Watching her eager eyes, I had no way to refuse her request. So I had to promise her that she would have a “reciting” part. That promise proved to be very difficult to keep. None of my books had any proper poems for her. So I had to spend most of the night writing a poem for her. It was not excellent, but it was enough to cope with Patty’s speech problem.
From then on, Patty spent a lot of time practicing the reciting every day. With my help, she made great progress. However, an unexpected thing happened when the concert was about to start. The MC(报幕员)came to me with anger, waving his printed program. “There has been a mistake! You have listed Patty for a recitation. That girl can’t even say her own name without stuttering.” Because there was not enough time for explanations, I said to him angrily, “We know what we are doing.”
The concert was going very well. When it was time for Patty’s recitation, the MC again said that Patty would embarrass everyone. Losing patience, I shouted to him loudly, “Patty will do her part. You do yours. Just introduce her number.”
The curtain parted to show Patty, excited and confident. In perfect control, Patty uttered each syllable clearly helped by my gestures. At last, she made her bow, with tears in her eyes.
The curtain closed. At first silence held the audience, then the silence gave way to warm and lasting applause. Patty threw her arms around me and said to me excitedly, “We d-d-d-did it!”
1. What was the challenge for Patty to prepare for the concert?
A.She hadn’t enough time to practice. |
B.She wasn’t popular with the students in her class. |
C.She couldn’t recite words clearly owing to stuttering. |
D.There weren’t proper poems for her at all. |
A.he made a mistake about the printed program |
B.he showed no respect for the author |
C.he didn’t list Patty for a recitation |
D.he was unwilling to include Patty in the performing list |
A.where there is a will, there is a way |
B.experience is the mother of wisdom |
C.strike while the iron is hot |
D.the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak |
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【推荐1】Isadora Duncan is considered by many to be the progenitor of modern dance. To Duncan, classical ballet, with its strict rules of posture and formation, was “ugly and against nature”. She refused to accept traditional ballet steps, preferring to emphasize improvisation (即兴创作), emotion, and the human form. She said, “I spent long days and night in the studio seeking that dance which might be the expression of the human spirit through the body’s movements.” By making connections between human emotion and the movements of dance, Duncan hope to make dance a form of high art rather than simple entertainment. She developed free and natural movements inspired by the classical Greek arts, folk dances, social dances and natural forces. She drew on a number of sports moves, including skipping, running, jumping, leaping, and tossing. The athleticism and classical roots of her style are reflected in her innovative costume choice of a Grecian tunic (束腰外衣) and bare feet, which allowed for a physical freedom that could not be achieved in the traditional ballet costumes and pointed shoes that limited dancers. With time, she gained a very wide following and set up several schools in Europe and the United States.
Duncan’s fame, however, did not bring her wealth. In the later years of her life, her financial situation worsened, and finally she had to live in apartments rented by friends and supporters. Duncan also received criticism for some of her personal opinions.
In spite of the problems, Duncan is remembered today for her artistic achievements: the creation of modern dance and its high place among the arts. While Duncan’s own schools no longer exist, her style of dance continues to be practiced. Her life inspired novels, ballets, and films, and her likeness was included in the sculpture created by Antoine Bourdelle over the entrance of the Théatre des Champs-Elysees.
1. What does the underlined word “progenitor” Paragraph 1 probably mean?A.supporter | B.operator | C.originator | D.competitor |
A.It included newly designed pointed shoes. | B.It allowed dancers to move naturally and freely. |
C.It was white and extremely simple. | D.It was introduced from Greece. |
A.To explore the connection between art and wealth. |
B.To characterize Duncan as a dishonorable person. |
C.To prove Duncan was admired by friends and relatives. |
D.To show Duncan lived a hard life in her later years. |
A.Inventing a new form of dance. | B.Her great support for artists. |
C.Her special political views. | D.Setting up many dance schools. |
【推荐2】When I graduated from college and moved to Washington, D.C., in 2017, I left all of my friends behind. Treating new associates with home-cooked meals was my best attempt at making new friends and curing my loneliness. Soon enough, everyone was asking me for the recipes(食谱), which is how Bun Bo Bae, my Vietnamese cooking blog, came into being in 2019.
I’ve probably been destined(注定的) to start a food blog. I spent most of my childhood in the kitchen with my mom. As a child, I’d sit and watch her cook. My duties started with just passing her the ingredients(配料). Soon, I was measuring, steaming and stir-frying my way toward kitchen mastery. I left for college before I could learn my mom’s best dishes.
Studying abroad, I was desperately homesick in the beginning. So, I started calling my mom and asking for the recipes for my favorite dishes. It turns out that my mom doesn’t have any recipes. She grew up in the kitchen with her mom too, and my grandma passed on her knowledge orally(口头地).
