1 . Swimming across the English Channel is no easy feat. In addition to the strong ocean currents, swimmers also have to endure extremely cold temperatures. However, don't tell that to Sarah Thomas. The 37-year-oki American recently became the first person ever to swim across it not once, hut four times non-stop!
"I just can't believe I did it/' Thomas told the BBC after the swim. "I'm really just pretty numb. There was a lot of people on the beach to meet me and wish me well, and it was really nice of them, but I feel just mostly stunned."
What makes Thomas's achievement even more remarkable is that just a year ago, in 2018, she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She said that fighting the strong currents was hard. But even worse was “dealing with the saltwater... it really hurts your throat your mouth and your tongue”, she said. “I got stung(蛰)in the face by a jellyfish. The water wasn't as cold as I thought it might be, but it was still very cold."
Thomas’s record-breaking journey began just past midnight on Sunday, September 15, 2019, when she dove into the waters off the shore of Dover, England. Though the swim was initially meant to be about 80 miles, strong currents forced the athlete to change course several times, lengthening the total distance by about 50 miles. By the time she appeared from the water at 6:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, September 17, 2019, she had been in the water for 54 hours and 13 minutes and swum a total of 133 miles! Even more impressive, Thomas achieved the astonishing feat in a regular swimsuit. Her only aids were swim goggles, one cap, a nose clip, and earplugs。.
This is not the first time Thomas has swum across the English Channel. She has done it twice before, in 2012 and 2016. She told filmmaker Jon Washer, who is making a documentary about her swim, “As I was doing 20 mile swims, it occurred to me that I could do more and I wanted to see what that more was." The swimmer, who is being praised “an absolute legend" by the CS&PF, has indeed shown the world what she is capable of However, we have a feeling she is not done yet!
1. By mentioning “Swimming across the English Channel is no easy feat", the writer aims to| A．warn people not to swim across it |
| B．arouse people' interest in swimming |
| C．set off Sa rah Thomas's achievements |
| D．stress the difficulties swimmers have to conquer |
| A．Surprised. | B．Satisfied. | C．Doubtful. | D．Regretful. |
| A．Strong currents. | B．Sea water. |
| C．Jellyfish. | D．Water temperature. |
| A．The long distance she covered. |
| B．The ordinary equipment she possessed. |
| C．The record-breaking time she stayed in water. |
| D．The impressive determination she displayed. |
| A．A documentary is being made about her achievements. |
| B．She has swum across the Channel more than once. |
| C．She will probably plan to swim the Channel in the future. |
| D．She is capable of doing everything she wants to achieve. |
2 . My wife and I were at a crowded grocery store not long ago. It was a weekday evening, cold and wet and tense. People were carelessly blocking aisles, complaining and cutting one another off with their carts. At one point, two women quarreled for several minutes after colliding in the freezer section.
Things got worse at the checkout line.The cashier scanned a man's discount card, but he misread the savings on her screen as an additional charge. He decided she was acting intentionally and began to argue.
Other customers looked away as the cashier tried to reason with him. She called a manager, who took him to customer service. Shaken , she moved to the next customer in line.
We’ve all witnessed uncomfortable scenes like this in public places. My reaction when I see them is both personal and professional. I am a data analyst and sociologist who studies how and why people interact with one another--or why they choose not to. To me, the grocery scene was another example of how our trust in others has faded. But it was also a teachable moment on how we can rebuild our faith — starting with just one person.
Therefore, my wife and I reached the disturbed cashier. I grabbed a bottle of water from a nearby cooler and handed it to her. We learned her name was Beth.
“We felt bad about how that man treated you and wanted to buy this for you.” I said.
Beth’s face lit up, and we talked as she scanned our items.She told us she had been working that evening through severe foot pain and would be having surgery later that week. We wished her well in her recovery, and she thanked us as we left.
That is the balancing act, the moment of countering social and emotional pain with healing, that will add up to restore trust across the United States. You can start that pattern in someone else's life , even in a place as ordinary as the neighborhood grocery store.
