Without any hesitation, he said, “I’d be better off dead.” Hearing those words come out of my best friend’s mouth tore my heart apart. He has repeated that phrase more than once, and my mind continually plays it over like a voice recording.
I met my best friend about three years ago. After knowing me for six months, he told me about his struggles with depression. Sadness was not the only emotion that came over me; I was shocked. He seemed so outgoing and happy all the time. I soon learnt that he was physically and emotionally abused as a young child, causing him to have suicidal (自杀的) thoughts.
He refuses to talk to others about his depression because he now distrusts adults, especially those in his family. In spite of this, he feels as if I understand him and that I know the right words to say. Thus, when it comes to helping him, convenience is not in my vocabulary. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I am doing, for he takes priority. Sometimes he just needs the assurance of my voice telling him that everything is going to be okay and that I will not let him down.
Many students at his school laugh at him when they notice the scars on his arms from cutting. It seems that other kids have every right to make fun of him and to look down on him. But no one holds such a right, so I encourage him to ignore the heartless kids who treat him badly. When he feels the weight of judging eyes or hateful voices, I always remind him that I care about him unconditionally. Just hearing me say I will always be his best friend seems to give him the security he needs to keep on going.
My best friend once told me that if he hadn’t had me, he wouldn’t be alive. He said that my encouraging words convinced him not to take his life. Our friendship has taught me that a single word can impact on someone’s life. With the fragility of life as it is, I believe in the necessity of encouragement.
【小题1】The author’s friend got into depression mainly because _____ .

Without any hesitation, he said, “I’d be better off dead.” Hearing those words come out of my best friend’s mouth tore my heart apart. He has repeated that phrase more than once, and my mind continually plays it over like a voice recording.

I met my best friend about three years ago. After knowing me for six months, he told me about his struggles with depression. Sadness was not the only emotion that came over me; I was shocked. He seemed so outgoing and happy all the time. I soon learnt that he was physically and emotionally abused as a young child, causing him to have suicidal (自杀的) thoughts.

He refuses to talk to others about his depression because he now distrusts adults, especially those in his family. In spite of this, he feels as if I understand him and that I know the right words to say. Thus, when it comes to helping him, convenience is not in my vocabulary. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I am doing, for he takes priority. Sometimes he just needs the assurance of my voice telling him that everything is going to be okay and that I will not let him down.

Many students at his school laugh at him when they notice the scars on his arms from cutting. It seems that other kids have every right to make fun of him and to look down on him. But no one holds such a right, so I encourage him to ignore the heartless kids who treat him badly. When he feels the weight of judging eyes or hateful voices, I always remind him that I care about him unconditionally. Just hearing me say I will always be his best friend seems to give him the security he needs to keep on going.

My best friend once told me that if he hadn’t had me, he wouldn’t be alive. He said that my encouraging words convinced him not to take his life. Our friendship has taught me that a single word can impact on someone’s life. With the fragility of life as it is, I believe in the necessity of encouragement.

1.The author’s friend got into depression mainly because _____ .

2.We know from the passage that the author’s friend_____.

3.What is the best title for the passage?

Dear Daughter,

As we drove off from Columbia, I wanted to write a letter to you to tell you all that is on my mind．

First, I want to tell you how proud we are．Getting into Columbia is a real testament of what a great well-rounded student you are．It is in college that you will truly discover what learning is about．I encourage you to be curious, but I also want to tell you “Education is what you have left after all that is taught is forgotten”．That is really what learning in college is about–this will be the period where you go from teacher-taught to master-inspired, after which you must become self-learner．So do take each subject seriously, and even if what you learn isn’t critical for your life, the skills of learning will be something you cherish forever．

There is no single simple answer to any question．Remember during your high school debate class, I always asked you to take on the side that you don’t believe in? I did that for a reason– things rarely “black and white”, and there are always many ways to look at a problem．You will become a better problem solver if you recognize that．This is called “critical thinking”, and it is the most important thinking skill you need for your life．This also means you need to become tolerant and supportive of others．I will always remember when I went to my Ph．D．advisor and proposed a new thesis topic．He said “I don’t agree with you, but I’ll support you．”

