2 . I’m Andrew Siegel and this is my garden. This is where my family and I grow a lot of different vegetables and flowers. Gardening has been really important to my family because it gives us a chance to spend time outside together, away from all the electronics.

Especially for my five-year-old, it really gives her a chance to be in touch with nature-all the little animals, insects and things that come out here.

We find that a lot of the things that we plan for in the garden don’t always go the way that we’d like them to, and some of the things that we don’t plan for become what we enjoy the most that year. So it’s something that my family and I have learned: To appreciate (欣赏) all of it.

My advice for gardening beginners is to just start. Get a pot, get a little bit of dirt, get a tomato plant or whatever plant you want and just get started. I think sometimes it seems challenging. Trust me, it does not need to be perfect. You will enjoy every little thing you get out of it.

Gardening has taught me patience, something I don’t naturally have a lot of. It takes weeks, takes months for you to put into your work and the patience comes out in the end. You learn not only to be patient in that end product, but you’ve also learned that, after years of gardening, the end product is just part of it.

The journey of growing has become much more important to me than the actual product that we get in the end. Nothing has been so valuable as the time I spend out here. I’m by no means in a farmland, but I do have my own little piece of what I consider heaven, and I’ve really learned to appreciate every little moment — every insect, every plant, every flower — and when you can appreciate it in that way, there’s nothing better.

1. Who does the underlined word “five-year-old” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．The writer.

B．The writer’s daughter.

C．The insect.

D．The flower.

2. How would gardening beginners feel?

A．Quite easy.

B．Comfortable.

C．Perfect.

D．Very difficult.

3. What is the most important for Andrew Siegel in gardening?

A．Planting different vegetables and flowers.

B．Staying at home together with her family.

C．Enjoying the whole process of growing.

D．Harvesting what the family planted.

4. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．The pleasure of gardening.

B．The advice on gardening.

C．Being in touch with nature.

D．Being perfect in life.

3 . My son was one of the students who served as a volunteer in different services while in a high school. Nowadays it is________for high schools to have a volunteer service hour minimum as a part of their graduation________ .

One day, I asked him why he worked long hours voluntarily every week. He gave me a reply________his years. He said, “Mom, you should not do community service just because it was assigned and you just need to________it in. You should do it because of the effects it has.” In many ways his opinion is________reasonable, and though the service hour requirement actually does get students to participate in volunteer work in their communities, does it________them to volunteer in the future?

In some cases, no. A study found that when 8th graders in some schools were asked to accumulate________volunteer hours, those same students were no longer doing any service by their senior year of high school. It________that compulsory volunteer hours led to a “potential loss in long-term volunteering”. ________, other researchers discovered that young people were more likely to vote and attend civic life in other ways as a result of their________to community service in high school.

If teens________the significance of doing volunteer work and do it with a bit of enthusiasm, serving others in their communities will bring in a lot of unexpected________. My son’s exposure to a variety of non-profits during his high school years led him to receive a________scholarship for college, where he is now required to complete seventy-five hours per semester. But to him, this is________a requirement; actually he has benefited a lot more than that. ________ is what he has always wanted to do.

1.

A．inevitable

B．common

C．convenient

D．flexible

2.

A．achievements

B．ceremony

C．requirements

D．celebration

3.

A．beyond

B．of

C．within

D．to

4.

A．take

B．let

C．bring

D．turn

5.

A．initially

B．merely

C．absolutely

D．previously

6.

A．inspire

B．force

C．expect

D．persuade

7.

A．tough

B．random

C．specific

D．miserable

8.

A．advocated

B．recommended

C．assured

D．concluded

9.

A．Moreover

B．However

C．Subsequently

D．Similarly

10.

A．response

B．resistance

C．access

D．exposure

11.

A．neglect

B．stress

C．recognize

D．weigh

12.

A．benefits

B．requests

C．consequences

D．effects

13.

A．conception

B．service

C．privilege

D．anticipation

14.

A．free from

B．nothing but

C．but for

D．far from

15.

A．Going back

B．Giving back

C．Taking back

D．Looking back

4 . I wrote a letter to my kids a few years ago. It’s three pages long, and it sums up what I’ve learned in four decades of life. My kids are too ________ to understand now, but by the time they reach adulthood, they will have heard most of the advice in that letter: Live in the moment, do not ________ yourself to physical things and follow your dreams, etc.

I sealed the letter in a plain white envelope and wrote ________ not to open it unless something horrible happened to me. As a police officer, I’ve seen life put to an end or irrevocably ________ in an instant. I realized that could happen to me at ________ time. If something does happen to me, my children will get that ________. In it, they will read about my love for them and about the advice that I want to ________ on to them.

Every day, when I open my locker, I see the letter. It ________ me to be careful at work, and to show my children and the people I come into contact with that I truly understand and practice everything I’ve written. If that day comes and my children ________ read the letter, I hope that because of my actions, they will take my written beliefs to heart and improve upon my ________.

