1 . In January when wildfires came within a kilometer of her home, Jessica Miles found herself reflecting on the bravery of firefighters in the Port Macquarie area.
Jessica said the tires had been frightening. “There were helicopters (直升机) flying around our house and smoke everywhere,” she said. Over a family dinner, the 12-year-old girl raised the idea of building a sculpture to honor the men and women on the wildfire front line and was greeted with support.
With artwork from the Hello Koalas Sculpture Trail on their doorstep, Jessica’s mother suggested she contact the organizers of the trail with her idea. In a message to Hello Koalas through a Facebook post. Jessica wrote: “I’ve recently thought of an idea as Australia has been facing disaster lately... The firefighters have risked their life and time to protect us. In recognition of their bravery, I wanted so share an idea I had about making a koala (考拉) in honor of the firefighters and to spread hope to Australia.”
Hello Koalas director Margret Meagher said while she had thought about creating a sculpture to honor Australia’s selfless and heroic firefighters in the past, Jessica’s message made her more determined than ever to make it happen. Having been involved in the Rural Fire Service (RFS), Ms. Meacher was also personally touched by summer’s wildfires: “So I really wanted to celebrate the local men and women who fought bravely to protect our community and to recognize all firefighters in Australia.” Ms. Meagher said.
Jessica, who is passionate about the environment and animals said she had been excited to receive such a positive response to her idea including her suggestion “it could have the RFS badge (章) painted on the koala or it could have a fireman’s jacket.” The new sculpture, Frankie Firefighter, created by artist Kim Staples, was unveiled (揭幕) this week and features both Jessica’s ideas.
1. What did Jessica’s mother advise her to do?| A．Send greetings to firefighters. | B．Put her artwork on their doorstep. |
| C．Build a sculpture to honor firefighters. | D．Seek help from Hello Koalas to apply her idea. |
| A．Firefighters heroic stories. | B．Her involvement in RFS. |
| C．Jessica’s Facebook post. | D．Her own past thoughts. |
| A．It wears a badge donated by a fireman. | B．It draws inspiration from Kim Staples. |
| C．It is contrary to Jessica’s expectations. | D．It is a koala in a fireman’s jacket. |
2 . The Savitzs who move to Newton had found themselves welcomed into the neighborhood with truly open arms. Glenda was pregnant before the move and within three months, they gave birth to Samantha. About a week after Glenda and RaphiSavitz welcomed their daughter Samantha to the world, they learned that she was deaf. “We knew right away that we had to get involved in the deaf community, learn about the culture, and start getting fully lost in American Sign Language,” Glenda says. What the new parents didn’t know was that their neighbors in Newton, Mass., would decide they needed to start learning sign language, too.
“We really wanted to communicate with her and play with her,” says McNeil, who lives across the street from the Savitzs. “And since she couldn’t learn our language, we thought we wanted to learn hers.” McNeil and three other neighbors quietly signed up for local adult education classes in American Sign Language. “We met a teacher there that we really loved, and we asked him if he would come here and teach more neighbors,” McNeil explains. “So that’s how it started.” About 20 neighbors immediately signed up for the class. With the help of their instructor, Rhys McGovern, the neighbors are able to help Samantha feel like she belongs.
“We know how to say, ‘Are you riding your bike?’ or ‘You have pretty new pink sneakers.’ There’s a dog across the street that she loves to play with. So we all know the sign for ‘dog.’” McNeil adds, “Her parents translate for us because her fingers are very small right now and she signs very fast, so we’re trying and we’re getting better. ... Her first sign to all of us is ‘friend,’ which feels very good.”
The classes have been such a hit that there are now two offerings, on two different weeknights, bringing the number of neighbors learning the language to about 40. As a result of that neighborly effort, Samantha moves with ease where her family lives. She’ll stop in at neighbors’ homes just to draw pictures and chat.
