1 . An old man lived with his little grandson. Every day the old man got up early to read books.
One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa, I want to read books as you do. But I always forget what I read. What are the advantages of reading?”
The grandfather didn’t answer him, but said, “Take this little basket to the river and bring me back a basket of water.” The boy did as his grandpa said, but all the water leaked out before he got back home. The grandfather laughed and said, “You’ll have to walk faster next time.”
The next time the boy ran faster, but the basket was still empty before he returned home. The boy said, “See, Grandpa, it’s no use!”
“Is it no use?” the old man said. “Look at the basket.”
The boy looked at the basket and found that the basket was different. It was cleaner, inside and out.
“That’s what happens when you read books. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read them, you will be changed, inside and out.”
1. What did the old man do every day?| A．He carried water. | B．He wrote something. |
| C．He read books. | D．He did some chores. |
| A．was too busy to do it | B．got up late |
| C．he slept late | D．always forgot what he read |
| A．Twice. | B．Once. | C．Three times. | D．Four times. |
2 . What’s on in Melbourne?
Melbourne Magic Show
The lights are not bright and you take your seat in an elegant back room of a five—star Melbourne hotel. The stage is set, the mood is relaxed and the guests are ready to witness the impossible made by Luke Hocking. You’ve seen magic shows before but probably never this close.
Cooks’ Cottage
Originally located in Yorkshire, England, and built in 1755 by the parents of Captain James Cook, Cooks’ Cottage was brought to Melbourne by Russell Grimwade in 1934. Navigator and explorer Captain James Cook never lived in the cottage—he’d been away from home for almost ten years when his father built it—but this connection to the Cook family was enough to prompt(促使)Grimwade to transport the cottage to the other side of the world.
ArtPlay
ArtPlay brings together children (from babies to 13 years of age) and artists to explore and create innovative art experiences that encourage self—expression and playful exchanges, ArtPlay offers creative encounters that are by, for and with children and can be experienced at ArtPlay or in your own home. Bookings or registration at the door is required for all onsite events.
Flight Experience Australia
Prepare for take—off as you sit in the pilot’s seat of a Boeing 737 jet airliner and take charge of the controls at Flight Experience Australia. As exciting as the real thing, and used by trainee pilots, the flight simulators(模拟器)include scenic flights, city circuits, team— building flights and even a course to overcome fear of flying.
1. What is Luke Hocking?| A．A magician. | B．An architect. | C．A painter. | D．A waiter. |
| A．He sold it to James Cook. | B．He rebuilt it with his family. |
| C．He moved it to Australia. | D．He brought it back to England. |
| A．ArtPlay. | B．Cooks’ Cottage. |
| C．Melbourne Magic Show. | D．Flight Experience Australia. |
3 . It was bad enough when COVID- 19 closed schools in Philadelphia, US, in March. Like a lot of students, Makyla Linder, 16, found herself getting bored. So she started watching baking videos and shows on TV and online. Soon, she started baking on her own.
Cupcakes and chocolate-covered strawberries were her first creations.
“I tried them on my friends when they came to my house,” Linder sad. “I also tried them on my family. They said my creations were good.”
For most children, that would have been enough. But Linder had bigger ideas. She asked her mom - what if she started selling her baked goods?
With the help of her mother, Linder got more baking supplies and equipment. She started taking orders online. More people started hearing about her business. Linder also started giving out business cards to make her company more well-know.
She also improved her baking as time went on. She researched new recipes (食谱) and learned good baking skills. She now sells chocolate-covered cookies, chocolate apples and banana pudding. She has some customers who have returned to her several times. They say her prices are good. She charges $15 for a dozen cupcakes or cake pops.
When school reopened in September, Linder had to focus more on her studies. “I wanted to do both, but I understand that school is much more important right now,” she said. However, she still watches cooking shows to get new ideas for her business.
1. What special thing did Linder do after COVID-19 broke out?| A．She started a baking business. | B．She made her own cooking show. |
| C．She invited friends over for parties. | D．She gave online baking lessons. |
| A．They are creative. | B．They are delicious. | C．They are well-known. | D．They are not big enough. |
| A．Linder is good at making money. | B．Linder spends a lot of money. |
| C．Linder’s baked goods aren’t expensive. | D．Linder’s baked goods are too cheap. |
| A．Linder didn’t return to school this year. | B．Linder is proud of her studies. |
| C．Linder will open a new bakery soon. | D．Linder will keep studying baking. |
4 . The life of a premature (早产的) baby born during the winter storm in Texas was saved thanks to a team of medical professionals, including a doctor and two nurses who traveled from east Austin to Marble Falls in an effort to save a newborn baby's life.
When Arias began experiencing pains, she and her parents headed to the closest hospital, Baylor Scott & White. Arias gave birth to her daughter, Zaylynn, who weighed just over one pound and was in need of advanced special care. However, the hospital does not offer the specialized care premature babies require.
"We had five or six people out at the nurses' station calling hospital networks all over the state of Texas," said Meredith Schubert, the labor and delivery nurse on duty when Arias arrived. "Nobody could answer our cry for help."