1. By describing the arguments, the author wants to show__________.| A．the job as a cashier is not easy. | B．people in the U.S are unfriendly. |
| C．arguments in public are very common. | D．confidence in each other has worn off. |
| A．Sad and regretful. | B．Sorry and wronged. |
| C．Cheerful and rewarded. | D．Grateful and relieved. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Optimistic. |
| C．Uncaring | D．Cautious |
| A．A Miserable Cashier. | B．A Helping Hand. |
| C．Learning to Trust Again. | D．Starting a new life. |
In 2013, the carpenter from Schuby, Germany was surfing the Internet when he came across an organization called Be The Match, the largest bone marrow(骨髓)registry in the world. The 19-year-old didn’t think twice about donating, but he never found out who his marrow went to until years later when he received a message from halfway around the world。.
As it turns out. Dennis didn't just save another person. He saved a baby—little Gabriel Smith from Springfield, Illinois. As a little baby, Gabriel was diagnosed(诊断)with aplastic anemia and went into bone marrow failure. At just 14 months old, he received Dennis1 lifesaving transplant.
Fast forward to 20l8, when the Make — A — Wish Foundation contacted Gabriel's family to offer the seven-year-old one wish. "At first, he said, "Take my donor to meet Mickey," Gabriel's mom, Lauren, told CNN. "But we couldn't do that, so he was asked to choose one: Meet your donor or go to Disney. He chose to meet his donor, Dennis, without any hesitation."
Fortunately, Dennis had already agreed to share his identity with his recipient's family. Even so, hearing from them came as a bit of a shock. "I was speechless, Dennis said. "I can't believe that this happened and that he survived the bone marrow transplant." In August, Make — A — Wish arranged for Dennis to travel to the U.S. for the first time ever, where he and Gabriel became conjoined.
While Gabriel didn't go to Disney World, he got something even better: adventures with his own personal hero. "He is part of our family now," Lauren said. "We are hoping this experience will inspire others.”
And incredibly, it did! On August 27, Lauren shared on Facebook that Dennis and Gabriel's story has already inspired thousands of Americans to sign up with Be The Match. With one selfless choice, Dennis sparked a wave of potentially lifesaving acts. He's not just a hero to Gabriel and his family: He's a hero to us all.
1. How did Dennis learn about the organization called Be The Match? (no more than 10 words)2. What was Gabriel's wish at last? (no more than 5 words)
3. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 4 mean? (I word)
4. What is the influence of Dennis and Gabriel's story? (no more than 15 words)
5. Who is the "hero" in your life? Please explain. (no more than 20 words)
4 . Captain Henry, a 98-year-old American retired fisherman, has become a first-time author, having written and published his autobiography In a Fisherman's Language after learning to read at the age of 91.
Mr.Henry spent most of his life without even his closest family members knowing he was illiterate. Forced to quit school in the third grade to take odd jobs, he kept the secret close to his chest, only telling his late wife. Henry's granddaughter, Marlisa, told reporters how he used tricks, like waiting for others to order at restaurants first, to avoid the issue.
A family argument in his 90s, she said, aroused his desire for education.“He signed a document he could not read about where he was going to live, Marlisa said. Starting with his name, he eventually moved on to the ABC's and children's books. He put them down since his wife fell ill. After the tragic loss of his wife, he went back to reading and began to log (记录) his life. He wrote about his family's voyage from Portugal to the US, how he went on to captain a boat, and his many journeys at sea.
His life stories have become so popular that nearly 800 copies were sold in the first two weeks after the book's release. One thousand more have since been printed as requests for the book flood in from as far as Germany. And now even Hollywood producers have approached Mr. Henry about buying the rights to his life story for a big screen adaptation.
The family also now has a book agent and a deal in the works to publish a second edition. Meanwhile, the family says they are reconnecting and closer than ever as a result of Henry's late-life efforts.“Everyone has a story,” Marlisa said, “It teaches that when you're down and out, never give up.”
