I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt’s house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning.
I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving and never to come back was hardly in my head then.
The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism(乐观), but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather(继父)and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to “the hard times.”
My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with immigration officers(移民局官员), took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.
From my experiences I have learned one important rule: Almost all common troubles go away at last! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.
1. How did the author get to know America?| A．From radio programs | B．From books and pictures |
| C．From her mother | D．From her relatives |
| A．often lost her way | B．did not think about her future |
| C．studied in three different schools | D．got on well with her stepfather |
| A．She worked as a translator. | B．She attended a lot of job interviews. |
| C．She paid telephone bills for her family. | D．She helped her family with her English. |
| A．her future will be free from troubles | B．it is difficult to learn to become patient |
| C．there are more good things than bad things | D．good things will happen if one keeps trying |
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【推荐1】The summer before seventh grade our family moved and I said goodbye to everything that was familiar. For my parents it was a good thing because it meant owning a home for the first time. But it meant that I d have to change schools and that put some butterflies in my stomach.
On the first day of school, kids jammed the school grounds. That’s when I met Barbara. We made a nervous conversation and soon learned we were in the same class. She was funny and we had a lot in common. But she was very critical of others and sometimes of me. She made fun of my bushy hair, my big glasses and the clothes I wore. But it seemed as though the things we had in common were more important than the annoyances.
The girls in the “popular” crowd had also been exposed to her sharp tongue. One day, one of the girls approached me while I gathered my books. “We really like you,” she said. “The only way you can play with us, though, is if you keep your distance from Barbara.”
Were those girls only trying to make trouble between the two of us? Would they watch me dump (抛弃) Barbara and then dump me for laughs?
From the comer of my eye I found two of the other girls from the group. They were watching me and giggling (咯咯地笑). I wondered if I was cool enough for them. I didn’t want to make the choice they were forcing me to make. So I shook my head and said, “I don’t think so. I like Barbara and we’re good friends.” Then I gathered my books and ran away.
Even though Barbara still annoyed me at times, I knew I’d done the right thing. I’d made my own decision about a girl who had befriended me when I badly needed a friend. When she moved the following year I missed her friendship terribly. But what I kept has never left me—my self-respect.
1. What does the underlined phrase mean?| A．Got me to feel more excited. | B．Left me in a state of desire. |
| C．Brought me more expectation. | D．Made me have a nervous feeling. |
| A．She was a girl with a sharp tongue. | B．She was popular with kids at school. |
| C．She offered others help in critical moments. | D．She was very critical of her own dress. |
| A．To join the “popular” crowd. | B．To end her friendship with Barbara. |
| C．To invite Barbara to hang out with them. | D．To pretend to be cool in the “popular” crowd. |
| A．Keep far away from the “popular” group. |
| B．Avoid making friends with an annoying person. |
| C．Keep self-respect in making your own decisions. |
| D．Share common interest with your friends. |
【推荐2】Start Small, Think Big
Remember when you were asked to write compositions about “a meaningful experience” as young students? You would write about how you overcame hardship and unpleasantness in order to help others. You learned then that there was more to life than earning lots of money and living in comfort.
It’s easy to lose sight of the greater meaning in our life when running our business and making time for our family and friends.
Rank our values. Many people are successful, but people who live lives of real significance actually think about and work for others instead of just collecting wealth. They’re getting involved in ordinary activities that make a difference to others or fulfill a need in their communities.
Think locally. People who live significant lives don’t necessarily jet around on airplanes going to so-called extraordinary events and board meetings.
| A．It matters a lot to measure your own business against your community |
| B．They just improve their own parts of the world for the benefit of others. |
| C．Significance comes when we create value and make contributions to people we care about |
| D．Their seemingly small deeds actually come bigger than other goals |
| E．They often aim high |
| F．But the good news is that you can take action to begin to get back on track |
| G．Be kind and considerate. |
McElrah lost her full-time job in January. Since then, she has spent her days doing what she loves-dancing in the street. Her message to people in hard times: do something that you enjoy, no matter what your circumstances. “ Life isn’t that bad,” she said. “ If you’re working 40 hours a week, you shouldn’t be complaining.”
McElrah graduated from parkway Central High School and has spent the past 21 years working as a nursing assistant, She began singing and dancing publicly on her days off a few years ago to help her through the pain of her second divorce.
