My mother and her best friend Martha were in their mid-80s when they saw each other for the last time.
They had been friends since they were 18, both of them students at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. My mother was the dreamy one, who loved to read and dream herself as an actress. Martha, however, was more practical. I’m not sure what they had in common except that they trusted each other, helped each other, and stayed in touch even when life separated them.
Martha spent most of her adulthood in Atlanta, where she raised three kids. My mother, meanwhile, raised eight children, and moved many times during her financially and emotionally troubled marriage, which included several months living with her family in seedy motels.
I sensed my mother hid her troubles from most people, but not from Martha, and I knew from my mother that Martha carried her own sorrows. Their willingness to share sorrow without judgment was part of what bond them.
The best friendships can also withstand (抵挡) periods without communication. They didn’t communicate a lot — this was before the ease of emails and texts and yet I knew they were always in each other’s minds.
One day in 2008, 1 drove my mother to Martha’s house for their final visit. The moment my mother hobbled (蹒跚) into Martha’s house, they threw their arms around each other and went to sit out in the garden, laughing until they were dizzy. I snapped a photo, and spotted something joyous, young and free on my mom, which existed only in the presence of her best friend.
Two years later, my mother died. Of all the people I had to tell, Martha was the hardest because I felt it erased her past. After that, we lost touch. But I still think of her and how that friendship strengthened my mother.
1. What does the underlined word “seedy” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?| A．large | B．dirty | C．urban | D．bright |
| A．were willing to share | B．were constantly in touch |
| C．had much in common | D．had a likeness in personality |
| A．To tell the importance of friendship. |
| B．To express his gratitude to his mother. |
| C．To share his standard of choosing a friend. |
| D．To praise the friendship between Martha and his mother. |
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【推荐1】Somewhere my acquaintance with the computer started when I was working on my thesis. I was initiated into it, quite unintentionally, when I was looking for a convenient way to store my research material. I have since been busy communicating with my readers and students through the net. I can hardly believe it myself that a technophobe like me could somehow get engaged with the most modern technology!
Our son has left for university and our spoilt daughter has gone overseas. Since they left home the net has become the best way for our family to communicate and share our feelings.
We started off sending messages by email only -just to say hello, to seek help and to caution. Messages such as: “Please have a look at this email. I can’t open it. “Or, one that I sent to my daughter says: “So you rang to say you’d lost your credit card. The very thing that I’ve been worrying about! If you don’t try hard to mend your careless ways, you’ll wake up one morning and find that you’ve lost your brain as well.”
And my son’s messages are typical in their sensational (耸人听闻的) headings, such as “Help me please!” “Help again, please!” They are always about money, no different from the notes he left when he was young. My daughter, on the other hand, would persuade her elder brother like a grand old lady: “Don’t upset Mum when I’m not home. Go back to see Mum and Dad every now and then. They’ve only got you and me.”
Recently, our son has been emailing me all kinds of articles: funny, touching, intellectual. . . the lot. Recommended rending, he said, which would help me understand my students’ ideas and keep abreast of the times, so I wouldn’t be written off as over-the-hill too soon. I read the articles religiously, like an obedient pupil. I appreciate my son’s good will with mixed feelings. The kid I was bombarding with newspaper clippings not that long ago has now become my mentor! He must be thinking that his mother is still willing to embrace new ideas. That makes me fecl proud, despite the confusing sense of role reversal that I have.
Through the net, we chat, exchange ideas and encourage each other with a gentle and beautiful language we seldom use. Every time I sit in front of the computer and read those instant messages, I feel warmth welling up in my heart and a profound gratitude to modern technology.
