1 . J. K. Rowling frequently shows there is magic every day. Her Harry Potter series has helped people through times of stress and depression and she is always there to deliver wise words of encouragement.
She is one celebrity who is very active on Twitter. So when a single dad named Matt Burke sent her a message thanking her for the series, she noticed. Her series had helped strengthen his relationship with his 9yearold daughter Bailey.
He included a link to his article titled Being a Broke Parent. He explained how he hadn’t found a level of financial stability that allowed him to pay bills on time and take his daughter on more activities and events. The family also doesn’t have the Internet or TV, which means there’s no “digital babysitter” and he has to rely on his own creative ways to bond with his daughter. Since he received the series, the main thing that has occupied them these days is reading books together.
Burke admits that he thought he was “too cool” for the books when they first came out and he was in his twenties, but he’s loving reading them now. “We switch off chapter by chapter reading them out loud，“Burke explains.” This not only allows her to get more used to reading aloud in front of someone, but it gets me directly involved in something she loves, and it gives me the chance to be very dramatic when I read my chapters and bring myself into the characters in the book, which has proven to be a ton of fun.”
After hearing Burke’s story, Rowling said how honored she was when Harry Potter was a part of his family’s life and offered Burke more books. Besides, people are also offering to send Burke more books as gifts. For Burke, this experience, far more than gifts, will be what he treasures.
1. Why did Burke thank J. K. Rowling according to the text?| A．She guided him how to write a good story. |
| B．She encouraged him when he was in trouble. |
| C．Her books helped him through times of confusion. |
| D．Her books helped him improve his bond with his daughter. |
| A．He has found it interesting to read the series. | B．He was too old to understand the series better. |
| C．He has chosen a better way of reading the series. | D．He hopes to play a role in the drama in the future. |
| A．Useless. | B．Normal. | C．Valuable. | D．Boring. |
| A．J. K. Rowling chooses to help improve kids’ health. |
| B．J. K. Rowling gives a magical gift to a single father. |
| C．J. K. Rowling has a deep influence on others’ growth. |
| D．Burke comes to know J. K. Rowling through her series. |
2 . Devon Gallagher, a college graduate from Philadelphia, wants the world to know exactly where she’s been during her worldwide vacation in a special way.
The traveler, who was born with a congenital bone disease (先天性骨病), had her right leg amputated (截肢) at the age of four. Although the amputation caused misfortune for Gallagher early on, she now sees it as an inspiration for living her best life.
To spread that message, Gallagher has taken to social media, where she shares photos of her travels around the world. Besides, she writes her location across her artificial leg (假肢) before taking a picture.
Now she has been taking pictures across Europe, which show her cycling over the canals in Amsterdam, relaxing on a wall overlooking the city of Barcelona, posing with a waffle (华夫饼) in Brussels, taking breath-taking pictures in Athens and enjoying a river cruise (巡航) in Budapest, with all the well-known locations written on her artificial leg.
“I get a new leg every two years and I can choose the design on it. One day I had a sudden idea to get a chalkboard (黑板),” Gallagher said. “My mum and grandmother didn't like the idea, but my friends thought it was great and told me to go for it, so I did.”
Gallagher said people often stare when she’s writing on her leg, but once she shared the photos, she received only positive comment. “My leg hasn't stopped me doing anything I’ve wanted to do, I know it’s my determination to prove to myself that I can do it. Therefore, I’ve been able to keep up with my peers (同龄人) and lead a pretty great life.”
Gallagher shows us that you should never let anything stand in the way of your dreams. If life gives you an artificial leg, make art.
1. What message does Gallagher want to express in her special way?| A．She enjoys her traveling across the globe. |
| B．She suffers little from her leg amputation . |
| C．She looks on her misfortune as another form of blessing. |
| D．She has exactly fallen in love with posting photos online. |
| A．She is interested in art. |
| B．She lost her both legs at the age of four. |
| C．She wrote her travel destinations on her artificial leg. |
| D．She got permission from her family for getting a chalkboard. |
| A．Considerate and cooperative | B．Reliable and generous |
| C．Independent and selfless | D．Determined and creative |
| A．Never Too Late to Share | B．A Special Artificial Leg |
| C．An Outstanding Photographer | D．Gallagher’s Summer Holidays |
3 . For many people, bookstores are wonderful places. That’s because the books on the shelves can take you away to magical lands, help you learn a foreign language, or cook a delicious meal. But when your community is too small to house a brick bookstore, you have to come up with another idea. A mobile bookstore was the result. That is the case for Rita Collins, 70, who dreamed of opening a used bookstore after retiring from teaching.
