A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said, “I am blind, please help me.” There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it over, and wrote some words on it. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat was filled up. More and more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man came to see how things were. The boy heard his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”
The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.”
The man had written, “Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.”
Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?
Of course, both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the beauty of the day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind. We’re not only lucky to see the beautiful world but also can help others. So, enjoy what you have owned today!
1. A blind boy sat on the steps of a building in order to________.| A．get money from others | B．make the writer help him |
| C．wait for some people | D．hold up a sign |
| A．The boy was taken away by the police | B．Nobody gave the blind boy money any more |
| C．The blind boy could see the beautiful day | D．More people dropped money into the boy’s hat |
| A．It’s helpless of us to help people in need | B．We should treasure what we have |
| C．Give more money to the blind | D．It’s a good way to make money by holding a sign |
| A．took away the blind boy’s money |
| B．gave the boy a new hat |
| C．brought the boy a sign |
| D．gave the boy some money and wrote some words on the sign |
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【推荐1】Have you ever been sad because of failure? Please re member, for quite often achieving what you set out to do is not the most important thing.
A boy decided to dig a deep hole behind his house. As he was working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch. "What are you doing?" asked one of the visitors. "I want to dig a hole all the way through the earth!" the boy answered excitedly. The older boys began to laugh, telling him that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a while, the boy picked up a jar. He showed it to the visitors. It was full of all kinds of stones and insects. Then he said calmly and confidently, "Maybe I can't finish digging all the way through the earth, but look at what I've found during this period!"
The boy's goal was far too difficult, but it did cause him to go on. And that is what a goal is for-to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen, in other words, to cause us to keep working!
Not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end up with a success. Not every dream will come true. But when you fall short of your aim, maybe you can say, "Yes, but look at what I've found along the way! There are so many wonderful things having come into my life because I tried to do something!" It is in the digging that life is lived. Itis the unexpected joy on the journey that really makes sense.
1. The older boys laughed at the boy because he was thought to be ________.| A．brave | B．impolite |
| C．foolish | D．warm-hearted |
| A．To drive them away. |
| B．To show what he had found in digging. |
| C．To show how beautiful the jar was. |
| D．To attract them to join him in the work. |
| A．No dream can come true. |
| B．All work will end successfully. |
| C．Goals shouldn't be set too high. |
| D．Goals will make us work harder. |
| A．A Boy Dug a Hole |
| B．Where There is a Will, There is a Way |
| C．No Pains, No Gains |
| D．Failure Is the Mother of Success |
【推荐2】“Lei ming m ming baak ngo gong ge waa ah? Do you understand what I am saying?” I stare back at the speaker dumbly, my lips parted, the ideas clear in my mind but a response unable to express itself in a language in my distant range. After an uncomfortable pause, a bunch of words spill out of my mouth, sounding forced and unnatural.
The anecdote (轶事) above is a semi-conversation I had in Malaysia years ago. A three-week stay in Malaysia once every few years was often the highlight of my summers — what more can you ask from a food paradise (天堂)? But besides the family, food, and escape that Malaysia offered, trips also brought accompanying feelings of guilt that I just couldn’t seem to translate. For one month every few summers, I got a taste of what it feels to be an outsider in my own culture. I was a girl lost in translation, passively absorbing the various tongues shouted between the stalls (摊位) in the wet markets, quietly nodding along at my grandparents’ huge family dinners.
In America though, I am a different person. I don’t think twice about my grammar when speaking. I don’t struggle with the words and fear that my logic and stories won’t get through to people. So as a native English speaker, I do not have to worry daily about whether I’m judged for having an accent or whether I’m misunderstood across languages. In Malaysia, I naturally burst out “have you eaten?” instead of recalling the Malaysian equivalent “you makan already?” In Malaysia, everything about the way I speak — my accent, intonation, sentence structure, slang — gives me away. My American-ness is seen in the way I talk, dress and act. Maybe my face could pass for a Malaysian local, but once I open my mouth to speak I am so clearly not. It is uncomfortable and awkward, and sometimes I wonder if I did not look Asian at all would it be better, since there would be no more language expectation for me than for a white tourist.
