Like every language, American English is full of special expressions, phrases that come from the day-to-day life to the people and develop in their own way. Our expression today is “to face the music”.

When someone says, “Well, I guess I’ll have to face the music.” It does not mean he’s planning to go to the concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this and did that, any why you didn’t do this or that. Sour music indeed, but it has to be faced. At some time or another, every one of us has had to face the music, especially as children. We can all remember father’s angry voice, “I want to talk to you.” and only because we did not obey him. What an unpleasant business it was!

The phrase “to face the music” is familiar to every American, young and old. It is at least 100 years old. And where did this expression come from? The first explanation comes from the American novelist, James Fenimore Cooper. He said, in 1851, that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings to go on the stage. When they got their cue to go on, they often said, “Well, it’s time to face the music.” And that is exactly what they did- facing the orchestra which was just below them. And an actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of the audience that might be friendly or perhaps hostile, especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out. If he did not, there would be no play. So the expression “to face the music” came to mean “having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice.”

Other explanations about the expression go back to the army. When the men faced inspection by their leader, the soldiers would be worried about hw well they looked. Was their equipment clean, whinny enough to pass inspection? Still the men had to go out, and face the music of the band, as well as the inspection. What else could they do?

Another army explanation is more closely related to the idea of facing the results and accepting the responsibility for something that should not have been done. As, for example, when a man is forced out of the army because he did something terrible, he is dishonored. The band does not play. Only the drums tap a sad, slow beat. The soldier is forced to leave, facing such music as it is and facing the back of his horse.

According to the passage, how many ways does the phrase “to face the music” come from?

  A. One.           B. Two.         C. Three.           D. Four.

What’s the meaning of “to face the music?”

  A. To face something far less pleasant.         B. To face the stage.

  C. To face the back of one’s horse.            D. To face one’s leader.

The underlined word “hostile” in Paragraph 3 means “       ”.

  A. unfriendly         B. dislike          C. unimportant          D. unnecessary


  The way people hold to the belief that a fun - filled, pain free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably(不可避免的)brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment (义务), self - improvement.
Ask a bachelor(单身汉)why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.
Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three - day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates(解放) time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.
1. According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because _______ .
A. he finds more fun in dating than in marriage
B. he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single
C. he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities
D. he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement
2. Raising children, in the author’s opinion is ________ .
A. a rewarding task                  B. a thankless job
C. a moral duty                     D. a source of inevitable pain
3. From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from ________
A. hatred   B. ignorance      C. prejudice   D. misunderstanding
4. To understand what true happiness is one must ________ .
A. have as much fun as possible during one’s lifetime
B. be able to distinguish happiness from fun
C. put up with pain under all circumstances
D. make every effort to liberate oneself from pain
5. What is the author trying to tell us?
A. It is important to make commitments
B. One must know how to attain happiness.
C. Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain.
D. It is pain that leads to happiness.


It’s good to make mistakes, and here is why.
First of all, mistakes are a clear sign that you are trying new things. It’s always good to try new things because when you are trying new things you are growing. If you never try anything new, how can you improve? How can you expand? The simple answer is “You can’t”. Look around you. With very few exceptions, either everything you see in your physical world or every single detail of every single thing is the result of someone trying something new.
Another good thing about mistakes is this: When you are making mistakes, you are learning. Consider this: Edison failed 10,000 times before he perfected the light bulb. When asked how it felt to fail that many times, he said that he hadn’t failed 10,000 times, but rather had learned 10,000 things that didn’t work.
Finally, when you make a mistake you are much closer to success. Why?
Because when all is said and done, you will have tried some number of things before you succeeded. Every time you make a mistake you eliminate one of those things and are one step closer.
But this all doesn’t mean that you should go ahead without considering the consequences of a mistake. Quite the contrary, when you try something new you have to be willing to set some reasonable limits so that in the event that it doesn’t work out the way you want it to, you will be in a position to try again.
We all have limited resources in the form of time and money so don’t blow them all on one approach to a problem. Realize that it probably won’t be perfect the first time and allocate (分配) these resources appropriately so you can learn, make corrections, and try it again. Only by accepting and using your mistakes in this way can you make significant advances in your business and your career.
There is an old saying that goes, “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough.”
So go forth and make mistakes. And learn. And grow. And prosper(成功).
【小题1】From the second paragraph, we can conclude that _______.

A.mistakes are unnecessary for development
B.we are afraid of trying new things
C.it’s common for people to make mistakes
D.mistakes are better than not trying
【小题2】 The underlined word “eliminate” means _______.
A.avoidB.RemoveC.accept D.solve
【小题3】. According to the article, one thing you should pay attention to about making mistakes is   
A.avoiding making the same mistakes
B.accepting the punishment willingly
C.taking consequences into account
D.trying things out one by one
【小题4】. What would the writer probably suggest we say to ourselves when we make a mistake?
A.Never mind, I can always try again.
B.I’d better stay out of trouble.
C.Ok! Now I can learn something.
D.Look at this mess. Anyone would be upset.

