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 . Pearl Moss looked out her front window in Bethel Park, Pennsyvania. She was instantly
A few hours later, there was a
Helping elderly and disabled residents to dig out after snowstorms is a Bethel Park
Pearl Moss said she’s grateful for the teens adding that if they hadn’t shown up, she probably would have been stuck in her house for a while.
1.| A．moved | B．tired | C．worried | D．excited |
| A．only | B．nearly | C．hardly | D．partly |
| A．pretend | B．learn | C．refuse | D．help |
| A．note | B．hole | C．knock | D．lock |
| A．wait | B．gather | C．live | D．hide |
| A．inform | B．persuade | C．warn | D．advise |
| A．fail | B．matter | C．change | D．happen |
| A．experiment | B．contest | C．assignment | D．education |
| A．tradition | B．problem | C．career | D．trend |
| A．attended | B．designed | C．known | D．done |
3 . Bertie knew there was something in the wind. His mother had been sad in recent days, not sick, just strangely sad. The lion had just lain down beside him, his head warm on Bertie’s feet, when Father cleared his throat and began, “You’ll soon be eight, Bertie. A boy needs a proper education. We’ve found the right place for you, a school near Salisbury in England.”
His heart filled with a terrible fear, all Bertie could think of was his white lion. “But the lion,” he cried, “What about the lion?”
“I’m afraid there’s something else I have to tell you,” his father said. Looking across at Bertie’s mother, he took a deep breath. Then he told Bertie he had met a circus owner from France, who was over in Africa looking for lions to buy. He would come to their farm in a few days.
“No! You can’t send him to a circus!” said Bertie. “He’ll be shut up behind bars. I promised him he never would be. And they will come to see him and laugh at him. He’d rather die. Any animal would!” But as he looked across the table at them, he knew their minds were quite made up.
Bertie felt completely betrayed. He waited until he heard his father’s deep breathing next door. With his white lion at his heels, he crept downstairs in his pyjamas, took down his father’s rifle from the rack and stepped out into the night. He ran and ran till his legs could run no more. As the sun came up over the grassland, he climbed to the top of a hill and sat down, his arms round the lion’s neck. The time had come. “Be wild now,” he whispered. “You’ve got to be wild. Don’t ever come home. All my life I’ll think of you, I promise I will.” He buried his head in the lion’s neck. Then, Bertie clambered down off the hill and walked away.
When he looked back, the lion was still sitting there watching him; but then he stood up, yawned, stretched, and sprang down after him. Bertie shouted at him, but he kept coming. He threw sticks. He threw stones. Nothing worked.
There was only one thing left to do. Tears filling his eyes and his mouth, he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired over the lion’s head.
1. Bertie’s mother was sad probably because she________.| A．had lied about her good health condition | B．had decided to send Bertie to a new school |
| C．knew selling the lion would upset Bertie | D．knew Bertie would hate to go to England |
| A．some audience | B．other animals | C．Bertie’s friends | D．circus’s owners |
| A．kill the lion out of helplessness | B．protect himself from being chased |
| C．threaten the lion back to the wild | D．show his anger towards his father |
| A．circuses are the last places for animals to live |
| B．animals belonging to the wild should be set free |
| C．parents are sometimes cruel to their children |
| D．people and animals can be faithful to each other |
4 . A retired engineer, 76-year-old Wilson has been offering free rides to college students for the past eight years. Since he first started
Tina Stern received rides from Wilson for all her four years in college, and the trips meant much more to her than just free transportation. “It’s not just a ride; you’re not just sitting there in
Wilson first worked as a driver through a student-support programme of the non-profit organization, On Point for College. Although the programme asks the members only to drive students to and from their classes, Wilson often goes
For many students, Wilson’s help is not only appreciated, it’s also entirely
| A．donating | B．lending | C．delivering | D．volunteering |
| A．paved | B．covered | C．measured | D．wandered |
| A．even | B．ever | C．once | D．already |
| A．forced | B．awkward | C．ridiculous | D．suspicious |
| A．act | B．settle | C．check | D．agree |
| A．far | B．around | C．beyond | D．forwards |
| A．extra | B．unusual | C．adequate | D．necessary |
| A．required | B．allowed | C．reminded | D．convinced |
| A．experience | B．arrangement | C．appreciation | D．employment |
| A．effort | B．ambition | C．privilege | D．convenience |
5 . Many parents dream of their children growing up and seeing the world. But Edith Lemay, a mother of four from Canada, worried her children were running out of time to do that.
When her first child, Mia, was little, she noticed she would bump into things. In 2018, Mia was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa(色素性视网膜炎).
“What it does is that the cell in the retina dies over time and they lose their field of vision. There’s a chance they will go completely blind by midlife,” said Lemay.
The disease is genetic, meaning Lemay’s other kids were at risk. She soon noticed two of her sons, Collin and Laurent, had the same symptoms. They were soon diagnosed, too.
“Of course it was devastating(令人极为震惊的). And when you have a kid, you always have an image of what their future is going to be like and all of a sudden, you get that news and you need to erase that and think it over. And it really is a grieving process,” Lemay said.
Lemay wanted to prepare her kids for what was to come and thought about filling their visual memory. In March, Lemay, her husband, and her four kids left Canada and embarked on an epic journey, traveling the globe for a whole year—showing their kids the world, before it is too late.
During their trip, Lemay is homeschooling her kids. The family also made a bucket list of fun activities they want to accomplish, so each kid can see their dreams come true.
