1 . Jeni Stepanek’s home is an attractive four-bedroomed house. Had it been a one-roomed small house, however, Jeni would still have bought it. The only thing that mattered when she moved in four years ago was its location. It is near the 26-acre park in Rockville, near Washington, DC, created in honor of her son Mattie.
The park has play spaces, but at its heart is a memorial peace garden with a life-size statue of Mattie and his dog Micah. “Every day, I sit at my window and see mothers go over to the statue with their children,” says Jeni. “It is a terrible thing for a parent to bury a child, but I do see how Mattie has touched the world.”
Jeni is a mother who has experienced more sadness than most of us could imagine. All four of her children were born with a genetic disorder (遗传性疾病). The first three died before the age of four. Mattie survived until three weeks before his 14th birthday. In his short lifetime, he had sold more than two million copies of his poetry collections and given encouraging speeches to thousands of followers. His heroes—Oprah Winfrey, poet Maya Angelou, former US president Jimmy Carter became his best friends. At his funeral Carter said, “My wife and I have known kings, queens and presidents, but the most extraordinary person whom I have ever known is Mattie Stepanek.”
In the years after Mattie died, Jeni had been writing about his short but meaningful life. “I didn’t want my sadness to flow onto the pages and nor did I want people to think I was hanging on to Mattie’s coat tails. But I knew in the end I would tell the story because I was the only one who lived it with him,” she said. Jeni’s now published book Messenger is a celebration of Mattie’s achievements that were beyond his years.
1. Why did Jeni buy the house?| A．Because of its attractive four bedrooms. | B．Because of its special location. |
| C．Because of its low price. | D．Because of its excellent conditions. |
| A．An accident. | B．A mental disease. |
| C．A natural disease. | D．A natural disaster. |
| A．Appreciative. | B．Pitiful. | C．Patient. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Jeni was still in deep sorrow. | B．Jeni wanted to be a writer. |
| C．Jeni continued her son’s writing work. | D．Jeni was proud of her son. |
No More, No Less
Many years ago, in the small Polish town of Pińczów, there lived a trader named Leib. He worked hard, but times were bad. He couldn’t afford to buy any presents for his family. Sometimes he couldn’t even buy food.
One day, Leib made an important decision to leave home for the big city of Kraków. Maybe he could earn more money there. In Kraków, Leib poured all of his energy into his work. After twelve months, he earned six hundred zlotys. But he missed his family so much that he decided to go home.
On his way home, Leib stopped in the town of Rozka. Fearing robbers, he decided to bury his money before going to the hotel to rest. Near a seemingly deserted house, he dug a hole and buried his money. But the house was not deserted. The old man owning it was watching through his window. When Leib left, he dug up the money.
Next morning, when Leib found his money gone, he cried bitterly. Looking around, he noticed the nearby house. “Whoever lives in that house must have seen me bury the money,” Leib thought. “But if I accuse him of stealing it, he will call me a liar.” Thinking for a while, Leib knocked on the door. He said to the old man, “I’m a stranger here and need advice. I heard you’re the wisest man here. Will you help me?” The old man was overjoyed, saying “Tell me what I can do for you”.
“Fearing robbers, I buried my money — six hundred zlotys — in a secret place last night,” Leib said. “Now I have received one thousand zlotys. Should I bury it in the same place or in another for the greatest safety?”
The old man smiled, “Since you are a stranger here, I advise you have all your money in the same place.” “Thank you for your advice,” said Leib. “I will do as you suggest.”
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1
As soon as Leib was out of sight, the old man took out the money he had stolen.
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Paragraph 2
When darkness fell, Leib went to the hiding place and found all his stolen money.
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3 . Had I made the right decision, getting Bronwen? I paced in our home,
My son convinced me to adopt the horse three months ago.
