1 . 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. |
2 . At first glance Esther Okade seems like a normal 10-year-old. She loves dressing up as Elsa from “Frozen”, playing with Barbie dolls and going to the park or shopping. But what makes the British-Nigerian youngster stand out is the fact that she’s also a university student.
Esther, from Walsall, an industrial town in the UK’s West Midlands region, is one of the country’s youngest college freshmen. The talented 10-year-old enrolled at the Open University in January and is already top of the class, having recently scored 100% in an exam.
“It’s so interesting and super easy,” she laughs. “My mum taught me in a nice way.” She adds: “I want to finish the course in two years. Then I’m going to do my PhD in financial maths when I’m 13. I want to have my own bank by the time I’m 15 because I like numbers and I like people and banking is a great way to help people.”
And in case people think her parents have pushed her into starting university early, Esther disagrees. “I actually wanted to start when I was seven. But my mum didn’t agree.” After three years of begging, Mother Efe finally agreed to explore the idea.
Esther has always jumped ahead of her peers. Her mother noticed her daughter’s gift for figures shortly after she began homeschooling her at the age of three. Initially, Esther’s parents had enrolled her in a private school but after a few short weeks, the usually-energetic youngster refused to go back to that school because the teachers didn’t let her talk in class. In the UK, education is not compulsory until five, so Efe started to do little things at home by teaching basic number skills but Esther was miles ahead. By four, her natural talent for maths had seen the eager student move on to algebra (代数学) and quadratic equations (二次方程式).
And Esther isn’t the only maths miracle in the family. Her younger brother Isaiah, 6, will soon be sitting his first A-level exam in June.
1. Which of the following makes Esther Okade different from her normal peers?| A．She is the youngest college student in the UK. |
| B．She goes to university at a much earlier age. |
| C．She often gets full marks in maths exams. |
| D．She loves acting as a university student. |
| A．Esther thinks her parents expect too much of her |
| B．Esther cannot adapt herself well to college life |
| C．Esther asked to go to university even earlier |
| D．Esther dislikes being taught at home |
| A．The gene from her family. | B．Her course in the university. |
| C．The criticism from her teachers. | D．Her mother’s homeschooling. |
| A．is ambitious and has a clear goal | B．is creative and loves exploring the unknown |
| C．is rebellious but ready to help others | D．is energetic but reluctant to challenge herself |
I've noticed that conversations with my children have stalled to turn into something that I don't like. It could be my fault. I don't always think before 1 open my mouth. For example, my kids would call me to tell me about something that's been bothering them. Then, as soon as they're finished, I go into mom mode. I can't help it. It's my de — fault setting(默认设置).
"You should ..." "You need to consider ...'"Have you thought of..." "If I were you, I'd ...
“Mom!”
The tone is foil of frustration and annoyance. The meaning is obvious—"Stop!”
I am the queen of unwanted advice. When I get one of my adult kids on the phone, I become an expert on everything and anything, which I'm obviously not. I want to be part of their lives. More importantly. I want to prevent them from making mistakes that seem so obvious to me.
I'm hardly alone in this. Over lunch the other day, a friend told me that her son rarely listened to anything she said. "It's like talking to a wall," she added. I know that feeling all too well. But I'm learning, very slowly, that talking at is not the same as talking with.
Giving advice to children can be full of problems. Though we may see ourselves sharing the wisdom of our years, they see something else. They see a controlling parent who hasn't accepted the fact that they're adults with their own thoughts and feelings.
They're not looking for any smart recipe because they have their own system and don't need your tips. They may not even want an immediate solution to a difficult problem. What they're really hoping for is a safe place to talk with a person who loves and supports them no matter what.
Because of this, I've given myself the goal of becoming a better parent by being a better listener. It's not an easy task. But I'm determined, I'm strong.
1. What causes the children's tone of frustration and annoyance in the conversations with the author?(no more than 6 words)2. Why does the author like giving advice to her children? (no more than 15 words)
3. What does the underlined word mean? ( no more than 1 word)
4. What do the children actually need in the talk with their parents according to the passage? (no more than 15 words)
5. What do you expect your parents to do when you are talking with them about your school life ? Please explain it. (no more than 25 words)
4 . 
UPS (联合包裹) driver Ryan Arens was making his rounds near a pond in Bozeman, Montana, when he heard an unearthly sound. “Like a cry for help,” he told the Dodo. It was December 2019, and about 15 feet from the frozen banks was the source of that cry — a half-submerged brown-and-white wirehaired hound (猎犬), struggling to hold to a thin layer of ice. How she got there no one knows, but an elderly man was already on the scene. He’d entered the pond in a rowboat and was knocked at the ice with a rock to create a path to the dog. It was slow going, and Arens, 44, thought he stood a better chance.
