1 . My brother, Michael and I are crazy about houses. On Aug 1, 2016, I was driving through the Northern Neck of Virginia with him. We had found an abandoned Italianate farmhouse with weeds up to our waist. When admiring the property my brother rolled up the unlocked garage   door. “Holy smokes!” There sat this Mercedes. Seeing the number 6.9 on its back, I immediately recognized this to be a rare and unique find.

The car’s door was unlocked and in the glovebox, I found insurance papers. It turned out that the owner was a dead country doctor.It took me a year to find his widow’s(寡妇的) address, in Richmond. Twice I made the two-hour drive just to knock on her door, striking out both times. On the third try her neighbor was outside and I was able to get the widow’s phone number.

I logged approximately 25 voice mails,and still nothing.It was, I thought, just bad luck. I called one last time and heard a voice: “Hello?” From that point on, we struck up a friendship.

In July 2018, two years after finding the car, I was ready to buy it from her. We met in the middle — somewhere around what a new Toyota might cost. Still,the night before, I called my brother and said, “I am getting cold feet.” What was I doing buying an old Mercedes? He said, “You are buying that great car. And I promise you, the friendship you will make as a result will make this car worth every penny.” And he was right.

2 . A woman is volunteering in ashelter. It all started because she missed her own _________ .

Sandy was at a loss when her beloved Angus died last year — terribly lonely, yet not quite______for a new dog in her life. ________, she decided to volunteer at the local animal shelter and spend some quality time with furry friends who, like her, were ________ their old buddies (伙伴).

Remembering that her dog had loved being read to, she brought along a ________   there.

It's now been 18 months sinceSandy first began ________ her chair beside the dog house. Shelter workers say it really calms down the dogs, but Sandy says it does more ________ to her than it does to the dogs.

Sandy was ________ that photos of her reading to dogs were spreading on the Internet until the media started calling. Kathleen, a fellow shelter volunteer was so touched by the sight of her     ____ to an old dog that she took a photo and posted it on the Internet. She was so ______ with the dogs — I watched her read to several — and they just loved being ________ by her, "Kathleen said.

Inspired by Sandy's style of _________, the shelter has announced that a reading marathon is being ________ for next September. The plan is to get kids in the neighborhood ______ in reading to the animals, with the added benefit of reading practice for the two-leggers, along with plenty of friendly _______ for the four-leggers.

Aram and Rossi’s Bakery

Walking along the narrow brick sidewalk, Aram took a deep breath. The air smelled of lemons and baked bread and coffee, coming from Rossi’s Italian Bakery. He was almost there.

Aram still couldn’t believe his luck. All his friends were working boring summer jobs—waiting tables and babysitting. And here he was, about to start as an actual baker’s assistant, doing what he loved. It was all thanks to his Aunt Rita. She knew Mrs Rossi and had arranged everything. It was the perfect experience for his future career. Rossi’s Bakery, he was sure, would one day be known as the place where he got his start.

Ah, here he was—the bakery. A faded wooden sign over the door read “Rossi’s Bakery.” Aram straightened his shoulders and entered. Mrs Rossi was sitting at the counter, looking old and wise. Aram greeted her and stuck out his hand. Mrs Rossi looked at it for a second before turning around and waving him inside. “I’m ready to learn everything,” Aram said.

“Great. Let’s start with the cash register,” Mrs Rossi said, “because that’s what you’ll be doing.” She showed him how to use the cash register. It wasn’t hard. The pastry trays were all marked by price, and there weren’t that many choices anyway. “That’s it?” Aram said, his heart sinking. “But when do we bake?”

“Bake? I order wholesale now. No more baking. I’m too old.” Then Mrs Rossi silently held up her hands. Aram took in her knotted, swollen fingers, and he understood. A wave of disappointment struck him. Sadness overwhelmed him so suddenly that he couldn’t think of a word to say.

He sighed, and Mrs Rossi sighed, too. “I used to bake it all. Bread and cakes. And no one did it better than me. But that was when these things worked,” said Mrs Rossi holding up her hands once more and glancing across the shelves filled with empty bottles labelled with names of the various ingredients (配料) she once used. Suddenly she came alive, waving her arthritic (关节炎的) hands. “People used to line up around the corner. Everyone wanted my baked bread.”

Then a thought occurred to Aram that he could ask Mrs Rossi to teach him.

