1 . I’d moved to U.S.to live with my uncle,and one year after that, I lost my vision. I had since learned to get about with a cane, and now I craved getting back to pursue my dream of being a broadcaster.
But my aunt and uncle said it was much too dangerous for me to go out on my own. What if I got hit by a car? I must stay in the house. I was dogged. I rejected their guesses. I believed I could regain my way if I lost it. I told my aunt and uncle I would pay close attention, I would listen and be very careful when crossing streets.
A public library was offering a tuition-free course on how to use a computer with screen reading software designed for blind people. This was an important opportunity for me, My aunt and uncle reluctantly agreed.
I knew that the American singer Ray Charles, who was also blind, got around on his own without a cane. If he could do it without a cane, I reasoned, surely I could do it with one. Ray’ s secret was to count steps. But I couldn’t seem lo do that the way he had. Instead I captured the layout (布局) of places I visited by taking note of landmarks in my mind. I’d imagine the mental map I’d drawn and use that in order to navigate. Today, I do this automatically.
But that doesn’t mean I didn’t lose my way many times in the process of acquiring this skill. Sometimes I’d be so discouraged that I’d consider giving up. Maybe I should stay home and wait until someone could help me. On those days when I lost my way, I’d go to bed feeling down. And because I didn’t want my uncle to worry about me, I kept that to myself.
Since that time, I’ve pursued my education. I’ve earned three academic degrees, including a master’s, in face-to-face classrooms.Today, I’m a published journalist and audio producer. Now, surprised at my progress, my uncle screams to my aunt,“That boy can see!”
1. What does the underlined word “dogged” mean in the second paragraph?| A．Determined. | B．Depressed. |
| C．Ashamed. | D．Frightened. |
| A．Depending on a walking cane. |
| B．Employing the power of imagination. |
| C．Drawing a detailed map himself. |
| D．Counting every pace while walking. |
| A．His firm trust in his uncle. | B．His desire for some help. |
| C．His losing his way sometimes. | D．His feeling sleepy at bed. |
| A．A blessing. | B．A relief. |
| C．A surprise. | D．A praise. |
2 . The job description of a postman doesn’t always include travelling through thick forests, fast-flowing waters and occasionally being run after by wild animals, but for D. Sivan, that is exactly what it is.
Every day for 30 years, this humble postman has been delivering post to some of the most remote villages in Coonoor which are inaccessible by road. Carrying the mail, he walks along the Nilgiri Mountain Railway track, walking through thick forests, crossing slippery streams and walking on railway bridges. Having travelled through the difficult path for 30 years, Mr. Sivan has grown fond of the wild animals he encounters on his daily walks, going so far as to say that they’ve all become his friends. But even his friends have occasionally caused him some trouble, with an elephant once having run after him. He was saved by a truck driver who spotted him and honked at the elephant. The animals recognize him now, though.
As the years rolled by, emails started replacing letter writing. And as more and more people moved from the Nilgiri hills to the plains-the towns of Mettupalayam and Coimbatore, Sivan’s bag became lighter and lighter every day. Many weeks he ended up carrying just 3-4 letter to each village.
One day Sivan noticed that a man to whom he was supposed to deliver his pension had moved to Coimbatore. The man had fallen very sick and was hospitalized. Sivan tracked down the hospital, travelled 80 kms by bus and later car, and delivered the pension. The kind postman even paid for the whole trip himself!
Not all heroes wear a cape(披风);some have white hair and carry a simple bag full of letters. Not all heroes write cool stories on Instagram; some just sit outside a door and read out a son’s letter to his mother.
1. Which of the following best describes Sivan’s daily delivery journey?| A．Awkward. |
| B．Comfortable. |
| C．Adventurous. |
| D．Uneventful. |
| A．Postmen. |
| B．Truck drivers. |
| C．Wild animals. |
| D．Villagers in Coonoor. |
| A．To send a pension check. |
| B．To enjoy a trip to the plains. |
| C．To get hospital treatment. |
| D．To draw his pension. |
| A．Letters or emails |
| B．The world’s busiest postman |
| C．The postal service in Coonoor |
| D．Capeless hero with a bag |
3 . British teen Kitty Tait wakes up at 5 am every day to bake bread, but it’s not just any old bread. The young girl who runs the Orange Bakery in her home town, with her dad Alex, adds a little humor to her bakes.
