1 . J. K. Rowling frequently shows there is magic every day. Her Harry Potter series has helped people through times of stress and depression and she is always there to deliver wise words of encouragement.
She is one celebrity who is very active on Twitter. So when a single dad named Matt Burke sent her a message thanking her for the series, she noticed. Her series had helped strengthen his relationship with his 9yearold daughter Bailey.
He included a link to his article titled Being a Broke Parent. He explained how he hadn’t found a level of financial stability that allowed him to pay bills on time and take his daughter on more activities and events. The family also doesn’t have the Internet or TV, which means there’s no “digital babysitter” and he has to rely on his own creative ways to bond with his daughter. Since he received the series, the main thing that has occupied them these days is reading books together.
Burke admits that he thought he was “too cool” for the books when they first came out and he was in his twenties, but he’s loving reading them now. “We switch off chapter by chapter reading them out loud,“Burke explains.” This not only allows her to get more used to reading aloud in front of someone, but it gets me directly involved in something she loves, and it gives me the chance to be very dramatic when I read my chapters and bring myself into the characters in the book, which has proven to be a ton of fun.”
After hearing Burke’s story, Rowling said how honored she was when Harry Potter was a part of his family’s life and offered Burke more books. Besides, people are also offering to send Burke more books as gifts. For Burke, this experience, far more than gifts, will be what he treasures.
1. Why did Burke thank J. K. Rowling according to the text?A.She guided him how to write a good story. |
B.She encouraged him when he was in trouble. |
C.Her books helped him through times of confusion. |
D.Her books helped him improve his bond with his daughter. |
A.He has found it interesting to read the series. | B.He was too old to understand the series better. |
C.He has chosen a better way of reading the series. | D.He hopes to play a role in the drama in the future. |
A.Useless. | B.Normal. | C.Valuable. | D.Boring. |
A.J. K. Rowling chooses to help improve kids’ health. |
B.J. K. Rowling gives a magical gift to a single father. |
C.J. K. Rowling has a deep influence on others’ growth. |
D.Burke comes to know J. K. Rowling through her series. |
2 . After I made it to the city center, I started to feel it might be easy for a foreigner to deal with the great size of Beijing. With growing confidence, I decided to take the subway to the hotel, not realizing that the network didn’t go that far. Impressed with the cleanliness of the station, I bought a ticket and boarded the first subway that came along.
After a few minutes I asked in English a young man seated next to me where I should get off closest to the Friendship Hotel. Wearing a smart business suit and tie, he would surely speak English, wouldn’t he? Unfortunately, he couldn’t understand me but seemed very friendly. I showed him the room card with all the information of the Friendship Hotel in Chinese characters. He looked at it, and then his eyes moved quickly to the carriage (车厢) subway map. Next, he raised three fingers of his right hand.
In Australia, raising fingers at someone is not usually nice, but this man wasn’t smiling. At the next station he showed me two fingers. Now in Australia, that’s really rude, but I got the message. When we stopped at the third station, he didn’t just point to the door, but got up, took me out of the train, and led me to the top of the stairs, and out onto the street. Then he stopped a taxi and told the driver where to take me.
All this came from a man who couldn’t speak my language, and I couldn’t speak his. I was now speechless, especially when he refused my offer of money. I felt a little embarrassed having even thought he would accept a tip.
This experience made it clear I had to learn some Chinese quickly or my adventures might start turning into misadventures.
1. Why does the author decided to take the subway?A.Because he believed in his ability to deal with the trip |
B.Because the network covered most of the stops |
C.Because he lived near the city center |
D.Because he had a good impression of its cleanliness |
A.still remained puzzled | B.understood the author well |
C.answered the author directly | D.pointed at the subway map |
A.helpful. | B.impolite. | C.warm-hearted. | D.responsible. |
A.To prove the importance of being careful |
B.To introduce a young man who didn’t know English |
C.To complain some cultural misunderstanding |
D.To describe one of his adventurous experiences |
3 . I was never very neat while my roommate Kate was extremely organized. Each of her objects had its place, but my always hid somewhere. She even labeled (贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Overtime, Kate got neater and I got my merriser. She moved to push my dirty clothing over and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. We both got tired of each other.
