1 . It was our first Thanksgiving in the new house, and I wanted everything to be perfect. However, my husband just got a new job in retail, so our family “plan” for everyone to take part in the necessary prep work had been torpedoed. To make matters worse, a key project for me that week had claimed two days of planned vacation. John Lennon was right: Life is what happens while you are making other plans.
By Wednesday night, while my husband was selling camping equipment as Christmas gifts, my children and I were at home and into full-blown vacuum mania (吸尘狂潮). I was thankful that a kid’s pocket money did not make up salary as I put my six and eight-year-old to work, going against all child labor laws. For my part, I was as busy as a bee in the toilet bowl, heading for a breakdown.
I don’t remember what my son asked me as he was trying his best to finish the vacuuming, but I do remember twisting into that mean-and-tight mom face before barking out a rude answer. Instead of dashing out of view, my second-grader turned off the vacuum and walked the whole way around the stairwell to face me. He never said a word. He just wrapped his arms around me for a hug that made me feel ashamed of myself to this very day. My son took a risk to teach me that sometimes we need a hug most when we are least huggable.
It was the perfect Thanksgiving. The people I loved gathered around my table where a pumpkin covered up last year’s gravy stain (肉汁污渍). We dined on just one choice of pie, and my dad used a mismatched dinner fork without complaint. My daughter drew a picture of us on a paper plate where no one had their eyes closed.
I learned a lot from an eight-year-old that holiday, and I’ve tried hard to remember it. If you find a person complaining about her job or her dress size, give her a hug. It just might be what she needs most.
1. What does the underlined word “torpedoed” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．passed | B．scheduled | C．targeted | D．ruined |
| A．confident | B．humorous | C．alarmed | D．concerned |
| A．She shouted at him impatiently. | B．She hugged him right away. |
| C．She responded to him politely. | D．She continued vacuuming delightedly. |
| A．Careful planning: the route to an unforgettable Thanksgiving Day |
| B．Family happiness: the result of balancing work and life |
| C．Thanksgiving surprises: imperfect perfection and unexpected hugs |
| D．Holiday letdown: common psychological and emotional experiences |
2 . It takes eight hours and $250, 000 to get to what remains of the RMS Titanic. On Sunday, five people got into the underwater craft Titan to make that journey. The craft lost contact only an hour and 45 minutes into the eight-day expedition. Later wreckage (残骸) was found matching that of the craft. Despite the danger of traveling some 12, 500 feet below the surface, this was an irresistible opportunity — very few people get to see the Titanic with their own eyes. Actually, dives to the Titanic have been around for more than 20 years.
It wasn’t until 1985 that an expedition led by Robert Ballard and Jean-Louis Michel discovered the Titanic’s final resting place. In July 1986, Ballard placed a memorial on the ship, asking that the site be left undisturbed in memory of the more than 1, 500 people who died there.
But that didn’t happen. Instead, competition over who would be allowed to salvage (打捞) artifacts (文物) from the ship heated up. In part, it was an effort to document and conserve the artifacts - but it was also a rush for profits from artifact sales and public displays.
In 1992, a federal court ruled that TVLP was the first and exclusive salvor of the Titanic. Now known as RMS Titanic Inc. , the company has conducted eight expeditions to the Titanic, and has sold more than 5, 000 objects taken from the site, including jewelry.
While battles for visitation and salvage rights were fought in court, expeditions to the Titanic continued, giving rise to a small but pricey tourist market. Multiple companies offered public tours to explore the Titanic wreck, with prices ranging from $32, 500 to $105, 129 per person over the years. The Titanic was damaged significantly upon impact with the seabed, and slowly, iron-eating bacteria are consuming what remains. In 2019, a dive confirmed huge portions of the ship were collapsing. Today the surrounding site is littered with trash. Visitors have also littered the area with memorials. Attempts to protect the wreck are ongoing. In 2020, the United Kingdom and the United States agreed to work together to grant or deny licenses to people entering and taking artifacts from the site.
