1 . Recently, my college degree has just been completed. The last project was called “Smile”. The class was asked to go out to smile at three people and write down their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake.
My husband, the youngest son and I went out to McDonald. We were standing in line when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away. As I turned around, an unpleasant body smell came to my nose and two poor homeless men stood just behind me. As I looked at the short blue-eyed gentleman closest to me, he was “smiling”. The second man fumbled (摸索) with his hands as he stood behind his friend.
The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, “Coffee is all, Miss.” because that was all they could afford.
Then I really felt it-I embraced (拥抱) the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action. I smiled and asked two more breakfast meals and gave them to the men.
The blue-eyed gentleman looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, “Thank you.” I turned in my project. My teacher said, “Can I share this?” I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class. She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings share this need to make people happy and to be made happy.
In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald’s and every soul that heard the story in the classroom. But I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn.
1. The underlined part “a piece of cake” in Paragraph 1 means ______.| A．comfortable | B．embarrassing | C．moving | D．easy |
| A．Because they were very polite to the two men. |
| B．Because the two men smelt terrible. |
| C．Because they were moved by the two men. |
| D．Because the two men seemed unfriendly. |
| A．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| B．Nothing is difficult to a willing heart. |
| C．Helping others can bring pleasure to many people. |
| D．Don’t judge people according to their appearance. |
2 . "Carers" are all sorts of people with so many different caring roles. I know this only too well from attending my severely ill mother as a teenager, to having main carer responsibility for my Nanna for her last ten years, to now as a father caring for my disabled son.
But more importantly, I was also cared for. My dad had died when I was four, so after my mum died, it was my amazing Nanna and Grandad who took me in. Because they were my grandparents, I never really thought of them as "carers"，and I don't think they did either. Back then, I probably didn9t even know what 66kinship（亲属关系）carer" meant
It wasn't easy for them. My mother's long illness and early death nearly broke them. I used to think looking after me helped them deal with their heartbreak. But the truth is, they helped me get over my mum's death. Surrounding me with unquestioning love, they were classic kinship carers.
Working as a lawyer, I've helped a surprisingly large number of kinship carers over the years—mostly grandparents, fighting the system for their precious grandchildren. I like to think I go the extra mile, which helped them face the challenges. More than 180,000 children across the UK are being raised by kinship carers today, but the huge challenges facing them are too often forgotten by politicians and policymakers.
What my Nanna and Grandad did—and what kinship carers across the UK are doing today—is amazing. They are giving a loving home to these children, while reducing the stress on the formal care system― ven though it may add difficulties to their own life. We can't thank and support them too much.
1. The author knows very well about what carers are by .| A．giving and getting care | B．doing voluntary work |
| C．becoming a parent | D．learning from carers |
| A．They took care of the author's ill mother. |
| B．They spoiled the author with too much love. |
| C．They offered to look after the author's children. |
| D．They helped the author get through hard times. |
| A．Take the wrong way. | B．Make a special effort. |
| C．Save much precious time. | D．Do some unnecessary work. |
| A．Carers Face Huge Challenges |
| B．More Kinship Carers Needed |
| C．Carers Deserve Recognition and Support |
| D．British Policies Intended for Kinship Carers |
3 . A quarter of the world's humans are at home right now. If you're reading this, chances are that you're one of them. Yes, it's important to stay safe indoors to protect ourselves and others, but that doesn't mean you can't have a good time. We will create an endless list of things to do indoors. Stick with us and we promise you won't be bored for a second.
Catch up on literary classics
You know that pile of books that you haven't ever quite managed to get into? There'll never be a better time to conquer it. And if you've already exhausted your library, you can now access more than a million books for free online as part of the 'National Emergency Library'. Usually, you'd have to join a queue before being able to borrow anything. But now you can just dip into whatever you want, whenever.
Join a virtual choir
If the videos of cities in lockdown coming together to sing on their balconies left you with a lump in your throat, here's your chance to add your sound to one of several online choirs popping up around the world. The Sofa Singers is a free online singing event that aims to 'bring people together from around the world to promote joy and human connection'. It involves hundreds of singers joining a Zoom call and learning a new song together.
Form new bonds with your neighbours
In normal times, you might not be the type to actually talk to your neighbours. But let's be honest: your social life's a wreck right now, and you're going to make friends with the people next door, no matter what. So why not take inspiration from Balcony Parties In Miami, or the Londoner Hosting Athletic Classes On His Doorstep? Go on, get social - in a distant kind of way, of course.
