1 . I've handled chopsticks skillfully for decades. While it used to amuse me, it mildly annoys me now that Chinese react with astonishment to see a foreigner handle them — as if someone from a country that put a man on the moon would somehow be incapable of handling two simple sticks. As you can see, China's influence stretched far and wide long before opening-up in the late 1970s or today's Belt and Road Initiative. So the idea that most foreigners cannot use chopsticks is, simply put, fiddlesticks.
My first exposure to chopsticks came way back in the 1960s via the elementary piano tune known as Chopsticks, which aroused my curiosity as to what the word meant. Not long afterward, my parents introduced me to Chinese food at King Fong Cafe in Omaha, Nebraska, which, I only learned recently, was among the landmarks of the heartland city's once-thriving Chinatown in the early 1900s.
In fact, I have undergone special kuaizi training (improving skills, for example, by constantly picking up peanuts when I lived with my Chinese tai chi master) and experimentation (exploring the use of chopsticks to snap up popcorn and donuts；I'm working on ice cream).
But there's one western food for which chopsticks are truly a godsend： salads. After moving to China in 2014, I bought a salad at a convenience store, and the clerk handed me kuaizi. I refused at first, but then thought, “All right” and gave it a try.
Amazingly useful! I could pick and choose each small piece much more carefully, without having to move awkwardly trying to spear the crispy carrot or cherry tomato and then move it mouth ward.
Another clear advantage of these simplest of tools is that they regulate the pace and volume of eating. It's much harder to “pig out” by shoveling food with chopsticks than with a fork and spoon.
However, in the spirit of globalization, let's not overlook the finer points of knife and fork. In fact, a handy thing about the fork is that everyone can basically use it with each hand. I dare to say that, for Chinese and foreigners alike, switching hands while using chopsticks is not so readily done with confidence.
1. What makes the writer feel unhappy about using chopsticks?| A．People's finding it amusing. |
| B．Not being able to handle them easily. |
| C．Feeling as if he/she was on the moon. |
| D．Chinese strange look on seeing him/her using them. |
| A．A norm. | B．A nonsense. | C．A joke. | D．A shame. |
| A．He/She first learnt to use them when listening to a piano tune. |
| B．He/She can use chopsticks to eat ice cream skillfully. |
| C．Chopsticks prove useful in eating any western food. |
| D．Using chopsticks limits one's intake of food. |
| A．How to Use Chopsticks |
| B．Chopsticks VS Knife and Fork |
| C．My Experience with Chopsticks |
| D．The Globalization of Chopsticks |
2 . My daughter is only two years old and, like most girls, already has a nurturing spirit growing inside of her. She tries to
This blanket is a pink one that was purchased for her before she was born. It seems to be the one she
Normally I just laugh at the thing but recently my daughter has had a cold. Any parent will tell you that germs can get into the things the child
| A．reserve | B．collect | C．love | D．study |
| A．watches | B．holds | C．follows | D．touches |
| A．loose | B．soft | C．easy | D．low |
| A．broken | B．dirty | C．warm | D．old |
| A．makes fun of | B．holds in | C．has power over | D．has contact with |
| A．kicked | B．led | C．forced | D．sent |
| A．excited | B．pleased | C．confused | D．ashamed |
| A．guessed | B．proved | C．knew | D．hoped |
| A．idea | B．sense | C．habit | D．chance |
| A．researchers | B．doctors | C．adults | D．friends |
| A．go | B．hide | C．happen | D．develop |
| A．pity | B．pain | C．curiosity | D．burden |
| A．completed | B．safe | C．close | D．open |
| A．Observing | B．Keeping | C．Repairing | D．Dropping |
| A．possible | B．perfect | C．unique | D．necessary |
3 . Jack threw the papers on my desk. “Next time you want to change anything, ask me first,” he said. I had changed a long sentence and corrected its grammar — something I thought I was paid to do.
Several days later, he made me angry again. I went to his office, prepared to lose my job if need be, but not before I let the man know how I felt. “What?” he said nervously.
Suddenly I knew what I had to do. “Jack, the way you’ve been treating me is wrong. And it’s wrong for me to allow it to continue,” I said. “I want to make you a promise. I will be a friend.” The next day I brought some cakes to Jack’s office. Every time I saw Jack in the hall, I smiled at him. After all, that’s what friends do.
