The Summer I Learned to Really See
It was a muggy(闷热)end-of-summer dog day in Missouri. I was preparing to go after the mail—about a mile's distance, through fields and forests, across a river, from our farmhouse, in which three generations of my family lived.
“Take the bucket with you,” my grandmother said, handing me the very familiar bucket.
“What for?” I asked, petulantly(使小性子). The berries had been picked, and it was too early for wild grapes, too late for roasting ears(穗).
“You'll find something to fill it with,” she said, her blue eyes sparkling with anticipation.
I didn't want to take the bucket. It would be a burden to me. Twice a day I'd carried a bucket for milking. With it I'd carried feed to the chickens, salt to the cows, sugar to the neighbors. I'd had enough with carrying with the bucket!
Nevertheless, I took the bucket. Halfway to the mailbox, I set it down beneath a pokeberry bush(胡桃树). I needn't carry it the whole way, I reasoned. There was no mail. When I got back to the bucket, I saw that a few ripe pokeberries had fallen into it. With childish ill humor, I picked off enough clusters(花串) to fill the bucket, even though I thought they were good for nothing.
“Aren't they just lovely!” Grandma exclaimed admiringly when I set them on the kitchen table. She squeezed out the juice of the berries and we used the lovely red ink to paint rings on our fingers and pen letters to distant cousins.
When I went to mail the letters the next day, Grandma again told me to take the bucket along. This time I carried the bucket a little farther than the previous day before setting it down. There was only a sale catalogue in the mail. When I got back to the bucket, I dropped it in. But I felt vaguely uncomfortable, remembering the pokeberries. I caught sight of a bunch of peppermint(薄荷) growing close to the path. Funny, I had passed it every day and never noticed it before. Peppermint just doesn't spring up overnight. I picked a bucketful, its fragrance seeming to cool the day. Grandma was pleased with the peppermint. She liked to chew it and make tea with it.
注意:
1. 续写词数应为150 左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡上的相应位置作答。
The daily routine to take the bucket along was repeated for weeks, and I began to see more.
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One day when I went home, I didn't have anything in the bucket.
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2 . My family is still recovering from the rainy season of the past few years. It began with the untimely death of a friend,
As anyone who has
One day, my stepson and I were discussing Valentine’s gifts—a kazoo(卡祖笛). My first
My stepson was
“You couldn’t get a sound?” he asked. “What’s so
I shrugged(耸肩). “ I don’t know. It
“It’s easy,” said my husband. He grabbed(抓住)it and blew. Nothing happened.
My stepson burst into laughter. His face
A.bothered | B.replaced | C.reflected | D.followed |
A.cared about | B.cheered on | C.approved of | D.attended to |
A.positive | B.guilty | C.exhausted | D.hesitant |
A.calmness | B.sweetness | C.heaviness | D.coolness |
A.imagination | B.attitude | C.assumption | D.reaction |
A.comfort | B.embarrassment | C.complaint | D.enjoyment |
A.interested | B.helpful | C.mild | D.allergic |
A.strange | B.challenging | C.different | D.flexible |
A.just | B.even | C.also | D.still |
A.Surprisedly | B.Anxiously | C.Upsettingly | D.Committedly |
A.experiment | B.attempt | C.experience | D.research |
A.turned up | B.came up | C.lit up | D.kept up |
A.saddest | B.best | C.freest | D.worst |
A.panic | B.adventure | C.relief | D.kindness |
A.operate | B.communicate | C.exist | D.connect |
3 . Nowadays, more people feel depressed because they do not see themselves as happy. Instead, they feel guilty that they aren't as happy as everyone says they should be.
The books, blogs, You Tube videos and advice columns will tell you if you imagine, exercise write journals, stay busy, help others, eat healthy, read every day, then you too can be happy.
The simple truth is that no one can be happy all the time.
I find contentment in walks, writing and talking with my partner and reminding each other that our life is good, despite difficult or scary moment. I can soften my reactions and respond differently.
Even though things around me now are a little out of control, I understand such is life.