1. How did the author feel in the anecdote?| A．Confused and scared. | B．Embarrassed and nervous. |
| C．Curious and surprised. | D．Upset and puzzled. |
| A．Because she had to stay away from her family. |
| B．Because she didn’t enjoy speaking the language. |
| C．Because she had to accept what grandparents said. |
| D．Because she found it hard to understand the culture. |
| A．She was a good language learner. |
| B．She didn’t like being an Asian. |
| C．She was judged unfairly in Malaysia. |
| D．She spoke English unconsciously in Malaysia. |
| A．Culture | B．News. | C．Education. | D．Humor. |
My attitude to the hill has now changed. I used to complain as I approached it but now I tell myself the following. This hill will exercise my heart and lungs. It will help me to lose weight and get fit. It will mean that I live longer. This hill is my friend. Finally I comfort myself with the thought of all those silly people who pay money to go to a gym and sit on stationery exercise bicycles when I can get the same value for free. I have a smile of satisfaction as I reach the top of the hill.
Problems are there to be faced and overcome. We cannot achieve anything with an easy life. Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a university degree. Her activism and writing proved inspirational. She wrote, “Character cannot be developed in ease. Only through experiences of suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.”
One of the main determinants of success in life is our attitude towards adversity (逆境). From time to time we all face hardships, problems, accidents and difficulties. Some are of our making but many are no fault of our own. While we cannot choose the adversity, we can choose our attitude towards it.
Douglas Bader was 21 when in 1931 he had both legs cut off following a flying accident．He was determined to fly again and went on to become one of the leading flying aviators in the Battle of Britain with 22 aerial victories over the Germans．He was an inspiration to others during the war. He said, “Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t do this or that. That’s nonsense. Make up your mind, you’ll never use crutches (拐杖) or a stick, and then have a go at everything. Go to school, and join in all the games you can. Go anywhere you want to. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible.”
The biographies (传记) of great people are full of examples of how they took steps to overcome the difficulties they faced. The common thread is that they did not become depressed. They chose their attitude. They chose to be positive. They took on the challenge. They won.
Nevertheless, there is still the problem of how you change your attitude towards adversity.
1. Which of the following is true according to the author of the passage?
| A．Going to a gym is greatly beneficial to people’s health. |
| B．Climbing hills on bicycles is the best way to take exercise. |
| C．Those who want to achieve success can’t expect to live an easy life. |
| D．People’s attitude to adversity is the only factor of their success. |
| A．Failure is the mother of success． |
| B．A bad workman quarrels with his tools. |
| C．If you risk nothing, you will have nothing. |
| D．Nothing is difficult to the man who will try. |
| A．how his friend helped him to change his attitude towards the adversity he faced |
| B．what steps to take to change your attitude towards the adversity you face |
| C．why it is important to keep optimistic in face of adversity |
| D．what great people have in common |
| A．Face adversity with a smile |
| B．Different attitudes towards adversity |
| C．Nothing is impossible |
| D．Life is full of adversity |
【推荐1】Sean Elliot Martin and Pancho Timmons are friends on a mission to change the world, one small act of kindness at a time. That’s the subject of their new book, Quick and Easy World Change, which they released as an e-book.
The project is inspired by another kindness-related book Martin worked on years ago. The latest one takes parts of the first book and updates it with more inspiring stories and lists of little things people can do daily to spread goodness wherever they go. “Make a game of giving—you can assign yourself points for different little things,” Martin said. “How many doors can I open each day for someone with their hands full? Or how many different ways can I help someone today? Or how many good deeds can I think of?” It also addresses the concept of compound kindness—a domino effect of good deeds. “If you compliment one person, they’re likely to compliment two to five people,” Martin said.
Both authors’ lives have been impacted by the kindness of others, they each explained. Quick and Easy World Change is their way to pay those experiences and opinions forward. For Timmons, a teacher’s compassion in college was of great significance to him. “I did all the things I was supposed to do—worked hard, studied hard—and ended up failing pretty miserably,” he recalled. “But the professor pulled me aside and said, ‘You’re an A student turning in C and D work because you’re clearly dyslexic (读写困难的) and not getting the help you need.’” “That 5-minute conversation was the difference between dropping out of college and getting two master’s degrees and now running two companies,” Timmons said. “I’ve spent my career trying to pay that forward.”
With the electronic version available, their plan is to follow up with hard copies. The authors hope people will use it like a workbook, a living document they can mark up, reflect on and use to make their lives—and the lives of others—better.
1. The expression “a domino effect” in the second paragraph can be replaced by .| A．a chain reaction | B．a sudden stop |
| C．a single action | D．a slow process |
| A．When he started working hard in college. |
| B．When he received encouragement from a professor. |
| C．When he realized he had dyslexia. |
| D．When he failed miserably in his studies. |
| A．To share their personal experiences about kindness. |
| B．To promote the use of electronic books over hard copies. |
| C．To inspire others to perform acts of kindness in their daily lives. |
| D．To encourage people to seek help from professors and teachers. |
| A．Electronic version. | B．Hard copy. |
| C．School workbook. | D．Library document. |
【推荐2】Nine-year-old Abdulwal Abdula lifted his right arm and waved guests goodbye as they left his house. What appeared a simple gesture was only possible because people from different walks of life raced against time to save the boy’s severed right arm more than two years ago.
