Monday started as an ordinary day for Shannon St. Onge, who lived in Pense, a town in Saskatchewan, Canada. She drove the approximately 25 kilometres east into Regina for work.
She kept an eye on highway conditions throughout the day. The weather network was warning of a blizzard. Expected start time was at around 7 pm, but she thought she could make it. “I bought a takeout for the kids, filled my gas tank, replaced my broken phone charger and then headed home around 5:30 before the storm hit,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
She took a dirt road because she thought it would be better for the winter driving conditions. Just as the pavement turned into gravel (碎石路), the wind picked up and visibility started to diminish (降低). She drove at a snail’s pace with her window rolled down, using the edge as her guide. After a while she realized she was lost. Whiteout conditions left her confused.
She could make out a sign that said “Bouvier Lane,” giving her some sense of where she was. Then she posted her location on the Pense community Facebook page in hopes that someone might be able to find her. That was when 80-year-old Andre Bouvier Sr. figured out her location. Despite his wife’s concern for his well-being, he decided to help her and headed out in the storm.
He bundled up (使穿得暖和), grabbed an LED flashlight and walked about half a kilometre into the raging storm to search for St. Onge’s car. To Bouvier’s surprise, he found two other cars with people who also needed help trapped alongside St. Onge. He led the seven lost people back to his home and welcomed them in for the evening.
Bouvier became a hero overnight. Bouvier didn’t want much credit for his efforts for a stranger in need. “Everybody would have done the same thing,” he said. “You don’t think about it; you just do it.”
1. Why did St. Onge still drive home although she heard about the approaching blizzard? (no more than 10 words)2. What made driving difficult according to Paragraph 3? (no more than 10 words)
3. How do you understand the underlined word in Paragraph 5? (1 word)
4. How did Bouvier help the lost people? (no more than 15 words)
5. What do you think of Bouvier? Please explain. (no more than 20 words)
2 . After I won my first race at five, life was about winning races. Two kids, Ray J and Gil,
One day in our first NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing) season, my teammate, Ray had to leave for home because his son Ray J suddenly developed cancer. He said something about
Gil was a six-year-old boy with a rare bone disease. His bones were so easy to break that a hug might
Win. That word again. Had I ever thought much about what it
| A．recognized | B．achieved | C．resigned | D．changed |
| A．hating | B．expecting | C．failing | D．refusing |
| A．fee | B．choice | C．family | D．attitude |
| A．necessary | B．difficult | C．absurd | D．unforgettable |
| A．hopeless | B．desperate | C．careful | D．weak |
| A．easy-going | B．strong-willed | C．hard-working | D．absent-minded |
| A．safer | B．faster | C．wider | D．harder |
| A．problem | B．possession | C．race | D．adventure |
| A．damage | B．cure | C．change | D．influence |
| A．sound | B．goal | C．face | D．smile |
| A．examine | B．outstretch | C．move | D．shake |
| A．Instead | B．Generally | C．Obviously | D．Furthermore |
| A．legs | B．feet | C．knees | D．ankles |
| A．fan | B．expert | C．competitor | D．developer |
| A．hold on | B．run around | C．give up | D．break through |
| A．debt | B．task | C．optimism | D．pain |
| A．meant | B．brought | C．split | D．needed |
| A．love | B．manage | C．support | D．encourage |
| A．straight | B．finish | C．start | D．red |
| A．losers | B．cooperators | C．winners | D．doctors |
3 . It was the middle of the night when firefighters Paul Hullings and Tim Young stopped at the Route 130 restaurant that waitress Liz Woodward worked at. They had just finished
Woodward noticed the tired firefighters and started a conversation with them. When she learned that they had spent hours courageously fighting the fire, she was
Woodward also left a(n)
The firefighters were
Woodward’s gift and
Little did they know, Woodward was fighting her own
What goes around comes around, as they say, and Woodward was destined to be
