China launched
2 . My family and I belonged to a country club located across the street from the Long Island Sound. Each summer, the big attraction for us was the pool. I learned how to swim and joined the swimming team but was never really a good swimmer. However, swimming in my younger days was a way to keep cool, and swimming on a team gave me identity and a sense of belonging. It also became invaluable many years later.
Fast-forward (快进) to 1973 – I was married, pregnant and had a home. What made our little home even more wonderful was when I discovered that four blocks away was Rath Park Pool! For the next 30 years, most of our summer days were spent around that pool.
Each of my five kids took swimming lessons and learned all the different swimming strokes (姿势). They later joined the swim team and competed in meets. My daughter even became a lifeguard at the town pool. I sat back and happily took it all in!
As much as I would have liked to have life stand still, it doesn’t. My children outgrew their pool days and moved on. But the pool was still four blocks from my home, so I began to take up swimming again. And it was far better than I ever could have imagined. I got so much out of it that I joined the local pool so I could swim year-round. Whenever I swam, I would always come out feeling physically and mentally refreshed. I often felt that if I looked hard enough, I would be able to see all of the worries and problems I’ve had in life, sitting at the bottom of the pool!
What has swimming taught me? I’ve learned that balance is the key to being a good swimmer. If you are balanced in the water, you have no resistance. Working on staying balanced made me realize the similarities between life in and out of the swim lane (泳道). If you work on keeping yourself balanced, you will be able to swim right through the stress and problems life throws at you!
1. What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 1?| A．Her family taught her how to swim. |
| B．She swam with friends more often in summer. |
| C．Swimming brought her lifelong benefits. |
| D．She was elected to be the swim team captain. |
| A．The author loved the pool days with her kids. |
| B．Swimming was losing its appeal to the author. |
| C．Her kids’ winning competitions made her proud. |
| D．The author preferred to have a peaceful life. |
| A．Sports can give you the courage to face difficulties. |
| B．She mastered more swimming skills than expected. |
| C．It enabled her to see how to handle problems in life. |
| D．Swimming made her remember her younger days. |
| A．The wonderful pool days with the author’s family. |
| B．The influence of swimming on the author’s life. |
| C．The physical and mental benefits of swimming. |
| D．The similarities between swimming and life. |
3 . One dark morning during my walk, I fell and had my
My fourteen-year-old son, Matthew, was fond
From then on, I often practiced. The more I did it, the more I knew I could do it. I realize that not only will my body not
| A．head | B．leg | C．arm | D．eye |
| A．operations | B．occupations | C．qualifications | D．certifications |
| A．luckily | B．importantly | C．unfortunately | D．happily |
| A．fairest | B．fullest | C．cheapest | D．easiest |
| A．love | B．sympathy | C．embarrassment | D．desperation |
| A．depended | B．figured | C．insisted | D．focused |
| A．appreciate | B．realize | C．confirm | D．describe |
| A．of | B．with | C．in | D．on |
| A．club | B．sport | C．job | D．injury |
| A．interesting | B．frightening | C．challenging | D．deserving |
| A．competitions | B．vacations | C．practices | D．performances |
| A．enthusiastically | B．patiently | C．honestly | D．violently |
| A．take away | B．pick up | C．break down | D．sort out |
| A．first | B．second | C．third | D．last |
| A．distance | B．enemy | C．air | D．target |
| A．suffer from | B．benefit from | C．adapt to | D．take to |
| A．busier | B．clearer | C．closer | D．richer |
| A．suspected | B．insisted | C．concluded | D．imagined |
| A．excuses | B．responsibilities | C．permissions | D．motivations |
| A．care | B．aim | C．action | D．defeat |
4 . It was mid-October when I spotted them. They were the first
It was late-December from several years earlier. I was
| A．Halloween | B．Christmas | C．Easter | D．New Year |
| A．peak | B．middle | C．beginning | D．end |
| A．purchase | B．exchange | C．fetch | D．produce |
| A．mall | B．rush | C．experience | D．cart |
| A．painfully | B．fiercely | C．happily | D．sadly |
| A．bitter | B．recent | C．dim | D．wonderful |
| A．wandering | B．working | C．shopping | D．thinking |
| A．clothes | B．socks | C．gloves | D．trousers |
| A．store | B．street | C．square | D．church |
| A．picture | B．age | C．hobby | D．address |
| A．afford | B．intend | C．wait | D．agree |
| A．angel | B．leaf | C．card | D．number |
| A．shopper | B．customer | C．homeless | D．child |
| A．making | B．drawing | C．picking | D．tearing |
| A．curiosity | B．surprise | C．smile | D．tears |
