1 . An old man went to live with his son, his daughter-in-law, and a four-year-old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was very poor, and he couldn’t walk steadily (平稳地). The family ate together nightly at the dinner table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult. Rice often dropped on the floor.
The son and the daughter-in-law became angry with the old man, so they put a small table in the corner. There, the grandfather ate alone, while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner at the table. Since the grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.
The four-year-old son watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with a piece of wood on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?” The boy answered, “Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up.” The four-year-old son smiled and went back to work. The words struck the parents so hard that they were in silence. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks (脸颊). Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took grandfather’s hand and gently led him back to the family table.
1. Why was the old man’s food served in a wooden bowl?| A．Because the wooden bowl was light enough. |
| B．Because the old man had broken a few bowls. |
| C．Because there was only a wooden bowl left. |
| D．Because the son and the daughter-in-law became angry with the old man. |
| A．annoyed | B．worried | C．scared | D．shocked |
| A．Led the old man back to the family table. | B．Ignored. |
| C．Kicked the old man out of their house. | D．Blamed the boy. |
| A．An Old Man and His Son | B．A Couple and Their Son |
| C．A Wooden Bowl | D．A Dinner Table |
2 . Once upon a time, a daughter complained to her father that her senior high school life was unhappy and that she was tired of struggling with homework all the time.
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, h placed potatoes, eggs and coffee beans in them. After 20 minutes, he took them out, putting the potatoes and eggs in a bowl and the coffee in a cup.
Turning to his daughter, he said, “Look closer, and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After puling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to taste the coffee. Its good smell brought a smile to her face.
“Father, what does this mean?” she asked. He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and the coffee beans were in the same adversity (逆境)—the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.
The strong and hard potato became soft and weak in boiling water. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new. “Which one do you want to be like,” he asked. “When adversity knocks on your door, how will you respond?”
In life, challenges happen to us all, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.
1. Why did the girl complain to her father?| A．Because of her tiring job. | B．Because of her hard school life. |
| C．Because of her father’ s busy work. | D．Because of the food her father cooked. |
| A．The girl liked the coffee best. |
| B．The father was good at cooking. |
| C．Different people have different reactions to adversity. |
| D．The girl didn’t like the potatoes and eggs. |
| A．thick | B．hard | C．strong | D．easily-broken |
| A．Challenges and responses. | B．Adversities and a chef. |
| C．A chef and coffee beans. | D．Father and daughter. |
3 . Patrick never does homework. “Too boring,” he says. He always plays baseball and basketball after school. His teachers tell him, “Patrick! Do your homework, or you can’t learn anything.” But what can he do? He hates homework.
One day, his cat was playing with a little “doll”. He found it wasn’t a doll at all, but a man of the smallest size. The man called, “Save me! Don’t give me back to that cat. I have magic. I will help you if you save me!”
How lucky he was! Here was the answer to all of his problems. So he said, “If you help me to do my homework until the last day of school, I will get good grades.” The man agreed. He began to do Patrick’s homework. The man didn’t always know what to do and he needed help. “Help me! Help me! ”he said. And Patrick had to help. Day after day, Patrick had to work harder. Finally the last day of school arrived and the man was free to go. As for homework, Patrick didn’t hate doing it any more. Patrick got his A’s. His teachers and classmates were all surprised. Who really helped Patrick?
1. Patrick likes ________ after school.| A．doing sports | B．doing some reading |
| C．doing his homework | D．learning things |
| A．It means “Patrick got the teachers’ help”. | B．It means “Patrick got good grades”. |
| C．It means “Patrick got more friends”. | D．It means “Patrick got more problems”. |
| A．Patrick never hates doing his homework. |
| B．The man sometimes didn’t know what to do when he helped Patrick. |
| C．The man didn’t go until the last day of school. |
| D．Patrick finally started to like doing homework. |
| A．the man liked to play with the cat |
| B．the man never helped Patrick do his homework |
| C．Patrick’s classmates always helped him do his homework |
| D．in fact, Patrick helped himself |
4 . Charles Darwin was a very famous scientist who lived in the 1800s. His ideas about evolution (进化) completely changed the way scientists understand the natural world. He recorded his ideas in notebooks marked with letters of the alphabet (字母表), which have been considered extremely important for showing how he developed the evolution.
The Cambridge University Library had several of Mr. Darwin’s notebooks. The two that were missing were kept in a small box, and were last seen in 2000. In 2001, someone noticed that the box was missing. Luckily, the library had taken pictures of the notebooks’ pages, so the information wasn’t completely lost.
In 2020, the library made a huge effort to find the books. Workers searched through the 10 million books and other things in the library, but they didn’t find the notebooks. Finally, the library asked people around the world to help look for the books. They officially reported the missing notebooks as stolen so that the police around the world would search for them.
