When I was 4, our family took the train across the country to visit our grandparents. Because I was so little, I don’t remember much. But I do have a few memories of our stay there.
Grandfather had some tomatoes growing on the north side of his house, just outside the back door to the kitchen. I found a nice green tomato. I picked it and brought it with both hands and came into the kitchen and gave it to Grandpa. “Look, Grandpa, what I found!” He thanked me with a smile, and showed me he was putting it on the window sill(窗台). I was so happy, and I headed back outside, telling Grandfather I’d bring him some more. But my mom caught me and said, “No, no, no, green tomatoes are bad for health!” Grandmother sat in her wheelchair in the living room by the front door. We played games with her.
Soon, our visit ended and we had to go home. We left Grandmother to go back to the train station. It was several hours’ drive away. We all squeezed into Grandfather’s car.
A few years later, our family was living in Colorado. Grandfather came to visit us! He came by plane to Denver, and after a long drive, my father picked him up. During the weeks Grandfather stayed with us like most children, I’d go out and play in the back yard with him every day. I’m sure it was a precious time for Grandfather and my parents, too. I remember that when he was leaving in the airplane, we could see him in the airplane window, looking grieved. I never saw Grandfather again from then on, because we moved even further away. But we didn’t forget him.
1. How did the grandfather react when the author showed him the green tomatoes?| A．He was angry. | B．He looked strange. |
| C．He praised his grandson. | D．He thanked the author. |
| A．By plane and car. | B．By train and car. |
| C．By plane and train. | D．By car and ship. |
| A．Curious. | B．Sad. | C．Cautious. | D．Angry. |
| A．The life of my grandfather | B．The tomatoes of my grandparents |
| C．A lesson from my grandparents | D．The memory of my grandfather |
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【推荐1】Adrian's "Amazing Race" started early when his parents realized that he, as a baby, couldn't hear a thing, not even loud noises. In a special school for the hearing-impaired (听觉受损的)，he learned sign language and got to mix with other disabled children. However, the sight of all the disabled children communicating with one another upset his mother. She wanted him to lead a normal life. So after speaking to an advisor, she sent him to private classes where he learned to read lips and pronounce words.
Later on, Adrian's parents decided to send him to a regular school. But the headmaster tried to prevent them from doing so, saying regular school couldn't take care of a special needs student. His parents were determined to take the risk and push him hard to go through his work everyday because they wanted to prove that, given the opportunity, he could do anything. Adrian made the grade and got accepted. It was a big challenge. The pace （节奏）was faster so he had to sit at the front of the class and really pay attention to the teacher, which wasn't always easy. But he stuck to it and did a lot of extra work after school.
The efforts made by Adrian and his parents paid off. Adrian graduated with good grades and got into a top high school. He also achieved a lot in life outside school. He developed a love for the outdoors and went to Nepal to climb mountains. He even entered the World Yacht Race 05/06 ---- being the first hearing-impaired Asian to do so.
But none of these achievements would have been possible without one of the most important lessons from his mother."If you believe in yourself and work hard, you can achieve great results." She often said.
1. Adrian's parents decided to send him to a regular school because .| A．they wanted him to live a normal life |
| B．they wanted to prove the headmaster wrong |
| C．he wouldn't mix with other disabled children |
| D．he wasn't taken good care of in the special school |
| A．He did a lot of outdoor activities. |
| B．He was pushed hard to study every day. |
| C．He attended private classes after school. |
| D．He worked very hard both in and after class |
| A．He did very well in his study. |
| B．He succeeded in entering a regular school. |
| C．He reached his goals in spite of his disability. |
| D．He took part in the World Yacht Race 05/06. |
【推荐2】Grace and her family thought they had lost Thor forever when they moved to Windsor Nova Scotia from British Columbia last August.
“We probably spent seven or eight months looking for Thor,” Grace said. “What made it worse was that there were rumors (谣言) going around that there was dogfighting in our area. We still always hoped that somebody had taken him to be a pet, but you just never knew.”
