1 . I was born in a poor community on the north side of Boston, US, raised by a single mother who didn’t finish 3rd grade, lived each day on food stamps and attended what the media called “the most dysfunctional (功能失调的) public school district”. Not many people expected much of me, so I had to expect.
On my 13th birthday, I bought a poster of Harvard to hang in my room. Being at Harvard became what I dreamt about. Even if my electricity was cut off, I still woke up at 5:30, because I knew that my poster of Harvard was still hanging only two feet away from me.
Reminding myself of my goal each day made it easy to say no to the same choices I saw my peers making, because those paths wouldn’t have had me closer to my goal. Being poor could not take away my power to decide what I choose to do with my day. The poster gave me the courage to send emails to about 50 Harvard students to ask for feedback on my application essays; it gave me the energy to study just one more hour on my SATs when my friends were asleep; and it gave me the determination to submit just one more scholarship application when 180 others had already turned me down.
Every day, I could feel myself getting closer and closer to my goal as my writing got better, my SAT score increased, and my scholarship checks started coming in. Finally, an email arrived from Harvard. The first word was “Congratulations!” A month later, Harvard flew me up to visit the campus where for the first time I stepped onto my dreaming land.
Who you are today is the result of the decisions you made yesterday, and who you will be tomorrow will be the result of the choices you make today. Who do you want to be tomorrow?
1. What can we learn about the author from the first two paragraphs?A.All people expected too much of him. |
B.He grew up in a happy family. |
C.He accepted the greatest education. |
D.He had high expectation of himself. |
A.He spent more time preparing for the exams. |
B.He learnt from his peers from time to time. |
C.He often wrote feedbacks on others’ essays. |
D.He turned to his teacher when facing problems. |
A.Intelligent and humorous. | B.Generous and selfless. |
C.Determined and hardworking. | D.Courageous and friendly. |
A.Failure is the mother of success. |
B.Perseverance can help realize your dream. |
C.Easier said than done. |
D.It’s never too late to study. |
2 . Yesterday, a salesman called me by phone, on behalf of a telecommunication company, to sell his phone plans. I was at work and while I usually don’t
That’s what he did. So we
At the end of the conversation, he
I thanked him for this revelation. I realized how much he could have been the subject of verbal
A.forget | B.pretend | C.like | D.dare |
A.comforted | B.excused | C.reminded | D.convinced |
A.talked | B.argued | C.waited | D.rested |
A.previous | B.useless | C.favorite | D.current |
A.sign | B.result | C.reward | D.rule |
A.whisper | B.lie | C.explain | D.confirm |
A.guilty | B.impatient | C.nervous | D.moved |
A.silent | B.patient | C.polite | D.concentrated |
A.revealed | B.recommended | C.promised | D.introduced |
A.awkward | B.enjoyable | C.usual | D.brief |
A.wave | B.signal | C.point | D.shout |
A.interview | B.order | C.conversation | D.quarrel |
A.worked | B.relaxed | C.complained | D.slept |
A.disturbed | B.embarrassed | C.exhausted | D.touched |
A.violence | B.communication | C.agreement | D.explanation |
A Thanksgiving Day story in the newspaper told of a school teacher who asked her class to draw a picture of something
But whose hand? The class was
She remembered that
4 . Grace and her family thought they had lost Thor forever when they moved to Windsor, Nova Scotia from British Columbia last August.
“We probably spent seven or eight months looking for Thor,” Grace said. “What made it worse was that there were rumors(谣言) going around that there was dogfighting in our area. We still always hoped that somebody had taken him to be a pet, but you just never knew.”
“It was terrible. My daughter Bronwyn would try to find Thor everywhere, which had been a Christmas present for her. Even while watching TV programmes, she would say, ‘Oh, look! That dog looks like Thor!’” Grace said. Then the family moved, and the hope became impossible.
But one day, the phone rang. It was their former vet in British Columbia, saying Thor was in a rescue shelter(收容所) in High River, Alberta. He had been found at a work camp in the northern part of the place and taken to south by a man planning to keep him. But the man was forced to turn him over to the shelter when he couldn’t keep Thor in his rented home. Luckily, the ring on Thor’s neck gave people some information.
Thor was flown to Nova Scotia last week. The family picked him up at the airport. “Thor was just lying in his box and looking down, and my daughter walked over and said, ‘Hey Thor.’ He immediately stood up, trying to greet my daughter. We let him out and he jumped on her as if he was giving her a big hug and he kissed her face. Then he sat down suddenly at her feet and rolled over for attention. He was cute.” Grace said.
