1 . Uncle Jeremiah sighed. He wondered if he had made the right decision in agreeing to looking after Ant and Cleo over the school holidays while their parents went to London to catch a month-long festival of Shakespeare plays.

Ant and Cleo were having a waste of time staying with their research scientist uncle. They easily bullied (欺负) him into letting them stay up to watch the late-night creature features. It was fun, they said, being scared socked by vampires (吸血鬼), wolfmen and other not-to-nice people. They could handle the late nights; what they couldn’t were the nightmares (梦魇). Watching such fearsome movies as the Curse of the Yeti, the Dread of Dracula (雪人), Fangs of the Wolfman and More Dread of Dracula had resulted in the most terrifying nightmares imaginable.

Once Cleo dreamed she at a dico wearing a fur coat which turned into a yeti that totally ruined her evening by eating her boyfriend. Ant had a frightful dream about being a wolfman, going all hairy and getting locked in the dog house where he was bullied by a brainsick huge dog. And the nightmare that caused Cleo to wake up in a cold sweat was all about a pale, toothy plumber (水暖工)who kept trying to fit a tap to her neck.

Uncle Jeremiah sighed again. He trailed back to bed and buried his head under the pillow. Ant and Cleo settled down to watch The Great, Great Nephew of Frankestein.

1. The children were staying with Uncle Jeremiah_________.

A．overnight

B．at weekends

C．several weeks

D．permanently

2. The children stayed up late to______.

A．play with Uncle Jeremiah	B．watch horror movies
C．watch creatures outside the window	D．meet not-so-nice people

3. When Cleo’s fur coat turned into a yeti she was_______.

A．amused

B．upset

C．scared

D．surprised

4. What was Uncle Jeremiah’s attitude towards the children’s behaviour?

A．Aggressive.

B．Responsible.

C．Critical.

D．Helpless.

2 . So many of us are terrible at being terrible. As our children venture off to school, sports, dances and music lessons, we urge them: Just try something, keep practicing, you’re only a beginner. And yet, faced with our own failure, we become less confident, and quit altogether.

Images of perfection fill our social-media feeds, along with advertisements assuring us we wouldn’t be so _______ if we just bought this thing or tried that product. Parents often add to the pressure, _______ their kids will end up sliding down the socioeconomic ladder.

What if we’re _______?

“It’s such a _______ not to have to be good,” says Karen Rinaldi, who refers to herself as a horrible surfer. After 20 years on the board, she is still bad, and she loves it. There is the excitement of being out on the water, but there is also the _______ of not having to be the expert, the freedom to _______ help and rely on others in a way she never would at work. Back on land, she says she is more understanding and _______others’ mistakes. “The benefit of not _______ myself every day,” she says, “is that I get to surf every time I want.”

Ms. Rinaldi, whose experience led to a book about what you can learn from failure, recommends asking yourself: “What is it that you’ve always wanted to do or try but were too _______?” Whatever it is, she says, start doing it. Should you struggle, ________ the fact that you’re a beginner. “Go in there with the ________ to say, ‘I’m new,’” she says. “People want to help you learn. It makes them feel good.”

Take myself as another example. I started yoga lessons this summer. When I ________ Syd Schulz, a professional mountain biker, that I was terrible at the poses, her response was “what did you expect?” “It’s a little ________ to people who have spent years and years of their lives acquiring skills to think that you should have those overnight,” says Ms. Schulz. Years spent working on her cycling have taught her that improvement often comes in ________ steps, following long stretches of inactivity or even getting ________.

1.

A．distressing

B．imperfect

C．impressive

D．incredible

2.

A．fearing

B．confirming

C．hoping

D．indicating

3.

A．missing out

B．putting up

C．setting in

D．taking off

4.

A．burden

B．nonsense

C．puzzle

D．relief

5.

A．disappointment

B．nervousness

C．preference

D．satisfaction

6.

A．acknowledge

B．offer

C．refuse

D．seek

7.

A．angry at

B．delighted in

C．embarrassed with

D．patient with

8.

A．awarding

B．forgiving

C．isolating

D．pushing

9.

