1 . Do I think the sky is falling? Sort of.

My husband and I were recently in Egypt, where the temperature was a bit warm for my tiny princess self. So, we left Egypt. Back home, my dearest friends struggled with health stuff, with family craziness…

The game of life is hard, and a lot of us are playing hurt.

I ache for the world but naturally I’m mostly watching the Me Movie, where balance and strength are beginning to fail. What can we do as the creaking elevator of age slowly arrives? The main solution is to get outside every day, ideally with friends. Old friends even thoughts of them-are my comfort.

Recently I was walking along a beach with Neshama. We go back 50 years. She is 84, short and strong. Every so often, she bent down somewhat tentatively (踌躇地) and picked up small items into a small cloth bag. “What are you doing?”

“I’m picking up micro litter. I try to help where I can.”

I reminded her of an old story. A great warhorse comes upon a tiny sparrow (麻雀) lying on its back with its feet in the air, eyes tightly shut with effort. The horse asks it what it’s doing.

“I’m trying to help hold back the darkness.”

The horse laughs loudly, “That is so funny. What do you weigh?”

And the sparrow replies, “One does what one can.”

This is what older age means. We do what we can.

We continued our walk. Neshama bent tentatively to pick up bits of litter and started to slip, but I caught her and we laughed. We are so physically weak in older age, but friendship makes it all a rowing machine for the soul. We can take it, as long as we feel and give love, and laugh gently at ourselves as we fall apart. We know by a certain age the great lies in our life—if you do or achieve this or that, you will be happy and rich. Love and service make us rich.

1. What contributes most to making the author happy at present?

A．Watching movies.	B．Meeting old friends.
C．Traveling in Egypt.	D．Walking on the beach.

2. What does the sparrow serve as in the text?

A．Neshama’s fear.	B．Neshama’s dream.
C．The author’s approval.	D．The author’s doubt.

3. Which of the following words can best describe the personality of Neshama?

A．Determined and helpful.	B．Responsible and caring.
C．Narrow-minded but friendly.	D．Bad-tempered but supportive.

4. What is the true meaning of happiness for the author?

A．Staying with families.	B．Being rich and healthy.
C．Doing what one can.	D．Living a comfortable life.

2 . A few years ago I went through a period of such severe depression that life didn’t seem worth living. It was like permanent _________, so dark and cold that the sun would never shine.

Then I saw snowdrops pushing through the _________, iron-hard ground. I looked at them every day until I felt that if they could _________, then so could I.

_________ spring came, I started to put in more and more plants, until the garden was _________ with colour. Life was growing through my hands, gentle, peaceful, but, above all, _________. If I gave love, it was _________, a hundred times.

I could spend hours _________ in gardening. The form of depressive illness I have is biological. It has _________ generations of my family and follows no rhyme, reason nor circumstance. I can be __________ when the sun is shining or I am surrounded by a group of loving friends.

Of course, fresh air and exercise help to __________ depression, but for me gardening is more than that. It represents endurance as well as __________.

At the end of the first garden I made __________ a tree, huge and magnificent. It withstood freezing temperatures and strong winds. It bent but never broke.

The leaves dropped until it looked no more than a(n) __________ skeleton (骨架), but it always, always came back to life. And so I learned that we may be battled and __________, but hope is a living thing.

1.

A．spring

B．summer

C．fall

D．winter

2.

A．freezing

B．soft

C．smooth

D．dirty

3.

A．come back to earth

B．come back to life

C．come true

D．come up

4.

A．Before

B．Whether

C．Although

D．As

5.

A．dead

B．burdened

C．alive

D．compared

6.

A．optimistic

B．pessimistic

C．traditional

D．creative

7.

A．recovered

B．accompanied

C．blocked

D．returned

8.

A．addicted

B．eager

C．lost

D．devoted

9.

A．touched

B．impressed

C．affected

D．released

10.

A．excited

B．depressed

C．delighted

D．sensitive

11.

A．accumulate

B．relieve

C．disturb

D．deepen

12.

A．hope

B．desire

C．emotion

D．moral

13.

A．stood

B．suffered

C．waited

D．lined

14.

A．stable

B．complex

C．absolute

D．useful

15.

A．promoted

B．inspired

C．awarded

D．hurt

4 . I remember as a young child bringing a bunch of brilliant yellow flowers to my mother. It didn’t matter that the stems felt sticky or that both my parents cursed the presence of these flowers in the lawn. I thought they were beautiful!

