1 . My husband and I always wanted to go to the Caribbean but didn’t know much about the islands or how we were going to afford it. By chance, a friend of ours in Australia mentioned “pet sitting” and that it is something you can do all over the world.
We quickly created an account on a pet sitting website and began searching for options. There were only a couple of sits available in that part of the world, but we tried our luck, sent a request, and to our surprise, landed a three-month job in Grenada, so our year was going to be taken up with Caribbean pet sits.
......
Why did the author do pet sitting?| A．To cover travel expenses. | B．To raise fund. |
| C．To conserve the environment. | D．To shoot beautiful beaches. |
John had not much affection for his mother and sisters, and an
| A．dislike | B．preference | C．delight | D．favour |
| A．occasionally | B．rarely | C．repeatedly | D．regularly |
| A．surprised | B．confused | C．distracted | D．inspired |
| A．playing my role | B．attending me | C．siding with me | D．ignoring me |
| A．comfort | B．motivate | C．praise | D．ill-treat |
3 . The shark was not an accident. He had come up from deep down in the water as the dark cloud of blood had settled and dispersed in the mile deep sea. He had come up so fast and absolutely without caution that he broke the surface of the blue water and was in the sun. Then he fell back into the sea and picked up the scent and started swimming on the course the skiff and the fish had taken.
Sometimes he lost the scent. But he would pick it up again, or have just a trace of it, and he swam fast and hard on the course. He was a very big Mako shark built to swim as fast as the fastest fish in the sea and everything about him was beautiful except his jaws. His back was as blue as a sword fish’s and his belly was silver and his hide was smooth and handsome. He was built as a sword fish except for his huge jaws which were tight shut now as he swam fast, just under the surface with his high dorsal fin knifing through the water without wavering. Inside the closed double lip of his jaws all of his eight rows of teeth were slanted inwards. They were not the ordinary pyramid-shaped teeth of most sharks. They were shaped like a man’s fingers when they are crisped like claws. They were nearly as long as the fingers of the old man and they had razor-sharp cutting edges on both sides. This was a fish built to feed on all the fishes in the sea, that were so fast and strong and well armed that they had no other enemy. Now he sped up as he smelled the fresher scent and his blue dorsal fin cut the water.
When the old man saw him coming he knew that this was a shark that had no fear at all and would do exactly what he wished. He prepared the harpoon8 and made the rope fast while he watched the shark come on. The rope was short as it lacked what he had cut away to lash the fish.
1. Which of the following books is the excerpt from?| A．Charlotte’s Web | B．The Old Man and the Sea |
| C．Tow Sawyer’s Adventure | D．Robinson Crusoe |
| A．To show what a shark is like | B．To draw readers’ attention |
| C．To demonstrate the coming danger | D．To introduce a sea monster |
A. Unlike many other AAC applications, Freespeech’s buttons are easily editable, a feature Archer believed was important to how Della wanted to communicate. It wasn't long before the Calder family noticed a change in how Della was able to communicate with them.
B. Archer, therefore, began using his coding (编程) abilities to help his sister communicate. The boy developed a web-based application called Freespeech. The site can be accessed from any device --phones, tablets and computers -- with Internet access. The simple website lets users program buttons with pictures of their choice to represent words. When clicked, the word is sounded out loud.
C. Archer made his website free for anyone to use and posted it on TikTok, hoping it might reach other families like his who might find it useful.
D. “In the past, when we had to go somewhere, we just took her. She never really discussed it with us,” the father said. “Freespeech has really helped to bring her more into the conversation and more into the life of our family." The family says it has also helped them discover more of her personality.
E. Della, Archer Calder’s sister, has Bainbridge-Ropers syndrome, a condition which affects her ability to speak. In her early teens, she was introduced to augmentative and alternative (增强型和替代型) communication (AAC) applications, programs designed to help people who have trouble with speech or language skills. Some applications were quite expensive, but her family was disappointed with the results.
