1 . Mr. White is quite different to me. I had a lot of anger inside of me, when I first met him. I’ ve lived my whole life in Spanish Harlem, but in my neighborhood, there are shoot-ups all the time, which is terrible. I know kids who have been shot or beaten up. I have some friends who ended up in prison. I could have ended up that way, too, but Mr. White wouldn’t let that happen.
Mr. White worked long time, making sure I did my work. With him company my grades rose. In fact, the scores of our whole class rose. One day, he took our class to see The Phantom of the Opera, and it was the first time some kids had ever been out of Harlem. Before the show, he treated us to dinner at a restaurant and taught us not to talk with our mouths full. We did not want to let him down.
Mr. White was selected as Disney’s 2000 Teacher of the Year. He said he would draw three names out of a hat; those students would go with him to Los Angles to get the award. But when the time came to draw names, Mr. White said, “You’re all going.”
On graduation day, there were a lot of tears. We didn’t want his class to end. In 2001, he moved to Atlanta, but he always kept in contact. He started giving lectures about education, and wrote a bestselling book based on his classroom rules, The Essential 55. In 2003, Mr. White took some of us on a trip to South Africa to deliver school supplies and visit orphanages. It was the most amazing experience of my life. It’s now my dream to one day start a group of women’s clubs, helping people from all backgrounds.
1. Without Mr. White, the writer _________.| A．might have joined a women’s club | B．might not have won the prize |
| C．might have put into prison | D．might not have moved to Atlanta |
| A．None. | B．Three. | C．Fifty-five. | D．All. |
| A．Mr. White went to South Africa because he liked traveling |
| B．Mr. White helped to set up a group of women’s clubs |
| C．a good teacher can raise his or her students’ score |
| D．a good teacher has a good influence on his or her students |
| A．He speaks highly of Mr. White. |
| B．He looks down upon Mr. White. |
| C．He doesn’t show his attitude towards Mr. White. |
| D．He takes a neutral attitude towards Mr. White. |
2 . With bushfires continuing to swallow different parts of Australia, local zoo in New South Wales, the state which is the easiest to catch fire, has hit the headlines with a heartwarming story.
Right in the line of a bushfire, the keepers of Mogo Wildlife Park managed to protect all 200 animals from harm after they received evacuation orders, according to the reports.
Netizens were quick to react on social media and praised the bravery of the zoo keeper and staffs, as they stayed and managed to protect animals from uncontrolled fires and even sheltered some at their own house.
The 40-year-old zoo keeper, Chad Staples, described the situation as the worst catastrophe, which felt like Armageddon (大决战) here. Luckily, his team had made a precise plan ahead of time by moving everything flammable from the area and the larger animals to safe places.
What’s remarkable is that as the smaller ones needed extra shelter, Staples decided to take them to his own house.
“Right now in my house there are animals of all descriptions in all the different rooms. They are safe and protected, not single animal lost.” he said.
BBC news also mentioned that “there’s a tiger to the back of the house.”
Some media outlets highlighted the “heroic job” in their headlines. Online users also reacted with thumbs-up and were glad to see all the staff and animals coming through the terrible fire.
Located in the southern coast of New South Wales. Mogo Wildlife Park houses Australia’s largest collection of primates (灵长目动物), also including different and unique animals such as zebras, giraffes, rhinos and red pandas.
1. Why does New South Whales hit the headlines?| A．Because of its famous zoo. |
| B．Because of its endangered animals. |
| C．Because of the heartwarming event. |
| D．Because of its being easy to catch fire. |
| A．It belongs to Chad Staples. |
| B．None of the animals is missing. |
| C．It merely holds rare animal species. |
| D．Extra shelters were built for emergencies. |
| A．Method. | B．Landscape. | C．Disaster. | D．Household. |
| A．The Heroic Job | B．The Brave Zoo Keeper |
| C．The Extinct Animals | D．The Terrible Fire |
3 . A little boy almost thought of himself as the most unfortunate child in the world because poliomyelitis (小儿麻痹症) made his leg lame and his teeth uneven. He seldom played with his classmates; and when the teacher asked him to answer questions, he always lowered his head without a word.
