1 . Have you ever had an embarrassing experience? Last week we asked readers to tell us about embarrassing experiences. We received thousands of letters! Here is a selection.
Tony: My most embarrassing experience happened when I had just left university. I had just started teaching in a Liverpool middle school. One morning my alarm clock didn’t ring. I woke up at half past eight and school began at nine. I quickly washed, dressed, jumped into my car and rushed to school. When I arrived, the students had already gone into class. I didn’t go to the office, but went straight into class. After two or three minutes the students began laughing, and I couldn’t understand why! Suddenly I looked down and understood. I had put on one black shoe and one brown shoe!
Henry: The most embarrassing experience I’ve ever had happened two years ago. After seeing a film, my wife and I had lunch in our favorite restaurant in town. Then we decided to take a walk along the street. The street was very busy and we started holding hands. Suddenly my wife saw a dress that she liked in a shop window, and stopped. I started looking at some watches in the next window. After a minute or two I reached for my wife’s hand. There was a loud scream, and a woman slapped my face. I hadn’t taken my wife’s hand. I’d taken the hand of a complete stranger (陌生人)!
1. Tony arrived at school late that morning because ________.| A．he couldn’t find hid shoes | B．his alarm clock didn’t ring |
| C．he washed and dressed slowly | D．his car went wrong on the way |
| A．wearing a wrong shoe | B．his alarm clock didn’t ring |
| C．looking down suddenly | D．rushing into the classroom |
| A．at the cinema | B．in the shop |
| C．at the restaurant | D．along the street |
| A．尖叫声 | B．笑声 | C．哭声 | D．呼救声 |
| A．slapped the woman in the face | B．took the hand of a complete stranger |
| C．heard his wife screaming in the street | D．knocked over some watches in the shops |
Once upon a time, a young girl whose name was Lily, lived in a small village in the heart of a forest. She was known throughout the village for her kind heart. She spent her days helping her neighbors, taking care of the animals and exploring the forests.
One day, as she was walking through the forest, she came across a small, injured bird lying on the ground. Its wing was broken, and it looked up at her with painful eyes. Lily knew she had to help the bird, so she carefully picked it up and put it in her arms.
She took the bird back to her house and dealt with its wounds. She fed it and gave it water, and soon the bird was on the way to recovering (康复). As the days passed, Lily came to love the bird. But she knew it belonged to the forest, so she helped the bird fly back to the forest.
Another day, Lily happened to see a group of children playing a joke on a young boy for his height, and the boy seemed to cry. Seeing that, Lily realized she had to do something to help.
She walked to the group of children and asked them to stop laughing at the boy. They looked at her doubtfully, but Lily seriously told them that it wasn’t kind to make fun of others. Finally, the children listened to her. They stopped laughing at the boy and even apologized (道歉) to him. Lily smiled, feeling proud of herself for standing up for what was right.
注意：1.续写词数应为150个左右；2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
As the years went by, Lily continued to spread kindness throughout the village.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One day, Lily heard a knock at her door
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . In the state of Qin, there was a man called Shang Yang. He was a statesman (政治家) and worked out many reforms for the state, like paying more attention to farming and giving rewards to soldiers who were successful when at war. But these reforms were not easily carried out at first. Most people didn’t trust Shang Yang. In order to solve this problem, Shang Yang came up with an idea. He put a thin wooden pole at the south gate of the Qin capital. Many people came to see him and the pole.
Then, in front of the crowd, Shang Yang said loudly, “The man who takes this pole to the north gate will get 10 gold pieces.”
It was a simple job and the reward was so large. However, some time passed and no one stepped forward. They all thought Shang Yang was making a joke.
Hearing no answer, Shang Yang stepped forward and said, "The reward now goes to 50 gold pieces. ”
This reward was unbelievably large. Finally, a man from the crowd came forward. He put the pole on his shoulder and walked to the north gate. True to his word, Shang Yang gave the man 50 gold pieces.
After that, the people of Qin were all talking about what Shang Yang did about the pole. They believed he was a man of his word. So when Shang Yang began carrying out his reforms, the people followed him.
Under these great reforms, Qin grew stronger and stronger. At last, Qin made all the seven states into one empire (帝国).
1. In order to carry out his reforms, what idea did Shang Yang have?| A．Having a wooden pole carrying competition. |
| B．Having a wooden pole cutting competition. |
| C．The man stepping forward first would be praised. |
| D．The man carrying the pole from the south gate to the north one would get some gold pieces. |
| A．Because a man stepped forward. | B．Because there wasn’t enough time. |
| C．Because Shang Yang heard no answer. | D．Because Shang Yang was happy. |
| A．A man who can speak loudly. | B．A man who likes to speak a lot. |
| C．A man who keeps his word. | D．A man of few words. |
| A．Shang Yang became the first emperor. |
| B．The first empire of China appeared. |
| C．The south gate fell down. |
| D．The state of Qin became weaker and weaker. |
4 . One day, Tom’s teacher, Miss Mak, held a class meeting. “There will be a flag day next Saturday. Does anyone want to join this meaningful event?” asked Miss Mak. Tom was interested in raising money for homeless children, but he was not brave enough to talk to the strangers, so he kept quiet in his seat.
