1 . John H. Johnson was born in a black family in Arkansas City in 1918. His father died in an accident when John was six. He was reaching high school age, but his hometown offered no high school for blacks.
Luckily, he had a strong-willed, caring mother. John remembers that his mother told him many times, “Son, you can be anything you really want to be if you just believe. She told him not to be dependent on others, including his mother. “You have to earn success,” said she. “All the people who work hard don’t succeed, but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard.”
These words came from a woman less than a third grade education. She also knew that believing and hard work don’t mean everything. So she worked hard as a cook for two years to save enough to take her son, who was then 15, to Chicago.
Chicago in1933 was not the promised land (乐土、希望之地) that black southerners were looking for, John’s mother and stepfather could not find work. But there John could go to school, and there he learned the power of words — as editor of the newspaper and yearbook of Du Stable High School. His wish was to publish a magazine for blacks.
While others discouraged him, John’s mother offered him more words to live by: “Nothing beats a failure but a try.” She also let him pawn (典当) her furniture to get the $500 he needed to start the Negro magazine.
It is natural the difficulties and failures followed John closely until he became very successful. He always keeps his mother’s words in mind. “Son, failure is not in your vocabulary.”
Now John H. Johnson is one of the 400 richest people in America — worth $150 million.
1. Why did John’s mother decide to move to Chicago? Because ________.| A．John’s father died in his hometown when he was very young |
| B．life was too hard for them to stay on in their hometown, while life in Chicago would be better for blacks |
| C．there were no schools for blacks in their hometown |
| D．John needed more education and he could go to school there |
| A．woman with little school education but knew a lot about life |
| B．woman who would not do anything for her son |
| C．strong woman with much knowledge |
| D．woman who didn’t know how to encourage her son |
| A．if you try, you will succeed in the end |
| B．a failure is difficult to beat, even if you try |
| C．a try is always followed by failure |
| D．nothing but a try can help you out of failure |
| A．How John H. Johnson became somebody. |
| B．The mental support John’s mother gave him. |
| C．The importance of a good education. |
| D．The key to success for blacks. |
2 . While Fernando and his wife were waiting in the ticketing line, he heard a man at the counter trying to get a ticket to Las Vegas. He was having trouble. He only had $150 and that wasn’t enough. The ticketing agent(售票员)was pretty unhelpful and told him he needed to go online and look for other ways.
The man kept trying to explain his situation to her but wasn’t getting anywhere. His English was limited, so it was difficult for him to communicate. He was becoming increasingly anxious—and she was becoming increasingly cold.
After he finally turned away from the counter, Fernando went up and asked what was up. He spoke Spanish so Fernando was able to understand his story.
The man had lost his job here in the San Francisco area and had no place to live, and only had $150. He had family who were living in Las Vegas and was trying to get there. He was told he could get a ticket for $150, but told Fernando that he couldn't read, didn't have a computer, and didn't know how to access the internet from the airport—let alone buy a low-cost ticket on the net.
Fernando believed him and wanted to help him. They walked back to the counter and Fernando bought a $330 ticket to Las Vegas for the man.
Fernando didn’t ask for anything and trusted that this guy’s story was true. He followed his heart, because he wanted to help him. And most importantly, he did.
Not only that, a month later when Fernando’s wife was going through the credit card statement, she saw the charge and asked her husband, “Wasn’t that ticket $240? Why is the bill $330?”
Fernando sheepishly replied, “I upgraded (升级) him.”
1. What prevented the man going home?| A．He lost his money. | B．He missed his flight. |
| C．He couldn’t communicate. | D．He couldn’t buy a ticket. |
| A．He lent the man some money. |
| B．He chose to believe the man’s words. |
| C．He helped the man explain to the agent. |
| D．He taught the man to connect the internet. |
| A．Curious. | B．Annoyed. |
| C．Proud. | D．Calm. |
| A．A Flight Ticket | B．A Homeless Man |
| C．An Interesting Trip | D．A Helpful Couple |
3 . It was the first time I had taught in a special needs classroom. I wasn't sure what to expect at our school sports meeting. All my students had some problems, from slight learning disabilities to physical disabilities.
