For most of my 20 years as a teacher, summer vacation was my time to relax. So why was I standing in the schoolyard of an unfamiliar school, wearing myself out for a summer teaching job? The extra paychecks were nice, but I lacked the energy of my younger colleagues. Like Stella. She was in her early twenties, and made keeping up with the kids look effortless. She reminded me of myself, back when I was a bright-eyed student teacher at Ramona Elementary…

I’d never forget my first day. I was too full of energy. Nervous energy. My supervising teacher was watching, and I wanted to make a good impression. I asked my third graders to take out their crayons for the day’s lesson. All of them obeyed. Except one. A girl with two long, dark braids(辫子). Everyone called her Estrellita, or “little star.” Why was she unprepared for class? I demanded to know.

“My sister has my crayons,” she said.

“You should each have your own crayons,” I told her. “That’s no excuse.”

“There are 10 children in my family,” Estrellita said quietly, her big brown eyes never leaving my face. “We have to take turns.”

I was taken aback. I’d completely misjudged the situation. All day Estrellita’s words played on my mind. The next morning I bought a pack of crayons to leave on Estrellita’s desk. She was so happy! That experience taught me an important lesson. Every student had a unique set of challenges—it was my mission to help my students overcome them. That mission used to energize(激励 )me.

Rest was almost over. Stella turned to me and we started chatting. “How long have you been teaching?” she asked. I told her I’d started twenty years before, at Ramona Elementary.

“I went to school there twenty years ago!” Stella said. I looked at her again, this time really seeing her. Those big brown eyes. That long, dark hair...

“Did you use to have two long braids?” I said. “We called you Estrellita… ”

Stella shouted. “ You ! You gave me the crayons!”

She’d become a teacher. To help students like I did. Even doing something that small mattered.

That summer, I threw myself into teaching with a renewed sense of purpose. Estrellita had taught me a lesson once again.

1.How did the author feel according to Paragraph 1?

A. She felt relaxed. B. She felt very tired.

C. She was still excited. D. She was proud of herself.

2.Why didn’t Estrellita take out her crayons?

A. She had to share them. B. She was being naughty.

C. She forgot to bring them. D. She lost them before the class.

3.Which can replace the underlined part “taken aback” in Paragraph 6?

A. fairly serious. B. quite pleased.

C. very surprised. D. extremely angry.

4.What did the author learn through Stella?

A. Never make excuses. B. Why her job mattered.

C. How to be a good teacher. D. To be a giver, not a receiver.

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Tired of your quiet routine? 1 and taking up an extreme sport?

You can ride a bicycle, right? In that case you’re half way to becoming a mountain biker. All you have to do is take your bike off the road and try some rough areas. 2 and became an Olympic sport in 1996. In the London 2012 Olympic Games athletes had to navigate(导航)a 4.7-kilometre track in less than two hours.

Not challenging enough? Skydivers(花样跳伞运动员) jump from aircraft at an altitude of 1,000 to 4,000 metres. 3 . Dilys Price from Cardiff went on her first jump at the age of 54. The minute she came down she wanted to go up again. "I was hooked, "said Dilys.

It seems that there’s no lack of imagination when it comes to risking life to look cool and get the heart pounding. Surfing, diving, rock climbing… How about turning one of your chores into a daredevil(冒失鬼) pursuit? 4 ! Pressing your shirt on top of a mountain could be dangerous, depending on the mountain. Extreme ironing is said to have been created in the 1990s in the English town of Leicester by a man who saw a pile of wrinkled clothes and felt bored. That was Phil Shaw who also won the only Extreme Ironing World Championships ever held, in Germany in 2002. 5 . Shaw says, "Sometimes they look confused; sometimes they laugh. It’s fun to see how people respond to it."

