When I was younger, I faced one obstacle, the divorce (离婚) of my parents. I wanted to know why my mother left and no longer lived in my house, but I was not able to understand exactly what had happened. Puzzles became my escape as I knew that all puzzles have an answer; they had unknowingly become a large part of my childhood as they made sense to me unlike what was going on in my life.
My love for puzzles led me to buying a Rubik’s cube (魔方) after I saw my friend solve his own. In the beginning, I was unable to follow the guide that came with the first Rubik’s cube I bought, but then I searched up a tutorial online and learned by watching. Using my skill of memory, I was able to remember possible patterns that the Rubik’s cube could be after each step.
After I learned how to solve a Rubik’s cube and learned that it could be solved many ways, I never got tired of solving it, because there were so many combinations that every time I mixed it up, there was a different solution.
My outlook of the world changed, as I realized that there is not one concrete solution to everything, but multiple solutions. Being able to see things differently, the ways I solved some problems with multiple solutions were uncommon among my classmates. My 10th grade math teacher had acknowledged this when he wrote a comment on my test, saying he had not thought about solving a problem the way I had solved it. I gained a new perspective in approaching the challenges of life. The obstacles that we encounter throughout our lifetime are preparation in order for us to solve the everlasting mystery of life.
1. What were the puzzles for the author at the beginning?| A．A replacement for friends. | B．A way to understand parents. |
| C．A solution to the mysteries of life. | D．A distraction from parents’ divorce. |
| A．For the joy in the process. | B．For the achievements in learning. |
| C．For the possibility to different solutions. | D．For the praise from teachers and classmates. |
| A．Hard work pays off. | B．Rome isn’t built in one day. |
| C．Failure is the mother of success. | D．There is more than one way to go in life. |
| A．They make life more challenging. | B．They prepare people for life puzzles. |
| C．They test people’s problem-solving skills. | D．They prevent people from finding solutions. |
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【推荐1】Love the Process
When you first feel that you love the process more than the result, you will sense it makes you better at dealing with failures. In the end, you won’t care about the outcome if you enjoy the process of getting to it. On the contrary, if you do not enjoy the process, you won’t get the joy of success either.
We all love when our hard work pays off.
But how to do that, in this impatient world, where we see a lot of successful people around and want to compete? Well, that question has the answer in it.
Never Compete.
Be Patient.
Slow down. You need to stop expecting immediate results in what you do and learn to be patient.
Divide the process into small milestones, and give yourself a reward after completing each of them. Rewarding yourself for small accomplishments can go a long way. If you are in the process of weight loss, do a “Cheat day” and enjoy your beloved cake once in a while. You’ve earned that.
| A．Never compare yourself with others. |
| B．Reward yourself for small achievements. |
| C．Impatience is the direct route to losing heart. |
| D．Competing with others can’t make you more powerful. |
| E．But we never know what will be the result in the end. |
| F．You will be successful because you enjoy the process. |
| G．Success will be doubled, instead, as you love the whole process. |
【推荐2】A few years ago， I returned from a family vacation in Mexico， where I’d bought myself a beautiful blue candle． I was so excited to light it． But when I got home and unpacked it， I thought， “Today is not the day． I’m going to save it for the right occasion．” So I put it in my closet and forgot about it．
Two years passed， I remembered my candle and I thought， “Today is the day． I’m going to light it．” So I went to the closet and opened up the box—and my beautiful blue candle had turned into wax． Now what struck me is my candle did exactly what it’s designed to do—melt—but it did it without me．
That candle which melted triggered（触发） something in me． It old the story to my friend Gillian． The next time I was over at her house， she took me on a tour and she showed me that all of her candles had been lit． She told me， “I had waited a year to light those candles． You told me the story， and I lit them all the next day．”
I believe， however， that those small actions send a big message and show you’re no longer letting life slip— or melt—by．
Here’s my advice for you： Whatever object you answered “yes” to earlier， please use it with in the next week． Pull out your china for a random Tuesday night， open the Scotch， and cut the tags off a jacket． And don’t let your candle melt in the closet．
1. What made the author fail to use her new candle immediately？| A．She was too busy to use it． |
| B．She didn’t need it at that time． |
| C．She planned to decorate her house using it． |
| D．She wanted to use it on a special occasion． |
| A．It was burnt up． | B．It melted in the closet． |
| C．It was sent to her friend. | D．It was redesigned into another shape． |
| A．She wanted to make her house brighter． |
| B．She couldn’t wait to light them any longer． |
| C．She was inspired by what the author had told her． |
| D．There was no extra space to contain the candles． |
| A．Live in the moment． |
| B．Always seize the opportunity． |
| C．Don’t worry about your possessions． |
| D．Never buy candles if you don’t need them． |
“Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy---they're given after all. Choices can be hard.”
