For the past three months, I have been moonlighting (兼职) as a tea lady. A few weeks into lockdown and at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, my father’s care home had become desperately understaffed. So I volunteered my services.
I will admit that I also wanted to keep an eye on my father. Ever since he was diagnosed with dementia (痴呆), I had become concerned about his well-being. So I. turned up, put on a plastic apron and began wheeling a teapot around the ground floor.
It was a peculiar kind of job at first. I saw how the carers were putting themselves on the line every day. And how do you ask a dementia patient who has lost almost all their powers of speech and hearing how many sugars they want in their tea? I would often come away sweating. And saddened. The home lost a lot of patients to COVID-19 in a short span of time and seeing the suddenly empty beds was shocking.
But it was also - surprisingly - good fun. There were jokes shared by carers and the stories the elderly residents told. The place grew on me until it became the highlight of my day. I looked forward to seeing the old lady who would say “Thank you” and blow me a kiss every time I left her a cup of tea. Another said he’d started painting later in life and now his amazing work hung all around his room. And there was a former university lecturer who had researched nursing and never left a crossword unfinished.
The figures I had passed so often taught me that sitting by a sunny window drinking a cup of warm tea held its value. I have read about the meditative (冥想的) effects of running and I found the same absorbing feeling in the ritual of making tea. It is simple, wholesome, and brings calmness. To me, this has been lockdown’s greatest gift.
1. Why did the author choose to volunteer in the care home?| A．Because it was short of workers. | B．Because she was free at that time. |
| C．Because her father wanted her company. | D．Because she was interested in voluntary work. |
| A．The huge needs of tea from the patients. |
| B．The increasing seriousness of COVID-19. |
| C．The failure of speaking and hearing of some patients. |
| D．The lack of natural resources during the lockdown. |
| A．The knowledge the author learned. | B．The daily life in the care house. |
| C．The challenges of making tea. | D．The great fun the job brings. |
| A．It is never too late to learn. | B．The parent-child relationship is the most important. |
| C．Sometimes we should value little things. | D．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
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【推荐1】“Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits, and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. ” This is dedicated to my first-year self four years ago, who was addicted to getting good grades, and failed to seek the happiness found in everything else that college has to offer.
Like some people, I grew up with a family that valued academics over all else, who gave you a little extra love when you were doing great in your classes, and took it away when you didn’t. As a result, my self-worth became tied to my academic success. As an international student, I sometimes felt our parents didn’t quite understand the heavy academic weight.
There is a difference between trying to always better yourself for yourself, and simply putting too much on your plate until you burn out from attempting to live up to certain expectations. We should all strive to do the former, but unfortunately our mindsets have been always wired to follow the latter.
I used to believe school killed the creative spirit inside all of us, but as I get older and further into my academic career, I find that it is we who make the choice to kill that creative spirit. I am definitely not saying that you should throw your GPA out of the window and go painting all day. However, we should all try to develop a long-sighted perspective on how we want to shape our lives. Take some classes on topics that you’re genuinely interested in learning about, not just passing. Join clubs or work on projects that resonate with you and push you beyond your boundaries. And most of all, accept the fact that failure and loss are sometimes inevitable in life.
I promise you, when you look back at these four years, you will not remember the good grades or the bad grades, but you will hold in your memory the connections you made with people, the things that inspired you to create and the times you learned something special. And so I ask you now, what do you want to get out of college?
1. Who is the author of the passage?| A．A professor. | B．A freshman. | C．A parent. | D．A graduate. |
| A．Seeking happiness. | B．Getting good grades. |
| C．Building self-worth. | D．Developing various interests. |
| A．To be a better self. | B．To realize our dreams. |
| C．To push our boundaries. | D．To live up to others’ expectations. |
| A．Academic growth helps to promote creativity. |
| B．Students themselves have a say in their hobbies. |
| C．Failures can be avoided with more efforts put in. |
| D．School is to blame for killing students’ creativity. |
【推荐2】It was early winter several years ago. I had pulled out my old winter coat for another year’s use. It was still in pretty good shape although it was looking dirty from so many winters’ wear. I didn’t really need a new one but I wanted one and casually mentioned it to my daughter one day. She was such a sweet, loving girl that I should have guessed what would happen next. A few weeks later she gave me a new winter coat as a gift.
I put the old one in my closet and started to wear the new coat every day. Each day, though, when I opened my closet, something troubled me. It seemed a shame that my old but still good coat should just sit there keeping no one warm during the cold winter days. After a few weeks, I took it out and drove to a local charity shop. I knew that there was someone who couldn’t afford a coat but could get my old one.
