1 . My 13-year-old daughter sent a postcard to us while we were still away on our most recent trip to California. It ______ our house about a week later. The touching ______ nearly brought me to tears.

“Even though we ______ have two days of adventures ahead of us, I am just so ______ for everything we have experienced together on this trip,” she writes.

Our youngest daughter is just about to ______ 11 years old. In those years, we have never taken a true ______ as a family of four to a place we’ve never been. Like most ______, I have no idea where the time has gone. But I also think these are some of the best ages to ______ with kids.

This vacation to California was our very first ______, long-distance trip together. The kids helped ______ the trip with input on things they might like to see and do. They reached for our hands in crowds. I can’t remember the last time they held our hands ______.

One of our family bonding moments came when we took a family surfing lesson. It was the first time any of us had tried surfing, although it was something the girls had been ______. The smiles on the girls’ faces were everything. They were so ______ when they stood up on the board and rode the waves one by one.

Those are memories I’m going to ______. And yes, I will remind them of these times the next time I reach for their ______.

1.

A．left

B．mentioned

C．passed

D．reached

2.

A．note

B．diary

C．journal

D．report

3.

A．never

B．already

C．ever

D．still

4.

A．inspired

B．sorry

C．grateful

D．nervous

5.

A．dislike

B．match

C．turn

D．remain

6.

A．vacation

B．picture

C．walk

D．look

7.

A．visitors

B．parents

C．writers

D．educators

8.

A．discuss

B．work

C．travel

D．celebrate

9.

A．extended

B．unexpected

C．busy

D．temporary

10.

A．plan

B．recall

C．imagine

D．judge

11.

A．hopefully

B．willingly

C．peacefully

D．curiously

12.

A．tired of

B．interested in

C．involved in

D．good at

13.

A．terrified

B．sad

C．proud

D．careful

14.

A．take up

B．hold onto

C．carry out

D．know about

15.

A．faces

B．souls

C．hands

D．letters

2 . Many of our family traditions centered around food. We’d gather in the kitchen for every birthday and holiday and enjoy delicious food. My grandparents always held Christmas dinner, which included chicken cacciatore, sausage, meatballs and salad. But right before we sat down to eat, my grandmother would pull me aside to show me the dish she made just for me: fresh pasta (意大利面) with tomato sauce.

It was a simple dish, but to me it was warm food that filled me with happiness. But more than that, it made me feel like I belonged. I was a shy kid and, in many situations, I felt ignored. And here was my grandmother, showing me that I mattered.

Years went by; I moved away and got married. I’d visit throughout the years and my grandmother would serve up a plate of pasta.

When my daughter was born in 2020, for the first time in my life I wasn’t about to make the trip back home for Christmas. I cooked my family’s traditional foods and my husband and I had a big meal that included, of course, fresh pasta. I had a video call with my grandmother and showed her the pasta. Shortly after the holidays she passed away unexpectedly.

It seemed so unfair that my grandmother passed away soon after I became a parent. I’d hold my daughter and think about how I could tell her what an amazing great-grandmother she had.

In my sadness I came to an answer: food. Late at night after my daughter had gone to bed, I’d go to the kitchen and learn how to make fresh pasta, cooking my grandmother’s recipes. Before long I started experimenting, making a bit changes to classic recipes. When my daughter got a little older, I began making special dishes for her with my grandmother’s flavors in mind.

I know that no matter how hard I try, my daughter will never have a bowl pasta with sauce exactly like the ones my grandmother would make for me. While that makes me sad, she’ll still get to have my pasta sauce. I know there’re two things she’ll never lack for in this life: pasta and love.

1. What did the author say about her grandmother’s homemade pasta?

A．It was a special birthday gift for her.	B．It brought her a sense of belonging.
C．It was loved by every family member.	D．It took a lot of time and energy to prepare.

2. What made the author’s 2020 Christmas dinner different from previous ones?

A．She didn’t share pasta with her husband.

B．She didn’t give her grandmother a call.

C．She didn’t prepare many traditional family foods.

