1 . Two years ago, my 11-year-old son sat me down for a talk. “Mom, it’s time.” he said. “Hear me out: It’s time we got actual TV. And you need an iPhone.”
This funny conversation two years ago marked a shift in our relationship. Perhaps for the first time, I began to really listen to my son’s opinion about our home technology. Since his reasoning was sensible and his suggestions within budget, I took his advice and was pleasantly surprised with the results.
I’d known for a while that my son understands technology better than I do. On airplanes, he grabbed my phone to put it in airplane mode. He wired the speakers in our house. After something was stolen from our front yard, he picked out, set up, and now monitors our security camera. When my computer died, I took him shopping with me.
As a teenager now, he has a busy social life, with skateboarding, basketball, and online gaming with his friends. I see our time together decreasing and our shared interests shrinking. That’s why I jumped at the chance when a friend mentioned writing technology reviews. I’m a writer, but I’d need a partner who has more tech knowledge than me. When I presented the idea to my teen, he immediately accepted
It’s changed our relationship in surprising ways. Where he used to get annoyed quickly at my technical ignorance, he’s learned to be more patient and explain things to me in a way that I can convey to an unknowing audience. The parent-child dynamic is not only changed; it’s even slightly reversed — he’s leading me. I’m asking him for help and advice. My son has risen to the occasion. He’s taking it seriously, and to watch him mature in this way is an honor. As someone who’s not much of a reader, he now searches instruction book. Without any prompting, he’s even emailed and called, yes, made an actual phone call to customer service or tech support when sample products weren’t working as expected.
I never imagined being a tech reviewer, but it’s proved to be a valuable way to learn from, work with and enjoy time with my teen.
1. What did the writer think of her son’s advice?| A．It was unaffordable. | B．It was beyond reach. |
| C．It sounded reasonable. | D．It sounded surprising. |
| A．Prove her son’s better mastery of technology. |
| B．Describe their close parent-child relationship. |
| C．Give examples of her son’s interest in airplanes. |
| D．Express her satisfaction of her son’s timely help. |
| A．Unrealistic. | B．Opposite. | C．Negative. | D．Common. |
| A．Her son’s patience with their relationship. |
| B．Her son’s attitudes to some unknown audiences. |
| C．Her son’s growth and serious attitude to the work. |
| D．Her son’s desire to change the parent-child dynamic. |
When my sister, Dona, and I were little kids, my parents both joined the army. They stayed far away from our town and hardly returned home. My grandpa took on the big responsibility of taking care of us. Still, without our parents by our side, Dona and I sometimes felt lonely and sad, especially one winter.
One morning in that winter when Dona and I were sitting in our bedroom, dull and quiet, Grandpa said, “My dear, how about trying skating for fun?” Our faces immediately lit up and we answered together, “Great, we surely like it, Grandpa!”
He smiled and quickly set about building us a skating rink (溜冰场) in our yard. The process of building a skating rink was not easy. First, Grandpa laid out long wooden boards around the yard. Next, he made the base of the rink flat. Grandpa then began spraying the water, lightly at first, until the first layer of ice was established. He would then put some water onto the ice each night. And thus, the ice became thicker and thicker.
In the darkness of the night, from the kitchen window Dona and I watched Grandpa with great expectations. His back and shoulders rounded to protect him from the freezing wind. He stood alone, busying himself creating a perfect skating rink for us. The only light was from the moon and stars.
One night, Grandpa suddenly pressed his waist and the look on his face showed he was painful. Quite concerned, Dona and I rushed out and asked, “Grandpa! What’s wrong?” “My waist is painful. Don’t worry! I’ll be fine just after a little rest,” he smiled. Dona and I offered to help create the rink. But he said it was too cold outside at night and that building the rink needs much experience and lots of skills. Then, we gave up the idea of offering him a hand, but demanded he build the rink a few days later. Seeing we were determined, he walked into the room with us and had warm tea. Before long, Dona and I were tired and went to bed.
注意：1.续写词数应为150个左右。
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
When we fell asleep, Grandpa quietly walked out into the yard.
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Amazed, we hurriedly put on the skating equipment and rushed out._
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3 . Sports play a large role in millions of lives. As parents, we want to find an activity that our children are passionate (热诚的) about. Let’s look at how to encourage kids to play sports.
Let them pick which sport they want to play. Don’t force kids to follow in your footsteps.
Praise effort and be supportive. Not all kids are gifted athletes and that’s OK.
