Jan Tchamani, an English teacher in the UK, had to quit her job due to her serious illness. At age 50, she found herself out of work and
Jan has started taking online classes
Do you think Jan’s life has been improved greatly by the Internet?
When I was a child, we lived next door to the Schonfield Home. People who got too old to take care of themselves lived there. I was a regular visitor and volunteer there. I enjoyed spending time with the caring and responsible workers and the old people who always seemed happy to see me.
One day, a very old lady named Mrs. Kurtz moved to the Schonfield Home. She seemed sad all the time. For days, I had never seen her smile or laugh like the other old people. And no one ever came to visit her. My parents learned that she had no family or friends.
Weeks after Mrs. Kurtz moved into the Schonfield Home, I was visiting the home again. And I saw her sitting alone, looking unusually upset. I asked one of the other old people, Mrs. Smith, why Mrs. Kurtz was more depressed than usual. Mrs. Smith explained to me that Mrs. Kurtz had turned eighty-nine, and that she was upset to be celebrating another birthday all alone without any cards or gifts. She truly believed there was no one in the world who loved her.
This moved me deeply, and I started to create a plan in my mind. I ran home and raced to my room. I took out my piggy bank that I always valued. And I poured out all the money that I had received on birthdays and other special occasions. I had been saving money for a new bike. Although the money wasn’t enough to buy a bike, it was enough for what I wanted to do then.
I raced down the stairs. My mother was cleaning the house. I walked to her and explained what I was about to do, and she smiled at me proudly. She planted a kiss on my cheek and said, “I must be the luckiest mother in the world to have such a caring daughter.” My mother stopped what she was doing.
Paragraph 1:
And we went to a gift shop together.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
We approached Mrs. Kurtz and gave her our gifts.
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3 . In Rochester, if you are a coffee lover, you must have heard of Java Joe’s Cafe. For the local students, the Java Joe’s on Gibbs Street has become a place of solace during stressful testing times, and on more heartwarming occasions, a social center.
Slowly approaching its thirties, Java Joe’s has enjoyed a good reputation in its local. In 1978, Java Joe created a coffee farm in Hawaii. With great dedication to his craft, the great master of coffee beans made his way to Rochester then. In 1992, Joe decided to start selling coffee at the Public Market and opened up a store on Gibbs Street with the help of Michael Calabrese. So this store was originally named as the Gibbs Cafe. This location, next to the Eastman School of Music, is the first of many shops Java Joe opened. As a lover of the blues, Joe enthusiastically decorated this flagship store with artistic and musical influence.
After Gibbs’ location, Joe planted another one where he was first starting out — in the Public Market. Later, it moved to a nearby building and received a name change — Java’s at the Market Coffee Roasters. This building served as a place where those who visited would often catch a glimpse of Joe skillfully roasting his coffee beans in the dancing flames and cultivating his drinks with care. However, in 1997 he licensed “the Gibbs Cafe” to Calabrese, who then renamed it to what we know today — Java Joe’s Cafe.
Joe remained in the Public Market location until he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Joe died of lung cancer at 68. The influence he had poured into his business is well-known and highly regarded. He has won many awards in his life.
The next time you head down to Gibbs Street for your morning cup, keep in mind the extraordinary story of how that cup came to be, all thanks to Java Joe.
1. What does the underlined word “solace” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?A.Tension. | B.Relief. |
C.Anxiety. | D.Safety. |
A.It is the flagship store and has won an award. |
B.Java Joe had the ownership of the shop in 1997. |
C.The name of the shop keeps unchanged up to now. |
D.It was popular with the locals and students as well. |
A.Joe’s specially-made coffee beans. |
B.Its super-quality coffee and service. |
C.Joe’s display of coffee-making skills. |
D.Its attraction to the music school students. |
A.The popularity of Java Joe’s Cafe. |
B.The development of the coffee industry. |
C.The contribution Joe made to Rochester. |
D.The founder and development of Java Joe’s Cafe. |
4 . In January 2022, the now l7-year-old Mack Rutherford watched his 19-year-old sister, Zara Rutherford, set two new world records for flying around the world in an ultralight aircraft. Less than a month later, Mack declared his intention to go for a world record too!
“I always knew I wanted to do something special in my life in aviation but I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do, it was only when my sister flew around the world that I knew this was what I wanted to do,” Mack said.