My new coat is my old coat now. It is getting a little dirty and worn, too. It has black marks on the sleeves. It is in too bad shape to even donate to charity. I wonder if I should buy a new one soon, but I think I will wait for a while. I don’t really need a new one and maybe I can find something else to give to the charity shop instead.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Want is a growing giant whom the coat of Have was never large enough to cover,” Perhaps the best way to deal with our wants then is to give instead. Love, after all, brings us the most joy. And the more of it you give away, the more of it you have.
1. Which word can best describe the author’s daughter?| A．Thoughtful. | B．Wealthy. | C．Easy-going. | D．Hard-working. |
| A．It cost too much. |
| B．It was looking dirty. |
| C．It was not sent to someone in need. |
| D．There was not enough room for his new coat. |
| A．Telling his daughter. | B．Buying a new one soon. |
| C．Sending something else to charity. | D．Donating it to charity. |
| A．Love is the key to joy. |
| B．Giving fills our wants. |
| C．The more you give, the more you lose. |
| D．A coat is large enough to cover our wants |
【推荐3】I never imagined that someone telling me I looked skinny would anger me. And yet, I was made very angry when a colleague pinched my waist and screamed, “Rosa, you’ve lost weight. You look great.” In The truth is that I was tired and not taking care of myself. I decided to start a proper weight-loss program.
The first to go would be road rage. I am in far less control of this weight than any other. Every time something gets in my path, I fly off the handle. I need to lose the road rage, and fast! No, no more speed. Instead, I now repeat the words: “I am not in a hurry.” This year, I will drive safely, allowing “stupid” to happen all around me. From that, I hope to gain patience.
Next is guilt. When guilt drives my conscience to do better, it’s functional. But when it presents itself as an internal dialogue that goes nowhere, it’s useless. This year, I want to stop feeling guilty for not keeping a cleaner house, for spending time away from my children to be with friends, for not attending every party because I’d rather be at home, or for watching TV when I should be reading. My image and performance are not at the front of anyone else’s mind but my own. From this, I hope to gain freedom to be myself.
The last is fear. Fear has held me back. Fear of failure has prevented me from being a writer. Fear of embarrassment has prevented me from giving an opinion. Fear of rejection has stopped me from aiming higher in my life. Fear of regret has led me into situations that made me uncomfortable. If I can lose any one of these fears, I stand to gain experience.
So, if I can lose the rage, shake off some guilt, and take fear off my plate, I stand to gain patience, freedom, and experience. Pound for pound I have not lost a thing but I will be much lighter. Next time, I hope my colleague looks me in the eye to see my glow instead of pinching part of me that has nothing to do with how great I really look.
1. What does the underlined part “fly off the handle” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Pick up speed. | B．Drive off. |
| C．Feel quite nervous. | D．Become very angry. |
| A．Attending too many parties. | B．Reading much with her children. |
| C．Wasting her time in watching TV. | D．Spending little time with her friends. |
| A．It has prevented her achieving her goals. |
| B．It has stopped her furthering her education. |
| C．It has made it difficult for her to make friends. |
| D．It has caused her to quit her dream of being a teacher. |
| A．Respect. | B．Independence. | C．Optimism. | D．Tolerance. |
【推荐1】You probably know a dog named Snoopy,but you may not have heard who created the character.As a matter of fact,the creator was a terrible underachiever when he was a boy.While in the eighth grade,he failed subjects repeatedly.High school wasn’t much better；he flunked Latin,algebra,English,and received a grade of zero in physics.
He suffered many losses and rejections-just as people sometimes did in real life.Out of all the failures in his life,there was something that did hold great importance to this boy,his love of drawing.Although in high school,the cartoons he submitted to the yearbook were rejected,once out of school,the boy was so sure of his artistic talent that he approached Walt Disney Studios with drawing works.I wish I could say the studios loved his work and immediately hired him,but such was not the case；another huge rejection.
Despite his lack of successes,this boy did not give up.He then decided to write his own autobiography in cartoons,about a little boy who was regarded as a loser and a nobody.The name of this boy was Charles Schulz,the creator of the comic dog Snoopy.
In life,it is sometimes easy to feel like a nobody,We pass hundreds of people on the street on our way to work,or walk through a faceless crowd in a mall,and no one seems to notice or care.Deep inside,we may know we are special and unique and have lots to offer,but unless someone takes the time to look our way and give us a chance,we may feel worthless.
Just as Charles Schulz had faith in his artistic talent,so too,we must realize that nobody is a nobody.