One spring, the boy’s father asked for some saplings (树苗) from the neighbor. He told his children to plant a sapling each person. The father said, “Whose seedling grows best, I will buy him or her a favorite gift.” The boy also wanted to get his father’s gift. But seeing his brothers and sisters carrying water to water the trees happily, anyhow, he hit upon an idea: he hoped the tree he planted would die soon. So watering it once or twice, he never attended to it.
A few days later, when the little boy went to see his tree again, he was surprised to find it not only didn’t wilt, but also grew some fresh leaves, and compared with the trees of his brother and sister, his appeared greener and more vital. His father kept his promise, bought the little boy his favorite gift and said to him: from the tree he planted, he would become an outstanding botanist when he grew up.
Since then, the little boy slowly became optimistic. One day, the little boy lay on the bed but couldn't sleep. Looking at the bright moonlight outside the window, he suddenly recalled what the biology teacher once said, plants generally grow at night. Why not go to see the tree? When he came to the courtyard on tiptoe, he found his father was splashing something under his tree with a ladle (勺子). He returned to his room, tears running down his face.
Decades passed. The little boy didn’t become a botanist, but he was elected President of the United States. His name was Franklin Roosevelt.
1. Why didn’t the boy answer the teacher’s question?| A．He couldn’t concentrate on the class. |
| B．All the students looked down on him. |
| C．He lacked confidence because of his illness. |
| D．He was an unfortunate boy with learning disability. |
| A．The neighbor required him to do it. |
| B．He expected them to be botanists. |
| C．He wanted to encourage the disabled boy. |
| D．The children asked for their favorite gifts. |
| A．Become weak. | B．Become strong. |
| C．Become beautiful. | D．Become green. |
| A．An Unfortunate Boy |
| B．Nutrition of Growth |
| C．A Loving Father |
| D．The Unselfish Love |
4 . At first, Michael Surrell didn't see the black smoke or flames shooting from the windows of his neighbor's home. He had just parked around the comer from his own house when he got a call from his daughter: "The house next door is on fire!" He went to look. That's when he saw an old woman crying outside.
"The baby's in there!" she cried. Though the fire department had been called, Surrell, then 64, ran inside without hesitation. Entering the burning house was like "running into a bucket of black paint," Surrell says. The thick smoke burned his eyes and made it impossible to breathe. The conditions would have been dangerous for anyone, but for Surrell, who had lung disease, they were life-threatening.
After a few minutes in the smoke - filled house, he retreated outside to catch his breath. "Where is Tiara?" he asked desperately.
“The second floor," the old woman shouted back.
Taking a deep breath, Surrell went in a second time. Because the house had a similar layout to his, he found the stairs and made it to the second floor.
“Baby girl, where are you?”
His throat and lungs burned as if he'd breathed fire instead of the smoke in the air. He couldn't open his eyes. All he could hear was the crackling （破裂声）of burning wood. Then a soft sound came out. Still unable to see, Surrell fell to his knees on the hot wood floor and climbed toward the sound, feeling around for any sign of the girl.
Finally, he touched something. A shoe, then an ankle. He pulled the baby toward him. Her body was weak and she wasn't breathing. He carried her into his arms and ran blindly into the blackness. The next thing he knew, he was at the front door, then outside.
1. Why was the old woman crying outside?| A．She lost the baby in the fire. |
| B．The baby was hurt in the fire. |
| C．The baby was in the burning house. |
| D．She couldn't call the fire department. |
| A．Surrell's daughter worked in a fire department. |
| B．Surrell would probably have been killed by the fire. |
| C．The smoke blanketed Surrell' s house from next door. |
| D．A bucket of black paint blocked Surrell's way to the house. |
| A．By searching on his knees. |
| B．By opening the back door. |
| C．By shouting repeatedly' |
| D．By turning on the light. |
| A．Determined and patient. |
| B．Independent and devoted. |
| C．Generous and reliable. |
| D．Courageous and caring. |
5 . Every man wants his son to be somewhat of a clone, not in features but in footsteps. As he grows you also age, and your ambitions become more unachievable. You begin to realize that your boy, in your footsteps, could probably accomplish what you hoped for. But footsteps can be muddied and they can go off in different directions.