A．afraid

B．annoyed

C．depressed

D．exhausted

10.

A．accept

B．conceal

C．deny

D．examine

11.

A．excitement

B．modesty

C．potential

D．pride

12.

A．apologized to

B．argued with

C．complained to

D．shouted at

13.

A．abusive

B．amazing

C．annoying

D．attentive

14.

A．careful

B．hesitant

C．involuntary

D．unsteady

15.

A．alert

B．fulfilled

C．improved

D．worse

3 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. attempted     B. burden       C. generated     D. commit       E. serve       F. degree    G. missed     H. troubles       I. shared   J. contacts     K. admit

Everybody can be a great ... because anybody can     1    . You don’t have to have a college     2     to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul     3     by love.

—Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mark was walking home from school one day when he saw the boy in front of him fall over and drop all of the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a basketball, a glove and a Walkman. Mark stopped and helped the boy pick up these things. Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry part of his       4    . As they walked, Mark discovered that the boy’s name was Bill, that he loved computer games, basketball and history, that he was having lots of     5     with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.

They arrived at Bill’s home first and Mark was invited in for a Coke and to watch television. The afternoon passed happily with a few laughs and some     6     small talks, and then Mark went home. They continued to see each other at school, had lunch together once or twice, and then they both graduated from that middle school. They ended up in the same high school where they had brief     7     over the years. The long awaited senior year came at last, and just three weeks before they finished high school, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.

Bill     8     to remind Mark of the day years ago when they had first met.“Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill. “You see, I cleaned out my locker (储物柜) because I didn’t want to leave anything for anyone else. I had stored away some of mother’s sleeping pills and I was going home to     9     suicide. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I began to understand that if I killed myself, I would have     10     that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books that day, you did a lot more. You saved my life.”

4 . Being born during the Great Depression, as the middle of seven children in a carpenter’s family, is not a “silver spoon” experience, but I am the one well blessed in life.

Our family had a large garden, raised two pigs each year for their meat, and had a family cow for our milk. During the Depression, Dad was out of work, so we started doing some washing for the neighbourhood, employing up to seven girls at one time, and farming 12 acres of nearby land to earn a few extra dollars.

I was blessed with good teachers to help with my learning. After graduating from college, I spent two years in the army, which allows me to see Europe and to have more life experience. I returned home, got a job at the local bank, married my sweetheart, and thought I was on my way to a normal lifestyle.

I was called back into the army when they built the Berlin Wall, just six months after completing my tour of duty in Germany. That also turned out to be a blessing, as I had worked long enough at the bank to begin health insurance.

A year later, I returned home to work at the bank again. I worked my way up through the ranks to become the CEO before retiring at the end of 1997. I was blessed to have good employers and employees in my work. I’ve been blessed to have a devoted wife and wonderful children and grandchildren.

Today, I look back on those great experiences and think they were my possibilities to grow.

Time taught me to save for a rainy day, to help those who are less fortunate than me, to put others first, and to enjoy being a volunteer.

1. How did the author’s family live through the Great Depression?

A．By selling vegetables, pork and milk.	B．By selling furniture made by the father.
C．By opening a laundry and farming.	D．By washing clothes for the rich.

2. Why did the author return to the army?

A．Because his oldest son was born.

B．Because he completed his task at the bank.

C．Because he wanted to live a normal life in the army.

D．Because political situation changed in the world.

3. What’s the tone of the text?

A．Serious.	B．Regretful.
C．Humorous.	D．Grateful.

4. What can we infer about the author from the passage?

A．He is a prepared and helpful man.

B．He was born in a rich family.

C．The author’s father was once unemployed.

D．He was once the President of the USA.

5 . Olly Neal grew up in Arkansas. He didn’t care much for high school. One day during his senior year, he cut class and walked into the school library. He discovered a book written by Frank Yerby. The book was The Treasure of Pleasant Valley and it attracted Neal’s attention. But there was one problem — if Neal took the book to the check out counter (收银台), his friends would know he was reading books.

“Then my fame (名誉) would be down,” Neal said. “I wanted them to know that all I could do was fight and cuss (咒骂).” Finally, Neal decided to steal the book.

