1 . Once upon a time, a doting (溺爱的) mother asked Albert Einstein what she should read to her son to help him grow up as brilliant and intelligent as the famous scientist.

“Fairy tales,” he said, wisely nodding his head.

Why? Why would Albert Einstein — the Nobel Prizes Winning physicist recommend reading fairy tales? Was he joking? All the evidence suggested he was deadly serious. He also said, “When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.”

Childhood is one of the factors that blur (使变模糊) the distinctions between the self and other objects. Thus fantasy stories appeal to children and appear to make sense to them.

There are several commonly accepted genres (类型) of fantasy, “Animal Fantasy” which centers around the lives of lovable talking animals and “Modern Fantasy” which focuses on adventures in other worlds and magical events. I am inclined to add a third genre “Human and Animal Fantasy”, which mixes human and animal characters. Another genre of fantasy may be “High Fantasy” which features heroes who combat evil and save the world from destruction.

Fantasy feeds a child’s imagination and encourages creativity. The enjoyment that the genre engenders (产生) promotes reading and enhances literacy. Moreover, the fantasy genre may be used for teaching purposes. For example: A story about cruelty to animals would limit appeal to a child; however, a fantasy celebration of closeness between the children and their pets may give an element of excitement as the children are able to save animals from someone with cruel intentions.

Children love the Harry Potter series, and if they only see the movies they will miss a great opportunity to develop their reading skills by spending time with the lovable young wizards and witches (巫婆) of the Hogwarts community.

1. Albert Einstein recommended reading fairy tales because .

A．he was just joking with the mother

B．he contributed his gift of fantasy to reading fairy tales

C．he got some scientific ideas from fairy tales

D．the gift of fantasy equals to the talent for abstract, positive thinking

2. A student who likes reading about heroes will probably read “ ”.

A．Animal Fantasy	B．Modern Fantasy
C．Human and Animal Fantasy	D．High Fantasy

3. Children are advised to read the Harry Potter series because .

A．they are better than the films

B．they can help improve children’s reading ability

C．the films are not true to the original stories

D．children can’t learn much from the films

4. Which of the following best gives the main idea of the sixth paragraph?

A．Fantasy can be educational to children.

B．Fantasy can bring great joy to children.

C．Children should not read stories about animals.

D．Fantasy can teach children to be kind to animals.

2 . The email hit me like a punch in the gut. It came from my ________ and when I saw it had several paragraphs, I frowned. Quickly scanning for the vocabulary of bad news, I discovered words like “________”, “I’m sorry”, and “end”. Sure enough, my column—Science Careers was being canceled.

But despite my________ shock, I wasn’t as sad or mad or ________ as I might have been in the past. Previously, when I have been ________, I embodied (表现) the loss by ragging on and thinking________ about myself: “They” don’t value me because I don’t have value. And indeed, when I got the message about the________, my instinct was to immediately blame myself, dumping me into the familiar hopeless desert of ________.

But then, I surprised myself by quickly ________ to a new mindset. It wasn’t actually a failure, was it? Instead of letting the disappointing news start________, I was able to take a positive ________.I set out to make this not the day I was fired, but the day I was fired up and________to move my career to the next level.

Sometimes life sucks and things happen, and we cannot ________.Business decisions often impact our careers and yet have very little to do with our outputs. This decision wasn’t a ________ of me and my value. So when I heard that the column was a ________, I knew I was going to grow.

1.

A．housekeeper

B．parents

C．editor

D．customers

2.

A．desperately

B．unfortunately

C．hopefully

D．thankfully

3.

A．initial

B．endless

C．various

D．regular

4.

A．moved

B．committed

C．disturbed

D．thrilled

5.

A．laid off

B．approved of

C．seen through

D．looked into

6.

A．remarkably

B．ambitiously

C．identically

D．negatively

7.

A．promotion

B．threat

C．column

D．application

8.

A．boundary

B．failure

C．tendency

D．distance

9.

A．switching

B．objecting

C．adding

D．comparing

10.

A．self-defense

B．self-respect

C．self-doubt

D．self-approval

11.

A．suggestion

B．perspective

C．assistance

D．breath

12.

A．commanded

B．allowed

C．warned

D．inspired

13.

A．discover

B．track

C．forget

D．control

14.

A．routine

B．dream

C．reflection

D．principle

15.

A．goner

B．victim

C．delay

D．rank

3 . Our ancient nomadic(游牧的)ancestor would often sing or dance to show others where to find food. In my family, we’ve always had music around us too and this influence is starting to _______. Our seven-year-old son has _______ to perform his own raps which are quite excellent even without considering how _______ he is. Our four-year-old daughter is showing her musical _______ too — she started to make up little ditties(小调).

