It was Saturday. As always, it was a busy one, for “Six days shall you labor and do all your work” was taken seriously back then. Outside, Father and Mr. Patrick next door were busy chopping firewood. Inside their own houses, Mother and Mrs. Patrick were engaged in spring cleaning.
Somehow the boys had slipped away to the back lot with their kites. Now, even at the risk of having Brother caught to beat carpets , they had sent him to the kitchen for string(線). It seemed there was no limit to the heights to which kites would fly today.
My mother looked at the sitting room, its furniture disordered for a thorough sweeping, A gun she cast a look toward the window. “Come on, girls! Let’s take string to the boys and watch them
On the way we met Mrs. Patrick, laughing guiltily as if she were doing something wrong, together with her girls.
There never was such a day for flying kited! We played all our fresh string into the boys’ kites and they went up higher and higher .We could hardly distinguish the orange-colored spots of the kites. Now and then we slowly pulled one kite back, watching it dancing up and down it the wind, and finally bringing it down to earth, just for the joy of sending it up again.
Even our fathers dropped their tools and joined us. Our mothers took their turn, laughing like schoolgirls. I think we were all beside ourselves. Parents forgot their duty and their dignity; children forgot their everyday fights and little jealousies. “Perhaps it’s like this in the kingdom of heaven,” I thought confusedly.
It was growing dark before we all walked sleepily back to house. I suppose we had some sort of supper. I suppose there must have been a surface tidying-up, for the house on Sunday looked clean and orderly enough. The strange thing was, we didn't mention that day afterward. I felt a little embarrassed .Surely none of the others had been as excited as I. I locked the memory up in that deepest part of me where we keep “the things that cannot be and yet they are.”
The years went on, then one day I was hurrying about my kitchen in a city apartment, trying to get some work out of the way while my three-year-old insistently cried her desire to “go park ,see duck.”
“I can’t go!” I said. “I have this and this to do, and when I’m through I’ll be too tired to walk that for.”
My mother , who was visiting us , looked up from the peas she was shelling ,“It’s a wonderful day,” she offered,“Really warm , yet there’s a fine breezy . Do you remember that day we flew kites?”
I stopped in my dash between stove and sink. The looked door flew open and with it a rush of memories. “Come on.” I told my little girl. “You’re right, it’s too good a day to miss.”
Another decade passed. We were in the aftermath (余波)of a great war. All
evening we had been asking our returned soldier, the youngest Patrick Boy, about his experiences as a prisoner of war. He had talked freely, but now for a long time he had been silent. What was he thinking of – what dark and horrible things?
“Say!” A smile slipped out from his lips. “Do you remember --- no, of course you wouldn’t. It probably didn’t make the impression on you as it did on me.”
I hardly dared speak. “Remember what?”
“I used to think of that day a lot in POW camp(戰(zhàn)俘營), when things weren’t too good. Do you remember the day we flew the kites?”
【小題1】 Mrs. Patrick was laughing guiltily because she thought .
A.she was too old to fly kites |
B.her husband would make fun of her |
C.she should have been doing her housework then |
D.her girls weren’t supposed to play the boy’s game |
A.felt confused | B.went wild with joy |
C.looked on | D.forgot their fights |
A.The boys must have had more fun than the girls. |
B.They should have finished their work before playing. |
C.Her parents should spend more time with them. |
D.All the others must have forgotten that day. |
A.She suddenly remembered her duty as a mother. |
B.She was reminded of the day they flew kites. |
C.She had finished her work in the kitchen. |
D.She thought it was a great day to play outside. |
A.the writer was not alone in treasuring her fond memories |
B.his experience in POW camp threw a shadow over his life |
C.childhood friendship means so much to the writer |
D.people like him really changed a lot after the war |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
It may help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech.At some point in every speech, every speaker says something that is not understood exactly as he has planned.Fortunately, the moments are usually not obvious to the listeners. Why ? Because the listeners do not know what the speaker plans to say. They hear only what the speaker does say. If you lose your place for a moment, wrongly change the order of a couple of sentences, or forget to pause at a certain point, no one will be any the wiser.When such moments occur, don’t worry about them. Just continue as if nothing happened.
Even if you do make an obvious mistake during a speech, that don’t really matter. If you have ever listened to Martin Luther King’s famous speech – “ I have a dream”, you may notice that he stumble(結(jié)巴)his words twice during the speech.Most likely, however, you don’t remember.Why? Because you were fixing your attention on its message rather than on his way of speech-making. People care a lot about making mistakes in a speech because they regard speech-making as a kind of performance rather than as an act of communication. They feel the listeners are like judges in an ice-skating competition.But, in fact, the listeners are not looking for a perfect performer. They are looking for a well-thought-out speech that expresses the speaker’s ideas clearly and directly.Sometimes a mistake or two can actually increase a speaker’s attractiveness by making him more human.
