1 . One beautiful day, my good friends and I joined an experienced crew and sailed in the Caribbean. As boating beginners, my friends and I were in charge of spotting the light areas of the seafloor that signaled dangerous reefs (暗礁).Ocean reefs have the potential to destroy any sailboat that passes over them, so while the electronic depth sounder is a necessary tool, it is always helpful to find a reef ahead of time so that it can be more easily avoided.
One aspect of boating that was reserved for the experts was tacking, the sailing term for changing direction. All at once, a smooth sail could turn into complete pandemonium as the captain at the wheel began yelling directions to the first mate (大副), who quickly began struggling with the sails and rigging (索具). Generally, the wind continued to offer resistance. This made the first mate’s struggle more demanding and really frightening to the less experienced boaters on board. This mad yelling and tacking could go on for several minutes before all was right again and the boat settled into its new course. Once this had occurred, the captain and the first mate acknowledged each other with congratulatory smiles. We beginners, however, were still recovering from our terror and wondering to ourselves, “Was all that supposed to happen? And they think this is fun?”
As we headed back toward the shore, the unpredictable wind not only slowed but stopped, and soon the boat did too. After several minutes, the ship’s crew unwillingly turned on the motor. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t start and so we floated at sea, no land in sight, just waiting. It was late afternoon when I began to recognize the panic that was rising in my throat. Eventually, the ship’s captain got the engine running. The sails were up and the little motor moved along.
1. What were the author and his friends asked to do?| A．Watch passing sailboats. | B．Notice reefs in the ocean. |
| C．Get experience from the crew. | D．Use the electronic depth sounder. |
| A．Chaos. | B．Damage. | C．Devotion. | D．Blindness. |
| A．Confused. | B．Amused. | C．Scared. | D．Excited. |
| A．There was a fierce wind blowing. | B．The engine wouldn’t work. |
| C．The author’s throat hurt. | D．The crew lost their way. |
2 . More than 30 years ago, there was a well-known boxer named Eugene Hart. Hart was heavily favored to win his next round against an ungifted boxer, Antuofermo. It was said that the only thing that Antuofermo could do was “he bled well". However, here was an important thing. He had good qualities that you couldn't see.
During the fight, Hart controlled Antuofermo, knocking him down and giving him a good beating. Antuofermo absorbed the punishment that was dealt to him by his naturally superior opponent, and he did it so well that Hart became discouraged. In the fifth round, Hart began to tire, not physically but mentally. Taking advantage of the situation, Antuofermo attacked and knocked Hart down, thus ending the fight.
When the fighters went back to their temporary restrooms, only a thin curtain was between them. Hart's room was quiet, but on the other side he could hear Antuofermo's coach talking about who would take the fighter to the hospital. Finally he heard Antuofermo saying, "Every time he hit me with that left hook （左勾拳）to the body, I thought I was going to quit. After the second round, I thought if he hit me there again, I'd quit. I thought the same thing after the fourth round. But he stopped hitting me there."
At that moment, Hart began to weep. He was crying because for the first time he under- stood that Antuofermo had felt the same way he had and even worse. And the only thing that distinguished the guy who was talking from the guy who was crying was perseverance （毅力）. The coward （懦夫）and the hero had the same emotions. They're both humans.
The important question to ask yourself here is this： How does each man respond to the tough situation that they are experiencing? Maybe you are in a tough position right now or, if not, one might be coming. How will you react? Like a hero or a coward?
1. What can we learn from paragraph 1?| A．Hart was an ordinary boxer. |
| B．Antuofermo was hardly defeated. |
| C．Hart was believed to win the game. |
| D．Antuofermo was gifted in boxing. |
| A．He trained hard before the fight. |
| B．Hart became discouraged by his coach. |
| C．He was confident about his boxing talent and power. |
| D．He dealt with the punishment properly and grasped the chance. |
| A．He realized he was just mentally defeated. |
| B．He was hurt and sent to a hospital. |
| C．He lost the game easily. |
| D．He was considered to be a coward. |
| A．Hard-work and honesty. | B．Humor and intelligence. |
| C．Perseverance and determination. | D．Enthusiasm and responsibility. |
3 . Life on the street is a constant struggle for homeless people. In times of extreme weather conditions, that struggle becomes even more difficult. Recently, homeless people across Chicago faced freezing to death if they couldn't find shelter for the night.
Thankfully, one local woman refused to let that happen. On January 30，2018, 34-year-old Candice Payne, a local managing broker, was lucky enough to have shelter from the dangerous conditions.
“It was - 20℃, and I knew they were going to be sleeping on ice and I had to do something,” said Payne. Payne started brainstorming different ways she could possibly help. Finally， she decided to see if there were any rooms available at local inns and hotels that she could get to help those stuck on the street.