1. The author got acquainted with the net initially to ________.| A．keep pace with the times | B．communicate with her readers |
| C．meet academic needs | D．exchange ideas with her children |
| A．To show her daughter’s immaturity. |
| B．To indicate the net’s influence on her. |
| C．To blame her daughter’s carelessness. |
| D．To express her love for her children. |
| A．Flexible. | B．Well-educated. | C．Obedient. | D．Old-fashioned. |
| A．It Is the Power of the Net | B．Technology Changes Life |
| C．Here Comes a Cyber Mum | D．Mum’s Role Changes |
【推荐2】When travelling on the railway, I always arrive early to take photos or films of trains on my phone. I do it for my teenage boys. I’ll text these images to them, and they’ll text back saying “great pics”, and occasionally get very excited if I’ve videoed a rare engine.
My older one, Solomon, now 17, had an early and strong interest in trains. By the age of two, he had identified his favourite train of all the Class 465, a four-car electric multiple unit. One day, passing the railway station, he started laughing with pleasure. A train was waiting at the far platform. It looked like a 465 to me by its shape and size, but Solomon noticed it had five cars instead of four and most important of all, the first three digits of its number were 376. It excited him that he had discovered not only a new train but a new set of numbers, too. Classes 465 and 376 are common, but each train has its own unique number. That is part of the appeal, specifics and detail.
My younger boy, Valentine, 15, came to trains through a different route: new technology. I was walking past our local station when I saw something special. A new train I’d never seen before. If such a train could exist in my rundown local station, anything was possible. Science fiction just became science fact. I had just seen the Class 395, the Javelin, Britain’s fastest train. A few months later, there would be one leaving our station every half hour to London.
Valentine adored the Javelin. Trips became fraught because both boys wanted to travel on their favourite train - the Class 465 versus the Javelin. We negotiated with them - we’d take the 465 on the way there, the Javelin back home. Everyone was happy.
My husband is also a railfan. Having the boys has allowed him to pursue his passion. Trains are our shared passion, a timeless source of pleasure.
1. Why does the author photograph trains whenever possible?| A．To kill time. |
| B．To make money. |
| C．To share online. |
| D．To delight her children. |
| A．He noticed five brand-new cars. |
| B．He discovered his favourite train. |
| C．He corrected his mother’s mistake. |
| D．He spotted a new set of train numbers. |
| A．Luxurious. | B．Thrilling. |
| C．Stressful. | D．Unlikely. |
| A．Trainspotting Bonds My Family. |
| B．Trainspotting Satisfies My Children. |
| C．Trainspotting Emphasizes Train Details. |
| D．Trainspotting Witnesses Technology Development. |
【推荐3】It was our turn to open our presents this particular Christmas morning. The living room was already covered with torn (撕开的)wrapping paper. Obviously, the children could hardly wait to discover the hidden treasures, which they had expected for nearly a month. Now we adults sat around the room with our presents at our feet, slowly removing the paper, trying to maintain our dignity in front of the children.
My wife Brenda, and her family have a tradition of getting each other gag (恶作剧)gifts. This always makes me a bit uneasy at Christmas or my birthday, never knowing what embarrassment lies waiting for me under the wrapping paper.
Recently, my six-year-old daughter Christy seemed to busy herself with something while I was playing computer video flight games. Now she was standing directly in front of me. The excitement of the moment just shone across her face. Finally, I came to the last gift and with my natural Sherlock Holmes ability, I concluded that this had to be the gag gift. With everyone looking on, I decided to go ahead and get it over with — just let them have their laugh — and I tore the paper and there it was...a toy airplane about two inches long. Our holiday guests started giggling (咯咯笑) to themselves as I looked up to my wife with an unpleasant smile on my face, saying, “A toy airplane? Are you kidding me?”
Brenda gave me the look — that look that always tells me I have just said something wrong and should have given it a second thought. I had failed to look at the name tag (标签) before I opened the present to see who it was from. As I picked up the paper from the floor and read the name tag, my heart sank. On the tag were the letters that read, “To dad, Love Christy.”
