1 . It was an afternoon in August. I was just short of turning 18. I stood in front of a six story, red brick building. It was to be my new home for the next several years. It was my first day of college, and I was very excited. I had two suitcases and a bag with me. Everything I thought I would need was packed in them. I carried them up the five flights of stairs to my dorm and wondered what life had in store for me –a young girl.
It was another afternoon in August. I was just short of turning 42. My daughter was 18, and we were standing in front of the same building at the same college that I had gone to years before. I smiled as I helped her carry her things up to her room, but I also noticed that we were making more than one trip. All the students seemed to have much more stuff (东西) than I did all those years ago. Yet, it didn't seem to make things any better for them. In fact, they looked more stressed. As I threw down another box of my daughter's stuff, I wondered what life had in store for her.
Last night I had a dream that I'd had many times before. I was back in that same dorm with my belongings piled on my bed searching for my course book and wondering what classes I would take. I often wondered what this dream meant, but when I woke up this morning, it became crystal clear to me. We are sometimes teachers in this life, but we are always students in it. We are here to learn to love ourselves and everyone as ourselves. It takes a lifetime. The stuff we carry with us through this life doesn't matter at all. It is the stuff we carry inside of us when we leave this life that counts.
1. How did the author feel about her new life in college?| A．Calm. | B．Confident. |
| C．Thrilled. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．They were friendly to each other. |
| B．They felt curious about a new life ahead. |
| C．They got everything ready for their college. |
| D．They were more worried than she was at college. |
| A．She had to keep learning all her life. |
| B．She ought to learn to love her daughter. |
| C．She was sure she could be a good teacher. |
| D．She was not well prepared for her classes. |
| A．He who loves others is to be loved. |
| B．What we learn in life is of significance. |
| C．Life is a journey with many difficulties. |
| D．We should be confident about our future. |
2 . Esports (electronic sports) are organized competitions where players — often referred to as “athletes” — face off against each other in video games. They are not just games in a sense. Actually, they are a sport that can improve the players’ thinking ability, hand-eye coordination, willpower and team spirit.
The esports industry has experienced significant growth in recent years around the world, though it’s still in the nascent stage, which means it has huge growth potential going forward.
While the assumption is that esports are only a recent phenomenon, in reality the first esports-like event was held back in 1972, when some Stanford University students competed against one another in the game Spacewar. The prize? A year-long subscription to Rolling Stone magazine.
The ’80s saw the first true videogame tournament, with over 10,000 players gathering for the Space Invaders Championship. However, most of the period saw that players focused on beating each other’s highest scores rather than competing in organized tournaments.
As gaming became more popular, the ’90s became the first decade when esports (a term which wasn’t yet coined) began to really take off, with companies such as Nintendo and Sega holding professional gaming tournaments. This is also when we began to see money becoming a factor in professional gaming. But it is the 1997 Red Annihilation Quake tournament that is considered the world’s first real esports event. Only a few weeks later, the Cyberathlete Professional League was formed — an organization which is considered a pioneer of esports.
Due to the normalization of gaming and the Internet (along with technological advances), the real surge ( 激增 ) of esports came in the recent decade. It was then that we began seeing what we now know to be modern-day esports. As streaming platforms such as YouTube took off, people began to show interest in not only playing videogames but watching them too. Popular tournaments now sell out stadiums and professional players can earn millions from prize money, advertising and salaries.
1. What does the underlined word “nascent” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Beginning. | B．Peak. |
| C．Mature. | D．Final. |
| A．By providing examples. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By following the order of time. | D．By following the order of importance. |
| A．They spread worldwide overnight. |
| B．Prize money appeared in the 1990s. |
| C．The first real esports event was held in 1972. |
| D．The athletes in esports are programmers. |
| A．They are getting popular. |
| B．They become too commercialized. |
| C．They boost the normalization of the Internet. |
| D．Their development relies on advertising. |
3 . Ida Nelson was luxuriating in her sauna(桑拿)when she heard the thunder of a small airplane circling the nearby airport. It was 11:30 at night in the Alaskan village of Igiugig, population 70, and, as she told the New York Times, “Any time a plane flies over that late, you know something is wrong.” Nelson leaped out of the sauna, ran to the window, and saw the problem: The airport’s runway lights were out.
