I shall never forget the night, a few years ago, when Marion J. Douglas was a student in one of my calsses. (I have not used his real name for personal reasons. As he requested.) But here is his real story as he told it before one of our adult – education classes. He told us how tragedy had struck at his home, not once, but twice. The first time he had lost his five-old daughter, a child he adored. He and his wife thought they couldn’t bear that first loss; but, as he said:“Ten months later, God gave us another little girl and she died in five days.”

This double bereavement was almost too much to bear. “I couldn’t take it,” this father told us. “I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t rest or relax. My nerves were entirely shaken and my confidence gone.” At last he went to doctors; one recommended sleeping pills and another recommended a trip. He tried both, but neither helped. He said:“My body felt as if it was surrounded in a vice(大钳子), and the jaws of the vice were being drawn tighter and tighter.” The tension of grief(悲伤)——if you have ever been paralyzed(使瘫痪)by sorrow, you know what he meant.

But thank God, I had one child left ——a four —year— old son. He gave me the solution to my problem. One afternoon as I sat around feeling sorry for myself, he asked; ‘Daddy, will you build a boat for me?’ I was in no mood to build a boat; in fact, I was in no mood to do anything. But my son is a persistent little fellow! I had to give in.

 Building that toy boat took me about three hours. By the time it was finished, I realized that those three hours spent building that boat were first hours of mental relaxation and peace that I had had in months! I realized that it is difficult to worry while you are busy doing something that requires planning and thinking. In my case, building the boat had knocked worry out of the ring. So I determined to keep busy.

The following night, I went from room to room in the house, making a list of jobs that ought to be done. Scores of items needed to be repaired: bookcase, stair steps, storm windows, window-shades, locks, leaky taps. Amazing as it seems, in the course of two weeks I had made a list of 242 items that needed attention.

“During the last two years I have completed most of them. I am busy now that I have no time for worry.”

No time for worry! That is exactly what Winston Churchill said when he was working eighteen hours a day at the height of the war. When he was asked if he worried about his huge responsibilities, he said :“I am too busy. I have no time for worry.”

The underlined word “bereavement” in the second paragraph refers to          .

A.having lost a loved one                                         B.having lost a valuable article

C.having lost a profit-making business                D.having lost a well-paid job

Marion felt his body as if it was caught in a vice because             .

A.he couldn’t earn enough money to support his family

B.he was suffering from sleeplessness disease

C.he couldn’t get out of mental pressure

D.he felt tired of adult-education classes

Marion made a list of over 200 items that needed to be repaired because           .

A.he hadn’t been able to spare time to mend them

B.he wanted to kill his free time by repairing them

C.the items had actually been broken and needed attention

D.repairing the items helped crowd worry out of his mind

At the end of the passage, the author wrote about Winston Churchill in order to         .

A.prove that he followed Churchill’s example

B.support his student’s solution to his problem

C.show that he was successful in his career

D.clarify how his conclusion was reached

I shall never forget the night, a few years ago, when Marion J. Douglas was a student in one of my adult-education classes. He told us how tragedy had struck at his home, not once, but twice. The first time he had lost his five-year-old daughter. He and his wife thought they couldn’t bear that first loss; but, as he said, “Ten months later, God gave us another little girl and she died in five days.”

This double bereavement was almost too much to bear. “I couldn’t take it,” this father told us. “I couldn’t sleep, eat, rest or relax. My nerves were entirely shaken and my confidence gone.” At last he went to the doctors: one recommended sleeping pills and another recommended a trip, but neither helped. He said, “My body felt as if it was surrounded in a vice(大钳子), and the jaws of the vice were being drawn tighter and tighter.” The tension of grief(悲伤) --- if you have ever been paralyzed(使瘫痪) by sorrow, you know what the meant.

“But thank God, I had one child left --- a four-year-old son. He gave me the solution to the problem. One afternoon as I sat around feeling sorry for myself, he asked, ‘Daddy, will you build a boat for me?’ I was in no mood to build a boat; in fact, I was in no mood to do anything. But my son is a persistent fellow! I had to give in. Building that toy boat took me about three hours. By the time it was finished, I realized that those three hours spent building that boat were first hours of mental relaxation and peace that I had had in months! I realized that it is difficult to worry while you are busy doing something that requires planning and thinking. In my case, building the boat had knocked worry out of the ring. So I determined to keep busy.”