1. The author feels uneasy at Christmas or on his birthday because _______.| A．he has to spend a lot on presents |
| B．the wrapping paper is easily torn |
| C．he feels embarrassed being with his wife’s family |
| D．he is afraid of the unknown gag gifts |
| A．she was eager to express love to Dad |
| B．she was thrilled on seeing her gift from her parents |
| C．she was getting a load of gag gifts |
| D．she was interested in her video flight games |
| A．Regretful. | B．Unpleased. |
| C．Moved. | D．Excited. |
| A．his wife was unhappy with what he had said |
| B．holiday guests giggled on the present |
| C．the gift was not what he had expected |
| D．his words could have hurt his daughter’s feeling |
| A．Gag gifts: a family tradition |
| B．A toy airplane: joy at Christmas |
| C．A hidden treasure: love from dear daughter |
| D．A name tag: Christmas present |
【推荐1】While Issey Miyake’s black turtlenecks are well known because of their connection with former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the influence that the famous Japanese designer had on Apple could have been even larger, with Jobs first wanting Miyake to create a uniform for all Apple employees.
Miyake died from liver cancer at age 84 on Aug. 5. As the news of his death has spread, many are revisiting the designer’s work, including his connection to Jobs.
In his biography (传记) of Jobs, author Walter Isaacson details how the great man found himself in the company of Miyake as Jobs was attracted to the Japanese style. Isaacson details how the idea for an Apple uniform came from a trip to Japan in the 1980s when Jobs visited Sony and saw that all workers in the factories were wearing matching uniforms. Jobs asked Akio Morita, then the chairman of Sony, about it.
“He looked very ashamed and told me that after the war, no one had any clothes, and companies like Sony had to give their workers something to wear each day.” Jobs said.
Miyake had worked with Sony to create a brownish-grey nylon jacket that easily turned into a vest (背心) courtesy of removable sleeves. Isaacson wrote that the uniforms became part of Sony’s “signature (签名) style” and it became a way of connecting workers to the company. “I decided that I wanted that type of connection for Apple.” Jobs said, “So I called Issey and asked him to design a vest for Apple. I came back with some samples and told everyone it would be great if we would all wear these vests. Oh man, I get booed off the stage. Everybody hated the idea.”
An Apple uniform from Miyake wasn’t meant to be, but it opened the door to a friendship between Miyake and Jobs and finally a uniform for Jobs himself that included Miyake’s black turtlenecks and Levi’s 501 classic fit jeans.
1. What makes Miyake known to the public?| A．His designing work. | B．His connection to Jobs. |
| C．His influence on Apple. | D．His interest in a uniform. |
| A．When Miyake died from liver cancer. |
| B．Why Jobs favored the Japanese style. |
| C．How the idea of an Apple uniform came. |
| D．What Jobs saw in Japan’s Apple Company. |
| A．A vest turned into a jacket. |
| B．A detail of visiting a Japanese company. |
| C．A way of wearing these vests. |
| D．A signature from a Japanese company. |
| A．It makes Miyake and Jobs become friends. |
| B．It should be designed for Jobs. |
| C．It proves the friendship between people. |
| D．It connects Apple with Sony. |
【推荐2】FRIENDSHIP IN HAWAII
Every culture has its own ways to show friendship. On the islands of Hawaii, friendship is part of the “aloha spirit’’.
Hawaiians believe that once somebody loves the land, they are ready to love their people or community. This is the second most important sign of friendship.
| A．It is called lokahi in the Hawaiian language, which means “oneness with all people’’. |
| B．Living in peace, Hawaiians have developed a third sign of friendship. |
| C．The word aloha has several different meanings in Hawaiian language. |
| D．In the language of the Hawaiians who first settled the islands long ago, aloha had a very special meaning. |
| E．It is believed that the islands can be a paradise (天堂) when people live in peace. |
| F．As we all know, language is a useful means for us to communicate and make friends |
| G．It can also mean “our hearts singing together ’’. |
【推荐3】Developing friendship with other people is essential in our lives due to our own very nature.
Here are 4 key points to develop and sustain a true friendship.
Take responsibility of your own emotions.
