1 . Once upon a time, a daughter complained to her father that her life was unhappy and that she was tired of struggling all the time.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes, eggs and coffee beans in them. After 20 minutes, he took them out, putting the potatoes and eggs in a bowl and the coffee in a cup.

Turning to his daughter, he said, “Look closer, and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to taste the coffee. Its good smell brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked. He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and the coffee beans were in the same adversity (逆境) — the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.

The strong and hard potato became soft and weak in boiling water. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new. “Which one do you want to be like,” he asked. “When adversity knocks on your door, how will you respond?”

In life, challenges happen to us all, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.

1. What can we infer from this story?

A．The girl liked the coffee best.

B．The father was good at cooking.

C．The girl didn’t like the potatoes and eggs.

D．Different people have different reactions to adversity.

2. What does the underlined word “fragile” mean in the 5th paragraph?

A．thick

B．hard

C．strong

D．easily-broken

3. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Challenges and responses.	B．Adversities and a chef.
C．A chef and coffee beans.	D．Father and daughter.

2 . When my father was a teenager, he had been declared a genius by his art teacher. He ______ to become an art major and had some ______ of his paintings. But when my mother got ill, his creative life came to an end.

I remembered my father’s ______ for art. One day, I asked whether he was interested in drawing a cartoon. My father was not much of a ______. When learning to drive, I had asked if it was more important to ______ the cars ahead or those behind. “Both.” Then he was ______ for the next three miles.

He gave no ______ answer to my query (询问). I asked again the following day. Still no real ______. I ultimately ______ the idea. I understood he had enough on his plate already. But a week later, I received an email from my father — with a(n) ______. I downloaded the file and there was the cartoon I had asked him to draw!

We began to draw cartoons. The process of creating gave him ______. As he built his art muscles back up, his teenage self’s enthusiasm ______.

It never ______ me that he could talk so much that I had to pretend I was getting a call to ______ his excitement. He is now painting and drawing. If he were to ask me whether I was prouder of the cartoon or of him turning his life around, I would say, “______.”

1.

A．went on

B．agreed on

C．took up

D．put off

2.

A．records

B．copies

C．exhibits

D．celebrations

3.

A．choice

B．love

C．skill

D．idea

4.

A．talker

B．teacher

C．painter

D．thinker

5.

A．give off

B．push through

C．look into

D．focus on

6.

A．careful

B．silent

C．impatient

D．polite

7.

A．definite

B．relevant

C．simple

D．clever

8.

A．channel

B．response

C．news

D．way

9.

A．dropped

B．failed

C．forgot

D．regretted

10.

A．list

B．present

C．theme

D．attachment

11.

A．freedom

B．safety

C．purpose

D．trust

12.

A．grew

B．returned

C．appeared

D．mixed

13.

A．occurred

B．happened

C．exposed

D．adjusted

14.

A．escape

B．reduce

C．match

D．shock

15.

A．The cartoon

B．You

C．Neither

D．Both

3 . “A bird with a broken wing will never fly high.” I’m sure that John would agree with this saying, as he felt this way almost every day in school.

By high school, John was the most famous _________ in his town. He was always absent, didn’t answer questions and got into_________. He had failed almost every exam by the time he entered high school, yet was_________a higher grade level each year. Teachers didn’t want to_________him again the following year. John was moving on, but definitely not moving up.

I met John for the first time at a weekend leadership training program since John was one of the 405 students who_________. At the start of the training, John was just standing outside the circle of students, against the back wall. He didn’t _________join the discussion groups. But slowly, the interactive games_________him in.

The ice really melted when the groups started building a list of_________ and negative things that had occurred at school that year. John_________some constructive ideas on those situations. The other students in John’s group __________his comments. All of a sudden John felt like a__________of the group, and before long he was treated like a leader. By the end of the training, he had joined the Homeless Project team. The other students on the team were__________with his passionate concern and ideas. They even elected John co-chairman of the team.

John started__________at school every day and answered questions from teachers for the first time. He led a second project,__________300 blankets and 1,000 pairs of shoes for the homeless shelter from house to house.

        A bird with a broken wing only needs mending. Once healed, it can fly __________than the rest.1.

A．storyteller

B．troublemaker

C．dream-seeker

D．peacemaker

2.

A．work

B．debt

C．difficulties

D．fights

3.

A．driven away

B．left out

C．turned to

D．sent to

4.

A．have

B．accompany

C．love

D．chase

5.

A．signed up

B．took over

C．fell down

D．went by

6.

A．hurriedly

B．easily

C．readily

D．warm

7.

A．drew

B．led

C．sent

D．reminded

8.

A．useless

B．meaning

C．strange

D．positive

9.

