1 . There was once a boy called Mario who loved to have lots of friends at school. However, he wasn’t sure whether or not his classmates were his true friends, so he asked his grandpa. The old man answered, “I have just exactly what you need; it’s in the attic (阁楼). Wait here for a minute.”
Grandpa left, soon returning as though carrying something in his hand, but Mario could see nothing there. “Take it. It’s a very special chair. Because it’s invisible (无形的) it’s rather difficult to sit on, but if you take it to school and you manage to sit on it, you’ll be able to tell who your true friends are.”
Mario took the strange invisible chair and went to school. At break time he asked everyone to form a circle, and he put himself in the middle, with his chair. “Nobody move. You’re about to see something amazing,” Mario said.
Then Mario tried sitting on the chair. He missed and fell straight onto his backside. Everyone had a pretty good laugh. Mario wouldn’t be beaten. He kept trying to sit on the magic chair, and kept falling to the ground... until, suddenly, he tried again and didn’t fall. This time he sat, hovering (悬停) in mid-air.
Looking around, Mario saw George, Lucas, and Diana — three of his best friends — holding him up, so he wouldn’t fall. At the same time, many others he had thought of as friends were doing nothing but make fun of him, enjoying each and every fall.
Leaving with his three friends, Mario explained to them how his grandpa had so cleverly thought of such a good idea. Now he knows that those who take joy in our misfortunes (不幸) when we are in difficulty are not our true friends.
1. What did Mario’s grandpa take from the attic?| A．An invisible chair. | B．An old chair. |
| C．A real chair. | D．Nothing. |
| A．To see whether Mario could sit on it. |
| B．To test who were Mario’s true friends. |
| C．To let Mario have fun with his classmates. |
| D．To test whether Mario was popular at school. |
| A．He saw the invisible chair suddenly. |
| B．He managed to sit on the chair finally. |
| C．His friends held him up with their hands. |
| D．His classmates gave him a chair to sit on. |
| A．Never laugh at our friends. |
| B．True friends can help us do magic. |
| C．True friends are those who care for us. |
| D．Having too many good friends isn’t a good thing. |
2 . The word “happy” would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by hardship. The circular motion (循环运动) between happiness and
A year ago, I developed troubling symptoms(症状) in my left
Over that long week, I
Finally, I gained a
| A．loneliness | B．tiredness | C．sadness | D．greatness |
| A．eye | B．arm | C．leg | D．ear |
| A．suddenly | B．carelessly | C．secretly | D．immediately |
| A．luck | B．treatment | C．apology | D．discussion |
| A．needed | B．expected | C．managed | D．congratulated |
| A．in relief | B．in anger | C．in peace | D．in panic |
| A．new | B．traditional | C．strong | D．folk |
| A．rarely | B．frequently | C．occasionally | D．mistakenly |
| A．forbade | B．encourages | C．forced | D．permitted |
| A．lay down | B．hold back | C．fall into | D．meet with |
| A．desired | B．promised | C．refused | D．attempted |
| A．gave in | B．cheered up | C．gave up | D．broken down |
| A．terrible | B．sweet | C．spare | D．precious |
| A．election | B．challenge | C．goal | D．choice |
| A．guilt | B．pride | C．hope | D．joy |
| A．stresses | B．analyzed | C．investigated | D．guaranteed |
| A．wrong | B．unique | C．funny | D．valuable |
| A．sunny | B．cloudy | C．rainy | D．snowy |
| A．disturb | B．experience | C．blame | D．assign |
| A．admit to | B．listen to | C．adapt to | D．contribute to |
3 . Maria and her parents moved to the US from Brazil one year before the pandemic (流行病). Better education opportunities lay ahead, and they were excited to get Maria into an American high school to prepare for college.
Each parent got a job, and Maria started studying. She also signed up for a service club because she wanted to meet people, practice her English and be a part of the community. “I love to serve,” Maria says. “I think it is my thank-you for the opportunities I have.”
She worked at the local food bank with other kids of her age, organizing bags for families who were having a hard time making ends meet. But when the pandemic hit, she found herself at the food bank for another reason: to bring home groceries to her parents. “We were all shocked when my mother lost her job. My friends at the food bank got me through it,” Maria said.
Luckily, her father kept his job. And with classes moving online, Maria was able to secure a full-time job and do her class work at night. Three of her courses were college prep classes that demanded a lot of work. During her senior year, Maria worked 40-hour weeks and studied even more. Yet, in her spare time, she packed food bags for others before taking hers home.
Just before graduation, Maria came into the food bank. One of the volunteers started getting a bag ready for her. “I don’t need one today,” Maria said. “My mother got a job. I’m here to help.”
