1 . Holly Cooke wasn’t a fan of weekends. Whenever Friday rolled around, it was a reminder that she had no one to spend her spare time with.
“I was lonely,” said Cooke, who relocated from Stoke-on-Trent — a city in central England — to London when she was 22. “I moved here knowing no one.” She had high hopes of going to restaurants, bars and the theater as she had done before, but she didn’t want to do those activities alone. “I was desiring community: people who wanted to hang out and have fun,” said Cooke, now 26.
She grew so eager for company, she said that she eventually found herself Googling: “How to make friends in London.” The search proved futile, though she found a few other women who were also lonely in London on some social media apps.
Cooke decided to create a Facebook group called “The London Lonely Girls Club,” and invited the people she connected with on the apps to join. She then asked everyone to meet for brunch (早午餐). “It was so difficult,” she said, adding that she asked a friend from out of town to come in for the brunch, in case no one else showed up. “Saying that you’re lonely and you don’t have people around, admitting to that was really scary.”
Cooke was pleasantly surprised when five women showed up and they all got along well. This proved she was not alone in her loneliness, and that she could help others in the same situation. She decided to start planning meetups every few weeks, and word slowly spread about the Facebook group. Now, five years later, the London Lonely Girls Club has more than 35,000 members.
Cooke said she lost count of how many women have made lasting friendships through her group. “It’s beautiful and rewarding, and it’s the reason I’ve carried on,” she said. “As long as there is a need, we will be here.”
1. What can we learn about Holly Cooke?| A．She was alone because of being addicted to social media apps. |
| B．She got used to the lifestyle of being alone on weekends. |
| C．She had little time to make friends after moving to London. |
| D．She used to meet friends on weekends when in Stoke-on-Trent. |
| A．Unsuccessful. | B．Unstoppable. |
| C．Unusual. | D．Unclear. |
| A．She wanted to have an optional plan in case it didn’t work. |
| B．She wanted to introduce her friend to the other women. |
| C．She needed someone to help her to organize the meetup. |
| D．She was afraid that no one else would come as planned. |
| A．It is well received. | B．It is not rewarding. |
| C．It is less creative. | D．It is not fruitful. |
2 . A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy.
Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend.
At the same time, however, a good friend is honest.
There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humor, too.
| A．He does not look for mistakes in others. |
| B．Real friends share your sorrows and joys. |
| C．Another quality of a friend is reliability. |
| D．Remember a friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| E．Sometimes you will meet fair-weather friends. |
| F．A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. |
| G．When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I’ve found a friend! |
3 . When the fifth grade school year was almost over, all the girls made autograph (签名) books. As I signed my classmates’ books, I noticed their moms had written in them, too. “I couldn’t be prouder of you. Can’t wait to see how you like junior high!” “Congratulations! We love you and know you have a bright future!”
I asked my mother to sign mine, too. When she handed it back to me, I was anxious to see what she had written. This is what I found on the page:
When a thing is first begun,
Never leave it till it’s done.
Be the labor great or small.
Do it well or not at all.
That was it? I was frozen. It was an indication to me that, if I couldn’t be perfect, I wasn’t good enough. I held back my tears, left the page in but secretly hoped my classmates wouldn’t read it.
Do it well or not at all. For years, I battled perfectionism and never felt good enough for most of my life.
When my mother was in her eighties, I gave her a book to fill out so we could know more about her. It had questions at the top of each page and then blank space to respond. I secretly hoped she’d been working on it all along. Sadly, not long after, my mother passed away. When I sorted out her belongings, what I wanted more than anything was that book. What I found stopped me short. On page ten, the question was, “What’s the best advice you got from your parents?” Her response was what she had written in my autograph book. Even though I’d memorized it years ago, I read it at a slower pace now, seeing it in a new light.
It was written to her by her mother, and she was passing it down to her daughter in the same way. A gift from her to me. She was giving me treasured, valuable advice when all I was thinking about were words of praise. I understand it now.
1. In paragraph 1, the author found that words from other classmates’ moms ________.| A．contained reflection on life |
| B．expressed their thankfulness |
| C．showed pride in their children |
| D．featured a formal writing style |
| A．Disappointed. | B．Motivated. | C．Hopeful. | D．Anxious. |
| A．The author memorized the words from her mom. |
| B．The author was surprised to see the same words again. |
| C．The author found it easy to see the words clearly under the light. |
| D．The author began to have a new understanding of her mom’s words. |
| A．A vision of a perfect world. |
| B．Encouragement to do things well. |
| C．Her mom’s wisdom of loving yourself. |
| D．Her mom’s advice on living at a slow pace. |
4 . Produced by Hunan Satellite TV, Where Are We Going, Dad? invites five male celebrities from different fields and their children to spend quality time together in new environments while accomplishing various survival tasks.