A. Unfortunately, during one of her challenging workouts, Emily suffered an injury. She had to shift her focus from intense physical activities to leisurely exercises that allowed her body to recover.
B. Emily was a senior high school student with a passion for sports. She had always been participating in various sports in secondary school. With a busy schedule, she would wake up early in the morning and hit the gym before her classes started. This routine not only helped her stay fit but also improved her confidence and competence.
C. As she gradually regained her strength, Emily revised her workout schedule and aimed for a balanced lifestyle. She started doing yoga for stress reduction. She attended regular class and set achievable goals, making sure to listen to her body.
D. During her recovery period, Emily turned to the Internet for guidance. As a digital native, she knew how to surf the Internet to find expert advice on staying fit during downtime. Meanwhile, she joined a voluntary organization that offered fitness programs for people with injuries. She connected with other injured athletes and found support in their shared experiences.
E. Emily’s journey showed the importance of adaptability in sports and fitness. Setbacks were not the end but rather an opportunity to grow and strengthen oneself both physically and mentally.
One day a famous teacher was walking with his student. On the way, they saw a lake. They stopped and the teacher told the student, “I’m thirsty. Get me some water from that lake.”
Just when the student reached the lake, a cow was walking in the lake. So the water became very dirty. He thought, “I can’t give the dirty water to my teacher!”
He came back and told the teacher, “The water is very dirty. We can’t drink it.” After about half an hour, the teacher asked the student to get some water again. So he went back to the lake.
But the lake was still dirty. So he told the teacher the same thing. After some time, the teacher asked him to go back again. But this time, he found the water was clear. The mud (泥) in the water came to the bottom. So he got some water.
The teacher looked at the water and said to him, “You did nothing to make the water clear. You just let it be... Your mind is also like that! When it is bothered (被打扰), just let it be. Give it some time.”
1. One day the teacher asked his student to get some water to drink.2. The water in the lake became very dirty because the cow was walking in the lake.
3. The student only went to the lake twice.
4. The teacher made the dirty water clear.
5. The story tells us that we should do nothing when our mind is bothered.
I’m a gift-giver. I always have been, especially at Christmas. There s nothing more exciting than shopping for the people I love, then watching them open the present that’s perfect for them.
But this year I was afraid there’d be no shopping. It was a few weeks before Christmas and I sat at my kitchen table staring at my checkbook. Bills had left me with next to nothing in my gift budget. There were a dozen people on my list—my husband, Frank, our son, my sister, nieces, nephews (basketball lovers).
The newspaper was on the table next to me. I read it, and an article about a weekend estate (财产) sale practically stood out on the page. I decided to check it out, so I wrote down the address. I turned the page. There, in the middle, was an ad for the Goodwill Store. On the next? A garage sale listing. After that, one for a thrift (节俭) shop.
That weekend I drove over to the estate sale. First I looked through the living room. There was antique furniture, tables crowded with vases and lamps. Nothing caught my eye. I walked over to an office area and looked at some electronics. Nothing there either. Another room had beautiful artworks, but everything was out of my price range. “Maybe this is a waste of time,” I thought, wandering into the kitchen. A table loaded with lace handkerchiefs for a dollar apiece. My sister collected handkerchiefs!
The race was on! The next day I hit the Goodwill. I found a men’s designer dress shirt, in just the right size for my hard-to-fit son, still with original packs, for just a few dollars. A couple of days later I discovered a beautiful necklace with an unusual stone in the center. Just the thing for my fashionable niece! Next up were the garage sales. There were two terrific finds for my husband, Frank: a CD of Oklahoma’s centennial anniversary celebrations and a movie featuring Andy Griffith, his favorite actor.
“Have you bought anything for yourself?” Frank asked one afternoon when I came home with more packages.