And it
| A．playing with | B．cutting off | C．putting out | D．finding out |
| A．annoyed | B．exhausted | C．experienced | D．energetic |
| A．calm | B．upset | C．scared | D．impressed |
| A．paid | B．shared | C．replaced | D．exchanged |
| A．mark | B．comment | C．application | D．message |
| A．chases after | B．runs away from | C．heads towards | D．catches up with |
| A．moved | B．influenced | C．feared | D．remained |
| A．smart | B．greedy | C．selfless | D．mean |
| A．survive | B．offer | C．support | D．replace |
| A．immediately | B．continuously | C．legally | D．generously |
| A．extreme | B．heart-warming | C．humorous | D．boring |
| A．appreciated | B．misjudged | C．ignored | D．protected |
| A．formal | B．previous | C．local | D．simple |
| A．battle | B．appointment | C．adventure | D．mistake |
| A．mad | B．urgent | C．low | D．personal |
| A．turned back | B．turned off | C．paid back | D．paid off |
| A．approaches | B．advertisements | C．efforts | D．opportunities |
| A．mattered | B．worked | C．ended | D．failed |
| A．bravery | B．loyalty | C．difficulty | D．honesty |
| A．in charge | B．in vain | C．in particular | D．in turn |
It was a tough situation. At 8,700 meters above sea level, Zhang Hong and his team members faced a difficult decision. Based on the oxygen they had consumed, they might not have enough to reach the summit of Qomolangma. Should they press on or turn back?
Zhang’s guide Chen Tao made a quick decision that he and the two photographers with the group should immediately withdraw and leave their oxygen tanks to Zhang to let him finish the climb to the summit of the mountain.
The wind was strong, and Zhang was terrified. The three Sherpa guides didn’t speak Chinese and their English instructions to Zhang were muffled by the high wind. And there was additional difficulty for Zhang — he can’t see.
To walk on a path was often hard for the Chinese mountaineer. And there was no actual path on the mountain. Zhang had to follow the guides’ directions precisely on every single step. The guides told him in which direction to go and the length of each step. But one mistake could cost Zhang his life.
At first, Zhang didn’t want to continue. But Chen told Zhang “if you don’t continue, this may be the last chance you have to reach the top of Qomolangma, while I will still have more chances”. There was no time left for 46-year-old Zhang to argue with Chen and Chen gave Zhang a gentle nudge to hurry him on.
Zhang continued his climb with one guide in front of him and two behind. After several more hours’ climbing, the guide leading the way told Zhang that he was standing at the top of the mountain. Zhang was first visually impaired person from Asia ever to conquer the world’s highest peak.
On the rock face of the mountain, Zhang etched his name alongside that of Erik Weihenmayer and Andy Holzer, who completed the feat in 2001 and 2017 respectively. They are the only three blind mountaineers to have climbed Qomolangma.
1. Why did Chen decide to withdraw while letting Zhang finish the climb?(no more than 10 words)2. How do you understand the underlined part in Paragraph 3? (no more than 10 words)
3. What’s the main idea of Paragraph 5? (no more than 10 words)
4. What made Zhang different from other mountaineers who reached the summit of Qomolangma? (no more than 10 words)
5. What’s your attitude towards the “mountain” in your life? Please explain. (no more than 20 words)
5 . While youth is often a time of great promise and achievement, a life well lived can also be filled with any number of next chapters and second or even third — acts that add depth, nuance (细微差别), and meaning to our stories. At 65 years old, Somerset native Carole-Ann Warburton experienced a plot twist that led to the fulfillment of a long-cherished dream she’d never even spoken of aloud.
After an illness incapacitated (使失去正常生活能力) her, Warburton was left with the question of what to do going forward. During her convalescence (康复), her daughter brought around some real estate listings for the sort of homes in which she thought her mum might best spend her golden years. Coincidentally, amongst the notices was an offering for a small barbershop with an above-stairs apartment.