1. When did Henry begin writing his life story?| A．When he was 91 years old. | B．After his wife passed away. |
| C．When he was 98 years old. | D．After he retired from work. |
| A．A Hollywood producer wishes to make a movie out of Henry's book. |
| B．Henry never told anyone that he couldn't read or write. |
| C．Henry began his reading with some famous novels. |
| D．Henry's book was well-received only by Americans. |
| A．The family got more money from the 2nd edition. |
| B．The family ties were rebuilt and strengthened. |
| C．His family moved from Portugal to the US. |
| D．His family story has been made into a movie. |
| A．An idle youth, a needy age. | B．Every coin has two sides. |
| C．Practice makes perfect. | D．It is never too old to learn. |
5 . McCoy was looking for a safe place to do drugs when something clearly out of place caught his eye: a luxurious brown leather handbag.
McCoy, 36, could relate all too well. One of his few possessions, the sleeping bag he used in an abandoned house, had recently been stolen. Remembering how angered he’d been by his own loss, he resolved to return the purse to its owner.
He began right away, starting with the address on the bill found in the handbag. After traveling much of the day and finally approaching the address on the bill, he was stopped by a woman, who asked whether she could buy the purse. McCoy refused, saying he was searching for its owner. “But I am the owner,” the woman said. “That’s my purse.”
A month earlier, Kaitlyn Smith, 29, a sales representative for a medical device company, had woken up to find her apartment broken into and her purse stolen. Now she came across a tall, messy-looking man holding it tightly. She could instantly tell he wasn’t in good shape.
At Smith’s urging, McCoy told her his story. He’d been in charge of a landscaping business until 2012, when a car accident left him addicted to drugs.
Smith, amazed this stranger had gone to such great lengths to return her bag, asked whether there was anything she could do to help. “I’m a drug addict,” McCoy warned. “I don’t want to intrude on your life; I’m probably gonna let you down.”
Unafraid, Smith gave him her phone number, saying, “If you want to go to rehab (戒毒所), call me.” She then drove him back to his neighborhood and left, thinking that would be the end of it. Two days later, she got a call.
Smith realized that McCoy was serious about getting better, so she dug into her savings account and bought McCoy a plane ticket to Florida. While there, he would call her to let her know how he was doing. “We were getting to know each other,” Smith says. “His scared, desperate voice turned into a healthy, lively one.” After 28 days at a rehab program at Johns Hopkins Hospital, McCoy is drug-free. He lives at a residential recovery center in Baltimore, and a GoFundMe page set up by Smith has covered his rent, groceries, and incidentals. His life is back on track, all because one crime victim could understand another’s loss.
1. What drove McCoy to look for the owner of the handbag?| A．The urge to find a business partner. | B．The resolution to recover his sleeping bag. |
| C．His own unfortunate experience. | D．His anger over the poor living condition. |
| A．Enthusiasm. | B．Resistance. |
| C．Hostility. | D．Gratitude. |
| A．McCoy was a victim of an identity theft. |
| B．Smith offered McCoy a ride home at his request. |
| C．McCoy looked unhealthy when he bumped into Smith. |
| D．Smith covered McCoy’s living expense in the recovery centre. |
| A．Drug-abuse Can Heal. | B．Lost and Found. |
| C．Mutual Communication Matters. | D．Good Deeds Repaid. |
6 . Many of China’s ancient architectural treasures smashed to dust before Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng began documenting them in the 1930s. The husband and wife team were among the first preservationists to operate in China, and by far the bestknown. Their efforts have since inspired generations of people to speak out for architecture threatened by the rush toward development.
Becoming China’s best architectural historians was no easy accomplishment. The buildings they wanted to save were centuries old located in distant parts of the country.In many cases, they had to journey through dangerous conditions in the Chinese countryside to reach them. Exploring China’s remote areas during the 1930s meant traveling muddy, poorly maintained roads by mule（骡子）or on foot. Inns were often dirty food could be polluted, and there was always risk or violence from rebels, soldiers and robbers.
Their greatest discovery was the Temple of Buddha’s Light, in Wutai County, Shanxi Province. The breathtaking wooden temple was built in 857 A. D., making it the oldest building known in China at the time.
