1 . Road trip stories are basically wild adventures of self-discovery. But the book Me (Moth) carves out a path through ancestry (祖先), pains and art.
Moth is a dancer with a loving, supportive family - until a terrible car accident takes them all away. Now she doesn't dance any more and lives with her sad aunt, wearing borrowed clothes and living on what feels like borrowed time, because not even the wisdom and Hoodoo (扶都教) passed down to her by her grandfather can bring back her family or ease her pain. Her survivor's guilt is so strong that she makes herself almost invisible.
Until the new boy at school, Sani, notices her. He sings when he thinks no one is listening and he sees Moth like no one else does. The two young people decide on a road trip across the country and hope to make some sense of their life on the way.
Novels in poetic language can sometimes feel awkward, but the book, Me (Moth) spills effortlessly across the page, becoming the song that Moth and Sani write together on their journey. It's all in Moth's voice, and her words dance, giving the reader a real sense of how she can move her body if she isn't afraid to. The language is sometimes so beautiful and terrible that it catches me off guard.
During their trip to the South, Moth and Sani stop to pay respect to the spirits of those who came before them, and to think about their strengths as well as the pains that they've suffered. As they do so, their own strengths and pains are connected with the ones that came before.
1. What can we learn from the underlined part in paragraph
| A．She is sad with her aunt. |
| B．She wears borrowed clothes. |
| C．She doesn't have time to dance. |
| D．She feels guilty of surviving alone. |
| A．Painful. | B．Joyful. | C．Rewarding. | D．Challenging. |
| A．A biography. | B．A book review. |
| C．A love story. | D．A travel journal. |
2 . When Lina was awoken by the sound of thunder, she was alone on the island. The air was cool and bullfrogs croaked. It was that brief moment when the summer sun had set but the stars hadn’t yet appeared. Lina rubbed her eyes and looked around.
“Hello?” she called. “Celia? Marie?”
There was no response.
The moon was rising now, shedding light on the island. They had always called it “Forgotten Island” because no one but they seemed to remember its existence. It wasn’t on any of the maps they could find, and even the forest rangers(护林人) didn’t know about it. Lina loved that the island, hidden in a heavily-wooded side stream of the river, was a secret between the three friends—her, Celia, and Marie.
But now Lina was here alone, and it was night. Worse still, it was her own fault.
“Come on, Lina, let Marie row the boat.” Celia had said. Marie was two years older than Lina, but she was a hopeless rower. That’s why Lina refused and rowed the boat to the island. The argument that followed the refusal took the usual form. Celia took Marie’s side as she always did. Lina had exploded and yelled at them to just leave. So they got back in the boat and left.
A bolt of lightning crossed the darkened sky, accompanied by a deafening thunder clap. The storm was here. As the first cold raindrop slid down her neck, Lina’s mind returned to her current problem. She was stuck here by herself. She just hoped she didn’t become as forgotten as the island. The thought of it sent a chill(寒意) down her back.
Suddenly, Lina spotted something in the water. It was a boat, and inside it were Marie, Celia, and Marie’s dad, who was steering through the fast flowing waters. As the boat approached, they saw Lina waving and the worried expressions on their faces turned to relief.
1. What can be inferred about the island?| A．It is very near the ocean. | B．It is surrounded by thick forest. |
| C．It is a popular place for boating. | D．It has never been reached by others. |
| A．Lina was left alone on the island. | B．Marie would not help row the boat. |
| C．Marie didn’t know how to row the boat. | D．Celia supported Marie in the disagreement. |
| A．Her shame about the unnecessary argument. |
| B．The first raindrops of the approaching storm. |
| C．The idea that no one would come to save her. |
| D．The drop in temperature as the sun went down. |
3 . Mr. Lang worked in a factory. As a driver, he was busy but he was paid much. His wife was an able woman and did all the housework. When he came back, she took good care of him and he never did anything at home. So he had enough time when he had a holiday. A few friends of his liked gambling(赌博) and he learned it soon. So he was interested in it and hardly forgot anything except gambling. He lost all his money and later he began to sell the television, watches and so on. His wife told him not to do it but he didn’t listen to her. She had to tell the police. He and his friends were punished for it. And he was hardly sent away. After he came out of lockup(拘留所), he hated her very much and the woman had to leave him.
