1 . In 2010, my mother-in-law gave me her rather simple but graceful, antique “secretary desk”. The desk easily fit into the tiny room at the top of the stairs. I felt so secure, and confident when I sat down and began each writing session. Despite the desk’s appeal, its limited storage capacity meant that I often put file folders and books on the small floor space around me. After each writing session, I painstakingly gathered the tools of the trade and placed them on a nearby shelf until the next session.
A few years into my writing journey, we moved into a bigger home and I acquired my own office. My husband, Bill offered on more than one occasion to buy me a new desk for my office, but I ignored his offer.
One day, we stopped at the local office supply store. Bill found what he thought was the perfect desk for me. “I want to buy this for you, sweetie. My writer needs a bigger desk. ”He hugged me.
“Thanks, but I don’t want a bigger desk!” I said.
“Why don’t you want a bigger desk?” he said. “You must be afraid of something.”
“I’m not afraid of anything,” I said. “Like I said, I really like my little desk. So don’t ask me again.”
He didn’t.
A few weeks later, while working in my new office. I looked around at the folders, books and papers lying all over my office floor but couldn’t find what needed to meet a contest deadline. My heart raced. I looked around my office. The room basically swallowed the tiny desk, making it look slightly out of place. Maybe I did need a bigger desk. Was Bill right? Was I afraid of something?
Unable to write, I pulled c. JoyBell C.’s book of poetry, All Things Dance Like Dragonflies (蜻蜓), from the bookshelf. I flipped through its pages, and her words about faith jumped off the page into my heart. She talked about how she had trained herself to love the feeling of not knowing where she was going, and just trusting that as she opened up her wings and flew off in an unknown direction, things would work out.
At that moment, I recognized that a bigger desk symbolized bigger possibilities, stepping out in faith, and leaving my comfort zone.
1. What was the limitation of the “secretary desk”?| A．It was too old to be functional. |
| B．It competed with the shelf for room. |
| C．It prevented the author focusing on writing. |
| D．It was a bit small in size. |
| A．After she was stuck in a mess. |
| B．When she finished writing a book. |
| C．When she moved into a bigger house. |
| D．After she missed an important contest. |
| A．Unemployment. | B．Loss of inspiration. |
| C．Uncertainty. | D．Lack of trust. |
| A．My Writing Journey | B．On the Wings of Change |
| C．My Lifelong Faith | D．On the Desk of Fate |
For most of us, Hawaii begins to weave her spell with some little glimmer of
3 . I was dropping my mom and sister off at the train station after their holiday visit. On the way I saw a man in a
After dropping off my family, I went back to the lot and he was there. His wheelchair was on the incline (斜坡) that led to the
You should have seen the look on his face. First it was shock, and then it was pure
On the way back to my car I saw a couple who were in
Keeping old pairs of shoes in my car for
| A．wheelchair | B．timetable | C．railway | D．classroom |
| A．sounded | B．looked | C．tasted | D．felt |
| A．gloves | B．hats | C．shoes | D．trousers |
| A．house | B．tree | C．church | D．street |
| A．agreeing | B．swapping | C．communicating | D．struggling |
| A．opened | B．closed | C．folded | D．founded |
| A．new | B．old | C．smelly | D．useless |
| A．house | B．car | C．desk | D．bag |
| A．delight | B．satisfaction | C．anger | D．hurt |
| A．refuse | B．understand | C．appreciate | D．ignore |
| A．approaching | B．dreaming | C．thanking | D．reading |
| A．search | B．return | C．war | D．need |
| A．put on | B．taken off | C．stood for | D．watched over |
| A．surroundings | B．methods | C．situations | D．atmospheres |
| A．buying | B．testing | C．selling | D．hiding |
4 . Why can’t penguins fly?
Even the very smallest penguin,the fairy penguin,weighs 1 kg,which is about as much as a herring gull (银鸥). But herring gulls have a 1.4-meterwingspan,compared with just 32 centimeters for the fairy penguin. Water is 784 times denser (密度较大的) than air,and around 62 million years ago,penguins began making adaptations for swimming underwater. Their bones are filled with heavy bone marrow (骨髓)rather than air and they have much larger stomachs for making long fishing trips away from the nest.
How do squirrels find buried nuts?
It was once thought that they just used their noses to sniff out buried nuts and that the majority were never actually located. But a study at Princeton University showed that squirrels actually have a good memory and can build a map of the route from one hidden nut to the next.
Why don’t horses have toes?
Early horses such as Hyracotherium, which lived 55 million years ago, did have toes, but they were much smaller animals. For taller animals, extra weight at the end of their legs has a much bigger influence on their speed. A recent study at Harvard University, the USA, found that one broad hoof (蹄) is almost as strong as many smaller toes, but much lighter.