My son Jody has hated school since day one in kindergarten. Science projects waited until the last moment. Book reports weren’t written until the final threat.
I’ve been a newspaperman all my adult life. My daughter is a university graduate working towards her master’s degree in English. But Jody? When he entered the tenth grade he became a “vo-tech” student (技校学生). They’re called “motorheads” by the rest of the student body.
When a secretary in my office first called him “motorhead”, I was shocked. “Hey, he’s a good kid, ” I wanted to say. “And smart, really.”
I learned later that motorheads are, indeed, different. They usually have dirty hands and wear dirty work clothes. And they don’t often make school honor rolls (光荣榜).
But being the parent of a motorhead is itself an experience in education. We who labor in clean shirts in offices don’t have the abilities that motorheads have. I began to learn this when I had my car crashed. The cost to repair it was estimated at $800. “Hey, I can fix it,” said Jody. I doubted it, but let him go ahead, for I had nothing to lose.
My son, with other motorheads, fixed the car. They got parts from a junkyard, and ability from vo-tech classes. The cost was $25 instead of $800.
Since that first repair job, a broken air-conditioner, a non-functioning washer and a non-toasting toaster have been fixed. Neighbours and co-workers trust their car repairs to him.
These kids are happiest when doing repairs. They joke and laugh and are living in their own relaxed world. And their minds are bright despite their dirty hands and clothes.
I have learned a lot from my motorhead: publishers need printers, engineers need mechanics, and architects need builders. Most important, I have learned that fathers don’t need clones in footsteps or anywhere else.
My son may never make the school honor roll. But he made mine.
1. What used to be the author’s hope for his son?| A．To avoid becoming his clone. | B．To resemble him in appearance. |
| C．To develop in a different direction. | D．To reach the author’s unachieved goals. |
| A．His daughter does better in school. |
| B．His daughter has got a master’s degree. |
| C．His son tried hard to finish homework. |
| D．His son couldn’t write his book reports. |
| A．his son had the ability to fix it | B．it would save him much time |
| C．it wouldn’t cause him any more loss | D．other motorheads would come to help |
| A．It is unwise to expect your child to follow your path. |
| B．It is important for one to make the honor roll. |
| C．Architects play a more important role than builders. |
| D．Motorheads have greater ability than office workers. |
6 . The news that all teachers were expected to attend camp with their students left me feeling unsettled. For the first time in more than 20 years, I would need to spend three days in the early autumn bush with 120 14-year-olds.
I love spending time with teenagers. But I teach Grade 12 English and am 51 years old. There is a difference between a literary seminar on King Lear, no matter how lively it may be, and late-night party in a campground. Besides, my idea of “outdoors” is biking on the Ottawa bike paths or sitting in the backyard with a cup of tea and a good book.
Eventually, we turn down a long dirt track that dives deep into a forest. I read the schedule and note the impressive minute-by-minute detail for the next 72 hours. I’ve never faced such a structured(高度组织化的) time since, well, when I went to camp in Grade 9. I think of home.
The next morning, I arise early. It is 7 a.m. Time for the polar bear dip. Everyone asks if I am going to swim. I respond with lame excuses and then wander, like a Grade 8 boy at the edges of a middle-school dance. Kids charge in, great plumes(股流) of water rising up around them as they shout with joy. My colleagues link arms, count down and run into the water bravely. Toweling off, the swimmers discuss the water temperature. The regret that I knew I would feel starts to kill me. I will now forever be the guy who did not take part in the polar bear dip. I walk slowly up to the dining hall and decide that from that moment on I will commit fully to camp life. My unwillingness to do anything is replaced with a burning desire to do everything.
At 7 a.m. the next morning, I am the first person on the beach in my bathing suit. I dive into the water. I scream about how good it feels. Toweling off afterward, I talk to anyone within earshot about the temperature of the water.
Later that day, the camp winds down. Something has happened in this camp. To the students, for sure, but also to me. When the last camper leaves, I give the camp director a big hug.