I paid close attention to how I approached her. No more rushing, no more
| A．waiting | B．looking | C．caring | D．making |
| A．So | B．Yet | C．Otherwise | D．Besides |
| A．doctor | B．expert | C．lawyer | D．storyteller |
| A．next | B．dark | C．only | D．opposite |
| A．quickly | B．anxiously | C．calmly | D．secretly |
| A．softened | B．strengthened | C．opened | D．brightened |
| A．forming | B．teaching | C．mirroring | D．shaping |
| A．respond | B．stick | C．object | D．reflect |
| A．sharing | B．talking | C．dealing | D．communicating |
| A．suit | B．shell | C．face | D．figure |
| A．wisdom | B．kindness | C．peace | D．eagerness |
| A．tension | B．anger | C．pressure | D．disappointment |
| A．gesture | B．mind | C．body | D．soul |
| A．went out | B．looked at | C．held up | D．reached out |
| A．disappointment | B．fear | C．worry | D．sadness |
4 . I love outings to the ballpark. My ears perk (竖起) up at the whack of a precisely hit ball, my nose enjoys the scent of hot dogs, and my heart jumps at the possibility of winning it all. But a few years ago I discovered the best way to watch a baseball game might be not to watch at all.
This discovery arose the year I got married. The first apartment my husband and I rented could charitably be called “charming”, although “diminutive” better describes it. But to young newlyweds, the 41-square-metre apartment felt sublime. The best thing about the apartment, in my opinion, was its location a quarter-mile from baseball’s oldest stadium, Boston’s Fenway Park.
The only problem? My husband was not a Red Sox fan. I hadn’t anticipated this stumbling block. He was an avid sports fan, and he’d only just moved to Boston. Surely a love of the hometown team would seep into his heart as naturally as fish take to water.
My hopes faded as the season began. A Seattle Mariners hat remained firmly planted on his head. Matching Red Sox T-shirts earned a veto.
As newlywed disagreements go, this one wasn’t horrible. Plenty of couples flourish with dueling team loyalties. But a worry nagged: If he couldn’t root for the Red Sox, would he ever truly make Boston home?
As a student, when the magic in the air that season permeated (传播) the girls’ boarding school I attended outside Boston, we begged our house directors to let us stay up past curfew to watch the games on TV, and when they at first refused, we listened on radios in our rooms and gleefully burst into the halls to cheer.
So when my husband said he’d never be a Red Sox fan, my heart clenched. But one delightful spring day our teeny apartment came to my rescue. As we sat at our dining room table, we heard a roar swell to a crescendo. This was the first indication that we could hear the stadium crowds from our home.
1. What do we learn about the author from Paragraph 1?| A．She has a good appetite. |
| B．She used to be a very energetic player. |
| C．She is very alert to smell. |
| D．She is a baseball fan. |
| A．Very smart. |
| B．Very small. |
| C．Extremely broken. |
| D．Extremely old. |
| A．She tolerated them. |
| B．She ignored them. |
| C．She argued with her husband frequently. |
| D．She attended school for baseball games. |
| A．Watching games with her husband at home. |
| B．Listening to the games from the neighboring stadium. |
| C．Communicating with her husband while dining. |
| D．Listening to the games on radios at home. |
Gen and her 5-year-old daughter found a fox cub (幼崽) trapped between her and her neighbour’s fence. The poor cub looked as though it had fallen down between the fence. It was stuck on its back with its limbs in the air.
Gen put gloves on and carefully freed the cub from the fence, but it was clear that it was shocked and injured. When she put it down, it couldn’t even move. She contacted their local wildlife rescue charity soon, but they said they couldn’t help because they didn’t have enough staff members. “We shouldn’t leave it there to die,” Gen said to her daughter. So they took it back and tried their best to look after it.
They fed the fox cub and kept it warm and clean. The fox cub slowly began to regain its strength and was able to walk, only a few feet at first, though. Once the fox cub had recovered, Gen felt clear that it wanted to look for its family, so they put it in a box outside in the garden for periods of time with some food and water, hoping its family might come to look for it.
At first, there was no sign of the mother fox. But then one night, something had visited Gen and her husband David’s garden. The next morning, the family were shocked to see the garden had been torn apart. They thought the mother fox must have had come looking for her cub.
