1 . 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 |
2 . Christina Horsten and Felix Zeltner tried not to panic when they were hit with a $400 rent increase on their Park Slope apartment in 2016, and realized they would have to move for the second time in two years. Instead of feeling intimidated by the unexpected event, they hit upon an unconventional idea: Why not move to a new neighborhood every month for a year?
At first, things went remarkably well. They found their next apartment, a beautiful apartment in Chinatown. The next months brought stops in Staten Island and Harlem. As September approached, their next place to live proved difficult to find. When their Harlem lease (租约) ended, they took a road trip, then fell for a false advertisement in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, when an apartment they found advertised online wasn't actually available to rent. And eventually they got their money back through Paypal. “That was rock bottom,” Ms. Horsten said.
Over the rest of the year, they spent time in a townhouse in Mott Haven, as well as apartments in Chelsea, the East Village, Hell’s Kitchen, and Williamsburg. “In the end, we were like, ‘Why should we even stop doing this?’ ”Ms. Horsten said. But then a lease takeover on Listings Project caught their attention: a two-bedroom apartment atop an Upper West Side townhouse.
A second daughter, Lily, was born in January. And with a newborn, they have no intention of moving again anytime soon. Still, many aspects of their adventure have remained with them. “In the same way that we’ve tried to keep minimalism (极简主义) in our life, we try to stay in touch with all the people we’ve met,” Ms. Horsten said.“We realized it was a lifelong project to try to get to know NewYork City,” she added. But there is one member of the household eagerly waiting for a repeat: their 4-year-old daughter Emma.“ I think she loved it the most,” Ms. Horsten said.“At all the places we stayed, she found things I never noticed: children’s books, a dollhouse, a drum set. Even now, she’s like,‘When are we moving to a new home?’ And we’re like,‘We kind of like it here.’ ”
1. What does the underlined word “intimidated” in Paragraph1 mean?| A．Frightened. | B．Surprised. |
| C．Embarrassed. | D．Confused. |
| A．In Chinatown. | B．In Sunset Park. |
| C．In Staten Island. | D．In Harlem. |
| A．Buying a townhouse in Brooklyn. |
| B．Staying in the apartment in the Upper West Side. |
| C．Donating their daughter’s toys to those living nearby. |
| D．Looking for a two-bedroom apartment for their newborn. |
| A．East or west, home is best. | B．Where to start, where to end. |
| C．Wherever you are, there is home. | D．Another month, another neighborhood. |
3 . 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. |
4 . For weeks, Eva Hachey had thought of adopting a dog. And there he was, at the local dog shelter. “The attendant picked him up and put him on my lap. He started giving me kisses. He stole my heart at that moment.” She adopted the ten-month-old puppy immediately and named him Bruno.
Bruno lived happily with Hachey and her daughter, Angel Hutchinson, for five months. Then, on the evening of September 26, 2018, Hachey, returned home as usual at 8 pm from her job. She ate supper in the living room. Around 10:30, a friend called, just as Bruno went into Hutchinson’s room to go to sleep where Hutchinson was ready to sleep. Hachey and her friend chatted a bit, and as Hachey hung up, she noticed the time was 11:08.
“The next thing I remembered was a male voice saying, Eva, Eva, wake up. It was a doctor,” Hachey says. “I looked around, and the room was just full of people. And I said, what are you doing in my house?”
What they were doing was saving her life. By the time Hachey hung up with her friend, Hutchinson was fast asleep in her bedroom and Bruno was next to her bed on the floor. Hachey believes he heard something strange and possibly went to the living room to investigate.
Anyway, Bruno began barking and jumping on and off the bed to wake Hutchinson. When that didn’t work, he attacked the fleshy skin between Hutchinson’s index finger and thumb. Finally, she leaped out of bed and went to see her mother, only to find Hachey slumped over in the chair who had stopped breathing. Hutchinson dialed 911 immediately. Hachey was diagnosed to have suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm and she spent 15 days in hospital.
