1 . Growing up, I understood one thing about my dad: He knew everything. In my teen years, he taught me things I’d need to know to survive in the real world: how to drive a stick shift, how to check the car tyre’s (轮胎) pressure, and the correct knife to use to cut a cantaloupe.
When I moved out on my own, I called him at least once a week, usually when something broke in my apartment and I needed to know how to fix it: the toilet, the air-conditioning, the wall, once, when I threw a shoe at a terrifying spider.
But then, eventually, I needed him less. I got married, and my husband had most of the knowledge I lacked about gutter (排水沟) cleaning and water heaters and nondestructive insect removal. For everything else, we had Google. I didn’t know when it happened, but our conversations turned into six words when I called. Me: “Hi, Dad.” Him: “Hi, sweet. Here’s Mom.”
I loved my dad, of course, but I wondered at times if maybe he had already shared everything I needed to know. Maybe I’d heard all his stories. Maybe, after knowing a man for 40 years, there’s nothing left to say. Then, two summers ago, my husband, our four kids and I moved in with my parents for three weeks while our house was being painted. They owned a lake house, and my dad asked me to help him rebuild the bulkhead (舱壁). It was a hard and manual job. We got wet and sandy. But as we put the new bulkhead together piece by piece, my dad knew exactly what went where. I looked at him, “How do you know how to build a bulkhead?” “I spent a summer in college building it on the Jersey Shore.”
“You did?” I thought I knew everything about my dad, but I never knew this. I realized that maybe it’s not that there’s nothing left to say. Maybe it’s just that I’ve spent my life asking him the wrong questions. That day, my dad talked about what he had learned and what he could do excitedly. We chatted and chatted for a long time.
A few weeks later, after my family and I moved back into our painted house, I called my parents. “Hi, sweets,” he said. “Here’s Mom.” “Wait, Dad,” I said. “How are you?” We ended up talking about everything he was working on. To anyone else, it would sound like a normal conversation between a dad and his daughter. But to me, it was novel and a new beginning. I spent the first part of my life needing to talk to my dad. Now I talk to him because I want to.
1. Why did the author feel that she needed to call her dad before she got married?| A．She called to make sure he was pleased. | B．She wanted to talk to him for knowledge. |
| C．She knew her parents missed her so much. | D．She was asked to call him once a week. |
| A．Her father was old and he didn’t keep up with the world. |
| B．Her father always thought he was right in everything. |
| C．She didn’t have more to learn from him than she thought. |
| D．She spent her younger ages asking him too many questions. |
| A．The author’s mother is answering the phone. | B．The author’s mother knows what has happened. |
| C．He will give the phone to the author’s mother. | D．He finds the author’s mother sweet and kind. |
| A．Creative and faithful. | B．Selfless and brave. |
| C．Inspiring and generous. | D．Loving and experienced. |
2 . The photographs that Scilla took as a 16-year-old girl on the streets of London in 1955 stayed largely in her album (相册) over the years. Scilla is now 83, and her self-developed black-and-white photos have been brought back to life after they were discovered by a teenage photographer.
Over the past year, Philip Loveday, 16, has been revisiting his grandmother’s path across the capital to carefully rephotograph the pictures. His journey through time with a camera has been especially moving, because his grandmother, Scilla, has Alzheimer’s disease (阿尔茨海默症) and has lost many of her memories.
Philip took new photos that looked like the ones Scilla took long ago, and put them in a new album. Each page of Scilla’s old album was copied and put in the new one, with Philip’s new photos on the opposite pages. Philip’s mother, Catherine Loveday, said Scilla had been happy with the new album, which had “put her back in her shoes” as a teenager.
Philip said his mother showed him the album she had found at her mother’s house. Greatly absorbed in how modern London would compare to the city photographed by his grandmother, Philip and his mother began to make trips into central London. During the trips, they had the idea of retaking the photos.
