1 . In 2016, Mark Raymond learned the hard way that life can change in a split second(一瞬间). One day, Raymond went boating with his friends. He jumped off the back of the boat and hit a sandbank, leading to a severe injury to his neck. He became paralyzed(瘫痪的)and spent months in the hospital receiving treatment. When he was allowed to leave the hospital, he realized that the hard part was just beginning. He still needed to exercise to recover his strength after finishing the outpatient(门诊病人)treatment.

However, when Raymond returned home, he realized there was a serious lack of accessible gyms or facilities that could help people with different abilities work out and improve their health in his community. The lack of them caused Raymond to take action. In 2018, he established the Split Second Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides treatment that takes up from where outpatient treatment left off.

“The Split Second Foundation has equipment for people who have different disabling conditions,” Raymond explained.“Our specially trained staff will evaluate(评估)disabled customers’ physical needs and limitations and then provide recovery, education, and ongoing fitness classes suitable for them. We’re able to push them in a recovery driven fitness environment to be their best selves.”

Raymond’s goal is to open more accessible gyms, not just in New Orleans where he lives. He hopes the Split Second Foundation can help even more people get their lives back after disastrous accidents. “People with disabilities should also be thought of as productive members of society,” said Raymond. “Anybody’s life can change in an instant due to some kind of injury or disabling condition, and we are providing what’s next.”

When Raymond couldn’t find the services he needed, he made some for himself and others. This is the sort of cleverness we love to see in the world.

1. What does the underlined part “the hard part” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A．The mental problem.	B．The process of recovery.
C．The high pressure of work.	D．The treatment in the hospital.

2. What inspired Mark Raymond to set up the Split Second Foundation?

A．His love for a variety of sports.

B．His dream of becoming a businessman.

C．A boating accident that happened to his friend.

D．A lack of accessible exercise resources in his community.

3. What can we know about the Split Second Foundation?

A．It provides treatment by cooperating with hospitals.

B．It focuses on holding basic classes for poor children.

C．It offers fitness and recovery services to the disabled.

D．It creates plenty of job opportunities for disabled people.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．Mark Raymond’s Journey from Paralysis to Recovery

B．Mark Raymond: Help the Disabled Rebuild Their Lives

C．The Importance of Accessible Gyms for Disabled People

D．Split Second Foundation: Offer Patients Postoperative Treatment

2 . How did the man learn English well?

A．By studying hard at school.

B．By learning from a pen friend.

C．By speaking a lot with Americans.

3 . Nick Rose-Stamey is a lot like Jack Black’s character in School of Rock- a guitarist who discovers a passion for making music accessible to children. Working in the nonprofit arts education sector over the last 10 years raised his awareness of the lack of music programs in public schools, and later inspired his nonprofit, Band in a Bus. “The original idea was to take an old school bus and turn it into the best band class on wheels,” he says.

In fact, activities of Band in a Bus don’t actually happen on a bus. It provides instruments, courses, and staffing to students. Kids 18 and under can also participate in enriching summer programs through Band in a Bus, such as Bucket Brigade, five weekly classes where grades K-4 learn rhythm (节奏) and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) principles through contemporary music. There are also teen bands for grades 7-12 where kids learn to play pop music and develop social and team work skills.

When schools went virtual during the COVID-19 period, Rose-Stamey thought it was a shame that instruments were left sitting on shelves instead of in the hands of kids. So he created and distributed more than 1,000 “Band in a Box” DIY kits. Each kit contains small noise makers like kazoos, drumsticks, and shakers, with the intention of introducing a modernized music class experience that meets kids where they are.

“It is reported that if a kid has 30 minutes of a performing arts or creative elective every singleday, then that’ll help them develop their social, emotional and leadership skills, because there’s a lot of team work when it comes to making music. You have to learn how to work well with others,” Rose-Stamey says.

In the last year, Band in a Bus has worked directly with more than 500 students. “Music is a win-win for everybody,” Rose-Stamey says. “I just hope that someday we can stop making it the first kid out in the dodge ball (躲避球) game.”

1. What motivated Rose-Stamey to establish Band in a Bus?

A．The movie School of Rock.	B．The band classes in public schools.
C．His music learning experiences.	D．Insufficient music education.

