Standing on the shore of a lake, I can’t help but marvel at the tens or hundreds of thousands of small rocks that surround my boots. They were all created from hard surfaces, their edges softening over time. And I wonder, can we learn from a pile of rocks?
Much like a rock, I’ve found my attitude has softened and my desire to better understand others has expanded with each trip around the sun.
Once, I too was a sharp rock covered in pointy edges. Today, after decades of the waters of life coursing over me, my edges are softer and more understanding. I’m less likely to judge and more interested in learning how we can exist together.
Two years ago, while traveling in the Pacific Northwest, I watched a restaurant owner ask several people to leave for not wearing masks. Not forceful and not rude. On the door read a sign: “Please wear a mask before entering our restaurant. We don’t like it either, but let’s all do what we can to get through this together.” The group of young men wished to argue about the note.
I sat watching, understanding both sides. I’ve been those guys before, using my youthful edges to chip away at the world. What I lost, however, was the ability to grow from experiences by looking through the eyes of others. In learning to be more open, I’ve also found more happiness and success.
You can fit more rounded rocks in a jar than those with sharp edges. The former look for ways to adjust and make room for others; the latter never give an inch to accommodate others.
Time, like the waters rolling against once sharp stones, changes us. I placed a rounded stone into my jacket pocket. Mother Nature is holding class again.
1. What does the author compare the rocks to?| A．Challenges we come across. | B．What nature offers us. |
| C．People’s abilities. | D．People’s personalities. |
| A．They intended to skip out on the bill. |
| B．They were dissatisfied with the food offered. |
| C．They were unwilling to wear masks. |
| D．They were not allowed to leave the restaurant. |
| A．Fight with. | B．Try to change. |
| C．Provide space for. | D．Leave a good impression on. |
| A．We should adjust to new conditions. |
| B．It’s necessary to consider the feelings of others. |
| C．Be brave when in the face of difficulties in life. |
| D．Being open and understanding brings you more happiness. |
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【推荐1】I was reading a book while my son watched an old comedy show on TV. Suddenly, I heard someone yell: “Go to your happy place!” These words made me put my book down and ponder all the happy places I have had over the years.
When I was a little boy, my happy place was my mom’s lap while we shared a freshly made bowl of popcorn. When I was in primary school, my happy place was a tree in the woods where I could sit and watch the leaves turn golden and red in the fall. When I was a teenager, my happy place was my bedroom where I could lie on my bed and listen for hours to my favorite songs on the radio. As a young man, my happy place was an old rocking chair where I could hold my 18 newborn babies in my arms and gently rock them to sleep.
As I got older, though, I realized that the very best happy place of all was deep down within my own soul. It was there that I realized just how much I was loved. It was there that I saw I could love too. It was there that I learned my happiness was in my own hands and that I could create it, one loving choice at a time.
When you have your own soul as your happy place, then your happy place is wherever you decide to go. When your happy place lives in your heart, then you get to give it to everyone you meet. When your happy place is a very life you live, then you make the world around you a happier place as well. Create your own happy place then. Fill your heart with love. Fill your soul with kindness. Fill your days with joy. Take this glorious gift of life you have been given and live it, one loving choice at a time.
1. What does the underlined word “ponder” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Call at. | B．Leave for. | C．Think about. | D．Search for. |
| A．It differed as he grew. |
| B．It was in his own hands. |
| C．It lay in the depth of his soul. |
| D．It was shaped by his surroundings. |
| A．Attitude. | B．Creativity. | C．Kindness. | D．Environment. |
| A．To suggest ways to find happy places. |
| B．To share his own growing experience. |
| C．To stress the importance of happy places. |
| D．To illustrate his understanding of happy places. |
【推荐2】As a clueless freshman, I waltzed into my first creative writing course by accident, thinking it was a literature class on how to read stories, not how to write them.
When the teacher introduced the course, I realized my mistake. The credits I earned from the course wouldn’t count toward my major. By the end of the session, however, I decided that I had to be a part of the course. Perhaps, as a lifelong reader, I was eager to understand how stories worked their magic.
But taking the class would be impossible: I wasn’t even on the waitlist. That’s when the teacher asked for a volunteer to submit the first workshop story.
Silence blanketed the room. No one risked eye contact. Whoever volunteered would have to write a whole story in a week. Perhaps they, like me, had never written one before.
Seizing my chance, I raised my hand and asked, “If I go first, will you give me a spot in the class?” He said he would.
So, instead of keeping my head down and avoiding eye contact, I did the opposite.