1. What is the main idea of the first paragraph?| A．How people explored the Titanic | B．The danger of diving to the Titanic. |
| C．People’s strong interest in the Titanic | D．The details of Titanic expedition. |
| A．To mark the ship for further research. | B．To honor his dead teammates. |
| C．To celebrate his achievement. | D．To protect the ship’s remains. |
| A．Scientific exploration | B．Historical research |
| C．Economic interest | D．Technological development |
| A．It is being restored | B．It is being moved to a new place. |
| C．It is preserved in a museum. | D．It is under united protection. |
1. Who mentioned in the speech use camels in their sports?
| A．Americans | B．The Arabs. | C．Chinese people. |
| A．Volleyball. | B．Basketball. | C．Running. |
| A．Less than 200 years. | B．About 300 years | C．Over 1, 000 years. |
| A．Friendship | B．Indignity. | C．War. |
1. In which place did Lisa find the wallet?
| A．In a park. | B．In a parking lot. | C．In a shopping mall. |
| A．A photo of a person. |
| B．Some paper and an ID card. |
| C．Some money and business cards. |
| A．A businessman | B．An old lady. | C．A school boy. |
| A．By calling on him. |
| B．By ringing him up. |
| C．By waiting where she found the wallet. |
1. Whose house is the girl going to on Sunday?
| A．Mary’s | B．Susie’s | C．Jenny’s. |
| A．See a movie. | B．Go shopping. | C．Watch a basketball game. |
| A．Her backpack is lost. | B．Her backpack is broken. | C．Her backpack is full of books. |
6 . Last week, I participated in a spelling bee competition along with my friend, Emma. The competition began with a lot of
As I stood there, lost in my thoughts, past
With that in mind, I decided to help her. I reminded her of the correct
Although I had lost the race, I had
| A．excitement | B．tension | C．surprise | D．depression |
| A．competing | B．struggling | C．debating | D．heading |
| A．significant | B．creative | C．graceful | D．impressive |
| A．got bored | B．got away | C．got stuck | D．got tired |
| A．hardly | B．finally | C．immediately | D．extremely |
| A．encouragement | B．authority | C．inspiration | D．assistance |
| A．curious | B．confident | C．focused | D．concerned |
| A．affect | B．promise | C．reject | D．predict |
| A．spots | B．scenes | C．topics | D．virtues |
| A．high | B．down | C．up | D．out |
| A．friendship | B．competition | C．memory | D．effort |
| A．writing | B．meaning | C．pronunciation | D．spelling |
| A．chatted | B．paraded | C．clapped | D．greeted |
| A．appreciating | B．congratulating | C．protesting | D．promoting |
| A．gained | B．created | C．performed | D．reflected |
Zong Qinghou,
As the chairman of one of China’s
Zong returned to the provincial capital in 1978
8 . “Oh no, Haley. Why are you crying?” A question we often hear when we’re chopping onions.
Well, it all starts underground. Life for an onion is pretty sweet when they’re down there in the dirt. Except when bugs (虫子) come by wanting a bite. Onions don’t like that at all.
This chemical is called syn-propanethial-S-oxide, which is what causes the tears when we cut into them. When we slice into onions to cook them,
So, how can we avoid crying while cutting onions? Well, here are a few tips.
In conclusion, onions make us cry because of the gas they release when we cut into them. Although it may be an annoyance,
| A．If you are asked such a question, you’re not alone. |
| B．Have you ever wondered why onions make us cry? |
| C．Luckily, they’ve got a secret plan to keep bugs away. |
| D．our eyes then produce tears to flush out the irritant. |
| E．this gas also has a silver lining to help drive bugs away. |
| F．we break open the cells and release this gas into the air. |
| G．One trick is to put the onion in the fridge before you want to cut it. |
9 . South Korea’s birth rate, already the world’s lowest, has dropped yet again in the latest setback to the country’s efforts to boost its declining population.
