1 . Aged 15 in high school, I was talkative and outgoing, often betting that nobody else would do their homework, so I needn’t either. I did not enjoy geometry (几何), although I liked the philosophical approach of our teacher, Mrs Trenholm. She told us that geometry was about humankind’s ability to work things out.
A month or so into the year we started on Euclidean geometry. We were all struggling and I was probably the most vocal (敢于直言的) in class about it. Mrs Trenholm set us homework — to prove two angles in a complex geometric shape are equal. She pulled me aside as we were leaving class and said, “Don’t talk your way out of this.”
I went home, worked on it for 20 minutes and gave up. Later I decided to try again. My handwriting was messy, and I noticed that if I made the diagram neater and bigger, I could see where I probably went wrong. At about 5 am, I got it and felt like my brain had been rewired!
I handed it in the next day. Mrs Trenholm would never embarrass students in front of everyone. So she came to me and handed me the paper with a little check mark in the corner. She looked right at me and asked, “Did you do this?” When I said yes, she nodded and went back to the front of the class, declaring, “One of you now understands Euclidean geometry. Let’s keep going so everybody will get it.”
From then on, I found that if I concentrated and worked hard, I could understand and even enjoy a subject. I went on to study maths and physics at university, took a master’s degree in applied science and became a nuclear research scientist. I became someone who no longer allowed myself the freedom to talk myself out of dealing with problems, or give up when things seemed too difficult.
1. How can we describe the author from the first two paragraphs?| A．He was not skilled at socializing. | B．He always had bets with others. |
| C．He was absorbed in philosophy. | D．He had trouble studying geometry. |
| A．To warn him not to talk too much. | B．To give him some tips on homework. |
| C．To make him take homework seriously. | D．To encourage him to try more approaches. |
| A．Excited. | B．Relieved. | C．Disapproving. | D．Disbelieving. |
| A．He would go for more freedom. | B．The maths puzzle was a life changer. |
| C．That lesson taught him to think twice. | D．His university life was pretty colorful. |
Guizhou’s name comes from the Chinese character meaning precious or expensive. Precious in its
Living in the hustle of Beijing can be exciting but sometimes the country-raised boy inside of me needs to take a moment to relax, so I jumped
Our first stop on the trip took us to Wanfeng Lake in Xingyi,
Time in Guizhou was slower than anywhere else I had been. I didn’t want to leave. There was so much more left for me to explore.
1. What is the man doing?
| A．Attending a course. |
| B．Conducting an interview. |
| C．Hosting a talent show. |
| A．To compete with them. |
| B．To lose weight together. |
| C．To share her problems with them. |
| A．It helps keep one honest. |
| B．It allows for friendly competition. |
| C．It ensures complete secrecy of goals. |
| A．They lack determination. |
| B．They set unrealistic goals. |
| C．They lose focus due to busy lives. |
1. What attracts the speaker in Africa?
| A．The running water. | B．Meeting new people. | C．Freely running animals. |
| A．Australia. | B．Japan. | C．Russia. |
| A．It’s tiring. | B．It’s expensive. | C．It’s easy. |
| A．Turn to a new way for fun. |
| B．Try every means to save money. |
| C．Continue to do what she likes. |
5 . Once referred to as an ‘Insta-hiker’, Josh is a juggler (玩杂耍的人) of many different joys: his wife, children, friends, job as a Corporate Actions analyst, a directorship at Black Professionals Scotland. The label could be far from the truth.
His job is high-pressured and time-sensitive, a suit-and-tie environment, in which one tiny mistake can cost millions. But hill walking is not a way to run from reality. “I’m not escaping from anything,” Josh claims firmly. You wouldn’t encourage someone to live for their job, and he applies that logic to the things he loves to do, welcoming the outdoors into his life on his own terms.
Rather, people means everything to Josh. “I’m not a solo explorer. It’s about the journey, people and conversations, the little moments as much as it is about big moments.” This inspired Black Scottish Adventurers. His relationship with the Highlands began keeping pace with his move to Scotland over a decade ago, born of a sense of fun and freedom, rather than a desire for challenge.
With over a decade of hillwalking behind him, Josh started encouraging Black people into the mountains through a WhatsApp group for like-minded individuals. Now, the BSA community and team are promoting inclusion and outdoors access for the Black community.
Josh says, “Being in the hills is an extension of my life, of who I am, and who I want to be.” He goes into the mountains when he wants to, in order to integrate with the natural world. But he’s as likely to see friends in Edinburgh as he is to walk a Munro. He quickly admits “I’m a social animal, anyway!”
Josh’s ability to live in the moment, mountainside or not, is refreshing. He gives “glory to those who seek the mountains as a shelter,” but adds, “I want to find balance between doing what I love and being with people I love so I don’t put myself in a hole. I strengthen the relationships I have with my non-hillwalking family and friends, and won’t separate myself from possibilities.”
