Sharing a room with a family member or a friend can be tough, but it becomes especially difficult when you're sharing it with someone you hardly know. Here are things you can do to help you deal with having a roommate, no matter who it may be.
First of all, you have to remember that you get what you give. If you are nice to others, then others will be nice to you as well. You also need to set boundaries for yourself and for the other person. So before your new roommate moves in, talk to him. Set the rules early on and discuss your expectations.
Remember that there are two things that make up any good relationship: trust and respect. The same thing applies to having a roommate. You have to respect each other. Suppose he has that new PS3 game that you've always wanted to try out, what should you do? Ask permission first. If he says no, don’t take it against him. If he lets you borrow his stuff, take care of the item and treat it as if it were your own. Make sure that you return it in the same condition as when you borrowed it.
For chores that can be shared, you may want to divide it equally so that you don’t do all the housework. Take turns in washing the dishes. You may do it every other day or you may split the task so that you only have to do it in the morning and your roommate only has to do it at night.
When it comes to food and grocery items, determine what can be shared. Don't be too mean when it comes to sharing food. The advantage of sharing food is that both of you can save on time and food preparation.
1. Before your roommate moves in, what should you two do? (no more than 10words)2. What is important for good relationship among roommates? (no more than 5words)
3. What does the underlined word “chores” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?(no more than 3 words)
4. What does the author suggest in Paragraph 4?(no more than 10 words)
5. What is the purpose of this passage?(no more than 20 words)
They say to find out what you really want, go back to when you were a child.
When I was a kid, I really wanted to be a painter, but I was never great at it. I was discouraged, because in art classes my paintings were never the most beautiful. In the third grade, we were given a project to create a portrait. I used the skills and tips we were all taught in class. After we were done, we presented our portraits. We stood in front of the class and explained our technique. I remember looking at other portraits thinking, “We were given the same skills, why do theirs look so professional and mine looks so amateur?”
But I still really enjoyed painting because it’s a forgiving art. If I don’t like what I’ve put on paper, I can paint over it. I can mix colors and make new ones. Also, I can release some creative juices, use what has inspired me and allow that to pour out of me in a way I may not have imagined.
But because I have always wanted to paint beautiful pictures, I just decided to change what beauty looked like. I changed what beauty meant to me.
Throughout school, they taught us about Picasso, Van Gogh and Leonardo da Vinci who were always painting whatever was in front of them and around them. But that’s not what I saw around me.
Then I learned about Basquiat, who inspired me to paint abstract pictures. I paint when I’m moved, and I am often moved by what’s natural: emotions, nature, and other forms of art. I am also very moved by pain. When there is pain in the world or in my heart, it can be unbearable. I had a conversation with an activist in St. Louis named Spook, and I explained to her this feeling and she told me, “Pain is energy. You have to learn how to channel that energy into something productive.” So sometimes I channel that pain into art, into a painting.
Even if the picture doesn’t turn out aesthetically (美学地) pleasing by society’s standards, it’s still beautiful that I was able to create something. My paintings may not be a Basquiat, but they’re mine, so I love them anyway.
1. What was the author’s dream as a kid? (no more than 5 words)2. What did the author find after the portrait presentation?（no more than 15words）
3. What factors motivated the author to keep his passion for arts? (no more than 15 words)
4. How do you understand the underlined word in Paragraph 6? (I word)
5. Besides painting, what other art form would you use to express your feelings? And explain why. (no more than 25 words)
When Susan Greenstein Prescott was a high school senior, her English teacher, Fred DiMeo, gave her a terrifying task: recite (背诵) a poem in front of the whole class.
“I had a stutter (口吃). I’d be trying to get a word out that might begin with ‘D’ or ‘TH’” Susan said. The thought of getting up in front of her classmates and stuttering through the poem was too much to bear. Susan went home and told her mom how scared she was. Her mom agreed to write a note asking for her to be excused from doing the work in front of the whole class. When the day of the recitation came, Susan recited the poem one-on-one to Fred. Once she was done, he said something she’d never heard before: he liked listening to her voice.
For the first time, Susan considered the possibility that public speaking didn’t have to be a source of trepidation. “I think in his mind he wanted me to understand I have nothing to be afraid of,” she said. After college, Susan landed a job as a corporate trainer. The new position made her realize how big an impact Fred had had on her confidence. “I stand up in front of people and I speak. I do it all the time, and if I do stutter once in a while, no big deal,” she said.
