Fernando, Lucia, and their moms were heading downhill. Tired and hungry, Fernando was eager to have a rest and eat up the sandwich buried in his pack. Lucia desperately wanted to rest her tired feet and legs, which ached terribly from the challenging climb up the mountain. Mountain climbing was not her greatest talent.
Distracted by hunger pains and by the beautiful view of the valley below, Fernando didn't see the large fallen branch steps ahead of him. His foot caught on it, sending him down a steep path. After rolling to a stop, he knew something was wrong with his ankle.
His mom supported him as he tried to stand, but it was much too painful. They tried calling 911, but the surrounding trees blocked their cell phone signals. Analyzing their dilemma, the group decided that Lucia and her mom would climb back to the top of the mountain, where they would set off the emergency flares they carried. Lucia really began to worry when the group settled on this plan. She wasn't confident that her overtaxed muscles could carry her up the mountain a second time in one day!
Fernando's mom stayed with her son, and tried to make him as comfortable as possible. The air on the mountain was dry and turning cooler. She wrapped him in her jacket to keep him warm and periodically gave him sips of water.
Meanwhile, Lucia and her mom climbed up the mountain-again! A feeling of pride washed over Lucia when she finally made it to the mountaintop-she was tougher than she thought! Then pride turned to amazement when she spotted a helicopter approaching. Quickly, her mom fired a flare, and they shouted and waved to attract attention. The helicopter flew round to let them know that he had seen them. The plan nearer and the pilot circled had worked-they were going to get Fernando safely off the mountain!
1. What happened to Fernando?| A．His ankle got injured by accident. | B．A branch knocked him on the head. |
| C．He went missing in the deep valley. | D．He could find his sandwich nowhere. |
| A．To signal for help. | B．To wait for the helicopter. |
| C．To search for water. | D．To look for Fernando's cellphone. |
| A．Painful and fruitless. | B．Dangerous but exciting. |
| C．Tiring yet worthwhile. | D．Challenging and enjoyable. |
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【推荐1】When milk arrived on the doorstep
When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn't take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.
Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note— "Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery"—and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically appear.
All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn't freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about- his delivery.
There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete. Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practical to have a delivery service.
Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch. Every so often my son's friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.
1. Mr. Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer .| A．to satisfy his curiosity | B．to please his mother |
| C．to pay for the delivery | D．to show his magical power |
| A．He wanted to have tea there. | B．He was a respectable person. |
| C．He was fully trusted by the family. | D．He was treated as a family member. |
| A．It is forbidden by law. | B．Its service is getting poor. |
| C．It has been driven out of the market. | D．Nobody wants to be a milkman now. |
【推荐2】When I was a little girl, you and I loved decorating the living room and tree to make it look festive. We loved Christmas. After decorating, we would bake cakes. “Make enough mince pies (肉末馅饼), because Santa likes them,” you would tell me.
Christmas Eve came, I was totally excited at the thought of Santa coming. I’d get into my neatly made bed and fall asleep until Christmas morning.
I’d wake up and thrill at the sight before me. At the bottom of my bed would be loads of presents that Santa had brought during the night. I’d scream in delight, excitedly tearing the paper open. Running downstairs, I would discover there were also lots of presents around the Christmas tree.
Many years later, the tradition continued and we’d bake the mince pies and cakes. The only thing that stopped was the presents at the end of the bed I grew out of them.
One afternoon, we were making extra mince pies as usual when I casually commented that you really loved them, “Those extra mince pies were actually never for Santa, They were for you!” You never said a word a silly smile was your only reply.
Christmas changed in 1986, when you suffered a serious brain haemorrhage ( 脑出血 ) . After suffering throughout Christmas, you passed away on the 29 December.
Only now am I starting to enjoy Christmas again, and while I don t do the baking any more, I do have mince pies in the house. I leave one out just for you, as if you were still a part of my Christmas. And I make sure I put up the decorations in memory of you, and us. At the end of the letter, thanks for the wonderful memories of Christmas, Mum.
