1 . If someone said they’d pay you $1,800 to stay off social media for six years, would you do it? Could you? Sivert Klefsaas did just that.
In 2016, Lorna Goldstrand Klefsaas challenged her 12-year-old son Sivert to stay off social media until he was 18. If he completed the challenge, she’d award him the cash on his eighteenth birthday. On February 19, 2022, Sivert claimed his prize.
Lorna once listened to a radio program called the “16 for 16”, where a mother gave her daughter $1,600 when she turned 16 if she stayed off social media. She decided to up the ante (提价) to two extra years and $200 more.
Sivert said it wasn’t too difficult to live without social media, and he didn’t think about it much during the six years. As a 12-year-old, Sivert said he wasn’t using social media much anyway. “I got to avoid all the unnecessary drama that was on there,” Sivert said. Lorna said she never had to check for any sneakily (偷偷地) downloaded apps. “He’s so competitive; it was definitely more for proving a point,” she said. “It also meant he had more time to focus on his grades and sports instead.”
After Sivert’s success, Lorna took to Facebook to share the challenge. She said it was some of the best money she ever spent. Other parents have seemed interested in trying it out too.
“We are certainly not against social media, but it’s the healthy using of it,” Lona noted. “It’s about not letting yourself get weighed down by (被……拖累) it, or addicted to it, or affected by things that people post.”
Sivert is the youngest of four children, and his three older sisters all used social media growing up. Lorna said there were times she felt her daughters “got too engrossed (沉迷的)” in their apps and feeds. “Social media was affecting their mood, their friendships and was kind of a depressant (镇静剂),” she said. When one of her daughters was 16, Lorna took away her phone because of it. Lorna says her daughter later thanked her for doing so, as it improved her mood.
1. How did Lorna get the idea of challenging her son to stay off social media?| A．Her son was heavily addicted to the Internet. |
| B．She was inspired by a radio program. |
| C．Her son failed to focus on his grades. |
| D．Her son was affected by things that people posted. |
| A．Because her son had difficulty in using social media. |
| B．Because she was unwilling to affect her son’s mood. |
| C．Because she had confidence in her son. |
| D．Because her son had no interest in the latest trends. |
| A．They thought it was worth promoting. |
| B．They tended to follow her example. |
| C．They expressed their disagreement with her. |
| D．They thought it was too challenging. |
| A．Social media is a great way to establish friendships. |
| B．Social media helps young people improve their mood. |
| C．Lorna’s daughter benefits greatly from social media. |
| D．Social media has a negative influence on teenagers. |
A Pleasant Surprise
For a long time, I had been longing for a piano of my own to practice on.
There was a piano shop on the street through which I went to school every day. Whenever I passed the shop, I would stop, looking at the beautiful piano which stood in the corner of the shop window. How I had been dreaming day and night to possess a piano like that!
Unfortunately, Father was just a clerk. Times were tough during the Depression, and there were five mouths to feed, besides buying coal and wood for the stove. In order to lay aside some money, on cold winter days Father walked 7 miles every day to get to work. No, he couldn’t afford to buy me an expensive piano—such an extravagance (奢侈品), though he knew that I was very anxious for one as a gift.
On my birthday, after school I went as usual to the shop window to look at the piano, but to my surprise the piano had gone. In fact, I should not have been surprised, others had the right to buy it, if they could afford to. Tears filled my eyes when I thought of not being able to see that piano any more.
Disappointed, helpless and sad, I wandered aimlessly up and down the street. About an hour later, I had just entered into our house, when I heard my mother calling me. I brushed away my tears and went into the dining-room where she was.
I could not believe my eyes.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A Little Boy
A little boy selling magazines for school walked up to a house that people rarely visited. The house was very old and shabby and the owner hardly ever came out. When he did come out, he would not say hello to his neighbors or passers-by but simply just glared at them.
The boy knocked on the door and waited, sweating from fear of the old man. The boy’s parents told him to stay away from the house, and a lot of other neighborhood children were told the same thing from their parents.
Dusk found the boy lingering on and hesitating what to do. As he was ready to walk away, the door slowly opened. “What do you want?” the old man said impatiently. The little boy was very afraid but he had a quota (定额) to meet for school with selling the magazines. So he got up the courage and said, “Uh, Sir, I am selling these magazines and, uh, I was wondering if you would like to buy one from me.”
The old man just stared at the boy without a word. The boy could see inside the old man’s house and saw that he had dog figurines (小雕像) on the fireplace mantle. “Do you collect dogs?” The little boy asked. “Yes, I have many collections in my house. They are my family here and they are all I have.” The boy then felt sorry for the man, as it seemed that he was a very lonely soul.
