1 . It was nearly dark; the sun was dropping down the mountains far away. Little Tom came back home, with tears in his eyes.
“What’s the matter, Tom? How’s your trip?” His mother asked with a big smile. “I failed. The mountain is so high and full of big or small stones on the way, I still go ahead. But I was tired and it was so late that I had to come back.” Tom cried. “It doesn’t matter, you are only 14 years old after all. You will have another chance.” His mother said. “But, standing at the top of the mountain is my dream!” Tom said. His father came over and asked, “Did you see the green trees on your way to the mountain?” “Sure, and there were a lot of beautiful flowers by the side of the road.” Tom replied. “Did you hear the birds singing?” His father asked. “There were many kinds of birds singing in the trees, and the sound was very sweet.” Tom said. “Did you feel the beauty of nature?” His father asked. “Yes, the blue sky, the white clouds, the green trees and the colorful flowers made a nice picture.” Tom answered. “That’s enough!” His father smiles and said, “Please remember, my son. For often, achieving what you expect is not the most important thing. Although you didn’t reach the top of the mountain, you got a lot on the way.”
It is true that not every goal will be achieved, not every job will end up with a success, and not every dream will come true. The most beautiful scenery is on the way.
1. Tom got back home ________ when the sun was dropping.| A．slowly | B．sadly | C．quickly | D．early |
| A．The mountain was so high. | B．The way was full of big or small stones. |
| C．He was tired and it was so late. | D．He was only 14 years old. |
| A．clear water | B．blue sky |
| C．colorful flowers | D．green trees |
| A．the goal is not important | B．everyone should climb the mountain |
| C．the mountain is very beautiful | D．the process is more important than the result |
2 . I know what courage looks like. I saw it on a flight I took six years ago, and only now can I speak of it without tears filling my eyes at the memory.
Our flight left the Orlando Airport one Friday morning. But immediately upon the take-off, it was clear that something was wrong. The aircraft was bumping (颠簸) up and down. All the experienced travellers, including me, looked around with knowing (会意的) smiles. If you fly much, you see these things and learn to act calmly about them. However, we did not remain calm for long.
Minutes after we were in the air, our plane began falling quickly. The pilot soon made a serious announcement. “We are having some difficulties,” he said. “Our indicators show that the control system has failed. We will be returning to the Orlando Airport. The flight attendants will prepare you for a bumpy landing. Also, if you look out of the windows, you will see that we are dumping (倾倒) fuel from the airplane. We want to have as little on board as possible in the event of a rough touchdown.” In other words, we were about to crash. Many travellers looked visibly frightened now. No one faces death without fear, I thought.
Then a couple of rows to my left, I heard a still calm voice, a woman’s voice, speaking in an absolutely normal conversational tone. I had to find the source of this voice. All around, people cried. Many screamed. Finally, I saw her. In this state of complete confusion and lack of order, a mother was talking to her child. The woman, in her mid-30s, was staring full into the face of her daughter, who looked to be four years old. The child listened closely, sensing the importance of her mother’s words. The mother’s eye held the child so fixed that she seemed untouched by the sounds of grief and fear around her.
Finally, I leaned over and could hear this soft sure voice with the tone of comfort. Over and over again, the mother said, “I love you so much. Remember, no matter what happens, I love you always.” Fortunately, our landing gear (起落架) held at last and our touchdown was not a tragedy.
However, the voice I heard that day never faded. That mom showed me what a real hero looks like.
1. What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?| A．The crew was getting ready for a take-off. |
| B．The travellers were taken good care of on the plane. |
| C．The aircraft was not in normal condition when flying. |
| D．The passengers were enjoying themselves on the aircraft. |
| A．To prepare for a landing. | B．To have the airplane not bump. |
| C．To make the airplane to fly faster. | D．To make sure the control system worked well. |
| A．She looked quite angry. | B．She didn’t appear so worried. |
| C．She felt extremely nervous. | D．She sounded rather hopeless. |
| A．She paid attention to her mother’s words. |
| B．She screamed and cried with other passengers. |
| C．She comforted her mother after hearing the emergency. |
| D．She didn’t seem to be interested in what her mother said. |
3 . It feels like every time my mother and I start to have a conversation, it turns into an argument. We talk about something as simple as dinner plans and suddenly, my mother will push the conversation into World War 3. She’ll talk about my lack of bright future because I don’t plan to be a doctor. And much to her disappointment, I don’t want to do any job related to science, either. In fact, when I was pushed to say that I planned to major (主修) in English and communications, she nearly had a heart attack.