The national statistics body reported Wednesday that the birth rate fell to 0.72 in 2023—down from 0.78 the previous year. Countries need a birth rate of 2.1 to maintain a stable (稳定的) population, in the absence of immigration. South Korea’s birth rate has been falling since 2015 and the country recorded more deaths than births for the first time in 2020, a trend that has continued since. In 2022, the country recorded about 249, 000 births and 372,800 deaths. Meanwhile, Korean women are also having children later in life. The average age of childbirth in South Korea was 33.5 last year.
Similar population declines are being seen in several other Asian countries including Japan and China, raising concern that there will be too few people of working age to support the ballooning elderly population.
Experts say the reasons for these population shifts across the region include demanding work cultures, stagnating wages, rising costs of living, changing attitudes toward marriage and gender equality, and rising disappointment among younger generations.
But despite the economic factors at play, throwing money at the problem has proved ineffective. Last September, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol admitted that more than $200 billion has been spent trying to boost the population over the past 16 years. The South Korean government has introduced various initiatives such as extending paid paternity leave, offering monetary “baby vouchers” to new parents, and social campaigns encouraging men to contribute to childcare and housework. But experts and residents say more support is needed throughout a child’s life, as well as change on several deep-rooted social issues.
1. What do the data imply in Paragraph 2?| A．South Korea has a stable population. |
| B．The birth rate differs among countries. |
| C．The ideal birth rate is possible to reach. |
| D．South Korea’s birth rate declines seriously. |
| A．Increasing rapidly. | B．Staying unstable. |
| C．Decreasing slowly. | D．Remaining the same. |
| A．Solve various social issues. |
| B．Extend paid paternity leave. |
| C．Focus on a child’s life continuously. |
| D．Encourage men to take care of children. |
| A．Population crisis is worth public attention. |
| B．South Korea’s birth rate has become an emergency. |
| C．Efforts to increase population has paid off in South Korea. |
| D．Social problems result in population crisis in South Korea. |
10 . All the external parts of your life are like a dream. Let go of the shell you’re in while you’re alive so you can get out of the cage that holds you.
Not long before I made the decision to leave the rock band, I invited a friend of mine over for Friday night dinner. Though I waited all long, he didn’t turn up. However, what happened instead changed my life. My neighbor Alex, who was near to me, saw me sitting there waiting, and said, “Hey, come on over and join us.”
Alex and I sat around the dinner table for about an hour and a half, talking about the band, touring, and all the great things we had accomplished.
“Well, do you have a picture of what you would like your life to look like in ten years?”
I hadn’t thought about it until he asked me, but I closed my eyes and could see a vision of who I wanted to be. It was so clear. I started describing the vision of a young man who was walking his kids to school and helping and assisting others with their spiritual pursuits. When I finished describing the vision I had seen, I looked at Alex, and his eyes were filled with tears.
“Alex, I know I paint a pretty picture, but why on earth are you so emotional about it?”
He looked me in the eyes and said, “I had that kind of clarity once. I chose to listen to others about what I should do and how I should live my life. I didn’t want to go to law school, but I did because of my parents, my scholarship, and a lot of external pressure. It’s been ten years, and I am just figuring that out now. You know, if you are adding a black and white pixel onto the screen of your life. Soon, the vision will be gone, the inspiration will fade, and you will have had your life chosen for you instead of choosing your life for yourself.”
After he said those words, I changed my decision. It was a moment of grace, a moment where I was given another chance and an opportunity to start again and live a life I wanted to live.
1. What does “cage” indicate in paragraph 1?| A．The external pressure you face. | B．The decision you made. |
| C．The pretty picture you paint. | D．The house you live in. |
| A．To give advice on how to live. | B．To ask for help from the author. |
| C．To explain why he chose law school. | D．To share his great regrets about his life. |
| A．Saddened by Alex’s unhappy past experiences. |
| B．Confused about what his future should look like. |
| C．Inspired to run after his own dreams and goals in life. |
| D．Relieved because he made the right decision to leave the band. |
| A．By comparing his own life with that of Alex. |
| B．By describing a specific event and its impact on his life. |
| C．By listing a series of achievements he had made in the past. |
| D．By analyzing the causes and effects of following others’ advice. |
