1 . This year, the Music Educator Award, presented by the Recording Academy and Grammy Museum, went to Annie Ray, the performing arts department chair and orchestra director at Annandale High School in Fairfax County, Virginia. She attended the awards ceremony in Los Angeles and brought home both a $10,000 prize and matching grant （资助） for her school’s music program.
Ray created the Crescendo Orchestra for students with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as a parent orchestra that teaches nearly 200 caregivers a year to play the same instrument as their children. She got the idea mostly from the Annandale community, which she says represents over 60 countries, including many refugees and immigrants. “There’re many cultures that might typically clash, but they come together in this very beautiful harmony,” Ray explained. “And that’s really uniquely expressed in the orchestra classroom, where we’re just all music-ing together.”
Ray says the Crescendo Orchestra is focused on teaching students how to play an instrument, through one-on-one instruction tailored to their needs. The orchestra is about much more than just making music, however. “I really push my students to be brave and go outside of their comfort zone. We have to learn how to work together with others,” she says.
Ray, who comes from a family of musicians and has played the harp （竖琴） since the age of five, knows firsthand the impact that a great teacher can make on their students. “Why I am where I am is because a teacher changed my life and made me want to be a music educator,” she says.
Ray says her warm reception on the awards ceremony is especially meaningful because not many people understand what exactly music educators do in the classroom or how much their work matters. She says that lack of understanding is one of the biggest challenges facing the profession in general. Moreover, she says her school desperately needs new instruments, and adds that she’ll use some of her grant money to buy more.
1. What mainly inspired Ray to create the Crescendo Orchestra?| A．The effect of some caregivers. | B．The diversity of a community. |
| C．The harmony of the disabled. | D．The rich culture of her school. |
| A．Who are influenced by music. | B．How the Crescendo Orchestra develops. |
| C．What students can learn. | D．Why students need special instruction. |
| A．She funded some students. | B．She fought against her family. |
| C．She began learning the harp. | D．She chose to be a music educator. |
| A．Music education needs to be appreciated. | B．She badly wants donations for instruments. |
| C．The administration offers no support. | D．She is often challenged by musicians. |
2 . New Year has many interesting stories, and here is one of them told by a TikToker. The original poster works as a school teacher, and every New Year, she tries to bring joy to her students. This time, it turned out especially great and 5. 8 million views on the original video is the best confirmation of this!
The teacher’s mother loves to knit (针织) and invited her daughter to play a little game with the students. On New Year’s Eve, the original poster invited the schoolchildren to draw for themselves the“winter hat of their dreams”.
Everyone did so, but no one even doubted what would happen next. The kids eagerly drew cute hats, and the teacher’s mom made their imagination come true. It turned out amazingly great, and the video of the teacher starting to hand out hats to the class went even more viral (走红的), collecting an unbelievable 50.4 million views and counting.
The large majority of people in the comments gave this teacher the best praise — and to her wonderful mom as well. After all, as some comments have pointed out, not everyone actually realizes how much work, time and love goes into these small hats. “Hats off to your mom, she’s amazing!” one of the commenters wrote.
And people also believe that in our time it is absolutely priceless when a teacher really puts their soul into the educational process. People truly don’t realize that this is the teaching. Passion (激情), deep love and hard work characterize this profession.
“Thank you to you and your mom!” — perhaps this was the best comment, and we should only join in the gratitude. It is another wonderful New Year story, another expression of care and kindness.
1. What does the teacher try doing to her students?| A．Helping them out. | B．Brightening their lives. |
| C．Rewarding their efforts. | D．Encouraging them to study. |
| A．The teacher. | B．The students. |
| C．The teacher’s mother. | D．One of the commenters. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Supportive. | C．Confused. | D．Unclear. |
| A．The nature of education is love. |
| B．Always prepare for a rainy day. |
| C．Teach kids according to their interests. |
| D．Doing one’s best means one should never stop trying. |
When I was a little girl, I used to be afraid of the dark. A simple sound in the middle of the night could make me imagine the scariest scenes.
My uncle lived alone in his big old house in New Hampshire. The house was surrounded by a huge yard with lots of trees. The inside was very neat and tidy but reminded me of a museum with its ancient objects. Everything looked like it dated from the previous century, from the old-fashioned oil paintings to black-and-white pictures on the walls. Looking back at it now, it would have made the perfect setting for a frightening large house.
Once, my family visited my uncle in the fall. During the day, my sister and I made big piles of leaves to jump in with the help of Elaine, my big sister. Our room had a double bed facing a window, out of which stood a huge maple tree. The floor was made of wood that made funny sounds every time we took a step.
Although the day had been bright and cheerful, the night turned out to be extremely windy. Soon after Elaine and I were lying in bed and all was dark, I started to notice strange noises, as if someone was walking in the room. It seemed that someone was knocking against the windows, making strange noises. There were even howls (咆哮声) coming from somewhere outside!
