1 . Alice Moore is a teenager entrepreneur(创业者), who in May 2015 set up her business AilieCandy. By the time she was 13, her company was worth millions of dollars with the invention of a super-sweet treat that could save kids’ teeth, instead of destroying them.
It all began when Moore visited a bank with her dad. On the outing, she was offered a candy bar. However, her dad reminded her that sugary treats were bad for her teeth. But Moore was sick of missing out on candies. So she desired to get round the warning, “Why can’t I make a healthy candy that’s good for my teeth so that my parents can’t say no to it?” With that in mind, Moore asked her dad if she could start her own candy company. He recommended that she do some research and talk to dentists about what a healthier candy would contain.
With her dad’s permission, she spent the next two years researching online and conducting trials to get a recipe that was both tasty and tooth-friendly. She also approached dentists to learn more about teeth cleaning. Consequently, she succeeded in making a kind of candy only using natural sweeteners, which can reduce oral bacteria.
Moore then used her savings to get her business off the ground. Afterwards, she and her father secured their first business meeting with a supermarket owner, who finally agreed to sell Moore’s product—CanCandy.
As CanCandy’s success grows, so does Moore’s credibility as a young entrepreneur. Moore is enthusiastic about the candy she created, and she’s also positive about what the future might bring. She hopes that every kid can have a clean mouth and a broad smile.
Meanwhile, with her parents’ help, Moore is generally able to live a normal teenage life. Although she founded her company early on in life, she wasn’t driven primarily by profit. Moore wants to use her unique talent to help others find their smiles. She donates 10% of AilicCandy’s profits to Big Smiles. With her talent and determination, it appears that the sky could be the limit for Alice Moore.
1. How did Moore react to her dad’s warning?| A．She argued with him. | B．She tried to find a way out. |
| C．She paid no attention. | D．She chose to consult dentists. |
| A．It is beneficial to dental health. | B．It is free of sweeteners. |
| C．It is sweeter than other candies. | D．It is produced to a dentists’ recipe. |
| A．To earn more money. | B．To help others find smiles. |
| C．To make herself stand out. | D．To beat other candy companies. |
| A．Fame is a great thirst of the young. |
| B．A youth is to be regarded with respect. |
| C．Positive thinking and action result in success. |
| D．Success means getting personal desires satisfied |
2 . A Chinese girl Tan Fanglin overcame a world-class mathematics problem and was invited again to attend the World Laureates Forum when she was 15. Communicating with 65 top scientists in the world, she became a rising star in this meeting of the world’s sharpest minds.
Her discovery has won her many prizes in youth innovation competitions in China. However, Tan is not a “genius” in the traditional sense. Tan was born in a scholarly family. Her father was a professor of mathematics. Tan showed a high interest in mathematics when she was very young. She likes to find questions on her own. The more difficult the problem is, the more potential she will unlock. In this process, her father will only give proper guidance.
Tan took part in many research projects. So devoted to the projects, she once made serious mistakes during the exam at school. Instead of severely rebuking her, her parents let her find the problem by herself and achieve a better balance between textbook study and research. It was because of the respect and trust of her parents that Tan began to plan her study time scientifically and applied the learning methods summarized in the process of mathematics research to the classroom. With her hard work, she made great achievements in mathematics.
Attending this meeting enabled Tan to get more inspiration from the world’s top scientists. She even got the opportunity to talk with germ Miesenböck, who is pioneering the field of Optogenetics (光遗传学). Miesenböc has encouraged her not to lose her passion and love for what she does and said accepting failure is important to researchers. He has stressed that people all know that even Thomas Edison went through hundreds of unsuccessful attempts before finally inventing the light bulb. Tan has met many difficulties in her research and often feels upset. The words have made her feel inspired.
