Last summer, Katie Steller stopped at a traffic light, where a man was sitting with a sign asking for help. She rolled down her car window. “Hey” She shouted. “I’m driving around giving free haircuts. If I go grab my chair, do you want one right now?” “No problem.” he said. “I’ll be right back.” Steller said. She drove off, went to the salon she owns, and loaded a red chair into her car. Then she drove back. The man, named Edward, took a seat, and she cut his curly graying hair. After Steller was done, Edward looked in a mirror. “I look good!” he said.
To date, Steller has given 30 or so such haircuts to people around the city. These clients are all living on the margins, and she is fully aware of the power of her cleanup job. “It’s more than a haircut.” she says. “I want it to be a gateway, to show value and respect, but also to get to know people. I want to build relationships.”
Steller knows that a haircut can change a life. One changed hers: as a teen, she suffered from a disease called ulcerative colitis (淡疡性结肠炎) that was so severe and her hair thinned suddenly. Seeing this, her mother arranged for Steller’s first professional haircut. “To sit down and have somebody talk to me like a person, it helped me feel cared about.” she says. After that, Steller knew she wanted to have her own salon so she could help people feel the way she’d felt that day. Not long after finishing cosmetology school in 2009, she began what she now calls her Red Chair Project.
Steller listens to people’s stories of loss, addiction, and struggle to get back on their feet. The attention apparently works. When she was cutting a woman’s hair one day, someone drove by and yelled, “You look amazing!”
The woman in the chair smiled very happily. “I’m not unnoticed.” she exclaimed. “Look, people see me!” “The way you show up in the world matters.” says Steller. You have no idea what people are going to do with the kindness that you give them.
1. Steller gives haircuts to those who ________.| A．live on a farm |
| B．live in the countryside |
| C．live on the margins of the city |
| D．live in small communities |
| A．Her generosity to the poor. |
| B．Her skill of doing hair. |
| C．Her fear of being alone. |
| D．Her experience in illness. |
| A．Confident. |
| B．Cheerful. |
| C．Shocked. |
| D．Shy. |
| A．The Power of Free Cuts. |
| B．A Successful Salon Owner. |
| C．Last Summer. |
| D．The Change of Life. |
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【推荐1】George Turner, 48, owner of Penuel Bicycles in Inglewood, California, talks with respect about his childhood BMX dirt bike. “I was mad keen on cycling.” he says. “I did whatever it took to get on that bike, as long as I was home before dark.” Home meant housework, homework and annoying brothers. But a bike meant escapes.
In 2010, George transformed his childhood love into a livelihood, and opened his bicycle shop, Penuel Bicycles. The shop fulfilled a lifelong dream. Before that, he had worked for years delivering boxes for FedEx while selling bike accessories online.
“Bicycles kept me out of trouble,” George remembers. “They were part of my life.” He figured that was still true for kids when he opened Penuel Bicycles. George expected parents to crowd inside, eager to buy shiny new bikes for their kids. He looked forward to helping boys and girls discover the joy of riding — and stay out of trouble — just as he had.
None of that happened, however.
George found that kids these days lead a different life. Usually, they don’t want a bike for their birthday. And most of them ever don’t know how to ride a bike. Instead of getting out and riding, they prefer spending their time on their phones indoors. As kids don’t ride, it is impossible that parents crowd in his shop to buy new bikes. Nine years after opening his Penuel Bicycles, George feared that he had to close the shop.
Then in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation. Surprisingly, the pandemic saved George’s business. During the pandemic, many American people found that cycling was a good way to exercise and also a safe way to get around. The demand for new bikes kept growing and people in George’s neighborhood pulled out their old bikes and wheeled them to Penuel Bicycles to get repaired. Now he is trying his best to meet his customers’ needs and hopes that his customers can really discover the joy of riding.
