1 . Quietly sitting there reading, I found myself suddenly listening to the train guard’s announcements. Train travelers will surely agree that when the guard makes an announcement, whether it’s the recorded message or the guard’s message, few people listen to it, because it’s often quite dull or hard to understand. This one was different.I noticed that other passengers appeared to be listening, too. Not only that, everyone was smiling!
Why was so much attention being paid to this message? As best I can recall, the guard said something along these lines, Good Morning Ladies,Gentlemen and Children, this is the7:35 am from Penrith to Central and you’ll be pleased to know that we are right on time. And what a lovely morning it is in Sydney today. The sun is shining,birds are singing, and all’s right with the world.I trust you have a great day wherever you’re going. Thanks for catching my train this morning.
Quite a few people (obviously previous strangers) started talking to one another about the guard’s excellent message and how good it had made everyone feel. I started thinking about this, and then I found the young guard and said “Were you the guard on the 7:35 am from Penrith?” The guard seemed a bit stunned at first, replying, “Yes, yyyyes.” “Well, I really appreciate your announcement. Thank you for your extremely good message, which gave me and the other passengers such a good start to the day. Please keep doing it.” I said.
There are two messages for me in what happened that day. Firstly, when people are happy in their work it shows in what they do and say. Secondly, the story attaches much importance to the benefits that accumulate from thanking people for something they’ve done, particularly when it’s not expected.
1. Why do few train travelers usually listen to the announcements?| A．They usually feel sleepy. | B．They are absorbed in books. |
| C．The guard's voice is not clear. | D．The messages are unattractive. |
| A．They listened to it and smiled. | B．They seemed to get bored by it. |
| C．They listened to it with eyes closed. | D．They continued what they were doing. |
| A．Patient. | B．Surprised. | C．Worried. | D．Excited. |
| A．A boring train story | B．An intelligent guard |
| C．A lovely morning in Sydney | D．A different train announcement |
2 . Early reports on COVID-19 compared what was developing to the “Spanish Flu”, an influenza pandemic(流感大流行)just over 100 years earlier. And yet, I grew up never having heard my parents speak of it or their experiences!I had questions about it, but no answers since my parents are no longer with us.I thought to myself, “I don't want this kind of thing to happen to the younger generation in my family in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
One day in December 2020,I had an idea of a family quilt (被子)documenting our family's experience of the pandemic. The idea excited me because I've always loved quilting. Also,I really wanted something creative to do during lockdown.
I ran the idea by my family members-my four adult children and their spouses(配偶) (with invitations also to my eight grandchildren).They all gave it some thought and said “Go for it!”
So,I asked each person to create a square to express their views on and experiences of the pandemic.We did some brainstorming together.I ordered the cloth and quilting supplies we needed. And we found a good local shop that did a great job printing photos and other designs onto cloth. Each family unit contributed a few completed squares for a total of 20 squares.The quilt covers three generations: the youngest family member is 17 this year, and I'm the oldest at 83. It took us almost four months from the time I imagined it to the day I finished sewing (缝）it up.
Once the pandemic has ended, I will sew the end date and any other key information onto the inside of the quilt. It may not be as skilled as some of my earlier work-I hadn't made a quilt in a long time!-but it's certainly one of the most creative and exciting things I've done, already serving the cause of bringing our family closer together.
1. Why did the author decide to create a family quilt during COVID-19?| A．To keep her family’s quilt making tradition alive. |
| B．To show her love and thanks for her parents. |
| C．To get her children's attention away from the pandemic. |
| D．To record memories of the pandemic for future generations. |
| A．They thought it was crazy. | B．They were supportive of it. |
| C．They were doubtful about it. | D．They paid little attention to it. |
| A．It was a joint effort. |
| B．It could be seen in a local shop. |
| C．It became a fine example of new quilts. |
| D．It took longer to complete than expected. |
| A．It reminds her of her childhood. |
| B．It took more skill than her earlier work. |
| C．It will be popular with family members. |
| D．It has connected her family more closely. |
3 . One day, a farmer was walking along a road with his son Thomas. The father said, “Look! There’s a horseshoe. Pick it up and put it in your bag.” Thomas said, “It isn’t worth the trouble.” His father said nothing but he picked it up himself. When they got to a nearby town, they had a rest. There the farmer sold the horseshoe and with the few pennies he bought some cherries.