“It was horrible. My daughter Bronwyn would try to find Thor everywhere, which had been a Christmas present for her. Even while watching TV programmes, she would say, ‘Oh, look! That dog looks like Thor!’” Grace said. Then the family moved, and the hope became impossible.
But one day, the phone rang. It was their former vet (兽医) in British Columbia, saying Thor was in a rescue shelter in High River, Alberta. He had been found at a work camp in the northern part of the place and taken to south by a man planning to keep him. But the man was forced to turn him over to the shelter when he couldn’t keep Thor in his rented home. Luckily, the ring on Thor’s neck gave people some information.
Thor was flown to Nova Scotia last week. The family picked him up at the airport. “Thor was just lying in his box and looking down, and my daughter walked over and said, ‘Hey Thor.’ He immediately stood up, trying to greet my daughter. We let him out and he jumped on her as if he was giving her a big hug and he kissed her face. Then he sat down suddenly at her feet and rolled over for attention. He was cute.” Grace said.
1. Who helped Thor back home?| A．The author. | B．The former vet. | C．Grace. | D．Bronwyn. |
| A．Thor came back by air. |
| B．Thor was killed in the dogfighting. |
| C．Thor was given to Grace by Bronwyn. |
| D．Thor moved to British Columbia with the family. |
| A．Anxious and shocked. | B．Excited and joyful. |
| C．Confused and annoyed. | D．Hopeful and calm. |
【推荐3】Larry Paris and Joe Huber were good friends. Both of them lived on their family farms in Starlight, Indiana. When they were young, they would throw parties and get into troubles around their small town. They also passed the time playing basketball in the Hubers' backyard with their friends. One day, they found basketball wasn't exciting enough. So they turned the yard into a boxing ring. But week after week one kid kept winning. His name was Crum Lynch.
Back in the 1950s and 60s. WAVE in Louisville, Kentucky produced a TV series called Tomorrow's Champions, where future boxing stars could get their start. The show was aired on Saturday nights and it was open to amateur boxers from all over the US. One day, the Huber brothers felt they had a star in Crum Lynch. Encouraged by his success in Starlight, Crum also saw the promise of a professional career lay ahead. So they got into a truck and headed for Kentucky.
When they arrived at the TV station and found out that Crum was going to compete with a skinny 14 year-old boy named Cassius Clay, the group assumed Crum had the match in the bag. But they planned not to take him out until the third round because they wanted to get more enjoyment and air time on the TV show.
Both fighters entered the ring on time. In Crum's corner, Larry Paris and Joe Huber stood around their fighter's three-legged chair. In the other corner, Crum's teenage opponent kept pacing back and forth. When the announcer said Crum's name, there were just a handful of claps. But when the name of that scrawny teenager was announced, the place erupted.
Of course, the match didn't go as planned. While Crum got defeated and left the building with his face looking like a bag of golf balls, Clay would go on to change his name to Muhammad Ali and become the greatest athlete of the boxing world.
1. Which word best describes Larry Paris and Joe Huber’s kids?| A．Kind. | B．Troublesome. | C．Stupid. | D．Hardworking. |
| A．They thought it was wise to be cautious. |
| B．They wanted to seem like gentlemen on TV. |
| C．They wanted to get more fun and exposure. |
| D．They had to save energy for the next match. |
| A．Tall. | B．Thin. | C．Strong. | D．Sick. |
| A．Larry Paris. | B．Joe Huber. | C．Crum Lynch. | D．Cassius Clay. |
The first car of ore was mined and sent to a smelter. The gold that they got in return proved they had one of the richest mines in Colorado! A few more cars of that ore would clear the debts. Then would come the big profits.
Down went the drills! Up went the hopes of Darby and Uncle! Then something happened! The vein of gold ore disappeared! The pot of gold was no longer there! They drilled on, desperately trying to pick up the vein again, but they found nothing.
Finally, they decided to quit. They sold the machinery to a man for a few hundred dollars, and took the train back home. That man asked a mining engineer to look at the mine and do a little calculating. The engineer said that the project had failed because the owners were not familiar with “fault lines(裂纹线)”. His calculations showed that the vein would be found just three feet from where it was found.
