If life can be compared to a meal, I think the mistakes are like salt and the success is a candy.
“Hey,” said the boy whose name I couldn’t remember, sitting next to me. “Don’t worry. Take your time.” And so I did. But I still couldn’t correctly pronounce my Chinese name that was given by the teacher. I was so embarrassed on my first day of learning Chinese. I was so worried that I didn’t sleep well that night. I couldn’t stop thinking what would happen in my Chinese class in the following days.
I took Chinese classes during my summer vacation. Every morning I walked for 25 minutes to the class while having a Chinese pancake from one of the breakfast carts（推车）on the way. Learning Spanish in school was a cushy job for me, because I could speak French and Italian which helped me with it. However, learning Chinese was difficult at first. As a boy who was born in America and grew up in America, I knew nothing about the language and had no experience of learning the language. I chose it mainly because my goal was to work and teach home and abroad. It is necessary for me to master different languages.
As the classes went on, I slowly found that I was making connections. My 10 years of playing the piano has allowed me to perform for others. My several years of writing has led me to become a school reporter. I knew that my Chinese classes would allow me to speak Chinese well. As the teachers helped me build up the confidence, I soon began tasting the sweetness.
So what did my summer really taste like? It tasted like the Chinese food that, for the first time, I did not order in English, my mother language.
1. Why did the writer feel embarrassed in his first Chinese class?| A．Because he didn’t remember his friend’s name. |
| B．Because he couldn’t write his Chinese name. |
| C．Because he had poor Chinese pronunciation. |
| A．difficult | B．easy | C．meaningful |
| A．Because Chinese is one of his school necessary subjects. |
| B．Because he wanted to teach and work internationally. |
| C．Because he was interested in all kinds of Chinese food. |
| A．An American girl who loves China. |
| B．How to learn Chinese well. |
| C．A sweet experience of learning Chinese. |
相似题推荐
There are so many expressions in American English that sound pleasant (令人愉快的) but are not.
When your friend returns you must tell her what you have done and “face the music”.
| A．But you do not listen. |
| B．“Face the music” is a good example. |
| C．The “music” here is the result of your actions. |
| D．Americans often use the word “face” in this way. |
| E．There are other American expressions that mean the same thing as “face the music”. |
【推荐2】More and more Chinese are having English names, but not everyone is good at finding one. Why not offer them some help? An American girl called Lindsay Jernigan is now teaching people how to get better English names.
While working in Shanghai, Lindsay met many Chinese people with strange English names. Some of them chose a lucky number “Seven”, a favourite fruit “Apple” and a cartoon character “Snow White”. Others had names like “July” and “Rabbit”.
After noticing the problem, Lindsay had an idea. She quit her job and set up a website (bestenglishname.com) to help Chinese people get better English names.
The website helps people in two ways. After they take an online quiz, people will get five English names based on their personal information, such as age, job and even future plans. This costs 18 yuan. People can also meet with Lindsay to talk about their English names. But that costs more.
Now, about 2, 000 people each day visit the website. Most of them are preparing to study or work abroad. Lindsay is planning to offer them more help, such as helping them write resume (简历).
1. What does Lindsay think of the name “Rabbit”?| A．Wonderful. | B．Strange. | C．Creative. | D．Boring. |
| A．cared about | B．looked for | C．picked up | D．gave up |
| A．18 yuan | B．less than 18 yuan | C．more than 18 yuan | D．more or less than 18 yuan |
| A．A hard-working American girl | B．How to find a good English name |
| C．Don’t choose English names without thinking | D．An American girl helps to choose an English name |
【推荐3】Slang（俚语）words are used more in speaking than in writing.
Most Americans know about 10, 000 to 20, 000 words. About 1, 000 to 2, 000 of these words are slang expressions.
Slang words are created by special groups such as workers, students and musicians.
Slang words are popular for a time and then they are usually forgotten and not used anymore. Students studying English as a foreign language should be very careful about learning slang words.
Here are two Slangs from Dictionary of American Slangs:
BLUE MAN n. a uniformed policeman
DEAD PRESIDENT n. a piece of paper money
| A．However, slang words are most often used among those. |
| B．Generally, it is better not to learn a lot. |
| C．For this reason, few of them can be found in ordinary dictionaries. |
| D．Later, some of the slang words are used by other people. |
| E．They are used to describe a new object, experience or idea. |
【推荐1】There is a motto（座右铭） hanging on the wall of my bedroom.“ A life is like a field of newly fallen snow. Where I choose to walk, the steps will show.” Every time I stand in front of it, I can’t help thinking of what happened three years ago.
