1 . I was born in a poor community on the north side of Boston, US, raised by a single mother who didn’t finish 3rd grade, lived each day on food stamps and attended what the media called “the most dysfunctional (功能失调的) public school district”. Not many people expected much of me, so I had to expect.
On my 13th birthday, I bought a poster of Harvard to hang in my room. Being at Harvard became what I dreamt about. Even if my electricity was cut off, I still woke up at 5:30, because I knew that my poster of Harvard was still hanging only two feet away from me.
Reminding myself of my goal each day made it easy to say no to the same choices I saw my peers making, because those paths wouldn’t have had me closer to my goal. Being poor could not take away my power to decide what I choose to do with my day. The poster gave me the courage to send emails to about 50 Harvard students to ask for feedback on my application essays; it gave me the energy to study just one more hour on my SATs when my friends were asleep; and it gave me the determination to submit just one more scholarship application when 180 others had already turned me down.
Every day, I could feel myself getting closer and closer to my goal as my writing got better, my SAT score increased, and my scholarship checks started coming in. Finally, an email arrived from Harvard. The first word was “Congratulations!” A month later, Harvard flew me up to visit the campus where for the first time I stepped onto my dreaming land.
Who you are today is the result of the decisions you made yesterday, and who you will be tomorrow will be the result of the choices you make today. Who do you want to be tomorrow?
1. What can we learn about the author from the first two paragraphs?| A．All people expected too much of him. |
| B．He grew up in a happy family. |
| C．He accepted the greatest education. |
| D．He had high expectation of himself. |
| A．He spent more time preparing for the exams. |
| B．He learnt from his peers from time to time. |
| C．He often wrote feedbacks on others’ essays. |
| D．He turned to his teacher when facing problems. |
| A．Intelligent and humorous. | B．Generous and selfless. |
| C．Determined and hardworking. | D．Courageous and friendly. |
| A．Failure is the mother of success. |
| B．Perseverance can help realize your dream. |
| C．Easier said than done. |
| D．It’s never too late to study. |
2 . At the foot of the Tianmu Mountain in Zhejiang, a homestay (民宿) is attracting travelers from far and wide, which has won architectural (建筑学的) medal at the 2021 German IF Design Awards.
The owners of the homestay are a couple in their late 30s who decided to return to their hometown three years ago. Li Xiumei used to be in charge of a division at a company in Hangzhou, and her husband was a sales director. It was an ordinary situation where Li’s husband was on business trips a lot and Li worked overtime on weekends. City life sometimes is not easy.
In 2018, they quit jobs and went back to Dongtianmu village, which lies in a forest of bamboo. The first time they drove into the village was one late afternoon. The cooking smoke was rising from the foot of the mountain, which gave them a very different feeling from the city.
The homestay was built beside her husband’s old countryside house. The old house is preserved (保留), while a brand-new building was built on its side and the whole site is made up of four courtyards. It has been updated to have a hall, a tea room, a kitchen, a dining room. Japanese cherry trees are planted in the east courtyard. A swimming pool is placed in the west courtyard, with a bar located on one side.
Li and her husband love gardening and music, and their new home gives them enough space to continue their interests and relax in the heart of nature. Li wants to share the quiet country life, so she makes her new home a homestay. In 2019, the homestay became an online hit after guests shared their experiences on social media. “The longer I stay here, the more I feel it was the right choice to come back, and this is more meaningful than making money,” Li says.
1. How did Li feel about city life?| A．Satisfied. | B．Tired. | C．Attractive. | D．Noisy. |
| A．The smoke of cooking. | B．The forest of bamboo. |
| C．The smell of the village. | D．The feeling of loneliness. |
| A．It is ancient and broken. | B．It can hold many guests. |
| C．It has been rebuilt by the couple. | D．It must have been carefully designed. |
| A．Continuing their music dream. | B．Staying at the old house. |
| C．Living in the countryside. | D．Developing the economy of cities. |
3 . One wet, rainy April afternoon Miss O’ Shay, the principal, sent for Nancy Lee to stop by her office as school closed. Pupils without umbrellas or raincoats crowded in doorways hoping to make it home between showers. Outside the skies were grey. Nancy Lee’s thoughts were suddenly grey, too.
