1 . My dad doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would bake great bread, but he is and he does. Every Saturday he produces homemade bread. When he’s done, the whole house smells delicious.
The rest of the week, Dad fixes cars at work. The shop where Dad works is running so well that he is always occupied. He is under a lot of stress. I think Dad began baking bread to help him relax.
I’ve been feeling kind of stressed out myself since I found out I didn’t make the school swim team. Now I’ll have to wait a whole year to try out again. Plus, I’m taking some difficult classes this year.
I think Dad knew I was feeling bad. Last Saturday he asked me how things were going. I said OK, even though I didn’t feel OK at all. He looked at me for a moment, and then he said it was time for me to help. Then he headed to the kitchen.
I followed right behind him. Once we were there, Dad got out his big mixing bowl, handed me a large wooden spoon, and told me to mix while he added the ingredients. Dad isn’t big on measuring. He knows how much of each ingredient to use, and the bread always turns out great.
When I finished stirring, Dad showed me how to knead the dough (揉面团). Next came the most difficult part — doing nothing. We put the dough back into the bowl and then we waited for more than an hour for the dough to slowly rise and double in size. Next, we divided it into two and waited for it to rise again. Afterward, we put the dough into pans and waited another hour for the dough to rise and double.
Dad said the waiting is always the hardest part. “It’s hard to resist putting the dough directly into the oven, but if you do, the bread will be hard. The most important lesson of all is learning to be.” Dad taught me more than how to bake bread.
1. What can we learn about the author’s father?| A．He is living a relaxing life. | B．He tries his best to make ends meet. |
| C．He has a special way to deal with stress. | D．He is more like a baker than a mechanic. |
| A．School isn’t going well. | B．She dislikes making bread. |
| C．She feels sorry for her father. | D．Some classes aren’t worth it. |
| A．Dad is unskilled. | B．Dad dislikes measuring. |
| C．Dad has a craze for measuring. | D．Dad is careful about ingredients. |
| A．Never give up. | B．Take life easily. |
| C．Believe in yourself. | D．Enjoy time with family. |
2 . For 2-year-old girl Jordyn Cleverly, from Bose, Idaho, her white wedding served as the perfect occasion to wear her grandmother’s very own 55-year-old wedding dress. The long-sleeved dress was first worn by Jordyn’s grandmother, Penny Jensen, when she married her childhood sweetheart in 1962. In images caught by photographer Kortney Peterson, Penny can be seen looking at her granddaughter in her dress and breaking down in tears.
In an interview with Inside Edition, the young bride explained she kept the decision to wear her grandmother’s dress as a secret until the rehearsal(排演) dinner two nights before the wedding. “I didn’t want her to see it for the first time in the church and just start crying when all those memories came back to her,” she said.
Disheartened with the choice of dresses on offer in local shops, Jordyn said, “I tried on a couple of dresses at a local wedding dress shop and I just couldn’t find anything that had the style, that old style that I was looking for.” When she learned her grandma was intending to donate her old dress to charity, Jordyn felt inspired. “I wanted to pay tribute(敬意) to the dress that had been there for 55 years,” she said.
“It may be a size or two too big and so I contacted a local tailor to see if there was anything we could do with it,” she said. “Absolutely, it’s in good shape. My grandma had zero idea; she didn’t know it was in my possession(财产).”
Kortney Peterson said, “Her grandma’s reaction was one of the sweetest reactions I’ve ever seen. Tears were brought to here yes,” Jordyn’s grandfather passed away before she was born. “As she walked outside to see her grandma, it began to rain,” Kortney said. “We all viewed the rain as teardrops from heaven. Teardrops from her grandfather. It made the moment much more beautiful and special.”