At that time I was very active in Western Middle School as a new member of the Students Union （学生会） . One day before the final exams, the Union wanted some students to write some articles and asked us to finish them in a week. But everyone was so busy preparing for the exams that no one could be glad to do such a job. When the president（主席） asked me to do it, I agreed with him without thinking twice in order that I could give him a good impression（印象）.
In the following days, I was busy with my final exams until the day the president asked me for the article. When he found that I didn’t even write down a word, he felt very angry and said, “I will give you one more day and I hope I can see it on my table on Friday morning.” It was impossible for me to finish it in such a short day.
The next day, the president told me that I was fired（解雇） by the Union.
When my father knew what happened to me, he asked, “Why didn’t you write it as soon as you promised it?”
“Because I was so busy at that time…what’s more…” I tried to find more reasons.
“My son, you have to remember that every time you are in trouble, don’t give yourself any excuse. Everyone who wants to be successful has to be brave to face his own mistake.”
That night my father wrote that motto and I hung it in my bedroom.
根据材料内容判断正误, 正确填A, 错误填B。
1. There is a motto（座右铭） written on the wall of the writer’s bedroom.
2. The writer was a new member of the Students Union in Western Middle School three years ago.
3. The president（主席） asked the writer to write the article because he wanted to leave a good impression.
4. The writer didn’t even write down a word and felt very angry.
5. The writer’s father wrote that motto in order to tell the writer to be brave to face his mistakes.
【推荐2】One Sunday morning in June my mother walked into my room. "Surprise!" she said, proudly holding up a yellow dress with black and white stripes. "I made it just for you. What do you think?"
I bit my tongue. How could I tell Mum it was the ugliest dress I had ever seen?
"It's perfect for church," my mother continued delightedly. "I wish someone had made a dress like this for me."
Too bad you can't wear it, I thought. But I knew Mum had spent a lot of time on the dress. Only the world's most ungrateful daughter would refuse. Unwillingly I put it on.
All through church I prayed, "Lord, let me get out of here without anyone seeing me." Especially Dennis Pearce, the boy I had a crush on. He was one of the cutest boys at Neptune High School. Although we were in some of the same classes, Dennis had never taken any notice of me. Every time I got near him, I became tongue﹣tied.
At the end of the service I hurried to the door. But I had to wait on the steps while my parents chatted with their friends. Just a little while longer… Then out of the corner of my eye I saw the Pearce approaching. Before I could escape, Dennis was right beside me.
I started talking a mile a minute, hoping if I kept it up he wouldn't notice my awful dress.
"I'm going to college in September," I said.
"That's great," Dennis replied, "I got accepted to police academy."
"Wow!" I said. Somehow I kept the conversation going. Soon we were walking to the parking lot together. The next thing I knew Dennis had asked me out on a date!
We fell in love through college, and finally got married. Months after our wedding I asked Dennis if he remembered the day he had first asked me out.
"You bet I do," he said. "You were always quiet in school, almost coldhearted. I didn't think you'd be much fun. But you were so lively when we talked on the church steps, I wanted to get to know you better." Maybe that zebra﹣striped yellow dress wasn't what I would have chosen, but that day it was the perfect dress for me.
1. What did the writer think of the dress?| A．It had special colors. | B．It looked really awful. |
| C．Its style was boring. | D．It was right for church. . |
| A．Proud. | B．Angry. | C．Nervous. | D．Happy. |
| A．catch his parents' attention | B．ask him out on a date |
| C．stop him noticing her dress | D．get to know him better. |
| A．A perfect dress. | B．An excellent mother. |
| C．A creative date. | D．An unforgettable service. |
Many people are surprised when they find that the internet was set up in the 1960’. At that time, computers were large and expensive. Computer networks didn’t work well if one computer in the network broke down. Then the whole network stopped. So a new network system had to be set up. It should be good enough to be used by many different computers. If one part of the network was not working , information could be sent through another part. In this way computer network system could keep on working all the time.
At first the internet was only used it, too. However, computers were still very expensive and the internet was difficult to use. By the start of the 1990’s, computers were still very expensive and the internet was difficult to use. By the start of the 1990’s, computers had become cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software that made “surfing “ the internet more convenient.
Today it is easy to get online and it is said that millions of people use the internet every day. Sending e-mail is more and more popular among students. The internet has now become one of the most important parts of people’s life.
1. The Internet has a history of more than years.
| A．ten | B．twenty | C．forty | D．sixty |
| A．make computers cheaper |
| B．make computers expensive |
| C．make itself keep on working all the time |
| D．make computers large |
| A．the government | B．universities | C．hospitals | D．schools |
| A．便宜的 | B．昂贵的 | C．方便的 | D．困难的 |
| A．fewer people are using computers |
| B．it is more difficult to get online |
| C．sending e-mail is more popular |
| D．computers are more expensive |
Both my wife and I are running lovers. I usually run on the track (跑道) in my neighbourhood. Most people walk on the track, so I am faster than them. My speed seems amazing and I often pass by them twenty or more times around the track. This makes me feel proud.
