1 . I have worked as a keeper at the National Zoo for 11 years. Spot and Stripe are the first tiger cubs (幼兽) that have ever been born here. Globally, a third of Sumatran cubs in zoos don’t make it to adulthood, so I decided to give them round-the-clock care at home.
I’ve got two children — the younger one, Kynan, was extremely happy about the tigers arriving — but all of us really looked forward to being part of their lives and watching them grow. I wasn’t worried about bringing them into my home with my wife and kids. These were cubs. They weighed about 2.5kg and were so small that there was absolutely no risk.
As they grew more mobile, we let them move freely around the house during the day, but when we were asleep we had to contain them in a large room, otherwise they’d get up to mischief. We’d come down in the morning to find they’d turned the room upside down, and left it looking like a zoo.
Things quickly got very intense due to the huge amount of energy required to look after them. There were some tough times and I just felt extremely tired. I was grateful that my family was there to help. We had to have a bit of a production line going, making up “riser milk”, washing baby bottles, and cleaning the floors.
When Spot and Stripe were four months old, they were learning how to open doors and jump fences, and we knew it really was time for them to go. It was hard for us to finally part with them. For the first few days, Kynan was always a bit disappointed that the cubs weren’t there.
I’m not sad about it. I’m hands-on with them every day at the zoo, and I do look back very fondly on the time that we had them.
1. Why did the author bring the tiger cubs home?| A．To ensure their survival. | B．To observe their differences. |
| C．To teach them life skills. | D．To let them play with his kids. |
| A．Behave badly. | B．Lose their way. |
| C．Sleep soundly. | D．Miss their mom. |
| A．Boring. | B．Tiring. | C．Illegal. | D．Risky. |
| A．They frightened the children. | B．They became difficult to contain. |
| C．They annoyed the neighbours. | D．They started fighting each other. |
2 . We journalists live in a new age of storytelling, with many new multimedia tools. Many young people don’t even realize it’s new. For them, it’s just normal.
This hit home for me as I was sitting with my 2-year-old grandson on a sofa over the Spring Festival holiday. I had brought a children’s book to read. It had simple words and colorful pictures — a perfect match for his age.
Picture this: my grandson sitting on my lap as I hold the book in front so he can see the pictures. As I read, he reaches out and pokes (戳) the page with his finger.
What’s up with that? He just likes the pictures, I thought. Then I turned the page and continued. He poked the page even harder. I nearly dropped the book. I was confused: Is there something wrong with this kid?
Then I realized what was happening. He was actually a stranger to books. His father frequently amused the boy with a tablet computer which was loaded with colorful pictures that come alive when you poke them. He thought my storybook was like that.
Sorry, kid. This book is not part of your high-tech world. It’s an outdated, lifeless thing. An antique, like your grandfather. Well, I may be old, but I’m not hopelessly challenged, digitally speaking. I edit video and produce audio. I use mobile payment. I’ve even built websites.
There’s one notable gap in my new-media experience, however: I’ve spent little time in front of a camera, since I have a face made for radio. But that didn’t stop China Daily from asking me last week to share a personal story for a video project about the integration of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province.
Anyway, grandpa is now an internet star — two minutes of fame! I promise not to let it go to my head. But I will make sure my 2-year-old grandson sees it on his tablet.
1. Why did the kid poke the storybook?| A．He took it for a tablet computer. | B．He disliked the colorful pictures. |
| C．He was angry with his grandpa. | D．He wanted to read it by himself. |
| A．Socially ambitious. | B．Physically attractive. |
| C．Financially independent. | D．Digitally competent. |
| A．He lacks experience in his job. | B．He seldom appears on television. |
| C．He manages a video department. | D．He often interviews internet stars. |
3 . Maggie was looking for a chance to do something good during her summer break from college. She wanted to find an activity that combined her interests and she found the perfect opportunity at a local animal shelter. “I thought about volunteering and I’ve always loved animals and photography,” she said.
For the past two weeks, Maggie has been taking portraits (肖像) of cats and dogs at an animal shelter in Kentucky. The idea came to her after she read articles saying that animals with good photos are more likely to get adopted than those without. “So I just called the shelter and asked if I could come in and they seemed really grateful.” said Maggie.