Mrs Rossi finally said, “Let’s buy the ingredients first.”

4 . Jean was a single mother with a young son. She taught the first grade and worked very hard. She drove a small old car. One August, the teachers returned from a summer break to see Jean drive up to school with three children. The two girls were Jean’s former students who had lost their parents. They did not want to enter a foster care center. They turned to Jean-their first grade teacher-for help. Though she and her son lived in a small house, Jean took the girls in.

During lunch, while other teachers shared life stories, Jean never complained about her new responsibilities. She did, however, speak about her car. With three children to transport, the car was too small and slow. It even burned engine oil. Jean needed something new. However, she couldn’t buy one with three children in her home.

As a good friend, I listened to her concerns. At that time, I did not have much money. But I wanted to help Jean buy a car. An idea hit me when I watched a TV show.

One day, Jean received an invitation to a TV show. She was surprised but decided to attend it. Midway through the show the host called Jean to the stage. He explained he had received a letter, knowing her need for a new car. The audience listened to the details of Jean’s story and were all moved. Then the host said that Jean would receive a new car for her family. Cheers filled the studio and Jean shook with disbelief.

Six hundred miles away, I watched the joy of it all from the television in my living room. Jean’s big heart taught me many lessons that year. I did nothing but share her story.

6 . I tightly held the seat under me as the jeep raced forward, bouncing me into the air. I, a bookish Manhattanite, ____ solo north of the Arctic Circle to the Swedish Lapland. I didn't want to ______ my fortieth birthday as a day I was chained with my office work. Feeling an urgency to live life to the ______ , I answered the call of the wild.

I booked a Husky sledding tour and ______ myself that I would be safe on the journey. Yet, I still doubted my ability to steer the ______ dogs. What if the sled stopped halfway and the ______ began to crack under us?

After struggling into multiple layers of clothing. I boarded and looked like a fat monster. With the pack of Huskies, ______ in the noise of barks and howls, I hit the open rough road. While speeding down, I could even hear the snow crunching under us. With ______ eyes, I tried to avoid any possible dangers. I didn't want to put my own life ______.

Eventually, the pack of Huskies had brought my ______ into the unknown. A vast stretch of wild opened before us. Tall conifers（松柏）______ a tunnel of trees. I desired to catch a glimpse of the native wildlife-the quiet moose. the arctic fox, the magical reindeer,which seemed straight from a storybook. I was searching, like the Huskies, all senses ______ , eager for adventure.

I strained my eyes as far as they could see ______ paths met milky-white sky. Perhaps the earth and the heaven were one. Perhaps life wasn't so much about ______ the reins（缰绳）but letting go and trusting the adventure. Perhaps we even need a little rough weather, the slippery snow, to experience the ______ of challenging the wild.

7 . Over the past 10 years, Chen Jinying, 90, has paid off 20.77 million yuan to her lenders. Chen used to be a doctor and she discovered there was a _________ market for down coats for elderly people, so after she retired in the early 1990s, she _________ her own company. Her business went well for the first few years and Chen was also_________ in public welfare, _________ 570,000 yuan for elderly people. But in 2011, the company_________ poor sales. She was forced to_________ her factories.

In 2012, Chen rented a factory to produce the coats, _________ sales would turn better. But the stock piled up and she even had no money to pay her workers, so she stopped _________ in 2016. Some people suggested she _________ bankruptcy (破产) to avoid paying the debt, but she __________ to do so. “I will try my best to pay off the debt, __________ I won’t feel at ease.” Chen said.

Chen’s story gained media __________. People were moved and came to her __________. When asked if she worried about having so much debt, she replied with a smile. “I have to keep myself healthy so I have the__________ to pay back the loans. People cared for me, and I want to __________ that care.”

6.

A．destroy

B．build

C．design

D．sell

8 . The spot of red was what first caught Randy Heiss's attention on December 16. He was biking on his ranch in Patagonia, Arizona, a town near the U. S. -Mexico border. Heiss walked toward it, and found on the grassland was a broken balloon with its string attached to a piece of paper.

“Dayami,” it read on one side, in a child's writing. It was a Christmas wish list, all in Spanish He suspected that a child had tried to send Santa Claus a Christmas wish list by balloon, something he used to do himself when he was a kid. And he wondered whether he could find the child who had sent this one.

