Ali and his younger sister, Zahra, lived with their parents in a poor neighborhood. Their mother was very sick and their father was struggling to find a job, and they had only a little money with which to buy food. As they had not paid the rent for several months, the landlord was breathing down their necks.
One day, Ali took Zahra's shoes to a shoe repairman to be fixed, but he lost them on the way home. It wasn’t until he got home that he realized he had lost the shoes. He was afraid that his parents would be angry and disappointed, so he begged his sister to keep it a secret. Zahra agreed and the two decided to share Ali’s running shoes. Zahra's school hours were in the morning, so she would wear them first. After school, she would rush back and give them to Ali. He could then run to his school, which began in the afternoon. Although he ran as fast as he could, Ali often arrived late and was warned by the school.
Ali heard about a long distance race that was held for the boys in the city.When he learned that the third prize was a new pair of shoes, he decided to take part. He ran home excitedly and promised his sister that he would win her the new shoes.
The day of race arrived. Ali had a strong start, but halfway through the race he began to get tired and his legs began to ache. Getting more and more exhausted he thought only of Zahra and his promise to her. Dreaming of the new shoes he would win for his sister gave him strength, and he stayed right behind the two fastest runners, determined to finish third. Suddenly, as the finish line drew near, another runner collided(碰撞) with Ali from behind and he crashed to the ground.
Ali looked up and saw the other boys rushing ahead.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Filled with delight, Ali walked home quickly.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . It is well known that smoking is harmful to health. It is unfortunate that despite some individuals who choose not to smoke, they remain to be victims of various diseases caused by cigarette smoking.
Cigarette smoke contains thousands of dangerous chemicals that are unhealthy for both smokers and non-smokers. Secondhand smoke refers to the smoke from the burning end of a cigarette and the smoke breathed by smokers. More than 126 million Americans are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke at home, at work, and in enclosed public spaces.
The Deadly Effects
Secondhand smoke can cause heart disease and lung cancer in non-smoking adults. Breathing secondhand smoke for even a short time increases risk for those diseases.
Children and infants are especially attacked by the poisons in secondhand smoke. Almost 3 million children in the United States under the age of six breathe secondhand smoke at home at least four days per week.
Secondhand smoke is a known cause of the sudden infant death syndrome, breathing problems, ear infections, and asthma attacks in infants and children.
Secondhand smoke in the home environment can slow the lung growth of exposed children. Older children whose parents smoke get bronchitis and pneumonia more often than the children of non-smokers. Wheezing (气喘) and coughing are also more common in children who breathe secondhand smoke.
Protecting Yourself and Others
The only way to fully protect yourself and loved ones from the dangerous chemicals in secondhand smoke is through 100 percent smoke-free environments. Opening a window; sitting in a separate area; or using ventilation (通风), air conditioning, or a fan cannot get rid of secondhand smoke exposure. If you are a smoker, the single best way to protect your family is to quit smoking.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the possible result of smoking?| A．Heart disease. | B．Pneumonia. |
| C．Lung cancer. | D．High blood pressure. |
| A．Adults. | B．The elderly. |
| C．Cancer patients. | D．Children and infants. |
| A．Use an air conditioner. | B．Try to avoid smoking. |
| C．Stay in a separate room. | D．Open the windows for ventilation every day. |
| A．Smoking is harmful to health | B．Anti-smoking campaign is launched |
| C．Secondhand smoke: the real danger | D．Create a smoke-free environment |
Nowadays in real life, many people have all kinds of bad habits, but getting rid of them takes a bit more effort. Whether they’re “traditional (like biting your nails, snacking on junk food, gossiping, or twirling your hair) or more hi-tech (like texting), bad habits all have one thing in common: They’re hard to break. You can do it, though.
So if you’re ready, gather your willpower, follow these steps, and wave goodbye to that bad habit forever!
Step 1
Make a note every time you engage in your habit. Write down the time and where you are, as well as how you’re feeling. Are you bored, angry, or sad? The more you understand the reason behind your habit, the more control you’ll have over it.
Step 2 Pay attention to when your bad habit pops up.
Do you see any patterns in your journal? Do you always bite your nails before a test? Are you more likely to eat junk food, like chips or candy, when you’re doing your homework? If you notice a pattern of your habit,
Step 3 Replace your bad habit with a good.
Instead of biting your nails or twirling your hair, keep your fingers busy drawing or knitting. If gossip is your problem, challenge yourself to say nice things about people. Each time you substitute your new activity for your old one,
Step 4 Stay focused.
Write down a promise to yourself: “I will stop biting my nails” or “I will stop texting so much”. Make a list of the days of the week, and place a gold star next to each day that you don’t engage in your habit. If you can’t get through a whole day at first,
Step 5 Keep at it.
Maybe you’ve heard the expression “Old habits die hard”? Well, it’s true! It usually takes three weeks to a month to break a bad habit. So if you mess up one day, don’t give up!