I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2300 percent per year. I'd never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30, and I’d been married for a year. I told my wife that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn't work since most start-ups don’t and I wasn't sure what to expect. She told me I should go for it. As a young boy, I had been a garage inventor. I had always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.
I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people and a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him that I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park，listened carefully to me and finally said,“That sounds like a really good idea，but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn't already have a good job.”That logic made some sense to me，and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice，but ultimately, I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn't think I would regret trying and failing. And I suspected that I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.
After much consideration, I took the less secure path to follow my passion, and I'm proud of that choice. For all of us, in the end, we are our choices.
1. What inspired the author to start Amazon 16 years ago? (No more than 15 words)2. How did the author’s wife respond to his crazy idea of building an online bookstore? (No more than 10 words)
3. What was the attitude of the author’s boss towards his starting a company online? (No more than 10 words)
4. What’s your understanding of the underlined sentence in the last paragraph? (No more than 15 words)
5. What is the most important factor when you make your career choice? Give your reasons. (No more than 20 words)
【推荐1】In the fall of 1988, I visited many Buddhist temples, but after a while they all began to fade from my memories. However, there was one temple that left a great impression in my heart.
It is called the Temple of the Golden Buddha. After walking around it and taking some photos, I walked over to a glass case, next to which was a typewritten page describing the history of this magnificent piece of art.
Back in 1957 a group of monks from a monastery(修道院) had to relocate a clay Buddha from their temple to a new location. The monastery was to be relocated to make room for the development of a highway. When the crane(吊车)began to lift it, the weight of was so large that it began to crack. What’s more, rain began to fall, The head monk decided to lower the statue back to the ground and cover it with a large oilcloth to protect it from the rain.
Later that evening the head monk went to check on the Buddha. He shined his flash- light under the oilcloth to see if the Buddha was staying dry. As the light reached the crack, he noticed a little beam shining back and thought it strange. As he took a closer look at this beam of light, he wondered if there might be something underneath the clay. He went to fetch a chisel and hammer from the monastery and began to chip away at the clay. As he knocked off pieces of clay, the little beam grew brighter and bigger. Many hours of labor went by before the monk stood face to face with the extraordinary solid-gold Buddha.
Historians believe that several hundred years before the head monk’s discovery, the army was about to invade the country. The monks, realizing that their country would soon be attacked, covered their precious golden Buddha with an outer covering of clay in order to keep their treasure from being robbed by the enemy.
Unfortunately, it appears that the enemy killed all the monks, and the well-kept secret of the golden Buddha remained uncovered until the day in 1957.
As I flew home I began to think to myself, “We are all like the clay Buddha covered with a shell of hardness created out of fear, and yet underneath each of us is a ‘golden Buddha’, agolden Christ, or a ‘golden spirit,’ which is our real self. Somewhere along the way, between the ages of two and nine, we begin to cover up our’ golden spirit,’ our natural self. Much like the monk with the hammer and the chisel, our task now is to discover our true spirit once again.”
1. What made the monks cover the Buddha with a large oilcloth?| A．Hiding it from being stolen. |
| B．Protecting it from the rain. |
| C．Protecting it from being damaged. |
| D．Avoiding being seen. |
| A．Because he likes it very much. |
| B．Because it differs from others. |
| C．Because of its history. |
| D．Because of the protection of the monk. |
| A．Visiting Buddhist Temples |
| B．The Golden Buddha |
| C．Protecting Their Country |
| D．Relocating the Buddha |
| A．Covering up ourselves. |
| B．Finding the truth. |
| C．Discovering our true spirit. |
| D．Building up our belief. |
【推荐2】George Headley would have been a dentist in the USA rather than one of the greatest cricketers (板球运动员) if he had got his papers from Panama on time. The Indian legend was born in Colón, Panama and a period of unemployment in Jamaica caused him to begin the process of seeking a career elsewhere.
