1 . On a bright afternoon, Jordan, Mahir and Mahir’s father gathered at the foot of a mountain. “Hey, Jordan, over here!” Jordan’s best friend, Mahir, waved his hand, pointing to a crack in the side of the mountain. “We could
Jordan tied his safety harness (系带) and checked his rope. He weighed one of them in his hand, determining its weight. Then he looked for
“At the time of a test, a person rises or falls.” said Ghanim, Mahir’s dad. Shaking his head in
His own father’s voice resounded in his thoughts, as if in a half-forgotten dream. “Climb a mountain, son, and you climb the insecurity in your own life. You climb over your shadow, climb over your
And now Jordan wouldn’t either.
| A．master | B．pack | C．climb | D．dive |
| A．worthwhile | B．possible | C．unique | D．immediate |
| A．acceptable | B．classical | C．amazingly | D．unbelievably |
| A．confusion | B．awareness | C．understanding | D．appreciation |
| A．agreement | B．destination | C．balance | D．crack |
| A．shock | B．power | C．doubt | D．struggle |
| A．accident | B．journey | C．event | D．trap |
| A．discouraged | B．connected | C．pulled | D．prevented |
| A．Agreed | B．Faced | C．Ended | D．Gone |
| A．Concentrating | B．Depending | C．Moved | D．Carrying |
Tanni was born with an illness,
Running is very relaxing and beneficial. It is a great sport for beginners. You do not need any special equipment. Just a good pair of running shoes will do. Running
One study shows that the media can play an important role in
5 . Once I told someone I wanted to get a master’s degree of fine arts in creative writing and they told me it was the second-to-worst post-graduation plan they’d ever heard from a student. Arts degrees—especially fine arts degrees, which usually come in the form of music, studio art, creative writing and theater—have been, over the years, labeled useless.
It’s true that for the most part, STEM degrees lead to higher paying jobs than liberal and fine arts degrees, and it’s understandable why young people care about a higher starting salary and financial security. Student loan debt is playing a role in the physical and mental stress of young people.
And while STEM majors usually have starting salaries that are $20,000 higher than those of liberal arts majors, by the time people reach the age of 40, the salaries between those who majored in the liberal arts and those who majored in STEM are virtually the same. For example, women who major in STEM earned nearly 50% more than social science and history majors at ages 23-25, but only 10% more by ages 38-40, a New York Times analysis reported. So even in terms of salary, which doesn’t solely determine whether or not a degree is useful, liberal arts degrees aren’t all that far behind STEM.
It seems too that since people nowadays are going to have to work longer, it’s more important than ever that we actually like and care about what we’re doing. Pursuing something enjoyable, or else a passion, is continuously found to be a key factor in maintaining healthy relationships, mental health, physical health and energy. In other words, not useless.
Art is also a method of communication. It allows people from different backgrounds, from different walks of life to communicate with each other. In a world where borders and division seem to be all over the place, we need art more than ever. We need liberal arts majors. And more than anything, we need to be able to pursue what we love with confidence, and we need to not get caught up in the ”usefulness“ of what we love.
And just because someone’s primary job isn’t in their field of study—a writer who teaches high school for example—doesn’t make the degree useless. It just means that their way of finding a stable income is different. The same goes for artists who have to work multiple jobs to support themselves. They might have to find other means of supporting themselves and their artistry. It might be copy editing or it might be tutoring,
So I am going to graduate school, and I am going to graduate school for writing. I might be paying rent by way of overnight restaurant shifts—there’s so much I’m not sure of. But one thing I am sure of is this—I would rather be a writer working two jobs to pay my bills than be no writer at all.
1. A New York Times analysis report is mentioned in Paragraph 3 to .| A．analyse the potential value of different majors |
| B．put forward the opinion on majors by example |
| C．prove the argument against arts degrees wrong |
| D．demonstrate the link between majors and incomes |
| A．Following one’s dream of arts keeps one in good condition. |
| B．Doing what one loves builds up one’s self-confidence in arts. |
| C．Mastering arts improves one’s understanding of different jobs. |
| D．Developing a love for arts helps one maintain passion for work |
| A．Students learning arts are more concerned about the value of life. |
| B．People tend to place income in the first place when choosing majors. |
| C．The man who doesn’t love his work won’t stick with the job for long. |
| D．Graduates can find a broader space of development in the field of arts. |
People from different generations often live and work together. Sometimes they’re happy being together, other times they’re not. One of the reasons for their unhappiness maybe a generation gap. A generation gap is the difference between two or more generations—not the differences between their years but the differences between the generations’ ideas, attitudes, and interests. Of course, people can have differences and still be happy together, but according to the experts, communication between the generations helps everyone get along.
Good communication between the generations starts in the family. These days many families are changing their communication style. They are moving from a “one-way” style to a “two-way” style of communication. To show this change, let’s compare two families:
The Smith family uses the “one-way” style of communication. Mr. and Mrs. Smith show interest in their children, but they don’t discuss problems of feelings. The parents make all the rules and decisions. They don’t ask for their children’s opinions. They explain their decisions to their children, but they don’t discuss them. The explanation is clear and the children understand. The communication goes one way: from the parents to the children.
The Jones family uses the “two-way” style of communication. Mr. and Mrs. Jones show interest in their children and ask for their opinions. They discuss problems and express their feelings. The family makes rules and decisions together after a discussion. The communication goes two ways: from parents to children and from children to parents.