One day, a short man came. He didn’t look like much of a runner. I saw him get out of the car and warm up (热身) before running when I passed by two walkers. He started running a few meters ahead of me. He was fast but I sped up and managed to catch up with him. But after a lap (圈), I fell behind him and had great difficulty in breathing. After two laps, my foot began to hurt, so I had to slow down and began to run at my usual speed. This time I could breathe again and the pain in my foot went away. He was too fast for me to follow.
That day, I learnt several lessons. We each have our own speed. When we are trying to keep up, we often end up hurting ourselves. Slow down or speed up, but run your race to your best. Don’t run fast when you should be running slowly. Don’t run at all when you should be walking. Don’t walk when you should be running.
1. It makes the author feel proud that he often passes by the walkers many times around the track.2. At first, the author thought the short man wasn’t good at running.
3. After a lap, the author’s foot began to hurt.
4. The author had to slow down because he had a lung disease.
5. According to this passage, we know that we each have our own speed.
【推荐2】Love, joy and the warm feeling of getting together don’t cost a thing. But gifts do cost money. So what should a poor family do?
When I was 10, I told my mother that the only thing I wanted for the New Year was a pogo stick (弹簧单高跷). However, my mother said it was so expensive that we couldn’t afford one.
On a Saturday before New Year, my family went shopping together. While my mother and I were picking out the gifts, my dad said, “I’ll be back soon-I need to see something in the tool area.” A moment later, he came back with a long box. I remembered wondering if there was a pogo stick in it.
When we arrived home, my dad put the box in the garage. While my parents were busy with their chores, I quietly walked out to the garage and found the box. I was so excited and I knew as soon as I opened that magical box, my bright, shiny pogo stick would appear. No such luck! Inside the box was a silly old broom (扫帚).
That New Year morning, I got some gifts like a tiger toy and a saving pot, but I didn’t get the present that I really wanted. How upset I felt at that moment though I didn’t want my parents to see!
After cleaning up the room, my dad went to the garage. When he came back, he was carrying a beautiful pogo stick. I couldn’t believe it! My parents probably got quite a laugh from the trick they played on me.
Although we didn’t have much money, my parents gave me the most important gift of all: lots of love. That was over 60 years ago and I still think about those wonderful memories. They were full of my childhood. I will never forget all the joy my parents brought into my life.
1. What did the writer see in the long box when he opened it?| A．Pogo stick. | B．An old broom. | C．A tiger toy. | D．A saving pot. |
| A．Excited. | B．Upset. | C．Unbelievable. | D．Scared. |
| A．The writer’s parents. | B．The pogo sticks. |
| C．Some nice gifts. | D．The wonderful memories. |
| A．The writer can always get what he wants from his parents. |
| B．His parents gave the writer enough love although he was born in poor. |
| C．The writer is about 60 years old now. |
| D．The writer felt disappointed with his parents. |
| A．An Interesting New Year. | B．Poor Life Made Us Happy. |
| C．A New Year Story. | D．A New Year Full of Love. |
【推荐3】There was a park near my home. But I didn’t go there very often because many people said there was nothing special. One afternoon I went into the park. I walked quickly because there wasn’t much to see. I walked for some time and found myself standing in front of two paths(小路).“Which way should I go?” I asked myself. I looked at one path, and then the other. I found that the two paths were different from each other.
The left one was wide and clean.There were lots of flowers on both sides of the path. Though the flowers weren’t very beautiful, they made me feel good. Then I looked at the right one. The path didn’t look nice. It looked as if it had not been cleaned for months. For a long time, I couldn’t make up my mind.
After a while, a strange feeling made me follow the dirty path. It wasn’t nice, but I didn’t want to give up. At last, I came to the end of the path. To my surprise, there was a small garden. It was beautiful. I thought it was the nicest part of the park. Later, I told the others what I had seen in the park, but they just smiled at me without saying a word. I knew they didn’t believe me. They couldn’t even remember that path because it was so small.
My trip to the park that day made me understand something about life. Don’t be afraid to choose a different path. You may get a big surprise!
1. Why did the writer walk quickly in the park?| A．Because he was doing some exercise. | B．Because he was looking for something. |
| C．Because he was not interested in the park. | D．Because he wanted to get to the end quickly. |
| A．the left path | B．the right path | C．the park | D．the path |
| A．Nothing special. | B．A small garden. | C．A lot of people. | D．Some flowers. |
| A．where there is a will, there is a way | B．god helps those who help themselves |
| C．the success belongs to (属于) those who are brave to try | D．every dog has its day |
