On Christmas Eve, 1944, my grandmother urged my uncle, then 12 years old, to slip out of the concentration camp where they were imprisoned near 15 miles east of Vienna to go to Deutsch-Wagram. “People are charitable around Christmastime,” Grandma Lili said to her son, Gyuri. “Ask for some food. Anything they can spare. Tell them that we’re on the edge of starvation. Tell them that your 3-year-old sister can not get off the bed because she’s outgrown her shoes.”
In the dark of that night, Gyuri secretly left the camp and walked nearly four miles to Deutsch-Wagram, the closest town. He happened upon a house and knocked on the front door. A woman opened that door. She was probably alone, her man far away, fighting in the war, her children asleep in their beds. The 12-year-old pieced together in German exactly what his mother had told him to say.
“Come back tomorrow," whispered the woman. The next day, my uncle returned. The woman opened the door with a smile. She piled his hands with bread, clothing, a pair of shoes that her child had outgrown and a pair of socks. The woman had knitted warm socks for my mother. After putting on the socks and shoes that fit, my mother got off the bed in delight. Her ragged shoes were passed on to a younger child who was also living in the camp. They shared their unexpected harvest with the entire camp. It was a quiet celebration of human kindness around Christmastime.
In April 1945, my mother, uncle and grandmother were liberated. And it was those very socks and shoes that my mother wore as she walked some 28 miles over two days to Bratislava on her walk to a new life.
To the unknown giver, I thank you. In the desperation of a cold and snowy land, when many hearts were closed and death was more likely than life, especially for Jews, you gave them hope and comfort.
1. What did Gyuri manage to do on Christmas Eve?| A．Get permitted to go out. |
| B．Receive food and clothing. |
| C．Express what his family needed. |
| D．Celebrate Christmas in the camp |
| A．To prove the truth of the story. |
| B．To help the development of the story. |
| C．To attract readers’ attention to the story. |
| D．To make clear the background of the story. |
| A．Desperation. | B．Gratefulness. |
| C．Excitement. | D．Sorrow. |
| A．Light in darkness. | B．Peace to common people. |
| C．Courage in face of danger. | D．The influence of Christmas. |
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【推荐1】More than 25 years ago, Saroo Brierley lived in rural India. One day, he played with his brother along the rail line and fell asleep. When he woke up and found himself alone, the 5-year-old decided his brother might be on the train he saw in front of him—so he got on.
That train took him a thousand miles across the country to a totally strange city. He 1ived on the streets, and then in an orphanage（孤儿院）. There, he was adopted by an Australian family and flown to Tasmania.
As he writes in his new book, A Long Way Home, Brierley couldn't help but wonder about his hometown back in India. He remembered landmarks, but since he didn't know his town's name, finding a small neighborhood in a vast country proved to be impossible.
Then he found a digital mapping program---Google Earth. He spent years searching for his hometown in the program's satellite pictures. In 2011, he came across something familiar. He studied it and realized he was looking at a town's central business district from a bird's-eye view. He thought, "On the right-hand side you should see the three-platform train station"—and there it was. "And on the left-hand side you should see a big fountain（喷泉）"—and there it was. Everything just started to match.
When he stood in front of the house where he grew up as a child, he saw a lady standing in the entrance. "There's something about me," he thought—and it took him a few seconds but he finally remembered what she used to look like.
In an interview Brierley says, "My mother looked so much shorter than I remembered. But she came forth and walked forward, and I walked forward, and my feelings and tears and the chemical in my brain, you know, it was like a nuclear fusion（核聚变）. I just didn't know what to say, because I never thought seeing my mother would ever come true. And here I am, standing in front of her."
1. Why was Brierley separated from his family about 25 years ago?| A．He got on a train by mistake. |
| B．He got lost while playing in the street. |
| C．He was taken away by a foreigner. |
| D．He was adopted by an Australian family. |
| A．By analyzing old pictures. | B．By studying digital maps. |
| C．By travelling all around India. | D．By spreading his story via his book. |
| A．His love for his mother. | B．His memory of his hometown. |
| C．His long way back home. | D．His reunion with his mother. |
| A．A Long Way Home |
| B．Saroo Brierley, the inspiration for the film Lion |
| C．With Memories and Online Maps, A Lost Child Finds His "Way Home" |
| D．A Lost Child Reunited with Mother After 25 years |
【推荐2】Life is just like a box of chocolates and you never know what you’re going to get. Sometimes when we are in our darkest hour, something completely unexpected happens that can give us a little bit of hope and comfort.