D．She didn’t have a chance to eat her grandmother’s pasta.

3. Why did the author learn to make fresh pasta late at night?

A．To honour her grandmother.	B．To give her daughter a surprise.
C．To meet her grandmother’s wish.	D．To be a role model for her daughter.

4. What can we learn about the author’s pasta sauce?

A．It isn’t easy to make.	B．It isn’t to her daughter’s liking.
C．It tastes exactly the same as her grandmother’s.	D．It shows her love for her daughter.

5. What’s the best title for the text?

A．Different types of pasta	B．The origin of pasta
C．Love through pasta	D．Pasta for Christmas

3 . “Your mother needs a new heart,” my father told me when I called on that December afternoon. An unrelenting optimist, he spoke as if she merely needed to have a part replaced. But, although my two sisters and I knew that our mother had heart problems, this news still made us frozen for a while with our eyes widening in disbelief.

Dr. Marc Semigran of the transplant team reviewed my mother’s medical history. She’d had an irregular and rapid heartbeat for most of her life. Her present treatment — the use of a series of cardioversions, or electric jolts, to restore a normal heartbeat — would not work in the long-term. She had an enlarged and weakened heart, as well as a faulty valve.

“With medication,” Dr. Semigran said, “you have a 60 percent chance of living six months. You could have a longer life with a transplant, but there are risks. You’re at the top end of the age group of sixty years old. The lungs and other organs must be healthy and strong. While the transplant surgery is actually a straightforward procedure, acceptance by the body is the difficult thing.”

My family came together, trying to provide strength and work out what to do. We’d already gone from shock, over our mother’s condition, to worry that she wouldn’t be a suitable recipient. Despite of the risk, we chose to believe that she would make it eventually.

Word came later in December that she had been accepted into the programme. Dr. Jeremy Ruskin told us one of the reasons she had been accepted was that she had such strong family support.

One Monday in May, at about 8 p. m., my mother received a phone call from the hospital that a heart was available. As she was about to be wheeled off, my father took her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. His look said everything about their 42-year relationship.

The heart transplant operation was successful and the conditions could not have been better.

The irony of the transplant process is that one family’s loss is another’s gain; that tragedy begets fortune. It is a kind of life after death, our hearts beating beyond us. We developed a feeling of love for this new part, of gratitude for the doctors, for the process, and for those people who made a decision just for humanity.

1. How did the sisters feel to the news that their mother needed a new heart?

A．Frightened.

B．Astonished.

C．Worried.

D．Annoyed.

2. Which is the factor to affect the possibility of their mother’s heart transplant?

A．Her abnormal heart beat.

B．The age of over sixty years old.

C．Her willingness to the transplant.

D．The adaptation of the new heart in the body.

3. What made the transplant team decide to have the operation?

A．That her lungs were healthy.

B．That a new heart had been found.

C．That her family were expecting the operation.

D．That her family trusted the doctors' medical level.

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Family support is of great importance.

B．Fortune favors those who are optimistic.

C．Confidence helps patients overcome difficulties.

D．Getting prepared before accepting a treatment matters.

4 . Quite often my mother would _________ me to set the family table with the “good china.” Because this _________ with such frequency, I never _________ these occasions. I assumed it was just my mother’s desire.

One evening as I was setting the table, Marge, a neighbor woman, _________ unexpectedly. She _________ on the door, and mother, busy at the stove, invited her to come in. Marge entered the kitchen and, _________ at the beautifully set table, remarked, “Oh, I see you’re expecting _________. I’ll come back another time.”

“No, it’s all right,” replied my mother. “We’re not expecting company.”

“Well then,” said Marge with a(n) _________ look on her face, “why would you have the good china out?”

“Because,” my mom answered, “I’ve prepared my family’s favorite meal. If you _________ your best table for special guests when you prepare a meal, why not for your own __________?”

“Well yes, but your beautiful china will get chips,” responded Marge.

“Oh well,” said Mom __________, “a few chips in the china is a small __________ to pay for the way we always feel as we gather as a family at the dinner table. Besides, all these chips have a story to tell, now don’t they?”

