1 . Do you like running enough to make it a habit? Tierney Wolfgram does; she has made running a lifelong career and isn't stopping.
In February, the 16-year-old from a high school, US, competed at the 2020 US Olympic Trials. She finished the marathon(42.195 km)with a time of 2:42:47 as the youngest competitor in the race and ranked 76th out of 390 runners. However, the cross-country(越野的)season was postponed to winter because of the COVID-19. So she jumped at the opportunity to train for another race-the Parkway Marathon in California. In November, Wolfgram broke the Women's American Junior marathon record with her time of 2:31:49. The old record was 2:34:32, which had stood since 1984.
“I'm completely stunned, ”said Wolfgram's coach. “I knew she was going to break it, but she really showed out！”
During the run, Wolfgram once hit a wall pretty hard, but she overcame it to finish. “I guess I can say I gave it my all, ”she told Runner's World. “When I finished, all I was thinking was I felt super happy,” Wolfgram said This was only her third marathon. In 2018, when Wolfgram was 15 years old, she ran her first marathon just because she wanted to see if she had the ability to do it. “I believed that I would get faster as the distances got longer. . . I'm still glad that I did it. ”
When preparing for that first marathon, she ran up to 120 miles per week. Although her parents didn't have any background in running, they helped Wolfgram train. At first, her dad would take her out in the morning and run about 13 miles. The distance would gradually increase each day. On top of her runs in the morning, she would do cross-country practice after school.
Now Wolfgram will consider attending the Olympics Games in 2024 after it's scheduled.
1. What can we learn about Wolfgram from Paragraph 2?| A．She was the champion at the 2020 US Olympic Trials. |
| B．She put off the cross-country season for the COVID-19. |
| C．She broke an Olympic marathon record in November. |
| D．She prepared for the Parkway Marathon in California. |
| A．Doubtful | B．Worried. | C．Shocked. | D．Interested |
| A．Her parents' encouragement. | B．Her desire to prove she could do it. |
| C．Her coach's support and help. | D．Her hope to break the national record |
| A．Sports. | B．Lifestyle | C．Culture. | D．Opinion |
2 . "Smile!" I shouted, holding a yellow sign up on a busy street in Seattle. We were three thousand miles away from home on a Random Acts of Kindness and Volunteerism Road Trip. We had two aims. One was to try out our new "Smile!" signs and see how much kindness and joy we could spread in Pike Place Market. The other was to raise $80 by doing street performances, enough for gas to Portland and a small hotel room.
We weren't sure how people would react (回应) to our signs. I nervously raised up our signs and shouted, "Hi, there!" to a young couple. They looked over and felt confused. Then they read our signs and broke into a smile. Before long, some tourists wanted to take a photo with us and some strangers stopped to ask us about our signs.
In fact, we paid so close attention to our "Smile!" project that we forgot the other aim. Before we knew it, the sun was setting, and we had no money for our trip to Portland. We sat down to watch a blind musician play the guitar while thinking about what to do. He was packing up when a passing crowd kicked down his change bowl. He stumbled (绊倒) into the crowd. We rushed to help him, but another man moved more quickly to help him.
Once the musician had his money safely returned, we ran over to meet the strange helper and said, "We just wanted to praise you for your good deed." He smiled, looking at our signs. "Your trip reminds me of something similar I once did when I was young," he said. "Look! I'd like to donate (捐赠)." We told him, "No, thanks! We are fine. We've collected plenty of money." We lied. "Please let me donate. It will make me feel like I'm a part of this adventure," he insisted. And then the stranger opened his wallet and pulled out four $20 bills. The money was exactly what we had intended to raise that day. We were astonished. It seemed as if he had known somehow.
1. What's the main purpose of the road trip?| A．To spread kindness and joy. |
| B．To invite more people to join in the trip. |
| C．To raise money for a trip to Portland. |
| D．To encourage people to take happy photos. |
| A．Disappointed. | B．Worried. | C．Interested. | D．Moved. |
| A．Because he felt pity for the author. |
| B．Because he wanted to join in the project. |
| C．Because he hoped to help the homeless. |
| D．Because he felt sorry for his impoliteness. |
| A．Tired. | B．Satisfied. | C．Frightened. | D．Surprised. |
3 . A first-year undergraduate student in Chengdu, recently complained online that her mother refused to raise her monthly allowance to 4,500 yuan ( $ 633) even when she said her current allowance 2, 000 yuan was not enough to cover her expenses, sparking a debate on how much money a college student needs per month. One expert shares his views on the issue with China Daily: Students should pursue education, not comfort.
Even for a college student studying in a first-tier city in China, 2,000 yuan is enough to cover all his or her monthly expenses. In fact, for a college student in Chengdu a monthly allowance of 2,000 yuan is more than enough. According to a survey conducted by a bookkeeping platform, the average monthly expense for an undergraduate in cities other than Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou was less than 2,000 yuan in 2019； for Chengdu, it was 1,900 yuan.
Claiming that she can hardly afford new clothing and cosmetics with her 2,000 yuan monthly allowance, the undergraduate student in Chengdu criticized her mother for refusing to raise her pocket money. Her "meager" allowance, she said, prevented her from buying branded goods that her hostel-mates enjoyed.