And there were so many of them! We spent hours picking the flowers and then popping the blossoms off with a snap of our fingers. But the supply of dandelions (蒲公英) never ran out. My father or brothers would chop off all the heads with the lawnmower at least once a week, but that didn’t stop these hardy wonders.

And for those flowers that escaped the honor of being hand-delivered to my mother or the sharp blades of the lawnmower, there was another level of existence. The soft roundness of a dandelion gone to seed caused endless laughter of delight as we unconsciously spread this flower across the yard.

As I worked in my garden last week, pulling unwanted weeds out of the space that would become a haven for tomatoes, corn, peas and sunflowers, I again marveled at the flower that some call a weed.

And I thought, if only I had the staying power of a dandelion. If only I could stretch my roots so deep and straight that something tugging on my stem couldn’t separate me completely from the source that feeds me life. If only I could come back to face the world with a bright, sunshiny face after someone has run me over with a lawnmower or worse, purposely attacked me in an attempt to destroy me. If only I could spread love and encouragement as freely and fully as this flower spreads seeds of itself.

The lawns at my parents’ home are now beautiful green blankets. The only patches of color come from well-placed, well-controlled flowerbeds. Chemicals have managed to kill what human interference couldn’t. Still, I hope you and I can be different. I hope that we can stretch our roots deep enough that the strongest poison can’t reach our souls. I hope that we can overcome the poisons of anger, fear, hate, criticism and competitiveness.

1. The author’s parents probably viewed the dandelions in the lawn as ________.

A．unwanted weeds

B．hard y wonders

C．supplies of seeds

D．patches of colors

2. What does the author mean by “another level of existence” in Paragraph 3?

A．The flowers were meant as a joyful gift to her mother.

B．The flowers that some called a weed were difficult to pull out.

C．The flowers were tough enough to spread new lives themselves.

D．The flowers evolved into a stronger species because of frequent mowing.

3. What can we learn from the article?

A．The author’s family enjoyed the dandelions as much as she did.

B．The author purposefully replaced some dandelions with crops.

C．The dandelions were never successfully removed from the lawn.

D．The author felt sorry but encouraged by the fate of the dandelions.

4. What message is conveyed in the article?

A．You reap what you sow.

B．Never judge a book by its cover.

C．United we stand, and divided we fall.

D．Rise above the storm and you will find the sunshine.

5 . As a child, there was nothing I liked better than Sunday afternoons at my grandfather’s farm in western Pennsylvania. Surrounded by miles of stone walls, the house and field provided endless hours of fun for a city kid like me.

Since my first visit to the farm, I had wanted more than anything to be allowed to climb the stone walls surrounding the houses. My parents would never agree because the walls were so old that some stones were loose and falling. However, my idea to climb across those walls grew so strong that finally I had all my courage to enter the living room, where the adults had gathered after Sunday dinner.

“I want to climb the stone walls.” I said. “Heavens, no! You’ll hurt yourself!” The response was just as I’d expected. But before I left the room, I was stopped by my grandfather’s loud voice. “Now hold on just a minute.” I heard him say. “Let the boy climb the stone walls. He has to learn to do things for himself.”

“Go,” he said to me, “and come and see me when you get back.” For the next two and a half hours I climbed those old walls — and had the time of my life. Later I met with my grandfather to tell him about my adventures. I’ll never forget what he said. “Fred,” he said, smiling, “you made this day a special day just by being yourself. Always remember, there’s only one person in this whole world like you, and I like you exactly as you are.”

Many years have passed since then, and today I host the television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, seen by millions of children throughout America. There have been changes over the years, but one thing remains the same: my message to children at the end of almost every visit. “There’s only one person in this whole world like you,” the kids will hear me say, “and people can like you exactly as you are.”

1. Why did the writer enjoy his visits to the farm?

A．There were old stone houses.	B．He was allowed to climb the walls.
C．He missed his grandfather a lot.	D．He could experience new fun there.

2. What can be inferred about the writer from the passage?

A．He was backed up by his grandfather to follow his heart.

B．He didn’t expect his parents’ disagreement on wall climbing.

C．He became a TV program host with his grandfather’s help.

D．He didn’t know the possible danger of the stone walls.

