【推荐2】The Grass Cutting Days

Every time we headed out to cut grass，Dad was there to watch. I used to_______why he came with us. He stood watching us in the sticky Florida heat when he could have been inside_______with air conditioning and an icy drink.

One day we were cutting our next-door neighbor's yard. She always waited until the grass was knee-high to call us over. To make matters worse，we had an old lawn mower that kept breaking down as we tried to cut through her backyard jungle. This particular afternoon，I was finishing up and was_______and sweaty. I_______the tall glass of cold juice I would drink in a minute to cool down.

I was just about to turn off the lawn mower_______I saw Dad pointing to one single blade of grass（一片草）. I thought about the small amount of money I was getting_______for cutting grass so high that it almost broke the mower. I ignored him and kept walking. Dad called me out and yelled，“You missed a blade.” I frowned（皱眉），hoping he would let me go home. He kept pointing. Though tired and_______，I still went back to cut that blade of grass. I thought to myself，“That one blade isn't_______anyone. Why won't he just let it go？”

But when I reached adulthood，I understood his_______：When you're running a business，the work you do says a great deal about you. If you want to be seen as an honest businessman，you must deliver a quality product. That single blade of grass________the job was not done.

Other neighbors took________of the good work we did and we soon gained more________.

The lesson my dad taught me stayed with me：Be________. If you say you are going to perform a job at a certain time，________your word. Give your customers the kind of________you would like to receive. It shows how sincere you are and how much pride you take in your work.

1.

A．wonder

B．understand

C．know

D．expect

2.

A．hiding

B．relaxing

C．playing

D．talking

3.

A．wise

B．back

C．warm

D．tired

4.

A．pictured

B．decided

C．required

D．invented s

5.

A．until

B．before

C．when

D．while

6.

A．involved

B．caught

C．changed

D．paid

7.

A．discouraged

B．ashamed

C．touched

D．shocked

8.

A．surprising

B．frightening

C．hurting

D．challenging

9.

A．punishment

B．message

C．cruelty

D．expression

10.

A．seemed

B．realized

C．meant

D．found

11.

A．care

B．notice

C．place

D．control

12.

A．business

B．workers

C．experience

D．prizes

13.

A．patient

B．powerful

C．prepared

D．professional

14.

A．break

B．give

C．save

D．keep

15.

A．advice

B．service

C．attention

D．warmth

【推荐3】Yesterday, my daughter had to go to work earlier than usual. Since the gym where I work out is not far from her ________, I decided to take her to work and then go to the gym.

At quite an earlier ________, the gym was already full of men and women of all ages, working out. I ________ go to the gym at this early hour, and was________ to see so many people. It seems that many go to the gym before going to work.

I know how difficult it is for most people to start ________. Most people know it is good for their body, but they are too ________ to go to the gym, ________ in the morning. They prefer to spend an extra hour in bed before starting their_________. In the afternoon, they are too tired after work, and want to stay at home or go out to meet friends.

If you’re one of them, you need self discipline (自律) and ________ your laziness. If you ________ going to the gym and exercising, you would start to like it. This usually ________ when you see that you’re losing weight and you feel stronger.

It is the same in every other area of life, when you study a foreign language or when you make up your mind to ________ your dreams. It is ________ at first. But when you start to see ________, everything becomes easier because you have special ________.

1.

A．house

B．garage

C．office

D．flat

2.

A．hour

B．moment

C．time

D．occasion

3.

A．usually

B．sometimes

C．only

D．seldom

4.

A．happy

B．surprised

C．excited

D．satisfied

5.

A．working

B．fighting

C．exercising

D．practising

6.

A．busy

B．lazy

C．shy

D．afraid

7.

A．actually

B．simply

C．especially

D．generally

8.

A．challenge

B．competition

C．afternoon

D．day

9.

A．recognize

B．realize

C．accept

D．overcome

10.

A．practice

B．keep

C．forget

D．consider

11.

A．improves

B．happens

C．finishes

D．exists

12.

A．remember

B．recall

C．achieve

D．make

13.

A．exciting

B．important

C．interesting

D．difficult

14.

A．results

B．facts

C．sights

D．chances

15.

A．motivation

B．dream

C．need

D．movement

【推荐1】Many parents, teachers, and politicians assert that preschool is the best way to prepare children to learn. There is no real agreement, however, about how this_______should be achieved.

For some, early childhood education_______the development of the whole child. They think that preschool should be play that encourages exploration and_______.Group activities teach_______social behaviors such as sharing, kindness, and patience. Time spent alone encourages_______. Learning letters and counting is important only for children who show an interest in them. Advocates of this_______stress that each child is unique and should learn at his or her own pace.

Other people cite research showing that children are ready to_______basic academic concepts by age 3 or 4. They claim that early_______to letters and numbers lays the foundation for later academic excellence. Since the 1980s, many people have stressed the value of preschool and point to the success of programs—such as Head Start—that target low-income children.

Is there proof that an academic curriculum in preschool will lead to academic success? Studies have not been _______.

In the short term, evidence suggests that middle-class children who attend preschool are________their peers in math and language skills, as well as in social skills, when they enter school.________, the same studies show that the gap________considerably by the time children reach age 8.

Children living in________are a different matter. Those enrolled in programs such as Head Start seem to do better than needy children who do not attend a preschool. For instance, youngsters in one group enrolled in the program,________until the age of 21, earned higher scores on intelligence tests, were more likely to graduate from high school, and demonstrated more interest in higher education.

The idea of public preschools raises many issues. Providing Head Start for all children would be a________burden on communities that already struggle to fund current school programs. Also, where would a sufficient number of teachers trained in early childhood development be found?

1.

A．preparation

B．claim

C．performance

D．direction

2.

