1 . Since being introduced to chess at the age of six, Tanitoluwa “Tani” Adewumi has had one goal. He wants to become the world’s youngest-ever Grandmaster—the highest title a chess player can achieve. The record is currently held by Russian chess player Alexandrovich Karjakin, who won the title in 2002 at the age of 12.
To work for his goal, the gifted chess player practiced for up to 11 hours every day after school. On May 1, 2021, the now 10-year-old Tani became the newest national chess master of the United States. The title, awarded by the United States Chess Federation (USCF), requires players to get a rating of between 2200 to 2400. Tani achieved a rating of 2223 by defeating two chess experts, a master, and an international master. Tani said the secret to his success was thinking of his plays ahead of time.
The now fifth-grader first knew and fell in love with chess in 2017 after being exposed to the basics by a part-time teacher at school in Manhattan, New York. However, his mother, Oluwatoyin, didn’t let him join the school’s chess club due to the travel and chess competition costs. The family of four, who were living in a homeless shelter, did not have extra money to spare. When Oluwatoyin explained the family’s situation to the chess club’s instructor, Russell Makofsky, he instantly cancelled all costs for the young boy.
Tani did not disappoint those who supported him. Over less than a year after joining the club, he had garnered seven trophies(奖杯)and was ranked 27 in his age category. In 2019, the then eight-year-old, who was still living in a homeless shelter, made national headlines when he defeated 73 competitors to win the New York State Scholastic Chess K-3 Championship. His amazing story caught much attention and a GoFundMe campaign, set up by Makofsky, helped raise enough money for Tani and his family to move into a new home.
1. What can we learn from paragraph 2?| A．Tani’s efforts paid off. | B．Tani did badly at school. |
| C．Tani hardly practiced chess. | D．Tani’s thoughts were simple. |
| A．His mother. | B．His teacher. |
| C．Alexandrovich Karjakin. | D．Russell Makofsky. |
| A．The family was too poor to cover the costs. | B．The competition in the club was too fierce. |
| C．She was afraid that he was not independent. | D．She wanted him to concentrate on his study. |
| A．Assessed. | B．Designed. | C．Gained. | D．Missed. |
2 . A woman came out of her house and saw three old men sitting in her front yard. She invited them in to have something to eat.
“We do not go into a house together,” they replied.
“Why is that?”she asked.
One of the old men pointed to his friends and explained, “His name is Wealth (财富).” He pointed to the other man and said,“He is Success, and I am Love. Now go in and discuss with your family which one of us you want in your home.”
The woman went in and told her husband what happened. Her husband was very happy. “How nice!” he said. “Let us invite Wealth. Let him come in and fill our home with wealth!”
His wife disagreed. “My dear, why don’t we invite Success?”
There daughter jumped in with her idea. “Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!”
“That’s a good idea,”said the husband to his wife. “Go out and invite Love to be our guest.”
The woman went out and invited Love in. Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other two old men also got up and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked them, “I only invited Love. Why are you coming in?”
The old men replied together, “If you invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would stay outside, but since you invited Love, wherever he goes, we go with him.”
1. When the woman came out, the three old men were ______.| A．eating something | B．walking toward her house |
| C．sitting in her front yard | D．asking for something to drink |
| A．Love | B．Success |
| C．Wealth | D．Love’s friend |
| A．angry | B．happy |
| C．nervous | D．surprised |
| A．You shouldn’t ask for more besides love. |
| B．Love is the most important thing in the world. |
| C．You can’t get everything you need at one time. |
| D．The more successful you are, the richer you’ll become. |
3 . In the northern part of Austin there once lived an honest family by the name of Smothers. The family had John Smothers, his wife and their five-year-old daughter.
One night after supper the little girl was ill with a serious stomachache, and John Smothers hurried downtown to get some medicine. He never came back. The mother was very sad over her husband's disappearance, and it was nearly three months before she married again, and moved to San Antonio. The little girl recovered and in time grew up to womanhood. After a few years had rolled around, the little girl also married in time, and she also had a little girl of five years. She still lived in the same house where they dwelt when her father had left and never returned.
By an unbelievable coincidence her little girl was taken with the same stomachache on the same night of the disappearance of John Smothers, who would now have been her grandfather if he had been alive. “I will go downtown and get some medicine for her,” said John Smith(for it was he whom she had married). “No, no, dear John,” cried his wife. “You, too, might disappear forever, and then forget to come back.” So John Smith did not go, and together they sat by the bedside of little Pansy. After a little while Pansy seemed to grow worse, and John Smith again wanted to go for medicine, but his wife would not let him.