1. What did the bike mean to George in his childhood?| A．Taking up sports. | B．Getting away from daily routine. |
| C．A precious birthday gift. | D．A convenient vehicle. |
| A．Making a big fortune. | B．Being a member of FedEx. |
| C．Opening his own bicycle shop. | D．Helping people pursue riding pleasure. |
| A．The lifestyle of kids changed. | B．He wasn’t good at management. |
| C．Bikes were not as charming as before. | D．His business was affected by the pandemic. |
| A．Joy of Wheel | B．Passion for Exercise |
| C．Improvement of Bike Business | D．Increasing Demand for New Bikes |
【推荐2】Twenty-nine-year-old Maxim Kiselev lives in Moscow, Russia, with his beautiful wife, Natalia, and lives with a disease which mainly affects the left side of his body. Maxim is a wheelchair dancer, and does both ballroom style dancing and figure skating on ice.
He initially took up dancing when he was 14 years old as a way to strengthen his body--in particular his left arm and fingers which had limited functionality at the time. Gradually, he began to think about becoming the standing partner of a person using a wheelchair; however, his challenges with balance meant it wasn't going to be possible. His mother and coach suggested he get into a wheelchair himself. He unwillingly got into a wheelchair but was quickly pleased by his progress.
The possibilities without a partner were limited, so Maxim went on in search of a dance partner. With only some practice with his first partner, the pair took part in their first tournament, where they performed well. While his start in partner dancing was good, finding a right partner wasn't easy. His mother would get in touch with the girls' parents or coaches and the vast majority had very rude reactions as soon as they found out he was disabled.
His coaches drove him to grow and develop as a dancer, and came up with some great techniques to help him. His dancing was improved even further when his third coach forced him to think in the way a standing dancer did. Maxim says this is what helped his performance to look like dancing rather than just rolling back and forth on the dance floor.
Maxim says his greatest pride is having taken his dancing skills on ice. He is the first high level figure skater in a wheelchair, and still the only one to this day. Maxim is taking a break from dance because of health issues, but he recently participated in a Russian Virtual Reality Project which aims to motivate people with disabilities to get more active in real life.
1. How does Maxim's disease affect him?| A．He gives up his dream to become a dancer. |
| B．He can only control half of his body freely. |
| C．He has no way to make a living all the time. |
| D．He has an extremely unhappy marriage life. |
| A．To be a standing dance partner. | B．To meet his mother's expectation. |
| C．To improve his physical condition. | D．To get himself out of a wheelchair. |
| A．Few people praised his talent. |
| B．Nobody helped with the search. |
| C．He was rejected because of his skills. |
| D．He faced discrimination due to disability. |
| A．Mastering dancing techniques. | B．Thinking like a standing dancer. |
| C．Helping people with disabilities. | D．Making some progress in dancing. |
【推荐3】Cai Lei, former vice-president of JD Group, reveals how amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis (诊断) set him on the path to find a cure.
Born to a farmer’s family in 1978, Cai has been deeply influenced by his father’s idea that “one has to fight for himself”. Since primary school, he has been getting up before 5 am to run and study English. At 29, Cai became chief tax manager in Vanke Co. In 2011, he joined JD Group, where he led his team to develop the first electronic invoice (发票) in China. Wherever he worked, he always tried his best to create new value.
Diagnosed with ALS in 2019, he would have only two to five years to live. ALS is usually caused by the gradual death of motor neurons(神经元), which makes normally easy movements like drinking water, eating, going to the bathroom, and speaking impossible. Finally, patients will completely rely on machines and others’ help to survive. So far, only two medicines are available to treat ALS, but they can at most extend patients’ life for several months without improving their living quality.
To develop effective drugs is the only way to save ALS patients. However, the intense effort required, which is unprofitable for so rare an illness, makes it a mission almost impossible. It usually takes 10-15 years to complete the research cycle for a new drug and the cost is $1-3billion. Take Alzheimer’s disease for example. Between 2000 and 2017, investment in new drugs for this more common disease was over $600 billion, and 99.6% of the research on more than 300 drugs failed.
Cai decided to take matters into his own hands. He started his own medical technology company, built his own research team, and volunteered to try more than 30 new medicines which all failed. However, he has decided that even if all efforts prove fruitless, he will continue. To shoot the last bullet, he has decided to donate his brain and spinal cord for scientific research. He will not die for nothing.