Now, a year and a half later, Hachey has fully recovered, although doctors had given her only a 5% chance of survival. Hachey believes that being found so quickly after the rupture is the only thing that saved her life.
1. From the passage, we can learn that ________.| A．everything went smoothly before 11 o'clock |
| B．it was Hutchinson that Hachey first saw when she came to life |
| C．Bruno managed to wake Angel up by jumping on and off the bed |
| D．Bruno was five months old when Hachey suffered the brain disease |
| A．fast asleep | B．wide awake |
| C．seated senseless | D．lying dead |
| A．Her daughter’s company. |
| B．The doctors’ timely rescue. |
| C．Hachey’s strong desire to live. |
| D．Bruno’s quick and clever action. |
5 . The bus was full of the sounds of laughing and yelling fifth graders. They were on their way to the zoo for a class trip. Mario was excited to see the zoo, but there was one problem. It was ten o'clock in the morning, but his stomach was already grumbling (咕咕叫). He reached down and grabbed his lunch bag. Opening it, he saw that it contained a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an orange, and two cookies. Mario sighed. He always had peanut butter and jelly.
“Trade you lunches, ”he said to the boy seated next to him on the bus.
“Okay, ” said Mark as he handed his brown bag to Mario.
Mario opened it and was hit with the smell of tuna. Mario wrinkled his nose and quickly closed the bag. He leaned forward and tapped the shoulder of the girl in front of him. “Swap lunches, Toni? ”he asked.
“Hmm, okay, ”said Toni.
Mario smiled. This was fun. But when he looked into the bag, he frowned. What a disappointment！A ham sandwich, but no cookies！He had to have cookies.
Mario turned in his seat. “Want to trade lunches?” he asked Juana.
“Definitely！” said Juana. She grabbed his lunch and tossed hers onto his lap.
He opened the lunch bag. Pizza！He reached into the bag to grab it. Oh, no！The pizza was hard.
He could hit a home run with pizza that hard.
Mario twisted in his seat. One last try, he told himself. “Hey, Mona！Trade lunches?”Three rows behind him, Mona seemed hesitant: Finally, she nodded. She passed her lunch forward, and he passed his back.
Mario took a deep breath and opened the bag. It was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an orange, and two cookies. The sandwich was a little squashed(挤压), and one of the cookies was broken.
Mario ate it anyway. And it was delicious.
1. Why did Mario trade lunches so many times?| A．Each lunch he received was dissatisfying. |
| B．His curiosity was aroused with each trade. |
| C．He needed something interesting to kill time |
| D．He preferred more food to settle his stomach. |
| A．Friends are there when you need them. |
| B．You should be content with what you have. |
| C．If you want something done right, do it yourself. |
| D．There is always something better around the corner. |
| A．A Class Trip | B．Mario’s Funny Trick |
| C．A Lunch Trade | D．Mario’s Favorite Food |
6 . A few weeks ago, I called an Uber to take me to the Boston airport for a flight home for the holidays. As I slid into the back seat of the car, the warm intonations(语调) of the driver’s accent washed over me in a familiar way.
I learned that he was a recent West African immigrant with a few young children, working hard to provide for his family. I could relate: I am the daughter of two Ethiopian immigrants who made their share of sacrifices to ensure my success. I told him I was on a college break and headed home to visit my parents. That’s how he found out I went to Harvard. An approving eye glinted at me in the rearview window, and quickly, we crossed the boundaries of rider and driver. I became his daughter, all grown up—the product of his sacrifice.
And then came the fateful question: “What do you study?” I answered “history and literature” and the pride in his voice faded, as I knew it might. I didn’t even get to add “and African-American studies” before he cut in, his voice thick with disappointment, “All that work to get into Harvard, and you study history?”
Here I was, his daughter, wasting the biggest opportunity of her life. He went on to deliver the age-old lecture that all immigrant kids know. We are to become doctors (or lawyers, if our parents are being generous)—to make money and send money back home. The unspoken demand, made across generations, which my Uber driver laid out plainly, is simple: Fulfill your role in the narrative(故事) of upward mobility so your children can do the same.