“Why can’t you be like my co-worker’s son?” she bemoans all the time. Her coworker’s son received a four-year scholarship and is now earning 70,000 dollars a year as an engineer. I don’t know what to answer except that I simply can’t be like Mr. Perfect as I’ve called the unnamed co-worker’s son. I can’t be like him. I am the type of the person who loved to help out in the community, write until the sun goes down, and most of all, wants to achieve a career because I love it, not because of a fame or salary.
I understand why my mother is anxious about my future major. I’ve seen my mother struggle to raise me on her small salary and work long hours. She leaves the house around 6:30 am and usually comes home around 5 pm or even 6 pm. However, I want her to know that by becoming a doctor, it doesn’t mean I’ll be successful. I’d rather follow my dreams and create my own future.
1. Which of the following topics do the writer and his mother often talk about?| A．the writer’s future job |
| B．wars around the world |
| C．dinner plans |
| D．the writer’s studies |
| A．doesn’t think the writer should be a doctor |
| B．doesn’t want the writer to major in English |
| C．gets along very well with the writer |
| D．doesn’t think working in the scientific field is a good idea |
| A．disagrees | B．cries |
| C．smiles | D．complains |
| A．He wants to be like his mother’s co-worker’s son. |
| B．He wants to find a job in his community in the future. |
| C．He wants to do something he really likes in the future. |
| D．He doesn’t think his mother’s co-worker’s son is perfect. |
4 . It was a cold winter. The wind blew all night and the snow was blinding. When the morning came, my three children and I got up and made our way to the windows. As we looked out of the window, we saw that the hen house was gone. Our three hens had been blown away.
I looked at the emptiness outside. Then I saw all three chickens sitting around the edge of a white bucket. How was this violent wind not blowing them into the field beyond?
I quickly pulled on my husband’s long snow pants and heavy winter coat, wrapped a scarf and stuck my feet into very large boots.
I shouted at the wind as it blew. I was alone, except my children. They stared out of the window into the vast white sea of snow and their eyes peeled for any sign of movement. Outside I heard the sound of my boots as I walked against the wind.
The snow circling around me, I steadily made my way to the soft cluck-cluck-cluck sound my hens always made. When I reached them, I saw that their little feet were holding on to the edge of the bucket, heads bent forward and away from the wind. I gently lifted each hen and put it carefully into the warm inside. Then I began the freezing walk back to the small shed directly behind our house. One by one I laid my chickens on the cold floor, and they began to cluck softly.
As I shut the shed doors, my eyes went directly to the window where my children were watching. They jumped up and down cheering, and so did I! I wasn’t some dragon slayer (屠杀者) from a fairy tale. I was simply a mom, but the look on my children’s faces told me that they thought I was a hero mom.
1. Seeing all three chickens sitting around the bucket, the author felt ________.| A．incredible | B．worried | C．shy | D．confident |
| A．By searching for the white bucket. | B．By wearing protective clothes. |
| C．By following the sound of the hens. | D．By shouting at the hen house. |
| A．the author’s children liked dragon slayers | B．the children watched their mother all the way |
| C．the author struggled to be a hero | D．the author enjoyed herself in the snow |
5 . I was born in the city of York, in England, in 1632. My father was a man of some wealth, able to give the me a good home and send me to school. It was his wish that I should be a lawyer but my head began to be filled very early with thoughts of travel, and I would be satisfied with nothing but going to sea. One day, being at Hull, met one of my friends who was about to sail for London in his father’s ship, and he invited me to go with him. Without telling my father, I went on board.
On the way to London, our ship was destroyed by a storm, and we almost lost our lives. I went on foot to London, where I met with the master of a large ship which did business with countries on the coast of Africa. He offered me a chance to go with him, which I gladly accepted.