Mark was one of the latter. He had to get around in a wheelchair. But he was always positive and greeted everyone with a huge smile. His classmates loved him, especially Lucas, the boy who was good at sports. I knew Mark wanted to be like him.
When track and field day came, Lucas did well in every event. Mark sat on the sideline, cheering him on. The final event of the day was the 400-meter race. Everyone was invited to either walk or run. But when Lucas reached the finish line, he stopped and turned to look behind him. At the back of the crowd was Mark. He was alone on the track, trying to catch up with others. Lucas made a decision quickly. He turned back toward his friend. He ran beside Mark, cheering him on as Mark had done for him before.
In the end, the two boys crossed the finish line together to the excited shout of their teachers and classmates. Seeing Mark's face, I came to understand what makes the Special Olympics so special. Everyone deserves their own time to shine.
1. Why was the class"special"?| A．It was taught at special times and in special places. |
| B．The students had some learning and physical problems. |
| C．Everyone could walk or run faster than common people. |
| D．All of the students cheered for each other in every event. |
| A．No students would take part in it. | B．It wouldn't be a challenging one. |
| C．The writer didn't expect too much. | D．Students shouldn't spend time on it. |
| A．Hopeful. | B．Serious. |
| C．Noisy. | D．Hard-working. |
| A．He waited for Mark at the finish line. |
| B．He cheered the Mark on the sidelines. |
| C．He went back and ran with Mark together. |
| D．He shouted it and laughed at him excitedly. |
| A．Track and field is a fun event for everyone. |
| B．The Special Olympics are boring to watch. |
| C．Friendship comes from valuable competition. |
| D．Everyone deserves to have a special moment. |
4 . One day a little boy decided to dig a hole behind his house after watching a science program. As he was working, a group of older boys stopped by to watch. "What are you doing?" asked one of the older boys. "I want to dig a deep hole all the way through the earth!" the boy answered excitedly. The older boys began to laugh at him telling him that it was impossible to do it. After a while, they left without saying any more words.
The little boy kept on digging and digging. Suddenly a few small colorful stones caught his eyes. He picked them up and put them into a glass box patiently. Then he went on digging. The box was full soon. Then he talked to himself quietly and proudly, "Maybe I can't finish digging all the way through the earth, but look at what I have found in the process of digging!"
Not all dreams will come true. Maybe your job will not end up with a success. But maybe you can proudly say, "Yes, but look what I've found along the way! There are so many wonderful things that have come into my life because I tried to do something!" So that's why there is a famous saying that the process is more important than the results.
1. What did the boy do after watching a science program?| A．He bought a glass box. | B．He started to dig a hole. |
| C．He played with some visitors | D．He went on watching the program. |
| A．He was silly. | B．He was strict. |
| C．He was strong-minded. | D．He was energetic. |
| A．Before he met the older boys. |
| B．When he wanted to give up digging. |
| C．After the older boys laughed at him. |
| D．As soon as he began to dig the hole. |
| A．wonderful | B．useless |
| C．cheap | D．awful |
| A．Enjoying the process | B．How to achieve goals |
| C．A journey through the earth | D．Digging a hole |
5 . Kleon Papadimitriou, a Greek student, had been stuck in Scotland, where he studies, with no way to return to Athens while flights were shut down. So he decided to take a bike.
He began researching what it would take to make the trip on two wheels. He once competed in a race in 2019 and was briefly trained for several weeks — but that was about all the biking experience he carried with him.
Initially, he thought the idea was more of a “dream”— an absolutely hard long journey. But soon he began purchasing the equipment he'd need. He purchased a bike, and told the news to his parents and friends.