1. When did Glenda and RaphiSavitz find Samantha deaf?| A．Within three months of her pregnancy. |
| B．About a week after their learning ASL. |
| C．When Samantha was about one week old. |
| D．Three months before their move to Newton. |
| A．A teacher who instructs Savitz’s neighbors to learn ASL. |
| B．A neighbor who helps Savitzinteract with her neighbors. |
| C．A neighbor hired an instructor for Savitz’s neighbors. |
| D．An organizer who calls on Savitz’s neighbors to help her. |
| A．Bike. | B．Sneakers. | C．Dog. | D．Friend. |
| A．Good neighbors, a piece of treasure. |
| B．Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. |
| C．Better to be friendly with a neighbor than to wear a fur jacket. |
| D．Communication is one of the most efficient ways to understand. |
3 . DerlinNewey, an 89-year-old man from Weber County, Utah, has already reached an impressive age, but his Social Security checks aren’t covering his expenses. He works for a local Papa John’s as a delivery man, and despite being forced to work at his advanced age, he hasn’t let that affect his attitude — something the Valdez family recognized and honored.
Fans of pizza, the Valdezes order Papa John’s quite often. And when they do, they specifically request Newey, who always shows up with his signature greeting: “Hello, are you looking for some pizza?” The Valdezes, who have over 60,000 followers on TikTok, have featured Newey in the past, and their viewers have fallen in love with the elderly gentleman. “Everybody loves him,” Dad Carlos Valdez said.
The family has grown so fond of him that they decided to do something wonderful for the man. After they started a fundraiser for Newey, it wasn’t long before generous donors had given to the tune of $12,000 — a sizable amount by any standard, but especially so for someone in Newey’s shoes. “Collectively as a community, we all came together, and we were able to raise $12,000 for this amazing person,” CarlosValdez explained. “Somebody at that age should not be working that much.”
All that was left was to surprise Newey in his own home, making a special delivery to their special delivery man. “Good morning, dude! How are you doing?” CarlosValdez greeted Newey. The “TikTok famous” delivery man thought he was going to bring him a shirt with his signature saying (which he did), but he got far more than he had expected when CarlosValdez handed him a fat envelope stuffed with cash.
Newey didn’t even know what TikTok was, asking “Is that an online group you communicate with each other through the telephone?” “This couldn’t have gone any better,” CarlosValdez said. “He needed this. I’m just glad we could help him. We just need to treat people with kindness and respect the way he does. He stole our hearts.”
1. Why does Newey still work in his later years?| A．At his fans’ request. | B．For his love for the job. |
| C．Out of financial necessity. | D．For experiencing a new lifestyle. |
| A．Starred. | B．Surprised. | C．Sponsored. | D．Employed. |
| A．Ask him for his signature. | B．Bring him a special shirt. |
| C．Deliver him a large fortune. | D．Offer him a pizza for free. |
| A．They’re ambitious and selfless. | B．They’re determined and creative. |
| C．They’re serious and intelligent. | D．They’re friendly and considerate. |
4 . Ever since Jaden Hunter was a little boy growing up in South Los Angeles, he’s always been focused on his education. This year he graduated at the top of his class from Crenshaw Arts Tech Charter High with 4.7 grade point average and was named co-valedictorian (致告别辞的最优秀毕业生).
“I felt good because my hard work paid off. All the long sleepless nights I took in, stuff like that, it finally paid off,” Hunter said. His accolades (嘉奖) and achievements don’t stop there. The 18-year-old is one of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s scholarship recipients. Also, he was accepted not just into one, two or even three universities. He was accepted to 39 schools and received $3.5 million in scholarships. Eventually, he got accepted into his childhood dream school, USC.
After weighing his options, Hunter made a decision and is set to start college this week.”Math has been my favorite subject. So that’s why I’ll be studying mechanical engineering at Berkeley,” he said.
