Ed Jackson’s team were trying to climb to the top of a Himalayan Mountain. However, weeks after they set off, they were stranded (滞留) there overnight without water, food or tents at a temperature of about -30℃. They took turns to keep each other awake in case they fell asleep and did not wake up again.
Actually, that night on the mountain top was not the first time that Jackson had been close to death. Five years ago, while still a professional rugby player, Jackson broke his neck in a challenge, which nearly killed him. Jackson was told by doctors that he was likely to face life in a wheelchair. He was forced to retire from playing rugby.
Luckily, Jackson managed to discard his wheelchair six months after the accident. To mark the first anniversary of his accident, Jackson set himself the goal of climbing Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, even though he was still using two crutches (拐杖) then. He tried to climb many higher mountains after that. Four years later, he found himself in the Himalayas.
The challenges that Jackson faced in the mountains have had a great impact on his recovery both physically and mentally. Jackson realized that others might benefit, too. So he started the charity Millimeters to Mountains (M2M) with his wife Lois and his friend Oily Barkley. It takes beneficiaries (受益人) who have suffered physical or psychological injuries in challenges around the world, allowing them to access the healing power of nature.
Jackson says, “I once lost hope in life because of my bad condition, thinking there was nothing I could do. But hopefully what I’m doing, what we’re doing with the charity and what our beneficiaries are proving can give anyone the hope that they can turn their life around, no matter how discouraging it might seem at that moment.”
1. What do the first two paragraphs mainly talk about?| A．Jackson was tired of ball games. |
| B．Jackson was no stranger to suffering in life. |
| C．Jackson was well respected for his survival skills. |
| D．Jackson was advised to do exercise by his doctors. |
| A．Give up. | B．Rely on. | C．Tear apart. | D．Carry through. |
| A．To educate sports lovers. | B．To raise money for the disabled. |
| C．To encourage safe mountain climbing. | D．To help people with similar experiences. |
| A．Enthusiastic and independent. | B．Creative and aggressive. |
| C．Adventurous and inspiring. | D．Responsible and humorous. |
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【推荐1】A fisherman I know named Joar Hesten called me late in April last year. A beluga whale was swimming around his boat near the northern tip of Norway. It appeared to be wrapped in a tight harness (套子), and Hesten didn’t know what to do. Belugas are usually found in groups in areas with ice and glaciers (冰川) —rarely alone along the Norwegian coast. As a marine biologist, I knew that the harness needed to be removed as soon as possible. I had no idea how puzzling it would turn out to be.
We contacted the local government. When inspector JørgenRee Wiig and his crew met with the fishing boat, they doubted Joar Hesten had clearly been trained. The mystery deepened when he got into the water to remove the belt. Attached to the harness were a camera mount (支撑架) and clips with the words (in English) “Equipment St. Petersburg.” The stuff didn’t look like anything that a scientist would use to track whales. The rescuers and I wondered whether he’d been trained for a special purpose. We named him Hvaldimir—the Norwegian word for “whale”.
A week after his discovery, Hvaldimir followed a sailboat to Hammerfest harbor, about 25 miles from where he was first spotted. He was thin: He wasn’t eating on his own and seemed unlikely to survive in the wild. Later the authorities decided to feed him; his meals became daily tourist attractions in Hammerfest. Hvaldimir became so popular in Hammerfest that rules had to be posted for interacting with him.
Yet when I slipped into the water to examine Hvaldimir, I was most struck by his friendliness—and his loneliness. During our swim together, Hvaldimir pulled off one of my flippers (脚蹼), which sank into the deep. I shouted to him underwater, and he dived for it. A few minutes later, he returned with my flipper balanced on his nose and presented it to me.
In June Hvaldimir left Hammerfest, in much better shape than when he arrived. Since then he has traveled along the coast of northern Norway, apparently feeding himself.
