1 . Whenever I heard strangers singing out loud, whether it was in the supermarket or on the street, I used to think how annoying it was. That was until a few months ago.
Recently, my daughter Zoe started her second year of middle school with a new sense of awareness, asking me to fix the "little girl" pattern on her wheelchair seat. Not wanting her to stand out at school, I spent hours filling in pale yellow stars with a black marker, eager to erase whatever childish signs I could. Shortly after, Zoe got really sick and had to miss 20 days of school. This meant our days were filled with rushing between hospital appointments and meetings with the school, as we tried to make sure she didn't fall behind on her schoolwork.
I felt pulled back to a time when she was little and her sickness was a huge part of her life. Back then, it seemed like Zoe lived in hospitals, as she spent so much time in them. No matter how sick she got, however, she always had a positive attitude. But this was different: Zoe was no longer singing like she normally did. Zoe usually sings all the time, whether she's playing, riding in the car, or just doing her homework. There was no need for a radio in our house； Zoe provided the music for us. Consumed (被折磨)with my motherly worries, it was more concerning to me than her sickness.
One day, however, I heard her beautiful voice as I was cooking dinner. I stopped what I was doing and just smiled. “Pure delight. ’’ I thought to myself. Her voice slowly grew stronger, and soon, both the car and the house were filled with her music once more. How had I not noticed her singing had completely stopped, weeks and weeks ago? Now, thankfully, she's back in school, smiling and singing, and I'm thankful for each and every song she sings.
These days, whenever I hear a stranger singing a song to themselves, I don’t get mad. Instead, I smile, as I know that by singing out loud, they're simply sharing their happiness with the world.
1. When did the author feel bothered?| A．When hearing strangers singing. | B．When her daughter started middle school. |
| C．When fixing stars on the seat. | D．When her daughter became sensitive. |
| A．Considerate and helpful. | B．Competitive and hardworking. |
| C．Optimistic and strong-willed. | D．Self-aware and modest. |
| A．Zoe's love for music. | B．Zoe’s falling behind at school. |
| C．Zoe's silence during her sickness. | D．Zoe's slow recovery from her sickness. |
| A．A way to get rid of stress. | B．A way to express love to others. |
| C．A way to communicate with others. | D．A way to share joy. |
2 . As we all know, friendship is of great importance in our daily life. A friend can give us help and share our difficulties and happiness. But how to make friends is still difficult for some of us.
Be friendly to others.
Be reliable. If you and your friends agree to meet somewhere, don’t be late. If you’re not going to make it on time or make it at all, call them as soon as you realize it.
Encourage and support your friends: A true friend always gives encouragement to his friends.
| A．Be a good listener. |
| B．A friend to all is a friend to none. |
| C．When you say you’ll do something, do it. |
| D．He will stay with them in good as well as bad times. |
| E．The following information can give you some tips. |
| F．Smile at others and you are sure to get a smile in return. |
| G．A true friend should always share the same interest with you. |
3 . It was a normal school day for senior Solymar Solis until an unexpected visitor arrived. Her dad, Sgt. Carlos Solis Melendez, surprised her by coming home early from Kuwait and visiting her unannounced at Spring Valley High School in South Carolina.
After serving in Kuwait for nine months, Melendez returned home a week earlier than his daughter expected. He held balloons and flowers in a classroom as he sat at a student’s desk to blend in with the crowd. “It came across my mind like, ‘How is she going to react?” he recalled the heartwarming moment. “Is she going to be happy and run to me and hug me, or cry? That was all going on through my mind.”
As unsuspecting Solymar entered the classroom, she was soon overcome with emotion, immediately bursting into tears and covering her mouth. She didn’t talk. She was just crying. She was overwhelmed with everything. She thought it was a dream.
Melendez was a single parent so while he was deployed (调动), he got his sister to live with his daughter. When he was coming back and talking to his sister, both of them came to the conclusion that they should do something special for his daughter. Melendez and his sister got in touch with the school, and they planned this whole being-in-the-classroom thing, and it turned out perfect.
The two are very much looking forward to some good daddy-daughter time now that he’s home. “It means everything,” Melendez said of being able to surprise his daughter this way. “After all the sacrifices she’s made, she deserves all the special arrangements and special occasions and celebrations. I’ll do anything for my daughter. I believe I’m doing good parenting.”
1. How did Solymar feel when seeing her father?| A．She was eager to hug her father. |
| B．She felt everything was as usual. |
| C．She got disappointed at seeing her father. |
| D．She thought it was unbelievable. |
| A．Content. | B．Astonished. |
| C．Touched. | D．Upset. |
| A．To get involved in her school life. |
| B．To teach her a lesson in a special way. |
| C．To build a strong emotional bond with her. |
| D．To make up for what she lost in her growth. |
| A．Father’s Selfless Love for His Daughter |
| B．Girl Expecting the Returning of Her Dad |
| C．Girl Surprised at School by Her Dad’s Return |
| D．Father and Daughter’s Expected Reunion |
4 . Most young architects particularly those in big cities— can only dream about working in a building of their own. And making that dream come true often means finding a building no one else seems to want, which is exactly what happened to David Yocum and his partner, Brain Bell. Their building is a former automobile electrical-parts film in Atlanta. From the outside, it looks too old, even something horrible, but open the door and you are in a wide, open courtyard, lined on three sides with rusting (生锈的) walls.