His mother, Rodkeisha Polian, said her son’s schedule was always filled with a variety of activities.” I kept him in sports, I kept him in church and I kept him in community events,” Polian said. “I always kept him busy, so he didn’t have time to wander out in the streets and get into any trouble.”
Although Hunter was busy enough, he’s also launched his own clothing brand called The Legit Way. The young entrepreneur said he’s most inspired by his community and wants to give back.
“In my community, just all low-income communities, we don’t know what it is to build credit, how to buy a home, how to obtain a loan from the bank, anything in that sort. So I just want to teach the community that and empower my community, promote them, help us get further than where we were,” Jaden said.
He said the success he’s been able to achieve is just the beginning. Once he graduates from college, he said he wants to work for NASA or Space X.
1. What can we know about Hunter from the first paragraph?| A．He chose the major in education. |
| B．He was a little boy interested in Art. |
| C．He made a speech at the graduation ceremony. |
| D．He graduated from Crenshaw Arts Tech Charter College. |
| A．To keep away from quarrel. |
| B．To avoid causing unnecessary loss. |
| C．To prevent him making bad friends. |
| D．To make him have no energy to hang out. |
| A．His ambition. | B．His hobby. | C．His achievement. | D．His career. |
| A．A short novel. | B．A report. |
| C．A review. | D．A story introduction. |
5 . At her heaviest, Chasity Davis weighed 365 pounds at only 4.11 feet tall. While she was pregnant (怀孕) with her third daughter, she knew something had to change.
“I was piling on the weight. Just eating all the time. I was in a very terrible state,” she said.
As many moms know, new health problems can pop up after giving birth, and that’s just what happened to Davis. She started experiencing shallow breathing when she sat back or lay down. Luckily, her doctors took it very seriously. When the doctors put the heart monitor on Davis they found her heart actually stopping.
“My heart had stopped for about three seconds,” said Davis. Obviously, her blood pressure had risen as well. To make matters worse, she was upset at not being allowed to see her baby daughter, and that was further affecting her blood pressure, but doctors warned her that she needed to concentrate on taking care of herself first.
Davis went through heart and stomach operations, which helped her quickly lose 65 pounds, but she couldn’t stop there. Even at 300 pounds, that was too much weight for her height. So after her recovery, she made a choice to work hard to get fit.
She began by working out seven days a week, twice a day, and switching to a diet that included lots of fruits and vegetables. She now walks about 5-6 miles a day! After all the diet and exercise, Davis has now lost 242 pounds over the last 7 years, with 171of that being from walking. Incredible!
Of course, she still has some fatty or sugary foods, but she limits them. “Just because losing weight doesn’t mean I never eat anything bad,” Davis said. “The difference now is that we have a home-cooked meal every single day.”
“Life is so much greater when you are healthier,” she added, “I just feel great about myself. I have learned so much.”
1. Why was Davis connected to the heart monitor?| A．She was pregnant. | B．She ate all the time. |
| C．She had health problems. | D．She gave birth to her third daughter. |
| A．She put on weight quickly. | B．Her blood pressure rose higher. |
| C．Her heart stopped for about 3 seconds. | D．She started experiencing shallow breathing. |
| A．By joining a fitness club. | B．By receiving the operations. |
| C．By walking about 5-6 miles a day. | D．By switching to a healthy diet. |
| A．She seldom has meals out. | B．She hardly has anything for supper. |
| C．She no longer has fatty or sugary foods. | D．She never eats anything bad for health now. |
6 . This weekend, thousands of motorcyclists are riding on the Black Hills for the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Fair. For many of them, an 8-year-old’s lemonade stand has become a popular stop.
Wyatt started the free lemonade stand last year as a way to raise some money to buy a Lego set. But on the first day, he not only made enough cash to get his toys, but he was able to donate $200 to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. “So now, 50 percent goes to college,” he explained. “30 percent goes to St. Jude and the rest goes to... last year it was Legos, this year it’s a dirt bike.”
