1 . Tom Sawyer Play Is an Adventure

A 35-minute hand-clapping, foot-stomping musical version of a Mark Twain favorite returns with this Tall Stacks festival.

“Tom Sawyer: A River Adventure” has all the good stuff, including the fence painting, the graveyard, the island and the cave. It is adapted by Joe McDonough, with music by David Kisor. That’s the local stage writing team that creates many of the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati’s original musicals, along with the holiday family musicals at Ensemble Theatre.

This year Nathan Turner of Burlington is Tom Sawyer, and Robbie McMath of Fort Mitchell is Huck Finn.

Tumer, a 10th-grader at School for Creative and Performing Arts, is a familiar presence on Cincinnati’s stages. He is a star act or of Children’s Theatre, having played leading roles in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “The Wizard of Oz,” and is fresh from Jersey Production “Ragtime”.

McMath is a junior at Beechwood High School. He was in the cast of “Tom Sawyer” when it was first performed and is a Children’s Theatre regular, with five shows to his credit. This summer he attended Kentucky’s Governor’s School for the Arts in Musical Theatre.

Note to teachers: Children’s Theatre has a study guide demonstrating how math and science can be taught through “Tom Sawyer.” For downloadable lessons, visit the official website of Children’s Theatre.

1. Who wrote the music for “Tom Sawyer: A River Adventure”?

A．David Kisor.	B．Joe McDonough.
C．Nathan Turner.	D．Robbie McMath.

2. What can we learn about the two actors?

A．They study in the same school.	B．They worked together in ”Ragtime“.
C．They are experienced on stage.	D．They became friends ten years ago.

3. What does Children’s Theatre provide for teachers?

A．Research funding.	B．Training opportunities.
C．Technical support.	D．Educational resources.

2 . Sitting in the garden for my friend’s birthday. I felt a buzz (振动) in my pocket. My heart raced when I saw the email sender’s name. The email started off: “Dear Mr Green, thank you for your interest” and “the review process took longer than expected.” It ended with “We are sorry to inform you…” and my vision blurred (模糊). The position—measuring soil quality in the Sahara Desert as part of an undergraduate research programme — had felt like the answer I had spent years looking for.

I had put so much time and emotional energy into applying, and I thought the rejection meant the end of the road for my science career.

So I was shocked when, not long after the email, Professor Mary Devon, who was running the programme, invited me to observe the work being done in her lab. I jumped at the chance, and a few weeks later I was equally shocked—and overjoyed—when she invited me to talk with her about potential projects I could pursue in her lab. What she proposed didn’t seem as exciting as the original project I had applied to, but I was going to give it my all.

I found myself working with a robotics professor on techniques for collecting data from the desert remotely. That project, which I could complete from my sofa instead of in the burning heat of the desert, not only survived the lockdown but worked where traditional methods didn’t. In the end, I had a new scientific interest to pursue.

When I applied to graduate school, I found three programmes promising to allow me to follow my desired research direction. And I applied with the same anxious excitement as before. When I was rejected from one that had seemed like a perfect fit, it was undoubtedly difficult. But this time I had the perspective (视角) to keep it from sending me into panic. It helped that in the end I was accepted into one of the other programmes I was also excited about.

Rather than setting plans in stone, I’ve learned that sometimes I need to take the opportunities that are offered, even if they don’t sound perfect at the time, and make the most of them.

1. How did the author feel upon seeing the email sender’s name?

A．Anxious.

B．Angry.

C．Surprised.

D．Settled.

2. After talking with Professor Devon, the author decided to ________.

A．criticise the review process	B．stay longer in the Sahara Desert
C．apply to the original project again	D．put his heart and soul into the lab work

3. According to the author, the project with the robotics professor was ________.

A．demanding

B．inspiring

C．misleading

D．amusing

4. What can we learn from this passage?

A．An invitation is a reputation.	B．An innovation is a resolution.
C．A rejection can be a redirection.	D．A reflection can be a restriction.

3 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

For thousands of years, people have told fables (寓言)     1     (teach) a lesson or to pass on wisdom. Fables were part of the oral tradition of many early cultures, and the well-known Aesop’s fables date to the     2     (six) century, B. C. Yet, the form of the fable still has values today,     3     Rachel Carson says in “A Fable for Tomorrow.”

Carson uses a simple, direct style common to fable. In fact, her style and tone (口吻) are seemingly directed at children. “There was once a town in the heart of America,     4     all life seemed to enjoy peaceful existence with its surroundings,” her fable begins,     5     (borrow) some familiar words from many age-old fables. Behind the simple style, however, is a serious message     6     (intend) for everyone.