For Payne, her mission was personal. According to Payne, her husband, Carlos Callahan， had lived on the streets at one point in his life. Based on his experiences, Payne knew that the homeless people still out on the street desperately needed help and that if she didn't step up to help, no one likely would.
However, when Payne explained what she was trying to do，many of the local hotels refused to allow her to pay for the rooms as they didn't want homeless people to stay in their rooms. “No one wanted them, but one hotel, the Amber Inn, was nice enough to allow me to buy the rooms,” said Payne.
Payne's selfless act made news across the country. However, she insisted she had never done it for attention. “I am a regular person, ” said Payne, who spent thousands of dollars of her own money to help complete strangers.“It all sounded like a rich person did this, but I’m just a little black girl from the South Side. ”
1. What does the underlined word “ that” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Locals living on the street‘ |
| B．The homeless freezing to death. |
| C．The extreme weather. |
| D．The shelter for the homeless. |
| A．By drawing public attention. |
| B．By giving them money directly. |
| C．By taking them to her own house. |
| D．By buying hotel rooms for them. |
| A．Her husband's past experiences. |
| B．The requests from the homeless. |
| C．Her desire to become famous. |
| D．The coldness of local hotels. |
| A．A Black Fighter Changes the World |
| B．A Woman’s Curiosity Brings a Reward |
| C．A Regular Woman Makes a Difference |
| D．A Couple's Brave Act Moves the Country |
4 . As a first responder, you never know what type of situation you might walk into, or who you’ll meet along the way. That’s definitely been the case for Jeffrey Lanenberg, a 51-year-old paramedic(急救医务人员) since 1984.
Ten years into the job, Lanenberg received a call that reported that a man in his early 30s had fallen down in the Mall of America. When Lanenberg and his partner arrived at the scene, they found the young male face down on the ground. He had gone unconscious, making weak attempts to breathe. His wife stood beside him holding their small son in horror. They quickly rushed to defibrillate(除颤) and calm the man to keep him under control. After Lanenberg dropped the patient off at the neighboring hospital, he thought about the man and his family for a long time.
Lanenberg thought he had experienced everything under the sun until one random visit to Office Max three years ago, where he met a man repeatedly walk back and forth while staring at him. As it turned out, the man was the patient he had saved 20 years earlier.
＂You gave me 20 years more than I ever thought I’d have,＂ the man said. He thanked Lanenberg repeatedly and told him he had someone he wanted him to meet. He stepped around the corner and reappeared with a 20-something-year-old man. Lanenberg instantly knew that it was the son he had seen standing by his mother all those years ago.
＂That day changed my life,＂ Lanenberg said. ＂Before that, everything was about work…When I talk to my beginner-training class, I tell them you never know the impact you can have on someone’s life.＂
1. What did Lanenberg do with the young man?| A．He gave the man the first aid. | B．He cured the man at the scene. |
| C．He only sent the man to hospital. | D．He took care of the man’s wife and son. |
| A．It was unbelievable. | B．It was a common routine. |
| C．It was a matter of course. | D．It was a dangerous situation. |
| A．Lanenberg helped bring up his little son. |
| B．Lanenberg donated to support his family. |
| C．Lanenberg gave him the present happy life. |
| D．Lanenberg taught his son to be a new doctor. |
| A．He changed his attitude to his job. |
| B．He was rewarded with much money. |
| C．He got a promotion to be a team leader. |
| D．He took up teaching work to train newcomers. |
5 . I have completely forgotten the name of an old lady who was a customer on my paper route when I was a twelve-year-old boy in Marinette, Wisconsin back in 1954.
On a mindless Saturday afternoon, a friend and I were throwing rocks onto the roof of the old lady’s house in her backyard. The object of our play was to observe how the rocks changed to missiles as they rolled to the roofs’ edge and shot out into the yard like comets falling from the sky.
I found myself a perfectly smooth rock. The stone was too smooth, however, so it slipped from my hand as I let it go and headed straight for a small window on the old lady’s back porch. At the sound of fractured glass, we ran away very fast.
I was scared about getting caught that first night. However, a few days later, when I was sure that I hadn’t been discovered, I started to feel guilty for her misfortune.
I made up my mind that I would save my paper delivery money, and in three weeks I had the seven dollars that I calculated would cover the cost of her window. I put the money in an envelope with a note explaining that I was sorry for breaking her window.
I waited until it was dark, snuck up to the old lady’s house, and put the envelope through the letter slot in her door.
The next day, I handed the old lady her paper and was able to return the warm smile that I was receiving from her. She thanked me for the paper and said, “Here，I have something for you. ” It was a bag of cookies. I thanked her and began to eat the cookies as I continued my route.