Maria supported her family for eight months. She graduated on time and got scholarship offers from three different colleges. She moved to part-time work and has completed her first semester of college.
1. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us?| A．When Maria decided to go to the US. | B．How Maria managed to get a job. |
| C．Why Maria joined the service club. | D．What Maria did to help her family. |
| A．Leaving the food bank. | B．The help from her friends. |
| C．Taking courses online. | D．The support from her parents. |
| A．Maria’s great efforts paid off. | B．Maria does very well in college. |
| C．Maria likes doing part-time jobs. | D．Maria’s family gave her lots of help. |
| A．Loyal and reliable. | B．Diligent and dedicated. |
| C．Ambitious and creative. | D．Just and knowledgeable. |
Anna lost her arms in a car accident when she was a teenager. What was worse, she lost her parents at the age of 20. Her elder sister,
Anna chose to face her misfortune in a positive way. Instead of
5 . When my daughter Sara was in the fifth grade, she came to me with a problem. “Marcy hates me!” she cried. “Because Kathy is my friend, too. She wants me to be her friend and nobody else’s. You talk to Marcy. You tell her that I want to be her friend, but I can have other friends, too!”
Oh! I looked at her for a few moments, wondering how I got into this mess (困境), when suddenly an idea came to me.
Picking up two baskets from the living room, I explained, “When everyone is born, he or she has a little basket. This little one here is yours. The big one is mine. As you grow, so does the basket. You can see your little basket is inside mine because when you were born, there were too many things you couldn’t do for yourself. I did everything you couldn’t do on your own.”
She nodded.
“Well, as you grew older and began to do some things on your own, I began placing a few more things in your basket. When you learned to tie your shoes, that went in your basket.”
She said softly, “I can tie my own shoes.”
“Right. As you grow older, there will be more and more things you must do on your own.” As I spoke, I gradually took her basket out of mine and handed it to her. “You will finally carry your own basket with things only you can do.”
She looked up at me and said, “I understand. There are some things that I have to do for myself because they are in my basket.”
1. What was Sara’s problem?| A．She didn’t have a basket. | B．She didn’t want her own basket. |
| C．She couldn’t deal with her friendship. | D．Her mother was too hard on her. |
| A．Angry. | B．Crazy. |
| C．Proud. | D．Helpless. |
| A．would talk to Marcy herself | B．wouldn’t make friends with Kathy |
| C．was too young to deal with anything | D．managed to persuade her mother to help her |
| A．gifts given by God when everyone is born |
| B．something that people use to keep vegetables |
| C．growing abilities as you grow up |
| D．friendship that needs repairing |
6 . Lillian, 17, had just started working as a lifesaver at a beach in Australia on New Year’s Eve when beach-goers started to point and shout at the water. The workers quickly examined the situation and saw that a kangaroo had jumped out of the bushes (灌木丛) — straight into the sea.
The animal seemed confused by the fishermen standing on the rocks. So instead of turning back and heading back into the bushes, it jumped right into the water! The poor thing bobbed(摆动)around in the waves and went underwater several times before Lillian decided to take action.
As with any other animal rescue, it’s important to approach the situation with prudence. Wild animals that are stressed can become dangerous to their rescuers, and Lillian was aware of the risks as she took her rescue board and hit the water at a run. “It just didn’t want to come on to the beach because it was kind of scared,” she said. “I was trying to figure out how to get it on the board. But considering that it’s a wild animal, even though I was helping, I wouldn’t want to be hurt by it or make it more stressed out.”
As beach-goers recorded the rescue on their phones,Lillian paddled (用浆划船) behind the animal carefully and guided the kangaroo onto the beach. As soon as Lillian’s feet touched the sand, the beach erupted in cheers for her!“It was quite special. As people there were cheering and clapping, the kangaroo was just sitting there up in the bushes staring at me, as if it was conveying something with its shining eyes,” Lillian said. “I didn’t think that was going to ever be my first rescue, I may have more rescues in the future, but none would be as memorable as this one.”