1. What endangered the whale most according to the author?| A．Getting separated from its group. |
| B．Being spotted by humans. |
| C．Being caught by the harness. |
| D．Being driven away from his familiar surroundings. |
| A．His poor condition. | B．His mysterious identity. |
| C．His strange tracks. | D．His faraway birthplace. |
| A．He was taken good care of in a zoo. |
| B．He was transported there by a fishing ship. |
| C．He was well trained to entertain humans. |
| D．He might feel comfortable with the presence of humans. |
| A．To test its hearing. |
| B．To express his anger to it. |
| C．To ask it to pick up his flipper. |
| D．To prove his training was a success. |
【推荐2】Perhaps my favorite place during my trip to Guangxi was the Longji Rice Terraces(梯田)in Longsheng. I’ve seen rice terraces elsewhere in Asia, but nothing compared with the beauty of the Longji Rice Terraces. To go to Guangxi and skip these rice terraces would be a loss.
These over 600-year-old terraces are still very much in use and feed the local Yao and Zhuang communities; you can find many guesthouses throughout the various rice terraces, and while accommodations ( 住宿) are very basic, I would strongly suggest spending a night in the peaceful terraces, surrounded by nothing but rice.
My friends and I had arrived in Guangxi on harvest day and we were told by our local guide it was too late to see Longji in its autumnal beauty. But we were super lucky because the 2021 harvest had been put off, and when we arrived in Longsheng a couple of days later, it was the last day before the harvest began. It’s quite risky to time your visit this way, but it is amazing to see the Longji Rice Terraces both before harvest and after, when it takes on a completely new character.
The two main terraced areas are the Ping’an Terraced Fields and the Jinkeng Terraced Fields. The former is home to the local Zhuang people and has more visitors as it’s easier to reach. Jinkeng, on the other hand, is less visited. The Red Yao people live here, and should you need a hand with your suitcase, their women are happy to help you. We chose Jinkeng because it’s home to the highest point of the Longji Rice Terraces. The viewpoint is nearly 4,000 feet high. We had to go up there as our hotel was up there, but you should anyway as it’s the most wonderful viewpoint.
The Longji Rice Terraces are supposed to be beautiful in the spring and summer as well, though I much prefer its autumnal beauty. Winter, I’d skip, as it was already cold enough at night in October, but I’d return and visit again in the spring or summer.
1. What is the author’s advice for people visiting the Longji Rice Terraces?| A．Staying a night at a guesthouse among the terraces. |
| B．Going to the local Yao and Zhuang communities. |
| C．Choosing good accommodations. |
| D．Eating the local rice. |
| A．He could enjoy the terraces’ autumnal beauty. |
| B．He found a time-saving way to the terraces. |
| C．He came across one of his friends. |
| D．He had a professional local guide. |
| A．The affordable hotel. | B．The friendly people. |
| C．The great viewpoint. | D．The light traffic. |
| A．In a short novel. | B．In a news report. |
| C．In a history book. | D．In a travel magazine. |
【推荐3】Growing up in Arizona’s rodeo (竞技) country, I was familiar with the events that come with traveling rodeos: bull riding, dressing and mutton busting. Mutton busting is like bull riding, but instead of bulls, they use sheep. And in place of the men, it’s children between six and ten years old who try to hang on for eight seconds.
It took me all of five minutes to say yes to the idea of riding a sheep. Being seven years old, my decision-making ability was pretty limited. I figured I could ride a sheep as well as the next kid. Little did I know that I was in for a world of pain and embarrassment.
My nerves were shaking the day of the rodeo. I hated being in front of crowds. I didn’t like getting dirty; I didn’t even like sheep, which I thought of as just dirty and smelly. Yet there I was, getting ready to ride one for eight seconds in front of hundreds of people. I wanted to run out of the field and hide in the hot car until it was over. But by the time this idea occurred to me, it was too late. I was lifted away from my mother by a rodeo trainer and placed onto a platform.
My feet went into the narrow pen (羊圈) first. I felt my shoes touch the dirty floor of the pen. Once I was balanced on the top of the sheep, the trainer let go and told me to lean forward. I did as he said. I could feel the animal’s heart beating faster than mine. I realized that the poor sheep was even more frightened than I was.
