1 . Driven by her passion for providing quality healthcare, a Latvian woman has won over the hearts of the elderly residing in the nursing home she oversees.
It is incredibly rare to find a Caucasian woman working as the director of a nursing home in Shanghai. But the fact that Anastasija Puzankova can even converse in Liantang, a Chinese dialect spoken only by residents in a small town in southwestern Shanghai, makes her one of a kind.
“I had always wondered how the elderly were getting along with others, or if they were well cared for. I realized that I could better serve them and understand their concerns if I spoke their dialect.” says the 35-year-old, who also speaks Russian, English, Latvian, French and Spanish.
Puzankova chose to study Sinology(汉学) out of her curiosity about China at the University of Latvia in 2003. The next year, she traveled to Shanghai as part of an exchange program and then she spent the next 10 years studying law at Fudan University, graduating with a master's degree in 2014.
Despite her qualifications, in 2018, Puzankova joined Haiyang Group, a Shanghai-based company that operates the nursing home, as an executive assistant. During that period, she performed so well in her nursing and management training that she was appointed the director of the home after just one year.
A caregiver, surnamed Cai, says the atmosphere at the home has changed since Puzankova took charge. “She makes life in the nursing home uplifting and purposeful.” says Cai.
“She throws monthly birthday parties for the elderly, creates a festive mood in the home for every traditional festival and frequently organizes handicrafts classes and activities to stimulate the minds of the residents.”
When family visits and group activities were delayed during the novel coronavirus outbreak, Puzankova came up with a similar idea at the home, purchasing vegetable seeds and growing them in the field near the nursing home so that the residents can observe the plants growing from their windows.
“Just watching the plants grow can lift their spirits. We can also serve these organic vegetables to them.” she explains.
Puzankova says, “I simply like communicating with people, understanding their personalities and offering help when they are in need. Making an elderly person happy isn't hard. It just takes a little time, love and thought.”
1. Why did Anastasija Puzankova learn the Chinese dialect Liantang?| A．To satisfy her superior. |
| B．To research its history and popularity. |
| C．To communicate with the elderly better. |
| D．To prove her language learning capacity. |
| A．forbade family visits forever. |
| B．created a festive mood in the home. |
| C．organized some outdoor activities for the elderly. |
| D．planted some vegetables for the elderly to watch indoors. |
| A．Time tests. |
| B．Hard work pays off. |
| C．Love breaks down barriers. |
| D．Education is the key to success. |
| A．A foreign face with a local soul |
| B．A language expert with a loving heart |
| C．A nursing home with a woman director |
| D．An executive assistant with a master’s degree |
2 . Passing biker Anuchit saw the dog twice on a highway in Roi-Et, northeastern Thailand, and last month. He stopped to check on the dog and was told by the locals that it had been sitting at the same place for its owner in the last four years.
Saowaluck , 45, said that she found the dog at that place in early 2016. Then he was so skinny and he had injuries, so Saowaluck took him to the vet, adopted him and named him Leo, but after a couple of days he was missing from her house and appeared at that spot again so she let him stay there and have been coming to feed him every day.
Anuchit decided to share the story of Leo and a video online, prompting the dog's owner to come forward. Video shows Leo sitting by the roadside and looking out as the cars drove past.
Owner Noi , 64, said her dog Bong Bong had gone missing after jumping down from her truck in 2015. “My husband and I drove around to find him but we failed." On seeing the video, she went back to the spot where she lost the dog on September 9, while Leo bounded over excitedly to Noi and let her rub his head. However, he refused to go home when she carried him to the truck. It appeared that Bong Bong needed time to adjust himself, so Noi promised to go back again the next day.
However, that night Saowaluck called Noi and said that she wanted to keep the dog because she had become attached to him. Noi responded that she was more than happy to let the dog stay with Saowalack. She said: "I have no intention to refuse her request. Due to her good care I believed she and the dog will be happy together and I would like her to keep the dog in her house.''
Saowaluck promised to take the dog home and would take good care of him while Noi suggested she was happy to take the dog back, if Saowaluck no longer wanted him.
1. Why had the dog been sitting at the same place for four years?| A．He was fond of freedom. | B．He forgot where he was heading. |
| C．He was waiting for his owner. | D．He was looking for a new family. |
| A．Propose | B．Force |
| C．Promote | D．Urge |
| A．He refused to approach Noi. |
| B．He stayed with Saowalack. |
| C．He jumped over in excitement. |
| D．He rubbed against Noi’s legs. |
| A．She had an intention of being the dog’s new owner. |
| B．She wanted to tell Noi what she had done for the dog. |
| C．She planned to attach the dog to the truck of her own. |
| D．She intended to return the dog to Noi. |
3 . I didn't grow up in a very loving family. In fact, there are few, if any, happy memories I have of my childhood involving my family members. My happiest moments were spent with the few friends I was allowed to have. My family eventually distanced from all the neighbors. So the time came when I didn't even have neighborhood kids to play with. So, I learned to spend my time reading, discovering nature and setting and achieving small goals for myself.
