Ritch Addison was ashy kid. In elementary school, he didn’t speak up for himself, and he
“It turned out that I had gotten a hundred on the test and he didn’t do so well,” Addison recalled. “And I joked heartlessly about it.”
Then one day, his good friend, Holly, pulled him aside and said, “Ritch, sometimes you really hurt
Addison
“But I kept thinking about what Holly said. Finally, I realized that she was
It couldn’t happen overnight,
2 . I believe almost everyone would like two things from their jobs and careers: success and happiness. They want to do relatively well financially, receive fair recognition for their accomplishments, enjoy their work as much as one can, and become happier as a person as a result. So many people, especially ambitious, hard-working people, simplify them in a logical way: They first seek success and then assume that success will lead to happiness.
This is not to say that you have to choose between success and happiness.
Whether you are an employee or employer, it is a better investment to increase happiness at work and in life, rather than simply trying to increase measures of success.
Once work quantity is under control, happiness at work requires a sense of meaning and purpose.
Ultimately, although success and happiness are linked, the magic mostly works one-way — and not in the way that most people think.
A.You can obtain both |
B.But this reasoning is faulty |
C.It’s fairly reasonable to think this way, though |
D.Working on your success to get happier is inefficient at best (充其量) |
E.The first thing to remember is that happiness requires balance |
F.It’s dangerous to pursue success instead of happiness |
G.The two key aspects of meaningful work are earned success and service to others |
3 . Whenever you see a tiny, uninhabited (无人居住的) tropical island, you will see a coconut (椰子) tree there, standing tall. How did it get there? It made an unlikely journey through a truly tough environment. It doesn’t have a map or a GPS, nor does it have a sail or an engine, but that little coconut contains within it everything it needs to make its journey.
Water is required to sprout (发芽) when the coconut gets to the new shore. On its journey it will be surrounded by water, but it can’t use that salt water, so the coconut packs its own sweet water. The coconut’s husk (外壳) provides flotation and protection through the journey and it sticks out of the water just enough to catch the wind and act like a sail.
With great courage the coconut sets off for an unknown destination. Falling from the tree, it gets bounced around in the surf. Again and again it tries to get out into the open ocean, and once it does, it starts catching the wind, catching the ocean currents and it is on its way.
In the middle of this vast ocean, with huge waves, the little coconut shows no fear. We build huge ships, but when a storm comes, those ships head to the nearest port until the storm passes. Not the small coconut. With each wave it goes up and with each wave it will tumble down. That storm has been harnessed to help it on its way. Then one day with a high tide it gets washed up onto a new shore. Quietly it puts down its roots and grows strong and tall.
The coconut makes the most of what it has. It grasps each opportunity without hesitation and finds its niche, the place where it can be. We also have the essentials we need to find our niche. We just need to make use of our courage and find a place within us where we can be at ease with ourselves.
1. What is unusual about the coconut according to paragraph 1?A.Why it jumps into the ocean. | B.How it reaches a desert island. |
C.How it offers guidance to sailors. | D.Why it grows in an extreme environment. |
A.To feed the new coconut tree. | B.To keep it balanced on the ocean. |
C.To attract seed-spreading animals. | D.To protect its husk from salt water. |
A.Employed. | B.Overcome. |
C.Ignored. | D.Identified. |
A.Life is not all roses. | B.No way is blocked to courage. |
C.Opportunity seldom knocks twice. | D.The longest journey begins with the first step. |
4 . It is strange how a small moment can change a person’s life. My son walked into the kitchen this morning and opened his
My Italian grandma had been a big hugger when I was a boy, but my mum and dad didn’t hug me much as I got
When I was sixteen, I
When my own children were born then I
A.arms | B.hands | C.mouth | D.eyes |
A.flash | B.style | C.topic | D.memory |
A.older | B.stronger | C.quicker | D.slower |