On April 30, 2021, Abdulwal’s right arm was severed when it got caught in the motor of a running tractor. Realizing the complexity involved in reattaching the arm, the local hospital decided to transfer the boy to the traditional Chinese medicine hospital of Urumqi, about 1,400 kilometers away, for a surgery that had to be performed within eight hours. But by the time Abdulwal was sent to the airport in Hotan, the last flight to Urumqi that night was already on the runway and ready for takeoff.
Everyone knew that if Abdulwal missed the flight he would lose his right arm, and possibly his life. Air traffic control workers immediately contacted the pilots and asked them to wait, while officials at the airport rushed to arrange permission for the plane to return to the terminal and pick up the boy. With permission granted, Abdulwal and his severed arm, packed in a medical bag, were carried onboard. None of the passengers complained about the delay.
Once the plane landed in Urumqi, a series of green channels ensured Abdulwal reached the hospital in the shortest time. The surgery started seven-and-a-half hours after the accident. His severed limb was successfully reattached and the broken bone fragments rearranged.
The story went viral (走红) on social media, touching all people who could not stop praising the efforts made by so many people to save the boy. The extraordinary story inspired a film, Ordinary Hero, in 2022.
Abdulwal said he had watched the movie twice. “It reminds me of how many people have helped me. They aren’t ordinary people, but superheroes to me.” His mother said that the doctor who reattached Abdulwal’s arm often calls to check on him and give advice on recovery. “I want to be a doctor when I grow up, so that I can help others,” Abdulwal said.
1. What was the key factor in the process of rescuing the boy?| A．Money. | B．Time | C．Medicine. | D．Information. |
| A．He was cured in the local hospital. |
| B．He was badly injured in an air crash. |
| C．His arm recovered well with joint efforts. |
| D．His surgery lasted seven and a half hours. |
| A．To offer some help. | B．To ask about his ambition. |
| C．To express his sympathy. | D．To check on his recovery. |
| A．A news report. | B．A film review. |
| C．A medical magazine. | D．A biography. |
【推荐3】Raised by a single mother in Hartford, Fred Wright struggled with behavioral problems and was forced to move from one school to another. He even reached a point where he felt like he had nothing to live for.
“I was walking around with a lot on my shoulders，” he said.“I couldn't handle it. I didn't care about life anymore.” But all that started to change when Wright met Patricia Kelly.
“I was seven when I met Mrs Kelly.I wasn't used to strictness. I wasn't used to hearing the word ‘no’，”said Wright, now 17.
Kelly, a former soldier and an equestrian (骑手), took Wright under her wing and helped him find hope in an unlikely place — on a horse.
“Wright was like a round peg that everybody kept trying to squeeze into a square hole，” Kelly said.“He was hurting. He needed a place where he could express himself. The riding field became that place for him.”
For the last 30 years, Kelly has helped children stay on the right track through her nonprofit, Ebony Horsewomen. The program offers horseback riding lessons and teaches animal science to more than 300 young people a year. By exposing those children to horsemanship, Kelly aims to give them an alternative to the streets and an opportunity to turn their lives around.
“We use horses as a hook to create pride, esteem and healing，” said Kelly, 66.“They learn that they have ability. They just have to unlock it.”
“When you teach a child to ride a horse, they learn they are the center of their environment，” said Kelly.“Once they make that connection, they can change what happens in school, at home and in the community.”
1. Why did Fred Wright have to move from one school to another?| A．Because his mother couldn't afford the fees. |
| B．Because his parents got divorced. |
| C．Because he behaved badly at school. |
| D．Because he didn't set a life goal. |
| A．She provided him with a home. |
| B．She encouraged him to learn science. |
| C．She exposed him to the riding field. |
| D．She found him a better school. |
| A．It is intended to make money. |
| B．It was founded by Patricia Kelly. |
| C．It aims to protect the environment. |
| D．It serves as a shelter for homeless kids. |
| A．Horse riding is helpful to the growth of kids. |
| B．Patricia Kelly is a very successful woman. |
| C．Horses are closely related to the environment. |
| D．It is hard for a kid to learn to ride a horse. |
【推荐1】Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, “I don’t get it! You can’t be a positive person all the time. How do you do it?” Jerry replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, ‘Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.’ I choose to be in a good mood.”
