When my husband Ash told me he was planning to turn down some perfectly good job offers and start his own business, I was surprised. I advised against it. But Ash’s mother, who had run her own business, said: “Why not give it a go?”
My mother-in-law was right. Ash started Present Model Management. He loves it: the pressure (压力) he has now is lower. Plus, he can take the kids to school if he wants.
Watching him succeed inspired me to take my own leap. After 12 years of working as a childminder, I knew that something had to change. I loved the kids, but I’d been singing “Twinkle Twinkle” for 12 years. I only became a childminder in order to be home with my own children. Now that they are more independent, I have time to try something more exciting.
I set up @family_feasts to record what our family eats: healthy, tasty meals on a sensible budget (开支). From there, I started a WordPress blog to hold the recipes (食谱). When I started sharing weekly meal plans, the feedback (反响) was amazing. That’s what people want: inspiration.
At first I wanted to teach workshops for parents. To prove that I could teach, I started a cooking class for 8-10-year-old children at my daughter’s primary school.
It sold out overnight. A year later, I have a long waiting list. It’s so meaningful to watch the kids learn: they’ve burnt and cut themselves, but they’re really starting to understand flavors.
The next thing that took off was children’s cookery birthday parties. People have booked those through word of mouth. From the strength of my blog, I’ve published recipes with the BBC and Co-op Food Magazine. My final dream is to write a family cookbook one day.
I’m so glad that Ash and I took this leap. We plan our work around the kids. We pay ourselves less than before, but we also spend more sensibly. I love the freedom of our life, the time we have together, and the excitement of building a community of kids who will be able to feed themselves.
1. What was Ash’s mother’s attitude towards his plan? (no more than 5 words)2. Why did the author want to change her job as a childminder? (no more than 10 words)
3. What was the author’s third business? (no more than 15 words)
4. What does the underlined words probably mean in the last but one paragraph? (1 word)
5. What benefits has the author gained from setting up her own business? Please explain. (no more than 20 words)
2 . Westsider Rare & Used Books bookstore is a big name on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. It’s the type of old shop where you can wander narrow walkways for hours while looking through towering shelves stuffed with books ranging from cheap, used copies to rare collections. The store has even been used as a setting in several films.
In January, a neighborhood resident Bobby Panza, saw the Westsider was having a going-out-of-business sale. He also read a story on a local blog in which store owner Dorian Thornley made an “off the cuff (即兴的)” remark that the store could stay open if it could raise $50,000 — “don’t see that happening, though,” Thornley mentioned at the time.
Panza, who had never formally met Thornley but had shopped at the store for a decade, started a GoFundMe campaign. In just four days, 850 people donated from $5 to thousands of dollars each and raised $54,000.
With the money, Thornley updated (更新) the store’s selection of used and rare books and reorganized the interior (内部) of the bookstore. Thornley also intended to buy advertising for his store, but the publicity from the GoFundMe campaign has helped raise awareness and helped boost (提高) Westsider’s sales by nearly 25%. Thornley has saved some of the money to ensure Westsider won’t fall behind on its rent again.
Thornley found out about the crowdfunding effort the day after it started when a customer asked whether Thornley was serious about keeping the store open for good if $50,000 could be raised. When he told her he was serious, the customer — a local writer named Sally Klingenstein Martell — donated $10,000 to get the effort off the ground. Thornley calls Martell’s significant donation “the motivator for everyone else donating”.
Whether the money will be enough to permanently save the business remains to be seen. But now that Westsider has avoided the worst, Thornley is trying to make that happen.
1. What do we know about Westsider Rare & Used Books?A.It has sponsored several old shops. |
B.It is hardly known by local residents. |
C.It is decorated to look like a cinema. |
D.It sells both cheap books and rare collections. |
A.Hopeless. | B.Ashamed. | C.Confident. | D.Enthusiastic. |
A.A regular customer successfully organized the donation campaign. |
B.Panza has been friends with the store owner for ten years. |
C.Thornley wanted to transfer the possession of the bookstore at first. |
D.The donation can make Westsider survive permanently. |
A.He paid for his daily expenses. |
B.He bought advertising for his store. |
C.He rented a new place to sell books. |
D.He improved customers’ shopping experience. |
A.It was extraordinarily generous. |
B.It was done before the crowdfunding effort. |
C.It excited other people’s donations. |
D.It raised Thornley’s hope to open a branch store. |
3 . Compared to most people with disabilities, Zhao Hongcheng is lucky.
Born in 1990, a wheelchair has been part of Zhao’s life since she was 1 year old due to the aftereffects of poliomyelitis(小儿麻痹症).However, it did not stop her from completing her college and graduate studies before becoming a white-collar worker in Shanghai. And now, as a video content creator who has over 84, 000 followers on the video-sharing platform Bilibili, Zhao wants to be a bridge between the disabled and the rest of society.
