1 . I was blind, but I was ashamed of it if it was known. I refused to use a white stick and hated asking for help. After all, I was a teenage girl, and I could not bear people to look at me and think I was not like them. I must have been a terrible danger on the roads. Coming across me wandering through the traffic, motorists probably would have to stop rapidly on their brakes. Apart from that, there were all sorts of disasters that used to occur on the way to and from work.
One evening, I got off the bus about halfway home where I had to change buses, and as usual I ran into something. “I’m awfully sorry,” I said and stepped forward only to run into it again. When it happened a third time, I realized I had been apologizing to a lamppost (街灯柱). This was just one of the stupid things that constantly happened to me. So I carried on and found the bus stop, which was a request stop, where the bus wouldn’t stop unless passengers wanted to get on or off. No one else was there and I had to guess if the bus had arrived.
Generally in this situation, because I hated showing I was blind by asking for help, I tried to guess at the sound. Sometimes I would stop a big lorry and stand there feeling stupid as it drew away. In the end, I usually managed to swallow (吞下) my pride and ask someone at the stop for help.
But at this particular evening no one joined me at the stop; it seemed that everyone had suddenly decided not to travel by bus. Of course I heard plenty of buses pass, or I thought I did. But because I had given up stopping them for fear of making a fool of myself, I let them all go by. I stood there alone for half an hour without stopping one. Then I gave up. I decided to walk on to the next stop.
1. The girl refused to ask for help because she thought ________.| A．she might be recognized | B．asking for help looked silly |
| C．being found blind was embarrassing | D．she was normal and independent |
| A．began to run | B．hit a lamppost by accident |
| C．hit a person as usual | D．was caught by something |
| A．to find more buses there | B．to find people there |
| C．to find the bus by herself there | D．to find people more helpful there |
2 . An Indiana man ordered a Sausage McMuffin at his local McDonald’s and got much more than he expected.
On January 6, TikTok user Josiah Vargas, aka @ dookiedoeboy, shared a video detailing his trip to a McDonald’s drive-through in Elkhart, Indiana that resulted in him receiving much more than he ordered. In the video, which has attracted over 2.3 million views, Vargas is shocked by what he finds in his to-go bag instead of breakfast: thousands of dollars.
“Why? There’s a couple thousand dollars here,” Vargas says, holding up a baggie full of $20bills. “Like, why would they do this? Why would they give this to me?”
Vargas took to TikTok to share his shocking discovery, knowing that he could easily take the money and leave the McDonald’s workers in quite a bind. But, ultimately, he says he knows what he needs to do.
“Now I have to return it because I’m a good person, I guess,” Vargas says, putting the money back in the bag. “How interesting!”
After he walks into the store, he gives the bag to a worker at the register. The worker realizes he’s returning the cash they had been looking for. Amid all the relieved reactions from staff that can be heard from McDonald’s staff, one employee asks if they could give him a hug — which he accepts.
Back in the car, Vargas reflects on his good deed. “They were just all hugging me and thanking me,” he says. “When I was driving away, they called me back in. They gave me $200as well as free McDonald’s for a month.”
The TikTok ends with Vargas sharing what he believes to be the moral of the story. “Do good, people. Returned $5,000, got $200 and free McDonald’s for a month,” he says. “Good trade value and maybe a viral TikTok.”
1. Why was January 6 a special day for Josiah Vargas?| A．His video views ranked top in TikTok. | B．His bag was taken by others by mistake. |
| C．He was given a lot of money unexpectedly. | D．He was awarded a big prize by McDonald’s. |
| A．In serious trouble. | B．At great ease. |
| C．With extreme caution. | D．Under strict control. |
| A．Responsible and generous. | B．Considerate and honest. |
| C．Confident and humorous. | D．Curious and lucky. |
| A．Every man has his price. | B．Money is not everything. |
| C．Details determine success. | D．One good turn deserves another. |
3 . I was born in a poor community on the north side of Boston, US, raised by a single mother who didn’t finish 3rd grade, lived each day on food stamps and attended what the media called “the most dysfunctional (功能失调的) public school district”. Not many people expected much of me, so I had to expect.
On my 13th birthday, I bought a poster of Harvard to hang in my room. Being at Harvard became what I dreamt about. Even if my electricity was cut off, I still woke up at 5:30, because I knew that my poster of Harvard was still hanging only two feet away from me.
