1 . When I was in fourth grade, I worked part-time as a paperboy. Mrs. Stanley was one of my customers. She’d watch me coming down her street, and by the time I’d biked up to her doorstep, there’d be a cold drink waiting. I’d sit and drink while she talked.
Mrs. Stanley talked mostly about her dead husband, “Mr. Stanley and I went shopping this morning.” she’d say. The first time she said that, soda(汽水) went up my nose.
I told my father how Mrs. Stanley talked as if Mr. Stanley were still alive. Dad said she was probably lonely, and that I ought to sit and listen and nod my head and smile, and maybe she’d work it out of her system. So that’s what I did, and it turned out Dad was right. After a while she seemed content to leave her husband over at the cemetery(墓地).
I finally quit delivering newspapers and didn’t see Mrs. Stanley for several years. Then we crossed paths at a church fund-raiser(募捐活动). She was spooning mashed potatoes and looking happy. Four years before, she’d had to offer her paperboy a drink to have someone to talk with. Now she had friends. Her husband was gone, but life went on.
I live in the city now, and my paperboy is a lady named Edna with three kids. She asks me how I’m doing. When I don’t say “fine”, she sticks around to hear my problems. She’s lived in the city most of her life, but she knows about community. Community isn’t so much a place as it is a state of mind. You find it whenever people ask how you’re doing because they care, and not because they’re getting paid to do so. Sometimes it’s good to just smile, nod your head and listen.
1. Why did soda go up the author’s nose one time?| A．He was talking fast. | B．He was shocked. |
| C．He was in a hurry. | D．He was absent-minded. |
| A．He enjoyed the drink. | B．He wanted to be helpful. |
| C．He took the chance to rest. | D．He tried to please his dad. |
| A．recover from her sadness | B．move out of the neighborhood |
| C．turn to her old friends | D．speak out about her past |
| A．Open up to others. | B．Depend on each other. |
| C．Pay for other’s help | D．Care about one another. |
2 . I remember the day when I first learned to ride a bike. It was a frightening, yet fun experience. My granddad was the one who taught me and he helped me when I got hurt. The first time I got on a bike, I had no idea what I was doing, and just about everything went wrong. My granddad told me to just put my feet on the pedals and start pedaling (骑自行车). He also told me he would hold onto the back of the bike the whole time, yet he didn’t.
As soon as I started trying to balance myself, he let go. I happened to look back just then. I was scared, to death that I was going to fall and hurt myself. When I was scared, my mind went blank from pedaling, and I just wanted off. I forgot how to use the brakes (车闸) and fell right off the bike. My granddad kept encouraging me to get up and try again, and after about 15 minutes, 1 finally stopped crying, got up and tried again.
As soon as I started pedaling again, my pants got caught in the chain, and I fell flat on my face and hit my nose. Since that happened t my granddad decided to call it a day and try again the next morning. The next morning I woke up bright and early, and was very eager to try to ride my bike. My nose felt better, so I wasn’t that afraid of falling anymore.
Though I knew there were a lot of difficulties on the way to mastering the skills in riding a bike, I believed I could do well with my granddad’s help. After all, riding a bike was what I wanted to do eagerly.