Nobody could ever have expected the way in which the notebooks were returned recently: in a pink gift bag with a note that said “Librarian, Happy Easter, X”. People at the library quickly recognized the blue box that the notebooks had been stored in. Inside a brown envelope they found the two missing notebooks, tightly wrapped in plastic. After the police had examined the package, library workers were able to open and carefully study the notebooks. They were pleased to learn that the notebooks were in good shape. They hadn’t been damaged and they weren’t missing any pages.
The timing of the return is perfect. The library was planning a show called “Darwin in Conversation”, which is set to open in July. Now the missing notebooks can be part of that show.
1. What did Darwin write in his notebooks?| A．Scientists’ ideas about society. |
| B．The stories of his family. |
| C．His thoughts of evolution. |
| D．The development of the alphabet. |
| A．The library wanted to turn to the police for help. |
| B．The library didn’t want to take on responsibility for the loss. |
| C．The library discovered a librarian stole the notebooks. |
| D．The library realized the notebooks couldn’t be found. |
| A．Proud. | B．Nervous. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Surprised. |
| A．They will be on exhibition. |
| B．They will be hidden forever. |
| C．They will be sold on a show. |
| D．They will be returned to the owner. |
5 . A fat man with a camera around his neck and a bottle of sunscreen cream sticking out of his bag, he really did look like a tourist. He sat on the terrace (平台), sipping lemonade and pretending to look at a tourism brochure. His sunglasses masked his eyes, but I knew he wasn't looking at the brochure: he hadn't turned a page for the last ten minutes. As I brought him his dishes, he coughed up a "thank you" and looked at me briefly I tried not to stare at the tiny scar across his left eyebrow.
I walked back inside with my empty tray, shaking my head. He looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place him. Then it hit me. The car accident. The mysterious stranger who helped me out of my crashed car, just before it exploded. I rushed back to his table. He was gone.
I moved his saucer and found his tip, along with a card: I am deeply grateful to you. The night of your car accident, I was on my way to rob a jewelry store. Saving your life brought things back in a right way. I now live an honest life, thanks to you. God bless you! Mr. D.
I shivered (震颤). The night of my car accident, I was heading for an interview in an illegal dance club. Seeing human kindness through his heroic gesture (英雄姿态) turned my life around and brought faith back into my life. I unfolded the tip he left. Among the singles was a grand (一千块) with a pen mark underlining "In God We Trust. "I said a silent prayer for him and got back to work, smiling.
1. Why did the fat man look like a tourist?| A．Because he doesn't look like a native citizen. |
| B．Because he ordered strange food and drinks |
| C．Because he used money not the same as the locals. |
| D．Because he carried what tourists usually have on. |
| A．The page remained unturned. | B．He was drinking all the time. |
| C．He sat still with his sunglasses. | D．He was staring at the writer. |
| A．The man became a rich man year later. |
| B．The writer didn't go to that interview. |
| C．The writer had been searching for the man. |
| D．They kept in touch with each other since then. |
| A．Cod. | B．Worried. | C．Grateful. | D．Trusty. |
6 . A couple of days ago I unexpectedly lost my job. It wasn’t anything too important: I was just a carrier for the Scarborough Mirror, delivering newspapers every Wednesday and Friday. But it brought in a good amount of pocket money for a student like me.
During the first week of September I planned to stop my job, as I wanted to focus on my academics with school to start. I found a family on my street who were willing to take over and so I took their names anti numbers and turned them in to my district representative along with my resignation.
That was last week. This Tuesday came and I was supposed to get the newspapers to deliver on Wednesday. They didn’t come. I just assumed there probably wasn’t much to deliver so they would just give me everything tomorrow. It'd happened before so I wasn’t too worried. There was a seed of doubt, however, in my mind, that maybe the handover of this job was misunderstood. But I pushed that thought aside and just went on as usual.
Wednesday morning came and the papers weren’t lying on my driveway as they’d done for the past 9 months. My mom reminded me to call my district representative, who told me the route had indeed been turned over to the other family. She couldn’t have understood my message when I said I would work until September. So much for 2 more weeks of work!
In a way, I’m glad because I don’t have to worry about delivering newspaper in the burning sun. On the other hand, I wasn’t ready to give up my job so early, so the unexpected loss was a tiny blow to me.
Despite these negative feelings, I’m looking forward to the next summer when I’m getting promoted and my wage will rise from what I had with the job, which gave me good experience about hard work and chances to meet my neighbors.
1. Why did the author plan to quit the job?| A．He could barely put up with its hardship. | B．He hoped to shift his attention to studies. |
| C．He had earned enough to afford schooling. | D．He desired to turn it over to a needy family. |
| A．The family to replace me. | B．Messages of my dismissal. |
| C．The papers to be delivered. | D．The district representatives. |
| A．He got fired on account of his own fault. | B．He didn’t have his potential appreciated. |
| C．He didn’t submit his resignation as required. | D．He had intended to stop the job in late September. |
| A．Learning to live with his personal imperfection. | B．Establishing a closer tie with his community. |
| C．Facilitating his organizational skills. | D．Breaking the habit of laziness. |
7 . It was May 23, 2016. Arnot, the 32-year-old mountain guide, reached the top of Everest without the use of oxygen (O2) equipment. It was achieved after seven years, three previous attempts, and fourteen straight hours of climbing.
