1 . Two Georgian twins, separated at birth when they were sold to different adoptive families, have been reunited and have TikTok to thank for bringing them back together.
The astonishing story began 10 years ago when one of the twins, Amy Khvitia, sat watching Georgia’s Got Talent in her godmother’s house near the Black Sea. A young girl, who looked exactly like her, climbed up on stage and began to dance in front of the reality show’s judges. Another seven years went by when Ano Sartania, the young girl that had danced on television, was sent a TikTok video of a young woman with blue hair getting her eyebrow pierced. Determined, Ano took to a WhatsApp university group with her plea. asking for help finding the woman with the blue hair. Against all odds, someone in the group knew Amy and the pair was connected through Facebook. Amy and Ano agreed to meet in-person at a local train station.
“It was awkward, it was awesome, it was everything,” Ano told The Sun of that first meeting, adding, “It was weird for me like I was looking in a mirror.” As they grew to know each other more, the two women began to list the similarities they shared and admit to being a bit unsettled by it all. Both were born in the same hospital, but their birth certificates said they were born a couple of weeks apart. Wanting answers, they turned to their families to ask some hard questions and soon had an explanation — both families admitted to adopting the girls as newborns.
It turns out both of their mothers had been unable to have children and were told they could pay to adopt unwanted babies at the hospital. DNA tests ‘eventually confirmed that that Amy and Ano were twins. However, they wanted to know why their biological parents have given them up and if they had been sold for profit. The twins have since been reunited with their birth mother, Aza, who claimed she fell into a coma after delivering her identical daughters and when she woke up hospital staff told her that her babies were dead.
“While Ano and Amy’s story contains a lot of coincidence on their path to reunion, their adoption circumstances aren’t that unique in Georgia — as many as 100,000 Georgian babies have been put up for illegal adoption since the 1950s on the black baby market,” says Georgian journalist Tamuna Museridze, who has been working to reunite families.
1. Which of the following properly describes the twins?A.Their foster parents paid to adopt them legally. |
B.Their first in-person meeting was full of mixed feelings. |
C.It took them a smooth decade to get connected with each other. |
D.Their biological parents sold them at birth for profit through hospital staff. |
A.Changed. | B.Shaped. | C.Upset. | D.Unsolved. |
A.Tolerant. | B.Supportive. | C.Unclear. | D.Disapproving. |
A.Black baby market gains popularity in Georgia |
B.Twin sisters, abandoned by birth mother, reunited |
C.Twin sisters, sold illegally at birth, reunited thanks to TikTok |
D.Lots of coincidence brought adopted twin sisters a family reunion |
2 . Adam Wolfers believes that his son’s autism (自闭症) has a positive impact on his hobby of photography. 10-year-old Morgan has always possessed a
Not
However, his motivation for photography
His parents teared up as they told what his photography means. Morgan’s photography has become his saving grace (体面) because it gets people to look
Morgan advises all of us to try new things and explore our
A.strange | B.typical | C.unique | D.normal |
A.fighting | B.interacting | C.agreeing | D.competing |
A.Without | B.For | C.From | D.Despite |
A.escape | B.hit | C.touch | D.please |
A.admire | B.explore | C.change | D.promote |
A.amused | B.familiar | C.content | D.bored |
A.Remarkably | B.Undoubtedly | C.Accidentally | D.Fortunately |
A.salaries | B.profits | C.budgets | D.expenses |
A.results in | B.arises from | C.goes beyond | D.consists of |
A.recalls | B.imagines | C.expects | D.encounters |
A.recognition | B.advantage | C.strength | D.power |
A.examination | B.display | C.investigation | D.trade |
A.for | B.up | C.into | D.past |
A.decision | B.living | C.way | D.fortune |
A.principle | B.intelligence | C.emotions | D.limits |
Jimmy’s bar
4 . Born to an adventure-loving mom and a National Geographic’s photographer dad, Alison Teal was already exploring the world as a baby. The family traveled the globe staying not at five-star hotels but in a six-foot-wide tent. From cold mountaintops to hot jungles, they completely involved themselves in local nature and culture.