A. Extreme ironing isn’t for timid people

B. Some people have invented base jumping

C. You can see people and cars, which is amazing

D. How about leaving your computer games behind

E. You have to be fit but there’s no age limit with this sport

F. Mountain biking was developed in California in the 1970s

G. For him, the thrill of this sport comes from looking at the audience’s faces

Have you been told you have penicillin allergy? Did your parents tell you that you had a reaction as an infant or child, so you should never take it again? Has it been so long since you had a reaction to penicillin that you don’t remember what happened? If you fit any of these descriptions or are just not sure if you have penicillin allergy, there’s good news for you: Chances are, you probably don’t have it.

Between 10 to 20 percent of Americans believe they have a penicillin allergy, but a recent study at Mayo Clinic found that only 10 percent of those people are truly penicillin allergic. In other words, 9 out of 10 people who think they have penicillin allergy are avoiding it for no reason. Even in people with documented allergy to penicillin, only about 20 percent are still allergic 10 years after their initial allergic reaction. It’s not necessarily a permanent condition.

Why is this important? Aren’t there many other antibiotics you can use if you have penicillin allergy? Penicillin has been around since 1928. Penicillin and its related medicines include amoxicillin, methicillin and amoxicillin-clavulnate. These medicines are highly effective treatments for many bacterial infections, such as strep throat and ear infections. Of course, there are alternative antibiotics, but these are often much more expensive and carry a higher risk of side effects. Typically, these alternative antibiotics are broad-spectrum, meaning they fight many types of bacteria, both good and bad. That can lead to development of drug-resistant bacteria, or deadly “superbugs”. This increases the risk for all of us in the future of not having an effective antibiotic to treat our infection.

How do you find out if you have penicillin allergy? Board-certified allergists can test you. First, the allergist will get a history from you about your possible allergy. Typical questions include: How long ago did you have the reaction? What type of reaction occurred, and how soon after you took the penicillin did the reaction appear? The testing is done on the forearm by pricking the skin with a needle. If the results are negative and there is no reaction, penicillin will be injected in the skin. These tests are not painful, and results are available in 15 minutes. A positive reaction may lead to some swelling and itching where the test was placed, which usually goes away within an hour.

In very rare cases, an allergic reaction occurs. This can include hives, swelling, wheezing and/or difficulty breathing. The allergist is trained to treat this rare condition quickly if it happens. If all skin testing is negative, you may be given an oral dose of penicillin in the office. The oral drug challenge is used to verify that you don’t have penicillin allergy. Usually, you’ll be observed in the office for 30 minutes to make sure you have no problems.

If you find out you don’t have a penicillin allergy, notify your physicians that it’s now safe for you to take penicillin. They can take “penicillin allergy” off your chart for good!

1.What can we know about penicillin allergy according to the passage?

A. Most people believe that they are penicillin allergic.

B. People with documented allergy will have it forever.

C. About 90 percent of people are truly penicillin allergic.

D. Many people with initial allergy can avoid it later.

2.Which is NOT the drawback of the alternative antibiotics?

A. They cost much more than penicillin.

B. They can treat many bacterial infections.

C. They can result in drug-resistant bacteria.

D. They also fight good bacteria when used.

3.If you have a positive reaction in skin tests, _______.

A. you can’t leave the office within an hour

B. your skin is supposed to swell and itch

C. it is not safe for you to take penicillin

D. you’ll be given an oral dose of penicillin

4.Which can replace the underlined word “verify”?

A. confirm B. attach

C. declare D. control

A

Ten years ago I went into the studio and recorded a 56-minute video for teenagers called “Three keys to greatness.” Although my focus was for teenagers, the principles I shared certainly apply to adults as well. Recently I was asked to list these three things. Now for your benefit here they are again.

Firstly, set goals. I call it the view of the future. Most people, including kids, will pay the price if they can see the promise of the future. So we need to help our kids see a clear future, and they will be ready to pay the price today to attain the rewards of tomorrow. Goals help them do this.

Secondly, pay attention to personal development. Simply making consistent investments in our education and knowledge we will benefit throughout our lives. I suggest having an amount of time set aside for reading books, listening to recording, attending discussion, keeping a journal and spending time with other successful people. Mr Jones recommends reading a lot as a good method of improving yourself. The simple fact is that you need to change your outlook on life and on yourself, as it will have a positive influence on your personality and outlook. You should learn something new about your profession every single day until you’re an expert in the field.

