When I was 11, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings(缺点). Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. In the end, I became so angry that I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.” I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.

I brought the list back to Dad. He refused to take it.” That’s just for you,” he said.

“You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”

Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice. 

1.What did the father do after he had heard his daughter’s complaint? 

A.He told her not to pay any attention to whatever”enemy”had said.

B.He criticized (批评) her and told her to overcome her shortcomings.

C.He told her to write down all that her” enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true.

D.He refused to take the list and have a look at it.

2. What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?

A.Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious.

B.She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer.

C.I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on.

D.Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me.

3. Why did her father listen to her quietly?

A.Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth.

B.Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wantedto show this by keeping silent for a while.

C.Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment.

D.Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true.

4. Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?

A.The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had

B.Not an Enemy,but the Best Friend

C.My Father

D.My Childhood

 

My son. The phrase felt difficult and strange the first time I said it, and I had to practice it a thousand times. I started saying the words to myself the day when the ultrasound told me we were having a baby.

Finally, my son was born.

The nurse came out of the delivery room, holding a tiny, howling human being wrapped in a white sheet, his small hands and delicate fingers shaking nervously. “Baby Sanchez?” she asked, looking at the room full of expectant fathers.

I stood up, holding my breath. She showed me my baby. “My son,” I whispered. The little guy screamed, “waaaaaaaaaah.”

But in my heart I heard him cry out, “Daaaaaaad!” I don’t care if everyone in the room will swear they didn’t hear my baby say that. I called him, “My son,” and he called me “Dad,” and that’s that.

People ask me, “What did you feel at that moment?” I can’t even begin to answer. I’m a writer yet I try hard to find the right words. Joyful isn’t powerful enough. Bliss(狂喜) is not sweet enough. Peaceful isn’t calm enough. Happy isn’t tense enough.

After my son was taken away to the nursery, I sat down and shut my eyes. But tears escaped them away. Then out of the blue, my 80-year-old father entered, and we embraced.

“Dad,” I whispered.

“My son,” my heart heard him saying.

Suddenly the past 33 years folded into the present and I was now the baby bundled in white, with my father standing over me.

“My son,” I imagined him saying.

“Daaaaaaaaaad!” I cried my little lungs out.

At that point, I knew I was going to be a great father. The old man in front of me seemed to agree. He smiled and we walked out of the room in search of the tiny human being that would change our lives for ever.

1.Which of the following statement is TRUE according to the passage?

A.His son called him “Dad” when the writer called him “My son”.

B.All the people didn’t hear the baby say except the writer.

C.Sanchez is the writer’s family name.

D.The baby was taken away because the nurse found there was a mistake.

2.The author couldn’t tell how he felt at the moment because ________.

A.he was a writer

B.he was too excited

C.he was too nervous

D.it’s a feeling too complex to express

3.We can learn the following from the passage EXCEPT that ________.

A.the author got his first baby

B.he probably had a lung disease

C.the author didn’t really hear “Daaaaad” from his baby

D.the baby would change the author’s life

4.Why was the writer sure he was going to be a great father?

A.Because his son is so gifted.

B.Because he had much experience in bringing up children.

C.Because his father promised to help him.

D.Because his father had already set him a good example.

 

In the early part of the twentieth century, racism was widespread in the United States. Many African Americans were not given equal opportunities in education or employment. Marian Anderson (1897-1993) was an African American woman who gained fame as a concert singer in this climate of racism. She was born in Philadelphia and sang in church choirs during her childhood. When she applied for admission to a local music school in 1917, she was turned down because she was black. Unable to attend music school, she began her career as a singer for church gatherings. In 1929, she went to Europe to study voice and spent several years performing there. Her voice was widely praised throughout Europe. Then she returned to the US in 1935 and became a top concert singer after performing at Town Hall in New York City.

Racism again affected Anderson in 1939. When it was arranged for her to sing at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, the Daughters of the American Revolution opposed it because of her color. She sang instead at the Lincoln Memorial for over 75 000 people. In 1955, Anderson became the first black soloist to sing win the Metropolitan Opera of New York City. The famous conductor Toscanini praised her voice as “heard only once in a hundred years”. She was a US delegate to the United Nations in 1958 and won the UN peace prize in 1977. Anderson eventually triumphed over racism.

1.According to this passage, what did Marian Anderson do between 1917 and 1929?

A.She studied at a music school.

B.She sang for religious activities.

C.She sang at Town Hall in New York.

D.She studied voice in Europe.

2.Toscanini thought that Marian Anderson         .

A.had a very rare voice

B.sang occasionally in public

C.sang only once in many years

D.was seldom heard by people

3.Anderson’s beautiful voice was first recognized       .

