1 . Small children are easy to throw up in the air and catch-and they
I hope Jacky will always trust me fully, but I know that, as he gets
A.deserve | B.miss | C.love | D.know |
A.as if | B.in case | C.even though | D.so that |
A.fear | B.excitement | C.doubt | D.astonishment |
A.reasonable | B.limited | C.absolute | D.important |
A.relief | B.satisfaction | C.achievement | D.responsibility |
A.older | B.busier | C.quieter | D.healthier |
A.on my behalf | B.on my part | C.in my honor | D.in my name |
A.long-distance | B.high-risk | C.parent-child | D.teacher-student |
A.afford | B.choose | C.wait | D.expect |
A.attach | B.compare | C.adjust | D.introduce |
A.safe | B.happy | C.proud | D.grateful |
A.Above all | B.In addition | C.At first | D.For example |
A.admit | B.believe | C.suggest | D.imagine |
A.However | B.Therefore | C.Similarly | D.Fortunately |
A.affection | B.determination | C.friendship | D.leadership |
A.assess | B.organize | C.develop | D.understand |
A.repeat | B.follow | C.change | D.forget |
A.gesture | B.measure | C.bond | D.lack |
A.telling | B.giving | C.selling | D.sending |
A.management | B.personality | C.communication | D.education |
2 . It’s often the simple things in life that make the most significant impact on us. It was late one afternoon in mid-September. My three-month-old son was napping in his
Down below
Not more than ten feet away stood his mother. She didn’t scold him.
The little boy probably will
Maybe we can all learn from the innocence of
A.desk | B.bed | C.toy | D.chair |
A.jump at | B.turn around | C.look out of | D.stare at |
A.formed | B.left | C.saved | D.collected |
A.waved | B.trembled | C.stood | D.slid |
A.birds | B.cars | C.ash | D.water |
A.by and by | B.up and down | C.now and then | D.over and over |
A.Instead | B.However | C.Therefore | D.Also |
A.still | B.hesitantly | C.anxiously | D.close |
A.embarrassing | B.confusing | C.touching | D.exhausting |
A.experience | B.remember | C.forget | D.recall |
A.grows up | B.loses heart | C.turns in | D.cries out |
A.visit | B.explore | C.find | D.understand |
A.loves | B.helps | C.scolds | D.kisses |
A.youth | B.childhood | C.adolescence | D.adulthood |
A.enjoy | B.share | C.stop | D.await |
3 . Most of the time, we human beings are so unwilling to change that we completely ignore its beauty. I don’t get it, why?
As people connect changes with something beneficial, we all claim to believe in change being good, yet so many of us aggressively oppose it. And why? Because of familiarity.
Even for those of us who say we love change, it’s hard to accept and adapt. However, sometimes change can be a frightening thing. There’s no denying that life is unpredictable and more often than not, we’re forced to make a change we didn’t really prepare for or expect. We lose jobs, we lose people, we move to another country or we find ourselves in unfavorable circumstances that we weren’t taught how to handle.
Life is full of unavoidable changes. How can you develop personally and expect to stay in the same place?
Even though change may be painful and so hard sometimes, it’s still better than the pain of feeling powerless as you watch your dreams pass you by. Don’t be afraid of change. Embrace (拥抱) it with open arms.
A.Not everyone can accompany you. |
B.Where there’s growth, there’s change |
C.Change can be scary but it can also be beautiful. |
D.That’s not the only reasons you embrace changes. |
E.Look forward to new experiences and learn from those new stories. |
F.These things force you to change what you weren’t ready to change. |
G.Sometimes we’re convinced that knowing something well means it’s right. |
4 . Kala has deep ties to her Hawaiian roots. Her ancestors navigated (航行) the oceans for centuries using their knowledge of the stars, the sun, the currents and the wind. It’s not that she does it in a canoe without technology, but rather uses the natural technology around her. It’s called Way finding, and was taught to her by her father.
“My father was my foundation, my rock.” she says of her first voyage with him from Oahu to Lahaina in a traditional canoe. He taught her how to read the stars, the ocean swells and how to use them to hold the course. “Over 200 stars have specific names and purposes when you are Way finding. You have to look at each and determine if they are rising or setting. You know this star and the direction it represents. If you can do that, you can use it as a tool to orient (确定方向).” Kala added.
Kala Tanaka sailed the canoe in the ocean for up to three weeks. During the day, Kala used the sun until it hit a certain height. When she got closer to land, she looked for certain species of land birds and clouds that indicated there was land below. When Kala sailed she felt “I feel very connected to the crew and the canoe. We’re a family.” The longer voyage required Kala to spend hours studying the day and the night skies. It was demanding physical work. But it also had its moments of awe. For Kala, the beauty was in tying together the past and the present to enjoy the moment. So when she was not sailing, she was teaching Way finding skills to school-aged children in hopes of preserving the skills her ancestors relied on.
