Eight years ago. Al Nixon decided to begin each day from a bench with a spectacular view of St. Petersburg’s waterfront in Florida. “I call it ‘life rising’ because watching a sunrise makes me feel positive and centered before I start my day,” says Nixon, who works for the city’s water department. It is Nixon’s own version of daily motivation.
A year later, a woman stopped to say hello, and she said something that changed his perspective on his daily ritual. “She said, ‘You know, every morning when I see you sitting here, I know that everything is going to be OK,’” Nixon recalls. “That was when I knew: I needed to pay attention to the people walking past. I needed to make eye contact and let people know that we matter to each other.”
Instead of staring straight ahead at the waterfront, Nixon started smiling at people and striking up conversations. And pretty soon, more than a few early risers began joining him on the bench, sometimes unburdening themselves and telling him their relationship, career or personal problems. “I was happy to listen. I wanted them to walk away knowing they didn’t have to feel lonely,” Nixon, now 59, says. “When you’re in your 50s and 60s or beyond, a lot of people feel their purpose hasn’t been fulfilled. At this stage in life, this is definitely my purpose.”
So, every morning, weather permitting, Nixon rises at 4:30 a. m. He puts on a hat, sips a cup of coffee, and then drives seven miles to the waterfront, where he’ll stay for two hours. His presence, his openness to listen and his kindness towards strangers have led them to nickname him the Sunshine Mayor.
No matter what problem a person wants to air, Nixon lends an ear. But some people just sit down and don’t want to talk or share stories. They simply want to sit next to someone and share the silence. “A woman stopped once and said, ‘I just want to sit here with you,’” Nixon recalls. “We stared at the water for an hour, and then she said thank you and walked away. She just wanted a moment of peace and to know she wasn’t alone. And in that moment, in that hour, on that morning, she truly wasn’t.”
1. Why did Nixon decide to begin his day from the bench eight years ago?| A．To develop a habit. | B．To seek mental power. |
| C．To enjoy seaside views. | D．To interact with strangers. |
| A．Inspired. | B．Relaxed. |
| C．Touched. | D．Worried. |
| A．He is laughed at by others. |
| B．He is a responsible official. |
| C．He warms strangers’ hearts. |
| D．He likes sunny days particularly. |
| A．One has to learn to listen. |
| B．Not everyone is a good storyteller. |
| C．It’s not easy to fulfill different needs. |
| D．Silent company matters to some people. |
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【推荐1】On August 27, 1883, just after 10 a. m, the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia made the loudest sound known to history. It sent sound waves around the world four times and could be heard 3,000 miles away on the island of Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean. That, for the purpose of comparison, is the same as Californians hearing a noise made in New York. In Rodrigues, as in other faraway places, the noise was taken to be cannon(大炮)fire. In Western Australia, 2,000 miles away, people thought war had erupted.
The sound was so powerful that it ruptured(使破裂) the eardrums(鼓膜) of people working on a British ship 40 miles from the eruption. “This is so surprisingly loud,” writer Aatish Bhatia noted in Discover magazine post.
The Krakatoa eruption was one of history’s deadliest natural disasters. More than 36, 400 people died, from lava flows that raced at 60 miles per hour and tsunamis that reached a height of 120 feet and destroyed some 165 coastal villages.
Volcanic matter thrown into the air caused sunsets so strange that people in New York, Connecticut and other places called the fire department, fearing fires had broken out. In the year following the eruption, the average temperature around the world fell by 1.2 degrees Celsius (℃), and the earth remained unusually cool for about five more years.
Little was left of Krakatoa after the eruption. In 1927, a volcanic island known as Anak Krakatoa was formed at the site of the big eruption. It is an active volcano. An eruption in December 2018 caused a tsunami that killed more than 400 people.