For Warburton, although she admitted “the place was awful”, it was love at first sight and the perfect opportunity to do something she’d longed to do for almost as long as she could remember — work in a bookshop. Less than three months after coming to her decision, Warburton handed in her retirement notice, sold her house, bought the store, and using a personal inventory (库存) totaling between 8,000 and 9,000 titles — she launched her new bookshop, The Book Rest.
A decade on, The Book Rest recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. Although the pandemic has slowed foot traffic, since Warburton’s driving motive isn’t monetary profit, but rather, something of a deeper, more special personal value, she has no plans to close up the shop.
Having achieved her own dream, Warburton sees every day in the bookstore as an opportunity to help others realise theirs as well. “All the dreams are in the books,” she told The Guardian. “They are all there waiting to be picked up... Someone can walk in tomorrow and say, I have been looking for that for an awfully long time!” And as gatekeeper to her own small universe of literary wonders, Warburton says she plans to stay around as long as she can to ensure that they do.
1. What does the author want to say in the first paragraph?| A．There are possibilities at any stage of life. | B．One should grasp the youth to make achievements. |
| C．Changing the way of life is crucial at the age of 65. | D．Realising a long-cherished dream is all that matters in life. |
| A．She invested much money in opening a bookstore. |
| B．She used her possessions to develop real-estate business. |
| C．She started her career with her daughter in a small barbershop. |
| D．She sought her daughter’s advice on where to rent the apartment. |
| A．Her strong desire to attract more customers. | B．The increasing decline of economic situations. |
| C．The huge financial burden of illness treatment. | D．Her seeking of an inner world of self-fulfillment. |
| A．Curious and ambitious. | B．Brave and adventurous. |
| C．Creative and pioneering. | D．Enthusiastic and determined. |
6 . We had a painter in our home recently. Unlike many, he was
The painter was always friendly and his prices were
I recently ordered some avocados (牛油果) online. Every single one was bad. Although I
We have to stop greeting rudeness with
| A．sensitive | B．stubborn | C．punctual | D．ridiculous |
| A．conscience | B．emergency | C．moral | D．duty |
| A．reasonable | B．absurd | C．unfair | D．changeable |
| A．allowance | B．appreciation | C．celebration | D．evaluation |
| A．leads to | B．makes up | C．builds up | D．consists of |
| A．misunderstanding | B．concept | C．statement | D．opposite |
| A．interrupt | B．decline | C．respond | D．ignore |
| A．promised | B．refused | C．chose | D．pretended |
| A．damaged | B．stole | C．abandoned | D．exchanged |
| A．afraid | B．sorry | C．unwilling | D．ready |
| A．aggression | B．doubt | C．politeness | D．criticism |
| A．easily | B．accidentally | C．basically | D．illegally |
| A．partners | B．customers | C．monitors | D．deliverymen |
| A．worry | B．think | C．discuss | D．complain |
| A．affected | B．defeated | C．threatened | D．surrounded |
| A．personal | B．violent | C．cautious | D．similar |
| A．counts | B．appears | C．differs | D．disagrees |
| A．influence | B．choice | C．contribution | D．appointment |
| A．call up | B．come across | C．light up | D．hear about |
| A．cost | B．standard | C．price | D．risk |
Darius Brown is a 14-year-old boy in the eighth grade. He lives in Newark, New Jersey. When he was 2 years old, doctors told his mother, Joy Brown, that he had a fine motor skills disorder (精细运动技能障碍) which could make it hard for him to do things with hands, like tying shoes and using scissors. And the poor boy can never recover.
When Darius Brown was 8 years old, his elder sister, Dazhai, taught him how to make a bow tie (蝴蝶领结). At first, Joy worried that he might hurt himself. “He was resolute to learn how to make bow ties,” said Joy. “So he sat and watched Dazhai for months and took it all in. Then he practised and practised. ” Before long, she said, “he was making bow ties by himself.” One day, he made a bow tie out of Ninja Turtle fabric (忍者神龟布料). He wore the new bow tie to school the next day. His friends wanted such bow ties of their own. So Darius began to make more.