Her favorite spot is the northwest corner of Chouteau Avenue and South Grand Boulevard near St. Louis University. McElrah’s mp3 player is loaded with hundreds of classic rock hits and 80’s pop songs, including those by Joe Cocker, Tina Turner, Neil Diamond and Toto. But her favorite artist, by far, is Stevie Nicks.Videos of McElrah have appeared on YouTube, a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos. “People think I’m crazy, but I don’t care,” She said. “ I can dance a little. I just go with the music.” Even a rude gesture from a passing motorist doesn’t bother her either. “ I just smile and wave,” she said.
McElrah’s show of bravery recently earned her a job opportunity with Liberty Tax Service, which temporarily offered her a job as a dancer Statute of Liberty to promote a new place near Grand Center starting in January.
“ Just be happy and do what you love,” she said. “The money will come.”
1. At first McElrah began singing and dancing in public in order to _____.
| A．make a living | B．entertain the public |
| C．rise to fame | D．encourage herself |
| A．her beautiful voice | B．her positive behavior |
| C．her lively dancing | D．her competitive spirit |
| A．She doesn’t care others’ comments on her. |
| B．Her favorite artist is Joe Cocker. |
| C．She once worked as a doctor. |
| D．She has been divorced once. |
| A．Ways To Be Happy |
| B．Learn To Do What You Love |
| C．Happy Lady’s Singing and Dancing Life |
| D．What Made The Happy Lady Famous? |
【推荐1】When I was a child, I dreamed of becoming many things. Sometimes, I wished I was an astronaut going up into space, finding new planets and jumping around in a cool space suit. Other times, I imagined being a cowboy in the Wild West, wearing stylish cowboy boots. On other occasions, I pretended to be a famous footballer, using my skills to score lots of goals for my team.
Looking back, I realize that imagination is a wonderful thing. I was able to create entire environments and scenarios in my head, using nothing more than my brain, and to be able to adapt things in my everyday surroundings to fit the specific story of the day. Growing up with siblings (兄弟姐妹) also helped, as it meant that even bigger stories could be created, combining our ideas and putting our thoughts into action. It also allowed for more varieties in the stories, as sometimes I could be the hero while on other occasions, I would be the bad guy.
One of my all-time favorite memories as a kid was playing in my back garden. I played the role of Indiana Jones, which cleaned up at the cinema at that time, with my younger sister as my assistant and my brother as a bad person. We used everything in our garden, from the path to the fence, as part of the storyline to create obstacles that needed to be overcome, and we would keep the story going for hours!
My personal favorite game was Indiana Jones and the Stolen Easter Eggs, where my brother hid small chocolate eggs around the garden and my sister and I had to find them by answering questions or solving a puzzle. It was difficult, but eventually we found all the eggs and shared them together.
Since then, I have seen many great things and met many amazing people. The elements of fun and varieties of my creative imaginations are what I try to bring into every part of my positive life. So I can enjoy sharing with and hearing about other people’s stories, too.
1. What do we know about the author from his childhood?| A．He enjoyed living a life full of freedom. |
| B．He was longing to experience adventurous things. |
| C．He was always imagining a bright life for his future. |
| D．He had a clear picture of what he would do after growing up. |
| A．experiences | B．situations |
| C．positions | D．excuses |
| A．an astronaut | B．a famous footballer |
| C．a hot film | D．a very popular book |
| A．My Creative Imagination. | B．My Childhood. |
| C．My Positive Life Today. | D．My Pride in Myself. |
【推荐2】Shakespeare’s plays were introduced to China in the mid-19th century and in 1904 Charles Lamb’s adapted Shakespearean Stories was translated into Chinese by Lin Shu. Not an easy task for a man who knew no English and needed an assistant to read and explain the stories to him.
Chinese readers were greatly attracted to Shakespeare’s works. With China’s economic success in recent years, there has been a growing demand for cultural entertainment and Shakespeare’s plays have proved a great success, with the plays being staged in theaters, made into films and even as local operas.
China also had a playwright (剧作家) Tang Xianzu, who died the same year as Shakespeare. His play Peony Pavilion, the Chinese equivalent (相等物) of Romeo and Juliet, is highly regarded as a play of its time. But I suspect not many people in the West have heard of him or of his work.
While Western culture and history is widely taught and eagerly learnt in China, I believe it is time that the Western world try to understand China and the Chinese culture better through our history, literature and language.
During my recent stay in Beijing, I was amazed to find in a bookshop that there were rows and rows of bookshelves, full of original English books. However, here in Britain it is very hard to find books about and from China. This may partly explain why there is this difference of knowledge and understanding between the West and China.
