1 . Michael Ha has a better understanding of the sentence “Where there is a will,there is a way.” Now he is 22 years old and has become an example of young people because of his story of success.
Michael Ha was born in a very poor family.His parents worked in Vietnam before they moved to Britain in 1980.They couldn’t find jobs in Britain because they spoke little English.The whole family had to live on benefits (救济金) and they lived in a small house in Hackney,a poor area in East London.Growing up is not easy for Michael,but he never gave up.
At the age of ten, he set his heart on going to Cambridge University. It was not easy, either. Michael studied at a school, which used to be called “the worst school in Britain”. However,young Michael made up his mind to try his best,no matter what kind of school he was studying at.
The smart boy studied very hard and did well in every subject at school.Once he made a bet(打赌) with his friend to learn further math.As a result,after just spending four months teaching himself from a textbook,he got an A in further math.
Now Michael is the star medical student in John’s College, Cambridge and has just won an award for his excellent grades. He hopes he will be an example for other young people from poor family.
1. What do we know about Michael Ha’s family according to the passage？| A．They lived in a poor area without any help. |
| B．They made a living with the help of the government in Vietnam. |
| C．Michael Ha’s parents had no jobs because of their little experience. |
| D．His family was very poor and lived on benefits. |
| A．He won an award in his middle school because of hard work. |
| B．Though very young, he decided to go to Cambridge University. |
| C．He was good at making bets with other students. |
| D．His best subjects in school were maths and history. |
| A．English. | B．Geography. |
| C．Medicine. | D．History. |
| A．How to deal with the difficulties |
| B．How to become a good student |
| C．From a poor area to Britain |
| D．From “the worst school” to Cambridge University |
2 . In her 17 years on this earth, Shreyaa Venkat has done more to help the planet and the people living on it than many adults. The non-profit organization she founded, NEST4US, has helped tens of thousands of people in the United States. Through it, it’s served over 12,000 homeless people in the Washington, D.C. area by providing food and other supplies.
Venkat’s passion for helping others started as soon as she could walk, as her parents, active volunteers themselves, brought her along on their various projects, like some creative ways to volunteer. By fifth grade, she’d developed such enthusiasm for it that she started organizing her own service projects in her community.
NEST4US was born when she realized how much food waste there is, how many hungry people there are, and how simple it would be to use the former to help the latter. “There was a homeless man standing on a corner in D.C. and he was holding a sign that said ‘Hungry Need Food’,” she recalls. “So I gave him my lunch and his whole face just lit up. It was so easy, it only took me 30 seconds, and it really helped him.”
As NEST4US took off, with hundreds of volunteers helping to feed thousands of hungry people, Venkat decided to branch out with her volunteer efforts, starting three other branches of NEST4US. Serving others had become such a way of life for her that she even celebrated her 13th birthday at a homeless shelter, bringing the party to them instead of expecting gifts for herself.
As much as she has helped others, they’ve helped her too. Not only does she get a lot of joy and personal satisfaction from her volunteer work but running NEST4US has taught her important life skills like time management, public speaking, writing, and leadership. “What it’s really given me is this opinion of putting other people first,” she says.
1. What can we infer about NEST4US from the first paragraph?| A．Its main aim is to make money. | B．It offers people cheap supplies. |
| C．It takes in all homeless people. | D．It is a charity organization. |
| A．Her parents’ constant suggestion. | B．The memory of her hard childhood. |
| C．Her experience of helping a hungry man. | D．Volunteers’ great influence on her. |
| A．She held a grand party for many people. |
| B．She could receive many nice gifts there. |
| C．She got much personal satisfaction from it. |
| D．She saw helping others as part of her life. |
| A．Caring. | B．Ambitious. |
| C．Humorous. | D．Demanding. |
3 . When I stepped out of Heathrow Airport, the British accents were music to my ears! The roads were so empty and traffic was so organized, with open spaces everywhere and so few people on the streets—what a difference from where 1 came—Mumbai. The difference was even more obvious after I had spent 21 years of my life living in that place. The streets were unfamiliar, and the faces were all foreign.
I boarded my bus for my university town. I felt like I had been in a fairytale book—the small houses, the quiet streets and the well-dressed people among other things. A small and beautiful three-storeyed building is quite a rarity back home and here, I have yet to see a building taller than that! Back home in India, the kind of rent I pay here could have afforded me a luxurious(豪华的） 2 bedroom-hall-kitchen apartment in a good location. But my accommodation here is the size of my bathroom back home! It’s just a fact... reality can be rude at times!
I really cherish the first day of my new university. I’ve met so many students from countries that I didn’t even know. But living alone in a new place, away from the protection of my family and friends, is a different experience altogether—a wonderful experience of further education!
It's been almost two months now. The novelty(新奇)is gradually disappearing, and the dust is settling down. It’s all just daily now but I feel fully settled. I really like this place. It feels like home!