“If something is fun to eat, it makes it even tastier!” the teen baking star, who overcame depression after discovering the art of bread making, said. It was watching her dad make a simple loaf of white bread that changed her life forever. “Something that was so unpromising — a bit like how my brain felt at the time — had turned into something so magical,” she recalls.
Soon, Kitty was baking loaves for her neighbors. And before she knew it, there was a subscription service followed by a pop-up in her neighbor’s garage where she sold almost 100 loaves of bread and doughnuts (甜甜圈) in half an hour. “At that moment, I realized that this was what I wanted to do with my life,” she says.
A few months later, after raising enough money through crowdfunding,the teen rented a small retail space in town and her dad quit his job to become her business partner. They’ve been running the Orange Bakery ever since, selling everything from Marmite and cheese swirls to Danish pastries.
“I’m just really excited about people eating good bread, whether it is made by themselves or bought from a bakery,” says Kitty. “My main mission is to make bread inclusive and joyful because I have found so much joy in it.”
Today, the Taits are part of the global baking community, running baking classes at local schools.
1. What can we learn about Kitty before her picking up baking?| A．She worked part-time at a bakery. |
| B．She suffered from a mental illness. |
| C．She turned something magical into reality. |
| D．She learned baking from her mom and neighbors. |
| A．Popular. |
| B．Graceful. |
| C．Updated. |
| D．Ordinary. |
| A．He had ever been a good teacher. |
| B．He bought the Orange Bakery for Kitty. |
| C．He made a contribution to Kitty's cause. |
| D．He had ever done foreign trade in a company. |
| A．Making baking a fun thing. |
| B．Earning as much as possible. |
| C．Running joyful baking classes. |
| D．Thinking up better ways of baking. |
4 . On September 2nd, BUAA (北京航空航天大学) welcomed its first 2021 student. His name is Xing Yifan, coming together with his parents ahead of time.
"Yifan is 18 years old, but he weighs only 18 kilograms. When 6 months old, he suffered from LAMA2 (渐冻症), a type of disease that no more than a hundred people have got in the country. However, with his strong will, he made one amazing achievement after another in learning. In this year's college entrance exam, he entered BUAA with a score of 645.
Because of the illness, Yifan can only sit alone for a while, unable to stand and walk like other children. In class, he could only put his head on the table and his eyes can only scan half the pages of the book. He couldn't turn over the book with one hand. And he could only sit and listen to a class for up to 30 minutes, with the remaining 15 minutes to lie down to listen to his teacher.
But these did not scare Yifan, with only a little muscle strength left in his hands, he finished one test paper after another, more than 20 a day, often till one or two o'clock in the morning. Finally, he successfully completed the 2021 college entrance examination.
To live is much more difficult than others. Why does he have to learn? The family said because of the serious disease, he was deprived (剥夺) of the right to walk, run, jump, but he can no longer be deprived of the right to education. Xing Yifan decided to let himself be Hawking of China, and change his life with knowledge.
He came to BUAA and stayed in the love dormitory on the first floor. Xing Yifan said he was feeling particularly warm with all the help. He was expecting new college life and hoped to know more students, and take part in lots of activities. Life kisses him with pain, but he sings.
1. What can Xing Yifan do according to the text?| A．Sit alone for 45 minutes at a time. |
| B．Walk and run faster than others. |
| C．Turn over the book with one hand. |
| D．Lie down to listen during the class. |
| A．Easy-going. | B．Warm-hearted. |
| C．Hard-working. | D．Simple-minded. |
| A．His parents didn't support his learning. |
| B．He faced up to his difficulty positively. |
| C．He was forced to learn by his parents. |
| D．He was once refused to learn at school. |
| A．BUAA. a university filled with love and care |
| B．A disabled boy, being the first student of BUAA |
| C．LAMA2, attacking no more than a hundred people |
| D．A disabled boy, making a surprising achievement |
5 . If I have a goal in life, it isn’t to be driving a Rolls-Royce. It’s to be giving away more than $1,000,000 a year and having an impact on people’s lives. I have the success today because I always had to work for what I wanted. I grew up accustomed to risks and disappointments, so I was used to moving forward, no matter what.
