A little river ran down from a high mountain through many villages and forests. Then she reached a desert*. “I went through so many difficulties. I should have no problem crossing the desert,” she thought. As she started, she found herself slowly disappearing into the sand. After many tries, she still failed.
“Maybe I can’t reach the ocean,’’ she said sadly to herself.
At this time, a deep voice said, “If a wind can cross the desert, so can a river.” It was the voice of the desert. But the little river answered, ‘‘That’s because a wind can fly, but I cannot.”
“That’s because you can’t give up what you are. Let yourself evaporate* into the wind, and it can take you across,” said the desert. “Give up what I am now? No! No!” The little river could not accept this idea. “The wind can carry the vapor* across the desert and let it leave as rain. The rain will form a river again,” said the desert. “And whether you’re a river or vapor, your nature never changes.” Hearing this, the little river went into the open arms of the wind. It carried her to the next stage of her life.
The course of our lives is like the experience of the little river. If you want to go through difficulties in your life to head for success, you should also change the way you are.
1. The little river wanted to reach ________| A．the forest | B．the ocean | C．the desert | D．the river |
| A．was confident about herself |
| B．was worried about herself |
| C．knew well about the desert |
| D．didn’t meet much difficulty |
| A．forming the rain | B．changing her nature |
| C．disappearing into the sand | D．evaporating into the wind |
相似题推荐
There are two mice. They are friends. One mouse lives in a small hole behind a big tree in the country (郊区); the other mouse lives in a house next to a garden in the city. One day the Country mouse sees the City mouse. He says, "Come and see me at my house in the country Let's play together." So the City mouse comes.
After playing in the field (田), looking for different kinds of food and eating a big meal with hundreds of friends there, the City mouse says, "Your house is not good, and the food is not good, either. Why do you live in the small hole in the field? You should go and live in the city. It's comfortable to live in a nice house made of stone (石头). You must go and see me at my house in the city. I have my own large house."
The Country mouse goes to the house of the City mouse on Sunday. It is a very good house. There is enough food in the kitchen for them to eat. But just as they begin to eat, they hear a great noise. The City mouse cries, "Run! Run! The cat is coming!" They run away quickly and hide.
After some time they come out. The Country mouse says, "I do not like living in the city. I like living in my hole in the field. It is better to be poor and happy than to be rich and afraid."
根据短文内容，完成表格(每个空格只填一个单词)
| Two mice | The City mouse | The |
| Living place | A | A |
| Friends | He has no friends there. | He has |
| There is | He looks for food in the field. | |
| Opinion | It's | It's better to be poor and |
【推荐2】Tom was from a poor family. His father was a poor worker. His mother had no job and she was often ill. Tom liked drawing pictures and he hoped to be an artist. But everybody said that he couldn’t be an artist and made fun of his dream. But Tom didn’t want to give up his dream.
One day, Tom heard that there would be a drawing competition the next month, and anyone aged over 13 was welcome. The winner would get a prize of $10, 000. Tom thought about it and decided to take part in the competition.
That month seemed the longest month in Tom’s life. Every day when he got home from school, a pencil and a piece of paper were the first things in his hands. Finally, the day of the competition came. Tom finished his drawing quickly. After two weeks. Tom got a letter. He was too afraid to open it. At last, he opened it slowly. Just as he read the first sentence, he began crying. However, they were not tears of sadness. They were tears of happiness!
根据短文内容，回答下列问题。
1. Who was often ill?
2. What’s Tom’s dream?
3. Who could take part in the competition?
4. What did Tom do before the competition?
5. Did Tom win the competition at last?
【推荐3】In many people’s minds, it is bad to fail. When they do, they become losers and others will look down on them. As a result, they are afraid to try new things.
However, failures don’t have to make us losers. It’s common to fail. So, don’t feel bad about yourself because of your failures. What you should do is learn from them. If so, you will get better and grow.
Many famous people had failures before they became successful. Also they aren’t scared to share them with others. In fact, there is now a special day for that. It is the International Day for Failure.
The International Day for Failure is on December 13. It started as an initiate (倡议) of some students in Finland. The students found that Finland needed a lot of new jobs, but few people wanted to give them a try. The reason was that they were scared to fail. Then the students came up with the idea—creating the Day for Failure.
In 2010, a group of students in Finland celebrated the first Day of Failure. The next year, many famous people in Finland joined the students and shared their failure stories. In the third year, the day became more popular. About 17 countries celebrated it. Now people around the world celebrate it every October.
