1 . Whenever a new person walks through the gates of the Science of Spirituality Meditation (冥想) and Ecology Centre in Richmond, one often hears the words, “I never knew such a place existed. It’s so peaceful and the gardens are so beautiful.”
In 2005, this centre was an old school, with a history going back to 1904. Rabbits had damaged the foundations (地基) and rats ran along littered hallways. The traffic roaring along Steveston Highway was hardly beneficial to meditation, and fresh air! Neither did we have sufficient funds at the time to carry out a purchase. But there was hope, wild hope! We had a vision. We could make it a reality.
Our group was inspired to take this step under the loving guidance of Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj, a living Master in an ancient family of spiritual experts. Despite the small size of our local charity, we took chances to purchase this place that spoke to us at some very deep level. Generous donations and effort flowed in from members at exactly the right time. Thus, we could begin the physical origins of the SOS Meditation and Ecology Centre.
And to create it took a great deal of sweat efforts. Gardens were dug and planted by volunteers. Brothers and sisters worked together. Over the following years, beautiful gardens were established and every inch of the old building and roof took on a new look.
From a wishful dream and a loving handful, this special place, with its green gardens, became a reality. The Centre has become a sign of light and love in a materialistic society, where seekers find peace, joy, help in meditation, friendship and an opportunity to grow spiritually.
1. What can we infer from paragraph 2?| A．The founders intended to give up the center at the beginning. |
| B．The founders had sufficient funds to carry out the project. |
| C．The centre was not originally suited for meditation. |
| D．The centre was a school with good environment. |
| A．With the help of the old school. |
| B．With the contributions of generous people. |
| C．With the funds donated by a spiritual expert. |
| D．With the local government’s financial support. |
| A．Rude. | B．Distant. | C．Conventional. | D．Selfless. |
| A．To introduce an old school to readers. |
| B．To tell the story about the construction of the centre. |
| C．To call for people to meditate. |
| D．To explain the influence of meditation on average people. |
2 . With about 1,000-meter-high steep cliffs (陡峭的悬崖) around, there Xiazhuang, Chongqing had only one pathway out of the village, and it took villagers three days to walk to the main town. People there used to risk their lives going out of the mountain village. In the 40 years to 1997, 23 people had died from falling off the cliff while cutting firewood or travelling to the county seat, and 75 people had been injured or disabled while doing the same activities. Then, village head Mao Xianglin held a meeting in 1997 and suggested building a road snaking along the mountains, but almost no villager agreed because they had no money, no machines and no confidence to take on the tough project.
Later that year, around 100 people volunteered to do the work after Mao’s efforts. Workers from ropes and used hammers, drills and even explosives to create the road. Falling rocks and other dangers led to the deaths of six villagers. When they slept in caves (洞穴) at night, they tied a rope around their bodies with the other end tied to the root of an old tree to make sure they did not fall off the cliff.
“Mountains had isolated us from the outside for generations. We had to do something to ensure the next generation could go out of the mountains for a good life,” Mao said. When the 8-kilometer road was completed in 2004, it enabled many villagers to travel out and find work. Incomes increased as a result. Mao will retire in five years, planning to widen the current road and focus on ecotourism. “The spirit of the Xiazhuang people can’t be lost and has to be passed down from generation to generation,” he said.
1. What is Paragraph 1 mainly about?| A．The history of the village. | B．The development of the village. |
| C．The specific deaths in the building. | D．The reason for building the road. |
| A．It was a tough task. | B．It caused 100 deaths. |
| C．It was far from dangers. | D．It made workers sleep soundly. |
| A．Attracted. | B．Separated. |
| C．Contacted. | D．Gathered. |
| A．Frightened. | B．Determined. |
| C．Distant. | D．Curious. |
3 . Do you like running enough to make it a habit? Temey Wolfgram does; she has made running a lifelong career and isn’t stopping.
