1 . I was picking through coat pockets and madly shaking all my old purses and wallets. I was looking for pennies, quarters — anything that would help me make it to the end of the week. It sure was feeling heavy.
A hopeless girl in her twenties,I was a single parent, with a one-year-old son and a five-year-old daughter.
Life consisted of ups and downs. One year, I was having baby showers and taking vacations in the mountains of Tennessee. The next, I was searching around my small, two-bedroom apartment collecting loose change to buy food and gas. Suddenly, I found myself becoming poor, and it was hard.
I’ll never forget the joy of finding one penny during my hunt, then two, then fifteen, and then twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six. Every time I found one, I felt excited. Looking back now, I see that it was somewhat ironic (讽刺的) because I had looked down on pennies at one point in my life.
I sat in my bedroom that night and sorted all the change from my hour-long quest. I smiled and made jokes with my daughter while we packed our pennies. Her brother joyfully bounced up and down in his bouncer. They had no idea how many nights I would cry with my face buried in the pillows, wondering how I would keep a roof over their heads, lights on in the house, and food on the table.
I remember those days like they were yesterday, but I don’t remember them with sadness. I remember them intentionally because I promised myself that if I were ever to escape the pains of poverty, I would never forget the value of a penny.
I’ve kept that promise, too.
1. Why did the author shake her old purses?A.To look for money to pay for their expense. | B.To purchase something for her children. |
C.To make money at the end of the week. | D.To put them into her coat pockets. |
A.She could make ends meet. | B.She often lived a hard life. |
C.She was once living well. | D.She enjoyed her family life. |
A.To help others little by little. | B.To find great value in little things. |
C.To bring happiness to her children. | D.To forget the sad days intentionally. |
A.It’s no use crying over spilt milk. |
B.We should repair the house before it rains. |
C.Each family has its own happiness and unhappiness. |
D.One penny is the small seed from which fortunes spring. |
2 . It might not surprise the average Floridian to find a baby turtle on a sidewalk, but to my teenage eyes it appeared to be something unusual.
One morning, when my mother and I were jogging outside our neighborhood, from a distance I spotted an object about the size of a quarter moving on the sidewalk. When my mother and I were close enough, we realized the quarter was a baby turtle. It looked as though it was on a journey. Yet I wondered if it really knew where it was going because it was heading straight for the road. I told my Mum that if we didn’t take this baby turtle home it would become roadkill. She finally agreed to save it and told me turtles represented good luck. We carried it home, named it Morton and cared for it the best way we could.
We first placed Morton in mother’s bathroom sink (槽) and then an amphibian tank (两栖动物水箱). Slowly Morton grew from a quarter, to a dollar, a chocolate cookie, then eventually a disk.
I knew that people kept turtles like Morton as pets. However, one day it occurred to me that Morton wasn’t a domesticated turtle in a pet store. He was a wild turtle taken from nature and forced into the tank. I was trying to protect him like an overprotective parent by not setting him free. Suddenly, my heart broke into pieces. Slowly I picked up Morton and transported him to his original amphibian tank. It was time.
I will never forget the day I set Morton free. I walked to the neighborhood lake and carefully placed him on the shore. Morton didn’t hesitate to swim into the lake and that was the last time I had seen him.
1. Why did the author take Morton home?A.To keep it as a pet. | B.To protect it from danger. |
C.To make it a lucky symbol. | D.To give it medical treatment. |
A.It is rare in the region. | B.It has overprotective parents. |
C.It has been raised in a pet store. | D.It grew in size after being brought home. |
A.A pet store. | B.A new tank. |
C.Mother Nature. | D.Mother’s bathroom sink. |
A.Love me and let me go. | B.Love me and love my turtle. |
C.Animals are humans’ best pets. | D.Distance makes the heart grow fonder. |
3 . The morning after an evening struggle to care for my three-year-old daughter, I couldn’t wait to send her to school. I, as a mother, was tired from the anger and her inability to communicate because of her slowed language development.
As I accompanied her into the car, I felt desperate. Nothing was right with our world. She’d been born around the same time when the nation was witnessing the birth of another Great Recession. My job and my house had been victims (牺牲品). Then this happened. My child’s language delay (语言发育迟缓) was identified, but doctors struggled to properly help her. I felt like we both needed to be rescued.