“Well, I do have a magazine here for collectors. It is perfect for you. I also have one about dogs since you like dogs so much.” The old man was ready to close the door on the boy and said, “No, boy. I don’t need any magazines of any kind, now goodbye.”
The little boy was sad that he was not going to make his quota with the sale. He was also sad for the old man being so alone in the house that he owned. The boy went home and then had an idea. He had a little dog figurine that he got some years ago from an aunt. The figurine did not mean nearly as much to him since he had a real live dog and a large family.
注意:1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
The little boy headed back down to the old man’s house.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________From that day on something changed inside the old man.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4 . One Friday, 12-year-old Janet was going to stay all night with her friend Amy. They had to
Amy said not to
Amy smiled back and told him Janet was staying overnight and they were going to listen to music and play games. Dawson said that sounded fun and gave them each a freshly picked
After they left Dawson’s house, Janet asked Amy, “How come he was so
Amy
Smiles are contagious (感染他人的). If you pretend he is smiling an invisible smile at you and you smile back at him,
| A．go into | B．walk by | C．take up | D．put down |
| A．announced | B．ordered | C．predicted | D．suggested |
| A．fond | B．tired | C．scared | D．proud |
| A．cry | B．return | C．speak | D．worry |
| A．However | B．Instead | C．Besides | D．Therefore |
| A．smile | B．joke | C．idea | D．view |
| A．pet | B．doll | C．gift | D．friend |
| A．banana | B．apple | C．orange | D．pear |
| A．fair | B．rude | C．nice | D．open |
| A．thought | B．doubted | C．realized | D．explained |
| A．friendly | B．happy | C．famous | D．popular |
| A．remembered | B．asked | C．pretended | D．agreed |
| A．turning | B．talking | C．referring | D．admitting |
| A．awarded | B．lent | C．offered | D．bought |
| A．sooner or later | B．more or less | C．now and again | D．here and there |
For my family, a vacation in Penang is a yearly event. My mother and father were raised in Penang, so they loved Penang cuisine. Each December, we’d go to the island and take a three-day tour of their favorite places for meals.
This year we began the trip to the north on a Friday morning. It took us six hours to arrive at our destination. We always stayed at a hotel in Batu Ferringhi. The beach was only a few steps away from the hotel, and our rooms had a beautiful ocean view. We spent our first night playing on the beach. Then, we went back to the hotel rooms and started playing games. My parents had a rule for our holidays that we should spend time doing something together. There was to be no television and no Internet.
We reached Bukit Bendera the following day, and then wandered around the town for the rest of the afternoon, visiting our favorite shops. We were drinking tea in a cafe when we heard someone discussing an earthquake off Sumatra, an Indonesia n island. After we returned to our hotel, we left for the beach. We went for a stroll on the beach, collecting shells along the way. When I looked up, I could see that the sunlight was more brilliant than I had imagined. Far away, I could see a big tree shaking under the sunlight. We didn’t think anything terrible was going to happen. All of a sudden, I realized something strange. It was as if the sea was moving away from the coast. I called my dad to check on this strange event. My dad took a look and his face went pale. In the distance we could see a gray line approaching the coast. It seemed to grow taller by the second.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为100左右；
2. 续写部分为一段，开头语已为你写好。
My dad shouted at us to hurry back to the hotel.
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We waited a long time before going downstairs.
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My little brother is a five-year-old boy named Tex. When it comes to being funny and lovable, he is the best. But when it comes to keeping secrets, he is the worst!
It just so happened that my parents’ wedding anniversary was near Valentine’s Day (情人节), and they planned to celebrate by going away for a couple of days. But at the last minute, my dad came home from work with bad news.
“I’m afraid our trip will have to wait. The shop assistant has the flu, so there will be no one to manage the grocery store if we go.”
“It’s OK,” my mom said, biting her lip. “We’ll have lots more anniversaries to celebrate.”
That was when I came up with the idea to surprise my parents with an extra-special cake. Luckily, the grandmother of my good friend Ollie, a very generous person who lives right next door, was an amazing baker with a kitchen full of most of the stuff you need to make a yummy valentine-anniversary cake.
I called Ollie if she and her grandmother could help me make a valentine-anniversary cake. I wanted to surprise Mom and Dad after dinner tonight. As usual, Ollie was happy to help me. Then, I asked my mother if I could go to Ollie’s and promised I would be back soon. Once I had my mom’s permission, I looked for perfect ingredients (原料) and a perfect heart-shaped pan just to make my cake more interesting and tasty. As I packed all the things I needed, I noticed Tex was glued to TV, which I thought was a perfect opportunity to leave secretly.