1. What moved Penny Jensen?
| A．She met her grandma at the wedding. |
| B．Her images were presented at the wedding. |
| C．Her granddaughter wore her wedding dress. |
| D．Her wedding dress was found by a photographer. |
| A．Keep her wedding day a secret， |
| B．Hide her intention to wear the dress until the rehearsal. |
| C．Do the rehearsal without her grandma. |
| D．Have an interview with Inside Edition. |
| A．It was just the right size. |
| B．It was the old style she wanted. |
| C．She wanted to surprise the guests. |
| D．She wanted to stop her grandma donating it. |
| A．The wedding was put off because of the rain. |
| B．People were all moved to tears by the grandma. |
| C．Jordyn Cleverly’s grandfather died on a rainy day. |
| D．The weather made the wedding more unforgettable. |
3 . 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. |
4 . Nowadays parents and their children are spending less and less time communicating with each other.
1. Eat together & listen to each other
Most children today don’t know the meaning of a family dinnertime. Yet the communication and unity built during this time is necessary to a healthy family life. Sharing a meal together allows parents and their children to have the opportunity to talk about each other’s lives.
2. Read often
It’s important for parents to read to their children. The latest research shows that reading to your children develops an interest in knowledge and contributes to language development. It also increases their concentration on things and helps them become more curious.
3. Start a hobby or project
Choose a fun activity that your children are interested in. Activities like cooking, fishing or biking can be their great hobbies.
4. Plan a family outing
| A．It is very important for children to exercise. |
| B．They can open the door to exciting family time. |
| C．Sometimes getting out of the house is important. |
| D．Look for books that your children would enjoy reading. |
| E．New technology has made video games more popular with children. |
| F．This is also a time for parents to listen and give advice to their children. |
| G．As a result, many children are getting less love than their parents once got. |
5 . It is known to us that smoking is bad for people. But if one or both of your parents smoke, you might be worried about their health.
Encourage your parents to quit rather than order them.
Find some videos on the Internet so that your parents can really feel the bad effects of smoking. Besides, there are some free programs to help people stop smoking.
Become their greatest supporter. Ask if there’s anything you can do to help them when they feel the urge to smoke. Maybe you can go for a walk, do a puzzle, or listen to music together.
| A．Avoid parents’ anger. |
| B．Be patient and friendly with your parents. |
| C．These are beneficial for them to quit smoking. |
| D．You need to praise any progress they make. |
| E．But sometimes it’s not so easy for them to stop smoking. |
| F．You can talk to them about the disadvantages of smoking. |
| G．You can tell them what benefit they can get from quitting smoking. |
6 . On warm winter days, Yang Liheng 89 enjoys sitting by the window and looking through old photos. These photos bring him joy and happiness once more.
For Yang, one of the long-expected activities during the Spring Festival is to take photos with family members. On the early morning of the second day of the Chinese New Year when the whole family reunite, he would dress up and wait for the photo to be taken.
Yang became a photographer in the late 1950s. With his camera, Yang recorded the great changes of his hometown over time. “I had a painful childhood. but I got a chance to be a photographer after the founding(成立)of the People’s Republic of China.” Yang told Beijing Review. “I want to record, in the form of photographs, the local customs, the scenes and people’s brave spirit of fighting against the hard conditions here in my hometown.”
“I used to take pictures for everyone else, but seldom turned my camera at my family members.” Yang said. “My grandson gave me the idea to record the growth and development of my own family.” Taking family photos then became a tradition for Yang’s family. Though now some of his grandchildren are working and living in other cities, they try their best to return home during the Spring Festival and prepare for the special moment.
Last year was an important year for Yang Liheng. Most of his photos were displayed in Yinchuan to show the development of the area over the past sixty years.
1. What does Yang expect most during the Spring Festival?| A．Wearing new clothes. | B．Having a big dinner. |
| C．Taking a family photo. | D．Visiting his relatives. |
| A．Get separated. | B．Get much wealthier. |
| C．Get improved. | D．Get together again. |
| A．When Yang was interviewed. | B．Where Yang learnt to take photos. |
| C．Why Yang had a painful childhood. | D．What Yang recorded with his camera. |
| A．It is full of love. | B．It is full of mysteries. |
| C．It is a rich family. | D．It is having a hard time. |
7 . My father was the kind of guy who could walk into a room full of strangers and leave with new best friends for life! He was a hard worker and was known as “Mr Fix-It” to everyone. He was also one of the most cheerful, affable (和葛可亲的) and gentle people you would ever meet, which made us, his beloved daughters feel proud.