1. How was the author when he was on the bike first?| A．He didn’t know where he would be going. |
| B．He thought balancing himself was easy. |
| C．He was nervous and didn’t know what to do next. |
| D．He put his feet on the pedals and started pedaling. |
| A．Remember what happened this day. |
| B．Make the author feel happy. |
| C．Stop practicing bicycling. |
| D．Go on to ride a bike. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Grateful. |
| C．Indifferent. | D．Negative. |
| A．The Experience of My First Riding a Bike |
| B．The Difficulty I Met with My Granddad |
| C．The First Time I Got My Own Bike |
| D．The Great Moment When I Stayed with My Granddad |
3 . Recently，as I watched my son Nathan play basketball for his high school team，I was starting to feel sorry for myself and for him．His team was facing adversity（逆境）on the court and he was playing in a hostile environment-it was the opponent's home gym filled with their supporters，and Nathan's team was trailing（落后）for three quarters of the game．As for me，I had been dismissed from my job earlier in the day．
During my drive home，I kept telling myself that I will find work again in a short time-I am confident in my experience and abilities．This is the same belief that I tried to instill in my son．
The basketball game entered the fourth quarter with Nathan's team still trailing．I saw the determination on his，as well as his teammates'faces as they fought back to not only tie the game（平局），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 proceeded to make the basket with a defender hanging all over him．The other player was called for a foul（犯规）．
As Nathan stood at the foul line preparing for a shot that would put his team up by three points，I saw the focus and determination on his face，there was no room for self doubt．Nathan was able to tune out all the distractions and nail the free throw with such skill，it was as if he had done it a thousand times．
As I sat there，my heart bursting with pride，it dawned on me．I had taught him perseverance 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. What did the author estimate his son's team would be like at first？ ______| A．The team would lose at home court． |
| B．The team would finally win． |
| C．The team would win the championship． |
| D．The team would lose at visiting court． |
| A．Self-doubting and pessimistic． |
| B．Self-confident and optimistic． |
| C．Hardworking and intelligent． |
| D．Easy-going and warmhearted． |
| A．Avoid | B．Focus． |
| C．Create | D．Receive． |
| A．Life Goes Just Like Playing Basketball． |
| B．It Matters Whether to Win or Lose． |
| C．A Lesson in Life and Basketball． |
| D．Father And Son in Life． |
4 . More than 30 years ago, there was a well-known boxer named Eugene Hart. Hart was heavily favored to win his next round against an ungifted boxer, Antuofermo. It was said that the only thing that Antuofermo could do was “he bled well". However, here was an important thing. He had good qualities that you couldn't see.
During the fight, Hart controlled Antuofermo, knocking him down and giving him a good beating. Antuofermo absorbed the punishment that was dealt to him by his naturally superior opponent, and he did it so well that Hart became discouraged. In the fifth round, Hart began to tire, not physically but mentally. Taking advantage of the situation, Antuofermo attacked and knocked Hart down, thus ending the fight.
When the fighters went back to their temporary restrooms, only a thin curtain was between them. Hart's room was quiet, but on the other side he could hear Antuofermo's coach talking about who would take the fighter to the hospital. Finally he heard Antuofermo saying, "Every time he hit me with that left hook （左勾拳）to the body, I thought I was going to quit. After the second round, I thought if he hit me there again, I'd quit. I thought the same thing after the fourth round. But he stopped hitting me there."
At that moment, Hart began to weep. He was crying because for the first time he under- stood that Antuofermo had felt the same way he had and even worse. And the only thing that distinguished the guy who was talking from the guy who was crying was perseverance （毅力）. The coward （懦夫）and the hero had the same emotions. They're both humans.
The important question to ask yourself here is this： How does each man respond to the tough situation that they are experiencing? Maybe you are in a tough position right now or, if not, one might be coming. How will you react? Like a hero or a coward?
1. What can we learn from paragraph 1?| A．Hart was an ordinary boxer. |
| B．Antuofermo was hardly defeated. |
| C．Hart was believed to win the game. |
| D．Antuofermo was gifted in boxing. |
| A．He trained hard before the fight. |
| B．Hart became discouraged by his coach. |
| C．He was confident about his boxing talent and power. |
| D．He dealt with the punishment properly and grasped the chance. |
| A．He realized he was just mentally defeated. |
| B．He was hurt and sent to a hospital. |
| C．He lost the game easily. |
| D．He was considered to be a coward. |
| A．Hard-work and honesty. | B．Humor and intelligence. |
| C．Perseverance and determination. | D．Enthusiasm and responsibility. |
5 . Remember Vitainwater’s “free of rolling screen for a year” challenge that dared people to be free from smart phones for a whole year will win $ 100,000? Well, Elana Mugdan, a New York woman, has been into it for eight months, and just four months away from claiming grand prize.
