Amy, a day old, was abandoned at a police station in Seoul. Her birth parents couldn’t afford to give Amy the appropriate healthcare then. She spent her first three months in an orphanage before she was adopted. “I always thought, why should I be more thankful to my adoptive parents than the next person?” she says.
In 2011, Amy reconnected with her birth mother in South Korea, her adoptive mum by her side. “My Korean mother took my American mother’s hands in hers and said with tears, ‘Thank you.’ After that, my whole world changed,” Amy says. At the time, she was working in the e-commerce sector and struggling with anxiety, depression and an eating disorder. Reconnecting with her birth family, however made her feel like the luckiest person in the world and she wanted to actively share her good fortune. That year, she quit her job and co-founded the Global Gratitude Alliance, which partners with grassroots organizations to create community-led solutions or social and economic change.
Since then, a reflexive sense of thankfulness has become Amy’s frame of reference for work, relationships and daily life in general. She tried to rethink her world view, appreciate the little things and make connections with others. For Amy, the attitude shift helped her overcome health issues—she didn’t need the drugs any more after she returned from Korea.
Those positive effects inspired Amy to share the experience with others. Through a partnership with a home for orphaned children in Nepal, the Global Gratitude Alliance provided teachers with workshops that concluded with a ceremony of giving thanks. The participants used those techniques to help their students and community after the destructive earthquake of 2015. Children from the school recently visited a local seniors’ home to build relationships with the residents there. “Gratitude creates a cycle of giving and receiving,” Amy says.
1. What can we know from the passage?| A．Amy was raised by an American couple. |
| B．Amy received proper treatment as an infant. |
| C．Amy was more thankful to her birth mother. |
| D．Amy was orphaned three months after her birth. |
| A．Her job quitting | B．The reunion with her birth mother. |
| C．The struggle against her disease. | D．The connections with volunteers. |
| A．They hosted ceremonies in workshops. |
| B．They sought partners for orphaned children. |
| C．They built relations with adoptive parents. |
| D．They contributed to post-disaster service. |
| A．Good fortune inspires people a lot. | B．Reflection helps build frame of life. |
| C．Family reunion gets positive effects. | D．Gratitude needs to be widely spread. |
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【推荐1】When I suggested my 13-year-old try tennis, she quickly shot me down. “I’m not sporty , so stop trying to get me to do sports,” Julianna said. I suggested it because some of my recent happiest memories were of playing ping-pong with her. Tennis seemed like a natural progression from ping-pong and a great way to work out some of her growing teen worries on a larger playing field. But my suggestion was always met with resistance.
Still, I was undeterred. I was convinced that releasing some physical energy would help Julianna. I’ve seen how sports help deal with stress. It worked for me when I was a teenage girl.
Midway through summer, we stayed at home one afternoon, really bored. “Do you want to play tennis?” I asked. “Sure,” she said. Arriving at the court, we set down our bags, picked up our rackets (球拍), and headed towards our sides of the court. The net felt like the visual representation of a growing divide between us I desiring a connection and my teenage daughter longing for independence.
I started by hitting a ball over the net, and Julianna took a big swing and missed. We repeated this several more times. I resisted the urge to tell her she was holding the racket too close to the neck or to step more into her forehand. We just repeated the pattern of me hitting the ball and her missing it a few times before she finally got it back over the net. “This is fun,” she said with a mixture of surprise and joy and then she smiled widely.
Now we always find time to play tennis. We’re both eager for an activity that can ease tensions between us in daily life. It’s nice to have a place where both of us can release our negative feelings and let them go.
1. Why did the author advise Julianna to try tennis?| A．To bring back good memories. | B．To help manage her emotions. |
| C．To bridge the divide between them. | D．To work off her physical energy. |
| A．Undiscouraged. | B．Unworried. | C．Unsuccessful. | D．Unsurprised. |
| A．She taught Julianna to hit forehands. | B．She instructed Julianna in a patient way. |
| C．She let Julianna figure things out herself. | D．She made Julianna miss the ball on purpose. |
| A．A Wonderful Tennis Mom | B．A Special Mother-Child Bond |
| C．Happiness Achieved in Sports | D．Peace Found on the Tennis Court |
【推荐2】I am different from the rest of my family in appearance. When people see us together, it is clear that I am adopted, because I am a Chinese girl while they are all Americans. I’m happy that I have such a loving and caring family, but sometimes I wish I knew who my birth parents are.
