The Worst Part

Mom is usually home on Sunday but this week she was going to a big golf game and I was all alone in the house. I was mad at Mom for divorcing Dad.

I kept looking at the telephone until I couldn’t stand it any longer. I picked up the receiver and dialed Dad’s number over in Bakersfield. I even remembered to dial I first because it was long distance. “You promised to phone me this week but you didn’t,” I said, feeling I had to talk to him.

“Take it easy, kid,” he said. “I just didn’t get around to it. I was going to call this evening. The week isn’t over yet.”

I thought about that.

“Something on your mind?” he asked.

“I hoped you would call, so I waited and waited.” Then I was sorry I said it.

“There was heavy snow in the morning,” he said, “I had to chain up on highway 80 and lost time.”

I know putting chains on eight big wheels in the snow is no fun. I felt a little better, as long as we were talking. “How is Bandit?” I asked.

There was a funny silence. For a minute I thought the line was dead. Then I knew something must have happened to my dog.

“Well, kid—”, he began. “My name is Leigh!” I almost yelled. “I’m not just some kid you met on the street!”

Keep your shirt on, Leigh,” he said. “When I had to stop along with some other truckers to put on chains, I left Bandit out of the cab, I thought he would get back … I have sent out a call to CB radio, but I didn’t get an answer yet.” I was about to say I understood when there came the bad part, the really bad part. I heard a boy’s voice say, “Hey, Bill, Mom wants to know when we’re going out to get the pizza?”

From the story we know that _______.

A. Leigh’s dad never had a rest on Sundays       B. Leigh was a deserted boy

C. Leigh’s dad lived in another city             D. Leigh’s mother often went to golf games

What happened to Bandit?

A. It was frozen to death.      B. It was let out of the cab and got lost

C. It was killed by a truck.    D. It ran off Highway 80 and into the mountain.

The underlined sentence “Keep your shirt on” probably means “_______”.

A. Listen to reason   B. Stop talking   C. Calm down         D. Keep warm

In Leigh’s eye, “the worst part” may be that ________.

A. his dad got remarried              B. his parents got divorced

C. his dad didn’t love him     D. his mom didn’t take him to pizza

Do you love holidays but hate the increase(增长的) weight that follows? You are not alone.

Holidays are happy days with pleasure and delicious foods. Many people, however, are worried about the weight that comes along with these delicious foods.

With proper planning, though, it is possible to con­trol your weight. The idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much. You don’t have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy. The following suggestions may be of some help to you. 

Do not miss meals. Before you leave home for a feast (宴会), have a small, low-fat snack(小吃). This may help to keep you from getting too excited before de­licious foods.

Begin with clear soup and fruit or vegetables. A large glass of water before you eat may help you feel full. Use a small plate; a large plate will encourage you to have more than enough.

Better not have high-fat foods. Dishes that look oily or creamy have much fat in them.

Choose lean meat (瘦肉). Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables.

If you have a sweet tooth, try mints (薄荷) and fruits. They don’t have fat content as cream and chocolate.

Don’t let exercise take a break during the holidays. A 20-minute walk after a meal can help burn off excess (过多的) calories.

1.Holidays are happy days with pleasure but they may______.

A.bring weight problems

B.bring you much trouble in your life

C.make you worried about your foods

D.make you hate delicious foods

2.In order to really enjoy your holidays without putting on weight, you’d better ___.

A.drink much water and have vegetables only

B.not eat much food in high fat

C.not accept invitations to feasts

D.turn away from delicious foods

3.According to the passage, ___ is a necessary part to stop you from putting on weight.

A.vegetables        B.water             C.calories of energy   D.physical exercise

4.Many people can’t help putting on weight after the holidays because they ___.

A.can’t control themselves

B.go to too many feasts

C.enjoy delicious foods

D.can’t help turning away from the foods

 

I will never forget what my old headmaster taught me. Normally when you are only 15          years of age you do not remember most of the things that are taught by your teachers. But this particular story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I get reminded of this story.

It was a normal Monday morning, and he was making a speech to the students on important things in life and about devoting ourselves to what is important to us. This is how the story went:

An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years. His house was dirty, and a stench(恶臭)came out of the house and it smelled horrible. The neighbors could not stand the smell any more, so they asked the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.

The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire. They waited outside his house to tell the good news to him. When he arrived home that evening, he was met by one of the officers who told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire. He said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, got into the train, and sat at the street corner and continued to beg. Obviously, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything important for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing.

59. The headmaster told the story to the students to__________.

A. make the students relaxed in the lesson             B. remind the students to think deeply

C. show how poor the old man was                            D. encourage the students to become rich

60. After hearing what the officer said, the old man_________.

A. believed the officer was playing a joke on him. B. didn't know many people respected him a lot.

C. was very angry to find his house broken into.     D. was not so excited as the officer had expected.

61. What did the author learn from the story?

A . One should devote himself to his dream.            B. The old man was foolish not to stop begging.