A week later, Neal had finished the book. He brought it back to the library. But when he put it back, there was another book by Yerby. He took it as well. The same thing happened again. He read four of Yerby’s books that term — checking out none of them.

But Neal’s sneaky action turned out not to have been so sneaky after all. Attending his 13-year high school get-together, Neal met the school’s librarian, Mildred Grady. She saw Neal take that book. She said, “My first thought was to call him out, and then I realized what his situation was. So I decided that if Neal was showing an interest in books, I would find another one for him and put it in the same place where the one he had taken was.”

This was not an easy matter, because Frank Yerby’s books were not especially available. But the woman’s efforts paid off: Neal went on to attend law school and later became a great judge. When Grady died, Neal told the story and he said, “I thank Mrs. Grady for helping me get into the habit of enjoying reading, so that I was able to go to law school and survive.”

1. Why did Neal steal the book instead of checking it out?

A．To prove he was a skillful thief.

B．To show the book to his friends.

C．To keep being known as a troublemaker.

D．To avoid communicating with the librarian.

2. What does the underlined word “sneaky” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Secret.

B．Dangerous.

C．Brave.

D．Illegal.

3. How did Mrs. Grady influence Neal?

A．She taught Neal how to survive.

B．She persuaded Neal to be honest.

C．She encouraged Neal to study law.

D．She helped Neal develop reading habits.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．Reading changes people’s life

B．A librarian changed a boy’s life

C．A senior student became a judge

D．Frank Yerby’s books attracted a boy

6 . Choose the suitable word or phrase from A--O to fill in the blanks to make the passage grammatically and coherently correct.

A. down       B. across       C. make       D. pull       E. set out F. terrible       G. explorer       H. strategies       I. carried       J. ran out of K. determined       L. expedition       M. achievement       N. disappointed       O. a pair of

The race to the South Pole is a famous story. Captain Scott and a Norwegian     1     called Ronald Amundsen both wanted to get there first. They both prepared for many months, but in the end their    2     for reaching the pole were very different：Amundsen used dogs to    3     his sleds and Scott used motorized sleds and horses. Amundsen had good weather during his     4    , but Scott had bad weather. When Scott’s team     5     from the hut on 1 November 1911, there were     6     snowstorms and the sleds broke     7    . After a few weeks, the horse died and most of his team turned back. In the end, only five men     8    on to the South Pole: Scott, Oates, Evans, Bowers and Wilson.

On 17 January 1912, Scott’s team reached the Pole and came     9     the Norwegian flag——Amundsen’s team were there before them and were already racing back to tell the world. Tired and     10    , Scott’s team made their way back home, but they     11     food and got lost in snowstorms; they did not     12     it.

In Scott’s Hut, there is still    13     old explorer’s boots. Scott wore these boots for years and they are dirty and broken, but they’re very special too. They tell us Scott’s story--that he was hard-working, ambitious and     14    , and that he pushed himself to the limit. Although the attempt was unsuccessful, Scott never gave up, and that’s an amazing     15    .

7 . In 1990, during a performance of my stage play, I became preoccupied with one particular member of the audience. While everybody else laughed, there she sat, staring at the floor, with her fingers in her ears. I’ll never forget her look of complete discomfort.

That woman was my mother. Despite the fact I’d established myself as a humorist, my mother never found me or my work particularly funny. She was my hardest critic. “Is Drew really that funny?” she’d ask family members.

To make matters worse, the feeling was mutual (相互的): though our social circle swore that she was humorous, I never saw it. My mother was supposedly very funny in her first language, Anishinaabemowin—an Indigenous (原住民的) language, but alas, I didn’t speak it. At family gatherings, when somebody would say something “funny” in Anishinaabemowin, she’d explain it to me. Sometimes the humour translated. Sometimes it didn’t.

For a while I was convinced I would never make her laugh. Then, in 2005, I succeeded. I had published a book called Me Funny. In it were dozens of essays deconstructing Indigenous humour, along with 50 so-called “Indian jokes” to break up the various chapters. (For instance, “Why do Native people hate snow? Because it’s white and all over our land.”) She laughed hard and declared, “Wow, that was funny!”