The father and the son continued their way. The sun was well up in the sky, and there wasn’t a house or even a tree where they could have a rest. Thomas felt too thirsty to walk on. At this time, his father dropped a cherry on the ground and Thomas picked it up quickly and ate it. After a while, his father dropped another cherry and once again, his son lost on time in picking it up and putting it in his mouth.
And so they went on. The old farmer dropped the cherries and the son picked them up. When Thomas had eaten up all the cherries, his father said to him, “My dear son, if you had bent down early to pick up that horseshoe, it would not have been necessary for you to bend so many times for the cherries. Always remember the lesson that he who does not worry about the little things will find that he cannot do the great things.”
1. Who picked up the horseshoe at last?| A．The son | B．The father |
| C．Both the father and the son | D．Neither the father nor the son |
| A．some bread | B．some water | C．some cherries | D．some pennies |
| A．beat the son | B．said nothing | C．felt very happy | D．became very angry |
| A．cherries are so delicious that most of us like to eat them |
| B．a horseshoe is so expensive that it can bring us a lot of money |
| C．if we want to eat cherries, we must pick up a horseshoe |
| D．if we don’t worry about the little things, we cannot do the great things |
4 . Our house was directly across a popular hospital. We rented the upstairs rooms to outpatients at the clinic. One summer evening, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man, his face lopsided from swelling, red and raw. He told me he’d been hunting for a room since noon but he had no success. “I guess it’s my face. I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments…”
For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: “I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning.” I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch. It didn’t take a long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her five children, and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury. He didn’t tell it by way of complaint. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease.
At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children’s room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch. Before he left for his bus, haltingly, he said, “Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I can sleep fine in a chair.” He paused a moment and then added, “Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don’t seem to mind.” I told him he was welcome to come again.
In the years he came to stay overnight with us. There was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden. When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbor made after he left that first morning. “You can lose roomers by putting up such people!”
Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice. But oh! If only they could have known him, perhaps their illnesses would have been easier to bear. I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude.
1. When the author’s children saw the old fisherman, how did they react to him？| A．They felt at home. | B．They were bothered. |
| C．They were terrified. | D．They felt normal. |
| A．He suffered from a back injury. | B．He had a small body but a strong mind. |
| C．He was cured of his disease. | D．He felt hopeless about life. |
| A．Because he wanted to sell them to the author |
| B．Because he wanted to pay the rent with them |
| C．Because his garden had a good harvest |
| D．Because he wanted to thank the author |
| A．God helps those who help themselves. | B．Misfortune can be a blessing in disguise. |
| C．Never judge a book by its cover. | D．Honesty is the best policy. |
One day when I was 12, my mother gave me an order: I was to walk to the public library, and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to defeat my strange problem— inability to read.
In the library, I found my way into the “Children’s Room.” I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle. I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my secret sharer, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle. Without opening the book titled Amos, the Beagle with a Plan, I borrowed it from the library for the summer.
Under the shade of a bush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very slowly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been separated from his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book.
My mother’s call returned me to the real world. I suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them.
I never told my mother about my “miraculous” (奇迹般地) experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held.