In 2000, Yocum and Bell found this building in the city’s West End. Built in 1947, the structure had been abandoned years earlier and the roof of the main building had fallen down. But the price was right, so Yocum bought it. He spent eight months of his off-hours on demolition (排除), pulling rubbish out through the roof, because it was too dangerous to go inside the building. The demolition was hard work, but it gave him time to think about what he wanted to do, and “to treasure what was there — the walls, the rust, and the light.” Yocum said. “Every season, more paint falls off the walls and more rust develops. It’s like an art installation (装置) in there—a slow-motion show.”
Since the back building had been constructed without windows, an all-glass front was added to the building to give it a view of the courtyard, and skylights were installed in the roof. The back of the building is a working area and a living room for Yocum and his wife. A sort of buffer(缓冲） zone between the front and the back contains a bathroom, a kitchen and a mechanical room, and the walls that separate these zones have openings that allow views through to the front of the studio and the courtyard beyond.
Yocum and Bell, who have just completed an art gallery for the city, feel that the experience from the decoration of their building, focusing on the inside rather than the outside, has influenced their work. It has also given these architects a chance to show how they can make more out of less.
1. According to the passage, it is ________ for most young architects in big cities to work in a building of their own.| A．easy | B．unnecessary |
| C．unrealistic | D．common |
| A．it was a bargain to him |
| B．it was still in good condition |
| C．it was located in the city center |
| D．it looked attractive from the outside |
| A．pulled rubbish out through the roof |
| B．removed the skylights from the bathroom |
| C．presented a slow-motion show in an art gallery |
| D．built a kitchen at the back part of the old building |
| A．benefited a lot from pulling down the roof |
| B．turned more old buildings into art galleries |
| C．got inspiration from decorating their old building |
| D．paid more attention to the outside of the art gallery |
| A．people can learn a lot from their failures |
| B．it is worthwhile to spend money on an old building |
| C．people should not judge things by their appearance |
| D．creative people can make the best of what they have |
5 . “It’s really cool to have a dad who flies fighter jets,” thought 11-year-old Casey as she was watching him fly overhead.
Living on an Air Force base was not as bad as some people might think. Casey rather enjoyed being around friends who had something in common with each other. They had their own school, bowling area, and movie theatre. She especially loved it when her dad would come home each day and greet her with a new joke and tickles.
Today was different, though. When her dad walked into the room, he looked sad for some reason. He just kissed her on the forehead and told her mum that he needed to talk to her. Casey knew something was wrong.
When her mum and dad came out of the other room, mum was crying. Dad sat down and began to explain that he had been called to go to Iraq to help with the war effort. Casey was so surprised that she couldn’t speak for a moment. She began to feel tears in her eyes. How could she live without her dad for a whole year?
Soon, the day came. Her dad was leaving. As Casey and her mom watched him climb up the steps to his cockpit, the tears began to flow and it felt like they would never end. It was hard for Casey to believe that she wouldn’t be her dad for so long. They depend on him for so many things. who would fix the broken window? Who would greet her with jokes and tickles at the end of the day? And then the thought hit her, “What if he doesn’t make it home?” Casey began to sob more than ever.
1. According to the story, one thing Casey enjoyed on the base was that ________.| A．there was a friendly girl of her age living next door |
| B．she could travel around in her father’s jet |
| C．her friends had something in common with her |
| D．her dad was going to fight abroad |
| A．Casey’s dad volunteered to help with the war. |
| B．Casey’s parents didn’t let her know the truth. |
| C．Casey’s dad amused her in the morning usually. |
| D．Children living on the base could see movies in their theater. |
| A．Casey was worried that they couldn’t live without her father. |
| B．Casey saw her father off at the airport. |
| C．Casey’s dad looked sad. |
| D．Casey’s father left home. |
6 . Don't ignore the difference teenagers can make.
John Michael Thomas, 14, Florida
When John Michael Thomas decided to honor his friend and classmate Elizabeth Buckley, who died from cancer, he remembered how much she loved peacocks (孔雀).
He wanted to build a life-sized peacock fountain in Elizabeth's favorite park in the city. He thought it could be a place for people to relax and be inspired.
John Michael raised $52,000 to build the fountain.
Barrett England, 13, Utah
The wheels began to turn for Barrett England when he heard about Karma Bike shop, a place where young people can earn free bike by reading and performing community service.
Barrett visited Karma's owner with his idea: He would collect and repair used bikes and donate them to the shop.
He expected to get about 10 donated bikes. In the end, Barrett received 39.
Zachary Blohm, 15, Wisconsin
The 25-year-old playground at an elementary school near Milwaukee, Wis., was so small that only 70 of its 575 students could play on it at a time.
That's when Zachary Blohm saved the day. He and some volunteers wanted to build a huge playground. To raise money, Zac planned T-shirt and bake sales, sold tickets and more. He held monthly money-raising events for more than a year. Overall, he collected $130,000—enough to finish his project.