Nelson threw on some clothes, jumped into her ATV, and floored it to the airport, where she found a local pilot trying to turn on the lights manually. “Normally, if you push the button 10 or 15 times, the lights will just light up,” Nelson said. Not this time. Meanwhile, she and the pilot learned of the plane’s urgent mission: It was a medevac( 医疗后送直升飞机 ), there to transport a seriously ill local girl to the nearest hospital, 280 miles away in Anchorage.
Nelson had a plan. Driving her ATV to the end of the runway, she switched her headlights on for the plane to follow. Great idea, but it wasn’t enough. More light was needed, so a neighbor called nearly every home in the village—32 of them. Within 20 minutes, 20 vehicles arrived at the airport, many of the drivers still in pajamas( 睡衣 ). Following directions from the medevac pilot, the cars lined up on one side of the runway.
The medevac made its final approach and, guided by the headlights, landed safely. The young patient was loaded onto the aircraft, and the plane immediately took off again. Her illness was never publicly revealed, but she has since been released from the hospital.
In a world filled with uncertainty, the little community’s positive activism is a big deal. Not so much for Nelson. As she told CNN, in Igiugig, coming together is “kind of a normal deal”.
1. Why did Nelson hurry to the airport?| A．She was late for the flight. |
| B．The plane was going to crash. |
| C．She was to aid the 70 people. |
| D．The runway lights might have gone wrong. |
| A．To take over the urgent mission. | B．To fix the lights along the runway. |
| C．To drive the patient to Anchorage. | D．To shine headlights on the runway. |
| A．They disapproved of it. | B．They hesitated to react. |
| C．They took immediate action. | D．They put forward a better plan. |
| A．Because she doesn’t care about it. |
| B．Because she is uncertain about its value. |
| C．Because she is not so positive about life. |
| D．Because she thinks it is what villagers should do. |
4 . The joy of giving is real, according to a study. Research presented in the Journal of the Association for Psychological Science shows that those who give gifts are happier — and happier for longer — than those who receive gifts.
Researchers conducted two studies last year. In one，participants were given $5 every day for five days and were required to spend the money on the same thing each day. Some participants were required to spend the money on themselves, while others were required to give to make a donation to charity. In a second experiment that was done online, participants played 10 rounds of a word puzzle game and each won 5 cents per round, which they could keep or donate.
In both experiments, participants reported their overall happiness. Those who donated their money showed that their happiness declined at a much slower rate than those who kept the money or spent it on themselves.
The researchers note that when people focus on an outcome, they can easily compare outcomes, which may diminish their sensitivity to each experience. When people focus on an action, they may focus less on comparison and instead experience each act of giving as a unique happiness-inducing event. Further analyses ruled out some potential alternative explanations, such as the possibility that participants who gave to others had to think longer and harder about what to give, which could promote higher happiness.
The results are especially interesting because according to one of the researchers, Ed O’Brien of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, they conflict with past research. “If you want to sustain happiness over time, past research tells us that we need to take a break from what were currently consuming and experience something new. Our research reveals that the kind of thing may matter more than assumed: Repeated giving, even in identical ways to identical other，may continue to feel relatively fresh and relatively pleasurable the more we do it,” O’Brien said.
So for all the holiday gifts you give this season, expect to feel happy and know that feeling is going to stick around for a while.
1. What’s the function of the first paragraph?| A．To lead to the topic. |
| B．To highlight the importance of the study. |
| C．To recommend a journal. |
| D．To persuade people to give gifts regularly. |
| A．To challenge the past research. |
| B．To rule out different experimental data. |
| C．To show the benefits of donation. |
| D．To make the conclusion more convincing. |
| A．Develop. | B．Show. | C．Reduce. | D．Lack. |
| A．Gift giving will result in longer happiness than receiving. |
| B．Thinking longer and harder on giving will promote higher happiness. |
| C．The feeling of happiness will disappear soon if people just give holiday gifts. |
| D．Taking a break from what were currently consuming will sustain happiness. |
5 . UK-based supermarket Waitrose has been accused by social media users for selling tree leaves at 6 pounds.