Who broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her screaming, “Take your shoes away! why under my bed!” Suddenly I saw my shoes flying at me. I jumped to my feet and started yelling. She yelled back louder.
The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up. She quickly crawled (爬) under her covers, crying. Obviously. that was something she could not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy (同情) rose up in my heart.
Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bad. Cleaned the suckers and swept the floor even on her side. I got so absorbed into my work that I even didn’t notice Kate had sat up. She was watching. Her tears dried and her expression was such disbelief. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me. “Thanks.”
Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn’t always agree, but we learned the key to living together: giving in, cleaning up and holding on.
1. What made Kate so angry one evening?A.She couldn’t find her books. |
B.She heard the writer shouting loud. |
C.She got the news that her grandma was ill. |
D.She saw the writer’s shoes beneath her bed. |
A.Because she was scared by Kate’s anger. |
B.Because she hated herself for being so messy. |
C.Because she wanted to show her care. |
D.Because she was asked by Kate to do so. |
A.By analyzing courses. |
B.By showing differences. |
C.By describing a process. |
D.By following time order. |
A.My Friend Kate. |
B.Hard Work Pays off. |
C.How to Be Organized? |
D.Learning to Be Roommates. |
4 . Like any new ninth-grader on the first day of school, Joemar Class had ninth-grader- emotion (情绪). He’s not used to school in Hartford. He’s used to going to school in his home town of Florida, used to seeing his friends, used to having class in Spanish.
“Nervioso,” he said in Spanish.
We first met Joemar in mid-October in the San Juan Airport. His father, Guillermo Class, had sold his car to buy plane tickets to get his kids and fly them up from Puerto Rico. The island was almost destroyed (毁坏) by the deadly storm—Hurricane Maria.
Now, they are settling into their new home in Hartford’s South End. A week later, using his wife’s car, Class drove 16-year-old Joemar to his first day at Bulkeley High School. After a short ride, he got out in front of his new school. Inside, he met Gretchen Levitz—the school’s program director.
“I see you have new uniform,” Levitz said. “You look great. Are you ready for a good first day? ”
Then he met couple of teachers.
“Hello” they each said in Spanish. They asked where he was from, and told him they were happy to see him. Then Levitz took him on a quick tour of the school before classes began — to her office, the school store, the library, and the dining hall.
A total of 19 languages are spoken in Bulkeley High School. “We have so many new students coming here from other countries every single day,” Levitz said. “So it’s not like he’s the only one who has that feeling.”
“You could tell he’s little worried,” Guillermo said as we left. “But, at the same time, he’s expecting it.”
1. What kind of feeling did Joemar have on his first day of school?A.Nervous | B.Excited | C.Annoyed | D.Amazed |
A.His old school closed down. |
B.He wanted to see his mother. |
C.He expected to have a new life. |
D.His town was hit by a terrible storm. |
A.He had a long talk with his father. |
B.He said hello to some of his classmates. |
C.He learned some simple Spanish words. |
D.He had a short look around his new school. |
A.It has no library. |
B.It is an international school. |
C.It plans to open Spanish classes. |
D.It requires all students to wear uniforms. |
5 . For years going home for the holidays has been bittersweet. I appreciate the opportunity to spend quality time with my mom but it is painful for me to see her house littered with stuff.Clothes bought but never worn, and new items in their original packaging carelessly purchased and never used. It’s evident that seeing the stuff on a daily basis reminds my mom of a time when shopping was her way of spending money.