Between journeys, they would return home to a quiet and faraway part of the Big Island of Hawaii, where they built a solar-powered oceanfront rest center. The front yard was the ocean, and Alison’s friends were dolphins. She would dive into the water and release seaweed. A dolphin would catch it on its nose or fin and throw it to the next player. Over the years, the dolphins grew to trust Alison. They looked for her and came close to her in the water.
After graduating from university, she continued her world travels. Her adventurous childhood and life skills landed her a spot in the reality show Naked and Afraid, in which she and her partner had to live on an unwelcoming island for 21 days. Alison’s deep knowledge of how to live in a wilderness saved the pair, but what shocked her was the amount of trash washed upon the shore.
“After that, I couldn’t ignore our plastic problem. I shifted my focus and started to protect our greatest resource, the ocean,” says Alison. Swimming in familiar waters back home, she also found her dolphin friends were no longer tossing (抛) seaweed to each other, but plastic. “That was distressing,” she says.
Her book, Alison’s Adventures: Your Passport to the World, is fled with travel tales and environmental lessons. She also offers free adventure films to go along with each chapter on her YouTube and TikTok. Alison believes all of us can make changes to protect the Earth and, in turn, those we love. “Whether you’re a lawyer, a gardener, an artist, a teacher or a surfer, we can all help in our own ways,” she says.
1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?A.Alison Teal had a comfortable life when she was young. |
B.Alison Teal was fond of photography when she was young. |
C.Alison Teal’s parents we restrict with her when she was young. |
D.Alison Teal led a life close to nature when she was young. |
A.The amount of trash washed upon the shore. |
B.The unwelcoming island where they had to live. |
C.The lack of resources in the wilderness. |
D.The dangerous situations they encountered. |
A.During a journey with her parents. |
B.After her participation in a show. |
C.Before her graduation from university. |
D.When visiting the Big Island of Hawaii. |
A.Everyone can contribute in their own ways. |
B.Only certain professions can make a difference. |
C.It is impossible to make any significant changes. |
D.It is the responsibility of governments and organizations. |
5 . For nearly two decades, a thin, sun-burnt postal worker could frequently be seen carrying packages along a dangerous mountain trail in the Taihang Mountains.
The 10-kilometer-long route, which is between 20 centimeters and 1 meter wide, is known as the “cat road” by locals, meaning that it is so dangerous that only cats could walk on it. Whereas, Zhao Yuefang, a postal worker in Ewu township in Huguan county, Shanxi province, had to walk the route every day to deliver mail.
Every day at the crack of dawn, he would start his journey along the “cat road”. From picking up the day’s post to delivering it to villagers and returning along the same route, it took Zhao four days. During rainy and snowy seasons, the mountain road, part of which hugs the cliffs, would become slippery and dangerous. One day in the winter of 2003, the “cat road” was covered in thick snow and he slipped off the trail. Fortunately, he was able to stop his sharp descent by grabbing a tree branch and slowly managed to climb to safety.
By 2012, Zhao had walked more than 300,000 km and delivered over 800,000 pieces of mail. Born and raised in the deep mountains, Zhao truly understands the significance of mail deliveries to villagers. “They depend on the mail to keep in touch with the outside world,” he said. “Their sheer joy written on their face while receiving any post struck me,” he added.
In 2012, a 67-km-long tourist highway was built and gone were those days when Zhao risked his life to walk on the “cat road”. But Zhao was even busier than before. “The number of packages I handle daily now exceeds the number I used to deal with in the past,” said Zhao, adding that villagers are turning to online shopping and ordering more and more goods by post.
