1 . My 14-year-old son, Gus, is severely allergic to peanuts and other nuts, so for years we’ve been washing hands like surgeons, and we wipe down surfaces every time we eat out. We know the closest emergency room and exactly what to do during a reaction. Our preparedness to guard against a worst-case situation felt like a win when the pandemic hit. Our everyday caution, which can be exhausting and make us feel awkward at social events, is now a great advantage.
As it turns out, COVID-19 life has had multiple advantages for food-allergy families like mine. Stuck at home with just the food we cook ourselves, we’ve been safe from all the land mines, like big holiday parties with boxes of walnut cookies, or Halloween, with kids eating Snickers while sticking their hands into shared bowls. Not to mention restaurant meals that have unexpected ingredients.
So the pandemic gave me a gift I didn’t even know I needed: I felt seen. The whole world was in prevention mode, weighing what might have touched their groceries or takeout food. We all wash our hands now whether our kids have food allergies or not. We all might call ahead to double-check a restaurant’s precautions and whether the chef wears gloves. I didn’t feel strange anymore.
Of course, the limitations on regular life will ease up soon, and families like mine will need to be on guard again. When I think about the new normal, I’m fine with that post-COVID-19 life. I hope we can keep this appreciation that not everyone’s immune system functions in the same way and some people do need to be more cautious. This makes me think of the classic home-design advice: “You need to take everything out of a room to know what you want to put back.” We’ve taken everything out of the room, and I hope we put back empathy, understanding and tolerance.
1. What can we know about the author’s family?| A．They are very sociable. | B．They were exhausted by emergencies. |
| C．They have comprehensive medical knowledge. | D．They were always in emergency-preparedness mode. |
| A．Enjoying Snickers with other kids. | B．Playing games with kids on Halloween. |
| C．Giving home-made cookies to his friends. | D．Wiping the table down when eating at home. |
| A．Everyone paid great attention to health. | B．She became accustomed to COVID-19 life. |
| C．More people became particular about food. | D．She succeeded in affecting people around her. |
| A．Puzzled. | B．Positive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Concerned. |
2 . As the COVID-19 appeared, many people’s life changed.
At the beginning of March 2020, Boylan, a professor of Medicine Jon Bae, went from working onsite to being another role as a health economic analyst(分析家) of Duke University Health System. And a month into the pandemic(流行病), his daughter, Elora, was born. The past two years drew Boylan closer to his wife, Katie, “During the time of the pandemic, I am not one of those people who have time to learn how to bake bread or anything,” Boylan said. “I think, in terms of personal growth, I have learned much about how to live a happy life.”
By October of 2020, the pandemic had lasted for several months, and Melanie Thomas was feeling down. “How do I have a rich and full life during this special time and keep a positive attitude?” Thomas asked herself. She decided that she needed a goal that she could work out until the world opened up. For the next several months, Thomas began running, working out at a socially distant gym, and walked as much as she could every day. While the trip to Nepal was the goal, the exercise to prepare for it became a central piece of herself-care routine.
A few weeks ago, Mary Atkinson began spending the remaining daylight after work setting up a garden in the yard of her Greensboro home. She as well as her two-year-olds on, West, often played there with the sand and his toy truck. “This is something that never happened before the pandemic, and it gives much happiness to us,” said Atkinson.
During the pandemic, John Carbuccia, instead of eating lunch out or grabbing meals in the university canteen, found himself eating homemade breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Scrambled eggs with vegetables or simply prepared salmon fillets are some of his current favorites. And without having to rush to the company, he walks and runs around his neighborhood before and after work at home.
1. How was Boylan affected by the pandemic?| A．He became a cooking master. |
| B．His income turned to be uncertain. |
| C．He lost his job. |
| D．He had a better understanding of living happily. |
| A．She visited Nepal. | B．She lost weight. |
| C．She did exercise. | D．She learned online. |
| A．It saved much space for storing sand. | B．It provided comfortable office space. |
| C．It offered a good environment for sports， | D．It improved the parent-child relationship. |
| A．The features of working from home. |
| B．Tips on how to fight against the pandemic. |
| C．The change of people’s life during the pandemic. |
| D．An experiment in studying the meaning of life. |