I didn’t fully understand the extent to which my mom was suffering until this week, when I saw piles of clothes on her bed. “How do you manage to sleep every night with all that stuff, Mom?” I asked. To my horror, she replied, “I do it because I know I have to get rid of all this stuff eventually; I am punishing myself by sleeping with them until I do that. ”
Shocked and upset, I gently explained to her that punishing herself was only to make things worse,and that everybody deserves a place to sleep in peace, no matter what mistakes they’ve made. I suggested she move all the stuff upstairs, leaving her room comfortable to sleep in.
With patience and her slow but steady guidance, I helped her go through some of the piles and move them upstairs. For the rest of the week I stayed there, she was in a better mood and was excited about going through the rest of the house to finally get rid of her stuff—past mistakes and painful times. The items brought back painful memories as we inspected and moved them, but I kept reminding her that removing them would allow her to move on and heal. We finally sold so many things and took bag after bag to charity.
The stuff is just a sign of the destructive patterns of self-hatred on past mistakes. Only through the act of self-forgiveness can we bring about a chain reaction of reorganizing—both of the house and heart.
1. What made the author feel bitter?A.She couldn’t understand her mom’s sorrows. |
B.Her mom was stuck in the painful memories. |
C.Her mom was always left alone at home. |
D.Her mom wasted money on useless things. |
A.getting rid of the stuff | B.buying the stuff |
C.opening the stuff | D.moving the stuff |
A.the author never bought her mom anything |
B.the author’s mom has no money to purchase now |
C.the author’s mom regrets buying so many things |
D.the author knows her mom’s suffering only this week |
A.How to do shopping wisely |
B.Clearance helps reorganize the house |
C.Keep an eye on the elderly’s behavior |
D.Self-forgiveness makes a difference |
6 . Our room was on the second floor but you could still hear the roar of the ocean and see the stars at night. I used to take long walks along the water. The food in town was wonderful and the people were very friendly. The area was very quiet, peaceful and fairly deserted (空寂无人的).
The last evening of our vacation, however, we all heard strange footsteps following closely behind us as we were walking up to our room in the holiday center. We turned around and noticed a fairly young man moving very rapidly across the beach and getting close to us. He was tall and wore a baseball cap. We couldn’t see his face and he was approaching (接近) us very rapidly. The man’s actions made my dad very anxious. Dad warned us that we’d better try to make it to our hotel room as quickly as possible. I didn’t like my dad’s voice. I could hear anxiety in it. It was late and we were all alone. We didn’t have any cellphones on us. I never saw Dad as anxious as he was then and I knew that something was terribly wrong. The sense of fear started to overwhelm Mom and me. We had had such a good time in town. Now, the night was rapidly turning into a dangerous situation.
We could hear the man’s footsteps getting closer. Dad’s face was almost pale. The so-called intruder (侵入者) had moved nearer and nearer when all of a sudden, the nearby vending (自动贩卖) machine started going crazy and spitting out cans of soda! The noise actually scared the intruder and he ran out of sight. My parents were shaking, but we all turned around to see who had put money into the vending machine downstairs, and actually saved us, but no one was around at all. Not a soul. It’s one vacation I will never forget.
1. Where did the author spend her vacation?A.At the seaside. | B.Near a lake. | C.In a village. | D.In a mountain. |
A.They lost their way. | B.Their cellphones were missing. |
C.Their money was stolen. | D.They were followed by a stranger. |
A.He was somewhat fearful. | B.He didn’t know what to do at all. |
C.He didn’t take what happened seriously. | D.He was quite calm and controlled the situation. |
A.Their quick action. | B.Timely help from a young man. |
C.The young man’s warning. | D.The noise from the vending machine. |
7 . He looked like a pirate.
With his handkerchief tied in a knot behind his little nine-year-old head, he looked like a pirate, a sad pirate. The first time little David came to our camp, he was hairless and worn out from medical treatments. He was also very angry.
Paul Newman’s camp counselors (指导老师) were hoping to fill David’s days with fun and laughter. But David stayed inside himself, wanting to be alone, or in a comer of the cabin. At this camp for children with life-threatening illnesses, we had seen some pretty tough children worn out by cancer recover full of energy despite their illness. But we saw little progress in David no matter what we tried with him. Five days into the eight-day session saw a quiet, sad little pirate.