Years later, I’d completed a degree in creative writing and was working on a novel when a literary agent (经纪人) asked to read the first 50 pages of my draft. But I wasn’t comfortable showing her anything; the novel was far from done.
Throughout graduate school, I’d been advised many times not to contact agents until I have a complete draft. In the meanwhile, I knew the beginning of my story was attractive and that the agent might not remember me after a year.
So, once again, instead of keeping my head down and avoiding eye contact, I did the opposite. I sent her the first three chapters. A month later, she signed me on the strength of those chapters alone. She has since seen me through the publication of three novels.
Determination, focus, perseverance—the qualities that I consider crucial in getting me into Stanford no doubt helped me become the novelist I am today. And yet if I’d trained my gaze only on the path ahead, I would have missed so many happy accidents, so many beautiful opportunities to look up, raise my hand, and say yes.
1. What made the author finally decide to take the course?| A．The popularity of the course. |
| B．Her curiosity about story writing. |
| C．Her confidence in her writing skills. |
| D．The need to get credits for her degree. |
| A．challenge herself | B．impress the teacher |
| C．display her talent | D．win a place in the class |
| A．her friends advised her to do so |
| B．her story was attractive to readers |
| C．the agent asked her to turn in the work |
| D．she wanted to get the chance of publication |
| A．Action speaks louder than words. |
| B．Chance favors only the prepared mind. |
| C．Success comes to those who will and dare. |
| D．Confidence leads to growth and fulfillment. |
【推荐3】Looking back, I spent many unhappy days. In middle school I didn’t think I was as smart as everyone else; I didn’t have cool enough clothes. Junior high was the same. I wasn’t as tall and thin as all the other girls; my baby teeth hadn’t fallen out yet. Fast forward to high school. Still everyone was smarter; still everyone dressed better. Eventually, in my first job out of college I wasn’t making as much money as my friends did.
I come from a long line of people who’ve suffered from depression. When I was single, I thought that was just who I was — it was the genes (基因) I was born with. When I was twenty-six, I got married, and three years later I had my first child.
Once we had kids, my excuse of “it’s-in-the-genes” didn’t work so well for me anymore because that meant my kids would be depressed. Although I realized that still might be the case, I began looking at my unhappiness in new ways.
Over the years many things helped me fight depression: healthy eating, exercise, fresh air, friends and medicine. They all helped. But I had a little secret, too. It’s an exercise I did every night before bed. By the side of my bed, I had a small datebook — every day I only had enough space to write one line.
Every night I asked myself: “What made me the happiest today?” Because I didn’t have space to write a lot, it only took me a few seconds. But in those seconds I replayed my day and decided on its happiest moment.
Some days it was “reading before bed with the kids” or “laughing with a friend on the phone”. And other days it was “finally getting to get into bed” or “not having to cook dinner again”. Anyway, I actively sought the positive every day. Today, when I have a difficult day, I look back through the datebook, read and remember those happy moments in the past.
1. What can be inferred from paragraph 1?| A．The author led a poor life. |
| B．The author got a high-pay job. |
| C．The author challenged herself bravely. |
| D．The author usually compared herself with others. |
| A．Her first career. | B．Her happy marriage. |
| C．Her care for her children. | D．Her knowledge of genes. |
| A．To ease her loneliness. | B．To have a sound sleep. |
| C．To recall happy moments. | D．To serve as bedtime stories. |
| A．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. |
| B．Mother should set a good example for kids. |
| C．There could be a solution to any problem. |
| D．We should appreciate life’s bright aspects. |
【推荐1】It was near the end of summer in my 16th year. I was riding in the back seat of a large van heading down an endless road. I was at the end of a two-week road trip with several other teenagers to visit a college in Iowa. Along the way I had spent several days in Pittsburgh, Chicago, and on the road, I felt tired, solitary, and homesick. It was the longest that I had ever been away from my family.
I glanced out of my window and suddenly my heart leapt. There, in the distance, I could see them: the beautiful mountains of my home. After days and days on the dry, brown plains I finally saw the green hills in which I had grown up again. As we got closer and closer to those green mountains I felt myself becoming happier and happier. My face lit up and my smile returned. Warmth filled my spirit. It felt so good to be going home. It was such a joy to be heading back to the place where I was raised. It was such a blessing to finally know that I was almost back where I belonged.
Looking back on that memory makes me wonder what it will be like when I finally return to my true home. Even for the longest life, this world is just a temporary residence. It is a place that we learn, love and grow in, but it isn’t really home. Our true home lies beyond this world and its love, joy and beauty cannot be described in words. It is where our family awaits us.