A business planning class from the American Booksellers Association convinced Collins to give up her idea of opening a bookstore in the small town where she lives. Her town, Eureka, Montana, only has a population of 1,517. Collins asked her instructors about a traveling bookstore on wheels and they doubted her idea. But she insisted on it.
Collins was inspired by Dylans Mobile Bookstore, a traveling bookstore in Wales run by Jeff Towns. She contacted Jeff for advice but she was largely on her own when it came to building her bookstore. First, she had to find a vehicle large enough to stand in. Then she had to have it refitted with shelves that would hold the books at a 15-degree angle so that they would stay in place while traveling. Collins named her bookstore St. Rita’s Traveling Bookstore, which has been on the road since 2015.
At first, she drove through Montana and then she made her first cross-country trip in 2016. After she retired in 2017, it became a full-time job. Collins and her bookstore have visited 30 states, stopping at festivals and events along the way. Collins loves meeting people and making connections. While she loves what she does, Collins doesn’t think she can keep doing it. In several years, she hopes to pass her traveling bookstore onto another book lover who shares the same interest and will keep it on the road.
1. According to the passage, what’s the basic requirement for opening a bookstore?| A．There must be a community with a popularity of 1517. |
| B．The American Booksellers Association should support the store. |
| C．A bookstore must store enough books. |
| D．The bookstore must offer delicious meals. |
| A．With a large vehicle. | B．At a 15-degree angle. | C．On the wheels. | D．On the road. |
| A．Nobody supported Collins at first. | B．Jeff helped Collins a lot in building her bookstore. |
| C．Collins made the bookshelves by herself. | D．Collins would devote all her life to her bookstore. |
| A．How to make her bookstore popular. | B．How to raise more money to support her store. |
| C．How to choose more suitable books. | D．How to choose a man who can inherit her bookshop. |
4 . Six-year-old Harper Gage is already a race car driver and she races in a small car called a go-kart getting started.
In December, Harper took part in the World Karting Association’s national tournament and raced against other kids of her age.
She was sixth out of 17 racers near the end of the race. However, her first season as a racer did not end the way she planned. The motor stopped with only two laps left. “She’s pretty bummed,” Harper’s mother said after the race. “But we are so proud of her.”
Harper started racing go-karts around one year ago. At first, Gage wasn’t sure if her daughter should race. To help, Harper wears hearing aids. But her hearing aids don’t fit under her race helmet, so she races without them. Without the hearing aids, sound is muffled or muted.
Harper doesn’t think hearing loss puts her at a disadvantage. She said having perfect hearing would help, but it was not needed if she used her eyes. “She’s always looking back,” her father said.
Born With Hearing Loss
Harper was 4 months old when she was diagnosed with hearing loss. Ears have three bones that send sound vibrations to the brain. Harper is missing one of those bones in each ear. Her parents were worried at first as they weren’t sure what it would mean for their only child.
Today, Harper wears a hearing device, tiny metal transmitters sit behind her ears. They take the place of the missing bones and send vibrations to the brain.
“I Want To Drive Fast”
Harper would like to be a pro race car driver one day, but for now, she has other plans. When asked about her goals, Harper shyly giggled and said, “I want to drive fast.”
1. Why did Harper feel bummed after her December race?| A．She had to race against older kids. |
| B．She made poor decisions in the race. |
| C．Her go-kart’s motor stopped during the race. |
| D．She only ranked sixth near the end of the race. |
| A．It made her unable to hear other racers. |
| B．The hearing aids did not fit under her helmet. |
| C．The helmet made the hearing aids not work as well. |
| D．It made Harper feel uncomfortable during her racing. |
| A．“She’s always looking back,” her father said. |
| B．Harper started racing go-karts around one year ago. |
| C．She was sixth-out of 17 racers near the end of the race. |
| D．Harper doesn’t think hearing loss puts her at a disadvantage. |
| A．Six-year-old Harper wants to be a professional auto racer. |
| B．Six-year-old Harper races go-karts despite her hearing loss. |
| C．Six-year-old Harper is the youngest racer at national tournaments. |
| D．Six-year-old Harper races go-karts with the support of hearing aid. |
5 . While most people are doing their best to work multiple jobs in a day to earn honest money, some people still settle on scamming (诈骗) others just to have instant cash. However, one scammer called the wrong person when he dialed Jean Ebbert’s number. The 73-year-old woman from New York may be in her senior years, but she is surely one tough lady who used to be a 911 call operator.
