Love is a road that goes both ways. Once upon a time, a little boy named David lived with his mother in a remote and small cottage. They couldn’t afford to live a luxurious life, but were satisfied with the little they had. Every day after coming home from school, David would accompany his mother to the forest to collect what they need, such as wood, wild vegetable, fungi, and so on.
One day, when David was in the forest by himself, he came across a puppy which seemed to be all alone. David looked here and there for its owner but in vain. So he picked it up, put it under his coat and carried it home. Reaching home, he said to his mother, “Mom, I found a little puppy alone in the forest! Can we keep him, please?” Feeling David’s excitement, his mother was in two minds about whether to keep the puppy or not. She told him, “Oh, David, that’s the cutest puppy I’ve ever seen! But we don’t have much. What will we do about his food and sleeping arrangement?” David replied, “It’s OK. Ill offer him half of my meals and let him sleep with me in my bedroom.” Hearing this, David’s mother just nodded. David’s happiness knew no bounds, and he named the puppy Cookie.
From that day onwards, David and Cookie became the best friends. Cookie followed David wherever he went. When David went to school, Cookie would patiently wait outside the classroom till the classes ended. At night, Cookie slept next to David on his tiny bed and dreamed sweet dreams.
One day, Cookie and David went to school together as usual. After school, they were following the familiar routine back home when it rained heavily with thunder and lightning, so that they were running in a hurry, trying to reach home as soon as possible. The roads everywhere turned slippery. Unfortunately, David missed seeing a hole at the side of the road and fell down the hole. He cried for help, hoping to be heard by passers-by. But due to the loud thundering and noise of the heavy rain, no one could hear him. Cookie barked loudly and anxiously, circling around the hole.
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。
Cookie suddenly ran quickly in the direction of home.
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David’s mom anxiously looked towards the hole and saw him trapped into it.
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The fourth graders’ school day was coming to an end. Wilson was filling his backpack when a voice came out of the loudspeaker. “Good afternoon, students. This is a reminder that the All-City Math Contest will be in two weeks. The contest is open to fifth and sixth graders, and the top prize is fifty dollars. Please speak to your teacher if you’d like to participate.
“I am confident that I could excel in that contest,” Wilson thought to himself. Determined to participate in the competition, he rushed to his teacher’s desk and told her that he wanted to enter that math contest.
Ms. Jones looked up from her papers and said, “That’s wonderful, Wilson, but I’m afraid that this contest is for fifth and sixth graders only. Besides, our class has not yet covered some of the topics that will be tested.”
Wilson was not ready to give up. He knew he had a natural talent for math. “But you know that I’m good at math!” Wilson protested. “I do math problems with my brother all the time - and he’s in sixth grade! I think I could do really well!”
“You are a very good math student, Wilson, but rules are rules. I’m sure that you can enter next year.”
Wilson came home frustrated and disappointed, stormed upstairs without saying a word to his mother, and slammed the door to his room shut. His mother quickly appeared at his door, knocked, and came in. “Dear, did something happen today?” She was concerned.
Wilson was quiet for a minute, then it all came out. In a burst of emotion, he told his mom about the contest, how excited he was to enter, and how angry he felt when his teacher told him that he wouldn’t be allowed to do so this year. “It’s just not fair, Mom,” he complained. “I know I could really do well on it. Why won’t they let me?”
Wilson’s mother put her hand on his shoulder. “Sometimes, son,” she said softly, “people follow rules even when they don’t make sense. Perhaps you can persuade your teacher to make an exception for you.”
Wilson perked up: he had an idea.
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。
The next day, Wilson went straight to Ms. Jones’ office.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Forty minutes later, he finished Ms. Jones’ test and handed it to her.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . Linda Brown is a softly-spoken realtor (房地产经纪人) with a passion for helping the homeless. She’s moving mountains by combining her understanding of real estate (房地产) with her kindness-fueled determination to create beautiful permanent homes for disabled homeless people in her community.
In 2020, Mrs. Brown was awarded the Good Neighbor Award. This honor is initiated by The National Association of Realtors in the US. As its website details, working alongside her husband, Dr. David Brown, she has been transforming abandoned mobile homes into villages of tiny homes that offer permanent housing for homeless people who’re disabled.
