2 . It was a cold winter. The wind blew all night and the snow was blinding. When morning came, my three children and I got up and made our way to the windows. As we looked out the window, we saw that the henhouse was gone. Our three hens had been blown away.

I looked at the emptiness outside. Then I saw all three chickens sat around the edge of a white bucket. How was this violent wind not blowing them into the field beyond? I quickly pulled on long snow pants and heavy winter coat, wrapped a scarf and stuck my feet into very large boots.

I shouted at the wind as it blew. I was alone, save for my children. They stared out the window into the vast white sea of snow, their eyes peeled for any sign of movement. Outside I heard the sound of my boots as I walked against the wind.

The snow circling around me, I steadily made my way to the soft cluck-cluck-cluck sound my hens always made. When I reached them, I saw that their little feet were holding on to the edge of the bucket, heads bent forward and away from the wind. I gently lifted each hen and put it carefully into the warm inside. Then I began the freezing walk back to the small shed directly behind our house. One by one I laid my chickens on the cold floor, and they began to cluck softly.

As I shut the shed doors, my eyes went directly to the window where my children were watching. They jumped up and down cheering, and so did I! I wasn’t some dragon slayer (屠龙者) from a fairy tale. I was simply a mom, but the look on my children’s faces told me that they thought I was a hero mom.

1. What was the author’s feeling when seeing all three chickens sitting around the bucket?

A．incredible	B．worried
C．shy	D．confident

2. How does the author reach the hens?

A．By searching for the white bucket.

B．By wearing protective clothes.

C．By following the sound of the hens.

D．By shouting at the henhouse.

3. What can we know from the story?

A．The author’s children liked dragon slayers.

B．The children watched their mother all the way.

C．The author struggled to be a hero.

D．The author enjoyed herself in the snow.

4. What might be the best title for the text?

A．Weather in extreme.	B．Hens in trouble.
C．Kindness in need.	D．Hero in the snow.

3 . I work at a grocery store(杂货店) in Montreal's Plateau neighbourhood, which gets a lot of regulars. On March 12, the Quebec government announced to close all public places to stop the spread of the pandemic (流行病) of COVID-19.

The next day the store was the busiest I've ever seen. The six cash registers had to be kept open from 10 a. m. until close. I didn't have time to eat lunch, and whenever one of us on cash had to use the bathroom, we'd have to bring in a co-worker off the floor to cover for us.

Since then, the atmosphere in the store has been different. Customers are mostly considerate, but whenever someone coughs or sneezes(打喷嚏), everyone turns around to make sure that person sneezed into their elbow. I've even seen customers come in wearing some strange get-ups. One guy even came in with a plastic Walmart bag wrapped around his entire head, with a hole cut out for his eyes.

A lot of my co-workers have left to avoid a public-facing job during the pandemic. Grocery store workers across Canada are putting their health at risk every time they come in to work, but a lot of us are still making close to minimum wage. I realized that I feel more exhausted than normal even though I'm working the same hours.

There still have been some moments of kindness in the chaos（混乱）. I've overheard people talking on the phone who sounded as though they were organizing grocery deliveries for those stuck at home. And this past weekend a very nice lady thanked us for continuing to work. I know everyone is worried, but it's useless having the same scary conversations day after day. Instead, tell us a funny story, or about something nice. We'll appreciate it, and you'll make our day just a bit brighter.

1. What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?

A．The goods were in short supply.

B．The store was selling goods at low price .

C．The cashiers were enjoying   their work.

D．The locals rushed to do shopping like crazy.

2. What can we get from Paragraph 3?

A．They like to shop here in disguise（伪装）.

B．They are panicky about the disease.

C．They are more friendly to each other.

D．They have taken proper preventive measures.

3. Which of the following is true?

A．The author is optimistic.

B．The author earns more money than others

C．The author isn’t afraid of the pandemic at all.

D．The author works more hours than before.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．keeping away from the pandemic

B．It is not work but worry that kills

C．Here is what it's like working in the pandemic

D．Moments of kindness shine in a time of chaos

4 . Great Movies in 2021

Baby Done

When Zoe and Tim find out they are having a baby, they decide to not let parenthood change them. Tim runs towards being a dad, while Zoe runs away from being a mum. Terrified that her life won't be her own anymore, Zoe is still determined to tick off a list of their wildest dreams before the baby arrives.

Director： Curtis Vowell

Release Date： Jan 22, 2021

Runtime： 1h 31m     .

The Reunited States

At a time when America is falling apart, The Reimited States is a powerful documentary that follows the unsung heroes on the difficult journey of bridging divides. Each of the bridgebuilders has realized that while the divides run deep, so does the love and hope to bring the country back together. Based on the book of the same name the film encourages us to consider that everyone has a role to play in reuniting the country.

