1 . 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. |
2 . 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 |
3 . 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 |
4 . 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. |
5 . 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 |
6 . Some of my earliest memories involve sitting with my dad in his study every night when he came home from the office, I’d watch as he put his personal items away; his watch, wallet, comb and car keys They would always occupy the same spot on the table every time.
Dad’s comb was jade green. I heard he bought it when he married Mum. Every night, he would smile, hand me the comb and say, “Be a good girl and help Daddy clean it, OK?”
I was more than happy to do it. At age five, this kind of task brought me such joy. I would excitedly turn the tap on, and then brush the comb with a used toothbrush as hard as I could. Satisfied that I’d done a good job, I would proudly return the comb to Dad. He would smile at me, and place the comb on top of his wallet.
About two years later, Dad left his sales job and started his own wholesale business. I started primary school. That was when things started to change. Dad’s business wasn’t doing so well, and our stable life started getting shaky. He didn’t come home as much as he used to. And when he did come home, it was always late and I’d already be in bed. 1 started to get mad. Why didn’t he listen to Mum and just stick to his old job? Why did he take the risk and place the whole family in trouble? Over the years, I stopped waiting for him to come home, and stopped going downstairs to check on him.
Now 28, I’ve graduated from college and got a job. Dad’s business has also started to get back on track. Yet the uncomfortable silence between Dad and me went on.
Two days before my birthday last year, Dad came home early. On that evening, I helped him carry his bags into his study as usual. When I turned to leave, he asked me to clean his comb. I looked at him for a while, then took the comb and headed to the sink.
It was the same comb. After cleaning it, I passed it back to Dad. He looked at it and smiled. But this time, I noticed something different. My dad had aged. He had wrinkles next to his eyes when he smiled, yet his smile was still as heartwarming as before.
1. From the first three paragraphs, we can learn___________.| A．the author would study with Dad every evening |
| B．the precious green comb of Dad was made of jade |
| C．the earliest memories with Dad were full of joy |
| D．the author was unwilling to clean the comb for Dad |
| A．He was eager to get everything on track. |
| B．He wanted to keep his family life stable. |
| C．He was laid off and had to make a living. |
| D．He hoped to earn a better life for the family. |
| A．Cheerful→mad→warm. |
| B．Mad→satisfied→warm. |
| C．Satisfied→worried→angry |
| D．Warm→concerned→uncomfortable. |
| A．My Dad’s Comb |
| B．Dad’s Wholesale Business |
| C．Changes of My Dad |
| D．My Earliest Memories with Dad |
7 . Johnny Agar had always dreamed of competing in triathlons (铁人三项赛) as an athlete. Unfortunately, he’d been diagnosed with cerebral palsy (大脑性瘫痪) shortly after he was born. This disorder makes it difficult for the now-28-year-old to get around. However, he and his father are proving that where there’s a will — and a lot of love — there’s a way!
Jeff Agar, 59, is helping Johnny experience life to the fullest by entering triathlons by his side. As a team, they’ve completed over 200 races, including a full ironman triathlon that required them to swim, bike and run 140 miles in just 17 hours.
“I’m not a fan of triathlon,” Jeff joked. “I’m doing it not because I love it. This is Johnny’s dream and I’m giving him the legs and the power to do it.” Although Jeff typically provides the majority of the manpower, it was important for Johnny to cross the finish line on his own legs. “Walking in races was my way of telling Dad, ‘Okay, I’m not just going to say thank-you anymore; I’m going to actually put words into action,’” Johnny said.
Johnny and his dad now form Team Agar, using their story and the power of motivational speaking to inspire others. “When we completed that 140-mile Ironman together, it had an amazing impact on many people who had seen our story. We began to see that competing isn’t just about us crossing the finish line; it’s about helping others leave uncertainty in the dust — even those facing greater obstacles than we did.”
Earlier this month, they received some incredible news. They were invited to compete in one of the toughest triathlons: the Ironman World Championship! What made the occasion even more special was a pre-recorded video message from Johnny’s idol, athlete Peyton Manning. “Rumor has it that you’re a big fan of mine,” Peyton said, “I’m a big fan of yours as well! You guys are incredible; you’re a true inspiration.”
