John H. Johnson was born in a black family in Arkansas City in 1918. His father died in an accident when John was six. He was reaching high school age, but his hometown offered no high school for blacks.
Fortunately he had a strong-willed, caring mother. John remembers that his mother told him many times, “Son, you can be anything you really want to be if you just believe.” She told him not to be dependent on others, including his mother. “You have to earn success,” said she. “All the people who work hard don’t succeed, but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard.”
These words came from a woman less than a third grade education. She also knew that believing and hard work don’t mean everything. So she worked hard as a cook for two years to save enough to take her son — then 15 — to Chicago.
Chicago in 1933 was not the promised land that black southerners were looking for, John’s mother and stepfather could not find work. But there John could go to school, and there he learned the power of words — as editor of the newspaper and yearbook of Du Stable High School. His wish was to publish a magazine for blacks.
While others discouraged him, John’s mother offered him more words to live by: “Nothing beats a failure but a try.” She also let him pawn (典当) her furniture to get the $500 he needed to start the Negro magazine.
It is natural the difficulties and failures followed John closely until he became very successful. He always keeps his mother’s words in mind. “Son, failure is not in your vocabulary.”
Now John H. Johnson is one of the 400 richest people in America — worth $150 million.
1. Why did John’s mother decide to move to Chicago? Because ________.| A．John’s father died in his hometown when he was very young |
| B．life was too hard for them to stay on in their hometown, while life in Chicago would be better for blacks |
| C．there were no schools for blacks in their hometown |
| D．John needed more education and he could go to school there |
| A．Chicago was the promised land for black southerners in 1933. |
| B．John’s mother worked hard as a cook to make their life better. |
| C．With the help of his mother, John got the money to start the Negro magazine. |
| D．Now John is the richest man in America. |
| A．strong woman with much knowledge |
| B．woman who would do anything for her son |
| C．woman with little school education but knew a lot about life |
| D．loving mother with different kinds of experience in life |
| A．if you try, you will succeed in the end |
| B．a failure is difficult to beat, even if you try |
| C．a try is always followed by a failure |
| D．nothing but a try can help you out of failure |
| A．How John H. Johnson became somebody. |
| B．The mental support John’s mother gave him. |
| C．The importance of a good education. |
| D．The key to success for blacks. |
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【推荐1】The e-mail request came into Ekiben restaurant in Baltimore late on a Thursday afternoon in March: broccoli topped with fresh herbs, diced onion, and cucumber vinegar with a twist. The man who sent the e-mail didn’t actually want the food itself. He was writing on behalf of his mother, who adored the dish. He went on to explain that every time she visited Baltimore, the first place she wanted to go was Ekiben, but that she was now in the final stages of lung cancer at her home in Vermont, and that he was hoping to get the recipe to make it for her there.
Steve Chu, one of the Asian restaurants co-owners, read the e-mail and quickly replied with an alternative suggestion. “Thanks for reaching out,” he wrote. “We’d like to meet you in Vermont and make it fresh for you.”
Brandon Jones was stunned and e-mailed back, saying, “You do know that this is Vermont we’re talking about, right?” But Steve responded, “No problem. You tell us the date, time, and location and we’ll be there.”
That Friday after work, a day after receiving Brandon’s e-mail, Chu loaded his truck with a hotplate and a cooler filled with ingredients and then headed for Vermont with his team. As soon as Chu and his team pulled into the parking lot, they got to work. They pulled down the gate of the pickup, hooked the hotplate to the truck’s power port, and started cooking and deep-frying. After neatly boxing everything up, they knocked on their customer’s door.
His mother opened the door, recognizing the aroma and Chu. She was so happy and touched to have that broccoli. She couldn’t believe it and cried later about their generosity.
As for Chu, he couldn’t help remembering his loyal customer. “She always stood out,” he says. “She loves the food and made sure to tell us. She’s an amazing, sweet lady.”
1. Why did Brandon email to Ekiben?| A．To get the recipe of broccoli dish. | B．To make a broccoli dish for himself. |
| C．To book the broccoli dish in advance. | D．To send the dish for his mother. |
| A．He invited Brandon to Vermont. |
| B．He wouldn’t like to share the recipe. |
| C．He showed the gratitude to Brandon. |
| D．He was willing to cook for Brandon’s mother. |
| A．What the dish was made for | B．How the dish was made |
| C．Where the dish was made | D．Who the dish was made for |
| A．Generosity, Appearing | B．Gratitude, Spreading |
| C．Kindness, Delivered | D．Surprise, Offered |
【推荐2】Along the hallway (走廊), I saw mixed expressions on the faces of my students: excited, nervous, and worried.No doubt about it: they were this term’s freshmen. My own first day at high school flashed into my mind.
Since our family had just moved to the place, I didn’t know anyone at the school. On arriving, I picked up a map and my schedule (日程表). Oh, my goodness, what a large school it was! Nervously, I looked about for where my first class was to be held.