    7     (difference) from traditional fables, Carson’s story ends with an accusation instead of a moral. She warns of the environmental dangers facing society, and she teaches that people must take responsibility     8     saving their environment.

The themes of traditional fables often deal with simple truths about everyday life. However, Carson’s theme is a more weighty     9     (warn) about environmental destruction. Carson proves that a simple literal form that has been passed down through the ages can still     10     (employ) today to draw attention to important truths.

4 . Many years ago, I bought a house in the Garfagnana, where we still go every summer. The first time we ______ there, we heard the chug chug-chug of a motorbike ______ its way down the hill toward us. It was ______ called Mario, coming to ______ us a box containing some tomatoes and a bottle of wine. It was a very nice ______ for him to make. But when we looked at the tomatoes, we were ______ because they were so misshapen: not at all like the nice, round, ______ things you get in a supermarket. And the wine was cloudy, in a funny old bottle with no label (标签) on it. These can’t be any ______, we thought. But we were ______ his kindness, so we ______ them.

What we discovered is that it’s ______ to judge what you eat only by its ______. Those tomatoes had ______ that reminded me of the ones my uncle used to grow when I was a child. Nowadays supermarket tomatoes ______ perfect but taste of water. Nobody’s going to have a ______ memory of those. It’s a surprise they haven’t managed to grow square ones so that they can ______ them easily. Mario’s wine may have been cloudy and come out of an old bottle, but it was ______.

It’s good to eat things at the correct time, when they’re ______, and as close as possible to where they were ______. What Mario had ______ us was the taste of the Garfagnana.

1.

A．waited

B．met

C．camped

D．stayed

2.

A．making

B．searching

C．squeezing

D．feeling

3.

A．customer

B．neighbor

C．relative

D．passenger

4.

A．lend

B．send

C．bring

D．show

5.

A．choice

B．comment

C．promise

D．gesture

6.

A．worried

B．moved

C．thrilled

D．bored

7.

A．simple

B．real

C．shiny

D．fun

8.

A．more

B．good

C．new

D．easy

9.

A．sympathetic to

B．thankful for

C．cautious about

D．interested in

10.

A．tried

B．sold

C．returned

D．mixed

11.

A．unnecessary

B．uncertain

C．unwise

D．unusual

12.

A．appearance

B．quality

C．origin

D．price

13.

A．size

B．shape

C．color

D．taste

14.

A．smell

B．look

C．become

D．work

15.

A．happy

B．vivid

C．short

D．vague

16.

A．clean

B．check

C．count

D．pack

17.

A．perfect

B．useful

C．convenient

D．familiar

18.

A．on view

B．on sale

C．in season

D．in need

19.

A．finished

B．stored

C．found

D．grown

20.

A．cooked

B．given

C．bought

D．told

5 . Tricks To Becoming A Patient Person

Here’s a riddle: What do traffic jams, long lines and waiting for a vacation to start all have in common? There is one answer.     1    .

In the Digital Age, we’re used to having what we need immediately and right at our fingertips. However, research suggests that if we practiced patience, we’d be a whole lot better off. Here are several tricks.

●Practice gratitude (感激)

Thankfulness has a lot of benefits: Research shows it makes us happier, less stressed and even more optimistic.     2    . “Showing thankfulness can foster self-control,” said Ye Li, researcher at the University of California.

● Make yourself wait

Instant gratification (满足) may seem like the most “feel good” option at the time, but psychology research suggests waiting for things actually makes us happier in the long run. And the only way for us to get into the habit of waiting is to practice.     3    . Put off watching your favorite show until the weekend or wait 10 extra minutes before going for that cake. You’ll soon find that the more patience you practice, the more you start to apply it to other, more annoying situations.

●     4    .

So many of us have the belief that being comfortable is the only state we will tolerate, and when we experience something outside of our comfort zone, we get impatient about the circumstances. You should learn to say to yourself, “    5    .” You’ll then gradually become more patient.

A．Find your causes

B．Start with small tasks

C．Accept the uncomfortable

D．All this adds up to a state of hurry

E．It can also help us practice more patience

F．This is merely uncomfortable, not intolerable

G．They’re all situations where we could use a little extra patience

6 . Grizzly bears, which may grow to about 2.5 m long and weigh over 400 kg, occupy a conflicted corner of the American psyche — we revere (敬畏) them even as they give us frightening dreams. Ask the tourists from around the world that flood into Yellowstone National Park what they most hope to see, and their answer is often the same: a grizzly bear.

