1 . “Everything happens for the best,” my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. “If you can carry on, one day something good will happen. And you’ll realize that it wouldn’t have happened if not for that previous disappointment.”
Mother was right, as I discovered after graduating from college in 1932. I had decided to try for a job in radio, then work my way up to sports announcer. I hitchhiked (搭便车) to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station-and got turned down every time. In one studio, a kind lady told me that in most cases big stations couldn’t risk hiring inexperienced person. “Go out in the remote areas and find a small station that’ll give you a chance,” she said. I went back home to Dixon, Illinois.
While there was no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, my father said Montgomery Ward had opened a store and wanted a local athlete to manage its sports department. Since Dixon was where I had played high school football, I applied. The job sounded just right for me.
But I wasn’t hired. My disappointment must have shown. “Everything happens for the best,” Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to hunt for jobs. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, a wonderful Scotsman named Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.
As I left his office, my frustration boiled over (沸溢，发怒). I asked aloud, “How can a fellow get to be a sport announcer if he can’t get a job in a radio station?” I was waiting for the elevator when I heard MacArthur calling, “What was that you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?” Then he stood me before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game. The preceding autumn, my team had won a game in the last 20 seconds with a 65-yard run. I did a 15-minute boost to that play, and Peter told me I would be broadcasting Saturday’s game!
On my way home, as I have many times since, I thought of my mother’s words: “If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn’t have happened if not for that previous disappointment”.
1. What is concluded from the passage is that ______.| A．the frustration of the author prevented him from performing well at WOC Radio |
| B．both of the author’s parents showed support when he was trying to search for a job |
| C．Peter MacArthur recognize the author’s talent in broadcasting after reading his resume |
| D．the author lost all his hope and courage when he was turned down by Montgomery Ward |
| A．he showed no confidence at the stations | B．there were no job available at the stations |
| C．he had no experience in radio broadcasting | D．there were too many people competing with him |
| A．requirement | B．encouragement | C．enjoyment | D．amazement |
| A．No cross, no crown | B．Prevention is better than cure |
| C．Well begun is half done | D．Rome was not built in a day |
2 . Mary Dickins had been a member of the audience at poetry nights before and knew “the poetry clap”. She made a polite tapping of fingers. But when she made her debut (首次演出) as a performer at the age of 62 at the legendary Bang Said the Gun night in south London, she said, “It was so wild — like nothing I had ever seen before.” The audience stamped their feet and shook shakers. “It felt transformative. I thought, ‘I’ve got to have more of this,’ ” Dickins said. Becoming a performance poet has given her a place on a stage of her own making.
All her life she has written is mostly without being seen or heard. Her mother died when she was nine, and, after she went into a care home at 13, Dickins’ writing stayed in notebooks. Really, she says, a lot of her adult life has been about getting over childhood shyness. At university — she studied education — she met her husband of 40 years, but in three years of seminars she did not say a word. Some of these results from her years at the children’s home. She says, “It gave me a sense of what it’s like to be excluded. I never fitted in anywhere.”
After she graduated, she discovered that she loved working with people with learning disabilities. She became an expert in inclusive education. “That was my niche (称心的职业),” she says. She published books and returned to the University of North London as a senior lecturer in early childhood studies.
Dickins now sees that in adulthood she has been giving herself permission to be silly. “The sillier I allow myself to be, the better the writing is,” she says. Her observations are humorous.
“Putting things into words and giving shape to your emotions is an important part of coming to terms with the things that happen in life,” she says.
Does she still feel like an outsider?
“I think I’ve made it into a virtue. I celebrate the fact that I don’t fit into a box. Finally! You have to wait till you’re 62 to feel confident!” she says. “But I have a sense of who I am and I’m proud of it. I wouldn’t be anyone else now — and it took me a long time to say that.”