I returned that afternoon as disenchanted with my little girl as when I left. Walking slowly toward the school’s playground gate, I found her preschool teacher racing to greet me. “You should have seen her today!” His breathy words were supported by excitement. I didn’t interrupt. “See that climber.” He pointed to a wooden piece of playground equipment that looked like a rock wall. I nodded. “Well, every day since she started school, she’s tried and failed to make it to the top.” He took a breath. “And today she did it!”
He expressed his joy just as he’d witnessed her conquering Mount Everest! “She cheered and celebrated! I wish I’d recorded it!” His words comforted me. My daughter had conquered her mountain. As she ran toward me. I recognized something I hadn’t before. I saw her perseverance (毅力). I saw her strength. I saw a Hero.
Everyday greatness celebrates ordinary people who do unusual things in big and small ways, showing courage, kindness, love and selflessness. We encourage you to click these brief accounts and invite you to share your own story.
1. Why couldn’t the author wait to rush her daughter to school?A.She was tired out when dealing with her daughter. |
B.She had a fight with her daughter last night. |
C.She was busy with her work as a doctor. |
D.She had to sell their house due to Great Recession. |
A.happy. | B.concerned. |
C.careful. | D.disappointed. |
A.She succeeded in standing on Mount Everest. |
B.She began to communicate with others normally. |
C.She got the first place in the school sports meet. |
D.She managed to climb up the wooden equipment. |
A.The radio. | B.The Internet. |
C.A newspaper. | D.A magazine. |
4 . Eileen Taylor had something sweet on her mind in the drive-through (汽车餐厅) line at Heav’nly Donuts. But it wasn’t a doughnut (甜甜圈).
Just the day before, a stranger ahead of her in line had
“Everyone was all
Now—working again as a physician’s assistant, Eileen
A.unwillingly | B.anxiously | C.generously | D.fearfully |
A.got | B.did | C.liked | D.lost |
A.inspired | B.invited | C.forced | D.told |
A.below | B.over | C.on | D.in |
A.background | B.kindness | C.interest | D.importance |
A.drivers | B.workers | C.experts | D.classmates |
A.order | B.book | C.gas | D.joke |
A.shown | B.seen | C.forgotten | D.realized |
A.gift | B.place | C.car | D.driver |
A.worried | B.concerned | C.amazed | D.frightened |
A.met | B.talked to | C.recognized | D.paid for |
A.kept | B.set | C.doubled | D.written |
A.painful | B.excited | C.unsure | D.hopeless |
A.describes | B.introduces | C.visits | D.purchases |
A.coffee | B.beer | C.talk | D.party |
After I stepped into the school library, I went straight to the shelves filled with books at once. It was break time and I had dropped by the library to borrow a book. Just as I was looking through some books, a girl in my class, Alice, came up to me. Alice was a pain in the neck as she would often make fun of others. That day, Alice laughed at me about my deepest secret -that I had come last in class in the mid-year examinations.
I blushed(脸红)hotly in shame. At the same time, I became extremely angry. My best friend, Lynn, was the only one who knew my secret. How could she betray(背叛)me?
My anger grew as thoughts about my friendship with Lynn flashed through my mind. We had been good friends since Primary 1. We hung out together, studied together and stayed up till the early hours of the morning to exchange our dreams. We were closer than sisters. When she needed a shoulder to cry on, I would be there. How could she do this to me? I was so mad that I could not control myself.
Brushing aside Alice’s taunts(嘲弄), I stormed to the place where Lynn usually went - the school field. Lynn looked at me with a welcoming smile on her face. The sight of her treacherous(背信弃义的)face made me mad and crazy.
“How could you do this to me? I thought we were friends!” I shouted at Lynn. “I hate you!”
A look of bewilderment(迷茫)crossed her face as she said,
“Wha ... What’s wrong? What did I do?”
Lynn cried out but I was cold and I didn’t show any kindness to her at all. I told her, “You are no longer my friend!”
And then I stormed away and returned to the library to calm myself down.