C. What the headmaster taught was very important.

D. People must have a plan before taking action.

62. Which word can best describe the author's attitude towards the old man?

A. Pity.           B. Disappointment.                 C. Respect.          D. Anger.

63. We know from the passage that ___________________.

the author had a big dream at the age of 15.         

B. the headmaster was popular with the students.

the old man begged every day without stopping.  

D. the neighbors took great pity on the old man.

BDACC 

 

 In all one’s lifetime it is oneself that one spends the most time being with or dealing with. But it is exactly oneself that one has the least understanding of.

When you are going upwards in life you tend to overestimate yourself. It seems that everything you seek for is within your reach. When you are going downhill you tend to underestimate yourself, mistaking difficulties for your own incompetence.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself is to gain a correct view of oneself-aware of both one’s strengths and shortages. You may look forward hopefully to the future but be sure not to expect too much, for ideals can never be fully realized. You may be courageous to meet challenges but it should be clear to you where to direct your efforts. That’s to say so long as you have a perfect knowledge of yourself there won’t be difficulties you can’t overcome.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself needs self-appreciation. Whether you think you are a towering tree or a blade of grass, a high mountain or a small stone, you represent a state of nature that has its own value. If you earnestly admire yourself you’ll have a real sense of self-appreciation, which will give you confidence. As soon as you gain full confidence in yourself, you’ll be enabled to fight and overcome any adversity.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself also requires doing oneself a favor when it’s needed. In time of sadness, do yourself a favor by sharing it with your friends so as to change a gloomy mood into a cheerful one; in time of tiredness, do yourself a favor by getting a good sleep. As you are aware, what a person physically has is but a human body that’s vulnerable when exposed to the elements. So if you fall ill, it’s up to you to take a good care of yourself.

In a word, to get a thorough understanding of oneself is to get a full control of one’s life. Then one will find one’s life full of color and flavor.

1. What is described in Paragraph 2 is to show that           .

A.a person is easy to estimate himself too high when succeeding

B.it is difficult for one to have a perfect knowledge of oneself

C.you should keep up high spirits whatever difficulties you meet

D.it is essential that a person get a thorough understanding of himself

2. Remember not to expect too much of yourself when looking forward to the future because         .

A.your shortages might stop you succeeding

B.ideals can never be turned into realities

C.you are likely to lack enough courage

D.you haven’t understood yourself quite well

3.Having a real sense of self-appreciation can enable one         .

A.to realize one’s shortages

B.not to be too proud

C.to gain enough self-confidence

D.not to go downhill

4.If this passage is divided into three parts, the second part should consist of        .

A.Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 3

B.Paragraph 2 to Paragraph 5

C.Paragraph 3 to Paragraph 5

D.Paragraph 4 and Paragraph 5

 

Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own. My mom was one of those people.

My father died when I was nine months old, making my mom a single mother at the age of eighteen. While I was growing up, we lived a very hard life. We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of love. Each night, she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would change my life, “Kemmons, you are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it.”

At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again. Every day, my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me that no matter what those doctors said, I could walk again if I wanted to badly enough. She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her. A year later, I returned to school — walking on my own!

When the Great Depression (大萧条) hit, my mom lost her job. Then I left school to support the both of us. At that moment, I was determined never to be poor again.

Over the years, I experienced various levels of business success. But the real turning point occurred on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951. I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels available for families and was angry that they charged an extra $2 for each child. That was too expensive for the average American family. I told my wife that I was going to open a motel (汽车旅馆) for families that would never charge extra for children. There were plenty of doubters at that time.

Not surprisingly, mom was one of my strongest supporters. She worked behind the desk and even designed the room style. As in any business, we experienced a lot of challenges. But with my mother’s words deeply rooted in my soul, I never doubted we would succeed. Fifteen years later, we had the largest hotel system in the world — Holiday Inn. In 1979 my company had 1, 759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of $ 1 billion a year.

You may not have started out life in the best situation. But if you can find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you.

1.What Kemmons’ mom often told him during his childhood was ______.

A. encouraging  B. caring              C. moving            D. interesting

2.According to the author, who played the most important role in making him walk back to school again?    

A. Doctors.          B. Mom.    C. Nurses.            D. Friends.             

3.What caused Kemmons to start a motel by himself?

A.  His mom’s support.  B. His previous business success of various levels.

C. His terrible experience in the hotel.   D. His wife’s suggestion.

 

4.Which of the following best describes Kemmons’ mother?

A. Modest, helpful, and hard-working.    B. Careful, helpful and beautiful.

C. Loving, supportive and strong-willed.  D. Strict, sensitive and supportive.

 

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