The man took millions of dollars in ore from the mine, because he knew enough to ask for expert advice before giving up.
R.U. Darby was struggling for years to pay back the money from his relatives and neighbors. He went into the business of selling life insurance.
Remembering that he lost a
huge fortune because he stopped three feet from gold, Darby profited from the experience in his chosen work, by the simple method of saying to himself , “I stopped three feet from gold, but I will never stop because men say 'no' when I ask them to buy insurance.”Darby is part of a small group of fewer than 50 men who sell more than a million dollars in life insurance every year. His “stick-ability” comes from the lesson he learned from his “quit-ability” in the gold mining business.
1. Darby and his uncle stopped digging for gold because___
| A．They didn’t have the machinery to dig for the ore |
| B．They didn’t have enough money to manage the mine |
| C．They had already had enough gold and made big profits |
| D．They had tried to find the vein of gold again, but it was in vain. |
| A．He knew the machinery better than the Darbys. |
| B．He knew the importance of seeking expert advice. |
| C．He had very strong stick-ability and never gave up. |
| D．He was good at calculations and familiar with fault lines. |
| A．He became a very successful businessman. |
| B．He worked as an ordinary salesman selling life insurance. |
| C．He struggled for the rest of his life to pay back the money he had borrowed. |
| D．He lived an easy life with all the money he had earned from the gold. |
| A．One is never too late to start a new career. |
| B．Don’t hesitate to ask for help when you are in need. |
| C．Never give up and you will succeed eventually. |
| D．It is important to have knowledge about everything. |
【推荐2】As most of us know, talking and listening don’t go smoothly every time. Will parents take you seriously, believe what you say, listen to and respect your opinions?
Be clear and direct. Be as clear as you can about what you think, feel and want.
Be honest. If you’re always honest, parents will be likely to believe what you say.
Try not to argue or complain. Using a tone that’s friendly and respectful makes it more likely that your parents will listen and take what you say seriously. If you think your emotions might get the better of you, do something to let off pressure before talking: Go for a run. Cry. Shout.
| A．Hit your pillow |
| B．A lot depends on your parents |
| C．If they can’t see things your way |
| D．Try to understand their point of view |
| E．Think twice before you make a decision |
| F．You are advised to give details of your situation |
| G．If you sometimes hide the truth or add too much drama |
【推荐3】It was Mother’s Day morning last year and I was doing my shopping at our local supermarket with my five-year-old son, Teayson. As we were leaving, we found that only minutes earlier an elderly woman had fallen over at the entrance and had hit her bead on the concrete. Her husband was with her, but there was blood everywhere and the woman was embarrassed and clearly in shock.
Walking towards the scene, Tenyson became very upset about what had happened to the couple. Ile said to me. “Mums it’s not much fun falling over in front of everyone.”
At the front of the supermarket a charity group had set up a stand selling cooked sausages and flowers to raise funds. Tenyson suggested that we should boy the lady a flower. “It will make her feel better,” he said. I was amazed that he’d come up such a sweet idea. So we went over to the flower seller and asked her if we could buy a flower for the lady to cheer her up. “Just take it,” she replied. “I can’t take your money for such a wonderful gesture.”
By now paramedics(救援人员) had arrived, and were attending the injured woman. As we walked up to her, my son became intimidated by all the blood and medical equipment. He said he was just too scared to go up to her.
Instead I gave the flower to the woman’s husband and told him. “My son was very upset for your wife and wanted to give her this flower to make her feel better.”
At that, the old man started crying and said, “Thank you so much, you have a wonderful son, Happy Mother’s Day to you.”
The man then bent down and gave his wife the flower, telling her who it was from. Though badly hurt and shaken, the old lady looked up at Tenyson with love in her eyes and gave him a little smile.