The primary goal of friendship is to love, because this is our most inherent need. But love has no other object than love. Therefore, the value of our friendship with others is not because of the usefulness of the relationship. Our love for a person should not depend on their capacity to improve the conditions of our life. On the contrary, feeling the joy of having a true friendship is what we need.
Seek the good of the other person.
When we love another person, we seek the good of the other because we rejoice in their own happiness. Therefore, our seeking for the other person’s good is totally disinterested.
Acts of love are made for its own sake.
Embrace the differences.
Friendship doesn’t mean having the same interests, opinions and mindset as the other person.
Friendship is therefore a practice of unconditional love, an opportunity to grow together towards fulfillment, and a journey to unfold the most precious capacities of a human being.
| A．Human beings are relational beings. |
| B．Why not cherish it with your own heart? |
| C．Look at the other as an end not as a means. |
| D．Recognize the necessity of the close relationship. |
| E．We usually blame the other person for what we feel. |
| F．The mode of friendship differs from person to person. |
| G．We serve the other without expecting anything in return. |
【推荐1】Matt Doogue, a 34-year-old nature photographer, had been suffering from depression when he first found his passion for taking pictures of insects and his work is now featured in National Geographic. He says that he tried to take his own life nine years ago after hitting rock bottom. “In the beginning, I was so paranoid (多疑的) and angry that I couldn’t leave the house,” says Doogue. “When I attempted to end my life, I knew I needed to see someone. I went to the doctors and got treatment, but I know that I needed something more and that’s when I started photography.”
Now a dad of two, Doogue found that looking at insects through a camera helped him in ways he could never have imagined and it proved to be the lifeline he needed. It had a calming effect that helped him to disconnect from stress. And his astonishing images, showing insects and spiders in amazing detail against brightly colored backgrounds, caught the eye of publishers at National Geographic. “I ended up as one of their featured photographers,” recalled Doogue. “It was the peak of my career. It was incredible.”
Originally from Salford, Greater Manchester, he now lives in Armadale, West Lothian, Scotland. Though he fears that Scotland is in the middle of an epidemic of male suicide, he believes that sharing his love of nature photography can help others to cope with their mental health issues as well. “I think the problem is this man-up approach; the idea that men need to be strong puts so much pressure on young males to be fine all the time,” says Doogue. “This is why I try and be so open about my own experience. Whenever I am out with my camera, I don’t think about my other worries. It is just me and the environment around me. You can lose yourself in a spider making its web.”
1. What does the underlined phrase “hit rock bottom” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Be in the worst possible situation. | B．Reach the bottom of a valley. |
| C．Crash into the lowest part of a rock. | D．Launch an attack on the rock bottom. |
| A．It gave him a new way to express himself. | B．It helped him to escape from pressure. |
| C．It provided him with life-saving skills. | D．It offered him an opportunity to explore nature. |
| A．The way men employ to solve problems. | B．The lack of love for men’s life and work. |
| C．The worry that men get separated from people. | D．The belief that men are expected to be strong. |
| A．To warn the severity of mental problems. | B．To show the benefits of nature photography. |
| C．To advise readers to get close to nature. | D．To introduce Doogue’s fighting against depression. |
【推荐2】Alone in the wilderness. Nothing but jungle. A world of shadow with the rays of light falling like blonde hair from the crowns of the giant trees. Jungle in the middy sun. Everything motionless. Not a sound from sky or earth. Complete silence. Only some coconuts falling, very far away. The world reduced to the soft touch of cool grass along my naked back, and a sweet smell of rich soil and vegetation. Stretching out with closed eyes beside my heavy burden of fruit and firewood, I enjoyed the feeling of fresh blood streaming through every part of my body and fresh jungle air filling every corner of my lungs.
Resting motionless, I could see the sun through my closed eyelids, alone in the sky, as lonely as I, and as motionless and silent as everything else. The earth had surely stopped turning and somewhere on this planet there was supposed to be roaring traffic in busy streets. What a crazy, unbelievable thought!
