1 . It was a beautiful midwinter day in Pretoria. The sun shone warmly, and the air was fresh, calling us outdoors. A friend and I went for a walk up a small hill. Everywhere around us the grass was a dull brown color, as if painted with a dirty brush. I told my thought to my friend who, in reply, drew from his coat a pocket microscope. Bending down, he picked some of the ugly-colored growth and handed it to me with the microscope. I could hardly believe my eyes, for suddenly I was looking at some shining tiny flowers of lovely color. It seemed strange that so much beauty should be so hidden, a secret life carried on by nature beneath a dull exterior (外表).

Some days later, while I was at the hospital where I worked, a woman entered with three children. Her hair hung in untidy wisps round a face whose uncared-for skin looked dried and dull. She sat down and waited her turn with the patience of the poor. The children gradually gathered courage and made braver explorations as time went by. Suddenly the little girl overbalanced and fell. Both her brothers, a little bigger than her, rushed anxiously to her aid. When the child fell, the mother had at first started up in alarm, but when she saw that the child was not really hurt and that her brothers were caring for her with such love, her eyes grew soft and a look of such indescribable love passed over her face — once again I looked at great beauty.

Beauty lies on every side; we must develop our own microscopes of perception ( 感知能力) in order to look through the physical exterior which, like the grass-covered hillside, conceals a beauty still hidden from our eyes.

1. Why did the author and his friend go for a walk up a small hill?

A．To enjoy the beauty of the day.	B．To test his friend’s microscope.
C．To find hidden beauty on the hill.	D．To check the growth of the grass.

2. What was the beauty the author found in the woman he met in the hospital?

A．Her kindness.	B．Her strong will.
C．Her patience as a patient.	D．Her great love as a mother.

3. What does the author intend to tell us through the text?

A．Nature can teach us a lot.	B．The poor have a soft heart.
C．We should learn to find hidden beauty.	D．We should never look down upon the poor.

4. What does the underlined word “conceals” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A．Steals.

B．Covers.

C．Freezes.

D．Exposes.

2 . About a month ago I noticed something really amazing, which I must call a garden miracle(奇迹). It so happened that when I _______ the double doors of a small storage area in the back of my house where I _______my garden supplies during the long, severe New England winter, I found, in one of the dirt-filled pots, a living, growing plant, topped with two of the most unlikely pink _______you’ve ever seen.

How was this _______? The unheated space had been closed all winter, and it was still cold outside. Once I caught my breath, I _______and discovered something approaching a reasonable explanation-there was a small glass window at the top of the double doors, and it was possible that a ray of sun fell directly on that pot, giving the plant just enough light and warmth to_______ it to grow in its own personal greenhouse.

I can’t help feeling_______ at the lessons this wonderful plant has to teach.

For one thing, I am moved by the happenstance(巧合) of the whole thing. If I had _______my pot six inches to the left or right of that spot, the plant might not have gotten that_______ray of light. If I had ________ the roots of the plant in late fall, there would have been nothing but dirt in that pot.

But there’s something else that________me about this-just how little light and________it took for this plant to grow and flower. I’m not________ we should be mean with love and kindness and all the other warming things we__________for others and for ourselves. But isn’t it comforting to think that just a drop of________can brighten a day, a place, a life?

When it comes to positivity, a little goes a long way. Just ask my little miracle plant.

1.

A．approached

B．shut

C．opened

D．knocked

2.

A．need

B．provide

C．receive

D．keep

3.

A．sticks

B．branches

C．roots

D．flowers

4.

A．essential

B．possible

C．significant

D．different

5.

A．stepped aside

B．stepped away

C．looked down

D．looked around

6.

A．request

B．enable

C．instruct

D．intend

7.

A．excited

B．puzzled

C．amazed

D．amused

8.

A．put

B．found

C．measured

D．missed

9.

A．broad

B．soft

C．strong

D．narrow

10.

A．pulled out

B．cared for

C．thought about

D．brought in

11.

A．requires

B．cheers

C．inspires

D．changes

12.

A．attention

B．warmth

C．time

D．effort

13.

A．expecting

B．imagining

C．doubting

D．saying

14.

A．experience

B．do

C．accept

D．remember

15.

A．water

B．encouragement

C．sunshine

D．support

3 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Some people are just doomed (注定) to be failures. That’s the way some adults look at troubled kids. A bird with a broken wing will never fly as high. David was made to feel this way almost every day in school.

David was the most famous troublemaker in high school. He wasn’t confident and didn’t answer questions. From time to time he skipped classes and got into lots of fights. Teachers didn’t want to have him again the following year. However, things gradually changed during a weekend leadership meeting. All the students at school had been invited to sign up for ACE training, a program designed to have students become more involved in their communities.

