1 . Due to the fact that the average life expectancy in Ghana is 64 years old, and the most common causes of death are largely treatable conditions, such as malaria, stroke, and respiratory infections. Boateng, growing up in a small village in southern Ghana/struggling to access basic health care, felt an urgent call to help and decided he would make it his life’s mission to bring health care to remote communities in Ghana.
Boateng worked hard in school, getting a scholarship to study biology at Cornell University in the US, and ultimately earned his master’s in Healthcare Administration. Later he started his nonprofit, OKB Hope Foundation, and converted a van into a mobile doctor’s office called the Hope Health Van to bring health care directly to those in need in 2021.
A few times a week, the mobile clinic and medical team travel long distances to remote communities in Ghana and provide free routine medical care. On each trip, Boateng’s team consists of a nurse, a physician’s assistant, a doctor, and an operation assistant. In the van, they can run basic labs like bloodwork and urinalysis as well as prescribe and provide medications. “It’s like a one-stop shop for people,” said Boateng, adding that most of the people they see have one health issue or another.
Since its launch, Boateng says the Hope Health Van has served more than 4, 000 Ghanaians across more than 45 rural communities who otherwise don’t have easily accessible medical care. To supplement the mobile clinic, Boateng’s organization has also trained 20 volunteers to serve as local health advocates. They check people’s vitals and provide the medical team with timely data for assessing how to move forward with care and treatment, especially for those whose health is at risk.
In the future, Boateng hopes to expand to provide more consistent and high-quality medical care not only to those living in remote areas of Ghana but in other countries as well. “I believe that our model can be replicated in sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.
1. What inspired Boateng to set his life goal?| A．He wanted to get a scholarship. |
| B．Many locals died of deadly diseases. |
| C．The birthplace of him was small and poor. |
| D．Basic health care was inaccessible for locals. |
| A．How Boateng’s team functions. | B．Why Boateng’s team was founded. |
| C．What Boateng’s team has achieved. | D．Where Boateng’s team has travelled. |
| A．Ambiguous. | B．Ambitious. | C．Indifferent. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．A van bringing medical care to thousands |
| B．A country lacking basic health care |
| C．Efforts to provide people with medications |
| D．Mobile vans travelling through Ghana |
2 . On September 17, 2022, a father and son set out to begin the first of three legs of the Ironman competition in Oxford. David, 59, and his son, John, 28, weren’t the typical competitors. Despite difficulty in walking, John has his dream of being an athlete. His father would act as his arms and legs, carrying the weight of his son throughout the race.
To qualify as having finished, competitors must complete a hard 140 miles of swimming, bicycling and running in under 17 hours. David and John had participated together in five Ironman competitions, but they had yet to finish in the required time.
The race began with a 2.4-mile swim in the Choptank River. With one end of a rope tied to a belt around his back and the other end to a boat with his son inside, the father eased himself into the water. Swimming while carrying another person is tough enough — David also had to fight with jellyfish (水母).
The pair completed the swim in 90 minutes, and went through with the 112-mile bicycle ride in about nine hours, then set their sights on the final leg of the 26.2-mile marathon with David pushing John in the racing chair.
With minutes left and 200 feet to the finish line, his mom, on the sidelines, handed him the rolling walker. Not that long ago, John could hardly walk 23 steps. But after years of painful training, he increased his step count and was determined to finish the race on his own. He knew time was almost running out and worried they wouldn’t make the cutoff. “Not because I wouldn’t get my moment,” he says, “but because dad had worked so hard.”
After 16 hours, 55 minutes and 35 seconds — with just four minutes and 25 seconds to spare — father and son crossed the finish line together.
As the crowd flooded and cheered on John, the weary father kept a low profile. “He didn’t want his finish line moment,” says John. “He wanted it to be mine.”
