1 . A Florida teen is gaining national attention with her graduation speech and a basket of strawberries. “Care for some strawberries?” Brenda said at her graduation from Mulberry High School. After jokingly acknowledging there might not be enough, she went on, “These are no ordinary strawberries.” She held up a series of strawberries, revealing what each represents: sweat, dirt, aches, and pains.
Brenda described herself as the daughter of two tireless farmers who immigrated from Mexico and spent most of their days working in fields of strawberries, blueberries, and cucumbers. “My motivation has been rooted in my immigrant culture.” Because of this, she chose to focus on that in her address. “Many students used to be ashamed of their upbringing but today, we’re proud of what makes us.”
She explained how she grew up under poor conditions. “I’m motivated by my parents’ hands that lose feeling from laborious work. Despite the hot sun and body pains, they back me up heart and soul in my education, which weighs more strongly with me than anything else. I must work hard and succeed.” Brenda’s heading to Stanford University this fall. She also credited some of her outstanding achievements to her teacher Higgins, who helps immigrant students and the poor.
Her speech has been viewed by thousands online. “Hearing it touched other people’s hearts who said they understood my message, I’m struck the same,” Brenda said later. The principal of Mulberry High School, Michael Young, was one member of the audience getting emotional. “The speech was very powerful—her fruit did help paint a good picture of things she wanted to convey,” Young said.
As for her message to young people struggling, Brenda said, “Past circumstances aren’t in charge of your future. If you’re from a poor family, use every resource and try to better yourself. You’re the author of your story.”
1. Why did Brenda bring strawberries to her graduation?A.To share her home-grown fruit. | B.To show hardship her parents faced. |
C.To better illustrate her speech’s topic. | D.To explain the importance of motivators. |
A.Help from her teacher. | B.Her life experience. |
C.Her native culture. | D.Support from her parents. |
A.Proud. | B.Sympathetic. | C.Awkward. | D.Moved. |
A.Life is what you make it. | B.Every cloud has a silver lining. |
C.Everyone deserves a good life story. | D.Resources in hand decide your future. |
2 . My grandchild, Harold, was celebrating his 7th birthday. Asked what
Harold remembered me telling of these
I followed the
As I presented the perfectly crafted fudge to Harold, his eyes sparkled with
A.colour | B.gift | C.plan | D.game |
A.did | B.witnessed | C.bought | D.considered |
A.stick | B.pie | C.candy | D.soup |
A.changes | B.failures | C.thrills | D.hardships |
A.fact | B.reason | C.belief | D.theory |
A.complained | B.resisted | C.persisted | D.agreed |
A.story | B.recipe | C.grandson | D.thought |
A.avoided | B.regretted | C.enjoyed | D.kept |
A.scary | B.interesting | C.amazing | D.awkward |
A.quiet | B.proper | C.regular | D.difficult |
A.ahead | B.late | C.fine | D.wrong |
A.joy | B.intelligence | C.humor | D.inspiration |
A.stood for | B.weighed on | C.struck at | D.washed over |
A.education | B.involvement | C.growth | D.fun |
A.interruption | B.request | C.answer | D.pleasure |
3 . While I was riding a bike, I notice a man about a half mile in front of me. He was traveling at a lower speed, so I decided to
I started
After I passed him, I realized that I had been so
Isn’t that what
We use most of our time and energy competing with others instead of
Unhealthy competition is a
Feel grateful for what life has offered you. Stay focused on your path, and live a healthy life . There’s no
A.remind | B.approach | C.pass | D.follow |
A.running | B.driving | C.walking | D.cycling |
A.caught up with | B.put up with | C.kept up with | D.came up with |
A.when | B.while | C.as | D.unless |
A.test | B.project | C.race | D.task |
A.focused | B.dependent | C.hard | D.impressed |
A.finished | B.missed | C.wasted | D.made |
A.remains | B.offers | C.happens | D.works |
A.defeat | B.help | C.encourage | D.please |
A.ever | B.never | C.always | D.sometimes |
A.choosing | B.understanding | C.reaching | D.exploring |