Then the gate opened, and I quickly discovered that my hold was too weak. Within three seconds I had fallen off the sheep, and found myself face-down on the sun-baked earth. The sheep thought this was its time to take revenge (复仇), and attacked me from behind. There I lay, hat down, covered in dirt, with tears streaming down my face. I looked behind me to see my mother running to comfort me. “Stand up and show them you’re okay,” she told me as she wiped the dirty tears from my face. I stood up, dirty and upset, waved my little hand, and walked out with my mother.
Sadly, I didn’t win anything, not even the respect of these rodeo animals. I did find a new admiration for those little balls of wool, though.
1. Which of the following is TRUE about “mutton busting”?| A．It is a dirty and terrible game. | B．Only strong adults can ride a sheep. |
| C．It is intended to pick the fastest sheep. | D．It’s a game for 6-to-10-year-old children. |
| A．it was part of growing up | B．he thought he could do well |
| C．mother made him do so | D．he found it very interesting |
| A．Why the author lost the competition. |
| B．Why a mother should comfort her child. |
| C．How the author failed in the sheep riding. |
| D．How the sheep hurt the author when it attacked. |
| A．sheep riding is as difficult as bull riding |
| B．sheep riding is not popular because the pen is very dirty |
| C．the author wanted to give up before the competition |
| D．the author kept trying until he succeeded in riding a sheep |
【推荐1】A 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the Indonesian coast sent a wall of water racing toward Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Lang was on the island of Ko Phi Phi, just south of Phuket, Thailand, shopping on Main Street with her friend Rubina Wong, when suddenly everything changed. “People started running inland. From where we were, we could not see the beach so we had no idea what was going on,” she said.
Lang and Rubina started running inland in the same direction as everyone else, when she noticed water flooding into the island, but so strong and fast that she could no longer lift her feet to run. Rubina had gone down a side street. Lang never saw her alive again.
Lang was stuck underwater between debris (碎片) with the surface just above her face. “The more I struggled (挣扎), the tighter I was stuck. I could not reach the surface. I thought I came here on my vacation to die, and then I got really annoyed,” she said. “I must have blacked out because the next thing I remember is waking up underwater.”
The water was still and black. Lang looked up and could see that at the top, there was a small circle of light. She started swimming through the water and made it to the surface of the water. She pulled herself onto a floating door and could see that the whole island was flooded and a lot of buildings were gone. She could see a house not far away and a man on its roof. She encouraged herself to climb over the floating objects to the balcony (阳台) of the house. From there she saw the water start to slowly go back to the ocean.
1. What was Lang doing when the tsunami happened?| A．She was running in a race. | B．She was playing on the beach. |
| C．She was shopping in the street. | D．She was looking for her friend. |
| A．There was a wall in the way. | B．She feared she would get lost. |
| C．She had to wait for her friend. | D．The racing water was too powerful. |
| A．She didn’t want to struggle. | B．She was trapped underwater. |
| C．She didn’t regret going on vacation. | D．She kept awake all the time in the water. |
| A．By calling for help. | B．By hiding in a house. |
| C．By climbing up a tall tree. | D．By making use of floating objects. |
Soon the Frenchman caught up with the Italian. Neither of them understood the other’s language. The Frenchman frightened the Italian with his fist (拳头) and pointed at the Italian’s watch. In the end the Italian gave up his watch to the Frenchman.
When he returned to the hotel, the Frenchman told his wife what had happened. He was greatly surprised when his wife pointed to the watch on the table. Now he realized that by mistake he had robbed the watch and it was the Italian’s.
1. The Frenchman went to a small Italian town _______.
| A．with his wife | B．alone |
| C．with his friend | D．with an Italian |
| A．a ride | B．a walk | C．a drink | D．rest |
| A．watch | B．money | C．book | D．ring |
| A．he had stolen the watch from the Frenchman. |
| B．he understood what the Frenchman wanted |
| C．he had picked up the watch on his w ay from work |
| D．he was afraid of the Frenchman |
| A．The Frenchman was. | B．The Italian was. |
| C．Both of them was. | D．Neither of them was. |
I am one of those unlucky people who have poor sense of direction and I may have visited a place time after time but I still get lost on my way there. When I was young I was so shy that I never dared ask complete strangers the way and so I used to wander round in circles and hope that by some chance I would get to the place I was heading for.