But for me, it’s not enough to write down my beliefs. I try to be the ________ person I can be every day — even in very difficult circumstances, even with ________ people. I also get depressed, or yell at my kids occasionally, and sometimes I’m not as ________ or as considerate as I should be. In fact, I am ________ perfect, but I hope my children will eventually realize that ________ is an illusion. What really matters is that, instead of just writing about our beliefs, we all take action to be the best humans we can be.

1.

A．naughty

B．active

C．curious

D．young

2.

A．take

B．attach

C．support

D．guide

3.

A．agreements

B．preparations

C．guidelines

D．instructions

4.

A．improved

B．enriched

C．changed

D．saved

5.

A．some

B．no

C．both

D．any

6.

A．advice

B．letter

C．envelope

D．locker

7.

A．pass

B．present

C．send

D．give

8.

A．allows

B．turns

C．informs

D．reminds

9.

A．eventually

B．firstly

C．suddenly

D．accidentally

10.

A．expectation

B．thought

C．example

D．wish

11.

A．best

B．cleverest

C．kindest

D．happiest

12.

A．strange

B．familiar

C．friendly

D．aggressive

13.

A．polite

B．strict

C．loving

D．skeptical

14.

A．tired of

B．far from

C．free with

D．different in

15.

A．perfection

B．attention

C．passion

D．conclusion

6 . Cycling becomes more popular nowadays. Some may argue that it brings tiredness but it’s nothing, ________with the joy of climbing huge mountains or seeing splendid sights. My cycling career of 13 years ended when I was 75. Though I am now no longer________enough to bear the long days and big climbs, I have my ________   .

It was easy to meet different people with ________during the trips, where I got to ________ the very best in people. In 2007, a stranger stopped her car alongside me to make me a most welcome cup of tea. In 2014, a couple ________ me their place to spend the night.

The support and comfort they gave was a(n)________ change from the long hours I had spent alone on the bike. As each trip ________ its end, I gradually forgot the long hours of riding. Happy memories of the trip________ took the place of the pain and failure I experienced.

Meanwhile, cycling gave me much time to ________ sufferings I went through in my life. Time ________ everything. Cycling also taught me to like who I am. I finally realized that I had more courage than I ever imagined, which was ________ in these trips. No matter how far the________was, I could get there without any support.

These were the adventures of my life, and they were ________ memories. With cycling, the success or failure________ not on luck or conditions but on me alone.

1.

A．exchanged

B．compared

C．impressed

D．contacted

2.

A．strong

B．happy

C．wise

D．creative

3.

A．solutions

B．strengths

C．memories

D．dreams

4.

A．power

B．energy

C．kindness

D．confidence

5.

A．make

B．admire

C．welcome

D．experience

6.

A．supported

B．paid

C．offered

D．showed

7.

A．pleasant

B．slow

C．unique

D．obvious

8.

A．neared

B．brought

C．recorded

D．advanced

9.

A．powerfully

B．finally

C．gracefully

D．recently

10.

A．get close to

B．give in to

C．look forward to

D．think back to

11.

A．wastes

B．repairs

C．tracks

D．keeps

12.

A．lost

B．requested

C．needed

D．affected

13.

A．future

B．source

C．relationship

D．goal

14.

A．annoying

B．impressive

C．extra

D．painful

15.

A．calls

B．focuses

C．agrees

D．depends

7 . I never imagined that an interstate trip could be so exciting. But when your world has become smaller since the pandemic hit two-and-a-bit years ago, and then slowly ______, the most ordinary experience gives new ______ to life. And so it was with me when I was ______ given the chance to take my first flight in more than two years.

I’d forgotten how it felt to be among the people coming and going I got to the airport two hours before boarding. Time for the bar and, of course, ______.

That group of young Arab women laughing and posing for photographs by the expansive windows, aircraft in the ______, lighting up the place with their happiness.

The man in the corner drinking alone. Just another one of the 70, 000 or so stories that would pass through the airport ______.

I couldn’t be calmer as a flyer. But when the plane took off I was ______, in that moment of weightlessness as the wheels ______ Earth, leaning towards the window to watch everything below becoming smaller and smaller.

Is it possible that the denial of so much during the pandemic lockdown had added new ______ to what was the ordinary? I think so. The plane ride, the hotel stay, and the social occasion all now gave me a sense of ______ that might have previously only aroused in me nothing more than a certain nonchalance (若无其事) or even ______.

Last June, just ahead of the long Sydney lockdown, a friend ______ a birthday party. That experience for me would continue happily through some of the ______ months of the lockdown that would follow. ______ the repeated fear that the pandemic holds over us, the memory of that celebration still keeps its bright, warm light in my mind. That’s what happens when everything old is new again, when ______ is rediscovered as a virtue.

1.

A．expands

B．disappears

C．escapes

D．emerges

2.

A．outcome

B．panic

C．change

D．meaning

3.

A．frequently

B．finally

C．originally

D．merely

4.