Director： Ben Rekhi

Release Date： Jan 29, 2021

Runtime：1h 24m

Our Friend

Our Friend tells the true story of the Teague family-journalist Matt, his wife Nicole and their two young daughters — and how their lives are ended by Nicole's deadly disease. As Matt's responsibilities as caretaker and parent become increasingly overwhelming（压倒性的), the couplers best friend Dane Faucheux offers to come and help out. As Dane puts his life on hold to stay with his friends, the impact of this life-changing decision proves great and meaningful.

Director： Gabriela Cowperthwaite

Release Date： Jan 22, 2021

Runtime： 2h 4m

Happy Cleaners

When a new landlord comes around, Mr. and Mrs. Choi find their dry-cleaning business, Happy Cleaners in Flushing, Queens, at risk of closing after 17 years. While they make every effort to save the business, their daughter Hyunny and son Kevin are also at their own tough crossroads of life under the pressure of their parents’ high hopes. Faced with many difficulties, the Choi family realizes that the only way to be stronger is to embrace each other.

Director： Julian Kim, Peter S. Lee

Release Date： Feb 5, 2021

Runtime： 1h 38min

1. Which film encourages Americans to bring their country together?

A．Baby Done.	B．Our Friend.
C．Happy Cleaners.	D．The Reunited States.

2. What does Gabriela Cowperthwaite's film focus on?

A．The courage to start business.	B．The importance of friendship.
C．The necessity of having a baby.	D．The value of individual freedom.

3. How is Happy Cleaners different from the other three films?

A．It comes out in a different month.

B．It was first in theater 17 years ago.

C．It refers to part of daily family life.

D．It is about an unlucky young couple.

5 . Waterbuurt is a residential(住宅的) development in Amsterdam, which consists of nearly 100 floating homes on Lake Eimer.

The floating homes are not ordinary houseboats but real floating houses. They only move with the changing tide(朝水). Designed by Dutch architect Marlies Rohmer, the houses have a basic design but are also comfortable. Although Waterbuurt is still a work in progress, there are some of the houses where there are already residents.

Two thirds of the Netherlands’ people live below sea-level, and with the flooding(发洪水) becoming a serious concern, there are many who believe that living on water in the European country is much safer than living on land. The prices of land homes in large city centers like Amsterdam has risen in recent years. But water is not that expensive.

“Moreover, houses in the cities have to stay there for 50 or 70 years,” Dutch architect Koen Olthuis said. “And as cities change, the only choice is to demolish these houses and build new ones. But floating buildings can be moved and adapted.”

The floating homes are built atop underwater platforms, and consists of a light steel frame(钢架) and wooden walls and paneling(嵌板). The bedrooms and bathroom are located on the lower floor, which is partially flooded. The kitchen and dining room are located on the raised ground floor, while the main living area and the outdoor terrace are on the top level.

All floating homes are designed with a lot of extras that buyers can choose, like floating terraces, a second entry, or a boardwalk around the house.

Waterbuurt is set to become the largest water settlement in the history of the Netherlands. Apart from floating houses, it will include floating parks and even floating high buildings. It is sure to meet even the most difficult buyers and win more acceptance from local people.

1. What can we infer about the floating houses?

A．They are easy to take down.	B．They are free from flooding.
C．The prices are slightly lower.	D．The total completion is done.

2. What does the underlined word “demolish” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Build.	B．Buy.
C．Design.	D．Destroy.

3. What is Paragraph 5 mainly about?

A．The structure of floating houses.

B．Preferable construction materials.

C．Unique functions of floating houses.

D．Advantages of buying floating houses.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．The Development of Amsterdam’s Floating Houses

B．Waterbuurt — Amsterdam’s Floating Neighborhood

C．Reasons for Choosing to Live in the Floating Houses

D．Waterbuurt — an Especially Successful Floating Project

6 . Learning a second language is difficult at any age and it only gets harder the longer you wait to open that dusty French book. Now, in a new study, scientists have pointed the exact age at which your chances of reaching fluency（流利）in a second language seem to rise： 10.

The study, published in the journal Cognition, found that it's "nearly impossible” for language learners to reach native-level fluency if they start learning a second language after 10. But that doesn't seem to be because language skills go downhill “It turns out you're still learning fast. It's just that you run out of time, because your ability to learn starts dropping at around 17 or 18 years old,“ says study co-author Joshua Hartshorne, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College.