People may wonder if I am sad that I don’t know who my parents are. I know they are concerned about me. I feel like there is something missing in my life, like a big hole in my heart. My teacher listened when I told her about my feelings, and she thought she should do something. Encouraged by my teacher’s strong recommendation, Mom and I went to Chinese Heritage Camp of Snow Mountain Ranch. Now, we take part in it every year.
Chinese Heritage Camp is a two-day camp where hundreds of adopted kids like me spend time with each other. We feel close to each other. We understand each other. We talk about how it feels to be adopted, and we take part in fun outdoor activities. It’s great because we can talk about our feelings freely without worrying about other things. We talk, laugh, cry, and dance. It makes me feel like I’m not alone, and that there is someone out there going through the same feelings.
Now if I am asked that question, I will answer, “Maybe I won’t know who my birth parents are forever, and that made me a little sad. But I do know that I live with my real parents in a real house, with loving and caring family members. I’m thankful, and I love my life just the way it is. ”
1. What made the author take part in the camp?| A．Her disappointment. | B．Her mother’s instruction. |
| C．Her teacher’s suggestion. | D．Her families’ encouragement. |
| A．the same experience | B．the same favorite subjects |
| C．the same activities in the camp | D．the same habits of eating and sleeping |
| A．Her opinion on her life finally changed. | B．She became brave but still felt lonely. |
| C．She was respected by a number of people. | D．She stopped looking for her birth parents. |
| A．In the story of an adopted child. | B．In the sports section of a newspaper. |
| C．In a magazine about the culture of the US. | D．In a book on the history of Chinese Heritage Camp. |
【推荐3】It wasn't until I was much older that I would find something that I would consider as evidence of my father's love.
When the Commodore 64 personal computer came onto the market, I convinced myself that I had to have it even though its price was out of my mother's range. So I decided to earn the money myself. I mowed（割草）every yard I could find that summer for few dollars each, yet it still wasn't enough. So my dad agreed to help me raise the rest of the money by driving me to one of the watermelon farms south of town, loading up his truck with wholesale melons and driving me around to sell them.
He came for me before daybreak. We made small talk, but it didn't matter. The fact he was talking to me was all that mattered. I was a teenager by then, but this was the first time that I had ever spent time alone with him. He laughed and repeatedly introduced me as "my boy", a phrase he relayed with a sense of pride. It was one of the best days of my life.
Although he had never told me that he loved me, I would consider that day as the greatest evidence of that fact. He had never intended me any wrong. He just didn't know how to love me right. He wasn't a mean man. So I took these random episodes and clung to them like a thing most precious, storing them away for the long periods of coldness when a warm memory would prove most useful.
It just goes to show that no matter how distant the father, no matter how deep the damage, no matter how broken the relationship, there is still time, still space, still a need for even the smallest bit of evidence of a father's love.
1. The author finally managed to get the Commodore 64 ________.| A．with the money he asked his mother for | B．by getting well paid from mowing yards |
| C．with his hard work and his father's help | D．by selling watermelons in the neighborhood |
| A．his father didn't know how to love him | B．his father didn't live with him |
| C．they didn't get along well at first | D．his father was always busy with work |
| A．He never told me. | B．He loved me. |
| C．He never intended me wrong. | D．He didn't know how to love me. |
| A．The Best Days of My Life | B．The Story of My Father |
| C．Evidence of Love | D．Father and Son |
| A．Narration | B．Argumentation | C．Description | D．Exposition（说明文） |
I was never very neat, while my roommate Kate was very organized. Each of her things had its place, but mine always hid somewhere. She even labeled (贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Over time, Kate got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over, and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. We both got tired of each other.
War broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her shouting, “Mary, take your shoes away! Why under my bed!” Deafened, I saw my shoes flying at me. I jumped to my feet and started shouting. She yelled back louder.
The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up, she quickly crawled (爬) under her covers, crying.
Obviously, that was something she should not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy (同情) rose up in my heart,
Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bed, cleaned the socks and swept the floor, even on her side. I got so into my work that I even didn’t noticed Kate had sat up.
She was watching, her tears dried. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me. “Thanks.”
Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn’t always agree, but we learned the key to living together: giving in, cleaning up and holding on. (294words)
1. What is Paragraph 1 mainly about? (no more than 15 words)2. What made Kate angry one evening? (no more than 10 words)
3. What does the underlined word “yelled” mean in Paragraph 2? (one word)
4. Why did Mary tidy up the room? (no more than 5 words)
5. Who do you prefer to make friends with, Kate or Mary? Please give your reasons. (no more than 20 words)
Olivia Ries was just seven years old when she and her eightyearold brother Carter adopted a cheetah (猎豹) in South Africa.
“When my sister and I first learned back in 2009 that species like the cheetah may be extinct in the wild by the time we have kids, it scared us. We knew we had to do something to help them,” says Carter. “There are so many people (young and old alike) who just don’t know what is happening to so many species, just like we didn’t. Olivia and I want to make sure we reach as many people around the world as possible and help them to understand how serious the situation really is.”
To do that, the kids started One More Generation (OMG), an organization with the motto: “Preserving endangered species for one more generation and beyond.”
Now, many years later, Olivia and Carter have traveled all over the world spreading their message. They’ve been interviewed on national television, participated in marches and fundraisers and won awards for their work. In 2015, they were invited to Vietnam by the United States Embassy to participate in a program to save rhinos(犀牛). All that they’ve accomplished for animals and the environment is much too long to list!
“Our number one message to everyone we meet is to remember, anyone can make a difference... if we can, you can too,” says Olivia. “We want all people to understand that what Carter and I are doing is not necessarily something special; it is something that we all should be doing. You can start small by simply adopting an animal. Do some research on the species you are interested in, and find a good organization offering adoptions. My brother and I take our birthday money and allowance money to adopt animals all the time.”
1. How did Olivia and Carter feel when learning cheetahs faced extinction?| A．Angry and guilty. | B．Shocked and concerned. |
| C．Anxious and helpless. | D．Hopeful and determined. |
| A．Helping endangered species survive. |
| B．Telling people the situation cheetahs faced. |
| C．Making the situation of dying species known. |
| D．Calling on people to adopt endangered species. |
| A．They organized activities to raise money. |
| B．They took measures to save rhinos. |
| C．They made efforts to list extinct species. |
| D．They contributed a lot to dying species. |
| A．Anyone can help by starting small. |
| B．Anyone can do something special. |
| C．Anyone should do research on species. |
| D．Anyone should donate to adoption organizations. |
【推荐3】A couple had two little boys aged 8 and 10 who were very naughty. They were always getting into trouble and their parents knew that if any trouble occurred in their town their sons were probably involved.
The boys' mother heard that a clergyman in the town had been successful in educating children so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The clergyman agreed but asked to see them individually. So the mother sent her 8-year-old first in the morning with the elder boy to see the clergyman in the afternoon.
The clergyman, a huge man with a loud and deep voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him strictly, “Where is God?”
The boy's mouth dropped open but he made no answer, sitting there with his mouth hanging open, wide-eyed. So the clergyman repeated the question in an even stricter tone “Where is God?” Again the boy made no attempt to answer. So the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy's face and shouted" Where is God?"
The boy screamed and escaped from the room, ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him. When his elder brother found him in the closet, he asked “What happened?”
The younger brother replied out of breath, “We are in big trouble this time. God is missing--and they think we did it.”