As I went out for Ollie’s, Tex stopped me, asking where I was going. I whispered to him I was going to make a cake for Mom and Dad’s anniversary. He wanted to join in. “You can stay here and make cards. But remember, we won’t say a single thing about the cake until after dinner.” I said seriously. He nodded without hesitation. Ollie’s grandmother was extremely helpful, who helped me make a beautiful valentine-anniversary cake, and I brought it home secretly.
注意：
1.续写词数应为100左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I was about to hide the cake in the kitchen when Tex yelled, “Mom”.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Let’s invite the neighbors to a get-to-know-you party!” I announced to my wife, Sarah, and our 11-year-old twins, Olivia and Holly, as we pulled into the driveway of our new house.
The idea had come to me the day we moved in a month earlier. Every time we passed each basketball field and garden, my excitement grew. Families! I could picture us all hanging out together.
Now, here I was at the end of that driveway, sitting in my camp chair, having serious second thoughts. What if we wait a couple more months to hold a get-together? What if we get to know a few folks first? Anyway, I made the final decision.
Sarah rearranged bags of chips and popcorn in a basket she’d set out. “I hope we have enough,” she said. Olivia and Holly threw the beanbags to each other to pass the time. A week earlier, Sarah had designed the invitations, “Hello! We’re new to the neighborhood. The Miller Family. We’d love to meet you. Monday, July 5, anytime between 6 and 8 p. m. It would be great fun!”
Sarah and the girls had gone house to house, putting an invitation in their mailboxes on Whitney Drive, namely the Parkers, a single mother Sally with two kids and Mr. Davis. Coming home, the kids excitedly talked about the Willsons’, an elderly couple they me t in the neighborhood, who seemed to be quite interested when they told them about the party.
However, we hadn’t heard a word since. I checked my watch. 6:10. Maybe I’d misjudged. Sarah also had her doubts obviously. “Would we look silly sitting all alone in our front yard?” she said. “What if no one shows up?” I put my arm around her and drew her close. “We have to have faith,” I said. Then I took two bottles from the cooler I’d stored with juice boxes and cold drinks. Sarah and I clinked (碰杯) them together. “To our new neighborhood,” I said.
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。
Another ten minutes dragged by and then my eyes widened.
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Chatting with the old couple in the yard, we found more neighbors coming.
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8 . Zu Wenbao is a 23-year-old Chinese with autism (孤独症). That means it can be
At the Beijing studio, Zu learned how to play the keyboards and
Chen knows the young people with autism have trouble getting jobs, so he hopes music will help them make a
| A．happy | B．difficult | C．strict | D．fast |
| A．painting | B．writing | C．music | D．design |
| A．company | B．farm | C．shelter | D．school |
| A．brings | B．forces | C．invites | D．forbids |
| A．play | B．study | C．walk | D．agree |
| A．classroom | B．hospital | C．store | D．restaurant |
| A．disappear | B．fail | C．sing | D．believe |
| A．medicines | B．games | C．plans | D．lessons |
| A．pick up | B．socialize with | C．learn from | D．go after |
| A．wish | B．movement | C．living | D．promise |
| A．arrangements | B．challenges | C．examples | D．concerts |
| A．disease | B．success | C．talent | D．puzzlement |
| A．curious | B．angry | C．afraid | D．disappointed |
| A．suddenly | B．generally | C．finally | D．regularly |
| A．in the world | B．to some degree | C．by the way | D．as a result |
9 . 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. |
10 . Fifty years ago, an agent (经纪人) showed us a house. My husband and I liked the house. The price was
There have been many
This spring I had the fence rebuilt and repainted. Within a week, however, I was
As I was taking a photo of the damage for a police report, a young man came. He
There were still warm-hearted people who loved our community and reached out to a stranger in my time of need.
1.| A．below | B．beyond | C．within | D．between |
| A．choice | B．goal | C．problem | D．plan |
| A．put up | B．made up | C．climbed over | D．looked over |
| A．decisions | B．changes | C．stories | D．chances |
| A．neighbors | B．classmates | C．friends | D．workmates |
| A．Thus | B．Therefore | C．Besides | D．However |
| A．worried | B．nervous | C．shocked | D．excited |
| A．fixed | B．found | C．dropped | D．broken |
| A．order | B．message | C．note | D．reply |
| A．nearly | B．hardly | C．usually | D．clearly |
| A．introduced | B．expressed | C．regarded | D．described |
| A．cause | B．mistake | C．difficulty | D．damage |
| A．promise | B．idea | C．help | D．understanding |
| A．conversation | B．noise | C．voice | D．laugh |
| A．noticed | B．met | C．caught | D．recognized |