2. What can we say about Bucket Brigade classes?

A．They mainly focus on pop music.	B．They are usually organized on a bus.
C．They encourage team-building activities.	D．They combine music with other subjects.

3. What is the purpose of “Band in a Box”?

A．To promote noise making instrumental kits.

B．To help students gain access to music at home.

C．To lift students’ mood during the COVID-19 period.

D．To enable students to take creative electives every day.

4. What can we infer from Rose-Stamey’s words in the last paragraph?

A．We should treat every student equally.

B．We should give music enough importance.

C．We should reconsider the rules of the dodge ball game.

D．We should encourage fair competition in various activities.

4 . 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。

Patrick Sommier, a French theater director, is dovoted to passing on the true meaning of Chinese operas to the French public.

On the occasion of the     1     (celebrate) for the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France in 2004, Sommier     2     (invite) to cooperate on a joint project to spread Peking Opera in France. Sommier says that when he arrived in China, like many other     3     (European), he showed great interest in Chinese operas. The beauty of Peking Opera     4    (immediate) caught his heart, he says.

Recalling his first cooperation with the Chinese team, Sommier says he was impressed by the actors’ makeups, costumes,     5     the characters of incredible strength. He was also touched by the Chinese professors’ effort     6     (pass) their acting skills to their students by acting with them. One professor explained, “In China, opera is     7     art requiring lifelong devotion and the effect of the performance largely     8     (depend) on the actors’ inner strength and acting skills.”

Sommier began exploring into different performance forms and suggested introducing Chinese operas     9     the French audience. The team then gave some     10     (origin) performances, some without makeups or costumes and some with students performing classics in a traditional way.

5 . Dallas-based Knit Wits is made up of a group of grandmothers with a strong love for knitting (编织) who tum their love for crafting into a purposeful attempt. Meeting regularly, they pour their collective love into every stitch (针法) they make. The group has been working for over ten years, meeting every Friday, to support organizations that help others, locally and around the world. Over the years, they’ve crafted thousands of items insupport of the important things.

Recently the Knit Wits member Mary Ann Stover was inspired to have the group knit hats for infant (婴儿) patients with heart disease at Children’s Health Hospital. The hats, each a unique work of art, designed with holiday themes, reflect the skill of the Knit Wits. More importantly, the special of Knit Wits is its understanding of the emotional effect these small objects can have on the infants experiencing medical treatments.

Bealle, a certified child life specialist at Children’s Health Hospital, explained how the hats are making a difference to the tiny patients and their families. “Caregivers are able to wear the hats on their body to move their smells before placing the hats back on the infants, encouraging connecting and making the infants less stressful,” he said.

Throughout the infants’ admission, many holidays are celebrated. At times, some infants are seriously ill and unable to dress up for holiday photos the families have planned. Thanks to the donations from Knit Wits, the hospital team is able to prove the family with a suitable themed infant hat the family can use for their photos and holiday celebrations.

1. What do we know about the hats from paragraph 2?

A．They centre on spiritual comfort.

B．They have holiday food subjects.

C．They are knitted by the caregivers

D．They are worn on child parents’ birthdays.

2. Why do the caregivers wear the hats first?

A．To hold an artistic activity.

B．To see off the recovered patients.

C．To relax the infants for treatments

D．To welcome the arrival of various holidays.

3. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．Why some holiday celebrations are held.

B．What the hats can be used as on holidays.

C．Why some special photos are important.

D．What the hats can be matched with.

4. Which of the following can best describe the members of Knit Wits?

A．Unsuccessful

B．Impractical.

C．Warm-hearted

D．Dishonest.

6 . In his 1936 work How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie wrote: “I have come to the conclusion that there is only one way to get the best of an argument — and that is to avoid it.” This distaste for arguments is common, but it depends on a mistaken view of arguments that causes problems for our personal and social lives — and in many ways misses the point of arguing in the first place.