Better communication between generations at home means better communication between generations at work and in the community. When people from different generations understand each other better, they learn from each other more. This helps them form stronger bonds, work together more easily. As a result, people of all ages can team up effectively and come up with new ideas in different parts of life.
1. What is a generation gap?2. Where does good communication between the generations begin?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
If Jack’ parents discuss with him where to spend their summer vacation, they use the “one-way” style of communication.
4. To bridge the generation gaps, what other suggestions would you make besides better communication? (In about 40 words)
7 . In the 17th century when a British businessman heard that there were one hundred million people in China, he was determined to go there and sell spoons. He thought even if he could earn one penny for one spoon, he would still make a lot of money.
Then, why do the Chinese people use chopsticks? Some people did research on the origin of China’s chopsticks. One theory is that chopsticks were very convenient for Chinese to use because China was an agricultural society, relying mainly on vegetables for food. When we steamed or boiled food, it was difficult for us to use spoons to dip vegetables in the soup.
Chopsticks reflect gentleness and kindness, the main moral teaching of Confucianism.
Today, chopsticks have become a typical part of Chinese culture, symbolising the power of unity.
| A．As a result, spoons were designed and preferred by Westerners. |
| B．But to his surprise, the Chinese people use chopsticks, not spoons. |
| C．Therefore, Chinese people cleverly invented chopsticks to pick food. |
| D．Besides, never point at people with your chopsticks while using them. |
| E．Indeed, one chopstick is useless and so delicate that it can be broken readily. |
| F．So these virtues have gradually become the rules people follow in their daily life. |
| G．There are some rules about using chopsticks that you should pay great attention to. |
1. 介绍活动(时间、地点、安排等)；
2. 邀请参加。
注意：1. 词数不少于100；
2. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Mr. Smith,
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
9 . Once, I was invited to see a performance by my friends. Little did I know that I was about to see something I would never forget.
After the host made a brief introduction, the young musician, Mr. Patrick Henry Hughes, was rolled onto the stage in his wheelchair and began to play the piano. His fingers danced across the keys as he made beautiful music. He then began to sing as he played, and it was even more beautiful. For some reason, however, I knew that I was seeing something special. About ten minutes into Patrick’s performance, someone came on the stage and said, “I’d like to share a seven-minute video.” Then the lights went dim.
Patrick Henry Hughes was born with no eyes and the inability to fully extend his arms and legs, which left him disabled for life. However, as a child, he was fitted with artificial eyes (义眼) and placed in a wheelchair. Before his first birthday, he discovered the piano. His mom said, “I could hit any note on the piano, and within one or two tries, he’d get it.” By his second birthday, he could play simple songs as requested. His father was excited. “We might not play baseball, but we can play music together.”
Later, Patrick became a junior at the University of Louisville. His father attended classes with him and he made nearly all A’s. He was also a part of the marching band. He and his father did it together. They attended all the band practices and performances.
But even more than his unbelievable musical talent, it was Patrick’s “attitude of gratitude” that touched my soul. On stage, between songs, he talked to the audience about his life and about how blessed he was. He said, “life made me blind and unable to walk. BIG DEAL! It gave me the ability… the musical gift I have… the great opportunity to meet new people.”
When his performance was over, Patrick and his father were on the stage together. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered for over five minutes.
1. What do we know about Patrick?| A．Patrick was born with poor eyesight. |
| B．Patrick could dance with his fingers. |
| C．Patrick could sing and play the piano. |
| D．Patrick introduced himself before the show. |
| A．expected his son to be a great musician and singer |
| B．attended classes and band practices with him |
| C．was the leader of the marching band |
| D．taught him to play baseball |
| A．Brave and outgoing. | B．Talented and positive. |
| C．Creative and generous. | D．Honest and determined. |
| A．Practice makes perfect. |
| B．Interest is the best teacher. |
| C．Little kindness makes a great difference. |
| D．Life is about learning to dance in the rain. |
10 . On a freezing January morning, Jonny Benjamin, then a 20-year-old college student, climbed on the edge of Waterloo Bridge in London. That morning, Jonny
Hundreds of people passed by. Only one man called Neil Laybourn, then 25,
“You’re alright, man? Why are you sitting on a bridge?”
At first Jonny wanted Neil to leave him
“It’s cold here. Why not have some coffee in a warm cafe? Everything will be OK.” For the first time after the diagnosis Jonny felt perhaps it really might. He walked back.
The police, having received calls from passers-by, were waiting there. They quickly put him into a police car,
Jonny ended up back in hospital. Eventually, he was well enough to return to university and finish his degree. Over the next six years, Jonny often thought about the
Jonny was overexcited when Neil called him two weeks after his post. They had a reunion, finally having that coffee they had first planned all those years ago.
“Many people walked past, but because of Neil’s
| A．called | B．heard | C．escaped | D．recovered |
| A．bridge | B．hotel | C．college | D．clinic |
| A．nervously | B．bravely | C．anxiously | D．calmly |
| A．out | B．alone | C．aside | D．off |
| A．passion | B．happiness | C．power | D．faith |
| A．in case | B．now that | C．so that | D．even though |
| A．friend | B．doctor | C．stranger | D．policeman |
| A．Afraid | B．Ashamed | C．Surprised | D．Eager |
| A．shared | B．praised | C．opened | D．published |
| A．courage | B．kindness | C．patience | D．devotion |