1. How did David help his son in the swimming part?| A．By pulling a rope tied to a boat. | B．By swimming beside his son. |
| C．By pushing his son’s lifebelt. | D．By carrying his son on his back. |
| A．He wouldn’t get his moment. |
| B．His mom would be disappointed. |
| C．His father had put in lots of effort. |
| D．The audience had high expectations. |
| A．Responsible and selfless. | B．Brave and honest. |
| C．Committed and friendly. | D．Gentle and determined. |
3 . When I was in my second year in senior high school, I found a four-dollar-an-hour part-time job at Villa-nova Pizza. Like many of my friends, I longed to earn some pocket money from the job as well as gaining social experience. Just one week after I worked there, Stubby, the manager, called me into his office. As the saying goes, “Life isn’t a bed of roses.” My first job ended in failure. His reason was that I showed up late twice and took more breaks than others. “Oh, I’m a loser,” I thought to myself. I believed that thought was shared by my brothers, neither of whom had ever been fired, and my mother, though she would never express it in those terms.
“I am too sad to do anything,” I complained to my father. After listening to my words, he laughed. “It’s not funny; I’m a loser,” I said.
“No, you’re not. This is a part of growing up. You will be all right, my dear daughter,” he said, patting my shoulder. “Trust me. You are good enough.”
I looked into my father’s eyes and I could see he really trusted me. And I believed him. Since then, “Trust me. You are good enough!” are the only words I have repeated to myself. I have worked hard to be a better person and cherished every chance I have got.
Finally, I succeeded in entering a good university. After graduation I found my dream job. I couldn’t wait to call my father and show my gratitude.
Look ahead when you experience something unpleasant and there is always someone around believing in you. When they believe in us, we begin to believe in ourselves, too. They tell us we are good enough over and over until we can hear it.
1. Why was the author fired?| A．She was lazy. | B．She had too many breaks. |
| C．She had no social experience. | D．She failed to complete her task. |
| A．He laughed at her. | B．He was too sad to do anything. |
| C．He complained to the cruel boss. | D．He comforted her and said he believed in her. |
| A．She phoned her father and thanked him. |
| B．She returned home to have a celebration. |
| C．She showed her gratitude to her teacher. |
| D．She invited her family to a big party. |
| A．Strict and devoted. | B．Caring and kind. |
| C．Ambitious and brave. | D．Humble and humorous. |
4 . From the deserts of Southern California to the forests of Alaska, the U. S. possesses a diversity (多样性) of nature. For most of her life, Joy Ryan never saw the scenery beyond her home state of Ohio. Then, when she was in her mid-eighties, her grandson Brad Ryan decided to take her on a journey to all of the U. S. National Parks, which took eight years to complete. At the age of 93, Grandma Joy has finally seen all 63 parks, ending her journey in the National Park of American Samoa.
“When I learned she had never seen the great wildernesses of America-deserts, mountains, oceans, I decided to intervene (干预) in some way,” Brad says. This idea inspired their first trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. However, once they were on the road, Brad realized that they could visit more parks that were nearby. Over the years, they managed to see all of the famous sights at Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, the Redwoods, and so on. But Brad values the time spent with his grandmother just as much as the amazing places they were able to visit.
Despite Grandma Joy’s older age, she was able to hike mountains. Brad regards her love for life as the key to her good health. She is grateful for each new day and is always excited for the next journey. Finally, their long journey across the U.S. came to an end with American Samoa.
“I am thankful every morning for giving me another day,” Grandma Joy shares. “And you’re your choice whether you’re going to have a rainy day or a sunny day. So, smile at everybody, and let everybody know you’re having a whale of a time.” While her tour of the U. S. has come to a close, she and her grandson are not done traveling. Next up, they have their sights set on Kenya.
1. Why did Brad decide to intervene in some way?| A．To celebrate Grandma Joy’s 93rd birthday. |
| B．To complete a task he promised Grandma Joy. |
| C．To enrich Grandma Joy’s travelling experiences. |
| D．To realize Grandma Joy’s dream of visiting parks. |
| A．Tough and challenging. | B．Tiring but educational. |
| C．Stressful but eye-opening. | D．Amazing and worthwhile. |
| A．Her grandson’s inspiration. | B．Her positive attitude. |
| C．Her regular exercise. | D．Her adventurous spirit. |
| A．Stay Curious, Stay Young | B．Never too Old to Hit the Road |
| C．Laughter, the Best Medicine | D．Travelling Contributes to Long Life |
5 . Twelve-year-old Catherine has a lot of friends—632, actually, if you count up her online friends. And she spends a lot of time with them.