Vitaminwater made news headlines last December when it announced its unique challenge. Thousands of people applied to be chosen as the perfect candidate to spend a year without touching their smart phones, but in the end, the only person who got to try and survive for an entire year without a handheld smart phone was Elana Mugdan, a 29-year-old fiction writer from Queens, New York. Eight months into the challenge, she claims it has been a free and eye-opening experience that shows her just how dependent she becomes on her smart phone. Even though there are times when she misses her handheld smart phone, she plans to go on living without it even after the challenge ends, because she really doesn’t want to go back to days when she abused it, wasted time, stayed up all hours of the night on it, and was obsessed with social media.
But not having access to her smart phone really made certain situations a lot harder than she could have imagined them before. “Many people did me a favor. However, once, I almost got stranded (滞留) in the SeaTac airport because the phone number I’d written down was wrong, and I had no way of referring to the right one, no way of calling a cab, and no one in the state who could help me,” the young writer said.
Another time, her car’s “check engine” light turned on while she was driving in an unfamiliar area at night. She couldn’t use her phone’s GPS location feature, r even check what the light meant on Google or find a nearby car repair shop. Still, she learned to overcome these situations. And now she claims the last eight months of phone-free life have been one of the best adventures of her life and that she’ll keep it for another four months.
1. What’s the challenge “free of rolling screen for a year”?| A．People free from smart phones can live a richer life. |
| B．People living a telephone-free life can be awarded every year. |
| C．People living without computers for a year will win grand prize. |
| D．People spending a year free from smart phones will get a reward. |
| A．satisfied with | B．accustomed to |
| C．addicted to | D．popular with |
| A．It’s fantastic to have someone to help her all the way. |
| B．It’s unimaginable to lose her phone number on the way. |
| C．It’s unnecessary to refer to information with a smart phone. |
| D．It’s difficult to get out of the trouble without a smart phone. |
| A．She couldn’t live without a smart phone. |
| B．She finds no one can help her in the adventure. |
| C．She has not won the grand $ 100,000 prize yet. |
| D．She used to use her smart phone to write fiction. |
6 . I have a neighbour we call “Happy”．I have never seen her angry at anything and never heard her say a harsh (苛刻的) word to anyone or about anyone.
Happy and her husband Ben, 70，have a huge garden. They spent many happy hours together working on it. Most of the neighbours watched interestingly as Ben doubled the size of their garden. As the cost of food climbed faster than Ben’s beans，we all wished we also had such a large garden. As the rest of us spent our dollars at the market，Happy could be seen picking beans in her back yard.
Last month，Happy and Ben invited most of the neighbourhood over for an “all-day food fest”．We were told to bring gloves and arrive very early in the morning. We didn’t know what was about to take place.
By 9：00 am，there were nine of us in the garden picking tomatoes，beans，okra and squash. By 10：00 am，there was lots of laughter. We shared a lot of stories. By five o'clock，everyone was a little drunk from the wine and beer. After dinner，we played games. As we were leaving，Happy and Ben handed each of us a shopping bag filled with the bounty (收成) of the day，already packaged and frozen. What a delightful gift!
Well，the point wasn’t so much about the food. The true gift was a day of friends enjoying one another’s company. None of it would have happened if it had not been for Happy and Ben’s garden. Now they have a blog about gardening in case we decide to plant a garden. And I am so proud of my tomato plants!
1. We can infer that Happy and her husband Ben .| A．are a generous and warmhearted couple |
| B．sometimes quarrel with each other |
| C．live on the food they grow in their garden |
| D．don’t like spending time with others |
| A．they didn’t have to spend so much money on food |
| B．they could grow vegetables and sell them at the market |
| C．they could invite their neighbours and hold parties in it |
| D．they could spend happy time together with their family in it |
| A．To ask them to attend a birthday party. |
| B．To help them get to know each other. |
| C．To let them enjoy what they grew in the garden. |
| D．To ask them to share some interesting stories. |
| A．The writer used to have a big garden. |
| B．The writer didn’t like the food he received. |
| C．It was the first time for the writer to stay with so many people. |
| D．The writer has also started to grow vegetables. |
7 . Macinley Butson was just 16 years old when she first had the idea to try and protect women from more — than — necessary radiation during breast cancer treatments—and now, her invention could be a game-changer in the medical field.