This year, Wyatt’s lemonade stand went viral after someone posted about it on social media. “I’m still trying to figure out exactly what happened,” said his mother Robin Dennis. “This just blows my mind.”
So far, the post has been shared more than 60,000 times and encouraged hundreds of bikers from all over the U.S. to the Sturgis motorcycle rally. “He loves it,” said Robin. “He loves seeing the people. He loves waving to the people. Even if they don’t stop, they ride by and honk their horn. He makes many friends and becomes more confident.”
Whether he’s serving lemonade, posing for pictures, or sitting on a motorcycle, Wyatt has become something of a local celebrity. He’s raised enough to donate $4,500 to St. Jude this year and he has no plans to pump the brakes anytime soon.
“As long as he’s having fun doing it and it’s what he wants to do, we’ll be out here every year serving lemonade to everyone who’s here,” his mother said.
1. Why do people stop by a lemonade stand?| A．To advocate the annual fair. | B．To worship the local celebrity. |
| C．To support the little boy. | D．To make lemonade for the charity. |
| A．Relieved. | B．Moved. | C．Content. | D．Amazed. |
| A．Speed. | B．Stop. | C．Decline. | D．Expand. |
| A．Roses given, fragrance in hand. |
| B．Birds of a feature flock together. |
| C．A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit. |
| D．Love shows more in action than in words. |
7 . My family and I recently went to Australia, to see my grandparents. But before we visited them, we went sightseeing along the Great Ocean Road, on the Australian coast.
Dad had planned to drive, but even though he was used to driving miles without getting exhausted, he then read on the website that the road wouldn’t be an easy drive. Anyway, we thought he deserved to enjoy the fantastic views too, which he couldn’t do as our driver. So instead, we booked discount bus tickets and off we went.
Our first stop was where wild kangaroo lived — and Dad and I were taking a walk when a big one appeared! For a moment, it seemed to consider coming towards us, which made me a little nervous — but then it went off along the road and into the bushes.
That wasn’t the only wildlife we saw. I thought it unlikely we’d see famous Koala bears during our short visit. In fact, at our next stop, we saw roughly six million in that area! Sadly, some gum trees they were in had very few leaves left, which people told us was because of the Koalas, although I’d read that lack of water is indeed the problem.
Dad had booked a campsite for the night, with ready-made tents — for an adventure! I wasn’t sure about that, but they were really luxury tents, within walking distance of some famous rocks and other places we hoped to visit. However, Dad also said the sounds of wild creatures would help us sleep. That sounded worrying — until the “wild creatures” turned out to be frogs! So I was embarrassed by my fears and kept awake by the frogs! But we had fun making meals together.
In fact, this whole trip was fantastic!
1. How did the author’s family choose to travel at last?| A．By car. | B．By bike. | C．By boat. | D．By bus. |
| A．A little excited. | B．A little proud. | C．A little afraid. | D．A little upset. |
| A．heard the sound of frogs | B．was a little cold |
| C．dreamed of some famous places | D．was scared by a dangerous wild animal |
| A．Long. | B．Wonderful. | C．Cheap. | D．Boring. |
8 . Think Before You Snap (拍照)
Fans have always done crazy things to get up close and personal with their idols, but one Irish cycling fan may have just taken things a step too far. David McCarthy was watching the Giro d’ltalia as it passed through the streets of Dublin. He was standing at the finish line when the German cyclist Marcel Kittel fell down in exhaustion in front of him.
It wasn’t long before his post attracted large amounts of negative comments.
The apology was forwarded on to Kittel, who seemed to be able to see the funny side. He responded to the young Irish fan about the lessons we learn in life, adding a story of his own about a time he was caught by his grandmother dangerously playing with fireworks.
| A．McCarthy got annoyed. |
| B．However, there is a happy end to the story. |
| C．That’s what he has learned from the incident. |
| D．It seemed the public were angry with his selfie. |
| E．I didn’t think the photo would cause such great offence. |
| F．Hopefully, McCarthy has learned his lesson and will think twice before he snaps. |
| G．McCarthy seized this perfect opportunity to take a selfie with the exhausted cyclist. |
9 . The sun is shinning. I get on No. 151 bus. I’m heading for my office. The sight on the bus is striking: People sit so close together, using those thin sheets of newspapers to keep their distance.
