In the fall of 1985. I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.
My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college an the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to withdraw from college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.
Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopt and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was fantastic---and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed son No. 3. In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.
You can imagine how fully occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of 81. Our home was a complete zoo---a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant talking as few as one class each semester.
The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to quit, But I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree!
I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you’re looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you’re in the midst of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process. Remember;little steps add up to big dreams.
【小题1】When the author went to Howard University, her dream was tobe    

A.a writer
B.a teacher
C.a judge
D.a doctor
【小题2】Why did the author quit school in her second year of college?
A.She wanted to study by herself.
B.She fell in love and got married.
C.She suffered from a serious illness.
D.She decided to look after her grandma.
【小题3】What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 4 and 5?
A.She was buy yet happy with her family life.
B.She ignored her guilty feeling for her sons.
C.She wanted to remain a full-time housewife.
D.She was too confused to make a correct choice.
【小题4】What dose the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?
A.Failure is the mother of success.
B.Little by little ,one goes far.
C.Every coin has two sides.
D.Well begun ,half done.
【小题5】Which of the following can best describe the author ?
A.Caring and determine.
B.Honest and responsible.
C.Ambitious and sensitive .
D.Innocent and single-minded.

                                                                                              Dec. 24, 1848
Dear Johnston,
Your request for eighty dollars, I do not think it best to satisfy now. At the various times when I have helped you a little, you have said to me, “We can get along very well again,” but in a very short time I find you in the same difficulty again. Now this can only happen by some fault in your behavior. What that fault is, I think I know. You are not lazy, and still you are an idler(游手好闲). I doubt whether since I saw you, you have done a good whole day’s work, in any other day. You do not very much dislike to work, and still you do not work much, merely because it does not seem to you that you could get much for it.
This habit of uselessly wasting time is the whole difficulty; it is vastly important to you, and still more so to your children, that you should break this habit. It is more important to them, because they have longer to live, and can keep out of an idle habit before they are in it, easier than they can get out after they are in.
You are now in need of some ready money; and what I suggest is, that you shall go to work hard, for somebody who will give you money for it.
Let father and your boys take charge of your things at home-prepare for a crop, and make the crop, and you go to work for the best money wages, or to pay back any debt you owe. And to secure you a fair reward for your labor, I now promise you that for every dollar you will, between this and the first of May, get for your own labor, I will then give you one other dollar. By this, if you hire yourself at ten dollars a month, from me you will get ten more, making twenty dollars a month for your work.
Now if you will do this, you will soon be out of debt, and what is better, you will have a habit that will keep you from getting in debt again. But if I should now clear you out, next year you will be just as deep in as ever. You say you would almost give your place in Heaven for $ 70 or $80. Then you value your place in Heaven cheaply, for I am sure you can with the offer I make you get the seventy or eighty dollars for four or five months’ work. You say if I furnish you the money you will deed(抵押) me the land, and if you don’t pay the money back, you will deliver possession-Nonsense! If you can’t now live with the land, how will you then live without it? You have always been kind to me, and I do not now mean to be unkind to you. On the contrary, if you will but follow my advice, you will find it worth more than eight time eighty dollars to you.
Affectionately
Your brother
A. Lincoln
【小题1】Abraham Lincoln wrote the letter to Johnston mainly to ________.

A.show his concern for himB.recommend him to save money
C.decline his request and motivate himD.introduce him a new job
【小题2】What’s the problem with Johnston, according to Lincoln?
A.He was very lazy. B.He wasted time a lot.
C.He couldn’t get much from work.D.He disliked working.
【小题3】In the letter Lincoln suggested that Johnston should ________.
A.keep himself from getting into troubleB.go to work hard for somebody
C.manage well the things at home D.keep the children out of the idle habit
【小题4】If Johnston got one dollar for his work, Lincoln promised to _________.
A.reward him with laborB.pay off his debt
C.hire him at 10 dollars a month D.give him another dollar
【小题5】In order to get 80 dollars from Lincoln, Johnston promised to ________.
A.take away his place in HeavenB.deed Lincoln the land
C.live without the land D.do good work every day