However, the good news is that there is a growing interest to know more about each other and events like the Olympics have brought the world closer to China and China closer to the world, Policies such as “One Road, One Belt” also help to build the bridges of friendship and understanding among our peoples.
1. What do we know about Lin Shu?| A．He adapted Shakespearean Stories. |
| B．He translated Shakespearean Stories. |
| C．He could easily translate English works. |
| D．He had a good command of English. |
| A．China’s successful development in economy. |
| B．The cultural exchange between the West and China. |
| C．Western people’s demand for cultural entertainment. |
| D．The rapid development of theaters and cinemas in China. |
| A．Because they think it is not good enough. |
| B．Because they find its playwright not famous. |
| C．Because they have little access to the Chinese culture. |
| D．Because they have no Chinese books in their bookstores. |
| A．Concerned. | B．Optimistic. | C．Pessimistic. | D．Doubtful. |
【推荐3】It seems obvious now how we acquire knowledge and understanding. To start with, we need questions. Then, to find answers, we observe the world around us and study the facts. After that, we consider possible answers and test each to find the right ones. Although today we are more used to typing a few key words into a search engine and waiting for the Internet to give us an answer, modern scientists and thinkers are still solving the world’s problems with this type of analysis—luckily for us.
However, in the 17th century when Francis Bacon (1561-1626) suggested that this type of thinking was the way to gain knowledge, he was going against the views of the day. Although Bacon held an important rank in King James’ royal court of England, his true interest was not the day-to-day, slow and inefficient working style of the government, but the worthy search for knowledge. This was certainly not the interest of most people in his days. At that time, people believed more in the church than in facts, and people like Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), who proved the idea that “the Earth is not the centre of the universe”, were often punished by the church with no one coming to their defence. The church and many people tended to ignore the facts and didn’t want to challenge what they had always comfortably believed. In fact, when Galilei proved that the Earth was not the centre of the universe, instead of believing him, people chose to believe views that were almost 2,000 years old!
It is not surprising that people wanted to believe these primitive ideas as they had been put forward by the great philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BCE). He said that the Earth must be the centre of the universe because it felt like the Earth was standing still. Galilei disagreed. At first, people approved of his studies and urged him to continue, but later when he proved Aristotle wrong, they grew angry and put him in prison. They didn’t want to abandon what they’d always thought as true. And this is still often true today. People make the assumption that if someone important and respected says that something is right, then it must be so. But even though Aristotle was a great man who inspired many great scientists and philosophers after him, he was wrong at times. And Galilei also made mistakes. He is now known as the father of astronomy but he believed that the Earth moved round the sun in a perfect circle. He was wrong.
Therefore, our understanding of the world around us is constantly growing and changing. In other words, we learn more every day and none of us can ever sit back and say, “We know it all.” We need to thank the great men of the past for their wisdom. They understood that we don’t know everything and probably never will, as this would mean a world with questions.
We owe so much of our knowledge and understanding of the world to people like Bacon and Galilei, who were brave enough to step out from the shadows of conventional thought in order to find the kingdom of knowledge that today’s civilization is built upon. These men knew that knowledge and understanding are things to fight for; more vital to a man, and more beneficial to mankind, some might say, than all the money in the world.
1. How are we used to finding answers of questions today?| A．we observe the world around us and study the facts. |
| B．we consider possible answers and test each to find the right ones. |
| C．we type a few key words into a search engine and wait for the Internet to give us an answer. |
| D．First of all, we need questions. |
| A．many people tended to ignore the facts and didn’t want to challenge what they had always comfortably believed. |
| B．No one is perfect and our understanding of the world around us is constantly growing and changing. |
| C．Even great men like Aristotle and Galileo Galilei can make mistakes. |
| D．People make the assumption that if someone important and respected says that something is right, then it must be so. |
| A．stop study | B．relax in a chair | C．wait for success to come | D．stop work |
| A．feel sorry | B．sympathize | C．feel grateful | D．in memory of |
【推荐1】My nephew Sam was the only child of the family. His parents proudly showed him off; his aunts and uncles tried to be the first to hold him. But later things changed.
Due to the need of my job, my family lived with Sam’s family for a short time. By this time, my daughter Sophie was almost 3, and was a remarkably intelligent little girl. She could sing children’s songs and recite little poems. Sophie’s aunts and uncles were fascinated by her sweetness. Sam, who was seven, had to tolerate this new little human, but wasn’t quick to give away his high position.