At this point, I didn’t know what to think. All of a sudden, I thought I heard someone coming up the stairs, and my heart rose to my throat. I thought I saw something moving in the dark corners of my room, and my breath quickened. Elaine sat up in bed, but when she looked at me, she seemed confused, too. We couldn’t help but wonder if we were going crazy.
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。
The noises continued for a while longer.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The next morning, though I knew it was a false alarm, I was still nervous and talked with my uncle.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4 . Even our good friends may sometimes hurt our feelings. What should we do, hold on to the
It was an afternoon in March. Several weeks ago, I finally
However, the next day she lost the book. She was reading it on the bus and must have dropped it as she was
I didn’t speak to her for the following two days. On the
| A．before | B．future | C．after | D．past |
| A．was addicted to | B．got hands on | C．applied for | D．suffered from |
| A．was | B．were | C．weren’t | D．wasn’t |
| A．sold | B．sought | C．ordered | D．searched |
| A．sadly | B．excitedly | C．unfortunately | D．actually |
| A．that | B．where | C．if | D．how |
| A．borrowed | B．lent | C．bought | D．lost |
| A．until | B．while | C．because | D．so |
| A．moving in | B．trying out | C．getting on | D．getting off |
| A．careless | B．careful | C．frank | D．attractive |
| A．more | B．worse | C．new | D．wrong |
| A．first | B．second | C．third | D．fourth |
| A．way | B．friend | C．book | D．money |
| A．Seeing | B．Preferring | C．Looking | D．Reminding |
| A．unfortunate | B．previous | C．unstable | D．important |
5 . I was the only kid in college with a reason to go to the mail box, because my mother never believed in email, or cell phones in general. I was literally waiting to get a letter to see how the weekend had gone, which was usually the warmest comfort for me.
So when I moved to New York and got sucker-punched in the face by depression, I did the only thing I could think of — writing letters like my mother for strangers. I blogged about those letters and crazily promised I would write you a hand-written letter if asked to.
Overnight, my inbox became this harbor of heartbreak — a single mother in Sacramento, a girl being bullied (恐吓) in rural Kansas…, all asking me to write them a letter and give them a reason to wait by the mailbox. And this is how the act The World Needs More Love Letters was born, fueled by those trips to the mailbox. But the thing about these letters is that most of them have been written by people, who have grown up into a paperless world where some best conversations happen swiftly on a screen.
I’ve been carrying this mail crate (大木箱) with me these days, which is a magical icebreaker. So I get to tell total strangers about a woman whose husband was traumatized (受精神创伤) from war in Afghanistan, and how she left love letters throughout the house as a way to say, “Come back to me.” And the man, who had decided to take his life, tonight slept safely with letters just beneath his pillow, handwritten by strangers who were there for him.
These are the kinds of stories that convince me that letter-writing will always be needed, even in these days, because it is an art now.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．The efficiency of write letters. |
| B．The author’s care for her family. |
| C．The author’s attachment to letters. |
| D．The author’s love for the college life. |
| A．The letters’ comforting effect on people. |
| B．Her intention of providing professional aid. |
| C．The positive influence of modern technology. |
| D．Her mother’s fear of modern communication. |
| A．It is capable of doing magic tricks. |
| B．It starts a conversation with passers-by. |
| C．It helps people to recover from traumas. |
| D．It is hot enough to melt ice on a cold day. |
| A．Love for Writing |
| B．Priceless Family Letters |
| C．Love Letters to Strangers |
| D．The Art of Writing Letters |
6 . My partner and I wanted to spread some joy this Christmas, so we decided to organize gifts for the residents of a local nursing home. I
So, on Dec 22, we were all ready to go and be Santa’s elves (精灵)!James
I was a little
It was a
| A．downloaded | B．posted | C．carried | D．focused |
| A．go toward | B．send out | C．give up | D．run out |
| A．pick out | B．throw away | C．add to | D．compete with |
| A．faithfully | B．causally | C．powerfully | D．carefully |
| A．offered | B．refused | C．struggled | D．suggested |
| A．interrupted | B．rescued | C．protested | D．messaged |
| A．anxious | B．lovely | C．strange | D．obvious |
| A．picked up | B．came across | C．referred to | D．thought of |
| A．walked | B．flied | C．headed | D．escaped |
| A．boxes | B．gifts | C．books | D．costumes |
| A．observed | B．prepared | C．checked | D．proved |
| A．collect | B．explore | C．change | D．spread |
| A．nervous | B．excited | C．disappointed | D．energetic |
| A．need | B．trouble | C．pleasure | D．sense |
| A．tears | B．wrinkles | C．smiles | D．dreams |
| A．sorrow | B．curiosity | C．admiration | D．joy |
| A．hoped | B．promised | C．wished | D．designed |
| A．horrible | B．wonderful | C．mysterious | D．strange |
| A．respect | B．summarize | C．admit | D．recommend |
| A．giving | B．receiving | C．buying | D．choosing |
7 . 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. |
8 . I have been proud of my wit (机智幽默). However, recently I’ve learned a lesson: keeping my thoughts to myself and we’d better follow the policy of “Silence is golden”.