Our planet is in trouble.Polluting industries and corporations are destroying our planet, resulting in increasing global temperatures, melting ice caps, and economic turmoil(混乱).All across the country, folks are waking up to the reality that if they do not ad now to solve the environmental problems of today, the consequences are unthinkable.If we don’t i ct now, who will? Fortunately, an amazing team of young leaders are taking action.They a e getting involved with the Greenpeace Student Network!
The Student Network has student leaders who deal with the most pressing environmental issues.We have organized and won inspiring campaigns.Convincing corporations to change their ways and politicians to do the right thing.All thanks to our team of leaders, known as Campus Coordinators.
Campus Coordinators are located all across the United States, and even Canada! They work on Greenpeace Student Network campaigns at their schools and in their communities.They organize events like film screenings and days of action.They hold meetings with elected officials, work with the media, recruit(招募) volunteers, and mobilize(动员) their campus to take action! They do all of this with excellent training and expert support from our team of Student: Network staff.Campus Coordinators develop their leadership skins and become an unstoppable force for green solutions on pus and in their community.
Currently, the Greenpeace Student Network is campaigning to solve the largest environmental threat to humankind: global warming.With only months until a new international treaty(协议)on global warming is decided this December, the time to stand up and take the lead has never been
more important,
If you are concerned with environmental issues, want to mobilize your scho4l and community, nd are ready to become a skilled organizer and strong leader, then the Campus Coordinator position is for you! We are now accepting applications for the Fall 2009-Spring 2010 academic year.
Are you ready to be a leader on your campus?
Apply to be a Campus Coordinator today!        
【小题1】Why does the author write the passage?                        

A.To describe the serious environmental problems.
B.To call on students to apply to be Campus Coordinators,
C.To explain the advantage of the Greenpeace Student Network..
D.To stress the importance of solving environmental problems.
【小题2】We can learn from the passage that the Greenpeace Student Network _____.
A.is a place where school leaders are framed
B.is a worldwide organization helping student leaders
C.helps solve corporations’ economic problems
D.helps deal with global warming at present
【小题3】If you are a Campus Coordinator, you may probably _____.
A.have.the chance to play a role in a film
B.find a job at a TV station
C.develop your leadership skills
D.build up your strength.
【小题4】Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A.The duty of Campus Coordinators.
B.The distribution of Campus Coordinators.
C.The aim of the Greenpeace Student Network.
D.The history of the Greenpeace Student Network.

It was a cold winter. The day my husband fell to his death, it started to snow, just  1  any November day. His   2  , when I found it, was lightly covered with snow. It snowed almost every day for the next four months, while I sat on the couch and watched it   3  . One morning, I walked slowly   4   and was surprised to see a snow remover clearing my driveway and the bent back of a woman clearing my walk. I dropped to my knees and crawled back upstairs,  5  those good people would not see me. I was   6  . My first thought was, how would I ever  7  them? I didn’t have the  8  to brush my hair,   9  clear someone’s walk.

Before Jon’s death, I felt proud that I   10  asked for favors. I identified myself by my competence and  11  . So who was I if I was no longer capable? How could I   12  myself if I just sat on the couch every day and watched the snow fall?

Learning to receive the love and   13  from others wasn’t easy. Friends cooked for me and I cried. Finally, my friend Kathy said, “Mary, cooking for you isn’t a   14  for me; it makes me feel good to be able to do something for you.”

Over and over, I heard   15  words from the people who supported me during those  16  days. One wise man told me, “You aren’t doing nothing because being fully open to your  17  may be the hardest work you will ever do.”

I am not the person I   18  was, but in many ways I have changed for the   19  . I’ve been surprised to learn that there is incredible freedom coming form  20  one’s worst fear and walking away whole. I believe there is strength, for sure, in accepting a dark period of our life.

1.A.on            B.in          C.like                     D.for

2.A.body                 B.soul               C.shoe                   D.footprint

3.A.sweep up              B.drop off            C.fall down             D.pile up

4.A.upstairs        B.downstairs   C.indoors                 D.outdoors

5.A.so            B.yet                 C.and                           D.for

6.A.delighted     B.disappointed         C.annoyed               D.ashamed

7.A.pay          B.award        C.reward                   D.treat

8.A.courage       B.strength            C.spirit                       D.power

9.A.stand alone      B.leave alone C.sit alone                D.let alone

10.A.frequently          B.gradually          C.hardly           D.uncertainly

11.A.intelligence    B.independence    C.excellence           D.qualification

12.A.achieve     B.praise      C.respect                  D.promote

13.A.supply        B.support             C.contribution          D.similar

14.A.burden      B.job                C.business                  D.sorrow

15.A.sensitive             B.same               C.considerate         D.similar

16.A.blue               B.rainy              C.bright             D.snowy

17.A.despair      B.difficulty           C.pain                        D.regret

18.A.still                 B.once              C.even                        D.never

19.A.worse        B.less               C.more                        D.better

20.A.facing         B.noticing            C.managing               D.expressing

 

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