1 . A Chinese woman who lost an eye in a road accident a decade ago has received high praise for developing cool-looking artificial eyes as she struggles to overcome appearance anxiety that often accompanies such a loss.
The former dancer and actress from Beijing, who is known by her online nickname, Xintong, completed the process of becoming a self-taught artificial eye maker, in 2020.
She spent years improving her skills through trial and error, driven by a desire to help others with a similar disability rediscover their confidence.
A decade after she lost her right eye in a car accident aged 18, and following years of self-hating, Xintong now runs her own artificial eye-making workshop.
From the beginning, her aim has been to help people like her by providing them with custom-made artificial eyes. “Because I once got wet in the rain, I now want to give others an umbrella,” she said.
The idea came from a “very cool” overseas artificial eye maker who did not care what other people said or thought about people who had lost an eye.
“People already look at me in a strange way, so why not exaggerate how I appear and use that to my advantage?” Xintong said.
However, Xintong found the artificial eyes she had to wear both ugly and uncomfortable. “I thought to myself, it would be great if I could produce ones according to my own taste,” she recalled.
She pursued her dream and in 2020 quit her teaching job to devote herself full-time to artificial eye-making.
Now she’s mastered the technique of making her ideal artificial eyes, opened a workshop and hired three assistants.
1. What do we know about Xintong?| A．She lost both of her eyes in a traffic accident recently. |
| B．She was worried about her looking after losing her eye. |
| C．She is highly praised for overcoming her appearance anxiety. |
| D．She learnt to make artificial eyes from others in 2020. |
| A．To make money. |
| B．To rediscover her confidence. |
| C．To provide the disabled with custom-made artificial eyes. |
| D．To buy others an umbrella to avoid getting wet. |
| A．She was unsatisfied with them. | B．She found them very comfortable. |
| C．She thought them very attractive. | D．She found them suitable to her taste. |
| A．Humorous and positive. | B．Caring and persevering. |
| C．Generous and creative. | D．Reliable and independent. |
2 . An 82-year-old Chinese female pilot has set a record in the country’s airline industry after flying a small plane for 40 minutes in Beijing. Miao Xiaohong, one of China’s second team of female pilots, controlled the Tecnam P2010 plane to take off, turn, climb, dive and land safety at the Shifosi Airport in Pinggu District of Beijing.
In 1956, Miao Xiaohong, who graduated from a high school in Jinan, won a position in the second team. She graduated from the flight school in 1958. in the following years, she flew many important missions. In 1963, she undertook a mission to airdrop materials for the flood-stricken areas in Hebei Province. Poor visibility prevented her locating the target areas as the clouds were about 100 meters above the ground, but she managed to finish the task.
In 1989, she retired and started her writing career. When she collected material for her books, she found that many aged pilots in other countries still flew, and she had the idea of returning to the sky. To prepare for the flight, she walked 3,000 steps every day and moved her arms to meet the requirements for the high-altitude flight. Different from past flights for missions, this time her goal was to enjoy the flight. She said that it was exciting and fresh. “Seeing the boundless blue sky unfold in front of me, I feel it is very open,” she said.
The trainer said that Miao Xiaohong could finish the 30-hour flight to get a license for commercial flights. She said, “My physical condition is good enough to finish the 30-hour flight but it is not so important for me to get such a license. After achieving my dream of returning to the sky, I hope to encourage young women to join the airline industry. I’m 82 years old and I can fly again. You, the young people, can fly and will fly better than me.
1. What can we learn from the airdrop mission carried out by Miao Xiaohong?| A．She was a very beautiful pilot. | B．She had excellent flying skills. |
| C．She suffered from poor eyesight. | D．She usually completed hard tasks. |
| A．Her deep love for flights. | B．Her wish to set a flying record. |
| C．The requirements of her books. | D．The influence of other aged pilots. |
| A．Faithful. | B．Energetic. | C．Determined. | D．Enthusiastic. |
| A．Returning to the blue sky | B．Coming to join in the flight |
| C．Managing to finish difficult tasks | D．Improving yourself to set a record |
3 . The day before yesterday, when Peter’s family were having dinner, Father raised an interesting question, “Was there anything in our past that we feel ashamed of, guilty about, or regretted? Maybe we can find ways to say sorry, or take some action to right any wrongdoing.” This seemed like a very private matter, but Peter thought about it carefully the whole night.
