After a car crash left 14-year-old Collin Smith unable to walk, doctors told him he had a 20 percent chance of finishing high school.The opportunity to attend college seemed even slimmer.Yet eight years later, Collin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from High Point University.Collin had achieved the nearly impossible --- with the help of a kind man five decades his senior.
Dial back to 2005.Ernest Greene had just moved to the same area that Collin and his parents lived.The families did not know each other.But when Ernest heard about Collin's accident and the fact that his parents would not be able to care full-time for their son, Ernest says, he felt a calling.“The Lord was leading me to help,” he says.He had time to spare.
Ernest approached Collin’s parents with the idea that he would look after the boy while they were at work.The Smiths gratefully accepted.Collin, now23, says it was hard for him to understand then “how someone I didn’t know would drop everything to help me.”
Ernest sought training to care for Collin and then began arriving at the Smiths’ home early on weekday mornings.He would help Collin get out of bed, wash, and dress.He would help him have breakfast.Then he’d drive Collin to school.And at 3 p.m., every day, Ernest would drive back to pick him up.Then, while the two waited for one of Collin's parents to get home, “we played a lot of Monopoly,” says Ernest with a laugh.
Collin graduated from high school with the rest of his class and was accepted to nearby High Point.Ernest accompanied him to every class.“The first year was interesting,” Ernest recalls.“Collin didn't want to stick out.” Ernest.on the other hand, says he took full advantage of the opportunity, taking down notes and often commenting in class.
On graduation day, Ernest received an honorary degree in humanities.“I was floored,” he says.But Collin wasn't surprised.“Ernest is an example of the way a man should live --- calm, humble," he says.
1. Which of the following is true about Collin and Ernest?| A．Collin was fifty years younger than Ernest. |
| B．Ernest and Collin knew each other since Collin was born. |
| C．Collin’s parents hired Ernest to look after him. |
| D．Ernest spared some time after work to care for Collin. |
| A．He waited at home for Collin's parents. |
| B．He attended the classes with Collin. |
| C．He drove back to nearby High Point. |
| D．He played Monopoly by himself. |
| A．disappointed | B．tired | C．praised | D．astonished |
| A．How Ernest helped Collin achieve a seemingly impossible goal. |
| B．How Collin's strong will got himself through the tough years. |
| C．How Ernest and Collin helped each other to finish their college education. |
| D．How Ernest's family found him a good way to conquer the fatal disease. |
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【推荐1】Like many of my generation, I have a weakness for hero worship. At some point, however, we all begin to question our heroes and our need for them. This leads us to ask: What is a hero?
Despite immense differences in cultures, heroes around the world generally share a number of characteristics that instruct and inspire people. A hero does something worth talking about. A hero has a story of adventure to tell and a community who will listen. But a hero goes beyond mere fame.
Heroes serve powers or principles larger than themselves. Like high-voltage (电压) transformers, heroes take the energy of higher powers and step it down so that it can be used by ordinary people.
The hero lives a life worthy of imitation. Those who imitate a genuine hero experience life with new depth, enthusiasm, and meaning. A sure test for would-be heroes is what or whom do they serve? What are they willing to live and die for? If the answer or evidence suggests they serve only their own fame, they may be famous persons but not heroes. Madonna and Michael Jackson are famous, but who would claim that their fans find life more abundant?
Heroes are catalysts for change. They have a vision from the mountain top. They have the skill and the charm to move the masses. They create new possibilities. Without Gandhi, India might still be part of the British Empire. Without Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, we might still have segregated buses, restaurants, and parks. It may be possible for large scale change to occur without leaders with magnetic personalities, but the pace of change would be slow, the vision uncertain and the committee meetings endless.
