【推荐1】When everything goes wrong, always look at what you have, instead of what you have lost. Because it’s not what the world takes away from you that counts; it’s what you do with what you have left.     1    

Pain is part of growing.

    2     That’s a good thing because we often won’t move unless life forces us to. When times are tough, remind yourself that no pain comes without a purpose. Remember that there are two kinds of pain: pain that hurts and pain that changes you. When you roll with life, instead of resisting it, both kinds help you grow.

    3    

Every time you get hurt, you heal. After darkness there is always light – you are reminded of this every morning, but still you often forget, and instead choose to believe that the night will last forever. It won’t. Nothing lasts forever.

Complaining changes nothing.

Those who complain the most, accomplish the least.     4     It’s not over if you’ve lost; it’s over when you do nothing but complain about it. If you believe in something, keep trying. Don’t let the shadows of the past darken the doorstep of your future.

The best thing you can do is to keep going.

Don’t be afraid to get back up -- to try again, to love again, to live again, and to dream again. Don’t let a hard lesson harden your heart. Life’s best lessons are often learned at the worst times and from the worst mistakes. There will be times when it seems like everything that could possibly go wrong is going wrong.     5    

A．And even if you fall short, keep going.

B．Everything in life is temporary.

C．Here are a few tips to inspire you when you need it most.

D．Your scars are symbols of your strength.

E．When you feel like quitting, remember that sometimes things can be right eventually.

F．It’s always better to attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.

G．Sometimes life closes doors because it’s time to move forward.

【推荐2】At the start of every working week, millions of people around the world get ready for something they do endlessly, joylessly and badly ： a meeting

It was awful before the pandemic (疫情), when research showed there were an average of 55 million meetings daily in the US alone. I fear to think what the figures look like now that Covid-19 and remote working have started the age of the continuous meeting.

It wouldn't be a problem if all meetings did what they were supposed to do and helped busy people make good decisions about important matters. But the evidence suggests otherwise. Studies over the past 15 years have shown about 70 percent of workers have rated their meetings poor or unproductive, writes US professor, Steven Rogelberg, in his 2019 book The Surprising Science of Meetings.

“The root of the rotten meeting is simple," says Madeleine de Hauke, a meeting coach and teacher. “We spend our lives in meetings, but there's very little investment (投入)into helping people run them effectively," she told me last week.

A meeting coach might say that, but I think Ms de Hauke is correct. Running a meeting well takes skills. At a minimum, people need to know in advance why they are meeting； what they are supposed to achieve ； who really needs to be there and how they should contribute. Yet meeting leaders are expected to learn all these on the job.

I thought the pandemic had made things worse. But Ms de Hauke makes a convincing argument that Zoom calls merely strengthen what was going on before. If a meeting was productive and cheerful before, it is probably better now. If it was wasteful and annoying, it is likely to be worse.

Still, a bad meeting is like a virus. By failing to produce good decisions it often requires another meeting to be held, then another and another. Luckily, there is no need for a vaccine (疫苗), just a bit more care and preparation, and an understanding that there is no shame in being taught how to lead a meeting well.

1. What does the passage focus on?

A．Why people hate meetings.

B．How Covid-19 affects meetings.

C．Recommending experienced meeting coaches.

D．Suggesting developing the skills of meeting running.

2. According to the author, what's the problem of bad meetings?

A．Meetings are poor and short.

B．Meetings are dull and fruitless.

C．Meetings make people less interested in work.

D．Meetings cause people to make wrong decisions.

3. How can a meeting leader run a good meeting?

A．Invite people to attend the meeting in advance.

B．Invest much money to run meetings successfully.

C．Set clear goals and make preparations for the meeting.

D．Make everybody present at the meeting learn some skills.

4. How does the author develop the last paragraph?

A．By comparison.	B．By classification.
C．By analying causes.	D．By listing examples.

【推荐3】It is common to have difficulties sleeping during the day. Humans are naturally wired to sleep best at night and be awake during the day. However, modern work schedules require some people to try to accommodate the unnatural schedule of shift（轮班）work — being awake at night and sleeping during the day.

In order to make this adjustment, you need to pay special attention to your sleep environment and your preparation for sleep. If shift work is a necessary part of your work life, here are some suggestions that may help.

Arrange to sleep uninterrupted in a quiet, dark room. This means you may have to turn off or unplug your phone, hang darkening curtains on the windows or wear a sleep eye mask, and train your family and friends to leave you alone while you sleep.

Fit in a nap（小睡）. When your daytime sleep period is too short, taking a short nap of less than 30 minutes just before work or on a break has been shown to improve alertness and enhance performance.

Develop and follow a sleep routine. It's best if you go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. Try not to vary this too much on weekends. Your body likes routine.

Take extra care to make healthy choices. You may be tempted to reach for unhealthy foods or nicotine to stay awake or alcohol to try to sleep. But ultimately these choices are more harmful than helpful.

If you have tried all these things and are still having problems getting enough quality sleep during the day, talk to your doctor or a sleep specialist. Sometimes medications（药物治疗）may be helpful and safe. In other cases, there may be an underlying sleep disorder that needs to be addressed.

1. The purpose of the text is to     .

A．persuade workers to have a god sleep.

B．advise night workers to keep healthy

C．encourage workers to do day work

D．help night workers to sleep well

2. What does the author recomusend?

A．A suitable account of alcohol to help sleep.