3. Which is probably the best title for the text?

A．Unforgettable Childhood	B．Just Be Yourself
C．Do Whatever You Like	D．Like grandfather, like grandson

6 . One Saturday last November, I stepped into my local library. I was about to read a book when I heard an elderly man speak to a lady. “This library will soon become a cafe. Everyone is reading with electronic devices,” he said. Hearing this, I wanted to shout, “I still read library books!” But my words stuck in my throat and I found teenagers around me were talking to friends or staring at their phones.

Reading online feels robotic to me. It’s like I stare at a screen and click “next” for the following page to appear until the very end of the e-book, and at the end of all of that, I just think, “That’s it?” But when I read a printed book, it’s like I’m holding on to the characters. I can imagine the plot better, as I can picture the scenes of each moment in my head with more accuracy and imagination.

Besides, some online books miss components that are in the printed novels. For instance, the physical copy of a fantasy novel I have read contains a map, but the e-book version does not. That is an injustice to e-book users; after reading and understanding the map, the story made a lot more sense for me, in terms of the setting and plot.

And personally, physically turning to the next page is better than clicking “next”. When reading online, I sometimes worry that I click “next” too quickly. It feels more like a race; I want to finish it because the pages just keep making that “flipping” sound and I wonder how long the book really is.

Some printed books have a special smell that makes the novel feel special to me. It’s hard to describe but I’m sure I’m not the only one that thinks so. I know I cannot convince every teen to switch from the digital book to the printed one, but maybe my writing about the difference will at least get some of them to think about it.

1. Why will the library be replaced by a cafe?

A．Few people head for it.	B．It lacks good management.
C．Few people read its books.	D．It holds little attraction for the youth.

2. Why does the author prefer printed books according to paragraph 2?

A．They include additional contents.	B．They provide a strong connection to the characters.
C．They have a special pleasant smell.	D．They can improve readers’ imagination.

3. What is the author’s purpose of writing this text?

A．To inspire teenagers’ interest in reading.	B．To show advantages of printed books.
C．To reduce the impact of electronic devices.	D．To encourage teens to change the reading medium.

7 . Our neighbors had a loud party last night. We weren’t _______ but this was one of those celebrations that I didn’t mind. They are a bunch of young, single guys and I would have felt out of place.

What _______ me was the way they behaved. One of the young men came over _______ in the day to “warn” us of the upcoming event and said it would be over at about 11 p.m. That was the first step. Even more _______ was what they did next. “Here’s my _______,” offered our neighbor _______. “Text me if it’s too noisy.” That was a level of _______ I had never experienced in all my years of being a neighbor!

And it really worked in their favor. My husband and I were so friendly that even when the event went past the _______ end time, even when the music reached high decibels (分贝), and even when we couldn’t get through on the phone number, we felt no _______. We knew they would stop and be ________ eventually.

It takes such little effort to make people feel that they ________ and get people on your side. Everyone needs to let loose every now and then, especially in these uniquely tough times. But people who do it without ________ others are few and far between. I hadn’t fully ________ my neighbors until this week. We had adopted that all too American “live and let live” posture. But now I see them in a new light and with greater ________. They didn’t just bring noise to the neighborhood; they shone the light of ________.

1.

A．located

B．explored

C．challenged

D．invited

2.

A．trapped

B．impressed

C．annoyed

D．embarrassed

3.

A．later

B．closer

C．earlier

D．further

4.

A．disappointing

B．frightening

C．puzzling

D．amazing

5.

A．phone number

B．room number

C．account number

D．car number

6.

A．anxiously

B．politely

C．regularly

D．obviously

7.

A．imagination

B．consideration

C．limitation

D．organization

8.

A．promised

B．supplied

C．designed

D．compared

9.

A．stress

B．anxiety

C．worry

D．anger

10.

A．responsive

B．adaptable

C．continuous

D．respectful

11.

A．figure

B．succeed

C．matter

D．access

12.

A．gathering

B．inviting

C．meeting

D．disturbing

13.

A．noticed

B．delivered

C．explored

D．proved

14.

A．surrounding

B．appreciation

C．curiosity

D．distance

15.

A．gratitude

B．apology

C．thoughtfulness

D．inspiration

8 . My son turned 14 and didn’t have a smartphone. He was the only kid in his class without one. When he asked for a phone, I _________.

