Two years ago, my friend Terry and I were living in our dormitory at our university. With his birthday approaching, he came to me with an unusual request. Instead of receiving presents and getting drunk (like most every other 21-year-old would), he wanted to do some acts of kindness. I was struck with such an idea. He told me about a TED talk he had watched online, which had inspired him.
Our university is not located in the safest area in Los Angeles. In fact, its location is so unsafe that the school employs the second largest private legal militia (民兵队伍) in the United States to protect its students. They have to work around the clock, standing on street corners throughout the university keeping watch. It’s a thankless job as most students grow used to seeing officers all around and finally hardly even notice their presence.
How could we show them our appreciation? We rented a truck and asked its driver to drive us around the place where we knew the officers would be and we poured them each a cup of hot chocolate. The truck driver was a bit hesitant (犹豫的) about our plan at first but after a while he was helping us spot officers and our lively spirits had spread to him as well. Smiles and appreciative words from the officers impressed us a lot. Soon they were talking about us over their radio and we were the ones being spotted and called over. Finally, the hot chocolate seemed secondary (次要的) to their interest in meeting us, the two boys that went around with hot chocolate expecting to share some late-night laughter. It was amazing to see how a small simple act can lift everyone’s spirits.
1. What inspired Terry to celebrate his birthday in a different way?| A．A radio speech. | B．An online video. |
| C．His concern for other people. | D．Other 21-year-old’s birthday celebrations. |
| A．They don’t think the officers perform their duty well. |
| B．They feel frightened to see the officers around. |
| C．They are not used to being watched by the officers. |
| D．They seldom appreciate the officers’ hard work. |
| A．He was unwilling to accept the idea. |
| B．He couldn’t wait to join the two boys. |
| C．He was strongly against the idea. |
| D．He was struck with the idea. |
| A．Lovely officers around the school |
| B．Importance of school safety |
| C．A unique birthday request |
| D．Late-night laughter |
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The deal means that Rowling’s long-standing relationship with Bloomsbury, the London-based publisher that launched (发行) the Harry Potter books, has come to an end, at least in terms of new works by the author.
Rowling is keeping her fans guessing about the characters and plot of her new book. She only said that the new novel will be nothing like the Harry Potter series, which was sold over 30 million copies in the UK alone. She thought that with the move from children’s to adult fiction, a switch to a new publisher seemed like a natural and reasonable step.
She said, "Although I've enjoyed writing it every bit as much, this book will be very different from the Harry Potter series. The freedom to explore a new field is a gift that Harry’s success has brought me."
Ian Rankin, the Edinburgh-based author whose highly-successful detective novels are also set in the city, suggested Rowling’s book will be a crime novel.
"Wouldn’t it be funny if JK Rowling’s first novel for adults turned out to be a crime story set in Edinburgh?" he said.
Industry insiders guessed that the deal is worth more than ￡5 million and the new book is expected to come out later this year.
A spokesman said, "JK Rowling’s audience is vast and her position is unique. Harry Potter books were a global success and her fans are very loyal. Children that were eight, nine, or ten when the books first came out in the 1990s are now in their 20s. Plenty of adults, loved the books regardless of whether they had children, so the potential market for her is huge."
1. What does the text mainly tell us?
| A．JK Rowling has signed a deal with a new publisher. |
| B．JK Rowling's new book will be more successful than her Harry Potter series. |
| C．JK Rowling’s first book for adults will be published later this year. |
| D．JK Rowling has to switch to a new publisher in order to publish her new book. |
| A．has been sold 30 million copies in the UK alone |
| B．is poorly thought of by the London-based publisher Bloomsbury |
| C．has nothing in common with the Harry Potter series |
| D．is expected to bring her more money than the Harry Potter series |
| A．tell us that some famous novelists offer to give Rowling some advice |
| B．show that many readers are curious about Rowling’s new book |
| C．tell us that many readers prefer to read detective or crime novels |
| D．prove that a crime story set in Edinburgh is sure to be successful |
| A．Little, Brown and Company is specialized in publishing adult books |
| B．the author has no doubt about the success of Rowling’s new book |
| C．JK Rowling will be a crime novelist as good as Ian Rankin |
| D．it was in Edinburgh that Ian Rankin got to know JK Rowling |
【推荐2】It was Saturday. As always, it was a busy one, for “Six days shall you labor and do all your work” was taken seriously back then. Outside, Father and Mr. Patrick next door were busy chopping firewood. Inside their own houses, Mother and Mrs. Patrick were engaged in spring cleaning.
