| A．are | B．was | C．were | D．is |
—I’m sure you did.
| A．accusing | B．scolding | C．reminding | D．telling |
I was traveling with my husband and three teenage sons, in the United States. We ordered our food at a fast-food place, and with my meal I also wanted a blueberry pie. My husband is the chatty one in the family and likes to socialize, so he started to a conversation about the place where blueberries grow with the girl. She answered, with some anxiety, “They grow on trees.”
The whole family’s jaws dropped! How could this girl not know where blueberries grow? We tried not to embarrass her, and just took the opportunity to teach her a little about how blueberries grow, on small shrubs on the ground. She seemed to appreciate learning something new. We can’t know all the same things, as you’ll see from the next thing I’m going to tell you.
In 2002 our family made a short trip to a coffee plantation. The road to the plantation was narrow filled with hairpin bends. I worried about hitting another car. We didn’t, lucky us! When we finally got to our destination, we learned a lot about the plantation and coffee production, but we didn’t see any coffee plants. Where were they? We decided to ask one of the people working there. “So where are the coffee plants? We can’t see them anywhere.”
She reached out her arm and caught a twig right next to us and explained, “This is the coffee plant and these little things will be coffee beans.” I looked around in embarrassment, as we were surrounded by coffee plants! She explained that coffee plants aren’t big and that they have to grow in the shade of other bigger plants. I appreciated her lesson.
We love our coffee, but I’m sure most of my countrymen would not be able to recognize a coffee plant among other tropical plants if asked. Our jaws can drop at different things, depending on geographical locations, at what we know and don’t know. Never take anything for granted!
1. What topic did the author’s husband discuss with the girl? (no more than 5 words)2. How do you understand the underlined part in Paragraph 2? (no more than 10 words)
3. How was the way to the coffee plantation ? (1 word)
4. What did the author learn from the worker? (no more than 15 words)
5. What inspiration do you get from the story? Please express it in your own words. (no more than 20 words)
| A．achievement | B．appreciation | C．attention | D．agreement |
A group of Tennessee High school students, led by Ben Beard, set out to make a difference by collecting over 10 thousand masks for anyone who can’t afford to buy them. Beard and Ty Anderson, like their classmates who were making study plans, had their lives turned upside down when the coronavirus (冠状病毒) hit. “We were all working hard on our study and looking for ways to volunteer in our communities,” Ben told CNN, “sometimes it’s hard at our age to really make a difference. Wearing a mask is a necessary way to keep everyone healthy now. But buying masks is going to put a lot of stress on poor people.
The friends then discovered the organization Mask Now TN that was giving out masks to poor people and homeless people. Their need for donations was enormous. The pair encouraged high schoolers at Independence High School to collect donations. Then they set up collection boxes. “Everyone we reached out to in Williamson County was just so kind,” Ty said. “We cannot thank them enough.”
The effort took about a month and a half to organize with Mask Now TN, but once they began accepting donations, it was only three weeks before they hit their goal of 10,000. “Finding a way to help others in need has been so meaningful for us students,” said Ben’s younger brother, Andrew, who joined the team.
Although the fundraiser (募捐) was a great challenge, the kids learned a lot and have advice for other teens. “Though it may seem upsetting at first, it is not really that hard to start a project like this as a teenager,” Beard says. “Once you get over it, if you have a good idea that will truly help your community, people will understand and support you.”
1. How did a group of students help people in need? (no more than 5 words )2. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 2 probably mean? (1 word)
3. How long have Beard and Ty Anderson spent organizing with Mask Now TN? (no more than 10 words)
4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about? (no more than 15 words)
5. What do you think of the students mentioned in the passage? Please explain. (no more than 25 words)
6 . When Ariella Pacheco of California was still a little girl, her parents let her pick out an American girl doll. She picked one that had the same hair color and style as her.
“She looked like me and I felt there was a piece of me in her,” Pacheco, 17, said. “You see yourself in a doll and it’s really special to have that connection.”
But what about children with rare medical conditions who don’t look like anyone else? One day in January this year, Pacheco read a story about doll designer Amy Jandrisevits. Her “A Doll Like Me” project makes look alike dolls for children with disabilities. Pacheco wanted to make similar dolls.
