1 . In her 17 years on this earth, Shreyaa Venkat has done more to help the planet and the people living on it than many adults. The non-profit organization she founded, NEST4US, has helped tens of thousands of people in the United States. Through it, it’s served over 12,000 homeless people in the Washington, D.C. area by providing food and other supplies.
Venkat’s passion for helping others started as soon as she could walk, as her parents, active volunteers themselves, brought her along on their various projects, like some creative ways to volunteer. By fifth grade, she’d developed such enthusiasm for it that she started organizing her own service projects in her community.
NEST4US was born when she realized how much food waste there is, how many hungry people there are, and how simple it would be to use the former to help the latter. “There was a homeless man standing on a corner in D.C. and he was holding a sign that said ‘Hungry Need Food’,” she recalls. “So I gave him my lunch and his whole face just lit up. It was so easy, it only took me 30 seconds, and it really helped him.”
As NEST4US took off, with hundreds of volunteers helping to feed thousands of hungry people, Venkat decided to branch out with her volunteer efforts, starting three other branches of NEST4US. Serving others had become such a way of life for her that she even celebrated her 13th birthday at a homeless shelter, bringing the party to them instead of expecting gifts for herself.
As much as she has helped others, they’ve helped her too. Not only does she get a lot of joy and personal satisfaction from her volunteer work but running NEST4US has taught her important life skills like time management, public speaking, writing, and leadership. “What it’s really given me is this opinion of putting other people first,” she says.
1. What can we infer about NEST4US from the first paragraph?| A．Its main aim is to make money. | B．It offers people cheap supplies. |
| C．It takes in all homeless people. | D．It is a charity organization. |
| A．Her parents’ constant suggestion. | B．The memory of her hard childhood. |
| C．Her experience of helping a hungry man. | D．Volunteers’ great influence on her. |
| A．She held a grand party for many people. |
| B．She could receive many nice gifts there. |
| C．She got much personal satisfaction from it. |
| D．She saw helping others as part of her life. |
| A．Caring. | B．Ambitious. |
| C．Humorous. | D．Demanding. |
2 . I stood outside my front door catching my breath. After a lazy Christmas holiday, I had to recover from climbing stairs with carry-on bags and a suitcase. I looked up and blinked. Red tape crossed the door. I didn’t understand Hungarian, but the one English word said enough: “POLICE”.
Google Translate told me I would be arrested if I entered, so I didn’t. Finally, I called my rental agent. He went to the police station for more details.
My agent returned with authorization to enter. Not only were my files undisturbed, but so were the TV and printer. The burglars had taken a few items from the top drawer as well as a small amount of foreign currency in the bottom drawer. Somehow they hadn’t found the jewelry box in the third drawer.
I was in shock. My agent’s words were fuzzy, something about fixing the locks tomorrow and making a list for the police.
Then one day, I remembered that I’d left another jewelry box in the flat. My heart sank as I thought of another locket that had been in that box, a gold engraved one with a picture of my late honey Grandma inside. When I realized the box was missing, the whole experience seemed to crash down on me. I cried.
At the end of January, I received a registered letter from the police. The burglar hadn’t been found, and the case was closed. I slept with my purse by my bed. I hid my laptop when I showered. And then another challenge rose. I was unexpectedly laid off.
Then one July night, I reached into my third drawer, pulled out my jean shorts, and heard a small thud. I looked down and blinked: It was the tiny jewelry box I thought had been stolen six months earlier.
Inside was the locket with honey Grandma smiling at me, being there for me, telling me not to give up. I started to cry.
1. What did the red tape across the writer’s door mean?| A．There was a burglary here. | B．The house couldn’t be entered freely. |
| C．The rent had to be paid quickly. | D．The rental agent advertised for the house. |
| A．To fix the locks the next day. | B．To report the burglary to the police. |
| C．To have an iron security gate fixed. | D．To pay for missing things for the writer. |
| A．puzzled→ anxious→ relaxed. | B．shocked→ sorrowful→ nervous. |
| C．shocked→ desperate→ hopeful. | D．puzzled→ relieved→ confident. |
| A．Red Tape | B．A Jewelry Box | C．“Lost” Smile | D．Grandma’s Advice |
3 . When I was a kid, my siblings (兄弟姐妹) and I used to have ice cream for dessert. Every day, we would choose which ice cream flavor to have, whether to eat it in a cone or a bowl. Then we would happily wolf down our treat (款待) as fast as we could.
Once, though, when I was probably about 10 or 11, our grandpa came to visit us. Grandpa always had a unique view on things. On this particular occasion, my sister and I were making bets as to who could finish our ice cream first. With a smile, Grandpa said, “Why would you want to finish first? If you eat slowly, it will last longer. You should have a competition to see who can finish last.” Even now, I always try to taste my ice cream, but of course this is about more than just dessert.