1. Although heroes may come from different cultures, they ________.| A．generally possess certain inspiring characteristics |
| B．probably share some weaknesses of ordinary people |
| C．are often influenced by previous generations |
| D．all unknowingly attract a large number of fans |
| A．they have a vision from the mountain top |
| B．they have warm feelings and emotions |
| C．they can serve as empowering examples of noble principles |
| D．they can make all people feel stronger and more confident |
| A．they are popular only among certain groups of people |
| B．their performances do not improve their fans morally |
| C．their primary concern is their own financial interests |
| D．they are not clear about the principles they should follow |
| A．are good at demonstrating their charming character |
| B．can move the masses with the skill and the charm |
| C．are capable of meeting all challenges and hardships |
| D．can provide an answer to the problems of their people |
【推荐2】I live in New York City, and my neighbours are people I don’t know. My city, neighbourhood and block are filled with people who don’t know me, don’t care to know me, and don’t talk to me. I find that it’s pretty hard to love people you don’t even know. And sometimes, we all, myself included, use that as an excuse not to try. I read Brendan’s story recently and was moved.
One day, Brendan, a young man in New York, was on the way back to his Brooklyn apartment when a homeless woman called Jackie asked him for money. He said that he had no money. By the end of the week, she asked two more times, and each time he answered “No”. The woman looked sad, so Brendan said, “I am on my way to a job interview. If I get the job, I will take you out for Chinese food.”
Brendan got the job. He took Jackie out for lunch. That was when their friendship began. They built a strong friendship by supporting each other and spending their birthdays, holidays and difficult times together, over a period of eight years. When Brendan’s heater broke, Jackie made a blanket for him. Two days later when he told her that he had lost his job, she left and returned minutes later, bringing him food to eat. She continued to do that during the whole winter. Even with so little, she often gave back.
Over these years, Jackie moved from the streets and subway stations into a halfway house, and is now moving into an apartment. To celebrate it, Brendan wanted to do something special for Jackie. He went with her to Target, and helped her to pick out everything she would need for her new apartment.
May Brendan’s story encourage us to find a new way to honour, serve and love the people around us.
1. What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 1?| A．He often stays indoors. |
| B．He cares about his neighbours. |
| C．He is good at making friends. |
| D．He hardly talks to his neighbours. |
| A．He was angry with her. |
| B．He didn’t give her any. |
| C．He offered her some food. |
| D．He gave her some spare change. |
| A．Jackie’s finding work at Target. |
| B．Jackie’s moving from the streets. |
| C．Jackie’s moving into an apartment. |
| D．Jackie’s moving into a halfway house. |
【推荐3】My kids sit in Gee's living room and excitedly lit old New Year decorations out of a well-loved cardboard box. She tells me that she and Tom built their decoration collection piece by piece during each year's after-New Year sale. She smiles as we leave with the box
We first met Tom and Gee in the early days of our marriage, someone had been returning our garbage cans to the garage each garbage day, and Jim and I had wondered who. Then one day we spotted him: an elderly man who lived across the street.
I baked cookies and left them on a bench outside the garbage with a thank-you note. When we got home from work that day, a typed letter had replaced the gift. The letter was from Tom and explained how he had come to walk the neighborhood on garbage day, retuning cans for people he barely knew. Back where he'd been fighting a war, his young wife, Gee, had found herself living alone. Neighbors had taken the time to handle her garbage cans so she didn't have to, and he never forgot. Now he paid it forward by doing the same for all of us. Unfortunately a few years after we'd moved in, Tom died.
These days, we're piling up boxes of our own. We're planning a move. The house that seemed so huge six years ago is filled to capacity with furniture and books and toys and, of course, people, We know it's time to go, and yet we can't seem to stick the For Sale sign up on the grassland. Gaining a third bedroom and maybe an office sometimes seems like a lousy trade for all we stand to lose.
It's not just Gee and Tom. It’s the man who lets our kids pick peaches of the tree in his front yard. It's the ladies who call Jim when their pool filter breaks and leave overflowing baskets for our kids on Easter. It's the officer who smiles and waves and makes me feel a little safer when Jim is away. It is they who teach us what it means to be a neighbor.