注意:1. 续写词数应为150左右;2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1: About 5 minutes later, one of my classmates came up to me and handed me my diary.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: Luckily, Lynn was still in the field.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . Twelve-year-old Leonardo was born in a poor family in Bambamarca in Peru. He knew how to read but he had never seen a book in his life. So he asked the new priest (牧师) in his village to give him one. But there was no electricity. So Leonardo borrowed candles from the church and sat up all night reading it. The next morning, he was at the door of the priest asking for another book to read.
John Medcalf, the priest, was moved. He also realised that people would love to read if given a chance. But he knew how difficult it was for Leonardo and those in his village to get books. And yet, no one can be taught to read and write without books. To make people in a poor, faraway area grow to love books, they have to be with them. So he thought the only way was to bring books to people.
But how could this be done? Mobile libraries or car libraries would be too expensive and difficult to continue in the rocky, hilly land of Peru. So what other methods could be used?
Medcalf got a new idea from the barefoot doctors of China. And that was how the barefoot librarians first appeared in the villages of northern Peru, almost thirty years ago.
The librarians began by going from village to village, lending books to villagers. They helped start The Rural Library Network of Peru.
At first, they were teachers of the village schools which these faraway libraries belonged to. But the teachers were not very interested in the job because it meant a lot of hard work. So, village leaders took on the job themselves.
Today, there are 600 village libraries across Peru. The barefoot librarians who walk up to 15 hours a day with bags of books are their lifeline.
1. The first paragraph tells us that Leonardo ______.A.enjoyed reading books |
B.bought candles from the church |
C.had a lot of books |
D.lived in the church |
A.to grow to love books |
B.to read and write |
C.to bring books to people |
D.to build a new library |
A.where Medcalf met Chinese doctors |
B.who worked as village librarians at first |
C.when the barefoot librarians appeared |
D.how many village libraries Peru has today |
A.the first church in Peru was set up by John Medcalf |
B.car libraries used to be popular in Leonardo’s village |
C.teachers were interested in bringing books to villagers |
D.the barefoot librarians are important to village libraries |
7 . “Do you need a vase for your purple carnations(康乃馨)?” a gentle voice
“Yes, these are from a special friend,” I
I asked her if she likes flowers. Her eyes lit up and she spoke in excited
I told her that I’ve been
She was in great
She left, came back and said, “I will be thinking of you whenever I see purple.” I almost
A.interrupted | B.awoke | C.bothered | D.surprised |
A.important | B.moving | C.rare | D.painfu1 |
A.cleaners | B.doctors | C.nurses | D.patients |
A.managed | B.happened | C.pretended | D.refused |
A.gave out | B.chanced upon | C.dealt with | D.held back |
A.specifically | B.fluently | C.willingly | D.brave1y |
A.dances | B.shouts | C.whispers | D.bursts |
A.shower | B.feed | C.bye | D.greeting |
A.buying | B.receiving | C.requesting | D.borrowing |
A.imagination | B.knowledge | C.craziness | D.opinion |
A.delight | B.panic | C.shock | D.need |
A.remind | B.inspire | C.prepare | D.convince |
A.organize | B.plant | C.struggle | D.share |
A.laughed | B.slept | C.choked | D.hesitated |
A.small | B.strange | C.kind | D.unbelievable |
8 . Fritz Sam was driving his Uber car when he picked up Jemimah Wei, who was on her way to LaGuardia Airport.
He asked Jemimah if she’d mind him pulling over to check it out. With Jemimah’s
Outside of the building a crowd had
Fritz chose the latter. He
A.Driving through | B.Looking for | C.Talking about | D.Moving around |
A.payment | B.direction | C.permission | D.urgency |
A.hesitated | B.gathered | C.passed | D.moved |
A.still | B.already | C.even | D.once |
A.comparison | B.comment | C.sacrifice | D.decision |
A.strange | B.crowded | C.dangerous | D.quiet |
A.randomly | B.quickly | C.finally | D.patiently |
A.leave | B.shout | C.return | D.relax |
A.extra | B.valuable | C.safe | D.large |
A.communicate with | B.depend on | C.agree with | D.check on |
A.remembered | B.stopped | C.saw | D.chose |
A.angry | B.embarrassed | C.regretful | D.frightened |
A.impress | B.support | C.convince | D.control |
A.previously | B.frequently | C.eventually | D.secretly |
A.center | B.space | C.front | D.entrance |
A.border | B.harbor | C.airport | D.station |
A.developed | B.posted | C.found | D.selected |
A.confirm | B.surprise | C.comfort | D.praise |
A.attention | B.attraction | C.adaptation | D.explanation |
A.desire | B.talent | C.bravery | D.responsibility |
9 . I was driving to a business appointment when I came to a very busy crossroad. The traffic light had just turned red. Suddenly, an unforgettable
At first I was touched. They were trying to
To my
I looked around the cars and noticed that
The couple
As I drove away, I did so with more awareness of life and care for others than ever before.