Papadimiriou travelled anywhere between 35 and 75 miles per day, crossing initially through England and then onto the Netherlands. He biked along the Rhine in Germany for several days, passed through Austria and cycled down along the eastern coast of Italy before he took a boat to the Greek port of Patras.
Throughout his trip, he set up camp in fields and forests. He spent the last few moments of each day writing down his progress, tracking the next day's path and checking in with family and friends.
“It's just now dawning on me how big of an achievement this was.” Papadimitriou says of his 48-day journey. “And I did learn a lot of things about myself, about my limits, my strengths and my weaknesses. I really hope that the trip can inspire at least one more person to go out of their comfort zone and try something new, something big.”
1. What can we infer about Kleon Papadimitriou?| A．He was forced to leave for Scotland on bike. | B．He had a few biking experience before. |
| C．He was a famous cyclist in his hometown. | D．He cycled to the Greek port of Patras. |
| A．Because it seemed challenging to complete the journey. |
| B．Because he had no riding experience at all before. |
| C．Because his parents and friends didn't support his plan. |
| D．Because purchasing the equipment would cost too much. |
| A．2. | B．4. | C．6. | D．8. |
| A．Kleon Papadimitriou hardly communicated with his friends during the trip. |
| B．It took Kleon Papadimitriou 48 days to return to Greece. |
| C．Kleon Papadimitriou learned a lot of things about nature from the trip. |
| D．Many people have been inspired by Kleon Papadimiriou's story. |
6 . Gerardo Ixcoy is a 27-year-old teacher in Guatemala. He teaches in the area where having electricity is something of a luxury（奢侈品）and students have no access to mobile apps or computers, which became a problem when Guatemalan government had to choose distance education for students at home because of COVID-19.
Gerardo Ixcoy felt that he had to teach those children living far from the digital world. After all, education is a universal right and Gerardo Ixcoy thought those children shouldn't be excluded from having the education they needed. There had to be an alternative to distance education. But what was the solution?
Gerardo bought himself a secondhand tricycle（三轮车）with his savings. Once he had the tricycle, the next step was to change it into a classroom on wheels. He put a roof with a solar panel（太阳能电池板）on it, along with a screen to avoid the spread of COVID-19. He fixed a whiteboard on it so he could explain to the students the basics of primary education： math, the local language and the universal national language—Spanish.
The purpose of the solar panel is to provide constant power for a small loudspeaker so he can teach from a distance. It's a matter of respecting the healthy distance required to be safe from the virus. He, the teacher, stays outside, and the student participates from his or her house.
With that enthusiasm for education, he tries to visit his students at least twice a week, riding his classroom-cycle. The children he serves say that, although he visits them for only a few hours a week, they look forward to it. They appreciate his visit and will take advantage of it to learn.
1. What is the problem for the Guatemalan students because of COVID-19?| A．They cannot continue their study any more. |
| B．They are cut off from the digital world and the Internet. |
| C．They have no right to get the government's distance education. |
| D．They have to get distance education but they have no access to it. |
| A．Chosen | B．Prevented. |
| C．Protected. | D．Separated |
| A．He provided them with a whiteboard to write on |
| B．He fixed a solar panel on their house roofs to give electricity. |
| C．He rode his tricycle to their houses and taught them face to face. |
| D．He transformed his tricycle into a classroom on wheel to give them lessons. |
| A．Love for education breaks down barriers |
| B．Education contributes to success. |
| C．Great hope makes great man. |
| D．Hard work pays off. |
7 . Winter in Syria can be cold. With over 11 million people made homeless since the beginning of the war in 2011, many people are without enough heating or shelter during the cold winter months. A group of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) students has set out to change that.
The team of six, led by MIT Sloan School of Management undergraduate Vick Liu, created TravlerPack, a light sleeping bag that can stand up to temperatures as cold as -10℃, with the goal of sending the bags to Syrian refugees (难民).