Peter remembered an incident from middle school. In his school, there was a worker, Neil Stone, who none of the kids liked. One night, Peter and two of his classmates decided to play a trick on him. They found a can of red paint, and wrote on the school main road in bright red: Neil Stone is a fool! The next day, the whole school saw these words. Within two hours, Neil had Peter and his two classmates in his office. His classmates said that they had done it but Peter lied and denied the truth.
This morning, Peter went back to his middle school. Neil Stone is still working there. “Sorry, Neil. Do you still remember what happened ten years ago? I want you to know that I did it.” “I knew it!’ Neil laughed. They had a good laugh and a lively discussion. Neil’s closing words were: “Peter, I always felt bad for you because your classmates got it off their mind, and I knew you were carrying it around all these years. I want to thank you for visiting me… for your sake.”
Peter knows that no matter how difficult the situation is, it is never too late to clear up the past and make a fresh start.
1. What did Peter remember doing in middle school?| A．Something helpful. | B．Something unpleasant. |
| C．Something valuable. | D．Something useful. |
| A．Dark blue. | B．Light green. |
| C．Pure white. | D．Bright red. |
| A．Ten years ago. | B．The day before yesterday. |
| C．This morning. | D．Not until Peter told him. |
| A．Peter’s family. | B．An unforgettable lesson. |
| C．It’s never too late to say sorry. | D．An interesting thing in middle school. |
4 . My teacher picked up a piece of broken glass and asked, “Who broke this window?” Thirty boys tried to think about not only what they had done, but also what our teacher may have found out. She seldom became angry, but she was this time.
“Oh,” I thought. I was the one who broke the window. It was caused by a mischievous throw of a baseball. If I admitted the guilt, I would be in a lot of trouble. How could I be able to pay for a big window like that? I didn’t even get an allowance. “My father is going to have a fit,” I thought. I didn’t want to raise my hand, but some force much stronger than I was pulled it skyward. I told the truth. “I did it.” It was hard enough to say what I had done.
My teacher took down a book from one of our library shelves and I had never known my teacher to strike a student, but I feared she was going to start with me.
“I know how you like birds,” she said as she stood looking down at my guilt-ridden face. “Here is that field guide about birds that you are constantly checking out. It is yours now. It’s time that we should get a new one for the school anyway. You will not be punished as long as you remember that I am not rewarding you for your misdeed, but I am rewarding you for your truthfulness.”
I couldn’t believe it! I wasn’t being told off and I got my own bird field guide — the very one that I had been saving money up to buy.
All that remains of that day is my memory and the lesson my teacher taught me. That lesson stays with me every day, and it will echo forever.
1. From the story, we can learn that the boy ________.| A．tried to think about what he had done | B．didn’t admit his mistake of breaking the window |
| C．broke the window with a baseball | D．didn’t know what the teacher had found out |
| A．be punished by the teacher | B．make his father angry |
| C．get a bird field guide | D．pay for the broken window |
| A．Frightened - Sad - Proud. | B．Afraid - Surprised - Thankful. |
| C．Regretful - Guilty - Excited. | D．Nervous - Afraid - Delightful. |
| A．Failure is the mother of success. | B．It’s never too late to be careful. |
| C．Bad luck never comes alone. | D．Honesty is always precious. |
5 . Last summer, Katie Steller pulled off the freeway on her way to work in Minneapolis and stopped at a traffic light, where a man was sitting with a sign asking for help. She rolled her window.
“Hey!” She shouted. "I'm driving around giving free haircuts. If I go grab my chair, do you want one right now?”
The man looked to be in his 60s. He laughed, saying, "Actually, I have a wedding to go this week. I am really hoping to get a haircut. "
"I'll be right back," Steller said.
She drove off, went to the salon (美发厅) she owns, and moved a red chair into her car. en she drove back. The man, named Edward, took a seat. She started to give him a haircut. He told her about his growing up in Mississippi and moving to Minnesota to be closer to adult children. After the haircut was done, Edward looked in a mirror and said gladly, "I look good!”
To date, Steller has given 30 or so such haircuts to people around the city. It's more than haircut. Steller wants it to be a gateway to express care, value and appreciation, but also to know more people.
Steller knows that a haircut can change a life. One changed hers: As a teen, she suffered m a serious disease and her hair thinned drastically. Seeing this, her mother arranged for Steller’s first professional haircut. "To sit down and have somebody look at me and talk to me like a person and not just an illness, it helped me feel cared about and less alone,“ she said.