Bun Bo Bae was initially a space for me to put what I learned into writing. I didn’t want all of the secret knowledge behind dishes like my mom’s bún bò hué (a spicy beef and pork noodle soup that inspired the blog’s name) or my dad’s thit bǎm sôt cà chua (a pork-based tomato sauce) to vanish one day if the oral tradition ended. I wanted to write down every piece of advice I was given in detail to make sure people could keep creating these dishes as authentically as possible. As my food blog and follower count grew, so did my confidence in the kitchen.
Bun Bo Bae also promoted my confidence at work. I taught myself social media and web building, and the skills helped me land my job at NPR (National Public Radio), where one of my recipes was served in Sound Bites. I even hosted a cooking class for my colleagues to celebrate AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Heritage Month.
1. What can be inferred about the author from paragraph 1?A.She enjoyed her time of staying alone. |
B.Her cooking blog has existed for a decade. |
C.Her meals were popular with her new friends. |
D.She kept a cooking blog at the request of her friends. |
A.She searched for information online. |
B.She taught herself as an adult. |
C.She learnt from her own mother as a kid. |
D.She once signed up for a cooking course. |
A.Spread. | B.Disappear. | C.Change. | D.Repeat. |
A.A dining place. | B.A cooking blog. |
C.A cooking class for Asians. | D.A TV programme about cooking. |
【推荐3】My mother, a nurse at Stony Brook University Hospital, worked at night so that she could come home in time to send me to school. She'd sleep during the day and be ready when we returned home before heading out again in the evening. This went on for 23 years. She never complained (抱怨). No matter how tired she was, she always had enough energy to be my mom.
She often had to work on Christmas, Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve, and sometimes Thanksgiving, which made me upset. However, before holidays she always decorated the inside and outside of our house. She'd also have cookies baking in the oven, a holiday-themed movie in the VCR, and music playing throughout our house for us. But when it was time to go to work, there was no room for debate. “Why do you have to work on this day of all days?" I'd ask sadly. "They need me, too, dear son," she'd respond, compassion (同情) in her tone.
For a long time I didn't understand why she should care so much about those sick strangers. Recently, as my grandmother became ill, I found myself spending more time in hospitals. The scenes I saw in the hospital made me see the different side of my mother. The nurses checked heart, blood and oxygen levels, made sure patients were comfortable. They lifted patients in and out of bed and helped them to the bathroom. Beyond their duties, the nurses displayed consideration for each patient.
What I saw helped me to understand why my mother was devoted to her occupation. I was filled with more admiration for my mother.
1. Why did the author's mother work in the evening?A.To take him to school. | B.To enjoy a movie. |
C.To decorate their house. | D.To sleep during the day. |
A.The mother loved her patients more than her kids. |
B.Nurses are paid double salary working on holidays. |
C.The author wished his mother could stay home on holidays. |
D.Only people with mercy on patients will make good nurses. |
A.he asked his mother to stay with him during holidays |
B.he looked after his sick grandma in hospital |
C.he saw how tired his mother was after work |
D.he helped patients to the bathroom |
A.Children of nurses are often dissatisfied with their mothers. |
B.Nurses are particularly busy at work during holidays. |
C.The author gained a new appreciation of his mother. |
D.The author's mother liked doing housework. |
【推荐1】My name is Linda. I am from Isla de Maipo, Chile. I live with my dad, my mom and a rabbit happily. But I was born with a cleft lip (唇裂).
I don’t remember anything about my first years with my cleft lip. All I know is that when I was young, my parents found Fundación Gantz in Santiago, where I had been for free treatment.
Every time when I went to Fundación Gantz, my heart was full of thanks to my parents. It was not easy to arrive on time for medical examination. We had to get up at six in the morning to drive for more than an hour and be careful not to get hit by other cars, but my parents never complained about such busy and tiring days.
Doctors at Fundación Gantz helped me a lot. First, they healed my cleft lip. Then, with orthodontic treatment (正畸治疗), they managed to correct my bite, and later they performed an operation on my jawbone.
I thank the doctors there who treated me, and Dr. Angus is my favorite — he has known me since I was born. When I was in the waiting room waiting for my operation on my jawbone, I was sweating all over in fear. Dr. Angus came to my side and talked to me endlessly about the things I was interested in, such as Kayros’ music and Bolano’s books, making me feel relaxed.
In the past, before the treatment, I had no confidence, and children made jokes on my cleft lip at school. I started training in Taekwondo (跆拳道) at the age of four in a gym next to my kindergarten and it was just what I needed at that time. It changed me and the children around me — before, children played tricks on me, but later they respected me. Today, when people talk about something on my lip, I will tell them the little mark never bothers me because it is so small that it can hardly be seen.
I want to tell the medical experts at Gantz to keep it up because their work is admirable, and they help a lot of people in need.
1. Which of the following can best describe the author’s parents?A.Selfless. | B.Impatient. | C.Fair. | D.Outgoing. |
A.He read to her. | B.He talked about interesting things with her. |
C.He played music for her. | D.He changed her operation plan. |
A.It made her school time colorful. | B.It built her confidence. |
C.It improved her school performances. | D.It prepared her for her future career. |
A.The color. | B.The cost. | C.The operation. | D.The mark. |
【推荐2】Growing up, I understood one thing about my dad: He knew everything. In my teen years, he taught me things I’d need to know to survive in the real world: how to drive a stick shift, how to check the car tyre’s (轮胎) pressure, and the correct knife to use to cut a cantaloupe.