1. What can we learn about Tan Fanglin?| A．She went to the meeting with her father. | B．She has a strong love for mathematics. |
| C．She never made mistakes in her school exams. | D．She was invited to attend the Forum for the first time. |
| A．Helping. | B．Challenging. | C．Criticizing. | D．Praising. |
| A．By correcting her mistakes. |
| B．By offering extra training for her research. |
| C．By stressing the importance of scientific research. |
| D．By respecting her and encouraging her in self-development. |
| A．All roads lead to Rome. | B．Nothing is impossible. |
| C．Where there is a will, there is a way. | D．Failure is the mother of success. |
3 . “Music is where everything started,” Samira Horton says.
The rising hip-hop star uses music to share a message about bullying. “I was bullied a lot,” she says, “even today, especially because of my voice.” DJ Annie Red has a deep voice.
Annie Red believes that standing up to bullying is more important than ever.
| A．But she sees a brighter future ahead. |
| B．People have told her she sounds like a boy. |
| C．She encourages kids of all ages to stand up to bullying. |
| D．DJ Annie Red has performed at schools, festivals and Brooklyn Net games. |
| E．Her 2017 book, The Bully Stop, is based on her song “No You Won't Bully Me”. |
| F．The 13-year-old from Brooklyn, New York, is known to the world as DJ Annie Red. |
| G．That's because people can bully others on social media while hiding behind a username. |
4 . The student arrived early, sat front and center, and stood out in my classroom in more ways than one. I’d say that he was about 40 years older than his classmates in my undergraduate communications class. He eagerly jumped into class discussions, with his humor and wisdom of experience. And he was always respectful of the other students’ perspectives, as if each of them were a teacher. Jerry Valencia walked in with a smile—and he left with one too.
“These students gave me the confidence that I didn’t need to feel bad about my age,” Valencia says.
One day, I spotted Valencia on campus. He said he would have to stop taking classes that semester and reapply for next year. By then, he hoped to have earned enough money and have his student-loan papers in order. He asked seriously whether he could still sit in on my communications class.
Sure, I said. But he wouldn’t get any credit.
No problem, he said.
Soon there he was again, back at his old desk, jumping into our discussions on how to find and tell stories in Los Angeles—a 63-year-old man with as much energy and curiosity as any of the youngsters in class.
A lot of Valencia’s classmates apparently knew he couldn’t afford that semester’s tuition but was still doing the homework. “Here he is, willingly taking a class for the delight of it and benefit of learning,”says Jessica Espinosa, a 25-year-old junior. Afterward, I overheard Valencia wanted to stay in school until he earned a master’s degree, but it had taken him 12 years to finish community college, so he had a long way to go.
There is something splendidly unreasonable about Valencia’s determination to get a four-year degree and then a master’s. At his current pace, he’ll be 90 when he finally hangs all that paper on the wall. But that doesn’t seem especially relevant. He’s found all the youthful energy and academic opportunity stimulating. Valencia’s grade in my class this semester will not show up on his transcripts(成绩单). But I’m giving him an A—and in the most important ways, it counts.
1. What made Valencia different from his classmates?| A．He was respectful to the teacher. |
| B．He activated the class atmosphere. |
| C．He was eager to learn despite his age. |
| D．He often put forward different opinions. |
| A．He treasured the chance of learning. |
| B．He wished to show his determination. |
| C．He needed the credits to further his study. |
| D．He desired to have an A on his transcripts. |
| A．Modest and independent. | B．Energetic and generous. |
| C．Enthusiastic and motivated. | D．Considerate and intelligent. |
| A．No pains, no gains. | B．It is never too old to learn. |
| C．Strike the iron while it is hot. | D．Where there is life, there is hope. |
5 . When Roosevelt was a kid, his doctors claimed that he was too weak to live a normal life like most children of his age. They strongly recommended him to avoid participation in any physical activities, fearing that it could worsen his health condition and potentially lead to his death. Their opinions implied that he would face up to a life full of all kinds of limitations. Instead of permitting their limiting beliefs about what he could do and achieve, he chose to live a meaningful life.
Despite his doctors’ strong suggestions that he remain inactive, he didn’t want to be a carefree observer of the world as it passed him by. He was determined to force himself to be active. Roosevelt had daily adventures in the woods as a boy.
