D．on the hill |
| A．cooked it | B．killed it | C．threw it into the sea | D．put it in a bag |
| A．warm | B．cold | C．hungry | D．thirsty |
| A．people refuse to do things we want them to do |
| B．people will do things we want them to do |
| C．we can force people to do things they don’t like |
| D．we can’t force people to do things they don’t like |
【推荐1】Last weekend, I said goodbye to another dear old friend. We had 12 fine years together, but our relationship was becoming dysfunctional(不正常的). Unwanted emissions and serious health problems were the final straw, leaving me with no choice but to make a trip to the knacker’s(收废汽车者的)yard.
I am now car-free for the first time in 20 years, and it feels strange. When I gave up meat, I did so mainly for environmental reasons, and I didn’t miss it at all. I would like to say the same about my car, but I can’t. It was first and foremost a financial decision: keeping the old car on the road was getting too expensive.
But doing the right thing for the wrong reasons is still doing the right thing — I now have a chance to rethink how I move myself and my family around, and can try to find a more environmentally friendly means of transport.
Going car-free is, I think, a lifestyle change that many of us are going to make over the next few years, as car ownership becomes increasingly unnecessary, expensive and socially unacceptable. However, it is easier said than done. Now my car is gone. I still need to get around. But how? I already cycle to work and use public transport when appropriate. But there are some occasions when a car seems to be the only way.
I won’t buy one: I have joined a car-share program and will use taxis more often. I will hire a car if I need to drive a long distance. But then I am still travelling in fossil-fuelled cars(燃油汽车), like when I quit meat and ended up eating more cheese. I fear I may have swapped one environmental problem for another.
I am also afraid to think about the ultimate fate of my car. I have just offloaded more than a ton of metal, plastic, rubber, fabric, electronics, oil and petrol that will end up in a landfill. There are millions of similar vehicles in the UK alone that will have to go somewhere.
Maybe I am overthinking it. According to Charlie Wilson, a climate scientist at the UK’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, getting rid of a private car is no doubt a positive step to reduce CO2 emissions.
He points to research by the OECD’s International Transport Forum. “They showed that moving from a private vehicle fleet(车队)to a shared vehicle fleet can greatly cut the number of vehicles you need to deliver the mobility that we need and want. If that vehicle fleet is electrified, you can also bring CO2 emissions close to zero.”
So in other words, just get rid of your car.
1. What do we know about the author’s car?| A．It was old. | B．It was green. |
| C．It was his first car. | D．It was a second-hand car. |
| A．He did both for the wrong reasons. | B．He thinks both help him save money. |
| C．He considers both are right decisions. | D．He did both out of concern for the environment. |
| A．He may have to spend more on travel. |
| B．His lifestyle might be changed completely. |
| C．He might get bored with public transportation. |
| D．His decision may fail to help the environment. |
| A．It is wise to do away with old private cars. |
| B．It is very easy to deal with old private cars. |
| C．Electric cars are the solution to traffic problems. |
| D．The OECD plays a key role in promoting car-sharing. |
【推荐2】Last Sunday, an earthquake struck the Napa Valley area of northern California. It happened in the middle of the night, becoming the strongest earthquake to strike the Napa Valley in 15 years. No one was killed, but many people were treated in hospitals.
I said to my seven-year-old twins, Brad and Brett, and three-year-old Meghan, “We have so much, and these poor people in trouble now have nothing. We’ll share what we have with them.”
I filled a box with foods and clothes. While I was doing this, I advised the boys to choose their toys and donate some of their less favourite things. Meghan watched quietly as the boys took out their old toys and put them together. Then she walked away. A few minutes later she came back with Lucy, her much-loved doll. She put the doll on top of the other toys.
“Oh, dear,” I said. “You don’t have to give Lucy. You love her so much.” Meghan said, “Lucy makes me happy, Mummy. Maybe she’ll make another little girl happy, too.”
I looked at Meghan for a long moment. She taught me a lesson. It’s easy to give something that we don’t want any more, but hard to give what we cherish (珍爱), isn’t it?
1. How many children does the writer have?| A．One. |
| B．Two. |
| C．Three. |
| D．Four. |
| A．The earthquake caused many deaths. |
| B．The earthquake is the biggest in history. |
| C．The earthquake happened at night. |
| D．The earthquake hit the city of California. |
| A．An old toy. |
| B．Clothes. |
| C．A doll. |
| D．Food. |
| A．A Family Story |
| B．The Spirit of Giving |
| C．A White Night |
| D．A Sad Experience |
【推荐3】“Have you checked the oil in the car, Ted?” my father used to say to me. Sometimes our phone calls would begin and end with an only inquiry(询问)about the oil, without asking anything else. Fathers have lots of love to give, but it’s often provided through useful advice. In my experience, it’s mostly about the car.
Why can’t fathers just say “I love you” or “It’s great to see you”? Why can’t the sentences “I care about you” and “You made my life better from the moment you were born” be heard? Because fathers tend to express their true feelings indirectly. You just have to understand the language—Fatherlish(父亲式语言).
When I was 17 years old, I went on my first road trip in that old car. My father stood on the corner on a cold early morning to say goodbye. “Roads are dangerous,” he said, “so don’t try driving faster than a horse. And remember to take a break every two hours. And every time you stop for gas, you really should check the oil. ” At the time I thought his speech was pretty funny and old.
Dad’s long gone now. But after all these years, I realize that if I had owned a copy of the Fatherlish-to-English dictionary, I would have understood that the speech that I always laughed at was simply Dad’s way to express love and care.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．The author wanted to buy a new car badly. |
| B．The author forgot to check the oil regularly. |
| C．The author’s father expressed his love differently. |
| D．The author’s father preferred to make phone calls. |
| A．To show the danger of the trip. | B．To present his father’s hidden love. |
| C．To explain the rules of driving. | D．To tell a very exciting experience. |
| A．Funny. | B．Traditional. | C．Caring. | D．Old. |
| A．Checking the Oil | B．Making Phone Calls |
| C．Taking Helpful Advice | D．Speaking Fatherlish |