Thirdly, make a financial plan. I call it the 70/30 plan. After receiving your salary, simply setting aside 10% for saving, 10% for investing and 10% for giving, the rest for your life. And over time when you have your own family this will guarantee financial independence for you.

If people focus on doing these three simple things over a long period of time, I believe they will be surely successful!

1.The advantage of setting goals is that ______.

A. you’ll know the future of the world

B. you’ll know what kind of person you will become

C. you’ll be willing to work hard for your future

D. you’ll be satisfied with what you have achieved

2.The author lays the most stress on ______.

A. gaining knowledge

B. making good friends

C. attending discussions

D. listening to recordings

3.According to the passage, one picture of reading a lot is to ______.

A. lead a better life

B. have a good personality and outlook

C. change your position

D. become an expert in many fields

4.Whom does the author mainly advise to make a financial plan?

A. All kinds of people.

B. The young people.

C. The middle-aged people.

D. The rich people.

A

When milk arrived on the doorstep

When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn't take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.

Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note—"Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery"一and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically appear.

All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn't freeze. And I remember Mr Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.

There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk, thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete. Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practical to have a delivery service.

Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch (门廊).Every so often my son's friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.

1.Mr Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer________.

A.to show his magical power

B.to pay for the delivery

C.to satisfy his curiosity

D.to please his mother

2.What can be inferred from the fact that the milkman had the key to the boy's house?

A. He wanted to have tea there.

B. He was treated as a family member.

C. He was a respectable person.

D. He was fully trusted by the family.

3. Why does home milk delivery no longer exist?

A. Nobody wants to be a milkman now.

B. It has been driven out of the market.

C. Its service is getting poor.

D. It is forbidden by law.

4. Why did the author bring back home an old milk box?

A.He missed the good old days.

B.He wanted to tell interesting stories.

C.He needed it for his milk bottles.

oD.He planted flowers in it.

Over the centuries, through genetic and cultural adaptation, humans and a wild bird species have learned to work together .When human honey-hunters make a certain noise, a bird called the honey guide does its job with unbelievable accuracy, leading people to hidden bees' nests.

Scientists put this ancient practice to the test. When biologists compared the honey guide call to other sounds, the traditional sound sent the honey guides to hidden bees nest three times more often than other sounds, according to a study in the journal Science. When you make the right noise, you end up with more honey compared to the wrong noise.

"It's an exchange of information for skills," said study lead author Claire Spottiswoode, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Cambridge.She failed to find bees nests until her friends made the right noise,and then was rewarded with honey that's very rich and delicious.

The honey guide has a special ability to find bees' nests. “Scientists aren't quite sure how it works, but it likely has to do with a sophisticated sense of smell,” Spottiswoode said. Still, there's a problem: These nests are stuck in trees that are difficult for the birds to reach. Even worse, the bees sting the birds, sometime to death.The people of the region, who make a living on the honey, have tools that can get at those nests and they use smoke to chase the bees away, reducing the stinging problem.

It's clear that the birds have adapted in an evolutionary way through natural selection, but for people the arrangement is probably more cultural.

1.According to the study, when making the wrong noise, people probably will .

A. get more honey

B. find bees’ nests easily

C. have difficulty finding bees’ nests

D. earn more time

2.What does the underlined word “sophisticated”in the fourth paragraph probably mean?

A. elementary B. Advanced.

C. Plain. D. Poor

3.What can be learned from the text? ?

A. Scientists have found out how the honey guide works.

B. Honey guides can easily get bees' nests in trees.

C. Honey-hunters are not afraid of stinging problem.

D. The bees are afraid of smoke.

4.What can be the best title for the text?

A. The terrible relationship between humans and wild birds.

B. People in the mountains make a living on the honey.

C. The honey guide can help humans find bees’ nests

D. Human honey-hunters’ wonderful life.

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