Maggie said that the shelter is in a rural area that’s difficult to reach. But since her photos were added to the shelter’s Facebook page, “they say they can’t believe how many calls they’ve been getting.”
Part of her success, she said, is that she gets to know the dogs before taking their portrait. There’s Blinky. “She absolutely loves to go out and run and is a super sweet dog that loves taking photos. She just smiles at me and everything.” said Maggie. There’s also Jersey, a one-year-old female dog that Maggie describes as calm and well-mannered.
The phenomenon in which pet adopters shun dark coated dogs is called black dog syndrome (综合征). But it is unclear how much the issue actually affects pet adoptions. A 2002 study found that black fur negatively influenced adoption rates for dogs. According to the report, Black dogs had the least likelihood of being adopted compared to dogs of all other colors.
Maggie said at least one of those dogs had been adopted several weeks before. “When I came in today people at the shelter told me that many people had come in and talked about how the photos made them want to come to the shelter,” she added proudly.
1. What inspired Maggie to take photos of dogs?| A．Attractive photos of a black dog. |
| B．Articles on animal adoption. |
| C．A call from an animal shelter. |
| D．A part-time job in summer break. |
| A．She fully appreciates beauty in nature. |
| B．She develops professional photography skills. |
| C．She impresses pet adopters with good manners. |
| D．She learns about dogs’ personality before photographing them |
| A．Avoid. | B．Rescue. | C．Raise. | D．Train. |
| A．They should involve more types of pets. |
| B．They have won her more business orders. |
| C．They failed to help a pet find a home. |
| D．They attracted much public attention for the shelter. |
4 . It’s still there, the Vietnamese school where my brother and I used to go. Even with a new coat of paint and the high wire fence, the school I knew ten years ago remains the same.
Every day at 5 p.m., instead of flying kites with our friends, my brother and I had to go to Vietnamese school. No amount of kicking, screaming, or arguing could stop my mother, who was determined to have us learn the language of our culture. She held us by the collar and walked with us the seven long, hilly blocks from our home to school, leaving our tearful faces before the front of the school.
We all sat in little chairs in a big empty room, which had a slight smell of old clothes that had been stored for a long time. I hated that smell. There was a stage far to the right, with an American flag on one side and the flag of the Republic of Vietnam on the other side.
Although the school mainly taught language - speaking, reading, dictation - the lessons always began with an exercise in politeness. With the entrance of the teacher, the best student would tap a bell and everyone would get up, and say in Vietnamese, “How are you, teacher?”
The language always made me embarrassed. More often than not, I had tried to separate myself from the loud voice that followed me whenever I went to the American supermarket outside our area. The voice belonged to my grandmother, a small old woman who could shout louder than anyone on the street. Her Vietnamese was quick, it was loud, it was not beautiful.
In our area, the comings and goings of hundreds of Vietnamese on their daily tasks sounded crazy. I did not want to be thought of as being mad, as talking stupid. When I spoke English, people nodded at me, smiled and encouraged me. Even Vietnamese people would laugh and say that I’d do well in life.
My brother was even stricter than I about speaking English. He was especially cruel towards my mother, scolding her for her poor English. Bits of Vietnamese were often mixed in her conversation.
After two years of struggle, I finally divorced my culture. I was permitted to stop Vietnamese school. I thought of myself as American. At last, I thought I was one of you; I wasn’t one of them.
Sadly, I am only an American.
1. What can be learned from the passage?| A．The author’s brother liked learning Vietnamese. |
| B．The author’s mother taught him English at home. |
| C．The author didn’t like learning Vietnamese when he was young. |
| D．The author’s mother put her sons in a language school in Vietnam. |
| A．his Vietnamese was not beautiful enough |
| B．he could not fly kites like other kids at school |
| C．his grandma spoke Vietnamese loudly in public |
| D．his mother always treated him rudely in the market |
| A．scared | B．peaceful | C．satisfied | D．regretful |
| A．It is important to adapt to a new environment. |
| B．It is important to appreciate your own culture. |
| C．It is important to remember your childhood. |
| D．It is important to learn a foreign language. |
5 . Five-year-old Mustafa is smiling for the first time in ages. She did not receive a new toy or her favorite candy; rather, she got a wig (假发).