1. What does the author intend to tell us?| A．One can never be too careful |
| B．Actions speak louder words, |
| C．Love begins with a little smile. |
| D．A small act of kindness brings a great joy. |
| A．The elderly woman was knocked down by Tenyson. |
| B．Tenyson’s idea of buying a flower gained his father’s support. |
| C．Tenyson’s care for the elderly woman puzzled the flower seller. |
| D．The elderly woman was moved to tears by Tenyson’s gesture. |
| A．A charity group |
| B．A stand selling cooked sausages and flowers |
| C．A flower |
| D．A sweet idea |
| A．astonished | B．struck |
| C．frightened | D．excited |
【推荐1】The phone rang. It was Bea, my 86-year-old friend. Bea wanted to know if I could take her to see the doctor. I said I could. On the date of the appointment I drove over to her home to pick her up.
Bea’s eyesight was failing so she wasn’t able to drive her car any more. However, she still kept her car and said I could drive it if necessary.
Bea’s appointment went well and we were on our way to get a bite to eat. The traffic was slow as we were near a shopping mall. Suddenly, someone hit us from behind. Bea was very angry.
I was feeling a little nervous when I got out of the car. As I walked around the car, a young African American woman got out of her car angrily! The other doors of her car started to open. For some unknown reason I walked over to this young woman and put my arms around her and gave her a hug (拥抱). When I hugged her, all the other doors shut! Bea got out. When she saw me hugging this girl, she calmed down. I called the police and they came and took a report. I really don’t know what was actually going on that day. I do know that I suddenly had the thought to hug the woman and I believed the hug would be a good thing.
1. What is the purpose for Bea to have an appointment with the author?| A．To have a meal. | B．To see a doctor. |
| C．To meet a woman. | D．To go shopping. |
| A．Because she might miss an appointment. |
| B．Because the traffic on the road was slow. |
| C．Because a traffic accident happened to them all of a sudden. |
| D．Because she was suddenly beaten by someone unknown. |
| A．The police appeared quite soon. |
| B．Something unpleasant was avoided. |
| C．Bea closed the car door immediately. |
| D．the African American woman was moved. |
| A．Friendliness is the sunshine of social life. |
| B．A bad beginning makes a bad ending. |
| C．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| D．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
【推荐2】Forty-three years seems like a long time to remember the name of a mere acquaintance. I have forgotten the name of an old lady who was a customer on my paper route. Yet it seems like just yesterday that she taught me a lesson in forgiveness.
On a Saturday afternoon, a friend and I were throwing rocks onto the roof of the old lady’s house.The object of our play was to observe how the rocks changed to missiles (导弹) as they rolled to the roof’s edge and shot out into the yard like comets (彗星) falling from the sky. I found myself a perfectly smooth rock and sent it for a ride. However, it slipped from my hand as I let it go and headed straight for a small window. At the sound of crashed glass, we knew we were in trouble and ran away.
A few days later, when I was sure that I hadn’t been discovered, I started to feel guilty for her misfortune. She still greeted me with a smile each day when I gave her the paper, but I was no longer able to act comfortably in her presence. I made up my mind to save my paper delivery money, and in three weeks I had the seven dollars that I calculated would cover the cost of her window. I put the money in an envelope with a note, and put the envelope through the letter slot in her door.
The next day, I handed the old lady her paper and was able to return the warm smile that I was receiving from her. She thanked me for the paper and said, “Here, I have something for you.” It was a bag of cookies. I thanked her and began to eat the cookies as I continued my route.
After several cookies, I felt an envelope and pulled it out of the bag. When I opened the envelope, I was surprised. Inside were the seven dollars and a short note that said, “I’m proud of you.”
1. What was the author forty-three years ago?| A．Ateacher. | B．Aresearcher. | C．A delivery boy. | D．Arepairman. |
| A．broke the window by mistake | B．avoided the old lady for several days |
| C．acted as usual after breaking the window | D．felt guilty the moment he broke the window |
| A．to do experiments with smooth rocks |
| B．to earn money to support his own life |
| C．to admit his own mistake and make up for it |
| D．to put an envelope with a note through the letter slot |
【推荐3】Ever since I graduated from high school I've worked in the factories surrounding my hometown every summer. However, making the transformation between school and full-time blue-collar work during the break never gets any easier. For a student like me who considers any class before noon to be unacceptable, getting to a factory by 6 o'clock each morning is suffering. My friends never seem to understand why I'm so relieved to be back at school or that my summer vacation has been anything but a vacation.