She did not think she had done anything wrong, yet that tight (紧的) little knot came in her throat just the same as she came near Miss O’ Shay’ s door. Perhaps she had banged her locker too often and too hard. Perhaps the note in French she had written to Sallie halfway across the study hall just for fun had never got to Sallie but into Miss O’ Shay’ s hands instead. She knocked on Miss O’ Shay’ s door. That familiarly solid and competent voice said, “Come in.” Miss O’ Shay had a way of making you feel welcome, even if you camo to be punished. “Sit down, Nancy Lee Johnson,” said Miss O’ Shay. “I have something to tell you.” Nancy Leesat down. “But I must ask you to promise not to tell anyone yet.” “I won’ t, Miss O’ Shay,” Nancy Lee said, wondering what on earth the principal had to say to her. “You are about to graduate,” Miss O’ Shay said. “And we shall miss you. You have been an excellent student, Nancy, and you will not be without honors on the senior list, as I am sure you know.” At that point there was a light knock on the door. Miss O’ Shay called out, “Come in,” and Miss Dietrich entered. “May I be part of this, too?” she asked, tall and smiling. “Of course,” Miss O’ Shay said. “I was just telling Nancy Lee what we thought of her. But I hadn’ t got around to giving her the news. Perhaps, Miss Dietrich, you’ d like to tell her yourself.”
Miss Dietrich was always direct. “Nancy Lee,” she said, “your picture has won the Artist Club scholarship.” The brown girl’s eyes widened, her heart jumped, then her throat tightened again. She tried to smile, but instead tears came to her eyes. “Dear Nancy Lee,” Miss O’ Shay said, “we are so happy for you.” The elderly white woman took her hand and shook it warmly while Miss Dietrich smiled with pride.
Nancy Lee must have danced all the way home. She never remembered quite how she got there through the rain. She hoped she had been calm. But certainly she hadn’t stopped to tell anybody her secret on the way. Raindrops, smiles, and tears mingled on her brown face. She hoped her mother hadn’t yet got home and that the house was empty.
1. How did Nancy feel on her way to Miss O’ Shay’s office?| A．Confident. | B．Excited. | C．Uncertain. | D．Scared. |
| A．She was often punished by the principal. |
| B．She would never tell anyone her secret. |
| C．She was Miss Dietrich’ s best student. |
| D．She would try to hide feelings at home. |
| A．A New Star. | B．The Girl. |
| C．The News. | D．A Young Artist. |
4 . One night, as I was driving down the road, I found something was sitting in the middle of the road. A few seconds later, I realized I was looking at a large turtle (海龟). Afraid of it being crashed by cars, so I pulled over, ran across the road and dragged the turtle to safety. But I’d made one big mistake.
I had heard that the best way to pick up a turtle without hurting it was picking it by the tail in order not to get bitten. So I’d made that big mistake. While the turtle turned out OK generally, I was determined to figure out how to move a turtle properly. I needed to find someone who dealt with turtles. I found the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre. I talked to Dr. Sue, its Executive and Medical Director.
Dr. Sue told me that the organization dealt with a number of aspects of turtle conservation, including rescue, settlement, birth programs, research, and education. Sue explained that southern Ontario is home to a vast majority of turtles in Canada, but is also one of the vastest road networks of the country.
“Ninety percent of injured turtles brought in are caused by cars. These turtles spend a lot of time on land. And they do travel many kilometers on land for a variety of reasons, to find a nesting spot, or to hang out for the summer or winter. Turtles know where they want to go. So, just keep them going in the direction they want to go and you may have saved a turtle’s life,” Dr. Sue said.
Once an injured turtle arrives at the center, there are medical facilities (设备) ready to go, including an X-ray machine. That’s when the team gets to work with healing injuries, and help their patient.