I used to feel anxious and backed into a corner by the questioning, but now as a junior in college, I’m grateful for their support more than anything. This holiday season, I’ve promised myself I won’t get annoyed at their inquiries. I won’t defensively respond with “but I plan to go to law school!” when I get unrequested advice. I’ll just smile and nod, and enjoy the warmth of the occasion.
1. Why did the author feel warm at the driver’s accent?| A．The driver took her to the Boston airport. |
| B．The author became the driver’s daughter. |
| C．The driver worked hard to provide for his family. |
| D．The author’s parents were also African immigrants. |
| A．The author’s attitude towards him. |
| B．The school that the author is attending. |
| C．The author’s major in history and literature. |
| D．The author’s interests in African-American studies. |
| A．Their parents want them to move upward in society. |
| B．Their parents are high-achieving as well. |
| C．They have much more knowledge. |
| D．They are very smart in general. |
| A．Getting upset. | B．Feeling satisfied. |
| C．Defending herself. | D．Appreciating his concern. |
7 . Ten-year-old Riley Christensen and her mother, Lynn, sat in front of the family computer, checking out models and prices of bikes. “Let’s pick one out for Dad’s birthday present,” Lynn suggested to her daughter.
Suddenly, a video link caught Riley’s eye so she clicked on it. It told how Hal Honeyman had set up a club to give specially engineered bicycles to people who can’t walk. It also showed the happy faces of those who were now riding them.
“I’m going to buy a bike for one of those kids,” Riley told her mother. Two days later, she wrote a letter to raise money. “I think it’s amazing for a guy to make bikes for kids who can’t walk.” the letter said. “I saw how happy a boy was when he got one… I’m writing to ask for your help.”
Lynn was blown away by her daughter’s action. But she wasn’t sure of its success. The cost of just one of those special bikes could be as high as $4,000. Riley could never raise the money. But her letter went out to 75 family members and friends. Within three days, money began arriving. Then word got around about Riley’s activity, and as Christmas neared, more and more money rolled in. The teen eventually raised more than $12,000, enough to pay for several bikes.
Last Christmas Eve, Riley pulled on a Santa hat and gave the bicycles to three lucky kids: Ava, a 13-year-old girl; Jenny, a 15-year-old girl; and Rose, a 4-year-old girl.
“This is the best Christmas I ever had,” said Riley. She and Ava have since ridden together. “When I ride, I like to go fast, get sweaty, and feel the wind.” Riley says. “So does Ava. She rides with her arms, not her feet, but she really flies.”
Riley is determined to keep her activity going every holiday season. “I want kids to feel the wind in their faces.” she says.
1. How did Riley Christensen help those who can’t walk?| A．She set up a club to offer some bikes to them. |
| B．She comforted them and gave them a lot of money. |
| C．She advised a company to give some bikes to them. |
| D．She raised the money to buy some engineered bikes for them. |
| A．Lynn was annoyed at her daughter’s action. |
| B．Lynn was surprised by her daughter’s action. |
| C．Lynn was frightened at her daughter’s action. |
| D．Lynn was concerned about her daughter’s action. |
| A．In order to bring happiness for them. |
| B．In order to receive thanks from them. |
| C．In order to help them walk by themselves. |
| D．In order to give them a different Christmas. |
8 . When she was ten years old, Isadora Duncan dropped out of school to teach people dance. If that job was left to any other ten-year-old, it would have turned out frustrating, difficult, and a little discouraging.
But Duncan was different. Not only was she already talented enough to earn money even at that age, but she also had a rare kind of confidence that helped her treat troubles as fuel —something to elevate the fire that is already burning inside of her.
It’s no surprise, then, that when she moved to New York to join a theatre company, she found herself restricted. The existing dancing style, their way of operating—all of this seemed to her the work of a misguided past. Duncan was very direct about what she wanted, confidently telling people she had a different vision of dance that she was going to spread in the world. This, naturally, led to ridicule and laughs early on, but as she built up her work, these instances became less frequent. Today, she is remembered as “The Mother of Dance,” with much of the modern art owing its expressive style to her influence. Inspired by the ancient Greeks, she brought the style to life.