“The following night, I made a list of jobs that ought to be done. Scores of items needed to be repaired. Amazingly, I had made a list of 242 items that needed attention. During the last two years I have completed most of them. I am so busy now that I have no time for worry.”

No time for worry! That is exactly what Winston Churchill said when he was working eighteen hours a day at the height of the war. When he was asked if he worried about his huge responsibilities, he said, “I am too busy. I have no time for worry.”

The underlined word “bereavement” in the second paragraph refers to _________.

A. having lost a loved one

B. having lost a valuable article

C. having lost a profit-making business

D. having lost a well-paid job

Marion felt his body as if it was caught in a vice because _________.

A. he couldn’t earn enough money to support his family

B. he was suffering from sleeplessness disease

C. he couldn’t get out of mental pressure

D. he felt tired of adult-education classes

Marion made a list of over 200 items that needed to be repaired because _________.

A. he hadn’t been able to spare time to mend them

B. he wanted to kill his free time by repairing them

C. the items had actually been broken and needed attention

D. repairing the items helped crowd worry out of his mind

At the end of the passage, the author wrote about Winston Churchill in order to ________.

A. prove that he followed Churchill’s example

B. support his student’s solution to his problem

C. show that he was successful in his career

D. make it clear how his conclusion was reached

I shall never forget the night, a few years ago, when Marion J. Douglas was a student in one of my adult-education classes. He told us how tragedy had struck at his home, not once, but twice. The first time he had lost his five-year-old daughter. He and his wife thought they couldn’t bear that first loss; but, as he said, “Ten months later, God gave us another little girl and she died in five days.”

This double bereavement was almost too much to bear. “I couldn’t take it,” this father told us. “I couldn’t sleep, eat, rest or relax. My nerves were entirely shaken and my confidence gone.” At last he went to the doctors: one recommended sleeping pills and another recommended a trip, but neither helped. He said, “My body felt as if it was surrounded in a vice(大钳子), and the jaws of the vice were being drawn tighter and tighter.” The tension of grief(悲伤) --- if you have ever been paralyzed(使瘫痪) by sorrow, you know what the meant.

“But thank God, I had one child left --- a four-year-old son. He gave me the solution to the problem. One afternoon as I sat around feeling sorry for myself, he asked, ‘Daddy, will you build a boat for me?’ I was in no mood to build a boat; in fact, I was in no mood to do anything. But my son is a persistent fellow! I had to give in. Building that toy boat took me about three hours. By the time it was finished, I realized that those three hours spent building that boat were first hours of mental relaxation and peace that I had had in months! I realized that it is difficult to worry while you are busy doing something that requires planning and thinking. In my case, building the boat had knocked worry out of the ring. So I determined to keep busy.”

“The following night, I made a list of jobs that ought to be done. Scores of items needed to be repaired. Amazingly, I had made a list of 242 items that needed attention. During the last two years I have completed most of them. I am so busy now that I have no time for worry.”

No time for worry! That is exactly what Winston Churchill said when he was working eighteen hours a day at the height of the war. When he was asked if he worried about his huge responsibilities, he said, “I am too busy. I have no time for worry.”

The underlined word “bereavement” in the second paragraph refers to _________.

A. having lost a loved one

B. having lost a valuable article

C. having lost a profit-making business

D. having lost a well-paid job

Marion felt his body as if it was caught in a vice because _________.

A. he couldn’t earn enough money to support his family

B. he was suffering from sleeplessness disease

C. he couldn’t get out of mental pressure

D. he felt tired of adult-education classes

Marion made a list of over 200 items that needed to be repaired because _________.

A. he hadn’t been able to spare time to mend them

B. he wanted to kill his free time by repairing them

C. the items had actually been broken and needed attention

D. repairing the items helped crowd worry out of his mind

At the end of the passage, the author wrote about Winston Churchill in order to ________.

