Salty Coffee

He met her at a party. She was outstanding many guys were after her, but no one paid attention to him. After the party, he invited her for coffee. She was   1  , In order not to appear rude she    2  .

20070312

 
As they sat in a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say   3   and she felt   4  . suddenly, he asked the waiter. “Could you please give me some salt? I’d like to put it in my coffee.”

They   5  at him. He turned red, but when the salt came he put it in his coffee and drank.   6  , she asked. “Why salt with coffee?” He explained. “When I was a little boy. I lived near the sea, I liked playing in the sea, I could feel its salty taste, like salty coffee. Now every time I drink it. I think of my childhood and my hometown. I miss it and my parents, who are still there.”

She was deeply touched, A man who can admit that he’s   7  must love his home and tare about his family. He must be   8  .

She talked too, about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family. That was the start of their   9   story.

They continued to   10  . She found that he   11   all her requirements. He was tolerate, kind, warm and careful. And to think she would have missed the   12   if not for the salty coffee!

So they married and lived happily together. And every time she made coffee for him, she put in some salt.   13   he liked it.

After 40 years, he passed away and left her a letter which said:

My dearest, please forgive my   14   lie. Remember the first time we dated?

I was so nervous I asked for salt instead of sugar.

It was hard for me to ask for a change, so I just went ahead. I never thought that we would   15  . Many times, I tried to tell you the truth, but I was afraid that it would   16   everything.

Sweetheart, I don’t   17   like salty coffee. But as it   18   so much to you, I’ve learnt to enjoy it. Having you with me was my greatest happiness. If I could live a second time, I hope we can be together again,   19   it means that I have to drink salty coffee for the    20   of my life.

1.A.delighted              B.surprised             C.shocked              D.interested

2.A.put up                  B.turned up             C.went along          D.came on

3.A.any                       B.something           C.polite words        D.anything

4.A.uncomfortable       B.sick                    C.sad                     D.unhappy

5.A.glanced                 B.stared                  C.looked                 D.glared

6.A.Shocked               B.Interested           C.Confused            D.Depressed

7.A.weak                    B.homesick             C.strange                D.childish

8.A.good                     B.kind                    C.responsible          D.lovely

9.A.fairy                     B.moving                C.exciting               D.love

10.A.unite                   B.got together         C.date                    D.appoint

11.A.was devoted to B.suited                     C.demanded            D.suggested

12.A.catch                 B.lover                   C.chance                D.husband

13.A.the way               B.no matter how much

       C.actually               D.the most

14.A.secret                 B.made-up              C.personal              D.life-long

15.A.hit and run           B.hit it off              C.miss the chance  D.keep out

16.A.destroy               B.ruin                     C.damage               D.lose

17.A.even                   B.especially             C.actually               D.exactly

18.A.cares                  B.matters                C.offers                 D.relates

19.A.even if                B.now that              C.unless                 D.but

20.A.other            B.last              C.rest            D.meaning

Having been feeling down and unhappy with my marriage, I spent the week not being very nice to anyone in my family. I felt that I was distancing myself from the people that were not the root of my anger. Those little people with sweet innocent eyes wondered why Mommy was only going through the motions, and why there was no love in her actions. I even pushed my daughter away as she tried to hug me.

For years I had said that having dinner as a family was important, but during this time of heartache that I was experiencing I just couldn’t bring myself to be with them. I began to dislike them. It would be so easy to change my life without having them to think about. How many times had I heard that I needed to do what was best for the kids? Did nobody care about what was best for me?

Then I watched a show on TV that made me realize what I was doing to these poor kids. I needed to take control of my own life, not only for myself but for my kids too.

       That night I went to sleep with calm thoughts in my head .The problems with my marriage had not been resolved, but the issues I had with myself had .I knew what I had to do to make my life better and my children’s too.

       The next morning after eating breakfast with my three wonderful kids, my middle son who was five years old put his arms around me and said, “Hey, Mom ,you’re really being nice to us today.” What could I say to that tiny face to take away all the pain that I had caused? I looked at his beautiful blue eyes and told him that Mommy hadn’t been very happy lately and that I was sorry that I was not being nice.

