1 . My grandfather was a rigid perfectionist. Everything had to be orderly, precise and punctual. I was frightened of him until the day he died. Growing up, my mother desperately wanted to please him. She probably thought he might leave if she didn’t.
In fact, I now think the fear of being left alone, abandoned, was a current throughout much of her life. A few years into my father suffering from Alzheimer, my mother’s voice on the phone sounded so upset that I had to tell her, “Just be with yourself for a little while.”
“No, I can’t do that. I don’t want to do that,” she said abruptly, closing the door on the subject. A while after my father died, she told me that she kept the television on all the time because it made her feel less lonely. “It makes the house seem more lived in,” she said. I had given in to my annoyance and either turned the volume down or turned it off. But after she told me that it filled in some of the loneliness, I never reached for the remote again.
We have had a long journey together, she and I. Over a half-century of memories, now that the journey has ended, I have a choice which ones to study which ones to turn over in my hands and dust off.
I choose to look at the ones that ache with a sweet truth not told often enough: there was love between us. It was just hard to find sometimes. I choose to remember her face on that winter day in Manhattan, when I came to her with a broken heart. I choose to remember walking on the shore with her in summers when we rented a beach house; somehow the sea always transformed us. And how she looked on my wedding day when she handed me a bracelet that had belonged to my grandmother. “Something old,” she said.
1. From the author’s point of view, what did her mother feel in her much time of life?| A．A sense of relief. | B．A sense of excitement. |
| C．A sense of being deserted. | D．A sense of being pleased. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By stating arguments. |
| C．By interviewing her father. | D．By visiting her grandfather. |
| A．express regret for her grandfather |
| B．show her sympathy toward her mother |
| C．reveal her deep feelings for her mother |
| D．emphasize her concern about the generation gap |
2 . True happiness lies in rewarding relationships, not material wealth, according to new research. Scientists have said that a close circle of friends and family is most important for happiness, and that owning things such as iPhones, computers, being wealthy and owning a sports car do not provide the same level of satisfaction.
The study was done by psychologists at the Sahlgrenska Academy and Lund University, in Sweden. The experts analyzed articles in Swedish newspapers published in 2016 and recorded which words most often occurred in the same articles as the Swedish word for happiness. In this way, they could know our common happiness.
Co-author Dr Danilo Garcia, a researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy’s Center for Ethics, Law and Mental Health, said, “It’s relationships that are most important, not material things that we possess, and this is in line with other findings in happiness research.”
The study, which contained more than 1.5 million words, showed that terms such as “grandmother” and personal pronouns such as “you”, “me”, “us” and “them” often emerge in the same article as the Swedish word for happiness. Researchers found that words such as “iPhone”, “millions” and “Google” almost never appear with the word “happiness”.
The study is a part of a larger research project on how people describe both positive and negative events in their lives. The researchers believe that the word analysis reflects a common perception among the members of our society as to what should make us happy.
Dr Danilo Garcia said, “Just as the Beatles sang, most people understand that money can’t buy you happiness or love. But even if we can understand the importance of close and warm relationships at a social level, it isn’t certain that everyone is aware that such relationships are actually necessary for our own personal happiness.”
1. New research mainly shows that ________.| A．various things can lead to happiness in people |
| B．having some close friends is very important to us |
| C．owning expensive things can actually make us happy |
| D．rewarding relationships make us happy instead of material wealth |
| A．By doing surveys. |
| B．By doing experiments. |
| C．By analyzing printed articles. |
| D．By referring to previous studies. |
| A．explain something new |
| B．are unbelievable to many people |
| C．prove material things are unimportant |
| D．confirm previous findings in happiness research |
| A．Appear. | B．Spread. | C．Start. | D．Unite. |
| A．money really buys us happiness or love |
| B．rewarding relationships really lead to personal happiness |
| C．close and warm relationships are important at a social level |
| D．all people know rewarding relationships lead to personal happiness |
3 . When I was a little girl, every time my dad was repairing something, he would ask me to hold the hammer. And so we would have a time for a conversation.
I grew up and left home for college and since then, my dad had been calling me every Sunday morning. And when several years later I bought a house, my dad went to paint it by himself for three days in the summer heat.
Four years ago, my dad was visiting me. He spent hours putting together a swing set (秋千) for my daughter. He asked to bring him a cup of tea and have a talk with him.
One Sunday morning we had a telephone talk as usual. I was in a hurry, so our conversation was short.
After his death I learned much more about him, and even more about myself. All he ever asked me was my time.
| A．A few hours later that day came a call. |
| B．But I had to prepare for a trip that weekend. |
| C．I never saw my dad drinking or taking a night out. |
| D．And now his time has all my attention every single day. |
| E．All he asked was to hold his paint brush and talk to him. |
| F．Now it was he who did not have time for a conversation with me. |
| G．I noticed that my dad had forgotten some things that we discussed lately. |
I never thanked you for all you did for me. When I had you as my
You had me come in after school for chemistry
The day of our second term exam, my grandma
You saved me from the tides of the ocean that were
| A．director | B．teacher | C．student | D．player |
| A．starting | B．planning | C．continuing | D．failing |
| A．shocked | B．ashamed | C．excited | D．inspired |
| A．knowledge | B．opinion | C．instruction | D．information |
| A．missed | B．dropped | C．lost | D．imagined. |
| A．expect | B．share | C．keep | D．enjoy |
| A．also | B．always | C．even | D．still |
| A．drove away | B．ran away | C．passed away | D．took away |
| A．suddenly | B．immediately | C．nearly | D．finally |
| A．exam | B．news | C．problem | D．experiment |
| A．funny | B．regretful | C．sorry | D．ill |
| A．invited | B．needed | C．agreed | D．happened |
| A．forcing | B．warning | C．reminding | D．encouraging |
| A．runner | B．rider | C．walker | D．swimmer |
| A．curious | B．favorite | C．pleasant | D．successful |
5 . When I turned 10, I made up my mind to take up swimming. There was a pool at the Y.M.C.A. offering exactly the opportunity. Mother continually warned against it and kept fresh in my mind the details of drowning in the river. But the Y.M.C A. pool was safe.