One year after our talk, I was told that I had breast cancer . When I was in hospital, my friends tried to find the right words to say, but no one could. The last day of my hospital stay, the door opened and Jack walked over to my bed. “Tulips (郁金香),” he placed some bulbs beside me and said, “If you plant them when you get home, you’ll be there to see them when they come up.” Tears filled my eyes.
In a moment when I prayed for just the right words, a man with few words said the right thing. After all, that’s what friends do. Now, I have seen those tulips push through the soil every spring for over ten years.
1. Why did Jack throw some papers on the author’s desk?| A．She gave him the wrong papers. | B．He thought her report was very bad. |
| C．He wanted her to check them again. | D．He didn’t agree with her correction. |
| A．She would work harder from then on. | B．She would treat him like a friend. |
| C．She would bring him some cakes. | D．She would treat him the same way. |
| A．love | B．honor | C．hope | D．thanks |
| A．Friends must help each other to correct mistakes. |
| B．Friends should give advice to each other at the right time. |
| C．Friends should do anything for each other. |
| D．Friends should treat each other with respect and kindness. |
4 . I just had a snowstorm that piled up eight inches of snow. It truly was a winter wonderland, and there was white beauty everywhere. Since I didn't have anything to do that day, I really enjoyed it.
But then the second snowstorm arrived that night, piling additional inches of snow on top of the snow banks that were already there. And then on the evening news, the weather cast gave us a notice that still another snowstorm was headed our way. Then I felt despondent. I had things to do and places to go. After days of being snowbound, I felt like I was under house arrest. I was stuck.
A place stuck isn't a fun place to be, whether it's from a snowstorm or from life circumstances such as a bad relationship, bills that seem to tower over our heads, or situations where we see no way out. All of us will feel stuck at one time or another, but it's how we respond that makes the difference.
I had a friend named Hannah. She was stuck in the heartbreaking world of infertility (不孕). She longed for a child more than anything. Instead of accepting defeat, she acted sincerely. Think about Nelson Mandela in a dark prison. It was a seemingly hopeless place, but instead of becoming depressed or bitter, he kept fighting for freedom. Yes, he kept fighting to get the success.
Circumstances cannot define us, but our reactions do. Each of those men and women learned important lessons in their "stuck" situations, and we can as well.
1. What does the underlined word" despondent" in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Unhappy. | B．Unusual. | C．Ambitious. | D．Energetic. |
| A．Summarize the previous paragraphs. |
| B．Provide some advice for the readers. |
| C．Introduce some background information. |
| D．Form a connecting link of the context. |
| A．To introduce two great celebrities. |
| B．To introduce the way to be famous. |
| C．To show their different circumstances. |
| D．To show how to respond to difficult situations. |
| A．Don't be defeated by failure |
| B．Don't be trapped by snow |
| C．Enjoy the white beauty |
| D．Keep calm in the winter |
5 . Born in the United States, I, with black hair and yellow skin, am an American. Yes, I am a US citizen. Yet I
It wasn’t until
To my surprise, they were
I
That day I discovered a part of my life that was
Now I know that we must all remember our
| A．imagined | B．discovered | C．declared | D．proved |
| A．one moment | B．one evening | C．one day | D．one year |
| A．why | B．how | C．when | D．if |
| A．life | B．story | C．secret | D．program |
| A．pleased | B．amused | C．puzzled | D．eager |
| A．tradition | B．comment | C．language | D．reply |
| A．wrote down | B．thought about | C．talked about | D．forgot about |
| A．out | B．up | C．next | D．there |
| A．remain | B．seem | C．act | D．show |
| A．family | B．class | C．team | D．country |
| A．different | B．interesting | C．strange | D．valuable |
| A．learning | B．expecting | C．living | D．reporting |
| A．past | B．positions | C．duties | D．roots |
| A．nobody | B．nothing | C．everyone | D．everything |
| A．lead to | B．stick to | C．devote to | D．refer to |
6 . When I was a kid, my siblings (兄弟姐妹) and I used to have ice cream for dessert. Every day, we would choose which ice cream flavor to have, whether to eat it in a cone or a bowl. Then we would happily wolf down our treat (款待) as fast as we could.
Once, though, when I was probably about 10 or 11, our grandpa came to visit us. Grandpa always had a unique view on things. On this particular occasion, my sister and I were making bets as to who could finish our ice cream first. With a smile, Grandpa said, “Why would you want to finish first? If you eat slowly, it will last longer. You should have a competition to see who can finish last.” Even now, I always try to taste my ice cream, but of course this is about more than just dessert.