A.I still carry on no matter what |
B.Thus I'm still feeling pretty good |
C.They are easily found in low spirits |
D.This is really a sad state of emotional affairs |
E.But you can find a middle ground called contentment |
F.Contentment is some place between satisfied and peaceful |
G.Doing this takes away stress and will keep my state of contentment |
4 . I was excited for being invited to my friend Tom's birthday party. But two days later, my best friend called and invited me to go to Disneyland with her family. I loved Disneyland so I was
I was mad. My
So on Tom's birthday, my mom
On my way home, I told my mom all about the fun things. She was glad that I'd had a good time and told me that she was
A.ready | B.sure | C.eager | D.hesitant |
A.warned | B.informed | C.convinced | D.reminded |
A.mind | B.attitude | C.identity | D.habit |
A.concern | B.excitement | C.doubt | D.fear |
A.annoying | B.boring | C.acceptable | D.adjustable |
A.followed | B.persuaded | C.blamed | D.begged |
A.place | B.excuse | C.option | D.result |
A.change | B.realize | C.admit | D.imagine |
A.hurt | B.inspire | C.show | D.hide |
A.took | B.put | C.turned | D.dropped |
A.hurriedly | B.unwillingly | C.calmly | D.cheerfully |
A.interesting | B.terrible | C.awkward | D.unusual |
A.Despite | B.Through | C.Without | D.Against |
A.afraid | B.confident | C.proud | D.ashamed |
A.making | B.breaking | C.showing | D.keeping |
5 . People will spend a large amount of time to save a few dollars. There’s often a lightbulb moment that happens when you ask them to calculate their time-dollar value, because it reveals that they’re spending more in soft costs than they’re accounting for.
Take a second to think about it. If you spend 3 hours avoiding paying $12 for something, you’ve saved money, but you’ve also been working at $4 per hour. If you’re an entrepreneur(企业家), your time is worth more than $4 per hour, and while your choice has saved a “hard” cost, you’ve spent more in your time. Energy and attention are two other soft resources we need to be thinking about, too. Soft costs are just as real as hard costs. In that 3 hours, you could have been doing $300 worth of income-generating, high-value activities.
It’s a bit different when you’re employed by someone else, as you’ll make the same whether you spend 3 hours or 30 minutes to get something done. However, the people who actively add more value to their organization before being paid to do so are the ones most likely to get a promotion or advancement that honors their contributions.
The next time you’re thinking of making a decision that involves hard costs, also consider the soft opportunity costs of what you’ re currently doing.
Outside of “work” situations, think about how much time you spend doing things you’d rather not do, say, cleaning your house. Is it worth $100 to not have to spend your weekend cleaning your house? Why should you clean your house any more than you should spend time with your kids?
Keeping costs down is always a great thing to focus on. Just make sure that your focus on keeping costs down isn’t also keeping your income or earning potential down.
1. According to Paragraph 2, which of the following belongs to a “hard” cost?A.Money. | B.Time. | C.Energy. | D.Attention. |
A.shows up early every day | B.works efficiently when paid |
C.spends more time than needed | D.actively makes profit for the company |
A.Supportive. | B.Disapproving. | C.Sympathetic. | D.Uncertain. |
A.Opinion—Argument—Explanation. | B.Opinion—Description—Conclusion. |
C.Introduction—Analysis—Conclusion. | D.Introduction—Comparison—Examples. |
6 . I'd spent decades telling my girls that their bodies were a means to a long and satisfactory life, not objects to be admired because of how they look. I told them that good health and the energy to enjoy life should be their ultimate goals, not fitting into society's preconceived ideas of what is beautiful.
This year I'm sixty years old. I appear much older than before. This aging body of mine is not the one I expected to have. Looking at the old, fat, wrinkled woman in the mirror, I begin to complain about it. I've actually spent a lifetime focusing on my flaws, constantly complaining about my less-than-perfect self. As I was complaining yet again, my younger daughter told me, “Mom, stop. Stop putting yourself down. This is the body you live in now. It's beautiful because it's yours.” If I'm unwilling to accept my aging self with grace and dignity, how can I possibly expect my girls to do the same when they face these same physical changes?