It would be difficult, but based on the prevailing wind, Heiss was pretty sure where it came from—just across the border, the city of Nogales, Mexico.

Heiss then posted about his quest on Facebook, attaching photos, hoping his friends in Nogales might know the girl's family.

A few days passed with no leads. Heiss worried that time was running out before Chirstmas. On December 19. he sent a private Facebook message to Radio XENY. a radio station based in Nogales The next morning. Heiss awoke to a message from Radio XENY: They had located Dayami, an eight-year-old girl, and her family, who indeed lived in Nogales. “It just changed my entire day.” said Heiss. Having bought just about everything on Dayami's list and a few other toys, as they had learned that Dayami had a younger sister, Heiss and his wife. at the Radio XENY. met the family.

“Their eves were wide open with wonder.” Heiss said of the two sisters' reactions. “Like. ‘Oh my gosh, this really did work!’”

Not wanting to disappoint the girls who still believed in Santa Claus, Heiss and his wife told them they were “Santa's helpers”.

“It was a beautiful and healing experience for us...” Heiss said, “Since our only son died ten years ago, being around children at Christmas time has been absent in our lives.” Heiss said. “We now have friends for life. And, for a day, that border fence with its wire melted away.”

9 . I’m a talker. I am keen on debating, gossiping and teasing when I have people to talk to. Under lockdown, however, I’ve only had my partner, Peter.

We not only lived, worked and travelled together, we mostly socialized together, too. Under the first UK lockdown, our already closeness began to feel uncomfortable. While talking to Peter, I could see his attention drift.

For the first time in our 10 years together, we needed to be alone. I tried to manufacture this by going on walks on my own, but a short walk wasn’t doing the job. I had hiked in remote spaces all over the world but always in a pair or group — for safety reasons. I considered my options and hit upon an idea: the semi-solo hike.

Could we do a circular hike but walk in different directions? This would give us the space and peace of a solo hike — done by a person alone. It felt like a promising way out, and he agreed to give it a try.

We started with a four-mile loop (环路) from Reeth. At the start, we parted ways. At first, I was aware of how close we were, which lessened the appeal. As I gained ground, however, I found myself very much alone. I set my own pace, and I decided to take my time.

I sat on a rock and breathed out. That moment — with the weak sun through the clouds and the breeze blowing — felt extraordinary to me. I was born and raised in London and had never imagined leaving until I met an outdoorsman. Now, my former life as a city girl felt crazy. In remembering what I had gained, I felt the tension leave me. There, in the chilly air, I no longer needed to talk. The semi-solo hike gave us a shared experience with added room to breathe.

I didn’t see Peter on the way but reunited back where we started, both pleased.

The semi-solo hike is admittedly silly in theory, but for me it has been a lifeline. It has given me the gift of time alone and, in a year of constant closeness, the joy of reuniting.

This was it.

Today was the day.

Finally, she would be able to see her again.

It’d been five long years. Her university days now felt like a lifetime ago. When Jennifer thought back to it, she didn’t like the girl she had been then, but when she thought about Yui Fay, that discomfort disappeared and her whole life lit up.

She couldn’t be more excited. She kept imagining their meeting – how they would run towards each other, hugging and talking of the old times. As she imagined, happiness spread through her body.

It was time to get dressed. As she was struggling about what to wear, she spotted a red summer dress, which she wore that night in Barcelona. She would never forget that night five years before. After a hard week at university, Yui Fay and she     spontaneously (心血来潮地) bought bus tickets to Barcelona. They slept on the bus and then spent   the whole day exploring the city. In the evening, they met these fun young guys and spent the whole night singing and dancing. Every day with Yui Fay was fun.

After university Yui Fay went back to China where she took over her family’s business, while Jennifer took the job in an office. They promised to keep in contact. But then life happened. The occasional calls faded with time and they had not talked for over two years. Yet, of all her friends, Yui Fay was still the one she felt the closest to. She knew all her fears, dreams, and her wildest stories. She knew that if something happened, Yui Fay would be there for her no matter what. And vice versa. Some friendships just survive the passage of time.

Yet the idea of meeting her was also terrifying. What if…? The idea was too hard to put into words. What if the person she was so fond of was no longer? What if this dinner turned out to be nothing more than a meeting between two boring businesswomen?

Jennifer took up her phone and looked at the screen.

Just then, someone was coming towards Jennifer.