Like many, I felt pressure from my parents and teachers to go to university and study something academic. With top grades I received at the end of high school, I was almost able to enter any course of my pick. Yet the thought of spending the next few years facing the four walls of a classroom caused a lump (肿块) in my throat.
After a year majoring in photography at university, which was not just what I expected, I made the decision to take a break and go on a gap year. In fact, I gained more knowledge in the real world in four months than I did from my entire schooling, but most importantly, I learnt so much about myself.
One day, my posted photos were noticed by Topdeck Travel, and they asked if they could use some of my travel pictures for their posters. This really was the beginning of my career. I began developing my relationship with Topdeck Travel, and before long, I got my first pay travel overseas to take photographs.
Soon I reached the point where I had to make a decision— either to play it safe, go back to university and settle down like everyone else, or to follow my heart and go my own way— a path with an uncertain future. I chose the latter, and it was the scariest and best decision I have ever made.
Five years after leaving school, I might not have a university degree, a well-paid job, a husband or a house with a white fence. Instead, I’m sitting at my office, with a cafe by a beach at Goa, India. As I stare past my laptop screen at the sun setting beyond the waves, a salty breeze touches my face.
To me, success is about pursuing my dreams and creating my own path instead of trying to follow someone else’s. Somehow, I feel like my life is exactly where it is meant to be.
1. What did the author think of going to university?| A．She took it seriously. | B．She showed little interest. |
| C．She looked forward to it. | D．She thought it was a must. |
| A．The knowledge about the real world. |
| B．Her paid overseas travel experience. |
| C．Realizing what she really wanted in her life. |
| D．Knowing what really mattered at university. |
| A．She regrets not going back to university. |
| B．She gets less knowledge in the real world. |
| C．She feels quite satisfied with her present life. |
| D．She misses the days working for Topdeck Travel. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Even the hardest days contain lessons that will help you be a better person. Feeling down? Consider these things to remember when you’re having a bad day.
No one promised life would be perfect. If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content. Don’t build your happiness on meeting every expectation you set for yourself. It is good to be ambitious, but you’ll never be perfect. If you anticipate otherwise, your life will be crammed with disappointments.
Success doesn’t happen overnight. Trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit. Don’t kid yourself that success will come quickly. It isn’t easy to be patient, but anything worth doing requires time. If you get frustrated, remind yourself why your goal is important.
There is a lesson in every struggle. And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through or how you managed to survive. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about. Don’t complain about how terrible your life is. If you search for the lesson in your present struggle, you’ll be able to make positive changes that would prevent similar situations in the future.
Without hard times, you wouldn’t appreciate the good ones. Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strength. When you go through hardships and decide not to give in, that is strength. It is hard to find much to smile at when you fail, but how else would you improve yourself?If you look at failure as a part of your evolutionary process, you’ll not be pessimistic but pursue your goals for as long as it takes.
1. Which of the following summarizes this passage best?| A．Every person has to go through hard times. |
| B．Success doesn’t happen overnight. |
| C．We should accept the fact that life is not perfect. |
| D．There are things to remember when you are having a bad day. |
| A．Success will come quickly. | B．Hard work leads to success. |
| C．Success calls for patience. | D．Confidence is the first step to success. |
| A．lessons from struggles make us stronger |
| B．all things are difficult before they are easy |
| C．we should forget how we managed to survive |
| D．similar situations in the future will never appear |
| A．Hard times make us lose heart and be short of courage. |
| B．Perseverance in time of hardships develops our strength. |
| C．Smiling when you fail will not help to improve yourself. |
| D．We should try to avoid failure in the evolutionary process. |
【推荐2】You are about to hear a strange but true story. Legend has it that, Harry Houdini, the master magician, once claimed that he could break out of any jail cell in the world. All he had to do was walk into that jail cell with his street clothes on. 'I will be out of there in one hour. No problem!' He said. A very old jail down South heard about Houdini's claims and they accepted the challenge. On the day of the event, many people gathered outside. Very confidently, Houdini walked into the jail and into the cell and they shut the metal door behind him.
The first thing Houdini did was to take off his coat. Then, very strangely, he took off his belt. Secretly hidden in Houdini's belt, was a ten-inch piece of steel; very tough and very flexible and Houdini started working.
In about 30 minutes, that confident expression Houdini had when he walked in disappeared. In one hour, he was bathed in sweat. And at the end of two hours, Houdini in defeat, collapsed against the door, which then opened. It opened because you see, that door had never been locked. But that's not entirely true is it? That door was locked. It was firmly and thoroughly locked in Houdini's mind, which meant it was locked as if the best locksmith in the world had put his lock on it.
The mind is powerful. How many doors in your life do you think are locked but aren't? how many times have you been stuck in the mental prison of over thinking something that really had a simple solution. There is an ancient African proverb that says when there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do us no harm.
