I am Duncan Bannatyne. I am a successful businessman with a chain of health clubs and hotels. I also appears on the BBC series Dragons Den, where I judge new business ideas. The only thing I enjoyed at school was maths. I had the ability to add up, but my maths teacher didn’t have much time for me because I couldn’t write down how I got the answers. I hated things like English-I slightly had difficulty in reading. I was hopeless at sport, too. I could see that the kids who went to high school had better toys than me so I made up my mind to do as well as I could, so that I could pass the exam and get into the best school. I worked very hard, and then I made it. I was the only one in the family who did, so my parents were so proud of me.
I started delivering newspapers when my mother said I couldn’t have an ice cream because we were too poor. When I went to the newsagent’s, the owner told me that there was no need for a delivery boy. I said that my mother would like her paper delivered. But he told me, “That’s one person. I need 100.” At last, I knocked on 150 doors. When the ice cream van came around again, I had enough money to buy ice creams for my whole family.
When I left school, I didn’t use my business skills for fifteen years. I was in the Navy and then worked as a garage mechanic. It was always in my mind, though. When I was twenty-nine, I was on a beach in the Channel Islands with my girlfriend and we decided to go back to the mainland and make money. Believe it or not, my first company was Duncan’s Super Ices which expanded from a single ice cream van to a large group of ice cream vans.
1. What can we know about Duncan from paragraph 1?| A．He did well in reading. | B．He was good at maths and sport. |
| C．He was admitted to the best high school. | D．His parents were not satisfied with his performance. |
| A．To buy ice creams. | B．To set up his first company. |
| C．To get some working experience. | D．To improve his calculating skills. |
| A．Wanting ice creams. | B．Wanting better toys. |
| C．Helping his mother. | D．Making money. |
| A．Duncan made a fortune in the Channel Islands. |
| B．Duncan attended Dragons Den to make himself well-known. |
| C．Duncan didn’t start a business until he went back to the mainland. |
| D．Duncan persuaded over 150 households to have their newspapers delivered. |
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【推荐1】The pen is more powerful than the sword．There have been many writers who use their pens to write things that were wrong．Mrs Harriet Beecher Stowe was one of them．
She was born in the U．S．A．in 1811．One of her books not only made her famous but has been described as one that excited the world, and was helpful in causing a civil war and freeing the enslaved race．The civil war was the American Civil War of 1861, in which the Northern States fought the Southern States and finally won．
This book that shook the world was called UncleTom'sCabin．There was a time when every Englishspeaking man, woman, and child had read this novel that did so much to stop slavery．Not many people read it today, but it is still very interesting． The book has shown us how a warmhearted writer can arouse people's sympathies．The author herself had neither been to the Southern States nor seen a slave．The Southern Americans were very angry at the book, which they said did not at all represent the true state of affairs, but the Northern Americans were widely excited over it, and were so inspired by it that they were ready to go to war to set the slaves free．
1. Mrs Harriet Beecher Stowe became famous for ________．| A．one of her books | B．she was a very warmhearted person |
| C．she was a kind wife | D．she worked for the war |
| A．Because she disclosed the terrible wrongs done to the slaves in the Southern States． |
| B．Because she wrote so well that the Americans loved her very much． |
| C．Because the Americans were too excited when they read the book． |
| D．Because the Southern Americans hated the book, while the Northern Americans liked it． |
| A．Before the civil war she had been a slave． |
| B．Before the civil war she had lived in the north of America． |
| C．She had a good school education． |
| D．She was better at writing than swinging a sword． |
【推荐2】Omolayo Adebayo always had a dream about a mobile shower that would be a relief for the homeless community. Four years later, she made that dream a reality — The Neighborhood Well was founded in 2017.
In early October, the mobile shower program was started. The repurposed trailer (拖车) provides a warm shower, toilets and spare clothing to homeless people twice a month. “We seek to rebuild the confidence of our unhoused neighbors by providing unhoused neighbors with warm showers and hope,” Adebayo said.
The Neighborhood Well isn’t the only group in Prince George’s County working with homeless people. The Day Center is another one of a wider network of charity organizations.
The Day Center has been providing services to the homeless community since 2016. Every Tuesday and Thursday, the organization tries to offer the “missing necessities” that homeless people need, including showers, computers, charging stations, and place to say.