Her previous line of work has trained her to be a fast thinker and quick on her toes. When she received that call from someone claiming to be her grandson, she knew instantly that she was talking to a scammer.
According to the caller who was even crying at the time, he was Jean’s grandson who had gotten arrested due to drunk driving and now needed money to get out of prison. Ridiculously, Jean had no grandson who drives. However, knowing that the man could easily find another person to trick if she dropped the call, Jean decided to play along so the person on the other end of the line could get what he deserves.
“So I played the game. And then I said to him, ‘Listen! Don’t call your mother, or she’s going to be mad. Let me handle this,’” Jean recalled.
Eventually, the scammer passed the phone to his “lawyer” who then told her that her grandson needed $8,000 to be set free. Jean knew better of the situation and continued with her act, instructing the caller to visit her home address to get the money he needed.
Moments later, the doorbell rang and Jean rose to her feet and opened the door. In front of her stood a tall young man, who claimed himself to be her grandson’s lawyer and asked for the cash that had been promised to him. Jean had already laid a trap for him. The instant the scammer came, he was greeted by the two policemen waiting inside Jean’s home.
1. Who called Jean Ebbert?| A．Her lawyer. | B．Her grandson. | C．A complete stranger. | D．A 911 call operator. |
| A．She wanted to get back her $8,000. | B．She hated seeing others being tricked. |
| C．She enjoyed playing along with scammers. | D．She was concerned about her grandson’s safety. |
| A．She went outside, ready to greet the man. |
| B．She contacted her lawyer, consulting him for advice. |
| C．She got the money the man needed ready, waiting inside for him. |
| D．She contacted the police, informing them of the man’s potential visit. |
| A．One is never too old to learn. | B．You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. |
| C．Every dog has its day, and every man his hour. | D．Old horses know the way; old men know the world. |
6 . It is said that Lincoln’s ghost(幽灵) often appears in the White House. He appears in the room where the Lincoln bed is kept. Harry Truman once responded to a 3 o’clock knock on his door and found no one there. He attributed the knock to Lincoln.
Lincoln is said to return to the White House when the safety of the country is at risk. He walks up and down the second floor hallway, gently knocks at doors, and stands by certain windows with his hands put behind his back. One staff member firmly said that he had seen Lincoln sitting on his bed pulling on his boots.
A guard to President Harrison was kept awake many nights trying to protect the president from strange footsteps he heard in the hall. He grew so tired and worried; he finally attended a séance(降神会) to beg President Lincoln to stop so that he could get enough sleep to properly protect the president!
Abigail Adam’s ghost was seen wandering through the closed doors of the East Room to hang the laundry(洗衣店) during the Taft administration.
A gardener said that he had spoken to the ghost of Dolly Madison, who was angry with him for trying to remove the rose bushes she had planted over a hundred years ago.
In the 1930’s Andrew Jackson’s ghost could be heard laughing in the Rose room.
In 1952, complete repairs were done to the second floor of the White House. Since then, the ghosts have not walked so actively.
1. How many people’s ghosts appear in the white house?| A．Four. | B．Five. | C．Six. | D．Seven. |
| A．Harrison’s. | B．John Adam’s. | C．Andrew Jackson’s. | D．Dolly Madison’s. |
| A．Harry Truman had heard Lincoln’s footsteps. |
| B．Lincoln always returns to the White House when he misses his people. |
| C．President Harrison was not afraid of Lincoln’s ghost at all. |
| D．The rose bushes were planted by Dolly Madison. |
| A．The White House Ghosts |
| B．American Presidents’ Ghosts |
| C．The White House |
| D．American Presidents |
7 . At her heaviest, Chasity Davis weighed 365 pounds at only 4.11 feet tall. While she was pregnant (怀孕) with her third daughter, she knew something had to change.
