1 . “A good book is easy to find.” That is the message on a sign at Hernando Guanlao’s home in the Makati area of Manila, the capital city of the Philippines.”
Guanlao has transformed his home into a free public library. Visitors can borrow the books inside for free. Guanlao says he hopes his library will inspire people to read, especially the young.
The 72-year-old told reporters that his library includes books that all students can enjoy —— from young children in Kindergarten to older students in grade 12. And also his library has books for readers of all interests. His home is filled with thousands of available books.
He calls his library Reading Club 2000. It contains many different kinds of books, or genres. Genre is a group of artistic, musical, or literary works that share a particular style, form, or content. “There are history books, novels, children stories in my library,” Guanlao added proudly, “and there are cookbooks, science fiction, and even medicine books.” Almost everyone can find a suitable book, all for free.
He started his library more than 20 years ago when he set 50 books on the walkway in front of his home. Guanlao’s collection has grown greatly over the years —— thanks to a continuous supply of books from donors.
Speaking of donors, he said, “They just leave boxes of books outside my house.” He has also started donating books himself. He sends reading materials to public schools in far-away communities.
Guanlao’s efforts come at a time when reading ability among students in the Philippines remains low. The Program for International Student Assessment reports that reading scores in the Philippines are among the lowest in the world. Students in the Philippines are also facing learning delays in math and science.
Guanlao is firm about his goals, “My mission is to give away used and donated books to others at no cost,” he said, “and to promote education through literature.”
1. What’s the purpose of Guanlao’s setting up his home library?| A．To establish his fame in the country |
| B．To encourage people to read and increase education level |
| C．To set up a record for collecting the most books |
| D．To help people find jobs more easily |
| A．Devoted and caring | B．Outgoing and brave |
| C．Humorous and considerate | D．Ambitious and impatient |
| A．His own effort to collect books continuous | B．The government’s help and support |
| C．Warm-hearted people’s continuous donations | D．Help from public schools in far-away communities |
| A．science report | B．sports | C．fashion | D．education |
I was preparing side dishes to go with our Sunday barbecue when our daughter Rose stormed in the front door and rushed to her room. I glanced out the window and saw our neighbor Lucy walking back to her house across the road. As a mother, my feeling told me something happened between them.
“Rose, come in here. I need some help with dinner.” She came out of her room and stood beside me. She had a stubborn look on her face—the kind kids have when they know they are wrong but have persuaded themselves they are right. “I noticed that Lucy, your classmate, came over but didn’t stay long. Why?” I asked. “I don’t like her,” Rose complained. “I wish she would stop coming over here all the time. She dresses terribly, and sometimes she doesn’t smell good. Her nose is always runny, and her hair is in a mess. None of us like her.”
I knew that she referred to the popular crowd. It was a lot for a senior high student to deal with, trying to fit in with the popular crowd. It might be a shame if one of the girls in that crowd knew Lucy was playing with Rose.
I explained why I felt so sad for Lucy. “You see, baby,” I began, “I know how she felt today when you were sort of cold toward her. I know because that was me when I was in sixth grade. I was the poor kid with hand-me-down clothes, the kid who others looked down on. I also know what it was like to be hungry and see other families having a barbecue out and enjoying themselves. That feeling never goes away.” I went on to tell her that I didn’t want her to be that child or adult who looked down on others. I told her I wanted her to be kind and helpful, not judgmental and hurtful. I noticed Rose had tears in her eyes.
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2．请按下列格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Minutes later, Rose went to Lucy’s house across the road.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . In 2019, a white-haired senior was awarded the Friendship Medal, the highest order of honor of China for foreigners. It was Isabel Crook. In her more than a century of life, she spent more than 90 years in China and cultivated (培养) a large number of foreign language talents for China.
In 1915, Isabel was born in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. After graduating from the University of Toronto in 1938, Isabel couldn’t wait to return to China. With hard work, she and her colleague completed the survey of over 1,500 families in some villages in Bishan County. She recorded the daily life of the villagers in Xinglongchang with detailed field notes, which give the young people today some idea of the state of affairs in villages at that time.
In 1947, Isabel and her husband David Crook came to China to observe and study the ongoing land reform. A year later, they completed the study and accepted the invitation to stay in China for language teaching.