“Yeah, right, but it’s not that easy,” I protested. “Yes, it is,” Jerry said. “Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line it’s your choice how to live life.”
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers While trying to open the safe, the robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found immediately and sent to the local hospital. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him about the incident, he replied, “Wanna see my scars?” I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. “The first thing that came into my mind was that I should have locked the back door,” Jerry replied. “Then as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices I could choose to live, or choose to die. I choose to live.”
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.
1. Which of the following can best describe Jerry?| A．Optimistic. | B．Responsible. | C．Kind-hearted. | D．Careless. |
| A．Pick up the junk on the ground regularly. | B．Ignore the unnecessary parts of something. |
| C．Choose to be in a good mood. | D．Never be affected by others. |
| A．The choice of life. | B．Attitude is everything. | C．How to live fully. | D．An unexpected robbery. |
【推荐2】In 1945,there was a young boy of 14 in a concentration camp(集中营). He was tall, thin but had a bright smile. Every day, a young girl came by the other side of the fence. She noticed the boy and asked him if he spoke Polish, and he said yes. She then reached in her pocket and gave him her apple. He thanked her and she went on her way. The next day, she came by again, bringing with her another apple which she gave him. Each day, she walked by the outside of the fence, hoping to see him, and when she did, she happily handed him an apple in exchange for conversation.
On day he told her not to come by any more. He was being shipped to another concentration camp. As he walked away with tears running down his face, he wondered if he’d ever see her again. She was the only kind person he had seen across the fence.
He made it out of the concentration camp, and immigrated(移民) to America. In 1957, his friends had fixed him up on a blind date (约会). He had no idea who the woman was and picked her up, and during the dinner they began talking of Poland at that time. She said she used to see a boy and gave him an apple daily. He asked if this boy was tall, skinny and if he had told her that she couldn't come back because he was leaving. She said yes.
It was her, the young girl who came by every day to give him apples. After 12 years, after the war and in another country, they met again. What are the odds(概率). He proposedto her on that very night and told her he’d never again let her go. They are still happily married today.
Miracles do happen, and there is a great force at work in our lives.
1. Every day the girl walked by the outside of the fence to _____.| A．See what was happening in the concentration camp |
| B．Ask the boy to escape from the concentration camp |
| C．Have a talk with the boy |
| D．Sell an apple to the poor boy |
| A．he didn’t know whether he could meet the girl again |
| B．he agreed to meet the girl in the USA |
| C．he know he would live a happy life |
| D．he worried about how he could get an apple each day in future |
| A．To thank her for what she has done in Poland |
| B．To find out the girl he had been willing to see |
| C．Because he worked as a driver |
| D．Because his friends had asked him to make a date with her |
| A．Happy date | B．Surprising marriage |
| C．A legendary(传奇)boy | D．Lovely coincidence(巧合) |
【推荐3】Having the blues, I was driving aimlessly. Unexpectedly, no one remembered my birthday. I decided to take myself out for a birthday celebration to have breakfast by the time I arrived at my destination.
On arrival, I followed a couple of ladies into the cafe and waited to get a menu. One lady asked the waiter to help find one table for them. But the cafe was rather full then. There was only one left in the corner. Then, the lady asked me if I got my own table. I said, “I think you could get your own and I could wait for a smaller one, as I’m here to celebrate my birthday alone.” The lady immediately suggested that we share a table together. At that moment, I thought that was a lovely idea and nodded my head.
I went to pay for my meal and a drink. But I was told it had been paid for. On sitting at the table, I offered to pay for their meal and was told that I didn’t have to pay on my birthday. That was a simple gift for me from the ladies who I just met for the first time, which really touched my heart.
We had a beautiful 40 minutes together and we shared many topics before they had to continue on their journey. It was more than I could have expected for the day. “Thank you! Ladies-Beck and Shayne, my lovely angels for the day. I would never forget this unique birthday. At our parting, they also inspired me to share my kindness, wisdom or knowledge to those who need it. I said to myself,” I surely do not let this chain of love end with me.
1. How did the author feel at first on her birthday?| A．Excited. | B．Sad. | C．Joyful. | D．Mad. |
| A．There was no chair left at that time. | B．It was the only table in the restaurant then. |
| C．She would like to make friends with the author. | D．She wanted to have a chat with the author. |
| A．They paid for the meal for the author. | B．They bought the author a big birthday cake. |
| C．They bought the author a small birthday gift. | D．They gave her some money for a meal. |
| A．Thank the ladies by email. | B．Pass down kindness and love. |
| C．Share her experience with her family. | D．Celebrate her birthday again with others. |