1. What does the underlined part “that place” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Heathrow Airport. | B．Britain. |
| C．Mumbai. | D．A university of India. |
| A．Dirty and noisy. | B．Different but poor. |
| C．Hopeful and inspiring. | D．Strange but beautiful. |
| A．An international student. | B．A tourist from India. |
| C．A British college teacher. | D．An unknown writer. |
| A．The author is less interested in everything because of dust. |
| B．The author still feels curious about everything around. |
| C．The author has been used to the new environment. |
| D．The author feels like going home after nearly two months. |
4 . After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a special student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me, and it would mean a great deal to him. I agreed.
During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew. He had muscular dystrophy(肌肉萎缩症). When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to see five, then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles and going for my dreams.
I spent over one hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain or ask, “Why me?” He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about. He didn’t mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weight with me.
When we finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”
Last summer I received a letter from Matthew’s parents telling me that Matthew had passed away. They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before:
Dear Rick,
My mom said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. I also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live anymore. But I still smile as much as I can.
I told you someday I was going to the Olympics and win a gold medal. But I know now I will never get to do that. But I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you. Thank you for loving me.
Yours,
Matthew
1. The boy wanted to meet the author because _______.| A．he was interested in weight lifting | B．he wanted to get a gold medal |
| C．he admired the author very much | D．he wanted the author to know him |
| A．Why do you come to see me? | B．Why do I have to stay at home? |
| C．Why does the disease fall on me | D．Why not give a gold medal to me |
| A．Matthew is a determined boy | B．Rick used to have the same disease |
| C．Matthew became a champion finally | D．Rick regarded Matthew as normal |
| A．he was not worthy of it | B．he would not be pitied by others |
| C．he knew he would die soon | D．he thought he himself could earn one in the future |
阅读短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
One day, a poor man, who had only one piece of bread to eat, was walking past a restaurant. There was a large pot of soup on the table. The poor man held his bread over the soup, so the steam from the soup went into the bread, and gave it a good smell. Then he ate the bread.
The restaurant owner was very angry at this, and he asked the man for money, in exchange for the steam from the soup. The poor man had no money, so the restaurant owner took him to Nasreddin, who was a judge at that time. Nasreddin thought about the case for a little while.
Then he took some money from his pocket. He held the coins next to the restaurant owner’s ear, and shook them, so that they made a dingling (叮当声) noise.
“What was that?” asked the restaurant owner.
“That was payment for you,” answered Nasreddin.
“What do you mean? That was just the sound of coins!” said angrily the restaurant owner.
“The sound of the coin is payment for the smell of the soup,” answered Nasreddin. “Now go back to your restaurant.”
1. The poor man held his bread over the soup to _______.
| A．make it heated |
| B．warm his cold hands |
| C．avoid paying the restaurant owner |
| D．make it smell and taste a little better |
| A．To make the poor man relaxed. |
| B．To pay for the smell of the soup. |
| C．To make the restaurant owner happy. |
| D．To show that he was a rich person. |
| A．was worthless | B．should be paid |
| C．was pleasant | D．could be sold |
| A．show the bad restaurant owner |
| B．describe the poor’s unhappy life |
| C．show Nasreddin’s cleverness and humor |
| D．prove the value of the sound of coins |
I waited until it was my turn, walked up to the desk and started talking to the bank clerk．He had a really strange expression on his face—just sort of a blank stare．I thought he was looking at me until I realized he was staring over my shoulder．
I began to turn round to see what he was looking at and at the same moment, the outside bank guard, the one with the machine gun, came flying through the door and lay face down on the floor．Following him through the door were three absolutely frightening men wearing those horrible stocking masks．They were carrying guns; at least the one in front was carrying a pistol．
Whether or not they said anything I can’t remember to this day, or whether people just automatically put their hands up I don’t know．I put my hands up but I just didn’t know what to do．For a few moments there was just total silence, suddenly broken by the telephone ringing．I remember wondering who was on the other end of the line．Nobody answered the telephone, so it just kept on ringing and ringing, in this otherwise deathly quiet．
Then two of the masked men went to the counter, jumped over it and got the cashiers and bank clerks to start filling their bags with cash．While the two were getting the money, the one at the door covering us with the gun obviously got a bit of an anxiety attack and started swearing at them, telling them to hurry up and get a move on．
They jumped back over the counter．One of them lost his balance when he landed on the floor and fell over．The other two swore at him again．Then they left through the door, warning us, “Don’t move．Stay like that with your hands up for ten minutes．” Then they just disappeared and there was total silence．
1. What could make the writer sense that something was about to happen?
| A．The small number of customers． |
| B．The total silence in the bank． |
| C．The bank clerk’s unusual behavior． |
| D．The constant ringing of the phone． |
| A．He was frightened to death by the robbers． |
| B．He organized the bank clerks to fight back． |
| C．He shot at the robbers with the machine gun． |
| D．He flew through the door to catch the robbers． |
| A．he was afraid of getting less money |
| B．he was too anxious to leave the bank |
| C．one of his fellows slipped on the floor |
| D．the phone kept ringing at the moment |
| A．there were usually less customers in the midday hour |
| B．the writer didn’t follow like sheep to put his hands up |
| C．the bank clerks were too busy to answer the telephone |
| D．three armed men robbed the central bank in broad daylight |