Susan recently found a way to contact her former teacher, and plans on sending him a letter expressing her appreciation. “He truly is an unsung hero,” she said. “I don’t know where I would’ve gone if I felt like I had to keep my voice quiet because I was afraid of embarrassing myself. I’d like to give him my thanks for that kindness.”
1. Why did Susan refuse the teacher’s task? (no more than 10 words)2. How did Fred respond to Susan’s recitation? (no more than 6 words)
3. What does the underlined word “trepidation” in paragraph 3 probably mean? (1word)
4. According to Susan, what gave her confidence to speak publicly? (no more than 5 words)
5. What do you think of Fred DiMeo? Please explain. (no more than 20 words)
The environmental group Heal the Bay organized a beach clean-up. And I was one of the volunteers. We went to Venice Beach to clean up the trash.
At first glance, the beach didn’t look dirty at all. But then I saw a Styrofoam (泡沫) cup half buried in the sand on the beach. I pulled hard and finally got it out. As we moved farther, we found pieces of Styrofoam spread all over the sand. Sea animals eat the plastic. After eating it, they think they are full. As a result, they can die of starvation as they are cheated by their feeling and don’t think they need to eat any food.
We kept on picking up the trash. Then I saw someone with a full Heal the Bay trash bag and I went to see what was inside. When I opened the trash bag, I found everything from a pair of old jeans and a brown belt to headphones and some plastic bags. It made me very angry with the people who left their things behind without thinking what effects they might have on the ocean.
By noon, the sun was shining and the temperature was rising. The volunteers that had spread out across Venice Beach were coming back to throw the trash they had collected into the truck. I could not believe how much trash there was. All together we collected more than 135 bags of trash. I do hope that next time people go to the beach, they will stop littering.
1. Why did the environmental group go to Venice Beach?2. What does the underlined word “starvation” in Paragraph 2 mean in English?
3. How did the author feel seeing the trash in that volunteer’s trash bag according to Paragraph 3?
4. How much trash did the they collect all together that day?
5. What do you think of throwing plastic trash on the beach? And why?
There are two ways that I often hear the term “hobbyist” being thrown around. The first is by professional woodworkers and is usually in a disparaging (贬低的) tone, like “a hobbyist couldn’t possibly be as good, fast, and talented as a pro”. The other way is by hobbyists themselves and having a beginning like the words “I’m just a... ”. In either case, I don’t understand why this is.
To my way of thinking, being a qualified and skilled woodworker can mean that you are a slave to the hard work. I’ve done the work and it isn’t always fun and pretty. It’s not often that you get to do the kind of woodworking that you want and often you are left begging to be paid for the work that you do complete. The other thing to keep in mind that even the most successful furniture makers often supplement their incomes with teaching and writing. Making woodworking courses is well-paid.
A few years ago I turned furniture making into a hobby, and this ended up being the best decision I could have made for my overall welling-being. For some time I was starting to dislike woodworking because of all the other stuff I mentioned earlier. Add more pressure to the situation by having a young family and wanting to contribute to the household income, and the stress wasn’t good. Getting a job outside of furniture making allowed me the freedom to build what I wanted, when I wanted. I’ve stayed in the woodworking industry all these years, but what I make in my hobbyist shop simply brings in some money to help feed a healthy tool addiction.
So please don’t be ashamed of your hobbyist name. Hobbyists get to explore as many aspects of the craft as they want. They don’t have the pressure of putting food on the table and paying the rent, so they can do whatever they want. No rabbit holes (未知的世界) are off limits for the hobbyist because in the end it’s just your personal time and some materials. So, go ahead, be a proud hobbyist, and hold your chest out with pride.
1. According to the passage, why do professionals sometimes look down upon hobbyists? (no more than 10 words)2. According to paragraph 2 what things make the author a slave to the hard work? (no more than 20 words)
3. Why did the author decide to turn furniture making into a hobby? (no more than 15 words)
4. How do you understand the underlined part? (no more than 1 words)
5. Do you think being a hobbyist is a good thing? Why or why not? (no more than 20 words)
I used to hate old books. When I say “old books”, I don’t mean classics, though. I mean books with yellow pages, broken spines (书脊) and odd wood-like smells that you need to be careful not to break because they are already so worn down. One can assume that I didn’t own many old books. I had a few here and there that my parents had gifted me, but nothing too special.