Too often, kids want to scramble (争夺) for more, whether it’s more ice cream, more toys, or more friends. This habit persists into our adult years, and we end up constantly scrambling for more. We never develop the skill of appreciating what we have. If we learn to recognize this pattern and change it, we can raise our kids a little differently, giving them the tool of tasting their widely known dessert, which could lead to a happier life for them.
What my grandpa taught me that day was really that if you take the opportunity to enjoy what’s in front of you, the pleasure will last longer and be more rewarding than if you rush through life always trying to get the next treat. It’s a lesson that, I think, has made my adult life happier, as well. These days, when I want something, I wait as long as I can before I allow myself to have it. Then, when I finally get it, I make sure to treasure it as long as possible, because I know that, no matter what it is, it will be gone all too soon.
1. The author’s grandfather advised her sister and her to_______.| A．stop eating ice cream | B．learn something from their way of eating |
| C．stop the competition between them | D．eat ice cream as slowly as possible |
| A．Humorous. | B．Wise. | C．Strict. | D．Careful. |
| A．Value what you have. | B．Keep longing for more. |
| C．Have a balanced diet. | D．Save for the future. |
| A．The author benefits a lot from her grandfather’s advice. |
| B．The author doesn’t like ice cream as much as before. |
| C．The author just starts to understand her grandfather. |
| D．The author longs for the days when they ate ice cream. |
7 . We've seen a worldwide health crisis (危机) bring out the worst in some people, but fortunately, we've also been able to see it bring out the best in others.
A taxi driver in Spain has been providing COVID-19 (新冠肺炎) patients with free rides to and from the hospitals. Doctors and nurses wanted to surprise him with their thanks for helping out.
They tricked him down to the hospital under the pretense of needing to pick up a sick patient, but in reality, doctors and nurses lined the hall waiting to applaud (鼓掌) him.
“This is a surprise that has been given to a taxi driver who takes patients to the hospitals without charge,” wrote the taxi company that first shared the video.
The man seemed completely taken aback by the gesture, stopping in the middle of the doors as the whole room cheered for him.
He was also given an envelope full of money and the satisfying results of his own COVID-19 test.
The video has since been shared tens of thousands of times across the world, because kind gestures break the language barrier (障碍).
“When the crisis is finished, there will have been two types of people... the good and the bad,” one user wrote. “With workmates like him, I am proud to be a taxi driver, son of a taxi driver, and father of a taxi driver.”
With the word in hard times, just knowing good people are there doing good deeds is something we can all appreciate.
1. We can learn from the story that____________.| A．the driver took doctors to and from the hospitals |
| B．the taxi company ticked the driver to pick up a patient |
| C．the patients lined the hall to thank the driver |
| D．the driver stayed safe from COVID-19 |
| A．Worried. | B．Amazed. | C．Frightened. | D．Excited. |
| A．It moves people of different nations. |
| B．It encourages more people to be a taxi driver. |
| C．It shows there will have been two types of people. |
| D．It calls for doctors and nurses to fight COVID-19. |
| A．There is always kindness around us. |
| B．We should be proud of our own jobs. |
| C．Helping others is the biggest happiness. |
| D．Taxi drivers play an important part in this crisis. |
8 . My daughter was being thrown out of the sixth grade. The teacher said, “She may not be up to what we’re trying to accomplish.” He was really saying she didn’t have the intelligence. I got mad because I knew she was smart, just as my father had known I was smart when I was failing in school. We had her tested. I decided to get myself tested as well, and found that the troubles she was having were exactly what I had had — dyslexia. By then I was a successful television writer, and had won an Emmy Award for “The Rockford Files.”
If I had known earlier that something beyond my control could explain why I was a low achiever, I may not have worked so hard in my late 20s and early 30s. I was writing and writing. I was working for no other reason than to hear people praise me, because I did badly in all my courses.
I once asked a friend who had always gotten an A, “How long did you study for this?” He said, “I didn’t. I just glanced at it.” So he must be smarter. I began to ask, “What will happen to me when I’m not good at anything?” Despite my doubts, I did become successful, and people now say to me, “So you’ve overcome dyslexia.”
No. You don’t overcome it, you learn to compensate for it. Some easy things are very hard for me. Most people who go through college read twice as fast as I do. I avoid dialing a phone if I can, because I sometimes have to try three times to get the number right.
