My kids sit in Gee’s living room and carefully lift antique Christmas ornaments (装饰品) out of a delicate cardboard box. They gasp when’ they discover a tiny stuffed cat. Gee stands beside them, quietly explaining each treasure. “Ella, the story is that Tom and I built our ornament collection piece by piece during each year’s after-Christmas sale.” she tells me. She smiles as we leave with the box. Her precious treasures, gathered over a lifetime, have found a new home.
We first met Tom and Gee in the early days of our marriage. Someone had been returning our garbage cans to the garage each garbage day, and Jim and I had wondered who. Then one day we spotted him: an elderly man who lived across the street.
I baked cookies and left them on a stool outside the garage with a thank-you note. When we got home from work that day, a typed letter had replaced the gift. The letter was from Tom and explained how he had come to walk the neighborhood on garbage day, returning cans for people he barely knew. A few years after we d moved in, Tom died. We photocopied that letter and attached it to one of our own for Gee. We told her how special Tom had been to us. She wrote back and told us she still talked to Tom every day. When Gee invited us over to look through Christmas ornaments, I realized how hard it must be to part with that box, a piece of Tom.
These days, we’re piling up boxes of our own. We’re planning a move. The house that seemed so huge six years ago is filled to capacity with furniture and, books and toys and of course people. We know it’s time to go, and yet we can’t seem to stick the For Sale sign up on the lawn. Gaining a third bedroom and maybe an office sometimes seems like an awful trade for all we stand to lose.
The moving boxes are still neatly packed in our basement, but Jim and I agree to wait until January. This Christmas, we’ll decorate our tree with Gee’s ornaments, out of the box that is labeled in, Tom’s handwriting. Maybe I’ll talk to him just as Gee still does.
1. In which way did Gee and Tom build their ornament collection?| A．They developed it through donations. | B．They accumulated it from antique shops. |
| C．They gathered it from their Christmas gifts. | D．They acquired it through years of purchase. |
| A．He left his good deed a mystery. | B．He meant significantly to Jim and Ella. |
| C．He worked for the cleaning department. | D．He volunteered to guard the neighborhood. |
| A．It is very tough for Gee to give away the box. |
| B．Ella and Jim are eager to move to the new house. |
| C．Ella thinks it is a good deal to gain an extra room. |
| D．Ella’s Christmas tree is labeled in Tom’s handwriting. |
| A．Faithful. | B．Sympathetic. |
| C．Affectionate. | D．Tolerant. |
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【推荐1】When the pandemic hit last year, substitute teacher Jose Villaruel found himself out of work as lessons went online. The consequences were unbearable for the septuagenarian, who’d been sending his income to his sick wife and children living in Mexico.
In fact, the devoted husband had been living out of his car for the past eight years so he could send his family the money they needed. Now, with no job, Villaruel is living off his Social Security check, most of which he sent to his loved ones.
Thankfully, a former student, Steven Nava, came across his struggling teacher in a parking lot at 5:00 am on the way to work. He approached his old teacher and asked about his circumstances. When Villaruea explained his struggles, the 21-year-old decided to help. “He was so nice around his students. He’d be really, really funny when he took attendance,” Nava said.
Nava gave him the $300 he had on him at the time. The teacher was moved, as his former student shared, “He came over to give me a hug and as he was hugging me, I saw tears running down his face.”
Villaruel’s response only encouraged Nava to help further, as he promised the teacher he’d do whatever it took to get him out of his predicament. “Seeing him living and going through that struggle made me want to do this. He helped us with our futures and helped us become the persons we are today, so I wanted to help him and make sure he’s in a situation where he doesn’t have to worry anymore,” the young man explained.
Later, Nava set up a GoFundMe page and t he donations quickly mounted up to $27,000. So along with other former students, he presented the check to a delighted “Mr. V” on his 77th birthday.
The impressed teacher is now planning to have a little vacation in Mexico to spend time with his family.
1. What can we know about Jose Villaruel during the pandemic?| A．He led a hard life. | B．He lived on driving. |
| C．He lost his family. | D．He was busy teaching. |
| A．He found a job for him. | B．He gave him some cash. |
| C．He helped him park his car. | D．He attended his live lecture. |
| A．Lifestyle. | B．Work. | C．Dilemma. | D．Loss. |
| A．Brave and adventurous. | B．Hard-working and creative. |
| C．Ambitious and successful. | D．Grateful and warm-hearted. |
【推荐2】Mrs. Smith is an unusual teacher. Once she told each student to bring along a few potatoes in plastic bag. On each potato the students had to write a name of a person that they hated. And the next day, every child brought some potatoes. Some had two potatoes; some three; some up to five.