It is not a good idea to stop the actor Richard Griffiths in the middle of a play.During the past year he has stopped performances many times at the National Theatre when mobile phones rang, and he threw out one member of the audience because she failed to turn off her phone.
So when a mobile rang out for the third time during his performance in Alan Bennett’s The History Boys, he spoke angrily to the theatergoer (爱看戏的人), “I am not going to compete with these electronic devices (装置).”
Griffiths’ actions led to a debate in the UK theatre world over whether phones should be forbidden by law from British theatres, too.Actors have already asked the government to legalise (使合法化) the use of an electronic device that stops mobile phone signals in theatres.
Technology companies have “stopping” devices that send out a high-powered signal on the same frequency (频率) as a mobile phone, stopping the mobile phone signal.
However, these are forbidden in many countries because they might stop emergency calls from being made.
Rosemary Squire, president of the Society of West End Theatre, said, “Phones are one of the biggest problems theatres face.We should look at equipment that could stop phones or make a London-wide theatre rule.”
Nick Allott, the managing director of Sir Cameron Mackintosh’s theatre group, said, “We would all welcome some ways of stopping ringing phones but doctors and emergency workers need to be connected in a theatre and we mustn’t stop that.” What can we do to solve the problem?
【小题1】What can we infer from the second paragraph?

A.Surely Griffiths did better than mobile phones in the theatre.
B.Griffiths didn’t want mobile phones to affect his performance.
C.Griffiths was jealous that mobile phones attracted the audience’s attention.
D.Griffiths taught theatergoers a lesson in the performance as a teacher.
【小题2】According to the passage, “stopping” devices ______.
A.have the same functions as mobile phones
B.cause the biggest problem theatres have to face
C.prevent the mobile phones signals from being received
D.help doctors or emergency workers receive emergency calls
【小题3】According to Nick Allott, ______.
A.“stopping” devices can make the sound of mobile phones disappear
B.no one except doctors and emergency workers should have mobile phones
C.phones are one of the biggest problems theatres face
D.stopping phones in theatres has some side effects
【小题4】What will probably be talked about following the last paragraph?
A.Griffiths’ next performance in theatres.
B.The opinions the public has about the problem.
C.The ways to solve the cellphone problem in public places.
D.The side effects mobile phones have on people.

HOLIDAY HOMES IN MALLORCA  
Holiday houses in Mallorca sailing and fishing port—quiet even in summer season. Beautifully situated houses with sights of sea and mountains, yet near to shops and restaurants. Cars and bicycles for hire. Sailing and sports clubs nearby.
ITALY IN COMFORT  
Luxury coach(carriage) trips of Italy, out of normal holiday season. 21days to visit five Italian cities starting from London 1st May, 1st September. The trips are guided by profess or Martin Davis, head of Italian Studies, London University. See the arts and culture of historic Italy.
KIBBUTZ HOLIDAYS IN ISRAEL(以色列)  
Working holidays on a kibbutz (co-operative farm) in Israel. All nationalities welcome for one to three months, if prepared to work morning with kibbutz members. Accommodation, food and trips to historic sights all provided free—you pay only for the special low- cost return flight.
TWO WEEKS ON A CARIBBEAN ISLAND  
Two- week holidays in the Hotel Splendid, on a lovely beach with golden sands and deep-blue sea. Tennis, golf, sailing and all water sports, trips around the island arranged. Near to town of Castries with lively evening entertainment—dancing.  
1st November—31st March = £720 per person  
1st April—30th October = £850 per person  
Jack and his wife Mary, who have recently retired, want to see places of cultural and historic interest abroad, but Mary hates flying.  
Peter and Maria, university students, want to travel as far as possible on little money, and would like to get to know a country by working there for three months with other young people.
Michael, a young computer programmer, has been working hard and needs a holiday to relax in winter. He would like to go somewhere warmer and sunny, where he can swim in the sea, and he enjoys sports and dancing.  
Harry and Kate, both teachers, and their two sons, have to take their holiday during the school summer holidays. There must be plenty for the boys to do, although Harry and Kate just want to have beautiful scenery, good food and wine and peace.
【小题1】 Michael would most probably go to ________ for his holiday.  

A.Italy  B.Israel  C.Mallorca D.a Caribbean island
【小题2】The most suitable place where Peter and Maria can enjoy their holiday would be________.
A.an Italian city         B.a kibbutz in Israel
C.a Caribbean island       D.the port in Mallorca
【小题3】 The best holiday for Jack and Mary would be________.
A.the 21- day coach trip of Italy
B.the 2-week stay in the Hotel Splendid
C.the 14-day trip around a Caribbean island
D.the working holidays for 1-3 months on a kibbutz in Israel
【小题4】 Harry and Kate and their sons would like________.
A.a holiday working on a kibbutz in Israel
B.a holiday visiting cities by coach in Italy
C.a holiday house in the fishing port in Mallorca
D.a holiday hotel on a lovely beach on a Caribbean Island
【小题5】 You can find this passage most probably in ________.
A.a school libraryB.a tourist agencyC.the post officeD.the museum

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