“Tom, you haven’t sold flags before,” said Miss Mak suddenly. “Would you like to have a try?” Tom was hesitant, but he finally nodded.
On the flag day, Tom and Angela sold flags in a busy street. “Excuse me. Could y-o-u pl-ea-se buy. . . ? ”said Angela softly to the first person she met. The man smiled and put a five-dollar coin into Angela’s collection bag. Then she said thanks and put a flag under his shoulder. “I did it!” said Angela happily. “It’s your turn now.”
Feeling nervous, Tom began to shake. Soon, he saw a young lady walking towards him. The lady was smiling and holding a few coins in her hand. She asked, “Are you selling flags for Fund for the Homeless Children?” Tom’s face turned red and said yes. Then the lady made the donation and Tom gave her a flag. “You made it! ”laughed Angela.
In the next couple of hours, Angela and Tom sold flags quickly and bravely. At last, their collection bags were so heavy that they had to hold them with both arms. They felt very proud.
1. Why did Tom keep quiet in his seat?| A．He had other plans. | B．He didn’t like Miss Mak. |
| C．He was not interested in the activity. | D．He was not brave enough to talk to the strangers. |
| A．In a busy street. | B．In their school. |
| C．In a tall building. | D．In a small garden. |
| A．Five dollars. | B．Ten dollars. | C．Fifteen dollars. | D．Twenty dollars. |
| A．Bored. | B．Shy. | C．Proud. | D．Sad. |
5 . When she was 14 years old, Amy’s life was turned upside down by a family trouble.
Amy lived in a small village in India. Her mother fell ill and her father had to spend his time caring for her. As a result, she had to do most of the housework — including washing clothes. What’s worse, her family couldn’t afford an electric washing machine. Instead, she had to do the washing all by hand in the local river, and then carefully carry everything back to her home — a task that took several hours.
Interested in engineering, Amy wanted to make a washing machine which could be used without electricity. She started studying electric washers to learn how they worked. Amy then designed a machine with bicycle pedals (踏板) and chain. To get those, she went to a local shop. Workers there not only gave her the parts, they also helped her make the machine!
Here’s how the machine works: Amy used a cylinder (圆筒) to hold the clothes and put it in a cube (立方体). Next, she connected the bicycle pedals and the chain to the cylinder. As Amy pushed the pedals with her legs, the cylinder cleaned the clothes just like a regular washing machine.
Amy’s invention worked! She had created her own human-powered washing machine — and now a task that used to take several hours took only 30 minutes. Amy’s washing machine was chosen as India’s best invention! And the story of this young woman’s creative invention spread around the world.
“Amy’s invention saves time and money for the world’s poor,” said Jeanine Thomas of the Borden Project, “she made a difference.”
1. What problem did Amy try to solve?| A．Her mother suffered from illness. |
| B．Her family was too poor to afford her education. |
| C．It was a long way to get water from the river. |
| D．It took too much time and effort to wash clothes. |
| A．designing→studying→getting materials→making the machine |
| B．designing→getting materials→studying→making the machine |
| C．studying→getting materials→designing→making the machine |
| D．studying→designing→getting materials→making the machine |
| A．By turning the cylinder around with hands. |
| B．By pulling the chain with machines. |
| C．By pushing the pedals with legs. |
| D．By turning on the machine with electricity. |
| A．Amy changed the way a washing machine works. |
| B．Amy won a big prize and improved her family’s life. |
| C．Amy improved many poor people’s lives with her creativity. |
| D．Amy encouraged many young inventors among the poor. |
6 . Sam is not happy today. He doesn’t do well in his English test this time. Now he is sitting alone in his room.
Seeing this, his grandmother comes and talks to him to make him feel good. She sits down next to Sam and gives him a pencil. Sam looks at his grandmother and doesn’t take it. “Things like this are only for students who do well. I don’t do well!” Sam says.
Sam’s grandmother says, “It’s not a present for you. I want you to learn something from it. The pencil is just like you. It gets a painful sharpening(痛苦的削磨), just like how you get the pain of not doing well in your test.”
“But it will help you be a good student. See, all the good things coming from the pencil are from itself. And you too will find something good in yourself. Finally just as the pencil will make its mark (痕迹) on the paper, you will also leave your mark on anything you choose to do. Just ‘sharpen’ yourself and do well next time!”
Sam feels good right away. He plans to make a change as his grandmother says.