What is most joyous about our shared _______ of music are those moments when we all come together as a _______. My favorite time happened in April when I was feeling quite _______. I was cooking breakfast when the kids _______ that I was playing dance music. My seven-year-old son then started to join in dancing. This _______ his four-year-old sister, soon the three of us were jumping up and down. It was a moment of real ________ and it turned around how I was feeling.

At that point, I felt like music would be the way to ________ to the kids. I’ve sat down with my son and together we’ve remixed his voice and I’ve sat with my daughter and we’ve played the guitar. We might not be ________ anything about the whereabouts of food as our ancestor did. But we are giving them an ________ through song. We’ re teaching them “Flower of Scotland” so that they might know something about their heritage.

Through ________, we have all become a ________ family.

1.

A．slow down

B．come back

C．pay off

D．run out

2.

A．refused

B．needed

C．agreed

D．started

3.

A．excited

B．young

C．happy

D．different

4.

A．arrangement

B．ability

C．taste

D．choice

5.

A．understanding

B．style

C．love

D．training

6.

A．family

B．company

C．group

D．community

7.

A．low

B．surprised

C．angry

D．afraid

8.

A．guessed

B．dreamt

C．accepted

D．heard

9.

A．helped

B．changed

C．attracted

D．supported

10.

A．success

B．luck

C．power

D．joy

11.

A．hold on

B．call out

C．get through

D．pay attention

12.

A．wondering

B．learning

C．communicating

D．deciding

13.

A．answer

B．education

C．excuse

D．opportunity

14.

A．games

B．history

C．examples

D．music

15.

A．bigger

B．newer

C．closer

D．richer

4 . On the morning drive from my treehouse at Yuquiyú to El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico, I looked the part of the Prepared Hiker. I wore durable shoes. My backpack was filled with bug spray, sunscreen and enough water. And yet as I approached the main gate, I realized I had forgotten what is becoming the most critical item: knowing a park’s special entry requirements. “Reservations Required” read the sign, upsetting my plans.

From inside the car, I checked recreation.gov for the next available reservation, but on a holiday weekend, the park was fully booked. I ended up in Luquillo, walking on the beach.

Really, I should have known better. When I visited Puerto Rico last February, the pandemic (流行病) had been changing norms (常规) for nearly a year. Travelers were heading to public places run by the National Park Service, the U．S.   Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, and crowding weak environments. At Great Smoky Mountains National Park, more than 375, 000 people hiked Laure Falls Trail in 2020, an additional 110, 000 pairs of feet from the previous year.

In 2021, Yellowstone National Park set a record in July for the most­visited month in its nearly 150­year history, with almost 1. 1 million recreation (娱乐) visits. Also last year, Acadia National Park in Maine received more than 4 million visitors for the first time. So officials introduced reservation systems to help them control the number of people who can enter the park or access specific roads or trails in a single day.

“The nationwide trend (趋势) of changing visitation patterns before, during and after the pandemic requires continual innovation and effective ways to manage visitor use to ensure that these special place benefit current and future generations,” Stephanie Roulett, a public affairs specialist with the National Park Service, said. “As a result, parks are exploring many different tools that are most effective for their situation to help them improve how visitors get to and experience popular park resources and features.”

1. What did the author realize at the gate of El Yunque National Forest?

A．He was less experienced than other hikers.

B．He forgot to check the entry requirements.

C．He left his supplies in his car.

D．He lost his backpack.

2. What has changed in national parks since the pandemic?

A．The natural environment has improved.

B．The number of visitors has been growing.

C．The threats to the parks have been reduced.

D．The management of the parks is getting easier.

3. Why were reservation systems introduced into national parks?

A．To control the crowd entering parks.

B．To increase the incomes of parks.

C．To monitor visitors’ behavior.

D．To attract more visitors.

4. What is Stephanie Roulett’s attitude to reservation systems?

A．She is thankful.	B．She is uncaring.
C．She is doubtful.	D．She is supportive.

5 . A few years ago, I was serving customers hamburgers and fries at McDonald’s after graduating from high school in Rogers, but I wanted to do something else.

After the COVID-19 pandemic started, when I saw job _______ for COVID-19 screeners, I decided to leave McDonald’s and start _______ as a COVID-19 screener at Willow Creek Women’s Hospital in Johnson. _______ something more for my life, I went to the University of Arkansas _______ and put “health care” into the search bar. That led me to a phlebotomy (静脉切开术) technician course _______ by the University of Arkansas Global Campus. From there, I saw that I might _______ for federal funding to take the phlebotomy course for free through the Reimagine Arkansas Workforce Project.