First attempt
“I made my first video in 2019,” Zhao says, adding that it was also the years he moved to Shanghai. “My original purpose was to find an emotional outlet. I always encountered inconvenience caused by my wheelchair when going out, which made me feel sad. However, I barely had any disabled friends, so I had no one to talk to. I felt quite lonely,” Zhao explains. In 2019, the rising popularity of short videos inspired Zhao.
Under the username Da Chengzi Hao Meimei on Bilibili, her first vlog about a trip to Guangzhou with friends was viewed more than 2, 000 times on the first day, which surprised Zhao. “This made me feel that there were many things worth sharing in my life, and it also gave me a sense of mission,” she explains. That first video has since been viewed over 48, 000times and her fourth video, displaying how she got to work in a wheelchair, made her even more popular.
Rising ambition
After her fourth video went viral, she continued to make short videos and, in 2021.became a full-time content creator on Bilibili. In her video about an accessibility bus tour in Shanghai, she put forward a piece of advice for such facilities. Fortunately, her proposal was adopted by the city and is currently being optimized. Zhao’s other videos, including a list of praise and criticism for various daily travel experiences in Shanghai, have also received wide attention.
“One of the great things about being a content creator is that I feel like I have the initiative of discourse-that is, (talking about)the real difficulties and pains that a disabled person faces,” Zhao says.
Long way to go
Zhao says education and employment are the two major hurdles for the disabled group around her. She explains that she has heard many stories about disabled people dropping out of school and that some students with good grades were rejected by their chosen universities or were persuaded to change majors. Beyond that, some people with minor disabilities, which may not affect their daily life at all, were being dismissed by companies, due to their physical examination reports reflecting their issue.
Zhao says she has developed a new perspective for her videos. “I hope to be a bridge between the wider society and the disabled. I want people to be able to truly experience the life of the disabled and to develop a greater understanding of the group,” she says.
Now Bilibili star uses her platform to promote greater understanding of the lives and needs of disabled people.
1. Why does the author say Zhao Hongcheng is lucky?A.Because she recovered from her illness under the help of her doctor. |
B.Because she won great acclaim and support from the disabled. |
C.Because she successfully completed her college education and obtained a job. |
D.Because her family and friends loved her very much when she was a child. |
A.To find a way to express her emotion. | B.To fulfill her mission to assist the disabled. |
C.To arrest people’s attention. | D.To obtain sympathy from society. |
A.Putting forward proposal to offer financial support for the disabled. |
B.Helping the disabled to live optimistically on their own. |
C.Sharing the her stories from the perspective of a disabled person. |
D.Offering advice to the disabled to tackle their problems in their daily life. |
A.Lack of education and job opportunities. |
B.In different attitude and unfair treatment from family. |
C.Physical and mental sufferings caused by disabilities. |
D.External criticism and internal loneliness. |
A.A disabled person. | B.A positive influencer. |
C.A video content creator. | D.A storyteller. |
4 . Meagan, my youngest child, studies in a high school. She’ll
Her brother is a physician; her sisters major in computer. In a way, all of this
“Why don’t you?” Gary
“You’re
And before applying to college, I was
I
Now I fully realize the
A.leave | B.quit | C.pick | D.visit |
A.came around | B.came about | C.came down | D.came in |
A.physics | B.computer | C.English | D.music |
A.escape | B.remember | C.mind | D.enjoy |
A.encouraged | B.commanded | C.warned | D.argued |
A.school | B.house | C.hospital | D.company |
A.Since | B.When | C.Although | D.If |
A.talent | B.spirit | C.accent | D.memory |
A.challenge | B.benefit | C.interrupt | D.impress |
A.right | B.welcome | C.strange | D.strong |
A.award | B.explanation | C.advantage | D.shot |
A.Otherwise | B.Therefore | C.However | D.Meanwhile |
A.raising | B.counting | C.expecting | D.calling |
A.canceled | B.postponed | C.showed | D.discussed |
A.curiously | B.sympathetically | C.anxiously | D.excitedly |
A.lifted | B.nodded | C.patted | D.shook |
A.compromised | B.regretted | C.disagreed | D.remembered |
A.made up | B.filled out | C.looked through | D.gave away |
A.embarrassed | B.worried | C.delighted | D.determined |
A.influence | B.origin | C.process | D.difficulty |
5 . “Robot, stand up” — Oscar Constanza, 16, gives the order, and slowly but surely a large frame (支架) lifts him up and he starts walking. Fixed to his shoulders, chest, waist, knees and feet, the exoskeleton (外骨骼) allows Oscar — who has a genetic neurological condition that means he was unable to move — to walk across the room and turn around.