Somehow the boys had slipped away to the back lot with their kites. Now, even at the risk of having Brother caught to beat carpets, they had sent him to the kitchen for more string (线). It seemed there was no limit to the heights to which kites would fly today.
My mother looked at the sitting room, its furniture disordered for a thorough sweeping. Again she cast a look toward the window. “Come on, girls! Let’s take string to the boys and watch them fly the kites a minute.”
On the way we met Mrs. Patric, laughing guiltily as if she were doing something wrong, together with her girls.
There never was such a day for flying kites! We played all our fresh string into the boys’ kites and they went up higher and higher. We could hardly distinguish the orange-colored spots of the kites. Now and then we slowly pulled one kite back, watching it dancing up and down in the wind, and finally bringing it down to earth, just for the joy of sending it up again.
Even our fathers dropped their tools and joined us. Our mothers took their turn, laughing like schoolgirls. I think we were all beside ourselves. Parents forgot their duty and their dignity; children forgot their everyday fights and little jealousies. “Perhaps it’s like this in the kingdom of heaven,” I thought confusedly.
It was growing dark before we all walked sleepily back to the houses. I suppose we had some sort of supper. I suppose there must have been surface tidying-up, for the house on Sunday looked clean and orderly enough. The strange thing was, we didn’t mention that day afterward. I felt a little embarrassed. Surely none of the others had been as excited as I. I locked the memory up in that deepest part of me where we keep “the things that cannot be and yet they are.”
The years went on, then one day I was hurrying about my kitchen in a city apartment, trying to get some work out of the way while my three-year-old insistently cried her desire to “go park, see duck.”
“I can’t go!” I said. “I have this and this to do, and when I’m through I’ll be too tired to walk that far.”
My mother, who was visiting us, looked up from the peas she was shelling. “It’s a wonderful day,” she offered, “really warm, yet there’s a fine breeze. Do you remember that day we flew kites?”
I stopped in my dash between stove and sink. The locked door flew open and with it a rush of memories. “Come on,” I told my little girl. “You’re right, it’s too good a day to miss.”
Another decade passed. We were in the aftermath (余波) of a great war. All evening we had been asking our returned soldier, the youngest Patrick Boy, about his experiences as a prisoner of war. He had talked freely, but now for a long time he had been silent. What was he thinking of — what dark and horrible things?
“Say!” A smile sipped out from his lips. “Do you remember — no, of course you wouldn’t. It probably didn’t make the impression on you as it did on me.”
I hardly dared speak. “Remember what?”
“I used to think of that day a lot in POW camp (战俘营), when things weren’t too good. Do you remember the day we flew the kites?”
1. Mrs. Patrick was laughing guiltily because she thought ________.| A．she was too old to fly kites |
| B．her husband would make fun of her |
| C．she should have been doing her housework then |
| D．her girls weren’t supposed to play the boy’s game |
| A．felt confused | B．went wild with joy |
| C．looked on | D．forgot their fights |
| A．She suddenly remembered her duty as a mother. |
| B．She was reminded of the day they flew kites. |
| C．She had finished her work in the kitchen. |
| D．She thought it was a great day to play outside. |
| A．the writer was not alone in treasuring her fond memories |
| B．his experience in POW camp threw a shadow over his life |
| C．childhood friendship means so much to the writer |
| D．people like him really changed a lot after the war |
【推荐3】The Catnapper Mystery
Cody, the catnapper, had a talent for taking cats from trees, yards, and porches. He’d keep them until their owners paid for their return. One day, Milly’s kitten Mousie was missing. Milly accused Cody. “No way!” said Detective Denny. “I saw Cody catch a train to Planters Plain this morning. Mousie can’t have been kidnapped by Cody!”
“There are no paw prints on my lawn,” noted Milly. “Mousie didn’t just run off!”