“The mother fox was angry,” said David. “Trying to think about what she must have been going through to destroy so much of our stuff,” said Gen. They thought they had to create a good chance to get them back together. Then a genius idea came to them.
注意： 1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
David attached a washing basket to a long piece of rope and placed the fox cub underneath it.
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After observing the garden for just 15 minutes, the mother fox appeared.
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6 . According to CBS Minnesota, the golden retriever (寻回犬) named Marvel was the only one in her litter born without a front right paw (爪子). She’s since been taken in by the Williams family in Waconia, whose 7-year-old son, Paxton Williams, had his right leg cut away three years ago.
Rolling Oaks Goldens breeder Barb Felt found the Williams family through a friend, Paxton’s doctor. “When she was born, we knew right away she had a special purpose,” Felt said. “We wanted her to go in a home with someone who had a limb (肢体) difference.”
Paxton was born before the time was enough, which caused the boy to develop a serious problem in his right leg, which stunted the limb’s growth. Three years ago, Paxton’s parents made the difficult decision to have the boy’s right leg amputated and replaced with an artificial limb. Paxton’s mother, Stephanie, appreciates how their new pet addition helps her son normalize his physical differences.
“It gives him the opportunity to tell the kids, ‘Oh, she’s missing a paw, she’s like me,’” the mom explained. “Just like it gives him that voice to advocate for himself.”
Blaine, Paxton’s father, has also been moved by seeing Paxton and Marvel enjoy walks together on trails near their house. “It’s like they knew they were special,” Blaine said. “The amount of emotions was running through me at the time,” he continued. “It was just awesome because she was in the perfect place at the perfect time.”
Marvel might need a wheelchair or an artificial paw of her own as she grows larger and gets older. The family hopes that Paxton will someday be able to run with his artificial leg and that Marvel will be there to run beside him.
1. When did Paxton lose one of his limbs?| A．When he was born. | B．When he met the pet. |
| C．When he was four years old. | D．When he was seven years old. |
| A．Making something grow healthily. |
| B．Stopping something from growing normally. |
| C．Helping something to develop rapidly. |
| D．Forcing something to develop partly. |
| A．Horrible. | B．Grateful. | C．Addictive. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．A boy found a pet dog in the street. |
| B．The golden retriever saved her owner. |
| C．The Williams adopted a golden retriever. |
| D．A disabled boy adopted a dog without a paw. |
7 . A family visited the public elementary school where I taught students with a listening defect(缺点，缺陷). They said they would
After a few weeks with Katherine, I found her a very
One day Katherine got off the bus and stood in front of the school
That day Katherine discovered the
| A．look into | B．refer to | C．move to | D．travel around |
| A．thankful | B．upset | C．afraid | D．pleased |
| A．opinions | B．values | C．worries | D．hopes |
| A．sound | B．wish | C．face | D．speech |
| A．dull | B．naughty | C．rude | D．bright |
| A．success | B．struggle | C．hobby | D．reason |
| A．introduce | B．command | C．interest | D．amaze |
| A．sweets | B．towels | C．pencils | D．toys |
| A．refuse | B．expect | C．manage | D．decide |
| A．hearing | B．waiting | C．reading | D．crying |
| A．common sense | B．sign language | C．oral English | D．science knowledge |
| A．street | B．bus | C．office | D．house |
| A．read | B．wrote | C．shouted | D．learned |
| A．Strangely | B．Unexpectedly | C．Immediately | D．Unluckily |
| A．power | B．future | C．nature | D．style |
One day in summer vacation, I was in the chemist’s shop with my son who is fifteen years old. My son is talkative and his dream is becoming a famous speaker. So he loves engaging with strangers in public if they are friendly and safe. That day he said “Hi” to a kid and began a pleasant conversation. The kid called Jack was wearing the uniform of the senior high school my son would attend next month so I pointed that out to my son. When we were leaving. Jack said, “See you at school.”