So, this October 13, join them and celebrate your failure with the world.
1完成句子；2/3 简略回答问题；4找出并写下第二段主题句；5将文中划线句子译成汉语。
1.
2. How many countries celebrated the third Day for Failure?
3. What is the fourth paragraph mainly about?
4.
5.
【推荐1】Are you a fan of adventure(冒险) stories? If yes, a new novel called Dragon Mountain by Katie and Kevin will be to your taste.
Living in London now, the couple writers had so much fun writing this book. They were inspired(启发) by classic adventure stories as well as old Chinese stories, and of course, their love of dragons.
In the novel Dragon Mountain, A 12-year-old boy, Billy finds out his parents are sending him to a summer camp in China to learn Chinese culture and improve his Chinese. There he makes friends with three other campers—careful Dylan, confident Charlotte and kind-hearted Ling.
The children enter a world of magic(魔法) and adventure as they discover four dragons hidden in the mountain behind the camp. The dragons have been trapped(被困) there since a big fight with the Dragon of Death long ago and need the children’s help to set them free. The four children and the four dragons must set off on a dangerous adventure that will take them to the heart of the Dragon Realm. (A)They will fight with the Dragon of Death to save both the human and the dragon world.
This book is a must-read for anyone who has an interest in stories of heroes and dragons. Also, it is fit for the people who love excitement and action, who love to be surprised and shocked. (B)This book will lead you to a magical, exciting and dangerous world that you don’t want to leave. Don’t miss it!
1. What inspired Katie and Kevin to write the novel?2. Why do Billy’s parents send him to a summer camp in China?
3. 请找出文中(A)处划线部分They指代的内容：
4. 从文中找出与“If you are interested in books about heroes and dragons, this book won’t let you down.”意思相同或相近的句子。
5. 将文中(B)处划线句子This book will lead you to a magical, exciting and dangerous world that you don’t want to leave.译成汉语。
One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa! I try to read books just like you, but I don’t understand it, and I forget what I do understand as soon as I close the books. What good does reading do?” The grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and answered, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.”
The boy did as he was told, but all the water was out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, “You’ll have to run a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the same took place. The old man said, “You’re just not trying hard enough. Try again.” The boy again put the basket into the river and ran very very hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was empty again. He said disappointedly, “ See Grandpa, it’s useless!”
“So you think it useless?” The old man said.“Look at the basket.” The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been changed from a dirty old coal basket into a clean one, inside and out. “ You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you’ll be changed, inside and out.”
根据短文内容，回答下列问题。
1. Where did the old man and his grandson live?
_____________________________________________________________________
2. What did the grandfather ask his grandson to do when he heard the grandson’s words?
_____________________________________________________________________
3. How many times did the grandson go and get the water?
_____________________________________________________________________
4. Did the boy feel excited when he saw the basket was still empty for the last time?
_____________________________________________________________________
5. What good does reading do according to the grandfather?
_____________________________________________________________________
【推荐3】A rich man loved his son very much. As he wanted his son to lead a happy life, he sent him to see a wise old man for his advice on happiness.
When the old man learnt about his purpose, he handed the boy an empty bowl and said, “Go to the river miles away and fill it with water. I will tell you about it if no water is spilt (洒) when you reach here.”
Although the boy was very surprised at this, he had no choice but to carry out this task.
The boy set off on foot for the river and some time later, he came back with a bowl of water. The old man asked him, “Did you notice the beautiful flowers along the road and the birds singing in the trees?” The boy could say nothing about them because he gave his full attention to the bowl in his hands.
The old man smiled and said, “Bring me another bowl of water, but this time enjoy the flowers and the singing of birds as well.”
When he returned, the boy was able to describe everything he had seen to the old man. But when he looked down at his bowl, he found sadly that most water was gone. He forgot all about his bowl while enjoying the beautiful things along the road.
“Well, young man,” the old man said, “Enjoy the beauty of the world, but never forget the water in your bowl. This is the secret of happiness.”
1. What did the old man ask the young man to do after he learned about his purpose?______________________________________________________________________
2. Did the young man come back with a bowl full of water the second time?
______________________________________________________________________
3. According to the passage, what does “the water in your bowl” mean in real life?
______________________________________________________________________
4. What is the secret of happiness in your mind?
______________________________________________________________________
On January 9, 1896, Mao Yisheng was born in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province. He was a famous bridge expert, civil engineering scientist and educator of China. He joined the Communist Party of China in October 1987.