1. How did Dickins feel about her debut?| A．Nervous. | B．Anxious. | C．Encouraged. | D．Relieved. |
| A．Her early stay at the care home. |
| B．Her inexperienced writing skills. |
| C．Her struggle with her university studies. |
| D．Her poor relationship with her husband. |
| A．It helps her land a good job. |
| B．It develops her sense of humor. |
| C．It makes her overcome her learning disabilities. |
| D．It enables her to get on well with her life. |
| A．Mary Dickins’ First Performance |
| B．Mary Dickins’ New Start after 60 |
| C．Mary Dickins’ Troubled Writing Career |
| D．Mary Dickins’ Influence on Performance Poets |
3 . Growing up, I lived with my parents in Rugby. Going back to the beginning, my first impressions of the island city were how
My parents were very hard-working but we were always on a tight
Unfortunately, these financial
This was good financially but it did
I first heard about the
It might seem like small money to some but for me, it was a
| A．strange | B．tolerant | C．diverse | D．concrete |
| A．fascinated | B．restored | C．identified | D．disturbed |
| A．schedule | B．relation | C．measure | D．budget |
| A．blame | B．responsibility | C．lead | D．chance |
| A．trustful | B．careful | C．graceful | D．helpful |
| A．struggles | B．strategies | C．benefits | D．policies |
| A．equipment | B．clothes | C．accommodation | D．trips |
| A．gave up | B．weighed up | C．picked up | D．polished up |
| A．spell | B．reduce | C．save | D．relieve |
| A．comments | B．grades | C．chances | D．bonuses |
| A．scholarship | B．competition | C．promotion | D．membership |
| A．hoping | B．admitting | C．promising | D．assuming |
| A．guaranteed | B．qualified | C．persuaded | D．rejected |
| A．dignity | B．blessing | C．saving | D．motive |
| A．worker | B．survivor | C．student | D．teacher |
4 . The rural girl from India, Anjali, was born blind. However, she has always been determined to live a full and
Although poor, her parents
One day, Anjali was
The play was a success, and Anjali became a star. After the play, Anjali was invited to speak at a local conference on
Anjali is now an actress and a
| A．luxury | B．independent | C．simple | D．conventional |
| A．declined | B．hesitated | C．managed | D．attempted |
| A．lonely | B．friendly | C．lively | D．ugly |
| A．Hopefully | B．Obviously | C．Currently | D．Thankfully |
| A．turn to | B．look to | C．take to | D．stick to |
| A．stood out | B．set out | C．held out | D．came out |
| A．spotted | B．selected | C．assessed | D．employed |
| A．songs | B．gestures | C．lines | D．looks |
| A．performance | B．conclusion | C．fulfillment | D．passion |
| A．distracted | B．grabbed | C．rejected | D．boosted |
| A．served | B．credited | C．awarded | D．assumed |
| A．competition | B．disability | C．qualification | D．responsibility |
| A．attitude | B．lifestyle | C．voice | D．association |
| A．motivational | B．humorous | C．genuine | D．sincere |
| A．ambition | B．creativity | C．honesty | D．determination |
5 . Gardening changed how I see myself as a disabled woman. When I started gardening in 2018, I didn’t know anything about plants, let alone how to grow things we can
That first season, I visited my garden as much as I could. Noticing my interest in gardening, my neighbors in the community
Gardening has
Over the years, gardening has made me feel more
| A．enjoy | B．deliver | C．eat | D．donate |
| A．simple | B．physical | C．pleasant | D．urgent |
| A．change | B．rest | C．break | D．move |
| A．anxious | B．expectant | C．motivated | D．bored |
| A．look over | B．show off | C．bring back | D．figure out |
| A．suddenly | B．readily | C．hesitantly | D．casually |
| A．observation | B．check | C．discussion | D．guidance |
| A．willing | B．well-meaning | C．proud | D．unexpected |
| A．impacted | B．ruined | C．controlled | D．recorded |
| A．failure | B．focus | C．burden | D．threat |
| A．normalize | B．challenge | C．tune | D．entitle |
| A．appreciate | B．fault | C．challenge | D．forgive |
| A．establish | B．expand | C．highlight | D．expose |
| A．flexible | B．responsible | C．potential | D．confident |
| A．justice | B．access | C．weight | D．power |
It was my job to watch my younger brother, Jack, and sister, Kelly, as we walked home from school.
“I’m tired,” Kelly whined “and hungry.” “Me too,” added Jack So we stopped to rest. “What do you think Mama is cooking?” I asked. “Noodles!” Kelly said. “Barbecue!” said Jack “Come on.” I stood up. “We need to keep walking.”
