Have you ever had an embarrassing experience? Last week we asked readers to tell us about embarrassing experiences. We received thousands of letters! Here is a selection.
Tony: My most embarrassing experience happened when I had just left university. I had just started teaching in a Liverpool middle school. One morning my alarm clock didn’t ring. I woke up at half past eight and school began at nine. I quickly washed, dressed, jumped into my car and rushed to school. When I arrived, the students had already gone into class. I didn’t go to the office, but went straight into class. After two or three minutes the students began laughing, and I couldn’t understand why! Suddenly I looked down and understood. I had put on one black shoe and one brown shoe!
Henry: The most embarrassing experience I’ve ever had happened two years ago. After seeing a film, my wife and I had lunch in our favorite restaurant in town. Then we decided to take a walk along the street. The street was very busy and we started holding hands. Suddenly my wife saw a dress that she liked in a shop window, and stopped. I started looking at some watches in the next window. After a minute or two I reached for my wife’s hand. There was a loud scream, and a woman slapped my face. I hadn’t taken my wife’s hand. I’d taken the hand of a complete stranger (陌生人)!
1. Tony arrived at school late that morning because ________.| A．he couldn’t find hid shoes | B．his alarm clock didn’t ring |
| C．he washed and dressed slowly | D．his car went wrong on the way |
| A．wearing a wrong shoe | B．his alarm clock didn’t ring |
| C．looking down suddenly | D．rushing into the classroom |
| A．at the cinema | B．in the shop |
| C．at the restaurant | D．along the street |
| A．尖叫声 | B．笑声 | C．哭声 | D．呼救声 |
| A．slapped the woman in the face | B．took the hand of a complete stranger |
| C．heard his wife screaming in the street | D．knocked over some watches in the shops |
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【推荐1】During the 1930s, the Great War broke out. A 25-year-old American soldier, probably never thought that his life would change forever when he volunteered to go to France.
One night while the American unit was returning to the base after a bloody fight, Suleyman stumbled into the ground and noticed a bit of movement from the bush. Being stuck between two choices either its enemy or an animal, Suleyman found a five-year-old girl from the bushes shivering with cold and utmost fear. Due to the atrocity of the war, the girl was abandoned by her family and the whole village was killed.
During the war, it was impossible to find the child’s family so Suleyman took this little French girl under his wings and gave her an American name Flora which means like the flower. Soon, Flora became the apple of the eye of everyone living in the army camp.
For one and a half years, Flora and Suleyman became inseparable; however, every fairy tale comes to an end. When the war ended, Suleyman was sent back to USA, while Flora was put in an orphanage, the Normandy School, which was founded by the American government for orphaned French children to have an education.
For years, Suleyman always thought about Flora. When the French National Olympic Team was playing in the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984, Suleyman gazed through the audience on TV, hoping to catch a glimpse of Flora, but he never could.
At the age of 85, Suleyman attended the 60th anniversary reception of the Great War where Suleyman shared his story with American and French officials. After hearing his story, a French journalist started to investigate the story, and all government files were read in detail. The moment the journalist helped dial the number, in tears, Flora said Suleyman was her hero, and everything came flooding back to her.
1. What does the underlined word “atrocity” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Cruelty. | B．Challenge. | C．Range. | D．Stress. |
| A．Because Flora might be in the French team. |
| B．Because Suleyman was greatly interested in sports. |
| C．Because Flora might be watching the event. |
| D．Because Suleyman wanted to travel to Los Angeles. |
| A．Flora and Suleyman became attached to each other. |
| B．Flora was sent to an orphanage called Normandy. |
| C．Suleyman found some animals in the bush. |
| D．Suleyman would never see Flora again. |
| A．A Tough Flower in the War | B．The Influence of the War |
| C．The Lost and Found Love | D．The Apple of the Father's Eye |
【推荐2】My mother always said, “You young men should explore your own country before stepping out into the world.” It seemed like a tough task. But luckily for me, Via Rail Canada offered youths between the ages of 18 and 25 the chance to ride the train across Canada for the month of July in 2017.I jumped at the opportunity and secured an inexpensive ticket.
