How Can You Create Luck in Everyday Life?

You can probably agree that some people have more good things happening to them. Let’s just call that luck. Now would you like to learn how to be one of these lucky people? Here are 5 top tips for creating your own luck.

◎ 【1】

It is easy to believe that you never have any luck in everyday life if you don’t seem to be getting any breaks. But having had a difficult life gives you unusual lessons and develops courage.

◎ 【2】

Some people are already lucky and they just don’t know it. Instead of giving all your attention to what you are short of look at how lucky you already are. You no doubt have some wonderful friends, family and a roof over your head.

◎ 【3】

Luck doesn’t just happen upon us — it comes to us when we’re open. Learning a new skill visiting a new place and trying a new hobby are all great ways of creating your chances.

◎ 【4】

You’ll never create any luck if you sit there waiting for it to fall into your lap. Take steps towards your goals and dreams and greet every challenge. You will find you create more luck in everyday life.

◎ 【5】

Sometimes people would be prepared to help us out. If you need a hand with dealing with something rather than wait for someone to offer you a lucky break, go and ask them if they will help you out.

A. Try Something New

B. Take Action Right Now

C. Ask for Help if Necessary

D. Feel Lucky about What You Have

E. See the Good in the Past

After this special meeting, I always thought about this kind of holiday. Last month, I had a chance at last to go on such a holiday with some of my schoolmates and we went to London, a place where I had wanted to go since years ago.

As we were still young, we had a group leader who planned things for us and looked after us. After we got to London, we went to stay with different families. I was lucky that my host family(寄宿家庭) was a white couple who had a daughter about my age. They treated me as a daughter of their family during my stay there. They were interested in me and I learnt a lot of things from them, too.

The holiday was filled with activities every day. After breakfast, a local teacher would come to take us in his car. Then we would have classes or go on a sight-seeing trip to different places of interest like the Big Ben, the London Bridge, and the Buckingham Palace. We would go back to our own homes after the activities.

The holiday was a valuable experience for me. I enjoyed every minute of it. Yet, time really flew fast. Three weeks later, we had to leave “home” for Hong Kong.

【1】In the “homestay” program, a visitor can ___________.

A.learn more about foreign cultures

B.learn to plan things better

C.have a long holiday

【2】The writer had wanted to visit London since ___________.

A.last monthB.years agoC.the special meeting

【3】The group leader should ___________.

A.make plans for the familyB.take care of the studentsC.rent rooms to the students

【4】The writer’s host family ___________.

A.was interested in her activities

B.had two white daughters

C.was very kind to her

【5】From the passage, we know that the writer ___________ in London.

A.wished to stay a little longer

B.had classes in many interesting places

C.helped the teacher take the students in a car

Since the beginning of history, people have used rivers for transportation. The longest one in the United States is the Mississipi. The lifeline of Egypt is Nile. To the people of India, the Ganges is great, but it is also important for transportation; ships can travel along it for a thousand miles. Other great rivers are the Congo in Africa and the Mekong in Southeast Asia. The greatest of all for navigation(航海), however, is the Amazon in Brazil(巴西). It is so wide and so deep that large ships can go about two thousand miles upon it.

Besides transportation, rivers give food to eat, water to drink, water for crops, and chances for fun and recreation for the people who live along their banks. In order to increase the supply of water for crops, engineers sometimes build a dam(大壩) across a river and let a lake form behind the dam. Then people can use the water not only to irrigate(灌溉) their fields but also to make electricity for their homes and industries. However, large cities and industries that are located upon rivers often make problems. As the cities grow in size and industries increase in number, the water in the rivers becomes polluted with chemicals and other materials. People are learning the importance, however, of doing more to keep their rivers clean if they want to enjoy the benefits(利益) of this natural resource.

【1】The greatest river for navigation is ________.

A.the AmazonB.the NileC.the Mississippi

【2】Which is WRONG?

A.The Nile is in India.

B.Many cities are located on rivers.

C.Rivers play an important part in the lives of people.

【3】From a dam people can use the water for ________.

A.keeping the rivers cleanB.washing clothesC.irrigating and making electricity

【4】The water in the river is polluted because of ________.

A.people’s building a dam across a river

B.people’s swimming in the river too much

C.chemicals and other materials

【5】The best title of the passage is ________.

A.Rivers in CitiesB.The Importance of RiversC.Transportation

【1】If a man with his child goes to Grand Movie Theater on Sunday, they will pay __________ for the film.

A.$ 12B.$ 9C.$ 6

【2】If you are free on Friday morning, you can see the film __________ in Grand Movie Theater.

A.KUNGFU HUSTLE

B.A WORLD WTTHOUT THIEVES

C.TROY

D.HARRY POTTER（Ⅲ）

【3】From the poster, we know __________ is a director and actor in the film.