In 2008, I went to Los Angeles where I tried to get hired as an agent, an analyst and a financial broker. Unfortunately, all these doors slammed in my face. The world’s economy was in a bad state, so I knew I would have to do a little spinning of my own.
Youth involves a certain innocence but also perseverance. The word “can’t” wasn’t in my vocabulary. I partnered with a friend buying distressed multifamily properties around Houston. Even though we were enthusiastic and backed with start-up sums, I didn’t make a deal work. My friend moved on to other projects. Alone, I put all my money into the next real-estate project. I put the time in, I dreamed it, but once again the deal fell through. Two months later, though, the deal came back around. That was when the path opened, luck changed, and I was ready to form my own company. I haven’t looked back. Only ahead.
I’m now able to give back to communities and causes. I donate about $500,000 a year, much of that going to research to cure rare diseases. We also support a lot of services for disadvantaged children in Houston and other places.
I have always been someone who can see the big picture and have never been distracted by things that get in the way. There are lessons to be learned, and the biggest of those is to keep going. You may have to change the path, but always keep that vision in front of you.
1. Which of the following about the author is true?| A．He donated a lot of money to improve his company’s image. |
| B．He often encountered difficulties in the process of growing up. |
| C．He started his own company together with a friend. |
| D．He changed jobs several times while in Los Angeles. |
| A．look for a part-time job independently | B．make his contributions to the economy |
| C．give in to the disappointing reality | D．be self-employed to develop his career |
| A．Perseverance. | B．Optimism. | C．Innocence. | D．Kindness. |
| A．Saying No to “Turning Back” | B．Tips for a Successful Business |
| C．Jumping over Economic Downturns | D．A Life-time Pursuit of Dream |
6 . Born blind is unfortunate in any case. But things were even harder for Srikanth Bolla who was born in a small village in India, where the common belief was that kids with disabilities were “of no use” and therefore, better off dead. Fortunately, Srikanth’s parents loved their son and refused to give him up. Instead, they encouraged the blind boy to dream big and reach for the stars.
Srikanth did not disappoint his parents. The now twenty-four-year-old man is the founder and CEO of Bollant Industries.
Of course, getting here was not easy. Being both blind and poor meant that Srikanth had to face hard challenges. As a young boy, Srikanth attended a regular school near his home. Unfortunately, the students and teachers didn’t quite like him because of his disability. As a result, the young boy was largely ignored and often spent the entire day alone.
Concerned this would hold back Srikanth’s development, his family decided to send him to a special school in Hyderabad. Sure enough, the young boy soon rose to the top of his class, earning awards in speech and debate competitions. But Srikanth was prevented from studying science when he reached 10th grade, because it was thought too dangerous for a blind student. Not wanting to give up, Sriksanth took legal action and became the first blind student in the country allowed to study science.
Later, after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Srikanth set up Bollant Industries in 2012. For just four years, it has become a powerhouse with over 450 employees,70% of whom are physically challenged.
Being disabled doesn’t mean being unable. “If the world looks at me and says ‘Srikanth, you can do nothing’, I will look back at the world and say I can do anything,” says the young man.
1. What made little Srikanth live?| A．His luck. | B．His parents’ love. |
| C．A wonderful dream. | D．A village’s common belief. |
| A．By letting the child bear them. | B．By moving to another place. |
| C．By sending him to a special school. | D．By complaining to relevant departments. |
| A．He was too young to study it. | B．He was disliked by his teachers. |
| C．It was illegal for him to do so. | D．It was considered unsafe for the blind man. |
| A．Determined. | B．Dishonest. | C．Outspoken. | D．Impatient. |
7 . Peterson Moturi journeyed to Nairobi, Kenya in 2014 to find a better life for himself. Initially, he would sell drinking water and groundnuts, as well as working as a car wash attendant before becoming a watchman for night duties. Since his goal was to join law school, he saved Kes 50, 000, which he used to pay for his admission to law school.