1. What were the two boys like?| A．They always made trouble. | B．They were brave. |
| C．They were easygoing. | D．They were honest. |
| A．They gave up their children. |
| B．They liked their children very much. |
| C．They wanted the clergyman to educate their children. |
| D．They helped their children to make trouble. |
| A．Happy. | B．Sad. | C．Afraid. | D．Surprised. |
【推荐1】Elizabeth fry was the daughter of an English banker. When she was a young bride and mother, she gave medicine and clothes to the homeless and helped establish the sisters of Devonshire square, a nursing school. In 1813, at age 33, her attention turned to the female prisoners in London’s Newgate prison. She began to visit the prison almost daily, and what she found there horrified her.
In the early 1800s, English prisons were pits of cruelty and violence. At Newgate, women awaiting trial for stealing apples were put into the same prison as women who had been convicted (宣判) of murder. Women ate, defecated, and slept in the same cell. If a prisoner had children, they accompanied her to prison and lived in the same inhumane conditions. For those without help from family, friends, or charities, the options were to beg and to steal food, or to starve to death.
Prison officials warned fry of the risks she was taking in visiting prisons (exposure to violence and disease), but she waved the warnings aside. Besides comforting women, she taught them basic hygiene and to sew and quilt so they might earn a living when they were released. She intervened (介入) for women on death row, and if her pleas were unsuccessful, she comforted them in their last moments. To expand her efforts, in 1816 she founded the association for the improvement of the female prisoners of Newgate “to provide for the clothing, instruction, and employment of the women, and to form in them, as much as possible, those habits of order and industry, which may make them peaceable while in prison, and respectable when they leave it.” Specific reforms she campaigned for included: separation of men and women prisoners, paid work for prisoners, women guards for women prisoners, and the housing of criminals based on their crimes.
1. English prisons in the early 1800s could be described as __________.| A．inhumane and horrifying | B．cruel and orderly |
| C．violent and just | D．efficient and peaceable |
| A．to win their respect |
| B．to help them kill time in prison |
| C．to help them make a living in prison |
| D．to live a respectable life when they were released |
| A．Women prisoners would get a pay rise. |
| B．Women prisoners would be well attended by women guards. |
| C．The human rights of women prisoners would be better respected. |
| D．The housing of the thieves would be much better than the murders’. |
【推荐2】On December 23, 2022, Alexander and Andrea Campagna answered a hurried knock at their door. Their home near Buffalo, New York, was struck by a deadly snowstorm, and a group of nine South Korean tourists (and their driver) were trapped. The Campagnas welcomed them in and hosted them for a weekend. What followed was a heartwarming story of sympathy and hospitality. By the end of their time with their guests, Alexander and Andrea planned on visiting South Korea. This wasn’t an empty promise, either; the couple recently reunited with their friends in their home country.
Alexander and Andrea boarded a ship on a 10-day all-expenses-paid tour of Seoul as guests of the Korea Tourism Organization. It was a reward for the Buffalo couple’s kindness and an opportunity to promote travel to the country. The visit included a series of Korean culture as well as its natural beauty. The Campagnas went to the 14th-century Gyeongbokgung Palace, walked through Gwanghwamun Square, and generally received the star treatment. They dined at Michelin-recommended restaurants and went on private tours. This also included a mountain hike and a visit to the Demilitarized Zone.
The wonderful trip was made complete with a reunion with six of the nine tourists who had come to their door five months earlier. They shared a four-course meal at a restaurant in a traditional Korean house overlooking the grand Changdeokgung Palace. There were happy tears; but most of all, there was gratitude. Everyone felt like the chance meeting was fate (命运).
“To see everyone in Korea again is such a blessing,” Andrea told reporters in Seoul. “We’ve always had an appreciation and interest in Korea. They ended up in the right place at the right time. Now we have people we can call friends for a lifetime.”
