June 18 is the birthday of my late sister, Tanya. She would have been 49 years old this year, but that’s increasingly difficult for me to imagine. She is frozen in time at 37.
Tanya died more than a decade ago and the wound left by her loss has healed into a scar (伤疤). It's a big scar. You can’t know me for very long without discovering my scar. Trust me; if you haven’t found it on your own, I will point it out to you. I want you all to know that she existed, and that she mattered.
When we first lose a loved one, we ask, “How will I live without you?” and wounds are open and weeping. We don’t know how we’ll cope with the pain. But then the wounds form scars, and we learn to live with our new skins. “How can I remember you?” we ask.
So many people are hesitant to talk about my sister. It is as though mentioning her will remind me that she is dead, and upset my balance when I am so happy. But I never forget my sister, not for a moment.
And so I love it when people mention Tanya’s name. Sometimes I come across one of her friends, and they casually bring up a memory, and it is like a gift.
So if you have friends who have lost loved ones, please don’t avoid talking about their loved one.
You won’t remind them of their loss, because it is always there. They haven’t forgotten their scar. They just don’t point it out to you.
Instead, try to reassure (使安心) them that their loved one is not forgotten. Ask questions about the deceased (逝去的) person’s life. Keep them alive in the only way you can after a person is gone, with your words and your memories.
I love hearing from friends on my sister’s birthday. It makes her present, despite her absence. It reminds us all that she was here. She walked this earth. She was loved, and she mattered. And on June 18, I embrace (欣然接受) my scar.
1. What does “it” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．The death of the author’s sister. |
| B．The birthday of the author’s sister. |
| C．The “scar” in the author’s heart. |
| D．The author’s love for her sister. |
| A．She becomes upset about it. |
| B．She worries that she must defend her sister. |
| C．She doesn’t know how to deal with it. |
| D．She is happy to be reminded of her sister. |
| A．Avoid talking about the person who died. |
| B．Keep them company as long as you can. |
| C．Help them to forget their painful scars. |
| D．Talk with them about the person who died. |
| A．Forget Your Loved One |
| B．Embrace Your Scar |
| C．Avoid Talking About Your Scar |
| D．Accept the Truth |
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【推荐1】My grandfather was a rigid (刻板的) perfectionist. Everything had to be orderly, precise and punctual. I was frightened of him until the day he died. Growing up, my mother desperately wanted to please him. She probably thought he might leave if she didn’t.
In fact, I now think the fear of being left alone, abandoned, was a current throughout much of her life. A few years into my father suffering from Alzheimer’s, my mother’s voice on the phone sounded so upset that I had to tell her, “Just be with yourself for a little while. Be calm and everything can be better.”
“No, I can’t do that. I don’t want to do that,” she said suddenly, closing the door on the subject. A while after my father died, she told me that she kept the television on all the time because it made her feel less lonely. “It makes the house seem to have more people living in it,” she said. I had given in to my annoyance and either turned the volume down or turned it off. But after she told me that it filled in some of the loneliness, I never reached for the remote control again.
We have had a long journey together, she and I. Over a half-century of memories, now that the journey has ended, I have a choice which ones to study and which ones to turn over in my hands and dust off (抹去).
I choose to look at the ones that ache with a sweet truth not told often enough. There was love between us. It was just hard to find sometimes. I choose to remember her face on that winter day in Manhattan, when I came to her with a broken heart. I choose to remember walking on the shore with her in summers when we rented a beach house. Somehow the sea always changed us. I choose to remember how she looked on my wedding day when she handed me a bracelet (手镯) that had belonged to my grandmother. “Something old,” she said.
1. What can we infer from the author’s words said to her mother in paragraph 2?| A．The author comforted her. |
| B．The author praised her. |
| C．The author apologized to her. |
| D．The author blamed her. |
| A．She would not turn the TV set on. |
| B．The remote control had broken down. |
| C．The remote control was hidden by her mother. |
| D．She would not turn the TV set off or turn it down. |
| A．Ignore most of them. |
| B．Keep all of them in mind. |
| C．Forget some and analyze others. |
| D．Write things from her memories often. |
| A．She took her to see her grandmother. |
| B．She arranged a tour in Manhattan. |
| C．She offered her a present. |
| D．She rented a beach house. |
【推荐2】In today’s world life is fast. If you don’t slow down to enjoy it, you will definitely miss something. I’ve got two young boys and I have up until recently been an elementary school teacher. Days were busy. Get the boys ready for school and daycare. Work a full day. Pick them up after school. Cook dinner. Do housework. Get the boys into bed and before I knew it, the day was over! Time for me to hit the sack and do it all over again the next day!
Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t change anything. The boys are great. Everyone just gets stuck in these daily routines and tends to forget about fun until that one vacation week a year. Everyone needs a break and should have fun all year round. Just set aside one day a week and just go and do something. There are so many fun family things to do that won’t break the bank. You don’t need to head out to that theme park and spend a month’s salary on one day. A nice day at the park or museum can entertain everyone. There are nearby state parks that you can easily run out to and camp in for under $50 for the entire family. How about family movie night? What about family video game night? There are so many ideas that folks seem to forget about. I encourage you to take a look at Modern Frugal Family. You can find all sorts of fun stuff to do with the family and search for all sorts of bargains. I know you will come up with some great ideas. If you do, you can share them with everyone. So get out there and enjoy life!
1. In the first paragraph, the author mainly talks about her .| A．interests | B．daily life |
| C．schoolwork | D．family gathering |
| A．Have a lesson. | B．Make a plan. |
| C．Go to sleep. | D．Take exercise. |
| A．works at a daycare center |
| B．doesn’t like her job very much |
| C．is a school teacher with two children |
| D．has difficulty in doing her housework |
| A．it’s no use trying to change our situation |
| B．parents shouldn’t push their children too hard |
| C．people should have fun more often in their life |
| D．parents today spend too much money on their children |
【推荐3】Tiffany and her family were sleeping at home. Their pet dog Buddy was asleep next to Tiffany. It was 4:36 a.m. The night was quiet, and no cars were passing on the street. That was when it happened. The house started shaking. Buddy started barking(吠叫), and it woke up Tiffany. She looked around and saw that everything in her room was shaking. She started crying out in fear. Soon after, her father came in and told her to come out quickly.
It was a big earthquake. Tiffany was so scared that she couldn't move. Suddenly, her father picked her up and tried to get out. Buddy was behind them. All of them managed to get outside, where Tiffany’s mother and brother were already. Tiffany and her brother cried together. They didn't understand what just happened.
Luckily, Tiffany’s mother had prepared an emergency kit and had it outside. She looked for the key, which was under a rock, and unlocked the box. She took out blankets(毯子) to keep her children warm. Tiffany then saw her father take a flashlight out of the box. He used the flashlight to see if the house had any damage. The father knew it was not safe, so they stayed up until someone could check the house.
The children didn't go to school because of the earthquake, so they spent the day with their parents. Tiffany was so thankful because her parents knew what to do during the earthquake. Tiffany went up to her mother and father and hugged them because she felt the protection of her parents.
1. When the earthquake was just beginning to happen, ________.| A．Tiffany was asleep |
| B．Tiffany was cleaning the house |
| C．a car was passing by Tiffany’s home |
| D．Tiffany’s dog was running and barking |
| A．Tiffany’s mother. | B．Tiffany’s father. |
| C．Tiffany’s brother. | D．Tiffany’s dog. |
| A．A rock. | B．A flashlight. | C．Some keys. | D．Some clothes. |
| A．Disappointed. | B．Sorry. | C．Proud. | D．Excited |
【推荐1】A Canadian addicted to Chinese ink wash painting
Canadian Brandon Collins-Green calls himself a Chinese culture “addict”. He has lived in China for over six years, spending his time in painting in the Chinese ink wash style and translating Chinese classics into English.
Collins-Green, 37, is a doctoral candidate in classical Chinese literature at Jiangxi Normal University in Nanchang. About 15 years ago, his first encounter with a stage adaption of the classic Chinese novel The Dream of the Red Chamber in Singapore inspired him to study Chinese in the following years. Learning Chinese as a second language, Collins-Green found it was not easy to understand a novel written in Chinese. “Besides the stories, I am interested in the poems, dialogues and lantern riddles in the book,” he said, “Because of The Dream of the Red Chamber, I wanted to get a closer look at China.”
His strong curiosity about China and Chinese culture prompted Collins-Green to travel to the city of Nanchang in 2015, in the hope of learning what the real China was like. During a visit to Badashanren Memorial Hall in Nanchang, where paintings of a famous Chinese artist were on exhibition, Collins-Green was interested in how a tiny brush could depict (描画) the curves of hills, shade and light on paper.
In his years spent translating The Dream of the Red Chamber into English, he has gradually found his way of combining Chinese and foreign cultures into his paintings, writing poems in English as the backdrops of his figures. As of this year, Collins-Green has completed over 2,500 works, including translations of The Dream of the Red Chamber, landscape paintings and portraits.
He lives a life greatly influenced by The Dream of the Red Chamber, renting a loft of about 9 square meters beside his university as a studio. Since this March, his paintings have been exhibited at art festivals in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Xi’an, bringing him a group of fans. Some have sent him emails, asking about the meanings of the poems in his paintings.