A．comes to

B．appeals to

C．turns to

D．relates to

3.

A．attendance

B．discovery

C．relaxation

D．amusement

4.

A．positive

B．aggressive

C．strange

D．normal

5.

A．competition

B．loneliness

C．discipline

D．independence

6.

A．policy

B．plan

C．approach

D．drive

7.

A．publicize

B．absorb

C．define

D．reject

8.

A．introduction

B．devotion

C．entrance

D．contribution

9.

A．available

B．descriptive

C．conclusive

D．convincing

10.

A．equal to

B．distinguished from

C．inferior to

D．ahead of

11.

A．However

B．Therefore

C．Moreover

D．Otherwise

12.

A．widens

B．narrows

C．disappears

D．exists

13.

A．trouble

B．despair

C．poverty

D．danger

14.

A．documented

B．tracked

C．involved

D．accompanied

15.

A．mental

B．emotional

C．psychological

D．financial

【推荐2】完形填空
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Experts agree that there is no easy solution to the problem of education. Education is very important, of course. A child’s early education is especially important. This is _______ the British government would like to increase the availability(实用性) of nursery education and to improve teaching _______ in nursery schools. Education _______ the age of 16 is also important. When young people leave school at 16 without _______, it is very hard for them to find interesting and well-paid work.
One _______ to improve education is to pay good teachers more money. But this idea is not popular _______ teachers because they do not like the idea that people who do the same job should get different_______ of pay. Another suggestion is to improve careers _______ to young people in school. In this way, they will _______ understand the opportunities that exist and the qualifications that are needed.
Family ________ remains important in influencing a young person’s ________ of improvement. Families that ________ learning and help their children at school give their children a better chance of success. But the ________ is that too many families do not ________ the importance of education. Children in these families miss big opportunities to develop and grow as ________
It is not easy to find ways of helping families encourage their children to learn and to have ________ for success. Some people have suggested that parents should ________ lessons on how to be good parents. But a lot of people don’t agree with this idea. They say that the government should not ________ in private family life.
Certainly, it is good to live in a society that allows people to________ their position, but it is not so easy to put ________ practice.1.

A．because

B．why

C．that

D．what

2.

A．requirements

B．standards

C．expectations

D．concepts

3.

A．before

B．at

C．after

D．in

4.

A．qualifications

B．abilities

C．certificates

D．degrees

5.

A．proportion

B．position

C．approval

D．suggestion

6.

A．to

B．with

C．of

D．from

7.

A．rates

B．systems

C．access

D．standards

8.

A．opinion

B．advice

C．recommendation

D．idea

9.

A．closely

B．more

C．better

D．fully

10.

A．background

B．condition

C．education

D．economy

11.

A．success

B．process

C．chances

D．importance

12.

A．encourage

B．improve

C．facilitate

D．stimulate

13.

A．question

B．fact

C．problem

D．issue

14.

A．indicate

B．interpret

C．understand

D．overlook

15.

A．individuals

B．adults

C．people

D．adolescents

16.

A．dreams

B．ideals

C．ambitions

D．hopes

17.

A．learn

B．teach

C．give

D．attend

18.

A．trouble

B．interfere

C．interrupt

D．disturb

19.

A．improve

B．enhance

C．develop

D．raise

20.

A．into

B．in

C．out

D．off

【推荐3】完形填空

I had my first job at the age of thirteen, when a friend of my mother who owned a bookshop hired me for six hours a week to help her in the shop. I was very _______ to earn my own pocket money and my parents _______interfered (干涉) with how I spent it, even when I was spending it _______.They believed that by earning money, spending it, and learning from the _______, I would become more mature (成熟的) and _______ in how to handle work, relationships with others, and money.

Like many _______ parents, my parents also let me and my brothers do things about which they _______ a great deal .When I was sixteen, for example, after I finished high school and before I entered university, I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around _______ .My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age, but my father felt that it would be a great _______ for me .In the end,   my father won the __________ on the condition that I limited my traveling to France, my mother’s home, where I had many uncles, aunts and cousins __________ through the country who could __________ shelter and help if I needed them .

Three years later, my younger brother decided to __________ a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean. Again my mother was very worried and not __________ to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother spent a(n) __________ year working his way on trains and ships to __________ his passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people.

These kinds of experiences are probably __________ for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly common. Most parents start __________ their children at a young age to do small things by themselves. By the time they have finished high school, many American kids have already had __________ jobs and traveled around the US or other countries on their own, have selected the university they plan to attend,   maybe even have decided on their future __________, and so on .

1.

A．anxious

B．worried

C．proud

D．nervous

2.

A．never

B．ever

C．always

D．even

3.

A．carefully

B．foolishly

C．seriously

D．honestly

4.

A．work

B．mistakes

C．others

D．books

5.

A．strict

B．reasonable

C．polite

D．responsible

6.

A．American

B．Japanese

C．Chinese

D．British

7.

A．helped

B．supported

C．shared

D．worried

8.

A．Asia

B．Africa

C．Europe

D．Oceania

9.

A．journey

B．experience

C．chance

D．possibility

10.

A．argument

B．game

C．discussion

D．plan

11.

A．sending out

B．giving out

C．carrying out

D．spreading out

12.

A．promise

B．decide

C．provide

D．serve

13.

A．leave

B．make

C．take

D．prepare

14.

A．angry

B．eager

C．sorry

D．sad

15.

A．unusual

B．hard

C．strange

D．busy

16.

A．accept

B．earn

C．find

D．search

17.

A．welcome

B．fit

C．necessary

D．rare

18.

A．bringing

B．forcing

C．pushing

D．protecting

19.

A．part-time

B．full-time

C．good

D．well-paid

20.

A．life

B．career

C．hope

D．benefit