1. Who helped Thor back home?A.The author. | B.Grace. | C.The former vet. | D.Bronwyn. |
A.He came back by air. |
B.He was killed in the dogfighting. |
C.He was given to Grace by Bronwyn. |
D.He moved to British Columbia with the family. |
A.Anxious and shocked. | B.Excited and joyful. |
C.Confused and annoyed. | D.Hopeful and calm. |
A.A travel brochure. | B.A news report. |
C.A geography text book. | D.A health magazine. |
Christmas was hanging around. Six-year-old David was thinking what presents he could get from Santa. He wanted slippers; he wanted a silk tie; he wanted some toys. And school starting soon, he also hoped to get something about schooling. In order to get Santa to know what he needed, he thought he would write a letter to Santa, which he believed would bring him those presents. He found a sheet and made a list of the items on it, and then bent down to post the letter up the chimney, waiting for the winds to take it up.
David got up very early on the Christmas morning. He searched his room carefully, but to his disappointment, he didn’t find the presents he hoped for. Hadn’t Santa received the letter? Was he too busy to send him the gifts? Although feeling a little upset, David was convinced that Santa would not forget him and he was bound to receive the items.
Many years had passed and 2019 came. In an old house, a young builder, Lewis Shaw was removing the fireplace with his colleagues when he suddenly found a small piece of paper, which was still in perfect condition even if it had turned yellow. He picked it up and unfolded it. It was a letter written to Santa. The touching hand-written note read:
Dear Father Christmas,
Please can you send me a drum, box of chalks, slippers, silk tie, pencil box, any little toys you have to spare?
Love David
It was then signed off with lots of kisses.
This was the very letter written by David and the house was where he had lived during his childhood! The letter struck Shaw so much. How simple Christmas once was! David didn’t ask for much, just the things he just needed. Nowadays kids always want expensive gifts and take it for granted.
Shaw decided to find out the author of the letter. He shared a photo of the note on Facebook.
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Mary waited anxiously for her turn in the empty dressing room. Never had she been so nervous before. This competition was of great importance to her comeback. “If I can win today,” she said to herself, “I can dance on the national stage next month.” Three months ago, her left arm was seriously injured in a car accident. After the medical treatment, she began to recover slowly. She practiced over and over again in order to regain her dancing skills.
“Hi, Mary,” in rushed her friend Jessica. “How is your arm? Is it going to influence your performance?”
“I guess it can be tolerated for I am to win the match.” said Mary with a determined look.
“Admirable! But I hear that a girl called Linda is really gifted and strong. She can be your real well-matched competitor. Come on!”
After Jessica left, Mary decided to practice her most difficult spin (旋转). “If I don’t try harder, I won’t grasp this chance.” She thought. But her arm began to hurt, making her worried. “Mary, what makes you think you have a chance tonight?” she said to herself. After the pain was gone, she continued to warm up.
A slim girl hurried in and put down an equipment bag on the chair. Then, she took out her dance dress quickly and put it on skillfully. Seeing Mary, she smiled politely and said “Hi, I’m Linda. I am the next one to you!” Mary nodded in reply but felt uncomfortable. “This is just my competitor. Because of her, I may lose tonight.” Her mind was wandering when Linda let out a scream, “Oh, God, I can’t find my music tape!” Linda searched her bag but in vain (徒劳). “It may be missing on the way.” With these words, she then rushed out.
注意:1.所续写短文的词数不少于80字;
2.续写部分为一段,请在答题卡相应的位置作答。
Paragraph 1
Suddenly, Mary caught sight of a black box under the chair where Linda put her bag.
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7 . At 12, my father decided to take me on a trip to France. I had never been out of the country before, so I was very excited. My aunt, my father and I went around with my father showing us all the unbelievable sites in Paris. None of us spoke much French but we loved the city.
We had taken the subway all over the city and were congratulating ourselves on our mastering what is honestly an excellent subway design that is pretty easy to follow. We decided to visit Versailles by train. We chatted happily along the way until my father realized we were far into the French countryside and no one around spoke English.
We reached the end of the line and felt afraid when everyone finally left the train. An old man and his grandchild noticed us and came to help. He spoke no English, so in broken French we tried to explain. When he finally understood, this great man settled his grandson and showed us to the correct train and then boarded with us.
