I used to hate being called upon in class mainly because I didn’t like attention drawn to myself. And otherwise assigned a seat by the teacher, I always to sit at the back of the classroom.

All this after I joined a sports team. It began when a teacher suggested I try out for the basketball team. At first I thought it was a crazy because I didn’t have a good sense of balance, nor did I have the to keep pace with the others on the team and they would tease me. But for the teacher who kept insisting on my “ for it”, I wouldn’t have decided to give it a try.

Getting up the courage to go to the tryouts was only the of it! When I first started the practice sessions, I didn’t even know the rules of the game, much what I was doing. Sometimes I’d get and take a shot at the wrong direction—which made me feel really stupid. , I wasn’t the only one “new” at the game, so I decided to on learning the game, do my best at each practice session, and not to be too hard on myself for the things I didn’t “just yet”.

I practiced and practiced. Soon I knew the and the “moves”. Being part of a team was fun and motivating. Very soon the competitive in me was winning over my lack of confidence. With time, I learned how to play and made friends in the --friends who respected my efforts to work hard and be a team player. I never had so much fun!

With my self-confidence comes more praise from teachers and classmates. I have gone from “ “in the back of the classroom and not wanting to call attention to myself, raising my hand—even when I sometimes wasn’t 100 percent I had the right answer. Now I have more self-confidence in myself.

1.A. as B. until C. unless D. though

2.A. hoped B. agreed C. meant D. chose

3.A. continued B. changed C. settled D. started

4.A. idea B. plan C. belief D. saying

5.A. right B. chance C. ability D. patience

6.A. going B. looking C. cheering D. applying

7.A. point B. half C. rest D. basis

8.A. enjoying B. preparing C. attending D. watching

9.A. less B. later C. worse D. further

10.A. committed B. motivated C. embarrassed D. confused

11.A. Interestingly B. Fortunately C. Obviously D. Hopefully

12.A. focus B. act C. rely D. try

13.A. want B. do C. support D. know

14.A. steps B. orders C. rules D. games

15.A. role B. part C. mind D. value

16.A. process B. operation C. movement D. situation

17.A. expressed B. improved C. preserved D. recognized

18.A. dreaming B. playing C. relaxing D. hiding

19.A. by B. for C. with D. To

20.A. lucky B. happy C. sure D. Satisfied

One evening last summer, when I asked my 14-year-old son, Ray, for help with dinner, his response shocked me. "What’s a colander(漏勺)? " he asked.

I could only blame myself. In the family, nobody else’s hands went in the sauce except my own. But that night, as I explained with a touch of panic that a colander is the thing with holes in it, I wondered what else I hadn’t prepared Ray for.

As parents, while we focus on our sons’ confidence and character, we perhaps don’t always consider that we are also raising someone’s future roommates, boyfriends, husbands, or fathers. I wanted to know that I’d raised a boy who would never ask the woman in his life, "What’s for dinner?" So I came up with a plan: I would offer Ray a private home economics course. I was delighted to find that he didn’t say no. For two hours, three days a week, Ray was all mine. One day, as his tomato sauce reduced on the stove, he washed and seasoned a chicken for roasting. Then he rolled out the piecrust (馅饼皮) and filled it with apples, all while listening to my explanation on the importance of preheating an oven.

I knew that he would rather have been shooting hoops in the driveway than learning to mend socks with his mother—he tried to beg off sewing lessons, even though I insisted that one day, someone would find the sight of him fixing his own shirt very attractive— but it couldn’t be denied that he was learning, and more than just housekeeping. "I appreciate what you do as a mom," he told me one day. Ray now understands the finer points of cooking, and more importantly, he realizes there’s nothing masculine (男子气概的) about being helpless.

Now, not only can he make his own dinner, but also he can make a big meal for his family. That’s what I call a man. I’m glad that I prepared so great a present for my future daughter-in-law.

1.Why was the author shocked at her son’s response?

A. Because he was not well behaved.

B. Because he refused to help with dinner.

C. Because he didn’t know the common kitchen tools.

D. Because he was very curious about kitchen tools.

2.In the author’s opinion, some parents pay little attention to _______.

A. building up children’s confidence

B. telling kids what is right and wrong

C. preparing children for their future life

D. making children live a hard life

3. After learning to do housework, Ray _______.

A. fell in love with sewing

B. did other work in the house

C. began to be more hardworking

D. acknowledged his mother’s efforts

4. We can infer from the text that Ray _______.

A. made great progress in cooking.

B. always thought housework interesting.

C. preferred sewing to cooking.

D. was unwilling to learn cooking at first.

5.What would be the best title for the text?

A. Useful education for boys

B. The importance of housework

C. Boys should be involved in housework.

D. Cooking and sewing make boys masculine.

Security—for the information on your smartphone, as well as for the phone itself---is a hot topic these days. The truth is that you’re packing a lot of sensitive information on your phone, and you should keep it safe.

When it comes to physical security, iPhone users would do well to download Find My iPhone, a free app from Apple that allows you to visit a website and see your (lost, stolen or misplaced) phone on the map. You can then sound an alarm, send a message that will pop up on its screen, lock the phone or erase all your data.

Android does not have an exact equivalent(等价物), but there are plenty of alternatives. A free app called Lookout offers the find-my-phone feature. The paid version allows you to wipe the data from your phone remotely.

Then there is your coffee shop’s WiFi network. Anyone with minimal technical expert skill can snoop on(窥视) people using shared wireless networks, harvesting passwords and other personal data. Lookout’s apps will caution you when you’ve logged on to an insecure network, but cannot protect you once you’re there.

In order to protect yourself on such networks, you can use a virtual private network, or V.P.N. This turns all your activity into nonsense to anyone trying to read along with you from across the Starbucks. It also keeps websites from tracking you and, if you’re traveling, allows you to get access to sites that may be blocked in other countries.

If you have an iPhone, the simplest V.P.N. app is probably Hotspot Shield, whose distinguishing feature is said to be that it automatically kicks in each time you start browsing (浏览), as opposed to other V.P.N. apps that require you to start them up manually(手动). This matters, because even if you decide you want a V.P.N. app, you want to spend approximately zero time thinking about it. For the most part, that was true of Hotspot Shield, though occasionally it took a while to connect or temporarily lost connection without warning. I found myself having to turn the app on and off sometimes, which involved setting my phone constantly.

If even reading about the setting on your phone drives you crazy, then it is probably best to stay away from a V.P.N. app. But if you’re the type who can’t resist checking your bank balance from your comer bar, the hassle (麻烦) may be preferable to the risk.

1. Which of the following can warn you against the insecure network?

A. Android B. V.P.N. C. Lookout D. Find My iPhone

2.By using V.P.N., users can ________.

A. find their lost phone on the Internet

B. remove all the data form the phone remotely

C. check the bank balance now and then

D. save their browsing from being tracked

3.The underlined word “that” in Para.6 refers to the fact that _________.

A. a V.P.N. app kicks in automatically

B. the users starts V.P.N. apps manually

C. the app take a while to connect

D. users spend no time thinking about it

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