Just like everyone, I have experienced ups and downs in my life. I am an aerospace engineer from India. I was told by my relatives, close friends and others that it was hard for a non-IT student to pursue a master’s degree in IT and graduate from a US university.
I had never taken courses related to computers or programming. I was never interested in being a programmer, but things changed. I became so captivated by the convenience IT has brought to our life that I made up my mind to chase a master’s degree in IT.
At first, I came across too many difficulties and setbacks. Coming from a middle-class family, the huge cost per credit was a big issue. My English accent was terrible. Most importantly, the course seemed impossible at first. Although I felt so discouraged and frustrated, I never thought of giving up.
Then I decided to choose my university because it promised its students to help them learn practically. During my first month, it was difficult to understand the Americans’ accent and finish my assignments. But I never gave in. I walked two miles to the university every day so that I could use my travel money to buy a meal. I started looking for jobs and I got an offer to work as a student assistant, which meant lifting benches and chairs every day.
I took all these challenges as my chances, and I believed that hard work was my strength. Right now I am graduating with a GPA of 3.96/4 and a job offer from a multinational company that has asked me to start right after graduation.
When you have a dream to realize, there is nothing that can stop you. All you need is the diligence and persistence. Hard work always pays off. Having a determined will is also necessary.
1. Why did the author’s family and friends say that it was hard for him to pursue a master’s degree in IT? (no more than 8 words)2. What does the underlined part “captivated by” in paragraph 2 mean? (2 words)
3. What is the main idea of paragraph 3? (no more than 10 words)
4. What made the author graduate with a higher GPA and a good job offer? (no more than 15 words)
5. What do you learn from the author’s story? (no more than 25 words)
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【推荐1】It was an afternoon in August. I was just short of turning 18. I stood in front of a six story, red brick building. It was to be my new home for the next several years. It was my first day of college, and I was very excited. I had two suitcases and a bag with me. Everything I thought I would need was packed in them. I carried them up the five flights of stairs to my dorm and wondered what life had in store for me –a young girl.
It was another afternoon in August. I was just short of turning 42. My daughter was 18, and we were standing in front of the same building at the same college that I had gone to years before. I smiled as I helped her carry her things up to her room, but I also noticed that we were making more than one trip. All the students seemed to have much more stuff (东西) than I did all those years ago. Yet, it didn't seem to make things any better for them. In fact, they looked more stressed. As I threw down another box of my daughter's stuff, I wondered what life had in store for her.
Last night I had a dream that I'd had many times before. I was back in that same dorm with my belongings piled on my bed searching for my course book and wondering what classes I would take. I often wondered what this dream meant, but when I woke up this morning, it became crystal clear to me. We are sometimes teachers in this life, but we are always students in it. We are here to learn to love ourselves and everyone as ourselves. It takes a lifetime. The stuff we carry with us through this life doesn't matter at all. It is the stuff we carry inside of us when we leave this life that counts.
1. How did the author feel about her new life in college?A.Calm. | B.Confident. |
C.Thrilled. | D.Disappointed. |
A.They were friendly to each other. |
B.They felt curious about a new life ahead. |
C.They got everything ready for their college. |
D.They were more worried than she was at college. |
A.She had to keep learning all her life. |
B.She ought to learn to love her daughter. |
C.She was sure she could be a good teacher. |
D.She was not well prepared for her classes. |
A.He who loves others is to be loved. |
B.What we learn in life is of significance. |
C.Life is a journey with many difficulties. |
D.We should be confident about our future. |
【推荐2】Nothing energizes office workers more than complaining about meetings. And it seems some of the world's greatest tech successes agree. Here's some of their advice.
Mark Zuckerberg: A decision or a discussion?
The Facebook CEO reportedly improved the effectiveness of meetings by asking managers to explain the point of a meeting: to make a decision or to have a discussion.
"If there's no point, then there are no decisions," Microsoft founder Bill Gates might agree. He is supposed to have said, "You have a meeting to make a decision, not to decide on the question."
Elon Musk: It is not rude to leave.
Elon Musk once sent out an email to staff in which he made some "recommendations".
"Walk out of a meeting or drop off a call as soon as it is obvious you aren't adding value," he went on. "It is not rude to leave; it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time."