After several cookies, I felt an envelope and pulled it out of the bag. When I opened the envelope, I was astonished. Inside was the seven dollars and a short note that said, “I'm proud of you. ”
1. The author and his friend threw stones onto the roof of the old lady’s house in order to_______.| A．amuse themselves | B．help her repair it |
| C．ask her for some help | D．wake her up |
| A．Making cookies. | B．Collecting stones. |
| C．Delivering newspapers. | D．Repairing windows. |
| A．went to see the old lady and admitted his mistake bravely |
| B．just wrote a letter to apologize to the old lady |
| C．turned to his friend for some advice |
| D．decided to rely on his own efforts to make up for his mistake |
| A．ran into | B．slipped into |
| C．broke into | D．rushed into |
6 . Throughout the past few years, I have tried lo give myself to others. I have bounced around to find where I truly fit in, I found my place while I stayed in Guatemala, an orphanage (孤儿院) with the children living there. Through hearing many stories of their lives. I was moved to tears and started question my living ways and gave up everything that wasn’t essential: makeup and any other sort of luxury (奢侈品). I lived like they did. It was the most relaxing feeling in the world.
When at Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos, we were given the task of creating a pig pen(猪圈). At first, I thought it should be easy. After arriving at the area where the pig pen should he, we saw a hill. We were told to uproot the weeds as well as level the entire area. Looking at it we felt it would be impossible. On my own faith journey, I have felt this type of doubt before. The "hoe” , as we referred to, is a symbol of my faith journey. It appeared to be an obstacle I could not overcome, but in the end completed it with efforts. I feel this pig pen wasn’t easy to create but was so rewarding to give.
I've always struggled to be on a journey of faith, but I’ve never completely stepped foot onto the path until Guatemala. I’ve always tried to open my heart to everyone around me and give them my love, I feel as though I cut open my heart and share every bit of love I had with these orphans, There is one orphan named Ceto who will always remain very close to my heart, In Guatemala, I sponsor with thirty dollars a month, hat it doesn’t seem enough. I'll return there next summer and give more of my love for a whole month.
When it was time to leave. I looked out of the window and saw not just ordinary children. Over all, the most significant accomplishment I m in Guatemala was stepping towards my own faith journey and not looking back.
1. What resulted in the author ’s decision to live a new life?| A．Desire to help others | B．Decrease in his income |
| C．A knowledge of the orphans' life. | D．Awareness of the difficulty in his life |
| A．Removing the doubt | B．Uprooting the weed. |
| C．Starting the faith journey | D．Creating the pig pen |
| A．It was regretful | B．It was meaningful |
| C．It was interesting. | D．it was frightening |
| A．A Step into a New World | B．An Awful Faith Journey |
| C．A Great Success in Life | D．A Return of Confidence |
7 . 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. |
8 . Galaxy saw a man and a woman who communicated with the sign language at the train station when she was on the way home one evening. She noticed that the woman asked the man for the direction. He told her that he did not know. Galaxy decided to help them. She had learned the sign language when she served as a volunteer in the deaf and mute （聋哑） school. Then she showed the woman the direction and left her email address to them in case they needed her help later.
She received an email from that man the next day. Kazrim was his name. Galaxy replied his mail sincerely，They both started chatting online soon after and began seeing each other. Although they only communicated with the sign language, it never bothered her.
Galaxy was fond of him gradually. Obviously, Kazrim was the same too. He presented Galaxy with a bunch of sunflowers and asked her sincerely, “Are you willing to be my girlfriend?”
Galaxy was pleasantly surprised. She requested him to give her some time to persuade her parents.
As she had expected，her parents were very angry after they had learned of their love story.
Galaxy explained，“Kazrim is an excellent and a very optimistic person. He has a very positive attitude towards life and work. He cares for others always. He is 100％ better than the normal. Moreover, the mute is still a human. He should possess a perfect and wonderful love. ”
Her parents asked to see him，then. The very worried Galaxy took Kazrim home a few days later. When they were on the train，Kazrim told her,“I'm going to tell your parents that I'll be looking after you well with all my life!” Galaxy was deeply moved.
As soon as they had entered the house，Galaxy introduced him to her parents. She said,“This is Kazrim. ”Just right after her speech，an unbelievable thing happened. Kazrim threw the gift away and held her in his arms tightly.
He said. “YOU CAN TALK?”It was the same question that Galaxy wanted to ask，too.
The four people were shocked all of a sudden. As a matter of fact, Kazrim always believed that Galaxy was a mute and he still fell in love with her deeply.
1. How did Galaxy and Kazrim get to know each other?| A．They met each other by chance. |
| B．They were introduced to each other |
| C．They once studied at the same university. |
| D．They both served in a special needs school. |
| A．Writing words on paper. | B．Using the sign language. |
| C．Judging from his expression. | D．Speaking her native language. |
| A．To have a talk with Kazrim. | B．To prepare for her marriage. |
| C．To treat Kazrim as a normal man. | D．To accept Kazrim as her boyfriend. |
| A．They fell in love at the first sight. |
| B．They cheated each other to win love. |
| C．They mistook each other for being mutes. |
| D．They ignored the anger of Galaxy's parents. |