A.looked | B.opened | C.left | D.put |
A.thought of | B.stopped by | C.asked for | D.burned down |
A.greeted | B.annoyed | C.checked | D.cheated |
A.suitable | B.thin | C.small | D.huge |
A.challenge | B.confidence | C.turn | D.impression |
A.jumped | B.broke | C.packed | D.stepped |
A.warmth | B.anxiety | C.curiosity | D.horror |
A.personality | B.adventure | C.spirit | D.stomach |
A.realize | B.wonder | C.understand | D.notice |
A.exploring | B.designing | C.refusing | D.receiving |
A.advice | B.joy | C.blood | D.knowledge |
A.decided | B.forgot | C.changed | D.returned |
There’re many life lessons that are presented to us every day. If we take the time to learn from them, they can chart a positive course for us. Here are three of the lessons I
Live in the present. Focusing too much on the harm
Overcome any obstacles (障碍) in the way. When facing obstacles, we have to decide whether we let them stop us completely
Get up when we fail. Thomas Edison once said, “Many of life’s failures are people who don’t realize how close they were
6 . I am writing this the day before the mail containing the result of the university entrance exam reaches me. I am writing this with a determination that I will
The envelope will reach my
I will be
I will not listen to those who
I know who I am. I
A.lie down | B.shout out | C.break in | D.carry on |
A.great | B.bad | C.interesting | D.funny |
A.mailbox | B.bed | C.heart | D.father |
A.shame | B.amusement | C.courage | D.happiness |
A.cry | B.talk | C.move | D.work |
A.comfortable | B.new | C.hard | D.long |
A.worthless | B.expensive | C.unknown | D.brief |
A.question | B.wonder | C.doubt | D.understand |
A.decrease | B.increase | C.reduce | D.lower |
A.strong | B.lost | C.energetic | D.stubborn |
A.humorous | B.weak | C.rich | D.smart |
A.hospital | B.prison | C.college | D.heaven |
A.disagree | B.hope | C.claim | D.reply |
A.living | B.escaping | C.exploring | D.entertaining |
A.angered | B.rejected | C.greeted | D.inspired |
A.stop | B.decline | C.pretend | D.continue |
A.hate | B.accept | C.forget | D.forgive |
A.others | B.them | C.schools | D.mistakes |
A.get up | B.grow up | C.look back | D.come back |
A.dream | B.wish | C.struggle | D.smile |
7 . Rosie Dutton teaches a weekly class for 10- and 11-year-olds. During a recent class, Dutton used apples to brilliantly explain the effects of bullying.
Rosie Dutton started out by showing the class two perfect-looking apples. But unknown to the students, she had dropped one of the apples repeatedly on the floor. She picked up the dropped apple and began insulting (侮辱;损害) it.
“I started to tell the children how I disliked this apple, that I thought it was ugly and it was a horrible color,” Dutton wrote. “I told them that because I didn't like it, I didn't want them to like it either.”
They passed that apple around in a circle and the kids joined in on the insults. Then, Dutton took a completely different approach with the other apple.
“We then passed another apple around and started to say kind words to it,” the 31-year-old wrote.
She eventually cut both of them open to reveal that the apple that had been insulted was bruised (青肿的) inside. The apple that received praise wasn't.
“When people are bullied, especially children, they feel horrible inside and sometimes don't show or tell others how they are feeling,” Dutton wrote in her post. “If we hadn't cut that apple open, we would never have known how much pain we had caused it.”
“Unlike an apple, we have the ability to stop this from happening. We can teach children that it's not OK to say unkind things to each other,” the 31-year-old explained in her post. She later added, “More and more hurt and damage happens inside if nobody does anything to stop the bullying. Let's create a generation of kind, caring children.”
1. What didn't the students know in advance?A.She had dropped one apple repeatedly on the floor. |
B.She had dropped two apples repeatedly on the floor. |
C.The two apples were perfect-looking in appearance. |
D.She had picked the two apples from the same tree. |
A.By reading famous sayings. | B.By listing the numbers. |
C.By making comparisons. | D.By quoting some examples. |
A.brave | B.considerate |
C.active | D.honest |
A.One woman found an incredible way to teach a history lesson. |
B.People have the ability to stop bullying from happening again. |
C.A teacher encourages students to put what they learned to use. |
D.A teacher uses a bruised apple to show bad effects of bullying. |