I had a childhood fear of water. This started when I was three years old and father took me to the beach. The huge waves knocked me down and swept over me.
The pool was quiet. I was afraid of going in all alone, so I sat on the side of the pool to wait for others. Then came a big boy. He shouted, “Hi, skinny! How’d you like to be ducked?” With that he picked me up and threw me into the deep end. I landed in a sitting position, and swallowed water. But I was not frightened out of my wits（机智）—when my feet hit the bottom, I would make a big jump, coming out of the surface. It seemed a long way down. I gathered all my strength when I landed and made what I thought was a great spring upwards. Then I opened my eyes and saw nothing but water. I tried to shout but no sound came out. I went down, down, endlessly.
When I came to consciousness（意识）, I found myself lying on the bed in the hospital.
I never went back to the pool. I avoided water whenever I could. This misfortune stayed with me as the years rolled by. It deprived（剥夺）me of the joy of boating and swimming. Finally, I decided to get an instructor. Piece by piece, he built a swimmer. Several months later, the instructor was finished, but I was not. Sometimes the terror（恐惧）would return.
This went on until July. I swam across the Lake Went Worth. Only once did the terror return. When I was in the middle of the lake, I put my face under and saw nothing but bottomless water. I laughed and said, “Well, Mr. Terror, what do you think you can do to me?”
I had defeated my fear of water.
1. What caused the author’s original（最初的）fear of water?| A．His lack of swimming skills. |
| B．His mother’s continual warning of drowning. |
| C．His misfortune to the beach with his father. |
| D．A terrible dream of getting drowned. |
| A．he didn’t finish swimming training |
| B．he was not satisfied with the swimming training |
| C．he was not afraid of drowning any more |
| D．he had not got rid of the fear of water yet |
| A．The author’s father was against taking up swimming. |
| B．The author showed little interest in boating and swimming. |
| C．The author was a man of great courage and determination. |
| D．The author defeated his fear of water before July. |
| A．Hello, Childhood Fear | B．Goodbye, Mr. Terror |
| C．A Swimming Adventure | D．My Passion for Swimming |
| A．Confident. | B．Discouraged. | C．Pleased. |
When someone has deeply hurt you, it can be very difficult to let go of your anger. But forgiveness is possible—and it can be surprisingly
So when someone has hurt you, cool down first. Take a couple of breaths and think of something
Next keep in mind that forgiveness does not necessarily mean
8 . On June 23, 1970, I had just left the Army after completing my one-year duty in Vietnam. I was on plane returning home in Texas. I had been warned about the
I sat, dressed in soldier clothes, in a window seat,
I always believe in the connection between
Since then, I have followed her
| A．rudeness | B．awkwardness | C．unfriendliness | D．seriousness |
| A．hometown | B．school | C．downtown | D．family |
| A．expecting | B．noticing | C．exchanging | D．avoiding |
| A．fear | B．loneliness | C．anger | D．unhappiness |
| A．naturally | B．proudly | C．shyly | D．quickly |
| A．offer | B．help | C．company | D．contact |
| A．respect | B．kindness | C．agreement | D．love |
| A．soldiers | B．strangers | C．generations | D．girls |
| A．similarly | B．often | C．especially | D．undoubtedly |
| A．meaningful | B．satisfying | C．important | D．valuable |
| A．instruction | B．advice | C．influence | D．example |
| A．always | B．never | C．sometimes | D．probably |
| A．feelings | B．ideas | C．goals | D．efforts |
| A．accepted | B．spread | C．honored | D．advanced |
| A．actions | B．details | C．conversations | D．movements |
9 . Positive emotions don’t just feel good—they’re good for you. Research shows that people feel and do their best when they experience at least three times as many positive emotions as negative ones. Here are some ways to increase positive emotions in everyday life.
Identify a positive emotion you want to increase.
Sometimes we forget the way back to feeling positive. We might need a reminder that can lead us back to a happier emotional place.
| A．It’s a positivity “treasure chest”. |
| B．Let’s say you want to feel more joy. |
| C．Happy to see a film with your best friend? |
| D．That’s when a positivity box is really helpful. |
| E．Happy when your friends remembered your birthday? |
| F．Collect things that remind you of positive emotional moments. |
| G．Name the positive emotions you’ve experienced in your daily life. |
10 . Knitting（编织）is well known for its healing benefits. For Clare Young, the hobby has helped
Mrs. Young was diagnosed（诊断）with a mental disorder and
She created Work of Heart Garden in
Following her win, Clare said, “I started knitting at home to deal with my health problems. Never in my wildest
| A．press | B．create | C．buy | D．fix |
| A．calmness | B．anxiety | C．opportunity | D．reflection |
| A．suffered from | B．took in | C．gave up | D．counted on |
| A．stick to | B．show off | C．smooth out | D．think through |
| A．need | B．memory | C．hope | D．charge |
| A．mental | B．physical | C．unique | D．extreme |
| A．simple | B．little | C．huge | D．rough |
| A．desired | B．judged | C．viewed | D．saw |
| A．dreams | B．attitudes | C．potentials | D．efforts |
| A．across | B．through | C．beyond | D．outside |
| A．acquire | B．exchange | C．respond | D．share |
| A．doubted | B．escaped | C．supported | D．concentrated |
| A．decision | B．difference | C．rule | D．promise |
| A．amazing | B．professional | C．negative | D．independent |
| A．and | B．but | C．so | D．or |