But is it possible that Catherine’s online friendships could be making her lonely? That’s what some experts believe. Connecting online is a great way to stay in touch, they say. However, some experts worry that many kids are so busy connecting online that they might be missing out on true friendships.
Could this be true? During your parents’ childhoods, connecting with friends usually meant spending time with them in the flesh. Kids played Scrabble around a table, not words with friends on their phones. When friends missed each other, they picked up the telephone. Friends might even write letters to each other.
Today, most communication takes place online. A typical teen sends 2,000 texts a month and spends more than 44 hours per week in front of a screen. Much of this time is spent on social media platform.
In fact, in many ways, online communication can make friendships stronger. “There’s definitely a positive influence. Kids can stay in constant contact, which means they can share more of their feelings with each other,” says Katie Davis, co-author of The App Generation.
Other experts, however, warn that too much online communication can get in the way of forming deep friendships. “If we are constantly checking in with our virtual world, we will have little time for our real-world friendships,” says Larry Rosen, a professor at California State University. Rosen also worries that today’s kids might mistake the “friends” on the social media for true friends in life. However, in tough times, you don’t need anyone to like your picture or share your blogs. You need someone who will keep your secrets and hold your hand. You would like to talk face to face.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To tell about true friends. | B．To start a discussion. |
| C．To encourage online friendships. | D．To summarize(总结) the text. |
| A．In any case. | B．In public. | C．In person. | D．In advance. |
| A．Unconcerned. | B．Positive. | C．Worried. | D．Confused. |
| A．Teenagers need to focus on real-world friendships. | B．It’s easier to develop friendships in real life. |
| C．It’s wise to turn to friends online. | D．Social media help people stay closely connected. |
6 . The text from my son said it all, “Dad, there’s an article you were born to write that the world is finally ready for: Bring Back the Handkerchief (手帕)!” As my son knows, there’s no “bring back” for me. For me, the handkerchief never left.
My mother raised me with several fixed rules. One was that a gentleman always has a clean handkerchief in his right rear pocket, a piece of simple cotton, roughly 15 inches square and less than four inches when folded. I was a dutiful son, but as a child, I had been wondering what it was there for. After 60 years, my body weight now feels wrong if I’m heading out of the house with an empty back pocket.
I am sure this habit has sometimes struck friends but in polite company nobody comments on somebody else’s business. Children like my kids think of my hankie ridiculously old-fashioned and they have their arguments. If you have to be prepared every day for allergies or a cold, why not choose a little packet of tissues (纸巾), which saves you from that disgusting business of blowing your nose in the thing and then stuffing it back in your pants?
I understand their point. But a handkerchief is more durable and has a far wider variety of uses. Can you grab the handle of a pot that’s boiling over with a Tempo tissue? Or do you recall the cases of skinned knees and drippy noses that hankie wiped? In fact, my wife gave me several new handkerchiefs as gifts. Neither of us can count the number of times she wiped her tears at a movie, or, as it happens, she’s needed to blow her nose.
Yet not even my mother could have predicted the hankie’s new role as an Essential Public Health Appliance. All of us have learnt how hard it is to follow advice from medical experts about not touching your face. Here is an answer. Use your hankie. In case of emergency, your handkerchief can become a makeshift DIY mask that can be pulled over your lower face like a robber entering a bank.
And it will certainly give me the chance to lift my chin and look at my adult children through one eye, asking in her good-hearted way, “What do you have to say now, smarty-pants?”
