1 . Mark Twain,the famous American writer,was once traveling in France.He went by train to Dijon.He was very tired and wanted to sleep.He therefore asked the conductor to wake him up when the train came to Dijon.
But first he explained he was a very heavy sleeper,“I may possibly protest(抗议)loudly when you try to wake me up,” he said to the conductor.“But don’t take any notice of what I say.Just put me off the train anyway.”
Then Mark Twain went to sleep.Later,when he woke up it was night time and the train had reached Paris already.He realized at once that the conductor had forgotten to wake him up at Dijon.He was so angry that he ran to the conductor and began to shout at him.
“I have never been so angry in my life,” Mark Twain said.
The conductor looked at him calmly(平静地).“You are not half so angry as the American whom I put off the train at Dijon,” he said.
1. Mark Twain knew that he was a heavy sleeper,so ________.| A．he protested loudly to the conductor |
| B．he did not sleep before he arrived in Dijon |
| C．he told the conductor to wake him up no matter how loudly he might protest |
| D．he slept lightly that time |
| A．he didn’t take Mark Twain’s words seriously |
| B．he forgot Mark Twain’s words when the train came to Dijon |
| C．he did not want to bear his protest |
| D．he mistook another American traveler for Mark Twain |
| A．did not want to get off at Dijon |
| B．wanted to get off at Paris |
| C．wanted to get off at Dijon |
| D．did not want to get off at Paris |
| A．The conductor didn’t take Mark Twain’s words seriously. |
| B．The conductor did take Mark Twain’s words seriously. |
| C．The conductor was a heavy sleeper. |
| D．Mark Twain must get off at Paris. |
2 . Michelle Swan, a 33-year-old mother, says she was ordered off a bus into the cold and rain by the driver because one of her twin toddlers(学步的小孩) was crying.
Michelle Swan says the driver stopped the bus angrily, walked up to her and shouted at her to shut up her son and get off the bus. Afterwards, she had a 30-minute walk into a nearby town Tonbridge in the cold and rain.
Ms. Swan said: “I was shaking and fighting back tears. I just froze. I felt awful. I’d been to hospital with one of the boys because he can’t walk properly. I had been to a hospital appointment. About every two weeks he goes to see the doctor. We go about three or four times a month. I had tried everything to stop Rocco crying, but it was useless,”
After she was forced to get off the bus, she had to walk in to Tonbridge town centre to get her prescription(处方) when it was so cold in the rain and then on home.
She telephoned the company and said she wanted an apology from the driver.
The manager from the company spoke to Miss Swan for around 15 minutes on the phone and listened carefully to everything she had to say. Then he apologised several times to her. Meanwhile, he took down the code(密码) on her bus ticket to find out who the driver was. As a result, the driver was spoken to and left work for one day.
1. Why was Michelle Swan ordered to get off the bus?| A．Because it was raining and very cold. |
| B．Because her twin babies were crying. |
| C．Because the driver couldn’t stand the crying baby. |
| D．Because the driver stopped the bus angrily. |
| A．The driver of the bus. | B．A son of Michelle Swan. |
| C．The manager of the company. | D．A doctor in the hospital |
| A．She wanted an apology from the driver. | B．She wanted some money. |
| C．She wanted to work as a driver. | D．She wanted to go home. |
| A．Careful and curious. | B．Cold and angry. |
| C．Sad and rude. | D．Patient and caring. |
3 . 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 |
4 . Heroic mother cat Lele gave birth to four kittens at home and lived alone for over 50 days in Wuhan, when its owners, a family of seven, were in hospital for treatment of novel coronavirus. In late January, Lele's owner, surnamed Chen, was infected with novel coronavirus and has been in hospital since then. Several days later, Chen's father, and five other family members all tested positive for the virus, leaving pregnant cat mom Lele alone at home.
For fear of cross-infection, Chen didn't ask friends to take care of Lele, but prepared two bags of cat food weighing about 24 pounds and some water at home.
As he gradually recovered in the hospital, worries about Lele, the expectant mother, always haunted him.