1. Why is the mountain trail referred to as “cat road”?A.It’s shaped like a cat. | B.It’s intended for cats. |
C.It is too narrow and risky. | D.It rains cats and dogs there. |
A.Fall. | B.Pain. |
C.Turn. | D.Landing. |
A.Persistent and dedicated. | B.Diligent and ambitious. |
C.Considerate and confident. | D.Courageous and generous. |
A.The villagers’ respect for him. |
B.His being born and raised there. |
C.Today’s huge number of the packages. |
D.The value of the deliveries to the locals. |
6 . Asli Samanci, a food scientist, was driven by her childhood dream of becoming a scientist, leading her to pursue a career in food science. “It
With this passion, she established a company that
The
Meanwhile, Samanci and her beekeeping partners have witnessed a significant
A.accomplishes | B.combines | C.processes | D.maintains |
A.took up | B.brought about | C.held back | D.put off |
A.purchase | B.delivery | C.quality | D.service |
A.limited | B.denied | C.revealed | D.backed |
A.regulation | B.inspiration | C.sample | D.mystery |
A.explored | B.exported | C.refused | D.permitted |
A.patient | B.consistent | C.cautious | D.content |
A.equally | B.violently | C.directly | D.temporarily |
A.accessible | B.similar | C.responsible | D.essential |
A.damage | B.rise | C.change | D.loss |
A.conquering | B.discovering | C.impressing | D.preserving |
A.scientists | B.beekeepers | C.entrepreneurs | D.consumers |
A.balance | B.opportunity | C.fault | D.reason |
A.extraordinary | B.sustainable | C.lively | D.decent |
A.Altogether | B.Anyhow | C.Moreover | D.Otherwise |
7 . I went on a road trip with a couple of friends from Chicago down to Houston. After six hours in the
I immediately
As I washed up at the sink, the door opened and in
The bathroom door closed and that’s when I saw the
We can
I will remember the unforgettable road trip forever.
1.A.car | B.city | C.way | D.train |
A.warm | B.wet | C.rest | D.admire |
A.expressed | B.explained | C.faced | D.noticed |
A.dusty | B.clean | C.cold | D.quiet |
A.flooded | B.slid | C.walked | D.crowded |
A.surprised | B.excited | C.annoyed | D.worried |
A.studying | B.washing | C.driving | D.standing |
A.shyly | B.confidently | C.generously | D.hopefully |
A.hug | B.nod | C.kiss | D.bow |
A.signal | B.suggestion | C.sign | D.scene |
A.decisions | B.choices | C.plans | D.mistakes |
A.embarrassment | B.shock | C.relief | D.anger |
A.get over | B.go through | C.break out | D.give up |
A.sitting | B.lying | C.running | D.standing |
A.have | B.master | C.understand | D.fix |
8 . We were sitting in the doctor’s waiting room when my father said something that
The doctor told us my father had Alzheimers (阿尔茨海默病). It was a big
As the disease continued to progress, his behaviors became
Babies are born helpless; parents keep on
When a(n)
A.disappointed | B.shocked | C.delighted | D.satisfied |
A.chance | B.goal | C.challenge | D.plan |
A.ready | B.brave | C.unsuitable | D.unprepared |
A.took hold of | B.got rid of | C.paid attention to | D.got used to |
A.unhappiness | B.inability | C.courage | D.power |
A.normal | B.regular | C.strange | D.patient |
A.care | B.advice. | C.intention. | D.trust |
A.expected | B.refused | C.feared | D.needed |
A.complaining | B.wondering | C.explaining | D.giving |
A.following | B.connecting | C.changing | D.spreading |
A.since | B.if | C.although | D.until |
A.mistake | B.problem | C.mission | D.object |
A.Obviously | B.Universally | C.Fortunately | D.Generally |
A.get through | B.learn from | C.turn down | D.make out |
A.provided | B.presented | C.rewarded | D.responded |
One midnight, we heard Spotty barking suddenly. We came out only to see two men trying to get into our yard. “Robbery,” cried my mother, “Call the police immediately!” It was then that Spotty
Mr. Li was good at music and also liked folk