A.by chance | B.on purpose | C.as usual | D.as a result |
A.dangerous | B.adventurous | C.continuous | D.disastrous |
A.next to | B.ahead of | C.around | D.behind |
A.competition | B.mistake | C.experiment | D.limit |
4 . Someone recently asked me when I became more confident about my abilities as an entrepreneur. I thought it was a funny question,
It doesn’t exactly hold me back in my work; it is just that I am very
There is one thing I have learned over the years that I wish I had learned earlier in my career. And that is the
It sounds logical, but I often sat in on meetings and heard people explain things and then
A couple of years ago, I came to the
When I don’t understand a business model it usually means there is not one, or it sucks. Turns out I’m not stupid and
My advice to young entrepreneurs is this: you are not stupid! If something does not make
A.if | B.unless | C.because | D.when |
A.disappointment | B.doubt | C.terror | D.curiosity |
A.conscious | B.tired | C.ashamed | D.fond |
A.insisting | B.working | C.relying | D.reflecting |
A.boring | B.costly | C.disgusting | D.significant |
A.truth | B.concept | C.realization | D.reputation |
A.thought | B.referred | C.smiled | D.came |
A.mind | B.know | C.love | D.understand |
A.tastes | B.sounds | C.smells | D.looks |
A.compromise | B.conclusion | C.point | D.agreement |
A.despair | B.pleasure | C.relief | D.impatience |
A.since | B.if | C.as | D.while |
A.Instead of | B.Apart from | C.As well as | D.Regardless of |
A.progress | B.history | C.money | D.sense |
A.feeling | B.level | C.happiness | D.comfort |
5 . We have often heard that “work smart and not hard”.Does only smart work bring you success? And if so, then why are so many of us still busy putting our blood and sweat into working hard? Here, we’ll discuss hard work and smart work.
Hard work is all about consistently working towards a particular goal irrespective (不考虑的) of its worth, not being worried about the result and not using any means to reduce your effort. Hard work requires a lot of commitment (投入) and sincerity from the person. Although being boring and tiresome, it can give you the best results if it is done with heart and soul.
One of the preconditions of smart work is having indepth knowledge or experience of the work in hand, because that allows you to look for efficient ways to do the work in a planned time. Being a smart worker saves a lot of time as you can find means to reduce your work by using logical and innovative ways to achieve your goals. Besides, it also gives you enough time to learn a new task while completing the present one.
Although it seems that smart work is a better option, what we forget is that smart work is the fruit of hard work. Only when you work hard can you gather the expertise (专门技能) and the knowledge to understand the work in hand and efficiently improve on it and work smartly.
You will attain great heights and lead a better and comfortable life if you combine both smart and hard work together. If you are not smart, your hard work will never pay. A donkey only does hard work, while a horse does hard work and uses its smartness whenever and wherever it needs. In a similar way, smart work is the result of hard work. To master the quality of smart work, you really need to work hard. Through hard work, we gain experience which helps us discover new things that may make us work smartly. The effort is important,but where to make that effort makes a difference.
1. What can we learn about hard workers from Paragraph 2?A.They lack proper work skills. |
B.They always have great patience. |
C.They tend to ignore the goal of work. |
D.They can obtain excellent results from their work if they work with heart and soul. |
A.By making a sensible plan. |
B.By making use of innovative ways. |
C.By learning experience from others. |
D.By getting inspiration from a new task. |
A.It is inspiring. | B.It is ineffective. |
C.It is challenging. | D.It is fundamental. |
A.It is useless to work hard. |
B.It is necessary to work smartly. |
C.The efforts you make matter most. |
D.The horse is cleverer than the donkey. |
6 . I remember it was a Saturday. I was invited to my friend’s birthday party.
