1 . As usual, Lily bought expensive gifts for her children Alice and Peter before Christmas. Her job kept her busy, and she
Lily
On Christmas Eve, Lily
All the guests present were moved by the scene. Lily
| A．usually | B．rarely | C．always | D．never |
| A．around | B．beyond | C．without | D．for |
| A．family | B．heart | C．body | D．job |
| A．watched | B．laid | C．hid | D．made |
| A．Fortunately | B．Eventually | C．Suddenly | D．Amusingly |
| A．shocked | B．touched | C．happy | D．free |
| A．attend | B．throw | C．delay | D．rule |
| A．blesses | B．regards | C．letters | D．invitations |
| A．confident | B．warm | C．relaxed | D．cool |
| A．shy | B．worried | C．easy | D．eager |
| A．welcomed | B．led | C．signaled | D．waved |
| A．uncomfortable | B．refreshed | C．surprised | D．calm |
| A．respect | B．pity | C．enthusiasm | D．love |
| A．noticed | B．realized | C．learned | D．witnessed |
| A．money | B．passion | C．knowledge | D．attention |
2 . When reading, my mother likes to slice a paragraph or a sentence out and attach it to the wall of her kitchen. She picks boring sentences that puzzle me. But I prefer copying favorite bright lines into a journal in soft, gray No. 2 pencil, word by word.
She doesn’t know any of this. There's nothing shocking: for our chatting. we seldom begin certain conversations though we talk on the phone weekly, sometimes making each other laugh so hard that I choke and she cries. But what we don't say could fill up rooms. Fights with my father. Small failures in school. Anything that really upsets us.
My mother has never told me “I love you, Lisa.”—as if the four-word absence explains who I am—so I carry it with me, like a label on me. The last time she almost spoke the words was two years ago, when she called to tell me a friend had been in hospital. I said, “I love you, Mom.” She stopped for a while and then said, “Thank you.” I haven't said it since, but I've wondered why my mother doesn't until I've found a poem that supplies words for the blank spaces I try to understand in our conversations:
Don’t fill up on bread. I say absent-mindedly. The servings here are huge.
My son, middle-aged, says: Did you really just say that to me?
What he doesn’t know is that when we’re walking together, I desire to reach for his hand.
It's humble, yet heartbreaking. After copying it down in my journal, I emailed it to mom, adding “This poem makes me think of you.” My mother doesn’t read poetry—or at least, she doesn’t tell me, and I felt nervous clicking “Send”.
She never mentioned the poem. But the next time I went home for vacation, I noticed something new in the kitchen fixed to an antique board: the poem. The board hung above the heater, the warmest spot in the kitchen. The poem still hangs there. Neither my mother nor I have ever spoken about it.
1. What's the function of paragraph 1?| A．To stress the theme. | B．To establish the setting. |
| C．To represent the characters. | D．To create the atmosphere. |
| A．Shaky. | B．Distant. | C．Reserved. | D．Intense. |
| A．It reminded her of mom's love. |
| B．She wanted to apologize to mom. |
| C．It suited mom's taste of literature. |
| D．She needed an interpretation from mom. |
| A．A memory of golden days. |
| B．Daughter’s gratefulness to her. |
| C．A decoration in the plain kitchen. |
| D．Daughter's understanding of her. |
We were in our late 20s with a child when my husband, Ralph, finally graduated from college.
“OK, now I deserve a piano,” I blurted out when he sat down for lunch just before the graduation ceremony. A look of surprise crossed his face.
“We could never afford a piano. After so many years of hard work, we got you through school. Now I deserve a piano,” I repeated.
Several months later, Ralph, with help, moved the upright piano we bought for $ 100 into our cottage’s tiny arched dining room. It smelled a little musty, but had great tone.
Ralph started graduate school, leaving no money for private piano lessons. The first thing that came to my mind was Santa Monica City College—maybe it offered piano lessons. Skimming the catalog, I danced around the room when I found a class at the same time the boys were at preschool.
Practicing, however, was not so easy. Four-year old redheaded Denny crawled out of bed in the evening on a regular basis. That was my time to practice. He’d pad out of the bedroom in his sleeper and climb up on the bench with me. Soon he began plinking (发出叮铃声) on the high keys. I tried to ignore him. He listened to the echoes of the keys and plinked some more. Doing all I could do to keep focused on my own practicing, I continued to ignore him.