One could hardly imagine the teaching conditions in the midst of a war. They asked their students to take small stools (凳子) with them so that they could give class everywhere. They tailored (定制) teaching approaches to suit students’ different language proficiency levels. Without handy teaching materials, they collected articles from English newspapers and magazines. In oral English teaching, Isabel asked students to watch their teachers in a given conversation first. Since there were no tape recorders at school, she had to perform the conversation again and again.
Isabel retired in 1981, but she returned to Southwest China many times to set up scholarship for children from poor families. She also went to Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and other places to help with foreign language teaching. Isabel died in 2023 in Beijing.
1. What do we know about Isabel according to the text?| A．She got China’s highest honor for foreigners. |
| B．She received her college education in China. |
| C．She returned to China as a teacher at age 23. |
| D．She helped children in need all over China. |
| A．In 1915. | B．In 1938. | C．In 1948. | D．In 1981. |
| A．Boring but helpful. | B．Simple and modern. |
| C．Traditional but attractive. | D．Flexible and personalized. |
| A．Her working experiences were rich. |
| B．Her life in China was quite colorful. |
| C．She devoted herself to teaching in China. |
| D．She showed great interest in Chinese history. |
4 . After spending his career as a chef and working as the Vice President of Food and Beverage at FireKeepers Casino Hotel in Battle Creek, Michigan, Michael McFarlen saw how much food would get thrown away from the Casino’s restaurant every day.
Unfortunately, throwing away perfectly good food is extremely common within the restaurant industry. Yet it was always something that bothered McFarlen about his work. Actions point, McFarlen decided to get involved with the South Central Food Bank of Michigan Inc. to help give back to those in need. He then became the president on the board and came up with a plan to open a restaurant in the community that would also help support a food bank on the property.
In April of 2016, the FireKeepers Casino Hotel and its owners, the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, bought Fire Station No. 4, a historic firehouse near down town Battle Creek that had been closed for years and was set to be demolished. However, the group bought it before that happened and started to give the historic building a new life.
Renovations on the property lasted about a year. Then on April 19, 2017, the restaurant, which they named The Fire Hub, opened to the public for the first time. At the same time, the food bank, which they named the Kendall Street Food bank, opened its door in the back of the building.
“Anytime you open a new restaurant, you just have to figure a way through that first year,” George said. However, the first year of operation was beyond their expectations. Not only did the restaurant attract customers because of its popularity and sustainability, but the food bank helped more people in the first year than they ever imagined would need its services.
In total, about 375 to 400 households get help from the food bank every single month. “We’re able to cater to people who are working, but still need a little help during the month,” McFarlen told Second Wave media. To better fit the need of the majority of people using their services, the food bank was designed to look like a small market.
1. What bothered McFarlen as a chef?| A．A lack of cooks. |
| B．Waste of good food. |
| C．Involvement in food banks. |
| D．Shortage of food in some areas. |
| A．Built up. | B．Torn down. | C．Broken up. | D．Knocked off. |
| A．It worked out well. |
| B．It had branches set up. |
| C．It stuck to good quality. |
| D．It didn’t last for a year. |
| A．Patient and careful. |
| B．Loving and devoted. |
| C．Enthusiastic and diligent. |
| D．Cautious and understanding. |
“We’re leaving!” Dad called.
Cody grabbed his flip-flops (平底人字拖鞋). He was about to race downstairs when he noticed the tiny airplane on his cousin’s desk. “That would be fun to take to the beach,” he thought, “I don’t think Quinn will mind if I borrow it.” Quinn didn’t really play with toys these days anyway. He had a summer job now. Cody quickly put the airplane into the pocket of his bathing suit.
He could hear the waves crashing as he, Dad, and Uncle Jeff unloaded the car. Cody put down his towel and made a runway in the sand. Then he took out the airplane and imagined taking off. After a steep climb, he put the plane through a series of loops, rolls, and dives (俯冲).
“Cody, are you coming with us?” Dad called. Dad and Uncle Jeff were eager to catch some waves.
Cody carried his bodyboard and ran after them. They dived and swam out to where they could stand to catch the waves. When Cody spotted the coming wave, he turned toward shore and started kicking. As the wave picked him up and shot him forward, he felt as if he were flying. Dad and Uncle Jeff caught the same wave and they all cheered with joy. They rode wave after wave.