Carnegie would be right if arguments were fights, which is how we often think of them. Like physical fights, verbal (言语的) fights can leave both sides bloodied. Even when you win, you end up no better off. You would be feeling almost as bad if arguments were even just competitions — like, say, tennis tournaments. Pairs of opponents hit the ball back and forth until one winner comes out from all who entered. Everybody else loses. This kind of thinking explains why so many people try to avoid arguments.

However, there are ways to win an argument every time. When you state your position, formulate (阐述) an argument for what you claim and honestly ask yourself whether your argument is any good. When you talk with someone who takes a stand, ask them to give you a reason for their view and spell out their argument fully. Assess its strength and weakness. Raise objections (异议) and listen carefully to their replies. This method will require effort, but practice will make you better at it.

These tools can help you win every argument — not in the unhelpful sense of beating your opponents but in the better sense of learning about what divides people, learning why they disagree with us and learning to talk and work together with them. If we readjust our view of arguments — from a verbal fight or tennis game to a reasoned exchange through which we all gain respect and understanding from each other — then we change the very nature of what it means to “win” an argument.

1. What is the author’s attitude toward Carnegie’s understanding of argument?

A．Critical.

B．Supportive.

C．Tolerant.

D．Uncertain.

2. Why do many people try to avoid arguments?

A．They lack debating skills.	B．They may feel bad even if they win.
C．They fear being ignored.	D．They are not confident in themselves.

3. What does the underlined phrase “spell out” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Defend.

B．Explain.

C．Conclude.

D．Repeat.

4. What is the key to “winning” an argument according to the author?

A．Sense of logic.	B．Solid supporting evidence.
C．Proper manners.	D．Understanding from both sides.

7 . Four Classic Games for Kids

Below are great games children can enjoy.

Egg and Spoon Race

Line players up, each with a boiled egg balanced on a spoon. Each person with a spoon and an egg must carry the egg on the spoon to the finishing line. If their egg drops, they must stop and put it back on their spoon before continuing. (Or, if you’re really tough, send them back to the start each time their egg drops!) The winner will be awarded a prize, such as candy, stickers and toys.

Pass the Parcel (包裹)

Prepare a small prize that kids will love and then cover it with many layers (层) of paper. To play, have the children sit in a circle and pass the parcel around the circle while you play some fun music. When you stop the music, the child holding the parcel removes the outer layer of paper. Start the music again and continue until one child removes the final layer of paper.

Wheelbarrow (独轮手推车) Race

The game is played in pairs.The first person is the wheelbarrow.He starts with his hands on the ground and his legs are held by the second person (the driver) in the pair. The wheelbarrow “walks” on his hands across the ground while the driver follows behind, holding his legs and directing the wheelbarrow. The first pair across the finishing line are the winners.

Limbo

Two adults hold either end of a stick at stomach height. The children take turns going under the stick without touching it. If all the children have gone under the stick, the stick will be lowered. Then another round begins. Anyone who falls, touches the ground with hands or touches the stick is out.

1. Who would most probably be the winner of Egg and Spoon Race?

A．The kid being good at running.

B．The kid being skilled at boiling eggs.

C．The kid doing well in balancing the egg.

D．The kid being willing to work with others.

2. Why is Pass the Parcel special compared with other three games?

A．Because it must be played with music on.

B．Because it will give the winner a prize.

C．Because it needs preparation in advance.

D．Because it asks kids to sing songs during the game.

3. What will kids probably need to do while playing Limbo?

A．Try to jump over the stick.

B．Lower their body.

C．Run fast with a stick in hand.

D．Touch the ground with hands.

8 . What do you do when you receive an invitation to an event that you do not want to attend or that you cannot attend due to your busy schedule? In that case, we simply can’t act on everything our heart feels.     1     Here are some right ways to decline (拒绝) an invitation without hurting others’ feelings.

Respond in a timely manner.

    2     It’s OK to put off responding if you’re unsure at first, but give yourself a deadline to figure it out — and stick to it. Always respond to invitations in a timely manner.

    3    

It’s OK to say you’re sorry that you can’t make an event, but it’s better to redefine it as a positive. Rather than apologizing, say how happy you are that they invited you and that while you can’t make it this time, you look forward to getting together with them in the future.

Don’t say “maybe”.