A great storm came up, and the ship was tossed (颠簸) about for many days, until we did not know where we were. Suddenly we hit a bank of sand, and the sea broke over the ship in such a way that we could not hope to have her hold many moments without breaking into pieces. So we used a boat instead. After we had been driven four or five miles,a mountainous wave (波浪) hit us so hard that it overturned the boat at once. I swam well but the waves were so strong that I was pushed against a rock with such force, and left unconscious. But I recovered a little before the waves returned, and, running forward, got to the mainland safely. I never regretted my decisions.
1. What the author want to do most when he was young?| A．To visit Africa. | B．To sail the seas. |
| C．To practice law. | D．To move to London. |
| A．alone | B．hungry |
| C．sleepy | D．senseless |
| A．what he did on the ship | B．what he went through at sea |
| C．how he became a man of wealth | D．how he got to know a ship owner |
| A．He could not swim at all. | B．He made his father very proud. |
| C．He was not afraid of taking risks. | D．He did business with African countries. |
6 . A man was travelling abroad in a small red car. One day he left the car and went shopping. When he came back, its roof was badly damaged.
Some boys told him that an elephant had damaged it. The man did not believe them, but they took him to a circus which was near there. The owner of the elephant said, “I am very sorry! My elephant has a big, round, red chair. He thought that your car was his chair, and he sat on it!”
Then he gave the man a letter, in which he said that he was sorry and that he would pay for all the damage.
When the man got back to his own country, the customs officers would not believe his story. They said, “You sold your new car while you were abroad and bought this old one!” It was only when the man showed them the letter from the circus man that believed him.
1. A man was travelling abroad ________.| A．in a big bus | B．in a green jeep | C．in a red car | D．in a red taxi |
| A．there was a traffic accident | B．the circus man broke it |
| C．it rushed into a shop | D．the elephant sat on it |
| A．he would pay for part of the damage | B．he would pay for all of the damage |
| C．he wouldn’t pay for the damage | D．he would buy a new car |
| A．would check his new car | B．only checked his car |
| C．searched him | D．wouldn’t believe what he had said |
| A．the letter from the circus man | B．a newspaper from the country |
| C．the certificate of his | D．the letter from the government |
7 . For years, I played around with writing. I wrote when I felt like it. Then one day, a friend asked me what my dream was. When I said it was to be a writer, he said these words that changed my life, “You don’t have to want to be a writer. You are a writer; you just need to write.” So I started calling myself a writer. Everywhere I went, I introduced myself as “Jeff Goins, Writer,” and even put it in email signatures and on my Facebook page. And you know what? I started acting like it. Eventually, I even began to believe it. It turns out that sometimes you do have to fake it before you make it.
The lesson here is simple: If you wait for someone to give you permission to start following your dream, you’ll be waiting for a long time. You have to begin before you think you’re ready.
After I decided to pursue my dream, I still had to find the time to do it. Working a full-time job and having a wife and other things to do, I didn’t have enough free time. I had to find time to write. For me, that meant getting up early. Like, 5:00 a.m. early. Every morning, I would wake up, get my coffee, and write for two hours. At first, this was difficult; I had to force myself out of bed and downstairs before the sun rose. But eventually, it became a habit. I did it without even thinking about it. And soon, what started as a discipline became a daily joy.
By doing this, I learned the excuse I had given myself — “I don’t have enough time” — wasn’t true. I did have enough time; it was just hiding in “inconvenient” places.
These days, most people I meet are talking about their dreams. However, they’re doing it all wrong. They think they need to take a huge leap out into the unknown when, in fact, the opposite is true. So if you have a dream, just take action. And don’t say you don’t have time for it.
1. What does the author’s friend suggest he do?| A．Start to cheat himself. | B．Dream of becoming a writer. |
| C．Consider himself as a real writer. | D．Take a writing lesson to be a writer. |
| A．By working part-time. | B．By doing few other things. |
| C．By reducing his sleeping time. | D．By making good use of his free time. |
| A．We should prepare for our dreams. | B．We should take small steps over time. |
| C．We should make time for our dreams. | D．We should take immediate action. |
| A．To help us know better about him. | B．To tell us how to become a successful writer. |
| C．To explain why many people like dreaming. | D．To tell us how to make our dreams come true. |
8 . When she was 2 years old, Blosberg’s dad was diagnosed (诊断) with a serious illness that disrupts the central nervous system — MS (多发性硬化症). But 13 years later, her eyes started moving around rapidly and uncontrollably and her skin became extremely sensitive. The symptoms she was experiencing felt “familiar” because they really looked a lot like the things that her dad was experiencing.