During a freshman exercise last year, Liu was among a group of students discussing startup ideas when he realized he was interested in creating something that would help people. He wrote the idea for TravlerPack on a piece of paper and put it in his pocket so he wouldn’t forget it.
With fuel (燃料) and shelter hard to come by, refugees have few ways to keep warm during the Syrian winters. But a sleeping bag doesn’t require fuel. “It’s a simple solution to a big problem,” said Liu.
Liu and his team spoke directly with refugees to find out what additions to the bag they might need. They found that refugees had no way to store valuables, especially at night, so each TravlerPack contains one outside storage pocket and five inside storage pockets. When not being used, TravlerPack can be pressed down into a small bag, which can be worn as a backpack, allowing refugees to keep both hands free.
After reaching out to around 80 producers, the team officially partnered with one in April to make the sleeping bags.
The team reached out to many non-profits (非盈利性机构) and, luckily, NuDay Syria, a non-profit with experience of sending goods to Syrian refugees, signed on to send the packs to Northwestern Syria.
In September, the group started a GoFundMe movement to raise $15,000 to send TravlerPacks to Syrian refugees, and quickly reached their goal. Now the team is raising more money to send 1,000 bags overseas.
“We’ve been really lucky the whole way through,” Liu said. “This has been a journey of luck and a lot of planning.”
1. Why did Vick Liu create TravlerPack?| A．To sell sleeping bags to travelers. |
| B．To solve a big problem at his school. |
| C．To meet the needs of Syrian refugees. |
| D．To complete a task given by his team. |
| A．To check if they were receiving TravlerPacks. |
| B．To see how many sleeping bags they needed. |
| C．To try their best to improve TravlerPacks. |
| D．To deal with their money problems. |
| A．They have received great support. |
| B．They will put TravlerPacks to the test soon |
| C．They plan to advertise TravlerPacks worldwide |
| D．They found it easy to send sleeping bags to refugees. |
| A．Kind and strict. |
| B．Intelligent and sensitive. |
| C．Creative and thoughtful. |
| D．Humorous and talkative. |
8 . When most high school students complain about having to wake up extra early，they're usually referring to a swim practice before class or the last minute study before a test. But that was never the case for Corey Patrick，who woke up at 4：30 every morning last year in order to arrive on time at Tarrant High School in Alabama.
Patrick had attended Tarrant City Schools since his fourth grade，but things got difficult when his family moved to a town 14 miles away. Even though his family didn't have any forms of transportation，Patrick didn't want to miss out on his senior year with friends，so he woke up at 4：30 every morning in order to make it to a 5：41 a．m.bus that would help him get to Tarrant on time.And just as he had done every other school day of the year，Patrick got up one morning to start the journey from his home to his high school; the only obvious difference that morning was that he was wearing his graduation gown (毕业礼服)，which made that day's bus driver，DeJuanna Beasley, take some photos of him. She then shared them online with these words，“You tell me this isn't determination.He got on my bus to go to his graduation，and no one was with him.Sometimes it's all in what you want out of life.I was so proud of this young man.”
That was soon shared by many people online，and it caught the attention of radio host Rickey Smiley，who surprised Patrick by giving him a car later. Smiley confirmed that he would make sure that Patrick received help with getting his driver's license. A GoFundMe was also created for Patrick，which has raised over $20,000. And Patrick has got a scholarship (奖学金) to Jacksonville University，where he plans to study computer science.
1. Why was Patrick different from most students when it comes to rising early?| A．It had something to do with study. |
| B．It was a part of daily life for him. |
| C．He was unwilling to get up early. |
| D．He spent more time in studying. |
| A．Patrick dressed poorly on his graduation day. |
| B．It took Patrick an hour to get to the bus stop. |
| C．The driver was moved by Patrick's story. |
| D．There was no school in Patrick's town. |
| A．Patrick's request for help on the Internet. |
| B．The difficulties that Patrick experienced. |
| C．The information about Patrick's university. |
| D．The message published online by the driver. |
| A．GoFundMe. | B．Rickey Smiley. |
| C．Patrick's high school. | D．Jacksonville University. |
9 . Tom was a clever boy, but his parents were poor, so he had to work in his spare time and during his holidays to pay for his education. In spite of this, he managed to get to the university, but it was so expensive to study there that during the holiday he found it necessary to get two jobs at the same time so as to make enough money to pay for his studies.