Beyond day-to-day necessities, The Day Center also provides a social space for unhoused people. “We wanted a convenient place where people could get a meal and a place to meet others,” the organizer said. “The Day Center has been a really great place for people who can sometimes feel really left out to gather and build some community,” said Lapp Luther, one homeless man. “That’s really an amazing thing.”
The Neighborhood Well and The Day Center are just examples of a larger community of charity organizations. Dozens of these groups are closely-connected in a system of cooperation. Both organizations aim to help their communities, but some say there is still a long way to go in fighting against homelessness. “What we want to do is just to provide an opportunity for our neighbors to get clean in a comfortable space,” Adebayo said.
1. What does The Neighborhood Well aim to do?| A．To offer the homeless mobile phones. |
| B．To make taking showers convenient and fun. |
| C．To bring back the homeless people’s lost belief. |
| D．To clean up and make the community beautiful. |
| A．He is fairly awkward in making friends. |
| B．The necessities are of great value to him. |
| C．He enjoys hanging out with his neighbors. |
| D．The Day Center offers a sense of belonging. |
| A．We should do more to help the homeless. |
| B．The organizations fail to meet their goals. |
| C．The neighborhood has been much cleaner. |
| D．The organizations work fairly independently. |
【推荐3】On a Friday night, a poor young artist stood at the gate of the New York railway station, playing his violin. The music was so great that many people stopped to put some money into the hat of the young man.
The next day, the young artist came to the same place, and put his hat on the ground gracefully. Different from the day before, he took out a large piece of paper and laid it under his hat. Then he began to play the violin. It sounded more pleasant than ever.
Soon he was surrounded with people who were attracted by the words on that paper. It said, “Last night, a gentleman named George Sang put an important thing into my hat by mistake. Please come to get it soon.”
After about half an hour, a middle-aged man rushed through the crowd to the violinist and said, “Yes, it’s you. I knew that you were an honest man and would certainly come here.” The young violinist asked calmly, “Are you Mr George Sang?” The man nodded. The violinist asked, “Did you lose something?” “It’s a lottery ticket (彩票),” said the man. The violinist took out a lottery ticket and George Sang’s name was seen on it. “Is it?” he asked. George nodded and took the lottery ticket and kissed it, then danced with the violinist.
The violinist was a student at an arts college and had planned to attend advanced studies in Vienna. Later his classmate asked the violinist, “At that time you needed money to pay the tuition and you had to play the violin in the railway station every day to make money. Why didn’t you keep the lottery ticket for yourself?”
The violinist said, “Although I don’t have much money, I live happily. But if I lose honesty, I won’t be happy forever.” During our lives, we can gain a lot and lose so much. But being honest always be with us.
1. Which sentence below best explains the underlined sentence in paragraph two?| A．Because the violinist loved to play the violin at the station. |
| B．Because the artist felt happier when he did a good thing. |
| C．Because the violinist felt happy when people surrounded him. |
| D．Because he felt happy to attend advanced studies. |
| A．The paper asked a gentleman named George Sang to get his hat. |
| B．The paper was a lottery ticket and he needed to find the owner. |
| C．The paper asked a gentleman named George Sang to get his important thing. |
| D．The owner of the lottery ticket is unknown. |
| A．was afraid of blame if he kept it for himself | B．didn’t need the money |
| C．thought the lottery was worth nothing | D．chose to be honest |
| A．we should share with others if we find something valuable |
| B．keep the lottery if you find one |
| C．we should know the importance of honesty and lead a happy life |
| D．playing the violin could make you feel happy |
【推荐1】When I started playing soccer as a kid, I just fell in love with it. I wanted to be a soccer player when I grew up. But when I was nine, I started losing my eyesight. At first, I told myself, “If I just work harder than everyone else, I can still compete.” However, my perseverance (坚持) wasn’t going to be realistic. And because I kept pushing, my mental health started to worsen. I developed an eating disorder and depression (抑郁症).
When I hit rock bottom in high school, I started to understand that I couldn’t just keep going down that path of trying to achieve something that wasn’t possible.
My older brother got me started on the right path after I hit rock bottom. He encouraged me to try swimming. The freedom of being in the water had a calming effect on me: It gave me a place where I could feel confident again. I was able to move from the dream of playing soccer to sports that I could do, like swimming, track and field, and cross-country. Naturally, that combination led to triathlon (铁人三项运动).