1. What can we learn about Jeff from the text?| A．He has a great passion for triathlons. |
| B．He is upset about Johnny’s severe illness. |
| C．He goes all out to help his son achieve his ambition. |
| D．He crosses the finish line with his son in competitions. |
| A．To give motivation to other people. | B．To encourage more people to join them. |
| C．To make themselves more competitive. | D．To participate in more competitions as a team. |
| A．Peyton will record more videos of Johnny and Jeff. |
| B．Jeff and Johnny have influenced people positively. |
| C．Johnny and Jeff have been getting along well with Peyton. |
| D．Peyton has provided Johnny with material assistance. |
| A．An Old Father’s Love for Triathlons |
| B．A Disabled Competitor Works Wonders |
| C．Dad Helps Son With Cerebral Palsy Achieve His Dream |
| D．Great Achievements Made by Dad and Son in Sports |
8 . My wife and I used to feel that it was impossible to be a true friend to someone whose name we didn’t know. How wrong we were! Years of Sunday morning bus trips through the city with the same group of “nameless” people have changed our thinking.
Before the bus takes off, we all join in a conversation: where’s the silent woman who sits up front and never replies to our greetings? Here she comes. Her worn clothing suggests she doesn’t have much money to spare, but she always takes an extra cup of coffee for the driver.
We get smiles from a Mexican couple as they get on the bus hand in hand. When they get off, they’re still holding hands. The woman was pregnant late last year, and one day her change of shape showed that she’d borne the child. We even felt a little pride at the thought of our extended family.
For many months, our only sadness lay in our inability to establish the same friendship with the silent woman at the front of the bus. Then, one evening, we went to a fish restaurant. We were shown to a table alongside someone sitting alone. It was the woman from the bus.
We greeted her in the friendly and familiar way we’d shown all year, but this time her face softened, then a shy smile. When she spoke, the words escaped awkwardly (笨拙地) from her lips. All at once we realized why she hadn’t spoken to us before. Talking was hard for her.
Over dinner, we learned the story of a single mother with a disabled son who was receiving special care away from home. She missed him badly, she explained.
“I love him…and he loves me, even though lie doesn’t express it very well,” she murmured. “Lots of us have that problem, don’t we? We don’t say what we want to say, what we should be saying. And that’s not good enough.”
The candles lit on out tables. Our fish had never tasted better. The atmosphere grew pleasant, and when we parted as friends—we share names.
1. The underlined word “establish” in the fourth paragraph probably means____________.| A．set up | B．keep | C．discover | D．take part |
| A．She was worried about her disabled son. |
| B．She was only interested in the bus driver. |
| C．She had some difficulty in expressing herself. |
| D．She was sad to see the happy Mexican couple as a single mother. |
| A．The silent woman with her son both brought interest to the passengers. |
| B．The silent woman and her son both had some difficulty in expressing. |
| C．My wife and I didn’t become friends with the silent woman. |
| D．The Mexican couple were going to give birth to a baby. |
| A．The Silent Woman on the Bus | B．Different Kinds of Friendship |
| C．Going to Work by Bus | D．Friends of the Road |
9 . 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. |
10 . In 1954, Eleanor - my grandma - in great need of income, walked into the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. There she convinced some of the greatest scientists that she was the perfect person for their ant collection.
As a teenager, Eleanor spent hours wandering around the halls of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, flipping through gift shop books about insect mounting (固定于载片上). But that was all her experience in the field.
During her job interview at Harvard, when Philip Darlington, an influential zoologist at that time, asked Eleanor about her specialty, she replied, “Oh, I like everything.”
“He probably realized right then that I have nothing special,” she says. She once worked in a hardware store in New York, and she had no typing skills to be a secretary. She had dropped out of the Tyler School of Fine Arts to marry. But that artistic background was a selling point for the Harvard Job, and she was hired on the spot.
Now artistic background are common for researchers. At that time, however, hiring a woman who had dropped out of art school was certainly a risk. It paid off, Eleanor’s job as a technician required the same quality that art school had demanded. She began each day at the museum mixing glue (胶水). Then she pulled the dead ants from the containers and set them out to dry. Some ants were small-barely 3 millimeters long-requiring patience and a careful hand. Eleanor needed to fix the ant bodies with a spot of glue and write a label for each of them.
The job required her to work quickly, yet correctly. “The average person never really hears about the expertise and the effort that goes into it.” said Wilson, an expert at the Museum. Rushing would risk ruining a rare specimen (标本), but Eleanor could process ants as quickly and many as 200 a day. Wilson said that she was the best technician who ever worked for him.
1. Why was Eleanor hired?| A．She once studied at an art school. |
| B．She’s married and in need of money. |
| C．She was interested in mounting insects. |
| D．She was experienced in the Museum career. |
| A．Eleanor’s payment. |
| B．Eleanor’s effort. |
| C．Eleanor’s artistic background. |
| D．Eleanor’s being hired. |
| A．To prove how painful Eleanor’s job is. |
| B．To highlight Eleanor’s outstanding ability. |
| C．To praise Eleanor’s bravery and creativity. |
| D．To provide evidence of Eleanor’s work process. |
| A．Ambitious. | B．Emotional. | C．Creative. | D．Skillful. |