One summer he managed to get a job in a butcher’s shop(肉店)during the day-time, and another in a hospital at night. In the shop, he learnt to cut meat quite nicely, so the butcher often left him to do all the serving while he went to the back room to do the accounts(账目). In the hospital, on the other hand, he was, of course, allowed to do the simplest jobs, like helping to lift people and to carry them from one part of the hospital to another. Both at the butcher’s shop and at the hospital, Tom had to wear white clothes.
One evening at the hospital, Tom had to carry a woman from her bed to the place where she was to have an operation. The woman was already feeling frightened at the thought of the operation before he came to get her, but when she saw Tom, that finished her. “No! No!” she cried．“Not my butcher! I won’t be operated on by my butcher!” and fainted away(昏厥).
1. Tom made enough money by ________.| A．doing two jobs |
| B．working in a butcher’s shop |
| C．cutting meat well |
| D．studying in the university |
| A．a butcher and a doctor |
| B．a manager and a doctor |
| C．an assistant |
| D．a manager |
| A．he was wearing white clothes |
| B．he was going to operate on her |
| C．he was now working in the hospital |
| D．he had sold meat to her |
| A．plunged her into deep sorrow |
| B．took all her strength and courage away |
| C．broke her heart |
| D．made her decide to have an operation |
10 . Katie always knew she wanted to be a performer. She was crazy about musicals and Disney movies from an early age and would often watch them singing along with her mom, Karen. When Katie was nine years old, her happy childhood took a turn when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Then they made a decision. Disney World had been a longtime dream vacation for Karen. So in November 1997, the family packed up and headed to Disney World.
They spent their days in the parks, seeing the sights, greeting characters, and watching Karen’s face light up with joy. They all shared the joy of experiencing the park for the first time with Karen. Katie says she’ll never forget the moment that changed her life on that trip: After a long day, the Whetsells decided to see one of Disney World’s nightly light shows. While watching, a Disney cast member performing in the parade came up to her mom and rested her hand on Karen’s shoulder. This was the day Katie decided she wanted to work for Disney.
Sadly, Katie’s mom Karen lost her battle with cancer on June 2, 2003. Katie went on to pursue her dream.
After Katie received her degree in musical theatre, Katie struggled for years, trying to make it as an actor. Her hard work and passion finally paid off when she was hired to work on Disney Cruise Lines in 2009 and later as a performer in Disney on Classic.
Since then, Katie has had many opportunities to play with some of her favorite Disney characters, but Katie’s favorite friend is Dory in Finding Nemo at Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. Several times a week, Katie can be found voicing lovable, forgetful Dory. She says that Dory has taught her the value of living in the present moment and to “just keep swimming”.
1. Why did the family decide to visit Disney World?| A．To spend Katie’s dream vacation. | B．To help Katie be a performer. |
| C．To make Karen’s dream come true. | D．To enjoy the last family trip. |
| A．Karen was diagnosed with cancer. |
| B．The family shared the joy together in the park. |
| C．They saw a Disney World’s nightly light show. |
| D．A Disney performer had some interaction with Karen. |
| A．Because Dory taught her some life lessons. |
| B．Because Katie enjoyed voicing lovable Dory. |
| C．Because Dory played with a Disney character. |
| D．Because Katie had opportunities to swim with Dory. |
| A．Humorous and honest. | B．Hardworking and determined. |
| C．Optimistic and serious. | D．Outgoing and patient. |