It was New Year’s Day. Mr. Lang didn’t go to work. He felt lonely and wanted to gamble again. He called his friends and they came soon. But they were afraid the police would come. He told his five-year-old son to go to find out if there were the policemen outside. They waited for a long time and didn’t think the police would come and began to gamble. Suddenly opened the door and in came a few policemen.
“I saw there weren’t any policemen outside, daddy,” said the boy, “so I went to the crossing and asked some to come.”
1. Mrs. Lang did all housework because ________.| A．she couldn’t find any work | B．she thought her husband was tired |
| C．her husband spent all time in gambling | D．she wouldn’t stop her husband gambling |
| A．The boy hoped his father to be put into lockup again. |
| B．The boy thought his father needed some policemen. |
| C．The boy hoped his father to stop gambling soon. |
| D．The boy hoped his mother to come back. |
| A．Son’s help | B．A clever son | C．Mother and son | D．Father and son |
4 . Like many new graduates, I left university full of hope for the future but with no real idea of what I wanted to do. My degree, with honors, in English literature had not really prepared me for anything practical. I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world somehow, but I had no idea how to do that. That’s when I learned about the Lighthouse Project.
I started my journey as a Lighthouse Project volunteer by reading as much as I could about the experiences of previous volunteers. I knew it would be a lot of hard work, and that I would be away from my family and friends for a very long time. In short, I did not take my decision to apply for the Lighthouse Project lightly. Neither did my family.
Eventually, however, I won the support of my family, and I sent in all the paperwork needed for the application. After countless interviews and presentations, I managed to stand out among the candidates and survive the test alone. Several months later, I finally received a call asking me to report for the duty. I was going to a small village near Abuja, Nigeria. Where? What? Nigeria? I had no idea. But I was about to find out.
After completing my training, I was sent to the village that was small and desperately in need of proper accommodation. Though the local villagers were poor, they offered their homes, hearts, and food as if I were their own family. I was asked to lead a small team of local people in building a new schoolhouse. For the next year or so, I taught in that same schoolhouse. But I sometimes thought I learned more from my students than they did from me. Sometime during that period, I realized that all those things that had seemed so strange or unusual to me no longer did, though I did not get anywhere with the local language, and returned to the United States as a different man.
1. According to Paragraph 2, it is most likely that the author ________.| A．discussed his decision with his family |
| B．asked previous volunteers about voluntary work |
| C．attended special training to perform difficult tasks |
| D．felt frightened about having to leave his family and friends |
| A．participated in many discussions | B．went through challenging survival tests |
| C．wrote quite a few papers on voluntary work | D．faced strong competition from other candidates |
| A．He found some difficulty adapting to the local culture. |
| B．He had learned to communicate in the local language. |
| C．He had overcome all his weaknesses before he left for home. |
| D．He was chosen as the most respectable teacher by his students. |
5 . I like staying overnight at my Gramma Ruiz’s house until Gramma starts telling me how wonderful my cousin Maya is. Then it’s Maya this and Maya that until I don’t ever want to hear another word about her.
That’s why I wasn’t too excited when Gramma called me to “come on over”. When I got there, it was worse than I’d expected. Maya sat there, all dressed up and wearing fancy shoes.
Maya was taller than I’d remembered her from her last visit four years ago. She was talking about how nice to see me again. But I could tell that she didn’t really think so. She looked about as happy to see me as if I’d been a skunk(臭鼬) crossing her path.
I couldn’t remember what it was I didn’t like about her. The last time she was here, we’d had hours of fun together. After that, I’d heard about her only through Gramma’s tales. Now Maya was here, looking great with the latest haircut and a beautiful dress. I glanced down at my jeans and sneakers. I wished I hadn’t come. It was bad enough that she was Gramma’s favorite — smarter and more talented than I was — but elegant, too. This was too much.