In 2009, my mother passed away at the age of 77. During the funeral, in the tears, family member after family member got up and recounted things she had done and said over the years. To my surprise, I found myself laughing. Suddenly I remembered a moment from the early ‘90s, when my mother asked me, completely serious, what “owie” meant in French. I struggled to come up with an answer until I spelled it out in my mind: oui (“yes” in English).

More and more stories about her surfaced. We laughed as we remembered her. I couldn’t see my mother’s forest for my own trees. I wish I could have shared those laughs with her while she was alive, but I’m glad I finally made the connection.

1. What prevented the author and his mother from understanding each other’s humour?

A．Language barriers.

B．The author’s unique job.

C．Mom’s critical personality.

D．Views of Indigenous people.

2. Why did the author laugh at mother’s funeral?

A．He tried to fit in his Indigenous family.

B．He recalled amusing moments about mom.

C．He wanted to hide his sadness over mother’s death.

D．He intended his laugh to make mother rest in peace.

3. What does the underlined sentence mean?

A．The author learned from mother a very important life lesson.

B．The author failed to relate to his mother from her perspective.

C．The author finally understood mother’s sense of humour better.

D．The author didn’t write enough humorous books to make mother laugh.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．Am I funny?	B．Why isn’t Mom laughing?
C．What’s so funny?	D．Does laughter have an accent?

8 . After researching the history of the Vietnam War, I called my mum and asked her if she knew anyone who went to Vietnam that I could interview. She thought for a while and suddenly remembered that she has a cousin who is a veteran of the Vietnam War.

She says, “I know him since I was little. He was one of the greatest athletes of the school. You cannot imagine how good and fast he was. Well, he was ranked number 18 in the country for being an outstanding track and field runner. But now, those things are only memories.”

I called him and introduced myself. He was in an agreeable mood at the beginning, but as soon as I began to question him, his attitude changed. “What happened in Vietnam?” I asked. There was a moment of silence on the other line, and then he said he was willing to tell me about Vietnam.

He said that he was drafted when he was 20 years old and that the two years later he spent there a part of his life he would rather forget. He said, “The problem is that you will never imagine how much suffering and pain I saw in that place.” There is not one book or article that can really describe the human disaster that took place there. There is nothing worse in this world than killing a man who you know has a family. It is very sad, but it is the truth, and it turns more complex when you realize you were part of that truth.

When I returned to Puerto Rico, it was a total disaster: young kids without fathers, wives without husbands. Most of those who made it back have no legs, like me, or no arms. I was praised because of my bravery, but for me, that was and is pure nonsense, because that war decided my future, decided the future of my family. I, now, am just a veteran who has nothing.

The thing that bothers me the most is that the people who decided to fight will probably never know that it is likely to kill a man, or feel pain and suffering from hunger and the absence of love. In war, every minute you are fearing because the only thing you have in your mind is that if you don’t kill first you are going to get killed.

1. Why did the author’s mother say “Those things are only memories”?

A．Because she would rather keep what happened in the past as a secret.

B．Because her cousin is no longer a vigorous young man.

C．Because though her cousin was a good runner, he lost his leg during the war.

D．Because time passed quickly and she can’t remember much of the past days.

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the 4th paragraph?

A．Books and articles all presented a false picture of the war.

B．It takes mental strength to survive the war.

C．The sufferings during the war greatly damaged the memory of soldiers,

D．The author’s uncle felt very painful when he realized the truth of the war.

3. Why did the author’s uncle find the praises “pure nonsense”?

A．Because praises came too late.

B．Because no praise could make up for his loss.

C．Because he didn’t kill anyone during the war.

D．Because too many praises seemed worthless.

9 . My life as a tax-paying employed person began in middle school, when, for three whole days, I worked in a baking factory.

My best friend Betsy’s father was a manager at Hough Bakeries, which, at Easter time, _________ little bunny (兔子) cakes for all its _________throughout Cleveland. It happened that the plant downtown needed eight kids for _________ help during our spring break, for which I had no_________ beyond listening to my favorite records. I’d _________ minimum wage. I’d see how a factory_________. My parents thought all of this was a grand idea and called Betsy’s dad with their _________.