Fifty-four days later, when Chen' s family got back home, they were surprised to find Lele had already given birth to four kittens.
The four were healthy and active and have been weaning (断奶) from their mother's. According to Chen, Lele survived on the cat food and water found in a fish pond on the balcony. Since no one cleaned up for such a long time, the cat litter box has gone messy and smelly.
In memory of the special experience, Chen named the four kittens ''Xiaowu'', ''Hanhan'', ''Xiaojia'' and ''Youyou'', which together mean ''Wuhan, fighting'' in Chinese, hoping the city could stay strong and return to normal soon.
Lele's story went viral (迅速传播) on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and won over 366,000 likes. A Douyin user commented, "God bless the poor cats! Good luck to you, another netizen commented, ''What a kind family! Please don't abandon pets because of the virus outbreak. ''
1. How did LeLe survive during its owner's absence?| A．By being looked after by Chen's friends. | B．By the cat food left and water in a fish pond. |
| C．With the help of the doctors in the hospital. | D．With the help of its four babies. |
| A．All the members in Chen's family were not infected with the novel coronavius |
| B．The birth of the four kittens was an inspiration for Chen's family. |
| C．Both the cat LeLe and its babies were strong and healthy. |
| D．LeLe got popular among Chinese netizens. |
| A．how a family took good care of their pet cat. |
| B．how Wuhan people fought against the novel coronavirus. |
| C．that a cat saved its owner. |
| D．that a brave cat gives birth alone when owners in hospital. |
5 . I work at a company where there are lots of employees. I can’t say that I know them all by name, but I know my fair share of them. I think that almost all of them know me. It is all based on one simple principle: I believe that every single person deserves to be acknowledged, even though it is only a smile or a nod of the head.
When I was about ten years old, I was walking down the street with my mother. She stopped to speak to Mr. Lee. I was busy throwing stones at the stop sign. I knew I could see Mr. Lee any old time around the neighborhood, so I didn’t pay any attention to him. After we passed Mr. Lee, my mother stopped me and said something that has stuck with me from that day until now. She said, “You let that be the last time you ever walk by somebody and not open up your mouth to speak, because even a dog can wave its tail when it passes you on the street.” That phrase sounds simple, but it’s been a guidepost for me and the foundation of who I am.
At work, I always used to say hello to the founder of the company and ask him how our business was doing. But I also spoke to the people who cleaned the buildings and asked how their children were doing. I’ve become vice president, but that hasn’t changed the way I approach people. I still follow my mother’s advice. I speak to everyone I see, no matter where I am. You will realize how powerful it is just to open your mouth and say, “Hello.” I’ve learned that speaking to people creates a pathway into their world, and it lets them come into mine, too.
1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “acknowledged” in Paragraph 1?| A．Accepted. | B．Thanked. |
| C．Greeted. | D．Respected. |
| A．The author often met him. | B．The author was too busy. |
| C．The author didn’t like him. | D．The author didn’t know him. |
| A．Everyone should be treated fairly. | B．Speak to everyone you see. |
| C．Polite behavior is important in your life. | D．Friends may disappear from your life any time. |
| A．To show respect for his mother. | B．To share how to succeed in work. |
| C．To show how to approach others. | D．To share an important principle. |
6 . When other nine-year-old kids were playing games, she was working at a petrol station. When other teens were studying or going out, she struggled to find a place to sleep on the street. But she overcame these terrible setbacks (挫折) to win a highly competitive scholarship and gain entry to Harvard University. And her amazing story has inspired a movie, “Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story”, shown in late April.
Liz Murray, a 22-year-old American girl, has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination. Liz grew up in the shadow of two drug-addicted parents. There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house. Liz was the only member of the family who had a job. Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just 15 years old. The effect of that loss became a turning point in her life. Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died, she decided to do something about it.
Liz went back to school. She threw herself into her studies, never telling her teachers that she was homeless. At night, she lived on the streets. “What drove me to live on had something to do with understanding, by understanding that there was a whole other way of being. I had only experienced a small part of the society,” she wrote in her book Breaking Night.