“Grizzly bears are re-occupying large areas of their former range,” says bear biologist Chris Servheen. As grizzly bears expand their range into places where they haven’t been seen in a century or more, they’re increasingly being sighted by humans.

The western half of the US was full of grizzlies when Europeans came, with a rough number of 50,000 or more living alongside Native Americans. By the early 1970s, after centuries of cruel and continuous hunting by settlers, 600 to 800 grizzlies remained on a mere 2 percent of their former range in the Northern Rockies. In 1975, grizzlies were listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Today, there are about 2,000 or more grizzly bears in the US. Their recovery has been so successful that the US Fish and Wildlife Service has twice attempted to delist grizzlies, which would loosen legal protections and allow them to be hunted. Both efforts were overturned due to lawsuits from conservation groups. For now, grizzlies remain listed.

Obviously, if precautions (预防) aren’t taken, grizzlies can become troublesome, sometimes killing farm animals or walking through yards in search of food. If people remove food and attractants from their yards and campsites, grizzlies will typically pass by without trouble. Putting electric fencing around chicken houses and other farm animal quarters is also highly effective at getting grizzlies away. “Our hope is to have a clean, attractant-free place where bears can pass through without learning bad habits,” says James Jonkel, longtime biologist who manages bears in and around Missoula.

1. How do Americans look at grizzlies?

A．They cause mixed feelings in people.

B．They should be kept in national parks.

C．They are of high scientific value.

D．They are a symbol of American culture.

2. What has helped the increase of the grizzly population?

A．The European settlers’ behavior.

B．The expansion of bears’ range.

C．The protection by law since 1975.

D．The support of Native Americans.

3. What has stopped the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service from delisting grizzlies?

A．The opposition of conservation groups.

B．The successful comeback of grizzlies.

C．The voice of the biologists.

D．The local farmers’ advocates.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Food should be provided for grizzlies.

B．People can live in harmony with grizzlies.

C．A special path should be built for grizzlies.

D．Technology can be introduced to protect grizzlies.

7 . I was about 13 when an uncle gave me a copy of Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World. It was full of ideas that were new to me, so I spent the summer with my head in and out of that book. It spoke to me and brought me into a world of philosophy (哲学).

That love for philosophy lasted until I got to college. Nothing kills the love for philosophy faster than people who think they understand Foucault, Baudrillard, or Confucius better than you — and then try to explain them.

Eric Weiner’s The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers reawakened my love for philosophy. It is not an explanation, but an invitation to think and experience philosophy.

Weiner starts each chapter with a scene on a train ride between cities and then frames each philosopher’s work in the context (背景) of one thing they can help us do better. The end result is a read in which we learn to wonder like Socrates, see like Thoreau, listen like Schopenhauer, and have no regrets like Nietzsche. This, more than a book about understanding philosophy, is a book about learning to use philosophy to improve a life.

He makes philosophical thought an appealing exercise that improves the quality of our experiences, and he does so with plenty of humor. Weiner enters into conversation with some of the most important philosophers in history, and he becomes part of that crowd in the process by decoding (解读) their messages and adding his own interpretation.

The Socrates Express is a fun, sharp book that draws readers in with its apparent simplicity and gradually pulls them in deeper thoughts on desire, loneliness, and aging. The invitation is clear: Weiner wants you to pick up a coffee or tea and sit down with this book. I encourage you to take his offer. It’s worth your time, even if time is something we don’t have a lot of.

1. Who opened the door to philosophy for the author?

A．Foucault.	B．Eric Weiner.
C．Jostein Gaarder.	D．A college teacher.

2. Why does the author list great philosophers in paragraph 4?

A．To compare Weiner with them.

B．To give examples of great works.

C．To praise their writing skills.

D．To help readers understand Weiner’s book.

3. What does the author like about The Socrates Express?

A．Its views on history are well-presented.

B．Its ideas can be applied to daily life.

C．It includes comments from readers.

D．It leaves an open ending.

4. What does the author think of Weiner’s book?

A．Objective and plain.

B．Daring and ambitious.

C．Serious and hard to follow.

D．Humorous and straightforward.

8 . Terri Bolton is a dab hand when it comes to DIY (do-it-yourself). Skilled at putting up shelves and piecing together furniture, she never pays someone else to do a job she can do herself.

She credits these skills to her late grandfather and builder Derek Lloyd. From the age of six, Terri, now 26, accompanied Derek to work during her school holidays. A day’s work was rewarded with £5 in pocket money. She says: “I’m sure I wasn’t much of a help to start with, painting the rooms and putting down the flooring throughout the house. It took weeks and it was backbreaking work, but I know he was proud of my skills.”