At a busy corner, I noticed a street banner, reading “First Walking Race to Jasan Park! Climb the Mountain to Win a Washing Machine.”
It might be fun to race. But could I walk fast enough to win?
At home, Mama was working in the kitchen. We had only a single burner stove, so it often took ages to prepare a meal. Sometimes when father came back from work, Mama was still cooking with the single burner stove.
Afterward, Mama and I washed dishes. When Mama pulled out two metal laundry tubs, her smile disappeared. I knew doing laundry hurt Mama’s back and knees. Mama heated a kettle of water on the single burner stove and filled a tub. She filled the other with cold water. Then kneeling, Mama began scrubbing shirts.
Then we carried the wet laundry to the flat roof, where Mama hung it to dry. On roof tops all over the city, clothes and towels danced in the wind. I loved being on the roof with Mama, but I wished we hadn’t had so much housework. Then I would have had more time to play with friends.
How I wish we would have a washing machine! Both Mama and I would be happy.
I remembered the banner and told Mama about it. Mama sighed, ”Maria, many people will enter that race. You can not expect to win.”
On the race day, I woke up early. I laced up my shoes and put on a head band. Mama kissed the top of my head. “Be careful and be safe. Just keep walking!” Mama said.
At the foot of the mountain, large crowds of people gathered.
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。
Then the race began.
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With the big cardboard box aside, I rang the doorbell of our house.
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When I was a child growing up in the Netherlands, I often begged my mother to tell me this story about an experience her family had at the end of World War II.
During the terrible last winter of the German occupation, food was scarce in the Netherlands. People were so hungry that they began to eat small animals and many things not normally considered edible (可食用的), including tulip bulbs (郁金香球茎), which could be cooked like potatoes.
For centuries, my mother’s family had owned a highly successful tulip business, which provided jobs for many in our village. But the war shut their business down, and during the winter of hunger, my grandfather, Albert, donated all his tulip bulbs to feed the hungriest villagers. For years, Albert had been trying to grow a black tulip. By careful selection, he was very close. So he guarded these few bulbs carefully to prevent people from stealing them for food.
One day, it was announced that the war was over. But there was much destruction and the Dutch people still faced dangers. My grandfather looked at his pale, thin children and realized that the hunger could continue for a long time, so he made his decision. He seized a shovel (铁铲) and went into the garden. There he found my mother, Vivian, who was just seven years old, looking nervous. Over her shoulder, Albert saw a band of Germans coming toward them down the street. He whispered to Vivian to run inside the house and began digging for his bulbs. But it was too late. Someone had already stolen them. Angry and desperate, Albert ran toward the street screaming, “They have stolen my tulip bulbs!” Vivian, watching from the doorway, cried out and ran to stop her father. Before she could reach him, Albert stumbled and fell, badly hurting his leg.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Fortunately, Albert recovered slowly.
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It took some time for Albert to rebuild his business, starting with those few bulbs that were spared by the thieves.
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8 . From the deserts of Southern California to the forests of Alaska, the U.S. possesses an incredible diversity of nature. For most of her life, Joy Ryan never saw the landscape beyond her home state of Ohio. Then, when she was in her mid-eighties, her grandson Brad Ryan decided to take her on a journey to all of the U.S. National Parks — a mission that took eight years to complete. At the age of 93, Grandma Joy has finally seen all 63 parks, ending the monumental feat in the National Park of American Samoa.
“When I learned she had never seen the great wildernesses of America — deserts, mountains, oceans, you name it — I thought that was something that would trouble me if I didn’t take action in some way,” Brad says. This idea sparked their first trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. However, once they were on the road, Brad realized that they could visit more parks nearby, and their trips multiplied. Over the years, they managed to see all the famous sights at Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, the Redwoods, and so on.