1. What kind of person is Cai Lei?| A．Extremely gifted and ambitious. |
| B．Hard-working and warm-hearted. |
| C．Quite responsible and dependable. |
| D．Highly motivated and strong-willed. |
| A．Losing the ability to think and speak normally. |
| B．Maintaining a normal life by taking medicines. |
| C．Dying within months of a confirmed diagnosis. |
| D．Needing external assistance to survive in the end. |
| A．To talk about the severity of Alzheimer. |
| B．To prove Alzheimer to be a common disease. |
| C．To explain the difficulty of finding a cure for ALS. |
| D．To ask for more investment in the research on ALS. |
| A．Joint efforts to fight ALS | B．A man who never gives in |
| C．ASL, a rare deadly disease | D．Suffering of a man with ALS |
【推荐1】Former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874-1965) once said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” These are certainly words that millions of volunteers around the world could agree with.
In the US, April is National Volunteer Month, which recognizes and thanks volunteers who lend their time, talent, and support to causes (事业) they care about.
Volunteering means choosing to work without being paid for it. People who volunteer spend their time doing things they feel strongly about. For example, animal lovers may volunteer at an animal shelter to help improve the treatment and well-being of animals.
For students, valuable lessons may also be learned by volunteering. Take Andrew Makhoul, a sophomore (大二学生) at the University of Pennsylvania, as an example. Makhoul didn’t spend the 2012 spring break partying. Unlike his classmates, who planned on relaxing after a term of hard work, the 19-year-old decided to do something for people less fortunate than himself.
He traveled to an orphanage (孤儿院) in Guatemala in Central America. The orphanage is in one of the poorest and most violent parts of the country, and depends on volunteers to stay open.
Makhoul doesn’t speak much Spanish, but he found communication wasn’t a problem: “You communicated with love,” according to an article on his university’s website, “You could see love when you looked in their eyes.”
Makhoul’s first time as a volunteer only lasted a week, but by the end of that week, he knew he’d be back soon – because he saw love and hope.
US author Sherry Anderson once wrote, “Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.” And this is perhaps why volunteers all around the world keep doing what they do.
1. Why is Winston Churchill mentioned in the first paragraph?| A．To teach readers a lesson. | B．To sum up the main idea. |
| C．To lead in the topic. | D．To involve readers in a story. |
| A．To collect money for the volunteers. | B．To offer care about the causes of volunteers. |
| C．To appreciate the work of volunteers. | D．To encourage more to become volunteers. |
| A．He threw a party. | B．He relaxed himself. |
| C．He went to an animal shelter. | D．He visited an orphanage. |
| A．warm-hearted | B．lovely | C．brave | D．energetic |
| A．Worthless. | B．Priceless. | C．Highly-paid. | D．Badly-needed. |
【推荐2】In October, I told the eight-year-olds in the class I teach in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, about my plan. “Since all of you have done extra jobs around the house to earn some money,” I said, “then we’ll buy food for a Thanksgiving dinner for someone who might not have a nice dinner otherwise.”
I watched them while they walked up and down the supermarket. “Flowers!” Kristine cried. The group rushed towards the holiday plants.
“You can’t eat flowers.”— It was wiser to use any extra money to buy something that could be turned into meals.
“But Mrs Sherlock,” came the begging voice, “we want flowers.”
Defeated finally, I put a pot of “funny” purple mums in the cart full of foods. “She’ll like this one,” the children agreed.
An organisation had given us the name and address of a needy grandmother who had lived alone for many years. We finally pulled up in front of a small house. A slightly-built woman with a weary face came to the door to welcome us.
My little group ran to get the foods. As each box was carried in, the old woman kept on saying “Thanks.”— much to her visitors’ pleasure. When Amy put the mums on the counter, the woman seemed surprised. She was wishing it was a bag of rice, I thought.
We returned to the car. As we fastened our seat belts, we could see the kitchen window. The woman inside waved goodbye, then turned and walked across the room, past the turkey, past the goods, straight to the mums. She put her face in them. When she raised her head, there was a smile on her face. She was transformed (转变) before our eyes.