He continued to play sports when he got to college. In fact, he didn’t just play, but he excelled in both boxing and rowing, both of which require astonishing levels of strength and endurance. When Roosevelt graduated from college, his doctors were still not completely sure about his health condition. They still believed that he would be putting himself in serious danger, because his heart problems had not improved. They firmly believed that it would be best to find a desk job for him after completing a college degree. Once again, Roosevelt decided to challenge himself to his physical limits by living an extremely energetic adult life. In about every field he took part, he would aim to push his physical limits. Impressively, he was excellent as an explorer, a hunter, an author, a soldier and a politician.
Eventually, Roosevelt went beyond the mistaken limitation upon him and lived an amazing life.
1. What would happen if Roosevelt followed his doctors’ suggestions?| A．He would live a meaningful life. |
| B．His life would be full of limitations. |
| C．His parents would feel satisfied with him. |
| D．He would become an extraordinary person. |
| A．An explorer. | B．A boxing player. |
| C．An office clerk. | D．A politician. |
| A．By following time order. | B．By listing obvious reasons. |
| C．By giving some examples. | D．By making necessary comparisons. |
| A．Humorous. | B．Generous. | C．Considerate. | D．Ambitious. |
6 . Mary Dickins had been a member of the audience at poetry nights before and knew “the poetry clap”. She made a polite tapping of fingers. But when she made her debut (首次演出) as a performer at the age of 62 at the legendary Bang Said the Gun night in south London, she said, “It was so wild — like nothing I had ever seen before.” The audience stamped their feet and shook shakers. “It felt transformative. I thought, ‘I’ve got to have more of this,’ ” Dickins said. Becoming a performance poet has given her a place on a stage of her own making.
All her life she has written, mostly without being seen or heard. Her mother died when she was nine, and, after she went into a care home at 13, Dickins’ writing stayed in notebooks. Really, she says, a lot of her adult life has been about getting over childhood shyness. At university — she studied education — she met her husband of 40 years, but in three years of seminars she did not say a word. Some of this results from her years at the children’s home. She says, “It gave me a sense of what it’s like to be excluded. I never fitted in anywhere.”
After she graduated, she discovered that she loved working with people with learning disabilities. She became an expert in inclusive education. “That was my niche (称心的职业),” she says. She published books and returned to the University of North London as a senior lecturer in early childhood studies.
Dickins now sees that in adulthood she has been giving herself permission to be silly. “The sillier I allow myself to be, the better the writing is,” she says. Her observations are humorous.
“Putting things into words and giving shape to your emotions is an important part of coming to terms with the things that happen in life,” she says.
Does she still feel like an outsider?
“I think I’ve made it into a virtue. I celebrate the fact that I don’t fit into a box. Finally! You have to wait till you’re 62 to feel confident!” she says. “But I have a sense of who I am and I'm proud of it. I wouldn’t be anyone else now — and it took me a long time to say that.”
1. How did Dickins feel about her debut?| A．Calm. | B．Awkward. | C．Stressed. | D．Encouraged. |
| A．Her immature writing style. | B．Her experience at the care home. |
| C．Her struggle with her university studies. | D．Her difficult relationship with her husband. |
| A．It makes her land a good job. | B．It sharpens her sense of humor. |
| C．It enables her to get on well with her life. | D．It helps her overcome her learning disabilities. |
| A．Mary Dickins’ New Start after 60 | B．Mary Dickins’ First Performance |
| C．Mary Dickins’ Troubled Writing Career | D．Mary Dickins’ Impact on Performance Poets |
7 . Four years ago, Rome Leykin was on his way to work when he accidentally fell onto the tracks of Brooklyn's train as a subway was approaching. The incident resulted in the loss of both of his legs.
But surprisingly, with the loss of his legs, Leykin gained a new passion for racing. Before his accident, he wasn't really that athletic. He would just occasionally play basketball. But that all changed after he was introduced to hand cycling. “When I saw it, I was like, ‘Oh, this is great. You don't even need legs to use it. This is perfect.’” he said. “So, I got on it, I rode and fell in love with it right away.”