“Before, I needed someone to help me walk ... this makes me feel independent,” said Oscar, as his father Jean-Louis Constanza, one of the co-founders of the company that makes the exoskeleton, looked on.
“One day Oscar said to me: ‘Dad, you’re a robotic engineer. Why don’t you make a robot that would allow us to walk?’” his father said in Paris. “Ten years from now, there will be no, or far fewer, wheelchairs,” he said.
Other companies across the world are also making exoskeletons, competing to make them as light and usable as possible. Some are focused on helping disabled people walk, others on applications, including making standing less tiring for factory workers. Wandercraft’s exoskeleton, an outer frame that supports but also simulates (模仿) body movement, has been sold to many hospitals in France, Luxembourg and the United States, for about 150,000 euros a piece. It cannot yet be bought by private individuals for everyday use — that is the next stage the company is working on. A personal skeleton would need to be much lighter, Wandercraft engineers said.
Just outside Paris, 33-year-old Kevin Piette, who lost the ability to walk in a bike accident 10 years ago, tries one on, walking around his apartment, remote controller (遥控器) in hand. “In the end, it’s quite similar: instead of having the information going from the brain to the legs, it goes from the remote controller to the legs,” he said, before making his dinner and walking with it from the kitchen to the living room.
1. What difficulty did Oscar face?A.He didn’t get along well with his father. | B.He didn’t get the right treatment. |
C.He failed to invent a robot. | D.He lost his ability to walk. |
A.Support his dream of being an engineer. | B.Help him get away from the wheelchair. |
C.Stop limiting his freedom. | D.Set up a robot company. |
A.Other companies. | B.Exoskeletons. |
C.Disabled people. | D.Factory workers. |
A.They are affordable for most disabled people. | B.They will have a big market. |
C.They have reached the common family. | D.They are not as useful as expected. |
A.It is difficult to control. | B.It is worse than real legs. |
C.It can satisfy his daily needs. | D.It helps him follow his dreams. |
6 . In January 2016, I was eighteen years old at the time. I was going through a
I rewatched “The Nanny” and then I met a lovely girl named Hannah in an online community. We shared how much we loved the
I started to
In March 2017, the
Life, however, had other plans and I
I can’t describe the feeling of our first hug (拥抱) — it was
She is my best friend, and
A.reasonable | B.long | C.hard | D.different |
A.failed | B.finished | C.changed | D.wanted |
A.waiting for | B.looking for | C.giving up | D.picking up |
A.understood | B.praised | C.warned | D.attracted |
A.sitcom | B.girl | C.Internet | D.job |
A.forget | B.care | C.write | D.talk |
A.stop | B.love | C.avoid | D.teach |
A.common | B.easier | C.new | D.stronger |
A.landed | B.needed | C.left | D.created |
A.treated | B.supported | C.hurt | D.challenged |
A.tough | B.private | C.eventful | D.unexpected |
A.memory | B.importance | C.cost | D.possibility |
A.publicly | B.jokingly | C.quickly | D.honestly |
A.visit | B.follow | C.check | D.thank |
A.refused | B.helped | C.managed | D.hoped |
A.boarded | B.sent | C.built | D.owned |
A.free | B.boring | C.fearful | D.magical |
A.team | B.connection | C.network | D.habit |
A.calling | B.inviting | C.telling | D.seeing |
A.work with | B.hear from | C.ask for | D.stay with |
7 . My mother spent at least 12 hours every day rolling country cigarettes to support our family. One day she showed me her wage book,
As I watched her finally
When I was 13, I read the autobiography of Helen Keller. I
At the age of 22, I came back to my village to set up an institution that
Of course, to change people’s mind is challenging. The quickest way to
A.pointing | B.asking | C.testing | D.giving |
A.keep | B.break | C.play | D.remember |
A.order | B.suppose | C.teach | D.advise |
A.try | B.refuse | C.manage | D.pretend |
A.agreement | B.complement | C.development | D.excitement |
A.difference | B.plan | C.mistake | D.decision |
A.dream | B.trouble | C.curiosity | D.demand |
A.priceless | B.careless | C.fearless | D.worthless |
A.abandoned | B.admired | C.conveyed | D.inspired |
A.hometown | B.community | C.downtown | D.college |
A.hesitated | B.applied | C.hated | D.agreed |
A.activity | B.program | C.library | D.campaign |
A.give out | B.turn out | C.step out | D.break out |
A.changed | B.finished | C.fulfilled | D.connected |
A.beautiful | B.joyful | C.useful | D.careful |
A.supported | B.arranged | C.protected | D.introduced |
A.recognition | B.invitation | C.examination | D.education |
A.debate | B.question | C.argue | D.convince |
A.gift | B.treat | C.job | D.bargain |
A.affecting | B.receiving | C.suffering | D.improving |
8 . Do you wait for people to inspire you or do you take action to inspire yourself?