Remember, if you put your mind to it, you can do anything—even break that bad, bad habit!
| A．Keep a journal for a day (or two). |
| B．He has the bad habit of biting his nails. |
| C．Just go right back to trying again the next day. |
| D．I want to stop, and sometimes I even quit for a day. |
| E．you’ll be one step closer to breaking that bad habit. |
| F．break each day down into smaller segments of time. |
| G．start thinking about ways you can change the pattern. |
4 . I was once a dropout.I know how powerfully a
Searching the ads, I found a notice that our local community college offered free work
I sat
“Why did you apply for this
She explained how the GED scores are based on, and that my numbers were very high indeed. I would make an excellent candidate for the training program.
I regained my
| A．clerk | B．teacher | C．interpreter | D．tailor |
| A．hear from | B．reflect on | C．believe in | D．dry out |
| A．accident | B．patient | C．trunk | D．giant |
| A．contradict | B．participate | C．declare | D．afford |
| A．preparation | B．certificate | C．training | D．qualification |
| A．numb | B．low | C．parallel | D．steep |
| A．distribute | B．apologize | C．recommend | D．offer |
| A．operate | B．grill | C．click | D．try |
| A．employ | B．assess | C．drill | D．comfort |
| A．comfortably | B．curiously | C．optionally | D．nervously |
| A．desperate | B．absurd | C．prepared | D．autonomous |
| A．before | B．until | C．since | D．after |
| A．occupation | B．enterprise | C．program | D．degree |
| A．anger | B．shame | C．envy | D．affection |
| A．dignity | B．confidence | C．privilege | D．profit |
As a teacher, my daily routine includes driving to a new school almost every day so I’m usually unable to predict the day’s events, good or bad!
needed coffee to even consider surviving the afternoon. So on my lunchtime, I drove to a nearby plaza to get a cup of On one particular day, I was teaching in a very difficult class. Some of the schoolboys didn’t finish their homework on time and that really annoyed me. I was managing behaviour all morning and by lunchtime I knew I coffee. There I had a wonderful time and forgot the unpleasant experience in the morning. Upon returning to the car, I realized I had locked my keys and my phone inside!
I had about 10 minutes to get back to the school which was a good 4-or-5-minute drive away. I considered rushing back, but it was winter, and I thought a dirty fall on ice would make the situation much worse. So I ran into a Mcdonald’s which was in the same plaza and asked the man at the counter to call me a cab. The man happened to be the manager of the restaurant. I briefly explained my situation to him, and I could tell by the look, that he empathized. He hurried to the back to use the phone while I paced in the restaurant. I had less than 10 minutes to get back to my school at this point.
The manager returned, only to tell me that the cab company had put him on hold and then the line got disconnected, and that he was now on hold again, but had not yet been able to request the cab yet. My expression, I am sure, began to resemble some combination of hopelessness and fear.
注意:续写词数应为 150 左右。
Paragraph 1:
Without a thought, the manager grabbed his coat and offered to drive me to the school.
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Paragraph 2:
The manager’s calm behaviour and kind nature made me think
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6 . There are many scholarships rewarding particular talents, so just find the right one that works for you.
■Spirit of Giving Scholarship
Deadline: July 31, 2021
Award Amount: $1,000
Overview: It is available to high school seniors and current college students. You must submit an essay of between 500 and 750 words on one of the following three topics: How have you advanced the spirit of giving? How has the spirit of giving affected you personally? How will your present education allow you to be of service to others?
■Ocean Awareness Contest
Deadline: June 15, 2021
Award Amount: Up to $1,500
Overview: It is open to students between the ages of 11 and 18. Students are invited to learn about the climate crisis and its impact on oceans, discover solutions and create work that explores hope in action.
Submissions are accepted in visual art, film, music, or poetry.
■Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest
Deadline: September 19, 2021
Award Amount: $25,000
Overview: Essay contest on Ayn Rand’s novel, Atlas Shrugged. There are 59 prizes, and first prize is $25,000! To enter, submit an 800 to 1,600word essay on one of the specific topics about the novel, which can be viewed on the scholarship provider’s website.
■Coca-Cola Scholars Program Scholarship
Deadline: October 31, 2021
Award Amount: $20,000
Overview: It is a scholarship awarded to graduating high school seniors, who are recognized for their capacity to lead and serve, as well as their commitment to making a significant impact on their schools and communities. Applicants must be expecting completion of a high school diploma at the time of application and planning to pursue a degree at a postsecondary institution.
1. What is required to win Spirit of Giving Scholarship?| A．Students aged from 11 to 18. | B．The capacity to lead and serve. |
| C．Submitting an essay. | D．Applying for it before October 31, 2021. |
| A．Spirit of Giving Scholarship. | B．Ocean Awareness Contest. |
| C．Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest. | D．CocaCola Scholars Program Scholarship. |
| A．Those studying in college. | B．Those to graduate from high school. |
| C．Those with a high school diploma. | D．Those in postsecondary institutions. |
7 . Some students get so nervous before a test. They do poorly even if they know the material. Sian Beilock, a professor at the University of Chicago in Illinois, has studied these highly anxious test-takers. The students start worrying about the results. And when they worry, it actually uses up attention and memory resources (资源).