In fourth grade, I was ready to venture into a new world of reading, one that went beyond the likes of children’s chapter books and juvenile (青少年的) topics. Just then, I found my parents’ old copies of the entire Harry Potter book series. Visually, my parents’ books were my worst nightmare. I remember thinking to myself that reading these books was out of the question. However, I eventually had to come to terms with the fact that if I wanted to read the books, I would have to read my parents’ copies. And so began the terrible journey of reading seven old books.
When it was time for me to read the final copy, I was kind of a changed woman. I still strongly disliked old books, but the plot of the entire Harry Potter series had attracted me so much that I had almost entirely forgotten what the books looked like. By the end, I had devoted an entire shelf in my room to the Harry Potter books.
Now, I love old books. I love how the covers are sometimes so worn down that you can barely read the title of the book, but you can understand what it’s about anyway. After all, an old book is a representation of generations of readers who have chosen to live in a specific fictional world because the story it contains is just that good. Old books have meaning, and I love how much they mean to me now.
1. Who did the old copies of the entire Harry Potter book series belong to?(no more than 5words)2. What does the underlined part “out of the question” in Paragraph 2 mean?(one word)
3. How did the author like the plot of the entire Harry Potter series?(no more than 5 words)
4. What does the author mainly talk about in the last paragraph?(no more than 10 words)
5. What kind of books do you like reading? Why?(no more than 20 words)
I still remember the days when I was a youthful student in an engineering school. I lived a casual life, without caring about the future. I smoked, drank with friends and made girlfriends. Little did I realized that casualness would certainly lead to loss.
Two years had passed and I was staring down a report card that highlighted FAIL in more than half the subjects. I didn’t care, at least not till my dad found out about it. You see, I studied in India and unlike the United States where the students are expected to finance their own education, my dad financed me.
Then came the day when my dad found out my habit of smoking. He lost his temper but he just told me, “son, your allowance is cut in half from this moment on.” It hit me like a roundhouse kick from Bruce Lee. I was jolted (震摇) out of my bones! I couldn’t comprehend how to pay off the debts that I had accumulated in college. I owed everybody money: the grocery store, the bars, the restaurants, and my friends. I was living a life filled with credit.
When I came back to college, I knew if I didn’t change the way I live my life I wouldn’t be able to pay everybody off. So I decided to make some changes, drastic changes. I quitted smoking, cut off from my friends who led me down the wrong road, starting hanging out in libraries and reading my engineering books.
One year later, I went from a miserable failure to a Cum Laude(优等成绩). Life was never the same again. This incident made me know that anything is possible if you take action and do something about it, however small or large. Even today it still motivates me when I feel that I’m about to lose or give up. It reminds me that I can do it!
1. What’s the author’s attitude when he saw his report card? (no more than 10 words)2. At what time did the father cut the author’s allowance in half? (no more than 15 words)
3. Why did the author say he was living a life filled with credit? (no more than 15 words)
4. What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean? (no more than 10 words)
5. What can you learn from the passage? (no more than 15 words)
There are always people who take great pleasure in finding faults with others. However, life can become wonderful when you are not constantly busy pointing out its flaws.
A few years ago, I received a letter from Kerry, a seventeen-year-old, who described herself as an expert fault-finder. She was almost always bothered by things and found that people constantly annoyed her. Nothing was ever good enough. She was extremely critical of herself and also found faults in her friends, which made her quite a boring person to be around.
Unfortunately, it took a terrible accident to change her attitude. Her best friend had a serious car crash and was badly injured. What made it almost unbearable was the fact that the day before the accident, Kerry had visited her friend and spent the entire time criticizing her choice of boyfriends, her lifestyle, her relationship with her mother, and various other things she felt the need to point out. It wasn’t until her friend was badly hurt that Kerry realized that she needed to appreciate life rather than harshly(严厉地) criticize everything. She was able to extend her newfound wisdom to other aspects of her life as well.
Perhaps most of us aren’t as extreme in fault-finding, but if we are honest, we can be sharply critical of the world. I’m not suggesting that you ignore problems or pretend things are better than they are, but rather that you learn to accept things as they are — most of the time, especially when they’re not of significant importance.
