The men glanced around the living room which Hana had taken great pains to decorate properly. A new flowered rug lay on the floor, and fresh white curtains that Kiku had helped Hana sew hung at the windows. The first tight buds of the flowering peach in their yard had begun to bloom, and knowing there would be callers, Hana had arranged a bunch on the table.
“We’ ll come right to the point,” a tall red-headed man said without bothering to sit down.
“There’ve been some complaints from the neighbourhood about having Japanese on this block,”
Taro caught his breath. “I see. Can you tell me who it was that complained?”
“Just some of the neighbours.”
“What is it that we have done to offend them?”
“Well, nothing specific.”
Taro looked at each of the men in turn and tried to keep his voice steady. “Gentlemen,” he began. “My wife and I looked many, many months to find a home where we might raise our daughter. When the owner said there would be no objection to our moving in here, we trusted him. It was a dream come true for us. We have already spent much time and money to make this house our home. And now, you would ask us to leave?”
Taro dared not stop before he finished all he wanted to say: “I should like to meet those neighbours who object to us,” he said. “Is it any of you gentlemen?”
The men looked uncomfortable. “We’re just here to represent them.”
“Then please invite them to come talk to me. If they can tell me why we aren’t desirable or why we do not deserve their respect, I shall consider their request. I am the proprietor of Takeda Dry Goods and Grocers on Seventh Street and I would be happy to have them visit my shop as well.”
The men glanced uneasily at one another and had nothing more to say.
1. The main purpose of the gentlemen’s visit was to ________.| A．arrange a meeting for Taro to talk with the angry neighbours |
| B．make Taro aware of the complaints about the family’s decorations |
| C．tell Taro that his family was not welcome in the neighbourhood |
| D．extend their welcome to the family to settle in the neighbourhood |
| A．owner | B．newcomer | C．customer | D．caller |
| A．He was eager to avoid conflicts. | B．He was brave to defend his rights. |
| C．He was offensive and disrespectful. | D．He was considerate of others’ feelings. |
| A．Unsafe neighbourhood. | B．Illegal Immigration. |
| C．Housing shortage. | D．Racial prejudice. |
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【推荐1】The United Nations’ International Year of Soils is hardly a media favorite. Maybe it’s because many people are like me, who recall Mom’s words: “Take off your shoes! Don’t bring dirt into the house! “With all the challenges in the world today, why would we recognize soils?
Simply put, soils are literally the base that humans stand on. Ignoring the importance of this meter-thick skin covering our planet is like ignoring the importance of the air we breathe.
Without healthy soils, we would not be here.
Soil provides the structure and nutrients needed to grow our food. It stores water that satisfies the thirst of the environment, agriculture and humans. It houses the largest amount of carbon (碳)on land, keeping the climate from warming even faster. It provides the necessary support for the habitat of all life on land-including diversity in the soil itself (in some regions, just a handful of soil contains microorganisms that are more than the people on Earth). In short, soil plays an essential role not only in feeding humans but in supporting the living things that produce the oxygen we breathe and purifying the water we drink. In other words, soil keeps our planet habitable.
We, therefore, must stop considering ”soil“ a dirty word and remember that the food we eat and water we drink can be traced back to it. Businesses should adopt guidelines that ensure the long term health and productivity of soil. And local and national governments should provide policies that encourage soil protection.
Soil is one of the most important resources on our planet, and we have ignored it too long-at our own risk. The most important thing that can happen is a change in mind-set that recognizes soil is not dirt. It’s life beneath our feet.
1. Why does the author mention Mom’s words?| A．To criticize media. |
| B．To find fault with parents |
| C．To show a common attitude. |
| D．To promote International Year of Soils. |
| A．roles | B．types | C．health | D．structure |
| A．Soil Being in Danger |
| B．Making the Most of Soil |
| C．Unearthing the Importance of Soil |
| D．Healthy Soil Growing More Food |
【推荐2】Why can’t we stop longing for the good old days
People in many countries are longing for the good old days. But when exactly were the good old days? Podcaster Jason Feifer devoted an episode of his program to this question. The most popular answer seemed to be the 1950s, so Mr. Feifer asked historians whether Americans in that decade thought it was particularly pleasant. Definitely not. In the 1950s, American sociologists worried that rampant individualism was tearing the family apart. There were serious racial and class tensions, and everyone lived under the nuclear threat.
In fact, many in the 1950s thought that the good old days were to be found a generation earlier, in the 1920s. But in the 1920s, child psychologist John Watson warned that because of increasing divorce races, the American family would soon cease to exist. Many people at the time idealized the Victor inn era, when families are strong and children respected their elders.
Why are human beings always so nostalgia for past eras that seemed difficult and dangerous to those who lived through them? One possibility is that we know we survived past dangers, so they seem smaller now. But we can never be certain we will solve the problems we are facing today. Radio didn't ruin the younger generation, but maybe the smart phone will.
