1 . He had been on a long flight. The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: “Fasten your seatbelts.”
Then, after a while, a calm voice said, “We shall not be serving the drinks at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence (气流). Please be sure your seatbelt is fastened.” she looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming nervous.
Later, the voice of the announcer said, “We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us.
And then the storm broke out. The terrible thunder could be heard even above the sound of the engines. Lightning lit up the darkening skies and within moments that great plane was like a leather thrown around on a vast ocean. One moment the airplane was lifted on great current so fair, the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash.
The man admitted that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him. He said, “As I looked around the plane. I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying.”
“The future seemed terrible and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm. And then, I suddenly saw a girl to whom the storm meant nothing. She just sat on her seat and was reading a book. Everything within her small world calm.
Sometimes she closed her eyes and then she would read again. She would straighten her legs but worry and fear were not in her world. When the plane was being hit by the terrible storm, when it shook this way and that way, when it rose and fell so severely, and when all the adults were scared half to death, that unusual child was completely composed and unafraid.”
The man could hardly believe his eyes. It was not surprising, therefore, that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying off board he asked the girl why she had not been afraid. The sweet child replied, “Sir, my dad is the pilot and he is taking me home.’’
1. What happened while he was taking the flight?| A．A Passenger was scared to death | B．The plane met a turbulence |
| C．A girl became deaf in the plane | D．Drinks and food ran out |
| A．they were too afraid | B．they wanted to be happy |
| C．God asked them to | D．they were warned to |
| A．clever | B．health | C．strong | D．calm |
a. She closed her eyes b. She straightened her legs
c. She went on reading d. She sat on her seat reading
| A．a-d-b-c | B．d-c-a-b | C．d-a-c-b | D．a-b-c-d |
| A．Confidence | B．Determination | C．Behavior | D．Destination |
2 . It was the middle of winter some 30 years ago. I was a young father with three little children counting on me. I worked in a sawmill (锯木厂).
As I got ready to go to work I wrapped band aids around my fingers and put more in my pockets. Cutting and piling up wood for eight hours a day had caused my fingers to split (裂开) and bleed at their tips in the cold, dry winter air.
That day at work was harder than normal. We were short-handed on workers. The machines kept breaking down. We had to rush to catch up as the wood piled up. On top of that, all the heaters in the building had stopped working and we could see our breath as we spent hours working there.
When the work day finally ended, I walked wearily toward the washroom, took off my work gloves, and checked my aching fingers. The splits were worse than ever and I had bled through the band - aids again. I felt so tired. I wondered how long I could keep doing this, if things would ever get any better, and why life was so hard.
After driving home, I tried to put a smile on my face as I opened the front door. But instead, one appeared naturally. My daughter ran up to me, yelled “Daddy!” and wrapped her little arms around my neck. I lifted her up and my heart filled with love. My tired body didn’t feel so tired anymore. My aches and pains disappeared into her hug, And the joy in my heart chased the sadness away. At that moment I kissed my little girl’s cheek and held her tight. I knew I could continue and that things would get better.
1. What was the author’s situation 30 years ago?| A．He was young man teaching students. | B．He was a retired person owning a sawmill. |
| C．He worked in a factory as an accountant. | D．He had a heavy burden of raising children. |
| A．There were not enough workers. | B．Workers that day were not tall enough. |
| C．All the heaters had stopped working. | D．The machines stopped working repeatedly. |
| A．he was very tired | B．he felt very relieved |
| C．he wore heavy clothes | D．he was walking up and down |
| A．a face | B．a smile | C．the door | D．his daughter |
| A．family can give us support | B．labor work is not that hard |
| C．it is better to have just one kid | D．it is important for kids to study hard |
When Marco was a boy, he tried everything to get his father’s love and attention. He worked hard to earn exceptional marks; he chose inspiring friends and always tried to behave well.
At the age of eight his parents divorced, and Marco and his young sister Sandra moved in with their dad. It felt to Marco that his father had little time for him and Sandra. Marco sank further into his low self-esteem and was overwhelmed with feeling desperately unappreciated, alone and isolated.
One day his father, already tired after a long day, tripped over Marco’s bike in the garage. The fierce fight that followed left Marco feeling humiliated (羞辱). It seemed no matter how hard he tried he could never do anything right.
Two days later, his aunt Ginette called him. She said she had just seen some young teenagers participate in a public speaking contest called Gala Personnalite sponsored by Club Optimiste. She thought he should give it a try. She told him she firmly believed he could perform on stage like the other kids, since she had seen him do humorous performances for the family at Christmas. Feeling her strong belief, Marco agreed to enter the contest.