He applied for admission to the Kenya School of Law (KSL) in 2016 and was successful, but the biggest headache facing him was that he didn’t have enough money to pay his fees. Fortunately, he got some financial assistance from Mr. PLO Lumumba, who was then the school director and offered him a scholarship.
However, Moturi was then faced with the challenging task of working at night and attending class during the day. Unfortunately, when he sat for his final exams, he got a Pass, which could not allow him to move to the next stage, attaining a law degree. That meant he had to score at least a credit and find money to pay for his diploma courses. He decided to approach his employer, Radar Security, for help. He honestly told his boss that he failed and wondered if he could sponsor him for the diploma once again. To his surprise, his boss agreed, and in no time, he was back in class.
“Now I am a joyful man. I am graduating with a credit score. I can now go ahead, pursue a law degree and become an advocate,” he said at the graduation ceremony. Though dressed in the usual graduation regalia (礼服), Moturi somehow appeared different from his colleagues due to the security guard uiform he wore underneath. The 28-year-old man desires to help the less fortunate in society have access to justice.
1. What bothered Moturi most after he gained admission to the KSL?| A．Losing his day job. | B．Lacking school fees. |
| C．Feeding his family. | D．Failing in his final exams. |
| A．To enable his boss to sponsor him. |
| B．To succeed in obtaining the scholarship. |
| C．To graduate from the KSL ahead of time. |
| D．To qualify for admission for a law degree. |
| A．By selling daily articles. | B．By offering car washing service. |
| C．By serving as a night watchman. | D．By asking his family for financial help. |
| A．Determined. | B．Modest. | C．Imaginative. | D．Generous. |
8 . The morning that Devanshi Mavani reached the top of Kilimanjaro, the conditions were bitter. She had set off, like most hikers, the night before to time her arrival at the summit (山顶) with the sunrise. Immediately, heavy snow began to fall. “Normally people see Kenya on the other side. When we got to the summit, we saw nothing,” she says. “It was like a ski slope (斜坡). But I was crying with happiness.”
Just 17 months earlier, this trip had seemed impossible. In May 2017, Mavani was diagnosed with type I diabetes (糖尿病). She says, “I felt so low, thinking, ‘What am I going to do now in life, stuck with this?’”
The news put in jeopardy all Mavani’s hopes of travelling. She retired the year before and her son eventually flew the nest. “I felt free. It was my chance. I thought, ‘Hooray, I can enjoy life.’” But her diagnosis made Mavani scared to leave the house. Her elder sister came to help, but Mavani “couldn’t walk to the local park” without feeling unwell. Very slowly, Mavani built herself up from walking around the block to taking gentle gym classes. It was there that she met Hazel, who invited her to a talk about climbing Kilimanjaro.
When Mavani returned home that evening, she told her husband that it was something she really wanted to do. “The hike was the following year, when I was turning 60. He said, ‘You’ve got time.’ It was the best thing I did. It took my focus away from worrying about my disease to something completely different. How am I going to get fit again? How am I going to cope with this huge hike so far outside my comfort zone?”
During the seven-day trek, Mavani had to inject (注射) herself five to eight times a day. “It was -16℃ outside; I had to take off all my clothes, lying on a snowy rock. I overcame all that,” she says. “I thought, I don’t fear the diabetes. If I can do this, I can do anything.”
Mavani recently completed the West Highland Way and the Cotswolds Way, and has booked a trip to Machu Picchu in Peru.
1. Why did Mavani cry at the top of Kilimanjaro?| A．She felt disappointed at not seeing the scene she had expected. |
| B．She was excited to finish something challenging. |
| C．She was afraid to be left behind by other hikers. |
| D．She couldn’t wait to ski down the mountain. |
| A．Revealed. | B．Inspired. | C．Announced. | D．Threatened. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Disapproving. | D．Worried. |
| A．She has learnt a new way to connect with people. |
| B．Her physical health has recovered rapidly. |
| C．She has fallen in love with travelling. |
| D．Her confidence has been built up. |
9 . Wang Fang, a Suzhou native, has given her heart and soul to Kunqu Opera. Wang, who has twice won the Plum Performance Award — China’s top award for theater and opera performances-started to learn the traditional art form in 1977.