Some of the places are similar, like Big Ben. Others show how the city has modernized. Unlike Scilla’s view of St. Paul’s Cathedral from the Thames, Philip’s retake has the Millenium Bridge. When Scilla photographed the John Lewis store on Oxford Street, it was a one-storey building — now it has seven floors. Philip had to use his imagination to recreate other sights. Scilla has repeatedly returned to her new album since receiving it. Philip said: “It’s nice for her to see someone taking an interest in those photos and going back over them, and also good for her to connect her past to where we are now.”
1. What did Philip do for Scilla during the past year?| A．He taught her how to use a camera. |
| B．He took her to visit London streets. |
| C．He found a new way to treat her disease. |
| D．He recreated photos of London she had taken. |
| A．It inspired her to take photos. | B．It made her think of her teenage days. |
| C．It encouraged her to travel across London. | D．It raised her confidence to fight off illness. |
| A．Troubled. | B．Interested. | C．Experienced. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．A teenager sensed the great changes of London. |
| B．An old lady suffered a lot from Alzheimer’s disease. |
| C．A teenager and his mother travelled to London for fun. |
| D．A teenager’s photos helped recover his grandmother’s memory. |
3 . 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. |
| A．Its convenience. | B．Its delivery service. |
| C．Its popularity. | D．Its cheap rental price. |
| A．Producing more toys. | B．Expanding his company. |
| C．Making his service more accessible. | D．Donating toys to poor families. |
| A．Successful and humorous. | B．Generous and modest. |
| C．Talented and creative. | D．Responsible and business-minded. |
4 . It’s hard when a best friend isn’t around—maybe because you moved to a different school. You may feel lonely at break or lunchtime. You should have new friends. But how do you make new friends? Maybe it seems like everybody else already has their friends. But remember, there’s always room for more friends.
Start by looking around your classroom — think about which kids you’d like to play with at break. Look for chances to say “Hi.” to them, smile and be friendly. Offer to share something or express your appreciation to them. Invite someone to play with you or say “Do you want to sit here?” in the lunchroom. When you’re at break, walk over to kids you want to play with, act friendly and say “Hi, can I play, too?” or just join in.
If you have trouble doing this or if you’re feeling shy, ask your teacher to help you make new friends. Teachers are usually pretty good at matching up friends. The best way to make friends is to be a friend. Be kind, be friendly, share, say nice things and offer to help — and pretty soon, you’ll have one, or two, or even more new friends.
You might still miss that special best friend. But when you see each other, you can share something you didn’t have before you left. You can introduce your best friend to your new friends!
1. What should you do if you move to a new school?| A．Stay alone and wait for opportunity. | B．Contact your best friend often. |
| C．Try to make new friends. | D．Cut off contact with your old friends. |
| A．Challenge. | B．Friendship. | C．Intention. | D．Opportunity. |
| A．The reasons for making new friends. | B．The ways of making new friends. |
| C．The benefit of making new friends. | D．The importance of making new friends. |
| A．turn to your teachers | B．match up friends freely |
| C．introduce yourself first | D．turn to your best friend |
5 . For many runners, a marathon can often be a challenge—but sometimes what gets a runner through the tough 26.2 miles is looking out into the crowd and seeing his or her loved one holding up a sign and shouting words of encouragement. For one mom, though, her loved one was a bit more hands-on.
While running the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon in Salt Lake City, Courtney Rich, a self-taught baker and mother of two, was beginning to run out of energy just yards from the end when she was suddenly joined by her 10-year-old daughter, Avery.
The touching moment, caught on video and posted on social media, shows Avery running to her mother’s side to support her as she approached the end of the race. Rich’s face lit up when Avery joined her and helped her cross the finish line.
Rich later said in the video’s caption that being joined by her daughter to finish the race was “a moment I hope neither of us ever forget”. Rich said that her daughter could tell she was struggling after a phone call near the end of the race. “She knew I had struggled the last few miles,” Rich said. “She saw tears in my eyes when I called on mile 24.”