1. What happened to the kangaroo?| A．It jumped off the rocks by mistake, |
| B．It jumped into the sea by accident, |
| C．It was forced to leave the bushes. |
| D．It was washed away into the sea. |
| A．Inspiration. | B．Hope. | C．Care. | D．Shock. |
| A．It couldn’t wait to leave her. |
| B．It was worried about her safety. |
| C．It was confused about her action. |
| D．It seemed grateful for her help. |
| A．Far-sighted and independent. | B．Talented and positive. |
| C．Brave and cautious. | D．Determined and ambitious. |
7 . A married lady was expecting a birthday gift from her husband. For many months she had admired a beautiful diamond ring. Knowing her husband could
As her birthday approached, this lady awaited
Finally, on the morning of her birthday, her husband told her how
Many years later, the lady
She arrived at his house, filled with great
If your
| A．offer | B．afford | C．provide | D．admit |
| A．symbols | B．signals | C．sights | D．signs |
| A．generous | B．regretful | C．thankful | D．disappointed |
| A．handed | B．sent | C．introduced | D．delivered |
| A．besides | B．however | C．otherwise | D．moreover |
| A．rose | B．aroused | C．raised | D．arose |
| A．happy | B．astonished | C．admirable | D．angry |
| A．appeared | B．lived | C．worked | D．traveled |
| A．started off | B．stayed up | C．set in | D．gave up |
| A．gifts | B．goods | C．money | D．belongings |
| A．hate | B．regret | C．joy | D．love |
| A．still | B．ever | C．just | D．even |
| A．smiles | B．interest | C．doubt | D．tears |
| A．made | B．written | C．created | D．spoken |
| A．bad | B．small | C．good | D．abandoned |
| A．dropped | B．hid | C．came | D．followed |
| A．thing | B．gift | C．letter | D．book |
| A．admit | B．avoid | C．access | D．appreciate |
| A．touched | B．tasted | C．smelled | D．heard |
| A．creativity | B．mind | C．heart | D．imagination |
8 . Occasionally, misfortune will happen in our life and no one can avoid it. If you choose only to complain and escape from the misfortune, it will constantly follow you no matter where you go.
A girl, called Selina, lost her arms in a traffic accident that caused her father’s death — who was the main source of support for the whole family.
One day, the girl and the boy were both interviewed on a television program. The girl complained to the TV host about her uncertain future at being left on her own, but the boy was full of enthusiasm for his life.
| A．A similar misfortune happened to a boy named Jerry, too. |
| B．Since then, she had had to depend on her elder brother’s arms. |
| C．So his father went out looking for his mother, leaving him alone at home. |
| D．One night her mother, who suffered from chronic mental illness disappeared. |
| E．They both were invited to write something on a piece of paper with their toes. |
| F．They had both encountered the same misfortune, but had completely different attitudes towards lives. |
| G．But if you decide to be will-powered, the sufferings will turn out to be a fortune where new hopes will arise. |
9 . I wanted to share the story of someone in my community. Alex and I have been pretty good friends for years. He was raised in a pretty abusive home, and grew up with major depression and anxiety. He talks about his story all the time to help other teens. Alex has truly changed his life around to help other people and we are all so glad for that.
He started an organization to help homeless people. He has teens from across the world mail him stories of hope or funny pictures that they drew and he goes around and gives homeless people those things along with food or something. They love receiving drawings and letters because they feel great knowing that someone took time to do that for them.
Alex also wrote a book to inspire teens. He wants other teenagers to see what he’s gone through so they feel inspired to make a change in their lives. Alex is an extremely inspirational person and this book will help teens in similar situations as Alex was in.
Alex has won three awards for everything he did. He won an inspirational people’s award through a local organization; he won the Youth Service America’s everyday hero award and he won a Canadian awesome award. He’s changing lives and he really deserves these awards. Alex’s latest accomplishment is the start of the National Youth Internet Safety and Cyber Bullying Task Force. I can’t believe how many families he’s affected. It’s so much work just to help people he doesn’t know but Alex loves it.
I believe that young stars are not just singers and actors. I believe they are also the youth changing our world. There are not many teens that choose to change the world around, but Alex is definitely one of them.
1. What can we learn about Alex’s childhood?| A．Alex had many friends. | B．Alex was badly treated. |
| C．Alex was cheerful. | D．Alex changed his life with other’s help. |
| A．He draws funny pictures. |
| B．He writes inspiring books. |
| C．He goes around to ask for donation. |
| D．He provides mental support as well as food. |
| A．Ambitious and successful. | B．Patient and amazing. |
| C．Encouraging and selfless. | D．Outgoing and generous. |
| A．Your Voice. | B．Campus Life. |
| C．News Express. | D．Magic World. |
Once upon the time, there was a farmer whom worked very hard in his field every day. One day, while he is working in the field, a rabbit ran out of the grass but bumped into a tree stump, dead. The farmer was very happily to take the rabbit home and cook a delicious meals. The farmer thought, “I needn’t work hard from now on. What I need to do is just to wait the rabbit bumping into the tree stump and pick them home.” Since then, he no longer worked, just sat next to the tree stump and waiting for the rabbit. But from then on, he never saw another rabbit was bumped into the tree stump.