1. Why are places like Rodrigues and Western Australia mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To draw attention to big volcanic eruptions. |
| B．To show how loud the Krakatoa eruption was. |
| C．To explain the damage the Krakatoa eruption caused. |
| D．To introduce where volcanic eruptions are more common. |
| A．They suffered ruptured eardrums. |
| B．They were troubled by cannon fire. |
| C．They thought war had broken out. |
| D．They were killed by volcanic matter. |
| A．A new volcanic island appeared soon. |
| B．The average global temperature dropped. |
| C．Bigger eruptions came in the following years. |
| D．Fires broke out in many places around the world. |
| A．The most terrible tsunami in Krakatoa. |
| B．The deadly natural disasters in the world. |
| C．The strange birth of an island in Indonesia. |
| D．The noisiest volcanic eruption in history. |
【推荐2】I couldn’t be more excited to join Reader’s Digest as we celebrate our 100th anniversary. Since 1922, this magazine has shared stories about remarkable people across the country and the kind and heroic things they do for one another.
I grew up in a family of storytellers. My father, a police officer in our central Illinois town, came home every day with stories about the people in our community: funny anecdotes or dramatic stories that revealed the lives of the individuals in our town and what they went through every day.
My mother was a gifted storyteller and her job in the front office of our local middle school provided a lot of material. My sister and I heard about classmates who were caught skipping school or forced by the principal to admit their mischief on unpopular teacher. She would deliver the play-by-play to us, laughing about kids and the things they do. My sister and I learned how to find and tell our own stories in a way that the April 1960 issue held Mom and Dad’s attention and earned their laughs. I suspect those conversations pushed me toward journalism, a way of telling stories to an audience beyond the dinner table.
In this special anniversary issue, we look at some of the incredible stories from famous writers, politicians, everyday heroes, and average Americans that have filled the pages of Reader’s Digest for a century. We also talk about humor, health, and how to feel hopeful about the next century. Of course, there is too much for one issue, so be sure to visit us online at rd.com/100th for more.
Most of all, thank you for being a part of the first 100 years of Reader’s Digest. I look forward to hearing and sharing your stories for years to come.
1. Which of the following is closest in meaning to “mischief” in paragraph 3?| A．Trick. | B．Pressure. | C．Influence. | D．Emphasis. |
| A．His abundant reading of Readers’ Digest. |
| B．His principal’s suggestion and guidance. |
| C．His parents’ good talent of telling stories. |
| D．His family’s frequent exchanging of stories. |
| A．Because it shares stories beyond the dinner table. |
| B．Because it has only one offline version available. |
| C．Because it is a story collection of the previous editions. |
| D．Because it is particularly enjoyed by the writer’s parents. |
| A．To prove the editor’s theory. |
| B．To state the writer’s opinion. |
| C．To promote the sale of the magazine. |
| D．To encourage contributions from readers. |
【推荐3】I’d just finished some shopping, and was getting ready to leave the supermarket’s parking lot, when I heard music coming from the area of the shopping carts (手推车). I knew it was someone I knew, well — the beggar, I couldn’t really call him.
He never begged. It was more like he was open to accepting presents. He never had a sign out, never spoke and never looked at you to beg. He would just sit quietly on the side of the entrance, out of the way, have a little box outside, and thank everyone very politely who gave him something.
He didn’t look like the many people I knew in my town who lived on the streets. His clothes always looked quite clean. I often wondered how he’d gotten to live on the streets. And he was playing his guitar, just like the last time I’d seen him in summer. He hadn’t noticed me then, being so deep into his music.
I started to talk to him. He told me that he had been an epileptic(癫痫患者) as a child and as a young man now, he couldn’t even get the job the social services try to offer people like him — everybody seemed afraid of the responsibility, even though he’d had no seizure (发作) for the past 13 years.
I started feeling sorry for him, but then he said, “I’ve made my peace with that. I’m happy I got an apartment.” He said he’d gotten so much help, and he wanted to try to give back, starting with the music.
I was so happy that he remembered his love for music, and shared his music with the people passing by. I was glad he found an apartment, and had the inner strength not to let himself down, and as he said, “found my faith again”.