Do animals have blood types?
Yes, they do! As long as the animals in question have blood (not all do)then they will have species-specific “blood groups”. As with humans, these groups are determined by the structure of the blood based on the presence or absence of antibodies along with the make-up of the proteins that sit on the outside of red blood cells.
Humans are usually one of four main blood types. Thirteen types have been identified for dogs, eight for horses and three for cats.
1. Why can’t penguins fly?| A．Because of their physical characteristics. | B．Because of their poor adaptation. |
| C．Because of their habits of swimming. | D．Because of their changing environment. |
| A．3. | B．4. | C．8. | D．13. |
| A．Squirrels find buried nuts by chance. | B．Horses are stronger without hooves. |
| C．All animals have their blood types. | D．An animal is a book with secrets. |
| A．Questions you may be interested in | B．Questions on the animal kingdom |
| C．Secrets to discover in nature | D．Knowledge around you |
5 . Jeni Stepanek’s home is an attractive four-bedroomed house. Had it been a one-roomed small house, however, Jeni would still have bought it. The only thing that mattered when she moved in four years ago was its location. It is near the 26-acre park in Rockville, near Washington, DC, created in honor of her son Mattie.
The park has play spaces, but at its heart is a memorial peace garden with a life-size statue of Mattie and his dog Micah. “Every day, I sit at my window and see mothers go over to the statue with their children,” says Jeni. “It is a terrible thing for a parent to bury a child, but I do see how Mattie has touched the world.”
Jeni is a mother who has experienced more sadness than most of us could imagine. All four of her children were born with a genetic disorder (遗传性疾病). The first three died before the age of four. Mattie survived until three weeks before his 14th birthday. In his short lifetime, he had sold more than two million copies of his poetry collections and given encouraging speeches to thousands of followers. His heroes—Oprah Winfrey, poet Maya Angelou, former US president Jimmy Carter became his best friends. At his funeral Carter said, “My wife and I have known kings, queens and presidents, but the most extraordinary person whom I have ever known is Mattie Stepanek.”
In the years after Mattie died, Jeni had been writing about his short but meaningful life. “I didn’t want my sadness to flow onto the pages and nor did I want people to think I was hanging on to Mattie’s coat tails. But I knew in the end I would tell the story because I was the only one who lived it with him,” she said. Jeni’s now published book Messenger is a celebration of Mattie’s achievements that were beyond his years.
1. Why did Jeni buy the house?| A．Because of its attractive four bedrooms. | B．Because of its special location. |
| C．Because of its low price. | D．Because of its excellent conditions. |
| A．An accident. | B．A mental disease. |
| C．A natural disease. | D．A natural disaster. |
| A．Appreciative. | B．Pitiful. | C．Patient. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Jeni was still in deep sorrow. | B．Jeni wanted to be a writer. |
| C．Jeni continued her son’s writing work. | D．Jeni was proud of her son. |
6 . Most people associate space with silence. But the story of how we came to understand the universe is just as much a story of listening as it is by looking. And yet despite this, hardly any of us has ever heard space. How many of you could describe the sound of a single planet or star?
And you may wonder: How do we know what these sounds are? How can we tell the difference between the sound of the sun and the sound of a pulsar (脉冲星)? Well, the answer is the science of radio astronomy. Radio astronomers study radio waves from space using sensitive antennas (天线) and receivers, which give them precise information about what an astronomical object is and where it is in our night sky. And just like the signals that we send and receive here on earth, we can convert these transmissions into sound using simple analog techniques (模拟技术). And therefore, it’s through listening that we’ve come to uncover some of the universe’s most important secrets—its scale, what it’s made of and even how old it is.
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell worked with Thomas Watson on the invention of the telephone. A key part of their technical set-up was a half-mile long length of wire, which was thrown across the rooftops of several houses in Boston. The line carried the telephone signals that would later make Bell a household name. But like any long length of charged wire, it also inadvertently became an antenna. Thomas Watson spent hours listening to the strange crackles and hisses and whistles that his accidental antenna detected...
As he correctly guessed, some of these sounds were caused by activity on the surface of the sun. So while inventing the technology that would usher in the telecommunications revolution, Watson had discovered that the star at the center of our solar system emitted (发射) powerful radio waves.
1. How do the radio astronomers discover the universe’s secrets?| A．By watching. | B．By calculating. | C．By listening. | D．By measuring. |
| A．By chance. | B．On purpose. | C．In surprise. | D．On average. |
| A．Antennas and receivers. | B．Telephone signals. |
| C．Activities of the sun. | D．Radio waves. |
| A．Society. | B．Nature. | C．Culture. | D．Entertainment. |
The history of steam power goes all the way back to the 1700s. At the time, steam
Now, some scientists are developing steam power for one of today’s most highly technical
8 . Giving generously and receiving gratefully make it easier to live happily with others.