Mrs. Smith then told the children to carry the bags everywhere they went, even to the toilet, for two weeks. As day after day passed, the children started to complain about the awful smell of the rotten (腐烂的) potatoes.
Those children who brought five potatoes began to feel the weight trouble of the bags. After two weeks the children were happy to hear that the game was finally ended. Mrs.Smith asked, “How did you feel while carrying the potatoes for two weeks?” The children started complaining about the trouble loudly.
Then Mrs. Smith told them why she asked them to play the game. She said, “This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred (仇恨) for somebody inside your heart. The terrible smell of the hatred will pollute your heart and you will carry something unnecessary with you all the time. If you cannot stand the smell of the rotten potatoes for just two weeks, can you imagine how heavy it would be to have the hatred in your heart for your life time? So throw away any hatred from your heart, and you’ll be really happy.”
1. Whose names were the students asked to write on the potatoes?| A．A student they admire. | B．A teacher they like. |
| C．Persons they dislike. | D．Persons they like. |
| A．satisfied | B．unhappy | C．unfortunate | D．embarrassed |
| A．The ugly potatoes. | B．The teacher. | C．The weight trouble. | D．The classmates. |
| A．We should forget the persons we hate. | B．We should stand the persons we hate. |
| C．We should keep the hatred in heart. | D．We should throw away the hatred. |
【推荐3】When Jordan Reeves was 8 years old, she couldn’t wait to start a new dance class. But as she was warming up, she noticed that some of the kids were staring at her. Did she wear her clothes backward? Were her clothes dirty? No. The kids were looking at her left arm. It stops above the elbow (肘).
“I’ve had to deal with people staring at me in my whole life,” Jordan, now 13, explains. Although Jordan sometimes feels uncomfortable when people stare, she’s proud to be different. And she’s using her difference to inspire other kids with disabilities.
Growing up, Jordan attended camps for kids with limb (肢) differences. Then, three years ago, she was invited to a special workshop. She was challenged to design a new prosthetic (假体的) arm — one that would turn her disability into a “superpower”.
Jordan teamed up with designers to create an arm. They used a 3D printer to create the prosthetic arm. Instead of paper, the 3D printer used plastic to create an arm shaped like a unicorn’s horn (独角兽的角). Jordan called her invention Project Unicorn.
Jordan’s mom shared the story of Project Unicorn online, and it quickly spread on social media. Jordan was already a mentor (导师) to other kids with disabilities. Now she had a bigger audience and could share her message with more people.
In 2017, Jordan and her mom formed an organization called Born Just Right to help other kids with limb differences. They’re making it possible for kids from across the US to create their own limbs, as Jordan did.
“We want to show kids that anything is possible,” Jordan says. “Your differences are amazing. You never know what amazing things you can do with them.”
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．How 3D printer works. | B．What the organization Born Just Right is. |
| C．Why some people have limb differences. | D．How Jordan’s difference makes her amazing. |
| A．To express his doubts. | B．To introduce Jordan’s difference. |
| C．To describe Jordan’s character. | D．To show others’ attitude towards Jordan. |
| A．Jordan attended a special camp. | B．Jordan invented her new arm. |
| C．Jordan started a new dance class. | D．Jordan and her mom started Born Just Right. |
| A．She is a skilled dancer. | B．She feels unlucky. |
| C．She has a right attitude to life. | D．She suffers a lot from her disability. |
【推荐1】We have neighbors whose adult son Jack has been living with them since losing his job over 5 years ago. His dog died in early July and the loss has affected him deeply. He has already formed his lifestyle. That is to say, he has built his daily life around the dog walks and made relationships in the neighborhood with other dog walkers and owners.
His parents did not want him to get another dog because they wanted his life to be more reasonable and meaningful to find work and not worry about walking the dog. It was a hard situation. I could see he was sad and lonely without his dog. I also saw that he helped his parents a lot with housework
I wanted to do something to help him. But all I could think to help was to include him with my family for walks with our dogs, for a picnic, and to go to get a coffee. Then I thought maybe something else would help.
I drove him to the local humane society, which is a short bus ride from his place, and he agreed to volunteer to help walk and love the animals there. He was resistant(抵制的) at first, but after only one week he has already told us about how much they need his help. He seems confident and active now. I'm pleased that he got himself out to go help. And I'm more pleased that he feels helpful and valued. That is so important for all of us.