A．book-reading

B．story-telling

C．people-watching

D．stranger-chatting

5.

A．situation

B．background

C．circumstance

D．maintenance

6.

A．in a special way

B．on a daily basis

C．once in a while

D．all of a sudden

7.

A．elegant

B．excited

C．anxious

D．energetic

8.

A．slid

B．attached

C．departed

D．floated

9.

A．liberation

B．company

C．struggle

D．appeal

10.

A．joy

B．chaos

C．regret

D．fear

11.

A．kindness

B．happiness

C．tiredness

D．brightness

12.

A．forgot

B．cancelled

C．attended

D．held

13.

A．difficult

B．permanent

C．harmonious

D．dramatic

14.

A．Without

B．Despite

C．Similar to

D．Apart from

15.

A．opportunity

B．adaptation

C．simplicity

D．exposure

8 . It was early winter several years ago. I had pulled out my old winter coat for another year’s use. It was still in pretty good shape although it was looking dirty from so many winters’ wear. I didn’t really need a new one but I wanted one and casually mentioned it to my daughter one day. She was such a sweet, loving girl that I should have guessed what would happen next. A few weeks later she gave me a new winter coat as a gift.

I put the old one in my closet and started to wear the new coat every day. Each day, though, when I opened my closet, something troubled me. It seemed a shame that my old but still good coat should just sit there keeping no one warm during the cold winter days. After a few weeks, I took it out and drove to a local charity shop. I knew that there was someone who couldn’t afford a coat but could get my old one.

My new coat is my old coat now. It is getting a little dirty and worn, too. It has black marks on the sleeves. It is in too bad shape to even donate to charity. I wonder if I should buy a new one soon, but I think I will wait for a while. I don’t really need a new one and maybe I can find something else to give to the charity shop instead.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Want is a growing giant whom the coat of Have was never large enough to cover,” Perhaps the best way to deal with our wants then is to give instead. Love, after all, brings us the most joy. And the more of it you give away, the more of it you have.

1. Which word can best describe the author’s daughter?

A．Thoughtful.

B．Wealthy.

C．Easy-going.

D．Hard-working.

2. Why was the author in shame when seeing his old coat in the closet?

A．It cost too much.

B．It was looking dirty.

C．It was not sent to someone in need.

D．There was not enough room for his new coat.

3. What is the author’s decision after his second coat becomes old?

A．Telling his daughter.	B．Buying a new one soon.
C．Sending something else to charity.	D．Donating it to charity.

4. What does the author want to show in the last paragraph?

A．Love is the key to joy.

B．Giving fills our wants.

C．The more you give, the more you lose.

D．A coat is large enough to cover our wants

10 . For many years, Dr Freed was a doctor in our community. He often made _______ to almost every family living there. He knew all the children and their parents _______ by him. You would see the lights on at his clinic, late at night when someone was _______. He was always there for his patients.

But he was 80 years old now, and his life had taken a _______. He didn’t need to be busy about all the time any longer. He was lying in a wheelchair after a _______, which made him feel _______. He came to see me to _______ what he would deal with his uncertain future. As he _______ it, the biggest problem was that it was hard to examine patients if he could _______ move. He said, “________ is my life. If I give it up, what’s left for me?” My ________ was how to help him.

The key, I thought, was for him to ________ to see himself as an important part of the community. I ________ that he should write a book about his medical experiences if he was ________ to do it. He thought wring a book ________ was a good idea. “Maybe my role now is to pass on what I have learned to the ________ . Other doctors and my patients should know my value. ”said Dr Freed.

We can learn a lot from the doctor’s experience in ________ happiness through personal growth. First, it is that you’re never too ________ to do meaningful things. Second, making some ________ during each phrase of life is important. During older age, ________ of wisdom and experience is often a source of satisfaction.

1.

A．rules

B．apprearances

C．successes

D．calls

2.

A．taught

B．treated

C．controlled

D．raised

3.

A．ill

B．serious

C．sleepy

D．pale

4.

A．shot

B．step

C．turn

D．risk

5.

A．decision

B．test

C．failure

D．fall

6.

A．guilty

B．depressive

C．honest

D．optimistic

7.

A．look after

B．show off

C．find out

D．pick up

8.

A．explained

B．asked

C．improved

D．ignored

9.

A．simply

B．only

C．fairly

D．hardly

10.

A．Interest

B．Belief

C．Peace

D．Medicine

11.

A．research

B．request

C．goal

D．chance

12.

A．continue

B．happen

C．pretend

D．hesitate

13.

A．announced

B．ordered

C．warned

D．suggested

14.

A．safe

B．welcome

C．able

D．right

15.

A．as usual

B．in fact

C．with difficulty

D．at random

16.

A．college

B．community

C．universe

D．hospital

17.

A．taking away

B．breaking down

C．running after

D．setting up

18.

A．old

B．worried

C．strong

D．slow

19.

A．promises

B．adjustments

C．comments

D．mistakes

20.

A．giving

B．receiving

C．changing

D．observing