It’s easy to be lost in the immediacy of the technology of our day, to be consumed by screens and miss the nature that unfolds around us. But if we will take the time to look up, to see the stars and the sun, the way the clouds move, the miracle of life beneath and above us, we will discover something deep inside us, something that will always lead to happiness.
1. How does Kala navigate the ocean in a canoe?A.By observing the natural elements around. |
B.By following the course of ocean currents. |
C.By using hi-technology navigation devices. |
D.By recalling the first voyage with her father. |
A.It was a heroic adventure. | B.It brought great joy to her life. |
C.It was school children’s favorite. | D.It represented a kind of innovation. |
A.Enjoy the screens. | B.Explore the universe. |
C.Get close to nature. | D.Keep the earth clean. |
A.Finding Our Way | B.Navigating the Ocean |
C.The Wisdom from Ancestors | D.An Unforgettable Journey |
5 . Amazing and perfectly beautiful, The Midnight Library is everything you’d expect from the genius storyteller, Matt Haig. I picked it up from our readers’ recommendations (we asked our readers to send in some of their favorite recent books) and I can see why it won Best Fiction of 2020 in the Good Reads Choice Awards.
The story follows Nora Seed, a woman who is struggling and feels like nothing in her life has gone according to plan. While the initial chapters of the book are quite sad, Nora finds herself given a chance to start over in the Midnight Library, a magical place full of books of all the different paths her life could have taken. Nora is forced to stay in the library and try out different versions of her life until she finds the life she most wants to live.
I loved the idea that no dream or fork in your road is insignificant, and that they all lead us to become different versions of ourselves. In one life, Nora is an Olympic swimmer. In another, she is a glaciologist living on a boat off the coast of Antarctica. The novel reveals in a beautiful way that the potential we all have within us is impossible to measure, and that we have the possibility to be happy in many different versions of life.
It also discusses how dangerous it can be to live your life with regrets. The Midnight Library revealed to Nora that even if you make very different choices, you may uncover a deeper appreciation for your current home and the people in your life. It is your perspective that matters.
I really loved the fantasy and magical realism in this novel, and I would love for this to be turned into a series where we get to explore The Midnight Library of other characters’ lives as well.
1. What can we know about the author of the text?A.He should be an editor. | B.He is the friend of Matt Haig. |
C.Magical realism books are his favorite. | D.He shares a similar experience with Nora. |
A.A magic library. | B.The harm of regret. |
C.The exploration of life. | D.Ways to make correct choices. |
A.In a novel. | B.In a magazine. | C.In a history book. | D.In a biography. |
A.To thank readers who introduced the book. | B.To honour Matt Haig, the author of the book. |
C.To share the author’s opinions on the book. | D.To publicize the book to people who are struggling. |
6 . Although Cuban built a tech company that would finally make him extremely rich, he never showed off that. “I never, ever thought about
At the beginning, when Cuban sold his first company for 6 million dollars, he never thought he’d have to
Five years later, the stock (股票) he had was highly
I couldn’t agree more with Cuban’s views. A person’s life is short. We should make the best use of time to do meaningful things, so that we won’t
A.money | B.relief | C.jobs | D.companies |
A.equally | B.completely | C.purposely | D.naturally |
A.narrowness | B.dirt | C.time | D.age |
A.live | B.share | C.travel | D.work |
A.wise | B.suitable | C.impressive | D.free |
A.symbols | B.strategies | C.earnings | D.rents |
A.party | B.spend | C.challenge | D.tour |
A.valuable | B.formal | C.major | D.obvious |
A.sold | B.packed | C.held | D.buried |
A.formed | B.improved | C.broke | D.changed |
A.personality | B.lesson | C.path | D.solution |
A.puts away | B.takes down | C.works out | D.gets over |
A.create | B.donate | C.buy | D.own |
A.save | B.apply | C.understand | D.limit |
A.feature | B.regret | C.start | D.deliver |
7 . My son was born with breathing difficulties, so he had to stay in NICU, the hospital unit for newborns needing intensive care. There he could only be fed through a tube. I hated the tube. The lovely dreams I had of nursing my baby were entirely
On the fifth day, I
Seated outside the NICU, I started crying. Just then, a young nurse came and sat beside me. When I had
The nurse replied, “Not today. But remember, tomorrow is a new day.”