A. at the Lincoln Memorial              B. in Washington, DC.

C. in Europe                            D. at the United Nations

4.This passage shows that Anderson finally defeated racism in the US by

A.protesting to the government

B.appealing to the United Nations

C.demonstrating in the streets

D.working hard to perfect her art

 

In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition which she won last year.

As a writer, I know about winning contests – and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection letter from the publisher. I also know the pressure of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and destroyed hopes can resurface in our children.

A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her, “Don’t you want to win again?” “No,” she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”

I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.

Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting my daughter’s experience.

While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.

1.What do we learn from the first paragraph?

A.A lot of amusements compete for children’s time nowadays.

B.Children have lots of fun doing mindless activities.

C.Rebecca is much too busy to enjoy her leisure time.

D.Rebecca draws on a lot of online materials for her writing.

2.What did the author say about her own writing experience?

A.She was constantly under pressure to write more.

B.Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers.

C.She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer.

D.Her road to success was full of pain and frustrations.

3.Why did Rebecca want to enter this year’s writing contest?

A.She believed she possessed real talent for writing.

B.She was sure of winning with her mother’s help.

C.She wanted to share her stories with readers.

D.She had won a prize in the previous contest.

4.The author took great pains to improve her daughter’s stories because _______.

A.she wanted to help Rebecca realize her dreams of becoming a writer

B.she was afraid Rebecca’s imagination might run wild while writing

C.she did not want to disappoint Rebecca who needed her help so much

D.she believed she had the knowledge and experience to offer guidance

5.The underlined sentence probably means that the author was _______.

A.trying not to let her daughter enjoy her own life

B.trying to get her daughter to do the thing as the author wished

C.making sure that her daughter would win the contest

D.helping her daughter develop real skills for writing

6.What’s the author’s advice for parents?

A.Children should be given every chance to voice their opinions.

B.Parents should keep an eye on the activities their kids engage in.

C.Children should be allowed freedom to grow through experience.

D.A writing career, though attractive, is not for every child to pursue.

 

A few years ago, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, where I was employed. purchased Norand Corporation. Pioneer's sales representatives in the field used Norand hand-held terminals to upload daily sales information and download new price and sales incentive information. Pioneer bought so many of these hand-held-terminals, the economies made the purchase of Norand look interesting. Owning Norand also allowed Pioneer to explore high-technology markets outside agriculture.

But after a few years, the emerging laptop PC technology made the hand-held units obsolete (已废弃的). Pioneer sold Norand at a loss. Pioneer always took a given percent of the annual profits to divide equally among all employees, so our profit-sharing checks were lower than if Pioneer had not purchased Norand. Additionally, my Pioneer stock was lower than it had been before the purchase of Norand. I was not pleased.

The CEO of Pioneer, Tom Urban, made annual formal visits to each of the Pioneer divisions to talk about the state of the business and to listen to employees' concerns. When he walked into the meeting room for his first visit after the sale of Norand, he acknowledged the group, remove his jacket, and neatly folded it across the back of the chair. He loosened his tie, undid his collar and rolled up his sleeves.The next thing he said was the last thing I ever expected to hear a CEO say.

He said, "I made a mistake buying Norand and I am sorry. I am sorry your profit-sharing was lower because of the purchase, and I am sorry your stock was hurt by the purchase. I will continue to take risks, but I am a bit smarter now, and I will work harder for you."

A great man and leader stood before us that day. As I sat listening to him, I knew I could trust him, and that he deserved every bit of loyalty I could give to him and to Pioneer. I also knew I could take risks in my own job.

In the brief moment of silence before the questions started, I recall thinking that follow him into any battle.

1.All of the following are the results brought by Pioneer's purchase of Norand except     .

A.Pioneer can explore high-technology markets outside agriculture

B.Pioneer's sales representatives can upload information using Norand hand-held terminals

C.some of Norand's employees joined the Pioneer

D.it later led to the lower of profit-sharing checks of Pioneer's original employees

2.The underlined sentence in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to       .

A.the next thing he said was what I expected least to hear a CEO say

B.the next thing he said was the last thing I heard from a CEO

C.the next thing he said was what I expected most to hear a CEO say

D.the next thing he said was what I heard from the last CEO

3.Why did Tom Urban remove his jacket, loosen his tie, undo his collar and roll up his sleeves before he spoke?

A.He felt hot in the room.

B.He wanted to look cool by doing this.

C.He was too excited.

D.He wanted to be close and frank with his employees.

4.What did the employees feel after Tom Urban apologized to them?

A.They felt he was a stupid CEO.

B.They felt he did not deserve their loyalty

C.They felt he was more trustworthy.

D.They didn't want to take risks with him.

 

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