Since it first aired in January, 2013, Where Are We Going, Dad? has been sweeping the whole nation and has become Chinas most popular show averaging more than 600 million viewers each week and 640 million downloads online. Even the China Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese government praised its success, “The deep affection on display in the show is heart-warming. But what accounts for the show’s popularity?
Part of the appeal is the chance to peek into the lives of popular Chinese celebrities and their children. Audiences are delighted to watch the failed attempts of celebrity dads making dinner, combing hair, and disciplining children. At the same time, the cute kids themselves and their authentic and entertaining behaviors are very impressive and attractive.
“Another reason for the success of the show lies in the fact that it is a reexamination of the father’s role in traditional Chinese culture,” said the general director of the show. In a society. Still influenced by the concept that “men rule outside and women inside”, many Chinese fathers are poor at expressing their feelings toward their children. Usually they appear strict and distant. But on the show, we see fathers are much gentler on their kids and more involved in their upbringing. This show raises an important question for modern Chinese society — what is the role of fathers in today’s China?
A fascinating part of the show is that you can see many parenting styles. The five fathers on the show all have very diverse parenting styles, which is great because it shows people there isn’t just one way to raise a child. But Chinese parents increasingly realize that discussing and respecting their children’s choices may be a more appropriate way to prepare them for modern society. Meanwhile, the show can remind adults of their own childhood and the love of father. For those parents, they will rethink their own responsibility as parents and understand their kids better.
1. The chief function of the underlined sentence (in Paragraph 2) is ________.| A．to sum up the main idea of the paragraph |
| B．to introduce a new topic |
| C．to arouse reader’s interest |
| D．to express strong feelings |
| A．Traditionally children are not to be brought up by mothers alone in China. |
| B．Modern Chinese fathers wonder how to treat their children. |
| C．The role of fathers is changing in China. |
| D．More and more mothers go out to work. |
| A．People are curious about the celebrities’ life and their kids. |
| B．The show makes people reconsider father’s role in today’s China. |
| C．The show displays various parenting styles. |
| D．The audience think highly of the celebrities parenting styles on the show. |
| A．Why Is Where Are We Going, Dad? So Popular? |
| B．The Celebrities in Where Are We Going, Dad. |
| C．What Is the Role of Fathers in Today’s China? |
| D．Various Parenting Styles in China |
5 . One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap (包装).
On September 11th, 1958, Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying, “I promised you a gift, and here it is.” What an honour! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories. I told it over and over how much I loved it!
One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it.Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as “hopeless”, “pitiful”, and “dying”, which sounded ominous.
Christmas was coming. “Don’t expect any presents this year,” Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room.“If your baby brother lives, that’ll be Christmas enough.” As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I’d never seen him cry before.
The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say, “What? He’s all right?” He hung up and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we can bring Richard home!”
“Thank God!” I heard Mum cry.
From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love!
1. What happened to the author on September 11th, 1958?| A．He got a baby brother. |
| B．He got a Christmas gift. |
| C．He became four years old. |
| D．He received a doll. |
| A．Impossible. | B．Boring. |
| C．Difficult. | D．Fearful. |
| A．Excitement. | B．Happiness. |
| C．Sadness. | D．Disappointment. |
| A．A sad Christmas day. |
| B．Life with a lovely baby. |
| C．A special Christmas gift. |
| D．Memories of a happy family. |
6 . Make the Most of College
Dear Daughter,
As we drove off from Columbia, I wanted to write a letter to you to tell you all that is on my mind.
First, I want to tell you how proud we are. Getting into Columbia is a real proof of what a great well-rounded student you are. You should be as proud of yourself as we are.
Your college years will be the most important of your life. It is in college that you will discover what learning is about. This will be the period where you go from teacher-taught to master-inspired, after which you must become self-learner. So do take each subject seriously, and even if what you learn isn’t critical for your life, the learning skills you acquire will be something you will value forever.
Follow your passion in college. Take courses you think you will enjoy. Don’t be trapped by what others think or say, but make up your own mind.
Most importantly, make friends and be happy. College friends are often the best in life. Pick a few friends and become really close to them -- pick the ones who are genuine to you. Don’t worry about their hobbies, grades, looks or even personalities.
Start planning early -- what would you like to do? Where would you like to live? What would you like to learn? I think your plan to study fashion is good, and you should decide where you want to be, and get onto the right courses.
Whether it is summer-planning, or coursework planning, or picking a major, or managing your time, you should take control of your life. I will always be there for you, but the time has come for you to be in the driver’s seat -- this is your life, and you need to be in control. Being in control feels great. Try it, and you’ll love it!
College is the four years where you have:
● the greatest amount of free time
● the first chance to be independent
● the most flexibility to change
● the lowest risk for making mistakes
So please treasure your college years -- make full use of your free time, become an independent thinker in control of your destiny, be brave to experiment, learn and grow through your successes and challenges.
