A great many people are disappointed because of unrealistic expectations.

Walking up to a department store’s  1   counter, an attractive young woman said, “I want to buy this material for a new dress. How much does it cost?”

“Only one  2   per yard,” replied the smirking (自鸣得意的) male clerk.

Not to be taken back by the funny words, the woman said, “That’s fine! I’ll take ten yards.”

With  3  written all over his face, the clerk hurriedly  4  out and wrapped the cloth, and then held it out teasingly, leaning forward to receive his “   5   ”.

The woman got the package quickly from the clerk and pointed to a little old  6  standing beside her. “Grandpa will pay the bill instead of me,” she  7 .

He was no doubt disappointed. But in the course of living, many people are  8 when others do not  9  their expectations. In order to be happy, some expectations must be dropped. These three particular  10  and unhealthy expectations are some of the main causes:

       1. Expect too much  11 .When others say, “Thank you,” or in any way to show their gratitude, be happy. It is a gift!

       2. Expect others to make you happy. They simply cannot do that. Make yourself happy and  12   your joy with others.

       3. Expect not to be  13 . At times, people will simply not come through for you in the way you need.  14   them and move on.

Get rid of these three unrealistic expectations and you can begin to expect more  15   right away!

A Full-Time School Called Life

       You are enrolled in a full-time school called “life”. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or hate them, but you have designed them as part of your curriculum.

       Why are you here? What is your purpose? Humans have sought to discover the meaning of life for a very ling time. What we and our ancestors have overlooked, however, is there is no one answer. The meaning of life is different for every individual. 全品高考网

Each person has his or her own purpose and distinct path, unique and separate from anyone else's. As you travel your life path, you will be presented with numerous lessons that you will need to learn in order to fulfill that purpose. The lessons you are presented with are specific to you; learning these lessons is the key to discovering and fulfilling the meaning and connection of your own life.

       As you travel through your lifetime, you may encounter challenging lessons that others don't have to face, while other spend years struggling with challenges that you don't need to deal with. You may never know why you are blessed with a wonderful marriage, while your friends suffer through bitter arguments and painful divorces, just as you cannot be sure why you struggle financially while your peers enjoy abundance. The only thing you can count on for certain is that you will be presented with all the lessons that you specifically need to learn; whether you choose to learn them or not is entirely up to you.

The challenge here, therefore, is to align（与…保持一致）yourself with your own unique path by learning individual lessons. This is one of the most difficult challenges you will be faced with in your lifetime, as sometimes your path will be completely different from others. But, remember, don't compare your path to the people around you and focus on the difference between their lessons and yours. You need to remember that you will only be faced with lessons that you are capable of learning and are specific to your own growth. 全品高考网

       Our sense of fairness is the expectation of equity—the assumption that all things are equal and that justice will always prevail. Life is not, in fact, fair, and you may indeed have a more difficult lift path than others around you, deserved or not. Everyone’s circumstances are unique, and everyone needs to handle his or her own circumstances differently. If you want to move toward calm, you will be required to move out of the comparing phase of “it’s not fair”. Focusing on the unfairness of circumstances keeps you comparing yourself with others rather than appreciating your own special uniqueness. You miss out on learning your individual lessons by distracting yourself with feelings of bitterness and anger.

11．According to the passage, how can the meaning of your life be realized?

       A．Having the same opinions as others.

       B．Taking the distinct path from others.

       C．Learning the lessons presented to you.

       D．Doing the different things from others.

12．From the passage we can conclude            .

       A．everyone has his own track to follow

       B．the same things usually happen to the peers

       C．a painful divorce must lie in financial problems

       D．a wealthy man must have a wonderful marriage

13．In your lifetime, the lessons you are faced with           .

       A．are beyond your power   B．keep you from growth

       C．limit your development   D．help you with your success

14．Which of the following is TRUE?

       A．All things are equal and justice will always prevail.

       B．You should learn to appreciate your specific uniqueness.

       C．One has to fix his mind on unfairness of circumstances.

       D．You have to complain “it’s not fair” whenever possible.

15．Life is called a full – time school, because           .

       A．it is full of all lessons to learn

       B．you have plenty of time to learn lessons

       C．you meet with specific lessons every day

       D．there are so many subjects for you to choose

A passenger told an air hostess that he needed a cup of water to take his medicine when the plane just took off. She told him that she would 　 1　 him the water in ten minutes.

Thirty minutes later, when the passenger’s ring for 　2 sounded, the air hostess realized it at once. She was kept so 　 3 that she forgot to deliver him the 　4 . As a result, the passenger was held up (延误) to take his medicine. She hurried over to him 　5 a cup of water, but he 　6 it.

In the following hours on the flight, each time the stewardess? passed by the 　 7　 , she would ask him with a 　8 whether he needed help or not. But the passenger never paid attention to her.

When he was going to get 　 9 　 the plane, the passenger asked the air hostess? to 　___10___ him the passengers?’ booklet(意见簿). She was very 　 11　 . She knew that he would write down sharp words, 　___12___ with a smile she handed it to him.

Off the plane, she 　13 the booklet, and cracked a smile, 　14 the passenger put it, “On the flight, you asked me whether I need help or not for twelve times 　15 . How can I refuse your twelve sincere smiles?”

That’s right! Who can refuse your twelve sincere smiles from a person?