I am no longer too shy to ask people for direction, but I often receive replies that puzzle me. Often people do not like to admit (承认) that they didn’t know their hometown and will insist on telling you the way, even if they do not know it; others, who are anxious to prove that they know their hometown very well, will give you a long list of directions which you can not possibly hope to remember, and still others do not seem to be able to tell between their left and their right and you find in the end that you are going in the opposite (相反的) direction to that in which you should be going.
If anyone ever asks me the way to somewhere, I always tell them I am a stranger to the town in order to avoid giving them wrong direction but even this can have embarrassing results.
Once I was on my way to work when I was stopped by a man who asked me if I would direct him the way to the Sunlight Building. I gave my usual reply, but I had not walked on a few steps when I realized that he had asked for directions to my office building. However, at this point, I decide it was too late to turn back and search for him out of the crowd behind me as I was going to meet with someone at the office and I did not want to keep him waiting.
Imagine my embarrassment when my secretary showed in the very man who had asked for directions of my office and his astonishment when he recognized me as the person he had asked.
1. What is the writer going to do when someone asks him for direction?
| A．He will direct the right way to the person willingly. | B．He will reply to it by the means of being a stranger to the town. | C．He will give the very person long list of direction. | D．He is going to show the man an opposite direction. |
| A．Because of his poor sense of direction. |
| B．Because he always forget the way to home. |
| C．Because he did not have any friend. |
| D．Because he used to be shy and dared not ask others the way. |
| A．He felt strange. | B．He felt embarrassed. |
| C．He felt very sad. | D．He felt astonished. |
| A．Someone we don’t know. | B．The writer did it for himself. | C．The secretary did so. | D．A warm-hearted old lady did itI. |
【推荐1】While most teenagers are simply hoping to get their driver’s license, 17-year-old Mack Rutherford has had far higher goals. The ambitious teen sought to become the youngest person to fly solo around the world. After five months and a day, Rutherford successfully achieved the incredible feat.
In March 2022, 16-year-old Rutherford took off on his adventure. He flew a Shark, a high-performance ultralight (超轻型的) aircraft. His journey around the world tested him in the skies through monsoons (季风) and extreme temperatures. Rutherford’s longest flight on this journey was from Japan to the U. S., which took him 10 hours over water. The highest altitude he had to face was 12, 500 feet over Mexico. He flew across four continents, 30 countries.
After everything, Rutherford landed safely in Sofia on August 24. He arrived home to discover he’d broken two Guinness world records: he is the youngest person ever to fly around the world solo, and also the youngest person to do it in an ultralight aircraft. But he surprised the world by becoming the youngest pilot ever at age 15, when he received his microlight pilot’s license.
This incredible achievement at such a young age is certainly worth celebrating and his family might be the perfect people to fully appreciate it. Rutherford’s father is a professional pilot. This sparked an interest in aviation (飞行) for the young Rutherford since he was 11. And Rutherford’s sister, Zara Rutherford, recently completed a similar solo journey and holds her own world record as the youngest female pilot to complete a solo flight around the world.
“I’m very happy to complete my five-month journey around the world,” Rutherford said. “It took a bit longer than it was supposed to, but everything is fine. I’m trying to show that young people can do something special and make a difference; just follow their dreams and they’ll eventually come true.”