Our_________in the factory were simple: Place cakes on a moving belt. Attach icing (糖霜) ears. Apply icing eyes and nose._________ bunny from the belt. This was ____________ than it sounds.____________ a bit and the cakes pile up. As I told my parents at dinner that first night, it was all a little more high-pressure than I’d   ____________ .

Dad __________. The son of a grocer, he’d spent the summers of his childhood____________ food in Benardsville, New Jersey. This was the sort of work that made you____________ the dollars you earned and respect those who did the work, he told me.

1.

A．sold

B．ordered

C．made

D．reserved

2.

A．stores

B．families

C．schools

D．citizens

3.

A．generous

B．financial

C．technical

D．temporary

4.

A．plans

B．problems

C．excuses

D．hobbies

5.

A．offer

B．earn

C．set

D．suggest

6.

A．worked

B．closed

C．developed

D．survived

7.

A．ambition

B．permission

C．experience

D．invitation

8.

A．joys

B．ideas

C．roles

D．choices

9.

A．Save

B．Keep

C．Stop

D．Remove

10.

A．harder

B．better

C．longer

D．cheaper

11.

A．Calm down

B．Slow down

C．Stay on

D．Move on

12.

A．indicated

B．witnessed

C．expected

D．remembered

13.

A．cried

B．smiled

C．hesitated

D．refused

14.

A．tasting

B．finding

C．sharing

D．delivering

15.

A．withdraw

B．donate

C．receive

D．appreciate

10 . I’m a talker. I am keen on debating, gossiping and teasing when I have people to talk to. Under lockdown, however, I’ve only had my partner, Peter.

We not only lived, worked and travelled together, we mostly socialized together, too. Under the first UK lockdown, our already closeness began to feel uncomfortable. While talking to Peter, I could see his attention drift.

For the first time in our 10 years together, we needed to be alone. I tried to manufacture this by going on walks on my own, but a short walk wasn’t doing the job. I had hiked in remote spaces all over the world but always in a pair or group — for safety reasons. I considered my options and hit upon an idea: the semi-solo hike.

Could we do a circular hike but walk in different directions? This would give us the space and peace of a solo hike — done by a person alone. It felt like a promising way out, and he agreed to give it a try.

We started with a four-mile loop (环路) from Reeth. At the start, we parted ways. At first, I was aware of how close we were, which lessened the appeal. As I gained ground, however, I found myself very much alone. I set my own pace, and I decided to take my time.

I sat on a rock and breathed out. That moment — with the weak sun through the clouds and the breeze blowing — felt extraordinary to me. I was born and raised in London and had never imagined leaving until I met an outdoorsman. Now, my former life as a city girl felt crazy. In remembering what I had gained, I felt the tension leave me. There, in the chilly air, I no longer needed to talk. The semi-solo hike gave us a shared experience with added room to breathe.

I didn’t see Peter on the way but reunited back where we started, both pleased.

The semi-solo hike is admittedly silly in theory, but for me it has been a lifeline. It has given me the gift of time alone and, in a year of constant closeness, the joy of reuniting.

1. What motivated the author to adopt the semi-solo hike?

A．Peter’s disinterest in her words.

B．Her habit of venturing into the wild.

C．The lack of privacy under lockdown.

D．Her desire to engage in outdoor exercise.

2. How does the semi-solo hike work?

A．Their routes coincide sometimes during the hike.

B．They depart in a separate way to different destinations.

C．They hike in each other’s company throughout the journey.

D．They start and return to the same place by a different route.

3. Which of the following can describe the author’s feelings when she sat on a rock?

A．Fearless and refreshed.	B．Free and relaxed.
C．Tense and depressed.	D．Upset and embarrassed.

4. What message does the author convey with this text?

A．An appropriate distance creates beauty.

B．There are more solutions than difficulties.

C．Access to nature is better than social circles.

D．Hiking helps improve interpersonal relationships.