1 . Jamil Jan Kochai moved to America from Afghanistan at age one. At home, his family only spoke Pashto (普什图语), so when he reached first grade in an English-speaking school, he was
Then came Ms. Lung, Kochai’s second-grade teacher, who quickly realized that Kochai was
Sadly, Kochai
In the meantime, Kochai was starting to go after a successful career in writing. He has received many writing
Two years ago, Lung’s husband, Allen Lung, happened to read an article Kochai wrote for a literary magazine that
Kochai cried when he heard his teacher’s voice. He told Ms. Lung everything he had achieved was all thanks to her. They planned to meet
However, that moment didn’t come until August 13, 2023, when Kochai was doing a book signing event for his new novel. Allen approached Kochai, introduced himself, and brought him over to reunite with Ms. Lung. “I didn’t know why I didn’t see her
“My father used to say that every child is a rocket filled with
| A．hardly | B．gradually | C．possibly | D．completely |
| A．playing | B．preparing | C．struggling | D．exercising |
| A．extra | B．difficult | C．boring | D．simple |
| A．hid | B．won | C．sold | D．packed |
| A．lost touch with | B．lived up to | C．kept up with | D．got close to |
| A．correct | B．practical | C．fruitless | D．risky |
| A．instruments | B．tips | C．materials | D．prizes |
| A．caring for | B．searching for | C．turning to | D．cheering up. |
| A．blamed | B．examined | C．amused | D．mentioned |
| A．trained | B．admired | C．charged | D．contacted |
| A．wife | B．cousin | C．niece | D．daughter |
| A．receive | B．call | C．consult | D．teach |
| A．in order | B．in general | C．in person | D．in case |
| A．earlier | B．later | C．closer | D．farther |
| A．air | B．water | C．fuel | D．paper |
2 . A British woman, Dr. Mantri, growing up in India started to notice her son, Dhruv, was struggling with simple math problems when he was in the fifth grade. After noticing this, she started using an abacus (算盘) to help her son visually (形象化地) understand mathematics.
“I would ask him something like 35 minus 13 but he ‘couldn’t’ do it,” said Dhruv’s mom Dr. Mantri. “I decided to change the way he looked at numbers,” she said. “An abacus is a tried and tested method, and the Egyptians used them for building the pyramid.” In just six days he started to make progress in using the abacus and would go on to become an outstanding kid with numbers, with even his classmates’ parents reaching out for help.
She never thought she would teach her son to use an abacus, which she used as a child in India and it was always helpful. Within six days she started to notice a difference and see results. So dramatic was the change that school staff asked him to perform with the abacus at a meeting, where some parents even came to ask for advice on using it for their kids.
IT specialist Dr. Mantri said the humble abacus can be used for calculations and kids enjoy learning on it because it’s like a game. “It becomes a playing tool for younger children, for it feels like a game. I think the success comes because children can touch and feel an abacus and visualize them,” she added.
By the age of 12, Dhruv was giving online cyber security class and is now pursuing a career in data science and analytics. Dhruv has now got an apprenticeship (实习) at an international firm. During the four-year apprenticeship, he will spend one day a week studying Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Glasgow Caledonian University. “He is so confident now and I am so proud,” Dr. Mantri said, with Dhruv adding, “I don’t think my teachers would have guessed that I would be following a career in data science at that time.”
1. Why did Dr. Mantri begin to use an abacus to teach his son?| A．Her son showed high interest in the toy abacus. |
| B．Her son had some difficulty in learning maths. |
| C．Her son had talent for numbers when young. |
| D．Her son once watched others use an abacus. |
| A．The abacus had been out of date now. |
| B．The abacus had a very long history. |
| C．The abacus was easy for most people to use. |
| D．The abacus was a challenge for her son. |
| A．The way to teach children to learn on an abacus. |
| B．The development and change of the abacus in history. |
| C．The reason why children would love to learn on an abacus. |
| D．The disadvantage of using an abacus to calculate an amount. |
| A．He is a full-time student at Glasgow Caledonian University. |
| B．He is expert in data science and analytics now. |
| C．He gives online cyber security class now. |
| D．He works in an international company. |
3 . A young man was about to go to the office when he received a phone call from a nurse who told him his father was injured and in hospital. So he
The nurse
Throughout the night the young man
Sunrise
| A．jogged | B．jumped | C．rushed | D．slid |
| A．left | B．forgot | C．remained | D．removed |
| A．better | B．worse | C．more | D．finer |
| A．in favor of | B．in memory of | C．in search of | D．in fear of |
| A．despair | B．joy | C．relief | D．anxiety |
| A．cut in | B．turned in | C．called in | D．took in |
| A．joined | B．connected | C．led | D．appointed |
| A．argued | B．whispered | C．responded | D．described |
| A．weakly | B．positively | C．passively | D．generously |
| A．took | B．looked | C．ran | D．asked |
| A．desired | B．argued | C．concerned | D．recommended |
| A．received | B．refused | C．recovered | D．reflected |
| A．approaching | B．advancing | C．accounting | D．assuming |
| A．obvious | B．beneficial | C．necessary | D．impossible |
| A．writing | B．reminding | C．drawing | D．reading |
A’Driane Nieves didn’t attend art school, and she never dreamed of
Nieves tried crocheting (钩编) for about two weeks. She admitted she was
Since she started painting in 2012, Nieves
5 . My father was the gentles and most loving dad in the world — until we had an argument. During those moments, he transformed into a
So when he denied my senior class trip to Montreal, I could do nothing but race from his room in despair And just then a thought
With the hope that his eyes would be more open than his ears, I began to write a note that began with “Dear Daddy” and
It was only minutes
The victory of winning my dad’s permission was sweet.