1. How did the author feel before the camp?| A．Angry. | B．Disappointed. |
| C．Anxious. | D．Excited. |
| A．To stress its liveliness. | B．To explain its topic. |
| C．To introduce his preference. | D．To show its similarity to camping. |
| A．He is fed up with making excuses. |
| B．He hates to be regret-stricken. |
| C．He desires to show off his swimming skills. |
| D．He is encouraged to do so by his colleagues. |
| A．He has used up his energy. |
| B．He misses home very much. |
| C．He turns into a camp director. |
| D．He has become a camp lover. |
7 . Najib is an Afghan who grew up in Iran. He led a tough life. When he found his children would be in the same situation, his family initially returned to Afghanistan. But with the country filled with conflicts, they decided to leave for Indonesia.
“When we first came here, we were in a bad situation. Its language, culture and even weather were different. We had moved away from friends and family,” says Najib. “I was in a tough position but I acted strong because there were no other choices.”
Refugees (难民) cannot work in Indonesia and there are limited choices for refugee children to attend local schools. Determined to avoid such a fate, a group of refugees in Puncak took action and scraped together (东拼西凑) their resources to set up a school—the Refugee Learning Center (RLC).
“Our only goal and task is to provide basic education, and prepare the refugee children for their future,” says Abdullah Sarwari. “We’re also trying to provide a normal life as much as possible for them.”
The RLC has also started offering Bahasa Indonesia classes to the refugee community. “Between the refugee and the local community, I feel like there’s a language barrier which stops the refugee from having an honest and open interaction with Indonesians,” says Abdullah.
“If you try your best, to learn the language of a particular place or country, it really helps make things easier,” says Najib. He is among those who signed up for classes, although he admits progress has been slow. But life has improved in some ways for him and his family.
Najib says, “The centre is an opportunity for refugee to show that they are not a burden. If they have the opportunity, they can accomplish big and great things like this.”
1. Why did Najib decide to leave for Indonesia?| A．To escape the conflict in Afghanistan. |
| B．To experience Indonesian culture. |
| C．To help refugees in Indonesia. |
| D．To get equal rights to vote. |
| A．To help them learn English. |
| B．To make them stay away from bad luck. |
| C．To provide them with chances to live in Indonesia. |
| D．To make them have access to receiving basic education. |
| A．He is the leader of refugees. |
| B．He founded the RLC himself. |
| C．He studies Indonesian in the RLC. |
| D．He lives a wealthy life in Indonesia. |
| A．The Goal of Founding a School |
| B．A School for Refugees by Refugees |
| C．A Reason for Leaving for Indonesia |
| D．The Benefit of Learning a New Language |
8 . I grew up in a home with a mother who believes that vaccines (疫苗) cause brain damage, and do not contribute to the health and safety of a society. The only shot I received was for tetanus (破伤风) when I was two months old. After that, nothing.
At the beginning of each school year, I was very nervous. Delayed term paper? Mischievous (捣蛋的) behavior? Late for school? None of them. I’d be pulled out of class and brought to the headmaster’s office. The school doctor would tell me I hadn’t received any of the necessary shots to attend school. But the same thing occurred each time: my mom would free me from the shots and nothing would happen.
After doing a lot of research, I found although people who don’t vaccinate their children make up only a relatively small group, they can cause major consequences. People who, for health or age reasons, cannot receive vaccines are at a higher risk of catching a preventable disease.
Eventually, I turned 18. In Ohio, where I live, I had to wait until I became a legal adult to make the decision to receive vaccine shots. A huge factor in taking the step to ensure my health was the message board website Reddit. Last November, I asked Reddit users for advice about what vaccines to ask for and how to go about getting them from a doctor. After my post received more than 1,000 comments, I made an appointment with my family physician. Despite how strongly my mother felt, I went through with it anyway.
I did something every person should do. It wasn’t special in any way. Vaccines protect the health and safety of not only yourself but also other people. Vaccination is important because someone could die if you don’t get vaccinated. This was the biggest reason I got vaccines despite the opposition.
1. Why was the author called to the headmaster’s office at the beginning of each school year?| A．He was late for school. |
| B．He didn’t behave himself at school. |
| C．He couldn’t hand in his term paper on time. |
| D．He was hardly ever vaccinated. |
| A．Annoyed. | B．Grateful. |
| C．Thrilled. | D．Guilty. |
| A．Listening to your mother pays off. |
| B．Doing the right thing matters. |
| C．Keeping fit is the best policy. |
| D．Asking for advice helps. |
9 . Two graduates from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom found themselves about to graduate, yet with loans to pay off. The pair decided to begin a strange, year-long project to battle their debt.