They finally reached Dr. John Loyd through a patient, division neonatologist chief at Dell Children's Medical Center in Austin, Texas. Around 5 p.m., after already having worked a full shift, Loyd packed his SUV with equipment and he and two NICU nurses set out for Marble Falls, about 55 miles away. The drive took Loyd and the nurses about two hours as they drove in the night through ice and snow.
After safely arriving at the Marble Falls medical center around 8 p.m., the Dell Children's crew set up a temporary newborn ICU. Together, the Dell Children's and Baylor Scott & White teams worked around the clock to care for the mother and daughter.
Once the weather cleared enough to allow for a helicopter to safely land, Zaylynn was transferred to Dell Children's, where there is a Level IV newborn intensive care unit.
"It was incredible when the helicopter lifted off. There were tears from all of us," said Schubert. "It was a huge relief and sense of accomplishment and joy that Zaylynn was doing so well and getting to the place that she needed to be."
Arias told KVUE that she was grateful to the doctors and nurses who worked together to save her daughter.
1. What did the newborn baby need badly?| A．Professional surgery. | B．Special intensive nursing. |
| C．Immediate transfer. | D．Experienced doctors. |
| A．Timely. | B．Hopeful. | C．Desperate. | D．Encouraging. |
| A．He came with all the necessary equipment. | B．He tried his best to maintain his honor. |
| C．He had enough bravery to drive at night. | D．He drove to rescue at night in severe weather. |
| A．The fine weather. | B．The baby's improvement. |
| C．The takeoff of the helicopter. | D．The baby's arrival at its destination. |
5 . The Curb-cut Effect (路缘坡效应) refers to the fact that supporting small groups of people often ends up helping much larger ranges of society.
Curb cuts: Easing the walking
In the 1940s, hundreds of thousands of World War Ⅱ soldiers returned home with disabilities. Disappointed by the difficulties they faced, Jack Fisher of Kalamazoo, Michigan, as one of them, asked his city government to build an experimental curb cut-a gentle slope that brings the end of a sidewalk down to meet the level of the street-at the corners of several blocks downtown. A few months later, Fisher reported that even residents without wheelchairs were enjoying the impact of the little slopes.
Reading machines: Getting the message
In 1976, technologist Ray Kurzweil invented a machine for the blind and visually damaged to change images into text that it then read aloud. Smart speakers with those voices are now in roughly one-quarter of US homes. By detecting street signs and house numbers, it is helping build the maps that self-driving cars use to navigate the world.
Closed captions (字幕): Following the conversation
Sears launched the first TV with a built-in equipment that allowed deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers to read along with their favorite programs in 1980. In the 1990s, text became increasingly common as DVDs and, later, streaming services added the ability to switch the words on at will. A 2006 survey found that only around 20 percent of the people using captions had hearing problems.
DeafSpace designs: Keeping things quiet
More than 150 designs of the DeafSpace Project came from architect Hansel Bauman. One aim is to clear distracting noises, which can make it difficult for people to use their limited hearing abilities. By keeping conversations and other sound disturbances from walking and jumping around the room, these ways also make it easier for all sorts of students and workers to focus.
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1. Who were the four inventions initially intended to serve?| A．The army. | B．Special groups. | C．All human beings. | D．Professionals. |
| A．A city designer. | B．A city governor. | C．A disabled soldier. | D．An ordinary roadman. |
| A．Sears'. | B．Jack Fisher's. | C．Ray Kurzweil's. | D．Hansel Bauman's. |
6 . I grew up five minutes from Clapham Junction station in south London. Our house backed onto the railway, so the regular sound of passing trains was a sound I found noisy. Clapham Junction was famously busy, but it felt separate from the rest of London, as if its purpose was to carry people away from the capital. I felt I stood on the edge of the city.
During my last year at primary school, I spent every afternoon going across the road with my mum to eat white toast with drinking sugary tea. My mum would argue with the Greek Cypriot owner about politics. They disagreed about everything, but laughed a lot while arguing. Our life seemed uneventful.
But as time passed by, our area changed. The town became modern, and I changed a lot too. I went from a state primary school to a private secondary school. I stopped drinking sugary tea. I cared less about branded skirts but more about books. I spent less time hanging around the common but more travelling to the libraries where I found my interest.
It was then that I discovered Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle and Elaine Dundy's The Dud Avocado. After that I scanned the shelves of bookshops for some writing. In this way I found so many writers who have influenced me: Barbara Pym, EM Delafield and so on.
Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People wasn't like any other book I'd read. For more than sixty years the rock solid, time-tested advice in this book has carried thousands of now famous people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives. Now this previously revised and updated bestseller is available in trade paperback for the first .time to help you achieve your maximum potential throughout the next century! I read it as a guide anyway. And in a way it was.
1. How did the author feel about her childhood?| A．Meaningful. | B．Unsatisfied. | C．Unforgettable. | D．Colorful. |
| A．She often felt lonely. | B．She usually drank sugary tea. |
| C．She began to become modern. | D．She started to like reading. |
| A．The world. | B．A dream. | C．The inspiration. | D．A plan. |
| A．My Colourful Life | B．Reading Changed Me |
| C．My Hometown Raised Me | D．My Learning Experience |