As you work on your speech, don’t worry about being imperfect.Once you free your mind of this, you will find it much easier to give your speech freely.
【小題1】The underlined part in the first paragraph means that no one will ___________.
A.be smarter than you | B.notice your mistakes |
C.do better than you | D.know what you are talking about |
A.your attention is on the content |
B.you don’t fully understand the speech |
C.you don’t know what the speaker plans to say |
D.you find the way of speech-making more important |
A.giving a speech is like giving a performance |
B.one to two mistakes in a speech may not be bad |
C.the listeners should pay more attention to how a speech is made |
D.the more mistakes a speaker makes, the more attractive he will be |
A.How to Be a Perfect Speaker |
B.How to Make a Perfect Speech |
C.Don’t Expect a Perfect Speech |
D.Don’t Expect Mistakes in a Speech |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
The riches in the world are not found in the famous gold and diamond mines,where many men and women are digging for them.Most riches in the world are found in the cemeteries(墓地)and grave yards,buried with people’s dreams,aspirations,and unfulfilled potential.Why is it so?
Countless men and women died without ever having the courage to follow their own paths.Maybe because they were afraid to violate some kinds of social norms, maybe because they were afraid to be alone,or maybe simply because they preferred to settle for the familiar.They went to the graves,with a song that would never be heard,a piece of poetry never be written, a dance step never be initiated and a heart full of dreams and aspirations,leaving behind a life full of potential yet no legacy.
Michael Jordan,one of the greatest athletes once said,‘‘I can fail,but I cannot afford not to try.” Life remains a beautiful journey if we learn to take that step and to work that path.Every challenge and defeat in the process becomes a light post that sharpens the vision and shapes the direction forward.
“In my world nothing goes wrong,”said the great Indian sage Nmaja Dhahta Majraj.We must learn to trust the greatness within all of us and know that each of as is here to bring our unique contribution to the universal monument.If each of us learns to dance to the music we only can hear, society as a whole will evolve naturally and spiritually toward love,peace and happiness,and will be void of jealousy,envy and discrimination.
And Henry David Thoreau would say, “If a man does not keep pace with his companions,that is because he hears a difierent drum.’’And one truly believes that the path to success and happiness passes through the dancing to such a unique drumbeat.Therefore,do not die with the music still playing inside you.
【小題1】What’s the author’s opinion on riches?
A.They are people’s dreams and aspirations. |
B.They are the most important things in the world. |
C.They are something we can’t possess and dream of. |
D.They are gold and diamonds which we can dig for in mines. |
A.They were afraid to break the traditional norms. |
B.They were used to what they were already familiar with. |
C.They were afraid to hurt others and snffer setbacks. |
D.They were afraid to be alone when making the dreams come true. |
A.Having a try is an easy thing we can do. |
B.Trying something new will bring us benefits. |
C.We should be careful if we want to have a try. |
D.All people are not brave enough to experience something new. |
A.Brave. | B.Healthy. | C.Common. | D.Self-confident. |
A.Topic—Argument—Explanation |
B.Topic—Examples—Conclusion |
C.Introduction—Comparison—Discussion |
D.Introduction—Explanatton—Examples |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
In a cab, a woman seemed in such a hurry.She constantly rushed the cab driver to drive quickly.She was so absorbed in her own thoughts of getting to the airport as soon as possible that she was not aware they were going by a different route.
All of a sudden, a young man got inside the cab.He took her handbag in which she had put her visa, passport, and all the money for the trip.
The cab driver, who was in collusion with the robber, left her in the exactly middle of a dark street.She thought that she was rather unfortunate in the very situation.
During the very night, she was told a piece of shocking news.Tears came down her cheek.Flight 360, the plane that she should have got on board, had crashed.Had she not lost her important belongings, she could surely have lost the thing far more precious——her life.
Sometimes bad things really happen.There are times when nothing seems to go our way.So what should we do about it? We must get rid of all these frustrations and start all over again in the faith that we will get what we deserve.
Don’t waste your time and energy on things that can’t be changed.Continuous worrying will only affect your health and you’ll be doing much more damage than what was previously done.
What if it was the other way round? What if we never ran out of good luck?
There was a man who won the lottery.He became greedy and wasted all his money on everything he could get his hands on.