Another coconut fell, to make the world come to a complete standstill. I had to roll over onto my stomach to feel that at least I could move and make noises. Then I found company. A little brown ant was struggling to find its way with a bit of dry straw (草) through the jungle of leaves and grass below my nose. I wondered if I could give the little fellow a lift with its burden, but it showed not the slightest sign of tiredness and struggled on with all six legs, head first or head last, waving its feelers energetically as if the trip had just started. Who ever saw a tired ant? Tiredness, disagreeable tiredness, is restricted to hunted animals, slaves and modern man. It is as great an effort for an office to walk five blocks with a heavy brief-case as it is for a jungle-dweller to cross a valley with a goat on his back. It is as hard to get up and climb or run when you have been seated for years as it is to get up and walk when you have been in bed for months. The body is strange. Spare it, and you get really tired for almost nothing; use it, and almost nothing makes you really tired.
I rose to my feet. I had heard a horse neighing down in the valley. Above me, on the open highland plains, there were wild horses. But down in the valley there was never a horse unless there was a man on it. Somebody was making his way up the valley and my wife was alone.
1. The author mentions coconut’s falling to ________.| A．show his loneliness |
| B．add beauty to the jungle |
| C．express his love of nature |
| D．stress the absolute silence |
① I heard a horse neighing down in the valley.
② I went to the jungle.
③ I found an ant carrying a bit of dry straw.
④ I lay on the ground to have a break.
⑤I picked fruits and chopped firewood.
| A．②③⑤①④ |
| B．⑤③②④① |
| C．②⑤④③① |
| D．⑤④③②① |
| A．He admired its behavior toward work. |
| B．He was amazed at its tireless efforts. |
| C．He had pity on the little ant. |
| D．He was happy to have its company. |
| A．work harder than before |
| B．talk to the man on the horse |
| C．make his way home |
| D．stay in the valley to enjoy the beautiful view |
【推荐3】When the COVID-19 hit and supermarket shelves were empty, Chris Hall and Stefanny Lowey decided they no longer wanted to rely on others for food. The couple, who live on Pender Island in British Columbia, Canada, decided to start a year-long challenge where they wouldn’t buy a single thing to eat. Instead, they would grow, raise or catch everything—right down to sugar, salt and flour. Now, five months in, they say the challenge has changed their lives.
Chris, 38, said, “It has always been something that we have wanted to do. We have had a garden and grown vegetables for a long time already. When the COVID-19 hit, it gave us that extra push that we needed to do it. We were both out of work when we started, and with the reality check of grocery stores running out of items, it gave us even more motivation to see if we could look after ourselves.”
The pair spent the months before building a house for chickens, ducks and turkey as well as studying as much as possible to figure out where they would get all the things they needed. Chris adds, “We had to learn so many new things like how to grow mushrooms, process our Stevia plants, and harvest salt from the ocean. We spent a lot of time reading and studying online to figure out all the things we were going to need to do.”
Now after two months, they both feel it’s been going well but Chris admits the first few weeks were difficult. “The first three weeks were very challenging as our bodies adjusted to cutting out coffee, wine and sugar all on the same day,” he says. “After three weeks, our energy levels balanced out and our wishes reduced and now we feel great.” Now February has ended. As they come through winter, they feel positive about continuing with this way of living, with their challenge officially ending in November.
1. Why did the pair decide to produce foods on their own?| A．They were seperated by Pender Island. |
| B．They could hardly buy them in shops. |
| C．They believed it’s good for their health. |
| D．They couldn’t afford to buy them because they were out of work. |
| A．Rich and generous. | B．Optimistic and self-dependent. |
| C．Helpful and positive. | D．Motivated and kind. |
| A．Everything went smoothly all the time. |
| B．They had difficulty because they wanted more. |
| C．They were discouraged by the difficulty at first. |
| D．Their challenge may last about eleven months in total. |
| A．Sports. | B．Lifestyle. | C．Agriculture. | D．Business. |