I asked her “Did your mum drive you here?” She answered, “Oh, my mum was
Later on, she told us what had happened the day her mother died. “I came home,
The girl said that she went to sleep that night with
I was so
A.On | B.For | C.After | D.Between |
A.patiently | B.closely | C.deeply | D.directly |
A.expectation | B.greeting | C.company | D.praise |
A.different | B.distant | C.common | D.similar |
A.mad | B.ill | C.lost | D.dead |
A.embarrassed | B.excited | C.nervous | D.grateful |
A.Since | B.Before | C.As | D.Although |
A.questioning | B.hitting | C.blaming | D.missing |
A.aim | B.regret | C.anger | D.stress |
A.crazy | B.awake | C.calm | D.happy |
A.attracted | B.frightened | C.influenced | D.moved |
A.hands | B.legs | C.shoulders | D.arms |
A.excuse | B.tear | C.smile | D.notice |
A.protect | B.support | C.fight | D.honor |
A.thus | B.besides | C.however | D.even |
7 . Both my parents were educators, and for the past 40 years I’ve done the same thing. As
For years I watched my mother take the
When my mama died two years ago at 92, there were so many
Every child deserves a champion, and an adult who will never
A.adults | B.referees | C.parents | D.educators |
A.even | B.seldom | C.usually | D.frequently |
A.nature | B.resources | C.connection | D.behaviors |
A.like | B.feed | C.teach | D.protect |
A.disconnect | B.hear | C.learn | D.separate |
A.lead | B.time | C.charge | D.picture |
A.rest | B.grow | C.eat | D.defend |
A.good | B.awful | C.unique | D.strange |
A.nobody | B.anybody | C.everybody | D.somebody |
A.insisted | B.become | C.expected | D.understood |
A.well-rounded | B.former | C.enthusiastic | D.fresh |
A.gone | B.tired | C.reserved | D.respected |
A.progress | B.remain | C.cover | D.disappear |
A.give up | B.hold up | C.think about | D.talk about |
A.mark | B.promise | C.presentation | D.difference |
8 . When the host announced that my choir (合唱队) won the second place of the World Choir Game, I couldn’t believe what I heard. All the
In the semi-finals (半决赛), we were supposed to sing four songs. When we played the third song, I suddenly heard an unexpected
After the competition, I was disappointed. Just because of one person’s fault, the whole choir must afford the fact that we might lose the game. I cried, but then I found nothing would change no matter how hard we
Never blame a person when she makes a mistake, but help her to solve the problem when you are struggling
A.promises | B.efforts | C.requirement | D.differences |
A.considered | B.forgot | C.learned | D.explained |
A.name | B.shout | C.voice | D.song |
A.driven away | B.led away | C.given out | D.turned down |
A.similarly | B.easily | C.happily | D.immediately |
A.failed | B.succeeded | C.arrived | D.agreed |
A.busy | B.wrong | C.warm | D.slow |
A.quit | B.stop | C.complete | D.end |
A.conductor | B.singer | C.dancer | D.worker |
A.late | B.only | C.first | D.last |
A.blamed | B.encouraged | C.called | D.asked |
A.Otherwise | B.Therefore | C.However | D.Besides |
A.bad | B.common | C.perfect | D.rude |
A.up | B.on to | C.for | D.in |
A.mistake | B.surprise | C.sadness | D.laughter |
9 . I’ve just moved out to live with my best friend. We rented a house which had no
One day after we moved in, we learned there was an
In conversation we knew he had come from a
A.electricity | B.sunlight | C.fridge | D.furniture |
A.go on | B.do without | C.give up | D.calm down |
A.unwanted | B.informal | C.inexpensive | D.uncomfortable |
A.managed | B.chose | C.struggled | D.expected |
A.direction | B.go | C.case | D.line |
A.witnessed | B.forecast | C.confirmed | D.recorded |
A.hurriedly | B.constantly | C.carefully | D.secretly |
A.hurry | B.way | C.reason | D.doubt |
A.attempts | B.decisions | C.plans | D.trips |
A.cover | B.decorate | C.hide | D.repair |
A.reached | B.checked | C.returned | D.hesitated |
A.privileged | B.rural | C.loving | D.disadvantaged |
A.meaningful | B.influential | C.risky | D.tough |
A.offering | B.seizing | C.creating | D.discovering |
A.wonderful | B.strange | C.different | D.common |
10 . I have the bad habit of skipping to the last pages of a book to see how it ends while I’m still in the middle of it. This habit
At times I didn’t limit this bad habit to just reading books either. I also tried to skip ahead in my life and
Life has often had to
A.concerned | B.annoyed | C.frightened | D.embarrassed |
A.impatience | B.difficulty | C.influence | D.effort |
A.bring out | B.let out | C.try out | D.figure out |
A.fearing | B.enjoying | C.doubting | D.imagining |
A.pages | B.things | C.reports | D.novels |
A.Indeed | B.Still | C.Surely | D.Finally |
A.ending | B.plot | C.outline | D.passage |
A.happily | B.carefully | C.unwillingly | D.foolishly |
A.start | B.finish | C.work | D.change |
A.allow | B.force | C.remind | D.encourage |
A.admitting | B.returning | C.responding | D.referring |
A.present | B.memory | C.dream | D.future |
A.right | B.first | C.new | D.blank |
A.more or less | B.line by line | C.one by one | D.now and then |
A.story | B.job | C.plan | D.hope |