Make sports fun and let kids be kids. Keep in mind how a child’s mind works. Let them find the fun in sports and support them as they try new activities and explore their interests.
Be present. The smallest action can have the largest impact (巨大影响).
will always remember.
| A．It’s important to teach them to set goals. |
| B．They might have different passions than you. |
| C．When they look over to the sideline, be there. |
| D．Let them experience the game at an advanced level. |
| E．Take advantage of a time they are excited to be outdoors. |
| F．Their enjoyment in the sport, the fun, should be the top focus. |
| G．As long as they enjoy the activity and try their best, that’s all you can ask for. |
A Great Monday
Monday started out well. I woke up on time, ate breakfast and did some last minute studying for my math test later that morning. I was confident of getting good grades. I left my house and ten minutes later, I sat with my friends on the school bus. We were busy chatting about how we spent our weekend. At the next stop, a student named Ryan got on the bus. He was in a rush and tripped (绊倒) over someone’s foot. There was a loud noise as he fell to the floor.
Every one of us on the bus laughed. Ryan got up, brushed his jacket and went to an empty seat. He tried to laugh with us, but his face was red with embarrassment. The rest of the morning went by quickly. I did well in my math test. I read two more chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird in English class. Soon we heard the lunch bell. I met my friends from the cheerleading team in the dining hall. I noticed Ryan a few tables away, sitting by himself. He caught me looking at him. I smiled at him quickly and looked away.
When we finished eating, we went to the courtyard to practice a cheer we would do at that night’s football game. After much practice, we finally managed to do the cheer perfectly. We decided to practice it again one last time. Just like the rest of my day so far, the cheer was going great. I raised my leg for one last toe touch. That was when I felt my jeans (牛仔裤) split (裂开) down the middle of my backside.
I froze. I had no idea what to do. I heard people burst out laughing and I saw them pointing at my torn jeans. I tried to cover myself with my hands, I tried to laugh too, but I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
Then I saw Ryan running towards me.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________That night, after the cheer at the football game, I found Ryan.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________During my school years, I had only close friend. We spent years together, and we were inseparable, in or out of school. But the Greg moved away, and I never thought it would take more than 40 years to bring us together again.
As children, Greg and I dove into everything with passion. At that time, we were pure (纯真的) and kind, full of curiosity and expectation for life. We raced our bikes and illustrated (给书加插图) our own comic books. We even became attracted to the same girl from around the corner, a sixth -grader named Joanne who barely (几乎不) knew we existed.
The last times a Greg was sometime in 1966. It was so short a meeting that I couldn’t recall saying goodbye before he moved. Since then, we lost touch.
But then, a few summers ago, I saw a familiar woman. “Excuse me. Would your name happen to be Joanne?”
“Uh, yes...” She didn’t recognise me until I explained who I was. We hadn’t exchanged more than a few dozen words in our entire lifetime. “Have you stayed in touch with Greg?” she asked. I was surprised she even knew of our friendship.
“No. I haven’t,” I admitted. “I wish I had.”
Back at the office I checked my messages. I received one email, and then read it from start to finish. The email was from Greg.
Greg had tracked me down through social media. He was now married, had two children and had become a musician and entrepreneur (企业家) . We exchanged several emails before connecting by phone. A month later, my wife and I drove to meet Greg and his family in person.
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。
Standing in front of his house, I began to get nervous.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Seeing the photo, Greg handed me a small, old card.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . How to Make Friends
Friendship is a very important human relationship and everyone needs good friends. Good friendship has many benefits. It offers companionship, improves self-worth and promotes good health. There are times in our lives such as when we have recently moved into a new town, or changed our jobs or schools. Such changes often leave us without a friend.
1. Associate with others.
The first step to making friends is associating with other people. You can go to public places to meet new people. Besides, you will need to make yourself known by becoming an active member of such places.
2. Start a conversation.
Starting a conversation is the second most important step in making new friends.
3.
Choosing friends with common interests is important in building friendship as these interests would always bring you and your friend together. Hanging out will always be a pleasant experience.
4. Let it grow.
It is a good thing to stay in touch. However, try not to press your new friend with calls, messages or visits as this would likely wear him or her out and finally you may lose your friend.
5. Enjoy your friendship.
The best way to enjoy your friendship is to allow your friends to be themselves.
| A．Be cheerful. |
| B．Do things together. |
| C．Do not wait to be spoken to. |
| D．Try not to find fault with your friends. |
| E．Making new friends comes easy for some people. |
| F．For a friendship to develop you need to stay in touch. |
| G．So you will need to give your friend time to react to you. |
Friends play a very important part in everyone’s life. Friendship
Some people call you their friends for the wrong reasons. These people are not really friends. They are superficial (表面的) only “friends”on the outside, not the inside where it counts. Superficial friends only want to be your friends if is to their advantage. True friends are there if you are rich or poor.