1. Why did the author stop the car?| A．To help the turtle. | B．To see the thing clearly. |
| C．To prevent a car accident. | D．To find something good. |
| A．It got hurt by people before. | B．It was injured a little bit. |
| C．It was run over by a car. | D．It lost its direction. |
| A．Leaving the turtles alone. |
| B．Making Ontario home to turtles. |
| C．Changing the road conditions. |
| D．Helping turtles find nesting spots. |
| A．The director. | B．The driver. |
| C．The author. | D．The turtle. |
5 . An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old highly educated son. Suddenly a crow (乌鸦) perched on the tree near their window. The father asked his son, “What is this?” The son replied, “It is a crow.” After a few minutes, the father asked his son the second time, “What is this?” The son said, “Father, I have just now told you ‘It’s a crow’.” After a little while, the old father again asked his son the third time, “What is this?” “It’s a crow, a crow, a crow.” said the son loudly. A little after, the father again asked his son the fourth time, “What is this?” This time the son shouted at his father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again? ‘IT IS A CROW’. Are you not able to understand this? ”
A little later the father went to his room and came back with an old diary, which he had kept since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary:
“Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa, when a crow was there on the window. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question again and again for 23 times. I did not at all feel annoyed; I rather felt affection for my innocent child.”
1. What does the underlined word “perched” mean in the passage?| A．Struck. | B．Rested. | C．Dropped. | D．Knocked. |
| A．Because he wanted to make his son angry. |
| B．Because he was too old to remember anything. |
| C．Because he wanted to see the reaction of his son. |
| D．Because he couldn’t understand what his son said. |
| A．38 years old. | B．42 years old. | C．45 years old. | D．80 years old. |
6 . Two weeks ago, a 5-year-old girl named Sunshine Oelfke emptied out her piggy bank (存钱罐) onto the living room floor and immediately started counting. Her grandmother, Jackie Oelfke, thought she was playing as she carefully lined up the coins, but then she saw the girl put the coins into a plastic bag and place it in her backpack.
“What are you doing with that money?” Jackie asked her granddaughter.
“I’m taking it to school,” Sunshine replied. “I’m going to take it for milk money. My friend Layla doesn’t get milk— her mom doesn’t have milk money and I do.”
Jackie’s heart melted at Sunshine’s words. Choked with strong feelings, Jackie held her sweet granddaughter tightly in her arms.
Last week, Jackie and Sunshine met with her teacher, Rita Hausher, and handed her the $30 the kindergartner had saved. There are 20 kids in Sunshine’s class and about half don’t get milk. It costs $ 0.45 a carton (纸盒). The total adds up to about $180 a month for every child in the class to have milk every day.
After dropping Sunshine off at school, Jackie posted a tearful video on Facebook to explain her granddaughter’s plan. To her surprise, many people offered to donate toward the cause. Within a week, Jackie raised more than $1,000. Now every student in Sunshine’s class can get free milk for the rest of the year.
Jackie said Sunshine doesn’t see her kind act as a big deal. She was just trying to look out for her friends. “She doesn’t understand the effect she’s brought about,” Jackie said. “But now she knows she can do whatever she puts her mind to.”
1. Why did Sunshine empty her piggy bank?| A．She hoped to show off her savings in class. | B．She needed to train her counting skills. |
| C．She wanted to play with the coins. | D．She intended to pay for her friend’s milk. |
| A．Relieved. | B．Touched. | C．Curious. | D．Proud. |
| A．Two heads are better than one. | B．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| C．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. | D．There’s no such thing as a free lunch. |
| A．Small Coins, Big Changes. | B．Jackie’s Piggy Bank. |
| C．Piggy Bank and Carton Milk. | D．A Moved Grandmother. |
7 . One year, a college in the United States announced that it would offer a lot of money for the pure white marigold (金盏花). The high reward attracted so many people, but in nature, besides golden, the marigold is brown, and it is not easy to get the white one. So after they were excited for a time, many people had forgotten the announcement.
One normal day after 20 years, the college received a letter and 100 seeds of pure white marigold. It was an old woman of over 70 years old. Some experts in the college doubted it, but in order not to let her down, those seeds finally took root (根) in the earth. The miracle appeared after one year; the field was covered by pure white marigold.
Therefore, the old woman who was always unknown to the public became a new focus.