Another reason is that historical nostalgia is often colored by personal nostalgia. When were the good old days? Was it, by chance, the incredibly short period when you happened to be young? A U.S. Poll found that people born in the 1930s and 1940s thought the 1950s was America’s best decade, while those born in the 1960s and 1970s preferred the 1980s.
This kind of nostalgia has neurological roots. Researchers have found that we encode more memories during adolescence and early adult hood than any other period of our lives, and when we think about the past, this is the period we most often return to. Moreover, as we grow more distant from past events, we tend to remember them more positively.
Obviously, some things readily were better in the past. But our instinctive nostalgia for the good old days can easily deceive us, with dangerous consequences. Longing for the past and fear of the future inhibit the experiments and innovations that drive progress.
Vaccination, steam engines, railroads and electricity all met with strong resistance when they were first introduced. The point isn’t to show how silly previous generations were. The same kinds of anxieties have been expressed in our own time about innovations like the internet, video games and stem-cell research.
And not all fears about the future are unbounded. New technologies do result in accidents, they disturb traditional cultures and habits, and they destroy old jobs while creating new ones. But the only way to learn how to make the best use of new technologies and reduce risks is by trial and error. The future won’t be perfect, but neither were the good old days.
1. The word “rampant” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________| A．limited | B．reasonable | C．uncontrolled | D．traditional |
| A．when American families still remained strong and children respected their elders |
| B．that was believed by Americans born in the 1930s and the 1940s to be the best decade |
| C．that saw a sharp increase in individualism and divorce rate in American society |
| D．when radical and class tensions became more serious but people no longer lived under the nuclear threat |
① people have a better memory of adolescence and early adulthood.
② More dangerous things happen during their youth and they learned how to survive them.
③ The dangers in youth were smaller and easier for people to deal with.
④ people remember events in their youth more positively as time goes by.
| A．①② | B．①③ | C．①④ | D．②④ |
| A．The current generation is not as silly As the previous generations. |
| B．It is unwise to be simply opposed to any new inventions and technologies. |
| C．People are constantly deceived by their instinctive nostalgia for the good old days. |
| D．The internet, video games and stem-cell research pose great threats to humanity. |
【推荐3】Nowadays more and more people like to travel, especially when vacations come. A great number of people rush out of their homes or companies to travelling spots. They either drive ortake a bus, a train, a ship and so on. Some even ride bikes.
However, there is another way of travelling—poorism. People have a tour in the poorest areas of the world. Some people may take one-day poorest tour, and some even pay to stay in very poor neighborhoods to experience the lowest living standards in the world. Poorism tours take place around the world, and not just in the third world countries. You can, for instance, tour New York neighborhoods in the Bronx, in the Bund of Shanghai. Such tours can take people into the heart of poor areas within large and in some rich cities. These tours may awaken people to pay more attention to long-standing poverty, or the effects of war.
Some suggest that tours in the poor areas can raise social care. And the money from the tour
can be donated to help the people there.
1. like to travel when vacations come.
| A．Few people | B．Poor people |
| C．Lots of people | D．Rich people |
| A．贫困 | B．穷人 |
| C．穷游 | D．可怜的人 |
| A．to show how rich they are | B．to experience the poor life |
| C．to enjoy the beautiful scenes | D．to see poor people |
| A．care for the poverty more | B．know about the countryside |
| C．go to big cities | D．go into the heart of rich cities |
【推荐1】When I was a teenage boy, my parents signed me up in a local junior golf camp. From that moment, my life has been pretty much devoted to the game.
When I play golf, there’s always a chance of making something magical happen-whether it’s breaking a personal record or potentially making a hole-in-one. This is the aspect of golf that attracted me in growing up. However, I had to take a break because I couldn’t really afford to play while in college, suffering from burnout. I’d still go out once in a while to play with friends, but for the first time since my teens, I was away from my community.
Several years later, my enthusiasm for playing golf was inspired again. I became familiar with the game again after playing on and off at Langston Golf Course. From the moment I arrived. this place felt like one of the courses where I grew up: A modest spot where people of all working-class backgrounds came to experience the game, eat lunch or have a drink. A place where golfers who are Black, brown and women are welcomed.
The sense of community I’ve regained with the game is more than I could’ve ever imagined. I like hiking around, chasing a little white ball around a golf course. I also like connecting with old friends and meeting new ones. Some I’ve been playing with since high school, and our text threads are loaded with trash talk about who’s playing well and who isn’t. They’re usually the ones spurring me to practice and get better. We share experiences on the golf course that are memorable and have stories for days: My circle only seems to be expanding, and I’m excited to see what the future bolds.