Photos of various tree leaves packaged in plastic bags and arranged as flower bouquets (花束) went hot on social media lately, causing complaints because of the product’s price, six British pounds. Considering tree leaves can literally be picked up from the street this time of year, ifs understandable that some people went after Waitrose, accusing the supermarket of trying to make money by selling something that is actually free.
“A bag of actual leaves? I’ll sell you a bin bag of leaves for 10 pence,” one customer wrote.
“This has got to be from the drunk Monday morning meeting category of ideas,5, someone else commented.
Apparently, the unusual bouquets appeared on Waitrose supermarket shelves as a way to welcome autumn, and featured a sticker urging customers to “bring the outdoors inside”. ''Brighten up your home with freshly picked flowers whose pleasant scents refresh the season,95 the official product description read. “We source the best blooms from expert growers, and handle them gently so that they can look beautiful for longer.”
Despite the generally negative feedback on its autumn-themed product, the British supermarket proudly announced that the idea was inspired at the beginning of autumn by a demand from shoppers. ^Whatever we intend to offer, we base our decision on the demands from customers. Our customers love using these leaves to mix in with their seasonal flowers to brighten their homes,” a Waitrose spokesperson told The Sun.
Interestingly, there were those who seemed to somewhat justify the price tag of this bag of leaves. They said that those were obviously ‘‘high quality leaves”. Their claim might be true. But even a bottle of wine can be bought at the same price or less. It seems crazy to charge 6 pounds for a bag of leaves.
1. Why was Waitrose accused by social media?| A．Failing to offer high quality flowers. |
| B．Picking up tree leaves from the street. |
| C．Carrying out seemingly drunk ideas. |
| D．Selling free tree leaves at high prices. |
| A．tree leaves packaged in plastic bags were not fresh |
| B．the unusual bouquets were intended to greet autumn |
| C．the supermarket withdrew tree leaves due to negative feedback |
| D．the idea of selling tree leaves was inspired by the expert growers |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Favorable. | C．Reserved. | D．Disapproving. |
6 . A retired postman from Turkey and a beautiful white swan have been inseparable for nearly four decades, and the story of their amazing friendship has melted the hearts of millions.
When Recep Mirzan spotted a wounded swan in a field in Turkey’s Edirne province, in 1984, he had no idea that he was about to meet his best friend. He was in a car with a group of friends, when he spotted a swan that appeared to have a broken wing in an empty field. Mirzan quickly realized that leaving the bird there was the same as signing its death sentence, as predators (捕食者) would have most likely eaten it, so he stopped the car and took the bird with him. He took it home and started nursing it back to health.
“Since I love animals, I took her home instead of leaving her as food to foxes,’’ Mirzan told The Associated Press. We got used to each other. We never separated. Even after the female swan's broken wing healed, it didn’t try to fly away. Instead, it befriended the other animals on Recep’s farm in the Karaagac region, and decided to stick around. Recep named her Garip, and she has been with him for the last 37 years.
“She comes when I call. Since 1984, she has never left me, not even during the river floods,” the retired postman told Anadolu News Agency. “She used to be more vigorous, but she has grown old now. If she dies, I will make her a nice grave here, but I hope we live more together.”
Garip has her own coop on Mirzan’s farm, but she mostly spends nights in it. During the day, she is busy following her human friend around, either during his daily chores, or on his evening walks.
After his wife died a few years ago, Recep Mirzan started spending more time with his animals, and since he has no human children, he regards Garip as his child.
Whooper swans can live for decades in protected environments, but Garip has long surpassed the average lifespan for her species.
1. Why did Recep save the swan according to the passage?| A．He felt extremely lonely. |
| B．The swan was a rare animal. |
| C．He was a real animal lover. |
| D．The swan was being followed by foxes. |
| A．the swan stayed with Recep at night after the death of his wife |
| B．Garip lived a longer life probably because of the care of Recep |
| C．Recep’s friends directly signed the wounded swan death sentence |
| D．Recep was sure to meet a lifelong friend when he spotted the wounded swan |
| A．A Retired Postman’s Story Has Melted the Hearts of Millions |
| B．Man and Swan Have Been Best Friends for the Last 37 Years |
| C．A Wounded Swan Has Befriended the Other Animals on a Farm |
| D．Humans Have Made Efforts to Protect the Environments for Swans |
7 . My 12-year-old daughter, Lauren, came home from school yesterday, proudly waving her grade book to me. She had been awarded A-1 in most subjects such as mathematics, language arts and science—a great achievement! Then she sadly pointed out that her perfect score was damaged by a B-1 in French and a C-1 in Physical Education.