A. prove that he followed Churchill’s example

B. support his student’s solution to his problem

C. show that he was successful in his career

D. make it clear how his conclusion was reached


When our son, Alex, was young, he hated to travel. We endured refusals to visit one more museum, even if it was the Louvre. We coped with a child who resisted even a taste of onion soup in Paris and who insisted he would like nothing more than ordering room service at the hotel and watching TV.
Over the years, we have come up with several hard-earned but realistic strategies to help kids cope on long-distance trips.
First, we recognize that some children have trouble adjusting to new environments, food, time zones and schedules. So, in advance of a trip to England, we gave our son a taste of the new culture by making shepherd’s pie for supper. He loved the mashed potatoes, chopped meat and brown gravy(肉汁). For Italy, we sampled homemade pesto(香蒜沙司) served over linguine(扁面条). For Amsterdam, I cooked up a pot of comforting pea soup and baked a delicious apple pancake called pannekoeken. Then, when we traveled to these places, he ate these foods and they seemed like a taste of home.
In addition to food, we always sample the culture beforehand by reading books and renting movies from the countries we will be visiting. For Italy, the book Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino and the films Johnny Stecchino, Cinema Paradiso, and Il Postino gave our son a glimpse of the Italian way of life. For Britain, we rented Mr. Bean and Billy Elliot, and enjoyed stories by J.R.R. Tolkien and E. Nesbit. For Amsterdam, he finished The Diary of Anne Frank.
Before we leave home, we also ask Alex to go through our tour books and pick out activities that appeal to him. He was excited about visiting the London Dungeon and the Imperial War Museum, and taking a ride in the London Eye. They turned out to be big hits. Because Alex’s preferences were given equal attention, he was more tolerant of his parents’ selections, such as visiting Charters Cathedral and the Van Gogh Museum.
We’ve also learned the hard way that dragging our son out of bed early in the morning ,thus making him grumpy all day. Now that he is a teenager, we let him sleep in while we sip coffee at a café, work out at the hotel gym, or take a long walk. This makes our time together much more enjoyable
59.According to the writer, parents are advised to _______.
A. cook children’s favorite food           
B. postpone traveling until the kids are in college
C. allow their kids a ride in the London Eye
D. take children’s interest and preferences into account
60.Cinema Paradiso and Il Postino are mentioned as _______.
A. particular desires of children       B. an approach to interest the future possible visit
C. highly appreciated films for tourists  D. comfortable activities children could pick out
61.The underlined word “grumpy” in the last paragraph is similar in meaning to _______.
A. bad-tempered        B. tolerant           C. energetic           D. nervous
62.Which of the following might serve as a possible title for this passage?
A. Kids and Parents.                         B. Joys of Traveling.
C. Whether You Go or Not.                  D. How to motivate Kids to travel

Success is often measured by the ability to overcome adversity(逆境). But it is often the belief of others that gives us the courage(勇气)to try.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, began writing at age 6. Her good friend-Sean became the first person to encourage her and help her build the confidence that one day she would be a very good writer.
“He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition(志向) to be a writer. He was also the only person who thought I was bound to(注定)be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time.”
Though there were many difficulties, Rowling continued her writing, particularly fantasy stories. But it wasn't until l990 that she first came up with the idea about Harry Potter. As she recalls(回忆), it was on a long train journey from London to Manchester that “the idea of Harry Potter simply fell into my head. To my great disappointment, I didn't have a pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details came up in my brain, and this thin, black-haired, bespectacled(戴眼镜的)boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.”
That same year, her mother died after a ten-year fight with serious diseases, which deeply affected her writing. She went on to marry and had a daughter, but separated from her husband shortly afterwards.
During this time, Rowling was diagnosed with depression(诊断患有抑郁症). Unemployed, she finished her first novel in area cafes, where she could get her daughter to fall asleep. After being refused by l2 publishing houses, the first Harry Potter novel was sold to a small British publishing house.
Now with seven books that have sold nearly 400 million copies in 64 languages, J. K. Rowling is the highest earning novelist in history. And it all began with her friend’s encouragement as well as her ambition to write.
【小题1】 Who believed J. K. Rowling was to be a good writer?

A.Her friend Sean.B.Her mother.
C.Her daughter.D.Her husband.
【小题2】Rowling first came up with the idea about Harry Potter________.
A.at the age of 6
B.on a train journey
C.after her mother's death
D.in her secondary school
【小题3】 She felt disappointed on the train because_________.
A.her train was delayed for four hours
B.she didn't have a pen with her
C.her mind suddenly went blank
D.no one would offer her help
【小题4】 It can be concluded from Paragraph 5 and 6 that Rowling is_________.
A.open-minded B.warm-hearted
C.good-natured D.strong-willed
【小题5】 The text mainly tells us_________.
A.adversity makes a good novelist
B.the courage to try is a special ability
C.you can have a wonderful idea everywhere
D.encouragement helps one succeed

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网