1.A.car | B.scene | C.accident | D.disaster |
A.deaf | B.sick | C.blind | D.weak |
A.clues | B.evidence | C.data | D.feelings |
A.achieve | B.resist | C.overcome | D.recover |
A.can | B.must | C.may | D.need |
A.since | B.when | C.before | D.till |
A.preventing | B.recognizing | C.removing | D.realizing |
A.anxious | B.surprised | C.annoyed | D.pleased |
A.despair | B.embarrassment | C.amazement | D.shame |
A.agreement | B.end | C.stop | D.conclusion |
A.or | B.none | C.either | D.nor |
A.couple | B.drivers | C.police | D.passers-by |
A.somebody’s | B.nobody’s | C.everybody’s | D.anybody’s |
A.Strangely | B.Obviously | C.Suddenly | D.Gradually |
A.ignored | B.joined | C.encouraged | D.defeated |
A.adjusted | B.adapted | C.accepted | D.adopted |
A.frightened | B.puzzled | C.troubled | D.impressed |
A.yet | B.even | C.still | D.already |
A.helpless | B.speechless | C.hopeless | D.emotionless |
A.going on | B.going by | C.breaking down | D.breaking out |
10 . As an only child, Nicole Renae often felt lonely in her youth. But that all changedwhen she turned ten. For her birthday, Renae’s grandmother surprised her with anadorable gray puppy named Chloe.
From the very start, the two were inseparable. Chloe would lick Renae’s face forever unless stopped. But when Renae was 14, her father got a new band worked from home. Then the house needed to be free of distractions. “Chloe was very noisy,” Renae says. “With no easier option, my family had to surrender Chloe to a humane society.”
In time, Renae grew up, got married, and had a child of her own. Remembering the joy that having a dog had brought her as a kid, Renae wanted her daughter to experience the same. She had it in her mind that she would one day adopt a puppy, but then she saw a post on Facebook about a senior dog that needed a new home. The dog in the photograph looked a lot like Chloe, and she was even named Chloe. In an instant it was decided that she would adopt this older dog.
When she met Chloe, Renae was struck with an uncanny (离奇的) feeling. The dog seemed so familiar. “She ran up to me and started licking my face,” she says. Chloe reminded Renae so much of her old dog that the emotion overwhelmed her. “I was crying,” Renae says. “I just knew in my heart that it was her.” Still, eight years had passed since Renae had seen Chloe last, so the thought seemed to be little more than wishful thinking. “My whole family thought I was nuts,” Renae says.
But Renae’s mom realized there was a way to test the theory: Their Chloe had been microchipped as a puppy. They found the ID number, then Renae took her new Chloe to the vet to be scanned. Sure enough, she also had a microchip.
“The numbers were a match,” Renae says. Renae was overjoyed to have Chloe back. “She knows that she’ll be with me forever.”
1. Why did Renae’s family send Chloe to a humane society?A.To avoid Chloe licking Renae too much. |
B.To find Chloe a new owner. |
C.To leave Renae’s father undisturbed. |
D.To get Chloe better trained. |
A.They expressed their great support for Renae. |
B.They thought that Renae’s idea was crazy. |
C.They wished Renae had reminded them earlier. |
D.They felt extremely sympathetic to Chloe. |
A.By reading a post on Facebook. |
B.By recognizing her in the photo. |
C.By checking her microchip number. |
D.By having her treated by the vet. |
A.Close Friends to Humans |
B.A Faithful Dog |
C.Forever Love to Pets |
D.An Unforgettable Reunion |