As the bus approaches the National Park, a voice suddenly rings out, “Attention! Attention! This is your driver speaking.”
No one speaks. We look at the back of the driver’s head. His voice carries authority. “Put your papers down. All of you.” The newspapers come down and they are placed on our laps.
“Now, turn and face the person next to you. Go ahead.” Amazingly, we all do it. Still, no one smiles. Just follow the order.
I face an old woman, her head wrapped tightly in a red scarf. I see her nearly everyday. Our eyes meet. We wait for the next order from the driver. We smile to each other. There is a feeling of relief. The barrier (隔阂) has been broken. We cannot help saying, “Good morning, neighbor.”
It is not so hard after all. Some of us repeat it. Others shake hands. Many laugh. The bus driver says nothing more. Slowly, I hear laughter, a warm sound I have never heard before on the bus.
When we reach my stop, I say good-bye to my seatmate, and then jump from the doorstep. As No. 151 bus drives away, I smile as I watch the happy faces of the passengers. This day is starting off better than most.
1. Where does the story take place according to the passage?| A．On a street. | B．On a bus. | C．In a park. | D．In an office. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Negative. | C．Unclear. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．To stress the effect of reading on people. | B．To introduce the ways of communicating. |
| C．To ask people to use more public transport. | D．To encourage people to break the barriers. |
10 . The most valuable thing I ever lost was a pair of diamond earrings I won many years ago at a charity auction (拍卖会). I wrote about the lost earrings in my new children’s book, The Christmas Pig. When they reach the Land of the Lost, where the hero must go to rescue his most beloved toy, my earrings are angry that they aren’t treated with the respect they think they deserve. They soon find out that being made of diamonds counts for(有用) very little in the strange world where human-made objects go when lost, because a thing’s importance there depends on how much it’s truly loved.
The Christmas Pig explores a deep attachment to an old object. It’s about the journey of a boy, Jack, who is a little lost himself, but who discovers his bravery and ability to love in a strange new world. Of all the books I’ve written, this is the one that made me cry the most, because I was dealing with emotions that run deep in all of us. Loss and change are hard for children, but acceptance of these unavoidable parts of life isn’t much easier for adults. The Christmas Pig shows how human beings — even small, lost ones — are capable of wonderful, heroic acts.
A very strange thing happened on the day I finished editing The Christmas Pig. After emailing the final version to my editor, I set about clearing out a cupboard. One of the last objects I picked up was a small box. I opened it. There were my long-lost diamond earrings. I’ve decided to sell them and give the money to a charity. I think it was a nice ending for my earrings’ story to have them do some good for children in the Land of the Living.
How many times have I been asked whether I believe in magic? On the day I finished The Christmas Pig, for a few shining moments I really did.
1. What’s the author’s purpose of writing this passage?| A．To tell a story happening in a magical world. |
| B．To advertise her first children’s book. |
| C．To introduce her new book and stories behind it. |
| D．To reveal our deep attachment to old objects. |
| A．A boy saved his lost toy in the magical world. | B．A boy helped earrings find their own value. |
| C．A boy discovered bravery in the real world. | D．A boy was looked down upon by some earrings. |
| A．She was unable to forgive herself. |
| B．It was based on her own past experiences. |
| C．The hero dealt successfully with loss and change. |
| D．Many adults could hardly understand the main characters. |
| A．Lost things will turn up sooner or later. | B．Sometimes warm magical things can happen in life. |
| C．We should donate to help those in need. | D．Sometimes magic in books can happen in real life. |