Your mind is the most powerful force you will ever face. It will tell you lies. It will tell you can't do that. You're not meant for that. You're not good enough for that. You can't go on anymore. You don't have the energy. You must thank it for its opinion and carry on. Because as Houdini showed us the only locked doors that exist are in your own mind. The doors in reality are open and all you have to do is walk through.
1. Why couldn't Harry Houdini open the door within two hours?| A．Because he didn't open the door with his mind. |
| B．Because the door was locked by the best locksmith. |
| C．Because he had thought the door was locked. |
| D．Because he overestimated his own ability to open the door. |
| A．Bring the painted dragon to life by putting in the pupils of its eyes. |
| B．One tends to stand still and refuse to make progress. |
| C．The donkey has exhausted its skills against the tiger. |
| D．Lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen. |
| A．The biggest enemy in your life is in fact the enemy in your mind. |
| B．If you walk through the door in mind, your potential will be unlimited. |
| C．Unless you defeat the enemy outside, you will not defeat your enemy inside. |
| D．Life is really simple, but we insist on making it rigid and complicated. |
【推荐3】I was one of the young US soldiers in Saudi Arabia. At one time before the Internet，our only lifeline to friends and family was the mail we sent and received.
One evening the mail soldier called my name and，instead of a letter，handed me a large box from my grandmother in Oklahoma. One of the great hardships of the war for me was the absence of my grandmother's cooking—her fried chicken and onion，corn bread，and，most of all，her desserts. But on that evening I was about to take a gastronomic（美食的） journey home: I opened the box and found two dozen pies made by my grandmother.
A man from New York approached and asked me what I had received. I couldn't answer；my mouth was full of pie. So I just offered him one. “So nice！”he said. “What are they？”He had to wait a few moments for an answer，but eventually I explained. As insurance，I offered him another pie to keep him quiet.
Once a day for the next three weeks，I imagined returning home to my grandmother's kitchen，if only I had had a few sweet bites at a time.
Some of my earliest memories are associated with my grandmother's pies. She had been baking pies since before the Great Depression. She would have astonished the judges on today's TV cooking challenges. I remember coming across a persimmon（柿子）tree once while out hiking. It was autumn，and the fruit was soft and sweet. I picked a few dozen and brought them to Grandma. Guess what！The next day I walked into her kitchen to find a persimmon pie waiting for me.
1. What can we infer about the US soldiers？| A．They were familiar with the pies. |
| B．They were eager to get their mail. |
| C．They were forbidden to use the Internet. |
| D．They seldom got in touch with the outside. |
| A．To prove it was made by Grandma. |
| B．To make the soldier judge the taste. |
| C．To indicate he was generous. |
| D．To let himself enjoy the pies. |
| A．To look back on the hiking day. |
| B．To appreciate Grandma's devotion to him. |
| C．To show Grandma's pie-making skills. |
| D．To explain Grandma's pie-making history. |
| A．Earliest memories of Grandma |
| B．Grandma's package sent me home |
| C．I missed Grandma's persimmon pie |
| D．Memorizing Grandma's cooking history |
【推荐1】Ten years ago, I went on a vacation in Italy. After climbing up a hill for a panoramic (全景的) view of the blue sea, white buildings and green olive trees, I paused to catch my breath and then positioned myself to take the best photo of this panorama.
Unfortunately, just as I took out my camera, a woman approached from behind, and planted herself right in front of my view. Like me, this woman was here to stop, sigh and appreciate the view.
Patient as I was, after about 15 minutes, I grew frustrated. Was it too much to ask her to move so I could take just one picture of the landscape? Sure, I could have asked her, but something prevented me from doing so. She seemed so content in her observation. I didn't want to mess with that. Another 15 minutes passed and I grew bored. The woman was still there. I decided to take the photo anyway.
Now when I look at the photo, I think her presence in the photo is what makes the image interesting. The landscape, beautiful on its own, somehow comes to life and breathes because this woman is engaging with it.
This photo, with the unique beauty that unfolded before me and that woman who "ruined" it, now hangs on a wall in my bedroom. What would she think if she knew that her figure is captured and frozen on some strangers bedroom wall? A bedroom, after all, is a very private space, in which some woman I don't even know has been immortalized (使永存). In some ways, she lives in my house.
Perhaps we all live in each other's spaces. Perhaps this is what photos are for: to remind us that we all appreciate beauty, that we all share a common desire for pleasure, for connection, for something that is greater than us. That photo is a reminder, a captured moment, an unspoken conversation between two women, separated only by a thin square of glass.