Too often, kids want to scramble (争夺) for more, whether it’s more ice cream, more toys, or more friends. This habit persists into our adult years, and we end up constantly scrambling for more. We never develop the skill of appreciating what we have. If we learn to recognize this pattern and change it, we can raise our kids a little differently, giving them the tool of tasting their widely known dessert, which could lead to a happier life for them.
What my grandpa taught me that day was really that if you take the opportunity to enjoy what’s in front of you, the pleasure will last longer and be more rewarding than if you rush through life always trying to get the next treat. It’s a lesson that, I think, has made my adult life happier, as well. These days, when I want something, I wait as long as I can before I allow myself to have it. Then, when I finally get it, I make sure to treasure it as long as possible, because I know that, no matter what it is, it will be gone all too soon.
1. The author’s grandfather advised her sister and her to_______.| A．stop eating ice cream | B．learn something from their way of eating |
| C．stop the competition between them | D．eat ice cream as slowly as possible |
| A．Humorous. | B．Wise. | C．Strict. | D．Careful. |
| A．Value what you have. | B．Keep longing for more. |
| C．Have a balanced diet. | D．Save for the future. |
| A．The author benefits a lot from her grandfather’s advice. |
| B．The author doesn’t like ice cream as much as before. |
| C．The author just starts to understand her grandfather. |
| D．The author longs for the days when they ate ice cream. |
4 . Many years ago, my dad was facing a serious heart condition. He was unable to do a steady job. He fell suddenly ill and had to be admitted to the hospital.
He wanted to do something to keep himself busy, so he decided to volunteer at the local children’s hospital. My dad loved kids. It was the perfect job for him. He ended up working with the seriously ill children. He would talk, play, and do arts with them.
One of his kids was a girl with a rare disease that paralyzed (瘫痪) her from the neck down. She couldn’t do anything, and she was very depressed. My dad decided to try to help her. He started visiting her in her room, bringing paints, brushes and paper. He stood the paper up, put the paintbrush in his mouth and began to paint. He didn’t use his hands at all. All the while he would tell her, “See, you can do anything you set your mind to.”At the end of the day, she began to paint using her mouth, and she and my dad became friends. Soon after, the little girl was sent home because the doctors felt there was nothing else they could do for her. My dad also left the children’s hospital for a little while because he became ill. Some time later after my dad had recovered and returned to work, in came the little girl who had been paralyzed and only this time she was walking. She ran straight over to my dad and hugged him really tight. She gave him a picture she had done using her hands. At the bottom it read: “Thank you for helping me walk.”
My dad would cry every time he told us this story and so would we. He would say sometimes love is more powerful than doctor, and my dad—who died just a few months after the little girl gave the picture—loved every single child in that hospital.
1. The author’s father worked at the local hospital to_______________.| A．make his serious heart condition less serious | B．keep himself occupied and pleased |
| C．realize his childhood dream | D．earn money to pay for treatment |
| A．He helped her practice walking. | B．He visited her and made a toy for her. |
| C．He showed her she could still do things. | D．He painted special pictures for her. |
| A．eventually became a unique painter |
| B．was sent home and never seen again |
| C．gradually recovered and walked |
| D．sent the author’s dad a picture painted with her mouth |
| A．It’s better to give than to receive. |
| B．A sick person should not focus on his disease. |
| C．Volunteering is a worthwhile thing to do. |
| D．Love can sometimes bring great results. |
5 . A new pastor(牧师) named John reopened a church that had been abandoned in a suburb. He found it broken, and in need of a lot of repair work. His goal was to have everything done in time for his first service on Christmas Eve.
He worked hard. However, when John went to the church on Dec. 21, his heart sank: a large area of plaster (石膏) had fallen off the front wall due to a terrible storm the night before. John headed home, and on the way he stopped at a market selling items for charity.
One of the items was an exquisite( 精致的)handmade tablecloth. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church. It started to snow. An old woman had missed her bus, and he invited her to wait in the warm church for the next one. As John put up the tablecloth the woman asked him to check the corner for the initials(手写字母). They were her initials: she had made this tablecloth 35 years before. Then the war broke out, and forced her to part with her husband.
John wanted to give her the tablecloth. but she asked him to keep it for the church. John insisted on driving her home which he thought was the least he could do.
What a wonderful service he had on Christmas Eve! John noticed one old man staring at the tablecloth on the front wall. The man said it was similar to one that his wife had made many years before.
John brought the old man to the house where he had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped him climb the three flights of stairs to her apartment, and saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever have imagined.