B．A regular life on weekday’s and weekends.

C．A dark room without phoebes to sleep in.

D．A break for sleeping anytime during the day.

3. On which condition should a person turn to a sleep specialist for help?

A．If he suffers from a sleep disorder for the first time.

B．If a good sleep environment is greatly needed for him.

C．If he falls to get quality sleep through his own efforts.

D．If he has the problem of bailing to sleep in the daytime.

4. We can learn from the test that       .

A．night workers need a long time to fall asleep

B．constant breaks at work help to improve performance

C．it is difficult to create a good sleep environment

D．night work requires people to adjust their body clocks

【推荐1】“Patience” is a word that you have probably heard a lot! But you may wonder, “What on earth is patience, and why does everyone keep telling me to have it?”

※Patience is waiting for something or someone. It is accepting delay without getting angry or upset!

※ It is waiting for someone else to speak when you have something to say!

※ It is waiting to eat before everyone is at table!

※It is waiting for your birthday even though you may want a present now!

※ Patience is trying something again when you want to give up.

Patience doesn’t sound like much fun. And to be truthful，sometimes, it’s not. And with so much technology in the world，we don’t always have to be patient. For example, we are able to stream our favorite TV shows on our cell phones, go to restaurants where food is served hot and fast, among many other things.

So, why wait when we can have everything right now? Because just about any successful person has patience. Many good and important things take patience. For example, most great inventors and explorers have a lot of patience!

※When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, it took him over 1,000 tries!

※It took the Wright Brothers years to invent the airplane!

※It took 8 years to send a man to the moon!

※ It takes between 150 and 300 days to travel from Earth to Mars!

If great inventors did not have patience and self-control, you would likely not be reading this right now. In fact, you might be living in a cave or tent somewhere. You would have no electricity, no car, no school and almost certainly no Internet!

1. In which of the following cases is “patience” needed?

A．When you are sitting at the dinner table.

B．When you are speaking.

C．When you are receiving a present.

D．When you have given up trying.

2. What does the author think about a cell phone?

A．It’s a funny invention.	B．It makes us less patient.
C．It reduces our waiting time.	D．It helps us to communicate.

3. What can we conclude from the last paragraph?

A．Great inventions call for patience.	B．We have to take control of ourselves.
C．Great discoveries can be made in a cave.	D．Our society can’t do without electricity.

4. What’s the main purpose of the text?

A．To sell.	B．To advertise.
C．To persuade.	D．To introduce.

【推荐2】The Iranian-American Maz Jobrani knew early in life that he wanted to become an actor or a comedian. Jobrani came to California with his parents from Iran when he was six and attended school there. His introduction to acting was an experience of trying out for a school play. “When I was 12, I tried out for the school play and fell in love with the stage...” said Jobrani, “I have friends who were funnier than I was!”
       Jobrani tried an ordinary career path, studying political science in college and even starting a Ph.D. Program at UCLA. But the comedy of Eddie Murphy was a more powerful influence. “I’m a comedian because I’m a fan of comedy. I love watching comedy and I believe I discovered Eddie Murphy probably by watching “Saturday Night Live” and just then I wanted to be like Eddie Murphy,” Jobrani said.
       Now as a full-time comedian, Maz Jobrani uses comedy to bridge the cultural divide. His performances both laugh at extremism and challenge American bias(偏见)of Muslims. And his recent movie does the same. He co-wrote and started in “Jimmy Vestvood: American Hero.”
       “The movie is about a man who loves America, who wins the green card coming to America from Iran. He wants to be a policeman. But once he comes to America, he realizes America doesn’t accept immigrants(移民)the way he thought they would and the only job he can find is working as a security guard(保安)and from there he has to go on to save the world.”
       “This comedy has a message of showing Iranians in a very different light, a fun light that most Americans aren’t used to seeing,” he said. For example, he feared when he first heard the phrase “axis of evil,” which is used to describe such countries as Iran. But he soon realized it could also make a great name for a series of shows. So, in 2005, the “Axis of Evil Comedy” Tour came. The shows featured Jobrani and three other comedians of Middle Eastern descent(血统).The group first appeared on the American television channel Comedy Central.
       It’s a good feeling when you realize it’s working. It’s the worst when you’re doing stand-up (单人说笑表演的)comedy and the audience doesn’t relate to you. But their laugh is like a drug keeping feeding you. It’s kind of like I were surfing. So whether it’s doing stand-up comedy or putting on a movie, your goal as a comedian is to make people laugh.
1. By introducing his comedian career, Jobrani tends to tell us that ________.

A．he is actually a born comedian

B．Americans’ lifestyle makes him a comedian

C．Eddie Murphy has a great influence on him

D．Murphy’s plays made him first like comedy

2. What do you know about Jobrani’s film “American Hero”?

A．It is all about his personal experiences.

B．It is about Iranians who are against Americans.

C．It mainly plays a joke on the US immigrant policy.

D．It makes fun of American bias of Muslims.

3. What do you learn about the “Axis of Evil Comedy” Tour?

A．It turns what’s frightening into something funny.

B．It is performed by Jobrani and two Iranians.

C．It blames the US’ unfriendly attitude to Iran.

D．It didn’t work well at the very beginning.

4. To comedians, ________.

A．stand-up comedy is difficult to perform.

B．the audience’s laughter is their power.

C．doing stand-up comedy is just like surfing.

D．they have a long journey to become famous