Kids may be better than adults at learning new languages for many reasons. Children's brains are more plastic than those of adults, meaning they're better able to adapt and respond to new information. "All learning involves the brain changing,“ Hartshorne says, “and children's brains seem to be a lot more skilled at changing. "

These findings may seem discouraging, but it was heartening for scientists to learn that the critical （关键的）period for fluent language acquisition might be longer than they previously thought. Some scientists believed that the brief window closes shortly after birth, while others stretched it only to early adolescence. Compared to those estimates, 17 or 18 when language learning ability starts to drop off——seems old.

“People progress better when they learn by immersion （沉 浸）rather than simply in a classroom. And moving to a place where your desired language is spoken is the best way to learn as an adult. If that's not an option, you can create an immersive environment by finding ways to have conversations with native speakers in their own communities," Hartshorne says. By doing so, it's possible to become conversationally fluent——even without the advantage of a child's brain.

1. What is the most important finding of the new study?

A．The best age to learn a second language.

B．The possibility of speaking fluent language.

C．The change of language skills over the time.

D．The great approaches to learning a language.

2. Why do kids seem better than adults at learning new languages?

A．Their focus is language learning only.

B．They are more interested in languages.

C．They are more adaptable to new things.

D．Their brain always ignores big changes.

3. What is Hartshorne's advice on becoming fluent in a second language?

A．Joining friends in their learning.	B．Turning to immersive learning.
C．Studying in a quiet classroom.	D．Training the brain to a kid's brain.

4. From which part of a newspaper is the text most probably taken?

A．Science.	B．Travel
C．Health.	D．Education.

7 . The idea of changing the world seems very crazy, but there are a number of small everyday things we can do to make the world better. Community centers, parks, libraries, homeless shelters, hospitals and schools are all places where students can make a difference through service.

Alisia Orosco, 10, wanted to show her love and care to the sick kids at University Children's Hospital in Texas, where her brother had been a patient. She earned money by doing part-time jobs and used it to buy different toys for the children in hospital. Now she visits three hospitals every year with bags of toys. "I hope to help as many kids as I can," Alisia says. "It makes me happy to make them smile."

High school students in a town of Washington made a difference to the lives of some needy children by building a playground at a worker's camp. They got a lot of help from a building supply store which provided free building materials for the project.

Teens in New Jersey decided to offer their help at a local soup kitchen where people with no homes can get free food. But there wasn't one. They created a one-day soup kitchen and were able to feed 60 needy people and allow them to take the rest home. Their efforts got more people to understand the great need of the poor in their community. Because of their efforts and success, a permanent soup kitchen was created with the $ 10,000 National award they received from Newman's Own.

High school students in Las Vegas helped 30 homeless adults prepare resumes during a job fair they held at the area's largest homeless shelter. At least nine of the adults later found jobs.

1. Every year Alisia visits three hospitals with bags of toys in order to _________.

A．sell her different toys	B．look for part-time jobs
C．look after her sick brother	D．bring cheer to the sick kids

2. The one-day soup kitchen created by teens in New Jersey _________.

A．received high praise	B．cost $ 10,000 to build
C．got help from 60 people	D．was aimed at children

3. Which of the following can best describe the students mentioned in the text?

A．Kind.

B．Brave.

C．Proud.

D．Crazy.

4. Where was a playground built for needy children?

A．In Texas.	B．In a town of Washington.
C．In New Jersey.	D．In Las Vegas.

8 . It all started because Lynn and her two teenage children needed to get from Georgia to Alaska, where Lynn’s husband, an American officer, is stationed (驻扎). Lynn packed up all their belongings, bought a 4x4 truck, and started a cross-country family adventure. The first 3,000 miles of the trip went well.

The farther north they traveled, the worse the weather got. Lynn, who was raised in the South, met her first winter white-out conditions. Then she used up windscreen wiping fluid. Slush (雪泥) covered her windows and she couldn’t see to drive. Even scarier — her tires seemed to be sliding on the ground.

After changing the summer tires at a tire store, Lynn decided to give up driving. She phoned her husband and asked if he could just come and get them where they were. Her husband was worried but he wasn’t legally able to get them himself. Then the family had to find a motel and went to bed. That’s when the kind people there put out a request on Facebook for someone to drive them the last 1,056 miles to the border.

Gary Bath was at home when he saw his friend’s post about the trapped family. After watching the post for a while and seeing no one was able to help, he and his wife made the decision that he would drive them the whole way to the border.

Both families met over the Internet, and when they decided they were all comfortable with the plan, the Baths drove to meet the family at the motel. It took Gary two days to drive them to a border checkpoint (边防关卡) where the family was greeted by Lynn’s husband and the new friends parted ways.

1. Why did the American family set off for Alaska?

A．To enjoy the beautiful scenery.

B．To visit an old friend.