Mao Yisheng moved with his family to Nanjing shortly after he was born. In Nanjing, the young Mao received a modern education that included maths, science and arts rather than a more traditional Chinese classical education. He graduated from Tangshan Engineering College in 1916. In 1917, he was accepted into America’s Cornell University where he earned his Master’s degree. Then he moved to Carnegie Mellon University where he became the first PhD student in the university’s history. His dissertation (博士论文) contributed greatly to bridge theory in the 1920s.
Dr. Mao was considered as the founder (奠基人) of modern bridge engineering in China. He designed Qiantang River Bridge, the first road-and-railway bridge designed and built by a Chinese. His rich experience in building the bridge is worth writing about in international bridges. He also took part in the design of China’s first modern bridge—Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge. Moreover, Dr. Mao also led the design of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. He became an academician (院士) of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1955, and the first Chinese scientist to be awarded the title of a foreign academician of the United States National Academy of Engineering in 1982.
Upon his return to China, Dr. Mao worked in five famous universities and held the position of president (校长) of four of them. He greatly influenced Chinese engineering education by introducing new teaching methods. What’s more, Dr. Mao was a famous scholar of the history of science in China. He publicly supported popular science education, and wrote a large number of science articles.
Dr. Mao passed away in Beijing at the age of 93. He was awarded the title of “the most beautiful fighter” in 2019. Mao Yisheng played an important role in Chinese structural engineering. Today his bridges connect people throughout the country.
| Personal information | ➢Mao Yisheng (1896—1989) is a bridge expert, scientist and educator. ➢He became a |
| Education | ➢At an ➢After graduating from Tangshan Engineering College, he went abroad for ➢His dissertation made a great |
| Achievements | ➢Dr. Mao was the chief ➢He was an academician of ➢He ➢He wrote many science articles to |
| Praise | ➢Awarded “the most beautiful fighter”, he is of great |
【推荐2】One year there was a terrible flood in the countryside. For a week it rained every day. The river rose and burst its banks （冲垮河岸）. The whole countryside was flooded.
Most of the people escaped from the flood in boats. One old man, however, didn’t want to go with them. He sat on the roof of his house and waited for the water to go down.
He was very religious（信宗教的）. “I shall stay here,” he said. “God will save me.”
The rain continued. The floodwater rose higher and higher. Soon the water reached the roof of the man’s house. Two men rowed a boat up to the man’s house, trying to save him. “Come with us,” they said. “The water is still rising. You’ll drown（淹死）.” The old man shook his head. “No,” he said. “God will save me.” Sadly, the men rowed away. They thought the old man was crazy, but there was nothing they could do. Soon the water covered the roof of the old man’s house.
A helicopter（直升机）arrived and the pilot put down a rope. “Climb up,” he shouted to the old man. “The water is still rising. You’ll drown.” But the old man still didn’t want to leave his house. “God will save me,” he cried, and the helicopter flew away.
The next day the old man drowned in the rising water. He went to heaven（天堂）.
God was waiting at the door, and the old man was very angry with him. “I believe in you,” the old man shouted. “I told everyone you would save me. And what happened? You let me drown.”
“I did not. What about the boat I sent?” God replied. “And the helicopter?”
1. What happened in the countryside one year?2. How did most of the people escape from the flood?
3. The old man’s belief in God wasn’t strong, was it?
4. What did the helicopter pilot do after he arrived there?
5. How many times have the God saved the old man actually?
6. What do you think of the old man? Why?
A doctor, a lawyer, a little boy and a priest were out for a Sunday afternoon flight on a small private plane. Suddenly, the plane had engine trouble. In spite of(尽管) the best efforts of the pilot, the plane started to go down. Finally, the pilot took a parachute(降落伞) and shouted to the four people that they had better jump, and then he himself jumped out. Unluckily, there were only three parachutes left.
The doctor took one and said, “I’m a doctor. I save lives, so I must live.” Then he jumped out.
The lawyer then said, “I’m a lawyer, and lawyers are the smartest people in the world. I deserve to live.” He also took a parachute and jumped out.
The priest looked at the little boy and said, “My son, I’ve lived a long and full life. You are young and have your whole life ahead of you. Take the last parachute and live in peace.”
The little boy handed the parachute back to the priest and said, “Don’t worry, Father(神父). The smartest man in the world just jumped out with my backpack.”
1. How many people were there on the private plane?2. What happened to the plane?
3. How many parachutes were there after the pilot jumped out?
4. Why did the doctor think he must live?
5. What did the lawyer jump out with?