Procrastinating (拖延) by saying “maybe” usually means it’s a no.     4     Saying “maybe” is a way of making yourself feel better, but it leaves the other person hanging, which is unkind.

Don’t try to control the other person’s feelings.

There’s the assumption that we can decline without hurting anyone else’s feelings, but we can’t ensure the other person’s experience. They may feel sad or disappointed when you decline,. but that’s OK.     5    

A．Focus on the positive.

B．Be honest but not too honest.

C．Don’t leave the host hanging.

D．It’s fine to decline via digital means.

E．Most people will understand that life just gets busy.

F．So just go ahead and say no if that’s really what you mean.

G．Instead, we should learn how to politely say “no” to an invitation.

9 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给的段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

I was the “fool” at school. Obviously, because I was not interested in school and did not care for my grades, and thus I was termed a student with special needs.

Over time, I started to believe in my stupidity. I absorbed the fact that I was in classes with special needs in high school. I didn’t have much confidence and was always negative. But one activity changed this view of myself: chess.

I started to play chess with my father after school because I wanted to beat him at something. My father was a smart man, fond of physics, writing, drawing — almost every discipline (知识领域). He was called a walking dictionary. So, winning in chess against my father would be a sign that I had intellectual (智力上的) power.

Game after game, I wanted to beat my father even more. I started to study chess books and play against a chess computer to improve my skills. One weekend, I beat my father while we were on a bus ride to Port Townsend. It made me feel excited and I dreamed of standing on the winner’s stage of a chess competition.

Fast forward two years and several months, I was the second board on my high school chess team, with our top board being the best high school player in the state. There was an exhibition match, so I invited my father to watch. Since our top player could not come, it was my chance to play as the top board against the best high school players in the state. It was also a chance for me to let my father be proud of me.

I was determined to show who I had become:an intelligent person able to win with calculation (计算), logic, and will. My most memorable game came in the fourth round. I was playing the black pieces and played my usual kingside defence. The competitor was making moves skillfully and it was hard for me to defend my position.

注意：续写词数应为150左右。

He kept attacking and I kept defending, finding hidden resources to keep my king safe.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The present situation was to my advantage, and then I made the final perfect kingside defence.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10 . In some ways, the kitchen is the heart of the home. It is where we ______ our day with a cup of coffee or tea. The kitchen is where we ______ ourselves, body and soul.

Sometimes you need order in the kitchen for things to run ______. Sometimes you need one person to be ______ charge. Imagine you are cooking dinner for your friends. As you are making the soup, your friend Sara ______ it and says, “This needs more salt.” So, she adds more salt.

Then Harlan comes in. He tastes your ______ and says, “You didn’t put enough pepper.” So he grinds (磨碎) some fresh black pepper into the pot.

Cecilia sees him. She tastes the soup and says, “You forgot vinegar. It’s my ______ ingredient.” Then she ______ in some vinegar.

You are happy to spend time with your friends. But, quite ______, all their opinions about your soup are becoming ______. Worst of all, you taste the soup and it’s ______!

And that is where we get the expression “too many cooks ______ the soup.”

This expression describes an age-old ______: If too many people help to complete a task, it may not go very well.

So there should be a cook in the kitchen. He is the ______. Other people can be assistants helping him. And the cook has the final ______.

1.

A．enjoy

B．finish

C．start

D．spend

2.

A．prepare

B．eat

C．cook

D．feed

3.

A．frequently

B．actively

C．smoothly

D．quickly

4.

A．from

B．for

C．with

D．in

5.

A．tastes

B．heats

C．mixes

D．drinks

6.

A．meat

B．soup

C．vegetable

D．food

7.

A．wonderful

B．famous

C．secret

D．delicious

8.

A．pours

B．fills

C．puts

D．blows

9.

A．importantly

B．strangely

C．interestingly

D．frankly

10.

A．charming

B．inviting

C．annoying

D．embarrassing

11.

A．salty

B．awful

C．sour

D．hot

12.

A．spoil

B．share

C．make

D．polish

13.

A．mystery

B．discovery

C．tradition

D．problem

14.

A．leader

B．host

C．assistant

D．manager

15.

A．method

B．direction

C．advice

D．say