On the first day of school, Jack, who was in Senior Two, greeted my son at the school gate. They soon became good friends. When I went to pick up my son after school, they walked out side by side. Jack’s mother stopped her car, too. However, as I was packing my car with groceries, I found my son’s new uniforms were missing and we felt extremely anxious. Seeing the scene like this, Jack’s mother constantly comforted us. She drove up behind me and promised to offer me a bag of uniforms that no longer fitted her son. She gave me those clothes for nothing! I was overjoyed and I went and picked them up from her the next afternoon.
This may seem like a small kindness to some people but for me it is huge! I have been stressing quite a lot about the cost of uniforms for school. We are attempting to start a business with no capital and have financial difficulties at the moment. I also suffer from severe depression and anxiety and have had the really worst year in my life. I cannot even begin to explain how much I appreciate this small gesture from a complete stranger. It has relieved a bit of a burden from my shoulders. You never know when the small kindnesses, even simply a smile on the street, can be incredibly uplifting to a complete stranger
I asked Jack’s mother for her contact information, and in the following days we kept in touch, and gradually we became good friends, too.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I decided to invite Jack and his mother to dinner at home,
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Years later, as Jack was graduating, his mother invited us to her home in return.
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9 . A teenager has realized her dream of becoming a model—just three years after a terrible car crash left her with a broken back. Marita Davies was in a wheelchair for a year and had to learn to walk, after she suffered terrible injuries as a passenger in a car driven by a drunk driver.
Marita feared her dream of a modeling career was over but just three years on, she is now in the running to be crowned Miss Great Britain. She said, "I was horrified when I learned the full extent of my injuries. I thought my dream of becoming a model was over. My leg was seriously injured and my back was broken. The crash had broken my confidence and I withdrew into myself. I was 16, and at that age all I wanted to do was go out with my friends."
But when she finally came out of the wheelchair, she turned a corner. Marita decided she would still try to follow her dreams, and sent some photos off to some modeling agencies. She did a few unpaid jobs while studying at college and soon, paid commercial modeling jobs started coming in. Marita was a bit doubtful at first, because the crash has left her with huge scars on her leg and back. She was worried people wouldn't want her to model for them, but it's not true.
Marita has done amazingly well to overcome everything, which has been thrown at her in the last three years. Within months of learning to walk again, Marita was signed up for advertising campaigns. She has also appeared in a TV ad. Marita was crowned Miss Nottingham City earlier this year, and is now competing against 59 other girls to be crowned Miss Great Britain.
1. What happened to Marita Davies 3 years ago?| A．She became a well-known model. | B．She suffered from a terrible car accident. |
| C．She was drunk when driving. | D．She gave up her dream of becoming a model. |
| A．Hopeless. | B．Indifferent. | C．Unlucky. | D．Confident. |
| A．To appear in the TV advertisement. | B．To sign up for advertising campaigns. |
| C．To win the title of Miss Great Britain. | D．To be crowned Miss Nottingham City. |
| A．show the modeling career is promising | B．encourage us to learn from Marita |
| C．warn the women not to drive a car | D．describe the life of a famous model to us |
10 . Susan had long blonde hair and big blue eyes. So did most of the other
She decided to try to make herself look
One morning her
“ Susan ,” her mother said ,“ You are different. You are unique (独一无二) and special.
Susan went to school that day and looked at all the other kids in her class.“ Mom was
| A．children | B．boys | C．men | D．women |
| A．complained | B．listened | C．talked | D．spoke |
| A．beautiful | B．simple | C．different | D．happy |
| A．too | B．either | C．also | D．neither |
| A．neck | B．nose | C．eyes | D．hair |
| A．Though | B．So | C．But | D．And |
| A．attention | B．help | C．prize | D．answer |
| A．father | B．mother | C．sister | D．brother |
| A．pull | B．wash | C．throw | D．turn |
| A．tomorrow | B．next week | C．next year | D．today |
| A．under | B．on | C．before | D．beside |
| A．Everybody | B．Somebody | C．Nobody | D．Anybody |
| A．get up | B．get off | C．put up | D．put off |
| A．wrong | B．right | C．special | D．common |
| A．moving | B．interesting | C．tiring | D．boring |
