1 . Lots of kids like to talk about sports, but Joseph D’Avirro talks about sports like a professional host in a show called Sliders & Curveballs. The 9-year-old from Newington, Connecticut is a natural at sports talk and has been broadcasting the show—which is about baseball, basketball and other sports—with his dad, Mike D’Avirro, since September 2019.
The D’Avirro started the broadcast after two former college roommates of Mike died, which made Mike want to spend more time with his son. Then the idea came to him. So far, they have done about 50 programs. Joseph’s favorite is when the father-and-son team interviewed Jim Calhoun, the coach leading the Connecticut Huskies to three national titles. They have also interviewed important sports authors.
The father and son make about one 30- to 40-minute podcast each month. They prepare for the podcasts by deciding on the questions they want to ask the guest. Joseph asks half of the questions, and Mike handles the other half. Joseph reads his questions again and again to get them in his brain well. It is a lot of work, but Joseph says it is “a lot more fun than homework”. Joseph has also learned to speak up and speak clearly. He has to listen and to go with the flow of the conversation. For example, he said, “If the guest is talking about sports in the 1990s, you have to think about sports in the 1990s.”
When asked how long he and his dad will continue doing the show, he answered, “Until my dad starts growing gray hairs.” Joseph has other ambitions when he grows up—to be a sports player, a sports broadcaster or to own a basketball team. Those are big dreams, but Joseph is already living a dream: talking sports and spending time with his dad.
1. What is Joseph’s show about?| A．Some talk shows on sports. |
| B．Ways to get along with parents. |
| C．Stories about famous sports players. |
| D．Sports that his family loves playing. |
| A．His son’s talent for sports. |
| B．His wish to be a host since college. |
| C．The deaths of his college roommates. |
| D．The encouragement from his roommates. |
| A．It’s as boring as homework. |
| B．It’s challenging to his brain. |
| C．It takes a lot of time but means a lot. |
| D．It’s more interesting than homework. |
| A．A rising sports broadcaster |
| B．A long road to go to success |
| C．The father-and-son team hosts |
| D．Joseph D’Avirro’s big dream |
2 . The input Dad has on my career is incomparable. My earliest memories are of Dad sitting in the kitchen playing the guitar, listening to his favourite song by his favourite singer, and encouraging his little girl to poke (戳) keys randomly on the piano. Even watching Top of the Pops, he would get so passionate about music in it. We weren’t a religious family, but there was something spiritual about Dad’s connection with music.
Music also became a source of comfort for me. I failed to do well academically at school and had no friends. Being at school consumed so much of my emotional energy. Instead of going to school to learn stuff, I felt as though I was simply trying to get people to like me. Things were better, but the only time I truly felt happy was when I was at home listening to music with Mum and Dad or writing songs on the piano —and the older I got, the more powerful music felt.
Dad was always my biggest supporter. When I started giving live performances at the local bar, he was the one who drove me there and back. Freeing up that time wasn’t easy for an actor. His job might mean three weeks in the Czech Republic or working with George Lucas on The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones in Hollywood.
Dad has been involved with some amazing stuff, but Daddy Pig is the one that’s had the biggest impact all over the world. When I was flying to Australia for my first tour, I was trying to find something to watch on the little screen and I noticed they had Peppa Pig. If I’m missing home and family, I always put it on. Daddy Pig is a fairly real version of my dad —he loves chocolate cake, he’s funny and usually breaks things when he’s trying to mend them. Mum and Dad were friends with one of the producers of the show and I often wonder if he looked at my dad and thought, “That’s him …that’s Daddy Pig.”
1. What can we learn about the author’s father?| A．He was good at writing songs. |
| B．He was attached to music in his soul. |
| C．He encouraged her to play the guitar. |
| D．He was passionate about watching TV series. |
| A．By picking her up in a tight schedule. |
| B．By doing a demanding job as an actor. |
| C．By watching her musical performances. |
| D．By giving live performances at the local bar. |
| A．It’s her favourite childhood cartoon. |
| B．She saw her father through Daddy Pig. |
| C．She took pride in this world famous cartoon. |
| D．It’s a cartoon about her hometown and motherland. |
| A．Funny and honest. | B．Strict and hardworking. |
| C．Famous and patient. | D．Supportive and influential. |
3 . A 37-year-old fast food courier(外卖小哥), Lei Haiwei, got the first prize in the third season of The Chinese Poetry Conference on CCTV on April 4th, 2018.
“My interest in ancient poems began as early as I was six years old,” Lei said after winning the poetry competition.
Lei Haiwei was born in a small village in Hunan Province. When he was young, his father taught him ancient poems by putting them on the kitchen wall for him to read.
“My father hoped I would grow up to be a man who keeps the mountains, rivers, lakes and seas in mind.” Lei said.
In 2001, Lei Haiwei graduated from a technical secondary school and found a job in Shanghai. There, he began to read books on ancient poems at bookstores or libraries in his free time because he didn’t have enough money to buy books. He also developed a habit of reciting(背诵)poems he liked and wrote them down after coming back home.
Lei Haiwei came to Hangzhou in 2008 and worked as a fast food courier. Every day, he had to take fast food to different people. On his busiest workdays, Lei Haiwei had to deliver more than 50 orders(订单)a day. Even so, his love for poems went on and he seized(抓住)any chance to recite poems.