This practice pattern became an evening routine. After a while, I didn’t even hear him anymore. Ralph studied. Denny plinked on the high keys, and I focused on my piece for the end-of-the-term recital (独奏会).
That evening came. However, Ralph said he was busy preparing for the midterms and couldn’t watch Denny.
Pacing back and forth, I shook my head trying to figure out what to do. Time was running out. I bundled up Denny—with his sleeper on—and drove off to the recital with him.
“We’ll sit in the front row, Denny,” I whispered. “You have to be very quiet and listen when I am playing.” He nodded, said “Uh-huh,” and we sat down.
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。
Denny held my hand, but then my turn came.
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A small body climbed onto the piano bench next to me.
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I’ve loved photography since I was a teenager. My parents recorded many home videos of my siblings and me. Cherished family moments
I like staying overnight at my Gramma’s house — that is, until Gramma starts telling me how wonderful my cousin Maya is. Then it’s Maya this and Maya that until I don’t ever want to hear another word about her.
That’s why I wasn’t too excited when Gramma called me on the phone to “come on over and bring your pajamas.” When I got there, it was worse than I’d expected. There, in Grandpa’s big leather rocker, sat Maya, all dressed up and formal-looking and wearing fancy shoes as if she’d just been to a party.
“Surprise, Kristen!” Gramma said. “Your cousin Maya and her parents have traveled in from the East Coast on business. Maya gets to stay with us this afternoon.” Gramma chattered away about how excited she’d been for this surprise get-together, and how cousins ought to get to know each other better.
I hung my baseball cap in the closet and set my backpack by the stairway, all the time smiling and nodding as if I’d been waiting forever for this chance to spend an afternoon with Maya. Grandpa’s chair squawked (咯咯叫) as Maya rocked back and forth. It’s the chair I like best in the house, the one I usually sit in. I sat down on the sofa across from her.
Shortly, Gramma went off to the kitchen to “see about some lunch,” she’d said. That left me stuck in the living room with rocking Maya.
She was still small but taller than I’d remembered her from her last visit four years ago. She was good at small talk, though, and was chatting away about how nice it was to see me again. But I could tell that she didn’t really think so. The last time she was here, we’d had hours of fun together building caves out of Gramma’s sofa pillows.
After that, I’d heard about her only through Gramma’s tales. Maya taking piano lessons. Maya learning math. Maya, Maya, Maya. Now Maya was here, looking great with the latest haircut and a fancy dress.
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。
Glancing down at my jeans and my old sneakers, I wished I hadn’t come.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“How do you know all these things about me?” I asked.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . The Language of Flowers
Ding dong! I looked up from the couch. Who in the world could that be? My body was troubled with illness, so I’d
I
Instead of returning to the couch, I
The group had followed him and picked very
The more I understood what the flowers were
| A．hidden | B．given | C．driven | D．broken |
| A．forbid | B．accept | C．act | D．respond |
| A．cautiously | B．reluctantly | C．instantly | D．cheerfully |
| A．size | B．style | C．uniqueness | D．shape |
| A．go together | B．stand out | C．mix up | D．fade away |
| A．informed | B．thanked | C．rewarded | D．telephoned |
| A．delivery | B．program | C．mystery | D．scene |
| A．companion | B．message | C．commitment | D．gift |
| A．expensive | B．rare | C．specific | D．fresh |
| A．explained | B．clarified | C．defined | D．analyzed |
| A．pain | B．fortune | C．sympathy | D．sunshine |
| A．modest | B．tolerant | C．formal | D．meaningful |
| A．involving | B．saying | C．smelling | D．signing |
| A．advocated | B．confirmed | C．required | D．earned |
| A．ambition | B．value | C．curiosity | D．fantasy |
7 . Before Jenny passed away from cancer, she made her husband, Steve, and their daughter, Brittany, promise her one thing: he would
Days later, on the morning of Friday, September 24, Jenny died. Keeping their
Brittany wasn’t named homecoming queen that day; Nyla was. But, like many in the close-knit community, Nyli had heard about Jenny and her noble deeds for the community. In a(n)
“She’d rather have her mom than a crown,” Nyla said. By handing it to Brittany, “I was telling her that she was her mom’s queen, and that she was loved by many, especially me.”