1. Which of the following best explains”flunked”underlined in Paragraph 1?| A．Failed. | B．Defeated. |
| C．Attained. | D．Misunderstood. |
| A．Be acquainted with more people. | B．Offer more special and unique skills. |
| C．Ask for others’appreciation. | D．Believe we can make some difference. |
| A．The Story of a Hard-working Boy | B．Nobody is a Nobody. |
| C．The Dream of Snoopy’s Creator | D．Success is Built upon Failure. |
I run into two of my best friends from high school; we stare at each other, expressionless. We ask the simple questions and give simple answers. It’s as if we have nothing to say to each other. I wonder how things have changed so much in such a small amount of time. We used to laugh and promise that no matter how far away we were, our love for each other would never change. Their interests don’t interest me anymore, and I find myself unable to relate my life to theirs.
I had been so excited to come home, but now I just look at it all and wonder: Is it me? Why hadn’t the world stood still here while I was gone? My room isn’t the same, my friends and I don’t share the same promise, and my parents don’t know how to treat me—or who I am, for that matter.
I get back to school feeling half-satisfied, but not disappointed. I sit up in my bed in my dorm room, surrounded by my pictures, dolls. As I wonder what has happened, I realize that I can’t expect the world to stand still and move forward at the same time. I can change and expect that things at home will stay the same. I have to find comfort in what has changed and what is new; keep the memories, but live in the present.
A few weeks later, I’m packing again, this time for winter break. My mom meets me at the door. I have come home accepting the changes, not only in my surroundings, but most of all in me.
1. What can we infer about the writer?
| A．She is a high school student. | B．She is a college student. |
| C．She is a clerk in a school. | D．She is a traveler. |
| A．The living conditions of her parents. |
| B．The decorations in her room. |
| C．The meeting with her best friends. |
| D．The things still staying the same. |
| A．The writer’s curiosity about the changes. |
| B．The changes in the writer’s surroundings and in herself. |
| C．The writer’s disappointment about the changes. |
| D．The writer’s refusal to accept the changes. |
【推荐3】The meaning of the word “volunteer” may be a little different in different countries, but it usually means “one who offers his or her services” .There are many different ways in which people can volunteer, such as taking care of sick people, working in homes for homeless children, and picking up garbage(垃圾)from beaches and parks. Volunteers may work within their own countries or in other countries. They are often people with a strong wish to help those who are less fortunate than themselves. Volunteers don’t expect any kind of pay.
At the root of volunteering is the idea that one person may have the ability to offer services that can help other people. Tracy, a good friend of mine, however, recently came back from India with a new idea of what being a volunteer means. She worked for two and a half weeks in one of Mother Teresa’s homes in Calcutta. The following is her story.
“I first heard about Mother Teresa in my high school, we watched a video(录像)about her work in India and all over the world. I was so moved by her spirit to help others and her endless love for every human being that after I graduated from high school, I too wanted to try her kind of work. So with two friends I flew to Calcutta for a few weeks.”
“I was asked to work in a home for sick people. I helped wash clothes and sheets, and pass out lunch. I also fed the people who were too weak to feed themselves and tried to cheer them up. I felt it was better to share with them than to think that I have helped them. To be honest, I don’t think I was helping very much. It was then that I realized that I had not really come to help, but to learn about and experience another culture (文化) that helped improve my own understanding of life and the world.”
1. According to the text, a volunteer refers to a person who ________.| A．is willing to help those in need without pay | B．can afford to travel to different places |
| C．has a strong wish to be successful | D．has made a big fortune in life |
| A．after she met Mother Teresa | B．when she was touring Calcutta |
| C．after she finished high school | D．when she was working in a hospital |
| A．She liked to work with Mother Teresa. |
| B．She was asked by Mother Teresa to do so. |
| C．She had already had some experience. |
| D．She wanted to follow Mother Teresa’s example. |
| A．Going abroad to help the sick. |
| B．Improving oneself through helping others. |
| C．Working in Mother Teresa’s home. |
| D．Doing simple things to help the poor. |
Marga Allen might be around 93 years old. However, she wouldn’t put her feet up. Every week, she leads a 90-minute fitness class in her community for her ladies, and the youngest of them is 60. The class is a mixture of Scottish dancing, line-dancing and routine. “I want to make it fun for them,” says Marga , “I’ve been teaching classes since 1965.” At that time, 8 ladies attended her class, but now there are as many as 18.
And when Marga isn’t out, she is a writer of poetry. She has written 6 books and is now going on a seventh. “I write in the evenings, about anything and everything,” say Marga. In writing about her life, Marga isn’t short of materials. Born in the 1920s, Marga was a gifted pianist from a young age and even won a scholarship to the Royal College at the age of 14. Marga stopped work as a railway worker when she had the first child. Then she was a volunteer of the Red Cross for more than 40 years.