Within a few months, he completed the TD Five Boro Bike Tour, a 40-mile ride through New York City. After that, he did his first marathon in 2021. He fished that race in 2 hours and 11 minutes, placing 12th out of 38.
“I'm going to attend this year's marathon and take on challenges. My hands are on the wheel, my eyes are focused, and I think my time is going to speak for itself.” he said. He's made a significant commitment to training. He hand cycles at least 13.1 miles a couple times a week and spends a lot of time in the gym.
And he plans to keep pursuing his athlete goals. He wants to complete the Abbott Six-the world's six largest marathons. One day, he said, he'll maybe even make the Paralympics.
For those who might be following his journey, he hopes they will take some lessons from his story. “There will be ups and downs but the trend is what's important. Focus on the good,” he said. “And also, take your big problems and split them into small solutions. And then all of a sudden, your big problems turn into many small wins.”
1. What can we learn about Rome Leykin from paragraph 2?| A．He once was an excellent basketball player. |
| B．He considered hand cycling difficult in the beginning. |
| C．He made hand cycling more popular among the disabled. |
| D．He showed an interest in hand cycling the moment he saw it. |
| A．Worried. | B．Curious. | C．Confident. | D．Nervous. |
| A．Easy-going and reliable. | B．Kind-hearted and helpful. |
| C．Open-minded and creative. | D．Strong-willed and ambitious. |
| A．Stick to your dreams. | B．Break down your goals. |
| C．Focus on your strengths. | D．Achieve success at all costs. |
8 . 75-year-old hip-hop (街舞) grandma Stephanie Walsh has gained worldwide attention with her intense dance moves and incredible energy. Better known as “Ms. Stephanie” online, Walsh has been featured on social media accounts with some videos drawing more than 11 million people to watch.
Walsh believes the videos gained popularity because she is 75. “It’s because I’m a senior,” said Walsh. “You don’t usually see someone my age doing hip-hop and moving like that. ”But actually, it’s more than that. Just as her profile claims, Walsh’s videos are “inspiring the world to dance like no one is watching. ”
“Dance isn’t just your body, it’s what you’re feeling inside about the dance and it’s what comes out here in your face,” Walsh said. “What I want to put through my movement is how much fun it is and how much joy it gives you.”
From a young age, Walsh loved to dance but her family didn’t have the money for classes. When she was nearly 30, she got her daughter ballet lessons, which her daughter hated. So, she took her daughter out and started classes herself right away.
Walsh believes her lifelong passion for dance is what motivates her today. “Everybody has to have a passion in their life,” she said. “It’s like that saying, ‘A life without passion is a life half lived.’ I believe that.”
Walsh dances for fun and fitness, but also for therapy (心理治疗). She struggled through countless hardships, and she has more than enough reasons to keep her down. But they don’t. She turns to her faith, her friends and of course, dance, to shine as an inspiration to those around her.
Gilbert, one of Walsh’s followers, says she inspires him every day. “She’s a beautiful soul who teaches me that it doesn’t matter about your age or your size. As long as you feel good, that’s all that matters,” says Gilbert. “I am truly thankful that Walsh is teaching me at the age of 32 to live my life full and stop being so scared.”
1. What motivates Walsh to do hip-hop?| A．Its great social benefit. | B．Its growing popularity. |
| C．Her enthusiasm for dance. | D．Her hunger for reputation. |
| A．Her advanced age. | B．Her smooth moves. |
| C．Her endless energy. | D．Her confident claim. |
| A．Be active in social media. |
| B．Set a good example to others. |
| C．Take full advantage of his talent. |
| D．Adopt a positive approach to life. |
| A．Optimistic About Life: The Way to Survive |
| B．Forever Young in Dance: An Inspiring Figure |
| C．Embracing Social Media: The Key to Success |
| D．Dancing with the Young: An Amazing Journey |
9 . Tina Leverton was 62 when she bought her first pair of ballet shoes. She said putting her feet into the soft leather was very emotional. She said: “I’ve waited a long time for it.”
A few days later, Leverton took her first ballet class after seeing an advertisement in a newspaper. It showed older women dancing in a class near Leverton’s house. “As I came in the door, I found a big smile on my face. From the minute I started, I felt like coming home.”