Terri, who now rents a house with friends in Wandsworth, South West London, says DIY also saves her from losing any deposit when a tenancy (租期) comes to an end. She adds: “I’ve moved house many times and I always like to personalise my room and put up pictures, so, it’s been useful to know how to cover up holes and repaint a room to avoid any charges when I’ve moved out.”

With millions of people likely to take on DIY projects over that coming weeks, new research shows that more than half of people are planning to make the most of the long, warm summer days to get jobs done. The average spend per project will be around £823. Two thirds of people aim to improve their comfort while at home. Two fifths wish to increase the value of their house. Though DIY has traditionally been seen as male hobby, the research shows it is women now leading the charge.

1. Which is closest in meaning to “a dab hand” in paragraph 1?

A．An artist.

B．A winner.

C．A specialist.

D．A pioneer.

2. Why did Terri’s grandfather give her £5 a day?

A．For a birthday gift.	B．As a treat for her work.
C．To support her DIY projects.	D．To encourage her to take up a hobby.

3. How did Terri avoid losing the deposit on the house she rented?

A．By making it look like before.	B．By furnishing it herself.
C．By splitting the rent with a roommate.	D．By cancelling the rental agreement.

4. What trend in DIY does the research show?

A．It is becoming more costly.	B．It is getting more time-consuming.
C．It is turning into a seasonal industry.	D．It is gaining popularity among females.

9 . Where to Eat in Bangkok

Bangkok is a highly desirable destination for food lovers. It has a seemingly bottomless well of dining options. Here are some suggestions on where to start your Bangkok eating adventure.

Nahm

Offering Thai fine dining. Nahm provides the best of Bangkok culinary (烹饪的) experiences. It’s the only Thai restaurant that ranks among the top 10 of the world’s 50 best restaurants list. Head Chef David Thompson, who received a Michelin star for his London-based Thai restaurant of the same name, opened this branch in the Metropolitan Hotel in 2010.

Issaya Siamese Club

Issaya Siamese Club is internationally known Thai chef Ian Kittichai’s first flagship Bangkok restaurant. The menu in this beautiful colonial house includes traditional Thai cuisine combined with modern cooking methods.

Bo.lan

Bo.lan has been making waves in Bangkok’s culinary scene since it opened in 2009. Serving hard-to-find Thai dishes in an elegant atmosphere, the restaurant is true to Thai cuisine’s roots, yet still manages to add a special twist. This place is good for a candle-lit dinner or a work meeting with colleagues who appreciate fine food. For those extremely hungry, there’s a large set menu.

Gaggan

Earning first place on the latest “Asia’s 50 best restaurants” list, progressive Indian restaurant Gaggan is one of the most exciting venues (场所) to arrive in Bangkok in recent years. The best table in this two-story colonial Thai home offers a window right into the kitchen, where you can see chef Gaggan and his staff in action. Culinary theater at its best.

1. What do Nahm and Issaya Siamese Club have in common?

A．They adopt modern cooking methods.	B．They have branches in London.
C．They have top-class chefs.	D．They are based in hotels.

2. Which restaurant offers a large set menu?

A．Gaggan.

B．Bo. lan.

C．Issaya Siamese Club.

D．Nahm.

3. What is special about Gaggan?

A．It hires staff from India.	B．It puts on a play every day.
C．It serves hard-to-find local dishes.	D．It shows the cooking process to guests.

10 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Xiao long bao (soup dumplings), those amazing constructions of delicate dumpling wrappers, encasing hot,     1     (taste) soup and sweet, fresh meat, are far and away my favorite Chinese street food. The dumplings arrive steaming and dangerously hot. To eat one, you have to decide whether     2     (bite) a small hole in it first, releasing the stream and risking a spill (溢出),     3     to put the whole dumpling in your mouth, letting the hot soup explode on your tongue. Shanghai may be the     4     (recognize) home of the soup dumplings but food historians will actually point you to the neighboring canal town of Nanxiang as Xiao long Bao’s birthplace. There you will find them prepared differently — more dumpling and less soup, and the wrappers are pressed     5     hand rather than rolled. Nanxiang aside, the best Xiao long bao have a fine skin, allowing them     6     (lift) out of the steamer basket without tearing or spilling any of     7     (they) contents. The meat should be fresh with     8     touch of sweetness and the soup hot, clear and delicious.

No matter where I buy them, one steamer is     9     (rare) enough, yet two seems greedy, so I am always left     10     (want) more next time.