In the video, Rich’s facial expression changes from tiredness to a smile after seeing her daughter emerge from the crowd to join her. Then, Rich and her daughter ran hand-in-hand to the finish line. “Nothing could have prepared me for the moment my 10-year-old daughter would jump out of the crowd and run with me to the finish line,” she said. When the race was done, the two hugged each other at the finish line. The video ends with a final caption, “And then she just held me. She held me.”
In the past, the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon has had other memorable moments of mothers caring for their children, but perhaps not as hands-on as this one.
1. What happened to Rich when she was coming to the finish line?| A．She felt herself struggling. | B．She was far behind others. |
| C．She fell down all of a sudden. | D．She was interrupted by Avery. |
| A．She ran the rest in place of Rich. | B．She tried to call for help at once. |
| C．She helped Rich run to the finish line. | D．She shouted encouraging words to Rich. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Content. | C．Concerned. | D．Expected. |
| A．A Daughter Cheered For Her Mother By Joining In Her Race |
| B．A Mother Encouraged Her Daughter To Pursue Her Dream |
| C．A Daughter Got Involved In Her Mother’s Race By Mistake |
| D．A Mother Would Never Give Up On Her Marathon Dream |
6 . A teenager needs to have a sense of independence in their life to feel secure (安全的). To some teenagers independence means a lot to them, and I think that some parents don’t allow their teenagers enough independence.
Independence has something to do with freedom. Some kids are not allowed to go anywhere alone, and the only thing their schedule includes is going to school, coming home, going to sleep, and repeating the process the next day. Parents tend to be afraid that their kids can get hurt if they go outside into the world. But if parents control their kids too much, they may never learn to live on their own. The best way for a teenager to learn lesson is through experience. I think it is beneficial for teenagers to have freedom.
Teenagers’ lack of freedom can also stop them from having good friendship at school. Some might say this is a good thing, because it helps them focus more on their school work. I argue that this can only discourage them not to do their school work. Some parents do not allow their children to be around their friends outside the school, thinking that this will get them into trouble. But I don’t think so. Instead, isn’t this a good reason for parents to get their children a cellphone? Cellphones allow teenagers to stay in touch with their parents, and communicate with friends.
Privacy is another issue between parents and their teenagers. Teenagers tend to enjoy relaxation by themselves in their own room. This also gives them a sense of independence. It often annoys teenagers when their parents enter their room when they are not home. I know that my mom always goes in my room when I’m not home, and this has brought me to the point where I have asked many times to get a lock on my door.
1. What is the main idea of the second paragraph?| A．Kids know how to live independently. |
| B．Some parents allow their kids no freedom. |
| C．It benefits teenagers to have freedom. |
| D．Kids have a dull routine every day |
| A．parents should make it easy for kids to communicate with their friends |
| B．good friendships between kids harm their school work |
| C．it is unnecessary for a kid to have a cellphone |
| D．kids should focus on the school work |
| A．Disappointed | B．Lucky |
| C．Angry | D．Calm |
| A．keep her father from reading her dairy |
| B．prevent her mother entering her room |
| C．Protect herself from any harm |
| D．Stop thieves from going in |
7 . The photographs that Scilla took as a 16-year-old girl on the streets of London in 1955 stayed largely in her album over the years. Scilla is now 83, and her self-developed black-and-white photos have been brought back to life after they were discovered by a teenage photographer.
Over the past year, Philip Loveday, 16, has been revisiting his grandmother’s path across the capital to carefully rephotograph the pictures. His journey through time with a camera has been especially moving, because his grandmother, Scilla, has Alzheimer’s disease (阿尔茨海默症) and has lost many of her memories.
Philip took new photos that looked like the ones Scilla took long ago, and put them in a new album. Each page of Scilla’s old album was copied and put in the new one, with Philip’s new photos on the opposite pages. Philip’s mother, Catherine Loveday, said Scilla had been happy with the new album, which had “put her back in her shoes” as a teenager.