A．changed

B．noticed

C．expressed

D．reserved

10.

A．refused

B．welcomed

C．ignored

D．gathered

11.

A．founder

B．part

C．leader

D．heart

12.

A．impressed

B．anxious

C．disappointed

D．familiar

13.

A．walking away

B．dropping out

C．going down

D．showing up

14.

A．buying

B．collecting

C．donating

D．making

15.

A．longer

B．farther

C．higher

D．happier

4 . Lowri Moore, aged 15, of Nottingham, England, has worn eyeglasses since she was a baby. But she hasn’t always seen glasses ________ in the cartoons she loves. Lowri is making it her ________ to change that.

When Lowri was 9, she sent a letter to Disney asking them if they could create a(n) ________ role model who wore glasses. Glasses are a great tool because they give you the ability to see. This should be ________ . But kids at school ________ not to think so.

Disney ________ Lowri, and three years later, the movie En-canto came out, whose main character, Maribel, wears glasses! En-canto director Jared Bush said, “She’s my hero. I can’t imagine being that age and being that ________ . She is such an inspiration to all of us.” En-canto is a movie putting people on the screen that ________ to be seen and audiences from all over the world have been able to find themselves, their family members in these stories.

In 2019, Lowri Moore, called for more glasses-wearing ________ . She pointed out that figures wearing glasses are usually ________ as “nerdy instead of beautiful.” Having more positive figures with glasses on will help people feel ________ about wearing their own glasses. It also allows people to see the ________ to add glasses like we already have the ability to change skin and hair color on emojis(表情符号). Natalie Owen, ________ heard of Lowri’s story and decided to help her dream come true. Owen created a princess wearing glasses in his new book just for Lowri.

With her dream ________ , Lowri posted a message on her personal website: If you believe in something, don’t be afraid to say it. Don’t think that because you are young, you can’t make a ________ .

1.

A．reflected

B．designed

C．updated

D．recommended

2.

A．choice

B．power

C．mission

D．mind

3.

A．fancy

B．positive

C．similar

D．ordinary

4.

A．rewarded

B．protected

C．changed

D．celebrated

5.

A．tend

B．mean

C．attempt

D．admit

6.

A．focused on

B．responded to

C．caught up on

D．picked up

7.

A．joyful

B．extraordinary

C．courageous

D．typical

8.

A．remain

B．decide

C．adapt

D．deserve

9.

A．friends

B．princesses

C．teachers

D．animals

10.

A．presented

B．respected

C．measured

D．decorated

11.

A．nervous

B．funny

C．patient

D．comfortable

12.

A．option

B．effort

C．joke

D．purpose

13.

A．incredibly

B．regularly

C．accidentally

D．occasionally

14.

A．seen

B．realized

C．reported

D．identified

15.

A．rule

B．dream

C．promise

D．difference

6 . My husband, Russ, and I drove through our neighborhood, the place we’d called home for 28 years. The foothills, once thick with towering pines, were _________. The ground was covered with a heavy layer of ash. The trees that _________ were burnt stumps (树桩).

Two weeks earlier, we’d gotten an early-morning call telling us to _________ immediately. The wildfire burning through Northern California had spread and was headed our way. We’d jumped in the car with our cats and a few belongings. For days, we’d moved from hotel to hotel, _________ for news. What finally came wasn’t _________. Our house had been right in the fire’s path.

Now we’d been allowed to return. Russ and I brought _________, work boots, N95 masks and gloves. We would _________ anything we could. We drove slowly through the ruins, where chimneys marked where homes once stood. I wasn’t prepared for what _________ us. Our house was _________ but broken stones, I wiped away tears as we dug through the ash.

“How will we survive this?” I wondered. “How will we go on?” It felt as if our lives had been destroyed. Later that afternoon Russ __________ what we’d found in the car. “Let’s go,” he said.

I turned to get in the car. That’s when I __________ something stuck to my boot: a bit of paper, dirtied with ash. I picked it up. The words were surprisingly __________, “If life seems difficult, I stop and reflect on the blessing sometimes hidden within every situation. With renewed belief and __________, I begin again.”

Words that must have come from one of my books, a passage I couldn’t recall but now said everything I needed to __________, words that rose from the ashes. I framed (给……做框) that scrap of paper. It now sits in a place of honor in our new home, a reminder that we can __________ again.

1.

A．beautiful

B．strange

C．unrecognizable

D．greenish

2.

A．remained

B．painted

C．left

D．saved

3.

A．enjoy

B．leave

C．help

D．rescue

4.

A．happy

B．eager

C．famous

D．sorry

5.

A．bad

B．good

C．useful

D．impressive

6.

A．shovels

B．books

C．sweaters

D．posters

7.