All that winter of 1980 to 1981, he practiced in Ville d’Anjou, where the competition would take place. The hours and the obstacles no longer counted. The criticism from his father didn’t matter. Four. months later, the big night arrived. His mother, his sister, his grandmother, and his aunt Ginette, were all in the audience. Butterflies filled his stomach. But when he stepped onto the stage and began to speak, he felt totally at home. To his shock and amazement, he WON!
As I travel around the world to speak to thousands of people every year, I tell them Marco’s story. I tell them his story because it is my story.
It all happened because of a single phone call, from one single person who simply believed in me. Because of her, I have been able to more than fulfill my dreams. I’ve been able to inspire and to touch the lives of so many others—and help them fulfill theirs.
1. Why did Marco want to behave and do well academically? (no more than 10 words)2. What caused Marco to hold negative attitude towards himself? (no more than 10 words)
3. How did his aunt Ginette plan to do to change Marco? (no more than 15 words)
4. What does the underlined sentence probably mean in the 5th Paragraph? (no more than 5 words)
5. Who often gives you confidence to fulfill your dreams? What does he/she do? (no more than 20 words)
4 . Backpacking (背包旅行) through Africa, I always carried some food with me
I was
For the next few weeks, when I was feeling the need for a little
Once cold and cloudy afternoon, while I was waiting for a local bus, it started to rain. Everybody looked for
In my hurry to
I was so sad that I almost cried. And then, in the corner of my eye, I noticed an old woman in rags (衣衫褴褛的)
My bus arrived shortly after and, as we drove off, I wondered if the jam would taste the same to me.
1.| A．unless | B．if | C．in case | D．in order that |
| A．looking | B．buying | C．reading | D．running |
| A．apple | B．orange | C．peach | D．strawberry |
| A．last | B．best | C．other | D．first |
| A．supper | B．treat | C．rest | D．drink |
| A．remove | B．put | C．take | D．close |
| A．divide | B．eat | C．share | D．separate |
| A．pocket | B．pack | C．corner | D．store |
| A．situations | B．conditions | C．surroundings | D．occasions |
| A．protection | B．space | C．shelter | D．warmth |
| A．beautiful | B．rainy | C．warm | D．dry |
| A．avoid | B．experience | C．defeat | D．overcome |
| A．thrown | B．buried | C．covered | D．locked |
| A．expensive | B．useless | C．precious | D．priceless |
| A．going | B．leaving | C．running | D．approaching |
| A．all right | B．bad enough | C．broken | D．damaged |
| A．standing up | B．sitting up | C．bending over | D．watching out |
| A．rest | B．remaining | C．extra | D．spare |
| A．swallowed up | B．brought out | C．ate up | D．spat out |
| A．until | B．unless | C．after | D．since |
“Mom, look at this LEGO Star Wars set,” my eight-year-old son Nathan said. “Can I get it for my birthday?” I looked at the LEGO set in question.
“Nathan, this isn’t just a regular LEGO set. It’s an Advent calendar(降临历).” Seeing his questioning look, I explained, “An Advent calendar counts down the days until Christmas. Starting on December 1st, you open one box each day, and each box contains one small LEGO toy.”
“I want this really badly, Mom. Can I get it for my birthday?”
“Yes, but here’s the problem with that. It’s August right now, and your birthday is in September. If we bought this for your birthday, you couldn’t start opening the toys until December 1st. That would be a long time for you before playing with a new toy. Are you sure you want it?” He thought for a minute and said, “Yes, Mom, I really want that Advent calendar.” So we bought the calendar.
On Nathan’s birthday in mid-September, he received many presents, including the Advent calendar. He seemed as surprised and pleased with it as he did with other gifts that were actually a surprise. And then he started to open it.
“Remember that’s an Advent calendar. So we can’t open it yet.” His shoulders slumped(垂下来). “Oh, yeah, that’s right,” he said unwillingly.
We put the box in his closet. I hoped he’d forget about it, but that was wishful thinking.
“How many more days should I wait until I can start opening the toys in the calendar?” he asked the day after his birthday. I gave him a pocket calendar, and we counted how many days there were until December 1st.
After waiting for so long, it was December 1st finally. Nathan’s hands were practically shaking as he opened that first box. “I’m so glad I waited, Mom,” he told me.
People say that Christmas starts earlier and earlier every year. I know these complaints are about the over-commercialization of the holiday, and I see their point. But this year, Christmas came to our house very early, and it was so much fun.