The wish to help homeless people, and restore their dignity and self-worth, as Mrs. Brown explains, had been a joint mission for some years. As local blogger Aaron Nichols shares, the couple ran a local evening drop-in center for local homeless people called Gardening Tree, for almost a decade. This functioned as a shelter where people experiencing homelessness could grab a bite, shower, do laundry and relax.
But they wanted to do more than that. With local individual organizations’ help, the couple succeeded in raising almost $5 million, which enabled them to transform unused mobile homes and a deserted trailer park into a small village of tiny homes that opened in 2018. They named the shelter “Eden Village”.
As Mrs. Brown revealed in her award acceptance speech about her journey to creating Eden Village, helping homeless people is something personal, “I watched as my homeless friends walked off into the darkness to a hidden, wet and cold camp while we went home to a warm bed. I had to do something.”
Today, Eden Village includes a 4,000-square-foot community center offering cooking and laundry facilities, as well as a medical center and community gardens. Additionally, more sites are being developed thanks to the land donated to the nonprofit founded by the Browns. Eden Village 2 and 3 are at the planning stage. In the next six years, Mrs. Brown hopes to create five similar villages housing up to 200 people experiencing homelessness.
1. How does the author introduce the couple’s devotion to helping the homeless?| A．By mentioning local realtors’ praise. |
| B．By referring to related online descriptions. |
| C．By recording homeless people’s evaluations. |
| D．By detailing their interaction with the homeless. |
| A．Homeless people’s requests. |
| B．Official favorable policies. |
| C．The support from the society. |
| D．The prize from many associations. |
| A．To express her sympathy for her friends. |
| B．To highlight the influence of the village. |
| C．To show her sincere gratitude for the award. |
| D．To give her reason for setting up the village. |
| A．It is still a concept. | B．It keeps expanding. |
| C．It is carried out globally. | D．It lacks future plans. |
4 . It all started with a simple question: “Can I paint your portrait?”
In the summer of 2015, Brian Peterson and his wife, Vanessa, had just moved to Santa Ana, California. Outside the couple’s fourth-floor apartment, a messy homeless man was often shouting on the street corner, sometimes keeping them awake at night. Peterson, 28, would pass the guy on his way to his job as a car designer at Kia Motors. but they never spoke.
One day, Peterson was relaxing in his living room, reading the book Love Does, about the power of love in action, when his quiet was disturbed by the homeless man. Inspired by the book’s sympathetic message. Peterson made an unexpected decision: He was going to go outside and introduce himself.
In that first conversation, Peterson learned that the man’s name was Matt Faris. He’d moved to Southern California from Kentucky to pursue a career in music, but he soon fell on hard times and ended up living on the street for more than a decade.
“It was the weirdest thing to me,” Peterson recalled later on the podcast (播客) Top Artist. “I saw beauty on the face of a man who hadn’t shaved in probably a year, had overgrown fingernails, and probably hadn’t had a shower in close to a year. But his story, the life inside of him, inspired me.” And even though Peterson, a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art, hadn’t picked up a paintbrush in about eight years, be found himself asking if he could paint Faris’s portrait. Faris said yes.
Peterson’s connection with Faris led to the creation of Faces of Santa Ana, a nonprofit organization that befriends and paints portraits of unhoused community members. Using a black-and-white photo taken with his phone, Peterson selects colors based on the subject’s personality and story, resulting in powerful portraits. He sells the large paintings, signed by both the subject and artist, for a few thousand dollars. Half of the profits go into a “love account” for the models. helping them start again. Faris used his portrait funds to fulfill his musical dreams by recording an album.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To explain the portrait. | B．To express a request. |
| C．To ask a question. | D．To introduce the topic. |
| A．Messy. | B．Bothered. | C．Delighted. | D．Relaxed. |
| A．Strangest. | B．Hardest. | C．Well known. | D．Most beautiful. |
| A．Peterson’s relation to Faris. | B．Profits from selling paintings. |
| C．Colors based on the personality. | D．Peterson’s powerful portraits. |
At a neighbor’s pool the summer after sixth grade, Charley shouted out those famous last words, “Hey, watch this!” As he dove into the pool, Tad froze. It wasn’t the deep end!
