1 . Ryuichi Sakamoto, the Japanese composer who died on March 28, 2023, was a talented musician. For many, his combination of noisy notes and joyous ones made him timeless and avant-garde (前卫的). But for me, Sakamoto was first and foremost a creator of complex emotions.

Before I learned to love Sakamoto, my mother loved him. After her days studying textiles (纺织) at a women’s college in our hometown of Nagoya, Japan, she would come home and play the Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence theme over and over. When she sat at her piano bench, she was trying to mold herself into the most attracting woman that she could be. Still, her childhood desire for a bigger life never died. Years later, when she played it again on that same piano, now transported to our Chicago home, her hands would crash down on Sakamoto’s drumming and upset bridge. It seemed that she buried herself in her younger dream and at the same time got lost in the reality of living away from her home and family. Both the joy of a fulfilled dream and the sorrow of its harsh realities mixed in Sakamoto’s score, pervading (弥漫) our living room.

Following in my mother’s footsteps, I too learned to play Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. I played it in an open music room at college, where I was quite depressed under the gaze of strangers as well as excited about becoming my own adult. I played Sakamoto again in my then-boyfriend’s grandparents’ sitting room, the piece now reflecting my struggle to see how my Japanese and American self could fit into this white family, even though I was in love.

Sakamoto’s genius for telling the contradictions (矛盾) of existence arises again and again. I’m still playing Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, now at the electric piano in my living room, as I puzzle through becoming a new mother, frightened and thrilled at the same time. Maybe someday my daughter will play Sakamoto’s music, and it will help her understand her life too.

1. The author loves Sakamoto for_________.

A．his Japanese identity

B．his talent as a composer

C．his way to combine notes

D．his creation of mixed emotions

2. How did the author’s mother feel when she played Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence in Chicago?

A．Contented with her current life.

B．Joyful and sorry at the same time

C．Annoyed with the difficult bridge

D．Lonely and upset away from home.

3. What is this passage mainly about?

A．The life and accomplishments of Ryuichi Sakamoto.

B．The challenges of being a Japanese-American woman.

C．Contradicting emotions aroused by Sakamoto’s music.

D．A mother and daughter’s shared love for playing the piano.

2 . The door of happiness

When one door of happiness closes, _______ opens. However, we often look at the _______ door so long that we can’t see the one that has been opened for _______.

It is true that we don’t know what we’ve got until we lose it, and it’s _______ true that we don’t know what we’ve been missing until it _______.

Giving someone all your love doesn’t _______ that they’ll love you back. Don’t expect love in _______. Just wait for it to grow in their hearts.

There are many moments in life when you miss someone so _______ that you want to bring them into your dreams and _______ them for real! Dream what you want to dream, go ________ you want to go, and be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one ________to do all the things you want to do.

________ lies in those who have cried, those who have been hurt, and those who have tried, because they can understand the ________ of their lives. The ________ future will always be based on a forgotten past. You can’t go on well in your life ________ you let your past failure and heartaches go.

1.

A．other

B．another

C．the other

D．the others

2.

A．open

B．same

C．closed

D．broken

3.

A．us

B．them

C．me

D．you

4.

A．too

B．also

C．either

D．hardly

5.

A．goes off

B．goes away

C．gets back

D．breaks away

6.

A．learn

B．leave

C．mean

D．design

7.

A．need

B．time

C．line

D．return

8.

A．many

B．much

C．few

D．little

9.

A．turn

B．treat

C．fight

D．hug

10.

A．when

B．what

C．why

D．where

11.

A．chance

B．choose

C．change

D．chat

12.

A．Happy

B．Happiness

C．Happily

D．Unhappy

13.

A．importance

B．expectation

C．impression

D．confidence

14.

A．brightest

B．heaviest

C．cleverest

D．bravest

15.

A．so

B．when

C．until

D．that

3 . I liked being a mess. My desk was always surrounded with bowls of food grain, yogurt and old magazines. My floor was full of sweaters, stuffed animals, socks, shoes… I couldn’t always see these things, but I knew that they were safe, lying somewhere.

One day in August, all of my friends and family members were doing their own businesses. I told my mom that I didn’t know what to do and she advised me to clean my room. When I opened the door to my bedroom, everything was in its usual messy arrangement. I became aware of the moldy (发霉的) smell and noticed a spider (蜘蛛) on top of my mirror. I suddenly felt terrible for everything in my room that I had buried and had an urge to make them reappear.