But when he one day made it to the front page of the newspaper again, it was a different story.He had been killed because of his riches.If you attain good luck, you can never be too secure about it.Life is so unpredictable.You never know what will happen next.
Live one day at a time.We sometimes subject ourselves to unnecessary emotional trouble.But please don’t forget: sometimes misfortune can be the source of happiness.Live for the moment.Do what must be done for the present and the future will turn out just fine.Believe me.And believe in yourself.As Captain Planet always says, “The power is yours!”
【小題1】The underlined phrase “in collusion with” in Paragraph 3 probably means “________.”
A.was forced by | B.was fighting bravely against |
C.was doing one’s best to beg | D.had cooperated with |
A.robbers are sure to get what they want |
B.somebody never runs out of good luck |
C.the woman was lucky to miss her flight |
D.if one feels oneself lucky, he or she will continue to be so |
A.warn people of the danger of winning the lottery |
B.tell people life is unpredictable |
C.encourage people to buy lottery |
D.persuade people not to be greedy |
A.Never waste any time or energy because time is so limited. |
B.One needn’t be worried or feel frustrated.Believe in yourself. |
C.Even while everything appears to be going smoothly, we should keep fully alert. |
D.Worrying about what you don’t have |
A.misfortune sometimes is a blessing |
B.we should save up for a rainy day |
C.fortune just goes with those prepared minds |
D.both losses and gains go hand in hand |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family,and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck.I'm not going to say luck,talent,and circumstances don't come into play because they do.Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence,and that's just the reality of how life is.
However,to succeed in life,one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical.And,in addition to that,in order to get really good at something,one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practising.To become great at certain things,it'll require even more time,time that most people won't put in.
However,to succeed in life,one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical.And,in addition to that,in order to get really good at something,one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practising.To become great at certain things,it'll require even more time,time that most people won't put in.
This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don't enjoy what you do,it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.
This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don't enjoy what you do,it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.
When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success,you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost.It's sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent,but thinking that way does you no good,and there's a huge chance that you're wrong anyway.
Whatever you do,if you want to become great at it, you need to work day in and day out,almost to the point of addiction,and over a long period of time.If you're not willing to put in the time and work,don't expect to receive any rewards.Consistent, hard work won't guarantee you the level of success you may want, but it will guarantee that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.
【小題1】Paragraph 1 mainly talks about ________.
A.the reasons for success |
B.the meaning of success |
C.the standards of success |
D.the importance of success |
A.work makes one feel pain |
B.one tends to enjoy his work |
C.one gives up his work easily |
D.it takes a lot of time to succeed |
A.Having a goal is vital to success. |
B.Being good is different from being great. |
C.One cannot succeed without time and practice. |
D.Luck,talent and family help to achieve success. |
A.Having a goal is vital to success. |
B.Being good is different from being great. |
C.One cannot succeed without time and practice. |
D.Luck,talent and family help to achieve success. |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
The other day when I was passing a clothing store, I fell in love with a skirt. I knew it would suit me best at first sight. But when I looked at the price tag (標(biāo)簽), I knew I had to give it up.
The love for beautiful clothes has been planted in my heart the day when I was born to be a woman. Several years ago I read an article in a magazine. The article stated that when a woman is at her best time, she is usually poor or tasteless, so she can’t get the right clothes; when she can afford to buy the clothes she likes, she often finds that they do not suit her anymore.
On the way home, I was quite disturbed by such thoughts. It was just a pity, like many other pities. I thought to myself this way. But when I was about to enter the building where I was living, I saw the big mirror placed in the entrance. I saw a girl in it who was in cheap but cleanly washed sweater and jeans. She was rather young, healthy and energetic. For quite a while I was touched by what I had seen in the mirror.
Then I almost forgot the tale: A person without shoes cried until he saw a man without feet. Being young without good clothes is like the person without shoes. I should have felt grateful that I haven’t lost my feet.
【小題1】How did the author feel when she decided not to buy the skirt?
A.Embarrassed. | B.Wise. | C.Regretful. | D.Relieved. |
A.the author’s friend | B.a(chǎn) stranger |
C.the author’s roommate | D.the author |
A.She came to realize what she really possessed. |
B.She was reminded of her devotion to beauty. |
C.She didn’t feel at ease when looking into a mirror. |
D.She never thought over the other side of a person. |
A.funny | B.natural | C.silly | D.simple |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
Car Talk
When I got the driving license last summer, Mom and I took our first trip around an empty parking lot. Then I found that my mother was not the best teacher for me. It wasn't that she shouted, or told me that I was doing poorly. As you can imagine, my mother's "helpful instructions" only managed to make me more nervous.
