1 . More than 25 years ago, Saroo Brierley was one of many poor children in rural India. One day, he played with his brother along the rail line and fell asleep. When be woke up, finding himself alone, the 4-year-old decided his brother might be on the train he saw in front of him—so he got on.
That train took him across the country to a totally strange city, where he did not speak the language. He lived on the streets, and then in an orphanage (孤儿院). There, he was adopted by an Australian family and flown to Tasmania.
As he writes in bis new book, A Long Way Home, Brierley couldn’t help but wonder about his hometown back in India. He remembered landmarks, but since he didn’t know his town’s name, finding a small neighborhood in a vast country seemed to be impossible.
Then he found Google Earth—a digital mapping program. He spent years searching for his hometown in the program’s satellite pictures. In 2011, he came across something familiar. He studied it and realized be was looking at a town’s central business district from a bird’s-eye view. He thought, “On the right-band side you should see the three-platform train station”—and there it was. “And on the left-hand side you should see a big fountain”—and there it was.
Everything just started to match.
When he stood in front of the house where he grew up as a child, be saw a lady standing in the entrance. “There’s something about me,” be thought—and it took him a few seconds but he finally remembered what she used to look like.
“My mother looked so much shorter than I remembered. But she came forth and walked forward, and I walked forward, and my feelings and tears and the chemical in my brain, you know, it was like a nuclear fusion (核聚变). I just didn’t know what to say, because I never thought seeing my mother would ever come true. And here I am, standing in front of her.”
1. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the text?| A．Brierley’s mother grew shorter and weaker as she aged. |
| B．There was a mix of feelings when Brierley saw his mother again. |
| C．Brierley kept trying and didn’t give up searching for his hometown. |
| D．Brierley didn’t recognise his mother immediately. |
| A．He was taken away by a foreigner. | B．He was adopted by an Australian family. |
| C．He got on a train by mistake. | D．He got lost while playing in the street. |
| A．By analyzing old pictures. | B．By studying digital maps. |
| C．By spreading his story via his book. | D．By travelling all around India. |
| A．His memory of his hometown. | B．His love for his mother. |
| C．His long way back home. | D．His reunion with his mother. |
2 . It all started in 2018. While taking a midnight walk, Mahendra came across a very weak dog on the street, whose bones were visible under its skin. Mahendra decided to feed it and for the next couple of days it became the centre of his life, until the night when he found it dead.
After that, Mahendra started providing treatment for all wounded and sick dogs he came across. Some time later, someone told Mahendra about PFA, India’s largest animal welfare organization, chaired by Mrs Maneka Gandhi. Mahendra contacted her and she was impressed by the work he was doing. Mrs Gandhi asked him to start a PFA shelter in Ahmedbad.
Thus, in 2020, he started the shelter. It took a long time for Mahendra to find the land where the shelter could be set up. Finally, Ramesh Bhai Patel, a native farmer from a village named Jundal, agreed to give his land for nothing. Along with a team of four doctors and many volunteers, the shelter now has 25 dogs that were unable to walk at all when they were brought in. Today, they’re slowly healing. Dogs that have healed with proper treatment are sent back to where they came from if the environment there is safe. However, the shelter will be home to the blind dogs for all their lives, says Mahendra.
The shelter runs on money coming from Mahendra’s own pension of $ 45,000. There have been some financial crunches now and then, but Mahendra is determined that no matter what challenge comes his way, he’ll fight through.
1. What made Mahendra decide to do something for disabled and sick dogs?| A．His contact with PFA. |
| B．The encouragement of Gandhi. |
| C．The death of a homeless sick dog. |
| D．A walk with a sick dog of Gandhi. |
| A．He secured government funds. |
| B．He got a land from a local farmer for free. |
| C．He learned medical knowledge from doctors. |
| D．He met with much difficulty in finding volunteers. |
| A．Services. | B．Advantages. | C．Crisis. | D．Details. |
| A．Kind-hearted. | B．Humorous. | C．Open-minded. | D．Modest. |
3 . A few years ago, I moved to Aurora, Ont. with my boyfriend and I longed to make friends in my new neighborhood.
Where we lived the houses were jammed together so tightly. But the irony (讽刺) of living so close was that no one actually talked to each other; as in an open-concept office, they pretend they can’t hear or see each other to maintain at least an illusion of privacy.
It was not so easy to make friends as an adult. I was about to give up when I caught sight of a beautiful, tall blonde taking out her recycling. She walked with confidence—even her ponytail bounced. I gasped, “I recycle too! We have so much in common!”
The question was, how would we meet? What would I say? So I thought, “What if I just happened to be jogging by?” I put on my running shoes, but after a few times around the block, dripping sweat, I didn’t see her. I decided to seize on the one thing I already knew about her— she takes out her blue bin.
The following day, I woke up a little earlier than usual. A little after 8 a.m., the garage truck appeared and the blonde emerged. I grabbed a bin and made my way to the end of my driveway. “Just act naturally, Megan,” I told myself. “Good morning. How are you?” I said, cool as a cucumber. “Good. And you?” she replied. “Doing well…I am a new comer, just a DJ. I talk for a living. Clearly!” “Interesting,” she said.
As we both walked away, I turned and called out, “Oh, and by the way, I’m Megan.” “Michelle,” she replied. I walked back inside, wearing a giant grin.
