When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Doctor Gibbs. He didn't look like any doctor I'd ever known. He never yelled at us for playing in his yard, but was always very kind.
When Doctor Gibbs wasn't saving lives, he was planting trees. He had some interesting theories about planting trees. He believed in the principle: "No pains, no gains". He hardly watered his new trees, which flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Once I asked why and he told me that watering plants spoiled them because it made them grow weaker. He said you had to make things tough for the trees so that only the strongest could survive. He talked about how watering trees made them develop shallow roots and how, if they were not watered, trees would grow deep roots in search of water. So, instead of watering his trees every morning, he'd beat them with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree's attention.
Doctor Gibbs died a couple of years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I'd watched him plant some twenty five years ago. They were all tall and strong.
I planted a couple of trees myself a few years ago. Two years of attending these trees meant they grew up weak. Whenever a cold wind blew, their branches trembled. Adversity(逆境) seemed to benefit Doctor Gibb's trees in ways comfort and ease never could.
Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. I often pray that their lives will be easy. But lately I've been thinking that it's time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to meet with hardship. There's always a cold wind blowing somewhere. What we need to do is to pray for deep roots, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we won't be torn apart.
1. With the trees planted, Doctor Gibbs often __________.| A．paid little attention to them |
| B．kept watering them every morning |
| C．talked to them to get their attention |
| D．beat them to make them grow deep roots |
| A．Strange and harmful. |
| B．Interesting and funny. |
| C．Cruel and unacceptable. |
| D．Original and reasonable.[ |
| A．Meet people like Dr Gibbs in the future. |
| B．Be able to stand the rain and wind in their lives. |
| C．Have an easy life, without too much to worry about. |
D．Have good luck, encountering less hardship  in their life. |
| A．Prayers for my sons |
| B．Doctor Gibbs and his trees |
| C．Growing roots |
| D．Watering trees |
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【推荐1】How far would you go to make a good impression at a new job? A college student in Alabama walked 32 kilometers in the dark to get to his new job.
The story begins with Walter Carr’s car breaking down the night before starting a new job at Bellhops, a furniture moving company. Carr was unable to find a taxi. So he decided to walk from his house to the job in Pelham 32 kilometers away. He left at midnight so that he could make it to the customer’s house by 8:00 am the next morning.
Pelham police saw him walking along a highway at 4:00 am. So, they stopped to see if the needed help. After hearing his story, they took him to a restaurant for breakfast and then to a church where he could safely wait until 8:00 am. The police then took Carr to the home of customer Jenny Lamey, Lamey said that even though Carr had just walked the entire night, he refused her offer to rest. He just wanted to start working.
Jenny Lamey later wrote this on Facebook: “I just can’t tell you how touched I was by Walter and his journey. He is hardworking and tough.” She then started a GoFundMe page to help Walter with money to get his car fixed.
Walter Carr’s story touched many others around the United States, Within a few days, people gave over $73, 000 to his GoFundMe page, When the CEO of Bellhops, Luke Marklin, learned of Carr’s story, he drove from Tennessee to Alabama to give Walter his own 2014 Ford Escape.
Carr has decided to give a part of the donations to the Birmingham Education Foundation. And he has received more offers for jobs and scholarships for schools.
1. What is probably the reason for Carr’s walking to his new job?| A．He had no money. |
| B．His car was stolen the night before. |
| C．He would like to take some exercise. |
| D．He considered the first day meaningful. |
| A．They took him to work immediately. |
| B．They went to his customer’s with him. |
| C．They called his customer to pick him up. |
| D．They gave him some money to buy breakfast. |
| A．To help Carr buy a new car. |
| B．To make Carr’s story popular. |
| C．To raise money to repair Carr’s car. |
| D．To express her admiration for Carr. |
| A．To share it with some schools. |
| B．To spend it on further education. |
| C．To set up an educational institution. |
| D．To donate some of it to a foundation. |
【推荐2】Gaelic had been the major culture in Scotland. But many forces tried to weaken its power. The final straw came in 1609, when some laws required Highland Scottish leaders to send their children to English-speaking schools. Naturally, the culture continued to weaken through the 20th century. Though Gaelic still existed in some rural areas, a lack of jobs meant young people in Gaelic areas were leaving for English-speaking cities.