Soon Cody’s teeth were chattering. He was glad when they decided to head back to their place on the sand. He lay down on his towel, enjoying the warm sunshine. But in a sudden panic, he sat up. “Where is the airplane?” He murmured and searched the sand around him, but found only broken seashells.
Cody walked around and kept looking for the airplane wherever it may be. But as it became clear that the air plane was lost, he was thrown into fear, wondering what to tell Quinn. On the way back home, he felt more and more upset.
注意：1.续写词数应为80词左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Just when Cody stepped off the car, he felt something sharp in his pocket.
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6 . Cheng Yuyan never expected that the interest group “We Love Strolling in the Park”, which she created by accident on Douban, a Chinese social media platform, four years ago, would now reach 100,000 members.
According to the 25-year-old from Shanghai, creating this group was just an accidental decision, and she didn’t spend much time in it afterwards. However, park lovers from all over China and even overseas have voluntarily made it their gathering place. People share park experiences, post photos taken in parks, and offer recommendations and reviews about parks.
“The growth of this group is the result of organic (绿色的) development, just like a park, where people naturally come together. The rise in member numbers also shows the increasingly important role that parks are playing in people’s lives,” Cheng said.
Within this group, there is a saying called “20 minutes for parks”, which comes from a theory (理论) in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research. According to the theory, spending 20 minutes in a park daily helps to reduce stress, no matter whether people exercise in it or simply take a walk.
With the help of social media, the theory has been receiving popularity among a great number of young people in China. Huang Bingbing from Shenzhen, Guangdong province, is a follower of this idea.
She said that Shenzhen has many parks between office buildings. Over three years ago, when she was still working at an advertising company, she used to visit the small park downstairs during her weekday lunch breaks. “On the grass, I could connect with living plants and animals, allowing me to refresh my mind and recover from the stress of the workplace,” Huang said.
1. What did Cheng Yuyan think of her interest group?| A．It surely attracted people. | B．It was a serious decision. |
| C．It took her much effort. | D．It got an unexpected result. |
| A．People’s love for parks. | B．The rise of the group number . |
| C．People’s changes of lifestyles. | D．The benefit of green development. |
| A．The pull of the online media. | B．Their need for more experience. |
| C．The heavy load of their work. | D．Their easy acceptance of new ideas. |
| A．Hard work pays off. | B．Great minds think alike. |
| C．A small thing makes a difference. | D．Success comes from joint efforts. |
After retiring, I had time to clean the storeroom. The old doors were hard to open, like I was unsure about my new life. Inside, it was a mess, with old belongings from years ago and even a family of foxes had lived there.
I pulled on work gloves, then moved a box of motor oil out of the way, intending to clear some space. I reached all the way back, and my hand hit something hard. What could that be? I pulled out a round metal tin (罐). With one finger, I cleared a thick coating of dirt from the top to uncover a green background with white flowers. Could the tin hold a hidden treasure?
Little by little, I removed the cover until it suddenly came off and fell to the ground. I held my breath. Inside were several yellowed envelopes. I opened one, and a sense of despair swept through me.
Just then, my wife Peg walked in. “What’s that?”
“Seeds (种子),” I said. Nothing but seeds.
Peg came over to examine the tin’s contents. “Look, here’s a letter.” She held up a faded envelope with a three-cent stamp and a postmark of May 13, 1940. Before I was born! The letter was addressed to the original owner of our house.
“‘I am sending you the seeds of the hibiscus (木槿) you admired when you stopped at our tourist home last year,’” Peg read. “‘Plant when the ground becomes warm, and do not be alarmed if they do not come up for several weeks — they are slow to grow.’”
“Huh,” I said. “Eighty years old. I wonder if they’ll still grow?” I had several hanging pots and a few flower beds, but I was no expert. I took a plastic box where I’d planted potatoes, shook the hibiscus seeds out of the envelope, pushed them into the soil and set the box in the sun.
“What are my chances?” I asked my neighbor, an experienced gardener. “Not very good,” he said, “but maybe… if they were packed right and kept dry and dark.”
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。
With the seeds planted, I checked the box every day, eager for any sign of life.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Just when I was about to give up, something astonishing happened.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________8 . One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap (包装).