Over the past several months, Pacheco has designed and sewn (缝制) cloth dolls for four local kids who have birthmarks, surgical scars (手术疤痕), or other special physical features. Pacheco asked the kids about their favorite sports and hobbies. She also watched doll-making vides and attended sewing camp.
One of the doll receivers is no longer a child, but she’s honored to have been chosen for the project. Zulema Gillett, 21 of Temecula has a particular disease, which caused her to be born with a cleft lip (唇裂) and only one ear. “Who doesn’t want a doll that los like them and that they could relate to?” Gillett said It’s really nice and very thoughtful.”
After she got her own sewing machine, Pacheco taught herself to sew blankets and clothes for the dolls She designed her own patterns and figured out how to re-create the children’s various appearances. It was important for her that the children could recognize themselves in the dolls However, their differences were not the most noticeable feature.
“I really value the beauty in little things,” Pacheco said. Each of these kids is so unique, so special. I hope through these dolls they can see themselves in a new light and rally appreciate their beauty.”
1. According to the first two paragraphs, what made Pacheco feel special?| A．Making a doll on her own. |
| B．Having a doll that looks like her. |
| C．Receiving a doll from her parents. |
| D．Being able to pick out her own doll. |
| A．her parents. |
| B．Amy Jandrisevits. |
| C．children who love dolls. |
| D．kids with special physical features. |
| A．She went to sewing camp. |
| B．She got help from other children. |
| C．She played sewing games online. |
| D．She joined a doll designer’s project. |
| A．She thanks Pacheco for her friendship. |
| B．She is honored to be a volunteer of the project. |
| C．She believes having a doll is helpful to children. |
| D．She loves the idea of special dolls for special children. |
| A．feel less lonely. |
| B．develop new hobbies. |
| C．value their own beauty. |
| D．forget about their differences. |
7 . How the Vox Book Club Works
Every month, we pick a book. We go through it week by week, with a discussion post (帖子) going up on the site every Friday. Each discussion post will contain thoughts and discussion questions from our book critic, but we’ll also have comments turned on so you can share your thoughts there with a chief editor, a column writer and even a TV host. Use our discussion posts as a jumping off point (起点) with your friends and family. And at the end of the month, we’ll hold a discussion.
Next June’s Main Discussion
Next June, we’ll turn to William Goldman’s The Princess Bride. It is a comedy, which is about how Westley saved his lovely and beautiful girlfriend Buttercup from a wizard (巫师) prince. You’ve probably seen the classic 1987 movie adapted from the book, which is one of those book-ad-movie pairs where each part can stand on its own, though they also perfect each other in very wonderful ways. That’s probably because William Goldman was also one of Hollywood’s greatest screenwriters.
The Vox Book Club Project for Next June
Friday, June 3, 2022: Discussion covering the introduction to the 30th anniversary edition—Chapter 4
Friday, June 10, 2022: Discussion covering Chapters 5-6
Friday, June 17, 2022: Discussion covering Chapters 7-8 in the original edition, plus Buttercup’s Baby at the end of later editions
Thursday, June23, 2022: Virtual (虚拟的) live event.
Come to join us, and sign up for the Vox Book Club newsletter (简报) to get the latest messages.
1. Who will raise discussion questions every Friday?| A．A TV host. | B．A book critic. |
| C．A chief editor. | D．A column writer, |
| A．It is about a sad love story. |
| B．It was written before 1985. |
| C．It is Hollywood’s greatest film. |
| D．It has been adapted into a film. |
| A．June 3, 2022. | B．June 10, 2022. |
| C．June 17, 2022. | D．June 23, 2022. |
| A．Take part in a virtual live discussion. |
| B．Discuss several chapters together. |
| C．Sign up for the club newsletter. |
| D．Complete the latest updates. |
| A．To call on us to join a book club. |
| B．To advertise The Princess Bride. |
| C．To introduce a discussion activity. |
| D．To teach readers how to read a novel. |
| A．Just hold you horses |
| B．Just kill two birds with one stone |
| C．Just have butterflies in your stomach |
| D．Just throw the baby out with the bathwater |
| A．by which | B．from whom | C．by whom | D．from which |
| A．helped | B．having helped | C．help | D．to help |