“We can see from Collins-Green that traditional Chinese culture is becoming more attractive to people in other countries,” said Li Shunchen, Collins-Green’s mentor at Jiangxi Normal University. “I really recommend that more people come to China to see how fast it is changing and to enjoy the charm of its culture,” Collins-Green said.
1. What first inspired Collins-Green to study Chinese according to the passage?| A．His love for Chinese paintings. | B．The stage version of a classic Chinese novel. |
| C．The need of his translation work. | D．His second language learning. |
| A．amazed. | B．disappointed. | C．relaxed. | D．frightened. |
| A．His strong curiosity about China gradually faded away. |
| B．He studied Chinese well in China. |
| C．He made great achievements as an addict to Chinese culture. |
| D．His works produced some negative reactions in viewers. |
【推荐2】When Chip heard the mail truck arriving on his sixth birthday, he rushed out — not knowing that he’d come back with a treasure.
Outside the house, which was decorated with birthday balloons, postwoman Shelley held a pile of boxes. One was marked with Chip’s name and a greeting for his Special day, November 5.
“So,” when he came running out the door, she said, “You must be Chip!” And he said,“Yes.” She said, “Today’s your birthday?” And he started smiling. Shelley said, “So, let me see if I can find you something for your birthday.”She checked her pocket and surprised him with a gift: a dollar bill and four quarters.
On this day, the 42-year-old postwoman made one little boy very happy. “He was very excited,” said his mom, Bonnie. “He came running back in the house just waving his money.” Chip is saving up to buy a Spider-man action figure.
“Our family has had money problems since I lost my job. Gestures like that are valuable memories.” Her hope is that Chip and his eight-year-old sister, Bennett, will remember this when they grow up. “Not the ugly that is out there right now, but the good and the kind and the giving.”
A photo of a smiling Chip and Shelley next to the mail truck has been shared widely on social media. Shelley said she was just trying to give back, because people are often nice to her eight-year-old son, Joshua.
On a recent day, Chip heard the mail truck and rushed out again, this time to deliver an envelope with a thank-you card for his favorite mail carrier. Since that day, the families have kept in contact. Shelley has struggled to find someone who can take care of her son, and Bonnie has agreed to watch him at her home while his mom is on her mail route.
1. Why did Chip rush out when he heard the mail truck the first time?| A．To thank the postwoman. | B．To get a gift box mailed to him. |
| C．To receive birthday wishes from the driver. | D．To watch the mail truck. |
| A．She gave him some pocket money. |
| B．She sent him some birthday balloons. |
| C．She presented him with a greeting card. |
| D．She bought him a Spider-man action figure. |
| A．Grateful. | B．Curious. | C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．She offers to deliver the mails for her. |
| B．She often helps drive her mail truck. |
| C．She looks after her son when she is at work. |
| D．She posts pictures of her mail truck on social media. |
【推荐3】It is no secret that China has an amazingly rich history and culture. My first exposure (接触) to Chinese culture came totally by chance. One day, I entered my grandfather’s personal library and took a book named Tao Te Ching (道德经) from one of the shelves. As an 8-year-old, the book’s content completely confused me, but it provided me with an early connection to a beautiful and great philosophical (哲学的) tradition that still influences me today.
Around this time, I also came across several cartoons heavily inspired by traditional Chinese culture and martial arts (武术) such as Avatar: The Last Airbender and Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat. Both cartoons (卡通) describe beautiful landscapes and buildings similar to those found in classical Chinese paintings. This further developed my interest of the rich and beautiful culture.
At school I began studying Chinese. My interest in the language developed early on, combining my love of travelling with my love of meeting new people. Later on, my interest in the language developed into exploring widespread Chinese culture. I wanted to challenge myself in a totally new linguistic (语言的) surroundings and listen to the lives and stories of others in their own language. I have been lucky enough to have lived in China for around three years. I loved every second I spent there and there is never a shortage of things to see and do, people to meet, and foods to enjoy.
It is safe to say that my journey to studying Chinese has only just begun and these first steps are only a drop in the ocean of lifelong learning, but as the Chinese philosopher Laozi says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
1. How does the author like the book Tao Te Ching?| A．It encourages him to go to the library. | B．It improves his habits. |
| C．It has a long-lasting influence on him. | D．It makes him know his grandfather better. |
| A．Watching some cartoons. | B．Describing Chinese paintings. |
| C．Living abroad for long. | D．Cooking Chinese food. |
| A．Chinese culture differs greatly from others’. |
| B．Travelling takes up much of the author’s time. |
| C．The author keeps a diary every day when he lived in China. |
| D．The author learns languages in real surroundings. |
| A．My Grandpa’s Influence on Me | B．My Exploration of Chinese Culture |
| C．My Travel Diary in China | D．My Exposure to Language |