As for his future plans, Lei Haiwei said he would go on reading and reciting more poems.
Will he take part in the next poetry competition?
1. When did Lei Haiwei get the first prize in the competition?| A．On March 7th, 2019. | B．On April 4th, 2018. |
| C．On May 5th, 2017. | D．On June 6th, 2016. |
| A．His sister. | B．His brother. | C．His mother. | D．His father. |
| A．he wanted to learn English there |
| B．he wanted to have a good rest there |
| C．he didn’t have any friends in the city |
| D．he didn’t have enough money to buy books |
| A．To take something to somebody. | B．To say something to somebody. |
| C．To lend something to somebody. | D．To speak something to somebody. |
| A．Fast Food Courier Won Sports Competition |
| B．Fast Food Courier Won Singing Competition |
| C．Fast Food Courier Won Poetry Competition |
| D．Fast Food Courier Won Dancing Competition |
Once there lived a girl named Melanie. The little girl was living with a dream. She wanted to be a ballet dancer. Her body was very flexible and she had a strong will power. Melanie’s parents never knew of the great dancing skills their daughter had until one day, they saw the little girl dancing with the beautiful steps of a ballerina.
“Isn’t it strange? Melanie is dancing so well without any formal training!” the mother said.
“We must give her ballet lessons to help her improve her skills,” her father said.
The following day, Melanie’s parents took her to a local dance training school. The teacher asked Melanie to dance. The little girl was happy and showed some of her favorite dance steps. However, the teacher didn’t seem interested in her performance.
“That’s OK. You can leave now!”the teacher said.
Melanie was shocked to hear this. So were her parents. They couldn’t believe their ears.
“The girl is common. She does not have the possibility to become a ballerina, ”the dance teacher said. “Don’t let her waste her time dreaming of becoming a dancer.”
Disappointed, Melanie and her parents returned home. Tears rolled down Melanie’s face. Her dreams were broken within a matter of minutes. Without confidence, Melanie never attempted to dance again. She completed her studies and went on to become a teacher in school.Life was good and she kept herself busy with family and work. However, whenever she happened to pass the school’s ballet room, memories of childhood dreams danced before her eyes.
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。
One day, the ballet teacher in her school was late.
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“What a performance, Melanie! You are a true ballerina!” said the ballet teacher entering the classroom.
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5 . I am the daughter of a fisherman. He is from the southern shore of Newfoundland and Labrador. Although I grew up in St. John’s, I spent my childhood summers at the shore so my dad could return home and do what he loved—be on the sea.
During these early summers, it was discovered that I didn’t have sea legs. It was probably an inner ear imbalance (不平衡). Each time I was on the water, I would suffer the worst sickness.
One summer, there were countless whales(鲸)all along the Avalon Peninsula, many of which got caught in traps set by the fishermen. My dad, thankfully, was one of the few whose trap remained whale-free. Even more surprising was that my dad had found a “pet” whale. Almost every day that summer, Dad’s whale would come over to his boat to be petted and fed.
I was desperate to meet my dad’s whale and told myself, and my dad, that for SURE I wouldn’t get seasick this time and wore him down.
When the morning came, I was so excited that I didn’t even find it hard to get up at 4 a. m. Then I sat at the back of the open boat, enjoying the clear morning skies. However, I still felt sick.
Suddenly, Dad called out, “Here comes our friend!” I lifted my head long enough to see a beautiful whale. Even though I still felt sick, my attention was drawn by the whale. It was beautiful, maybe 20 feet long. The whale stayed and played around the boat for about 20 minutes,
As I was the only person hanging over the side of the boat, I saw his eyes and I was sure that the whale was laughing at me.
1. What problem did the author have?| A．She hated living by the seaside. | B．She had no idea of how to fish. |
| C．She was afraid to swim. | D．She felt sick at sea. |
| A．Her dad made friends with a whale. | B．Her dad lost all his fish. |
| C．Her dad forced others to fish. | D．Her dad started to catch whales for a living. |
| A．Satisfied. | B．Excited. | C．Fearful. | D．Sad. |
| A．She was worried. | B．She had no interest. |
| C．She was deeply attracted. | D．She couldn’t feel more comfortable. |
6 . I was 11 years old when my family went on a holiday to Beijing. That was my first trip to China. One morning, my brother became
Had I been back home, it would have been a(n)
Although she wasn't right by my side, I knew she was
I realized that was the biggest challenge I faced. I had no idea how to
| A．afraid | B．ugly | C．ill | D．busy |
| A．cook | B．bring | C．carry | D．buy |
| A．hotel | B．restaurant | C．street | D．door |
| A．caring about | B．waiting on | C．watching over | D．looking after |
| A．special | B．difficult | C．slow | D．easy |
| A．carelessness | B．unfamiliarity | C．fear | D．badness |
| A．fairly | B．partly | C．clearly | D．mainly |
| A．idea | B．fact | C．doubt | D．question |
| A．imagined | B．knew | C．understood | D．remembered |
| A．hope | B．decision | C．word | D．way |
| A．nearby | B．away | C．out | D．aside |
| A．table | B．sign | C．paper | D．menu |
| A．wanted | B．found | C．forgot | D．finished |
| A．nervousness | B．accident | C．trouble | D．business |
| A．eat | B．order | C．catch | D．choose |