Later we knew the truth that there was a train transfer (转乘) and he didn’t want us to miss it. This kind man rode a train for an hour and a half out of his way to make sure that three Americans got where they wanted to be. He refused to let us pay for his ticket. He did it all with a gentle smile and patted our hands gently at the stop. Then in his quiet way, he boarded the train to return the way he had come.
What impressed me most was the man and his kindness during the amazing trip. Some Americans think the French are rude for some reason, but I always try to persuade them to change their minds with this very story.
1. What happened to the author and his family on the train?A.They couldn’t understand the signs of the train. |
B.They failed to get off the train at the right time. |
C.They had different opinions about where to go first. |
D.They found it hard to communicate with the French. |
A.He paid for their train tickets. | B.He showed them the returning way. |
C.He invited them to travel together. | D.He led them to their place. |
A.Seeing is believing. | B.Being kind is a good manner. |
C.Travelling enriches one’s life. | D.Helping others brings great pleasure. |
A.To explain an unexpected problem. |
B.To list the unbelievable sites in Paris. |
C.To share an unforgettable foreign experience. |
D.To show the importance of mastering a foreign language. |
8 . My teacher held up a piece of broken glass and asked, “Who broke this window?”
Thirty boys tried to think about not only what they had done, but also what the teacher might have found out. She seldom became angry, but she was this time.
“Oh,” I thought. I was the one who broke the window. It was caused by a naughty throw of a baseball. If I admitted guilt, I would be in a lot of trouble. How would I be able to pay for a big window like that? I didn’t even get an allowance. “My father is going to have a fit as a result of it,” I thought. I didn’t want to raise my hand, but some force much stronger than I was pulled it skyward (朝向天空). I told the truth, “I did it.” It was hard enough to say what I had done.
My teacher took down a book from one of our library shelves and I had never known my teacher to strike a student, but I feared she was going to start with me.
“I know how much you like birds,” she said as she stood looking down at my guilt-ridden face. “Here is the field guide about birds that you are constantly checking out. It is yours now. It’s time we got a new one for the school anyway. You will not be punished, but remember that I am not rewarding you for your misdeed (恶行), but I am rewarding you for your truthfulness.”
I couldn’t believe it! I wasn’t being punished and I was getting my own bird field guide — the very one that I had been saving up money to buy.
The lesson my teacher taught me stays with me every day, and it will echo forever.
1. From the story, we can learn that the boy .A.didn’t break the window on purpose |
B.lacked the courage to admit his guilt |
C.tried to think about what he had done |
D.didn’t know what the teacher had found out |
A.be punished by the teacher |
B.make his father angry |
C.pay for the broken window |
D.get a bird field guide |
A.Afraid—Surprised—Thankful. |
B.Frightened—Amazed—Proud. |
C.Regretful—Guilty—Excited. |
D.Nervous—Afraid—Satisfied. |
A.Every coin has two sides. |
B.Honesty is always valued. |
C.Bad luck never comes alone. |
D.You can’t be too careful. |
David was a normal boy, but he had been born deaf. He was well known to everyone in the town, and they were all very fond
David didn’t like this very much. But the person
It was on this day that everyone realised they have to give people a chance to show how
10 . Heimaey is a small island off the southern coast of Iceland. But with its neighbouring islands, there
Baby puffins leave at night by instinct (本能) and follow the light of the
Each breeding season, the
The next morning, they take the birds to the beach for release(释放). Over the years, kids have even developed a
“ Thanks to kids’ help, we scientists have learned that baby puffins now weigh less. That means they have a
Scientists worry puffins will
A.lives | B.has | C.stands | D.contains |
A.search | B.continue | C.follow | D.make |
A.life | B.trouble | C.journey | D.luck |
A.sun | B.candle | C.moon | D.bulb |
A.excited | B.puzzled | C.concerned | D.surprised |
A.keep | B.stay | C.end up | D.turn off |
A.only | B.nearly | C.hardly | D.mainly |
A.scientists | B.birds | C.children | D.adults |
A.corner | B.get | C.catch | D.lose |
A.new | B.gentle | C.common | D.rough |
A.weighed | B.raised | C.eaten | D.tapped |
A.higher | B.lower | C.worse | D.better |
A.die out | B.die away | C.die down | D.die off |
A.source | B.love | C.patience | D.hope |
A.poster | B.profit | C.difference | D.attack |