In a college literature course, one of my classmates had a habit of arriving a few minutes late each class. She was a lovely and well-dressed girl from a big city. Some of my classmates even discussed her elegant clothes after class. One day, when the professor was about to start the class, he said in a slightly angry tone, “Where is Miss X?” It seemed that no one could reply, and the silence was coming awkward. To break the embarrassing atmosphere, I offered in an amusing way, “She likes to make a grand entry.”
My words, however, were greeted with more awkward silence, and even the professor stared at me for a second. No one felt what I said was humorous, which made me confused. We all had witnessed this student’s constantly late arrivals. Months later, to my astonishment and chagrin (懊恼),I knew the reason for others’ strange response: My classmate was from a famous noble family. I suddenly realized my remarks could have been interpreted as a mean dig (嘲讽) at her private status. I regretted what I had said, but the course was over, and it was impossible for me to make amends (补救).
As I recall this experience and other examples of ill-considered words I have said, I realize that it is better for us to think twice rather than coming up with a witty, fact-based reply because what you say can’t be taken back. In this way, we can avoid some unnecessary awkwardness or hurt.
1. What does the author think he is good at?| A．Making clever jokes. | B．Breaking the silence. |
| C．Having a creative mind. | D．Putting forward good policies. |
| A．They burst out laughing. |
| B．They couldn’t figure them out. |
| C．They got a sense of well-being. |
| D．They remained silent as before. |
| A．To add joy to class. | B．To enhance teamwork. |
| C．To relax the whole class. | D．To make relationships stronger. |
| A．By imitating others’ manner. |
| B．By using considered words. |
| C．By giving a fact-based reply. |
| D．By making clever conversations. |
9 . Three women were sitting on the river bank. All were
But the old woman said, “I will tell you. But first please give me some water to drink. I am very
Hearing this, the three ladies at once
Having finished
| A．wealthy | B．healthy | C．young | D．energetic |
| A．fought | B．smiled | C．nodded | D．disagreed |
| A．dog | B．lantern | C．branch | D．river |
| A．slowly | B．rudely | C．peacefully | D．surprisingly |
| A．eyes | B．hands | C．ears | D．shoulders |
| A．dirty | B．poor | C．upset | D．thirsty |
| A．laughed | B．cried | C．escaped | D．disappeared |
| A．sang | B．relaxed | C．sighed | D．recovered |
| A．bottle | B．bag | C．pot | D．basket |
| A．Seeing | B．Hearing | C．Feeling | D．Smelling |
| A．boiled | B．chose | C．changed | D．poured |
| A．came across | B．gave away | C．put aside | D．took in |
| A．listening | B．talking | C．eating | D．washing |
| A．date | B．control | C．order | D．shape |
| A．point | B．serve | C．touch | D．refuse |
10 . I was living with my grandparents at the time. Our grandparents had recently retired. While they’d managed to save enough to buy a home, they were short on living expenses.
So, our grandfather took a job as doorkeeper of the Java school building. Keeping the entire building clean was a stressful job for one man. Realizing this, I began helping him after school, sweeping rooms and emptying waste baskets, for a small wage.
When winter arrived, he fired up the school’s furnace (火炉). He quickly realized how difficult it had become for him to shovel (铲) the huge pile of coal chips required to fill in the furnace. I volunteered to take on that job, a commitment that required me to set my alarm clock an hour earlier each morning. I’d go over to the school, and shovel a half ton of coal, enough to keep the fire burning for 24 hours. After finishing that task, I’d go home, change clothes, and eat breakfast. Then I’d head back to school, always at the last minute.
It was during those morning rushes to school that I discovered my superpower. On two mornings, at the very instant I stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the school, the first bell rang. That was the signal for students to head to class. This astonishing coincidence caused me to improve my precision. I carefully planned each phase of my morning activity. I paced myself. Often I’d step onto the school’s sidewalk just as the first bell rang. This accomplishment gave me enormous pride — and some strange feelings.
Decades later, at a school reunion, I happened to meet Harold Spiry, who had been in charge of ringing the bell by pressing a button in his office. I couldn’t resist boasting (吹嘘). I told Mr. Spiry about how well I had ordered my complex morning work back then, how my timing had been faultless. “Oh that,” he said. “Do you recall that my office windows looked out over the front of the building? I often saw you coming. And when you hit the sidewalk, I’d ring the bell.”
1. What does the underlined word “this” refer to?| A．Grandparents’ lack of living expenses. |
| B．Granddad’s retiring as a doorkeeper. |
| C．Grandparents’ saving money to buy a house. |
| D．Granddad’s hardships in cleaning the whole building. |
| A．To avoid being late for school. | B．To help his granddad clean classrooms. |
| C．To fill coal into the school’s furnace. | D．To volunteer to empty waste baskets. |
| A．He had the ability to be on time. | B．He was good at morning activities. |
| C．He could do things at his own pace. | D．He could fire up the furnace alone. |
| A．Proud. | B．Surprised. |
| C．Cautious. | D．Regretful. |
