In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard  University, aiming at a

legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one  years

later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.

My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the

first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to withdraw from college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.

Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopted(收 养的) and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was

Fantastic and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed son

 No. 3. In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.

You can imagine how fully occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of 8! Our

home was a complete zoo — a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college

full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That

meant taking as few as one class each semester.

The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys. They often

wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to quit, but I knew I

should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.

In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to

get my college degree!

I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you’re looking at a big

challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you’re in the midst of it, it just seems

normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process. Remember:

little steps add up to big dreams.  

21. When the author went to Howard  University, her dream was to be_________.

A. a writer             B. a doctor　　　　C. a judge           D. a journalist

22. Why did the author quit school in her second year of college?

A. Her grandma asked her to withdraw from college.

B. She fell in love and got married.
C. She had so many children to support that she was too busy to continue her college.

D. She decided to look after her grandma. 

23. What does the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?

A. Failure is the mother of success.        B. Little by little, one goes far.

C. Every coin has two sides.            D. Well begun, half done. 
24. Which of the following can best describe the author?
　　A. Caring and determined.                       B. Honest and responsible. 
　　C. Ambitious and sensitive.                    D. Innocent and single-minded. 

Every week in China, millions of people will sit in front of their TVs watching teenagers compete for the title Character Hero, which is a Chinese-style spelling bee(拼写大赛). In this challenge, young competitors must write Chinese characters by hand. To prepare for the competition, the competitors usually spend months studying dictionaries.

Perhaps the show’s popularity should not be a surprise. Along with gunpowder and paper, many Chinese people consider the creation of Chinese calligraphy(书法)to be one of their primary contributions to civilization. Unfortunately, all over the country, Chinese people are forgetting how to write their own language without computerized help. Software on smart phones and computers allows users to type in the basic sound of the word using the Latin alphabet. The correct character is chosen from a list. The result? It’s possible to recognize characters without remembering how to write them.

But there’s still hope for the paint brush. China’s Education Ministry wants children to spend more time learning how to write.

In one Beijing primary school we visited, students practice calligraphy every day inside a specially decorated classroom with traditional Chinese paintings hanging on the walls. Soft music plays as a group of six-year-olds dip brush pens into black ink. They look up at the blackboard often to study their teacher’s examples before carefully attempting to reproduce those characters on thin rice paper. “If adults can survive without using handwriting, why bother to teach it now?” we ask the calligraphy teacher, Shen Bin. “The ability to write characters is part of Chinese tradition and culture,” she reasons. “Students must learn now so they don’t forget when they grow up.” says the teacher.

25. What can we learn about the Character Hero?

A. It’s open to people of all ages and all walks.

B. It’s the most-viewed TV programs in China.

C. It aims to spread Chinese culture to the world.

D. It draws great public attention across the country.

26. Why are Chinese people forgetting how to write the characters?

A. Chinese people don’t refer to dictionaries very often.

B. Chinese people no longer use brush pens or practice calligraphy.

C. Chinese people are using the Latin alphabet instead of the characters.

D. Chinese people needn’t write by hand as often with the help of technology.

27. According to Shen Bin, being able to write characters by hand is_________.

   A. necessary for adults to survive in China

   B. a requirement made by the Education Ministry

   C. helpful to keep Chinese tradition and culture alive

   D. an ability to be developed only when you are students

28. Where does this text probably come from?

   A. A news report.                   B. A science report.

   C. An advertisement.            D. Children’s literature.

Chinese girl looking for language exchanger

Posted Feb 10, 2010 16:25     by Sophia    

Tag: Seeking Language partners    Guangzhou     Sex: Female

Race/Ethnicity: Chinese

I am a Chinese girl in my 20’s, can speak and write in English, but I’d like to make some improvement. People always look for making it better, right?

Meanwhile, I also like to meet more friends if we really have some topics to share.

And if you are in Guangzhou or visit here, I am more than willing to show you around in my spare time.

Reply to happycora@hotmail. com or call 15015704625

Tianhe nice apartment for share

Posted Feb 24, 2010 16:47     by Vivian  

Tag: Seeking roommates     Guangzhou  Tianhe District     Up to 2000 RMB

I have a room available for rent in a shared apartment in Central Tianhe district.

The room has a big window with a nice view. The apartment itself is on the 22th floor of a new secure building on Tianhe Bei Lu, about 10 minutes walk from metro stations on lines 1 and 3, as well as buses and other transportation methods very close.

If you are interested, please feel free to phone me (Vivian) on 13145751201 (message preferred), or email me on v ivian_liu2003@hotmail. com.

Business Interpreter/Guide

Posted Feb 26, 2010 08:46     by Sony   

Tag: Business Services    Guangzhou  Baiyun District    

Dear Foreign Friends, I am a professional interpreter, now looking for a Freelance interpreter job urgently. Please read my CV at below：

Name: Sony Song

Gender: Male

Age: 22 years old

Education: Studied English in Da Shan Foreign Language College

Birth: 9th Oct 1987, Luohe city, Henan province, China.