When I finally found my class, everyone was talking and laughing together, and I felt so lonely. Throughout the day, each period brought some new faces I had not seen before. But when my English class came around, I had a surprise: an old classmate! It was Ben, who had left my middle school right after sixth grade. We talked and joked about middle school and the clubs we were in together. My nerves eased (放松) a little.
Next was the P E. class. This was the first class that I found without difficulty. Sitting through the boring introduction to the class by the teacher, I started talking to a girl sitting near me. I found out that her family had just moved here too, and she didn’t know anyone either. As we talked, we discovered that we had a lot in common, and had a lot of classes together. This girl ended up becoming my best friend. I am so glad that I met her.
By the end of that day, I was full of optimism (乐观). I knew that high school would be an amazing experience.
1. The writer of this passage is a __________.| A．parent | B．college student | C．high school student | D．high school teacher |
| A．the school was very large | B．the map did not show the way |
| C．the teacher would be serious | D．the first class would be difficult |
| A．met her old classmate Ben | B．made friends with a girl |
| C．had P.E. class together with Ben | D．finally found her first class |
| A．Nervous. | B．Bored. | C．Hopeful. | D．Satisfied. |
【推荐3】The COVID-19 lockdown worried me. I worried about what the weeks and months ahead might look like. I decided to take the idea of "love the neighbour" seriously, though I had only On a Saturday morning, I made a sign that said, "Have a nice day, "and stuck it on my met them from the kitchen window.
On a Saturday morning, I made a sign that said, “Have a nice day,” and stuck it on my kitchen window, with a smiley face. A while later that day, the neighbour living across from me, taped up a sign on the window with a message for us. "Thank you. You too! "We went on like this for a few days , back and forth, like an echo, and I thought of how this would be a nice story for us all: move from strangers in the beginning to good friends in the end.
Somewhere around Day 5, I positioned"Beaker the Muppet"in the window, and they responded with a cute stuffed dog. Then I put a note of a Mary Oliver poem about spring to raise the bar. Maybe I was showing off. Sure enough, no"echo this time.
The next day, Dewey was barking at their dog in the backyard. I saw one of the guys when I went out to stop my dog. “Sorry, we didn’t find a poem,” he said. “We meant to,” he added, And then we never did." “That’s okay, I replied. And we both went back inside.
During the following days, I also ran into the neighbour in the driveway some times as we walked our dogs, and found the note already started to feel a little silly. What if my notes were a chore to them, and not a charm?
For months, I had avoided my favourite blocks sidewalk that cut through my neighbourhood. Going for walks these days made me sad, or mad, because the story had no good ending.
I kept thinking, "How do I love you, my neighbour, like I'm supposed to? I have decided after this is all over, I will finally have all my neighbours over for dinner. I will write this invitation on a piece of paper and stick it on my kitchen window for them to read, for old, bad times’ sake. Maybe we can have a little laugh together about how we tried to be kind. We’ll say even during the hard time, nothing can lock us.
1. Which of the following can explain the underlined expression "raise the bar" in paragraph 3?| A．Have more fun. | B．Make it more difficult. |
| C．Remove the barrier. | D．Invite them out for a drink. |
| A．She became annoyed. | B．She felt relieved. |
| C．She became uneasy. | D．She felt closer to the neighbour. |
| A．The idea of"Love the neighbour” kept the author positive. |
| B．Communication cannot last long without meeting face to face. |
| C．The author changed the walk routes in order to take a shortcut. |
| D．A social gathering can solve all the problems of neighbourhood. |
| A．Trust the Next-door Strangers |
| B．Get"Unlocked" at the Lockdown |
| C．Unsuccessful Ice Breaking Between Neighbours |
| D．Strangers in the Beginning, Good Friends in the End |
【推荐1】The student arrived early, sat front and center, and stood out in my classroom in more ways than one. I’d say that he was about 40 years older than his classmates in my undergraduate communications class. He eagerly jumped into class discussions, with his humor and wisdom of experience. And he was always respectful of the other students’ perspectives, as if each of them were a teacher. Jerry Valencia walked in with a smile—and he left with one too.
“These students gave me the confidence that I didn’t need to feel bad about my age,” Valencia says.
One day, I spotted Valencia on campus. He said he would have to stop taking classes that semester and reapply for next year. By then, he hoped to have earned enough money and have his student-loan papers in order. He asked seriously whether he could still sit in on my communications class.
Sure, I said. But he wouldn’t get any credit.
No problem, he said.
Soon there he was again, back at his old desk, jumping into our discussions on how to find and tell stories in Los Angeles—a 63-year-old man with as much energy and curiosity as any of the youngsters in class.