1. What do we know about the New Year decorations according to paragraph 1?| A．The kids don't like them. |
| B．Gee is willing to give them to us. |
| C．Gee sees them as useless now. , |
| D．Gee and Tom made them by themselves. |
| A．Tom lived across the street. |
| B．Tom liked the cookies the author baked. |
| C．Tom returned the garbage cans for the author. |
| D．Tom shared their decorations with the author. |
| A．they had just moved into the community |
| B．he had been saved by a neighbor during the war |
| C．his wife had been helped by the neighbors during his absence |
| D．there were so many garbage cans in the neighborhood at that time |
| A．Their house couldn't be sold at a high price |
| B．The author didn't want to leave their neighbors |
| C．The author's family was in bad need of a third bedroom |
| D．Their moving out would be a great loss for the neighbors |
【推荐1】Hope Matters
Reyes Guana, 42, grew up in a poor Mexican family. He has seven brothers and sisters. His parents always had two jobs to make ends meet.
As a boy, Guana had a good relationship with the school cleaner. He called her "Nike" because she wore Nike shoes. The boy liked how Nike made everything clean. He told her he wanted to be a cleaner, too. "Well, it's good if you want to be a cleaner," Nike told little Guana. "But make sure you go to college."
Guana also looked up to the principal of his school. The school leader told the boy that his job was to help students and teachers. "Wow, when I grow up, I want to do what you're doing," Guana told him. "Well, if you stick to your dream, you will," the principal replied.
And Guana really got there. But it was quite a long journey for him. Twenty-three years ago, he followed in Nike's footsteps and was cleaning schools. He worked at three schools to pay for his college education. He held that job for four years and then worked his way up to being a school safety monitor. After that, he worked as a teacher for a few years.
Now, as a principal, Guana never forgets where he came from. He helps students from poor families and shows respect for every school staff member. He always invites everyone to school parties, including those who clean the floors and those who drive the school buses.
1. Guana hoped to be a cleaner because he ________.| A．was good at cleaning | B．admired the cleaner "Nike" a lot |
| C．needed to support his poor family | D．had to pay for his college education |
| A．when he was nineteen | B．after he worked as a teacher |
| C．as soon as he got enough money | D．before he became a principal |
| A．went back to "Nike" | B．entered a college |
| C．realized one's dream | D．became well-known |
| A．Guana should have been named principal earlier |
| B．a boy from a poor family can have a bright future |
| C．a cleaner is more important than a college student |
| D．the cleaners and the drivers should get more respect |
【推荐2】Sarah Ramadan had always been a perfectionist to draw more attention from others. “It’s hard to say if I ever did things for myself,” she said. Her drive for perfectionism even influenced her body. “I thought I would be a better person if I lost weight since that meant I cared for my figure,” she said.
Ramadan started to make changes, slowly by cutting food intake (摄入).However, things began to get worse and she developed anorexia (厌食症). “Gradually, I was having greater food fears. I related weight increase with shame,” she said. The extreme weight loss seriously affected her health. She was always freezing, had dry skin and thinning hair, and developed an irregular heartbeat and low blood sugar.
To hide her weight loss, Ramadan wore thick clothes. Then one day her mother walked in her room while she was only in a T-shirt. Her mother began to cry. Only then did them other know her poor condition. Realizing the trouble, her parents placed her in a treatment center. Ramadan’s weight increased, and she looked recovered, but mentally she was still fighting with anorexia. After half a year, her weight went to the lowest again and she could no longer walk without her mother’s support. She left university for that.
Ramadan finally realized she had a choice to make: To beat her anorexia or to die. She turned to her brother, Aladdin, a bodybuilder for help, who set up a meal plan to increase her food intake. “I knew I needed to eat to gain weight, but eating is actually physically exhausting when you’re not used to it. I had to learn how to enjoy food again,” said Ramadan. She started to feel a difference and was motivated to continue. In addition, Ramadan also hit the gym to build herself up physically. She said, “Where there is a will, there is a way. I eventually make it. Not only did I get weight, but most importantly, I got life.”
1. Why did Ramadan want to lose weight?| A．To present herself better. | B．To get a healthy body. |
| C．To help recover from diseases. | D．To satisfy her parents. |
| A．She felt ashamed of her weight. | B．She failed to get dressed on her own. |
| C．She was suffering from anorexia. | D．She was disappointed with her diet. |
| A．Her determination. | B．Doctors’ advice. |
| C．Aladdin’s encouragement. | D．Her mother’s attention. |
| A．A girl’s advice on how to battle anorexia | B．A girl’s fear of suffering from anorexia |
| C．A girl’s journey to becoming a bodybuilder | D．A girl’s choice between life and death |
【推荐3】To most people, noise pollution is a jet flying over their head. For one Spanish woman, it is a neighbor playing the piano. The woman has taken her neighbor to court. Now she wants to send her neighbor to prison for over seven years on the charges of psychological damage and noise pollution.