Excitement was at its peak as I approached the train station on the morning when my 22-day adventure was to begin. I jumped on board the passenger vessel （车厢）like it was the train to Hogwarts in Harry Potter. The train headed west in search of our first destination — the scenic town of Banff, Alberta. After just an hour on the train, desperation already came on me. The thought of three full days on those tracks broke my spirits. As I gazed out towards Lake Superior’s glistening （闪闪发亮）waves, I decided if I was to be stuck in here, I would need to enjoy my time.
Those three days turned into a summer camp on rails. Real friendships with the crew were born within that train. Stops were made in small, remote railroad villages. A large group of strangers turned travelling companions would rush towards the villages to reward our endless patience with local cuisine. At night, we would walk to the glass-domed （玻璃穹顶）train car, which gave a scenic view of the night sky, untouched by light pollution.
After three days, we arrived in Banff. Before my adventure of taking the train across Canada, if I could have skipped the travel and arrived at the destination, I would have. But that is no longer true. I’ve learned that the journey can be more enjoyable than the destination.
1. What made the author’s train trip possible?| A．The encouragement from his mother. |
| B．The attraction of the splendid scenery. |
| C．A time-limited ticket offer for youths. |
| D．His determination to face the tough tasks. |
| A．Great joy. |
| B．A dream-like trip. |
| C．Unrealistic hopes. |
| D．Faded enthusiasm. |
| A．Considerate. | B．Adaptable. |
| C．Smart. | D．Determined. |
| A．To enjoy travelling on his own. |
| B．To be content with train service. |
| C．To skip to the final destination. |
| D．To explore more in the process. |
【推荐3】A rescue center in Alaska has taken in an orphaned baby seal (海豹) that was still in the body when a hunter killed its mother on Easter Sunday.
The Alaska Sea Life Center says a hunter killed the baby’s mother in a village on Nelson Island in the Bering Sea. The hunter then realized there was a live baby inside the seal and successfully delivered (接生) it.
The hunter’s daughter found a hotline of the Seward Rescue Center and called to report the incident. Guided by center staff, a village teacher helped transport the baby to the local airport, and the animal was flown to Anchorage. The Alaska Sea Life Center members met the baby, now called Maxwell, at the Anchorage airport and drove him to Seward on Monday. Staff members say the baby has responded well to food and care, but his condition is still considered very serious.
“Maxwell was close to full-term, and everything looks fairly normal,” said Pam Tuomi, a center vet. “But babies that have never received antibodies (抗体) from their mothers’ milk are at higher risk of infection (感染), so we will keep Maxwell in a separate place and watch him closely for the next few weeks.”
The Sea Life Center is Alaska’s only permanent facility licensed to house stranded marine mammals and seabirds. The staff choose a theme each year for naming animals admitted there, and this year the names are related to caffeine.
“We hope to give Maxwell a second chance to live as a wild sea,” said Brett Long, the center’s director.
1. What can we learn from the passage?| A．The mother seal was killed in order to protect the baby seal. |
| B．The mother seal was killed before the baby seal was born. |
| C．The cruel hunter was unwilling to save the baby seal. |
| D．Both the mother seal and the baby seal were in good condition now. |
| A．She helped to feed it. | B．She delivered it successfully. |
| C．She reported it to a rescue center. | D．She persuaded her father to save it. |
| A．The hunter | B．The baby seal |
| C．a member of the center | D．the village teacher |
| A．It still faces the danger of dying young. | B．It is only half of the normal size. |
| C．It is found to be difficult to feed. | D．It will be set free into the sea soon. |
【推荐1】One of the luckiest things in life is that someone offers help when you are in need. Such warm stories happen these days in our city.
We’ve never depended on deliverymen for our daily needs so heavily as we do now, when we work from home to stop the spread of the COVID-19. Some of the deliverymen were afraid that they would not be able to come out to work the next day if they went home and found an overnight lockdown (封锁) in their communities. So they chose to sleep under overpasses (天桥) or on park benches. Photos of them sleeping in those outdoor places were put online. The next day, the government took action and offered them free places to live in either at hotels, at schools or at courier stations (快递站).
Another recent case that shows ordinary people are cared for was about a bun (面包) seller. The man left a message below a post on the Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission (市健康委员会)’s WeChat account. He said he had trouble running his store because of the recent spread of the COVID-19. Community workers in his area paid him a visit to see what they could do to help. On the night of the same day, the man received an unexpected large order from his community.