Butson, whose father works in medical physics, has always been interested in science. But she only began researching the harmful side effects of radiation treatment after her father discussed his experience with ineffective cancer treatments in his work. Since Butson had also recently lost a relative to breast cancer, she felt inspired to conduct her own research on the subject. She tried to begin her medical research by consulting scientific journals, but she found their academic terms almost impossible to understand.
She then turned to the Internet to find videos that taught how to read scientific journals. As she went deeper in her research, she stumbled upon a key bit of information: copper （铜）has been shown to be effective at protecting skin from radiation. An idea hit this Australian teen as she was viewing a film on medieval wars in her 10th grade history class. When she saw the scaled （鳞片） patterns of the mail （盔甲）,she was inspired to create a wearable protective tool out of copper. She then headed back online and watched videos on how to put together tiny scales. She made her own flexible scale-mail which she now calls SMART: Scale Mail for Radiation Therapy.
When her invention was tested in a laboratory setting, it reduced surface exposure to unnecessary radiation by 75%. And now Butson is working on getting her SMART into clinical settings for use.
1. Why did Macinley Butson start her research?| A．To assist her father with his work. | B．To save her relative from cancer. |
| C．To publish some articles in journals. | D．To find effective ways to treat cancer. |
| A．Came across. | B．Missed. |
| C．Passed on. | D．Required. |
| A．Videos online. | B．Scientific journals. |
| C．History textbooks. | D．Soldiers defensive clothes. |
| A．Stubborn. | B．Creative. |
| C．Selfless. | D．Considerate. |
8 . As I drove along the road, small car flew across the center divider from the opposite direction and crashed into my car head-on. I fell unconscious and was awakened by the ringing of my mobile phone.
I was brought to Kuala Lumpur General Hospital bleeding on from my nose, mouth and legs. But the hospital staff was too busy to attend to me, so I called a friend to tell him about the accident. Some friends arrived very soon and sent me to a private hospital nearby. I saw my injured feet hanging from my body, blue and lifeless, and I begged the doctors to save them at all cost. They calmly promised to do their best.
The doctors made it. After I was discharged, I was given ten months medical leave. My heart sank, knowing that it meant I, a big man, couldn't work. How was I going to support my 65-year-old mother and other family members? I felt completely helpless, but a la of unexpected blessings came my way. When I was recovering at home, friends and relatives helped me with my banking, insurance or simply came to cheer me up.
When the casts（石膏）were removed, I did not let the sight of my weak legs discourage me. I worked hard at my physiotherapy（物理疗法）with only one aim. After eight months, I was walking without the aid of a walking stick. Oh February the following year, I returned to my job again. Today, after eight years, I have travelled to many counties as a tour leader.
The accident makes me realize how lives can change in a second. I value life more, not only of my own but also of everyone I know, and I will always try to help when I know of someone in trouble.
1. What made the author come back to life in the traffic accident?| A．Someone made a call to him. |
| B．A car crashed into his ear head-on. |
| C．One of his friends gave him first aid. |
| D．His mobile phone was out of order suddenly. |
| A．Was inspired. | B．Got injured. |
| C．Was discovered. | D．Left hospital. |
| A．He is honest and strong. | B．He is learned and intelligent. |
| C．He is optimistic and determined. | D．He is discouraged and desperate. |
| A．Life is very precious to people. | B．It's a hard job to be a tour guide. |
| C．Many people are in trouble in life. | D．It's a must for someone to help others. |
On the last day of one voyage, the ship was in a small port. It was winter time, and the sea was very cold, so the captain said to his sailors, "If one of you stays in the water during the whole night, I will give him my ship. But if he comes out before the sun appears, I shall get his wages."
The sailors had heard about the captain's cheating, so they didn't trust him. But then one of them, who thought that he was cleverer than the captain, said that he would do it. He got into the water, and, though it was very cold, he stayed in it. When it was nearly morning, some fishermen lit a fire on the shore about half a mile away.