1. In the author’s opinion, what made the man different from other homeless men?| A．He only wanted gifts. |
| B．He could write music. |
| C．He always begged near a shop. |
| D．He always wore clean clothes. |
| A．Because he was too weak to work. |
| B．Because he considered music to be his job. |
| C．Because others misunderstood his illness. |
| D．Because bosses were short of responsibility. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Grateful. |
| C．Unconcerned. | D．Disappointed. |
In the workplace, at home, in all areas of life, looking for a reason to laugh is necessary. A sense of humor helps us to get through the dull times, enjoy the good times.
Six-year-old Hannah encountered one of the most frightening times of her life when she discovered she had cancer. And if she were to give life a chance Hannah would have to put up with painful, almost endless medical treatments. At one point she lost all her hair. On days when she felt strong enough to get out, she often covered her head.
One day while shopping with her mother, Hannah donned a ball ca p with a small ponytail (马尾辫). Unless one looked closely, she looked as if she had a full head of hair. Before long Hannah noticed a small boy staring at her as if he were trying to figure out what was slightly off about the girl. She tried to ignore him, but he followed her around the store. Finally, she took off her ca p showing her shiny, hairless, head. In a firm voice she warned, “This is what happens when you don’t eat your vegetables!”
I don’t know what became of the boy. As for Hannah, her sense of humor helped get her through one of life’s hard times.
As entertainer Bob Hope once said, “I’ve seen what a good laugh can do. It can transform tears into hope.” And sometimes, a little more hope is all we need.
1. What would Hannah suffer when she had cancer? (no more than 10 words)2. Why did Hannah cover her head when she went out? (no more than 8 words)
3. What does the underlined word “donned” mean? (no more than 1 word)
4. What would the boy probably do after he heard Hannah’s words? (no more than 10 words)
5. What can we learn from Hannah when we meet with difficulties in life? (no more than 20 words)
【推荐2】When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog. Her body was numb. She had been swimming for nearly sixteen hours. Already she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. Now, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast.
On that Fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so dense that she could hardly see her support boats. Against the freezing cold water, she struggled on-hour after hour-while millions watched on national television.
In one of the boats alongside Florence, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn’t much farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not to quit. However, with only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.
Still warming her chilled body several hours later, she told a reporter, “Look, I’m not excusing myself, but if I had seen land, I might have made it.” It was not tiredness or even the cold water that defeated her. It was the fog. She was unable to see her goal.
Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the same dense fog, she swam with her faith intact and her goal clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land and this time she made it! Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, overshadowing the men’s record by two hours!
1. What can we learn about that fourth of July morning in 1952?| A．The thick fog cleared by mid-morning. |
| B．Chadwick managed to swim the Catalina Channel. |
| C．The support boats accompanied Chadwick all the way. |
| D．A live broadcast of Chadwick’s swim was watched on TV. |
| A．Sharks threatened her life. |
| B．She was completely worn out. |
| C．The chilly water made her body numb. |
| D．The destination was out of sight due to the fog. |
| A．Changed. | B．Undamaged. | C．Weakened. | D．Unexplored. |
| A．To explain why Chadwick failed in the first attempt. |
| B．To stress the importance of picturing a clear goal in the mind. |
| C．To introduce the process of Chadwick’s swimming the Catalina Channel. |
| D．To report Chadwick was the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel. |
【推荐3】After their three children grew up and left home, Margaret Thompson and her husband, Kenneth, began taking 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 fight and land.
Kenneth died in 2005. Eleven years later, Thompson finally took to the skies herself, in a para glider 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 fight, Thompson asked the organizers about the age limit for para gliding. 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 diplomas (文凭) 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 on her books. “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 inspired Thompson to try para gliding at the age of 80?| A．Her long-held curiosity toward it. |
| B．Her husband’s encouragement. |
| C．Her love for nature and adventure. |
| D．Her wish to overcome her fear of heights. |
| A．Nervous. | B．Surprised. |
| C．Free. | D．Uncomfortable. |
| A．It inspires her to reach new heights. |
| B．It is an opportunity for more freedom. |
| C．It doesn’t make any difference to her. |
| D．It limits her ability to do what she wants. |
| A．They prevent her from enjoying paragliding. |
| B．They add to the excitement of paragliding. |
| C．She believes they don’t exist. |
| D．She accepts whatever may happen. |