There is a long list of such small acts of kindness in almost every corner of the city. It tells us love and care is powerful to help us overcome the difficulties.
1. What does the underlined word “they” refer to?| A．stories | B．companies | C．communities | D．deliverymen |
| A．Their companies stopped them from going home. |
| B．They would like to come out to work the next day. |
| C．They wanted to stop the spread of the COVID-19. |
| D．They discovered a lockdown in their communities. |
| A．In hospitals. | B．At schools. |
| C．Under overpasses. | D．On park benches. |
| A．The community workers gave him a phone call. |
| B．The community workers left a message to him. |
| C．His community made an unexpected large order. |
| D．His community offered him free places to live in. |
| A．To tell us love and care can help us get through hard times. |
| B．To invite us to do some voluntary work when we have time. |
| C．To ask people to take action to fight against the COVID-19. |
| D．To encourage more people to help the deliverymen in need. |
As they walked up the long winding path, they saw things that chilled (使恐惧) them to the bone! They heard sounds that frightened them. Maybe they should turn back. But the little boys, being very brave, just wanted to see what was in that house, so they went on, not deterred by the things they heard or saw. As they slowly made their way up to the door, they imagined what might be inside. Maybe it would be a witch or maybe a ghost!
After knocking several times, the door slowly creaked (嘎吱作响) open. To their surprise, a monster (怪物) slowly came out to greet them. They were so scared that they couldn’t move! What could they do? Then the little boy had an idea. He said, "Trick or treat!" Then the big scary monster, much to the kids’surprise, reached over and brought out a huge bowl of the best candies they had never seen. Wow, the kids thought, this was great! It turned out that the house was decorated for Halloween, and the big scary monster was just wearing a costume, just like the kids. Since they were the only kids, and were brave enough to go to the scary house, they could take as much candy as they wanted.
1. This passage is ______.
| A．a funny Halloween story |
| B．mainly about two brave kids |
| C．mainly about a spooky house |
| D．mainly about the custom of Halloween |
| A．the monster was afraid of the phrase "trick or treat" |
| B．the two kids were also wearing costumes |
| C．not all families prepared candy for brave kids |
| D．some other children had been to the house before the two kids |
| A．warned | B．delayed |
| C．attracted | D．frightened |
【推荐3】I never saw my father back home from work late or ill, nor did I ever see my father take a night out with the boys. He had no hobbies but just took care of his family.
For 22 years, since I left home for college, my father called me every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. He was always interested in my life — how my family was doing. The calls even came when he and my mother were in Australia, England or Florida.
Nine years ago when I bought my first house, my father, 67 years old, spent eight hours a day for three days, painting my house. He would not allow me to pay someone to have it done. All he asked was a glass of iced tea, and that I hold a paintbrush for him and talk to him. But I was too busy, for I had a law practice to run, and I could not take the time to hold the paintbrush, or talk to my father.
Five years ago, my 71-year-old father spent five hours putting together a swing set (秋千) for my daughter. Again, all he asked was that I get him a glass of iced tea, and talk to him. But again, I had the laundry to do, and the house to clean.
The morning on Sunday, January 15, 1995, my father telephoned me as usual, this time he had seemed to have forgotten some things we had discussed the week before. I had to go to church, and I cut the conversation short.
The call came at 4:40 p.m. That day my father was sent to hospital in Florida. I got on a plane immediately, and I vowed (发誓) that when I arrived, I would make up for the lost time, and have a nice long talk with him and really get to know him.
I arrived in Florida at 1:00 a.m., but my father had passed away at 9:12 p.m. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or time to wait for me.
In the years since his death I have learnt much about my father, and even more about every single day.
1. We know from the reading that the father ________.| A．liked to paint houses |
| B．had no friends around him |
| C．was not healthy in his youth |
| D．thought of his family as his all |
| A．could only afford a glass of iced tea |
| B．was too busy to talk to her father |
| C．could do nothing but hold a paintbrush |
| D．spent eight hours a day working with her father |
| A．Painting Houses | B．Daughter’s Family |
| C．Father and I | D．Father’s phone calls |