1. Where does the grandmother talk to Sam?| A．In Sam’s school. | B．In Sam’s room. | C．Outside the house. | D．In a pencil shop. |
| A．He believes it too small. | B．He hates pencils. |
| C．He thinks it a present. | D．He doesn’t like it. |
| A．Sam can’t do well without, the pencil. |
| B．Work hard and do well next time. |
| C．The pencil can help him do better. |
| D．A sharpening pencil writes well. |
| A．Foolish. | B．Strange. | C．Interesting. | D．Helpful |
On March 3, 2022, Jiang Mengnan
In 1992, Jiang Mengnan was born in Hunan. When she was six
When Jiang Mengnan
“I think I am
8 . Sirine Jahangir has been singing, writing and performing music since she was a little girl. She lost all her vision in one eye by the time she turned 5, so now the teen uses her gift “as a way to —not escape, but to help me through.” Not only did her passion get her through some difficult times, but when she was 14 it also brought her to the “Britain’s Got Talent” stage, where she impressed everyone with her performance.
Sirine has a rare condition that left her completely blind by the time she was 10 years old. While her parents and doctors have tried to find treatments for her, there isn’t much they can do. So her parents focused on helping her adjust to her new life, which was when her dad said she was first introduced to music. “I remember one day, we were driving in the car. This is about when she was getting to the stage where she couldn’t look out the window anymore to see things, and I didn’t know what to do. I just put the music on really loud. She started singing in the car, and she was so happy. And then she just found happiness every time I put it on,” her father said.
It didn’t take long for them to realize Sirine has tremendous talent. When she appeared on “Britain’s Got Talent”, she told everyone just how much her passion means to her. “I guess music is my vision,” she said. “That’s just what I live by, and music is my thing.” Then she headed over to the piano, where she played the piano and sang beautifully enough to bring the audience to tears! Unsurprisingly to everyone but Sirine, all four judges voted her into the next round of the competition!
Afterward, she said, “I can’t even say it’s a dream come true, because I didn’t even dream of it at any point... I never thought that would be realistic in my life.”
1. What helped Sirine get through her difficult times?| A．Britain’s Got Talent. | B．Her passion for music. |
| C．Support from her parents and doctors. | D．Encouragement from four judges. |
| A．Sirine displayed all her passion on stage. | B．Sirine lost her sight totally at the age of five. |
| C．Her parents focused on treatments all the way. | D．Sirine was not surprised at the judges’ decision. |
| A．Music. | B．Clothes. | C．Talent. | D．Microphone. |
| A．Never give up your dream. | B．Music lights up the world. |
| C．True happiness lies in competition. | D．Life can be too good to be true. |
9 . The post office is not my favorite place. However, that was the day I went through the door with a huge smile. My story had been accepted for publication. I had read the e-mail three times before I actually believed it.
Grasped in my hand was the form giving permission to print my story. No faxing for me — I decided to send it back through the mail just to be sure it reached its destination. Filled with excitement, I told the clerk about my good news. “Wow, look at you go!” she said. “That will be ten dollars.” I reached for my credit card. “Our system doesn’t work today, so we can only accept cash,” said the clerk. I searched through my purse. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I carried cash. But now, I rarely did. Then a deep voice behind me said, “I’ll take care of it.” I hadn’t noticed the man behind me. I turned to meet him as he held out a ten-dollar bill.
“Congratulations on your story,” he said. “Just pay it forward.” I thanked him. Then I drove to the seaside restaurant to meet Tina. As we walked back toward our cars, I noticed something on the sidewalk, shining in the sun. I picked up a credit card.
“How are we going to find the person who dropped this?” Tina asked. “First, let’s try to spot someone who seems to be searching anxiously,” I said. A moment later, Tina said excitedly, “I’ll bet that’s her!” A young mother had a baby on her back as she dug through some bags.
I approached the woman. “Are you Jessica Slate?” I asked.
Her eyes grew round. “Yes!”
“I believe this is yours,” I said, handing her the card.
“Thank you! During normal times, I’d give you a hug,” she said. We laughed and bumped elbows instead.
I realized being on both the receiving and the giving end of kind gestures felt equally good. I had experienced an interpretation of paying it forward-first with cash, then with credit.
1. Why did the author go to the post office?| A．To print his story. | B．To mail the form. |
| C．To fetch his publication. | D．To fax the publishing house. |
| A．The clerk refused to serve him. | B．His credit card failed to work. |
| C．He exchanged some cash with a stranger. | D．A man asked no reward for helping the author. |
| A．He met the owner in a restaurant. |
| B．He waited for the owner to contact him. |
| C．He found the owner with careful observation. |
| D．He searched for the owner anxiously on the sidewalk. |
| A．A small act can change your life. | B．To give or to receive is your choice. |
| C．Paying it forward will make your day. | D．Genuine help expects nothing in return. |
It was a nice Monday morning and I was waiting for the bus at the station. “Here
Caught, the young man had something to say for himself. He said his father was ill in bed and couldn’t take care of