The children were quiet. At that moment, they had seen for themselves the power they have to make another person’s life better. The children had sensed that sometimes a person needs a pot of funny purple flowers on a dark November day.
1. What does the story mainly tell us?| A．Everyone has the power to change the world. |
| B．Acts of kindness can change someone’s life. |
| C．The poor people may need flowers as well. |
| D．Children have different thoughts from adults. |
| A．Mothers. |
| B．Teachers. |
| C．Flowers. |
| D．Gifts. |
| A．She thought they were too ugly. |
| B．She thought they were for children. |
| C．She thought they were too expensive. |
| D．She thought they couldn’t help people in need. |
| A．The old woman preferred food to flowers. |
| B．Flowers are more important than food to the poor. |
| C．The old woman’s dark day was brightened by the children. |
| D．All the money the children earned was transformed into food. |
Herman Cruse, a school bus driver from New Jersey, has been with Middle Township Public Schools for the past nine years. He believes bus drivers are the eyes and ears of students when they're away from home and they have a gift to discern what kids are feeling.
During one morning ride, Cruse noticed a kindergartner seemed a little sad. When Cruse asked him what was wrong, the boy explained that he wasn't able to complete his reading assignment because his parents were busy with his four siblings (兄弟姐妹). An idea suddenly crossed Cruse's mind. “Listen, if you don't mind, I'd like to come to the school and read with you. ”he said.
After receiving permission from the boy's teacher, Alex Bakley, Cruse showed up at her classroom the following week. When he walked in, the boy shouted proudly, “Hey, that's my bus driver!”They went into a quiet corner and began reading together. Later, a second student wanted to read with him, then a third. All the kids went to the teacher asking, “Can I read with Mr. Herman?”
Cruse now volunteers to help kindergarten students with reading two days a week, and on a third day, he instructs the school's first-and second-graders. After dropping the kids off at school, of course. Every child looks up to Cruse, both on and off the school bus. “Herman is super positive and he's a bright light at our school who makes every child feel loved and heard. ”said Bakley.
For Cruse, what started out as a way to kill time has now developed into a way to make a difference in the heart of a child. He used to go to the gym or library after delivering students to schools. It wasn't until he offered to help the boy on the bus that he realized there was something more rewarding he could be doing. It's a joy for him to see the kids get excited when they learn to sound out words. He loves how reading opens up a new world for them.
1. What does the underlined word mean in Paragraph 1? (1 word)2. Why did the boy on the bus look a little upset? (no more than 11 words)
3. What help does Cruse offer after delivering students to schools? (no more than 12 words)
4. Why does Cruse think his voluntary work is rewarding according to the last paragraph? (no more than 16 words)
5. Who's “a bright light” in your life? Please explain in your own words. (no more than 20 words)
Emma had never read it, nor had she ever bought a copy. But, when she opened it up, she was floored to see her own name and address inside the cover in her own handwriting. It turned out that the summer before, at a concert back in Montreal, Emma had met a Californian who was in town visiting friends. They decided to exchange addresses, but neither of them had any paper. The man opened up a book he was carrying in his backpack(背包) and asked Emma to write her name and address inside. When he returned to California, he left the book behind in Montreal, and his friend Alex kept it. When Alex later moved to Jerusalem, he took the book along.
1. Alex lent Emma the book, Markings, .
| A．to show his friendliness to her |
| B．to show his interest in reading |
| C．to tell her about the importance of the UN |
| D．to let her write her name and address inside |
| A．Pleased. | B．Satisfied | C．Worried. | D．Surprised. |
| A．met Emma at a concert | B．invited Emma to a concert |
| C．introduced Emma to his friend | D．left Emma his backpack |
| A．An official of the UN. | B．A coffee shop owner. |
| C．A friend of the author’s. | D．Alex’s friend from California. |
【推荐2】Looking back, Geoff Banks of Devon, England can hardly even remember how he first started writing to his American friend, Celesta Byrne.
Geoff and Celesta were given each other’s names and addresses as part of a school pen pal program back in 1938. They’re both now 100 years old, and a lot has changed in the past 84 years: their age changed ;their appearance changed; but one thing has not—they still use the traditional way to contact.