In a box buried under old textbooks, I found a letter that my grandfather had written me at camp. I remembered my dad rocking me to sleep the night Grandfather died, and how the tears wouldn’t stop. Tears began to roll down my cheeks again.

In the drawer next to my bed, I found a friendship watchband from my childhood best friend, Aubrey, who had given it to me before she moved to California. I had lost so many precious childhood memories over time, letting them slip (溜走) away into the tide like grains of sand.

Under my bed I even found that picture of my mom and me in Jamaica. I stared at that girl, hardly able to recognize this person who had drowned in the mess of my room so many years before. I decided to completely re-organize and clean my room so that all the books, belts and baskets were in their right place. It was like finding the missing pieces of the puzzle.

The finishing touch was framing that photo and hanging it high up on my wall. After all, it was me I had been searching for.

1. Paragraph 1 is mainly about the author’s ________.

A．regular study habits	B．disorganized lifestyle
C．unusual hobbies	D．busy life

2. How did the author feel when she saw a spider in her bedroom?

A．Frightened

B．Upset

C．Ashamed

D．Excited

3. What did the author realize when she was doing the clean-up?

A．Her mom loved her very much.	B．It was important to find her place.
C．She had lost many fond memories.	D．Friendship didn’t change over time.

4. What does the underlined word “It” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Thinking of the past	B．Tidying up the room.
C．Recognizing old photos.	D．Reading letters from friends.

4 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

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.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . Anger may feel uncomfortable, but it’s also normal and healthy. It is an emotion built into us to signal that something needs to be dealt with. When we take notice of that signal and actually correct the problem instead of ignoring it, we’re usually much better for it.

Start by looking beyond the superficial (表面上的) trigger to your anger. Anger is often precipitated (仓促发生) by underlying feelings of fear, anxiety, disappointment and guilt. Maybe you’re extremely angry that your partner is late, but it’s really because you were afraid that he or she had a car accident in the bad weather.

It helps to take a cool-down period before explaining to someone you’re angry with how he or she rocked your boat. That will allow for the effects of the adrenaline (肾上腺素) to wear off, which in turn allows you to reflect on what’s bothering you. Do some controlled breathing or find some physical activity to take the edge off. “There’s clear evidence that exercise helps with feelings of anger,” says McIntosh.

When you’re ready to approach the other person, focus on the behaviour and why it upsets you, not the person’s characters. Avoid calling the other person names. Don’t say something bad, and don’t make generalizations (泛化), such as “You always do this!” “The idea”, says Keelan, “is to bring up your reasonable points to the other person in a manner that is most likely to get a helpful and non-defensive response. ”

If you’re on the receiving end, remember that there are benefits to acknowledging and trying to under-stand the other person’s anger. Try offering to make a change, if that seems fair to you. If you’re willing to be a partner in working through heated situations, the other person will be much more likely to bring matters up constructively in the future. In the end, you’ll both be healthier for it.

1. What does the underlined word “trigger” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Cause.

B．Solution.

C．Course.

D．Strategy.

2. Which might the author agree to deal with anger?

A．Breathe deeply while angry.	B．Keep off a person you dislike.
C．Accept the lateness out of politeness.	D．Point out the weaknesses in other’s character.

3. What shall we do with an angry partner?

A．Make a change at once.	B．Stand in the other’s shoes.
C．Advise the partner to be calm.	D．Help the partner overcome difficulties.

4. What’s the best title of the text?

A．Get Benefits out of Anger	B．A New Research about Anger
C．Get Angry the Right Way	D．How to Keep emotions Hidden

6 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Lindsay didn’t feel herself last month. She was a really good student, but to her     1    (anxious), her grades were falling. That was because she sometimes felt     2    (confuse) about what the teacher said and sometimes had trouble     3    (concentrate) on her study. Her behavior attracted her father’s attention. He asked what had happened     4    her, but she refused     5    (communicate) with him and just cried.