In 2017, he found a great use for this new skill. That was the year Hurricane Irma hit Florida and Puerto Rico. The powerful storm flooded homes and streets. It left hundreds of dogs and cats homeless. The dogs and cats needed families to adopt them. Darius said he realized he could help. He would give the animals special bow ties to make them look cute. Darius learned that some of the rescued animals were brought to an animal shelter in New York City. So he dropped off about 25 pet-sized bow ties. It worked even better than he’d expected. Darius realized that such a small thing could give a homeless animal a better chance of being adopted.
Darius has donated more than 600 bow ties to shelters since starting his project in 2017. Shelter workers say that Darius’ bow ties are of great help.
1. What will trouble Darius Brown for all his life? (no more than 5 words)2. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 probably mean? (no more than 5 words)
3. How did Darius’ classmates think of his Ninja Turtle bow tie? (no more than 5 words)
4. According to Darius, what would be the result if a homeless animal wore a bow tie?(no more than 10 words)
5. What do you think of Darius Brown? Please explain. (no more than 25 words)
8 . I fell in love with the Little Free Library concept years ago on vacation. The concept of free literature-sharing boxes posted in neighborhoods and public spaces hooked me. For a booklover, this represented bliss（快乐）. At home, my bedside table sprouts（长出）books and from the floor rises a mountainous to-be-read pile. My husband wasn’t the least bit surprised when I suggested starting our own Little Free Library- As a writer and introvert（内向的人）, I welcomed the idea of saying hello to other booklovers on occasion.
The following winter, my husband built a copy of our Irish garden shed（棚屋）with a framed glass door on the front and, in the spring, mounted（安装）it on a post in front of our house. We filled the shelves with books, and since then, visitors have refilled them with literary fiction, romances, mysteries, science fiction, cowboy westerns, young-adult fiction, poetry, how-to’s, self-help and a range of other nonfiction.
For a time after COVID-19 first struck, public libraries shut down, and Amazon prioritized the delivery of essential and high-demand items. Books were less easily attained. Traffic to our library increased. I posted reminders about handwashing, and still, readers kept coming.
We wondered if we should close the Little Free Library and revisited（再次讨论）our original motivations for hosting it: to facilitate the exchange of books, to create a sense of community. Reading provides the necessary relief to the emotional crush（压力）of life. With this in mind, we added a written reminder on staying safe in the library.
Through my teens, reading transported me to other places and eras. Books taught me about life and how people overcame adversity（逆境）. I no longer felt alone in the things I struggled against.
Aside from the entertainment books offer, studies show that reading exposes us to other cultures and perspectives. Literature sheds light on the justice to be found in social inclusion and community cohesion（凝聚）. Self-esteem and understanding grow in equal measure as we come to understand ourselves and our place in the world.
During this pandemic, the Little Free Library has reinforced the importance of literature and reading to our emotional and mental health. It’s become an alternate means of creating a community of people with mutual regard for humanity and the written word. We are together even when apart.
1. What attracted the author to host the Little Free Library?| A．The emotional crush of life. |
| B．The free literature-sharing concept. |
| C．The sense of self-esteem and social justice. |
| D．The importance of exchanging books with each other. |
| A．Objective. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Indifferent. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．It was not allowed to be used. |
| B．The number of books dropped sharply. |
| C．It was getting more popular than before. |
| D．Readers questioned the motivations for hosting it |
| A．How reading shaped the author’s growth. |
| B．How we facilitated the exchange of books. |
| C．How the Little Free Library further developed. |
| D．How literature played a role in community building. |
| A．It has offered solutions to the pandemic. |
| B．It has relieved the pressure of public libraries. |
| C．It has exposed readers to foreign perspectives. |
| D．It has helped create a united and cohesive community. |