The old woman was a flower-lover. When she read the announcement 20 years ago, she got very excited like others. But her eight children were totally against her decision. After all, a woman who never knew the seed genetics (遗传学) couldn’t complete what the experts could never do, so her thought was only a day dream.
Still, the old woman didn’t change her mind and went on working. She planted some of the most common seeds and took good care of them. A year later, when the marigold came out, she chose one faintest (最暗淡的) from those golden and brown flowers and got the best seed. The next year, she again grew them and chose...Day after day, year after year, through many seasons, the old woman’s husband died, her children flew far, a lot of things happened in her life, but only the wish to grow the pure white marigold took root in her heart.
Finally, after 20 years on the day we all know, in the garden she saw a marigold, which was nearly white, but as white as silver or snow.
A problem even experts couldn’t deal with was solved by an old woman who didn’t understand genetics. Was it a miracle (奇迹)?
To take root in the heart, even the most common seed can grow into a miracle!
1. According to the passage,________ marigold is unusual.| A．white | B．purple |
| C．brown | D．golden |
| A．the children didn’t agree on their mother’s decision |
| B．the woman needed the great reward for her big family |
| C．the experts also succeeded in growing the white marigold |
| D．the woman took good care of the flowers instead of her family |
| A．was luckier than experts |
| B．put her heart into flowers |
| C．got support from her family |
| D．studied the seed genetics well |
| A．the difficulties of getting the white marigold |
| B．the possibility of going beyond experts |
| C．the unforgettable development of marigolds |
| D．the importance of holding on to dreams |
8 . I enjoy throwing stuff away. I’d love to go full minimalism (极简主义), but my wife and two teenage kids do not share my dream of a house with almost nothing in it. I have tried. When the kids were little, I taught them my two favorite games — “Do We Need It?” and “Put It in Its Place” — and made them play every few months. Their enthusiasm never matched mine.
If I’m going to be honest, my own tidying skills are not as great as I’d like. My “abandoned” pile is never quite the trash mountain I want because I make up excuses for why things are useful. I consider this unhealthy. I want to be better at moving on.
So, this time I found help — the classics for people like me: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo. Can I go full Kondo? I will try. One central idea is to clean by category (类别). You start by collecting all clothes and gathering them together for consideration. It makes you rethink how you organize. Next, hold each item and ask if it brings you joy. This way you’re choosing what to keep. And that’s how I find myself with all my clothes on my bedroom floor. My wife walks by and gives me a look that says I’m nuts. She’s probably not wrong.
Somewhere near the bottom of this chaos is my special jacket. I move through the pile: pants, shirts, suits and shoes. Then my last category: jackets. I haven’t worn the thing in about 30 years. Somehow, it has survived. Now that I’m striving to follow Kondo — surely, its time has come?
I hold it in my hand. There is a tear just below the collar that widens as I hold it. It’s literally falling apart. Will I ever wear it again? Not a chance. Does it feel good to wear? Does it bring me joy? Actually, yes. At this moment, my daughter walks in. She asks about the jacket. I tell her the story. She thinks I should keep it. It’s cool and unique and full of memories. She is arguing that nostalgia (怀念) is the very reason.
I’m not entirely convinced by my daughter’s arguments. I believe in looking ahead, not backward. However, sometimes it’s hard to let go. So I gently place the jacket on the “keep” pile.
1. Why did my “abandoned” pile never grow?| A．Because I had no time to tidy up. |
| B．Because I always found my things valuable. |
| C．There was almost nothing in my house already. |
| D．Because my wife and kids refuse to throw away. |
| A．To learn how to categorize. | B．To improve his tidying skills. |
| C．To persuade his family members. | D．To develop passion for minimalism. |
| A．They don’t understand it. | B．They completely support it. |
| C．They are strongly against it. | D．They are less passionate about it. |
| A．Knowing when to let go | B．Choosing what you love |
| C．Throwing worn-out clothes | D．Keeping valuable belongings |
9 . Today, we study literature (文学) from a young age-learning about our histories, worlds and influential people. Whether we notice or not, these stories guide us throughout our lives. They allow us to see the world through another’s eyes, open up our world and teach us about every subject known to man. Although they are important, many people throw out their old books laying waste the wisdom that lies on each page. Try to save this knowledge and share it with people, a garbage man (清洁工) in, Bogota, Colombia has been saving thrown-away books for 20 years and sharing them with those in need.