“And there are no sneaker prints,” said Detective Denny. “Cody only wears sneakers.” Then he noticed tiny holes in the grass that looked like they were made by high-heeled shoes. Denny pulled out a pencil. He was very careful as he measured the holes. “Half a pencil deep! Only Patty Perry’s Pet Shop wears heels that high and thin.”
Milly and Detective Denny ran to Patty’s, where a man was loading pets into a van. “Where are these animals going?” asked Milly.
“To Carter’s Cats in Planters Plain,” he replied.
“Where is Patty Perry?” asked Detective Denny.
“She had to catch a train,” said the man.
“Hmmm,” thought Denny. “Cody’s full name is Cody Carter. Sounds like Carter’s Cats! And he’s on a train to Planters Plain.”
Denny figured Patty would sell the cats and then Cody would steal them back. Only this time, Patty made the snatch(抢夺). “They resell the cats in Planters Plain,” he realized, “and split the money!”
“Sounds illegal!” said the man with the van.
The Planters Plain police met the train and took the catnappers straight to prison. Best of all, the cats in captivity, including Milly’s Mousie, were returned to their owners.
1. Milly accused Cody of taking her cat because ________.| A．Cody was a detective | B．Cody had a van |
| C．Cody was a catnapper | D．Cody owned a pet shop |
| A．holes from Patty’s high heels | B．pets in the van |
| C．footprints from Cody’s sneakers | D．prints from Mousie’s paws |
| A．Mousie was missing. | B．The catnappers went to prison. |
| C．Cody left for Planters Plain. | D．Denny looked at Milly’s lawn. |
| A．Milly’s kitten, Mousie, was kidnapped, leading to a pursuit and the involvement of Detective Denny. |
| B．Cody, known for catnapping, is wrongly accused by Milly, but Detective Denny discovers the true criminal, Patty Perry. |
| C．The man with the van is arrested for transporting animals illegally, leading to the return of the kidnapped cats, including Milly’s Mousie. |
| D．Detective Denny investigates the disappearance of Milly’s kitten, leading to the uncovering of a catnapping plan involving Cody and Patty Perry. |
【推荐1】When Colleen Telfer moved to Monash with her two daughters, none of them expected just how much it would change their lives.
It started with buying the small town’s general store and ended with the Telfers volunteering together at a South Australian fire brigade (消防队).
In the first two years of the store, she would see the Monash Country Fire Service (CFS) engines fly past, located just across the road. Whether they were getting into the trucks at a moment’s notice or coming into her shop for a feed, she got to know the brigade and decided to join them.
Her desire to give back was shared by her 20-year-old daughter, Lara. “When the siren (警报器) would go off, I used to hate missing out,” Lara said. The pair joined in February last year, and about a year later they were joined by Colleen’s youngest daughter, 18-year-old Sophie.
As a senior volunteer firefighter, Colleen’s responsibilities have grown to include driving the brigade’s trucks. “I know it is often male-dominated, but don’t look at it like that. Females are just as good as males in any role,” Colleen said.
In November 2021, Georgie Cornish became the first woman to be appointed chief officer for the CFS. Ms. Cornish said there were still misconceptions that women might find it hard to do some jobs. “Women are sometimes better suited to some of those roles,” she said. “It’s very easy for us to assume that strength is everything we need in a firefighter. It’s not. Sometimes it’s agility and nimbleness (敏捷性和灵活性) that we actually need in the jobs we’re going to.”
Being part of something greater has strengthened the Telfers’ mother-daughter connections in more ways than one. “As a mother, you do worry about your children, but we’re not there by ourselves,” Colleen said. “We’ve always got other firefighters around who can help us.”
1. What did Collee n decide to do after moving to Monash?| A．Sell off her local store. | B．Become a truck driver. |
| C．Join CFS as a volunteer. | D．Set up a volunteer fire brigade. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Uninterested. | D．Thankful. |
| A．Women are more likely to get hurt in fires. |
| B．Women are less interested in physical work. |
| C．Women are well aware of other people’s feelings. |
| D．Women are capable of performing firefighting duties. |
| A．Celebrate women’s contributions to fire safety |
| B．Meet the family fighting fires and misconceptions |
| C．The real challenge of being a professional firefighter |
| D．The continuing rise of female leadership in firefighting |
【推荐2】Most recently, Zhang Chaofan has been honored as a national ethical role model at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Over the past six years, Zhang has donated 1.35 million yuan and raised 5.2 million yuan from the public to help more than 400 people with health problems — including teachers with severe cancer, disabled children and autistic (自闭症的) children in poor families — learn traditional Chinese culture.