Since I could no longer practice with her, the job was placed in the hands of my father. The idea of learning from Dad was not one that thrilled me. I loved him dearly, but I just did not see Dad as someone I could be comfortable learning from. He almost never talked. We shared a typical father-daughter relationship. He'd ask how school was, and I'd say it was fine. Unfortunately, that was the most of our conversations. Spending hours alone with someone who might as well have been a stranger really scared me.
As we got into the car that first time, I was not surprised at what happened. Dad and I drove around, saying almost nothing, aside from a few instructions on how to turn. As my lessons went on, however, things began to change. Dad would turn the radio up so I could fully appreciate his favorite Stones music. And he actually began talking. I was soon hearing about past failed dates, "basic body" gym class, and other tales from his past, including some of his first meeting with Mom.
Dad' s sudden chattiness was shocking until I thought about why he was telling me so much in the car. In all the years that I had wondered why my father never spoke that much, I had never stopped to consider that it was because I had never bothered to listen. Homework, friends, and even TV had all called me away from him, and, consequently, I never thought my quiet father had anything to say.
Since I began driving with him, my driving skill has greatly increased. More important, though, is that my knowledge of who my father is has also increased. Just living with him wasn't enough—it took driving with him for me to get to know someone who was a mystery.
【小題1】The author couldn't practice driving with her mother because .
A.she couldn't talk with her mother | B.her father wanted to teach her |
C.her mother made her nervous | D.she didn't trust her mother |
A.happy | B.uneasy | C.satisfied | D.disappointed |
A.Her Dad liked modern music. | B.Her Dad was the best teacher. |
C.Her Dad was a chatty person. | D.Her Dad told her his sad stories. |
A.fathers love their daughters dearly |
B.mothers are less patient than fathers |
C.family members need real communication |
D.it takes time to improve the father-daughter relationship |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation(甘蔗種植園) in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed(耕) the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox(牛), guiding him with a broomstick. For $ 1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.
It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More important, I earned my pay; it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.
I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $ 18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person can have.
When I was seven, I got work at a golf course(高爾夫球場) near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dreamt of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.
The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb(番石榴樹枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion and intensity. I learned working in the field — except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick.
【小題1】The word “tedious” in Paragraph 2 most probably means _______.
A.easy | B.boring | C.interesting | D.unusual |
A.he should work for those who he liked most |
B.he should work longer than what he was expected |
C.he should never fail to say hello to his owner |
D.he should be respectful and faithful to the people he worked for |
A.Having a family of eight people |
B.Owning his own golf course |
C.Bringing money back home to help the family |
D.Helping his father with the work on the plantation |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
I moved from Chicago to Brooklyn in July of 2010,just in time to watch my mother die. Our parents were both gone now; I took with me as many things they had left behind as I could.
I was out walking one Saturday later that summer when something caught my eye - a pale green dress. Laid out on the pavement was stuff like earrings, glass candle-holders, books. Hanging on the fence behind were a few pairs of jeans and a green cotton dress.
The woman, the host o£ the stoop (門廊)sale, looked like she was getting rid of a past she didn’t need or want. A dress that was too big for her. A chest of drawers that took up too much space, space she needed, maybe, to heal ,recover, or grow.
I wasn’t planning on buying anything really, but now I needed to show her that I appreciated her things and I would give them a safe home. Then I had my first stoop sale —I paid her 20 dollars for her green cotton dress and her blue candle-holder,
From that day on, I became interested in stoop sales. Some of my favorite things are from someone else’s life. I find no joy in shopping at regular stores any more. I love trying to sniff out a memory from a bud vase or a drawer. It is comforting to know that someone has breathed and laughed inside a sweater before me.
A few weeks ago, I carried my mother’s dresses to a friend’s stoop. These were her best items ,which were once worn by the most important person in my life. For many hours, I watched from across the path people advancing the stoop, some leaving with Mom1S dress. I used to think that her stuff was as forever sacred (神圣的)as my memory of her, I know now that once I love a scarf or shirt too dearly,it needs to find a new home. Even that green dress is long gone by now.
【小題1】The author took her mother*s dresses after her death because ______
A.she valued the things used by her mom |
B.she didn’t want to throw them, away |
C. she could sell them later |
D. they were her mom’s best items |
A. the things the author bought from the woman are too big |
B. the author is fond of imagining others’ life experiences |
C. the author will never shop at regular stores any more |
D. the author still keeps most of her mom’s things |
A. not sell her own things at stoop sales |
B.keep her mom in her mind in another way |
C. be sad about all the memory of her mom |
D. move to another city for a new life |
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