1. What happened when the author was about to take a photo?| A．Her camera stopped working. | B．A friend approached from behind. |
| C．Someone asked her to leave. | D．A woman blocked her view. |
| A．losing her patience | B．enjoying herself |
| C．waiting for the sunset | D．thinking about her past |
| A．The woman's existence in the photo. | B．The perfect positioning of the camera. |
| C．The rich color of the landscape. | D．The soft sunlight that summer day. |
| A．the need to be close to nature | B．the importance of private space |
| C．the shared passion for beauty | D．the joy of the vacation in Italy |
【推荐2】For most of my adult life, I’ve felt slightly ashamed —not of something I’ve done, but of something I haven’t. Although I’m an independent person who has been to numerous countries, I’ve never gone on an overseas holiday alone. I’ve traveled with my parents, partners, kids and other families. I’ve travelled with my pet and joined tours where I knew no one but came out with lifelong friends.
But for a while, my failure to travel alone felt like a mistake. Solo travel is celebrated. I’ve seen a thousand pieces written by adventurous women who claim to have found themselves by crossing countries alone. Traveling solo makes you capable, they say. It pushes you out of your comfort zone. Every woman should travel alone at least once in her life!
And yet, I’ve never had an urge to do it. For one thing, I need a lot of people contact. A single day without meaningful conversation can leave me feeling depressed. Proper, engaging conversation is difficult when traveling alone. Even if you’re good at chatting with strangers, it isn’t always possible. I don’t want to worry about being alone on my travels. I want support and company during my adventures. I used to see this desire to be with others as some sort of flaw, but now I see it as a valid choice.
Traveling solo builds resilience. But so does life. I am a single parent raising three children while trying to juggle a career. I make endless decisions alone and deal with crises alone. I manage loneliness and fear. I don’t need to travel alone to build resilience. I have resilience in spades, I’m sure travelling overseas would push me further out of comfort zone. But you know what else pushed me out of my comfort zone? Being single in a society that values marriage. Earning a living in a difficult industry. Dating men I’ve met on an app. My life is effortful enough. I don’t need my travels to be effortful too.
Travel is incredibly valuable, no matter what your stage of life. It teaches you how diverse the world is and how to appreciate your culture in relation to another. It stretches your mind and gives you a new viewpoint.
And you don’t need a solo journey to become an independent woman. I assure you that life will get you there in the end.
1. What does the author feel a bit ashamed of?| A．Her lack of independence. | B．Her failure to travel overseas. |
| C．Not being adventurous enough. | D．Not having travelled on her own abroad |
| A．It is both relaxing and empowering. | B．They can better appreciate different cultures. |
| C．They get to know themselves better. | D．It forces them to face their deepest fear. |
| A．She has had enough of resilience. |
| B．She doesn’t want to travel solo with spades. |
| C．She doesn’t need solo traveling to build character. |
| D．She has gone through many difficulties in life to have great resilience. |
| A．Walking out of comfort zone | B．Solo travel is unnecessary |
| C．Life is travelling solo | D．Being an independent woman |
【推荐3】I have no memory of December 27. 2015; but I can tell you this much ̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶ ̶ it was the day my five-year-old son, Dane, saved my life. All the practicing Dane and I had done came together that day. Teaching him to learn our home address, how to use the phone, how to dial 911, and how to answer the questions a 911 operator might ask him if he did have to call ̶̶ ̶ paid off.
At about 3:30 that afternoon, I wasn’t feeling well and had been lying on the sofa. At some point, I went to the bathroom and it was there that I fell down and went unconsciousness. When I fell, my face hit the floor, causing two of my teeth to break off. And my body blocked the door.
Dane must have heard me fall, because he came to the bathroom and called out to me. When I did not answer him, he looked in through a gap in the door and saw the blood from my injured mouth. That’s when his “training” kicked in. First, Dane phoned my mother ̶ ̶ his grandma ̶ ̶ and when Grandma didn’t answer the phone, he called 911. Dane remained calm, stayed on the line and told the operator what had happened and where we lived. He turned on the outside light and opened the door for police and paramedics (医务人员), and then led them to me.
Recently, emergency responders in Taber, the town where we live, honored Dane at his school during an assembly (集会) of his kindergarten classmates and other students. The Taber Police Service praised my son and give him a certificate (证书) in recognition of his “knowing exactly what to do in an emergency situation.”
Dane saved my life, and he is my angel! If I had not taught my son how to react if there was ever an emergency in our home, I am quite certain that I would not be alive now. I strongly suggest other parents understand the life-and -death importance of taking the time to teach their kids these skills, too. Children can learn these things at a very young age. I know this first-hand, as Dane was three years old when I started teaching him.
1. According to the text, Dane________.| A．won a certificate for excellent test scores |
| B．taught himself emergency knowledge at 3 |
| C．once saved his father with his mother’s help |
| D．began to learn emergency knowledge in 2013 |
| A．hard-working but proud |
| B．honest and careful |
| C．skilled and calm |
| D．shy and helpful |
| A．Emergency does happen often in our everyday life. |
| B．Parents should teach their young children how to deal with emergency. |
| C．Parents must learn to be paramedics before learning emergency knowledge. |
| D．It doesn’t take much time and patience to teach children emergency knowledge. |