I asked her what the scores meant. She said that the letter showed the achievement(成绩) and the number showed the effort. That moment I realized that the grades were misleading. I reached out my hands and gave her a big hug and told her in my mind she had a perfect score. It didn’t matter that her grade in French was a “B”—the “l” showed that she had tried her best. That is something to make any parent proud.
Everybody is different. Everybody has different potential(潜能). Not all of us will become linguists(语言学家) or sports stars. But without 100％effort no potential can be achieved. If I see a salesperson fail at sales, the first thing I want to examine is the effort being put in. If there is a problem with effort, the salesperson has no future. But if I see a salesperson isn’t successful with l00％effort, he or she is worth my effort in helping. Maybe a bit of training or some advice from a more successful person will help. I know that 100％effort, focus in the right direction, will always bring a result whether that is an “A” or a “C”. As long as you make 100％effort, you are great.
1. The author’s daughter was weak in _______.| A．maths. | B．science. | C．chemistry. | D．physical education. |
| A．High grades make parents proud. |
| B．Grades are important to children. |
| C．People hold a wrong idea of grades. |
| D．High grades show great achievements. |
| A．will give him training. |
| B．is willing to offer help. |
| C．will find an easy way for him. |
| D．may think he has no future. |
| A．trying his or her best. |
| B．achieving good grades. |
| C．having different potential. |
| D．giving other people useful advice. |
8 . People often say that the Englishman’s home is his castle. They mean that the home is very important and personal to him. Most people in Britain live in houses rather than flats, and many people own their homes. This means that they can make them individual; they can paint them, and change them in any way they like. Most houses have a garden, even if it is a very small one, and the garden is usually loved. The house and the garden are the private space of the individual.
People usually like to mark their space. Are you sitting now in your home or on a train? Have you marked the space around yourself as your? If you are on the train you may put your coat or small bag on the seat beside you. If you share a flat you may have one corner or chair which is your own.
Once I was travelling on a train to London. I was in a section for four people and there was a table between us. The man on the space on my side of the table at all. I was angry. Maybe he thought that he owned the whole table. I had read a book about non-verbal communication so I took various papers out of my bag and put them on his briefcase! When I did this he stiffened and his eyes nearly popped(瞪出)out of his head. I had invaded his space! A few minutes later I took my papers off his case in order to read them. He immediately moved his case to his side of the table. Of course, it is possible that he just wanted to be helpful to me!
If you are visiting another country you may feel that you don’t have any private space. Hotel rooms look much the same in every country in the world. All day long, you share public spaces with other people. You see the local people in their private spaces and you feel lonely and “outside”. Local people can create their private spaces by talking about things you don’t know about .And you even feel that they like you to be outside them so that they will enjoy being inside even more! This is one of the difficulties of being a traveler! But if you understand it then it helps you. Haven’t you enjoyed being part of a group and “owning” a bit of space?
1. The writer was angry as he was travelling on a train to London because ________.| A．he had no place to sit |
| B．someone had invaded his “space” |
| C．too many people shared a section with him |
| D．some other people talked about things he didn’t know about |
| A．public spaces | B．private spaces |
| C．local people | D．other countries |
| A．British people dislike marking their space. |
| B．You always feel at home in another country. |
| C．Most British people prefer living in houses to flats. |
| D．You can’t mark your private space in a foreign country. |
| A．own private spaces by living in houses |
| B．have one corner of their own in public places |
| C．realize the importance of “space” in communication |
| D．create their private spaces by talking with local people |
9 . The Notting Hill Carnival is London’s biggest street festival and one of the most famous carnivals in the world. The carnival is an important cultural event for London’s Afro Caribbean community and celebration of multi-cultural British life.