In my senior year, I signed up for my first triathlon. By that point, while I still had some eyesight, I was legally blind. My parents biked and ran the course with me the night before, which helped me learn and remember key landmarks.
That first race was great. Most importantly, that race opened a new door in sports and in life for me. When I went to Michigan State for college, I started the triathlon team there. That gave me another network of support, and surrounded me with people to train with and work with.
None of that would have happened if I had continued to play soccer. Sometimes you have to change the path you thought you’d be on, but you can still persevere on that new path.
1. What brought the author’s soccer dream to an end?| A．His failing eyesight. | B．His poor eating habits. |
| C．His insufficient training. | D．His lack of competitive spirit. |
| A．It changed his views on health. |
| B．It made him feel free and confident. |
| C．It helped him become a professional athlete. |
| D．It led to his dream of being a triathlon coach. |
| A．It improved his memory. | B．It made his family closer. |
| C．It broadened his path of life. | D．It opened his door to college. |
| A．Perseverance leads to success. | B．When one door closes, another opens. |
| C．Never put all your eggs in one basket. | D．The only true failure is the failure to try. |
You saw Oprah’s show on AIDS orphans when you were 11 — do you remember how you felt?
When I saw the show I was shocked. I had never heard of AIDS before and was concerned that kids were growing up without parents and no one had troubled to ask for my help.
I wanted to create a place for kids to get involved and a place where their small contributions would be valued and celebrated. I also felt that I needed to take immediate action myself. I found an orphan sponsorship (赞助) program online and an eight-year-old girl from Mauritania who needed my help. I started there and Kids Caring 4 Kids grew from that experience.
How has your own illness inspired you to help others?
Growing up with a rare liver (肝脏) disease made me feel different, which I think attracted me to others who were different and those struggling with something. I knew how I felt and I wanted to help reduce that feeling in someone else. I always wanted to support people. Growing up with an illness gave me empathy (移情) for others.
How does your own story inspire others?
My own personal story is evidence that people can give from anywhere. I started Kids Caring 4 Kids from a hospital room. I started by helping one person and it snowballed from there. When I share my story, I think that’s what affects people the most — the fact that I started all of this during a time of personal struggle and weakness. If I could do that, then they can do something too.
1. According to the text, Kendall Ciesemier.
| A．hosted a show on the situation in Africa |
| B．was affected by AIDS and a liver disease |
| C．made an effort to help African AIDS orphans |
| D．earned lots of money from Kids Caring 4 Kids |
| A．Her experience in Africa. |
| B．Living with a liver disease. |
| C．Watching Oprah’s show on AIDS orphans. |
| D．Her work with an orphan sponsorship program. |
| A．caused her to lose some close friends |
| B．made her discouraged and less enthusiastic |
| C．kept her away from those who were different |
| D．helped her easily understand other patients’ feelings |
I have a friend named John Roberts who owns a horse ranch（牧马场）in San Ysidro. The last time I was there he shared a story with me. “It is a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant（流动的）horse trainer. When he was a senior，he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up. ”
That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a200-acre ranch，showing the location of all the buildings，the stables and the track.
The next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read，“See me after class. ”
The boy went to see the teacher after class and asked，“Why did I receive an F？”
The teacher said，“This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you'll have to pay large stud fees. There's no way you could ever do it. 'Then the teacher added，‘If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal，I will reconsider your grade. ”
The boy went home and asked his father what he should do. His father said, “Look，son，you have to make up your own mind on this. However，I think it is a very important decision for you. ”
Finally，after siting with it for a week，the boy turned in the same paper，making no changes at all. He stated，“You can keep the F and I'll keep my dream.”
John continued，“I tell you this story because you are sitting in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace. ”He added，“If I had changed my paper at that time，maybe we would not have the chance to be here talking about the dreams. ”
1. What was the boy's goal described in his seven-page paper？（No more than 8 words）2. Why did the teacher give the boy an “F”？（No more than 15 words）
3. How did the boy's father respond to his son's puzzlement？（No more than10 words）
4. What does the underlined word “unrealistic” in Para. 5 mean？（I word）
5. What can we learn from the article？（No more than 20 words. ）