There are few people as self-confident as a college student who has never been out in the real world. People of my age always seem to overestimate the value of their time and knowledge. In fact, all the classes did not prepare me for my battles with the machine I ran in the plant, which would jam whenever I absent-mindedly put in a part backward or upside down.
The most stressful thing about blue-collar life is knowing your job could disappear over night. Issues like being laid off and overseas relocation had always seemed distant to me until my co-workers told me that the unit I was working in would shut down within six months and move to Mexico, where people would work for 60 cents an hour.
After working 12-hour shifts (轮班) in a factory, the other optionshave become only too clear. " This job pays well, but it's hell on the body, " said one co-worker. " Study hard and keep reading. " she added. When I'm back at the university, skipping classes and turning in lazy re-writes seems too irresponsible after seeing what I would be doing without school. All the advice and public-service announcements about the value of an education that used to sound stale (陈腐的) now ring true.
My experiences in the factories have inspired me to make the most of my college years before I enter the real world for good.
1. What does the author think of his summer holiday？| A．It was no holiday for him at all. |
| B．It brought him nothing but suffering. |
| C．It was a relief from his hard work at school. |
| D．It offered him a chance to make more friends. |
| A．They do better in the real world. |
| B．They are confident when they work. |
| C．They think too highly of themselves. |
| D．They are expert at handling machines. |
| A．A low income | B．The lack of security |
| C．An unstable location | D．Less break |
| A．He became responsible for his work. |
| B．He learned to be more practical at work. |
| C．He began to respect blue-collar workers. |
| D．He came to appreciate his college education. |
【推荐1】I’m a 34-year-old man, married, live in a nice house, and have a successful career as an educational consultant(顾问). But my life was not always so great. My learning disability made my school days very challenging from an early age. I went to a special school where I got plenty of extra help. Still, I suffered the rest of my school days in public schools.
My life improved remarkably when I discovered art. The art world gave me a chance to express myself without words. I went to a workshop and gradually got good at making things with clay(黏土). Here I learned my first important lesson: disabled as I was in language, I could still be smart and well express myself with clay. And my confidence came along.
I got my next lesson from rock climbing. It was a fun thing but I was scared from the start. I soon noticed it wasn’t a talent thing; it was practice. So I did it more. After about five years of climbing, I found myself in Yosemite Valley on a big wall. I learned that if you fall in love with something and do it all the time, you will get better at it.
Later I decided to apply my previous experience to learning how to read and write. Every day I practiced reading and writing, which I used to avoid as much as possible. After two hard years, I was literate(有读写能力的).
Having gone through the long process with art, rock climbing, and reading and writing, now I’ve got to a point in my life where I know I am smart enough to dive into an area that is totally unknown, hard, but interesting.
1. What did the author think of his school days?| A．Great. | B．Successful. |
| C．Challenging. | D．Frightening. |
| A．Rock climbing. |
| B．Reading and writing. |
| C．Extra help in a special school. |
| D．The art of making things with clay. |
| A．Live and learn. |
| B．Practice makes perfect. |
| C．Everyone has his own strengths. |
| D．A good beginning makes a good ending. |
| A．About five years. | B．Two years. |
| C．34 years. | D．Unknown. |
| A．Determined. | B．Interesting. |
| C．Talented. | D．Hard. |
【推荐2】If you find yourself waiting in a long queue at an airport this holiday, will you try to analyse what it is about queuing. that makes you angry?
Professor Richard Larson, an electrical engineer, hates queuing, but rather than tearing his hair out, he decided to study. the subject. His first finding was that the degree of annoyance was not directly related to the time. He cites an experiment at Houston airport where passengers had to walk for one minute from the plane to the baggage reclaim(行李领取处)and then wait further seven minutes to collect their luggage. Complaints were frequent, especially from those who had spent seven minutes watching passengers with just hand baggage get out immediately.