Notting Hill Carnival takes place in London every August bank holiday. Bank holiday refers to a public holiday, for example Christmas Day. It is the most colourful and largest street event in the UK. The festival celebrates the traditions of the Afro-Caribbean community, who immigrated to England from the West Indies in the 1950s. They brought with them the Caribbean idea of the carnival, with colourful costumes, parades, steel bands and street dancing. The tradition to hold the carnival began in 1964 and it has taken place every year since then.
Preparations for the carnival start many months in advance. Costumes need to be made, and floats built, ready for the carnival street parades. Steel bands practise traditional Caribbean music on instruments built from used oil buckets. Just before the festival, the streets are decorated with yellow, green and red banners, and recording devices are set in place to carry the rhythmic sounds over the loud noise of the London traffic. The carnival is celebrated over three days, and is full of music and colour. Parades of steel and brass bands, floats, and dancers in colourful costumes make their way through the narrow London streets, watched by tens of thousands of people. The streets are lined with stands selling tropical fruits, such as fresh mangoes, watermelons and pineapples. Everyone in London dances—young and old, black and white—and even the policemen on duty take part in the fun. For these three days in August, a little Caribbean magic touches the streets of London.
1. What is the writer's main aim in writing the text?| A．To encourage people to celebrate the traditions of black people |
| B．To talk about problems with Afro-Caribbean community |
| C．To recommend people spend more time outdoors |
| D．To introduce and describe the Notting Hill Carnival |
| A．takes place every bank holiday |
| B．is held annually in August |
| C．is organized by the bank of England |
| D．is held at the beginning of July |
| A．fruit stands are not allowed in the streets. |
| B．preparations start early in the morning |
| C．music and colour fill the streets of London |
| D．traffic is banned from the main shopping streets |
| A．The festival is popular with everyone in London. |
| B．Only Caribbean people take part in it. |
| C．It is gaining in popularity among the white in recent years. |
| D．The streets in London are filled with pop music. |
10 . It was Thanksgiving Day a few years ago. My daughter was sitting on the couch watching the parade. My dogs kept lifting their noses to sniff the turkey slowly cooking in the oven. And my sons and I were secretly getting a piece of pumpkin pie with cream to hold us until dinner was done. As we lifted our forks I said, “Life is short! Eat dessert first!” Then I smiled as we ate our pie with delight and gave the outside part to the dogs.
Later I decided to take my oldest dog, Snoopy out for a walk. As we slowly walked through the ankle deep leaves I let my mind wander to memories of Thanksgivings past. I could see my grown children as babies sitting in their high chairs covered in mashed potatoes. I remembered all of those years spent visiting their grandparents and all of the special foods they made. There was sausage stuffing, noodles and cheese, and fried potatoes. There was turkey and delicious desserts made with love. And there was the three day nap (小睡) you wanted to take after dinner.
Even more than the food were the memories of joy that stuck in my mind and stayed in my heart. There were the smiles and hugs, the shared stories and laughter, the love so freely given at this time of the year. I went back inside with all of them flowing through me. I felt both glad and sad at the same time. I was happy for all the blessed times we had shared over the years and sad that they had flown by so fast. Most of all, though, I felt at peace and thankful to God for this wonderful life we are given here.
The truth is the more you love, the more thankfulness fills your heart. The more you love, the more joy you create in your life. Make the most of each day you are given here then. Be thankful for the glorious gift of life. Be the blessing you were meant to be and make every day Thanksgiving Day.
1. What do the first two paragraphs focus on?| A．The preparations for Thanksgiving |
| B．The happy memories of Thanksgiving |
| C．The various ways to celebrate Thanksgiving |
| D．The customs of celebrating Thanksgiving |
| A．Happy times spent with her family seemed short. |
| B．She wished she were young again. |
| C．She had many regrets in those happy times. |
| D．Things changed much and she never felt the same. |
| A．Desserts were the author’s favorite. |
| B．The author’s grandparents were good chefs. |
| C．Delicious food was the best part of her memories. |
| D．The get-together of the family was full of love. |
| A．We should make the best of Thanksgiving Days. |
| B．Everybody should treasure the time with their family. |
| C．People should live at present and be grateful for what they have. |
| D．Thanksgiving Days are the best time for people to express their love. |