“Animals are my weakness,” he told the Great Falls Tribune, explaining why he stripped (拆开) down to his boxers and socks, even though the temperature was freezing cold, and commandeered the rowboat.
His heart thumping, Arens slid closer to the dog and used the other man’s rock to smash away at the ice. He gave one strong knock and slipped off the boat, crashing into 16 feet of freezing water.
He resurfaced in time to see the dog going under. Using nervous energy to keep warm, he swam about five feet toward her, grabbed hold of her collar, and pulled her to the ice. He then boosted the dog into the boat and slid it back to the shore, where anxious bystanders carried the dog to the home of the rowboat owner, a retired veterinarian. Once in the house himself, Arens jumped into a warm shower with the dog until they both defrosted (解冻). A few more minutes in the pond, the vet told Arens, the dog would have likely suffered cardiac arrest (心脏骤停).
The next day, Arens was back working the same neighborhood when the dog’s owner came over to thank him for saving Sadie. “Would you like to meet her?” he asked.
He opened the door to his pickup (皮卡), and Sadie rushed out. She made a beeline for Arens, leaping on him and bathing him in wet kisses. That special delivery, says Arens, “was the highlight of my UPS career.”
1. The underlined word “unearthly” most probably means ________.| A．terrifying | B．strange | C．interesting | D．pleasant |
| A．He was skating on the ice. |
| B．He was rowing in the pond. |
| C．He was trying to save the dog. |
| D．He was walking on the path. |
| A．Why Arens fell into the water. |
| B．How Arens rescued the dog. |
| C．How dangerous it was in freezing water. |
| D．Who the dog belonged to. |
| A．She jumped on him. |
| B．She kissed him. |
| C．She ran directly to Arens. |
| D．She remained still. |
5 . When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called “Brownie”. My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. One of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games. Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them. We always felt better when she was around.
One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up one of my Dad’s shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said, “Bad girl, ” she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw a tear in her eyes.
Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet. She went everywhere with us. People would stop and ask if they could pet her. Of course she’d let anyone pet her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we’d be out walking and a small child would come over and pull on her hair. She never barked or tried to get away. Funny thing is that she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she loved everyone.
Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss the days when she was with us.
1. What would Brownie do when someone was ill in the family?| A．Look at them sadly. |
| B．Play games with them. |
| C．Keep them company. |
| D．Touch them gently. |
| A．She was treated as a member of the family. |
| B．She played games with anyone she liked. |
| C．She went everywhere with the family. |
| D．She was loved by everybody she met. |
| A．Caring. |
| B．Polite. |
| C．Brave. |
| D．Shy. |
6 . A few years ago, my father arranged to send me a mail-order fruitcake at Christmas time. Although I had a good job and apartment in Manhattan, he feared my cupboards might be bare. I had recently moved from California, where my parents still lived in their suburban bungalow (平房) of 50 years, the house I grew up in.
He wanted me to have a particular brand of fruitcake. A fruitcake, in his mind, was a perfect Christmas gift. Made in Texas, it was famous among fruitcake lovers — or at least, among people who gave fruitcake to those who were assumed to love them.
I knew there would be plenty to eat in California. For each Christmas, in addition to my mother’s cookies, fudge (乳脂软糖), and other treats, my father always gave my sister and me each a large bag of assorted foods he called, rather plainly, the “Food Bag”. One year, I secretly listed the contents of my Food Bag in a notebook for the day when I might not get a Food Bag for Christmas. That year, my bag contained a can of mixed nuts, a box of whole-wheat crackers, a Belgian chocolate bar, some English breakfast tea 9and many other items.
I was 44 when my father gave me that Food Bag, and he was 72.
That day before my flight to California, the fruitcake still hadn’t arrived. When my father called to wish me a safe trip and he said “Did you receive it?”
“Not yet,” I said. “Maybe it will be there today.” He regretted deeply about the lost fruitcake.
He remained hopefully the fruitcake would come by New Year’s Eve. But January, February and March came and went with no fruitcake. Though my father continued to ask about it. I never considered lying. Instead, I would say, “That cake is orbiting earth and sooner or later will land.”
As time went by, he would bring up the journey of his fruitcake. “I wonder where it is now.” he’d say.
Early last December, nearly a year after my father died, I got a call from a staffer of my apartment building, “You have a package.”