1.The passage mainly tells us       .

A.about the writer’s unhappy marriage and its results

       B.that the children were very poor but wonderful

       C.about the root of the writer’s anger

       D.about the writer and her children’s hard life

2.Why did the writer push her daughter away as her daughter tried to hug her?

       A.Because her daughter annoyed her.

       B.Because she was distanced from her family.

       C.Because she was in bad mood.

       D.Because she couldn’t find love in her daughter’s actions.

3.What did the writer decide to do after watching the program on TV?

       A.To live a better life for herself.

       B.To sleep with her children that night.

       C.To have dinner with her three children .

       D.To cheer up and treat her children better.

4.What can we infer from the passage?

       A.The children finally understood their mother’s problem.

       B.The mother would love her children more deeply.

       C.The writer apologized to her husband.

       D.The writer’s unhappy marriage would be solved.

Author Dan Brown attended a London court recently where two historians were accusing him of copying their ideas in his best-selling religious novel The Da Vinci Code.

       Richard Leigh and Michael Baigent are suing(控告)Brown’s British publisher. Random House ,for lifting “all of the content” of the research that went into their 1982’s non-fiction book . The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.

       Brown’s book has more than 36 million copies in print worldwide and has upset Catholics(天主教徒)for suggesting that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and that he had a child with her . The same theory is put forward in The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.

       That storyline is part of the “central theme” which Baigent and Leigh say was stolen by Brown.

       The presiding judge pointed out that in the Internet .Age it was difficult for researchers to know the source of the material they were reading ,and he questioned exactly what the central theme of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail was.

       Jonathan James, representing the historians at London’s High Court ,had a different opinion: “If you are researching, it is up to you to know what source you are looking at.”

       He said US writer Brown had used the book , which was also published by Random House and was a best-seller ,not only as a source but also as “an essential point of reference”.

       Commentators have pointed out that a major character in 41-year-old Brown’s book, Sir Leigh Teabing ,has a name that is an anagram(变位词)of Leigh and Baigent. A third author of the 1982’s book ,Henry Lincoln, has decided to stay out of the action.

       Lawyers on both sides of the case have refused to comment on how the trial might affect sales of the record-breaking novel.

       Last August ,Brown won a court ruling against another writer, Lewis Perdue ,who claimed The Da Vinci Code copied parts of two of his novels ,Daughter of God and The Da Vinci Legacy.

1.Who is NOT among the people accusing Brown of copying their ideas?

       A.Lewis Perdue                                      B.Henry Lincoln

       C.Richard Leigh                                      D.Michael Baigent

2.The Da Vinci Code is the following EXCEPT        .

       A.popular        B.harmony-creating   C.religious                 D.trouble-making

3.It can be inferred from the passage that       .

       A.Brown has stolen a famous novel written by historians

       B.The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail was written by at most two authors

       C.The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail upset Catholics

       D.Brown will attend a third court in the near future

4.According to the passage ,which is NOT true?

       A.The four books mentioned in the passage may have similar stories.

       B.The sales of The Da Vinci Code may be affected by the court.

       C.The Da Vinci Code aroused a lot of attention.

       D.Brown lost a court defending himself last year

The Fourth:  “21st century Cup” National English Speaking Competition is to be held in Shanghai.

Organizers: China Daily and Shanghai Broadcasting Network.

Coordinator: China University English Speaking Association(CUESA).

Co-sponsors(联办单位):English Speaking Union(ESU). Lotus Software (China) Co. Ltd.

Times Publishing Group of Singapore ,Hilton Shanghai, Pearson Education, Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press.

Date: March 26(Friday), 2006.

Place: Hilton Shanghai.

Competition Format: Each student will present a prepared speech on the given topic, followed by a three-minute off-hand speech and a three-minute question and answer period with the judges.

Prepared speech period: six minutes.

Q& A period: three minutes.