And then, I learned that a friend of mine, the same age as me, died. At her funeral, her three heartbroken daughters spoke of their mother's devotion, wisdom, and compassion. They never said a single word about her appearance though her body had melted away during her last months. It didn't matter. I left that funeral desperate to hold my own girls in my arms, to kiss them and tell them how much they mean to me , and to promise that I will do better, be better—for them as well as for myself.
And so, to honour the memory of my dear friend and to set a good example to my beloved girls, I promise to love my aging body, and celebrate the gift of being alive.
1. What can we learn about the author from the first two paragraphs?A.She forgot to listen to her own advice. | B.She was more of a talker than a doer. |
C.She was unaware of her words’ effects. | D.She was unwilling to accept others’ advice. |
A.Advantages. | B.Imperfections. | C.Appearances. | D.Treasures. |
A.Action speaks louder than words. | B.Lies can never change facts. |
C.Beauty comes from the depths of the soul. | D.Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well. |
A.Running through Life | B.Rebuilding Your Life |
C.Remembering to Respect Others | D.Finding Beauty in Ourselves |
7 . I want to tell you three stories from my life. The first story is about connecting the
My second story is about love. I
My third story is about death. About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs
A.signals | B.skills | C.dots | D.elements |
A.instruction | B.indication | C.exploration | D.operation |
A.each | B.some | C.much | D.none |
A.hope | B.lack | C.intention | D.idea |
A.offering | B.designing | C.selecting | D.pursuing |
A.came back | B.handed over | C.led up | D.threw forward |
A.By accident | B.Of course | C.In that case | D.As a result |
A.instead | B.otherwise | C.somehow | D.thus |
A.imagined | B.desired | C.admitted | D.started |
A.But | B.So | C.Or | D.Even |
A.refused | B.decided | C.tended | D.promised |
A.dilemma | B.atmosphere | C.events | D.procedures |
A.suited | B.loved | C.entrusted | D.featured |
A.escape | B.fade | C.ignore | D.settle |
A.in return | B.in despair | C.in case | D.in order |
A.fight | B.set off | C.die | D.figure out |
A.thankfully | B.significantly | C.oddly | D.definitely |
A.most scared | B.dearest | C.most unwilling | D.closest |
A.carried on | B.lived through | C.headed to | D.passed away |
A.intend | B.permit | C.waste | D.lose |
8 . “What do you want to be when you grow up?” When I was a kid, I was afraid of the question. I never had a good answer. Grown-ups always seemed terribly disappointed that I wasn’t dreaming of becoming something great, like a film-maker or a spaceman.
In college, I finally realized that I didn’t want to be one thing. I wanted to do many things. So I became an organizational psychologist. My job is to fix other people’s jobs. And I think that asking kids what they want to be does harm to them.
First, the question forces kids to define (界定) themselves in terms of work. When you’re asked what you want to be when you grow up, it’s not socially acceptable to say a “father”, or, a “mother”. This might be one of the reasons that while many parents say that what they value most is to care about others, their kids believe that success is more important. When we define ourselves by our jobs, our worth depends on what we achieve.
The second problem is that it tells kids there is one calling out there for everyone. Although having a calling can bring people joy, research shows that searching for one leaves students feeling lost. After the actor Chris Rock heard a teacher tell high schoolers, they could be anything they want to be, he asked, “Lady, why are you lying to these children?” Maybe four of them could be anything they want to be, but the other 2,000 had better learn how to weld (焊接). He added, “Tell the kids the truth. You can be anything you’re good at.”
I’m all for encouraging kids to dream big. But it is no good asking kids what they want to be. Instead, invite them to think about what kind of person they want to be -- and about all the different things they might want to do.