Jessica was a healthy woman. One day, while she was working on a brilliant idea that suddenly struck her, which she thought would be a real breakthrough for solving the mathematical problem she was working on, she suddenly lost consciousness. After she was rushed to the hospital, her heart rate slowed by nearly 50 percent. It took nine days for doctors to concentrate on what was causing her problem.
After several weeks, Jessica was still stiff (僵硬的) from head to foot, but luckily, she was able to move her lips. Staff noticed this and introduced Jessica to Consuelo Gonzalez, a professional lip reader. Consuelo can understand what people are saying by the shape their lips make. She can also understand how annoying it is not to be able to communicate because she has been completely deaf since the age of 8.
For a few hours each week, Jessica could have long conversations with Consuelo, diving into the ocean of words she dearly missed. Through Consuelo, Jessica asked the doctors and nurses questions she had long wanted answers to. She also talked to Consuelo about the vivid dreams she was mixing up with reality.
In fact, there are other ways for Consuelo to earn a living by reading lips, but she says helping patients separate horrible dreams from reality is the most rewarding way she can use her unique skill. “What is really wonderful, without doubt, is being able to use this skill to create healing and to create communication between human beings. That’s what feels best: Love.”
After four and a half months in the hospital, Jessica finally recovered. Consuelo was there, holding Jessica’s hands. Jessica eventually went back to work as a math professor. After her experience she wrote a new living will. One thing she added is that if she ever becomes incapacitated like this again, she is never to be left alone.
1. What is the correct order of the following events?a. Jessica was introduced to Consuelo Gonzalez.
b. Jessica went back to work and wrote a new living will.
c. Doctors spent nine days to find out what caused Jessica’s problem.
d. Jessica was able to ask the doctors questions she had long wanted answers to.
e. Jessica worked on a brilliant idea for solving the mathematical problem.
| A．ecadb | B．adcbe | C．ecdba | D．adbce |
| A．Jessica became deaf as a result of the sudden disease after losing consciousness. |
| B．Consuelo must have a gift in psychology as she could separate dreams from reality. |
| C．Consuelo accompanied Jessica all the time in the hospital until the latter recovered. |
| D．Doctors focused on the cause of Jessica’s disease before Consuelo offered help. |
【推荐3】The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned round to find a wrinkled, little old lady with a smile. She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?” I laughed, “Of course you may!” “Why are you in college at such an age?” I asked. She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids.….”
“No seriously,” I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.
We became instant friends. Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus star and she easily made friends wherever she went.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the stage. “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.”
There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.
The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.
At the year’s end Rose finished the college degrees he had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
1. Where did the author meet Rose?| A．In the first day class of college. | B．In the student union building. |
| C．In the professor’s office. | D．At the football banquet. |
| A．To find her love. | B．To meet more friends. |
| C．To realize her college dream. | D．To find humor that makes her laugh. |
| A．Growing older means growing up. | B．Growing up means becoming an adult. |
| C．Growing up doesn’t take any talent or ability. | D．Growing up needs to take action to find chances. |
| A．Old and talkative. | B．Considerate and caring. |
| C．Positive and determined. | D．Humorous and smart. |
【推荐1】When I was sixteen, that summer my brother Andy and I hiked the Sierra Nevada in the back country near Lake Tahoe. Our parents had left us with two water bottles and instructions to stick to the trail. “Don’t get lost,” my mother shouted as the car pulled away. I nodded, not quite paying attention, because I had never been in high mountains before. I was eager for the experience.
We struggled up the switchback path, not used to strenuous (艰难的) activity in the July heat. We seemed closer to the sun. Andy and I emptied the bottles quickly into our throats, unfamiliar with moderation and conservation.
My brother and I walked around the lakeside. Our drinking supply was almost gone. The heat of the day had demoralized (使意志消沉) us. We sat on the edge of the wide lake, took off our shoes and bathed our tired feet.
We eyed the lake and began to question. “Should we jump in? Are we allowed? Should we get our clothes wet? Is it too cold? Will some great monster rise up and devour us?” We asked ourselves. We excused. And then, we walked slowly back through the cloudless summer gap, down into the valley. Why? Why didn’t we jump in that lake? It was clear, clean and wet. No one would have stopped us. We could have been cool and comfortable all the way home. But no.
At some point in our lives, we must learn this lesson: to dive into the lake, to be free, to follow our heart’s desires. When we are old and sitting by the peaceful lake in patient stillness, we can then abstain (避开) from jumping in. We can linger (留恋) in the perfect happiness of our lake memories, with nothing left undone.
