A Brave Maid
A woodenvase from the Ming Dynasty at the entrance of the receptionhall amazedeveryone. The artistsdesigned it in a rare style and selected valuablejewels to decorate it. People thoughthighly ofitsfancy color ofhoney and the beautiful paintings on it.
The vase used to belong to a formercastle. But when the country was at war, the enemy
troopsexploded the castle. Sodebates on how the vase survived went on and on. In order to remove people's doubt, a team of no less than 20 people carried out an informal investigation. The evidence they found showed that a maid took the vase apart and asked a sailor to sink it in a local well. She never gave away the secret even under the cruel trial of the enemies who were in search of treasures.
It is worth giving this brave maid a fortune in return.
勇敢的女仆
接待大厅入口处的明朝木制花瓶使每个人都惊奇不已。艺术家以一种罕有的风格设计它，并挑选了贵重的珠宝装饰它。人们高度赞赏它那蜂蜜般的奇特颜色，还有上面精美的绘画。
这个花瓶曾经属于一座从前的城堡，但在战争期间，敌人的军队炸毁了城堡，于是，关于这个花瓶是如何幸存下来的争论就一直在持续着。为了解开人们的疑问，一个由不少于20人的调查队开展了一次非正式的调查。他们找到的证据表明，有个女仆把花瓶拆开，然后让一名水手把它沉到当地的一个水井里。她从来没有泄露这个秘密，即使是在搜寻财宝的敌人残酷的审讯下。
这位女仆真是值得给予一大笔钱作为对她的回报。
加餐练(一) 完形阅读组合练
Ⅰ.完形填空
One year after Tom was born, his parents had a car accident. They never __1__. Tom's 85-year-old grandmother was too __2__ to take care of him. As a result, he was put up for adoption (领养). He was adopted by a middle-aged couple who had no __3__ of their own. They were not rich and received little education, but they were __4__ people. As Tom was growing up, he __5__ a lot of problems at school. He didn't learn __6__ and had trouble in reading. His __7__ sometimes laughed at him. What they said made Tom __8__. As he couldn't __9__ the other students at school, he dropped out of school and came back 版权所有:中国好课堂www.zghkt.cn
home. But he didn't stop learning. He had big dreams. Though he didn't learn fast, he kept __10__ himself at home.
After many years' of learning at home, he__11__ overcame (克服) his difficulties. Today he is a very __12__ speaker and author. While he was growing up, his self-esteem and __13__ were low because of others' making fun of him. It took him many __14__ to realize his dreams. When listening to his videos and tapes, he shows confidence. He tells about his __15__ and how he overcame the challenges in his life. He has a very __16__ sentence, “You cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present situations __17__ you change.”
For those who have low self-confidence, I suggest you __18__ reading about Tom's world. Many people have so much potential (潜能) to be discovered. If you have a dream, then start today to __19__ yourself towards it. If someone like Tom who has __20__ in learning can make such achievements, why can't you succeed?
语篇解读：Tom虽然学得很慢，但最终他还是通过自己的努力获得了成功。 1．A.returned C．imagined
B．called D．planned
解析：选A 根据Tom后来被领养了的语境可知，他的父母发生车祸后再也没有“回来”。
2．A.busy C．poor
B．old D．mean
解析：选B 根据前面的“85-year-old”可知，Tom的祖母“年纪太大”了，无法照顾他。
3．A.friends C．students
B．kids D．parents
解析：选B 这对夫妇要领养一个孩子，说明他们没有自己的“孩子”。 4．A.brave C．confident
B．famous D．kind-hearted
解析：选D 根据but可知，这对夫妇虽然没什么钱，也没接受过什么教育，但是很“好心”。
5．A.explored C．faced
B．brought D．solved
解析：选C 根据后文Tom在学校里的处境可知，他在学校里“面临”很多问题。 6．A.willingly C．carefully
B．proudly D．quickly
解析：选D 根据后文的“Though he didn't learn fast”可知，Tom无法学得很“快”。 7．A.sisters
B．classmates
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C．brothers D．teachers
解析：选B Tom在学校里遇到这么多困难，嘲笑他的应该是他的“同学们”。 8．A.sad C．tired
B．bored D．confused
解析：选A Tom在学校里被同学们嘲笑，他应该感到很“难过”。 9．A.compete with C．catch up with
B．get along with D．agree with
解析：选C 根据上文的语境可知，Tom学习上面有障碍，所以“跟不上”其他同学，然后他就辍学回家了。
10．A.proving C．entertaining
B．cheering D．teaching
解析：选D Tom辍学在家，没有老师教他，所以他只能“自学”了。 11．A.strangely C．finally
B．immediately D．luckily
解析：选C 根据“After many years' of learning at home”可知，Tom“最终”克服了那些困难。
12．A.honest C．smart
B．successful D．strong
解析：选B Tom克服了那些困难，经过那么多年的努力后，他成为了一位“成功的”演说家和作家。
13．A.confidence C．grade
B．mood D．talent
解析：选A 根据后文的“those who have low self-confidence”可知，Tom以前在学校里被人嘲笑，他的自尊和“自信心”都很低。
14．A.hours C．months
B．days D．years
解析：选D 根据“After many years' of learning at home”可知，这里是指经过很多“年”后。
15．A.family C．story
B．habit D．hobby
解析：选C Tom为了激励别人，应该讲述他的人生“故事”。 16．A.long C．simple
B．encouraging D．interesting
解析：选B 根据后文引用Tom的句子可知，这句话很“鼓舞人心”。
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17．A.unless C．since
B．when D．although
解析：选A 根据语境可知句意为：“除非”你改变，否则你不会有任何进步。 18．A.continue C．start
B．keep D．enjoy
解析：选C 作者建议那些自信心低的人“开始”了解Tom的故事。 19．A.force C．send
B．discover D．move
解析：选D 根据“If you have a dream”可知，这里是指如果有梦想的话，就要朝着这个梦想“前进”。
20．A.difficulty C．dreams
B．gift D．fun
解析：选A 根据前面的“someone like Tom”可知，这里是指如果有学习“困难”的人都能取得这样的成就，为什么你就不能成功呢？
Ⅱ.阅读理解
The Polish take great pride in their culture. Our culture has many different customs and traditions. I will discuss three of these traditions and customs.
The Polish will say “Dziekuje” (“thank you”) only after receiving their change. What I mean by this is that when you are in Poland, you should wait to say “thank you” until after you have been given your change back. If you do not, you are telling cashiers (收银员) that they can “keep the change.” Often, people visiting Poland will feel that things are very expensive, until they learn that they are giving the store clerk permission to keep the money that would have been given back.
Polish people break “bread” with their families during their Christmas Eve meal. The Christmas Eve celebration starts with the breaking of the Oplatek, which is a thin piece of “bread”. In my family, the eldest in the family (my grandfather) takes the big Oplatek and breaks it into large pieces that he then hands down to each of his four children (my aunt, uncles, and father). Then, these family members break their pieces into smaller sizes and pass them out to their own children. Once the last piece is passed down to the youngest, we say a prayer (做祷告) and eat the piece of thin bread.
Polish people celebrate “Imieniny”， or Name's Day. This day is more important than one's birthday. They often name their children after a saint (圣徒) whose day is closest to the date that they were born on. Then their saint's day that they were named after becomes their “new”
birthday. On Name's Day, families and friends gather together and enjoy a variety of food, drinking, and dancing.
As you can see, Poland has a few very unique (独特的) traditions and customs. I honor my
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