| A．cautious | B．stubborn | C．sensitive | D．passive |
| A．masked | B．struck | C．shut | D．folded |
| A．authority | B．emotion | C．enthusiasm | D．dignity |
| A．straw | B．word | C．chance | D．minute |
| A．flashed | B．occurred to | C．hit | D．crossed |
| A．record | B．hear | C．review | D．read |
| A．wound up | B．made up | C．sprang up | D．dried up |
| A．in all | B．at all | C．above all | D．after all |
| A．covered | B．slid | C．attached | D．lay |
| A．collapsed | B．suffered | C．cried | D．panicked |
| A．after | B．when | C．since | D．before |
| A．lost | B．melted | C．froze | D．kept |
| A．Therefore | B．Anyway | C．However | D．Instead |
| A．follow-up | B．make-up | C．pick-up | D．break-up |
| A．worthless | B．restless | C．speechless | D．senseless |
Meagan and her close friend Samantha, both school teachers, lived together in an apartment in Denver. On mornings when Samantha had class, Meagan would help to watch her 2-year-old daughter, Hannah. Also part of the household was Meagan’s pet, Willie, a particularly intelligent and chatty parrot.
Willie was indeed funny and a good talker. In addition to some vocabulary learned from Meagan, he became a great mimic (会模仿的动物) of cats, dogs, and chickens. Plus, he could sing along to the radio. The bird was a nice playmate for the little girl, and he always knew how to lift her spirits. The bird was more than just a pet; he was a member of the family.
One day, with Samantha at school, Hannah had comfortably positioned herself in front of morning cartoons while Meagan was busy cooking in the kitchen, preparing the little girl her favorite breakfast treat, an apple pie. When Meagan was done baking the apple pie, she placed it at the center of the kitchen table to cool. She looked at Hannah and, confident the child was fully engaged with the TV, walked out of the kitchen quickly to use the bathroom.
Meagan was gone maybe 30 seconds. And suddenly, she heard the bird going crazy, screaming loudly. She heard two very distinct words from the parrot’s mouth. “Mama! Baby!” Repeated over and over again. “Mama! Baby! Mama! Baby!”
Meagan ran out of the bathroom to find Hannah in the kitchen, holding the partly eaten apple pie, fighting for breath, her face and lips a terrifying shade of blue. And Willie was still screaming loudly.Hannah had climbed up on a chair, gotten the apple pie from the kitchen table and was clearly choking on it.
注意: 1.续写词数应为150左右；2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
With a pounding heart, Meagan grabbed Hannah immediately.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Around lunchtime, Samantha came back from school.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________7 . It all began on a cold, rainy day．
Sarah, a poor single mother, was
Sarah
A man, who saw the heartwarming
Reflecting on this unbelievable journey, we can
| A．helping | B．continuing | C．struggling | D．seeking |
| A．left behind | B．came across | C．looked for | D．turned to |
| A．clean | B．cheap | C．fancy | D．thin |
| A．followed | B．approached | C．respected | D．caught |
| A．complaining | B．staring | C．suffering | D．surviving |
| A．Attracted | B．Confused | C．Moved | D．Shocked |
| A．connection | B．appreciation | C．duty | D．kindness |
| A．exchange | B．invitation | C．option | D．performance |
| A．story | B．symbol | C．chance | D．hit |
| A．generosity | B．courage | C．curiosity | D．patience |
| A．change | B．support | C．direct | D．educate |
| A．creativity | B．strength | C．significance | D．description |
| A．quick | B．main | C．different | D．extra |
| A．recognize | B．expect | C．remember | D．admit |
| A．regularly | B．obviously | C．eventually | D．slightly |
For the past three years, I had worked tirelessly as a waitress at Lester’s Cafe during weekends and vacations, saving every penny I could for my $500 tuition (学费) bill for St John’s College of Nursing. But fate (命运) had other plans in store for me. Just days after my high school graduation, my father fell ill and needed an expensive operation to recover. My family, already struggling financially, was in urgent need of funds. With a heavy heart, I offered all my savings to help cover the medical bills.