She seemed much younger than me, but her words were
What I learned from that nurse was to look beyond today and the suffering of it and to consider tomorrow with
A.controlled | B.destroyed | C.questioned | D.recalled |
A.protested | B.wondered | C.forgot | D.warned |
A.maximum | B.restricted | C.sufficient | D.additional |
A.plot | B.spot | C.atmosphere | D.situation |
A.spared | B.contained | C.shared | D.exhibited |
A.wise | B.plain | C.familiar | D.sharp |
A.mistakes | B.dreams | C.challenges | D.doubts |
A.go away | B.look up | C.make sense | D.fall apart |
A.frequently | B.slightly | C.completely | D.occasionally |
A.intention | B.imagination | C.urge | D.faith |
8 . When Failure Is a Good Thing
Failure is an important process you can learn from.
Most people view failure as something that should be avoided at all costs.
Award-winning psychologist and author, Ron Friedman, tells the story of how Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, revolutionized the women's clothing industry and became a billionaire in his book, The Best Place To Work: The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace.
When interviewed by CNN's Anderson Cooper, Sara said, “Instead of failure being the outcome, failure became not trying. It forced me at a young age to want to push myself so much further out of my comfort zone.”
If we view failure as weakness, we avoid stepping out of our comfort zone.
What has been the greatest lesson you have learned when taking a chance? Please share with us.
A.And, most importantly, it means you tried. |
B.Let's take a look at how Sara faced failures. |
C.In reality, Sara's father had re-defined failure. |
D.Early on, Sara overcame a series of difficulties. |
E.Instead, we must remind ourselves that failure is an action. |
F.It is important to reflect on what can be learnt from failure. |
G.We tend to connect failure with a bad experience we had as a child. |
9 . I was driving when my phone alerted me to a new email. Filled with eager anticipation, I pulled over, turned on my hazard lights, and opened it. My emotions quickly changed as I learned, for the sixth and final time, that I had been denied a promotion to full professor. My institution didn’t seem to value what I brought to the table. But when I told my family that night, my children offered a surprisingly positive response. They were excited to see what I was going to do next, they said. They apparently knew long before I did that losing my bid for a promotion would turn out to be the best thing that could have happened for me.
This had been the final step in a long process spanning 15 months and involving so much effort. I had started by studying successful promotion bids and asking senior scholars for frank discussions about my readiness. I had carefully prepared my application packet, summarizing everything I had achieved in my career. For more than a year, I had spent hours every day trying to prove my worth to my university.
To my surprise, having a final answer brought a welcome sense of closure. As a first step toward healing, I decided to prioritize my own values and follow my own internal compass. I disconnected from people in my life who violated my values, cultivated my relationships with those who share my priorities and bring out the best in me, and spent more time with my family. I founded a nonprofit that helps first-generation and low-income students and young professionals advance in the workforce while serving their community. The initiative had long been a dream of mine, but I never pursued it because typical academic hiring and promotion don’t reward such efforts. Now, such considerations were no longer my North Star.
Five months after that email from top leadership, I found myself in the car again, experiencing another career-defining moment. I may have lost my bid for a big promotion, but in the end, it brought me to the right place.
1. What did the author feel after he read the email?A.Anxious and annoyed. | B.Embarrassed and ashamed. |
C.Relieved and peaceful. | D.Disappointed and sorrowful. |
A.What contributions the writer had made. | B.What preparations the writer had made. |
C.How successful the career had been. | D.How tiring the process had been. |
A.Success is more than a title or a rank. |
B.One’s internal compass is to be developed. |
C.Serving the community may heal a broken heart. |
D.One’s real value first lies in his family interaction. |
A.Emails: my North Star |
B.Full professor: a double-edged sword |
C.A career setback becomes a great opportunity |
D.An academic career witnesses a failed promotion |
10 . Smith Justice and his son were coming back from the dentist, when they saw a homeless man in the road. Smith
Smith told his son what people saw as a good thing was not good enough to make a
A chain reaction of kindness
A.managed | B.promised | C.intended | D.agreed |
A.confused | B.doubtful | C.tense | D.hesitant |
A.normally | B.clearly | C.secretly | D.formally |
A.reaction | B.devotion | C.objection | D.solution |
A.out of sight | B.out of control | C.in the way | D.in the charge |
A.fortune | B.difference | C.name | D.commitment |
A.rolled down | B.reached for | C.looked through | D.lifted up |
A.check | B.card | C.cash | D.food |
A.matching | B.replacing | C.reflecting | D.showing |
A.changed | B.stopped | C.remained | D.started |
A.greet | B.smile | C.chat | D.donate |
A.remembered | B.realized | C.accepted | D.regretted |
A.reminded | B.comforted | C.praised | D.warned |
A.help | B.work | C.mean | D.matter |
A.Returning | B.Accepting | C.Spreading | D.Seeking |