Reminding myself of my goal each day made it easy to say no to the same choices I saw my peers making, because those paths wouldn’t have had me closer to my goal. Being poor could not take away my power to decide what I choose to do with my day. The poster gave me the courage to send emails to about 50 Harvard students to ask for feedback on my application essays; it gave me the energy to study just one more hour on my SATs when my friends were asleep; and it gave me the determination to submit just one more scholarship application when 180 others had already turned me down.
Every day, I could feel myself getting closer and closer to my goal as my writing got better, my SAT score increased, and my scholarship checks started coming in. Finally, an email arrived from Harvard. The first word was “Congratulations!” A month later, Harvard flew me up to visit the campus where for the first time I stepped onto my dreaming land.
Who you are today is the result of the decisions you made yesterday, and who you will be tomorrow will be the result of the choices you make today. Who do you want to be tomorrow?
1. What can we learn about the author from the first two paragraphs?| A．All people expected too much of him. |
| B．He grew up in a happy family. |
| C．He accepted the greatest education. |
| D．He had high expectation of himself. |
| A．He spent more time preparing for the exams. |
| B．He learnt from his peers from time to time. |
| C．He often wrote feedbacks on others’ essays. |
| D．He turned to his teacher when facing problems. |
| A．Intelligent and humorous. | B．Generous and selfless. |
| C．Determined and hardworking. | D．Courageous and friendly. |
| A．Failure is the mother of success. |
| B．Perseverance can help realize your dream. |
| C．Easier said than done. |
| D．It’s never too late to study. |
4 . A man named Randy liked to look for big trees and old trees. He made maps to show where these trees were. He did not want to cut them down. He wanted people to take care of them.
Randy was told that there was a very tall tree on Vancouver Island. The tree was said to be 314 feet tall. That would make it the tallest tree in Canada. Randy started to find the tree.
But someone else found it first. It was found by a logger (伐木工). Loggers wanted to cut down Canada’s tallest tree and all the trees around it.
Randy made a path in the forest so people could see the tallest tree. The tree was so big and beautiful that it would bring them enjoyment. More and more people wanted to save that forest. Thanks to these people, that forest is now a park. Canada’s tallest tree is still there.
1. Why did Randy make maps of big trees and old trees?| A．To carry out his duty carefully. | B．To avoid getting lost in forests. |
| C．To show where these trees were. | D．To get information for selling them. |
| A．Take care of it. | B．Cut it down. |
| C．Take pictures of it. | D．Make it famous. |
| A．To help people cut it. | B．To help people see it. |
| C．To help people water it. | D．To help people move it. |
| A．The path. | B．The forest. | C．The tallest tree. | D．The park. |
5 . I was talking to my friend Sandy about our children. Sandy had recently moved into the neighborhood with her four kids: Jane, Joe, Christopher, and her youngest, eighteen-month-old Kim. She seemed happy to have kids nearby, until she saw our dog, Sam.
Sam, our shiny black dog, loved to play with the kids and protect them. But Sandy had a fear of dogs, and she started to back away as Sam approached. I grabbed Sam’s collar and made him sit, trying to ease Sandy’s discomfort.
Sandy mentioned that she needed to get her kids ready to go to their grandmother’s house. Just then, her door opened and her kids rushed out. Sandy shouted at them to stay away from Sam.
The kids huddled (蜷缩) around their mom, looking at Sam cautiously (谨慎地). Emma, my daughter, showed the kids how to approach a dog slowly and properly. The kids were won over by Sam’s friendly nature, but I knew it would take some time for Sandy to change her viewpoint.
After that incident, we made sure that Sam didn’t go near our neighbors without me present. One day, when the kids were playing across the street, I noticed the eighteen-month-old baby heading towards a small hill. I saw a car approaching and shouted to everyone to watch the baby. Without hesitation, Sam rushed out the door and ran across the street towards the baby. He ran to the boy in time to gently push the baby away from the oncoming car. The kids cheered, completely unaware of the danger. They thought Sam had come to play.
Within a year, Sam had made friends with all the neighbors. Even Sandy started to warm up to Sam and would occasionally come over to give him a hug.
1. How did Sandy feel when she first saw Sam?| A．Excited. | B．Curious. | C．Fearful. | D．Awkward. |
| A．They looked at Sam with watchful eyes. |
| B．They formed a circle to protect their mom. |
| C．They held him by the collar to make him sit. |
| D．They prepared to escape from the dog. |
| A．By running in front of the car to block it. |
| B．By rushing to Sandy’s house to get help. |
| C．By pushing the baby away from the car. |
| D．By jumping to the front of the coming car. |
| A．Curious. | B．Brave. | C．Funny. | D．Sensitive. |
6 . When my son, Mark, was in the third grade, he saved all his pocket money for over three months to buy Christmas presents. The third Saturday in December Mark said he had made his list and had twenty dollars in his pocket.