Charley was hurt bad when he hit the bottom of the swimming pool. The doctor said he might have broken his back and could lose the use of his legs. His life would change forever. Tad didn’t see Charley for over a month after he was carried away in the screaming ambulance.
When Tad went to visit Charley in the hospital, his “Hey, dude, how’s it going?” was greeted by an annoyed grunt (嘟哝声) . Looking small and pale, Charley cried, “I can’t walk-how do you think I feel? I wish I was dead!”
“Bro, you’ll get well! You’re tough.”
“No, the doctor said I won’t.”
“Aw, man. That’s horrible!” And the conversation died right there.
Tad didn’t go back after that. He just didn’t know what to say. When Charley got out of the hospital, Tad went over to his house a few times and played video games, but it just wasn’t the same. Not only was his friend’s body damaged, so was his spirit. Tad had made friends with other boys who enjoyed all the things he and Charley used to do. Even if he felt sad and guilty, he wasn’t spending more time at Charley’s. Tad wanted to help and be a good friend but didn’t know how now.
Charley just became sadder and sadder, and Tad spent less and less time with him as the school year passed.
When summer break started again, Tad didn’t see much of Charley. He had made the baseball team and didn’t have time for video games. At least he told himself that was the reason. He was shocked right before eighth grade started when he saw Charley sailing down the sidewalk with a big black dog by his wheelchair. “Wow, what’s this?” Said Tad, running over to his friend.
“This is Rowdy! He helps me.”
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
“Wow, what does he do?” Tad was interested.
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After that, Tad could sense something had changed.
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6 . Recently an old friend reached out to me to ask about the success I’ve had in my life and how I achieved it. He has similar
Though I haven’t
We had a nice hour and a half
Eventually I’ll have to let him know that progress isn’t linear (线性的) and that he’ll undoubtedly
I’m
Even if you’re still not where you want to be, there are a lot of people out there who want what you have now and who are
| A．problems | B．goals | C．habits | D．hobbies |
| A．English | B．Japanese | C．French | D．Spanish |
| A．directly | B．entirely | C．naturally | D．gradually |
| A．progress | B．friends | C．adjustments | D．money |
| A．interview | B．argument | C．lesson | D．chat |
| A．motivated | B．confused | C．relaxed | D．tired |
| A．made up for | B．caught up with | C．got along with | D．signed up for |
| A．supporting | B．studying | C．improving | D．proving |
| A．secretly | B．casually | C．regularly | D．slowly |
| A．imagination | B．creativity | C．curiosity | D．passion |
| A．overcome | B．avoid | C．face | D．remove |
| A．call | B．help | C．wear | D．keep |
| A．grateful | B．desperate | C．anxious | D．hopeful |
| A．fund | B．chance | C．advice | D．knowledge |
| A．investing | B．limiting | C．sharing | D．sacrificing |
| A．reported | B．complained | C．joked | D．posted |
| A．sudden | B．necessary | C．recent | D．strange |
| A．impressed with | B．cautious about | C．blind to | D．sorry for |
| A．sensible | B．careful | C．critical | D．proud |
| A．adopt | B．achieve | C．understand | D．predict |
7 . Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.
My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table.
I don’t only avoid those “if only” moments when it comes to safety. It’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you” or “I forgive you.” When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.
I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only” about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.