A．take

B．bring

C．save

D．understand

8.

A．waited

B．helped

C．awarded

D．prevented

9.

A．something

B．anything

C．nothing

D．everything

10.

A．improved

B．enjoyed

C．put

D．exchanged

11.

A．wrote

B．sculpted

C．figured

D．noticed

12.

A．easy

B．sharp

C．helpful

D．clear

13.

A．sadness

B．happiness

C．courage

D．anger

14.

A．say

B．hear

C．sing

D．give

15.

A．stop

B．begin

C．live

D．read

7 . In 1982 Steven Callahan was crossing the Atlantic alone in his sailboat when it struck something and sank. He was out of the shipping lanes and floating in a life raft,________. His supplies were few. His________were small. Yet when three fishermen found him seventy-six days later, he was much skinnier than he was when he_______ , but alive.

The thing that________my eye was how he managed to keep himself going when all hope seemed lost, when there seemed no________in continuing the struggle, when he was suffering greatly, when his lifeboat was broken with a hole and after more than a week struggling with his weak body to_______ it, it was still leaking water. He was________and thoroughly exhausted.________would have seemed the only wise choice.

When people survive these kinds of circumstances, they do something with their________that gives them the courage to keep going. Many people in _______desperate circumstances give in or go mad. Something the survivors do with their thoughts helps them find the________to carry on.

“I tell myself I can________it,” wrote Callahan in his account. “Compared to what others have gone________, I’m fortunate. I tell myself these things over and over,________my determination to keep going.”

I wrote that down after I read it. It________me as something important. And I’ve told myself the same thing when my own goals seemed________off. And every time I say it, I always come back to my________.

So here, coming to us from the extreme edge of________are wards that can give us strength.________you’re going through, tell yourself you can handle it. Tell this to yourself over and over, and it will help you get through the________spots with a little more determination.

1.

A．aloud

B．alone

C．aside

D．aboard

2.

A．fish

B．holes

C．crew

D．chances

3.

A．started

B．arrived

C．rose

D．disappeared

4.

A．covered

B．hurt

C．caught

D．entered

5.

A．sailor

B．companion

C．point

D．opportunity

6.

A．board

B．abandon

C．observe

D．fix

7.

A．starved

B．embarrassed

C．confused

D．satisfied

8.

A．Giving out

B．Giving up

C．Giving away

D．Giving off

9.

A．tools

B．dreams

C．minds

D．hearts

10.

A．similarly

B．physically

C．mentally

D．differently

11.

A．luck

B．direction

C．courage

D．privilege

12.

A．handle

B．delay

C．realize

D．imagine

13.

A．into

B．for

C．against

D．through

14.

A．putting up

B．building up

C．bringing up

D．taking up

15.

A．frightened

B．struck

C．disappointed

D．preserved

16.

A．far

B．low

C．heavy

D．bright

17.

A．status

B．crossroads

C．homes

D．senses

18.

A．experiment

B．hurricane

C．flood

D．survival

19.

A．However

B．Whoever

C．Whatever

D．Whichever

20.

A．smooth

B．rough

C．easy

D．comfortable

8 . It was New Year time, but I wasn’t looking forward to it. That winter, my mother and my stepfather moved our family to Southern California. My brother and I were leaving our rural Alabama behind. This would be our first New Year away from Alabama. My mother took to California like a swan to a royal lake. My athletic little brother, Paul, was excited at a climate that allowed him to go to the beach whenever he wanted.

I, however, was a fat child with a heavy southern pronunciation. My first day in the new class, I introduced myself in a low voice. All I said was my name and where I was from. The class burst into laughter. “He talks funnily.” I was so helpless that I went to a place to call Granny Smith after school, who was my biggest support. But I didn’t get through.

On Sunday evening, the phone rang. It was Granny. She often took advantage of the discounted long-distance rates on Sundays. She said she’d shipped a New Year package. Sure enough, it arrived. Surprised at the box, large enough to hold a small refrigerator, we eagerly tore it open. The smell of Granny’s house filled the room: a combination of fried meat, sausages, furniture polish and decorations. Her house was tiny and always filled with tacky holiday decorations and homemade food before New Year. But in my childhood eyes, it was precious and fantastic.

There were countless tins and containers. We opened them to discover piles of holiday treats. She even included our traditional candy bars. The box was as bottomless as a magical box. There, beneath all these, was my familiar holiday.

Every New Year that we spent in California, the postal service would call and say our package arrived. Over the years, many treasures arrived in the box. For me, it’s always been the best part of the holiday.

1. How did he author’s brother feel when they were moving to California?

A．Unconcerned.

B．Joyful.

C．Grateful.

D．Upset.