“I fell so much love from her, and I just felt s much love for her,” said Brittany, who paid Nyla the ultimate praise. “I can see my mom through Nyla. They have the same caring,
“Nyla is no less queen for lack of a crown.” said a teacher. There’s a saying that real queens
| A．invite | B．introduce | C．recommend | D．accompany |
| A．running | B．voting | C．seeking | D．applying |
| A．agreed | B．negotiated | C．hesitated | D．declined |
| A．award | B．promise | C．appointment | D．secret |
| A．session | B．process | C．outcome | D．start |
| A．unplanned | B．expectant | C．unwilling | D．typical |
| A．gratefully | B．cheerfully | C．sadly | D．tearfully |
| A．volunteering | B．nursing | C．giving | D．forgiving |
| A．wear | B．make | C．trade | D．fix |
| A．stand | B．shine | C．lead | D．celebrate |
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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When school was over, the day was fading and it started to drizzle(毛毛雨). I stood at the school gate, with a loaded backpack on my shoulders. It was Friday again: a weekend of joy with unlimited sleeping hours and dinner courses specially made to my taste, a weekend at home. I waved goodbye to my friends as they jumped into their fathers’ warm and comfortable cars. Curiously, this gave rise to a disturbing feeling in me. It was not exactly what they called jealousy, but something like dismay(沮丧). I knew all I could expect was an old bike Mom would ride along on, with the badly-oiled chain creaking(嘎吱作响) against the wheel to announce her arrival.
Every Friday when Mom came to pick me up for the weekend, it was a moment full of great expectation and great unease. I always felt my face burning as we rode our way in and out of the numerous cars and saw my friends’ faces sticking out of the car windows. It was like stepping into a ballroom with beautifully dressed ladies and finding yourself in a smelly T-shirt.
To tell you the truth, Mom is quite a headache once in a while. She just looks a homely middle-aged housewife. Being a practitioner of DIY, she knits most of my sweaters, chiefly in old styles. Whenever caught by some curious classmates asking what brand my sweaters are, I’d force a smile and reply in a half joking manner: homemade.
I couldn’t remember when I started to find her such an embarrassment. As a little boy, I relied on her so much. She had been working at home, cooking in the kitchen, knitting by the lamp or riding across town to buy me a book I badly needed. It had always been much fun riding with mom. But just now there seemed to be something standing between us, something that made her so strange to me and me to her.
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。
Today she showed up in a raincoat.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Mom tried to cover me with the back of the raincoat again as a storm set in.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Green Thumb
All I did was show my little sister how to grow plants. Dig a hole. Put in a seed. Cover it with dirt. Water it. Wait. “See, Laynie,” I explained, “a whole plant will grow from this tiny seed. All we have to do is water it.”
Laynie had her own watering can so she could “help” me in the garden. One day, after everything was watered, she ran to the fence and started sprinkling water on another spot. I walked over and saw a fresh patch of dirt near the fence.
“Did you plant something there?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m growing a pencil. My purple pencil got too small, so I planted it.”
“What? But, Laynie—”
I should have explained things right then, but I just muttered, “Uh…I never grew one before.”
Later I got what seemed like a great idea. I dug up Laynie’s pencil and “planted” a brand-new purple pencil. Laynie was really excited when she saw it. “My pencil grew!” she shouted.
A few days later, Laynie was watering on the same spot. Two days later, new crayons sticking their pointy little heads out, thanks to me. Laynie jumped up and down and yelled, “They look like flowers!” She “picked” them and ran into the house.
Next, Laynie grew an adult bear doll from a tiny one, a soup spoon from a teaspoon, and a hand mirror from a piece of glass. When she claimed that she had grown these things, I just kept my mouth shut! Actually, it was fun trying to think of what should grow from Laynie’s seeds. And it was cool to see her get excited.
One day I saw her patting down some dirt near the fence again, so I knew she’d just planted something. My heart dropped to my feet when she asked, “How long does it take to grow a goldfish, Brad?” I couldn’t speak.
“Not long, I bet!” said Laynie. She knelt down to whisper “Grow, Molly. Grow!” before she skipped back to the house.
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。
I sat down with my back to the fence and thought for a long time.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Later I found Laynie sitting by the spot where Molly was buried.
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