Do your best in classes, but don’t let pressure get to you．Your mother and I have no expectations for your grades．If you graduate and learn something in your four years, we would feel happy．Please don’t be worried．The only thing that matters is that you learned．The only metric you should use is that you tried．Grades are just silly letters that give the vain people something to brag, and the lazy people something to fear．You are too good to be either．

College is the four years where you have:·the greatest amount of free time．·the first chance to be independent．·the most flexibility to change．·the lowest risk for making mistakes．

So please treasure your college years．

Love,

Dad (& Mom)

(A letter from Kaifu Lee)

1．According to Kaifu Lee, the underlined sentence in the second paragraph means_________．

A．you should learn by yourself instead of learning from your teachers．

B．the knowledge isn’t as important as the ability to learn．

C．the knowledge from college is of less worth than that acquired after college．

D．education is nothing but what you have remembered．

2．Kaifu Lee expects his daughter to _________．

A．agree with those who hold the opposite opinions．

B．find out the difference between ‘right and wrong’．

C．think of more ways to solve a problem critically．

D．step into others’ shoes and think from others’ positions．

3．Based on the letter, it can be inferred that ________．

A．high grades are not important for people．

B．Kaifu Lee and his wife don’t care about their daughter’s grades or college life．

C．Kaifu Lee doesn’t expect her daughter to make any mistakes in her life．

D．Kaifu Lee’s daughter is a freshman in Columbia University．

4．We can conclude that Kaifu Lee’s daughter is _________．

A．dependent and curious                         B．tolerant and supportive

C．well-rounded and worried                         D．excellent and hard-working 

Are you simply moving through your day without fully living? I think many of us have done this. Everyone wants to fully live every day.   1.    So I’ve decided to share with you some ways to help you enjoy every moment.

Sit in the morning. When you wake up, in the quiet of the morning, sit on the floor. I often use this opportunity to stretch. I feel every muscle in my body.    2.    

   3.    I like to take breaks from work, and go outside for a slow walk. Pay attention to your breathing, to everything around you, to the sounds and light of objects. 

Read in silence. Find a quiet time, and a quiet place, and read a good novel. Have no television or computers on nearby.    4.    It might seem difficult to let your mind move from the present into the time of novel, but it’s a great patience in focus. Also, I love a good novel more than almost anything else.

Look at someone in a grateful way.   5.    If you want, you can tell that person how thankful you are to him.

A.Work with force.

B.Walk slowly.

C.But this is easier said than done.

D.And just put yourself in the world of the novel.

E.It’s a way of building something good into your life.

F.I also just sit, and focus on my breathing going in and out.

G.Find someone you care about and be grateful for his existence.

       Are you simply moving through your day without fully living? I think many of us have done this. Everyone wants to fully live every day.   71    So I’ve decided to share with you some ways to help you enjoy every moment.

Sit in the morning. When you wake up, in the quiet of the morning, sit on the floor. I often use this opportunity to stretch. I feel every muscle in my body.    72    

   73    I like to take breaks from work, and go outside for a slow walk. Pay attention to your breathing, to everything around you, to the sounds and light of objects.  

Read in silence. Find a quiet time, and a quiet place, and read a good novel. Have no television or computers on nearby.    74    It might seem difficult to let your mind move from the present into the time of novel, but it’s a great patience in focus. Also, I love a good novel more than almost anything else.

Look at someone in a grateful way.   75    If you want, you can tell that person how thankful you are to him.

A.      Work with force.

B.      Walk slowly.

C.      But this is easier said than done.

D.     And just put yourself in the world of the novel.

E.      It’s a way of building something good into your life.

F.      I also just sit, and focus on my breathing going in and out.

G.     Find someone you care about and be grateful for his existence.