On September 11th, 1958, Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying, “I promised you a gift, and here it is.” What an honour! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories. I told it over and over how much I loved it!
One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it.Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as “hopeless”, “pitiful”, and “dying”, which sounded ominous.
Christmas was coming. “Don’t expect any presents this year,” Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room.“If your baby brother lives, that’ll be Christmas enough.” As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I’d never seen him cry before.
The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say, “What? He’s all right?” He hung up and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we can bring Richard home!”
“Thank God!” I heard Mum cry.
From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love!
1. What happened to the author on September 11th, 1958?| A．He got a baby brother. |
| B．He got a Christmas gift. |
| C．He became four years old. |
| D．He received a doll. |
| A．Impossible. | B．Boring. |
| C．Difficult. | D．Fearful. |
| A．Excitement. | B．Happiness. |
| C．Sadness. | D．Disappointment. |
| A．A sad Christmas day. |
| B．Life with a lovely baby. |
| C．A special Christmas gift. |
| D．Memories of a happy family. |
9 . Many years ago, we came across a dog at an animal shelter ( 收 容 所) while looking for a companion (同伴) for our dog, Bear. This dog seemed to be meant for us and we
Bear Junior would wake me up every morning at 4: 30 a.m. to go for a
Bear Junior felt it was his
One day, I took Bear Junior to the dog park. We had just started our walk when a small dog was barking (吠叫) for
One winter, I was playing with Bear Junior in the snow. Across the street, an elderly lady
| A．lost | B．saved | C．remembered | D．loved |
| A．popular | B．perfect | C．real | D．short |
| A．walk | B．show | C．test | D．swim |
| A．awake | B．worry | C．return | D．change |
| A．stay | B．wait | C．rest | D．practice |
| A．ask | B．meet | C．punish | D．take |
| A．forgot | B．feared | C．refused | D．continued |
| A．chance | B．responsibility | C．promise | D．ability |
| A．help | B．food | C．praise | D．reply |
| A．training | B．game | C．action | D．treatment |
| A．mistake | B．business | C．answer | D．question |
| A．happen | B．disappear | C．stop | D．follow |
| A．worked | B．stood | C．played | D．fell |
| A．accepted | B．left | C．saw | D．protected |
| A．attract | B．catch | C．guide | D．thank |
10 . At the hillside of the Emei Mountain in Sichuan, a homestay (民宿) — My Own little Yard (吾家小院) is attracting travelers from far and wide, especially on weekends. The owners of the homestay are a couple in their late 30s who decided to return to their hometown three years ago. Li Xiumei used to be in charge of a small company in Chengdu, and her husband was a sales director. It was an ordinary situation where Li’s husband was on business trips a lot and Li worked overtime on weekends. City life sometimes is not easy.
In 2020, they quit (辞掉) jobs and went back to their village, where there were plenty of homestays around their old countryside house coming into their sight. Stepping onto every balcony of every homestay, they could see the beautiful scenery of the Emei Mountain. More importantly, the villagers have earned a lot of money without entering cities to be peasant-workers, which impressed the couple most.
The couple began to rebuild their old countryside house, which was updated to have a hall, a tea room, a kitchen, and a dining room. Japanese cherry trees were planted in the east courtyard. A swimming pool was placed in the west courtyard, with a bar located on one side.
Li and her husband love gardening and music, and their new home gives them enough space to continue their interests and relax in the heart of nature. Li wants to share the quiet country life, so she makes her new home a homestay. During the summer holiday in 2023, their My Own little Yard — homestay became an online hit after guests shared their experiences on social media.
1. How did Li feel about city life?| A．Satisfied. | B．Attractive. | C．Noisy. | D．Tired. |
| A．Villagers becoming rich. | B．Many many homestays |
| C．Their old countryside house. | D．Scenery of Mount Emei. |
| A．It is ancient and broken. | B．It can hold many guests. |
| C．It has been rebuilt by the couple. | D．It must have been carefully designed. |
| A．Sichuan homestays are very popular. |
| B．The Emei Mountain attracts many travelers. |
| C．A couple gives up city life to run a homestay. |
| D．The villagers have earned lots of money as peasant-workers. |