Until I reach that blessed place, though, I will do my best to enjoy each day of life’s journey here. I will do my best to use every moment to get a little closer to home. I will do my best to travel through life with a loving heart, a pleasant smile and a giving spirit.
1. What would be the best title for this passage?| A．Getting Closer to Home | B．A Joyous Smile |
| C．An Unforgettable Journey | D．My Beautiful Hometown |
| A．Worn out | B．Lonely |
| C．Missing his family | D．Pleased and happy |
| A．The author went on the trip by bike. |
| B．The author spent days travelling abroad. |
| C．The author had been travelling on the plains. |
| D．The author had once been on a longer trip than this one. |
| A．how long he lives | B．his family |
| C．his hometown | D．how many places he visits |
【推荐2】As a child, there was nothing I liked better than Sunday afternoons at my grandfather’s farm in western Pennsylvania. Surrounded by miles of stone walls, the house and field provided endless hours of fun for a city kid like me.
Since my first visit to the farm, I had wanted more than anything to be allowed to climb the stone walls surrounding the houses. My parents would never agree because the walls were so old that some stones were loose and falling. However, my idea to climb across those walls grew so strong that finally I had all my courage to enter the living room, where the adults had gathered after Sunday dinner.
“I want to climb the stone walls.” I said. “Heavens, no! You’ll hurt yourself!” The response was just as I’d expected. But before I left the room, I was stopped by my grandfather’s loud voice. “Now hold on just a minute.” I heard him say. “Let the boy climb the stone walls. He has to learn to do things for himself.”
“Go,” he said to me, “and come and see me when you get back.” For the next two and a half hours I climbed those old walls —and had the time of my life. Later I met with my grandfather to tell him about my adventures. I’ll never forget what he said. “Fred,” he said, smiling, “you made this day a special day just by being yourself. Always remember, there’s only one person in this whole world like you, and I like you exactly as you are.”
Many years have passed since then, and today I host the television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, seen by millions of children throughout America. There have been changes over the years, but one thing remains the same: my message to children at the end of almost every visit. “There’s only one person in this whole world like you,” the kids will hear me say, “and people can like you exactly as you are.”
1. Why did the writer enjoy his visits to the farm?| A．There were old stone houses. | B．He was allowed to climb the walls. |
| C．He missed his grandfather a lot. | D．He could experience new fun there. |
| A．He was backed up by his grandfather to follow his heart. |
| B．He didn’t expect his parents’ disagreement on wall climbing. |
| C．He became a TV program host with his grandfather’s help. |
| D．He didn’t know the possible danger of the stone walls. |
| A．Open-minded. | B．Adventurous. | C．Kind-hearted. | D．Dependable. |
| A．Unforgettable Childhood | B．Just Be Yourself |
| C．Do Whatever You Like | D．Like grandfather, like grandson |
【推荐3】Confucius, a famous teacher, was a politician and philosopher who lived in “Spring and Autumn Period”. During his lifetime, he planted the seeds for China’s transformation by teaching thousands of people. Today, he is thought to be one of the world’s greatest teachers.
Confucius grew up in a poor family. As he grew up, Confucius worked to help his mother earn money. When he wasn’t working, he would read. His favorite thing to do was to learn. His mother saw this and did her best to help him learn. One day, rich families noticed how smart he was and offered him jobs counting their money and keeping track of their crops.
Confucius did this until he was 30 years old, but he always wanted to do more. He didn’t like the way rulers treated their subjects. He wanted to find a way to help people who were less fortunate than he was. Later, he founded the philosophy “Confucianism”. Confucianism states that by educating yourself, loving your family, and respecting tradition you could become a better person. Confucius believed a person could achieve these things by practicing self-discipline. For the rest of his life, Confucius traveled and taught the people of China about self-discipline and the importance of education. He even opened China’s first school to teach both the poor and the wealthy as equals. Although he became very famous among China’s lower classes, the rulers of China never accepted his teachings. Eventually, his philosophy of self-discipline helped China unite under one ruler and finally find peace. Today, Confucius is celebrated all over the world for his philosophy of education, equality, and peace over war, money, and injustice.
1. What does the underlined word “subjects” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?| A．Themes. | B．Courses. | C．People. | D．Tests. |
| A．To teach both the poor and the rich. |
| B．To become famous among China’s lower classes. |
| C．To be accepted by the rulers of China. |
| D．To be celebrated all over the world. |
| A．He was once a farmer guiding people farming. | B．He was born in a politician family. |
| C．He once acted as a math teacher. | D．He devoted himself to social change. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Supportive. | C．Disappointed. | D．Uncertain. |