I drove him to a nearby supermarket. Mark picked up a basket and went in while I waited and watched in the car. It took Mark over 45 minutes to choose his presents. Finally he came to the checkout counter and reached into his pocket for his money. It was not there! There was a hole in his pocket, but no money. Mark stood there holding his basket, tears falling down his face.
Then a surprising thing happened. A woman came up to Mark and took him in her arms. “You would help me a lot if you let me pay for you,” said the woman. “It would be the most wonderful gift you could give me. I only ask that one day you will pass it on. When you grow up, I would like you to find someone you can help. When you help others, 1 know you will feel as good about it as I do now.”
Mark took the money, dried his tears and ran back to the checkout counter as fast as he could. That year we all enjoyed our gifts almost as much as Mark enjoyed giving them to us.
I would like to say “thank you” to that very kind woman, and tell her that four years later, Mark went house to house collecting blankets and clothes for the homeless people in the fire. And I want to promise her that Mark will never forget to keep passing it on.
1. When did the story probably happen?| A．On Christmas Day. | B．Before Christmas Day, |
| C．On New Year’s Day. | D．After New Year’s Day. |
| A．His gifts were stolen. | B．He broke his basket. |
| C．He lost his money. | D．He lost his way. |
| A．Because she bought Mark a nice present. |
| B．Because she always paid money for others. |
| C．Because she collected clothes for the homeless. |
| D．Because she taught Mark to help people in need. |
| A．A big supermarket | B．A kind woman |
| C．A happy family | D．A wonderful gift |
7 . Orla Walsh was not exactly an example of good health. Back in 2014, the 25-year-old then was fully occupied with her work and graduate study in Dublin, mostly eating on the go. “I was feeding on quick, easy food like sandwiches,” she said. “I stayed up a lot and the gym was a foreign concept for me for I did not work out at all.”
That changed the following year when Walsh needed a convenient, reliable and budget-friendly way to get to and from class. “Driving was expensive, and public transportation in the Irish capital left much to be desired,” she said. She turned instead to cycling.
At first, Walsh was doubtful. “I didn’t want to wear the same suits like other riders because it looked strange for me,” she joked. But as soon as she gave it a go, she was spellbound. The six miles she had to cover on her commute (上下班往返) each way didn’t seem like so much. “I can’t believe how quick and easy that was,” Walsh said. “The more I cycled, the easier it got, and I started getting faster. I think what I enjoyed the most was the freedom the bike gave me.”
In early 2016, she took the next step and joined a local cycling club, where she took part in long group rides. But something incredible was happening at the same time. As her weekly mileage (里程数) increased, her unhealthy habits fell by the wayside. She cleaned up her diet and cut back on burning the midnight oil. “I gradually got rid of that bad habit after joining in training,” she said.
Then, thanks to the encouragement of other club members, she tried open road racing. At first, she was overwhelmed by the competition, getting dropped by other members on every climb. Yet she kept pushing and viewing the failures as learning experience. “I was enjoying the challenges and was more confident,” she said.
1. Which of the following can best describe Walsh’s lifestyle in 2014?| A．Simple. | B．Decent. | C．Fashionable. | D．Unhealthy. |
| A．Poor means of transportation. | B．Her wish to break bad habits. |
| C．Her curiosity about cycling. | D．Club members’ encouragement. |
| A．Threatened. | B．Bored. | C．Fascinated. | D．Embarrassed. |
| A．By inspiring her to realize her dream. |
| B．By teaching her to brave challenges. |
| C．By encouraging her to be competitive. |
| D．By pushing her to connect with others. |
8 . Once there was a poor farmer and his farm belonged to (属于) a rich man. One day he brought a basket of apples to the rich man’s house. On the doorsteps, he met two monkeys dressed like children. They jumped onto the basket to eat the apples and threw some on the ground. The farmer politely took off his hat and asked the monkeys to get off. They obeyed (服从) and the farmer went into the house. He asked to see the rich man. A servant (仆人) took him to the room where the rich man was sitting. “I have brought you the basket of apples you asked for,” he said. “But why have you brought a half-empty basket?” the rich man asked. “I met your children outside, and they stole (偷) some of the apples.”