I went downstairs to pick it up. The brown box had a FedEx label with a return address in Texas.
1. What does the underlined word “bare” probably mean in Paragraph 1?| A．Plain. | B．Short. |
| C．Empty. | D．Abundant. |
| A．Treats from his parents. | B．A big Christmas dinner. |
| C．A food bag from his parents. | D．A Special fruitcake. |
| A．In Texas. | B．At Lost and Found. |
| C．In California. | D．In Manhattan. |
| A．Dad’s Mystery Package | B．Disturbing Delivery Service |
| C．My Favorite Food | D．Memorable Food Bags |
7 . Kleon Papadimitriou, a Greek student, had been stuck in Scotland, where he studies, with no way to return to Athens while flights were shut down. So he decided to take a bike.
He began researching what it would take to make the trip on two wheels. He once competed in a race in 2019 and was briefly trained for several weeks — but that was about all the biking experience he carried with him.
Initially, he thought the idea was more of a “dream”— an absolutely hard long journey. But soon he began purchasing the equipment he'd need. He purchased a bike, and told the news to his parents and friends.
Papadimiriou travelled anywhere between 35 and 75 miles per day, crossing initially through England and then onto the Netherlands. He biked along the Rhine in Germany for several days, passed through Austria and cycled down along the eastern coast of Italy before he took a boat to the Greek port of Patras.
Throughout his trip, he set up camp in fields and forests. He spent the last few moments of each day writing down his progress, tracking the next day's path and checking in with family and friends.
“It's just now dawning on me how big of an achievement this was.” Papadimitriou says of his 48-day journey. “And I did learn a lot of things about myself, about my limits, my strengths and my weaknesses. I really hope that the trip can inspire at least one more person to go out of their comfort zone and try something new, something big.”
1. What can we infer about Kleon Papadimitriou?| A．He was forced to leave for Scotland on bike. | B．He had a few biking experience before. |
| C．He was a famous cyclist in his hometown. | D．He cycled to the Greek port of Patras. |
| A．Because it seemed challenging to complete the journey. |
| B．Because he had no riding experience at all before. |
| C．Because his parents and friends didn't support his plan. |
| D．Because purchasing the equipment would cost too much. |
| A．2. | B．4. | C．6. | D．8. |
| A．Kleon Papadimitriou hardly communicated with his friends during the trip. |
| B．It took Kleon Papadimitriou 48 days to return to Greece. |
| C．Kleon Papadimitriou learned a lot of things about nature from the trip. |
| D．Many people have been inspired by Kleon Papadimiriou's story. |
8 . Gerardo Ixcoy is a 27-year-old teacher in Guatemala. He teaches in the area where having electricity is something of a luxury（奢侈品）and students have no access to mobile apps or computers, which became a problem when Guatemalan government had to choose distance education for students at home because of COVID-19.
Gerardo Ixcoy felt that he had to teach those children living far from the digital world. After all, education is a universal right and Gerardo Ixcoy thought those children shouldn't be excluded from having the education they needed. There had to be an alternative to distance education. But what was the solution?
Gerardo bought himself a secondhand tricycle（三轮车）with his savings. Once he had the tricycle, the next step was to change it into a classroom on wheels. He put a roof with a solar panel（太阳能电池板）on it, along with a screen to avoid the spread of COVID-19. He fixed a whiteboard on it so he could explain to the students the basics of primary education： math, the local language and the universal national language—Spanish.
The purpose of the solar panel is to provide constant power for a small loudspeaker so he can teach from a distance. It's a matter of respecting the healthy distance required to be safe from the virus. He, the teacher, stays outside, and the student participates from his or her house.
With that enthusiasm for education, he tries to visit his students at least twice a week, riding his classroom-cycle. The children he serves say that, although he visits them for only a few hours a week, they look forward to it. They appreciate his visit and will take advantage of it to learn.
1. What is the problem for the Guatemalan students because of COVID-19?| A．They cannot continue their study any more. |
| B．They are cut off from the digital world and the Internet. |
| C．They have no right to get the government's distance education. |
| D．They have to get distance education but they have no access to it. |
| A．Chosen | B．Prevented. |
| C．Protected. | D．Separated |
| A．He provided them with a whiteboard to write on |
| B．He fixed a solar panel on their house roofs to give electricity. |
| C．He rode his tricycle to their houses and taught them face to face. |
| D．He transformed his tricycle into a classroom on wheel to give them lessons. |
| A．Love for education breaks down barriers |
| B．Education contributes to success. |
| C．Great hope makes great man. |
| D．Hard work pays off. |
9 . My doctor took me for a walk around the farm where she lives. I was physically and emotionally exhausted and discouraged by anxiety and depression.