If you wait, it may take a long time to come or it may not
W. Mitchell is a good
Shepherd was training for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics
“
She inspired herself to live with
“If I can not walk, I am going to
Mitchell and Shepherd
A.happen | B.work | C.exist | D.appear |
A.limit | B.control | C.mind | D.target |
A.coach | B.sportsman | C.story | D.example |
A.event | B.accident | C.incident | D.exercise |
A.gave out | B.broke down | C.gave up | D.broke in |
A.suffering | B.discomfort | C.disease | D.anger |
A.since | B.before | C.while | D.when |
A.recovered | B.survived | C.succeeded | D.insisted |
A.Seldom | B.Ever | C.Never | D.Forever |
A.longer | B.smaller | C.further | D.shorter |
A.pain | B.sadness | C.loneliness | D.failure |
A.had | B.remembered | C.kept | D.heard |
A.lower | B.higher | C.quicker | D.deeper |
A.run | B.quit | C.fly | D.drive |
A.warned | B.convinced | C.blamed | D.educated |
A.brothers | B.daughters | C.pets | D.planes |
A.make fun of | B.feel ashamed of | C.catch hold of | D.let go of |
A.would | B.should | C.could | D.must |
A.easily | B.badly | C.unwillingly | D.anxiously |
A.by | B.without | C.except | D.beyond |
9 . A little boy went to a telephone booth (电话亭) at the cash counter of a store and made a phone call. The store owner looked at him and listened to the conversation.
Boy: “Lady, can you give me the job of cutting your lawn (草坪)?”
Woman (at the other end of the phone line): “No, thank you. I already have someone to cut my lawn.”
Boy: “Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price the person who cuts your lawn now.”
Woman: “I’m very satisfied with the person who cuts my lawn.”
Boy (with more perseverance 执着) : “Lady, I’ll even sweep the floor and the stairs of your house for free.”
Woman: “No, thank you.”
With a smile on his face, the little boy hung up the phone. The store owner, who was listening to all this, walked over to the boy.
Store owner: “Son... I like your attitude (态度). I like that positive (积极的) spirit and would like to offer you a job.”
Boy: “No, thanks.”
Store owner: “But you were really asking for one.”
Boy: “No, Sir. I was just checking my performance (表现) at the job I already have. I am the one who is working for that lady I was talking to.”
1. In fact, how many people are mentioned (提及) in the story?A.2 | B.3 | C.4 | D.5 |
A.he wanted her to let him continue his job |
B.he thought that the lady was too poor |
C.the lady thought the money she paid the boy was too much |
D.he wanted to know if he did his job well enough and couldn’t be replaced (取代) by others. |
A.The boy was angry with the lady. |
B.The store owner wasn’t kind-hearted. |
C.The lady wanted to find another person to do the boy’s job. |
D.The boy was happy to know that the lady was satisfied with his performance. |
A.Asking for a job | B.Self-appraisal (自我测评) |
C.The lady and the boy | D.The boy and the store owner |
10 . Kindness at fast-food restaurant
It was summer and I had gotten one of the few jobs a 14-year-old can find — working at Burger King, a fast-food restaurant. It
One day, I was working behind the front counter, taking
She ordered her meal and I told her the total. As she searched
That’s when I had the idea of paying the difference for her. She refused at first, but after I
About an hour later
She walked straight up to me and said, “I want to thank you again for what you did. You see, I’m a diabetic (糖尿病患者), and
She handed me two dollars,
A.firstly | B.roughly | C.certainly | D.strictly |
A.which | B.what | C.that | D.it |
A.menus | B.orders | C.service | D.food |
A.reached | B.moved | C.presented | D.approached |
A.through | B.for | C.about | D.across |
A.recognized | B.realized | C.admitted | D.said |
A.guilty | B.disappointed | C.embarrassed | D.regret |
A.above all | B.first of all | C.in all | D.after all |
A.insisted on | B.insisted | C.stuck to | D.stuck |
A.pick up | B.pick out | C.carry out | D.bring out |
A.none | B.anything | C.nothing | D.something |
A.customers | B.orders | C.pressure | D.business |
A.entrance | B.restaurant | C.counter | D.window |
A.suddenly | B.immediately | C.surely | D.completely |
A.at a time | B.at time | C.sometime | D.sometimes |
A.when | B.where | C.why | D.how |
A.shall | B.may | C.might | D.need |
A.twice that | B.twice what | C.that twice | D.what twice |
A.Watching | B.Looking | C.Observing | D.Noticing |
A.awarded | B.honored | C.returned | D.rewarded |