A lot of Valencia’s classmates apparently knew he couldn’t afford that semester’s tuition but was still doing the homework. “Here he is, willingly taking a class for the delight of it and benefit of learning,”says Jessica Espinosa, a 25-year-old junior. Afterward, I overheard Valencia wanted to stay in school until he earned a master’s degree, but it had taken him 12 years to finish community college, so he had a long way to go.
There is something splendidly unreasonable about Valencia’s determination to get a four-year degree and then a master’s. At his current pace, he’ll be 90 when he finally hangs all that paper on the wall. But that doesn’t seem especially relevant. He’s found all the youthful energy and academic opportunity stimulating. Valencia’s grade in my class this semester will not show up on his transcripts(成绩单). But I’m giving him an A—and in the most important ways, it counts.
1. What made Valencia different from his classmates?| A．He was respectful to the teacher. |
| B．He activated the class atmosphere. |
| C．He was eager to learn despite his age. |
| D．He often put forward different opinions. |
| A．He treasured the chance of learning. |
| B．He wished to show his determination. |
| C．He needed the credits to further his study. |
| D．He desired to have an A on his transcripts. |
| A．Modest and independent. | B．Energetic and generous. |
| C．Enthusiastic and motivated. | D．Considerate and intelligent. |
| A．No pains, no gains. | B．It is never too old to learn. |
| C．Strike the iron while it is hot. | D．Where there is life, there is hope. |
【推荐2】It's not easy to grow up. Actually, it's far from easy. Growing up can be a real “pain” for some of us. We are always doing things that someone else makes us do and aren't allowed to do all the things we like. Sometimes we feel trapped, sometimes we are fearful, and sometimes we just don't understand why we can't stay young forever. When we look back on all the hardships in life with a positive attitude, we realize that all of our growing pains actually turn into growing gains！
As a young girl my parents forced my sisters and me to do so many things that I never liked.
They made me learn to play the violin and then the piano. At that time I hated music, just because it was what they wanted me to do. But looking back now, I am so glad that my parents encouraged me to take music lessons. Music has enriched my life in so many ways. I realize that my parents and teachers were always pushing me along, not because they wanted me to suffer but because they wanted me to succeed in life. They've always wanted me to have a better life than they did themselves.
Every moment of our lives we are either living or dying, so live life to its fullest！We are all going to experience growing pains, but they are just small pains in life. They might seem so huge at the time but we must be strong. Think about how we would feel if we had no fear and live life like that.
The future is ours！A little hard work and sweat never hurt anyone！If we realize that these pains are just small bumps (凸块) on our road to success we will realize that our growing pains are actually growing gains！
1. According to Paragraph 1, we learn that when we are young ________.| A．life is full of joy | B．life is easy for us |
| C．we know we can stay young forever | D．we sometimes can't do things we like |
| A．take music lessons | B．turn gains into pains |
| C．look back on hardships | D．live a successful life by suffering a lot |
| A．Growing pains are necessary for us to grow up. |
| B．We all have to experience growing pains. |
| C．A little hard work and sweat are harmful to us. |
| D．Life without fear is a better choice for us. |
| A．angry | B．bored | C．unfriendly | D．thankful |
I sat down at an empty table for four very near the piano, and began to be warmed by her music and a bit by the wine! She played so effortlessly and with such beauty in every note. Her music immediately brought a huge smile to my face!
Soon, on a break, I thanked her and she told me that after a long day traveling, and now also facing long weather delays, she "just needed to
As I sat alone drinking my wine, absorbed in this young woman's celebration of her musical passion, two women approached my table and asked if they could join me. I invited them to sit and we immediately began sharing our love of music and celebrating the happiness the piano music was bringing us at that moment.
The two women and I began to talk about our travels, life journeys, and passions. Hearing that unbelievable piano music, and then meeting such interesting women, who generously shared with me their wisdom, perspectives, and feelings of love for each other, was truly joyous. Faced with an 11-hour travel day — to get what normally takes 45 minutes — could have been physically and emotionally exhausting. Rather, by accident of walking by a wine bar at the right moment, and having a couple of seats open at my table, my life was filled with joy.
I will cherish those moments for some time to come. This experience highlights (突出) the critical need in our lives to stop and listen to the music, to invite others to sit at your life table, to open yourself up to a stranger or two, sharing some of your deepest perspectives and experiences. Be open to noticing, absorbing, and also contributing to the joy around you!
1. What does the underlined phrase “blow off some steam” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
| A．Reduce anger. |
| B．Relax herself. |
| C．Make full use of time. |
| D．Breathe fresh air. |
| A．10 minutes. | B．20 minutes. | C．45 minutes. | D．11 hours. |
| A．Happy and meaningful. |
| B．Lonely but unforgettable. |
| C．Boring and meaningless. |
| D．Long and tiring. |
| A．to make the acquaintance of strangers |
| B．to share your experiences with others |
| C．to communicate with others more often |
| D．to notice and enjoy the happiness around you |