At the start of the meeting, David was literally standing outside the circle of students, against the back wall, with that “go ahead, impress me” look on his face. He didn’t readily join the discussion groups. But slowly, the interactive games drew him in the discussion. David started to join them and he really had great ideas. The other students in David’s group welcomed his comments. All of a sudden David felt like a part of the group.

The next day, David was very active in all the sessions. By the end of the meeting, he had joined the Homeless Project team. He knew something about poverty, hunger and hopelessness. The other students on the team were impressed with his passionate concern and ideas. They elected David co-chairman of the team.

The very first community service project organized by the Homeless Project team was to collect food for the homeless in the charge of David. But a group of teachers doubted whether this crucial beginning should be in the hands of David. The principal reminded them that the purpose of the ACE program was to uncover any positive passion that a student had and reinforce (加强) its practice until true change can take place.

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。

Two weeks later, David led 20 students in the team to collect food for the homeless.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After David’s picture appeared in the newspaper, everyone saw great changes in him.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . I’ve spent a long time thinking about one of the lessons life has to offer uncertainty. I often hear,“ Nothing could have prepared us for this pandemic.” While it came as a surprise, some of us have had to deal with times of great uncertainty before.

This was the case for my family when my father began falling over. We would blame the ice. Then just the road.“ Who makes these things so high?” we wondered. Then, he slowed. He began to drag his feet.“ Well,” we said,“ he’s getting older.”

When his speech became worse, it became harder to explain. When did he last see a doctor anyway? We searched the Internet as he worsened—because we felt real medical attention was not required.

Uncertainty.

It’ s uncomfortable. It makes your stomach tighten. If you don’ t fight it, it will seep through (渗入)your body, lighting your brain up with anxiety. When a neurologist(神经病学家) explained the problem, it wasn’t what we wanted to hear. Instead, we opened a Pandora’ s box of even more unknowns.

When we found out he had AIS (肌肉萎缩性侧面硬化病)the uncertainty became a burden. He was losing control of his muscles, his speech, ability to swallow—and we were paralyzed on how to prepare.

ALS is cruel. It traps you in your body. When the future looks so dark, you have to take comfort in the tiniest pleasures. I wish I’d done more. But I was new to uncertainty. I’d never experienced such a lack of control. I was focused on solving problem that couldn’t be solved.

I worried about how my father would get worse. I read everything I could to try and help his situation, but there was nothing I could do. But my dad didn’t live long enough for me to prepare for his condition to get worse. Life doesn’t go according to plan and there is a difference between preparation and worry.

As we battle global uncertainty, it is teaching us the same lesson. A lesson about humility (谦卑) . About the fact that you cannot save something you love alone. If COVID -19 is disturbing everyone, we should consider what we can learn. These lessons are hard, teaching us to hold on to what matters and how to let go.

1. Why is the pandemic mentioned in the beginning ?

A．To explain its impact on the author’s life.

B．To lead up to the topic of uncertainty.

C．To show how the author got used to it.

D．To tell the lessons the author learned from it.

2. How did the author feel after his / her father was diagnosed with ALS ?

A．Anxious

B．Peaceful

C．Annoyed

D．Optimistic

3. What can we conclude about uncertainty from the article ?

A．It makes people stronger.	B．It leads to a lack of control.
C．It brings family closer to each other.	D．It can remove the darkness in life.

4. What is the lesson mentioned in the last paragraph ?

A．Be humble to the unknown.	B．Prepare for uncertainty in advance.
C．Express our love before it’s too late.	D．Cherish what matters and learn to let go.

5 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

7-year-old Tommy Wilkinson’s childish desires got the best of him. He envied his best friend Eric over his new fancy bicycle. One day, Tommy gathered the courage to demand the bicycle. His parents refused him. But his dad, Peter Wilkinson, made a suggestion: “You can get the bike if you save up for it.” Without a second thought, Tommy decided to set aside money from his allowance (零花钱) every day to raise the amount he needed: $600. Every day, the little boy made sure he placed some money into his piggy bank.

After almost two years, the day finally arrived. “Finally!” Tommy joyfully shouted as he dropped the piggy bank to the floor. Inside was $830! More than the $600 he was aiming for! Instantly, the excited boy asked his dad to take him to the bike store.

On their way to the store, Tommy accompanied his dad to the supermarket to buy some groceries. They were lining up at the checkout when Tommy noticed an old woman with a little girt in a wheelchair. The old lady dropped her groceries on the road. She looked helpless, and since she was holding the little girl’s wheelchair, she couldn’t pick them up.

Tommy quickly approached the woman. “Hey, let me help you. Where is your car?” he asked the woman whose name was Barbara. The woman told him that they lived across the street and didn’t have a car. “I’ll carry them for you,” Tommy said. On the way, the woman’s granddaughter, Chloe, told Tommy their story. It turned out Chloe injured her leg in a car crash, and her parents died in it. Barbara had to sell her car to pay for Chloe’s surgery and wheelchair. Their story moved Tommy.