She now has four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren; the youngest of them is just six-month old. In spite of her astonishing activity level for her age, Marga says that loneliness is the concern of society and that all the things she does still don’t fill up her time.
Whenever she gets lonely or down, she picks up the phone and chats with friends, which makes her in high spirits. “I miss people most of all. But a lot of people are lonely, and I’d love to help them all.”
1. Why does Marga Allen give a fitness class in her community each week? (No more than 10 words)2. Why doesn’t Marga Allen lack materials when writing about her life? (No more than 10 words)
3. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean? (No more than 10 words)
4. What does Marga Allen usually do when she feels depressed? (No more than 10 words)
5. What do you think of Marga Allen? And why? (No more than 20 words)
【推荐2】Late last year, I needed to transport some furniture from our house to my son’s flat in central London. I should have paid a man to do it, but foolishly confident in my driving ability, I decided to hire a lorry and drive it myself.
Moving the lorry backward in my yard, I crashed into a small shed, causing permanent damage. Fortunately, I owned the shed. I loaded up with the furniture and set out. By now it was rush hour. My nerves broke down, as I drove the huge lorry through the streets nervously.
At last I arrived at Charlotte Street and found an available parking space. I moved the lorry into it only to notice three people at a pavement cafe waving to me. I got out, trembling violently, like one who had just finished a stormy Atlantic crossing. “You’ve hit the car parked behind you,” they said. I examined the car. There were white scratches on its front face. It bore a disabied sign. So, now I was a bad driver and a bad man. Under the severe look of the three, I left an apologetic note on the damaged car’s windscreen, giving my phone number.
I unloaded the furniture, dripping the sweat, wanting only to escape from the monster. I drove it back to its base at Edgware. On arrival, the boss told me I must fill it up with petrol before returning it. “Just charge me,” I cried, still shaking with fear. He stared at me with understanding. No doubt he’d witnessed others in this state before. “How about I drive you to a petrol station, you fill up and I drive it back?” he asked.
He danced the great lorry through the traffic so carefully that it would have shamed me if I had not been so grateful.
1. The man felt ______ after having delivered the furniture himself.| A．grateful | B．proud | C．confident | D．regretful |
| A．he shouldn’t have driven the lorry himself |
| B．he made the traffic accident on purpose |
| C．he shouldn’t have caused trouble for the disabled |
| D．he parked the big lorry on the pavement |
| A．The boss drove the man to fill up the car with petrol. |
| B．Driving the lorry was too difficult for the boss. |
| C．The man caused two terrible traffic accidents. |
| D．Three people helped the man to unload the furniture. |
| A．it was easy to drive a lorry | B．being too confident is foolish |
| C．it was hard to avoid accidents | D．the boss was expert in driving |
【推荐3】Jonas Deichmann started his round-the-world triathlon (铁人三项) in September 2020. He swam 456km in 54 days along the coast of Croatia, although he admits that he isn’t a great swimmer. “The swim had its good moments, but I don’t want to do it again,” he said.
Then he hopped on his bike —he’s better at that. Last week, the German athlete finished his 10,000km cycle across Russia to Vladivostok. Overall, his self-imposed triathlon covers 40,000km. He is trying to do it with a minimal carbon footprint. Over the distance of 120 Ironmans, he will not use a support vehicle. He will make his way across any oceans on sailboats.
As usual over the 16 months for many of us, COVID-19 restrictions threw a wrench into his travel plans. He wanted to cycle across the Balkans, through Turkey, then Russia, and China. From here, he was going to sail across the Pacific to San Francisco and begin running 5,040km across the U. S. to New York. He punctually cycled through the Balkans (巴尔干山脉), a substantial way across Turkey. But when he arrived in Istanbul in mid-December, he discovered that the coronavirus (冠状病毒) had closed the border between Istanbul and Russia.
A week into Siberia, he caught food poisoning at a truck stop. “I had a delicious dish with chicken and soon realized that this was a mistake,” he said. The next morning, he felt like he was going to collapse so he spent a day recovering.
He reached Vladivostok on May 18,2021. He is now trying to source a ride across the Pacific. From there, the next stage of his route is unclear. He was going to run across America but U. S. borders remain closed. He is now considering running 5,000km across Mexico from Tijuana to Cancun.
1. What does Jonas Deichmann value most during his triathlon?| A．Diets. | B．Fame. |
| C．Environmental protection. | D．Sceneries along the way. |
| A．Ruined. | B．Adopted. | C．Stressed. | D．Reduced. |
| A．He was fooled. | B．He was disappointed. |
| C．Diet was a challenge. | D．The truck stop was unsafe. |
| A．Reached the USA. | B．Ran across Cancun. |
| C．Settled in Vladivostok. | D．Swam across the Pacific. |