Maya’s words crashed through my thoughts. “I hear you like to skate,” she was saying. I was surprised. I wondered how she knew about my skating.
“I hear you take piano lessons,” I countered. A funny look crossed her face and she nodded.
“I hear you were captain of your softball team,” she said.
“Wait a minute,” I said. “How do you know all of this?”
Maya shrugged and looked down. “I hear about you all the time from Gramma’s letters. You’re her favorite person to write about.”
I couldn’t believe it. Then I looked at Maya’s face. Could she be jealous of me? “Gramma tells me about you all the time, too!” I said. “I even know you wear a size-three shoe!”
Maya laughed. I also smiled, knowing now that Gramma had two favorites.
1. What can we learn about Maya and the author?| A．They hadn’t met each other for about four years. |
| B．They were eager to know something about each other. |
| C．Not both of them were happy about the get-together. |
| D．They both loved sports, such as skating and softball. |
| A．excited | B．curious |
| C．amazed | D．envious |
| A．Fun Time with Maya | B．Gramma’s Favorite |
| C．Our Loving Gramma | D．A Surprise get-together |
6 . At first, Michael Surrell didn’t see the black smoke or flames shooting from the windows of his neighbors’ home. Then they got a call from one of his daughters: “The house next door is on fire!” He went over and saw three women crying madly on their porch(门廊).
“The baby’s in the second floor!” one of the women cried. Though the fire department had been called, Surrell, then 64, bravely ran inside. “The baby” was Tiara Roberts, the woman’s granddaughter and a playmate of Surrell’s three youngest kids.
Entering the burning house was like “running into a bucket of black paint,” Surrell says. The thick smoke caused him to stumble blindly around, burned his eyes, and made it impossible to breathe. The conditions would have been dangerous for anyone, but for Surrell, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (慢性阻塞性肺病), they were life-threatening.
Taking a deep breath, he moved around in the overwhelming darkness. Because the house had a similar layout to his, he found the stairs and made it to the second floor. Then he heard a soft but clear moan. Still unable to see, Surrell fell to his knees on the hot wood floor. He crawled toward the sound, feeling around for any sign of the girl. Finally, he touched something. A shoe, then an ankle. He pulled Tiara toward him, scooped her into his arms and stood. Turning, he fought through the smoke and ran blindly into the blackness…
Surrell woke up in the hospital a couple of days later and spent over a week in the hospital. Tiara was released from the hospital after a few days. The fire worsened Surrell’s pulmonary condition, and he feels the effects even two years later. As a result, he takes extra medication that helps open his airways. “It’s a small price to pay,” he says. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I wouldn’t give it a second thought.”
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the story?| A．Tiara Roberts was the Surrell’s youngest granddaughter. |
| B．Surrell was familiar with the structure of the burning house. |
| C．Surell ran into the fire before the fire department was called. |
| D．The fire was life-threatening for Surrell, mostly considering his age. |
| A．Normal. | B．Unexpected. |
| C．Mild. | D．Extreme. |
| A．Humorous and patient. |
| B．Outgoing and intelligent. |
| C．Determined and ambitious. |
| D．Warm-hearted and selfless. |
7 . A Facebook user uploaded photos of a dog, Leo, sharing that he had seen the animal sitting in the same spot every day, as if waiting for someone. They originally thought the dog had been abandoned, but then realized that he looked well-fed. It turned out that the dog had indeed been spending most of his around that intersection, but a woman had been coming around regularly to bring him food and water.
The 45-year-old woman, named Saowalak, said that when she first found him in that very same spot, several years ago, Leo was all skin and bones and plagued by skin disease, so she took him home and nursed him back to health. However, Leo returned to the same place she first saw him, making her assume that he was waiting there for his owner. She just came and brought him food and water every few days.
After learning about the story, the Facebook user decided to share it on social media, documenting with photos of the dog and the kind-hearted woman who looked after him. The post soon went viral and the photos of Leo got shared hundreds of times online.