1. A. take　 　　　　 B．bring　 　　　　　　　　 C．carry　　 　　　　　 D．hold

2. A. food　 　　　　 B．drink　 　　　　　　　 C．service　 　　　　　 D．medicine

3. A. tired　 　　　　 B．silent　 　　　　　　　　 C．calm　　 　　　　　 D．busy

4. A. water　 　　　　 B．help　　 　　　　　　　 C．milk　　 　　　　　 D．warning

5. A. for　 　　　　　 B．about　 　　　　　　　 C．with　　 　　　　　 D．in

6. A. refused　 　　 B．accepted 　　　　　　 C．liked　 　　　　　　　 D．hated

7. A. customer　 　 B．passenger　　 　　　 C．guest　　 　　　　　 D．visitor

8. A. glance 　　　　 B．look 　　　　　　　　　　 C．smile 　　　　　　　　 D．cry

9. A. on　 　　　　　 B．to　 　　　　　　　　　　 C．off　 　　　　　　　　 D．from

10. A. hand　 　　　 B．take　 　　　　　　　　 C．throw　　 　　　　 D．lend

11. A. glad　 　　　　 B．angry　　 　　　　　　 C．curious　　 　　　 D．sad

12. A. So　 　　　　 B．Because　 　　　　　 C．And　　 　　　　　 D．But

13. A. hid　 　　　　 B．tore　 　　　　　　　　 C．opened　 　　　　　 D．closed

14. A. if　 　　　　　 B．for　 　　　　　　　　　 C．after　 　　　　　　 D．when

15. A. in all　 　　　　 B．above all　　 　　　　 C．or else　　 　　　 D．or so

 A friend of mine was sitting in the living room one day when his cat dragged in a little “gift” in its mouth—a dead animal of some sort. Taking a closer look, he was surprised to  36 it as the bunny(小兔子) that  37 Mary, the young daughter of the family next door. My friend felt  38 , believing his cat had killed Mary’s bunny.
My quick-thinking friend came up with a plan.  39  from the cat’s mouth the dead animal, which by now was a     40 mess, he put it in the kitchen sink. With a little warm water and some shampoo, he tried to  41 the dead bunny as best he could. Then he took a hair dryer and blowdried the bunny  42 it looked pretty good.
Finally, under the cover of darkness, he crept into the next-door garden and placed it  43 in the cage. He managed to make the bunny look very  44 there in his little box.
The next morning, my friend looked out of the window and noticed a crowd of people  45 around the rabbit hutch(笼). Everyone seemed to be talking and pointing. My friend  46 to go over and act like any normal  47 neighbor and find out what was going on.
When he got there, Mary’s mother said to my friend, “You won’t believe this! It’s a(n)   48 thing! Mary’s bunny  49 a few days ago, and we buried that little bunny right over there…”
Have you ever tried to cover up one wrongdoing with another? Covering up only makes matters  50 .
When we get caught doing something  51 , for example, we may  52 to cover it up with a lie. But just like Mary’s bunny, the result is  53 what we expected. We  54 looking foolish. We would have been better off admitting we were wrong and accepting the  55 . What do you think of it?

A U.S man found 300 letters to God floating in the Atlantic Ocean last week. He said on Friday he would   1   them to a church instead of selling them on eBay following protests from religious people.
The letters , sent to a late Baptist clergyman (牧师), were   2  put in a sealed plastic shopping bag near a    3   in Atlantic, New Jersey.
Bill Lacovara, an insurance adjuster from Ventnor, New Jersey, said he got the bag while on a fishing trip last week.
The letters were     4     to the clergyman, who died in 2004. Someone cleaning his house may have   5   the bag, which Lacovara found about 100 miles (160km) from Cooper’s house.
They include one from a teenage girl asking God to    6  her for her wrongdoing, one from a prisoner who said he was    7    and someone had set a trap for him, and    8   from a man who wanted God’s help winning the lottery, according to media reports.
Lavovara said he could have    9   them on eBay for up to $15,000(7,889 pounds) according to his prediction of the compete price and would have given the money to charity. But he has changed his mind because he said the move caused     10    to some religious people.
“They said they were    11    in me, and I didn’t want to do something that’s going to create    12     results.” he told Reuters.
Some    13    him to burn the letters, throw them back in the ocean or give them to a church, Lacovara said.
Lacovara said about a dozen clergymen have offered to take the letters, and he is evaluating the    14   to make sure the letters don’t fall into the     15    hands.
1.    A. donate                     B. show          C. sell                 D. owe
2.    A. hurriedly                  B. privately       C. mysteriously   D. occasionally
3.    A. river                      B. lake                   C. hill                 D. beach
4.    A. taken              B. offered       C. addressed      D. given
5.    A. collected           B. thrown        C. opened        D. destroyed
6.    A. forgive            B. punish        C. adjust         D. charge
7.    A. friendly            B. correct              C. innocent      D. energetic
8.    A. others                     B. another       C. the other      D. one
9.    A. auctioned         B. bought             C. donated               D. discounted
10.   A. damage            B. offence       C. injury               D. worry
11.   A. absorbed           B. involved            C. interested      D. disappointed
12.   A. final              B. direct               C. same         D. bad
13.   A. forced             B. urged               C. questioned           D. pleased
14.   A. requests                   B. orders              C. commands           D. invitations
15.   A. wrong                     B. poor                C. tight                D. firm