1. Why does Josh climb mountains?| A．To escape from stressful work. | B．To enjoy the pleasure and freedom. |
| C．To satisfy his curiosity about nature. | D．To encourage black people to live for job. |
| A．Make hill accessible to them. | B．Further inclusion of black people. |
| C．Encourage them to climb mountains. | D．Help them find balance between work and play. |
| A．Josh expects to be an adventurer. |
| B．Josh gets lost in his pressured work. |
| C．Josh thinks highly of hillwalking as well as friends. |
| D．Josh climbs mountains so as to make peace with nature. |
| A．Considerate and warm-hearted. | B．Cautious and people-centered. |
| C．Ambitious and highly-motivated. | D．Straightforward and independent. |
6 . If there’s one thing I’ve realized since becoming a male college student, it’s that finding a summer job is nearly impossible. I’ve applied to so many places and I’ve experienced so many interviews, but I always either get straight-up refusal or never hear from the company again.
One time, I even called one of the companies multiple times, but the manager avoided me. I was close to giving up. I felt like I was the only one struggling hard. I had a pretty good resume, and I always dressed nicely for my interviews, so why couldn’t I get a job?
Well, the reason is actually right in front of me—I am a student. Companies generally want students who can work all year long, but most of them aren’t willing to be flexible with schedules. I couldn’t tell you how many times interviewers told me that they were looking for someone permanent.
I tried looking for jobs marked as temporary ones. And I even once tried to apply through a temporary agency. But it didn’t work. Even if I wanted to work during the school year, none of the companies wanted to hire me because of my limited weekday availability. And despite not knowing if I could juggle (尽量兼顾) both school and a job, I even started to tell interviewers that I would like to work during the school year and give up my weekends. But I had no luck.
I’m not sure if there are others like me out there. But if you are going through something similar, what I want to tell you is to keep on trying. Despite being rejected so many times, I still applied for any job that I was qualified for. I even started my job search before the semester ended to get ahead. Eventually, I got my ideal summer job.
I know it’s frustrating, and you may feel like you’ve tried everything—that’s how I’ve felt for a long time. And now, with companies requiring years of experience, it’s even harder to get a job if you’re someone like me. But don’t give up. Keep searching and applying, sign up for sites that send you job offers and look on the university’s website for on-campus jobs.
1. What does the author want to convey in paragraph 2?| A．His brilliant academic records. |
| B．The cause of his unemployment. |
| C．His jobless confusion in summer. |
| D．The social prejudice to graduates. |
| A．He was troubled with schoolwork. |
| B．He was thought to have tight work time. |
| C．He was unwilling to balance study and work. |
| D．He was regarded as an inexperienced student. |
| A．Well begun is half done. |
| B．Actions speak louder than words. |
| C．Everything comes to him who waits. |
| D．All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. |
| A．To give advice. | B．To correct an error. |
| C．To compare occupations. | D．To recall regrettable experiences. |
7 . “Look at the results. What should our alpha level be to correct for multiple comparisons?” I stared at the statistics problem on the whiteboard and saw a lot of symbols and numbers but nothing that looked remotely like an “a”, let alone an “alpha”. All around me, pencils scratched out calculations as my classmates got to work. I pretended to start my own calculations as my heart beat soundly and my face turned hot.
“If I don’t know the answer to this question,” I thought, “I don’t belong in this class.”
It turns out I’m not alone. In a study of over 1,000 high school students recruited by Character Lab Research Network, about 40% said they regularly hesitated to admit when they didn’t know something in class. The struggles were especially strong among girls and were most common in math.
Why? We tend to believe that you can’t be good at math unless you’ re really smart. The more we think we need to be “brilliant” to succeed, the harder it is to reveal what we don’t know to others. But if students don’t feel comfortable voicing their questions in school, they will miss opportunities to learn from peers and teachers — the very opportunities that can make them brilliant.
To help teens overcome this resistance, you can change their feelings by sharing times you have felt reluctant to ask — like my story about statistics class.
I filled the blanks with puzzling statistics with a little help from my classmate Liz. Still in a panic, I glanced up from my paper and saw a hand shoot into the air. “What do you mean by alpha level?” Liz asked.
“Good question,” the teacher said. Now the learning could begin.
Don’t hide what you don’t know. The more you conceal your questions, the scarier it becomes to ask for help. Be brave and share your questions with the world.