| A．buy | B．give up | C．donate | D．take away |
| A．eventually | B．since | C．initially | D．before |
| A．otherwise | B．immediately | C．generally | D．yet |
| A．affair | B．plan | C．business | D．tradition |
| A．counter | B．door | C．tree | D．cashier |
Du Fu is
His mother died while he was young, and an aunt helped raise him. Though he studied for the civil service exam to become a civil servant like his father, Du Fu failed
Du Fu
Du Fu
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
The other day, I invited my friend John, the exchange student from New Zealand, to watching a Chinese Wushu performance at the sports center. Although it was his first time to enjoy such a performance, but he was very interesting. When he saw me the next day, he told me that he would learn Chinese Wushu. He spoke high of it, saying it was good self-defense and fitness. It happened that our school has Wushu training team. I suggested that he take part in it. Late, I took him to the P.E. teacher and signed me up. Now he is training regularly every week and making progresses rapidly.
7 . Seni Felie has already lived through a crisis. He came to America in 1994 as a refugee (难民) from the war in the Socialist Federal Republie of Yugoslavia. He was 29 years old at the time and alone.
These days, he owns a restaurant in San Francisco called Bistro SF Grill, and he is feeling optimistic despite the crisis. “We’re going to pool our resources and people will pull together, and it will have a strong effect on solving any problems,” he told Reader’s Digest.
With that attitude in mind, he posted this on Nextdoor: “We are inviting all to stop by Bistro SF Grill at 1305 Castro St. to grab a lunch or dinner prepackaged box beginning Tuesday, March 17, beginning at noon and every day after. Price is only $5.50 and it covers our expenses,” he wrote.
Bistro SF Grill will be offering three different meals: chicken, rice, and vegetables; fish, rice, and vegetables; and vegan mushroom paella. All are gluten-free (无谷蛋白). The menu will change weekly.
“A lot of seniors, families, and people who don’t know how to cook are in need of fresh, high-quality food daily,” Felic said. “I’ve seen much worse than this—groups of people with guns, and people killed. I was hungry for three years. Under these conditions, food is necessary. Our idea was: Let’s try to help. We’d like to give for free but we can’t afford it.”
The restaurant started GoFundMe (请资助我) page to further lower the cost of the meals. So far, neighbors have pitched in almost $2,000.
He believes that working together and helping others will be the key to helping us—all of us—get through this. “This problem will be contained, and I just feel optimistic,” he added. “When people come together, I think we can overcome almost anything.”
1. Why did Seni Felic post a message on Nextdoor?| A．To provide free food. | B．To sell a cheap lunch. |
| C．To make more money. | D．To earn a good name. |
| A．used to suffer from hunger | B．didn’t know how to cook |
| C．was offered food for free | D．faced the threat of death |
| A．Dealt with. | B．Focused on. |
| C．Accounted for. | D．Contributed to. |
| A．Equality for all. | B．Greeting with each other. |
| C．Spirit of cooperation. | D．Being confident. |
8 . Why Gratitude Is Significant
As far as I'm concerned, no matter what you’re going through, there is always a reason to be thankful. But not only that — being thankful might just be exactly what you need to do if you’re going through a tough time.
Researchers found that having a grateful attitude helps strengthen one’s immune system, lower blood pressure, improve sleep and motivate people to exercise regularly.
Having gone through a period of depression myself after cancer surgery 10 years ago, I can tell you this illness can be severe.
During that time I sought forms of treatment for depression, including professional counseling and exercise. One thing recommended to me by a counselor was keeping a gratitude journal.
| A．Every day, I would set down three things I was thankful for in life. |
| B．Now I realize depression does not go away by practicing a single exercise. |
| C．It itself carries a host of health benefits. |
| D．Being grateful accounts for your recovery. |
| E．Gratitude is good for your mind, body and soul. |
| F．Depression makes you feel as if you are dead inside. |
| G．For example, I would sincerely convey my gratitude loudly. |
9 . Most kids can walk into a library or bookstore and find hundreds of books to read. But it’s not that simple for kids who are blind. They read in a different way. Jenny Lee and other braille (盲文) transcribers take the printed words of a book and change them into a code of raised dots. Blind people can read these dots with their fingers. To know what braille feels like, take a ballpoint pen and press hard onto a piece of paper. Now turn the paper over and touch the raised dot made by the pen point.