The delay, however, gave Headley time to make his first-class debut (首次亮相) for Jamaica against the visiting Lord Tennyson’s XI from England. These were his scores in the three first-class games in the series: 16, 40, and 71. The rest, as they say, is history. Yet, consider what might have occurred if his documents had arrived on time and he had migrated to America. There would have been a missing chapter in cricket.
Headley’s ta le brings to the fore the role that happenstance (偶然情况) plays in life. In the song A Different Comer, George Michael lamented (哀叹) that a romantic union went wrong and suggested that it might have been better if circumstances had worked to prevent their first meeting: “Take me back in time; maybe I can forget. Turn a different corner and we never would have met.”
Our lives are the result of much planning and deliberate action. But they are the result of chance as well. “The harder I practice, the luckier I get” is a quote normally used by sportsmen to discount the occurrence or consequence of luck. Athletes like to think that whatever success they’ve had is only down to them. To admit otherwise is to devalue the skills and efforts.
The changes in luck are a large part of why we watch sports. It fosters uncertainty, which, in turn. enhances interest in the process and the result. On any given day, the underdog can be at the champion. Whenever that occurs, luck is likely to have played some significant part, and sport is better for it.
1. What decision did George Headley make before getting his papers?| A．To complete his official documents in Panama. | B．To sharpen his cricket skills in Jamaica. |
| C．To get a degree in medicine in the USA. | D．To work as a dentist in the USA. |
| A．It affected his debut performance. | B．It became a turning point in his life. |
| C．It benefited the England cricket team. | D．It led to a missing chapter in cricket. |
| A．To stress the importance of chance. |
| B．To explain the necessity of planning ahead. |
| C．To show the significance of the first impressions. |
| D．To illustrate a love-hate relationship with friends. |
| A．Practice makes perfect. | B．Little people can make a big difference. |
| C．Efforts and chances are equally important. | D．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. |
【推荐3】The way students spend their weekends can vary. Once you get to college, students see the weekend to forget about everything. Most of the time it is going out with friends, but when you decide to turn that down, you are looked at to be lame. What's up with this?
In college, going out can seem like the main thing that happens during the weekend. But not everyone is into that —some students study or stay in with friends, and others simply just don’t go out because it is not their type of thing. If you are one of those people who decides to stay in, you probably know the feeling of being the “lame friend”.
When students feel this way, they can also feel pressured into doing something that they originally did not want to do. Just because a person does not want to go out and party and drink does not mean that they are lame—they just have a different idea of a fun weekend.
I don’t think we should assume that everyone needs to go out during the weekend in order to have fun, and the social pressure to do so can feel broken. I will speak from my own experience: When the weekend comes around, I overthink and start to get a rush of anxiety. Why? Because I might be judged for not going out, or I might miss something if I don’t go to this specific party that everyone is going to. I’m sure there are others that feel the same way and have had similar experiences, and they don’t deserve to feel the way I do either.
We should keep in mind that individuals are going through their own personal situations, and everyone has their own reasons for not going out. Staying in and watching a movie by yourself or with friends is not a bad thing, and people should normalize that not going out on the weekends is really not the worst thing.
1. Why does the author raise a question in paragraph 1?| A．To doubt students’behaviour. | B．To correct schools’ management. |
| C．To blame friends’ rejection. | D．To deny others’ judgement. |
| A．The one without friends. | B．The one with serious anxiety. |
| C．The one with less outside activities. | D．The one with the deadly leg disability. |
| A．How to spend weekends is up to you. |
| B．Study should be put first in college. |
| C．Going to the party everyone is going to is a must. |
| D．What to do at weekends is well worth considering. |
| A．A good friend is my nearest relation. | B．Be the chess player, not the chess piece. |
| C．A man cannot be judged by his appearance. | D．Interest is the seed, the action are the fruits. |