1. Why was the author once away from his golf community?| A．He couldn’t spare time to play golf. | B．He didn’t feel a sense of achievement. |
| C．He wanted to make more new friends | D．He tried to get out of his parents’ control |
| A．It carried his past memories | B．It reminded him to keep modest |
| C．It offered him a sense of belonging. | D．It witnessed his accomplishments |
| A．Hating. | B．Warning. | C．Forbidding | D．Pushing. |
| A．Golf: My Journey to Greatness | B．Golf: More Than a Game to Me |
| C．Discovering Enthusiasm for Golf | D．Pursuing Perfection Through Golf |
【推荐2】The last attempt of Ken Campbell to run could date back to high school. When his wife, Susan, injured her foot, she needed support to rejoin her running group, so Campbell went along to keep her company in the recovery.” We were just walking at the beginning,” he says, “I was heavy, and weighed over 90kg.” But as the weeks and months passed, the weight fell away, Susan recovered and Campbell’s abilities grew. At the age of 63, he ran 50km, and at 70, he completed a 100km ultramarathon.
So how does someone with no experience of running become an ultradistance runner in his 60s and 70s? Susan had run marathons before her injury, but for Campbell, the turning point came when Susan’s Fleet Feet running group started training near their home.
Campbell went out to visit Susan’s group, and “the paths were a terrible mess. It had been raining, and I was slipping, sliding and falling. But I thought, well, I like this a lot.” What he liked above all was the feeling of “being wrapped by the path, being hugged by the closeness of the plants and the nearness of the river”.
Running the 100km ultramarathon took Campbell 16 hours. When Campbell crossed the finish line, Susan handed hima100km sticker to display on the back of his truck. “It is a public statement that you are part of this community,” he says. “Wherever we park, I see a line of vehicles with their various stickers and I feel that we area community.”
Campbell suffered from arthritis before he started running, and was “waiting for knee replacement”, but for now, he no longer needs an operation. It can put an end to the running—but the “sense of wellbeing and achievement will carry me on forever”, he says, “If I can’t run, I will walk.”
1. What is Paragraph 1 mainly about?| A．What led to Campbell’s weight loss. |
| B．What made Campbell start running. |
| C．Why Campbell attempted to run marathon. |
| D．What Campbell did for Susan’s recovery. |
| A．Susan’s starting training. | B．Falling down when training. |
| C．Feeling free in nature. | D．His visit to Susan’s group. |
| A．A sense of belonging. | B．Encouragement from his wife. |
| C．A sense of achievement. | D．Display of his happiness. |
| A．Well begun is half done. | B．It is never too late to begin. |
| C．Failure is the mother of success. | D．Actions speak louder than words. |
【推荐3】When Joseph Novetske finished raking (清理) leaves in his backyard a few weeks ago, he suddenly stopped. “I happened to look at my hand. No ring,” said Novetske, 80, who lives in Charlotte, Michigan, with his wife, Mary Ann. His handmade gold wedding ring, which he wore for 42 years, had gone missing. Worried, he began to look for it.
The couple searched the yard with no luck and it was getting dark. “I was feeling a little hopeless,” said Mary Ann Novetske, 71.
The following morning on Nov. 5, she posted in a private Facebook group called “What’s happening in Charlotte, Michigan now.” “Does anyone have a metal detector (探测器)?” she wrote in a post, explaining what had happened.
Shortly after sharing the post, Mary Ann Novetske had dozens of responses on her post. That afternoon, eight people showed up at their home, five of whom were strangers, and the other three were neighbors, to look for the ring. A few of them had brought metal detectors.
They searched the large backyard. It was filled with several tall piles (堆) of leaves Joseph Novetske had raked the day before. “They didn’t know us, but here they were,” said Mary Ann Novetske. “It was exciting to see so many people care about this.” Her husband was also touched. “We love community,” he said.
When the search had hit hour three, the group collectively began working on a pile of leaves at the back of the yard. Then Joseph Novetske saw something shiny. “I saw the ring shining because it was a beautiful sunny day,” he said. “There it was!” The searchers were overjoyed. While losing the ring was stressful, the couple said that finding it filled them with hope.
“It was a community hunt,” said Lisa Delcamp, who lives next door to the Novetskes. “We should lend a hand and be willing to step in when our neighbors are in need.”
1. What happened to Joseph a few weeks ago?| A．He lost his gold ring. | B．He fell in his backyard. |
| C．He couldn’t find his home. | D．He couldn’t contact his wife. |
| A．To start a group discussion. | B．To show her experiences. |
| C．To ask for a special tool. | D．To share happy moments. |
| A．They invited neighbors over. | B．They cleaned the leaves. |
| C．They were stressful. | D．They were moved. |
| A．Attend. | B．Help | C．Change | D．Challenge |
【推荐1】I met a beautiful soul yesterday. I went to work with my computer to a local café so that I could have dinner there. It was raining a bit this time and also I was among people. Sometimes when you work from home all day this is in itself a treat. And the magic of the connection sometimes happens—a smile, someone offering you the newspaper, a short conversation with the staff, a peace dove flying past and lots of possibilities for love and kindness.