But when Dad was in his fifties, my family began to notice him struggling. His work and skills began to become worse and worse, and he became depressed and withdrawn. This was not the man I knew. At the age of fifty-eight, Dad was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. As for our family, it was the worst.
Our first step was to attend a meeting hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association to learn more about the disease and programs that might help us. That meeting inspired me to start a Walk to End Alzheimer’s® team. But I still wanted to do more. In 2017, I became a board member of the Alzheimer’s Association Delaware Valley Chapter.
The loss from this disease is gradual. My father’s decline continued for several years. Losing my father more and more each day was leaving a big hole in my heart and my life. I decided to fill that hole with action to honor my father.
That’s why I recently decided to leave a gift to the Alzheimer’s Association by naming it as a beneficiary of my retirement plan. My future gift will provide money to support research because I don’t want another person in my family or someone in other families to have to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.
I am so proud to be able to honor my father and other family members who lost their fights to Alzheimer’s in this way. My dad was an inspiration to me, and I hope, through my gift, I can inspire others to join in the fight to end Alzheimer’s.
1. What can we infer about the author’s father before having Alzheimer’s?| A．He was an outgoing man. | B．He hiked with strangers. |
| C．He made a living by sales. | D．He was a popular repairer of cars. |
| A．She consulted many experts. | B．She established a research team. |
| C．She gained more relevant information. | D．She funded the Alzheimer’s Association. |
| A．Research funds for the disease. | B．A record of her father’s mental state. |
| C．Her research papers on families like hers. | D．Experts’ suggestions on her father’s disease. |
| A．Her precious gift. | B．Her father’s firm confidence. |
| C．Her future expectation. | D．Her father’s original motivation. |
8 . Sewing is an art. It is one that takes patience, time, and true talent. Julia,a woman from Chicago, is the definition of a talented tailor.
Julia’s inspiration for her designs comes from her grandma’s sketches (草图) from the 1940s. Julia’s grandma went to fashion school in her late teens and dropped out but she kept many of her sketches. Grandma showed Julia the designs she made back in fashion school, and Julia’s mind was blown.
When Grandma expressed her regret for not having the opportunity to see her sketches come to life, Julia decided not to have Grandma wait to witness it.
After sewing her grandma’s designs, Julia has been posting the final products on social media one by one, which has made popular. One of the most excellent designs she made was a beautiful gold cocktail dress, which took Julia about two months to finish.
Julia taught herself how to sew and has no professional training. Every month or so Julia continues to make her grandma’s designs a reality. Julia says,“She was very happy. I think she loves getting to connect with me and have something to do because she’s at a stage in life where, you know, many people don’t have many things to do. I think she is really proud and excited that I have completed it.”
From the social media, Julia has even gotten offers from people willing to buy her dresses, Julia is very pleased, but she claims since she isn’t an expert, she doesn’t feel comfortable selling them. However, seeing Julia teach herself how to sew with social media videos and design these dresses is giving her viewers the confidence to attempt something of their own!
1. How did Julia like Grandma’s sketches?| A．She was excited about them |
| B．She thought they were out of fashion. |
| C．She felt regretful for their poor preservation |
| D．She thought they were inspirational to other designers. |
| A．To prove her talent. |
| B．To test her patience. |
| C．To attract people’s attention. |
| D．To help realize Grandma’s wish. |
| A．She consulted professionals. |
| B．She attended a fashion school. |
| C．She learned from social media videos. |
| D．She followed Grandma’s instructions |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Admiring. | C．Indifferent. | D．Grateful. |
9 . When I was 7 and Stevie was 6, our parents taught us how to play chess and other games. Playing games was our life back then. Stevie and I were very competitive in everything.
We got older and better so our games were more intense, but also more exciting. The strange thing is that I enjoyed the games vastly and was happy for my brother when he won. But afterwards, I felt my well-being threatened, and then my confidence suffered.