In a country known for its noisiness, the case has raised eyebrows. Neighbors often complain about street noise in Spain, but people seeking prison time for someone practicing the piano is
unheard of. At the trial, Sonia Bosom says she has been suffering noise pollution up to now due tothe practice sessions of Laia Martin, who lives below her. Martin, 27, didn’t admit that she played at home that often, saying she took regular classes in other towns and mostly practiced at home on the weekends.
On the first day of the trial, the newspaper reported that Bosom told the court she now hated pianos so much that she couldn’t even stand seeing them in a film.Bosom says years of hearing
constant playing has caused her “psychological injury”. Medical reports show she has suffered
from a variety of problems, including insomnia (失眠), anxiety, and panic attacks.
She says tests by local authorities have found that the sound levels made by the piano are up to10 decibels (分贝) higher than the limit. City authorities have asked the family several times to either stop the piano playing or soundproof (隔音) the room. The family told the court that they carried out soundproofing work twice but the complaints continued.
The court hasn’t made a final decision. A spokeswoman says the trial will end before May.
1. Bosom wants to send Martin to prison because _______.| A．Martin’s playing the piano damaged her health |
| B．Bosom suffered from heart attack |
| C．Martin refused to take regular classes in other towns |
| D．Martin flew a jet over her head |
| A．She stopped playing the piano. |
| B．She soundproofed the room. |
| C．She didn’t admit she played at home. |
| D．She took her neighbor to court. |
| A．A 7-year Sentence Caused by the Piano |
| B．A Pianist Accused of Noise Pollution |
| C．Health Problems of a Spanish Woman |
| D．Actions Against Noise by Local Authority |
Alice Moore is a teenager entrepreneur (创业者), who in May 2015 set up her business AilieCandy. By the time she was 13, her company was worth millions of dollars with the invention of a super-sweet treat that could save kids’ teeth, instead of destroying them.
It all began when Moore visited a bank with her dad. On the outing, she was offered a candy bar. However, her dad reminded her that sugary treats were bad for her teeth. But Moore was sick of missing out on candies. So she desired to get round the warning, “Why can’t I make a healthy candy that’s good for my teeth so that my parents can’t say no to it?” With that in mind, Moore asked her dad if she could start her own candy company. He recommended that she do some research and talk to dentists about what a healthier candy would contain.
With her dad’s permission, she spent the next two years researching online and conducting trials to get a recipe that was both tasty and tooth-friendly. She also approached dentists to learn more about teeth cleaning. Consequently, she succeeded in making a kind of candy only using natural sweeteners, which can reduce oral bacteria.
Moore then used her savings to get her business off the ground. Afterwards, she and her father secured their first business meeting with a supermarket owner, who finally agreed to sell Moore’s product — CanCandy.
As CanCandy’s success grows, so does Moore’s credibility as a young entrepreneur. Moore is enthusiastic about the candy she created, and she’s also positive about what the future might bring. She hopes that every kid can have a clean mouth and a broad smile.
Meanwhile, with her parents’ help, Moore is generally able to live a normal teenage life. Although she founded her company early on in life, she wasn’t driven primarily by profit. Moore wants to use her unique talent to help others find their smiles. She donates 10% of AilicCandy’s profits to Big Smiles. With her talent and determination, it appears that the sky could be the limit for Alice Moore.
1. How did Moore react to her dad’s warning? (No more than 10 words)2. What is special about CanCandy? (No more than 10 words)
3. What does Moore expect from her business? (No more than 10 words)
4. How do you understand the underlined part in the last paragraph? (no more than 5 words)
5. How does Moore’s story inspire you to achieve success? Put it in your own words. (No more than 20 words)
【推荐2】Most people who ran the marathon last month spent days before resting up and days after recovering. But not Jacky Hunt-Broersma. In total, she ran 104 marathons in 104 days. If it’s confirmed by Guinness World Records, that would be a new world record. And she did it all with one leg and a prosthesis (假肢).