Then something happened on that fifth night. Something at camp that we would call “huge”. It was cabin night. That’s the time when campers and counselors spend time together in each individual cabin instead of an all-camp activity. Campers love cabin nights because there’s always a bedtime snack. On the cabin table that night were bags of potato chips.
David slowly walked over to the table, leaving his comer to join the rest of us. He took one of the bags of the potato chips and started smashing (弄碎) it with his little fists, as all the other campers looked on in disbelief, I wondered what the cabin counselor would do.
The college-age volunteer counselor positioned a bag of chips on the table in front of himself, and he, too, started smashing it with his fist. The campers went crazy as everyone ran to the table to get in on the fun of smashing potato chips with their fists.
Somehow everyone knew, everyone sensed, that anger within him was now being released.
For the last couple days of the session, David was a different kid. He was a little nine-year-old boy again, trying to fill the hours of each remaining day at camp with as much fun as could be possible.
Several days after the session, David came back again, This time, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t try to fit in to his day. He sure was having a great time at camp. David asked me if I needed an altar (祭坛) boy when I celebrated Mass in the woods. Sure enough, he was my altar boy.I remembered how carefully he listened to me when I talked about death. I said it’s only a doorway. You walk through the door and there’s the Lord God and behind God a whole line of people waiting to hug you.
After Mass, he said to me, “Hey Fatha, a door, huh?”
A couple more days of fun passed and tonight was the talent show. The tradition is that campers and counselors dress up in costumes, and everyone gets a standing applause for singing and dancing or simply just acting like fools on stage.
The show had begun: lights, camera, action.
Unfortunately, the only action taking place in our row of seats was little David making his way from counselor to counselor to say an early good-bye to camp. He had become quite ill and had to go to the hospital because of this new crisis.
When this little nine-year-old pirate stood in front of me, he gave me a hug and a big wet kiss on my cheek. I was crying. He was crying. A whole row of counselors was in tears. After the hug and kiss, he put his hands on my shoulders, and tears still in his eyes, said: “See you on the other side of the door, Fatha.”
1. The camp counselors failed to fill David’s beginning days with fun and laughter, mainly because David________.A.remained in a bad mood | B.behaved like a pirate |
C.was left alone at the camp | D.was teased by other campers |
A.would like David to eat more of them |
B.hoped all the other campers would join |
C.found it possible to help David release anger |
D.wanted to show that he was as angry as David |
A.The camp was intended for those talented in singing and dancing. |
B.The purpose of the camp was to give diseased children caring love. |
C.The camp was popular among the children who enjoyed their vacation here. |
D.Medical treatment could be provided to diseased children at the camp. |
A.Children with deadly diseases are usually difficult to get along with. |
B.People should have patience with children with life-threatening illnesses. |
C.People should tell children with life-threatening illnesses to care nothing about death. |
D.Love and proper guidance can help people look at something negative in a positive way. |
There was a little boy whose name was Peter. He lived in a village close to the sea. The villagers built sea walls to keep sea water from the doors of the houses. But once the sea walls almost put the village in great danger.
One day, Peter was walking on his way back home along the sea wall when it began to rain. All of a sudden, he saw a hole in the wall, from which the sea water was running. Peter shouted for help because he knew the hole meant that the sea was making its way through the sea wall, but no answer came. He thought he should do something else as quickly as possible, or the sea water could be pouring over the whole village. He started to rush towards his village. At the same time, the rain became heavier and heavier.
It was getting dark, but Peter rushed on and on. He felt cold and hungry. In the rainstorm, he fell down over and over again. Many times he thought about giving up, but he fought on. He remembered his father’s words, “Lots of strong men have made every effort to build the walls which can keep the village safe from danger. The sea walls are really important.”