1. According to Paragraph one, we learn that John decided to_______.| A．help people affected by a terrible storm |
| B．buy goods for charity in the neighborhood |
| C．repair the abandoned church before his first service |
| D．do some work for the local people |
| A．The woman’s husband had to leave her because of a war |
| B．Johns service on Christmas Eve was disappointing |
| C．Everyone was surprised by the beauty of the tablecloth. |
| D．John drove the old man home because he was lost. |
| A．he loved its colors | B．he had seen it in a church |
| C．It was like one his wife had made | D．it looked strange hanging on a wall |
| A．A kind pastor who had difficulty repairing an ancient church |
| B．A new pastor who gave his first service with a couples help |
| C．A tablecloth made 35 years ago being discovered by a pastor |
| D．An old couple being reunited on Christmas Eve through a tablecloth |
6 . “Attention, everyone!” Miss Dalrymple looked at her class of ten-year-olds. “Today we are going to create a special card for Father’s Day, which falls on this weekend.” Then she busied herself handing out the paper and art materials to her noisy pupils.
They were a mixed punch. Some came from the rich side of the town, but the majorities were from parents who struggled to get jobs. So she had not been eager to carry out this activity.
“Think about all the things that your dad does that make him special,” she said loudly as she approached the last table. “You can write a poem or short story thinking of the positive characteristics that make your dad special. The written part of this activity should be completed before you start to decorate your card.”
Andrew looked at the blank page. He had never met, spoken to, or been hugged by his dad, so how could he write about him? Once when he was looking in his grandma’s photo box, he had seen an old black and white photo but it was badly creased(弄皱) and difficult to recognize any clear features. She had quickly taken it from him and buried it deeply among the rest, never to be found again. After thinking for a while, he wrote:
Dear Dad,
You are a person I do not know and would probably not recognize as I only saw an old photo of you a long time ago. I think and wonder about you often, especially when I have no one to talk to about the Saturday fixtures(体育活动). One day when I grow up I will do an Internet search to find you, but I am not sure whether I will be successful as several attempts by the Child Support Agency have not been successful. Happy Father’s Day, Dad.
Love,
Andrew
1. What did Miss Dalrymple ask her students to do?| A．Hand out the paper and art materials. |
| B．Make a special card for their fathers. |
| C．Make a celebration plan for Father’s Day. |
| D．Carry out a school activity on the weekend. |
| A．The students were not willing to finish the task. |
| B．The students were eager to carry out the activity. |
| C．The students didn’t get along well with each other. |
| D．The students’ family conditions were quite different. |
| A．Because he had never seen his father. |
| B．Because his father was not a successful man. |
| C．Because he forgot all the things his father did. |
| D．Because he and his grandma didn’t like his father. |
| A．Andrew’s father has been dead. |
| B．Andrew’s father can’t recognize him. |
| C．Andrew is eager to meet his father. |
| D．Andrew is sure of finding his father. |
I waited by the side of the highway for three hours but no one stopped for me. Finally, a man walked over and introduced himself as Gordon. He said that although he couldn’t give me a lift, I should come back to his house for lunch. He noticed me standing for hours in the November heat and thought I must be hungry. I was doubtful as a young girl but he assured(使……放心) me I was safe, and he also offered to help me find a lift home afterwards. When we arrived at his house, he made us sandwiches. After lunch, he helped me find a lift home.
Twenty-five years later, in 2003, while I was driving to a nearby town one day, I saw an elderly man standing in the glaring heat, trying to hitch a ride. I thought it was another chance to repay someone for the favour I’d been given decades earlier. I pulled over and picked him up. I made him comfortable on the back seat and offered him some water.
After a few moments of small talk, the man said to me, “You haven’t changed a bit, even your red hair is still the same.” I couldn’t remember where I’d met him. He then told me he was the man who had given me lunch and helped me find a lift all those years ago. It was Gordon.
1. The author had to hitch a ride one day in 1978 because .
| A．her work delayed her trip to Sydney |
| B．she was going home for her holidays |
| C．the town was far away from Sydney |
| D．she missed the only train back home |
| A．He helped the girl find a ride. |
| B．He gave the girl a ride back home. |
| C．He bought sandwiches for the girl. |
| D．He watched the girl for three hours. |
| A．she realized he was Gordon |
| B．she had known him for decades |
| C．she was going to the nearby town |
| D．she wanted to repay the favour she once got |
| A．Giving sometimes produces nice results. |
| B．Those who give rides will be rapid. |
| C．Good manners bring about happiness. |
| D．People should offer free rides to others. |
8 . Once I spoke at a high school. After the speech, I was asked to see a special student. An illness had kept the boy at home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me, and it would mean a great deal to him. I agreed. He was Matthew. When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to see five, then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal weight lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles(障碍) and going for my dreams.
I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain(抱怨). He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. He knew what he was talking about. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weight with me.
When we finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion(冠军). You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”
Last summer I got the news that Matthew had died and a letter Matthew had written me a few days before:
Dear Rick,
My mom said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. The doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live any more. But I still smile as much as I can.
