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Around four years ago, I received a call from the principal of our school as to the “Parents View” talk the next morning. He asked me to speak to the group. After the call, my whole body became feverish and panicky. The time from his call to the next morning seemed like years. The whole night, I could not sleep with many ominous apprehensions in mind. One of them was to call the principal with regret and tell him that I could not come. Finally, I gathered some courage. I thought, “If I miss this opportunity, surely the school will never invite me again to any of the
ir programs.”I reached the school in time. Before my turn came, my whole body was trembling. When my turn came and I started speaking, my heartbeat increased and my mouth went dry. I wasn’t even able to read the written speech properly. I was not aware of where I was standing and what I was reading. That was the day when I realized my biggest weakness-- Public Speaking.
After my speech, I met with the principal and explained what happened to me. He told me that this happens to everyone. Even great speakers, faced the same things when they started. He suggested that I come again next time.
Around one month later, I was invited to refer to a topic on Motivation. This time I was feeling comfortable. My speech was appreciated by the principal as well as the teachers, because I was able to get my idea across to them. They encouraged and praised my efforts.
After delivering it successfully, I became more confident. I said to myself, “If I can speak in front of such a learned audience, like the principal who educates others, I can now speak in front of others too.”
I started delivering lectures in my plant, on various topics like Self Motivation, Personality Development, Personal Excellence, Spoken English and Presentation Skills. This has become a passion for me. I learned that everything is possible if we have the courage to take the first step.
1. Which of the following is the hest title for the passage?
A. Practice Makes a Man a Better Speechmaker
B.
Public Speaking Makes a Man Embarrassed.C. Principal Provides the Best Chances.
D. Spoken English Develops in Malting Speeches.
2.The author had bad feelings before the speech because______.
A. he disliked the idea of giving a lecture
B. he feared he couldn't perform it properly
C. he regretted accepting the invitation
D. he had got a high fever before that
3.What does the underlined part “ominous apprehensions” in the first paragraph mean?
A. unlucky opportunities B. curious views
C. negative ideas D. happy comments
4.What can we conclude from the passage?
A. Nothing is to be got without pains but poverty.
B. Knowledge makes humble, ignorance makes proud.
C. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
D. Necessity is the mother of invention.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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A US student has just spent 30 days on an “insect diet ” – eating insects three times a day. Camren Brantley-Rios says traditional meats such as pork and beef are unable to continue and he wanted to try out what many consider the diet of the future.
Many people would find the idea of eating insects distasteful, even if it were not disgusting. Not so long ago, Brantley-Rios was among them. But for the last month he has been eating insects for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“I’m mainly sticking to three kinds,” he says. Occasionally he has included different insects. Preparing these he “actually cried”, though he insists they were surprisingly good.
Insects consume fewer resources than animals, like pigs and cows, to produce the same amount of protein(蛋白质), Brantley-Rios says – and more than two billion people worldwide include insects in their regular diet, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
“There’s not really a need to eat insects in America because we have it so nice,” Brantley-Rios says. “We have finer meats and we’re lucky to have that luxury(奢侈), so there’s not much of a pressure to eat insects right now. But what a lot of people are trying to do is make it a little bit more marketable.”
He has ordered insects from farms that usually supply zoos, which need them “to feed certain animals”. He has always made sure the insects have been fed on an organic diet, he says, and only bought species he knows are safe to eat.
He knows that one person eating insects won’t make much difference. To have a real environmental effect, millions would have to follow his example.
1.Why has the US student tried out an “insect diet”?
A. To seek for future vegetables.
B. To advocate traditional meats.
C. To make up for the lack of meat.
D. To explore new forms of protein.
2.What can we learn about Brantley-Rios from Paragraph 2?
A. He is tired of meats like pork and beef.
B. He advised people to eat insects though disgusted.
C. He had nothing to eat but insects last month.
D. He didn’t like the idea of eating insects.
3.What does the underlined part “actually cried” in Paragraph 5 mean?
A. was scared B. was pitiful
C. was sorry D. was puzzled
4.How does Brantley-Rios guarantee the safety of his insect diet?
A. He tests each species before eating it.
B. He orders insects for certain zoo animals.
C. He feeds his insects on an organic diet.
D. He has insects raised on his own farm.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Minimalism(简约主义)is a term that describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is reduced to its most basic features．As for me, minimalism functions well not in art or design, but in my daily life．
When I was packing for university, I found it extremely difficult to let go of some of the things I owned．I knew I couldn’t take everything with me, but I kept asking myself “how could I possibly throw this away?”, “what if I need it one day?”, and “what about all of the memories?” Now that I’ve moved, and left that stuff behind, I don’t even miss it. Whether or not I got rid of it, it barely makes a bit of difference to me now．I’ve learned that over time people forget, or their need for a particular object eventually disappears. Either they store it away or they get rid of it．
You might think nostalgically（怀旧的）about the toys you cared about when you were a child, but what is making you smile now is not the thing itself but the memory of it. I’ve heard it a hundred times, “you don’t need things to make you happy.” It takes something life-changing like moving across the country to realize how true this is．
Speaking of which, for a lot of people, minimalism is about able to move．It’s about being able to go almost anywhere at any time because you don’t have many possessions to carry. When you keep things you don’t need, they become a burden that ties you to a place. Moving to university was a good time to let go of a lot of stuff．And when I visit for the holidays, I’ll probably get rid of even more, to lighten the burden．
Of course there are exceptions. There are some things that are irreplaceable, very rare or expensive or we simply love and cherish for some reason or another, since we are humans．But after we keep those, how much is left that we don’t really need?
Hence, minimalism．And why does minimalism bring happiness? That’s because what really makes me happy is freedom．And the key to freedom is minimalism because minimalism reduces our attachment to things．
Attachment to too many objects creates a great mess and can severely hold back our freedom to do whatever we want, while minimalism helps us start new projects, move, travel, learn new things, work, expand, be debt-free, be healthy – really living life to our full potential．
I left the nest to fly onwards and upwards. I can’t do it with old things weighing me down. And that is why I have adopted minimalism with open arms．
1.In paragraph l, the writer gives the definition of minimalism to ________．
A．introduce a topic B．present his own idea
C．describe a scene D．offer an argument
2.Many people don’t want to let go of some of their belongings because ________．
A．they haven’t had any life-changing experiences
B．they hope to live life to their full potential by storing things away
C．they fear their memories will be gone with the thrown-away stuff
D．they may have to change their lifestyle because of the loss of them
3.Which of the following is NOT the reason why the writer favors “minimalism” in life?
A．It takes the burden off her while she is moving．
B．It reduces her attachment to her personal things．
C．It enables her to gain the freedom that she desires．
D．It helps her to realize how true life is．
4.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A．Minimalism brings happiness．
B．Minimalism is applied in many fields．
C．Minimalism makes people think nostalgically．
D．Minimalism is about able to move．
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Begin now by taking advantage of this great offer.
1.If you join the Evergreen Teen Book Club, you can __________.
A. buy books at cost price
B. get one free book for a cash purchase of 3 books
C. receive a gift after each order
D. expect 3 free books each month
2.If Lily wants to get free delivery, she should __________.
A. accumulate 6 bonus points
B. order at least 3 books
C. purchase the catalogue
D. join the club before June 30th
3.The purpose of the text is to get more people to __________.
A. join the club and order books
B. read different kinds of books
C. collect books for the club
D. learn from famous writers
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
ir programs.”
Public Speaking Makes a Man Embarrassed.