“Someone able-bodied had done it previously. I wanted to see if I could do it on a prosthetic leg and see what would happen,” she said. “I thought it would be a great way to inspire others to push their limits because I truly believe that we’re stronger than what we think. And I’ve been so pleasantly surprised that my body is held up, everything is held up and I’ve made it to 104.”
She actually did not pick up the sport until after she lost the lower part of her left leg in 2001 to a type of cancer called Ewing sarcoma. Runners using a prosthetic leg can’t use a regular one. They need a running blade (刀锋式跑步义肢). Hunt-Broersma has two, but she was only able to run with one because of the swelling she experienced in her left leg that made it impossible to connect to the other blade. But even with the pain that occurred, she has been able to put up with it and continued.
All together, Hunt-Broersma ran over 4, 385 kilometers. During that time she has had a lot of time to think and has learned a few things about herself. “It has taught me how strong one can be and how important absolute determination is. If you’re mentally strong, you can do anything,” she said. “And our bodies are just amazing ... This whole journey was impressive and super hard, but it’s told me how strong I can be as a person and how far I can push myself.”
1. Why did Hunt-Broersma decide to run marathons?| A．She wanted to set a new record. |
| B．She intended to challenge herself. |
| C．She was driven by her interest. |
| D．She was inspired by people like her. |
| A．She didn’t get professional training. |
| B．She found it hard to keep her balance. |
| C．She suffered discomfort in her left leg. |
| D．She couldn’t use regular running blades. |
| A．Rome wasn’t built in a day. |
| B．Time works wonders. |
| C．A good beginning is half the battle. |
| D．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. |
| A．Annoyed. | B．Sympathetic. |
| C．Admiring. | D．Humorous. |
【推荐3】After their three children grew up and left home, Margaret Thompson and her husband, Kenneth, stretched their legs together on walking holidays in Switzerland. In Interlaken, they would head up the mountain and watch the paragliders (滑翔伞运动员) launch themselves into the sky. Back in town, in a large park, they watched them return to the earth. “Some day I’d love to do that,” Thompson told Kenneth.
But there was always so much to do in Interlaken. Besides, Thompson didn’t know if Kenneth would have enjoyed it. He was not so keen on heights as I was, she said. So she continued to watch the gliders take flight and land.
Kenneth died in 2005. Eleven years later, Thompson finally took to the skies herself, in a paraglider at the age of 80. Although some people get scared while flying, she said she just feels free. Thompson did her second paraglide when she turned 85, and raised nearly £2, 000 for a local charity.
Before leaving Interlaken after her second flight, Thompson asked the organizers about the age limit for paragliding. They said: “Any age, as long as you’re fit.” Thompson, now 86, plans her third flight for when she is 90.
Thompson grew up living above her parents’ shop in Belfast. At 18, she helped in the shop while studying for her music diploma in Stranmillis, south Belfast. She started to teach piano to local children, and at the height of her teaching she gave 70 lessons a week. She still has 15 pupils. “Over the years I’ve had so many that I’m teaching their children now.”
Is she scared of getting older? “Fear? No. People say: ‘Isn’t getting old awful?’ I say: ‘No. You are free to do more of the things that you want to do.’” “People might worry about falling, it being the end of them. But that doesn’t bother me at all. When it’s your time, it’s your time. No matter where you are.” Thompson added.
1. What can we know about Thompson from the first two paragraphs?| A．She appreciated being alone. | B．She was crazy about paragliding. |
| C．She often worked overtime. | D．She didn’t fit in with her husband. |
| A．Courageous and optimistic. | B．Sensitive and open-minded. |
| C．Romantic and cautious. | D．Considerate and humorous. |
| A．To compare different old people. | B．To inspire people to care for the old. |
| C．To show getting old isn’t so unpleasant. | D．To erase doubts about old people’s health. |
| A．Aging makes a difference. | B．Time and tide wait for no man. |
| C．Rome wasn’t built in a day. | D．It’s never too late to fulfill a dream. |