A.Alfonso CuarónB.Feng XiaogangC.Zhou Xingchi

【1】The writer went to Kunming from Shanghai ________.

A.by busB.by planeC.by shipD.by train

【2】Where is the Square Street?

A.Beside the Ancient City of Lijiang.B.In Dayan Town.

C.In the Stone Forest.D.In the center of Dali.

We can’t remember clearly when we started to take our mobiles to dinner table. This happens a lot, e【1】when we eat out. Once a dish comes,【2】(而不是) lifting our chopsticks, we take out our mobiles and click. Later, we post the photos onto Weibo or WeChat, waiting to be “l(fā)iked”. Then we check our mobiles from time to time【3】 the meal, to see whether we get “l(fā)iked” 【4】 not. We just cannot leave our mobiles for simply a meal.

Does that sound familiar to you? Do you do that often? If 【5】, how do you feel when others do that when having dinner with you?

A recent study suggests that what we 【6】（習(xí)慣于）doing is not so good. Spending time 【7】(拍照) of food makes the food less pleasant. To test this, some researchers did an experiment. Some people were a【8】to take photos before they could enjoy food. 【9】（結(jié)果）, it showed that the m【10】 photos they took, the less delicious the food seem to them. So, why not s【11】 taking photos and just enjoy the food in front of you?

So, next time you go out to have d【12】with your family or friends, 【13】（……怎么樣）not taking photos of food? Let the food be delicious as it is and share your life 【14】 people around you. Trust me, it will be a 【15】[wnd(r)fl] time.

【1】Every child wants to be the _________ of their parents.(proud)

【2】We have no trouble ______ people from different countries because we know English well.(understand)

【3】English is spoken ________ in different English-speaking countries.(different)

【4】Mr. Lee told us an interesting story yesterday. It made all of us ______（laugh）.

【5】Tom's father is a successful _______.He owns a big company.(trade)

【6】I plan to travel to several ________ countries this summer vacation.(Europe)

【7】My parents are _____,but they need to live and work in England. (German)

【8】Last week, the students went swimming and enjoyed ________.(they)

【9】Usually, books for children are______in simple languages.（write）

【10】There are fifty students in our class，three _______ of us like basketball.(five)

Sir John Gurdon is a good example of this. As a boy, he was told he was hopeless in science and finished bottom of his class. However, aged 79, the very same Gurdon shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine with Japanese stem cell(干細胞) researcher Shinya Yamanaka.

Like so many scientists, Gurdon shows us where the power of curiosity and perseverance(堅持不懈) can lead.

At the age of 15 in 1948, Gurdon ranked last out of the 250 boys at his high school in biology and every other science subject. Gurdon's high school science teacher even said that his dream of becoming a scientist was quite ridiculous．

In spite of his teacher's criticism（批評）, Gurdon followed his curiosity and kept working hard. He went to the lab earlier and left later than anyone else. He experienced thousands of failures.

“My own belief is that we will, in the end, understand everything about how cells actually work，” Gurdon said.

In 1962, Gurdon took a cell from an adult frog and moved its genetic(基因的) information into an egg cell. The egg cell then grew into a clone(克隆) of the adult frog. This technique later helped to create the sheep Dolly in 1996, the first cloned mammal(哺乳動物) in the world.

In 2006, Gurdon's work was developed by Yamanaka to show that a sample(樣本) of a person's skin can be used to create stem cells. Using this technique, doctors can repair a patient's heart after a heart attack.

“Luck favors the prepared mind，”Gurdon told the Nobel Prize Organization. “Ninety percent of the time things don't work, but when they do, you have to seize (抓住) the chance.”

【1】Who won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine?

A.Sir John Gurdon.B.Shinya Yamanaka.

C.Sir John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka.D.Gurdon's science teacher.

【2】What does the underlined word “ridiculous” mean in Chinese?

A.無知的B.無畏的C.荒廢的D.荒謬的

【3】According to the passage, which statement is true?

A.As a boy, Gurdon was told he was hopeful.

B.Gurdon ranked first at his high school in biology.

C.It's impossible for the doctors to repair a patient's heart after a heart attack.

D.In spite of his teacher's criticism, Gurdon kept working hard.

【4】What's the main idea of the passage?

A.Ninety percent of the time things don't work.B.Luck favors the prepared mind.

C.Life is full of surprises.D.How cells actually work.

A.OK, it is a deal.B.OK, you are right.

C.OK, take it easy.D.OK, you are welcome.

-- No, English isn’t so _________ as Chinese.

A.more difficult; difficultB.more difficult; easier

C.more difficult; more difficultD.difficult; difficult