Ability: Speak fluent English, know Guangzhou city very well, can also guide you to Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Shunde, Macao, Hongkong, etc.

Contact Detail: E-mail/MSN: sonysong4@hotmail. com; cell phone: 15112015812

Looking for flat

Posted Mar 11, 2010 14:03     by Lucy    

Tag: Apartments wanted     Guangzhou         

Hello,

This is Lucy coming from Peru and looking for a short term flat, from 15th April until 4th May 2010. If somebody can give some information, send me pictures, price and address.

Email: lucitamaron@hotmail. com; cell phone: 13800013900

Thanks a lot in advance!

29. If foreigner wants to learn some Chinese and make friends; he / she can call _________.

A. 15015704625                                    B. 13800013900

C. 13145751201                                    D. 15112015812

30. To share a department where the traffic is quite convenient, you may send text message to ________.

A. Sophia             B. Lucy               C. Vivian                 D. Sony

31. What do the four advisers have in common?

A. All of them speak both Chinese and English.        B. All of them are in their twenties.

C. All of them are Guangzhou citizens.               D. All of t hem are hotmail users.

      One of the keys to being successful is persistence（坚持）．Once you have determined exactly what you want to achieve, you must take active action in order to succeed.

      One of the things you'll notice on your journey towards your goal are roadblocks. That is, you will come across obstacles（障碍） to discourage your progress. Actually, they are a part of life. Everyone would have every success they ever wanted if there were no obstacles. Your job is to be persistent and work through those obstacles. If you find little or no obstacles along the way, chances are that you are not really challenging yourself. And when you do reach your goal, you won't experience the feeling of "sweet success". Make your goal a challenging one!

      If you take the time to study any successful person, you will learn that the vast majority of them have had more "failures" than they have had "successes". This is because successful people are persistent; the more they stumble（绊倒）and fall, the more they get right back up and get going again. On the other hand, people that don't get back up and try again, never reach success. For example, Walt Disney was turned down 302 times before he got financing for his dream of creating the "Happiest Place on Earth". Today, due to his persistence, millions of people have shared "the joy of Disney".

  Having known these facts, keep in mind that you must constantly reevaluate（再评估）your circumstances and the approach you are using to reach your goal. There is no sense in being persistent at something that you are doing incorrectly! Sometimes you have to modify（修改）your approach along the way. Every time you do something you learn from it, and

therefore find a better way to do it the next time.

      Today is the day to begin your journey, using consistency and persistency, towards tomorrow's successes!

32.The author seems to hold the belief that       .

 A. challenges we come across are beneficial

B. obstacles will surely lead to someone’s success

C. the more obstacles we have, the more discouraged we feel

D. it’s rewarding to enjoy the feeling of“sweet success”

33.Which can be inferred from the text?

 A. Making a practical goal will ensure your success.

B. Having a beautiful picture will lead to your success.

C. Never giving up in face of failure may contribute to your success.

D. Suffering from more failures will make you disappointed.

34.What must you reassess constantly?

  A. Attitudes and skills.          B. Circumstances and ways.

 C. Roadblocks and challenges.      D. Failures and successes.

35.What’s the text mainly about?

  A. Persistence makes for success      B. Overcome obstacles

 C. Challenge yourself          D. Failure is the mother of success

Getting to Now: How to Beat the Procrastination Habit

　　I am a procrastinator(拖拉者). I always have been. I've tried all sorts of things to beat the habit. Here are some techniques I've been using to try to force myself to get to now:

　　Set aside blocks of time to do things. When I was talking with my wellness coach earlier this year, she asked me why I didn't exercise more often. “　36　,” I said. “Something always comes up.” She wasn’t impressed. “J.D.,” she said, “You have to make time. Make an appointment with yourself to run or to go for a bike ride.” The same principle applies to other things you might procrastinate.

　　　37　. Often I’ll be sitting on the back porch reading a book, and it will occur to me that some chore needs to be done — mending the fence, for example. “__38　,” I tell myself. Wrong! What usually happens is that I forget to write it down, and even if I do, I just look at the list and procrastinate for weeks on end. The best move is to actually do the chore when I think of it. (Assuming, of course, that I have the time at that moment, which I usually do.)

　　Use a timer to bring you back to reality. Part of the reason I procrastinate is that I'm a day dreamer. 　39　. One way to keep on track is to use a timer. I use the Ultrak Jumbo Countdown Timer, but not as often as I should. I set it for 48 minutes. When it goes off, 　40　: Am I doing what I'm supposed to be doing?

　　Do not multitask. I often start many things at once, but I never actually do any of them. In order for me to get something done, I need to focus my attention on it. Trying to do several things at once is a sure way to be sure they'll all be unfinished tomorrow.

　　A. I’m always lost in thought

　　B. it brings me back to reality

　　C. If it comes to mind, then do it

　　D. I don’t have the time

　　E. it serves as an instant reality check

　　F. Do it right away if you are asked to do something

G. I need to write that down so I can remember it