By the time I found the Reimagine website, I was working two health-related jobs, which made me a little _______ at first about taking an online course at the same time. But _______, instead of giving up, I applied and got the funding.

Trying to _______ work and the class was difficult but I was so glad that I ________   it and it’s changed my life. I also finished the externship (校外实习期) ________ with the course. The Highlands Oncology office in Springdale offered me the job of phlebotomist in August before I ________ the externship.

My job as a phlebotomist includes performing venipunctures (静脉穿刺) on patients, and a venipuncture can be very scary, especially with our cancer patients who have ________ such a hard time already. Therefore, we’ve got to be very ________.

I would really like to encourage you to apply for what you might start as a(n) ________. It’s super important that we do what we love at work because we’re going to be doing it for the rest of our lives.

1.

A．interviews

B．applications

C．advertisements

D．appointments

2.

A．learning

B．working

C．teaching

D．travelling

3.

A．Seeking

B．Appreciating

C．Analyzing

D．Switching

4.

A．newspaper

B．website

C．office

D．library

5.

A．stressed

B．reflected

C．offered

D．admitted

6.

A．hope

B．exchange

C．stand

D．qualify

7.

A．worried

B．excited

C．embarrassed

D．relaxed

8.

A．immediately

B．unexpectedly

C．eventually

D．definitely

9.

A．combine

B．balance

C．compare

D．benefit

10.

A．got

B．mentioned

C．recognized

D．made

11.

A．compared

B．impressed

C．provided

D．associated

12.

A．competed

B．comprised

C．completed

D．committed

13.

A．gone away

B．gone through

C．broken through

D．broken away

14.

A．confident

B．nervous

C．desperate

D．careful

15.

A．career

B．religion

C．interest

D．enthusiasm

6 . It should have at least been a dunk (扣篮). Everyone in the area knew it as the tall, wonderful _______ flew toward the basket. There was no one within 20 feet of him and no obstacle to _______ him from scoring as he had so many times before. But this time he _______.

Never mind that he was_______ at full speed during a pressure-packed game, with thousands of _______fans screaming at him to miss. As far as I was concerned, there was no _______for missing such an easy, automatic shot. I couldn’t believe it. For the rest of the game, I _______about every missed shot and every bad pass. By the end of the game, I _______ at him through the television screen, “You’re a professional. A professional doesn’t make mistakes like that!”_______, he didn’t play a perfect game.

Later that evening I was doing some filing (归档) when I paused to reread a column from several weeks ago. I stopped when I __________ a typo(打字错误). Instead of “the”, I had written “tje”. But it was an understandable __________. After all, the letters “h” and “j” are right __________ to each other on the keyboard. Anyone could slip and hit the wrong __________. And I was sure the editors would catch the mistake and fix it __________it went into publication.

My eyes went __________ to “the”. And somewhere in the back of my mind I heard a(n) __________ scolding voice: “You’re a professional. A professional doesn’t make mistakes like that!”

I guess it’s __________ that we don’t really have a right to expect __________ in others until we’re prepared to expect it in ourselves. And not just professionally. This is __________true on the highway, in the grocery store, at the movies and most especially in the home. Unless we can offer ourselves as a perfect example, we ought to be willing to excuse others’__________.

1.

A．professor

B．athlete

C．performer

D．announcer

2.

A．prevent

B．discourage

C．take

D．differ

3.

A．touched

B．scored

C．paused

D．failed

4.

A．walking

B．running

C．driving

D．turning

5.

A．supporting

B．crazy

C．opposing

D．enthusiastic

6.

A．possibility

B．chance

C．excuse

D．problem

7.

A．knew

B．complained

C．worried

D．doubted

8.

A．laughed

B．stared

C．aimed

D．shouted

9.

A．Obviously

B．Unfortunately

C．Importantly

D．Finally

10.

A．checked out

B．came across

C．missed out

D．learnt about

11.

A．column

B．word

C．condition

D．error

12.

A．connected

B．next

C．useful

D．first

13.

A．way

B．number

C．place

D．key

14.

A．before

B．until

C．after

D．when

15.

A．suddenly

B．properly

C．directly

D．willingly

16.

A．unexpected

B．strange

C．terrible

D．familiar

17.

A．clear

B．true

C．important

D．probable

18.