Philip said his mother showed him the album she had found at her mother’s house. Greatly absorbed in how modern London would compare to the city photographed by his grandmother, Philip and his mother began to make trips into central London. During the trips, they had the idea of retaking the photos.
Some of the places are similar, like Big Ben. Others show how the city has modernized. Unlike Scilla’s view of St. Paul’s Cathedral from the Thames, Philip’s retake has the Millenium Bridge. When Scilla photographed the John Lewis store on Oxford Street, it was a one-storey building—now it has seven floors. Philip had to use his imagination to recreate other sights. Scilla has repeatedly returned to her new album since receiving it. Philip said: ”It’s nice for her to see someone taking an interest in those photos and going back over them, and also good for her to connect her past to where are now.“
1. What did Philip do for Scilla during the past year?| A．He taught her how to use a camera. | B．He took her to visit London streets. |
| C．He found a new way to treat her disease. | D．He recreated photos of London she had taken. |
| A．It inspired her to take photos. | B．It made her think of her teenage days. |
| C．It encouraged her to travel across London. | D．It raised her confidence to fight off illness |
| A．Troubled. | B．Interested. | C．Experienced. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．A teenager sensed the great changes of London. |
| B．An old lady suffered a lot from Alzheimer’s disease. |
| C．A teenager and his mother travelled to London for fun. |
| D．Retaken photos awakened old memories. |
8 . Lots of kids like to talk about sports, but Joseph D’Avirro talks about sports like a professional host in a show called Sliders & Curveballs. The 9-year-old from Newington, Connecticut is a natural at sports talk and has been broadcasting the show—which is about baseball, basketball and other sports—with his dad, Mike D’Avirro, since September 2019.
The D’Avirro started the broadcast after two former college roommates of Mike died, which made Mike want to spend more time with his son. Then the idea came to him. So far, they have done about 50 programs. Joseph’s favorite is when the father-and-son team interviewed Jim Calhoun, the coach leading the Connecticut Huskies to three national titles. They have also interviewed important sports authors.
The father and son make about one 30- to 40-minute podcast each month. They prepare for the podcasts by deciding on the questions they want to ask the guest. Joseph asks half of the questions, and Mike handles the other half. Joseph reads his questions again and again to get them in his brain well. It is a lot of work, but Joseph says it is “a lot more fun than homework”. Joseph has also learned to speak up and speak clearly. He has to listen and to go with the flow of the conversation. For example, he said, “If the guest is talking about sports in the 1990s, you have to think about sports in the 1990s.”
When asked how long he and his dad will continue doing the show, he answered, “Until my dad starts growing gray hairs.” Joseph has other ambitions when he grows up—to be a sports player, a sports broadcaster or to own a basketball team. Those are big dreams, but Joseph is already living a dream: talking sports and spending time with his dad.
1. What is Joseph’s show about?| A．Some talk shows on sports. |
| B．Ways to get along with parents. |
| C．Stories about famous sports players. |
| D．Sports that his family loves playing. |
| A．His son’s talent for sports. |
| B．His wish to be a host since college. |
| C．The deaths of his college roommates. |
| D．The encouragement from his roommates. |
| A．It’s as boring as homework. |
| B．It’s challenging to his brain. |
| C．It takes a lot of time but means a lot. |
| D．It’s more interesting than homework. |
| A．A rising sports broadcaster |
| B．A long road to go to success |
| C．The father-and-son team hosts |
| D．Joseph D’Avirro’s big dream |
9 . There’s a quote putting, “life doesn’t come with a manual (手册); it comes with a mother.” Thankfully, for Jabez and Christopher, their manual — or mother — found a creative way to keep her little boys’ fingers safe around a sewing machine. And as a result, she turned them into successful business owners.