In February, the 16-year-old from Woodbury High School, Minnesota, US, competed at the 2020 US Olympic Trials. She finished the marathon (42,J95 km) with a tune of 2:42:47 as the youngest competitor in the race and ranked 76th out of 390 runners.
Then, in November, Wolfgram, who turned 17, broke the Women's American Junior marathon record with her time of 2:31:49. The old record was 2:34:32, which had stood since 1984. During the run, Wolfgram once hit a wall pretty hard, but she overcame it to finish. “I guess I can say I gave it my all,” she told Runner's World. “When I finished, all I was thinking was that I was super happy,” Wolfgram said.
This was only her third marathon. In 2018, when Wolfgram was 15 years old, she ran her first marathon just because she wanted to see if she was capable of doing it. “I believed that I would get faster as the distances got longer... and I'm still glad that I did it.”
When preparing for that first marathon, she ran up to 120 miles （about 190 kilometers） per week. Although her parents didn't have any background in running, they helped Wolfgram train. At first, her dad would take her out in the morning and run about 13 miles. The distance would gradually increase each day. On top of her runs in the morning, she would do cross-country practice after school.
Next, Wolfgram will think about attending the Olympic Games in 2024 after it's scheduled.
1. In which race has Wolfgram broken a record?| A．The 2020 US Olympic Trials. | B．The 2020 Women’s American Junior marathon. |
| C．Her first marathon in 2018. | D．The 2024 Olympic Games. |
| A．To knock one's head against a wall. | B．To be disappointed. |
| C．To go smoothly. | D．To be very tired. |
| A．Her coach's support. | B．Her parents, encouragement |
| C．Her desire to prove she could do it | D．Her hope to break the national record. |
| A．Outgoing. | B．Determined. | C．Honest | D．Smart. |
4 . Some of my earliest memories involve sitting with my dad in his study every night when he came home from the office. I'd watch as he put his personal items away：his watch, wallet, comb and car keys. Every night, he would smile, hand me the comb and say：" Help Daddy clean it, OK?" I'd excitedly turn the tap on, then brush the comb with a used toothbrush as hard as I could. Then I’d proudly return the comb to Dad. He would smile at me, and place it on top of his wallet.
About two years later, Dad left his sales job and started his own business. I started primary school. That was when things started to change. Dad's business wasn't doing so well, and our stable life started getting shaky. He didn't come home as much as he used to. And when he did come home, it was always late and I'd already be in bed. I started to get mad. Why didn't he listen to Mum and just stick to his old job? Over the years, I stopped waiting for him to come home.
Now 28, I've graduated from college and got a job. Dad's business has also started to get back on track. Yet the uncomfortable silence between Dad and me persisted.
Yesterday, Dad came home early. As usual, I helped him carry his bags into his study. When I turned to leave ,he said ：" Hey, would you like to help me clean my comb?" I looked at him a while, then took the comb. After cleaning, I passed it back to Dad. He looked at it and smiled. But this time, I noticed something different. My dad has aged. He has wrinkles next to his eyes, yet his smile is still as heartwarming as before, the smile of a father who just wants a good life for his family. Dad carefully placed his comb on top of his wallet. After so many years,I guess some things never change. And for that, I'm glad.
1. What was the author asked to do by the father when young?| A．Brushing his comb. | B．Cleaning his toothbrush. |
| C．Chatting with him in his study. | D．Greeting him at the door. |
| A．He was laid off by his former company. |
| B．He desired to struggle for a big fortunate. |
| C．He wanted to fulfill a good life for his family. |
| D．He followed his wife's advice and tried new. |
| A．The father's new business wasn't going so smoothly. |
| B．The father came home rarely or very late. |
| C．The tough primary school and little time with the dad. |
| D．The misunderstanding of the author and less communication between them. |
| A．Generous and humorous. | B．Modest and conventional. |
| C．Struggling and devoted. | D．Ambitious and strict. |
5 . When most high school students complain about having to wake up extra early，they're usually referring to a swim practice before class or the last minute study before a test. But that was never the case for Corey Patrick，who woke up at 4：30 every morning last year in order to arrive on time at Tarrant High School in Alabama.