1. The author’s mother told him to borrow a book in order to_____.
| A．encourage him to do more walking |
| B．help cure him of his reading problem |
| C．let him spend a meaningful summer |
| D．make him learn more about weapons |
| A．it contained pretty pictures of animals |
| B．he found its title easy to understand |
| C．he was reminded of his own dog |
| D．he liked children’s stories very much |
| A．The author’s mother rewarded him with books. |
| B．The author’s mother read the same book. |
| C．The author has become a successful writer. |
| D．The author has had happy summers ever since. |
| A．My Passion for Reading |
| B．Mum’s Strict Order |
| C．Reunion with My Beagle |
| D．The Charm of a Book |
6 . Having experienced a shocking electrical accident, which caused him to become both blind and deaf, James Franco’s world became completely dark and quiet for almost ten years. The loss of sight and hearing threw him into such sorrow that he tried a few times to put an end to his life. His family, especially his wife, did their best to tend and comfort him and finally he regained the will to live.
One hot summer afternoon, he was taking a walk with a stick near his house when a thunderstorm started all at once. He stood under a large tree to avoid getting wet, but he was struck by the lightning. Witnesses thought he was dead but he woke up 20 minutes later, lying face down in muddy water. He was trembling badly, but when he opened his eyes, he could hardly believe what he saw: a tree and muddy road. When Mrs. Franco came running up to him, shouting to their neighbors to call for help, he could see her and hear her voice for the first time in nearly ten years.
The news of James regaining his sight and hearing quickly spread and many doctors came to examine him. Most of them said that he regained his sight and hearing from the shock he got from the lightning. However, none of them could give a compellent answer as to why this should happen. The only reasonable explanation given by one doctor was that, since James lost his sight and hearing as a result of a sudden shock, perhaps, the only way for him to regain them was another sudden shock.
1. The reason why James attempted to kill himself was that ________.| A．a terrible electrical accident happened to him |
| B．nobody in the whole world cared about him |
| C．he was struck by the lightning once more |
| D．he had to live in a dark and silent world |
| A．Sheltering from the rain under a tree. | B．Putting an end to his life. |
| C．Taking a walk with a stick. | D．Lying on the ground. |
| A．Gradual. | B．Wrong. | C．Convincing. | D．True. |
| A．A Terrible Electrical Accident | B．What a Sudden Shock |
| C．An Unforgettable Adventure | D．James Franco and His wife |
7 . A loving father lost much weight after being shamed into dieting when he became so fat that he couldn't play with his young daughter. Chris Willis, 47, tipped the scales at 172 kg following a lifetime of fatty foods.
The dad cut out all the fatty foods he had enjoyed, and began exercising. He now weighs 105 kg after losing 10 kg every month since July. Chris had to take long pauses just to climb the stairs or walk more than a few yards, saying, "The hardest thing was seeing my little girl in the garden and not being able to join in because I was so unhealthy. But now I am making up for the lost time-we do so much together and it is just great."
Before switching to a healthy lifestyle, Chris would eat five slices of bread for breakfast as a mid morning meal before a full English breakfast. He would then eat a sandwich, a large pack of crisps and a pasty for lunch before chewing a whole packet of biscuits in the afternoon. For dinner Chris would demolish a curry, and ice cream, and also four pints of beer before feeding on fatty snacks all evening.
Chris said, "At 13, I was 118 kg and I remember a teacher pointing this out to the whole school. From then on I was picked on and bullied(欺负). My weight went up and up. But I now have a new-found freedom. My family and friends have been so supportive and my wife and daughter are so pleased for me. In fact it's them that I did it for more than anyone else. The whole journey has been amazing and I am still shocked myself that I have managed to lose so much weight." Chris is now aiming for a new target weight of 96kg.
1. What was the main reason for Chris losing weight?| A．He was bullied by others. |
| B．He weighed as much as 172kg. |
| C．He wanted to switch to a healthy lifestyle. |
| D．He was too unhealthy to play with his daughter. |
| A．Many years. |
| B．About 6 months. |
| C．About one year. |
| D．Since he was 13. |
| A．drink |
| B．absorb |
| C．consume |
| D．destroy |
| A．Power of father's Love |
| B．Harm of Fatty Foods |
| C．Importance of Health |
| D．Benefit of Exercise |