After arriving at Barbara’s house, Tommy made an unbelievable offer. “I’ll get you a car!” he shouted with joy. “Not a new one, though. My dad sells used cars and I’ll get you one!” Tommy’s offer really shocked Barbara. “But I don’t think I can afford a car now,” she said.

注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。

“Don’t worry! My dad will help you get one. I promise!” Tommy said firmly.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Peter was surprised that Tommy would offer to give all his savings to help Barbara.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6 . In December 2004, I had just become a professional photographer and was working on a project about communities who live on the sea, known as sea nomads (海上游牧民族). I was living with members of the Chao-Ley tribe (部落) on a small island in southern Thailand. We didn’t share a language and relied on body language to communicate.

I went out to sea with them regularly. One morning, I was due to set out with a group of six Chao-Ley fishermen in a small boat. The sea looked different, with the water totally still.

About 20 minutes after we left and a few miles out in the open sea, one of the fishermen pointed to a small white spot far in the distance. It was getting bigger and bigger very quickly. This was a tsunami (海啸) wave speeding through the ocean.

Usually, the deeper the water, the weaker the wave. But we weren’t out far enough to be safe, nor close enough to shore to make it back in time. We were stuck. I began to feel really scared.

The captain told the six of us where to sit, so we would balance out the boat. My camera was in my backpack. I wanted to capture the scene, but I couldn’t. Any movement would imbalance the boat. Suddenly there was a huge noise. The wave hit the boat, but in a flash the skilled captain managed to swerve (使突然转向) us up and onto the wave. Then the boat moved from the tip of the wave down into safe waters. Our eyes and mouths were wide open, and everyone let out heavy sighs. The captain had saved us all.

Surviving gave me a deep understanding of how important life can be. I’ve been going back to Southeast Asia almost every year since. The photography project has become a thank-you to the people who saved my life. The picture I wanted to take on the boat remains “the one that got away” – I think every photographer has one. But mine changed my life.

1. What happened before the author set out with the fishermen?

A．The captain wanted to cancel the trip.

B．He noticed something unusual.

C．They saw a white spot in the distance.

D．It looked like it was about to rain.

2. When did the author start to feel frightened?

A．When fishermen on the boat felt nervous.

B．When he realized they were trapped.

C．When the boat was about to be hit.

D．When the boat shook violently.

3. What was the author doing when the tsunami wave hit the boat?

A．Helping the captain swerve.

B．Taking a photo of the wave.

C．Trying not to move.

D．Reaching for his backpack.

4. What did the author learn from his experience?

A．We should have the courage to take risks.

B．Opportunity never knocks twice.

C．Life is too short to be wasted.

D．Sometimes regrets in life can save us.

7 . I started playing the piano when I was around four years old—that was 15 years ago!—and since then, the longest I haven’t touched piano keys was probably two months. This was an enormous amount of devotion to something that I wasn’t even planning to make money off of—so there must have been something worth holding on to, right?

The easy guess is that I was always so purely in love with music and piano that I couldn’t bear to let them go. However, it’s a bit more complicated than that. I struggled a lot with piano. I felt pressure to improve, innovate, and be the best in order to prove something to others. The seed of my musical interest was grown with competition and doubt.

It’s difficult to learn to love something that you didn’t choose in the first place. But somehow, sometime, love grew. And by high school, it was strong enough that I found the strength to hold on tighter, dig further, and find something of my own to grow. In a way, I had to start over.

And so, I took a pause. I switched teachers, and got incredibly lucky with one who encouraged me and helped me tunnel into what I loved, not what I was told I should learn. Anything I had was good enough to be loved.

This summer, I started learning the guitar. I deliberately wanted to learn on my own—this was just for me, to form a new relationship to music. Even though my guitar skills are miles lower than my piano skills, I feel I can express myself even more wholly through strings than keys. There’s just something about doing it all for myself that has helped me heal the damages to my relationship to music.

The love and hate I’ve had for the piano were both planted and grown. If you too have learned to hate something you once loved—or something you never chose—remember that with dedication, it can be uprooted, and love can make a home in its place. There is always time. There is always room.

1. What can we learn about the author’s experience from Paragraph 1?

A．He probably spent two months in playing the piano.

B．He began to play the piano when he was 15 years old.

C．He thought it necessary to start playing the piano early.

D．He committed himself to the piano not for financial factors.

2. Which of the following words best describes the author’s relationship with the piano?

A．Bittersweet.

B．Harmonious.

C．Painful.

D．Passive.