True friends are most special. They are also difficult
8 . Kilimanjaro Climb : a Rite of Passage (成人仪式) for Father and Son
Climbing Kilimanjaro is a transformational experience for many people. The things that make the mountain hard are the very things that make it so powerful. In the case of my son Josh and I, the walk up Kilimanjaro proved a powerful symbol of his transition into manhood, and a great change in our relationship.
Day three on the mountain, Josh was hit with massive headaches. He told me every step felt like a nail driving into his head. And then, on the night we climbed the crater (火山口) rim, less than 40 minutes from the summit, Josh fell. I was walking ahead, and did not even see it. He was so tired out that he could not get up. He recalled our guides, debating whether or not they should take him straight down. Josh snapped out of it. He forced himself to his feet, shook the guides off. He set his face towards the peak and just kept marching. Near the summit he caught up with me and we reached the peak together.
“I’ve never been in so much pain and so happy at the same time... he said, as we sat side by side on the frozen rock and looked down over Africa. “You know, in the past when we’d go on camping and rafting trips, you guided and took care of me through it all. But on Kilimanjaro it was different. From the bottom up, I climbed it. I never felt like a kid, even when 1 was in pain. You never acted like a parent.”
“That’s not quite true,” I replied. “When you told me that on the summit you fell and I did not even notice, my first thought was, ‘Oh my God! I’m such an awful parent!’ But then it hit me, ‘He got himself up. He walked to the peak on his own. He didn’t need me to help,”
I realized as I spoke that two people had died that night on Kilimanjaro. A child and a parent. It was just two friends who walked down the mountain together.
1. From the second paragraph we know that ______.| A．Josh had a slight headache. |
| B．Josh reached the top of the mountain with the help of the guides. |
| C．Josh overcame various difficulties on his way to the summit. |
| D．Climbing Kilimanjaro was too hard for such a child as Josh. |
| A．Cheered up. | B．Gave up. | C．Burst out. | D．Ran out. |
| A．Josh felt quite good about his independence. |
| B．Josh appreciated his parents’ company and care. |
| C．The father felt guilty all the time. |
| D．The father should have taken good care of Josh as usual. |
| A．Because two people had lost their lives while climbing Kilimanjaro. |
| B．Because the father and son had become friends. |
| C．Because they had witnessed an accident of a father and son. |
| D．Because two friends had misled him. |
1. Where does Lisa come from?
| A．America. | B．England. | C．Greece. |
| A．About 14 years ago. | B．About 15 years ago. | C．About 16 years ago. |
| A．At a pub. | B．At a cinema. | C．At a bookshop. |
| A．She works full-time. | B．She has short hair. | C．She has a son. |
10 . Good friendship can get people through almost anything. Many times, a good friend will know what you need before you even ask for it, and they’ll want to offer a helping hand. That’s what happened to two friends in Caddo Hills High School. When one differently abled young man needed help, his friend went above and beyond.
When Brandon and Tanner met, Brandon was using a hand-push wheelchair. The chair was becoming kind of a pain for Brandon as he had to push his way down the halls from class to class around Caddo Hills High School. “My arms would get really tired and I would have to stop and take rests,” said Brandon.
Sometimes when they were together, Brandon would ask Tanner to push his wheelchair. Tanner was happy to help. Most often, Tanner would offer to help and he noticed how hard using this wheelchair was on his friend. Tanner thought that if his friend had had an electric wheelchair, life would be easier for him. But Brandon’s family was unable to afford it. Seeing how much his friend struggled in his wheelchair, Tanner made up his mind to do something about it. “He’s just been a really good friend and I wanted to do him a favor. I just felt like I needed to do it and I wanted to do it,” Tanner explained.
Then the enthusiastic(热心的)high school student became devoted to getting his friend a wheelchair. He got an after-school job at an auto repair shop and he worked there every afternoon. In order to help his friend out, Tanner worked part-time for two years. All of the money he earned went towards saving for a self-powered wheelchair. That moment finally came in late February, when he would present Brandon with a life-changing gift during the school day.
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。
At the beginning, Tanner had planned on giving Brandon all the money he had saved.
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Brandon cried when he first got the wheelchair.
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