“I was piling on the weight. Just eating all the time. I was in a very terrible state,” she said.
As many moms know, new health problems can pop up after giving birth, and that’s just what happened to Davis. She started experiencing shallow breathing when she sat back or lay down. Luckily, her doctors took it very seriously. When the doctors put the heart monitor on Davis they found her heart actually stopping.
“My heart had stopped for about three seconds,” said Davis. Obviously, her blood pressure had risen as well. To make matters worse, she was upset at not being allowed to see her baby daughter, and that was further affecting her blood pressure, but doctors warned her that she needed to concentrate on taking care of herself first.
Davis went through heart and stomach operations, which helped her quickly lose 65 pounds, but she couldn’t stop there. Even at 300 pounds, that was too much weight for her height. So after her recovery, she made a choice to work hard to get fit.
She began by working out seven days a week, twice a day, and switching to a diet that included lots of fruits and vegetables. She now walks about 5-6 miles a day! After all the diet and exercise, Davis has now lost 242 pounds over the last 7 years, with 171of that being from walking. Incredible!
Of course, she still has some fatty or sugary foods, but she limits them. “Just because losing weight doesn’t mean I never eat anything bad,” Davis said. “The difference now is that we have a home-cooked meal every single day.”
“Life is so much greater when you are healthier,” she added, “I just feel great about myself. I have learned so much.”
1. Why was Davis connected to the heart monitor?| A．She was pregnant. | B．She ate all the time. |
| C．She had health problems. | D．She gave birth to her third daughter. |
| A．She put on weight quickly. | B．Her blood pressure rose higher. |
| C．Her heart stopped for about 3 seconds. | D．She started experiencing shallow breathing. |
| A．By joining a fitness club. | B．By receiving the operations. |
| C．By walking about 5-6 miles a day. | D．By switching to a healthy diet. |
| A．She seldom has meals out. | B．She hardly has anything for supper. |
| C．She no longer has fatty or sugary foods. | D．She never eats anything bad for health now. |
8 . It was a hot day in late summer. I was a young dad working in a local lumber mill(伐木场).It was dangerous, back-breaking work that paid very little. In the year I had worked there, only four other people hadn’t been replaced with new faces. Those of us who stayed did so only because there was no other work to find to support our families.
One day, we were working hard. Suddenly, a voice called out, “Hey! A deer!” A lost little deer had wandered through the open doors and was now cowering(畏缩) in between the huge piles of lumber. All of us stopped working and went to look for her as she ran about crazily looking for a way out.
Now most people in the town where I live hunt deer in the fall but also treat them with great kindness the rest of the year. Some will even buy many bags of corn to help feed them during the tough winter months. It was no surprise then all of us were soon quickly working together to free this little deer. By blocking off all the other routes we were able to guide her desperate search back to the open doors. We watched as she ran out of the building and back into the woods. Then we walked back to work. I noticed something, though. On every face there was a joyful smile. It was as if this one single act of kindness had energized us again and reminded us of what life is all about.
Committing acts of kindness shows us the power that we have. They also bring us closer to love. Fill your day and your life with acts of kindness then Let them light up your life Let them lead you to love.
1. Why didn’t the author quit his job in the lumber mill?| A．He was well paid. | B．His work was easy. |
| C．He had a family to support. | D．He enjoyed working there. |
| A．It was killed. | B．It went crazy. |
| C．It was fed with some food. | D．It returned to the woods. |
| A．Brave and generous. | B．Strong and humorous. |
| C．Creative and confident. | D．Kind-hearted and hard-working. |
| A．Acts of kindness. | B．Days. | C．Life. | D．Love. |
| A．To show his deep love for deer. | B．To encourage people to protect deer. |
| C．To stress the importance of being kind. | D．To describe his life in the lumber mill. |
9 . I had not hugged a friend or a family member for more than two years until recently when my sister-in-law flew in for a brief visit. For everyone’s safety, we met outside. Despite the wintry weather, her hug warmed me from the inside out. It’s strange, but only now do I truly realize how much I’ve missed embracing loved ones—the warmth that remains long after our arms have untwined (松开).