3. What inspired the author to learn the guitar?

A．His teacher’s constant encouragement.	B．His desire for a new relationship with music.
C．His interest in strings rather than keys.	D．His talent for playing musical instruments.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Practice makes perfect	B．Love cannot be forced
C．Love is a thing that grows	D．There is no end to learning

8 . One day my 10-year-old son, Kavi, left his typewritten math homework at school. He came to me in ________ . “What should I do?” he asked.

Together, we ________ that he could ask his friend to send a photo of the homework so that he could ________ the content by hand. The problem got solved, right? Wrong. He remained anxious. Soon, I discovered what really ________ him: He was afraid that his teacher would   ________ the homework left on his desk at school and be upset with him. He begged me to email the teacher to offer a(n) ________ .

I wanted to help—which parent doesn’t want to make the ________ go away, especially when the solution is as ________ as sending an email? Yet, that would have been a(n) ________ thing to do. Research shows parents’ helping to avoid worry-causing ________ may comfort anxious children at the moment, ________ it prevents them from learning to cope in the long run.

I never sent that email to Kavi’s teacher. I ________ to talk Kavi through his worry, but he still felt restless at supper. However, the next day, he got an A+ on his homework along with a note: “You did a good job ________ how to get your homework done.”

I think it’s necessary for parents to let their children stay with worry but ________ them in seeking solutions, and that children’s gaining mastery over their worry is just the key to their growing up ________ .

1.

A．silence

B．comfort

C．panic

D．amazement

2.

A．convinced

B．remembered

C．announced

D．considered

3.

A．copy out

B．clear away

C．point at

D．pass down

4.

A．touched

B．inspired

C．bothered

D．probed

5.

A．replace

B．ignore

C．correct

D．notice

6.

A．cooperation

B．explanation

C．guarantee

D．definition

7.

A．embarrassment

B．homesickness

C．hurt

D．dream

8.

A．simple

B．essential

C．ridiculous

D．intense

9.

A．complicated

B．permanent

C．illegal

D．wrong

10.

A．principles

B．comments

C．situations

D．contests

11.

A．otherwise

B．but

C．because

D．nevertheless

12.

A．tried

B．spotted

C．hesitated

D．pretended

13.

A．setting aside

B．benefiting from

C．figuring out

D．focusing on

14.

A．criticize

B．support

C．assign

D．contact

15.

A．willingly

B．flexibly

C．crazily

D．healthily

9 . 请阅读下面这则寓言，并按照要求用英语写一篇80词左右的review。
相关词汇：crow (乌鸦)

Why don’t you drink water as the book told us?

Crows Drink Water

There was only a little water in a bottle which had a long and narrow neck. A fat crow came to the bottle and drank the water by a straw. He was enjoying the water when another thirsty crow went by. Accustomed (习惯于) to the way of drinking water taught in books, the thirsty crow was very surprised. He asked the fat crow, “Why don’t you drink water as the book told us?” The fat crow replied,“Because this method can make me drink water faster.”

10 . Peyton Manker, an 18-year-old girl from Illinois, has been getting a lot of attention on social media lately. In order to _________ this year's Stuck at Prom (舞会) contest, in which participants can have a chance to _________ a $10,000 scholarship, she used dozens of rolls of _________ to make a unique prom dress.

“I decided to make the dress _________ the pandemic, because I knew no one in the _________ was going to be able to recreate it,” Manker said. “I knew I would _________ in that way and I wanted to base it off of what was happening in the world.” The pandemic infects many people, causes deaths, and has widespread social and economic _________.

_________ COVID-19, her prom and graduation ceremony were canceled this year, but this didn't stop Peyton Manker from _________ just under 400 hours of work and 41 rolls of duct tape into her prom dress. The amazing dress __________ various coronavirus-related scenes, __________ front-line medical personnel wearing face masks, people fighting with a giant coronavirus and a(n) __________ graduation ceremony.

“The entire dress is supposed to represent the pandemic in a __________ light,” Peyton said. “I don't want people to think about the dress as just trying to __________ a moment in history. It is a __________ that we go through it.”

1.

A．organize

B．attend

C．hold

D．conduct

2.

A．accept

B．offer

C．create

D．win

3.

A．tape

B．mask

C．cotton

D．tissue

4.

A．belonging to

B．responding to

C．composed of

D．based on

5.

A．performance

B．ceremony

C．competition

D．joint

6.

A．show off

B．stand out

C．turn up

D．dress up

7.

A．results

B．interests

C．cases

D．impacts

8.

A．In spite of

B．In memory of

C．Because of

D．Instead of

9.

A．sinking

B．wasting

C．absorbing

D．taking

10.

A．attracts

B．sets

C．features

D．dominates

11.

A．including

B．exploring

C．promoting

D．filming

12.

A．virtual

B．genuine

C．influential

D．traditional

13.

A．dynamic

B．dim

C．historic

D．positive

14.

A．explain

B．declare

C．show

D．track

15.

A．foundation

B．representation

C．memorial

D．breakthrough