Liang and Lin crawled into the temple’s most forbidding, forgotten areas to determine itsage, including one hideaway inhibited by thousands or bats and millions of bedbugs, covered in dust and littered with dead bats. “In complete darkness andamong the awful smell, hardly breathing, with thick masks covering our nosesand mouths, we measured, drew, and photographed with flashlights for several hours. When at last we came out to take a breath of fresh air, we foundhundreds of bedbugs in our bag. We ourselves had been badly bitten. Yet the importance and unexpectedness of our find made those the happiest hours of myyears hunting for ancient architecture.” Liand wrote of the experience in anaccount included in “Liang and Lin; Partners in Exploring China’s ArchitectualPast.”
1. On their way to the ancient buildings in 1930s,Liang and Lin faced following risks EXCEPT ________.| A．accommodations | B．personal security |
| C．road conditions | D．vehicles |
| A．documenting smashed historical buildings |
| B．rebuilding historically valuablebuildings |
| C．saving the oldest temples in China |
| D．Protecting historical buildings. |
| A．Liang and Lin caught insects with awful smell. |
| B．Liang and Lin were forbidden to breathe inside |
| C．Liang and Lin were pleased at something unhoped for |
| D．Liang and Lin determined its age by studyingbedbug’s hideaway |
| A．Creativeness results in discovery | B．Difficulty produces achievement |
| C．Efforts contribute to happiness | D．Responsibilities make development |
7 . Recently, as the British doctor Robert Winston took a train from London to Manchester, he found himself having to listen to a loud conversation of a fellow passenger woman. Boiling with anger, Winston took her picture and sent it to his more than 40,000 followers on the Tweet. By the time the train reached the station in Manchester, some journalists were waiting for the woman. And when they showed her the doctor's messages, she used just one word to describe Winston's actions: rude.
Winston's tale is a good example of increasing rudeness, fueled by social media in our age. Studies show that rudeness spreads quickly and virally, almost like the common cold. Just witnessing rudeness makes it far more likely that we, in turn, will be rude later on. Once infected, we are more aggressive, less creative and worse at our jobs. The only way out is to make a conscious decision to do so. We must have the courage to call it out, face to face. We must say, "Just stop." For Winston, that would have meant approaching the woman, telling her that her conversation was frustrating other passengers and politely asking her to speak more quietly or make the call at another time.
The anger we feel at the rude behavior of a stranger can drive us to do out-of-place things. Research discovered that the acts of revenge (报复) people had taken ranged from the ridiculous to the disturbing. Winston did shine a spotlight on the woman's behavior—but in a way that shamed her.
When we see rudeness occur in public places, we must step up and say something. And we can do it with grace, by handling it without a bit of aggression and without being rude ourselves. Because once rude people can see their actions through the eyes of others, they are far more likely to end the rudeness themselves. As this wave of rudeness rises, civilization needs civility (举止文明).
1. Robert Winston’s reaction to the woman’ behavior at the train can be described as ________.| A．a way of returning good for evil | B．an answer to the call of the journalists |
| C．a good example of stopping rudeness | D．an act of answering rudeness with rudeness |
| A．wiser decisions | B．more frustrated passengers |
| C．poorer work performance | D．more face-to-face communication |
| A．What to say to a rude person. | B．Civilization Calls for Civility. |
| C．How to Fix Rudeness Spread Online | D．Rude Behavior Makes a Rude Man |
8 . "I really wrote it for me, It was what I found funny and what I liked". Those are the words of J K Rowling, author of the enormously popular "Harry Potter" books. The quote refers to the first in a series of novels featuring a young character who has carved out a permanent place for his creator in the world of children's literature.
Joanne Kathleen Rowling was born in England in 1965, and wrote her first story at the age of six. She was in her mid-20s when the idea for the Harry Potter novels came to her, during a long train ride. By the end of that journey, she says, the character of Harry and the school for wizards which he attends were more or less fully formed in her mind.