A．perfection

B．surprise

C．impression

D．success

19.

A．yet

B．ever

C．also

D．never

20.

A．words

B．faults

C．behaviour

D．absence

7 . Confucius was a great philosopher, educationalist as well as the founder of Confucianism. He was born in 551 BC in Shandong province of China. His beliefs _______ the importance of having a good moral (道德的) character and personal ethics (伦理). They have a great _______ on the majority of Chinese culture.

Confucius has left many _______ sayings, which are still remembered and followed _______. For example, his quotes, “He who learns but does not think is lost” “He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger”, are well known to all.

Although Confucius is _______ for his great thoughts, did you know that he is also known for his sense of _______? There is evidence that he was very humorous. His _______ were very amusing and uplifting and he often used humor to make his students _______ and take interest in the teachings.

One time Confucius was _______ along with his students when they came across a man who was ________ in the river. His students were hesitating but Confucius jumped into the river without ________ and saved the man in time. Then, he ________ to his students and joked, “I suppose none of you ________ that he was wearing a valuable jade ring!”

This story serves as a reminder that even the most serious figures in history ________ their share of lighthearted moments. It is possible that wisdom and humor both ________ hand in hand with joy!

1.

A．respond to

B．focus on

C．brush up

D．take up

2.

A．impact

B．stress

C．impression

D．knock

3.

A．flexible

B．creative

C．wise

D．sharp

4.

A．normally

B．annually

C．periodically

D．faithfully

5.

A．confident

B．special

C．famous

D．acceptable

6.

A．humor

B．duty

C．direction

D．achievement

7.

A．characters

B．proposals

C．conversations

D．attitudes

8.

A．agree

B．relax

C．worry

D．argue

9.

A．traveling

B．quarrelling

C．sleeping

D．shooting

10.

A．swimming

B．surfing

C．drowning

D．playing

11.

A．doubt

B．problem

C．signal

D．delay

12.

A．listened

B．turned

C．pointed

D．stuck

13.

A．cared

B．heard

C．felt

D．noticed

14.

A．enjoy

B．bother

C．involve

D．allow

15.

A．catch

B．go

C．lead

D．take

8 . Cope With Loneliness or Depression

My grandmother, Margaret lived to be 104, spending the last 16 years of her life in a nursing home. Although ______ kept in a wheelchair from severe arthritis(关节炎), she was mentally sharp until her ______. In fact, she was one of the very few residents there who could still think clearly. ______ the passing years, friends and family members died. Yet, when I had the ______ to visit her, she never seemed to be despondent or ______ of being lonely. After my visits, I ______ left thinking “If I lived that long, would I have the same ______? Was there something special or different in the way she thought that prevented her from becoming ______ ?”

By our very nature, human beings are relational. As social beings, we need some sense of ______ to the world around us, whether it’s through people or the ______ world. In what appeared to be the very ______world of my grandmother, she had ______ close relationships with the nurses on her floor. I’ve ______ a lot on the example my grandmother provided during her ______ years. I’ve asked myself many questions about aging and how to ______ a sense of well-being as our world ______ to narrow from the death of family and friends or major health issues. Perhaps what I’ve ______ will help you, too.

Being alone. What does that ______ bring into your mind? The way we feel about being alone has something to do with the way we frame it. For example, you ______ be in a large group of people and still feel very lonely. Yet, some people seem to recharge and actually energize by taking the time to be alone. Once your thoughts and feelings change, it will be ______ for your behavior to change as well.

1.

A．mentally

B．sadly

C．happily

D．physically

2.

A．recovery

B．death

C．victory

D．failure

3.

A．While

B．As

C．Until

D．With

4.

A．chance

B．honor

C．right

D．choice

5.

A．complained

B．reminded

C．informed

D．thought

6.

A．never

B．sometimes

C．always

D．seldom

7.

A．ability

B．luck

C．attitude

D．age

8.

A．depressed

B．disappointed

C．annoyed

D．excited

9.

A．achievement

B．direction

C．connection

D．humor

10.

A．amusing

B．amazing

C．different

D．natural

11.

A．small

B．huge

C．difficult

D．broad

12.

A．developed

B．invented

C．held

D．found

13.

A．regained

B．realized

C．reflected

D．recognized

14.

A．long

B．lonely

C．early

D．last

15.

A．organize

B．maintain

C．spread

D．broadcast

16.

A．promises

B．prepares

C．seems

D．starts

17.

A．calculated

B．collected

C．discovered

D．described

18.

A．phrase

B．word

C．sentence

D．passage

19.