May your years at Columbia be the happiest of your life, and may you blossom into just what you dream to be.
Love,
Dad (&Mom)
1. What does the author advise his daughter to do in college?| A．Make as many friends as possible. |
| B．Party with friends in her free time. |
| C．Pay no attention to whatever others think or say. |
| D．Treasure and make the best of her college years. |
a. think and live independently
b. learn how to learn
c. choose friends with similar personalities
d. be genuine and sincere to everybody
e. try new things
| A．abd | B．bce | C．cde | D．abe |
| A．is worried about his daughter | B．is strict with his daughter |
| C．is optimistic about his daughter’s future | D．is sad that his daughter is leaving home |
The Advice Gap
Advice My Parents Gave Me: Go to college and major in what you love.
Advice I Will Give My Kids: Go to college only if you’ll major in science, engineering, or money. It’s a depressing job market, and majoring in English literature or anything with the word English in it has been useless since 1910s.
My Parents: Never show up to a party empty-handed.
Me: Never show up to a party. Send a text to the host twenty minutes before the party starts to say that you’re “sooooooo sorry” to cancel but your stomach is feeling “weird”.
My Parents: To find a job, walk into the offices of ABC News’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” and ask for one.
Me: Apply to jobs via LinkedIn, Zip-Recruiter, or your connections. Write a cover letter and attach your résumé, then manually enter the same information through the company’s portal, which looks as though it were designed in Microsoft Paint. Do this twenty times a day for two years, and you’re bound to make it to a third round of phone interviews before getting ghosted.
My Parents: Learn the difference between a 401(k) (an employer-sponsored defined-contribution pension account) and a Roth I. R. A. (a special retirement account) so that you can start investing early.
Me: Learn the difference between a 401(k) and a Roth I. R. A. so that you can explain it to me.
My Parents: Never wait to do your taxes.
Me: If you wait long enough to do your taxes, there might be a global crisis that forces the federal government to extend the deadline: Then you can wait some more and do them right before the new deadline.
My Parents: Work hard so you can save for retirement.
Me: Retirement is something you’ll read about in your history books under the title “Abstract Ideas”.
My Parents: When we’re gone, look after your siblings and never fight with them over money!
Me: When I’m gone, clear my browser history. Don’t quarrel with your siblings over who gets my monthly ten-cent payments from Medium (an American online publishing platform).
1. Why do you think the author has written this passage?| A．To present a better guide for young people today. |
| B．To demonstrate the contemporary generation gap. |
| C．To exhibit his capability of living a worthy life. |
| D．To show his annoyance with his parents’ advice. |
| A．Siblings shouldn’t fight with each other over whether to protect their gone parents’ privacy. |
| B．Science majors shouldn’t be favored over those related to English in college. |
| C．Job seekers should try various means and prepare for depressing prospects. |
| D．You should check your stomach first before texting to the host of a party. |
| A．saving for retirement may be a thing of the past |
| B．the younger generation may inherit the legacy of their parents’ payment bills from Medium in the future |
| C．the knowledge about a 401(k) and a Roth I. R. A is so significant for early investment that children should have a good knowledge of it by themselves |
| D．doing taxes is absolutely urgent, even allowing for unpredictable economic conditions |
8 . Macie Semrau, a 6-year-old girl from Eliot, Maine, seldom missed school. So, when she refused to even get dressed one day, her mother decided to allow her to stay home with her father Kyle and her 4-year-old brother Caleb. The family would later be extremely thankful that the little girl refused to leave after she found her father passed out in the basement.
After returning from his night work, Kyle was feeling light-headed. He told his wife Kate that he would be laying low for the day with their children. He finally made his way to the basement. Macie paid attention to her father’s condition when she heard him shouting, and she and Caleb went to have a look. Macie found her 37-year-old father was about to lose awareness (意识). She asked him for his phone’s passcode (密码) so she could unlock it. After successfully opening his phone, she found the local police department’s number and called the police.
Smith was floored by Macie’s decision-making and her ability to stay calm. The little girl listed the family’s Goodwin Road address while explaining that her father was in trouble. In the meantime, Caleb comforted his father. Thanks to Macie and Caleb, he was sent to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, where he required four liters of oxygen (氧气) and spent three days recovering.
“I’m very lucky, obviously because of my daughter and son and the police’s response” said Kate. “It was quick,” he added, mentioning that the police arrived just in two minutes thanks to Macie’s call. “It was unbelievable. I was in tears myself,” he said.
The Eliot Police Department also praised the young girl for her quick thinking and strong awareness. Eliot Police Chief Elliot Moya praised the Semraus for teaching their children about awareness of their surroundings (环境) as well as communication skills. Can your child open your phone and call the police? If not, now’s the time for them to learn.