1. What does the author intend to tell us in Paragraph 1?| A．The weather conditions in Buffalo, New York. |
| B．South Korean tourists’ desire to visit New York. |
| C．An incident before the Campagnas made their plan. |
| D．A promise made by Alexander and Andrea Campagna. |
| A．were well treated wherever they went | B．spent much money on the sightseeing |
| C．travelled little but rested much at hotels | D．stayed with the nine South Korean tourists |
| A．Concerned. | B．Grateful. | C．Anxious. | D．Tolerant. |
| A．A friend in need is a friend indeed. | B．God helps those who help themselves. |
| C．Where there is a will there is a way. | D．One good turn deserves another. |
【推荐3】When Peter Zhuo was a kid he could barely hold pencil properly. He’d either wrap all his fingers around it or hold it uncomfortably between his middle and fourth finger. Through practice he managed to get it right when he was about eight. Now at 23, not only can he use a pencil competently, he’s using it to change the world, one stroke at a time.
Peter—who goes by the name Peter Draw felt the desire to draw with a purpose after meeting Daniel, a teenager with cerebral palsy (脑瘫) in November 2016. When Daniel first joined Peter’s drawing class at the Spastic Children’s Association of Singapore, Peter doubted if Daniel could even complete a drawing. But stroke by stroke the then 17-year-old did.
“His passion for drawing really touched me. I felt I should do more with my drawing and help children at the same time,” says Peter, who has since taken on some impressive projects to raise awareness for his cause.
Last October, he earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for drawing the world’s largest caricature (人物漫画) . His 360-square-metre drawing of Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan is twice the size of the previous record. Peter completed it in just three-and-a-half hours while the previous record-holder took three days.
And in December, he took on the challenge of drawing caricatures for 24 hours non-stop in order to raise money for Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that builds homes for the less fortunate. Peter completed 952 sketches (素描) during the time. The event raised $6,000 through donations and his accomplishment earned him a mention in the Singapore Book of Records.
1. What can we know about Peter when he was a child?| A．He was interested in drawing. | B．He was not good at drawing. |
| C．He was keen on caricatures. | D．He couldn’t move around. |
| A．He was kindhearted and generous. | B．He was a talented young artist. |
| C．He had great difficulty in drawing. | D．He would be popular sooner or later. |
| A．Because he drew the most caricatures. |
| B．Because he drew the caricature in the least time. |
| C．Because he donated the most money to Habitat for Humanity. |
| D．Because he drew the world’s largest caricature. |
| A．Confident and talented. | B．Hardworking and warmhearted. |
| C．Aggressive and ambitious. | D．Considerate and modest. |
【推荐1】A few years ago, the company I worked for sent my wife and me to live in New York for a year. I’ve always loved jogging (慢跑), so I was really happy when I found out the apartment they had rented for us was next to Central Park.
Because a lot of people had told me to be careful of robbers in the park，I didn’t usually take anything with me. How could they rob me if I didn’t have anything? But this one morning my wife asked me to buy some bread on the way home so I put a $10 bill in my back pocket.
It was a beautiful morning and the park was quiet with very few people walking or jogging around. While I was running, another jogger bumped into me. He apologized and continued running. For a while, I didn’t think too much of it. However, the warning of from others hit me. “It could have been a robber!” I suddenly became alarmed so I checked my pocket. I started shouting and demanding that he gave me the $10 bill. I’m not usually a hot-headed person, but I really lost my temper at that moment. I couldn’t believe the robbery was actually happening to me. Filled with anger, I shook my fist at him. This seemed to frighten him. He quickly put his hand in his pocket and gave me the money. Then he ran away as fast as he could.
I bought the bread and went home. As soon as I got home, I couldn’t wait to tell my wife the story. “You won’t believe what happened to me.” I started with pride. She immediately interrupted (插话).” I know you left the money for the bread on the kitchen table.
1. What made the author happy when he found the apartment?| A．He was fond of the scenery in the Central Park. |
| B．He preferred the new company where he worked. |
| C．He was likely to come across different local people. |
| D．He could find a suitable place to take morning exercises. |
| A．He felt sorry for his carelessness. |
| B．He gave it a second thought but said nothing. |
| C．He sensed it strange and fought with the jogger. |
| D．He felt nothing at first but then thought of the warning. |
| A．Confident and proud. | B．Ashamed and upset. |
| C．Annoyed and curious. | D．Pleasant and satisfied. |
| A．Things are not always what you think they are. |
| B．Jogging can offer people extra money. |
| C．Some problems can be solved by force. |
| D．Never bump into a stranger while jogging. |
【推荐2】Gary Marquardt of Excelsior, Minnesota grew up in a military family. While he was in high school, he had been fully expected to join the services after graduation. Fate had other plans, however. Gary collapsed with a bleeding ulcer in his senior year, making him unfit for military service. Of course he felt relieved because he’d already lost several friends in the war, but with the relief came a sense of guilt. “I think ‘ashamed’ is the word,” he recalled, “I was ashamed I was happy I didn’t have to go.”