She admitted that she used envy to drive herself on. She used the benefits that come easily to others, such as a safe living environment, to encourage herself that “next to nothing could hold me down”. She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University. But Liz decided to leave her top university a couple of months earlier this year in order to take care of her father, who has also developed AIDS. “I love my parents so much. They are drug addicts. But I never forget that they love me all the time.”
Liz wants moviegoers to come away with the idea that changing your life is “as simple as making a decision”.
1. The main idea of the passage is ________.| A．how Liz managed to enter Harvard University |
| B．how Liz struggled to change her life |
| C．why Liz loved her parents so much |
| D．the hard time Liz had in her childhood |
a. Her mother died of AIDS.
b. She worked at a petrol station.
c. She got admitted into Harvard.
d. The movie about her life was put on.
e. She had trouble finding a place to sleep.
| A．b, e, a, d, c | B．a, b, c, e, d | C．e, d, b, a, c | D．b, a, e, c, d |
| A．Both Liz’s father and mother are AIDS-infected patients. |
| B．Liz lived a hard time in her childhood. |
| C．Liz’s story is an inspiration to many people. |
| D．Liz hated her father because he got addicted to drugs. |
| A．Envy and encouragement. | B．Willpower and determination. |
| C．Decisions and understanding. | D．Love and respect for her parents. |
7 . I am a mother of three children and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was social study. The last class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions.
Soon after we were given the project, my husband, my youngest son, and I went out to McDonald’s one cold March morning. It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son.
We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back way. I turned around and found there standing behind me were two poor homeless men with a horrible “dirty body” smell. The short gentleman, close to me, was “smiling”. His beautiful sky-blue eyes were full of light as he searched for acceptance. The second man played with his hands uneasily as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation(救赎). The short man just asked for a coffee because that was all they could afford.
I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray(餐盘).I then walked around the corner to the men’s table. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman’s cold hand. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes and said “Thank you”.
I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down, my husband smiled at me and said, “That’s why God gave you to me, Honey. To give me hope.”
On the last evening of class, I turned in “my project” and the instructor read it. Then she looked up at me and said, “Can I share this?” I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class. She began to read and we all knew that we need to heal people and to be healed.
I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn: UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE. “LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS--NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE.”
1. Why did the people around the author back away?| A．Because the second man stood playing with his hands. |
| B．Because the two homeless men were also waiting in line, with a bad smell. |
| C．Because the short gentleman was smiling to everyone around. |
| D．Because both men were poorly dressed and mentally ill. |
| A．regretted and cried | B．turned in her project |
| C．went back to her husband and son | D．talked with them for a while |
| A．Lovely. | B．Mature. |
| C．Over-curious. | D．Caring. |
| A．Poor as the homeless men were, they had their dignity. |
| B．The author felt we should know how to heal people. |
| C．The author’s husband was very proud of her. |
| D．What the author did to the men touched many people. |
8 . For over one hundred and fifty years, Americans of all social classes have worn blue jeans.
Levi Strauss was born in Germany in 1829.
Strauss did not want to be a person who searched an area for minerals.Instead, he knew he could make a good living by selling supplies to the miners.At first, he planned to sell sewing supplies and cloth.
In 1873, Strauss received a letter from a Jewish tailor named Jacob Davis who had invented a process of connecting pockets with copper rivets (铆钉).This made the pants last a long time.Because Davis did not have the money to patent his idea, he offered to share it with Strauss if Strauss would agree to pay for the patent.
By the time Strauss died in 1902, he had made a great contribution to American fashion.
| A．Nobody knew what kind of material was suitable. |
| B．As a young boy, he moved with his family to the United States. |
| C．However, he did not get much business for those products. |
| D．He did and Levi jeans have been made with metal rivets ever since. |
| E．He also made a great contribution to America's clothing industry. |
| F．As the business grew, Strauss got much money from it. |
| G．Since they were invented by Levi Strauss, they have become a symbol of American consumer culture. |
9 . When I was in fourth grade, I worked part-time as a paperboy. Mrs. Stanley was one of my customers. She’d watch me coming down her street, and by the time I’d biked up to her doorstep, there’d be a cold drink waiting. I’d sit and drink while she talked.