"You are cheating," the captain said to the sailor. "The fire's warming you."
"But it's half a mile away!" said the sailor.
"A fire's fire," answered the captain. "I have won."
The sailor came out of the water, and said, "Perhaps you think that you are clever because you have won my wages, but you can't cook a chicken."
"I can," answered the captain.
"If you cook this chicken," said the sailor, "I shall work for you without wages for seven years, but if you can't, you will give me your ship."
The captain agreed, took the chicken and said, "Where's the fire?"
"There it is," answered the sailor. "On the shore."
"But it's half a mile away," said the captain angrily.
"A fire's fire,' you said," answered the sailor. "If it is enough to warm me in the water, it is enough to cook your chicken."
1. The captain got the sailors' wages ________.
| A．to buy a chicken for himself |
| B．and kept the money for future use |
| C．by cheating him |
| D．and said he would return the money soon |
| A．All the sailors refused to get into the water because it was too cold. |
| B．The captain knew that the fire the fishermen made was enough to warm the sailor in the water. |
| C．The captain succeeded in cheating the sailor. |
| D．It was the sailor who was cleverer. |
| A．didn't want to lose the bet |
| B．didn't believe the sailor's success |
| C．wanted to keep his promise |
| D．wanted to show his cleverness |
| A．The sailors didn't trust the captain. |
| B．In order to help the sailor in the water, the fishermen made a fire. |
| C．The captain failed to cheat the sailor this time. |
| D．The sailor didn't get out of the water before the sun appeared. |
| A．How a Captain Cheated His Sailor |
| B．How a Sailor Got a Ship |
| C．A Brave Sailor |
| D．A Fire Is Fire |
10 . When school started on that warm August day, I threw myself into everything I did, including playing volleyball. I decided to become beautiful, or at the very least, skinny. I stopped eating completely. Soon I began losing weight, which thrilled me, and I even grew to love the tiredness and lightheadedness (头晕) that came with my poor diet, for those feelings meant that I was winning.
As the season progressed, things had become tense between my head volleyball coach, Coach Smith, and me. She felt that something was wrong with my health. She talked with me about my eating and was angry that I wouldn’t listen to her when she tried to make me eat. I was angry and hurt and she was suspicious (怀疑的) and worried. We fought constantly. Then my malnourishment (营养不良) started to affect my performance. I was so tired that practice and games were becoming a struggle. One afternoon, with hurt in her eyes, Coach Smith asked me what I had eaten and I told her nothing yet. She looked at me, disappointment in her eyes, knowing she couldn’t make me stop, and walked away.
A couple of weeks later I attended the volleyball dinner for our volleyball team. I stood there as my coach managed to say something nice about me. I realized then that I had ruined my senior year by being disrespectful, and I had probably ruined hers as well. So that evening I wrote her a letter apologizing and thanking her.
Then one Saturday, as I was reading in the library, I felt someone gently take my arm and say softly, “Lynn Jones, how are you doing?” I looked up and saw the familiar face. “Thanks for the letter,” she said. “It meant a lot.”
When I think of a coach, I think of someone above me, someone who gives instruction-not a friend. But Coach Smith is different, and, like any other good friend, she dealt with my problem in a determined way even when I hated her for it at that time. I didn’t deserve her kindness, but she gave it anyway. I will forever be grateful for her help, and now for her friendship.
1. How did the author feel after she started losing weight?| A．Stupid. | B．Satisfied. | C．Funny. | D．Nervous. |
| A．She refused to go on a diet. | B．She caused her team to lose. |
| C．She changed the training schedule. | D．She refused to eat properly. |
| A．She felt sorry for what she did. |
| B．She felt sorry for eating too little food. |
| C．She decided to improve her performance. |
| D．She wanted to build a close relationship with Coach Smith. |
| A．Unexpected Friendship | B．A Fight with My Coach |
| C．A Strict Volleyball Coach | D．My Way of Losing Weight |