1. 阅读短文，完成下面的表格(每空一词)5W | Details |
When | A few weeks before |
Where | A |
Who | The |
Why | To buy |
What | Perfect presents with the limited gift |
But I went to the thrift shop the next day.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Not only did I have special gifts for everyone on my list,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Every cloud has a silver lining.” It drives me crazy when Mom says nonsense (废话) like that.
I’d barely had time to arrange myself in the passenger seat, my foot already blown up like a balloon when she came out with it, exactly like I knew she would. First, she patted my leg. Then she just couldn’t help herself, “Every cloud has a silver lining, you know, sweetheart.” “Mom, I appreciate the thought, but I’m not ready to look on the bright side of this.” We hadn’t even left the school parking lot yet.
On the farthest side of the field, I could see my teammates doing sprint training, Coach Zito striding back toward them. He’d mercifully helped me to the car in silence. Unlike Mom, he knew when it was best to say nothing.
As Mom started the engine, I imagined my teammates cooling down without me while they listened to Coach Zito’s pep talk. And next Thursday, they would go to practice without me, and the Thursday after that. When I had fallen and twisted my ankle, I’d cried from the pain, but I was crying out of self-pity in the car. Hours and hours of training， and then this. I told myself there was a glimmer (微光) of hope that everything would turn out okay, and that I’d make it to the track meet next month, but I knew it was just that: a glimmer. The tears fell hot and fast. Mom gave me a weak smile. “It’ll be okay, Casey.“ I suspected this was another version of the silver lining thing, but I felt so miserable that I let it pass.
We finally arrived at the hospital. Doctor Van gently moved my ankle around a bit before carefully lowering it. I nervously asked how long it would be before I could run. “Four weeks maybe, possibly five, “he replied. “And even then, you’ll need to take it easy for a while. Is that possible?” he asked with a smile.
I couldn’t answer.
One month later, I made my appearance on the field.
| A．Five weeks meant little chance for me to the track meet. Looking down at my swollen foot, I wept bitter tears, knowing my last glimmer of hope was fading. As usual, Mom patted me on the shoulder and said with a smile, “sweetheart, every cloud...”“No...”I interrupted her impatiently. Life seemed dull and meaningless, but touched by Mom’s great help, I regained my confidence and was back on my feet. Amazingly, I began to practice running soon. |
| B．I was lying calmly on the bed. Seeing my mother come into the ward (病房)，I greeted her with a smile. When she asked what happened, I told her I was not going to play sports anymore. After hearing my words about the accident, she was quite surprised how I could still remain so optimistic. I patted my mom on the shoulder and comfort her. In my view, it is a great opportunity to have a good rest and rethink about my future life. |
| C．I saw my doctor carrying the medical bag and waiting for me. He explained, “I came here to see my patient. “The delighted man warmly welcomed me, asking me whether I conducted a thorough examination and suggested appropriate following-up care. I thanked him with gratitude. Before he left, my mother came, asking,” How did you know to come to see my son? I didn’t call!” |
| D．All my teammates were absolutely astonished at my quick recovery, not believing their eyes. “OH, boy! What a miracle!” My coach Zito looked at me in disbelief. To tell them everything was okay, I kicked, jumped and ran in front of them. Seeing this, they all burst out laughing. Later, I went to practice with them and participated in the track meet. From then on, whenever I encountered difficulties, Mom’s encouraging words “Every cloud has a silver lining” always rang in my ears. |
| sob amaze investigate dive orphan reveal curtain freeze bare |
When I was a young boy, I lost my mother and father. As
Although I married eventually and had my own children, I always felt sad thinking about my parents. One day I got a letter in the post. It said it was from my sister! I was
On the day I met her, l arrived at her home. It was a beautiful old house with blue walls and white
My sister said she too was unaware that she had a brother but that she had
10 . The bus was full, bumpy, and it soon got noisy as her kid began crying because he couldn’t sit next to his mother. There were a couple of open seats, but they weren’t together. She was flustered and looked embarrassed.
The underlined word “flustered” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to _______.
| A．angry | B．anxious | C．scared | D．upset |