When I was 10 years old I wanted to be successful at my talents. One day, a light came on in my head. I had to find something Stevie couldn’t do. It would have to be unique in every way. Before long, I got Jimmy Nelson’s record on “How to Become a Ventriloquist (腹语师)” and I practiced faithfully every day. After summer vacation, I did my first show for my class. The response was favorable. I performed for family get-togethers and did shows on a number of occasions to practice my new skill.
It isn’t easy learning ventriloquism. The difficult part was developing the voice, because at first, it was soft and hard to hear. I memorized the routines and performed more. With time, I got better responses. The loud laughter was nonstop, in addition to the applause.
Four years later, my mother purchased professional ventriloquial figure, which I named Freddie O’Sullivan. He was lifelike, with moving eyes, moving eyebrows, and could stick out his tongue. Treating Freddie like a real person enhanced my performance.
In college, Freddie was well known. He would tell people that he was the only guy that could sleep in the girl’s dormitory. Over the years, I won many talent awards.
One time, an elderly man looked at Freddie attentively and asked him where he got his trousers. The audience nearby had tears in their eyes. I didn’t know what was going on until I was told later the gentleman hadn’t spoken for 20 years.
Thanks to my brother, I created a lifetime with Freddie.
1. How did the author feel at first when Stevie won a game?| A．Delighted. | B．Confused. |
| C．Depressed. | D．Surprised, |
| A．To gain her parents’ favor in family get-togethers. |
| B．To record her intense and competitive childhood. |
| C．To have a special talent better than her brother. |
| D．To bring joyous laughter to people around her. |
| A．Freddie trained the author professionally. |
| B．Freddie inspired an old man to restart to talk. |
| C．Freddie took the place of the author’s brother. |
| D．Freddie disturbed others in the girl’s dormitory. |
| A．Generous and grateful. | B．Modest and responsible. |
| C．Patient and honest. | D．Sensitive and determined. |
10 . My mother used to take me to my grandparents’ in Belgium during the school holidays. While I would play chess with my grandfather, he would tell me stories about growing up, falling in love, and travelling around the world.
I didn’t realize the importance of preserving memories until my grandfather passed away, which ultimately changed my outlook on remembering our loved ones and the stories we share. I thought about solutions to help other people record the precious memories for those they love—before it’s too late. So I began matching ghostwriters (代笔人) to clients to help them write a book as smoothly and beautifully as possible, and Story Terrace was born.
Since then, we have explored the power of stories and their ability to connect us with our past and make sense of the present. It has been documented that increased family connection is significantly linked to less loneliness. Learning more about one’s family history, however, has been linked to boosting emotional health, increasing compassion and providing a deeper sense of cultures and traditions.
What we have found through our own research is that so many of us have missed out on the opportunity to explore our origins. 56 percent of Brits agreed that much of their family history is lost because they are no longer able to speak with the person who knows the most about it. A further 51 percent expressed regret as they wished they could tell their younger self to document their family’s life story, feeling that most of it had been forgotten. But when it comes to telling these stories, many don’t know where to begin.
We have seen numerous times when people come to us with random journal entries and notes from over the years, and these can be developed into a wonderful work of art that can be passed down for generations to come.
Half of the projects we see at StoryTerrace are heritage stories, with family occupying a dominant theme for most stories. Alongside this, common themes we see are of course love, overcoming challenges, settling in new surroundings and so on. However, family is a thread that always ties these together.
1. What does Story Terrace do?| A．It boosts the mood of your family members. |
| B．It gives treatment to people with mental illness. |
| C．It links people from different cultures together. |
| D．It helps turn your beloved one’s stories into a book. |
| A．Why StoryTerrace matters. |
| B．How StoryTerrace functions. |
| C．What StoryTerrace focuses on. |
| D．Where StoryTerrace beings your story. |
| A．It is part of the national heritage. |
| B．Its stories are mostly about family. |
| C．It dominates half of the market. |
| D．Its stories gain much popularity. |
| A．Family Stories Worth Telling |
| B．Create Your Own Story Books |
| C．Documents of Family History |
| D．Preserve Memories with StoryTerrace |