Patrick had attended Tarrant City Schools since his fourth grade，but things got difficult when his family moved to a town 14 miles away. Even though his family didn't have any forms of transportation，Patrick didn't want to miss out on his senior year with friends，so he woke up at 4：30 every morning in order to make it to a 5：41 a．m.bus that would help him get to Tarrant on time.And just as he had done every other school day of the year，Patrick got up one morning to start the journey from his home to his high school; the only obvious difference that morning was that he was wearing his graduation gown (毕业礼服)，which made that day's bus driver，DeJuanna Beasley, take some photos of him. She then shared them online with these words，“You tell me this isn't determination.He got on my bus to go to his graduation，and no one was with him.Sometimes it's all in what you want out of life.I was so proud of this young man.”
That was soon shared by many people online，and it caught the attention of radio host Rickey Smiley，who surprised Patrick by giving him a car later. Smiley confirmed that he would make sure that Patrick received help with getting his driver's license. A GoFundMe was also created for Patrick，which has raised over $20,000. And Patrick has got a scholarship (奖学金) to Jacksonville University，where he plans to study computer science.
1. Why was Patrick different from most students when it comes to rising early?| A．It had something to do with study. |
| B．It was a part of daily life for him. |
| C．He was unwilling to get up early. |
| D．He spent more time in studying. |
| A．Patrick dressed poorly on his graduation day. |
| B．It took Patrick an hour to get to the bus stop. |
| C．The driver was moved by Patrick's story. |
| D．There was no school in Patrick's town. |
| A．Patrick's request for help on the Internet. |
| B．The difficulties that Patrick experienced. |
| C．The information about Patrick's university. |
| D．The message published online by the driver. |
| A．GoFundMe. | B．Rickey Smiley. |
| C．Patrick's high school. | D．Jacksonville University. |
6 . For some years，my mother worked for a charity as President and Secretary.Selling raffle tickets(兑奖券) was her main means of bringing in the charity’s muchneeded funds.We girls would accompany her，selling tickets with great success.My father made and donated beautiful wooden toys，jewellery boxes and other lovely items as prizes.
Now my sister was always coming up with “good ideas”，most of which didn’t work out to plan.But that didn’t deter her.She had many just waiting to be tested.When she was eight and I was just five，we had a wonderful idea for a business adventure.We decided we would sell raffle tickets for charity，and that charity was us!
So one afternoon，we told our mother we were going to play in the park with our cousins as we did most days after school.But instead，we walked around the streets armed with a raffle book，a pen and a large cloth bag to carry the money.
We’d accompanied our mother many times when she sold tickets，so people were familiar with us when we appeared at their doors.Despite the blank looks they received when asking about the prizes on offer，they were very generous.Although there were no actual prizes，our mother’s previous track record enabled us to sell nearly the whole book of raffle tickets.
Like a little pair of lottery(彩票) winners，we walked home and proudly showed off our takings.But our enjoyment of this sudden wealth was shortlived，and our plans for spending it quickly failed.Our angry mother took us back to every ticket buyer，making us apologise and give the money back.Thankfully，our sweet neighbours didn’t make a big deal of our “clever” misbehavior and thus my mother’s
fundraising career could continue safely.We were taught a good lesson by our mother that day.Also I remember my sister’s entrepreneurial(企业家的) spirit dried up a bit after that.
1. What did the author’s father do?
| A．He got prizes ready. | B．He sold handmade items. |
| C．He was in charge of a charity. | D．He helped design raffle tickets. |
| A．Embarrass. | B．Shock. |
| C．Discourage. | D．Mislead. |
| A．They ran into their mother. |
| B．They met some generous strangers. |
| C．They got lost while walking around the streets. |
| D．They took advantage of people’s trust in their mother. |
| A．Honesty is the best policy. | B．What’s done can’t be undone. |
| C．Misfortune never comes alone. | D．Good advice is beyond all price. |