Mack is no stranger to aviation. He was only 15 when he became the youngest pilot in the world. Now, he’s set the record for the youngest person to fly around the world, replacing previous record-holder Travis Ludlow of Britain. Travis was 18 when he set the record in 2021.
Mack’s journey began on March 23rd, 2022 when he left Sofia, Bulgaria flying a Shark, an ultralight aircraft that’s the same style his sister used in her circumnavigation of the globe.
“I am flying a Shark,” Mack wrote on his website. “It is a high-performance ultralight aircraft made in Europe. The aircraft has been specially prepared for such a long journey.”
Mack traveled through 52 countries over five continents. The trip was supposed to take between two and three months, but paperwork and visa issues slowed his progress.
On August 24, 2022, Mack completed his journey and set not one, but two new world records! He’s now the youngest person to fly around the world solo. He displaced his sister as the previous record holder, but we’re sure there are no hard feelings!
As Mack stepped out of the aircraft in Belgium, he had some simple words of wisdom to offer the world.
“Just follow your dreams, no matter how old you are — work hard and move forward to achieve your goals,” he said.
1. What encouraged Mack to follow his dream mostly?A.Encouragements from his parents. | B.His sister’s great achievements. |
C.His strong-willed personality. | D.His intention to travel the globe. |
A.Mack flew the same place that his sister did. | B.Mack finished the journey ahead of time. |
C.Bad weather made his journey slow. | D.It lasted for about five months. |
A.Courageous and ambitious. | B.Cooperative and generous. |
C.Enthusiastic and kind. | D.Professional and proud. |
A.By giving examples. | B.By following space order. |
C.By following time order. | D.By giving a detailed analysis. |
5 . I never forget the single act of kindness that changed my life over 25 years ago. During a vacation trip , I needed to find my
I
At one point , I asked him why he
A.highway | B.entrance | C.routine | D.way |
A.lucky | B.poor | C.wealthy | D.talented |
A.forgot | B.failed | C.agreed | D.managed |
A.expensive | B.valuable | C.reasonable | D.special |
A.paper | B.email | C.phone | D.Internet |
A.support | B.difficulty | C.market | D.system |
A.after | B.earlier | C.before | D.later |
A.admired | B.doubted | C.wondered | D.knew |
A.business | B.function | C.duty | D.field |
A.excited | B.upset | C.hurt | D.crazy |
A.conversation | B.introduction | C.speech | D.connection |
A.spent | B.demanded | C.charged | D.offered |
A.easily | B.actually | C.certainly | D.clearly |
A.disturbed | B.troubled | C.permitted | D.driven |
A.involved | B.included | C.covered | D.provided |
6 . Jeremy Locke, 25, has his own roofing company in Bridgeport, Nova Scotia. For a couple of years before he began his
The young man knocked on MacDonald's door and
MacDonald and her
A year after Locke set up his own roofing company, seeing that the roof was
MacDonald's relief
The
A.journey | B.business | C.research | D.life |
A.average | B.unexpected | C.special | D.terrible |
A.frightened | B.embarrassed | C.concerned | D.disappointed |
A.decided | B.appeared | C.agreed | D.happened |
A.declined | B.offered | C.managed | D.pretended |
A.catch up with | B.take care of | C.get rid of | D.put up with |
A.application | B.reaction | C.theory | D.intention |
A.hesitation | B.shame | C.regret | D.difficulty |
A.symbols | B.conditions | C.similarities | D.beliefs |
A.situation | B.occupation | C.incident | D.direction |
A.respond | B.give | C.help | D.develop |
A.still | B.even | C.already | D.just |
A.temporary | B.delicate | C.random | D.free |
A.went over | B.jumped at | C.laughed off | D.looked into |
A.competition | B.cheating | C.dilemma | D.chance |
A.comparing | B.withdrawing | C.following | D.contradicting |
A.strong | B.lucky | C.happy | D.rich |
A.partly | B.possibly | C.generally | D.really |
A.room | B.job | C.meal | D.decoration |
A.reminds | B.warns | C.convinces | D.informs |
7 . One day when I was 5, my mother scolded (责骂) me for not finishing my breakfast and I got angry. I wanted to play outside and not to be made to finish eating my breakfast. When angrily opening the screen door with my foot, I kicked back about a 12-inch part of the lower left hand corner of the new screen door. But I had no remorse, for I was happy to be playing in the backyard with my toys.