1. Why did the farmer bring apples to the rich man? Because .| A．he was poor | B．he liked the rich man |
| C．his farm belonged to the rich man | D．the rich man’s children liked apples |
| A．They jumped and jumped. | B．They played. |
| C．They ran away. | D．They ate some of the apples. |
| A．they had thrown apples on the ground |
| B．the farmer had politely asked them to get off |
| C．they were afraid of the hat |
| D．the farmer was angry with them |
| A．pleased | B．unhappy | C．excited | D．moved |
| A．The monkeys. | B．The servant | C．The children | D．the rich man |
9 . For the past 15 years, Denise has taught at a community school where students face significant economic and language challenges. In 2016, Denise met Dr. Jane Goodall at an event in the Bronx. Like Dr. Jane, Denise, who has a background in forestry, is always connected with nature and animals. Soon after, she started a Roots &Shoots program at her school. “I love to inspire that same connection in my students, ”said Denise.
To kick off their project, Denise introduced her group (19 first graders and 8 fifth-graders) to community mapping. “Where do you live?What’s the name of your county?What’s the name of your state?”she asked. “So it starts in your own backyard, ”she explains, “and it progresses across the street to the park, where you see urban wildlife, and finally you start to look at the bigger picture. ”Students then observed homeless cats outside their school, and together, they took action to return them to where they were found.
The students led the entire project. “I was just a guide, "says Denise. “But that’s the point:They are going to love science and animals. They know they are the future and that they are the people who are the keepers of this planet. ”She also notes that students come to understand what positive choices can have: They discover their own strengths and even weaknesses. They identify partners’ efforts and they form friendships and bonds.
But ultimately, says Denise, “my goal was to try to teach compassion, namely sympathy. That’s the biggest payoff she tries to convey to her students.” For other educators with a willing heart, she offers a few words of advice: Get students outside—even just to walk around the school grounds, guide them to build trust and put themselves in other’s shoes, and never give up!
1. What does the underlined phrase “that same connection” probably refer to?| A．Love for nature and animals. |
| B．Desire for a higher social status. |
| C．Denise and Goodall’s relationship. |
| D．Courage to explore the unknown. |
| A．There are many homeless cats to handle. |
| B．A bigger picture is built on urban wildlife. |
| C．Change may start from small things around. |
| D．Every kid should know their own county. |
| A．Ways to brave hardships in life. |
| B．The project’s impact on students. |
| C．Links between human and nature. |
| D．Challenges to face in the future. |
| A．Being sympathetic. | B．Remaining responsible. |
| C．Staying determined. | D．Keeping sharp-minded. |
10 . The sky began to show red in the early morning as we drove across the Minnesota state line to New York for my new PhD program. The move was good for me professionally, but I worried about my husband and daughters. I also feared that I wouldn’t be able to give my kids the childhood they deserved.
Anne, our first daughter, came into the world when I was a junior majoring in biology in college. It was challenging to balance classes, work schedules, and being a mom. But I got through it, finding moments of joy along the way. On the nights when I was home, I’d read my class notes out loud with my daughter. She’d respond by asking questions, such as “Mom, what are bacteria (细菌)?” It helped us both learn.
After I graduated, I knew that I would need a PhD to land the kind of job I wanted. I arrived in New York feeling more than the usual new-graduate-student anxiety. I also suffered from a more personal fear that I was being selfish—that my decision to invigorate my career was going to have long- term bad impacts on my kids. So, I made a rule to never be visibly upset about my work in front of my children.
Over the past year, though, I’ve started to let go of some of this worry. I’ve realized that we have not only adapted to our new situation, but things are getting better. My husband landed a job that he is happy with. Anne dreams of becoming a biologist. Recently, while driving past the cancer institute I work at, Anne said, “Thinking about people having cancer is so sad, but I feel better knowing that you are researching it to help.”
Pursuing academic career as a young mother is hard, but it’s also rewarding. My kids are learning to look at the world through science, and watching their mom succeed inspires them. I look forward to seeing them follow my footsteps, whatever path they choose.
1. How did the author feel about the move for her PhD program at first?| A．It was fruitful but boring. | B．It was hopeful but challenging. |
| C．It was the last thing she would do. | D．It was promising for the whole family. |
| A．Advocate. | B．Escape. | C．Evaluate. | D．Prioritize. |
| A．She is proud of her mother. | B．She is interested in biology. |
| C．Her mother takes her job seriously. | D．She is ready to help patients with cancer. |
| A．Ups and Downs in Life | B．Like Mother Like Daughter |
| C．Double Gains of Mom’s Pursuit | D．Generation Gap Narrowed by Love |