In her autobiography (自传), one of the things Duncan frequently refers to as the basis of her expressive spirit is the fact that she had a childhood where she wasn’t constantly watched. The expectations of her mother (who raised her) were open-ended. It was the freedom of this lifestyle that drove her to see what she could do.
Growing up, before she left school, she was told one of two things: that she was either completely useless or that she was a genius. There was nothing in between. Even when she started working, people either bowed to her or they basically ignored her. But there wasn’t one moment Duncan doubted her own genius.
There is an old quotation “if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” And it captures an important truth. At school, Isadora Duncan was a failure. In the dance hall, she gave form to brilliance.
1. What does the underlined phrase “treat troubles as fuel” mean?| A．Duncan used troubles to push her forward towards her dream. |
| B．Duncan was good at burning away everyday troubles. |
| C．Troubles turned Duncan into a confident girl. |
| D．Troubles lit the fire of dancing in Duncan. |
| A．Her experience in New York was the foundation of her career. |
| B．Her teaching job when she was little destroyed her confidence. |
| C．Her dancing style was not very well received at the beginning. |
| D．Her mother set higher expectation on her than she could bear. |
| A．It is useless climbing a tree to catch fish. |
| B．Everybody is a genius in his own way. |
| C．Miseries come from human stupidity. |
| D．Teachers can impact students greatly. |
| A．Isadora Duncan’s childhood and her achievements today. |
| B．Duncan’s career development and other dancers’ opinions of her. |
| C．Isadora Duncan’s early experiences and the reasons for her success. |
| D．Duncan’s high status in the dancing world and her unique expressive style. |
9 . 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. |
10 . When my son Connor started walking, we knew something was wrong. He was 17 months old, and he walked on his tiptoes. Soon Connor's muscles began to lose strength. At three he showed signs of upper-body weakness, by five he couldn't hold his head upright, and by the first grade, he would need a wheelchair. As the day passed, he tired and couldn't hold a pencil to write. Within two years, he would be too tired to feed himself dinner. Everyone was puzzled. Physically, his body was twisted, but he was mentally perfect. We ran tests after tests, but no definite answer.
Finally, in 2004, we consulted Dr. Shawn, a geneticist, who said that Connor's symptoms had signs of dystonia(肌张力障碍) —a very rare genetic disorder, and a possible cure was L-dopa. Though there was possible side effects of the treatment, when Connor’s condition worsened, I had little choice.
Dr. Jacobs, a neurologist(神经学家), gave Connor the first dose (一次剂量的药) on June 21, 2007, when he was nine years old. The next morning, when I went in to wake him up, I found him kneeling on his bed — he hadn't done that since he was learning to walk. He shouted, “Look at me, Mom!” Connor was excited.
Over the next few days, Connor kept getting stronger. He held his upper body much straighter after the first week. A few weeks later, he “furniture-walked,” supporting himself on chairs and couches. He later walked holding both of my hands, then just one hand. And on August 13, he walked across my mother’s living room by himself.
I could now believe the unbelievable: The medicine was working. The child who had been too weak to feed himself dinner was walking. Since then, every year on June 21, we celebrate Dopa Day with a cake and presents, for it’s Connor’s second “birthday,” and it marks the best day of my life.
1. What’s wrong with Connor?| A．The doctor found he couldn’t walk. |
| B．Something was wrong when he was born. |
| C．Neither his mind nor his body was normal. |
| D．His mind was fine but his body was abnormal. |
| A．The L-dopa dose proved effective. |
| B．The L-dopa treatment was proved safe. |
| C．There were other cures for Connor's illness. |
| D．Nobody knew what kind of disease Connor had had. |
| A．It was Connor’s birthday. |
| B．It was the day when Connor started walking. |
| C．It was the day when Connor recovered completely. |
| D．It was the day when Connor got his first treatment of L-dopa. |