There was another family in town that was quite similar to mine. They had a lot of children like my own family. They attended the same church. I always wondered what it would be like if my family were more like them. They never knew it, but I watched them and admired hem. They were happy and close — everything I wished my family could be.
Decades Later I found myself back at that very same church I had left behind. This time I was in that church for my mother's funeral. As I approached the church for the funeral, memories came flooding back home. I remembered the warm, kind smiles of that family when I was a child.
After the funeral service, I heard a familiar voice call my name. I turned around and he was there, the father of that, family I had admired when I was young. He was a church volunteer for my mother's funeral lunch. We chatted for a bit. I pointed out my happy child to him and it was at that point I realized I was raising my boy in a way I had seen him raise his own children so long ago. He didn't realize it, but my son s life has been greatly affected by him.
Live your life with virtue.You never know who’s watching, who you will inspire and whose life you'll change.
1. What do we learn about the author's parents?| A．They got along well with each other. |
| B．They were good at educating children. |
| C．They didn't love the author very much. |
| D．They didn't do well in dealing with people. |
| A．To meet the man. | B．To visit the church. |
| C．To work as a volunteer. | D．To handle something personal. |
| A．Reliable. | B．Humorous. |
| C．Kind-hearted. | D．Hardworking. |
| A．Try to build a happy family. | B．Watch your words and deeds. |
| C．Learn from others all the time. | D．Help others whenever possible. |
4 . Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.
My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table.
I don’t only avoid those “if only” moments when it comes to safety. It’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you” or “I forgive you.” When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.
I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only” about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.
1. Which of the following is an example of the “extra minute” rule?| A．Start the car the moment everyone is seated. |
| B．Leave the room for a minute with the iron working. |
| C．Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better. |
| D．Move an object out of the way before it trips someone. |
| A．keep her appointment with the eye doctor |
| B．meet her father who was already an old man |
| C．join in the holiday celebration of the company |
| D．finish her work before the deadline approached |
| A．abandoned | B．lacked |
| C．avoided | D．taken |
| A．To Keep Emotional Well-being | B．To Prevent “If Only” Moments |
| C．To Follow the Most Useful Rule | D．To Achieve the Peace of Mind |
5 . It was dawn of March 21, 2018. Gary Messina was on his morning run along New York City’s East River. Suddenly something caught his eye – a large 60-year-old man balancing on the four-foot-high fence that guarded the path from the water. As Messina got closer to the scene, the man took a step forward and slipped into the dark river below.
When Messina reached nearer, the man was struggling in the water, clearly unable to swim. Other joggers also heard the man’s cry. David Blauzvern and John Green dropped their phones and keys on land and jumped in. “People had called the police, but it was unclear when they’d get there.” says Green. “We just reacted.” Messina joined them in the river. Just as the jumper was losing strength, Blauzvern take hold of him. The pair were about 30 yards from the seawall when Messina and Green caught up to them. They seized the man, with Blauzvern supporting his back and Messina and Green holding him up from either side. As the men made their toward the concrete seawall that stretched (延伸) for blocks in each direction, Blauzvern had an awful realization: there was no way out of the river.
By now, a crowd had gathered on land. “A rescue boat is on its way,” someone yelled to them. Swimming forward was getting tougher by the minute. The jumper, who was six foot two and weighed around 260 pounds, was heavy in his rescuers’ arms. After ten minutes, they managed to get to the river’s edge. “I’ve never been so out of breath,” says Blauzvern.
Fifteen minutes after the men had jumped into the river, the two-man rescue boat appeared. But because it couldn’t risk getting too close to the seawall, the men had to swim out to it. “I was completely out of energy at this point,” says Blauzvern. The men in the water pushed the jumper while the men in the boat pulled him up and, finally, to safety. The man they had saved was taken to the hospital for evaluation(评估). Details on his condition have not been known. As for the rescuers, each of them was at work by 10:30 a.m. “I was a bit late,” admits Blauzvern, smiling. “But I had a good excuse.”
1. The story mainly centers around ________.| A．why the old man slipped into the river |
| B．who saved the old man |
| C．how the old man was rescued |
| D．when and where the accident happened |
| A．Gary Messina. | B．David Blauzvern. |
| C．John Green. | D．An unknown jogger. |
| A．The rescued man is rather tall and fat. |
| B．Police would never be found on the spot of rescue. |
| C．The process of rescuing the man took up the whole morning/ |
| D．The man was actually saved by the two-man rescue boat. |
| A．The man wanted to kill himself in the river. |
| B．The men is the river were all good swimmers. |
| C．The man was taken home immediately he was saved. |
| D．Blauzvern felt at ease even if he was late for work that day. |