1. What played the most important role in Jack's life in the past few years?| A．His dog. | B．His job. | C．His parents. | D．His neighbors |
| A．make the family's life worse |
| B．prevent Jack from finding a job |
| C．help Jack make friends with neighbors |
| D．help Jack recover from the loss of his dog |
| A．Finding a job | B．Helping others |
| C．Caring for animals | D．Feeling ourselves helpful |
| A．Patient. | B．Clever. | C．Kind-hearted. | D．Ambitious. |
【推荐2】I studied speech therapy at university, though I had no idea what it was about at first. Later, I got pregnant with my son, Dani. He was born with a cleft (唇腭裂). I studied clefts at university so I knew a little bit about clefts. Still, when you see your own newborn child looking up at you with a cleft, it is very different. I was not ready to face that.
After the delivery. Dani had his cleft surgery when he was just seven days old! It was an awful experience. I gave that doctor three chances to prove he was the right specialist for my baby, and he didn’t manage to convince me at all. But something very positive did come out of that experience — it was how I first met Dr. Youri Anastassov, who would bring Smile Train-sponsored cleft care to Bulgaria starting the next year.
Dr. Anastassov was my inspiration from the moment we met. He helped me realize how important, valuable, and meaningful it is to treat children with clefts and made me want to help them just like he does.
Though I stopped working with them directly for several years after having Dani, the idea of working with children with clefts was always percolating in my mind. Then it hit me: why not work with Smile Train?
Now, babies, children, and adults with clefts come to me, and I share my experience with them. I’m happy to work here and make change for the better every single day.
Smile Train gives Dani his wings. You want to know what a difference this makes? Look at my son. Dani wanted to be a pilot his whole life; he first flew when he was 16 years old! When he began his formal training, the medical exam was very difficult for him. The training team knew he was different. Instead of just showing pity, they worked him harder than the others. And now he is living his dreams as a pilot!
1. How did the author feel when Dani was born with a cleft?| A．Calm. | B．Grateful. | C．Angry. | D．Unprepared. |
| A．They were successful. | B．They were far from satisfactory. |
| C．They were done by Dr. Youri Anastassoy. | D．They were government-sponsored. |
| A．Stuck. | B．Removed. | C．Weak. | D．Practical. |
| A．It is a waste of time to be angry about clefts. |
| B．When you admit your weakness, you become stronger. |
| C．Just find something you’re good at and make it your life. |
| D．Smile Train plays a positive role in realizing Dani’s dream. |
【推荐3】In a world where acts of kindness often go unnoticed, a good story that has been discovered reminds us of the power of care and the effect it can have on someone’s life.
It all started with a “Kindness Week Challenge” given to Brennan by his 8th-grade teacher, Ms. Watkins. Little did he know that this challenge would lead to a wonderful friendship with 84-year-old Ms. Ann.
Brennan’s promise to send his little attractive things every day for a week developed a habit of checking up on Ms. Ann and sending gifts regularly(定期地), long after the challenge was over.
Their friendship has now lasted for over five years, and Brennan still visits Ms. Ann every month with flowers, cakes, chocolates, cards and more.
They talk about everything from his high school life to his college goals. The pair has found that they share a common love of chocolates. Ms. Ann always hopes to hear about what he’s doing and loves to share her own stories from a different time. They have become the best friends, with Brennan treating her as his great-grandmother.
Brennan’s mom, Traci, takes pride in her son. She said, “The best thing a teenager can do is to take care of the elderly. I’m so glad my son has added more sunshine to Ms. Ann’s life. I hope he always remembers the joy he’s brought her, and his fun talks with her, keeps his kind heart, and thinks of others.”
Ms. Ann’s daughter Emma, with her husband Gould, has a 2-year-old son. They are thankful for Brennan’s friendship as they cannot always be with Ms. Ann. Brennan’s kind heart has brought more sunshine into Ms. Ann’s life, and her encouraging words have helped to inspire(启发)him in return.
1. How did the task “Kindness Week Challenge” affect Brennan?| A．He discovered his love of chocolates. |
| B．He became a good friend of Ms. Ann. |
| C．He developed a habit of receiving gifts. |
| D．He learned how to choose attractive things. |
| A．Flowers. | B．Cakes. | C．Chocolates. | D．Cards. |
| A．His kindness to others. |
| B．His talent for telling stories. |
| C．His good performances at school. |
| D．His ability to earn money for the gifts. |
| A．Worried. | B．Sorry. | C．Thankful. | D．Surprised. |