But as the days went by, panic set in. How would I pay for my tuition? No bank would lend money to an eighteen-year-old with no hope of repayment for three years, and none of my friends had that kind of money. I felt lost, unsure of what to do.
I thought of Lester, but he always put the profits back into his little cafe. Five hundred dollars was a large sum of money then. There was only one person who came to mind — Mr. Smith, the successful engineer and a regular customer at Lester’s Cafe. He came into Lester’s early every morning for breakfast. Despite having barely exchanged more than pleasantries (客套话) with him while waiting tables, he was the only person who ever tipped me in the little cafe. Would he even remember me? And wouldn’t Lester be upset if I asked his customer for a loan?
On Saturday afternoon, I took the courage to call Lester and explain my difficult situation. To my surprise, he understood and encouraged me to approach Mr. Smith for help. “Mr. Smith still eats here every morning. And he asked about you yesterday. Come here on Monday and you’re welcome to ask him. And good luck, Jeanne,” he said to me.
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。
So on Monday morning, I found myself standing nervously in front of Mr. Smith.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As we left the bank, Mr. Smith smiled and shook my hand, wishing me good luck.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9 . Twenty years ago
I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 AM. When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.
I walked to the door and knocked, “Just a minute,” answered a weak, elderly voice.
When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”
“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.
“Oh, I’m in no hurry,” she said. “I’m on my way to a hospice (临终医院). I don’t have any family left. The doctor says I don’t have very long.”
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter (计价器).
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she’d ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
At dawn, she suddenly said, “I’m tired. Let’s go now.”
We drove in silence to the address she had given me.
“How much do I owe you?” she asked.
“Nothing.” I said.
“You have to make a living,” she answered. “Oh, there are other passengers,” I answered.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held on to me tightly. Our hug ended with her remark, “You gave an old woman a little moment of joy.”
1. The old woman chose to ride through the city in order to ________.| A．see some places for the last time | B．show she was familiar with the city |
| C．let the driver earn more money | D．reach the destination on time |
| A．wanted to help her | B．shut off the meter by mistake |
| C．had received her payment in advance | D．was in a hurry to take other passengers |
| A．Giving is always a pleasure. |
| B．People should respect each other. |
| C．People should learn to appreciate others’ concern |
| D．An act of kindness can bring people great joy |
10 . Once upon a time, there was a small village in the center of a big forest. All the villagers were used to their robotic farm work and none of them had the imagination or the will (意愿) to try something new, except for one girl named Jo. Very few could read or write, and Jo was one of them.
One afternoon, when Jo was on one of her explorations in the forest, she came upon an abandoned cottage (废弃的小屋). Though she’d been warned to stay away from abandoned places, her curiosity got the best of her. She slid in and was amazed to find a room full of books! Jo’s excitement was huge when she realized she had found a hidden treasure.
She ran to tell the villagers everything, thinking that they would share her excitement but instead, she heard roars of laughter! Jo was confused by this reaction (反应) and a little hurt too, but she did not give up on her books.
She came to the cottage every day and got down to reading the books. For her, each page was an adventure with characters who challenged difficulties with their determination and who struggled for good. Knowing the power of stories in impressing on people the values of life, she decided to share the stories with the villagers, though she knew it would be a difficult journey. Making this her mission (使命), Jo started telling stories every day at her cottage.
In the beginning, only a few came to the readings. But word spread rapidly, causing more and more people to come, some of whom even traveled from far away to just listen to her stories. She also conducted workshops in which she taught people how to read and write. She was remembered and lived in her stories even after she was long gone.
1. What do the underlined words “got the best of” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Prevented. | B．Frightened. | C．Cheated. | D．Beat. |
| A．They already knew it. | B．They thought nothing of it. |
| C．It was related to something fun. | D．It was all Jo’s imagination. |
| A．Caring but confusing. | B．Honest and helpful. |
| C．Adventurous but careless. | D．Determined and influential. |
| A．The Discovery of a Hidden Treasure |
| B．Jo’s Journey: from Adventure to Education |
| C．The Power of Stories in Challenging Difficulties |
| D．Jo’s Adventure: Unearthing an Abandoned Cottage |