1. What is an Advent calendar used to do? (no more than 10 words)2. Why was the author unwilling to buy the Advent calendar for Nathan at first? (no more than 12 words)
3. How can we understand the underlined sentence in Paragraph 7? (no more than 8 words)
4. Why do people say Christmas starts earlier and earlier? (no more than 10 words)
5. What do you think of Nathan’s birthday present? Why? (no more than 20 words)
6 . My best friend traveled to stay with our family last weekend. When she arrived, she went straight to the kitchen and, without asking, ate a spoonful of raspberry jam and some dried fruit. She wasn’t being rude. I knew she would do this. We’ve known each other for almost 20 years. She can eat anything she wants from my kitchen. Indeed, I bought her favorite fruits and snacks at the shop that morning.
Our long weekend together was luxuriously simple. I was recovering from surgery and couldn’t go to shopping malls. We passed the time running errands (做杂事), going to the post office and collecting dry cleaning. We drank away too many cappuccinos. But we talked about every little detail of our lives.
There’s never been a quiet moment in our friendship. We’ve lived in different cities for almost a decade. Reunions demand constant conversation. Our personalities are matched, to be sure, and a shared history is indescribably valuable. We were competitors in high school before bonding over a bad experience. Then we discovered the many interests that we had in common. Our friendship strengthened itself quickly. We stayed companions through law school, through our first jobs and our first boyfriends. We supported each other through break-ups and breakthroughs. Ours is a friendship for ages.
There is something special about friends who know everyone and everything about you. They are rare. These are the people you’ve chosen to witness your life. They have seen the bright lights of achievement, the depths of despair and the boring routine of the in-between.
It’s special to unpack feelings and frustrations without wasting time filling in the blanks. As my long weekend shows, with such friends we don’t have to “do”, we simply have to “be”. We drop the act, the performance, the public version of ourselves.
The special friendships are those which never fail to delight, the continuation of which is worth the extra effort, despite distance and difference sneaking (溜进) into your separate lives. I had the very great joy of this reminder last weekend. I’m lucky to have found this friend, to see a future where her companionship remains. Being together is perfection.
1. What happened during her best friend’s visit?| A．They enjoyed an eventful long weekend. |
| B．They talked constantly about their lives. |
| C．They made their favorite snacks and coffee. |
| D．They talked about recent news events. |
| A．they help each other deal with the boredom of life |
| B．they prefer to witness each other’s lives from far away |
| C．they try to show each other their best selves |
| D．they are comfortable just being themselves when together |
| A．Charm comes from difference. | B．Politeness brings best friends closer. |
| C．Good friendships need devotion. | D．Distance can separate good friends. |
| A．describe what her best friend is like | B．share the friendship she treasures |
| C．explore the key aspects of friendship | D．express thanks to her best friend |
| A．Light-hearted. | B．Humorous. | C．Serious. | D．Sentimental. |
It was a dark and stormy night. The ferocious wind shook the windows wildly, as though someone outside were beating on the glass. It was also New Year’s Eve. We were having our annual party and had a house full of people just starting to celebrate.
Suddenly, we heard loud explosions. Looking outside and up into the hills, we saw sparks(火花) flying from electrical transformers(变压器). One area after another went dark up in those hills. Then there was the loudest explosion of them all and our house went dark too. I tried to find every candle we had and lit them. The candles made everything look lovely. But we had problems. We had fifteen people standing around and we still had to cook dinner. How would we do that without electricity?
The barbecue! Why not cook on the barbecue? We men went outside, some holding flashlights and others cooking. We did a wonderful job. The women stayed inside and got the salads ready. Everything was delicious. There were still a few hours to go before the beginning of the new year, so we all sat around the dining room table and sang up until a few minutes before midnight. We couldn’t watch the ball drop in Times Square on television but that wouldn’t stop us from celebrating. I stood on a chair and, with the help of someone’s watch to tell us the time, we all counted down and I dropped a tennis ball! We all screamed Happy New Year. We didn’t need electricity for that!
Nowadays, we still get together with the same group to celebrate the New Year and we still talk about that special night. I don’t think we have ever laughed so much as we did on that New Year’s Eve.