A．would

B．can

C．must

D．should

20.

A．better

B．happier

C．harder

D．easier

9 . I watched a child in the supermarket yesterday, as she was screaming. Her parents were trying their best to ________ her down. Some people passing by ________ their heads and saw the child as a spoiled (宠坏的) child. Others ________ and offered a few kind words to both the ________ and the parents.

“You’re such a beautiful little girl. Such a ________ girl shouldn’t cry,” one lady said.

“Don’t be so sad. We all have ________ days,” added another.

“I think she’s spoiled,” I heard one whisper to a friend.

None of them was ________. The child was neither spoiled nor having a bad day. She was simply ________. The parents told me afterwards that someone walking a ________ had scared her.

She was afraid of dogs. They went on to explain that it was a ________ for them to go to some places.

Friends had dogs, and nearby neighbors ________ their dogs down the street. I can remember the feeling of fear when I was a child. Every time while I was walking up steps at night, I would get the ________ that someone or something was going to grab my feet. I ran most of the time.

________can happen at any time in our life, and sometimes we cannot avoid it. And what we fear most can own us, control us and limit us. However, the truth is that fear can be ________. As we grow up, we can find more ________ and energy to overcome what we fear most in life.

1.

A．look

B．put

C．bring

D．calm

2.

A．changed

B．shook

C．nodded

D．compared

3.

A．paused

B．protested

C．pretended

D．opposed

4.

A．child

B．teacher

C．friend

D．doctor

5.

A．healthy

B．beautiful

C．little

D．outgoing

6.

A．hot

B．nice

C．bad

D．cold

7.

A．possible

B．convenient

C．right

D．wrong

8.

A．terrible

B．afraid

C．sad

D．ill

9.

A．dog

B．dark

C．goose

D．fur

10.

A．control

B．touch

C．use

D．challenge

11.

A．started

B．affected

C．caused

D．walked

12.

A．promise

B．feeling

C．mistake

D．impression

13.

A．Fear

B．Joy

C．Doubt

D．Danger

14.

A．combined

B．received

C．performed

D．overcome

15.

A．complaint

B．lack

C．courage

D．interest

10 . Late one night this spring, Justin Snider was riding the No. 2 in Manhattan when the train stopped. After about 15 minutes — with little information about the delay and no cell service — everyone in the car was getting restless. Suddenly, an inspiration struck. “I asked neighboring passengers if they wanted to hear some Shakespeare, and no one objected,” Mr. Snider said.

He had memorized Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” speech more than 15 years earlier to pass the time on a cross-country bike trip.

“I was definitely nervous because I’d never performed publicly before,” he said. Although his tired audience neglected to clap when he finished — they did applaud when the train started to move again — Mr. Snider was pleased that he didn’t forget a line.

Since ancient times, humans have memorized and recited poetry. Before the invention of writing, the only way to process a poem was to memorize it. Yet poetry memorization has become an outdated practice that many teachers and parents — not to mention students — consider too boring, mindless and just simply difficult for the modern classroom. Besides, who needs to memorize poetry when our smartphones can instantly call up nearly any published poem in the universe?

In fact, the value of learning literature by heart — particularly poetry — has only grown. All of us struggle with reducing attention spans and a public sphere (领域) that is becoming a literary wasteland, without complex language or expressions of empathy beyond one’s own online chat bubble (聊天气泡).

Rimbaud once wrote :“The lindens smell good in the good June evenings! At times the air is so scented that we close our eyes.” “He wrote that poem when he was young, and he was talking about love. I related to him,” said Ms. Huggins, the winner of the national Poetry Out Loud contest, who recited Rimbaud’s Novel. “Reciting a poem will greatly help you express what you’re trying to say.”

It’s time for us to show we care about words again to rebuild our connection to human civilization so much broader than social media feeds.

1. Why did Justin Snider offer to recite Shakespeare?

A．To show off his good memory.

B．To kill time on a delayed train.

C．To inspire passengers to learn poems.

D．To practice making a speech in public.

2. What can we learn from the fourth paragraph?

A．Reciting poems isn’t a trend any more.

B．Modern students need poetry memorization.

C．Owning a poem is to store it in our smart phones.

D．The appearance of writing promotes poetry reciting.

3. What does Ms. Huggins think of reciting poetry?

A．It can be a highly expressive act.

B．It is a matter of hard working practice.

C．It is a way to show empathy for others.

D．It can connect you with human civilization.

4. What is the author’s attitude to memorizing poems?

A．Objective.	B．Unclear.
C．Casual.	D．Supportive.