1 . Born and raised in Hawaii, I learned to appreciate and respect a diversity of cultures as a member of its very successful Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Most of my classmates stayed in Hawaii for college or went to schools on the West Coast, but I decided to broaden my horizons by attending Purdue University in Indiana. While there, I discovered I was a minority — something I had never experienced back home.
Being a minority for the first time, I felt like an outsider. My ideas, interests and values were constantly considered not as important as my heritage (传统). After sharing an alternate point of view, I would often hear “What do you know? You’re from Hawaii.” These responses eventually made me less enthusiastic about telling people where I was from; I had lost pride in my heritage.
That summer I went home to work for a political non-profit in Honolulu, where I discovered a love for working on laws. Slowly, my pride in my heritage came back. I came to the realization that everyone is raised differently, and the people who had previously thought little of me were so forced on their ideas of where I came from — a remote, beautiful island — that they were ignorant of my culture and the value that other views and opinions can offer.
I returned to Purdue with a newfound love for my background, I decided to share my culture with everyone I could and, after I did, I found people were more willing to hear my ideas. I changed my major to political science and decided I wanted to be a civil servant, with the goal of helping people of Asian American Pacific Islander backgrounds. I strongly believe if more AAPIs are given opportunities to expand their horizons by attending universities across America and the globe, the ignorance will go away and more voices will be heard.
1. Why did the author go to Purdue University?| A．Because she was tired of life in Hawaii. |
| B．Because she wanted to go out and expand her mind. |
| C．Because her classmates chose to study on the West Coast. |
| D．Because she was interested in the variety of cultures there. |
| A．Her ability was challenged. |
| B．Her identity was questioned. |
| C．She was made fun of because of her accent. |
| D．She was laughed at owning to her background. |
| A．Being a lawyer in Indiana. | B．Being a civil servant for AAPIs. |
| C．The work for a political non-profit. | D．Her major to political science. |
| A．Proud. | B．Cautious. | C．Upset. | D．Depressed. |
| A．Live My Minority Life | B．Overcome Culture Shock |
| C．Live with Others’ Pride | D．Fit into a Different Society |
2 . Hunger is the greatest motive for the inexperienced cook. But many people are now worried that we are producing a generation without the slightest idea of how to cook—a generation that is frightened to cook. I have just received a handout from Focus on Food, which is running a competition to get children back into the kitchen. Has television cooking become a replacement for the real thing? Is this an age where famous professional cooks have turned cooking into a sort of show, with dishes far too difficult for the beginners to copy?
I decided to ask my oldest daughter, Miranda, for her opinion. Are children earning enough about the importance of good cooking? Do they know cooking is a basic life skill? Sociology and other “new” subjects are all very well, but without the ability to cook, or to understand the pleasure and principles of good food and its relationship to good health, are we really preparing them for adult life?
Miranda started her cooking at the age of nine, when she decided to enter the Sainsbury’s Future Cook competition. She was motivated by a different kind of greed: the first prize — a trip to Disney World.
The problem, from the parental point of view, was that if she made it through to the regional (区域性的) finals, she would have to cook her meal in front of the judges. Some 30,000 children entered and she made it through as the youngest regional finalist. Now she had to learn to cook. Her hands were not even big enough to hold the knife and slice the onions. Six Saturdays running we ate the same lunch—Mozzarella meatballs in fresh tomato juice and blueberry.
First, she cooked by my side, then alone with timings and instructions. Finally, she went alone against the clock. The kitchen looked like a battlefield, but she had gained victory. The tiny be—capped figure then stood in an unknown Bristol hotel, looking like a professional who had been at the stove for years. She didn’t win, but she came home with £50 and the most valuable part of them all: confidence.
1. The competition run by Focus on Food is intended for ______.| A．children | B．parents | C．teachers | D．chefs |
| A．It is an easy way to keep healthy. | B．It helps develop relationships. |
| C．It is a necessary skill for life. | D．It can save a lot of money. |
| A．the family stuck to healthy food | B．Miranda had to practice cooking |
| C．the dish was the family’s only food | D．the dish was Miranda’s favorite meal |
| A．A trip to Disney World. | B．Support from friends. |
| C．A medal for the winner. | D．Belief in herself. |
3 . Last weekend, I said goodbye to another dear old friend. We had 12 fine years together, but our relationship was becoming dysfunctional(不正常的). Unwanted emissions and serious health problems were the final straw, leaving me with no choice but to make a trip to the knacker’s(收废汽车者的)yard.
I am now car-free for the first time in 20 years, and it feels strange. When I gave up meat, I did so mainly for environmental reasons, and I didn’t miss it at all. I would like to say the same about my car, but I can’t. It was first and foremost a financial decision: keeping the old car on the road was getting too expensive.
But doing the right thing for the wrong reasons is still doing the right thing — I now have a chance to rethink how I move myself and my family around, and can try to find a more environmentally friendly means of transport.
Going car-free is, I think, a lifestyle change that many of us are going to make over the next few years, as car ownership becomes increasingly unnecessary, expensive and socially unacceptable. However, it is easier said than done. Now my car is gone. I still need to get around. But how? I already cycle to work and use public transport when appropriate. But there are some occasions when a car seems to be the only way.
I won’t buy one: I have joined a car-share program and will use taxis more often. I will hire a car if I need to drive a long distance. But then I am still travelling in fossil-fuelled cars(燃油汽车), like when I quit meat and ended up eating more cheese. I fear I may have swapped one environmental problem for another.