Professor Beilock and another researcher, Gerardo Ramirez, have developed a possible solution. Just before an exam, highly anxious test-takers spend ten minutes writing about their worries about the test.
The researchers tested the idea on a group of twenty anxious college students. They gave them two short maths tests. After the first one, they asked the students to either sit quietly or write about their feelings about the upcoming second test.
Professor Beilock says those who sat quietly scored an average of 12% worse on the second test. But the students who had written about their fears improved their performance by an average of 5%. Next, the researchers used younger students in a biology class. They told them before final exams either to write about their feelings or to think about things unrelated to the test. Professor Beilock says highly anxious students who did the writing got an average grade of B+, compared to a B- for those who did not.
“What we showed is that for students who are highly test-anxious, who’d done our writing intervention (干预), all of a sudden there was no relationship between test anxiety and performance. They were performing just as well as their classmates who don’t normally get nervous in these tests.”
But what if students do not have a chance to write about their fears immediately before an exam? Professor Beilock says students can try it themselves at home or in the library and still improve their performance.
1. What may the students start worrying about before an exam?| A．Whether they can pass the exams. |
| B．What other students do during the test. |
| C．Whether they have remembered the materials. |
| D．What kind of problems they will meet on the test paper. |
| A．Asking the students to think nothing of the test. |
| B．Asking the students to focus on the test. |
| C．Asking the students to sit quietly before the test. |
| D．Asking the students to write about their worries before the test. |
| A．became less nervous before the test. |
| B．were better at controlling their feelings. |
| C．did worse than those who wrote about their feelings. |
| D．did better than those who took two tests. |
| A．Writing about worries before an exam can work a bit. |
| B．Studying in the library can improve students’ performance. |
| C．Students can only write about worries right before an exam. |
| D．It doesn’t matter where to write about worries before an exam. |
8 . With a breathing tube in his throat, it was all Radice could do to lift his arm to signal the doctor. Never had he felt so
Nearly six years earlier, Pitera had
Radice was just impressed by Pitera’s progress and devotion. Six years later, when he found himself a
“Not on my watch.” For Radice, those words were exactly what he needed to hear.
Nearly 20 days after he was sent to hospital, Radice completely
| A．bored | B．sleepy | C．tired | D．weak |
| A．belonged to | B．flowed through | C．occurred to | D．cut through |
| A．life | B．favor | C．money | D．fame |
| A．coach | B．nurse | C．specialist | D．employee |
| A．repay | B．return | C．reduce | D．recognize |
| A．soft | B．strong | C．lifeless | D．energetic |
| A．hand | B．watch | C．treat | D．arrival |
| A．spread | B．suffered | C．discovered | D．prevented |
| A．knew | B．guessed | C．doubted | D．wondered |
| A．politely | B．hurriedly | C．carelessly | D．patiently |
| A．friend | B．patient | C．doctor | D．cleaner |
| A．pride | B．respect | C．ability | D．confidence |
| A．Slowly | B．Widely | C．Quickly | D．Completely |
| A．failed | B．recovered | C．refused | D．regretted |
| A．saved | B．started | C．colored | D．enriched |
1. 时间、地点；
2. 体育节的主要活动（开幕式、一分钟表演、比赛项目）及精彩瞬间；
3. 反响和意义。
注意：
1.词数80词左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，使文章连贯；
参考词汇：开幕式opening ceremony 体育节：sports carnival
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When Gloria Estefan started primary school, she could not read, write nor speak English. She felt lost, unhappy and completely frightened. However, someone changed her life—her English teacher, Mrs Collins. Her family had left Cuba in 1959 when she was only a year old in the hope of finding a better life in America. Initially they moved to Miami where the family settled in a set of apartments with other Cuban women and children who had immigrated.
The women were close-knit and supportive. While she felt safe, she was also isolated. They all spoke Spanish, and she rarely heard English. On her very first day in school, which she was looking forward to, she was completely shocked. She came home and told her mother that she had learnt her first English word “stupid”. It was the nickname a boy had given her.
In every way possible, she was set apart from her classmates. She was the only panic and non-white student. She also found it difficult to grasp the English language as it was her second language. The culture, her school friends and the food they ate were different from hers. As such, she was set apart from her classmates.
One person made that year bearable for her, Mrs Collins. She was young and African American, so she understood how Gloria felt as she was the only non-white student in class. Mrs Collins never doubted that Gloria could catch up with the other students in time.
Still, the teasing continued. The boy who called her stupid would not stop laughing at her for her accent. He was a good student and the proud holder of the class’s reading award. It was an honour given periodically to a student, based on excellence in schoolwork, participation and homework. Gloria wanted that long-waited award.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Mrs Collins encouraged her to compete for the reading award.
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The award ceremony was coming up.
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