Train yourself to “bite your tongue” and with a little practice, you’ll become really good at letting things go. When you do, you’ll regain your enthusiasm and love for life.
So learning to accept and appreciate life’s imperfections can bring about positive changes in our attitude and well-being. By redirecting our focus to the good things in life, we can create a more fulfilling and joyful existence.
1. Why was Kerry a boring person to be around? (no more than 15 words)2. What caused Kerry to change her attitude? (no more than 10 words)
3. What did Kerry realize after her friend was badly hurt? ( no more than 15 words)
4. How do you understand “bite your tongue” in Paragraph 5?(no more than 2 words)
5. How do you like people who always find faults in others? And why? ( no more than 25 words)
It was a hot summer day, with the sun shining brightly, and all I could think about was cooling down with my favorite ice cream. I decided to make a quick trip to the newly opened ice cream shop close by, eager for a midday treat.
As I stepped inside, the variety of flavors in the shop caught my eye. Although they were tempting, I ordered my preferred flavor in a con e for an immediate treat and chose two cups of chocolate ice cream to take home for my family. Enjoying my cone, I found perfect relaxation in its cool sweetness. I admired the shop’s attractive display of ice creams, each more colorful and inviting than the last.
Now that my to-go order was ready, I headed to the payment count er to settle the bill. There, I encountered an unexpected situation: the cashier, possibly distracted by the day’s rush, had forgotten to include the two cups of chocolate ice cream in my bill.
Faced with a moral (道德的) dilemma, I found myself at a crossroads: on one side was the simple path of paying the bill and overlooking the mistake; on the other, the act of pointing out the error. I knew if I didn’t bring the billing error to his notice, the cost of my ice cream would be charged against his salary.
At that moment, I made up my mind and approached the counter to point out what he had missed. His first shock gave way to great gratitude as he realized the financial loss I had saved him from. His repeated thanks and visible relief warmed my heart. The smile of relief on his face made me smile too.
Leaving the ice cream shop, I felt really happy and satisfied. It reminded me of how good it feels to do the right thing instead of just taking the easy way out. The experience was not just about ice cream; it proved the value of doing what is right, ensuring the joy that comes from acts of honesty and kindness.
1. What did the author decide to do to make himself feel cool? (no more than 10 words)2. How do you understand the underlined part in Paragraph 2? (1word)
3. What’s the main idea of Paragraph 4? (no more than 10 words)
4. What made the author feel a deep satisfaction? (no more than 5 words)
5. What do you think of the author? Please explain. (no more than 20 words)
When Li Toh first came to China to pursue his flute (长笛) dream, the Malaysian man had never expected that his dream could take root in China.
Toh’s love for the Chinese bamboo flute began in primary school when his elder brother joined the Chinese orchestra in middle school to learn to play the musical instrument. He said the clear sound of the bamboo flute guided him onto the road of flute learning. As he got older, Toh went to Singapore for further study.
According to Toh, there were few professional Chinese bamboo flute teachers in Malaysia, and the learning environment for bamboo flute players was limited. In 2005, Toh made a bold decision. He applied for retention (保留) of his admission qualifications to the university he had already attended, and set off for Beijing. A new chapter of his life thus began.
After getting his bachelor’s degree, Toh started to teach the Chinese bamboo flute in Malaysia and Singapore. His desire to improve his performance skills and his thirst for knowledge drove him back to Beijing to continue his studies.
Toh had planned to return to Malaysia after graduation, but upon graduation, Guangxi Arts University offered him a job. During his stay in China, he has also joined teams and performed in countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines and Cambodia. They tried to combine the Chinese bamboo flute with local musical instruments. Communication and innovation promoted the development of diverse art culture and enriched the cultural layers of art.
In recent years, Toh would return to Malaysia during holidays to promote the art of the Chinese bamboo flute. Having been in China for more than a decade, Toh’s love for the country has long been rooted in his heart, and he is looking forward to the prosperity and development of cultural industries in China.
1. What made Toh start learning the bamboo flute? (no more than 4 words)2. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 3 mean? (1 word)
3. Why did Toh return to Beijing? (no more than 13 words)
4. What did Toh do in China after graduation? (no more than 12 words)
5. What do you think of Toh? Please give your reasons. (no more than 20 words)
