I bought a jasmine plant for my office. When I bought it, I was told it would bloom（开花） and the sweet smell would fill my office. I had the plant for two months, and every day I looked at it, but there weren't any flowers or pleasant smell. I was not happy, so I gave the plant to my friend Linda.

One day, another friend Mary called and invited me to her office. When I walked in, her jasmine flowers surprised me. I reached out to touch the flowers. Mary cut some and gave them to me. I couldn't help smelling them. Surrounded by the sweet smell of only a handful of these flowers, I suddenly understood something.

    Mary bought her plant the same time I did. It took a year for her jasmine to bloom. I was so impatient for mine to bloom; regretfully, I gave it away.

    In a way my life is like the jasmine plant. I need to be patient and let things happen.

    Last Sunday Linda told me that she was going abroad the next week. Before she left, she returned the plant to me. This time I am going to wait. I have learned that when we want something in our life, we have to be patient. I am slowly learning to have that patience to wait for my jasmine to bloom.

1.Before she gave the jasmine away, the writer had it for               .

A. one day                    B. one year        C        . two weeks          D. two months

2.When the writer saw Mary's jasmine, she felt____________ .

A. unhappy                       B. peaceful                       C. hopeful               D. surprised

3.What has the writer learned from her experience?

A. Patience is needed in life.

B. Flowers can make life better.

C. Friendship is necessary for us.

D. Jasmine can be a wonderful plant.

 

Last month when I was taking part in a US college interview, I was asked, “ what makes you special ? ” In fact I had answered questions likes this many times since I decided to go to college in the US .college paid special attention to different achievement . For example, a person who is very good at math can go to a famous college but also can be a good football player .
This experience made me think again that I must try to find where my own interests might lead me . To be honest, it was not easy . However, I never felt sorry to choose this way because it helped me understand myself . If I took the College Entrance Examination,as we call it gaokao in China, it could never possibly do .
When I entered high school, I took gaokao seriously because it seemed to me a great way to show how good at my lessons . However,as I grew older, I realized gaokao did make me work hard at my lessons, but the pressure also pushed many other activities out of my life, like guitar―playing . Although I had no time for it, I will still get to it in the future .
No doubt, gaokao provides a way of choosing those who are successful in their studies . But it is really important for all of us to rethink what “ talent ” really is today . This is because we now live in a world in which all of our other human qualities ( 品质）are needed for success, not just the high grade .
Ken Robinson once said, “ the society depends on different kinds of talents . ”  However, gaokao pays too attention  to a person’s grades but little to his other qualities. And it is these qualities that makes life colorful and fun .
As high school students, we can not change the present situation of eduction, but we are always free to think outside of the box . Although good school grade is still useful, I hope one day we will see our education also welcomes the amazing possibilities in different people .
【小题1】The US College pay special attention to ________.

A．students’family background .

B．the different achievement

C．students’ideas about way of life .

D．the school a student is from .

【小题2】When at high school, the writer ________.

A．had a lot of activities .

B．did not work hard at her lessons .

C．did well in gaokao

D．had no time to play the guitar .

【小题3】From the passage, we know that the writer may ________.

A．go to college in America .

B．give up the US college interview .

C．become a good football player in the US.

D．change the present situation of eduction .

【小题4】Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
A. My school life abroad.             B. Different exams in the US.
C My view on gaokao           D. The importance of school grades

Is there someone you hate? Well, maybe you don’t really hate them. But you get really angry every time you think of them. If you don’t let this anger go, it can turn into bitterness(痛苦)。

Bitterness often appears when we can’t forgive someone who has hurt us or made us angry. Someone might say or do something that hurts us. But instead of controlling the anger, we keep it deep inside. Before long, a bitter feeling begins to grow. We may think we’re hurting that person by criticizing(指责) him or her often, but we’re really only hurting ourselves.

Bitterness can not only lead to serious health problems such as heart disease, but also hurt our relationship with friends and family members. No one enjoys being around an anger person for very long.

If you see bitterness in your life, here are some ways to help you to deal with it.

Accept(接受) it

Instead of trying to deny your anger, make it clear to yourself and accept it. See your anger for what it is and quickly deal with it.

Stop making excuses for it

You may feel you have a right to be angry. You may think you’re right and the other person is wrong. You may even secretly enjoy making the other person look bad. But in the end, bitterness hurts you much more than the other person. The bitterness will hold you back, and the other person will go on with his or her life.

Forgive(原谅) and forget it

You probably can’t completely put the anger out of your mind. But you can decide to forgive the other person. Forget it and move on. You’ll enjoy better health and peace of mind.

1.According to the passage, we might get angry when someone_________.

A．holds us back      B．forget us          C．doesn’t like us    D．does hurt us

2.Bitterness comes from      .

A．our health problems like hear disease

B．the anger that lives deep inside our mind

C．the person who says something that hurts us

D．our relationship with friends and family members

3.The underlined word “deny” in the passage means         .

A．误解             B．否认             C．疏远             D．减轻

4.The best way to deal with the bitterness is to___________.

A．make the person who hurts you look bad

B．hate the person who hurts us often

C．accept that we are hurting the other person

D．forgive the person who hurts us and forget it

5.The writer wrote this article to tell us that ______________.

A．we should enjoy someone who hurts us

B．we should pay more attention to our friends.

C．the peace of mind is more important than hurt itself

D．it’s better to let bitterness go along with the other person

 

-Is the woman          walked past just now your teacher?

-Yes. She teaches          English.

A. that, our        B. who, us         C. whom, us       D. who, our

 

Welcome to the City Zoo! There are many   1  in the zoo. Let’s see the koalas first. Koalas are  2  Australia. They are quiet,   3  and cute. Children like them very much. The kangaroos (袋鼠) are also from   4  . They are quiet and interesting,   5 they are not friendly.

The giraffes come from Africa. They have a    6  neck (脖子). They like to eat leaves. The lions are also from Africa. They are exciting, but a little   7  . Many people don’t like   8  . We also have pandas. They are from China. They are very cute and friendly, but they are very shy. So please be   9  .

Have   10  and enjoy yourself here!

1.	A．children B．flowers C．animals D．vegetables

 

2.	A．at B．from C．in D．with

 

3.	A．friendly B．successful C．ugly D．difficult

 

4.	A．Canada B．China C．America D．Australia

 

5.	A．or B．but C．and D．so

 

6.	A．short B．big C．long D．small

 

7.	A．smart B．clever C．shy D．scary

 

8.	A．it B．you C．us D．them

 

9.	A．busy B．clean C．quiet D．new

 

10.	A．music B．fun C．dinner D．food