1. Why was the author excited at Christmas Eve?| A．She would dream of Santa. |
| B．She would receive a lot of presents. |
| C．She would have enough mince pies. |
| D．She would decorate the Christmas tree. |
| A．Mum no longer baked the mince pies. |
| B．Santa no longer brought presents to the author. |
| C．The author was old enough not to receive presents. |
| D．The author got tired of the same presents every year. |
| A．The author told the truth. | B．Santa didn’t like mince pies. |
| C．She ate the extra mince pies. | D．The author couldn’t understand her yet. |
| A．To remember her mother. | B．To express thanks to Santa. |
| C．To reflect on the past old days. | D．To record memories of Christmas. |
【推荐3】Designing a ballistic missile（弹道式导弹）is no easy task-in fact, it takes a rocket scientist. But equally important are the teams working in the background, making it function properly.
Xu Liping leads a team of propellant-processing（推进剂处理）engineers at the Xi'an Aerospace Chemical Propulsion Factory in Shaanxi Province. Every working day, the 51-year-oldand his workmates deal with one material-highly explosive propellant designed for use in rocket engines.
Nowadays, a large part of the work they do is automated, but the most skillful part must still be done by hand.
Using small tools, they carefully clean the surfaces of the propellants. Xu and his team must also always be mindful that even the smallest mistake of the hand at the wrong moment could result in a great explosion which can destroy their whole workshop.
"We must all be familiar with the propellants' characters. Our work requires an extremely high level of concentration because the things we work with are highly explosive. We also have to work together," he said. Xu, who has been in the business for 32 years, is still considered the master, and is always called upon first when propellant for a newly developed rocket needs to be processed.
The proudest moment for the team came in 2015, Xu said, when they watched on television as the important ballistic missiles they had worked on were paraded in front of Tian'anmen Square in Beijing. "In addition to professional knowledge and a sense of pride, we also have the spirit of innovation（创新）among our young people," he said.
Zhang Kangzhu, Xu's leader, said Xu's devotion to his work was an inspiration to all. He said the younger employees could learn much from Xu.
1. What do you know about Xu Liping's work?| A．Interesting. | B．Dangerous. | C．Boring. | D．Exciting. |
| A．Carefulness and strength. |
| B．Carefulness, skills and energy. |
| C．Professional knowledge, carefulness and a sense of satisfaction. |
| D．Professional knowledge, carefulness, team spirit and innovation. |
| A．He thinks highly of him. | B．He encourages Xu to do more. |
| C．He thinks Xu's work is very easy. | D．He thinks Xu sets a bad example to the young. |
【推荐1】After the recent storms, many Texans have been in desperate need of a plumber (管道工). Unfortunately, with pipes burst all over the state, and plumbing materials difficult to find, many families have been left without water and with their homes flooded.
In response to the cry for help from overwhelmed plumbers in the south, Andrew Mitchell and his family loaded up their car with $2, 000 worth of materials and drove down to Texas to help.
The plumber, his wife, Kisha Pinnock, their two-year-old son, and brother-in-law, also his apprentice (学徒), Isiah Pinnock, made the 22-hour journey from their home in New Jersey with all the materials they could financially afford. Their first stop was to help Pinnock’s sister in Humble, Texas.
From there, Mitchell and his apprentice-who is actually a college senior--went to other homes to help. Mitchell’s wife said that the pair would come in at 2 a.m. and head back out at 7:30 in the morning.
"It’s really a blessing to be a blessing to other people and Andrew truly enjoys the work "she explained, adding, “plumbing is his passion.”
The family has been in Texas for nearly a week, and they wish to continue helping others as long as they have the materials to do so. There’s a huge need for their services, “A lot of the people we’ve helped were telling us they either can’t get a plumber on the phone or—if they do get one on the phone the wait to be serviced is three to four weeks out, so they can’t have water during that entire time, Pinnock pointed out.
Mitchell has said that he might make a return trip, so that he can continue to be the blessing he truly has been to his southern neighbors.
1. What is a challenge in repairing the pipes?| A．The damage is too serious | B．The area is too large |
| C．The lack of materials | D．The place is too remote |
| A．The plumbers in Texas. | B．The residents in Texas. |
| C．The government of Texas. | D．The members of his family. |
| A．Iriah Pinnock is a college graduate. | B． Mitchell has only a few hours to sleep. |
| C．It’s boring to repair the damaged pipes. | D．Mitchell’s wife doesn’t want him to do it. |
| A．To get more blessings. | B．To get some relaxation. |
| C．To fetch more materials. | D．To find more people in need. |
【推荐2】I went to the bus station for a long trip yesterday. Feeling very bored, I had nothing to do but wait on the bus as there was still about half an hour to go. But it gave my curious eyes enough time to look around. The bus station is a noisy and restless world, where people from all walks of life come and go. Looking around, I saw people saying goodbye to their families and peddlers (商贩) selling their bottled water. My sight finally rested on a girl who sat by the window on the bus next to mine and buried herself in a book.