Mrs. Stanley talked mostly about her dead husband, “Mr. Stanley and I went shopping this morning.” she’d say. The first time she said that, soda(汽水) went up my nose.
I told my father how Mrs. Stanley talked as if Mr. Stanley were still alive. Dad said she was probably lonely, and that I ought to sit and listen and nod my head and smile, and maybe she’d work it out of her system. So that’s what I did, and it turned out Dad was right. After a while she seemed content to leave her husband over at the cemetery(墓地).
I finally quit delivering newspapers and didn’t see Mrs. Stanley for several years. Then we crossed paths at a church fund-raiser(募捐活动). She was spooning mashed potatoes and looking happy. Four years before, she’d had to offer her paperboy a drink to have someone to talk with. Now she had friends. Her husband was gone, but life went on.
I live in the city now, and my paperboy is a lady named Edna with three kids. She asks me how I’m doing. When I don’t say “fine”, she sticks around to hear my problems. She’s lived in the city most of her life, but she knows about community. Community isn’t so much a place as it is a state of mind. You find it whenever people ask how you’re doing because they care, and not because they’re getting paid to do so. Sometimes it’s good to just smile, nod your head and listen.
1. Why did soda go up the author’s nose one time?| A．He was talking fast. | B．He was shocked. |
| C．He was in a hurry. | D．He was absent-minded. |
| A．He enjoyed the drink. | B．He wanted to be helpful. |
| C．He took the chance to rest. | D．He tried to please his dad. |
| A．recover from her sadness | B．move out of the neighborhood |
| C．turn to her old friends | D．speak out about her past |
| A．Open up to others. | B．Depend on each other. |
| C．Pay for other’s help | D．Care about one another. |
10 . My father was always a good gardener. One of my earliest memories is standing without shoes in the freshly tilled (翻耕的) soil, my hands blackened from digging in the ground.
As a child, I loved following Dad around in the garden. I remember Dad pushing the tiller (耕作机) ahead in perfectly straight lines. Dad loved growing all sorts of things: yellow and green onions, watermelons almost as big as me, rows of yellow com, and our favorite ― red tomatoes.
As I grew into a teenager, I didn’t get so excited about gardening with Dad. Instead of magical land of possibility, it had turned into some kind of prison. As Dad grew older, his love for gardening never disappeared. After all the kids were grown and had started families of their own, Dad turned to gardening like never before. Even when he was diagnosed with cancer, he still took care of his garden.
But then, the cancer, bit by bit, invaded his body. I had to do the things he used to do. What really convinced me that Dad was dying was the state of his garden that year. The rows and rows of multicolored vegetables were gone. Too tired to weed them, he simply let them be. He only planted tomatoes.
For the first few years after he died, I couldn’t even bear to look at anyone's garden without having strong memories pour over me like cold water from a bucket. Three years ago, I decided to plant my own garden and started out with just a few tomatoes. That morning, after breaking up a fair amount of soil, something caught the comer of my eye and I had to smile, It was my eight-year-old son Nathan, happily playing in the freshly tilled soil.
1. Why did the author like the garden when he was a child?| A．The garden was planted with colorful flowers. |
| B．The garden was just freshly tilled by his father. |
| C．He loved what his father grew in the garden. |
| D．He enjoyed being in the garden with his father. |
| A．devoted more to gardening |
| B．turned to other hobbies |
| C．stopped his gardening |
| D．focused on planting tomatoes |
| A．The author’s son took charge of it. |
| B．No plant grew in the garden at all. |
| C．The garden was almost deserted. |
| D．It brought the author a great harvest. |
| A．the author’s son played happily in the garden |
| B．the author’s son reminded him of his own father |
| C．the author’s son was very glad to help the author |
| D．the author’s son will continue gardening as well |