Sophie’s third birthday was about to be celebrated, and the family had gathered presents. We were all busy getting the party ready when we heard the sharp cry from Sophie. Instantly, a half dozen adults moved as one and found Sophie sitting on the ground crying. She might have fallen off the seat of her well-decorated chair. We picked her up, comforted her and dried her tears. Finally, she settled like a queen on the royal throne of the birthday girl.
Nine years later, we went camping. Around the campfire, Sam spoke. He spoke of the agony he had been feeling for almost a decade. With a deep sigh, he shared his secret. During Sophie’s 3-year-old birthday, a fire of jealousy came from the proud and depressive guy when his position had been taken away by Sophie. He had waited for his moment. And then it came as Sophie was going to sit on her birthday chair. How he delighted in hearing the sound of his competitor hitting on the floor and crying. Sam really apologized then; his voice was soft and sincere.
Though Sam was seven, he was old enough to feel jealous of his cousin and played his hoax.
As he grew older, he realized his mistake, and eventually apologized and laid his burden down.
1. How did Sam feel about Sophie at first?| A．He had a hatred of her. |
| B．He was afraid of her. |
| C．He took no notice of her. |
| D．He envied her cleverness. |
| A．Her being startled by Sam. |
| B．Her hitting on the seat. |
| C．Her having a fight with Sam. |
| D．Her falling down from the chair. |
| A．He was responsible for Sophie’s cry. |
| B．He laughed at Sophie’s stupidity. |
| C．He took up Sophie’s position. |
| D．He broke Sophie’s chair. |
| A．Upset and painful. |
| B．Quiet and peaceful. |
| C．Gentle and regretful. |
| D．Ashamed and relaxed. |
【推荐2】I was in the Altai Mountains with Biosphere Expeditions (生物圈考察队). I was a member of the expedition which was the first to take part in a survey of snow leopards (雪豹) in this part of the world.
Getting to the base camp had already been an expedition. It was getting dark as we arrived. After a very welcome night’s sleep, we were up early for some training on how to write down the data, how to identify animal tracks, and what to do with useful animal droppings.
The next day, our group set off up one of the mountains to do our first research with our guide Oleg. We spent most of the morning climbing the endless mountains. By early afternoon, we reached what appeared to be the top but was another ridge (山脊). My 47-year-old bones were shaking, and I was trying very hard to breathe. We hadn’t seen a thing except for rocky mountains. Our guide was keeping going, but we had very little idea about what we were supposed to be doing. Energy was dropping rapidly.
Then everything changed. Hardly able to speak with excitement, one of the other groups told us that they had just discovered fresh snow leopard tracks!
On arrival, we found the group silently looking at the mountain. A set of very clear paw prints (爪印) ran from top to bottom. I was filled with a feeling of complete excitement. One of the rarest big cats in the world had passed through where I was standing! They were here and what we were going to do would help them survive.
All the suffering of the past days fell away. The long walk back to the base camp that night seemed to go by in seconds.
1. Why did the writer make his expedition in the Altai Mountains?| A．To set up a base camp. | B．To measure the height of the mountains. |
| C．To be a member of Biosphere Expeditions. | D．To carry out the research on snow leopards. |
| A．He organized a welcome party. | B．He got up late after some more rest. |
| C．He received some basic training. | D．He visited the camp with his partners. |
| A．Searching for clean drinking water. | B．Climbing the endless mountains at his age. |
| C．Finding the right way to the base camp. | D．Having good communication with his guide. |
a. They didn’t know what they should do.
b. They saw a set of very clear paw prints.
c. They set off to climb up one of the mountains.
d. They walked a long way back to the base camp with excitement.
e. They were told that another group had just found snow leopard tracks.
| A．c-a-e-b-d | B．a-c-b-e-d | C．c-e-a-d-b | D．a-c-e-b-d |
【推荐3】In our home it was natural to fear our father. Even our mother was afraid of him. As children, my sister and I thought every family was like that.
Things were different after that. We had a new daddy. It was like the old one was buried that day in the forest.
| A．The praise we expected did not come. |
| B．The sun set and it began to get dark. |
| C．Our daddy worked very hard to support the family. |
| D．Then came the day we found something new and fun to do. |
| E．Our whole family was changed with a piece of chalk. |
| F．But there was something different in it. |
| G．Our mom knew that he cared for us. |