1. What kind of person is the author in the eye of his son?| A．His father is a born writer. |
| B．His father lost his handkerchief long ago. |
| C．His father will bring back the handkerchief. |
| D．His father has a habit of using handkerchief. |
| A．They like it very much. | B．They regard it as fashionable. |
| C．They consider it inconvenient. | D．They desire to have it someday. |
| A．The function of handkerchiefs has been updated. |
| B．Handkerchiefs will be taken over by tissues sooner or later. |
| C．The author’s wife feels embarrassed to give him a handkerchief. |
| D．The author was made fun of by his friends for his use of handkerchiefs. |
| A．Bossy. | B．Humorous. | C．Serious. | D．Critical. |
7 . After a serious earthquake happened, a father left his wife safe at home and rushed to his son’s school, only to find that the building where his son studied had collapsed and looked like a pancake.
He was shocked. He didn’t know what he should do for a while, and then he remembered the words he had said to his son, “No matter what happens. I’ll always be there for you!” And tears began to fill his eyes. He started digging through the ruins.
As he was digging, other helpless parents and the firemen arrived and tried to pull him off the ruins, saying, “It’s too late! They’re all dead! There’s nothing you can do!” To them he replied with one line, “Are you going to help me now?” And then he kept on digging.
No one helped. However, he went on alone because he needed to know himself, “Is my boy alive or dead?” He dug for 8 hours... 12 hours... 24 hours... 36 hours... Then, in the 39th hour, he pulled away a rock and heard his son’s words. He shouted his son’s name, “Armand!” He heard back, “Dad?! It’s me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive, you’d save me and when you saved me, they’d be saved. You promised, ‘No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you!’ You did it, Dad!”
“What’s going on there? How is it?” the father asked. “There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad. We’re frightened, hungry, thirsty and thankful you’re here. When the building fell down, it made a triangle, and it saved us.”
“Come out, boy!”
“No, Dad. Let the other kids out first, because I know you’ll get me! No matter what happens, I know you’ll always be there for me!”
1. Who came to help the father when he was digging?| A．His wife. | B．Other parents. | C．The firemen. | D．No one. |
| A．Because they thought he was mad. |
| B．Because they thought all the children had died in the earthquake. |
| C．Because they thought he was too dangerous to others. |
| D．Because they thought it was not his job to dig. |
| A．Fourteen. | B．Thirty-three. | C．Forty-seven. | D．Nineteen. |
| A．It took the father one day to find his son and other students. |
| B．His wife died in the earthquake. |
| C．His son was the last one to come out of the ruins. |
| D．The son didn’t believe his father would come to save him. |
8 . Rob Kenney’s dad left him when he was little. At a time when he was on the path to young adulthood, he had no father to guide him on the way. He had a painful experience as a young boy, but learned, with the help of his marriage, to forgive his dad just before his dad died in his 80s. Now, with a wife of 29 years and two successful adult children — Kristine, 27, who works with kids, and Kyle, a software engineer — Kenney wants to pay it forward.
“My goal in life was to raise good adults, not good children,” he explains. The fact that his kids have both grown up and left the house left him thinking how he might help others. And the quarantine (隔离期) was actually the perfect time for him to finally share some key life skills with other kids who might be growing up in difficult situations — maybe they’ve lost a parent or have parents who are absent.
So the dad set up a heart-warming YouTube program called Dad, How Do I?, a program that shares instructional videos like how to cook a meal and tie a perfect tie.
His practical tips have really touched the viewers, which are growing in number day by day. Rob Kenney is just what the Internet needs — a caring dad who wants to share his skills. It’s no wonder that he has gotten as many as 1.9 million fans in return.
The unbelievable success of Rob Kenney’s videos suggests the need for a good father figure in a child’s life. From teaching basic life skills to encouraging them to be kind, a father figure helps kids develop into active members of society. He especially instructs them in good manners, being honest, and being grateful.
1. What do we know about Kenney?| A．He learnt life skills from his wife. | B．He recognised his failing as a father. |
| C．He once hated his father so much. | D．He learnt a lot from his dad. |
| A．To encourage people to lead a healthy life. |
| B．To prepare his own children for the adulthood. |
| C．To teach life skills to kids with absent parents. |
| D．To offer tips on how to deal with loneliness. |
| A．Best qualities of a good father figure. |
| B．A father figure’s role in child development. |
| C．Lessons learnt from Kenney’s success. |
| D．Kenney’s achievements as a father figure. |
9 . As a boy, I knew little about baseball. Yet I later became the father of two boys, Will and Tim, who were both interested in baseball. On Saturday mornings, I’d take Will out to the playground and play catch with him. Because of my weak arm, the ball often dropped before he could catch it. After many misses, he said one day, “How am I ever going to make the major leagues (联盟)?” “You have the wrong dad, kid,” I thought. Baseball isn’t my thing.
