单项选择题
300 Hurdles
Now comes the first hurdle. __1__ We all make it over this hurdle with ease. This symbolizes.
Those obstacles in life that we struggle to get over, but we always manage to do so. You can look at that hurdle in two ways: "I can’t make it over, I’m too tired" or "I am one more hurdle closer to finishing this race". This is an example of taking a negative situation and seeing something positive in it.
The next part of the race is every hurdle between the first and last one. __2__ This happens a lot in life too. There may be a situation that arises where you feel as though you can’t make it and all you can think about is giving up. You may fall over that "hurdle" or struggle getting over it, but somehow you find it in yourself to jump over it and move on with the race.
Next is that last 100m of the race. You feel as though you just want to say, "No I can't do this." __3__.
Now lastly is the last hurdle. This hurdle is the toughest out of all of them. In life we find ourselves falling and falling, and maybe getting too lost in our problems that we fell like have been though enough and there’s no hope. __4__ It's one step close to the end of the race.
Once you finish, you look back on it and you realize that you made it not by leaping, but step by step. "Yard by yard, life is very hard. But inch by inch, life can be a cinch."__5__.
单项选择题
Dream for Better
We all have plans and dreams for a better, more ___1___ life. Yet only a small percentage of people actually achieve their ___2___ .A good question is: why?
Recently, I was working with a young man who was ___3___ get on his feet. He had written out his goals, and he had powerful reasons why he wanted to achieve these goals. But after weeks of trying, he was still not much further along.
So we took some time to try to understand what was holding him ___4___ .As we examined his average day, it became apparent to me that he was much too ___5__ .He was spending lots of time doing lots of different things. I ___6___ that most of what he was doing was not very important in the greater scheme of things.
We did some exercises to ___7___ which activities were important, which ones were urgent and which ones was filling (or killing) time. As it turned out, most of the things he was doing throughout the day were filling time. He wasn't comfortable ___8___ he was very busy, so he created things that needed to be done. He was always working on something—yet at the end of the day, he had rarely accomplished any tasks to move him closer to the life he wanted.
This behavior is fairly easy for an outside observer to spot but extremely difficult to self-diagnose. The ___9___ is to slow down and get comfortable with being still, with contemplating what we really want and whether our actions are suitable for our goals. Many of our activities are avoidance activities: we do things to fill up the time and thus avoid having to do more difficult tasks. It wasn't easy, but once the young man finally accepted that he needed to do less overall but more of the important things, his life took a dramatic ___10___ for the better.
单项选择题
Marriage Advertisements in India
Every Sunday morning millions of Indians settle down with a cup of tea and special weekend issues of their newspapers, just as Americans do. But here, with the marriage season approaching, many of them quickly to a Sunday feature that is particularly Indian-the-columns of marriage advertisements in which young people look for husbands and wives. This is relatively modern change in the age-old custom of the arranged marriage. The thousands of advertisements published each week increasingly reflect social changes that coming to this traditional society. For example, although women are still described in terms of appearance, or skill in "the wifely arts", information about her earning power is entering more and more of the advertisements. This reflects the arrival in India of the working wife.
Divorce, which used to be almost unheard of in India, is sometimes now mentioned in the advertisements as in the case of a woman whose advertisement in New Delhi newspaper explained that had been "the innocent party" when her marriage broke up.
Because the custom of the dowry (marriage payment) is now illegal, some advertisements say "no dowry" or "simple marriage", which means the same thing. However, the fathers of many bridegrooms still require it. In a land where light skin is often regarded as socially preferable, many also require that a woman have a "wheat-color" complexion or that a man be "tall, fair and handsome". Advertisements are placed and eagerly read by a wide range of people in the upper classes, mostly in cities. Many of them receive dozens of answers."There's nothing embarrassing about it," explained a Calcutta businessman advertising a son-in-law. "It's just another way of broadening the contacts and increasing the possibility of doing the contacts and increasing the possibilities of doing the best one for one's daughter."
Because of high unemployment and a generally poor standard of living here, one of the best attractions a marriage advertisement can offer is a permit to live abroad, especially in Canada or the United States. A person who has one can get what he wants. One recent Sunday in Madras, for example, a Punjabi engineer living in San Francisco advertised for a "beautiful slim bride with lovely features knowing music and dance". And a man whose advertisement said that he held an American immigration permit was able to say, only girls from rich, well-connected families need apply.
单项选择题
Talking to Kids about SARS
School age children may be learning about SARS from adults and the media, but may not know what to make of the situation, says a national health charity.
The Lung Association says parents should take time to talk to their ____1____ and explain the facts about SARS and how to avoid the illness.
The following is based on recommendations ____2____ Thursday by the Lung Association:
Ask your children if they have heard ____3____ SARS at school, from friends, from TV, etc. Finding out what they already know can be a good ____4____ to start the conversation and to clear away any wrong ideas they might have about the illness and how it is spread.
School age children are usually old ____5____ to understand concepts such as getting sick from germs and how to avoid illness. A simple reminder ____6____ to cough on people and to wash their hands often may be sufficient for younger kids. All children should be shown how to ____7____ their hands properly.
Remember to keep it simple so ____8____ not to overwhelm children with information, but answer them truthfully. Kids can tell when you're not being honest or if your're hiding something, and sometimes the unknown can be more frightening than the ____9____ . Parents with anxious children will know how their kids will handle information on SARS and can tailor their discussion accordingly.
One way to explain the illness is to tell children that SARS is like a bad breathing problem. It is ____10____ from a cold, but people can catch it in the same ways—such as coughing on someone, not washing your hands or sharing a glass with a sick person.
单项选择题
Teaching Children to Spend Pocket Money Wisely
School-going children need pocket money for food, stationery and bus fares. Parents give pocket money to their children in different ways. Some give a lump sum at the beginning of a month or a week. ____1____ The way in which pocket money is given affects how money is spent or saved. On the other hand, the children's spending habits may affect how pocket money is given.
Pocket money given on a daily basis is sometimes termed as "food money". ____2____ They learn how to manage small sums of money. As the money is limited, they have to control their spending. Some parents choose this method of allocating pocket money in order to prevent their children from overspending, hoping that in time they can be trusted with larger sums of money. ____3____.
Giving pocket money on a daily basis places responsibilities of budgeting on the parents, instead of the child. The child may spend every single cent of the daily pocket money by overindulging in junk food, as they know they will get another sum of money the next day. This results in children being short-sighted in their spending. ____4____ They may develop the mentality that money is meant to be spent. Others spend more than they are given. They borrow from their siblings or their classmates when they feel like indulging themselves. Then they may ask for money to pay off their debts. This habit of borrowing causes them to depend on others to solve their problems. ____5____.