1. What's the purpose of the writer? '| A．To enrich people's life. | B．To educate the uncivilized. |
| C．To train professional singers. | D．To build a harmonious society. |
| A．the state of being choked. | B．the state of singing aloud. |
| C．the state of wanting to sing. | D．the state of having a bad voice. |
| A．seldom communicate with one another. |
| B．usually form a community singing group. |
| C．often share literary books with each other. |
| D．hold parties on the balcony every weekend. |
4 . It was our last class before summer break. I was finishing up the first year of an MFA program in poetry. I was tired and puzzled. "Was I good enough to be in the program?" When a professor asked about our summer plans, I panicked. I didn't want to appear idle(闲散的). "Gardening," I responded immediately. Actually I knew nothing about plants! My professor nodded, saying, "What a good idea, Mari! Emily Dickinson loved gardening." Emily Dickinson had lived in the countryside, studying plants as a child. I was in my late twenties, living in the city without gardening experience.
A few days later, I bought a jalapeño seedling(青辣椒秧苗). At least I could say I'd tried gardening. I watered and changed the dirt for my little plant. I even talked to it. And over the summer, it grew bigger and bigger. I was proud. Maybe I didn't have a black thumb after all.
I started the second year of my MFA, and then it was almost December and my jalapeño was suffering. It was brown in some places; many of its leaves had fallen off. Would my little guy make it? I prayed, "Please be okay." As if its survival were closely linked to mine.
I worked hard in school. Spring came. My jalapeño plant came back to life. It grew bigger, with new leaves. And then it flowered. I handed in my graduate paper--a book of poems--in May. "Your poems are strong," my professor said.
A huge weight lifted. I'd done it! At that time, I found the flowers on my jalapeño plant were gone. I watched closer. Where a flower had been, a tiny green fruit pushed through. I smiled. I had succeeded in my MFA program, and my jalapeño plant had grown right beside me, and I successfully did things I hadn't thought possible.
1. Why did the author begin gardening?| A．Just by accident. |
| B．For the love for gardening. |
| C．To express fancy for Emily Dickinson. |
| D．Because of the reminding of a professor. |
| A．In her childhood. | B．In one of her summer breaks. |
| C．In her teens. | D．In her first year of MFA program. |
| A．A talent to grow plants. | B．A dirty finger to touch plants. |
| C．A good fortune to do everything. | D．An inability to do gardening. |
| A．Nothing is impossible to a willing mind. |
| B．Easier said than done. |
| C．It's never too old to learn. |
| D．Do not teach fish to swim. |
5 . I remember the day when I first learned to ride a bike. It was a frightening, yet fun experience. My granddad was the one who taught me and he helped me when I got hurt. The first time I got on a bike, I had no idea what I was doing, and just about everything went wrong. My granddad told me to just put my feet on the pedals and start pedaling (骑自行车). He also told me he would hold onto the back of the bike the whole time, yet he didn’t.
As soon as I started trying to balance myself, he let go. I happened to look back just then. I was scared, to death that I was going to fall and hurt myself. When I was scared, my mind went blank from pedaling, and I just wanted off. I forgot how to use the brakes (车闸) and fell right off the bike. My granddad kept encouraging me to get up and try again, and after about 15 minutes, 1 finally stopped crying, got up and tried again.
As soon as I started pedaling again, my pants got caught in the chain, and I fell flat on my face and hit my nose. Since that happened t my granddad decided to call it a day and try again the next morning. The next morning I woke up bright and early, and was very eager to try to ride my bike. My nose felt better, so I wasn’t that afraid of falling anymore.
Though I knew there were a lot of difficulties on the way to mastering the skills in riding a bike, I believed I could do well with my granddad’s help. After all, riding a bike was what I wanted to do eagerly.
1. How was the author when he was on the bike first?| A．He didn’t know where he would be going. |
| B．He thought balancing himself was easy. |
| C．He was nervous and didn’t know what to do next. |
| D．He put his feet on the pedals and started pedaling. |
| A．Remember what happened this day. |
| B．Make the author feel happy. |
| C．Stop practicing bicycling. |
| D．Go on to ride a bike. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Grateful. |
| C．Indifferent. | D．Negative. |
| A．The Experience of My First Riding a Bike |
| B．The Difficulty I Met with My Granddad |
| C．The First Time I Got My Own Bike |
| D．The Great Moment When I Stayed with My Granddad |