2. Why did the author’s classmates laugh at him?

A．He had a strong accent.	B．He made a humorous talk.
C．He looked overweight.	D．He spoke in a very low voice.

3. What does the underlined word “tacky” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Suitable.

B．Large.

C．Cheap.

D．Attractive.

4. Which of the following can be the best title of the text?

A．Granny’s Care Package	B．An Unforgettable Holiday
C．Our Move to California	D．A Telephone Call from Granny

9 . Getting out of my car one evening in late January, I met my neighbor Theresa, who had seen me drive in. “Mrs Taylor is in the hospital again,” she said. “I thought you’d like to know.” I had last seen Mrs Taylor a day or two before Christmas when I took her a little loaf of pumpkin bread, and she came from the backroom in her wheelchair to talk with me. Mrs Taylor and I had been neighbors for 17 years. I remember the dog she and her husband used to have. They called him Beau. He greeted everyone who walked by, and Mr Taylor loved him.

Most of my conversations with Mrs Taylor had been incidental — visits by the mailbox, running into one another at the gas station where she helped me put air in my tire, quiet talks at the funeral home where we went to honor the memory of a mutual (相互的) friend.

When my husband and I moved here with our four noisy, laughing kids, it must have seemed as if the peaceful quiet of the neighborhood had been forever broken. But we showed our enthusiasm to the neighbors sincerely although we had little in common with the mostly elderly folks on our street. Over the years they helped us love our children, picking them up when a bicycle overturned and sending the kids cards for their graduation. We have enjoyed the comfort of living beside people who help us if our tree falls on the fence and feed the cat when we’re away.

Mrs Taylor did not survive her latest set-back. Once again I walked into the funeral home to say good-bye to a neighbor. I remembered the barking dog, the chats by the mailbox, the friendly wave across the fence. I remembered, and I was sad, but I had no regrets. Now there is a new family moving into the Taylor place. I see children’s toys in the yard. It’s time to take a walk.

1. What can we know according to the first paragraph?

A．Mrs Taylor has a big and happy family.

B．The author likes Mrs Taylor’s dog very much.

C．The author would like to know Mrs Taylor is in the hospital.

D．Mrs Taylor had been in poor health before Theresa told the author.

2. What does the underlined word “incidental” refer to?

A．Helpful.

B．Unprepared.

C．Unpleasant.

D．Delightful.

3. How did the author solve the difference with the neighbors?

A．She let her children be less noisy and naughty.

B．She tried to know more elderly folks in her street.

C．She treated everyone in the neighborhood warmly.

D．She enjoyed the comfort of living beside neighbors.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．The True Neighbor	B．Gratitude to my neighbor
C．Mrs Taylor — A Respectable Woman	D．Expectation for New Neighbor

10 . A couple in Ohio accidentally dropped off a bag containing almost $ 100,000 at an Ohio charity shop. Thanks to _______ employees, they got the money back.

The employees were going through _______ last week when they came across a _______. Inside was $ 97,004. “It was so much cash,” employee Kelsey Croy said. “I looked in the bag and we _______ it right there on the desk. And it was $ 97,004.” Thankfully, the owners _______ a receipt for tax purposes when they dropped off _______ that morning. The employees _______ called the couple but there was no _______.

Not wanting to _______ that amount of cash in the store, they called the Zanesville Police Department. ________ repeated calls, officers finally got a hold of the couple. The couple hadn’t realized the money was ________. They told the police they withdrew all their money to deposit it in another bank. On the way, they ________at the charity shop to donate a bag of clothes. That’s ________ the money ended up there. “When we finally ________ them, they just asked if they could get it back tomorrow,” the officer said.

The couple has made contact with the original ________ who found the money to thank them. “I’m just glad that I meet with a bunch of honest and loyal people,” Croy said.

1.

A．honest

B．generous

C．brave

D．clever

2.

A．goods

B．donations

C．food

D．money

3.

A．suitcase

B．box

C．bag

D．wallet

4.

A．put

B．counted

C．hid

D．cleared

5.

A．asked for

B．asked about

C．gave up

D．gave out

6.

A．cards

B．fruits

C．bills

D．clothes

7.

A．surprisedly

B．hesitatingly

C．eventually

D．immediately

8.

A．concern

B．information

C．reply

D．letter

9.

A．take

B．leave

C．waste

D．spend

10.

A．After

B．During

C．Before

D．In

11.

A．found

B．missing

C．stolen

D．forgotten

12.

A．stopped

B．sighed

C．quarreled

D．wandered

13.

A．who

B．when

C．where

D．how

14.

A．inspected on

B．got rid of

C．got through

D．dropped in on

15.

A．police

B．officers

C．customers

D．employees