Our “coincidental” recycling meet-ups continued for a few weeks until I finally gathered my courage to ask her to watch The Bachelor with me and she said yes.
That night, after we got everything ready, we settled on the couch and proceeded to drink wine, binge from our buffet, dissect doomed television relationships, tell stories about our own and laugh our faces off. We “found what we’d been looking for”: a new friend to fall platonically in love with.
1. What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?| A．The author lived in a small house. |
| B．The neighbors actually didn’t have privacy. |
| C．The author lived in a very crowded neighborhood. |
| D．The neighbors did not communicate with each other. |
| A．The tall blonde pretended to be very cool. |
| B．The tall blonde wore a big smile when talking. |
| C．The author was quite satisfied with their first talk. |
| D．The two friends met accidentally when the truck came. |
| A．Timid but kind-hearted. | B．Shy but persistent. |
| C．Hospitable and generous. | D．Caring and modest. |
| A．A DJ talking for a living began to recycle. |
| B．A blonde watched The Bachelor with a DJ. |
| C．A new comer finally made friends with a blonde. |
| D．Two women recycled together in the neighborhood. |
4 . The news that all teachers were expected to attend camp with their students left me feeling unsettled. For the first time in more than 20 years, I would need to spend three days in the early autumn bush with 120 14-year-olds.
I love spending time with teenagers. But I teach Grade 12 English and am 51 years old. There is a difference between a literary seminar on King Lear, no matter how lively it may be, and late-night party in a campground. Besides, my idea of “outdoors” is biking on the Ottawa bike paths or sitting in the backyard with a cup of tea and a good book.
Eventually, we turn down a long dirt track that dives deep into a forest. I read the schedule and note the impressive minute-by-minute detail for the next 72 hours. I’ve never faced such a structured(高度组织化的) time since, well, when I went to camp in Grade 9. I think of home.
The next morning, I arise early. It is 7 a.m. Time for the polar bear dip. Everyone asks if I am going to swim. I respond with lame excuses and then wander, like a Grade 8 boy at the edges of a middle-school dance. Kids charge in, great plumes(股流) of water rising up around them as they shout with joy. My colleagues link arms, count down and run into the water bravely. Toweling off, the swimmers discuss the water temperature. The regret that I knew I would feel starts to kill me. I will now forever be the guy who did not take part in the polar bear dip. I walk slowly up to the dining hall and decide that from that moment on I will commit fully to camp life. My unwillingness to do anything is replaced with a burning desire to do everything.
At 7 a.m. the next morning, I am the first person on the beach in my bathing suit. I dive into the water. I scream about how good it feels. Toweling off afterward, I talk to anyone within earshot about the temperature of the water.
Later that day, the camp winds down. Something has happened in this camp. To the students, for sure, but also to me. When the last camper leaves, I give the camp director a big hug.
1. How did the author feel before the camp?| A．Angry. | B．Disappointed. |
| C．Anxious. | D．Excited. |
| A．To stress its liveliness. | B．To explain its topic. |
| C．To introduce his preference. | D．To show its similarity to camping. |
| A．He is fed up with making excuses. |
| B．He hates to be regret-stricken. |
| C．He desires to show off his swimming skills. |
| D．He is encouraged to do so by his colleagues. |
| A．He has used up his energy. |
| B．He misses home very much. |
| C．He turns into a camp director. |
| D．He has become a camp lover. |
5 . One day, a young soldier walked up to a much decorated senior officer in the army and asked him: “Sir, what is the secret of your success in the army? I want to be an officer too.”
The officer looked at the young soldier steadily (一动不动地) for about three minutes and gave him a threatening (带有威胁的) order. He gave the young soldier a cup full of water and told him to walk round the training field five times. He clearly told him that his life depended on it, and if a drop of water fell from the cup, another soldier would shoot him on the head. Four soldiers were strategically (战略上的) positioned to shoot him down once a drop of water fell from the cup.
Seeing how serious the whole thing turned out, he took the cup full of water and went out to complete his task. The young soldier carefully walked round the training field five times without letting a drop fall from the cup. On completion of the task, he returned the full cup to the senior officer.
When the officer saw what he did to protect his life by not allowing a drop of water out of the cup, he asked him the following questions:
“Did you see those beautiful girls dancing at the nearby market?"
The young soldier replied, “No.”
“Did you see those soldiers playing football in the field?”
The young soldier replied, “No.”
“What about those people fighting across the other side of the field?”
The young soldier replied, “No.”
Then, the officer looked at him and said, “If you focus on your task, you will succeed and protect your life too.”
At last, the young soldier left happily.
1. What did the soldier ask the officer to do?| A．Give him a cup full of water. | B．Tell him how to be successful. |
| C．Walk round the training field. | D．Appoint him as an officer. |
| A．Four soldiers were shooting at him. |
| B．Some soldiers were fighting in the field. |
| C．Some soldiers were playing football in the field. |
| D．Some girls were dancing in the playground. |
| A．To kill him on purpose. | B．To warn him not to drop any water. |
| C．To train the other soldiers. | D．To teach him to concentrate on things. |
| A．He would learn the secret of success. |
| B．He would practice walking steadily and fast. |
| C．He would buy some gifts to thank the officer. |
| D．He would stay focused on what he was doing. |