1. What do we know about Macie from paragraph 1?| A．She was late for class regularly. | B．She went off to school almost every day. |
| C．She enjoyed staying home with her father. | D．She liked to play with her brother at home. |
| A．How to call for help with her father’s phone. |
| B．How to give emergency treatment to her father. |
| C．How to send her father to hospital with her brother. |
| D．How to get her father’s phone to connect to the Internet. |
| A．His daughter was wise to skip school that day. |
| B．His kids and the police’s response was immediate. |
| C．A policeman happened to be there to come to his help. |
| D．The police department’s phone was not busy that day. |
| A．fit into their new surroundings | B．show off their communication skills |
| C．remember the police’s phone number | D．learn some practical life skills earlier |
9 . Sometimes our friends’ behaviour can make us angry; sometimes we can see changes they need to make – but how do we tell them? Are there any ways to make difficult conversations easier?
It’s important to have evidence (证据) that there is a problem. Evidence that can be agreed on makes it easier for other people to recognize problems. Once you have evidence, it’s important to stress how it influences you and others. Psychologist Andrea Bonior suggests framing problems with “I” . Saying “I feel hurt that you spend less time with me” is better than “You never spend time with me!” .
Staying calm is of great importance. Being in tension might lead you to act badly and cause an argument. Bonior recommends you should accept that the conversation could make you anxious. If you think about this yourself, it can help you focus on positive results. If you recognize your anxiety to your friend, you will show a more human side. Another psychologist, Laura Brennan, points out how it’s important that we let go of our self-respect and don’t focus on the need to be proved right. This can help reduce tension.
Listening to the other person and asking questions can lower the potential for disagreement. Many experts recommend planning your words, so that you can say things in a way that avoids disagreement. However, Bonior is against overplanning as this can stop you being flexible enough to sincerely follow and join in the discussion.
Being patient is necessary. Complicated problems are unlikely to be solved with one conversation. Consider what is possible in one discussion, and that it may be harder than you thought. This will help you to set practical goals for what you can achieve.
1. Why should we keep calm in face of tension?| A．To avoid an argument. | B．To respect ourselves. |
| C．To make ourselves anxious. | D．To focus on right things. |
| A．Reminding. | B．Expressing. | C．Ignoring. | D．Escaping. |
| A．Overplanning will cause argument. |
| B．Bonior supports overplanning words. |
| C．Argument will disappear by listening. |
| D．Many experts suggest planning words. |
| A．Good qualities of a true friend |
| B．Great power of communication |
| C．Effective ways to reduce tension |
| D．Talking to solve friendship problems |
10 . When we’re in trouble, we always ask our parents for help. But would you like them to hear the conversations you have with your friends on the school playground? Social networking sites have become extensions(延伸) of the school hallways, so would you add your parents as “friends” and allow them to view your online activities and conversations with friends?
In the past the generation gap included a technology gap, where children were up to date with the latest technology and parents were left behind, content to continue their day-to-day lives as they always had because they didn’t need to know more about technology. However, many parents are beginning to realize just how important social networks are in their lives. This realization has given many parents the motivation(动机) to educate themselves about social networking sites. These days many people are attracted to social networking sites because they can choose who they have around them, there’s also a amount of control over privacy(隐私) that we don’t get in real life. Sometimes we feel that privacy is violated(违背) when we must accept a “friend” request from family members.
It’s a difficult choice whether or not to allow parents to become a part of our online lives. Sometimes we don’t want to “refuse” their request because that might hurt their feelings or make them feel you have something to hide. But if you do accept, then you will feel yourself being watched and no longer feel free to communicate the way you did before.
A survey suggested parents shouldn’t take it personally if their children overlook(忽略) their requests. When a teenager overlooks a parent’s friend request, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he is hiding something, but it means that he wants to be independent.
Perhaps talking with parents and explaining would help soften the blow if you choose not to add them to your friend list.
1. What can we infer from Paragraph 2?| A．Parents feel secure about their privacy online. |
| B．Parents have realized the importance of social networks. |
| C．Social networks successfully fill the generation gap. |
| D．Social networks offer parents a motivation to educate themselves. |
| A．They hide something from their parents. |
| B．Their parents make negative comments on them. |
| C．They are unwilling to be watched by parents. |
| D．Their parents tend to fall behind in technology. |
| A．How to use the social networks correctly. |
| B．How do social networks affect people’s life. |
| C．Why do most of teenagers refuse their parents’ friend requests. |
| D．How to reduce the unpleasant influence of refusing parents’ friend requests. |
| A．Parents’ Friend Requests. | B．Privacy Online. |
| C．The Importance of Relationship. | D．The Development of Social Networks. |