Mustafa had to go through painful procedures after being diagnosed with cancer at an early age. Her father expressed her sadness when she lost her hair after months of chemotherapy (化疗). “She saw children of her age jumping in playgrounds and spending hours styling their hair, while she couldn’t. Losing her hair made her hopeless, negatively impacting her response to treatment,” the girl’s father said.
Coming from a less fortunate family, Mustafa now sits in a humble hairdresser’s in Cairo, sliding her fingers through her new long hair as she looks in the mirror with fresh enthusiasm. Behind that smile and renewed confidence is Salam, from Egypt, who has been personally funding and designing free wigs for children with cancer to give them power to defeat their illness.
Salam took up his mission when he saw a viral video on social media of a young cancer patient who was excited at receiving a new wig. It was the moment when he decided to provide free wigs to children with cancer to lift up their spirits. “Many families can barely afford expensive cancer treatment costs, let alone costly cosmetic services that can play a huge role in restoring children’s confidence and giving them strength to continue their treatment,” said Salam.
As part of the self-funded initiative, Salam purchases the necessary requirements to make a wig, while his father helps design hairstyles to serve different children. So far, Salam has helped over 15 children walk out of his shop empowered with big smiles.
Despite the several challenges, Salam said making wigs gives him as much happiness as it does for his young customers. “Children need the emotional and moral support to go through this tough illness.” He added, “Losing their hair drives them to withdraw into themselves out of fear and embarrassment. I cannot help in their treatment, but I can help them get through it.”
1. Why are a toy and candy mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To indicate the girl’s age. | B．To imply a serious illness. |
| C．To show the shortage of toys and candies. | D．To highlight the value of the wig. |
| A．Hairstyle matters much. | B．Sports benefit Mustafa. |
| C．Hair loss depressed Mustafa. | D．Mustafa’s treatment failed. |
| A．His sympathy. | B．Family support. |
| C．Government fund. | D．Mustafa’s enthusiasm. |
| A．Cautious and innovative. | B．Inspiring and talented. |
| C．Sensitive and empathetic. | D．Ambitious and sensible. |
6 . I am sitting at the table in my favorite Boston bookstore-café, laptop open, writing. Ten minutes ago I ordered coffee. The server—a young, dark-haired woman with a broad smile and glasses—stopped and quietly said, “I just want to tell you how much your TED talk meant to me, you helped me find out what I really wanted to do with my life—go to medical school—and then you helped me do what I needed to do to get there. Thank you.”
Tears in my eyes, I asked, “What’s your name?”
“Fetaine,” she said. Then we talked for the next ten minutes about Fetaine’s challenges in the past and new-found excitement about her future.
Everyone who communicates with me is special and memorable, but this kind of communication happens far more often than I’d ever have expected: a stranger warmly greets me, shares a personal story about how they successfully dealt with difficulties, and then simply thanks me for my part in it. They are women and men, old and young, poor and wealthy. But something connects them: all have felt powerless in the face of great pressure and anxiety(焦虑), and all discovered a quite simple way to free themselves from that feeling of powerlessness.
For most writers, the book comes first, then the responses. For me, it was the other way around. First, I performed experiments that led to a talk I gave at the TEDGlobal conference in 2012. In that talk, I discussed some interesting findings about how we can quickly increase our confidence and decrease(减轻) our anxiety in challenging situations. I also shared my own troubles and how I learned to become more confident. Soon after the twenty-one-minute video of the talk was posted on the Internet, I began hearing from people who had seen it.
Of course, watching my talk didn’t magically give Fetaine the knowledge she needed to do well on Medical College Admission Test. But it may have helped her get out of the fear that could have prevented her from expressing the things she knew.
1. What happened in the Boston bookstore-café?| A．The writer waited ten minutes for her coffee. |
| B．The writer came across a friend of hers. |
| C．A waitress expressed her thanks to the writer. |
| D．A waitress encouraged the writer to give a TED talk. |
| A．They once faced problems and felt helpless. |
| B．They shared personal stories about strangers. |
| C．They were famous but under great pressure. |
| D．They were afraid to communicate with others. |
| A．How to increase confidence. | B．How to perform meaningful experiments. |
| C．How to overcome anxiety in a talk. | D．How to find interesting things in life. |
| A．She gave Fetaine power to look to the future. |
| B．She helped Fetaine with her knowledge. |
| C．She advised Fetaine to go to medical school. |
| D．She helped Fetaine to get a good job. |
7 . Sitting in the garden for my friend’s birthday. I felt a buzz (振动) in my pocket. My heart raced when I saw the email sender’s name. The email started off: “Dear Mr Green, thank you for your interest” and “the review process took longer than expected.” It ended with “We are sorry to inform you…” and my vision blurred (模糊). The position—measuring soil quality in the Sahara Desert as part of an undergraduate research programme — had felt like the answer I had spent years looking for.