Iain Noble was a wealthy businessman from Germany. He quickly fell in love with Gaelic culture when he moved to Scotland. So he set up the college of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in 1973 on the Isle of Skye. Today, it has more than 1,000 students and is officially the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture. It is where the revival of Scotland’s Gaelic culture started.
Of course, the college teaches the language and culture. But the secret to making such impressive cultural achievements is giving language learners skills in industries like media and business. The skills allow students to create local jobs and help make the area known to tourists.
Noble’s wife Lady Lucilla said his eagerness to revive the culture was clear. After spending much money setting up the college, Noble had to go to great lengths to find worthwhile teachers. Sometimes he tried hard to find people who had left Skye, “Iain would invite those whose families were from Skye but who were working in Aberdeen, in London and further afield,” said Lucilla.
“Now I’ve seen some cool youngsters who are very proud of their Gaelic, and they are fascinated by the culture,” she said.
One such youngster is 15-year-old Emily Macdonald. She not only speaks Gaelic fluently with her friends, but is excited to do so.
“I feel like we’re even more wanting to speak Gaelic, just to keep it alive, because it is really important to our nation,” she said. “And to have this special language that we can speak to each other in is quite special.”
1. What does the first paragraph mainly talk about?| A．The fall of Gaelic. | B．The future of Gaelic. |
| C．The influence of Gaelic. | D．The advantages of Gaelic. |
| A．Having the best Gaelic teachers. | B．Teaching students professional skills. |
| C．Receiving much government support. | D．Being open to both natives and foreigners. |
| A．He made much money from the college. |
| B．He traveled a lot to spread Gaelic culture. |
| C．He spared no effort to do his cultural work. |
| D．He became world-famous because of his college. |
| A．It is the pride of their nation. | B．It is hard to learn for youngsters. |
| C．It has changed a lot over the years. | D．It attracts fewer local young people. |
【推荐3】About 18 months ago, my father was in the hospital recovering from a major lung operation. My mother had recently passed away, and my father had taken the loss of his partner of 55 years very hard and had lost interest in life.
Trying to get him to eat each day was quite a chore as he didn’t want anything. The one thing, however, that he would ask us to bring him was ice-cream.
One evening to our surprise, he refused to eat the ice-cream, so I placed it in a staff room freezer. A little while later, my son decided he wanted it, so I fetched it for him.
As I passed another ward, a woman asked, “Are there more? Where that came from?” When I explained the situation, she apologized. She then said that she had cancer and could eat very little other than the occasional ice-cream.
The next evening, I decided to buy two ice-cream. On the way to Dad’s room, I stopped in at the sick woman’s room, and offered her the ice-cream I’d bought for her. She was totally stunned that I had thought of her, and accepted the gift with tears in her eyes. I spoke with her for a few minutes, explaining what was happening in my family and listened to her similar story of pain and suffering. It was apparent that she did not have many visitors, and the ice-cream and our short chat meant a great deal to her.
I repeated the gesture a few days later, and this time was rewarded with a huge hug.
I never even thought to ask her name, and never saw her again, but it made me realize that an act of kindness can be more rewarding when you give it, rather than receive it.
1. The writer’s father stayed in the hospital because________.| A．he had trouble eating | B．he had had a lung operation |
| C．he had lost interest in life | D．he was ill for losing his wife |
| A．ice-cream was among the little food she could eat |
| B．they had similar family experiences |
| C．she was lonely without family around |
| D．to give is as important as to receive |
| A．body language | B．word |
| C．action | D．decision |
| A．Giving is rewarding. |
| B．Don’t hesitate to help elderly people. |
| C．It’s our responsibility to look after our parents. |
| D．Never put of anything you can do till tomorrow. |