When I moved out on my own, I called him at least once a week, usually when something broke in my apartment and I needed to know how to fix it: the toilet, the air-conditioning, the wall, once, when I threw a shoe at a terrifying spider.
But then, eventually, I needed him less. I got married, and my husband had most of the knowledge I lacked about gutter (排水沟) cleaning and water heaters and nondestructive insect removal. For everything else, we had Google. I didn’t know when it happened, but our conversations turned into six words when I called. Me: “Hi, Dad.” Him: “Hi, sweet. Here’s Mom.”
I loved my dad, of course, but I wondered at times if maybe he had already shared everything I needed to know. Maybe I’d heard all his stories. Maybe, after knowing a man for 40 years, there’s nothing left to say. Then, two summers ago, my husband, our four kids and I moved in with my parents for three weeks while our house was being painted. They owned a lake house, and my dad asked me to help him rebuild the bulkhead (舱壁). It was a hard and manual job. We got wet and sandy. But as we put the new bulkhead together piece by piece, my dad knew exactly what went where. I looked at him, “How do you know how to build a bulkhead?” “I spent a summer in college building it on the Jersey Shore.”
“You did?” I thought I knew everything about my dad, but I never knew this. I realized that maybe it’s not that there’s nothing left to say. Maybe it’s just that I’ve spent my life asking him the wrong questions. That day, my dad talked about what he had learned and what he could do excitedly. We chatted and chatted for a long time.
A few weeks later, after my family and I moved back into our painted house, I called my parents. “Hi, sweets,” he said. “Here’s Mom.” “Wait, Dad,” I said. “How are you?” We ended up talking about everything he was working on. To anyone else, it would sound like a normal conversation between a dad and his daughter. But to me, it was novel and a new beginning. I spent the first part of my life needing to talk to my dad. Now I talk to him because I want to.
1. Why did the author feel that she needed to call her dad before she got married?A.She called to make sure he was pleased. | B.She wanted to talk to him for knowledge. |
C.She knew her parents missed her so much. | D.She was asked to call him once a week. |
A.Her father was old and he didn’t keep up with the world. |
B.Her father always thought he was right in everything. |
C.She didn’t have more to learn from him than she thought. |
D.She spent her younger ages asking him too many questions. |
A.The author’s mother is answering the phone. | B.The author’s mother knows what has happened. |
C.He will give the phone to the author’s mother. | D.He finds the author’s mother sweet and kind. |
A.Creative and faithful. | B.Selfless and brave. |
C.Inspiring and generous. | D.Loving and experienced. |
【推荐3】At Denver, many passengers got on the train which travelled east. In one coach, there sat a very pretty young woman, who was richly and beautifully dressed. Among the newcomers were two men. The younger one was good-looking with a bold, honest face; the other was a sad-faced person, large and dressed in cheap clothes. The two were handcuffed (用手铐铐住) together.
When they reached the coach, the only empty seats were the ones facing the pretty young woman. Here the pair seated themselves. The woman quickly looked at them, and then with a lovely smile, she held out her hand. When she spoke, her voice showed that she was used to speaking and being heard.
“Well, Mr. Easton, if you will make me speak first, I think I must. Don’t you ever say hello to old friends when you meet them in the West?”
The younger man looked surprised to hear her voice. He seemed a little embarrassed, but immediately he held her fingers with his left hand. “It’s Miss Fairchild, he said, with a smile. “I’ll ask you to excuse the other hand. I can’t use it just at present.”
He slightly raised his right hand, which was handcuffed to the left one of his partner. The delightful look in the woman’s eyes slowly changed to doubt and fear. Easton, with a little laugh, was about to speak again when the other cut him short. The sad-faced man had been watching the young woman’s face with his sharp, searching eyes.
“You’ll excuse me for speaking, Miss. But I see you know the marshal (警官) here. If you’ll ask him to speak a word for me in prison, he’ll do it. It’ll make things easier for me there. He’s taking me to Leavenworth prison. I’m going to be in prison for seven years.”
“Oh!” she said, with a deep breath and returning color. “So, that is what you are doing out here. A marshal!”
1. Why did the two men sit near the woman?A.She was attractive. | B.They knew one another. |
C.She liked to speak to people. | D.There were no other seats. |
A.He was impolite. | B.He was busy. |
C.He was doubtful. | D.He was delighted. |
A.He wanted to be set free. | B.He wanted a better life in prison. |
C.He wanted her to forgive Mr. Easton. | D.He wanted to make friends with her. |
A.A friendship had to be ended. | B.Mr. Easton recognized the woman. |
C.A misunderstanding was cleared up. | D.The woman made fun of Mr. Easton. |