Finally, when the boy’s father saw him, Peter was black and blue all over. The boy told the villagers what happened to the sea wall. They repaired it in time. “Thank God! He saved the village,” they praised Peter. All the villagers called him “Peter the Guard(守卫)” from then on. Peter’s parents were really proud of him!
根据短文内容回答下列问题。
1. Where did Peter live? (No more than 9 words)
2. What did Peter do first after he saw a hole in the wall?(No more than 5 words)
3. Who told Peter about the importance of the sea walls?(No more than 5 words)
4. Why did the villagers call Peter “Peter the Guard”?(No more than 5 words)
9 . A woman came out of her house and saw three old men sitting in her front yard. She said, “I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat.”
“Is the man of the house home?” they asked. “No”, she replied, “He’s out.” “Then we cannot come in”, they replied.
In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened. “Go tell them I am home and invite them in!” The woman went out and invited the men in. “We do not go into a House together,” they replied. “Why is that?” she asked.
One of the old men explained that their names were Wealth, Success and Love. Then he added, “Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home.”
The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed and he suggested inviting Wealth to fill their home with wealth. And his wife wanted to invite Success; but their daughter-in-law suggested they should invite Love so that their home would be filled with love. At last the husband said to his wife. “Go out and invite Love to be our guest.”
The woman went out and asked the three old men, “Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest.”
Love got up and started walking toward the house.
The other two also got up and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: “I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?”
The old men replied together: “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would have stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!”
1. The best title for this passage would be ________.A.A Woman and Three Men | B.Wealth, Success and Love |
C.A Strange Thing Happened to a Woman | D.A Husband and his Wife |
A.she was a warm-hearted woman | B.they were her neighbours |
C.they asked her to do so | D.they were her friends |
A.The woman’s son. | B.The woman’s father. |
C.The woman’s son-in-law | D.The woman’s husband. |
A.The husband wishes to be rich. |
B.The wife wishes they would succeed. |
C.The daughter-in-law’s heart is filled with love. |
D.The daughter-in-law is cleverer than the husband and wife. |
A.The three old men are brothers and they can’t be separated. |
B.The husband will refuse them in. |
C.If a person has love, he will own everything. |
D.The wife will be scolded by the husband. |
69-year-old Xia Boyu recently became the oldest double amputee (双侧截肢者) to climb Mount Qomolangma. That is amazing, but even what is more impressive is the fact that he did it after he tried four times.
Xia Boyu’s first try to reach the top of Mount Qomolangma was in 1975, as part of an expedition (远征) by the Chinese Government. With only 250 meters to go from reaching the top, the team was stopped by bad weather. To make sure that everyone made it back alive, the team decided to turn back and finish their dream another time.
On the way, Xia Boyu gave his sleeping bag to one of his teammates who was in worse shape than him. Unluckily, this selfless act made him lose both his feet to frostbite (冻伤).
In 1996, Xia Boyu got cancer. But it also didn’t stop the mountain climber from realizing his dream of climbing the world’s highest peak. “Climbing Mount Qomolangma is my dream, ” Xia said. “I have to realize it. It also stands for a personal challenge, a challenge of fate. ”
Over twenty years after losing his feet, Xia Boyu trained to get his body ready for another try at climbing Mount Qomolangma. In 2014, he tried again, but finally had to turn back because of bad weather. The same thing happened the following year, as well as in 2016.
In 2018, Xia Boyu finally reached the top of Mount Qomolangma on his fifth try. He thus became only the second double amputee to climb the world’s highest mountain top, after Mark Inglis from New Zealand, who did it in 2006, and the first to do it from the Nepal (尼泊尔) side.
Answer the following questions with no more than 7 words.
1. How many times did Xia Boyu try to climb Mount Qomolangma?
2. Who is the first double amputee to climb the world’s highest mountain top?
3. When was Xia Boyu’s first try to reach the top of Mount Qomolangma?
4. Why did Xia Boyu give up trying while climbing Mount Qomolangma in 2014?
5. What happened to him after Xia Boyu gave his sleeping bag to his teammate?