The place was full of life. There were insects, horses, rabbits and a cat. She told me to focus on my body in the environment.
When I was ill I tended to retreat into my mind and disconnect from here and now. So, when I met a horse named Fira, I expected nothing.
As I got closer to Fira, she nuzzled (用鼻子爱抚)her nose into my chest, putting a gentle pressure over my heart. Something happened inside me: I felt as if I had reached a wellspring (源泉)of past hurts, fears and failings. I began to melt emotionally.
I patted Fira's nose and breathed in her smell. I found I didn't have to concentrate on feeling better; Fira helped me feel loved and safe.
I worked with Fira often, learning basic communication and leading methods to work together with her. Initially, I wasn't sure exactly what one would do with a horse except riding it. But I knew that Fira had touched me in an uncommon way and had made me feel better. She connected with me by responding to my emotional state and reflecting it back to me in an open, affectionate way.
In my meetings with Fira, I found that I lost my usual self-consciousness and I would focus entirely on communicating.
I learned to live in the present, to focus on what was happening this day, in this moment, in this place. I learned to forget the past, with all its hurts. I learned to forget the future, which hasn't happened yet. When you stand beside a horse, you exist completely in the moment.
"With Fira by my side, I saw into a life in which trust comes first, and compassion follows.
I found a deep peace in leading her along a path, by using my own power of intention to indicate whether to start, stop, turn left or turn right. I felt an inner quiet and even joy. My work with this horse was part of a journey out of a very dark night in my soul.
1. What do we know about the author from the first three paragraphs?| A．She often lost consciousness. |
| B．She loves animals very much. |
| C．She suffered from mental illness. |
| D．She went to a doctor with high hopes. |
| A．was deeply touched by its reaction |
| B．had already recovered from her pain |
| C．was curious about what would happen |
| D．didn't have any interest in keeping a pet |
| A．Get out of trouble. | B．Keep away from others. |
| C．Lift up my spirits. | D．Make up my mind. |
| A．the author had to try hard to feel better |
| B．Fira helped the author focus on her thoughts |
| C．the author recalled her past hurts, fears and failings |
| D．Fira understood the author's emotions and reacted positively |
| A．It is important to make every day count. |
| B．One shouldn't be affected by emotions. |
| C．One should learn lessons from the past. |
| D．It is essential to show sympathy for others. |
10 . I was 15 years old the day I skipped school for the first time. It was easily done: Both my parents left for work before my school bus arrived, so when it showed up at my house on that cold winter morning, I simply did not get on. The perfect crime!
And what did I do with myself on that glorious stolen day, with no adult in charge and no limits on my activities? Did I get high? Hit the mall for a shoplifting extravaganza (狂欢)?
Nope. I built a warm fire in the wood stove, prepared a bowl of popcorn, grabbed a blanket, and read. I was thrilled and transported by a book—it was Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises—and I just needed to be alone with it for a little while. I ached to know what would happen to Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley and Robert Cohn. I couldn’t bear the thought of sitting in a classroom taking another exam when I could be traveling through Spain in the 1920s with a bunch of expatriates (异乡客).
I spent that day lost in words. Time fell away, as the room around me turned to mist, and my role—as a daughter, sister, teenager, and student—in the world no longer had any meaning. I had accidentally come across the key to perfect happiness: I had become completely absorbed by something I loved.
Looking back on it now, I can see that some subtle things were happening to my mind and to my life while I was in that state of absorption. Hemingway’s language was quietly braiding itself into my imagination. I was downloading information about how to create simple and elegant sentences, a good and solid plot. In other words, I was learning how to write. Without realizing it, I was hot on the trail of my own fate. Writing now absorbs me the way reading once did and happiness is their generous side effect.
1. Why did the author skip school on that day?| A．Because her parents left home early. |
| B．Because it was a biting cold winter morning. |
| C．Because she was fascinated by a novel. |
| D．Because she was anxious to take the exam. |
| A．Reading a fiction by the fire. | B．Travelling with a bunch of expatriates. |
| C．Breaking the rules and regulations. | D．Being occupied by one’s passion. |
| A．I was tired of his roles in the real-life. |
| B．Hemingway's style influenced me a lot. |
| C．Becoming a writer was my childhood dream. |
| D．I learnt how to write on the internet. |