She has also made more than 700 public welfare speeches at universities and in poor mountain areas, teaching people how to gain self-esteem, confidence, self-reliance and self-improvement.
The young girl was born without a left forearm in Changchun, Jilin Province, but her constant drive to become stronger has inspired many people.
In 2015, Zhang rejected an offer of postgraduate study from a famous university and set up a calligraphy and painting school in Changchun. When she found that some parents were unable to afford their children’s education fees, she made the lessons free and began providing 300,000 yuan annually to help them through her foundation.
“I think it’s important for teenagers to receive quality education because they are the future of the country,” she said. “I will make great efforts to help them get equal opportunities to pursue their dreams and inspire them to do their best.”
In early 2020, her school stopped all courses because of the pandemic, but she didn’t stop her public welfare activities. She raised materials and donations worth more than 8 million yuan. Then she sent masks, protective suits, and daily necessities to medical workers.
“Women in the new era should have the courage to create value and also have a sense of social responsibility,” she said. “It is my great honor to be elected as a role model. This will become a driving force for me to forge ahead and pass on the seeds of public welfare through even greater efforts.”
1. What do we know about Zhang Chaofan?| A．She donated all her money to help people in difficulty. |
| B．She will be elected as a national ethical role model in Beijing. |
| C．She made many public speeches at universities in poor mountain areas. |
| D．She provided many free lessons for the children who couldn’t afford them. |
| A．Enthusiastic and entertaining. | B．Devoted and responsible. |
| C．Capable and creative. | D．Professional and talented. |
| A．She will teach girls to win more prizes through her courses. |
| B．She will influence many girls like her to be painters and calligraphers. |
| C．She will continue her career and spread her public welfare activities. |
| D．She will encourage women in the new era to be courageous and sociable. |
| A．Only the strong-willed girl can reach her goals. |
| B．Disability and experience made the girl strong. |
| C．A girl with the broken wing followed her dream bravely. |
| D．Kindness and generosity helped the girl be well-known. |
A year ago August, Dave Fuss lost his job driving a truck for a small company in west Michigan. His wife, Gerrie, was still working in the local school cafeteria, but work for Dave was scarce, and the price of everything was rising. The Fusses were at risk of joining the millions of Americans who had lost their homes in recent years. Then Dave and Gerrie received a timely gift—$7000, a legacy (遗产) from their neighbors Ish and Arlene Hatch, who died in an accident. “It really made a difference when we were going under financially.” says Dave.
But the Fusses weren’t the only folks in Alto and the neighboring town of Lowell to receive unexpected legacy from the Hatches. Dozens of other families were touched by the Hatches’ generosity. In some cases, it was a few thousand dollars; in other, it was more than $100,000.
It surprised nearly everyone that the Hatches had so much money, more than $3 million—they were an elderly couple who lived in an old house on what was left of the family farm.
Children of the Great Depression, Ish and Arlene were known for their habit of saving. They thrived on (喜欢) comparison shopping and would routinely go from store to store, checking prices before making a new purchase.
Through the years, the Hatches paid for local children to attend summer camp when their parents couldn’t afford it. “Ish and Arlene never asked if you needed anything,” says their friend Sand Van Weelden, “They could see things they could do to make you happier, and they would do them.”
Even more extraordinary was that the Hatches had their farmland distributed. It was the Hatches’ wish that their legacy—a legacy of kindness as much as one of dollars and cents —should enrich the whole community and last for generations to come. Neighbors helping neighbors—that was Ish and Arlene Hatch’s story .
1. Why did the Fusses almost lose their home a year ago? (no more than 15 words)2. What does the underlined phrase “going under financially” mean? (no more than 10 words)
3. Why were people surprised to know that the Hatches had more than $3 million? (no more than 15 words)
4. What was their purpose of doing so many things for other people? (no more than 10 words)
5. What do you think of Ish and Arlene? Give your reasons. (no more than 25 words)