Growing up through war in my hometown of Sarajevo, Bosnia, every moment was full of danger. On one peaceful morning, I had begged my mom to let me go outside after spending weeks wilting (蔫) indoors. She finally agreed. I was outside for only 10 minutes when I was caught in an explosion. I ran to my neighbor’s house for safety and draped (悬挂) my arms around her neck just as my legs collapsed (瘫倒) underneath me. She hugged me with both arms and dragged me into her house. I was still in her arms when the ambulance arrived.
Thankfully, I made a full physical recovery, but the emotional scars never left me. Years later there was another explosion near my house. I was safely inside, but my father had left to buy a loaf of bread. He had only just missed the blast. When he came back inside, I gave him the biggest hug imaginable. I was caked in tears as I held him tight.
That same night my parents managed to arrange my escape from our war-torn city. They desperately wanted at least some of my childhood to be normal. I was 16 and came to America on my own. A generous host family took me in and I began learning English and going to school. They had a large dog called Oscar. Over the next several months, I secretly struggled with feeling homesick and worried about my family back home. Despite managing quite well at school, I couldn’t express my feelings. The only way I shared how I felt was by giving Oscar a big hug.
It is yet another sad aspect of our pandemic lives that hugging a stranger is the last thing on our minds. For many of us, even hugging a relative or a friend comes with stress and anxiety over risks and precautions (防范). Perhaps we have undervalued the impact of a simple hug. As I look back on my past, I count myself truly lucky to have been held, shielded and encouraged at some of the most key moments of my life by the almost otherworldly (超世俗的) power of a hug. I pray that in the not-so-distant future we can safely hold one another again -a friend, relative, or even a stranger.
1. Why did the author mention her sister-in-law’s visit at the beginning?| A．It reminded the author of her past hugs. |
| B．It encouraged the author to hug strangers. |
| C．It made the author think of her large family. |
| D．It made the author forget the pandemic temporarily. |
| A．Her father died from a blast. |
| B．Her arms were hurt in an explosion. |
| C．She was warmed by her neighbor’s hug. |
| D．She recovered quickly from the wounds of the war. |
| A．Their relatives lived there. |
| B．They wanted the author to have a further education. |
| C．They wanted the author to have a safe environment to live. |
| D．They didn’t want the author to live with them. |
| A．She was treated badly by her host family. |
| B．She couldn’t catch up with her classmates at school. |
| C．She couldn’t adapt to the new environment. |
| D．She missed and worried about her family members. |
| A．To express how she feels about war. |
| B．To share how important hugs are to her. |
| C．To introduce the ups and downs in her life. |
| D．To complain about the impact of the pandemic. |
10 . This weekend, thousands of motorcyclists are riding on the Black Hills for the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Fair. For many of them, an 8-year-old’s lemonade stand has become a popular stop.
Wyatt started the free lemonade stand last year as a way to raise some money to buy a Lego set. But on the first day, he not only made enough cash to get his toys, but he was able to donate $200 to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. “So now, 50 percent goes to college,” he explained. “30 percent goes to St. Jude and the rest goes to... last year it was Legos, this year it’s a dirt bike.”
This year, Wyatt’s lemonade stand went viral after someone posted about it on social media. “I’m still trying to figure out exactly what happened,” said his mother Robin Dennis. “This just blows my mind.”
So far, the post has been shared more than 60,000 times and encouraged hundreds of bikers from all over the U.S. to the Sturgis motorcycle rally. “He loves it,” said Robin. “He loves seeing the people. He loves waving to the people. Even if they don’t stop, they ride by and honk their horn. He makes many friends and becomes more confident.”
Whether he’s serving lemonade, posing for pictures, or sitting on a motorcycle, Wyatt has become something of a local celebrity. He’s raised enough to donate $4,500 to St. Jude this year and he has no plans to pump the brakes anytime soon.
“As long as he’s having fun doing it and it’s what he wants to do, we’ll be out here every year serving lemonade to everyone who’s here,” his mother said.
1. Why do people stop by a lemonade stand?| A．To advocate the annual fair. | B．To worship the local celebrity. |
| C．To support the little boy. | D．To make lemonade for the charity. |
| A．Relieved. | B．Moved. | C．Content. | D．Amazed. |
| A．Speed. | B．Stop. | C．Decline. | D．Expand. |
| A．Roses given, fragrance in hand. |
| B．Birds of a feature flock together. |
| C．A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit. |
| D．Love shows more in action than in words. |