Worried that it affected her daily life     6    (terrible), the father turned to his neighbor — a knowledgeable architect for help. The architect told him     7     unique solution to the problem. He recommended that he     8    (plan) a trip for his daughter. By getting close to nature and experiencing a different life, Lindsay did recover from it.     9     you have such signs, don’t worry. Maybe travelling     10    (be) a good choice for you.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Being disappointed is all about perspective. It took me a long time to realize this. I was under the impression that if someone did something I didn’t like, then I had the “right” to be disappointed. Of course the     1     (disappoint) always led to me having the “right” to be upset, depressed, or angry. After all, the situation didn’t turn out the way it     2     (suppose) to, or a particular person didn’t behave the way I       3     (believe) he or she should. Therefore, I was disappointed and felt let     4    . I never once thought it was just my attitude to the matter     5     caused my disappointment and that I could control this!

What I slowly began to realize through studying myself, as well as     6     (pay) attention to others around me, was that those     7     (thing) that would upset me, would not upset someone else. I also noticed that those things that appeared to be the biggest deal to someone else only     8     (make) me laugh. So what was going on?     9     (obvious), it couldn’t be the situation itself because that was the one constant thing in each equation. What did change was who was explaining the situation. That was     10     was different.

8 . I happened to see my first butterfly of the spring today. I was carrying some groceries into my house when _______ the little lady flew right down in front of my face. She was so _______ that my heart beat with love and my eyes filled with _______. After she left I smiled, wiped my eyes, and_______ for the miracle of life and the miracle of butterflies.

Butterflies have held a(n) _______ place in my heart ever since I _______ my mum when she was only 55 years old. She used to _______ it when the butterflies would _______ near her while she tended her flower boxes. She would even speak to them gently in her musical _______. After she died I would think of her when I saw one of the wonderful angels ________by. I even told my young children that every time they saw a butterfly, it was their ________ saying “Hello” from Heaven.

When today’s butterfly ________ to say “Hi”, I once again felt a ________ beyond words. I felt like it was my mum showing her love. I felt like I was ________ on the clouds with her while a thousand angels sang.

Now some may say that I am just a ________ man, but I know this isn’t so. Delusions (幻觉) ________ your life with love. Delusions fill your heart with ________. The next time that you get your own “Hello from Heaven” then don’t ________it. Welcome it into your soul ________. Let it help you to be the people that the loving person wants you to be. Let its love ________ you.

1.

A．suddenly

B．sadly

C．clearly

D．quickly

2.

A．strong

B．tall

C．beautiful

D．intelligent

3.

A．expressions

B．words

C．games

D．tears

4.

A．learned

B．cared

C．shared

D．thanked

5.

A．special

B．usual

C．common

D．ordinary

6.

A．sent

B．lost

C．invited

D．enjoyed

7.

A．replace

B．love

C．force

D．guide

8.

A．sit

B．walk

C．climb

D．land

9.

A．voice

B．accent

C．gesture

D．wave

10.

A．waiting

B．flying

C．standing

D．going

11.

A．mother

B．father

C．grandma

D．grandpa

12.

A．called up

B．dropped in

C．got on

D．fell behind

13.

A．surprise

B．wonder

C．joy

D．hope

14.

A．crying

B．dancing

C．writing

D．leaving

15.

A．kind

B．selfish

C．rich

D．foolish

16.

A．cover

B．fill

C．meet

D．communicate

17.

A．happiness

B．peace

C．danger

D．money

18.

A．doubt

B．believe

C．recognise

D．open

19.

A．ago

B．later

C．then

D．instead

20.

A．inspire

B．determine

C．honour

D．please

9 . Years ago, I made friends with a couple who had recently fallen in love. It was glorious to be in their orbit, watching as their relationship blossomed into a serious commitment. I recall the night we celebrated their engagement, watching this golden couple swing each other on the dance floor, laughing while emitting a glow that could light a city grid.

As happy as I was for them, in that moment I couldn’t ignore a sudden heaviness of heart. That pang was back, whispering, “Why not me?”

It had been a long time between visits from the pang. In the past, it was a constant companion as I navigated life with naive notions of love, romance and fate. I had grown up believing a relationship should complete me. As a result, I often felt more lost than found as part of a couple.

Then as I matured, I took a closer look at those who I thought had it all, the ones who tick all the boxes, who look and act the romance-novel parts. And when I dared to explore under the shiny surfaces, I saw that no honest couple had what I’d assumed they had: the perfect relationship, the easy love, the lucky life.