Mom walked to the cupboard and __________ a plate. Holding it up she said, “See this chip? This plate was broken the day we brought our newborn son home. Trying to be __________, my six-year-old daughter dropped that plate as she carried it to the sink. I’ll never forget that day.”

We all laughed. At that moment, I knew for sure that the china held for mother a number of love __________ about our family.

1.

A．beg

B．request

C．push

D．stop

2.

A．occurred

B．started

C．covered

D．exchanged

3.

A．remembered

B．admitted

C．questioned

D．observed

4.

A．settled down

B．came across

C．dropped by

D．passed on

5.

A．knocked

B．beat

C．lay

D．hit

6.

A．aiming

B．laughing

C．glaring

D．glancing

7.

A．company

B．delivery

C．cooks

D．strangers

8.

A．annoyed

B．puzzled

C．exhausted

D．depressed

9.

A．buy

B．set

C．polish

D．repair

10.

A．guest

B．neighbor

C．family

D．boss

11.

A．coolly

B．calmly

C．cautiously

D．casually

12.

A．mistake

B．trouble

C．debt

D．price

13.

A．turned in

B．tidied up

C．took down

D．threw away

14.

A．helpful

B．harmful

C．grateful

D．graceful

15.

A．accidents

B．stories

C．explanations

D．dishes

6 . 听下面一段较长对话,回答以下小题。
1. Why does the woman’s dad want to move abroad!

A．He hopes to return to his hometown.

B．He is tired of the fast pace of city life.

C．He prefers to live in a smaller town.

2. Where are the speaker’s parents planning to move?

A．Valencia.

B．A busy city.

C．A remote village.

3. What do we know about Vatencia?

A．It is quite familiar to the woman’s parents.

B．It is a kind of a big town with quiet environment.

C．It is an ideal place to live for the woman’s parents.

4. What needs the woman to do before moving?

A．Take over the family business.

B．Move to Spain with her parents.

C．Assist her parents with the move.

8 . For the past 18 years, my daughter has been around me all the time. Now that she is in college, the _______ of our relationship has totally changed and our relationship is completely _______. I’m not going to be there every morning to have breakfast with her. I won’t know when she’s mad or when she’s happy. Here’s a little story of our new _______.

A week ago, my daughter wanted to _______ so she called me during the day as I was in meetings. I _______her later on, but she was in class. At midnight, she reached out _______ to ask if we could talk. Well, guess what? I was _______ . I thought we would talk the next day, but she was not   _______ .

Research shows that parents are _______ when their children are grown up, but for me that is when I start to get concerned. I am always left to________ , how can I, as a parent, remain ________to my daughter to guide, support and love through life's changes?   

We may have to ________ the way we communicate. My daughter encouraged me to go digital. That’s how I ventured into the world of social media, following her updates and occasionally sharing my own experiences. Through this   ________ presence, the physical gap is ________and I feel I still have an active role in her life. This experience serves as a reminder that ________, however scary, holds the promise of growth in our shared journey.

1.

A．problem

B．progress

C．goal

D．context

2.

A．cold

B．special

C．different

D．casual

3.

A．normal

B．idea

C．approach

D．solution

4.

A．catch up

B．take over

C．check out

D．break away

5.

A．visited

B．touched

C．tried

D．emailed

6.

A．by taxi

B．by text

C．in private

D．in person

7.

A．stupid

B．angry

C．excited

D．asleep

8.

A．available

B．interested

C．ready

D．guilty

9.

A．saddest

B．busiest

C．happiest

D．best

10.

A．decide

B．wonder

C．investigate

D．distinguish

11.

A．kind

B．appreciative

C．sensitive

D．relevant

12.

A．voice

B．ignore

C．shift

D．continue

13.

A．human

B．virtual

C．physical

D．permanent

14.

A．widened

B．formed

C．broken

D．bridged

15.

A．college

B．relationship

C．change

D．communication

9 . Now I finally understand how much my mother loves me.