I had put so much time and emotional energy into applying, and I thought the rejection meant the end of the road for my science career.
So I was shocked when, not long after the email, Professor Mary Devon, who was running the programme, invited me to observe the work being done in her lab. I jumped at the chance, and a few weeks later I was equally shocked—and overjoyed—when she invited me to talk with her about potential projects I could pursue in her lab. What she proposed didn’t seem as exciting as the original project I had applied to, but I was going to give it my all.
I found myself working with a robotics professor on techniques for collecting data from the desert remotely. That project, which I could complete from my sofa instead of in the burning heat of the desert, not only survived the lockdown but worked where traditional methods didn’t. In the end, I had a new scientific interest to pursue.
When I applied to graduate school, I found three programmes promising to allow me to follow my desired research direction. And I applied with the same anxious excitement as before. When I was rejected from one that had seemed like a perfect fit, it was undoubtedly difficult. But this time I had the perspective (视角) to keep it from sending me into panic. It helped that in the end I was accepted into one of the other programmes I was also excited about.
Rather than setting plans in stone, I’ve learned that sometimes I need to take the opportunities that are offered, even if they don’t sound perfect at the time, and make the most of them.
1. How did the author feel upon seeing the email sender’s name?| A．Anxious. | B．Angry. | C．Surprised. | D．Settled. |
| A．criticise the review process | B．stay longer in the Sahara Desert |
| C．apply to the original project again | D．put his heart and soul into the lab work |
| A．demanding | B．inspiring | C．misleading | D．amusing |
| A．An invitation is a reputation. | B．An innovation is a resolution. |
| C．A rejection can be a redirection. | D．A reflection can be a restriction. |
8 . My neighbour Orlando is a paramedic (护理人员). He and his wife are some of the nicest people I have ever met. A few years back we started this sort of “favor war”, where one of us would do something for the other, such as shoveling (铲) his driveway or helping him build a shed, and next time the other would try to top it with another favor.
Yesterday morning there was maybe 2 or 3 feet of snow on the ground and I remembered he shoveled my driveway for me last snowfall. So I took out my shovel and took care of both our sidewalks and driveways because it was my turn to do a favor back. It took a while but I finished and got into my car for work. What I did not realize was that Orlando had to work that day too.
Fast forward to this morning I got a knock on my door. It was him. He immediately shook my hand and informed me that because I shoveled his driveway and sidewalk for him, he was able to get to work earlier. As soon as he started his shift, a call came through that a young boy was in a medical emergency. Luckily he and his partner were only about 2 minutes away, but the next closest ambulance was in 10 minutes. This kid didn’t have 10 minutes. He barely had 2 minutes. Because my neighbour got to work sooner, the young boy got to live his life.
This isn’t a brag (吹嘘). This is to inform others that even the smallest favors can have the biggest impacts. It wasn’t too much of trouble to shovel his driveway for him, but because I did, the young kid got to see his family again, go back to school again, talk to his friends again and live his life.
1. What can we know about the writer and Orlando?| A．They once had a conflict. | B．They signed a favorable agreement. |
| C．They favor shoveling snow together. | D．They are always ready to help each other. |
| A．The writer. | B．The boy’s parents. |
| C．Orlando and his partner. | D．Orlando and his wife. |
| A．To tell him to clear up the snow. | B．To tell him to do a favour back. |
| C．To express his thanks to him. | D．To say he started his shift. |
| A．Never ask for trouble. | B．No favor is too small. |
| C．One cannot always be lucky. | D．Don’t lose heart in an emergency. |
9 . Budha Magar, a double above-the-knee amputee (被截肢者), is working with an all-Nepali team to attempt to conquer the world’s highest mountain in May. Though he will be kitted out (装备) with special climbing legs, he will essentially be crawling up Everest using his hands.