I am also afraid to think about the ultimate fate of my car. I have just offloaded more than a ton of metal, plastic, rubber, fabric, electronics, oil and petrol that will end up in a landfill. There are millions of similar vehicles in the UK alone that will have to go somewhere.
Maybe I am overthinking it. According to Charlie Wilson, a climate scientist at the UK’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, getting rid of a private car is no doubt a positive step to reduce CO2 emissions.
He points to research by the OECD’s International Transport Forum. “They showed that moving from a private vehicle fleet(车队)to a shared vehicle fleet can greatly cut the number of vehicles you need to deliver the mobility that we need and want. If that vehicle fleet is electrified, you can also bring CO2 emissions close to zero.”
So in other words, just get rid of your car.
1. What do we know about the author’s car?| A．It was old. | B．It was green. |
| C．It was his first car. | D．It was a second-hand car. |
| A．He did both for the wrong reasons. | B．He thinks both help him save money. |
| C．He considers both are right decisions. | D．He did both out of concern for the environment. |
| A．He may have to spend more on travel. |
| B．His lifestyle might be changed completely. |
| C．He might get bored with public transportation. |
| D．His decision may fail to help the environment. |
| A．It is wise to do away with old private cars. |
| B．It is very easy to deal with old private cars. |
| C．Electric cars are the solution to traffic problems. |
| D．The OECD plays a key role in promoting car-sharing. |
4 . “Where is the light?” My dad used to ask me the question when I was little. It’s one of those questions that parents often use to find out how smart their young children are. During my teenage years, my dad jokingly told me that he thought I was going to be dimwitted(愚蠢的) because I pointed at him whenever he asked me where the light was.
Dad is from a rural area about 230 kilometers north of the capital Manila, and where most people live off the land, raising and selling livestock and poultry. His father, an artist and street magician, died when he was very young. To make ends meet, his mother went about town and washed laundry in various households. My dad found himself alone—lack of nurturing (养育) and love, short of family bonds.
Dad loved reading and always looked for opportunities to educate himself. One day, when my father was 16 and out of work, a stranger saw him sitting under a tree, absorbed in a book. He approached Dad and asked him why he wasn't in school. Dad replied that he had no money for college. The stranger saw his desire to study and recommended him to University of the Cordilleras as a working student. He also gave Dad a job in a local factory. Thanks to the warm-hearted stranger, Dad got his Bachelor of Arts degree, then went on to study law and became a successful lawyer. He wrote a widely-read textbook on Philippine law.
Looking at my father now, I can see how he was able to overcome so many obstacles. He is by nature a hardworking man, pouring his energy into his career without forgetting his family. He values education—when we were younger, he would tell me and my brother to constantly seek improvement in ourselves through learning.
Like a light, he shines with dignity and respect because of his achievements, but his light radiates the brightest for maintaining our family as a cohesive (有凝聚力的)unit with love and faith as its foundation.
There are times when my dad kids around and asks me, using my childhood nickname, “Sasi, where's the light?”
I just smile, and point at him.
1. What joke did Dad play on the writer?| A．He considered her a little foolish. | B．He treated himself as the light. |
| C．He turned the light on to be dim for her. | D．He asked her to answer many difficult questions. |
| A．Dad got along well with his father | B．Dad didn’t have a happy childhood |
| C．Dad was particular about his clothes | D．Dad used to wander in the market |
| A．He got much money from a stranger. | B．He won a scholarship by studying hard. |
| C．He paid his fees by doing a part-time job. | D．He earned money by writing books on law. |
| A．chose careers for his children | B．taught his children by himself at home |
| C．acted as the light in his children’s lives | D．worked too hard to look after his children |
| A．To stress the importance of the light. | B．To recall a question asked by her dad. |
| C．To introduce the benefit of a close family. | D．To praise her dad for his effort to achieve his goals. |
5 . Once there was a club that only smart people could join. Many people wanted to join it so that they would be able to spend more time with other smart people.
One night, the club’s members were having a dinner party in a restaurant. They talked and enjoyed their food. One of them thought that his salad tasted a little boring, so he asked for a salt shaker and added some salt. However, it turned out to be sugar. The group found that the salt on the table was in the sugar shaker (调料瓶) while the sugar was in the salt shaker.
The club members told the waiter about the problem. But there were no other bottles. How could the waiter solve this problem? After a long discussion, the group suggested some ways to make it right.
But the waiter simply looked at the shakers and said, “It’s easy.” He took the labels off both shakers and exchanged them. The room quickly became silent.
Sometimes we make problems more difficult to solve than they should be. It’s good to take a step back and see if there is a simpler way first.
1. Many people hoped to join the club because ________.| A．they thought they were not smart enough |
| B．they could get free meals |
| C．they could spend more time with smart people. |
| D．they could spend more time eating |
| A．Their salad tasted a little boring. |
| B．They had nothing to eat but the salad. |
| C．There was no salt or sugar shaker on the table. |
| D．Sugar and salt were put in the wrong shakers. |
| A．He did not know what to do. |
| B．He took the labels off both shakers and exchanged them. |
| C．He simply looked at the shakers and said it was easy. |
| D．He stayed with the smart people and waited for help. |
| A．Clever. | B．Brave. | C．Interesting. | D．Boring. |