Lemay said her kids are not only making visual memories. They’re also learning important life lessons, like focusing on the positive. “Sometimes they’re tired and there’s frustration. It’s difficult. But with the travel, I want them to be resilient.”
“I want them to know that any situation that’s hard is temporary, because through their life, they’ll need lots of resilience,” she said. “They’re going to adapt to a situation with their eyesight and then in a few years later, they’ll lose a chunk of their eyesights and they will have to readapt and adapt again and fall and get back again,” Lemay continued.
Many parents want to give their kids the world and this mom did.
1. What risk may the children face in the future?| A．They will bump into things. |
| B．They will be unable to grow up. |
| C．They may get genetic disorders. |
| D．They may totally lose their sight. |
| A．Lemay tried to erase the devastating news. |
| B．The travel was not easy but helped the kids stay positive. |
| C．The parents filled their kids’ visual memory through books. |
| D．The children dropped out of school and were educated at home. |
| A．Affectionate and tough. | B．Considerate and committed. |
| C．Patient and generous. | D．Sympathetic and sensitive. |
6 . On a Saturday afternoon, you find most kids outside playing games. Kids are made for the
Kameron first started waving to them. Most of them smiled back. Then Kameron decided that some of them needed a little
Gustav smiled wide. His wife Vivian, who has had muscular dystrophy(肌肉萎缩) for over 20 years, stood
Gustav let Kameron in, and Vivian
The small violin
| A．lessons | B．outdoors | C．classrooms | D．experiences |
| A．easy | B．normal | C．different | D．necessary |
| A．games | B．exams | C．destinations | D．conversations |
| A．young | B．proud | C．elderly | D．lovely |
| A．pressure | B．emotion | C．ambition | D．pleasure |
| A．honestly | B．awkwardly | C．gratefully | D．determinedly |
| A．replaced | B．linked | C．replied | D．combined |
| A．took care of | B．took charge of | C．took out of | D．took hold of |
| A．rocked | B．rested | C．jumped | D．wandered |
| A．styles | B．profits | C．memories | D．adventures |
7 . In the short time Steve and Zach had been inside their tent packing their tools, wind-blown flame had skipped from the top of one tree to another. The long dry summer had turned the forest into a tinderbox.
“Let’s go! We can make it back to the river we crossed today!” Steve kept Brady on the lead and their heads down against the fire-wind. But Brady barked a sharp warning. Ahead of them lay a thick curtain of smoke across the track. They would never make it through that. The dog was pulling at his lead trying to draw them away from the smoke, and yet Steve was uneasy. It seemed to him that they were moving away from the river.
Suddenly, Zach cried. “Zach!” Steve shouted. “Are you OK? Where are you?” Then Brady pulled Steve down a sharp slope (坡). At its base, Zach was rubbing his ankle.
As Steve helped his friend to his feet, Brady lifted his head and snuffed (嗅) the smoke-laden wind. Next moment, the dog bounded away and disappeared. The boys shouted for him, but he didn’t come back. Steve couldn’t blame Brady for panicking. He himself wanted to run even though he didn’t have a clue which way.
Steve and Zach hadn’t gone far when there was a familiar bark, and Brady came bounding, stopped directly in front of Steve and hit him with his head, pushing him back toward the slope they’d just climbed. But Steve didn’t get it. Then Brady grabbed the boy’s jeans and started pulling. The message was clear, but Steve hesitated. Of course he remembered Brady saving his uncle’s life when the dog was much younger. Was he still sharp enough to get them through this?
Nearby, a pine went up in a whoosh of smoke. Brady pulled again, urgently. “OK, big guy,” Steve gritted (咬紧牙关). Brady led them back down the slope and into the trees. Not far from them fire was touching underbrush. Several times the big dog stopped. Often he changed directions. Steve was so tired that he just wanted to rest, but Brady wouldn’t have it. The dog bullied both boys to go on. How long they’d walked Steve had no idea. He was almost numb when he heard it — the wonderful sound of rushing water!
1. What happened to Steve and Zach at first?| A．They got injured. | B．They lost their dog. |
| C．They were trapped. | D．They became separated. |
| A．Uneasy. | B．Impatient. | C．Numb. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．an adventure | B．an exploration |
| C．an escape game | D．a training program |
A few years ago, an Englishman called Roy Jones went on holiday to a small seaside town in England. He was swimming in the sea one day
9 . I was ready to pay for my bananas at the grocery one night, when fear seized me. My wallet was gone. I could only have left it on the G9 bus, which was now speeding in the dark to some
The
Two hours later, back at my house, I heard a knock on the door. My husband
After sharing the story online, I heard from someone, who identified the lady as Erin Smith. Without
This one stranger responded beautifully to my small
Looking back , I feel blessed someone had wanted to help a stranger. Erin had gone beyond what almost anyone would have done, finding my house on a bitterly cold night, and for that I was extremely
| A．accessible | B．unknown | C．familiar | D．convenient |
| A．face-saving | B．brain-washing | C．heart-stopping | D．eye-catching |
| A．ignored | B．interrupted | C．examined | D．answered |
| A．still | B．ever | C．yet | D．even |
| A．delay | B．question | C．regret | D．invitation |
| A．threw | B．placed | C．opened | D．spotted |
| A．selfless | B．risky | C．delightful | D．personal |
| A．crisis | B．danger | C．encounter | D．failure |
| A．encounter | B．follow | C．consult | D．accompany |
| A．longing | B．grateful | C．concerned | D．enthusiastic |
When I was a little boy, I