The airport authorities decided to lengthen the walk from the aircraft, so that instead of a one-minute fast walk, the passengers spent six minutes walking. When they finally arrived at the baggage reclaim, the delay was then only two minutes. The extra walk extended the delay by five minutes for those carrying only hand baggage, but passenger complaints dropped almost to zero.
The reason? Larson suggests that it all has to do with what he calls “social justice”. If people see others taking a short cut, they will find the wait unbearable. So in the case of the airport, it was preferable to delay everyone.
Another aspect Larson studied was the observation that people get more annoyed if they are not told what is going on. Passengers told that there will be a half-hour delay are less unhappy than those left waiting even twenty minutes without an explanation.
But even knowing how long we have to wait isn't the whole answer. We must also believe that everything is being done to minimize our delay. Larson cites the example of two neighbouring American banks. One was highly computerised and served a customer, on average, every 30 seconds. The other bank was less automated(自动化的)and took twice as long. But because the tellers at the second bank looked extremely busy, customers believed the service was faster and many transferred(转移)their accounts to the slower bank. Finally, the first bank had to introduce time-wasting ways of appearing busier.
1. According to Larson, _____ is the key to preventing travelers from feeling angry.| A．the walk from the plane to the baggage claim | B．the waiting time spent at the baggage claim |
| C．a belief of “social justice” | D．the realization of equal rights |
| A．Larson hates queuing so much that he even tears his hair out. |
| B．According to Larson's study, the long waiting was the cause of annoyance. |
| C．When all the passengers had to wait for 2 minutes, there were hardly any complaints. |
| D．When the walking time was extended to 6 minutes, there were hardly any complaints. |
| A．the tellers seemed more efficient | B．customers didn't trust computers |
| C．the tellers did everything to minimize the delay | D．they didn't like the inefficiency of the old bank |
| A．people won't feel angry if they are informed of everything |
| B．it's unbearable for the airport to delay everyone |
| C．people tend to trust their eyes rather than their brains |
| D．passengers should be encouraged to carry hand baggage |
【推荐3】The air is thin and we have to rest several times on the short trip from camp. On the plain (平原), we can just see many wild animals. This is why we're here to observe Tibetan antelopes.
Tibetan antelopes live on the plains of Tibet,Xinjiang and Qinghai.Watch them move slowly across the green grass. I'm attracted by the lovely animals.I'm also reminded of the danger they are in. They are being killed for their valuable fur.
My guide Zhaxi works at the Changtang National Nature Reserve. The reserve is a place for the animals and plants of northwestern Tibet. To Zhaxi, protesting the wildlife is a way of life."We're not tying to save the animals.” he says,"Actually, we're trying to save ourselves."
Between the 1980s and 1990s, the population of the Tibetan antelope dropped by over 50 percent. People were shooting antelopes to make profits. Their living places were becoming smaller as new roads and railways were built.
In order to save the animals, the Chinese government placed them under national protection. Zhaxi and other volunteers watched over the antelopes day and night to keep them safe from attacks. Bridges and gates were added to let the antelopes move easily and keep them safe from cars and trains.
The measures were effective. The antelope population has recovered and in June 2015.the Tibetan antelope was removed from the list of animals in danger. The government, however,does not intend to stop the protection programs, since the threats (威胁) to the Tibetan antelope have not yet disappeared.
Much is being done to protect wildlife but if we really want to save the planet, we must change our way of life. We can stop being a threat to wildlife and to our planet only when we learn to exist in peace with nature.
1. The author went to Tibet in order to .| A．breathe fresh air in Tibet | B．enjoy the scene in Tibet |
| C．learn the history of Tibet | D．observe Tibetan antelopes |
| A．In Tibet. | B．In Xinjiang |
| C．In Qinghai. | D．In Sichuan |
| A．Tibetan antelopes were well protected. |
| B．Tibetan antelopes population dropped |
| C．Tibetan antelopes lived in peace with people |
| D．Tibetan antelopes destroyed new roads and railways, |
| A．Useless | B．basic | C．successful | D．simple |
| A．To kill the Tibetan antelope. | B．To study the Tibetan antelope. |
| C．To watch the Tibetan antelope. | D．To protect the Tibetan antelope. |