Queenie Jenkins from Atlanta worked in the fashion industry and in her spare time, made matching scarves and skirts on her sewing machine at home. But once she became a mother with two energetic boys at her feet, her hobby became both difficult and dangerous. So, she turned the problem into a life lesson. Jenkins taught her boys how to use the sewing machine skilfully and safely. It wasn’t long before the boys were no longer green hands. As they grew older, they knew how to change the trousers into shorts for the summer months well.
When Jabez’s elementary school held a Career Day, he made 30 bow ties and 30 hair bows to sell. Within minutes, all of them had sold out. Then Jabez launched Kings and Gents Accessories, a small workshop, in 2018 with his brother. In addition to making and selling their bow ties, the brothers have also written a book and created a YouTube channel to host meetings for other potential “kidpreneurs (儿童企业家)”.
Now as a freshman in high school, Jabez said inspiring the next generation of business owners is an important part of their mission. “We just wanted to show younger kids how we got started, and how they can get started,” said Jabez, “We’re no different than any other kids.”
Jenkins has plenty to be proud of. Not only have her boys created a successful business, but they’ve gained valuable life skills along the way. “They’ve learned not to give up, to be more creative, and to be thinkers,” said Jenkins. “They don’t allow their fear to stop them.”
1. In which aspect do Jabez and Christopher benefit most from their mother’ sewing machine?| A．Life skills. | B．Safety rules. |
| C．Business plans. | D．Cloth materials. |
| A．Awkward learners. | B．Attractive experts. |
| C．Admirable pioneers. | D．Amazing artists. |
| A．Over-all. | B．One-sided. | C．Short-lived. | D．Far-reaching. |
| A．Mama’s sewing machine |
| B．Business on the rocks |
| C．Sewing the seeds of success |
| D．Developing creative thinking |
10 . To those normal kids, it’s not unusual to hear “Goodnight” when you kiss them, saying “Goodnight” to them. For most parents, it’s just a storm in a teacup. However, for me it’s opposite.
My son James, suffered from the autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. Some people with ASD may have advanced conversation skills whereas James is an exception.
Pre-diagnosis, I’d give James a big kiss and whisper goodnight when putting James to bed. Post-diagnosis, the silence that I received in return was deafening. It had never occurred to me before to be concerned that when I said “Goodnight, James. I love you”, my toddler said nothing in response.
I needed to hear him say something. My husband and I began to promote James to say goodnight back to us. “Say goodnight, Mommy.” For over a year, “Say goodnight, Mommy” was the parting routine of the day. Every night, it made me cry. I never got used to it. But I never gave up hope.
With more efforts, one night, I’d hear something more organic come out of James’s mouth. He dropped the “say”— and his response became “goodnight, Mommy” when James turned four. It was fantastic — but it was still prompted. At six, I got my first unprompted, “Goodnight, Mommy. I love you.” Next to my wedding, and births of my children, this was the most exciting night of my life.
James, now eight, routinely kisses us goodnight and tells us he loves us. The other evening, after giving me a big hug and kiss, James told me, “You’re a great mom! You’re not a mom with feathers, or a mom with colors and markers. I’m glad you’re a... a person!” I don’t know if he had the book Are You My Mother? on his mind, or if this was just one of the many random thoughts that crossed my son’s brain on a daily basis. I do know it was music to my ears.
1. What do most parents think of a kiss goodnight from their normal children?| A．It’s an advanced conversation skill. | B．It’s a precious routine they treasure. |
| C．It’s a privilege they take for granted. | D．It’s a good way to recover from ASD. |
| A．He was too talkative. | B．He couldn’t say anything. |
| C．He daren’t sleep alone. | D．He was lack of security. |
| A．It has evolved over time. | B．It always upsets his parents. |
| C．It benefits face-to-face talk. | D．It helps exercise James’ mind. |
| A．The Cycles of Life | B．A Mom with Feathers |
| C．The Symptoms of ASD | D．Unusual Bedtime-Routines |