Let me start with the idea of giving generously.
The good news is that when we lead our life being nice to others, our life runs more smoothly.
At the same time, we should remember to receive gratefully. I truly believe that you cant say “thank you” enough when you receive.
If you are looking for a way to improve your life, I can give you one: Give generously and receive gratefully.
| A．So often we get lazy about expressing gratitude. |
| B．Thus,saying “thank you” can bring us good luck. |
| C．If you are generous, some people will use you. |
| D．In return, we are to help others by giving them our time or money. |
| E．I think people are unwilling to be generous to others for fear of being used. |
| F．Yet,why do we have such difficulty achieving these things in our relationships？ |
| G．Words of appreciation make others feel good about themselves like nothing else. |
9 . Research among 2,000 adults showed that about four out of five find small talk with colleagues in the office annoying, especially if it involves football or children. Talking about the weather, or asking someone how their weekend was, was also listed among annoying subjects, according to the study by Hyper Recruitment Solutions.
Most of those surveyed said they had experienced rudeness at work, including being reprimanded（训斥）in front of colleagues or personal remarks about their clothes or possessions.
Half of those asked admitted to avoiding making coffee for themselves at work so they didn’t have to make one for colleagues. A report said, “While employees are direct on some issues, they’d rather avoid the situation completely than feel it is a duty to make coffee for others.”
The report also suggested most employees found that physical contact in the workplace was acceptable, including a kiss on the cheek, high fives or hugs. Ricky Martin, founder of Hyper Recruitment Solutions, said, “We often hear and read in the media how physical contact at work isn’t acceptable, yet the results suggest otherwise. Of course, physical contact isn’t always appropriate or well received, so I would advise it should be essential to be aware of factors such as personality, religion and culture.”
What might be regarded as friendly in one culture may be considered as deeply offensive in another. However, as the results suggest, should the relationship be there and requited（回报）, it shouldn’t be frowned upon（反对）for colleagues to hug, give high fives or give one another a pat on the back.
1. Among 2,000 adults, how many are unwilling to make small talk？| A．About 1,600. | B．About 2,000. |
| C．About half of them. | D．About one third of them. |
| A．They find it is meaningless. |
| B．They are not warmhearted enough. |
| C．They have some unpleasant experiences. |
| D．They want to defend themselves from any risk. |
| A．It shows people are always straightforward. |
| B．It indicates peoples rude behavior in the office. |
| C．It suggests peoples relationship always gets no return. |
| D．It shows physical contact isn’t always favorable. |
| A．Continue to avoid it. |
| B．Hug the colleagues. |
| C．Accept it regardless of the results. |
| D．Learn to accept it lightheartedly. |
10 . The Last Greatest Magician in the World
In this book, we can learn about the wonderworker Howard Thurston. During his life, Thurston successfully made changes in entertainment. His magic show is regarded as the one that inspires our memories.
Author: Jim Stein Meyer Length: 384 pages Publication Date: Feb. 3, 2011
Beholders: A World Without Heroes
Jason Walker lives a peaceful life until one day he falls through a hole and ends up in a new foreign world. In Lydian, the people dress and behave differently, living in fear of their Emperor Surratt. But during Jason’s search for a way home, he learns of a magical word that could kill Surratt and becomes the hero he has never imagined.
Author: Brandon Mull Length: 464 pages Publication Date: Feb. 15, 2011
Life
With his honesty, Keith Richards brings us the story of a life we all have longed to know more of. Its hard to imagine a famous persons biography is as easy to drink in as Keith Richards life. The books content agrees with the rhythm of his voice so much that reading his tale is like sharing a cup of beer with an old friend.
Author: Keith Richards Length: 576 pages Publication Date: Oct. 26, 2010
The Monkey and the Monk
The famous translation of The Journey to the West is popular with English-speaking audiences. The book shows the novels most exciting and meaningful parts without taking anything away from their true spirit. Moreover, with a new form, this translation is sure to attract more fans.
Author: Anthony C. Yu Length: 528 pages Publication Date: Nov. 15, 2006
1. What kind of book is Beholders: A World Without Heroes？| A．A life guide. | B．A biography. |
| C．An adventure novel. | D．An educational book. |
| A．Honest. | B．Simple. |
| C．Hardworking. | D．Generous. |
| A．The Last Greatest Magician in the World. |
| B．Beholders: A World Without Heroes. |
| C．Life. |
| D．The Monkey and the Monk. |