Jeff Bezos: The "two--pizza rule".
The Amazon founder meets investors for just six hours a year, and tries to avoid early morning meetings.
Business Insider reports that Mr. Bezos also has a strict policy: Never have a meeting in which you couldn't feed the whole group with two pizzas. The businessman believes small groups are far more efficient than large ones, and the "two-pizza rule" helps him prevent large meetings.
Steve Jobs: No need for PowerPoint.
Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs shows the creative genius behind the iPhone making an attack on slideshow users. "People who know what they are talking about don't need PowerPoint," he said.
"Generally PowerPoint presentations are a great distraction(使人分心的事物), unless it's data or a graph," said Professor Andre Spicer. "Long slides mean no information being conveyed."
1. What did Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates both stress?A.How to have a meeting. | B.When to have a meeting. |
C.The purpose of having a meeting. | D.The importance of having a meeting. |
A.To offer better services for a meeting. | B.To reduce the cost of a meeting. |
C.To encourage short meetings. | D.To limit the size of a meeting. |
A.less is more | B.the more the merrier |
C.something is better than nothing | D.a picture is worth a thousand words |
【推荐3】My First Marathon
A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks, leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead.
I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my first P.E. class, the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball. I didn’t do either well. He later informed me that I was “not athletic”.
The idea that I was “not athletic” stuck with me for years. When I started running in my 30s,I realized running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind. A test of wills!
The night before my marathon, I dreamt that I couldn’t even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.
Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces(鞋带) became untied. So I stopped to readjust. Not the start I wanted! At mile 3, I passed a sign: “GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!” By mile 17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Despite the pain, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again. By mile 21, I was starving!As I got close to mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a.m. or questioned my expenses on running. I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.
Determined to be myself and free of worldly labels(世俗标签), I can now call myself a “marathon winner”.
1. Why did the author mention the P.E. class in his 7th year?A.To appreciate the support of his teacher. | B.To show he was not talented in sports. |
C.To amuse the readers with a funny story. | D.To share a precious memory. |
A.He walked to the end. | B.He quit halfway. |
C.He got the first place. | D.He made it. |
A.A man owes his success to his family support. | B.Failure is the mother of success. |
C.A true winner is one with a great effort of will. | D.Well begun is half done. |
【推荐1】My relationship with books began at a very young age; my parents constantly read to me and I quickly grew fond of all kinds of stories. My reading adventures existed beyond the four walls of my room though, most importantly during the Centerville Public Library’s story hour. Once I aged out of the story hour and picked up reading abilities of my own, my parents were constantly taking me to the library to pick out any book I desired. This was when my love for library books caught fire.
I’ve always enjoyed trips to libraries. Being able to borrow a book from a library knowing that so many other eyes have interacted with it just makes the experience more exciting.
E-books started gaining popularity after 2010, and as someone accepting of change, I decided to try them out. I believe the first and last e-book I read was The Maze Runner. This great book was ruined by the head and eye aches my NOOK gave me if I stared at it for too long. This ultimately ruined my interest in ever reading digitally again.
I love reading because it gives me time to disconnect and wander away from the constant impacts of screens and media. So, reading an e-book would completely ruin the disconnection from screen time that I try so hard to achieve. Reading from an e-book does not allow you the satisfaction of leafing through pages, and makes the term “page-turner” meaningless.
There is hardly anything that is both free and full of value, so being able to knock out both of these birds with one trip to the library is a true blessing.
For these reasons, I believe that any hardcover book, particularly those coming from a library, should always have advantages over an e-book. Library books are an art form that I will never allow to die!
1. What can be learned about the author as a child?A.He frequented bookstores. |
B.He was deeply involved in reading. |
C.He was a lead in the library’s story hour. |
D.He developed a real passion for story writing. |
A.Satisfied. | B.Impressed. |
C.Regretful. | D.Discouraged. |
A.It compares two things. |
B.It can avoid two troubles. |
C.It seizes two opportunities. |
D.It can achieve two aims. |
A.My Love of Library Books |
B.Reading: A Source of Knowledge |
C.My Experience of E-book Reading |
D.Library: A Place Where the Young Mature |
【推荐2】Several years ago, I had to replace a receptionist for my unit. Before I advertised for the position, I was approached by another manager, and asked if I would consider a transfer from his staff instead of opening a new competition. My natural question was to ask who he wanted me to consider and why.