It would be several years, however, before the novel was completed. By that time, Rowling had been through a failed marriage. Living on welfare as a single parent, she wrote about Harry Potter while sitting in an Edinburgh café with her daughter asleep beside her. She could not have dreamed of the fame and success which Harry would bring her in the years to come.
Harry Potter is not your average superhero. He is 12 years old, skinny, wears glasses, and tends to worry a lot. Yet, he has captured the imagination of children and adults the world over, and has introduced millions to the joys of reading.
Harry's appeal stems from his role as a very ordinary boy who finds himself in extraordinary situations. Orphaned as a baby, Harry spends the next 10 years being mistreated by the awful relatives with whom he lives. On his 11th birthday, he learns that he possesses magical powers and is admitted for training at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The adventures of Harry and his friends at the school are superbly narrated by J. K. Rowling. She manages to lead her millions of readers deep into the world of the supernatural, while at the same time dealing with the fears and emotions of the ordinary human world. Many feel that this is the real magic of Harry Potter.
1. Joanne Kathleen Rolling wrote Harry Potter intentionally for ______| A．herself. | B．her husband. |
| C．her daughter. | D．becoming rich. |
| A．The novel was completed shortly after the journey in which she formed the outline . |
| B．When she completed the novel, she had a very happy family with her husband loving her . |
| C．When she was writing the novel, her daughter was being looked by her parents. |
| D．When she was writing the novel, she was living a rather hard life. |
| A．J.K Rowling’s vivid description of the world of the supernatural. |
| B．Harry Potter ‘s role as a very ordinary boy who finds himself in extraordinary situations. |
| C．dealing with fears and emotions of the ordinary human world. |
| D．all of the above. |
| A．give a lecture. |
| B．give a written description of something. |
| C．give a spoken description of something. |
| D．tell somebody a story orally. |
9 . In 2009, Dan Black was hit by a car in his hometown of Chepstow, Wales, as he was biking to his job at a grocery store. The accident left him unable to move from the chest down. During his recovery, he suffered a stroke that made his right arm useless. Once a promising guitarist, Dan, now 25, lives with his parents and requires around-the-clock care that costs nearly $ 300,000 a year. After the accident, a friend of his started the Help Dan Black Fund to cover some of Dan’s medical expenses. Dan learned about an experimental stem cell(干细胞) treatment in China that could enable him to walk again. After four years, donations to help Dan Black totaled nearly $ 30,000.
One day, in 2013, a news story caught the eye of Dan’s mother, Michacla, who then shared the story with her son. The story featured a five-year-old boy named Brecon Vaughan. He had a rare form of disease and never walked by himself. The boy’s family had created a website with which to raise nearly $ 100,000 needed for a trip to the St. Louis Children’s Hospital, where treatment was offered that could help Brecon walk. Only half the amount had been raised, said the report.
Dan deliberated. Then, after considering that his own dream of walking could be years away, he donated his $30,000 to Brecon’s cause. “I know how it feels to walk. Brecon doesn’t. He needs it much more than I do.” Dan told a newspaper.
Dan’s generosity received a great deal of attention, and contributions started pouring in to the Vaughan website. The family soon exceeded their fund-raising goal. They’ve promised to give the extra funds, about $17,000, to the Tree of Hope charity, which helps sick children in the United Kingdom find specialized medical help. In October, Brecon and his family travelled to St. Louis to begin treatment. “What Dan did is great.” Brecon’s mother said, “It is an extraordinary gift.”
1. What do we know about Dan Black?| A．He promised to be a guitarist. |
| B．He donated his money from his need. |
| C．He created a website to collect money. |
| D．He lost his right arm in an accident. |
| A．Achieved. | B．Brought up. |
| C．Went beyond. | D．Set. |
| A．Dan Black’s example. | B．Brecon’s story |
| C．Michaela’s suggestion. | D．The Vaughans’promise |
| A．Support Dan Black’s treatment. | B．Fund Brecon’s trip to St. Louis. |
| C．Help sick children in the UK. | D．Give away to the Tree of Hope charity. |
10 . 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 |