Gary carried that guilt with him throughout his life. When he was 66, the newly retired Gary went to a military funeral for a friend. As he watched the service, he was shocked to hear a canned recording of “Taps” being played instead of having a live player in attendance. He decided on the spot to learn how to play the trumpet(小号)so that he could honor service personnel at their funerals as a way to make up for never serving himself.
Gary launched himself into learning to play. He practiced morning, noon, and night, irking both his wife and his neighbors. “It was awful,” his wife Joanie said. “But we were all hoping he would get better. And then he did.”
With some lessons and a lot of practice, Gary soon became an accomplished trumpeter. Now, there’s not a day that goes by when Gary doesn’t go to a military cemetery to pay his respects to fallen soldiers.
1. Why did Gary feel ashamed?| A．He failed to serve in the military. |
| B．He lost several friends in the war. |
| C．He didn’t go to attend his friend’s funeral. |
| D．He was happy he avoided military service. |
| A．His passion for the trumpet. |
| B．The death of a military friend of his. |
| C．His friend’s funeral without live music. |
| D．His respect for those who served in the military. |
| A．Disturbing. | B．Disappointing. | C．Relieving. | D．Satisfying. |
| A．Generous and caring. | B．Creative and cautious. |
| C．Brave and professional. | D．Determined and kind. |
【推荐3】A few years ago, my husband Matt offered to get me a digital piano for my 41st birthday. Matt knew that I had taken piano lessons as a kid, but stopped doing so in the seventh grade. I was at the age when I would rather go to the mall with friends than play the piano on the weekends.
I was game for a digital piano, but skeptical — I wasn’t sure I was going to play it that often. However, Matt was persistent. He reminded me that I’d mentioned wanting to play the piano again, so he bought me one and set it up in my office.
To be honest, I had only made half-hearted attempts over the years to take up various hobbies, mostly craft-related ones like knitting (编织) and cross-stitch (十字绣), to relax. But nothing really stuck.
Then, two years ago, I had a baby. The piano became even more of an afterthought as I became consumed by the challenges of parenting. I had enough on my plate, I told myself. There was no point in adding another thing that was probably just going to stress me out.
But recently, my 2-year-old son had figured out how to turn on the digital piano and loved to bang on the keys. Seeing him play so joyfully, I thought maybe I could take piano lessons and help him to prepare for the music world.
I started lessons a couple of weeks later, and it turned out that I could handle 15 minutes a day.
Sometimes, I could handle 40 minutes. I found myself completely immersed in playing the piano. The repetition calmed me. Going over difficult parts in each piece I was learning was incredibly satisfying. To my great surprise, at age 44, I have an actual hobby now, and I really look forward to performing together with my son one day.
1. How did the author feel when her husband offered to buy her a digital piano?| A．She was excited. | B．She was thankful. |
| C．She doubted herself. | D．She considered it a joke. |
| A．She devoted herself entirely to bringing up her baby. |
| B．She dropped out of school in the seven grade. |
| C．She gave up playing the piano again at her forties. |
| D．She ate a lot for parenting. |
| A．She loved knitting and cross-stitch the most. |
| B．She gave them up eventually. |
| C．They made her more patient. |
| D．They gave her too much pressure. |
| A．Her husband’s encouragement. |
| B．Her son’s interest in the piano. |
| C．Her hope to make her son happy. |
| D．Her desire to reduce the stress of parenting. |
| A．She taught her son to play the piano. |
| B．She determined to become a pianist. |
| C．She practiced harder for competition. |
| D．She felt peaceful and content while playing. |