Jack Zimmerman, 16, New Jersey
For some people, finding a meal is as simple as opening the refrigerator. For more than 366,000 hungry kids in New Jersey, it's not that easy.
That fact didn't sit well with Jack Zimmerman, who organized a drive to lessen childhood hunger in his state. His goal: create 40,000 packaged meals that could be donated to those in need.
On game day, Jack and his volunteers started their work. After the final count, the team had packaged 47,124 meals—well above Jack's goal.
1. The peacock fountain was built in a park ________.| A．to encourage people | B．to cure a cancer sufferer |
| C．for the love of animals | D．in memory of a teenager |
| A．He repaired bikes there. | B．He donated bikes to it. |
| C．He helped it win customers. | D．He offered a reading service there. |
| A．They're top students. | B．They like various public activities. |
| C．They care about others. | D．They’re money raisers for the poor. |
7 . Kids love to go online. There is so much to explore and learn.
Of course when you are trying to determine if you can let him or her go online, your child has probably already said, “I’m ready; I can handle it.” But are they?
Does your child question other people’s actions? Do they easily believe anything that is presented to them? It is an important question to ask to determine if your child is ready to go online alone.
Have you taught them what the dangers are?
| A．You may be thinking this is a strange question to ask yourself. |
| B．Is your child easy to cheat? |
| C．There are a lot of dangers online. |
| D．Are they ready to go online by themselves? |
| E．Is your child skilled in using a computer? |
| F．Unfortunately there is a lot of unpleasant material online. |
| G．At what age should you allow your child to go online alone? |
8 . Friendship is a gift of God. But it may be taken for granted in some cases and not valued.
Why should we value friendships? What qualities does a good friend bring to our relationship that makes the friendship so valuable? Let us examine some of these.
Judgement——A good friend is rarely judgemental. We can be open in our behaviour with our good friends because we know that they will not judge us.
Share sorrow and losses ——A friend can be depended upon to share all our problems and sorrows.
Hope——During our times of trouble, only a friend comes forward and gives us encouragement and hope.
| A．This is no small gift of friendship. |
| B．Friendship is one such relationship |
| C．It is familiar to a case of two couples. |
| D．Some of us are blessed with good friends |
| E．We can enjoy this freedom only with friends |
| F．With that inspiration, we regain confidence in ourselves. |
| G．This sharing may not reduce the loss but helps us unburden ourselves. |
Now that I am no longer young. I have friends whose mothers have passed away. I have heard these sons and daughters say they never fully thanked their mothers until it was too late to tell them.
I am blessed with the dear mother who is still alive. I appreciate her devotion more each day. My mother does not change, but I do. As I grow older and wiser, I realize what an extraordinary person the is. It’s sad that I am unable to say these words in her presence, but they flow easily from my pen.
How does a daughter begin to thank her mother for life itself? For the love, patience and just plain hard work that go into raising a child? For running after a toddler, for understanding a moody teenager, and for tolerating a college student who knows everything? For wailing for the day when the daughter realizes what her mother really is?
How does a grown woman thank a mother for continuing to be a mother? For being ready with advice when asked or remaining silent when it is needed? For not saying “I told you so.” when she could have voiced these words dozens of times? For being essentially herself — loving, thoughtful, patient and forgiving?
I don’t know how to thank her, dear God, except to bless her and live up to the example she has set. I pray that I will look as good in the eyes of my children as my mother looks in mine.
1. We can infer from the passage that the author is .| A．reserved and romantic | B．cold and practical |
| C．stubborn but responsible | D．talkative and realistic |
| A．she has her own lovely sons and daughters |
| B．she is excellent in bringing up her own children |
| C．it is too late to say thanks to her mother in her presence |
| D．she still has the chance to express her appreciation to her mother |
| A．mothers should offer advice rather than blame |
| B．the sentence “I told you so.” can be repealed if necessary |
| C．the author is very thankful to her mother for her education |
| D．mothers can instruct their children whenever they want to |
| A．devotion | B．forgiveness |
| C．consideration | D．self-preservation |
10 . I grew up on a farm in the small rural (乡下的) community of Catawissa, Missouri, as the sixth of seven children.
He stayed in the hospital for three weeks. When Dad returned home, he was still in a back brace(支架) and unable to work.
One night we heard a car coming up.
That evening, this 6-year-old understood what being a good neighbor was, and that because her parents were good neighbors, their kindness would be returned. I learned later my mom’s sisters all “adopted” one of us kids to help with Christmas, and we received gift baskets from more than one organization.
My parents were used to being the givers and not the receivers of such generosity (慷慨).
| A．He tried to protest but Rose would have none of it. |
| B．Besides running the farm, Dad was also a carpenter. |
| C．Apart from a carpenter, Dad was also running a farm. |
| D．We kids were always curious about who was visiting. |
| E．I was too young to realize our family had no money coming in as Christmas approached. |
| F．It was comforting to be helped when in trouble, but what was important was to help others in return. |
| G．They had a bit of pride to swallow, but continued all of their lives to show us kids the value of kindness. |