1. How did the author feel when he was asked the question?A.Angry. | B.Stupid. |
C.Uneasy. | D.Disappointed |
A.Kids may put success first. |
B.Kids may stop dreaming big. |
C.It makes kids refuse to grow up. |
D.It makes kids depend more on others. |
A.Nobody is perfect. |
B.Not everyone has a calling. |
C.Nothing is impossible. |
D.Nobody can succeed without working hard. |
A.Teach kids some useful skills. |
B.Let kids know more about society. |
C.Encourage kids to try to achieve a lot. |
D.Ask kids to consider different possibilities. |
9 . The Fisherman's Fantasy was a club which attracted lots of people claiming that fishing was their favorite hobby. There were streams and lakes filled with hungry fish in the neighborhood. The club members met regularly to discuss the excitement of catching fish. They seemed to get crazy about fishing!
The group carefully defined fishing, the purpose of fishing and so on when somebody thought that they needed philosophies of fishing. They not only outlined fishing strategies and skills, but also thought about different questions. Do fish view the world as we humans do? What do fishermen look like to the fish? What do fish feed on? With so many questions to answer, they started their serious research and attended various discussions on fishing. Some even traveled faraway to study different kinds of fish, with different habits. What's more, some made effort to gain a PhD in biology with the objective of further exploring fish. But surprisingly, no one had yet gone fishing even once!
Because there were too many fishing places for fishermen to choose from, they even set up a special committee to make choices before a list of selected fishing places was posted on walls. Nevertheless, believe it or not, still, no one was fishing!
Finally the club carried out a survey and found out that some were attracted to study fish, some to clean fishing equipment, and several to go around encouraging others to go fishing. They were so occupied that they just simply didn't have time to fish themselves.
Now, Fred, a new member to the fishing club, instantly went fishing after the first meeting. He tried some skills discussed in the meeting, got the hang of them, and caught a fish. At the next meeting, he told his story, and was honored for his catch, and then scheduled to tell others how he did it. Nowadays, Fred no longer had time to go fishing due to all the speaking invitations and his election to the board of directors of the Fisherman' Fantasy. Before long, he began to feel bored, restless and empty. He desired to feel the fish bite on the line once again. So he refused those restless and empty. He desired to feel the fish bite on the line once again. So he refused those speaking invitations and retired from the board.He said to a friend, “Let's go fishing,”. They did, just the two of them, and they caught fish.
The members of the Fisherman's Fantasy were many, the fish were plentiful, but the real fishers were few.
1. What did the Fishman's Fantasy regularly meet to do?A.Set up clubs on fishing. | B.Search for streams and lakes. |
C.Study features of hungry fish. | D.Discuss about catching fish. |
A.particular | B.curious | C.worried | D.angry |
A.were busy | B.were bored | C.lacked skills | D.lacked equipment |
A.Guidance from the committee. | B.Combination of theory and practice. |
C.Inspiration from the fishing club. | D.His being elected to the board. |
A.Actions speak louder than words. | B.God helps those who help themselves. |
C.Great minds think alike. | D.Well begun is half done. |
10 . 20 years ago, a dog near our apartment area hunted down a sparrow (麻雀) and was about to eat it. My friends and I
My parents always told me to treat people and animals with
One day when I was in high school, I
I admired my mother’s
A.turned down | B.broke with | C.drove away | D.left out |
A.slightly | B.badly | C.hardly | D.equally |
A.learning | B.refusing | C.pretending | D.struggling |
A.talent | B.kindness | C.patience | D.weakness |
A.special | B.lonely | C.comfortable | D.disappointed |
A.rest | B.support | C.appearance | D.recovery |
A.heard | B.asked | C.lectured | D.explained |
A.Although | B.If | C.Because | D.Until |
A.worried | B.afraid | C.pleased | D.curious |
A.noticed | B.forgot | C.regretted | D.recalled |
A.changed | B.ended | C.developed | D.existed |
A.got used | B.gave in | C.settled down | D.showed off |
A.naturally | B.hopefully | C.secretly | D.anxiously |
A.excited | B.angry | C.touched | D.grateful |
A.safe | B.strange | C.pleasant | D.simple |
A.pain | B.expectation | C.desire | D.respect |
A.leave | B.remember | C.forgive | D.understand |
A.cured | B.obtained | C.recognized | D.abandoned |
A.excuse | B.honesty | C.wisdom | D.mistake |
A.pride | B.luck | C.hesitation | D.relief |