1. Where does the conversation take place?
| A．At school. | B．At the zoo. | C．At an amusement park. |
| A．John was busy. | B．John arrived late. | C．John changed his mind. |
| A．He wanted to come alone. |
| B．He was afraid of roller coasters. |
| C．He wanted to give her a surprise. |
| A．Considerate. | B．Brave. | C．Reliable. |
“I don’t get it, Pete,” Janet said to her cousin. “Why do you fish at Murphy’s pond if old Mrs. Murphy is a witch (女巫)?”
“The fishing’s great… And the old Murphy house is over a hill behind the pond,” Pete replied. “We’ll be okay… As long as we stay away from the house,” he continued in a low voice. “They say kids who go into that house are never seen again!”
After they got to the pond, witches were forgotten. Pete sat on the old dock and threw out his line. Suddenly Janet saw something shining in the water and stepped forward for a closer look. The rotting (腐朽的) wood of the dock broke under her. “H-e-l-l-p!” She screamed as she dropped down into the dark, cold water.
Pete jumped in to help her. “Quiet down!” He said out of breath as they got to the rocky shore. “You’re not hurt. If you keep complaining, you’ll wake the witch!” Then he screamed. “OUCH-H-H!” and lifted his foot. There was a deep cut on the bottom of his foot from a sharp rock!
“Oh, Pete, you’re hurt!” Janet cried. “I’ll go for…” But before she could say Help, she saw an old woman coming toward them. Without a word, the woman picked up Pete and carried him up the hill. A cold, wet, and confused Janet followed. She was frightened but had a strange feeling that the old woman meant no harm.
At the top of the hill, the woman walked to ward an old house. “Oh, p-p-please, Ma’am,” a frightened Pete begged, “Please don’t go there. That’s where the w-w-witch lives!”
“That is my home, young man,” the woman said softly, “Do not be afraid.” At the front door, she said to Janet, “Please open the door.” Janet did, and the three went inside. Mrs. Murphy gently put Pete on a couch (睡椅), then disappeared into another room.
注意：
(1)续写词数应为150左右；
(2)请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Mrs. Murphy returned with two warm blankets.
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Mrs. Murphy smiled happily.
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Undoubtedly, Mother Nature is always attractive to kids. In our childhood, how often did we turn a deaf ear to our parents’ advice? Very often! Thus, we landed ourselves in a situation where we greatly regretted our act of not having listened to the advice of the wise.
Such an unforgettable experience I had at the age of 7 gave me an invaluable lesson, after which I deeply understood why my gentle mother was repeating the boring suggestions and I would try to take her suggestions seriously.
In my childhood, I was so crazy about nature that even playing among the colorful flowers in our garden could make my day. Our house was next to the woods which had always stirred up(激起) great curiosity in me in wanting to find out what was within. Every time I saw fascinating butterflies dancing from the woods, my curiosity grew.
But my mother didn’t like me wandering off on my own and always ensured that I was within her sight. Even if she allowed me to explore the surrounding area on my own, it was only to be somewhere near the house. Being as curious as the cat, I always desired to explore the woods. It seemed as if my mother had understood my desire, so she had warmed me on lots of occasions never to enter the woods alone.
“Mom, can I go out and play in the garden?” I asked.
“Sure,” she would reply each time. “Kate, you can play in the garden but you must promise me one thing—only when I’m with you can you go into the woods. There are no cases of animal attacks on humans, but it’s still dangerous for a little kid like you. It’s too easy to get lost in the woods.”
“Sure, you’ve said that many times!” I answered without patience at her repeated reminders.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
However, curiosity got the better of me one morning.
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“Kate?” Behind the trees covered by the rays of the setting sun came my mother’s voice.
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| A．Father and daughter. | B．Husband and wife. | C．Boss and secretary. |
1.表示歉意；
2.解释原因；
3.询问参赛情况。
注意：
1.写作词数应为80左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
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6 . 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. |
7 . 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. |
Christmas was drawing near, and came along with it our favorite moment — the Treasure Hunt.
In the past, my brother Brandon and I had opened all of the packages under the tree. All that was left was an envelope. We knew that envelopes usually contained cards, and if we were lucky, they also contained gift cards or cash.
However, this Christmas my dad looked almost like he’d forgotten about the envelope as he casually handed it to me. I opened it and discovered inside a 3x5 index card (索引卡) with a border of shining surrounding a poem. Of course, I don’t remember the poem by heart, but its rhyming message instructed us to go downstairs. We were excited. Maybe we were getting a pet we had wanted.
What we found downstairs was another envelope, containing another index card with a border of shining surrounding a poem. This poem told us to go to Dad’s car. Was the pet already in the car, ready to go?
No! There was just another envelope containing another shining index card. This one told us to go to Mom’s office downtown. Neither of us was old enough to drive. This meant we had to beg our parents to hurry up and get dressed and finish drinking their coffee and get going.
Eventually, we made it to Mom’s office where we found — you guessed it — a poem telling us to go somewhere else. This time it was to the TV station where Dad worked. By now, our curiosity was stretched to the limits of our imaginations.
We soon found out, however, that such a desk at the studio is a lovely place to keep a 3x5 index card with a poem, which confused us more than any other. It told us to go to an unfamiliar address.
The car stopped in front of the unknown house. It felt like the end of the hunt.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
My dad handed us the final envelope, and the final poem told us to knock on the door.
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Dad was standing behind us by then, and “Merry Christmas,” he said, “The cat’s yours.”
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1. What day is it today?
| A．Friday. | B．Thursday. | C．Saturday. |
| A．A birthday party. | B．A welcome party. | C．A goodbye party. |
| A．She can take the subway. |
| B．She doesn’t have a license. |
| C．She is not skilled enough to drive. |
| A．Chocolate. | B．The wooden boat. | C．Some flowers. |
10 . 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. |