1. What does the underlined word mean in Paragraph 1? (1 word)2. What made dinner preparation difficult according to Paragraph 2? (no more than 6 words)
3. How did the people celebrate on New Year’s Eve according to the passage? (no more than 10 words)
4. How does the author feel about that particular New Year’s Eve? (no more than 8 words)
5. What do you think is the most necessary quality when dealing with an unexpected difficult situation? Please explain why. (no more than 25words)
8 . Backpacking through Africa, I always carried some food with me
I was
For the next few weeks, when I was feeling the need for a little
One cold and cloudy afternoon, while I was waiting for a local bus, it started to rain. Everybody spread out for
In my hurry to
I was so sad that I almost cried. And then, in the corner of my eye, I noticed an old woman in rags
Still
My bus arrived shortly after and, as we drove off, I wondered if the jam would taste the same to me.
1.| A．unless | B．if | C．just in case | D．in order that |
| A．looking | B．buying | C．getting | D．running |
| A．apple | B．orange | C．peach | D．strawberry |
| A．last | B．best | C．other | D．first |
| A．meal | B．treat | C．rest | D．drink |
| A．remove | B．put | C．take | D．close |
| A．divide | B．eat | C．share | D．separate |
| A．pocket | B．pack | C．corner | D．store |
| A．situations | B．conditions | C．surroundings | D．occasions |
| A．protection | B．space | C．shelter | D．warmth |
| A．beautiful | B．rain | C．warm | D．dry |
| A．avoid | B．experience | C．defeat | D．overcome |
| A．hidden | B．buried | C．covered | D．locked |
| A．expensive | B．useless | C．precious | D．priceless |
| A．going | B．leaving | C．running | D．approaching |
| A．all right | B．bad enough | C．broken | D．damaged |
| A．standing up | B．sitting up | C．bending over | D．watching out |
| A．rest | B．remaining | C．extra | D．spare |
| A．swallowed | B．vomited | C．chewed | D．placed |
| A．until | B．unless | C．after | D．since |
9 . I learned how to accept life as it is from my father.
My father was
I was also
Sometimes I
| A．However | B．Therefore | C．Afterwards | D．Meanwhile |
| A．tired | B．slow | C．poor | D．weak |
| A．already | B．once | C．only | D．still |
| A．sent | B．threw | C．took | D．put |
| A．impossible | B．hopeless | C．stressful | D．difficult |
| A．worrying | B．caring | C．talking | D．asking |
| A．decisions | B．beliefs | C．strengths | D．imaginations |
| A．before | B．since | C．as | D．till |
| A．suggests | B．seems | C．promises | D．requires |
| A．opened | B．turned | C．broken | D．spoke |
| A．something | B．anything | C．everything | D．nothing |
| A．Naturally | B．Surprisingly | C．Truly | D．Certainly |
| A．had | B．accepted | C．enjoyed | D．gained |
| A．defended | B．astonished | C．touched | D．warned |
| A．would | B．could | C．should | D．might |
| A．quiet | B．relaxed | C．calm | D．happy |
| A．able | B．likely | C．free | D．ready |
| A．case | B．way | C．method | D．form |
| A．doubt | B．guess | C．know | D．wonder |
| A．award | B．theme | C．gift | D．word |
10 . In the eighth grade, I was student-body president of Erwin Middle School in Asheville. I considered this quite an
I spent several nights lying in bed,
The speech I gave on graduation day was only 12 minutes long, but what it started was
Throughout the summer, I worked on developing a program to carry our
Then word began to
All this was
The Erwin High “Committed Class of Millennium” would like to encourage your class to start a
| A．intention | B．honor | C．enjoyment | D．advantage |
| A．invited | B．transformed | C．promoted | D．introduced |
| A．normally | B．constantly | C．completely | D．gradually |
| A．but | B．for | C．or | D．so |
| A．thinking | B．arguing | C．dreaming | D．talking |
| A．controlled | B．freed | C．involved | D．trained |
| A．trapped | B．upset | C．moved | D．hit |
| A．success | B．dropout | C．pass | D．graduation |
| A．explore | B．leave | C．graduate | D．develop |
| A．unreliable | B．reasonable | C．acceptable | D．unbelievable |
| A．tell | B．admit | C．remember | D．suggest |
| A．pressure | B．behavior | C．response | D．respect |
| A．commitment | B．research | C．application | D．responsibility |
| A．chose | B．followed | C．found | D．started |
| A．disappear | B．spread | C．leak | D．come |
| A．congratulations | B．support | C．questions | D．doubt |
| A．amazing | B．interesting | C．relaxing | D．convincing |
| A．appointment | B．impression | C．decision | D．difference |
| A．progressed | B．quitted | C．cared | D．tried |
| A．requirement | B．performance | C．program | D．ceremony |