The men, Ross Harper and Edward Moyse, set up the website BuyMyFace.com last October as a way to get rid of the £50,000 they shared as student loans. The idea behind the project was to earn money by selling their faces as advertising space every day for a year. Each day, they advertise a different business by painting the brand’s name or logo onto their faces and upload the pictures to the homepage of BuyMyFace.com, adding a link to the advertiser’s website and including a short piece of text about it. After they paint their faces and publish them on the website, Harper and Moyse go out to highly populated areas such as music festivals and theme parks to maximize their faces’ exposure. They hope more people will pay attention to the advertisements on their faces.
At this time, Harper and Moyse have advertised their faces for over four months without skipping a day and they’re more than halfway to their goal. Though they first started charging a minimum of about £1.60 per company, the prices have risen as their popularity increases. For advertising space during the rest of April, they range between £250 and £750. Terri L. Rittenburg, associate professor of marketing at the University of Wyoming, said that she had heard of people tattooing (纹身) logos on themselves before, but this idea is much better. According to her, at first the idea would be new and unusual and attract attention. People are interested in this particular style of advertisement and would like to try what they advertise. But she is unsure how long it would last.
At least for now, companies that have bought Harper and Moyse’s faces have written positive comments on the pair’s website. “We had a three percent increase in website traffic on the very day and for two days more afterwards,” said one of the companies.
1. Harper and Moyse go to highly populated areas to ______.| A．offer their help | B．make more friends |
| C．show their faces | D．raise more money |
| A．get on well with their project | B．work hard except on holidays |
| C．plan to open their own company | D．may close their website in future |
| A．Because an expert has highly praised them. |
| B．Because people find it unique and appealing. |
| C．Because the products they advertise are reliable. |
| D．Because they receive great help from businesses. |
10 . In 2009, Dan Black was hit by a car in his hometown of Chepstow, Wales, as he was biking to his job at a grocery store. The accident left him unable to move from the chest down. During his recovery, he suffered a stroke that made his right arm useless. Once a promising guitarist, Dan, now 25, lives with his parents and requires around-the-clock care that costs nearly $ 300,000 a year. After the accident, a friend of his started the Help Dan Black Fund to cover some of Dan’s medical expenses. Dan learned about an experimental stem cell(干细胞) treatment in China that could enable him to walk again. After four years, donations to help Dan Black totaled nearly $ 30,000.
One day, in 2013, a news story caught the eye of Dan’s mother, Michacla, who then shared the story with her son. The story featured a five-year-old boy named Brecon Vaughan. He had a rare form of disease and never walked by himself. The boy’s family had created a website with which to raise nearly $ 100,000 needed for a trip to the St. Louis Children’s Hospital, where treatment was offered that could help Brecon walk. Only half the amount had been raised, said the report.
Dan deliberated. Then, after considering that his own dream of walking could be years away, he donated his $30,000 to Brecon’s cause. “I know how it feels to walk. Brecon doesn’t. He needs it much more than I do.” Dan told a newspaper.
Dan’s generosity received a great deal of attention, and contributions started pouring in to the Vaughan website. The family soon exceeded their fund-raising goal. They’ve promised to give the extra funds, about $17,000, to the Tree of Hope charity, which helps sick children in the United Kingdom find specialized medical help. In October, Brecon and his family travelled to St. Louis to begin treatment. “What Dan did is great.” Brecon’s mother said, “It is an extraordinary gift.”
1. What do we know about Dan Black?| A．He promised to be a guitarist. |
| B．He donated his money from his need. |
| C．He created a website to collect money. |
| D．He lost his right arm in an accident. |
| A．Achieved. | B．Brought up. |
| C．Went beyond. | D．Set. |
| A．Dan Black’s example. | B．Brecon’s story |
| C．Michaela’s suggestion. | D．The Vaughans’promise |
| A．Support Dan Black’s treatment. | B．Fund Brecon’s trip to St. Louis. |
| C．Help sick children in the UK. | D．Give away to the Tree of Hope charity. |