The moment I caught sight of her, my heart just skipped a beat. And then, it beat so fast. All that just happened in the blink of an eye. We were about four meters away from each other and only blocked by the windows of our buses, but I could not have a clear view of her face from behind, only a view of her back. I thought that she was young for vigor of youth from her long hair.
She kept reading without a move, so I supposed what she was reading was so appealing that she did not move her sight a little except for turning over the pages. She paid attention neither to the crowd outside nor to the passing of time. It is actually rare to see a young woman concentrating on reading in such a noisy bus station and what she was reading doesn’t matter. It was really a touching picture since in this material world there are still people willing to sit quietly and read. Which one of us would like to find time to read since we have long been distant from books, the carrier of words?
The time finally came with a bell ringing. Maybe I could never see her again, but this beautiful encounter should last in my memory for the rest of my life.
1. What can we learn from paragraph 1?| A．The author enjoys waiting alone at the bus station. |
| B．The author and the girl were on two different buses. |
| C．The author was curious about passengers’ different jobs. |
| D．The author was attracted by the girl’s back at first sight. |
| A．Her reading habit was similar to the author’s. |
| B．She showed no interest in material possessions. |
| C．She didn’t feel bored when waiting for the bus to go. |
| D．Her absorption in a book was distinctive in the noisy world. |
| A．Knowledgeable and elegant. | B．Focused and devoted. |
| C．Helpful and kind. | D．Young and energetic. |
| A．A Magic Encounter | B．A Trip to Remember |
| C．A Book to Be Opened | D．A Beauty by the Window |
【推荐3】In the coastal place of Gaza, groups of Palestinian women and men are getting seated for a course that enables them to learn professional cooking and serving skills.
Established in 2017, the school called Smile Kitchen is the first-ever one of such kind in Gaza. Specializing in teaching culinary (烹饪) arts, it has become a brand with hundreds of graduates. The initial intention of the founders Ahmed Taha and his wife was to teach youngsters how to cook at home with natural and organic ingredients (食材). But as the number of applicants rose, they decided to take further steps.
“In the first year, there were about 750 trainees who participated in the workshops provided by the school,” said the 42-year-old father of five. “Now, more than 3,500 students have joined our school, where they learn how to cook various kinds of international and Arab dishes.” Once they graduate, some join local restaurants, some work for international restaurants outside Gaza, and some start their own businesses.
“Cooking has been my hobby since I was a teenager,” said Manal al-Khatib, a Gazan woman. “Therefore, I come here to learn more about this field, especially about the international varieties of sweets and cake,” the 38-year-old mother of four said. “I had tried to make delicious sponge cakes several times, but unfortunately, all my attempts failed. This school has taught me how to improve my skills.”
Having graduated from the school, al-Khatib is planning to launch her own business and market the products through social media. “By using available tools at home, I can make sponge cakes, take photos, and post them on Facebook to attract customers,” the woman said, adding that she would make some money to cover the daily expenses of the family.
In addition to helping the students seek job opportunities, the school has provided them with the opportunity to be part of the competitions on cooking. “In 2020, four of our students managed to win five medals, including silver and bronze ones, in a competition held in Dubai,” Taha said.
1. Why did Ahmed Taha and his wife set up Smile Kitchen at the beginning?| A．To earn as much money as possible. | B．To teach the young to cook at home. |
| C．To create their own brand in cooking. | D．To establish Gaza’s first cooking school. |
| A．She is a lady without a sweet tooth. |
| B．She came to Smile Kitchen just to earn a living. |
| C．She has been interested in cooking since she was young. |
| D．She gave up making sponge cakes after several failures. |
| A．Set up her own business. | B．Support her family on her own. |
| C．Prepare for a chef competition. | D．Become a trainer in a cooking school. |
| A．Steady but narrow. | B．Promising and hopeful. |
| C．Uncertain but satisfying. | D．Challenging and changeable. |