1. Which word can best describe Rutherford’s flying journey?| A．Smooth. | B．Tough. | C．Tiresome. | D．Thrilling. |
| A．His ambition different from his peers. | B．His accomplishment of a solo journey. |
| C．His high-performance ultralight aircraft. | D．His microlight pilot’s license at age of 15. |
| A．Through his father’s influence. | B．From Zara Rutherford’s support. |
| C．By imitating most teenagers’ dreams. | D．Out of his talent for solo flights. |
| A．Learn to fly as early as possible. | B．Take heart to achieve their dreams. |
| C．Do special things to change the world. | D．Travel the world to enrich their experience. |
【推荐2】When David Carter started to study art at The University of Texas (UT) at Austin in 1971, he had big dreams of becoming an artist or a writer. But his study came to a stop at 23 after he hurt his hand in an unpleasant event. He developed schizophrenia later and spent many years without a home.
Carter liked to spend time around UT, because he dreamt of being able to continue his study in the university and becoming a writer. After running into Carter many times, UT student Ryan Chandler decided to interview him for a project for the Daily Texan, the student newspaper of UT.
“I interviewed him on Austin’s homeless problems. After I heard his story, we kept in touch and really became friends. I learned he wanted to get back to UT, so I decided to help him,” said Chandler. “He had got 87 hours, very close to a degree. Now, with changing degree requirements, he only has 64 hours to go.”
With the help of Chandler, who worked with the university office, Carter was assigned an adviser by UT’s College of Fine Arts. “It’s the greatest gift I’ve ever received,” Carter said. “He did what had to be done to get me back to school, and I couldn’t have done it without him.”
After seeing a magazine article about Carter, a UT schoolmate decided to pay his tuition fees without telling Chandler his name.
Doug Dempster, dean of the College of Fine Arts, said in a statement, “David Carter’s decision to complete his degree is a testament to finishing well what was started, and stopped, even many years earlier. We welcome him back as we do many students each year whose education could not be completed easily. We’re going to help him through his remaining course work.”
1. What made David drop out of university?| A．Extreme family poverty. | B．His physical injury. |
| C．His critical mental illness. | D．His decision to pursue big dreams. |
| A．Carter often hang around UT because he suffered from serious schizophrenia. |
| B．Chandler decided to interview Carter to do a project on homelessness. |
| C．UT’s degree requirements remained the same over time. |
| D．Chandler was grateful to Carter for his help. |
| A．supportive | B．opposed | C．indifferent | D．worried |
| A．No pains , no gains. | B．The longest journey begins with the first step. |
| C．God helps those who help themselves. | D．Never judge a book by it’s cover. |
“Every life is a boat, the dream is the boat sail.” Every child has a dream of what they want to be. When Renee Butts was little, her dream was to become a volunteer firefighter because her father was one. Sadly, when she was 14, her beloved father died and she was never able to do volunteer work with him. However, Renee’s story didn’t end there. She was determined and never gave up, which makes for a good firefighter.
Now Renee is a member of the Carmel Fire Department, where she is required to be an Emergency Medical Technician. She should also be ready to deal with any emergency, like fighting a fire, dealing with a car accident or helping someone who’s sick. Sometimes she is in the driver’s seat or using the water pump. Renee works nine to eleven days a month on 24-hour shifts. She also has a family to care for, as her husband is also a busy firefighter. Dealing with housework and working so much can show her great determination.
When I asked Renee what the best part of her job was, she replied, “Helping people and saving lives.” I think that shows signs of being a true hero. She’s always willing to do anything for anyone in need. Renee says that her job is frightening at times, but extremely exciting. “The worst part of my job is that I see death. Actually, sometimes people die in the accident, for which I am very sorry.” With 140 people in her station, Renee is one of the only three women, but that doesn’t bother her. She says everyone can get a fair shot and do the same jobs.
I was inspired by this because I knew I would be very scared to do her job and didn’t know if I could handle seeing people die. We would never live without people like her who have the courage to risk their lives. Renee’s determination rubs off on me and makes me believe that I can do anything.
1. What’s Renee’s job in the Carmel Fire Department? (no more than 5 words)2. How does Renee feel about her job? (no more than 5 words)
3. Why does the author think Renee Butts is a true hero? (no more than 15 words)
4. How do you understand the underlined part in Paragraph 3?(no more than 5 words)
5. What do you think of Renee? Please give your reasons. (no more than 25 words)