After Blosberg was officially diagnosed with MS in 2011, she realized she needed to connect with other teenagers who had MS and truly understood what she was going through. “I knew there had to be other kids out there, and I wanted to connect with them,” she says. Blosberg then decided to create a Facebook page for young people with MS and obtained the help of the National MS Society. “If you find anyone else young, let me know,” Blosberg recalls saying to the organization. “I want to talk to them. I want them to know that they’re not alone.”
MS is often considered “an adult illness”. Blosberg’s Facebook page was her way of bringing young people with MS together. But she decided to take things one step further by founding a nonprofit, the MS Monkey, that supports children and teenagers who have been diagnosed with the illness. Through it all, Blosberg says her entire family has been proud of her — especially her father. “He knows what it’s like to live with MS,” she shares. “He’s my role model, though. I grew up watching him live with MS and not let MS get in the way.”
1. What can we know about Blosberg?| A．She had difficulty in her study. | B．She was diagnosed with an illness. |
| C．She helped her dad out of trouble. | D．She followed his father’s dream. |
| A．To advertise the National MS Society. |
| B．To record her experience to fight against MS. |
| C．To call for more volunteers like her father. |
| D．To connect more young people with MS. |
| A．Outgoing and humorous. | B．Open-minded and generous. |
| C．Warm-hearted and strong-willed. | D．Determined and energetic. |
| A．No one has to fight alone | B．A common illness |
| C．My dad and I | D．A charity for treating MS |
9 . A series of massive thunder storms hit our area recently, causing flash flooding and knocking down tree branches and even trees. I had spent the afternoon picking up branches out of my yard and throwing them away. Then just before I was getting ready to take my dogs for their last walk of the day, the warnings came on my television and over my phone that another of these storms was heading our way.
I quickly took my dogs outside. Huge clouds were rolling in while thunder boomed over the hills. I knew that the stars were shining but I certainly couldn’t see them. The darkness seemed darker and scarier than usual because I knew what was on the way. That was when I saw it. The tiniest blink of light, up high, at the far end of the grassland behind my house. I smiled. The first of the fireflies had appeared for the summer at just the time I needed to see his light. Soon a few others were blinking their lights as well. It amazed me how far their light traveled in the darkness of the night and how they didn’t seem bothered at all by the approaching storm. I spent an extra few minutes watching my lightening bug friends and taking in their message of light before heading in to get ready for the storm. As I did, though, I noticed that the darkness no longer seemed so scary and that my fear had been replaced with joy.
Life does have its share of storms, some caused by nature and some caused by us. We can’t go through life being scared of them, however. Take a lesson from the fireflies then. Let your light shine. It may seem tiny but you will be amazed at how far it can be seen and how easily it can drive the dark away.
1. What happened when the author was about to walk the dog?| A．His house was heavily damaged. | B．He was encouraged to pick up the branches. |
| C．He was broadcasting a bad weather warning. | D．Another big storm was broadcasted to be on its way. |
| A．Normal. | B．Frightening. | C．Pale. | D．High. |
| A．There would be no storm at all. | B．He could then walk his dog easier. |
| C．He found great hope from the dark. | D．He wasn’t afraid of being lost then. |
| A．We should always give off light when in trouble. | B．Small light in life won’t help much in our life. |
| C．Some great troubles won’t be easily dealt with. | D．We should avoid being disturbed by trouble. |
10 . In our home it was natural to fear our father. Even our mother was afraid of him. As children, my sister and I thought every family was like that.
Things were different after that. We had a new daddy. It was like the old one was buried that day in the forest.
| A．The praise we expected did not come. |
| B．The sun set and it began to get dark. |
| C．Our daddy worked very hard to support the family. |
| D．Then came the day we found something new and fun to do. |
| E．Our whole family was changed with a piece of chalk. |
| F．But there was something different in it. |
| G．Our mom knew that he cared for us. |