Back home from the _________, during the first few weeks of my daughter’s life, it seemed like I was never doing anything besides _________ the baby. Life was little more than a thin stream of milk _________ any body to hers, _________ interrupted by a peanut-butter sandwich.

Of course I’d heard _________ were always waking up. But this now seemed like a joke. How did anyone get them to _________ in the first place? Every time I put the baby down, she cried and cried. She slept only when she was being held. So my husband and I _________ by turns. Usually I _________ her till eleven or so, my husband was with her until two or three or four, and then I got up to hold her again until morning. The Internet said babies _________ comfort at dusk because of their primal (最初的) __________ of being deserted in the dark. “Don’t worry, baby,” I told the crying baby in my arms. “I won’t __________ you in the dark.”

My mother finally arrived to help. I had __________ for her arrival every morning. Her __________ meant I could get some rest. Every few hours, my mother put a plate on my lap, loaded with __________. She said, “You need to eat.” She held my baby girl against her chest and __________ in her car, “You know how your mama loves you? That’s how I love her.”

1.

A．restaurant

B．hotel

C．street

D．hospital

2.

A．educating

B．nursing

C．observing

D．measuring

3.

A．connecting

B．preferring

C．describing

D．comparing

4.

A．eventually

B．previously

C．occasionally

D．frequently

5.

A．mothers

B．fathers

C．doctors

D．babies

6.

A．move

B．talk

C．sleep

D．jump

7.

A．moved away

B．wrote down

C．settled down

D．stayed up

8.

A．fed

B．held

C．awaited

D．amused

9.

A．needed

B．offered

C．refused

D．allowed

10.

A．fear

B．desire

C．freedom

D．passion

11.

A．touch

B．abandon

C．meet

D．cheat

12.

A．accounted

B．answered

C．applied

D．longed

13.

A．presence

B．departure

C．complaint

D．permission

14.

A．books

B．clothes

C．foods

D．toys

15.

A．sang

B．whispered

C．cried

D．screamed

10 . When Sourabh Jain first became a father to his daughter, he struggled with bonding with her in the beginning. That’s when he realized that games and books are interactive and provide an opportunity to spend hours with her. Thus he began the hunt for games and toys that not only helped him bond with his daughter but also contributed to her cognitive (认知的) development.

During this search, he realized that not only are these toys and games hard to find, but they can also burn a hole in one’s pocket. Another realization was that there is always some amount of plastic in the toys and it is harmful to the environment and the little ones.

While he expected to give his daughter the world, he also wanted to leave behind a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable world for her. Today, he owns The EleFant—a toy rental company, or in Sourabh’s words, “a labor of love”.

Currently, the company has a customer base of more than 250 subscribers with over 2,000 downloads of the application per day. They also have collaborations with 70 toy companies where they source their toys.

Among these 250 subscribers is Rahul Bhauwala who rents toys for his 6-year-old son. “I am a working professional and I hardly get any time to go out and spend hours looking for and buying toys. I could use that precious time to play with my child instead. This is why I love using The EleFant app. They have a wide range of toys which are categorized by age group. The products are very well-packaged and my son loved opening them as it looked like a present to him,” he says.

As for the future, Sourabh says, “Our intention was not to make it an expensive and exclusive service (专属服务). Instead, we aimed to provide an opportunity for everyone to give their children everything in a sustainable manner. The value is kept in this way, emphasizing inclusivity and accessibility for all.”

1. What did Sourabh find when searching for toys for his daughter?

A．Pockets often get damaged by toys.	B．Eco-friendly toys are hard to find.
C．Toys could bond him with his daughter.	D．Toys do good to cognitive development.

2. What aspect of The EleFant attracted Rahul Bhauwala most?

A．Its convenience.	B．Its delivery service.
C．Its popularity.	D．Its cheap rental price.

3. What will Sourabh focus on?

A．Producing more toys.	B．Expanding his company.
C．Making his service more accessible.	D．Donating toys to poor families.

4. Which words best describe Sourabh?

A．Successful and humorous.	B．Generous and modest.
C．Talented and creative.	D．Responsible and business-minded.