Despite Grandma Joy’s older age, she could hike mountains and do white water rafting. Brad praises her enthusiasm for life as the key to her good health. She expresses gratitude for each new day and is always excited about the next adventure. Finally, their long journey across the U.S. ended with American Samoa. “It’s about 6,700 miles from Ohio, where we live. It’s the only U.S. National Park south of the equator. It’s a long trip, but we’re excited to go,” Brad explains. “We can enjoy the beach and the beautiful tropical paradise. But as we’ve learned from the rangers that work there, American Samoa is an island community firmly rooted in family. And I think that there’s a bit of a poetic beauty to ending it there, too.”
1. Why did Brad take his grandmother Joy to travel?| A．To fulfill her wish to travel around the world. |
| B．To free her from the boredom of everyday life. |
| C．To help her explore the natural beauty of America. |
| D．To aid her in getting inspiration for writing poems. |
| A．They went on to see more natural landscapes. |
| B．They decided to visit all the parks worldwide. |
| C．They attracted more people to join the later trips. |
| D．They stopped traveling because of Joy’s poor health. |
| A．The friendly locals. | B．The family bond. |
| C．The special culture. | D．The beautiful sights. |
| A．Reliable and generous. | B．Ambitious and creative. |
| C．Courageous and diligent. | D．Energetic and determined. |
There was a story that all the kids at my school told. I don’t know if they believed it but some of them certainly acted as if they did. On the way from my home to school there was a little old cottage. You could only just see the cottage, as if it were trying to hide itself behind the trees and bushy garden. At times the children had seen a little old woman make her way along the leaf-covered path from the front door to the mailbox. Her fingers were twisted in funny shapes, her body was bent over and her back hunched (弓背). If she lifted her head to look at you, her face was all wrinkly. “The witch at Number 97” was how most kids spoke of her. “Don’t look in her eyes,” you could hear them say. “She’ll capture you in a magic spell (魔咒), take you into the house and never release you again.”
In the mornings and at the end of the day, my friends and I would pass Number 97 in a group. We felt safer and more secure in numbers. But now, I played the recorder so well that I was asked to join the school band, and that meant staying after school one afternoon a week to rehearse (排练), so I had to walk home all by myself.
I set out as I normally would but as I began to approach the little old cottage it looked scarier than ever. For a while I hesitated, not knowing what to do. I wanted to run but felt I really needed to just walk my way as usual. I took some deep breaths and tried to think of something different: Home, supper and my bed. When I started thinking about the witch again, the cottage appeared big and frightening in my thoughts. “No,” I said to myself, “concentrate on how good it will feel to get home,” and with that I started to feel easier.
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。
But as I reached the front gate to Number 97, my heart almost stopped.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________From then on, I visited her after every rehearsal and gradually knew her sad story
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Everyone in the seaside town knows that Fliss has a special bond with her dog Molly. They work together, live together, and play together. The Labrador is literally at Fliss’s side all the time. If a person spent this much time with a friend, they would probably have fallen out by now, but the bond between Molly and her owner just gets stronger over time.
Fliss grew up in the city. In 2017, she moved to the seaside where she opened a bath and skincare shop. Upon arrival, she couldn’t believe how much litter was left “senselessly” on the beach. In fact, she was shocked and appalled by the “unavoidable” amount of litter she found while taking Molly for walks. Being a person who cares a lot about her surroundings, Fliss decided that she had to do something about it before the tide carried the litter into the sea, threatening marine life.
One day, while collecting litter on the beach, Fliss saw Molly running towards her with an empty water bottle in her mouth. As Molly drew near, she dropped the bottle at Fliss’s feet and set out to find other waste. This gave Fliss an idea: what if she could train Molly to find all those plastic bottles and bags, and make good use of them?
The training started and Fliss was surprised at how fast Molly learned. Before long, the clever girl would venture to the seaside on her own and come home with her “prize”. She had soon filled Fliss’s house with pieces of rubbish from the local beach. At one point, Fliss’s garage was 60% filled with beach litter waiting to be distributed to local artists for use in their artwork.
When Fliss heard paws on the door the other day, she went to greet her good girl as usual. To her surprise, she saw Molly carrying a small plastic purse in her mouth. Fliss opened the purse and gasped. Inside was a passport, several credit cards, and a bunch of keys.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150个左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Fliss immediately took the purse to the local police station.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Three days later, a journalist called at Fliss’s shop.
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