“You can choose to do things _________ when you’re a parent.” I replied. But sometimes, I wondered if I was being too stubborn (固执的) or unfair.

The more I research, the more confident I feel in my _________. Many studies _________ the current mental health crisis among teenagers to changes in how they socialize, namely, the change from in-person to online _________.

But other parents _________ my view, saying “He must feel so left out!” Then there are the parents who tell me with sadness that they regretted not delaying their teenager’s phone _________ longer than they did. They _________ me to hold out.

If teenagers are truly spending about 5 hours on average per day on their devices, as a recent research states, then what are they not doing? Kids _________ in their devices are missing out on real life, which strikes me a lot.

I want my son to have a __________ childhood, one full of adventures, imaginative play and physical challenges. The simplest way to achieve these ________ is to delay giving him a smartphone.

Some think my son is missing out or falling behind, but he is not. He does well in school, __________ with friends, and moves independently around our town. He claimed he would give his own 14-year-old boy a phone someday, and I told him that’s __________. But recently, he admitted he __________ the beautiful scenery on a drive to a mountain because he had been so absorbed in his iPad.

If that is his ________ of admitting I’m right, I’ll take it.

1.

A．agreed

B．protested

C．refused

D．apologized

2.

A．gently

B．differently

C．desperately

D．slightly

3.

A．decision

B．conversation

C．preference

D．memory

4.

A．prove

B．link

C．limit

D．solve

5.

A．interaction

B．payment

C．business

D．guidance

6.

A．present

B．change

C．favor

D．challenge

7.

A．addiction

B．membership

C．ownership

D．preference

8.

A．require

B．forbid

C．refuse

D．support

9.

A．skilled

B．absorbed

C．hidden

D．specialized

10.

A．causal

B．stable

C．dramatic

D．memorable

11.

A．breakthroughs

B．balances

C．goals

D．awards

12.

A．hangs out

B．catches up

C．shows off

D．settles down

13.

A．silly

B．fine

C．incredible

D．meaningful

14.

A．missed

B．appreciated

C．imagined

D．polluted

15.

A．target

B．aim

C．version

D．promise

9 . My son turned 14 and didn’t have a smartphone. He was the only kid in his class without one. When he asked for a phone, I _________.

“You can choose to do things _________ when you grow up and become a parent,” I replied. But sometimes, I wondered if I was being too stubborn (固执的) or unfair.

The more I research, the more confident I feel in my _________. Many studies _________ the current mental health crisis among teenagers to changes in how they socialize, namely, the change from in-person to online _________.

But other parents _________ my view, saying “He must feel so left out!” Then there are the parents who tell me with _________ that they regretted not delaying their teenager’s phone ownership longer than they did. They _________ my decision.

If teenagers are truly spending about 5 hours on average per day on their devices, as a recent research states, then what are they not doing? Kids _________ in their devices are missing out on real life, which strikes me a lot.

I want my son to have a __________ childhood, one full of adventures, imaginative play and physical challenges. The simplest way to achieve these __________ is to delay giving him a smartphone.

Some think my son is missing out or falling behind, but he is not. He does well in school, __________ with friends, and moves independently around our town. He claimed he would give his own 14-year-old boy a phone someday, and I told him that’s __________. But recently, he admitted he __________ the beautiful scenery on a drive to a mountain because he had been so absorbed in his iPad.

If that is his __________ of admitting I’m right, I’ll take it.

1.

A．agreed

B．exclaimed

C．refused

D．apologized

2.

A．gently

B．differently

C．desperately

D．slightly

3.

A．decision

B．conversation

C．preference

D．memory

4.

A．treat

B．link

C．limit

D．solve

5.

A．interaction

B．payment

C．business

D．guidance

6.

A．present

B．change

C．favor

D．challenge

7.

A．delight

B．happiness

C．sadness

D．craziness

8.

A．require

B．forbid

C．refuse

D．support

9.

A．skilled

B．absorbed

C．hidden

D．specialized

10.

A．causal

B．stable

C．dramatic

D．memorable

11.

A．breakthroughs

B．balances

C．goals

D．milestones

12.

A．hangs out

B．catches up

C．shows off

D．settles down

13.

A．silly

B．fine

C．incredible

D．meaningful

14.

A．missed

B．appreciated

C．imagined

D．polluted

15.

A．commitment

B．aim

C．version

D．promise