Leverton had longed to dance as a child. Sadly, her parents couldn’t afford ballet classes, for they were first-generation Indian immigrants, struggling to make a living in the UK. Her father was a train driver on the underground in London and her mother held two cleaning jobs. Nonetheless, she harboured her dream of being a ballerina (芭蕾舞女演员).
At her present age, a grand plie-lowering to the floor with bent knees-seemed to be out of the question. It took her three months to master the move: leaping and landing on one foot. ”I love the struggle and the challenge of learning something new. People in their 60s have a lot of self-limiting beliefs: ‘I can’t do it,’ ‘I’m not good enough.’ And maybe they’re not good enough. But it doesn’t matter,” she said.
Ballet has been transformative. At a medical appointment a few months after Leverton’s first class, a nurse measured her at 163cm, half an inch taller than she had thought. She attributes (归因) the difference to improved posture. Her muscle tone has improved and her lower back pain has stopped. Dancing has also brought new friends. She met a group of older, more independent women and worked together towards a team award with the Royal Academy of Dance. And then, of course, there is the joyful feeling. “Ballet is all the therapy (治疗) I’ll ever need,” said Leverton.
1. How did Leverton feel after taking her dance lesson?| A．Tired. | B．Confused. | C．Shocked. | D．Thrilled. |
| A．Her family was badly off. | B．She wasn’t able to leap high. |
| C．Her family laughed at her dream. | D．She had to focus on classes. |
| A．A team award. | B．Money and fame. |
| C．Friendship and joy. | D．A medical treatment. |
| A．Hard work pays off. | B．Never too old to pursue dreams. |
| C．Interest is the key to success. | D．Money isn’t everything. |
10 . For most graduating students, the college-admission season, usually in July and August, is a nervous time that is often described as a life-changing moment.
An anxious 18-year-old Peng Lanxi got his admission letter from Hunan University of Science and Technology on July 26, bringing his dream closer-making prosthetic limbs (假肢) more advanced and accessible to people like him. His mother Wang Chunmei couldn’t hold back her tears because she knew how her son had overcome the difficulties.
Peng Lanxi lost his legs in a car accident in 2005, when he was a baby. Having learned to walk using just his hands, he enjoys life as much as the teenagers around him. On his wheelchair, he plays basketball and badminton. Once a week, he goes for a 40-minute swim, and his best time for 100 meters is one minute and 15 seconds.
“I believe that obstacles (障碍) are there to be conquered. Someone says that life is like a mirror, and we get the best results when we smile at it,” Peng Lanxi says.
His story has gone viral (在网上快速传播的) on social media platform Sina Weibo, which has been viewed more than 19 million times and he won admiration from its users for his courage, determination and hard work. A user named Shuangpi comments that Peng lost his legs, but he doesn’t let that get in his way.
The official account of Hunan University of Science and Technology on the platform has even commented, “Welcome Peng to the university.” Lu Ming says that the school will help Peng to pursue his dream—to be a prosthetics engineer, a career that will change lives. Peng is not alone, as authorities have improved the presence of disabled people on mainstream campuses in recent years. 14,559 students facing physical challenges entered college last year. From 2016 to 2020, about 57,500 special needs students were admitted into universities, a more than 50 percent increase compared with the 2011-2015 period.
1. Why did Wang Chunmei burst into tears?| A．Her son can act like a healthy person. | B．Her son’s achievement was a shock to her. |
| C．Her son succeeded after too much difficulty. | D．She hoped to put on prosthetic limbs for her son. |
| A．His bitter childhood. | B．His game experience. |
| C．His positive attitude to life. | D．His preference for various sports. |
| A．His mother. | B．His talents. | C．His hard work. | D．Shuangpi’s comment. |
| A．Lu Ming was once in charge of admission. |
| B．Prosthetics engineers can find jobs much easier. |
| C．Disabled people at universities are looked down on. |
| D．Being admitted into the university will contribute to Peng Lanxi’s future. |