1. Why does the author mention his statistics class in the first paragraph?| A．To illustrate the importance of fame. | B．To complain about the boring class. |
| C．To lead in the topic of the study. | D．To draw the interest of the readers. |
| A．Only talented students are able to do well in math. |
| B．Most senior students aren’t interested in math lesson. |
| C．The elder students would become more inactive in class. |
| D．The more questions you ask, the cleverer you will become. |
| A．He changed the question into a simple one. |
| B．He shared his experience with the students. |
| C．He built students’ courage to ask questions. |
| D．He ignored the students’ indifference in class. |
| A．Nothing is to hide | B．Everything is possible |
| C．Everyone is a talent | D．All will be answered for |
8 . Packing up my luggage, I felt a wave of fear. Maybe tomorrow’s flight would be
I loved to travel and had been
Accessibility isn’t much of a(n)
“If it doesn’t
In Bali, the hotel where I stayed was
After that, I made the trip up as I went, staying in a country until I got
| A．arranged | B．analysed | C．booked | D．cancelled |
| A．curiously | B．secretly | C．doubtfully | D．proudly |
| A．promised | B．proved | C．found | D．quit |
| A．sensitive | B．nervous | C．fortunate | D．unwilling |
| A．disappointing | B．frightening | C．embarrassing | D．exciting |
| A．object to | B．compare to | C．adapt to | D．belong to |
| A．issue | B．experience | C．demand | D．benefit |
| A．collection | B．communication | C．assumption | D．destination |
| A．rid | B．update | C．organize | D．tolerate |
| A．work out | B．settle down | C．come out | D．break down |
| A．believed | B．ignored | C．helped | D．comforted |
| A．strategy | B．reward | C．fight | D．support |
| A．challenged | B．run | C．damaged | D．suspected |
| A．access | B．response | C．reference | D．addiction |
| A．village | B．range | C．peak | D．stream |
| A．prepared | B．explained | C．required | D．predicted |
| A．fascinated | B．bored | C．accustomed | D．amused |
| A．cruelty | B．stubbornness | C．kindness | D．selfishness |
| A．To start with | B．From then on | C．Now and then | D．Sooner or later |
| A．convinced | B．guessed | C．worried | D．questioned |
I truly love Virgin Atlantic, which is why I continue to choose your flights despite a series of unfortunate incidents over the last few years. This latest incident takes the biscuit, though. Mr. Bran-son, look at the mustard. It was intended to accompany mashed potato. However, here was more mustard than any person could handle in a mouthful. The potato masher had obviously broken, so it was decided the next best thing to do was pass the potatoes through the digestive system of a bird and blend it with “a bit” of mustard. Of course, Mr. Bran-son, everybody likes “a bit” of mustard.
By then, I felt a little sick, and I needed a sugar hit. Luckily, a small cookie was provided, but it appeared to be some sort of backstreet underground cookie. Imagine biting into a piece of metal, Mr. Bran-son. That would be softer on the teeth than this one.
Exhausted and starving, I decided to resort to your world-famous onboard entertainment, so I switched on the screen. Guess what? It was incredibly hard to capture Boris Johnson’s face through the flickering white lines running up and down the screen. I’d had enough, but my only option was to simply stare at the seat and wait for either food or sleep. Neither came for an incredibly long time.
So that was that. As I said at the start, I love your brand. It’s just a shame that such a simple thing could bring it crashing to its knees and begging for food.
Best regards,
Oliver Beale
1. What feeling does the underlined phrase “takes the biscuit” in paragraph 1 imply?| A．An air of indifference. | B．A sense of frustration. |
| C．A hint of anxiety. | D．A burst of pain. |
| A．It looked like metal. | B．It tasted like bird food. |
| C．It contained too much mustard. | D．It was cooked in a special way. |
| A．To distract himself from feeling unwell. | B．To find out information about the flight. |
| C．To appreciate a famous actor’s performance. | D．To test the quality of onboard entertainment. |
| A．To offer constructive suggestions. | B．To warn against an airline company. |
| C．To inquire about solutions to a problem. | D．To complain about unsatisfactory service. |
10 . No one had called me Melissa in months. Hearing my name was something I took for granted before I was out of work. But now I wasn’t spending time with the people who know me as Melissa: my co-workers, fellow writers, and friends.
I had been at home with my two children for months. Evan, age nine, and Delaney, six, call me Mom or Mama. And I realize that I am fortunate to have wonderful little people in my life who call me Mama — even at 2:00 a.m. when one of them is sick.
Something happened when I stopped hearing my name, though. It became a whole other type of isolation. Before I became Mrs. Face or Mama, I was Melissa.
I never really had a problem with my name. I never considered a name change. Even as an adult, I have never thought a different name would suit me better. I am Melissa, and my name is a big part of my identity.
After a few months at home, I decided to do something just for me. I signed up for a writing class that I’d wanted to take for a long time. Before I became a housewife, I couldn’t get to the class because of childcare concerns. But now I was so excited to be enrolled in the class. At our first session, the instructor began class by addressing us all by name and introducing our first prompt.
“I want you to start by writing’ Right now, I am,’ and then continue with whatever follows that.” she said.
I started writing my piece.Ten minutes later, she asked us to begin sharing. “Melissa, we’ll start with you,” my teacher said.
I cleared my throat and read my first line. “Right now, I am happy,” I said. “I’m happy to be interacting with other adults, happy to be writing, and especially happy to hear my name.”
1. What can we infer about the author?| A．She is a caring person. | B．She is skilled in writing. |
| C．She values her own identity. | D．She enjoys interacting now. |
| A．Distracted. | B．Depressed. | C．Determined. | D．Delighted. |
| A．Address. | B．Task. | C．Advice. | D．Friend. |
| A．A news report. | B．A book review. | C．A personal essay. | D．A science fiction. |