Just then, the door suddenly opened and an old man with long white hair entered the room. “Hello, here is grandpa,” said Pansy. She had recognized him before any of the others. The old man drew a bottle of medicine from his pocket and gave Pansy a spoonful. She got well immediately. “I was a little late,” said John Smothers, “as I waited for a street car.”
1. What happened after John Smothers disappeared?| A．His daughter took some medicine. | B．His wife left for San Antonio. |
| C．Pansy immediately had a stomachache. | D．John Smith went for medicine. |
| A．Lived. | B．Left. | C．Returned. | D．Married. |
| A．Husband and wife. | B．Father and daughter. |
| C．Grandfather and granddaughter. | D．Father and son. |
| A．Worried. | B．Sad. | C．Uninterested. | D．Surprised. |
4 . When I was in my fourth year of teaching, I was also (and am still) a high school track and field coach . One year, I had a student, John, who entered my class when he was a junior. John changed to our school from Greece, and seemed to be interested in athletics, so I encouraged him to join our track team. I explained to him that even though he had never taken part in it before, I did believe that he could do well in any event, and I would be willing to coach him at whichever ones interested him. He accepted the offer, and began to work hard at every practice.
About a month later, I had found out from other sources that John was a first-class tennis player, winning various junior awards in his home country. I went to him asking, "John, I really appreciate that you came out for the track team, but why didn't you play tennis instead? It seems that would interest you a lot more, since you're so good at it." John answered, "Well, I like tennis, but you told me that you believed in me, and that you thought I could do well in track, so I wanted to try it for that reason."
From then on, I often remember my student's reply. I told it to a friend and she suggested I write it down to share somewhere with more teachers. No matter how critical students can be of themselves, I've found that a simple "I trust that you can do it!" can go a long way!
1. According to Paragraph 1, what does the author think more about?| A．John's state of health. | B．John's PE marks. |
| C．John's self-confidence. | D．John's interest in sports. |
| A．He had no tennis coach to train him. | B．He had been an excellent runner. |
| C．He was encouraged by his teacher. | D．He liked running more than tennis. |
| A．To show the importance of encouragement. |
| B．To build a close teacher-student relationship. |
| C．To introduce a new way of sports training. |
| D．To explain the value of sports and games. |
| A．Players. | B．Teachers. | C．Parents. | D．Students. |
5 . Recently，as I watched my son Nathan play basketball for his high school team，I was starting to feel sorry for myself and for him．His team was facing adversity（逆境）on the court and he was playing in a hostile environment-it was the opponent's home gym filled with their supporters，and Nathan's team was trailing（落后）for three quarters of the game．As for me，I had been dismissed from my job earlier in the day．
During my drive home，I kept telling myself that I will find work again in a short time-I am confident in my experience and abilities．This is the same belief that I tried to instill in my son．
The basketball game entered the fourth quarter with Nathan's team still trailing．I saw the determination on his，as well as his teammates'faces as they fought back to not only tie the game（平局），but then go ahead by three points．Then，a player from the other team made an unbelievable shot to tie the game up again．With a tie game and seconds on the clock，Nathan found himself with the ball and with skill and confidence，he proceeded to make the basket with a defender hanging all over him．The other player was called for a foul（犯规）．
As Nathan stood at the foul line preparing for a shot that would put his team up by three points，I saw the focus and determination on his face，there was no room for self doubt．Nathan was able to tune out all the distractions and nail the free throw with such skill，it was as if he had done it a thousand times．
As I sat there，my heart bursting with pride，it dawned on me．I had taught him perseverance in the face of adversity，and he had just taught me the same lesson．That brief moment of self-doubt and feeling sorry for myself was blown away by the actions of my son on the basketball court．He will play in the finals，but it doesn't matter if he wins or loses，at this moment，we both won．
1. What did the author estimate his son's team would be like at first？ ______| A．The team would lose at home court． |
| B．The team would finally win． |
| C．The team would win the championship． |
| D．The team would lose at visiting court． |
| A．Self-doubting and pessimistic． |
| B．Self-confident and optimistic． |
| C．Hardworking and intelligent． |
| D．Easy-going and warmhearted． |
| A．Avoid | B．Focus． |
| C．Create | D．Receive． |
| A．Life Goes Just Like Playing Basketball． |
| B．It Matters Whether to Win or Lose． |
| C．A Lesson in Life and Basketball． |
| D．Father And Son in Life． |