After that, Steller knew she wanted to have her own salon so she could help people feel the way she'd felt that day. Not long after finishing cosmetology school in 2009, she began what she now calls her Red Chair Project, reaching out to people on the streets.
1. What did Steller offer to Edward?| A．Encouragement. | B．A free haircut. |
| C．A comfortable chair. | D．Financial assistance. |
| A．To advertise her salon. | B．To change the poor's life. |
| C．To show acts of kindness. | D．To draw others' attention. |
| A．Sharply. | B．Occasionally. | C．Cautiously. | D．Painfully. |
| A．A Free Haircut | B．A Chair Project |
| C．More than a Haircut | D．Less Prejudice and Cruelty |
6 . I have been receiving so much kindness. It was difficult for an independent girl like me to accept it at first. At times, my financial situation is not the best. But with that comes a great lesson in appreciation, budgeting, and deciding what is and what isn't important.
A few times I've had to put off or even give up things. Because of my scarcity on money, I had to give up a keep fit exercise, which is something I like to treat myself regularly. When my coach Lisa heard about this, she offered me training at a highly discounted price. At first this made me very uncomfortable. I feared that she would wrongly think that I was going to bargain (砍价) and of course I wasn't. ; Instead, I was just being honest about my situation being short of money. I finally accepted her offer, remembering that I deserve kindness, too.
Another time, I noticed a friend of mine selling his old exercise bike, which was perfect for me, as I was looking to replace my broken one. {I told him that I would take it when I had the money, but then life got in the way. When I finally got the time to pick it up, I realized my financial shortcomings again, I asked him if he could hold onto it for one more week, as then I'd have the funds again. He was happy to do this, but instead he insisted on offering me the bike as a gift. Another opportunity presents itself to teach me how to receive with dignity(尊严).
I continue to slowly learn how to accept the kindness from others. In fact, the relationship between giving and receiving is closely linked. When you accept the kindness from others with joy, they will feel happy, too.
1. How did the author feel at first when she received kindness from others?| A．Happy. | B．Unfair. | C．Proud. | D．Uncomfortable. |
| A．Request. | B．Independence. | C．Principle. | D．Lack. |
| A．Being punished. | B．Being misunderstood. |
| C．Accepting her coach's strict training. | D．Giving away the secret of her being short of money. |
| A．She paid much money for it. | B．She got it for free. |
| C．She bought it from her coach. | D．She borrowed it from her friend. |
7 . Louise Blanchard Bethune showed early promise in math. But Louise did not go to school. Instead, her father taught her at home until she was 11 years old. She also discovered a skill for planning houses. It developed into a lifelong interest in architecture and a place in history as the first professional female architect in the United States.
After graduating from high school in 1874, Louise traveled and studied. She hoped to prepare herself to attend the new architecture school at Cornell University. But then Buffalo’s leading architectural firm of Richard A. Waite and F.W. Caulkins offered her a job. She knew that architects gained their training from practical experience, not from school. She took the job.
Louise worked there as an assistant, 10 hours a day for five years. She learned ----and mastered----drawing and architectural design. She also met her husband, Robert A. Bethune. Their new firm, R.A. and L.Bethune, opened in October 1881.
Bethune appeared to be the strength of the business. At the turn of the 20th century, the city of Buffalo was rapidly expanding to meet the demands of growing industry. The firm received tasks to build hundreds of structures throughout western New York. The firm designed lots of schools, apartment buildings, department stores, churches and factories.
Bethune believed that being an architect meant being an artist, a scientist and a business person. She made a point of advocating for women in the profession. She became a member of the Western Association of Architects(WAA) in 1885. In 1888, she was the first woman to join the American Institute of Architects(AIA). Besides, Bethune took a firm stand on equal treatment for women architects. She insisted on equal pay for equal work.
Bethune left almost no papers or letters, and few people recognize her name today. But her legacy remains in the foothold she established for women in the field of architecture. She started her own firm and enjoyed a successful career.
1. When Louise Bethune was a girl, she liked to .| A．design buildings |
| B．read picture books of buildings |
| C．play with toy houses |
| D．make models of buildings |
| A．She got married. |
| B．She lacked money. |
| C．She started her own business. |
| D．She wanted to learn through work. |
| A．Bethune’ s business was a success. |
| B．Bethune’ s city developed quickly. |
| C．An architect should be an artist first. |
| D．Women can be professional architects. |
| A．She educated a lot of women architects. |
| B．She wrote a lot of letters and papers. |
| C．She founded the AIA and WAA. |
| D．She fought for women’ s rights. |