By the time a person enters a college, she or he should have developed a healthy consumption habit. And a youth should adjust her or his consumption according to her or his family income. On a deeper level, the money they spend in college should depend on how much they value their parents' hard work. Besides, some college students could take UP part-time jobs to meet their monetary needs if they feel their parents don't or can't send them enough money. In this way they can also learn to meet the requirements of life in the future and develop healthy consumption habits. More importantly, they should always bear in mind that education is their top priority in college
1. What's the expert's attitude to the issue about the undergraduate student?| A．He was critical. |
| B．He was neutral. |
| C．He was supportive. |
| D．He was unconcerned. |
| A．more than 2,000 | B．633 dollars |
| C．less than 2,000 yuan | D．1,900 yuan |
| A．Empty. | B．Pitiful. |
| C．Mean. | D．Fruitful. |
| A．College students should keep their expenses in line with their family conditions. |
| B．College students consumption level is determined by their parents. |
| C．College students should take up a part-time job to cover their expenses . |
| D．College students should deal with their living expenses problems reasonably. |
4 . Now, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for. Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world. They feel that the long-hours work culture to make more money to buy more things is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes. Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting is one of them.
Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year. One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz. They used to work in central London. He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank. They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs, leaving their two children with a nanny(保姆). Most evenings Daniel wouldn't get home until eight or nine o'clock, and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings
They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by.
Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales, I always wanted to have a farm here, says Daniel, “and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift. It's taken some getting used to, but it's been worth it. We have to think twice now about spending money in car repairs and we no longer have any holidays. However, I think it's made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier.”
Liz, however, is not quite sure. “I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours. I'm not really a country girl, but I suppose I'm gradually getting used to looking after the animals. One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children. My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all。”
1. The underlined word“downshifting” in the first paragraph means .| A．repairing your car by yourself |
| B．spending money carefully |
| C．moving out to the countryside to live a simpler and better life |
| D．living in a big house in the suburbs and dining out once a week |
| A．lived in central London | B．disliked his job |
| C．missed his children | D．was well paid |
| A．was easy to organize | B．has improved family life |
| C．was extremely expensive | D．have been a total success |
5 . I received a private message on Facebook. It began harmlessly enough: “Hey, girl. Wanted to invite you to join my next challenge group—we’ll be focusing on fitting in 30 minutes of exercise and balanced nutrition.”
It was all becoming too much. Facebook was running my life, not me.
But what killed Facebook for me was when I posted a photo, and five minutes later my son asked me how many “likes” it had got. His question was a wake-up call.
“Likes” are signs of acceptance and approval. I had forgotten that acceptance and approval need to come from within and had unknowingly set him a bad example.
Before Facebook, surfing the internet was an occasional distraction and I spent a lot more time reading books and magazines. I checked in with friends through texts, emails and phone calls.
To recreate the simplicity of those days and set a healthier example to my son, I deactivated my Facebook account.
I’d been in the habit of checking Facebook many times a day, so I had to come up with some new habits. I carried a novel and a crossword puzzle book around with me. I rediscovered knitting. I started taking yoga classes.
I started to remember a few things. My body is fine just the way it is. I have friends who will help me out when I’m in trouble, and I will help them out. I do my best to be a good mother, and our son is happy and healthy. We are very lucky to be able to afford two vacations a year.
I stopped looking at the world through my cellphone. I felt completely present in the moment.
The break left me feeling better about myself, my family, my home and my life.
After a few weeks, I returned to Facebook. Now I look at the photos of my friends’ kids growing up and treasure how social media allows me to keep in touch with family far and wide. I look in on a daily basis, but no longer with the desire constantly to post updates.
It is not an addiction any more.
1. What was the author’s life like before her break from Facebook?| A．She enjoyed reading in her free time. |
| B．She spent much time on social media. |
| C．She didn’t get along well with her son. |
| D．She didn’t care what others thought of her. |
| A．close | B．update | C．keep | D．check |
| A．She went to the gym as often as she could. |
| B．She developed some healthy habits. |
| C．She tried to make money for her holidays. |
| D．She traveled around a lot for a year. |
| A．Critical. | B．Supportive. | C．Objective. | D．Indifferent. |
6 . Londoners are great readers. They buy vast numbers of newspapers and magazines and even of books—especially paperbacks, which are still comparatively cheap in spite of ever-increasing rises in the costs of printing. They still continue to buy ‘proper’ books, too, printed on good paper and bound between hard covers.
There are many streets in London containing shops which specialize in book-selling. Perhaps the best known of these is Charing Cross Road in the very heart of London. Here bookshops of all sorts and sizes are to be found, from the celebrated one which boasts of being ‘the biggest bookshop in the world’ to the tiny, dusty little places which seem to have been left over from Dickens’ time. Some of these shops stock, or will obtain, any kind of book, but many of them specialize — in second-hand books, in art books, in foreign books, in books on philosophy(哲学), politics or any other of the myriad subjects about which books may be written. One shop in this area specializes solely in books about ballet.
Although it may be the most convenient place for Londoners to buy books, Charing Cross Road is not the cheapest. For the really cheap second-hand volumes, the collector must venture(冒险) off the beaten path, to Farringdon Road, for example, in the East Central district of London. Here there is nothing so grand as bookshops. Instead, the booksellers come along each morning and tip out their sacks of books on to small barrows(手推车) which line the gutters(贫民区). And the collectors, some professional and some amateur(业余爱好者)have been waiting for them. In places like this one can still, occasionally, pick up for a few pence an old volume that may be worth many pounds.
1. According to the passage, we can infer that __________.| A．Londoners like borrowing books from libraries |
| B．Londoners like buying books, magazines and newspapers |
| C．Londoners like reading books in libraries |
| D．Londoners don't like buying ‘proper’ books. |
| A．bookstores, East Central district | B．publishing houses, downtown |
| C．Bookshops, center | D．libraries, countryside |
| A．wholly | B．partly |
| C．jointly | D．seldom |
| A．where to buy the dear new books |
| B．where to buy the cheap new books |
| C．where to buy the cheap second-hand books |
| D．where to buy the dear second-hand books |