He estimates it will take him three times longer than able-bodied climbers to reach the summit (顶峰), though he is confident he will be faster than average on the ladder sections because of his superior upper body strength. Two climbers with below-knee amputations have reached Everest’s summit before. But making the climb without knees is significantly harder. “In Nepali we say that being disabled is ‘like a burden of the earth’,” he explains. Magar hopes that he can raise awareness of just what is possible for a disabled person in the country of his birth, and hopefully inspire others further afield.
He was born in a village of Nepal, and he left there at the age of 19. In April 2021, he had an accident. Suddenly legless, he spent at least 18 months depressed before a charity offered him the chance to go skydiving. “That was a big turning point for me, especially for my confidence. And when we landed on the ground I realized that even without legs we are able to do lots of things,” he says.
He began doing sports — golf, rock climbing, table tennis — before setting his sights on mountaineering. Before long, a childhood dream to climb Everest resurfaced, and he began training in earnest to make the climb in 2018.
Now living in Canterbury, Budha Magar has raised more than £200,000 towards his attempt. If he can find another £100,000 of sponsorship, he will travel to Nepal in spring with his expedition leader Krishna Thapa. Success on the world’s highest mountain can never be guaranteed, but his expedition credo (信条) illustrates his mindset: no legs, no limits.
1. What may enable Magar to perform better than average on the ladder sections?| A．His optimism. | B．Unique equipment. |
| C．His stronger upper body. | D．Help from an all-Nepali team. |
| A．He lived in his birth place all the time. |
| B．He recovered from the accident in 2021. |
| C．He was a member of a charity. |
| D．He gained confidence through skydiving. |
| A．He hasn’t raised enough money for the summit attempt. |
| B．He needs a new expedition leader. |
| C．He can ensure the success of reaching the summit. |
| D．He will go to Canterbury in spring. |
| A．Caring and courageous. | B．Determined and adventurous. |
| C．Hard-working and cooperative. | D．Enthusiastic and intelligent. |
10 . Alex Spektor was nervous. He was in Poland near the Ukrainian(乌克兰的)border to meet his twin sons, Lenny and Moishe, for the first time. The boys were just 10 days old, born prematurely. Because of the war, his under-sized babies required oxygen and constant monitoring. Spektor had no clue how he would get them home to Chicago safely.
Then he heard about Bryan Stern. The navy veteran(退伍军人)ran the non-profit Project Dynamo, which sent all unpaid volunteers like Stern into war zones to rescue Americans and allies trying to flee. When Spektor reached out to him, Stern recognized just how serious the situation was for Lenny and Moishe. Saving the twins would require more than a fast car. The precious “cargo”(货物)had to be monitored and watched continuously by medical staff. Stern would follow in his car to navigate the various checkpoints and live fire.
Then there was an added wrinkle: baby Sophie, another baby who needed to be rescued. Born two days after the boys, she was even more fragile than the twins. This was quickly becoming the most difficult rescue Project Dynamo had faced.
Saving Lenny, Moishe, and Sophie was proving tougher. They found themselves under fire as soon as they left for the border. At the Polish border, Spektor waited with his phone, anxious for updates. Around 11 p. m., more than 13 hours after they left the hospital in Kyiv, Stern texted Spektor: “We’re at the border”. A few hours later, Lenny and Moishe were in their father’s arms. Soon, all three babies were resting in a Polish hospital. Stern, who served in multiple war tours and was awarded a Purple Heart, told Today: “It was by far one of the most stressful things I’ve ever done.”
1. Why was Alex Spektor nervous?| A．The war in Ukraine was fierce. |
| B．He couldn’t get home to Chicago safely. |
| C．He couldn’t attend to his two twin sons himself. |
| D．His two twin sons were too young to survive in the war. |
| A．Passing various checkpoints. | B．Rescuing another fragile baby. |
| C．Transporting the twins in live fire. | D．Monitoring the newly-born continuously. |
| A．The three babies narrowly escaped. |
| B．The rescue team was prevented on the border. |
| C．All three babies were operated in a Polish hospital. |
| D．Stern was awarded for saving the three babies himself. |
| A．Ambitious and successful. | B．Generous and cautious. |
| C．Selfless and courageous. | D．Influential and inspiring. |