1. The author and his brother went hiking the Sierra Nevada ________.| A．on a very hot day |
| B．with plenty of bottles of water |
| C．on a rainy day |
| D．without any preparations |
| A．stay longer beside the lake |
| B．find some excuses not to swim in the lake |
| C．prepare for their examinations |
| D．encourage each other |
| A．regretted not swimming in the lake |
| B．came back and swam in the lack afterwards |
| C．felt lucky for not swimming in the lake |
| D．never went hiking again with his brother |
| A．if you want to show your encouragement to others, you will go hiking in high mountains |
| B．taking plenty of water is very important when you go hiking in high mountains |
| C．never go hiking in high mountains where there are no lakes |
| D．do what you want to do when you are young or else you will regret when you get old |
【推荐2】Living abroad requires a small adjustment and balancing of cultures.Moving from Scotland to Austria, the differences aren’t so great, perhaps, as moving to Asia or Africa. But things are still different enough to be unsettling (使人不安的)．
One of the first differences I noticed was the opening hours of shops here.During the week，supermarkets close at 7：30 p.m., at the latest. On Sundays, they aren’t open at all. On my first weekend here, I wasn’t at all prepared for this. I planned to go into town to pick up things I’d forgotten to bring. I wanted to get some groceries, too, after a few days of eating out. A friend had warned me that nothing was open on Sundays, but I didn’t realize she was serious. So, I wandered around town, coming across shop after shop with doors closed.
I ate out again that Sunday, and I learned my lesson.To begin with, I thought it was highly inconvenient.What if I ran out of milk in the evening, or wanted to buy biscuits before bed? In the UK, I was so used to large supermarkets, which stayed open until at least 10 p.m., if not for twentyfour hours. But now, I have to buy food every Saturday. “What do people do here on Sundays?” I asked my flatmate.She just looked at me. “Nothing .” she replied.
If it’s inconvenient, then there’s also something nice about it.Who needs to be able to buy soup or soap or bread twenty four hours a day? No one really needs to of course. But it’s nice, too, to have Sundays completely free from material worries. Sundays here are all about relaxing for hours in coffee shops and spending time with friends. Sunday is a day of rest.
People in the UK often complain, “I thought Sundays were meant to be a day of rest!”, while rushing to work, doing chores(家庭杂务) or standing in queues in shops. Well, here in Austria, it really is a day of rest. It’s different, but it’s a difference I can definitely get used to.
1. Where does the writer probably come from?| A．Austria. | B．Britain. |
| C．Asia. | D．Africa. |
| A．Unhappy. | B．Bored. |
| C．Delighted. | D．Unbelievable. |
| A．Do nothing but rest. | B．Eat out with families. |
| C．Work hard at home. | D．Do some shopping. |
| A．critical | B．doubtful | C．supportive | D．opposed |
【推荐3】I always felt sorry for the people in wheelchair. Some people, old and weak, can not get around by themselves. Others seem perfectly healthy, dressed in business suits. But whenever I saw someone in a wheelchair, I only saw a disability, not a person.
Then I fainted at Euro Disney due to low blood pressure. This was the first time I had ever fainted, and my parents said that I must rest for a while after First aid. I agreed to take it easy but, as I stepped towards the door, I saw my dad pushing a wheelchair in my direction! Feeling the color burn my cheeks, I asked him to wheel that thing right back to where he found it.
I could not believe this was happening to me. Wheelchairs were fine for other people but not for me, as my father wheeled me out into the main street, people immediately began to treat me differently.
Little kids ran in front of me, forcing my father to stop the wheelchair suddenly. Bitterness set in as I was thrown back and forth. “Stupid kids—they have perfectly good legs. Why can't they watch where they are going?” I thought. People stared down at me, with pity in their eyes. Then they would look away, maybe because they thought the sooner they forgot me, the better.
“I am just like you!” I wanted to scream. “The only difference is you've got legs, and I have wheels.”
People in wheelchairs are not stupid. They see every look and hear each word. Looking out at the faces, I finally understood: I was once just like them. I treated people in wheelchairs exactly the way they did not want to be treated. I realized it is some of us with two healthy legs who are truly disabled.
1. When the writer was healthy, she once ________.| A．showed respect for disabled people | B．imagined herself sitting in a wheelchair |
| C．looked down upon disabled people | D．saw some healthy people moving around in wheelchairs |
| A．refused to accept it immediately | B．felt curious about it |
| C．thought it was ready for her father | D．got ready to move around in it immediately |
| A．life is so changeable that nobody can foresee | B．people with healthy legs are truly disabled |
| C．people often eat their bitter fruit | D．life is the best teacher for people |
| A．The Wheelchairs Are as Good as Two Legs | B．People with Two Legs Are Truly Healthy |
| C．How to Get Used to Wheelchairs | D．The Difference between Healthy People and the Disabled |