Despite my weaknesses I view dyslexia as a gift, not a curse (诅咒). Many dyslexics are good at right-brain, abstract thought, and that’s what my kind of creative writing is. And I can write quickly, and can get up to 15 pages a day. Writing is my strength.
The real fear I have for dyslexic children is not they have to struggle in school, but that they will quit on themselves before they get out of school. Parents have to create victories for them, whether it’s music, sports or art. You can make your dyslexic child able to say, “Yeah, reading is hard. But I have other things I can do.”
1. The writer decided to get himself tested as well because he________.| A．wanted to know if they had the same problem |
| B．didn’t believe his daughter had the problem |
| C．had to take a regular medical examination |
| D．accepted that his daughter was not smart |
| A．struggled and got better grades |
| B．didn’t work hard when he was young |
| C．was praised for overcoming dyslexia |
| D．was thankful not knowing of dyslexia earlier |
| A．is less intelligent | B．always fails in school |
| C．reads more slowly than normal people | D．performs worse in left-brain activities |
| A．Clumsy birds have to start flying early. | B．God shuts one door but opens another. |
| C．Never judge a person by his appearance. | D．No one can make a good coat with bad cloth. |
9 . I have a special place in my heart for libraries. I have for as long as I can remember. I was always an enthusiastic reader, sometimes reading up to three books a day as a child. Stories were like air to me and while other kids played ball or went to parties, I lived out adventures through the books I checked out from the library.
My first job was working at the Ukiah Library when I was 16 years old .It was a dream job and I did everything from shelving books to reading to the children for story time.
As I grew older and became a mother, the library took on a new place and an added meaning in my life. I had several children and books were our main source(来源) of entertainment. It was a big deal for us to load up and go to the local library, where my kids could pick out books to read or books they wanted me to read to them.
I always read ,using different voices ,as though I were acting out the stories with my voice and they loved it !It was a special time to bond with my children and it filled them with the wonderment of books .
Now, I see my children taking their children to the library and I love that the excitement of going to the library lives on form generation to generation.
As a novelist, I’ve found a new relationship with libraries. I encourage readers to go to their local library when they can’t afford to purchase a book. I see libraries as a safe haven(避风港) for readers and writers, a bridge that helps put together a reader with a book. Libraries, in their own way, help fight book piracy(盗版行为) and 1 think all writers should support libraries in a significant way when they can. Encourage readers to use the library. Share library announcements on your social media. Frequent them and talk about them when you can.
1. Which word best describes the author’s relationship with books as a child?| A．Cooperative. | B．Uneasy. | C．Inseparable. | D．Casual. |
| A．Pleasure from working in the library. |
| B．Joy of reading passed on in the family. |
| C．Wonderment from acting out the stories. |
| D．A closer bond developed with the readers. |
| A．Sponsor book fairs. | B．Write for social media. |
| C．Support libraries. | D．Purchase her novels. |
| A．Reading: A Source of Knowledge |
| B．My Idea about writing |
| C．Library: A Haven for the Young |
| D．My Love of the Library |
10 . One day when I was 15 years old, I had some friends over to hang out. While we were making food in the
But then I
Walking! I was suddenly
The next time anyone comments on your body in a
| A．classroom | B．kitchen | C．bedroom | D．dorm |
| A．offered | B．devoted | C．placed | D．organized |
| A．Unpleasant | B．Eventual | C．Regretful | D．Innocent |
| A．took up | B．got down | C．gave in | D．tried out |
| A．shirts | B．shorts | C．coats | D．socks |
| A．asked | B．related | C．approved | D．met |
| A．possessed | B．measured | C．owned | D．weighed |
| A．typical | B．energetic | C．passive | D．respectable |
| A．as | B．because | C．unless | D．though |
| A．feature | B．character | C．means | D．gender |
| A．shopping | B．swimming | C．breathing | D．applauding |
| A．informed | B．afraid | C．aware | D．concerned |
| A．with | B．despite | C．without | D．beyond |
| A．waste | B．lose | C．reject | D．keep |
| A．hiding | B．using | C．doubting | D．blaming |
| A．surprise | B．ruins | C．puzzle | D．shame |
| A．advise | B．convince | C．inform | D．educate |
| A．positive | B．negative | C．different | D．specific |
| A．escapes | B．removes | C．bothers | D．benefits |
| A．wonder | B．wander | C．suspect | D．mind |