It appeared from his description of this employee, Maria, that she was having a lot of problems performing her duties, and had difficulties with her boss, and did not appear to respond to any attempts he, the manager, had made to settle the issues. Now, after listening to his explanation, I really had severe doubts. What crossed my mind, after this discussion, was that he wanted me to take a problem off his hands.
I told him I would think about it and would let him know the next day. As promised, after thinking more about this potential performance issue, I decided that I would agree to speak with Maria privately before I made any decision.
And, what I found out during this interview, left me deep in thought. As it turned out, the performance issue appeared to result from working for a boss who never extended a good morning greeting, never gave a word of encouragement, and was constantly changing the work load and routines. The end result was a totally ruined employee who was unconfident, hated to see a new work day start.
I decided to accept her transfer to my unit. What started out as a shy, withdrawn and frightened employee turned out to be one of the most productive and loyal employees that I had ever worked with. Maria couldn’t do enough and was constantly asking for more and more responsibility. I was more than happy to give her what she needed - praise for work well done, respect as a person, and encouragement for doing well in anything she dealt with.
Sometimes, we are guilty of holding others back from accomplishing or developing as they should or could. It may be a wise idea that we all look in the mirror, from time to time, to see what we are really like.
1. After hearing his colleague’s description of Maria, the writer thought that Maria ______.A.deserved a pay rise | B.was a problem to her boss |
C.needed further training | D.could get on well with others |
A.Her previous job was not suitable for her. | B.She had difficulty understanding her manager. |
C.Her boss didn’t arouse her working enthusiasm. | D.Her boss showed no trust in her ability. |
A.she had the potential to be a manager | B.she would need his protection |
C.she might turn out to be a good employee | D.she was a shy and frightened receptionist |
A.often give his employees chances of promotion | B.respect, praise and encourage his employees |
C.claim responsibility for the mistakes in work | D.always offer his employees guidance |
【推荐3】Simon James is an super-trail runner (越野跑步者) who encourages people to reconnect with nature in the name of exercise. He has completed Super Trail in the Alps, the Andes and the Himalayas. A late-night bet with a client (客户) got him tied to running.
“In 2006, a business client challenged me one evening in a bar to a 36-hour walk across 54 miles of the West Highland Way, and I foolishly said ‘yes’,” James said. “He then rang me the next day to tell me we would be running it.”
At the time, James was 20 kilograms overweight and the longest he had run before that was just under 8 miles, but he managed to finish that run and has never looked back.
According to a report, two-thirds of adults in the U. K. are overweight, one-fifth suffering from depression (抑郁). The huge influence caused by modern lifestyle has worsened these issues. We are aware of the importance of exercise in everyday life, and no amount of virtual (虚拟的) meetings can make up for direct social contact. James said, “Only one thing can fix these problems-trail running.”
What is unique about trail running, he explained, is that “it reconnects us to our beautiful nature and connects our physical, mental and spiritual aspects, as well as providing us with an experience which can connect us to other people”.
Inspired, he quit his city life of working 16-hour-plus-days as a banker, and spent more time in trails and mountains.
James is now in charge of the trail running company Run the Wild. He said every run has been a gift following a physical operation in 2015, even though his doctor told that he could hardly run again. He said, “The outdoors is such a great place for us all to experience.”
1. What caused Simon to take up trail running?A.The desire to get close to nature. |
B.A bet with a business friend in a bar. |
C.The worrying healthy issues. |
D.The importance of physical exercise. |
A.He worked in a bank. | B.He was a waiter in a bar. |
C.He was a mental doctor. | D.He used to be a business client. |
A.Adventurous. | B.Outgoing. | C.Warm-hearted. | D.Strong-willed. |
A.A Challenge in a Bar Changed a City Man’s Life. |
B.City Man Broke Away from the Urban Life by Running. |
C.Runner Hits the Mountain Trails to Keep the Blues Away. |
D.The Outdoors Is a Great Place for People with Depression. |