Born with a melodic voice, Wang loved to sing and dance when she was little. She performed frequently, and was recruited by the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Troupe (剧团) when she was in middle school. However, her parents refused the troupe’s invitation, insisting that she should concentrate on her studies and not drop out of school. After members of the troupe visited the parents repeatedly and showed great sincerity,Wang’s parents finally agreed.
Learning the traditional art form was never easy. She started to learn how to pronounce words, sing them lyrically and make gestures gently. As an actress playing martial artists roles at first, she had to spend extra time practicing kung fu movements. Years later, Wang used the word “unimaginable” to describe how hard the days were when she first learned Kunqu. She was soaked in sweat when practicing movements in summer, while in winter she often had chilblains (冻疮) on her hands when training in shabby classrooms with broken windows. “But I was young and determined at the time. No matter how difficult, I always got up early the next morning to practice,” Wang recalls.
Wang says she did not love Kunqu at first, but in her early 20s,when she watched the show Peony Pavilion performed by Zhang Jiqing, a master of the art form, it clicked. “I was shocked,” Wang says. “Her every movement was full of elegance and delicacy. Each of her lines and songs was perfect. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of Kunqu for the first time in my life, and it has stayed with me since.” Now, Wang has herself become a master of Kunqu. Her performances have impressed generations and helped to promote the art form among young people.
1. Why did Wang’s parents turn down the troupe’s invitation at first?| A．They didn’t think Wang had artistic talent. |
| B．They saw no future in learning Kunqu Opera. |
| C．They didn’t want Wang to ignore her studies. |
| D．They regarded members of the troupe as insincere. |
| A．Wang has made great efforts to learn Kunqu well. |
| B．Artists should be given more attention and care. |
| C．Traditional culture needs to be further promoted. |
| D．Wang has played a key role in the development of Kunqu. |
| A．Winning the Plum Performance Award. |
| B．Joining the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Troupe. |
| C．Watching Zhang’s masterly performance. |
| D．Being greatly admired by the audience. |
| A．It is never too late to learn. | B．Rome was not built in a day. |
| C．Doing is better than saying. | D．Don’t judge a book by its cover. |
10 . It was dark as Ibrahim Al Hussein came to. He couldn’t move and thick dust filled the air, blocking out all but a few small flames dancing close by. It was hard to breathe. Something wasn’t right and he could not feel his foot. As the smoke of the bombing cleared Al Hussein was saved but lost his lower right leg forever.
After several twists and turns, Al Hussein managed to escape from war-torn Syria to Athens, Greece. With no money left on him, he had to sleep on the streets and look for fruit in trees or eat grass from the park. Luckily, he later found work cleaning toilets at a local cafe. He worked every day of the week with no breaks and was proud to be supporting himself. But he was missing something — sport.
Al Hussein used to be a sportsman. As war broke out in Syria in 2011, all sports stadiums were forced to close, but now settled and safe in Athens, he was desperate to return to physical activity. In May, 2015, his prayers were answered. A swimming club gave him permission to train there.
“When I looked at the address I realised it was the Athens Aquatics Centre,” says Al Hussein, who, at the age of 16, had watched the 2004 Olympics unfold on a small TV in his cosy Syrian home. “Seeing those Olympics gave me motivation to do sport and although it was a flashback to the past, it was also a look to a better future because I had made it to the pool I’d watched and dreamt of swimming in.”
For much of 2015 he swam in the morning and then worked at the cafe until late in the evening. It was tough, but it worked for him and, in early 2016, he secured two medals at the Greek Para Swimming National Championships. People began to take note.
1. What caused Al Hussein to lose his lower right leg?| A．A war. | B．A fire. | C．An illness. | D．An accident. |
| A．Why Al Hussein worked hard. | B．How Al Hussein survived in Greece. |
| C．Why Al Hussein missed sport. | D．How Al Hussein escaped from Syria. |
| A．It was forced to close in 2011. | B．Al Hussein went there at age 16. |
| C．It used to be a swimming club. | D．The 2004 Olympics were held there. |
| A．Independent but proud. | B．Motivated but stubborn. |
| C．Ambitious and religious. | D．Hardworking and optimistic |