“I hated to see all the books in the dustbins of wealthier neighborhoods. So I started to rescue them,” said Gutierrez. The first book he found was a copy of the classic novel Anna Karenina written by Leo Tolstoy (托尔斯泰). The Tolstoy book was later joined by The Little Prince, Sophie’s World, The lliad and a number of novels. Today, he has collected around 25,000 books.
His growing collection didn’t go unnoticed. Gutierrez’s neighbors were soon borrowing the books to help with their children’s homework. “There was a lack of them in our neighborhood, so we started to help.” said Gutierrez.
The ground floor of Gutierrez’s home is now filled with books, from floor to ceiling. He opened it up as a free library, with the help of his wife Luz Gutierrez and their three children.
Word finally spread around about Gutierrez and his books. Most of the books now come from donations. He now travels around the country delivering free books to poor and remote areas. The library named“The Strength of Words”, has donated books to some 235 schools, institutions and community libraries across Colombia.
1. How does the author introduce the topic of the text?| A．By giving some numbers. | B．By writing a diary. |
| C．By describing the nature. | D．By stating some facts. |
| A．A heavy box of books. | B．The beginning of his kindness. |
| C．A real friend in difficult times. | D．He wrote the book by himself. |
| A．One man’s garbage is another man’s wealth. | B．A bad beginning makes a bad ending. |
| C．Actions speak louder than words. | D．Practice makes perfect. |
| A．folstoy books recovered from dustbins. |
| B．Garbage man builds a library from rescued books. |
| C．Free libraries popular with neighborhood kids. |
| D．Literature now attracts garbage collectors. |
10 . Ben opened his book and studied the instructions to build a toy boat. His best friend Isaac raced around the yard. Ben always worked hard while Issac just wanted to play and have fun.
Six years later, at sixteen, Ben was taken on as an apprentice (学徒) ship builder. For the next few years, he worked hard and paid attention to everything he was shown. The manager of the shipyard approached Ben one day. “I’ve had my eye on you, Ben. You’re one of the hardest workers I have ever seen. You have gone from apprentice to lead worker to foreman. Although you are young, we are promoting (提拔) you to supervisor (监督员) over the entire yard.” Ben shook the manager’s hand. A sense of pride filled his chest.
Over the next several years, Ben continued to work hard. He created his own ship building company and built a famous ship. He was proud of himself for working to make his dream of becoming a respected shipbuilder come true.
One evening, Ben happened into a butcher shop. There with a broom in his hand was his old friend Issac. Upon seeing Ben, Isaac threw the broom behind the counter. “Ben, it’s so good to see you. What have you been up to?” Ben explained what he had done over the past years. Hearing that Ben was his own master of shipyard, Isaac lowered his head. “I sweep the floors at the butcher shop at night. And, I sleep in the back room because I can’t afford anything else. I’ve been doing this since I’m 16.” “I see,” said Ben. “Well, we’re going to do something about that.” Ben handed Isaac his card. “Come to my yard on Monday morning, and I’ll make you an apprentice ship builder. But I warn you, you must work and move forward on the job, or I will have to fire you.”
Tears welled up in Isaac’s eyes. “I’ll be there. And, I’ll make both of us proud.”
1. Which of the following best describes Ben?| A．Strict. | B．Hardworking. |
| C．Generous. | D．Patient. |
| A．He envied Ben’s great success. |
| B．He became a butcher 16 years ago. |
| C．He was the owner of a butcher shop. |
| D．He made few efforts in his childhood. |
| A．Ben will be angry with Isaac. |
| B．Ben will play fire with Isaac. |
| C．Ben will ask Isaac to leave. |
| D．Ben will set fire on Isaac. |
| A．Hard work leads to success. |
| B．Experience must be learned. |
| C．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| D．A little learning is a dangerous thing. |