After 15 minutes at the top, Arnot began her descent (下坡). Eight hours later, she reached the camp at 7, 600 meters and became the first American woman—and only the seventh woman ever—to successfully reach Mount Everest without oxygen equipment.
“There are so many reasons for her impressive achievement, especially the physical and emotional efforts that she’s put forth over the years to make this happen,” says the professional climber and photographer Richards, “The mental courage that it requires is something very few people have.”
Arnot didn’t start climbing until she was 19 years old. Money was tight in her family, and climbing mountains never occurred in her mind. After graduating from college, Arnot was invited by her friend to climb a mountain. “It totally changed my life”, says Arnot. “I always know that if you want something, you can achieve it, but knowing what you want is a whole different thing,” she says. “I am athletic but not competitive. After my first climbing, I knew immediately that mountains are what I want—as that is where I felt home for the first time in my life.”
After that first climb, she devoted herself to learning how to climb and move through mountain. It was during her second trip to Everest in 2009 that she first set her sights on a no-oxygen attempt. However, while hiking into Everest Base Camp that year, she hurt her leg and wasn’t able to climb without oxygen. In 2013 she nearly made it to the top, but was forced to take oxygen at 8,504 meters while helping another climber.
When Arnot finally stood atop Everest, she called her best friend, “I reached the top and I’m not using any oxygen.” Then, tears began to stream down from her eyes. So much of Arnot’s life has been about pushing the limits of her abilities, and in this case, she’s also pushed up against the outer limits of the human spirit.
1. On May 23, 2016. Arnot ________.| A．spent 8 straight hours climbing |
| B．stayed at the top for 50 minutes |
| C．made her first attempt to climb Everest |
| D．reached the top without oxygen equipment |
| A．money was no longer a problem to her |
| B．mountains gave her the feeling of comfort |
| C．she tried to be more athletic and competitive |
| D．she wanted to build up her body through climbing |
| A．She took up climbing when she was 19 years old. |
| B．She has always been a good climber since her childhood. |
| C．She climbed Everest with her family during her first trip. |
| D．She hurt her leg badly while helping another climber in 2009. |
| A．Determined and brave. | B．Cautious and honest. |
| C．Caring and open-minded. | D．Confident and creative. |
8 . Far out in the lake was a large wooden platform on which stood an improbably high diving board—a kind of wooden Eiffel Tower. It was, I’m sure, the county’s tallest wooden structure and no one had ever been known to jump from it.
So it was quite a shock when our teacher, Mr Milton, announced that he would dive off the high board that very afternoon.
Word of his questionable plan was already spreading through town as Mr Milton swam out to the platform.He was just a tiny, stick figure when he got there but even from such a distance the high board seemed almost to touch the clouds. Once at the top, he paced the enormously long board, then took some deep breaths and finally stood at edge. He was going to do it.
Several hundred people had gathered at the shore to watch. Mr Milton stood for quite a long time, then he raised his arms, took one massive bounce and launched himself into a perfect dive. It was beautiful. He fell with perfect style for what seemed minutes.The crowd fell silent.The only sound to be heard was the faint whistle of his body tearing through the air toward the water far，far below.
But about three quarters of the way down he seemed to have second thoughts and began suddenly to panic, waving his arms and legs like someone having a bad dream.When he was perhaps thirty feet above the water, he gave up on waving and spread his arms and legs wide，apparently hoping that it would somehow slow his fall.
It didn’t.
He hit the water at over six hundred miles an hour.The impact was so loud that it made birds fly out of their trees three miles away.I don’t think he entered the water at all.He just bounced off it, about fifteen feet back into the air. After that, he lay still on the surface, spinning like an autumn leaf.
He was brought to shore by two passing fishermen in a rowboat and placed on an old blanket where he spent the rest of the afternoon.Occasionally he accepted small sips of water, but otherwise was too shocked to speak. From head to toe, he was covered with deep red bruises.
...It was the best day of my life.
1. What did the writer think of Mr Milton’s plan to jump from the diving board?| A．Crazy. | B．Disappointing. |
| C．Heroic. | D．Confused. |
| A．tired after swimming |
| B．very small and thin |
| C．very far away |
| D．sure to be broken |
| A．He thought it was the best way to slow his fall. |
| B．He lost his confidence and started to panic. |
| C．He was signalling the crowd for help. |
| D．He wanted to show his courage. |
| A．He hit the water at over six hundred miles an hour. |
| B．The impact was so loud that it made birds fly out of their trees three miles away. |
| C．He just bounced off it，about fifteen feet back into the air. |
| D．He was brought to shore by two passing fishermen in a rowboat. |