1. Which of the following is an example of the “extra minute” rule?| A．Start the car the moment everyone is seated. |
| B．Leave the room for a minute with the iron working. |
| C．Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better. |
| D．Move an object out of the way before it trips someone. |
| A．keep her appointment with the eye doctor |
| B．meet her father who was already an old man |
| C．join in the holiday celebration of the company |
| D．finish her work before the deadline approached |
| A．abandoned | B．lacked |
| C．avoided | D．taken |
| A．To Keep Emotional Well-being | B．To Prevent “If Only” Moments |
| C．To Follow the Most Useful Rule | D．To Achieve the Peace of Mind |
8 . Greenberg was a lucky guy to enter Columbia University on full scholarship. But just before junior year, Greenberg's
As Greenberg' s best friend, Arthur persuaded Greenberg to go back to Columbia and
Then, one afternoon, Greenberg and Arthur went to Midtown Manhattan. When it was time to go back to campus, Arthur said he couldn’t
Greenberg, who was completely
At the university's gates, someone
Blindness doesn't make Greenberg fail to appreciate the
| A．faith | B．attitude | C．fortune | D．reputation |
| A．lit | B．cleared | C．steamed | D．cheered |
| A．However | B．Moreover | C．Therefore | D．Otherwise |
| A．shy | B．selfish | C．desperate | D．nervous |
| A．learned | B．pretended | C．happened | D．offered |
| A．letters | B．textbooks | C．newspapers | D．magazines |
| A．imagined | B．ended up | C．carried on | D．considered |
| A．tentative | B．confident | C．excited | D．curious |
| A．accompany | B．rescue | C．comfort | D．abandon |
| A．explained | B．apologized | C．compromised | D．panicked |
| A．consulting | B．finding | C．leaving | D．serving |
| A．tired | B．amused | C．satisfied | D．confused |
| A．got off | B．pulled over | C．looked around | D．ran away |
| A．turned to | B．knocked into | C．shouted at | D．quarreled with |
| A．raised | B．lost | C．controlled | D．recognized |
| A．pleasure | B．anger | C．relief | D．sorrow |
| A．achieved | B．questioned | C．ignored | D．missed |
| A．Gradually | B．Finally | C．Obviously | D．Strangely |
| A．complex | B．familiar | C．defensive | D．brilliant |
| A．magic | B．truth | C．wisdom | D．beauty |
Ten-year-old Riley Christensen and her mother, Lynn, were sitting in front of the family computer, checking out models and prices of bikes. “Let’s pick one out for your birthday,” Lynn suggested to her daughter. The air in the room was filled with excitement as they scrolled through various options, envisioning the joy when Riley cycled around the neighborhood. They laughed together, exploring the features of each bike, and discussing colors.
As Riley scrolled down the home page of the Bike Rack, a shop in their town of St. Charles, Illinois, a video link for Project Mobility caught her eye. She clicked on it out of curiosity, unaware that this simple click would unfold a profound story of compassion and sympathy. The video clip began to narrate the inspiring journey of Bike Rack co-owner Hal Honeyman. Through it, Lynn and Riley were transported into the world of Project Mobility, witnessing how Hal Honeyman had transformed a passion for biking into an organization dedicated to providing specially engineered bicycles for those facing physical challenges. The video footage (镜头) painted a vivid picture of the positive impact these adapted bikes had on individuals — accident victims, injured veterans, and children with disabilities, including Hal’s own son, who had been born with cerebral palsy (脑瘫).
“I don’t want a bike for myself. I’m going to buy a bike for one of those kids,” Riley told her mother. Two days later, she showed Lynn a letter she had written asking for donations. “I think it’s amazing for a guy to make bikes for kids who can’t walk,” the letter said. “I saw how happy a boy was when he got one... I’m writing to ask for your help.”
Lynn was blown away by her daughter’s effort, but doubts quickly emerged. The cost of just one of those special bikes could be as high as $4,000. Riley could never raise the money.
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。
Nonetheless, her letter went out to 75 relatives and friends.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________On her birthday, Riley delivered the bicycles to three lucky kids.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________10 . When I went away to university, my mom used to cook food and send it back with me with strict instructions to wash the lunch-boxes and bring them home. She was proud of it, but I was
After I formed a
I still remember when I married my husband, an American from Boston, my mother was
The other night, I heard my husband yelling in the kitchen, and the next morning, I found my
| A．satisfied | B．puzzled | C．moved | D．depressed |
| A．created | B．denied | C．needed | D．weighed |
| A．food | B．clothes | C．money | D．toys |
| A．and | B．but | C．even if | D．as if |
| A．clean | B．expensive | C．dirty | D．pretty |
| A．family | B．community | C．team | D．school |
| A．impatient | B．selfish | C．curious | D．proud |
| A．angrily | B．enthusiastically | C．calmly | D．anxiously |
| A．repairing | B．opening | C．collecting | D．making |
| A．useful | B．familiar | C．available | D．confusing |
| A．brothers | B．fellows | C．classmates | D．children |
| A．surprised | B．excited | C．concerned | D．determined |
| A．ordinary | B．remote | C．different | D．troublesome |
| A．innovation | B．adventure | C．expectation | D．opportunity |
| A．wallets | B．bags | C．parcels | D．lunch-boxes |