I told you some day I was going to the Olympics and win a gold medal. But I know now I’ll never make it. But I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you.
Thank you for loving me.
Your friend,
Matthew
1. The boy wished to meet the writer because .| A．he wished to take part in the Olympics |
| B．he admired the author very much |
| C．he hoped to make friends with the author |
| D．he enjoyed weightlifting |
| A．Matthew was good at weight lifting. |
| B．Rick had the similar disease as a child. |
| C．Matthew never gave up in face of disease. |
| D．Rick encouraged the boy to become a champion. |
| A．He didn’t need Rick’s pity. |
| B．Rick looked on the medal as the most important thing. |
| C．The gold medal was very dear to Rick. |
| D．He thought he was not worthy of it. |
| A．Rick was unhappy before death． |
| B．Rick kept in touch with Matthew． |
| C．Matthew sent some pictures to Rick． |
| D．Matthew got an Olympic gold medal． |
Irving police on Wednesday released recordings of the 911 call after Saiqa Akhter was charged with capital murder in the death of her 5-year-old son, Zain Akhter and her 2-year-old daughter, Faryaal Akhter. Police said the children were attacked at the family's apartment Monday night.
In the recording released Wednesday, the woman identified herself as Saiqa Akhter and repeatedly told the operator she killed her two children. At one point, the woman hung up and the dispatcher(调度员) called her back.
"I killed both of them. I told you," she told the operator. Later, she explained that both children were lying motionless on the bed in the master bedroom.
"They are not doing anything. They are just blue and they are not taking any breaths and ... their heart is not beating," she said.
She told the operator she initially tried to poison the children with bathroom cleaner but they refused to drink it. When that didn't work, "I used a wire on their necks," she said.
When the operator asked the woman why she attacked her children, she said, "They're both not normal, not normal. They're autistic. Both are autistic." Pressed further, she said, "I don't want my children to be like that. ... I want normal kids."
Later, the dispatcher asked the woman what she was feeling. "Nothing," she responded.
At one point, water could be heard running in the background and the dispatcher asked what the woman what she was doing. She told the operator she was trying to wash the smell of cleaner off of her hands. The dispatcher then told the woman to go sit on a couch in the living room and wait for police.
At the end of the recording, police can be heard arriving at the home.
1. The woman killed her two young children by____.
| A．poisoning them |
| B．choking them |
| C．first poisoning and then choking them |
| D．striking them with bathroom cleaner |
| A．on Wednesday | B．on Monday night |
| C．on Monday morning | D．after the woman telephoned the 119 |
| A．The woman`s two children were autistic. |
| B．The woman did not take the killing seriously. |
| C．The woman hanged up immediately after she called 911. |
| D．The children did not drink the bathroom cleaner. |
| A．A Dallas Mom Killing Her Two Children |
| B．A Woman Who Suffers From Autism |
| C．A Woman and Her Two Children |
| D．A Dallas Woman Murderer |
“I watched one of those TV dramas about a hospital and suddenly I felt like playing one of the roles myself. So I put on a white jacket and a stethoscope(听诊器)and walked around one of the biggest hospital in London. At first I just watched. Once you learn how doctors talk to patients, nurses and other doctors, it’s easy to take people in,” he said.
One of the patients he treated was Laura Kennan. She had been knocked down by a car and fainted. When she came to in hospital, York was standing over her.
“He looked very professional(专业的). He told me his name was Doctor Simon. Then he gave me some sort of injection(注射),” she said. And then he suddenly went away when a nurse asked who he was. She didn’t think there was anything wrong. “I would never have realized he was a fake(冒牌货) if a policewoman hadn’t showed me his photograph a week later. When the policewoman told me who he really was, I could hardly believe my ears.”
Judge Raymond Adams told York that he was “ shocked and horrified” that he got away with his deceiving(欺骗) for so long, and then sentenced(判刑) him to eighteen months in a special prison for criminals with mental disorders.
“I can only hope that this will not lead to further problems. After all, you will have considerable opportunity to study the behavior of the psychiatrists (精神科医生) who will look after you while you are there. If you try to persuade people that you yourself are a psychiatrist after you are set free, I shall make sure that you are given a much longer sentence.” Judge Adams warned York.
1. York was proud of the fact that ___________.
| A．a surgeon let him watch an operation. |
| B．he could perform some duties of a doctor. |
| C．he had cheated doctors for so long |
| D．people thought he could become a real doctor |
| A．watching other doctors work | B．talking to doctors and nurses |
| C．getting some training and experience | D．observing doctors while he was a patient |
| A．She had swallowed something and almost died. |
| B．She had to have and emergency operation. |
| C．She had been injured in a road accident. |
| D．She had lost consciousness while driving. |
| A．pretended to be a psychiatrist | B．tried to get away from prison |
| C．was proud of what he had done | D．studied the behaviour of the psychiatrist |