No, what I saw was a lot of unhappiness. Yes, while some couples were both blissed and blessed, many admitted that their relationships were hardly the happily-ever-after.

What’s more, I grew to understand I avoided bad relationships and like my life too much to settle. I realized I am the cake and relationships just the icing. The pang only emerges when I make the mistake of comparing myself to others.

The reason why I’m sharing this is because in the past couple of weeks, I have watched that golden couple endure one of the ugliest break-ups. What I saw that night on the dance floor was a romantic illusion. When the bubble burst, the fall back to earth was terrible for them both.

Watching the break-up, I am aware that to protect perfection is to do reality an injustice. I accept the understanding that there is only one relationship that really counts in life and that is the one we have with ourselves. And mine is a healthy one, not golden, but rosy all the same, because as my friends’ split has proven once again, shine and sparkle can blind the rest of us.

1. What can we learn about the author from the first two paragraphs?

A．She was moved to tears by the engagement of her friends.

B．She didn’t really feel happy for the engagement of her friends.

C．She had mixed feelings while seeing the engagement of her friends.

D．She didn’t think her friends would live a happy life after their engagement.

2. Why did the author feel lost in her relationship in the past?

A．She was misguided to pursue the perfect love.

B．She was too naive to find a perfect partner.

C．She was keen on being a good partner.

D．She was immature to control her fate.

3. By “to project perfection is to do reality an injustice” in the last paragraph, the author implies that       .

A．pursuing perfection does good to reality

B．we should never stop looking for perfection

C．what reality is all about is just perfection

D．a perfect relationship is hard to find in life

4. According to the author, what is the most important thing in life?

A．Accepting whatever you have in life.

B．Living in harmony with yourself.

C．Leading an admirable and happy life.

D．Having a golden relationship.

10 . In the dining room of my grandfather’s house stood a large clock. When I was a child, the old clock_________me very much. I was surprised at how the clock would chime (敲) three times, six times or more, with a wonderful clear_________. I often paid attention to it instead of the foods when I had_________. And always the clock stood like an old family friend,_________the family. I found the clock comforting and familiar. Year after year, the clock became a part of my memories.

It was even more_________to me when my grandfather carefully wound up (上发条) that clock with a special_________each day. The key was_________to me. It kept the clock_________. It kept the clock chiming. How did it do that? I watched as my grandfather took the key from his pocket and_________the door in the old clock and used the key to wind it up. He never let that clock wind down and__________. When I got a little older, he taught me how to open the door, __________let me wind up the clock myself. I remember the__________time I did, I felt so excited…

After my grandfather__________, every time I saw the clock, I couldn’t help crying. Never could I see him again. The__________ on the clock were frozen. It stopped. I took the key with my__________hand and opened the door. All of a __________, I was a child again, watching my grandfather. He was there, smiling at me. I stood there,__________in the memories. Then slowly and__________, I wound up the clock. Tick-tock, tick-tock…The dining room and the house seemed to be filled with__________. In the image of the clock, my grandfather also__________again.

1.

A．disappointed

B．encouraged

C．interested

D．confused

2.

A．picture

B．sound

C．noise

D．time

3.

A．meals

B．homework

C．dreams

D．trouble

4.

A．beating

B．testing

C．heating

D．watching

5.

A．wonderful

B．strange

C．different

D．fearful

6.

A．pen

B．ring

C．clock

D．key

7.

A．small

B．colorful

C．beautiful

D．magic

8.

A．running

B．standing

C．speaking

D．laughing

9.

A．painted

B．opened

C．locked

D．repaired

10.

A．go

B．play

C．stop

D．leave

11.

A．and

B．but

C．or

D．so

12.

A．first

B．last

C．next

D．second

13.

A．gave in

B．passed away

C．turned over

D．took off

14.

A．face

B．door

C．hands

D．eyes

15.

A．wet

B．broken

C．dirty

D．shaking

16.

A．while

B．sudden

C．way

D．step

17.

A．closed

B．lost

C．waited

D．turned

18.

A．quickly

B．wrongly

C．carefully

D．angrily

19.

A．joy

B．excitement

C．fun

D．life

20.

A．cried

B．walked

C．lived

D．listened