Nang Noi Sittisam, a 64-year-old woman, almost had a heart-attack when her daughter showed her a photo of a dog that looked a lot like BonBon, the beloved dog she had lost during a car trip. Learning that he had been waiting for her in the same spot for the last four years, her heart melted.
Auntie Noi told her daughter to drive her to where the dog was waiting instantly she saw the photo and heard the story. When she got there and called his name, “Bon Bon”, the poor dog started wiggling his tail and came to her, but when she tried to take him home with her, he was reluctant to follow. She then understood that her BonBon had become attached to Saowalak, the woman who had nursed him back to health.
1. What can we learn about the dog, Leo?| A．He was abandoned by his former owner because of his disease. |
| B．He stayed at the same spot hoping to wait for a good owner. |
| C．He was lost but finally reunited with his master. |
| D．He waited at the same place because he didn’t like to stay with Saowalak. |
| A．To make an ad for Facebook. |
| B．To share a moving story. |
| C．To honor the woman for her kindness. |
| D．To help Leo find his former owner. |
| A．Stubborn but attached. |
| B．Considerate but discouraged. |
| C．Optimistic and cute. |
| D．Loyal and faithful. |
8 . A man who broke his neck outdoors in freezing conditions survived lying in snow for nearly 20 hours thanks to his dog, who kept him warm through the night and barked for help.
The Michigan man, named only as Bob, was alone when he left his farmhouse on New Year’s Eve to collect firewood. Anticipating a journey of only several meters, Bob was wearing just long johns, a shirt and slippers when he went outside, despite the temperature being around -4 degrees centigrade. However, he slipped and broke his neck.
“I was yelling for help but my nearest neighbour is about a quarter of a mile away and it was 10:30 pm, but my Kelsey came,” said Bob.
Kelsey is Bob’s five-year-old Golden Retriever. She kept Bob warm by lying on top of him, and kept him awake by licking his hands and face.
Bob said, “She kept barking for help but never left my side. She kept me warm and awake. I knew I had to persevere (get) through this and that it was my choice to stay alive.”
“By morning my voice was gone and I couldn’t yell for help, but Kelsey didn’t stop barking.”
“She was letting out this screaming howl that got my neighbour’s attention. He found me at 6:30 pm on New Year’s Day.”
Bob’s neighbour eventually discovered him after hearing Kelsey’s howls and called the emergency services. When Bob arrived at the hospital, his body temperature was below 21 degrees centigrade. Normal body temperature is 37 degrees centigrade and hypothermia (低体温症) occurs when the body drops below 35 degrees centigrade.
“I was surprised to find out that I didn’t have any frost bite,” said Bob, “I am sure it was because of Kelsey’s determination to keep me warm and safe.”
And to the surprise of doctors, Bob made a quick initial recovery from his neck injury.
“I think his dog really kept him alive and helped him, and he was very fortunate,” said Chaim Colen, MD, Neurosurgeon at McLaren.
“I am so thankful for my two heroes,” Bob said. “Kelsey kept me warm, alert, and never stopped barking for help. Dr Colen saved my life. They are truly heroes and I will be forever grateful.”
1. What happened to Bob on New Year’s Eve?| A．He fell on some firewood. | B．He slipped inside his house. |
| C．He got lost while walking his dog. | D．He was injured and couldn’t move in snow. |
| A．She kept barking for help. |
| B．She found the emergency services. |
| C．She lay on top of him to keep him warm. |
| D．She licked his hands and face to keep him alert. |
| A．A New Year Eve’s Accident |
| B．An Old Dog Is Still Useful |
| C．A Loyal Dog Saves Her Owner’s Life |
| D．The Love between a Dog and Her Master |
9 . Recently, as I watched my son Nathan play basketball for his school team, I was feeling sorry for myself and for him. His team was facing adversity(困境) on the court, trailing for three quarters of the game. As for me, I had just been dismissed from my job.