Speech topic: People and Nature; In search of harmony in a new age.

(Topics for the off-hand speech will be given on the day of competition.)

Prizes Besides books and certificates, the top two winners will be offered scholarships(奖学金)to travel to the annual international English-speaking competition which will be held by the English. Speaking Union in London in May, 2006. The third and fourth place winners will be offered a study trip to Singapore, sponsored by the Times Publishing Group .The fifth through 10th place winners will be offered cash prizes .All the competitors will receive certificates from the English Speaking Union and book prizes provided by Pearson Education and Foreign Language Teaching &Research Press. The teachers of the top winners will also receive a one-year membership to the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language(IATEFL).

1.The main purpose of this passage is         .

       A.to invite you to take part in the competition

       B.to tell you about the “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking Competition

       C.to help to improve your spoken English

       D.to show you now to win the competition

2.Which of the following is Not mentioned about the Shanghai English Speaking Competition?

       A.Where and when it will take place.

       B.Its program.

       C.What each winner will be offered .

       D.The number of its competitors.

3.Suppose you get the sixth place ,you’ll        .

       A.travel to London for free

       B.become a one-year member of IATEFL

       C.get some money ,some books and a certificate

       D.get a chance to study in Singapore

4.An “off-hand speech” is        .

       A.a speech not longer than three minutes

       B.a speech without preparation

       C.a speech with a piece of paper in hand

       D.a speech which is well prepared

The Attack on September 11th

       New York: When the first jet struck 1 World Trade Center at 8:48 am. on Tuesday, the people in 2 World Trade Center with a view of the instant damage across the divide had the clearest sense of what they ,too ,must do : get out first.

       Katherine Ilachinski ,who had been knocked off her chair by the blast of heat exploding from the neighboring tower ,was one of those . Despite her 70 years of age .Ms Ilachinski, an architect working on the 91st floor of 2 World Trade Center ,the south tower , went for the stairs. Twelve floors above her ,Judy Wein ,an executive (manager), screamed and set off ,too.

       But others up and down the 110 floors ,many without clear views of the damage across the way and thus unclear about what was happening, were not so sure. And the 18 minutes before the next plane would hit were ticking off.

       Amid the uncertainty about what was the best thing to do, formal announcements inside the south tower instructed people to stay put, assuring them that the building was sound and the treat was limited to the other tower.

       Some left ,others stayed .Some began to climb down and, when met with more announcements and other cautions(警告)to stop or return , went back up . The decisions made in those instants proved to be of great importance, because many who chose to stay were doomed(注定死亡)when the second jet crashed into the south tower, killing many and stranding(使某物留在)many more in the floors above where the jet hit.

One of those caught indecision was the executive at Fuji Bank USA.

Richard Jacobs of Fuji Bank left the 79th floor with the other office workers, but on the 48th floor they heard the announcement that the situation was under control. Several got in the lifts and went back up, two minutes or so before the plane crashed into their floor.

“I just don’t know what happened to them.” Mr, Jacobs said.

1.From the passage we know that the south tower was hit by the plane      .

       A.at 8:30                                                B.18 minutes earlier than the north tower

       C.at around 9:00                                     D.at 8:48

2.The underlined words “stay put” means          .

       A.stay in the building                               B.leave at once

       C.put everything back and then leave        D.keep silent

3.Which floor was hit by the second jet?

       A.the 91st floor        B.the 103rd floor      C.the 60th floor       D.the 79th floor

4.Fewer people would have died if         .

       A.more announcements had been made    

       B.people hadn’t used the lifts

       C.the incident had happened on a weekend

       D.the people had obeyed the official rules

 0  34985  34993  34999  35003  35009  35011  35015  35021  35023  35029  35035  35039  35041  35045  35051  35053  35059  35063  35065  35069  35071  35075  35077  35079  35080  35081  35083  35084  35085  35087  35089  35093  35095  35099  35101  35105  35111  35113  35119  35123  35125  35129  35135  35141  35143  35149  35153  35155  35161  35165  35171  35179  151629 

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