Well, magic did happen. I heard a man who was speaking with difficulty and very loud. I noticed he could not speak so clearly and he had some kind of impairment (损伤). As often happens, people looked at him or avoided doing so, and then—as if embarrassed or afraid—looked down. In these cases I try to do the opposite. I imagined a person in these situations would want to feel integrated (融入群体).
So I decided to deliberately (故意地) look at him and smile. It was an instant (瞬间)! He looked at me, smiled and immediately said hello. With a combination of spoken and body language he asked if he could approach me. I agreed. He introduced me to his friend who taught sign language online and explained that they were both deaf, after which he even told me about his wife and how he loved teaching. I apologized for not knowing sign language and hoped I’d learned. We still managed to have a beautiful “conversation” which made us all very happy. I’m sure we’ll meet again to experience the magic of being with others.
1. Why did the author go to the café yesterday?| A．To find someone beautiful. | B．To work and eat something. |
| C．To ask for a latest newspaper. | D．To have a short talk with others. |
| A．Being included into normal life. | B．Accepting help from people around. |
| C．Avoiding the embarrassments in life. | D．Having a friend in the same situation. |
| A．He pretended not to see him. | B．He had a joke with him. |
| C．He looked and smiled at him. | D．He laughed at him like others. |
| A．A Special Café | B．A Broken Heart |
| C．Power of Sign Language | D．Magic at the Café |
【推荐2】Lauren Elizabeth Pirie Bath, until a few years ago, she was a chef, and a happy one at that time, but she wanted more out of life. She wanted to TRAVEL. At that time, Lauren discovered blogging and found that she took pretty good pictures. So she decided to post pictures on her blog. In less than 18 moths, there were over 200,000 people reading her blog! At first, Lauren only regarded it as a hobby, but companies started paying her to take photos and publish them. In 2013, she was determined to make her dream come true: to become Australia’s first professional photo blogger. It was a challenging job, but she did it. Now Lauren spends three weeks out of every month travelling and has over 464,000 fans following her online.
First visiting Western Australia for work in 2013, Lauren fell in love with northern WA and has been back six times. She has made over 140 work trips, but the best work trip ever was to Broome in the Kimberley region.
“It is extremely beautiful and I can experience the indigenous Australia there more than anywhere else. The Kimberley region, in particular, is unique and untouched.” She told the interviewer, and as a photographer, Lauren loves the bright light and amazing colours: red rocks, green plants, blue-green waters and blue skies.
To work full time in travel, she has to love nature and tries to take every opportunity to get outside and admire the natural world. She loves to photograph the rising sun, as well as enjoys photo graphing animals such as dolphins and kangaroos.
Lauren uses the photography to make an impact on people, especially when it comes to environmental issues. Today she has been photographing a crocodile swimming close to the boat the Kimberley Quest all day. When she posts the picture online, she will make a comment about how bad it is to feed wild crocodiles. This crocodile is used to passengers throwing food from boats and now she is becoming familiar with humans. Over time, this could make her a danger to people living to the area. If everyone can do something to make others aware of the problem, then that’s part of the solution.
1. What made Lauren decide to change her job?| A．She wanted to travel. |
| B．Companies paid her to take photos. |
| C．Many people read her blog in a short time. |
| D．She wanted more out of life. |
| A．Because its distinct and not damaged. |
| B．Because she loves the bright light and amazing colours. |
| C．Because it’s beautiful than anywhere else. |
| D．Because it makes Lauren Bath world-famous. |
| A．Lovely. | B．Native. | C．Fascinating. | D．Familiar. |
| A．To show her wonderful photographing skill. |
| B．To tell people the crocodile is in danger. |
| C．To call for more people’s love for animals. |
| D．To make people aware of the importance of environment protection. |
【推荐3】Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson Arizona. My earliest memories of my father are of a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and family, but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him, as a schoolgirl and young adult I feared him and felt bitter about him. He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A’s and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to struggle to think up things to say, feeling on guard.
On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father’s friends for lunch at an outdoor café. We walked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son’s funny facial expressions. Gone were my father’s critical (挑剔的) air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?
The next day, my dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father. And in doing so, I’m delighted with my new friend. My dad, in his new home in Arizona, is back to me from where he was.
1. In the writer’s earliest memories, how was her father?| A．Fat. | B．Successful. | C．Kind. |
| A．He did not love his children. |
| B．He expected his daughter got straight A’s. |
| C．Their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. |
| A．He seemed unhappy with her. |
| B．He became gentle and friendly. |
| C．He was still strict and critical. |
| A．Her father’s apologies. |
| B．Her father’s funny facial expressions. |
| C．Her father’s childhood pictures and stories. |