As I watched what my son was experiencing, I recalled the events earlier in the day—packing up everything in a box and saying goodbye to my colleagues. During the drive home, I kept telling myself that I will find work again—I am confident in my experience and abilities, but self-doubt was still sticking its foot in the door.
The game entered the fourth quarter with Nathan’s team still trailing. I saw the determination on his back to not only tie the game, but then go ahead by three points. Then, a player from the other team made an unbelievable shot to tie the game up again. With a tie game and seconds on the clock, Nathan found himself with the ball and with skill and confidence, he made the basket with a defender hanging all over him. The other player was called for a foul(犯规).
As Nathan stood preparing for a shot that would put his team up by three points, I saw the focus and determination on his face, with no room for self-doubt. After he made the free throw, his team managed to stop the other team from scoring, winning the game and moving on to the finals.
As I sat there, my heart bursting with pride, it dawned on me. I had taught him perseverance(毅力) in the face of adversity, and he had just taught me the same lesson. That brief moment of self-doubt and feeling sorry for myself was blown away by the actions of my son on the basketball court. He will play in the finals, but it doesn’t matter if he wins or loses. At this moment, we both won.
1. We can learn from the text that ________.| A．I lost my job for lack of experience and abilities. |
| B．Nathans team won a narrow victory in the basketball game. |
| C．I was proud of Nathan because he won the game in the finals. |
| D．Nathan had never doubted himself whenever he was in trouble. |
| A．losing | B．falling behind |
| C．being defeated | D．winning |
| A．My son would win in the finals and I would find a job soon. |
| B．I had once taught my son face to face that we should never give up. |
| C．It was my encouragement and help that made my son win the game. |
| D．I would become more confident about my future after this experience. |
| A．An Inspiring Game | B．A Moment of Self-doubt |
| C．Lesson from My Son | D．An Unforgettable Experience |
10 . When I was growing up, my mother had a ring she never took off. It was the only ring I ever saw her wear during my childhood. She didn’t really have any other jewelry, and, in fact, I remember my father saying that he didn’t even buy her a ring when they were married.
The years passed. My father, who had come from Mexico in the 1920s to try to earn a living, worked long, long hours at the service station he ran. And my mother worked at home, keeping house for her husband and eight children. With his hard work and her thriftiness(节俭), they sent their first son off to college, then another child and then another. The older children helped with the school fees of the younger ones.
Just as the last two children were graduating from college, my father died suddenly of a heart attack, but my mother lived on for another twenty-three years. Their children had become lawyers, businessmen and teachers. In the last years of her life my mother was finally able to buy some jewelry that she really loved.
A few years before she died, she told me that she wanted her jewelry to go to her granddaughters. And when she died, it was done. A diamond ring to this one, a pearl ring to that one, and so it went.
Then I discovered it: her first ring. It had been worn so long that it became so thin and would probably break at any minute. I took the ring, polished it with a cloth and carried it to the bank to place in a safety box. To me, it was a treasure that showed the devotion my mother had made for us and the values that she lived.
The rest of my family doesn’t quite understand this, but when I look at that ring, I see the priceless jewel of my mother’s strength and the deep love that she showed us every day of her life.
1. Why did the mother only have a ring in her early years?| A．She had no desire for anything else. |
| B．Her husband refused to buy her other jewels. |
| C．She saved every penny for her children. |
| D．Her husband was too poor to afford other jewels. |
| A．They worked hard to earn their own school fees. |
| B．They struggled to earn a living when they grew up. |
| C．The last two children failed to finish college due to the father’s death. |
| D．The first son helped support his younger brothers and sisters. |
| A．The ring was worth large amounts of money. |
| B．The rest of her family didn’t want to see the ring. |
| C．She hoped to remember her mother’s selflessness forever. |
| D．She was afraid the ring might be damaged by her kids. |
| A．The mother’s devotion to kids. |
| B．The mother’s suffering in life. |
| C．The kids’ deep love for the mother. |
| D．The kids’ memories of the hard life. |