“I honestly struggle to remember something, but I was talking to Celesta recently and I think it was something to do with an American school’s scheme,” Geoff said,” They matched us up with Americans for a pen pal relationship, and somehow I ended up with this letter from an American girl, and we’ve just kept corresponding (通信) ever since.”
Geoff and Celesta’s relationship never turned romantic, but they shared a lot over the decades. They kept up their correspondence through World War II, sending updates about their families, friends, and work. In 2002, they finally got a chance to meet in person during a trip to New York City. Two years later, they met up again, but ever since then they’ve gone back to pen and paper.
Recently, they’ve switched to digital forms of communication to stay in touch. Their children have helped them set up email accounts. “I’ve known this new thing called Zoom, I think, now to chat with her, but I leave all the technology to younger people. Deep down, I refuse to use Zoom. Writing to Celesta has been a source of great satisfaction for me over the years,” said Geoff.
Celesta says their relationship is “like people who live next door”. “You know how they’re doing, you say a few words, and then you both go to work,” she explained. “She’s always been there to write to, even if it was just birthday cards and Christmas cards.” Geoff added.
1. What do Geoff and Celesta insist on doing over the 80 years?| A．Sending cards. | B．Writing to each other. |
| C．Enjoying telling jokes. | D．Struggling to remember things. |
| A．When they ran a scheme. | B．Why they liked writing. |
| C．What they both liked to do. | D．How they got in touch. |
| A．stable and romantic. | B．harmonious but short. |
| C．close and lasting. | D．difficult but satisfying. |
| A．To introduce a way to make friends. |
| B．To teach us skills of writing letters. |
| C．To tell us a tale of lifelong friends. |
| D．To stress the power of technology. |
【推荐3】In the August sun, it’s unbearably hot in my car. I’m in Vancouver, approaching the Knight Street Bridge as I try to get home after work. It’s 5:15 p. m. Traffic is already slowing down and then it comes to a full stop. I’m stuck even before getting on the bridge.
This has become my normal work commute routine. Ahead of me is a heavily jammed on-ramp (驶进匝道). I stare at the endless rows of vehicles, and my heart sinks.
My initial reaction is always refusal. This is not how it looks. The traffic will soon start moving. Seconds pass. Minutes pass. Looking at the rows of cars and trucks glittering in the sun, I start counting — 299, 300, 301 — and I give up. Suddenly, I remember I’m one of the 300 helpless drivers, but I stay awake. When the cars do move, I move carefully, making sure not to bump into other vehicles. Finally, I make it onto the bridge. The traffic is still crawling at a snail’s pace. Tired and hungry, I become very anxious.
Just then, I hear a weak sound in the distance. The sound gradually becomes louder, until I can identify it as an emergency vehicle approaching from behind. What can we do? The bridge is packed, and there’s no room for us to move.
But I’m wrong. Every single car quickly, yet carefully, moves to the side. Without thinking, I follow suit. The lane remains open for a few seconds during which the ambulance flashes through. Afterward, every car moves back into formation. We close up the emergency lane, ready to continue our patient wait. Back in my spot, I’m feeling awesome. I forget my tiredness and hunger. My anxiety is gone. I start reflecting upon what 300 fellow drivers and I just did.
How did we do that? Regardless of our tiredness, we collectively decided to help the stranger who needed the time more desperately than we did. We drew on our sympathy and intelligence, requiring no instructions.
Although I may seem alone stuck on the bridge, I’m connected to all the other drivers. Together, we could make the impossible possible.
1. How does the author feel when seeing endless rows of vehicles on the on-ramp?| A．Angry. |
| B．Confident. |
| C．Discouraged. |
| D．Amazed. |
| A．A policeman should direct the traffic. |
| B．All drivers will move their cars aside. |
| C．Everyone should help strangers in need. |
| D．It will be impossible for it to pass through. |
| A．People’s kindness. |
| B．Drivers’ positive attitudes. |
| C．Instructions from a stranger. |
| D．Drivers’ good driving skills. |
| A．Letting help through |
| B．Passing on kindness |
| C．Challenging the impossible |
| D．Staying calm in heavy traffic |