C．To have an adventure.

D．To have a family reunion.

2. What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?

A．The birth place of Lynn.

B．The difficulties Lynn got into.

C．The direction of this journey.

D．The weather conditions on the way.

3. How did the people in the motel help the family?

A．By asking for public help.

B．By telephoning the husband.

C．By offering them free meals.

D．By driving them to the border.

4. Which of the following can best describe Gary Bath?

A．Serious and careful.

B．Smart and honest.

C．Kind and caring.

D．Brave and determined.

9 . One day about eight years ago in the departure lounge (休息室) of a flight from New York's LaGuardia airport to O'Hare in Chicago, I found a young boy in tears and his mother at his side also appeared upset, I walked to them and invited them to our VIP lounge.

As it turned out, the boy, Miles and his mom were returning to their home in Kansas City. Miles has had some health problems. Though he had received more than thirty operations in a Jewish Hospital in New York, he would be back for more.

Miles enjoyed spending his time in our VIP lounge looking at the entire wall filled with the pictures of many celebrities (名人) who often came to our office. We soon added Miles' picture to the wall among those celebrities.

Among the celebrities, Miles like the country singer Garth Brooks best. Miles would just sit and stare at Garth's picture,

One day, Mr. Brooks was waiting in the lounge for his flight. As he looked at the collection of photographs, Garth asked about the youngster with the big smile. We told him about Miles. We also told him how much Miles loved and respected (尊重) him. He nodded and left.

About six months later, Garth was going to be performing in Kansas City and he asked our workers to help him get in touch with the family. He wanted Miles to be his guest. That evening, not only did Miles sit in the front row, but he and Garth also had a private meeting after the performance.

Although Miles would receive many more treatments after that special evening, his smile greeted us with every following visit. The face of a sick boy was changed by the joy of a stranger.

1. What does the author probably do?

A．A worker at an airport.	B．A killed photographer.
C．A country music singer.	D．A doctor in a Jewish hospital.

2. What did Miles enjoy doing in the VIP lounge?

A．Interviewing celebrities he saw there.

B．Seeing pictures of celebrities on the wall.

C．Drawing pictures of the celebrities there.

D．Singing together with his favorite singer.

3. Which words can best describe Garth Brooks?

A．Determined and generous.	B．Proud and selfish.
C．Kind and helpful.	D．Powerful and rich.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Importance of Good Service	B．Kindness from Strangers
C．A Serious Health Problem	D．A Helpless Mother

10 . The Broomstick (扫帚) Challenge, which appeared on social media on Monday, is based on incorrect science, according to NASA.

The challenge originated from a viral twitter, which claimed that NASA said Monday is the only day a broomstick could stand on its own because of the earth’s gravity (引力）.The twitter was accompanied by a video of a woman propping a broom up. As the woman watched the broom stand up on its own, she yelled, “No strings, nothing.”

Though there was no evidence that NASA ever suggested that gravity would be different on Monday, the twitter, which received more than 260,000 likes and was shared more than 60,000 times, gained hundreds of responses from people who wanted to participate in the “novelty”of watching a broom stand up by itself.

Yet NASA astronaut Alvin Drew and scientist Sarah Noble, who responded to the Broomstick Challenge on Twitter, say that the challenge can actually be conducted on any given day. The pair posted their own video of them standing up a broom on Tuesday, to show that even though the window for the challenge had passed, it was still actionable.

“Did you do the Broomstick Challenge yesterday?”Noble asked in the video.“Well, turns out you can do it again today.”

“It’s just physics,” Drew added.

The NASA Earth twitter account also weighed in saying “There’s no special gravity that only affects brooms, but the Moon’s gravity creates tides on Earth.”

The myth, which is partly based on an old wives’ tale that claims that every year on the

Vernal and autumnal equinoxes, eggs are able to balance on their ends, appears to have surfaced annually since at least 2012.

1. What can we infer from the text ?

A．The special gravity only has impact on brooms.

B．A broomstick could stand on its own on Monday.

C．The twitter received more than 260,000 responses.

D．The Broomstick Challenge gained much popularity.

2. What does the underlined word “novelty” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Being surprising but dangerous.	B．Being new and interesting.
C．Being challenging and frightening.	D．Being clear and obvious.

3. Which of the following may Alvin Drew agree with?

A．Eggs can also stand on their ends.

B．Tides are created by the Moon’s gravity.

C．Physics can help us explain the phenomenon.

D．A broomstick could stand on its own on a specific day.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To appeal to more people to learn physics.

B．To introduce the process of Broomstick Challenge.

C．To persuade people to try broom standing experiment.

D．To explain the broom’s standing up on its own is not magic.