When I was a boy growing up, we lived across a river from the main road next to a set of rail road tracks. The only way to our house was across a _______. Our only neighbor, Frankie, lived in a(n)_______house on the hillside behind our home. His house, _______, was over a hundred years old.

Frankie was already nearly 80 years old when I was _______. He was a first generation, Italian immigrant who had never married. He had _______on the railroad for over 40 years before retiring but still worked hard every day. I would watch him with _______grow plants on hillsides. Frankie was _______by today’s standards. He had no electricity or running water and would _______once a week with water he boiled. I never seemed to_______the smell when I visited him, though. His ________remained broken even after all his years in America but somehow I never had any trouble ________him.

Frankie also ________ me in my spiritual growth. He did this mainly by ________. He never lectured or taught. He just showed me how to live with honesty, kindness, and goodness. He showed me the joy of nature, the ________that can come from just sitting outside on a sunny day.

When Frankie ________, we found he had over 40,000 dollars in the bank, a ________at that time, from a lifetime of saving. It was sent to his brothers and sisters________living in Italy. We often wondered why he hadn’t used it to buy a better home and live more ________. Looking back now, however, I know the ________. He had food, shelter, clothes, and warmth both in his house and in his spirit. He ________nothing more to be happy in his life.

1.A. street B. board C. map D. bridge

2.A. open B. empty C. old D. dark

3.A. in fact B. at first C. above all D. as usual

4.A. employed B. born C. prepared D. educated

5.A. worked B. waited C. walked D. traveled

6.A. delight B. amazement C. regret D. patience

7.A. weak B. careless C. poor D. smelly

8.A. dive B. swim C. bathe D. practice

9.A. mind B. bear C. have D. take

10.A. heart B. English C. life D. time

11.A. understanding B. finding C. believing D. improving

12.A. served B. guided C. held D. accepted

13.A. nature B. choice C. order D. example

14.A. courage B. wealth C. peace D. strength

15.A. failed B. returned C. settled D. died

16.A. record B. secret C. fortune D. success

17.A. still B. also C. again D. often

18.A. actively B. comfortably C. safely D. quietly

19.A. method B. process C. chance D. answer

20.A. managed B. changed C. needed D. explained

Many great basketball players had clever nicknames (绰号), usually describing the player’s overall style on the court (球场). Below are some of the colorful nicknames among popular NBA players.

“Tiny”

Nate Archibald, at six feet one inch tall, was small for a basketball player. Still, Archibald used speed and his brains to control the court in the 14 seasons that he played in the NBA. Interestingly, his nickname originated off the court: he was named after his father, “Big Tiny”.

“Magic”

Earvin Johnson was called “Magic” by a sportswriter who saw him playing basketball in one high school game. Johnson was a skillful player, often doing the unexpected, to the chagrin of his competitors and the delight of the audience. He also won a gold medal as part of the U.S. “Dream Team” in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

“The Mailman”

Karl Malone earned his nickname because on the court he delivered consistently. Malone spent most of his career with the Utah Jazz, gaining a reputation as one of the best power forwards of all time. He also won two Olympic gold medals, as part of the U.S. “Dream Team” in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain and in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

“The Iceman”

George Gervin made the most difficult shots look easy. He was also famous for keeping his cool in every game, playing in a relaxed way under pressure. Gervin, who played most of his 14 years in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs, was unequalled in many ways as a shooting guard.

1.Whose nickname has nothing to do with basketball?

A. Nate Archibald’s B. Earvin Johnson’s.

C. Karl Malone’s. D. George Gervin’s.

2.The underlined word “chagrin” in Paragraph 3 probably means “_____”.

A. amazement B. impatience

C. enthusiasm D. annoyance

3.Why was George Gervin called “The Iceman”?

A. He was always as cold as ice.

B. He had a glass of iced beer every day.

C. He was always able to keep calm on the court.

D. He didn’t get along well with his teammates.

4.The author’s purpose in writing the text is to _____.

A. uncover the secrets of NBA players’ success

B. talk about how to give others a lovely nickname

C. show how to become an excellent basketball player

D. introduce some NBA players and their nicknames

Life is colorful. Sometimes it’s just like potato salad; when it's shared it becomes a picnic.

With three young children, my husband John and I were very_________. “Can we go on a picnic, Mom?” my six-year-old daughter, Becky ________. “Please.” I had said no so many times in_________months, and I decided the usual Saturday morning chores could_________. To her________, I agreed.

I prepared a few sandwiches and________a cooler with ice and drinks and called John__________. My eleven-year-old twin sons loaded the cooler and the picnic basket in the trunk and off we went to spend some______ time together as a family.

About the time I got the lunch_____________out on the table, John arrived on the_________.That was one of the happiest meals we ever shared together. The meal was filled with__________. We felt a closeness that had been hidden by work and school responsibilities for so many months. John and the boys _________rocks into the lake. Becky fed the ducks and I sat quietly on the picnic table,__________God for blessing me with such a wonderful family.