When Lee first saw the dots of the braille alphabet, she wondered if she’d ever be able to read and write them easily. She took a class and practised hard for about six months before she passed the final exam: she had to convert 35 pages of a book into braille. Today, Lee works for a publisher. One of her jobs is to change children’s books into braille.
To do this, Lee first types the story into a computer and then uses a computer program to translate it into the braille code. Next, she looks over the translation several times to make sure it’s mistake-free. After that, a copy of the braille story is printed with a special printer. Then Lee and a proofreader work together to find and correct any mistakes. When a book is ready, many copies of it are printed. Afterwards, some are sold through websites and others are sent to libraries.
Sometimes, going over a story again and again gets tiring. That’s when Lee takes a break. Several of Jenny Lee’s co-workers, who are blind, use guide dogs. When the animals aren’t working, Lee likes spending a few minutes with them. To her, playing with dogs “is always a pick-me-up in the middle of the day”.
“I love this mission,” Lee says. “Through my brain power and my fingers, I am putting the dots into some kid’s hands.”
1. How does the writer explain what braille feels like?| A．By explaining what braille words look like. |
| B．By describing how blind people read books. |
| C．By asking readers to experience it themselves. |
| D．By giving examples of different braille words. |
| A．She was excited to get a new skill. |
| B．She was amazed at the clever idea. |
| C．She realized she could teach it herself. |
| D．She believed it would be difficult to learn. |
| A．A discussion to release work stress. |
| B．Something to improve one’s appetite. |
| C．Something to help restore one’s spirit. |
| D．A free ride accompanied with a guide dog. |
| A．Profitable and hopeful. | B．Tiring but meaningful. |
| C．Relaxing and helpful. | D．Boring but challenging. |
10 . Have you ever wondered why the world is full of so many people who are incredibly incompetent at the very thing they are paid to do? If so, an educationalist called Laurence J. Peter may have the answer.
In Peter’s view, most people were promoted based on their current performance, with no real consideration of their ability to take on greater responsibility. Eventually, “every employee tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence”, as he wrote. This is the law he termed the“Peter Principle”.
The strongest evidence for the theory comes from a recent study of 131 companies that all used the same performance management software. As you might expect, the team found that the best salesmen or saleswomen were the ones who tended to be promoted. And the study found that managers who used to be very high-performing sales workers tended not to bring significant assistance to their colleagues.
There are lots of potential reasons why this might occur. The personal drive-even aggression-that is needed to promote your own individual sales doesn’t necessarily transform into the interpersonal skills necessary to motivate others, for instance.
In the meantime, knowledge of the “Peter Principle” might be useful for each of us personally. If you frequently find yourself disappointed with your own boss or with your subordinates (下属), it’s worth considering the possibility that you’ve already reached your “level of incompetence”.
That’s not always easy to recognize. As Peter put it, “competence, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder”, but a modest awareness may just encourage you to correct your weaknesses, or to find a new position where your unique talents are of greater value.
1. Which of the following may Peter be in favour of?| A．An able employee may not be in the right place. |
| B．Employees with higher pay tend to perform better. |
| C．Whoever performs well in a firm deserves to be promoted. |
| D．There is no fixed criterion for assessing an employee’s ability. |
| A．The “Peter Principle” makes sense both in companies and schools. |
| B．The best sales workers have got promoted due to their teamwork spirit. |
| C．The companies are in need of employees with good communicative skills. |
| D．Managers, once with good sales performance, may contribute little to others’progress. |
| A．It makes us qualified for a higher position. |
| B．It reminds us of the importance of learning from others. |
| C．It inspires us to fulfill ourselves in a suitable position. |
| D．It provides guidance on how to improve our competence. |
| A．General Rules in a Company | B．Reasons for Getting Promoted |
| C．Knowledge of the “Peter Principle” | D．The Development of a Famous Theory |