Still, I wanted to give my kids confidence on the field. There was an official Little League in our area, but it was super-competitive and only catered to older boys. I really hoped we had something less competitive, something that welcomed younger boys and girls.
I shared the idea with some neighbors. “That would be great!” they said. Now who could organize such a thing? Not me. I tried to put the idea aside, but it wouldn’t leave me. I finally decided that I must do something about it. So I called the city government, explaining that some families wanted to start a baseball league in our neighborhood. Were there any fields for that? When I had to speak to the official in charge, I got butterflies in my stomach. What if he said no? “Yes, we have two fields for four hours every Sunday morning,” the man said hearing my request. Our league was founded. What a joy it was to sit on the benches, watching Will and Tim playing baseball! And I became the most unlikely baseball commissioner (专员) ever.
Many years have passed. Now Will and Tim are new dads, and I can’t want to see what they’ll have to do. I know better than anyone: Parenthood calls you to do the most unlikely things.
1. Why did the author think his son Will had the wrong father?| A．He had poor baseball skills. |
| B．He had no confidence in his son. |
| C．He wouldn’t play catch with his son. |
| D．He didn’t know what his son’s dream was. |
| A．Confident. | B．Peaceful. | C．Nervous. | D．Proud. |
| A．The need to challenge oneself. |
| B．The greatness of parental love. |
| C．The role of sports in kids’ growth. |
| D．The relationship between parents and kids. |
10 . Every morning, 21-year-old Jordyn Moore, wakes up and goes to work at her T-shirt company-something her mum says is nothing short of a miracle (奇迹). Jordyn Moore was born with autism (自闭症) and did not speak until she was over six years old. Her mum Jackie Moore said that it’s been amazing to watch her grow.
With therapy (治疗), Jordyn Moore learned how to form words and sentences, and throughout her childhood, she continued to overcome challenges. As she approached high school graduation, her parents saw another difficulty in the future. “We just kept finding there was so little opportunity for an individual like her when she got out of school,” her mum said. “And it was really keeping my husband and I up at night, like what was she going to do?”
She wanted a meaningful life for her child, but worried what jobs she could get. So about five years ago, they started Jordyn’s Summer Shirt project — a way for Jordyn Moore to start working during the summer, while also teaching her new skills.
That first summer, they set a goal to sell just 40 shirts — all with the same simple message: Be Kind to Everyone. She was nervous that the shirts wouldn’t sell, but word spread on social media, and they received hundreds of orders. And Jordyn Moore was learning how to work at her family company, rolling up T-shirts, packing them with a note and shipping them out.
Her advice to other parents of children with autism is to start at home, working with them on small tasks like setting the table and loading the dishwasher. “What we have to do is get our kids to be able to do things independently and the more they can do independently at home, the more options they might have outside of the home,” she said.
1. What can we know about Jordyn from Paragraph 1?| A．Her mum was disappointed with her. |
| B．Her life was full of adventures and miracles. |
| C．She can’t get along well with other classmates. |
| D．She had trouble in speaking during her childhood. |
| A．Jordyn would not make any friends. |
| B．Jordyn would not be able to attend college. |
| C．Jordyn would never be able to live independently, |
| D．There would be little opportunity for Jordyn after school. |
| A．To raise awareness for autism. |
| B．To sell T-shirts during the summer. |
| C．To teach individuals with autism new skills. |
| D．To provide opportunities for children with autism. |
| A．Focus on developing their children’s independence. |
| B．Shelter their children from the outside world. |
| C．Centre on their children’s academic achievements. |
| D．Never let their children take any risks. |