That night as our children went to bed, I kissed their cheeks and _________ what a wonderful life I had. As I walked out of the room it dawned on me that even the busiest_________could become a picnic when it's shared with the ones you__________. Even though the kids have now grown up and_________from home, I can still remember how I felt that day while sitting at the picnic table.

Maybe today would be a good time to_________potato salad, call all of my ________ kids, feed some hungry ducks and skipped a few rocks into the lake. Since life is like potato salad, let's make it a__________.

1.A. patient B. old C. poor D. busy

2.A. doubted B. asked C. begged D. wondered

3.A. recent B. coming C. late D. following

4.A. approach B. last C. wait D. relax

5.A. disappointment B. surprise C. sadness D. embarrassment

6.A. filled B. supplied C. provided D. compared

7.A. off work B. on business C. at home D. at work

8.A. quality B. unhappy C. quantity D. sad

9.A. cooked B. taken C. made D. spread

10.A. sight B. view C. scene D. scenery

11.A. communication B. laughter C. hope D. expectation

12.A. missed B. took C. skipped D. left

13.A. thanking B. praising C. praying D. trusting

14.A. admitted B. expected C. realized D. imagined

15.A. time B. lifestyle C. world D. occupation

16.A. enjoy B. own C. love D. have

17.A. left alone B. left behind C. ran away D. moved away

18.A. cook B. appreciate C. watch D. plant

19.A. young B. little C. grown D. handsome

20.A. salad B. life C. picnic D. purpose

Common public speaking problems

The use of "I feel", "I think" and "maybe"

In the question-and-answer session of the speaking competition, many contestants began their answers with uncertain expressions like "I feel", "I guess", "I hear", "maybe" and "perhaps".

These words show that the person is only speaking from his or her point of view.1.

Work on keeping your answers brief and to the point, 2.. Instead of the empty-sounding "I guess", using facts, together with a clear conclusion based on those facts, is far more likely to be popular with an audience.

Using only one speaking style

Don't stick to the same tone.3.

For example, when they spoke about their dreams, some sounded romantic. Others used humor. Very few used several different styles together. Try mixing more than one style, rather than just sticking with the same one.

Irresponsible answers

Public speaking is different from personal conversations. You're responsible for your words. 4.So you should think twice before you talk. Don't be like the student who, when asked about his opinion on book piracy(盗版), started by saying he supported it.

Talking around the topic rather than directly answering it

You should focus on one point and give a clear solution. The key is to work out what question is being asked. Is it asking you to discuss a certain topic or to present your own point of view?

Use one or two arguments together and give a strong conclusion.5.

A. It can be boring. Try to mix it up.

B. Even though you want to answer quickly, you don't want to sound foolish.

C. Also work on delivering them with calmness and confidence.

D. Deliberate gestures and affected(做作的)expressions of feelings are improper in a successful speech.

E. Remember that judges are not judging you on whether they agree, but on your ability to say what you think clearly.

F. This lacks the support of facts and seems not to be reliable for the judges and audience.

G. Confidence is extremely important in public speaking as it lets a speaker sound more convincing.

Stephen Hawking was born in Oxford, England on 8th January, 1942. He went to school in St. Albans—a small city near London. Although he did well,he was never top of his class. After leaving school, Hawking went first to Oxford University where he studied physics,and then he went to Cambridge University where he studied cosmology (宇宙学). As he himself admitted he wasn't very serious about studying. He was a very lazy student, and did very little work. However, he still achieved extremely good marks.

Hawking first noticed something was wrong with him at the age of 20. He started to bump into things, and often fell over for no reason. When he visited his family at Christmas time, his father was so worried that he was sent to hospital for a test. Finally, the result came back. Hawking had motor neurone disease(运动神经元病),an incurable illness which causes the muscles of the body to waste away. Doctors said he would die before he was 23.

At first, Hawking became extremely depressed(忧郁的). After a while, though, he began to see his life in a different way. As he later wrote, “Before my illness had been diagnosed(诊断),there had not seemed to be anything worth doing. But shortly after I came out of hospital. I suddenly realized that there were a lot of worthwhile things I could do.” Hawking married, found a job at Cambridge University, where he still works today, and had three children. He also went to do some of the most important scientific research ever carried out.

His story shows that nobody, however bad their situation is, should lose hope. “Life is not fair,” he once said, “ You just have to do the best you can in your own situation.”

1.As a university student, Stephen Hawking ________.

A. worked extremely hard

B. studied maths and chemistry

C. was lazy and did very little work

D. only achieved average marks

2.Hawking first noticed something was wrong with him when________.

A. he visited his family at Christmas time one year

B. he was 20

C. his father made him see a doctor

D. he was sent to hospital for a test

3.In the passage the underlined word “incurable” means“________”.

A. untreatable B. uncommon

C. complicated D. unknown

4.What might be the best title of this passage?

A. A lazy boy B. Life is Fair

C. Motor Neurone Disease D. Professor Stephen Hawking

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