Today, I know if my child had done what I did, I would have scolded my child, and told him about how expensive this new screen door was, and I would have delivered a spanking (打屁股) for it. My parents never said a word. They left the corner of the screen door pushed out, creating an opening, a breach (裂缝) in the defense against unwanted insects.
For years, every time I saw that corner of the screen, it would constantly make me think about my mistake. For years, I knew that everyone in my family would see that hole and remember who did it. For years, every time I saw a fly buzzing (嗡嗡) in the kitchen, I would wonder if it came in through the hole that I had created with my angry foot. I would wonder if my family members were thinking the same thing, silently blaming me every time a flying insect entered our home, making life more terrible for us all. My parents taught me a valuable lesson, one that a spanking or stern (严厉的) words perhaps could not deliver. Their silent punishment for what I had done delivered a hundred stern messages to me. Above all, it has helped me become a more patient person and not burst out so easily.
1. When the author damaged the door, his parents ________.A.gave him a spanking |
B.left the door unrepaired |
C.scolded him for what he had done |
D.told him how expensive it was |
A.regret | B.joy | C.anger | D.notice |
A.to hide his anger away from others |
B.not to go against his parents’ will |
C.to have a better control of himself |
D.not to make mistakes in the future |
A.Adults should ignore their children’s bad behavior. |
B.Parents are the best teachers of their children. |
C.Patience is the key to becoming a better person. |
D.One learns most when shown the result of his/her action. |
8 . When I was 12 years old, I already knew that my teen years were going to be the worst years of my life. I was a total outsider, bullied (欺凌) at school. I felt completely alone in my small town. But by starting to do volunteer work when I was 14, I turned my problem into helping others. The opportunity to practice kindness made me feel like my life had a greater purpose. The more positive energy I shared, the more kindness and appreciation I received. I realized that my purpose in life would be to reach out to people, specifically teenagers, and help them feel less alone.
Books were my true friends back then. I was so thankful that the authors wrote those books. The kindness they offered me with their books saved my life. One of my biggest dreams was to become an author so I could write books that would help other teenagers the way those books helped me.
After surviving terrible experiences at school and at home, I made a choice to take the optimistic and positive road in the next steps of my journey. My dream career, which I thought was only possible for the authors I loved, is what I am doing now. I have been a full-time author of teen novels since 2007 and am grateful for this amazing opportunity to reach out to readers every single day.
Kindness saved me when I needed help the most. Even small acts of kindness can change someone’s life. You never know what someone else is going through. But by practicing daily kindness, you become an architect of positive change.
1. What was the author’s life like when he was 12?A.Boring. | B.Unhappy. |
C.Peaceful. | D.Meaningful. |
A.He was inspired by his volunteer work experience. |
B.He found he had a talent for writing. |
C.He could pass positive energy to readers. |
D.He wanted to share his school experiences. |
A.Say “no”to bullies bravely. |
B.Make positive changes in their lives. |
C.Learn to care about others’ feelings. |
D.Treat others with kindness in their daily life. |
It's a touching Christmas story, but not in the
Eric Schmitt-Matzen, 60, a part-time Santa, received a call
“They say I’m going to die,” the boy told him
Schmitt-Matzen said. “When you get there, you tell them you’re Santa’s Number One elf (小精灵), and they will let you in.”
The boy asked, “They will?” Then he
Schmitt-Matzen was
The story was printed, and people were
10 . Many years ago, when I was working in the emergency department, I met John, an amputee (被截肢者). John had lost a leg during the war. He was only 24 years old when that happened,
When he learned I was injured in a car accident, John came to
Life moved on. I didn’t
My mother
A.but | B.so | C.because | D.although |
A.necessary | B.good | C.hard | D.boring |
A.talk | B.work | C.study | D.walk |
A.tell | B.teach | C.visit | D.treat |
A.chose | B.saved | C.shook | D.hit |
A.hoping | B.worrying | C.knowing | D.believing |
A.fear | B.anger | C.regret | D.pity |
A.plans | B.experiences | C.interests | D.knowledge |
A.invited | B.allowed | C.helped | D.ordered |
A.wait | B.look | C.stay | D.live |
A.find | B.consider | C.make | D.change |
A.well | B.happy | C.careful | D.proud |
A.serve | B.support | C.miss | D.see |
A.showed off | B.went back | C.passed away | D.turned up |
A.sad | B.surprised | C.ready | D.unable |