Almost all of my holidays were spent with my grandpa. My grandpa was a retired army officer and the years in the army had made him a very tough person, which helped him a lot in fighting with cancer for a long time. Silver and golden stars on his shoulders and medals on his chest in grandma’s old photo albums reflected the marks of his distinguished service and numerous adventures. Grandpa had fine qualities and was a real personality. He was strict with his family, me included, as well as himself.
In our ancestral house there was a big pond as was common in bygone Bengali homes with lots of trees and bushes. Both my grandparents were fond of our so-called garden. One morning our new neighbor saw my grandpa planting two trees on both sides of our main gate, which still stand tall today. Across the street our new neighbor also got the same kind of tree and planted the trees exactly on both sides of his gate too.
My grandpa didn’t often give enough amount of water to his plants and didn’t always give his full attention to them, while our neighbor gave a lot of water to his plants and looked after them too well. My grandpa’s plants were simple but looked good. But our neighbor’s plants were much fuller and greener.
Normally, during April and May, we have short but violent thunderstorms called “Kalboishakhi”. One late evening during a Kalboishakhi we had showers with strong winds, which continued right throughout that night. Next morning along with my grandparents I came out to inspect the damage to our garden. I saw our neighbor was there in his garden too, but looked upset as his plants were uprooted. But, our plants were not damaged and were standing firm on the ground.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
Seeing this, our neighbor was surprised and curious.
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Grandpa’s explanations not only convinced the neighbor, but made me realize something.
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2 . In the spring of 2013, my wife and I opened Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Opening a community-minded independent bookstore was a dream we’d shared. We were in our late twenties, pursuing adream.
When opening day arrived, we unlocked the door and held our breath. One by one, people walked inside, paged through new books, and discussed favourite authors. The bookstore came alive.
That morning, I had set out a typewriter on our lower level for anyone to use. It was a community-building experiment: What if people could walk into a bookstore and type anything they wanted?
The first typewriter I ever fell in love with was my grandfather’s -a 1930s Smith Corona. My memory of him is limited to impressions: visits to his Florida apartment, beach picnics, and a fascinating black typewriter on his writing desk. One year, long after he passed, Grandma gave me his Smith Corona for Christmas. At the time, I was a struggling writer. Seeing his old typewriter again stirred something in me. His typewriter made writing fun again. And for the first time since his death, I felt connected to him, to a past I never really knew.
The typewriter I set out on opening day was a light blue Olivetti Lettera 32. I inserted a clean piece of paper and let it be: the world’s smallest publishing house, waiting for an author. One of the notes I found that first day was: Thank you for being here. I didn’t see the typer’s identity, so it appeared as though the typewriter itself was thanking me. Soon, more notes accumulated. Typewriting had become part of our bookstore’s identity.
Customers and friends began encouraging me to turn these notes into a book. At first, I was hesitant. But then I read through the piles of messy, typewritten pages again. Some made me tear up; many made me laugh out loud. They shouldn’t be locked inside my filing cabinet at home. Inside our store, surrounded by books that have been labored over by authors, editors, and marketers, there’s a way for people to publish directly into the world in permanent ink spelling errors and all.
1. Why did the author set out a typewriter in the bookstore?| A．To honour his grandfather. |
| B．To provide convenience to customers. |
| C．To offer people a way to express themselves. |
| D．To respond to community residents’ requirement. |
| A．Curious. | B．Amused. | C．Surprised. | D．Inspired. |
| A．There was a publishing house in the bookstore. |
| B．The bookstore was famous for its unique typewriter. |
| C．The typewritten notes were full of spelling errors. |
| D．The author would publish a book consisting of those notes. |
| A．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. |
| B．Everyone can be a writer of his own life. |
| C．It only takes a typewriter to be an author. |
| D．Books are the ever-burning lamps of accumulated wisdom. |
“Wake up, Mom!” I felt a little hand on my face and reluctantly opened my eyes. There was my son, ready to start the day. I also heard my babies awake in the next room. Ready or not, the day had begun!
I loved being home with my little ones, but I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. My husband and I had just bought a house, and some unexpected expenses made our budget tighter than it had ever been. I was weary of spending more pennies. We weren’t foolish with our money. We worked hard. We were doing all the right things, but we had had one financial disappointment after another.
I was going to pick up my kids’ photo portraits from the studio at the local mall. Despite our small budget, it was important to me to have pictures of my children as they were growing up. The previous week, I had found a coupon (优惠券) and used some change from the car to buy a $7.99 portrait package, and today was the day I was to pick up the portraits. Since we were going to the mall, I decided to make it an outing and packed some sandwiches for us to eat at the food court. What’s more, there are many ride-on toy cars in the mall’s food court for fun and for free.
After breakfast, we went off. After we parked, we walked into the portrait studio at the mall, and I approached the counter. The young woman smiled.
“May I help you?”
“Yes, I’m here to pick up our photos.”
The woman asked my name and opened her drawer. “Ah, yes, here they are. Aren’t they just so adorable?” She took out the photos, and the smiling faces of my kids warmed my heart.
“Yes, they are great. Thank you,” I said.
She put the photos into an envelope. Then she spread out additional photos of my kids that I hadn’t ordered. I knew what that meant. The upsell pitch (推销) was coming.
“Would you like to purchase these extra portraits? They are only fifteen dollars apiece!” she smiled sweetly.
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。
My heart turned cold. “I don’t have fifteen dollars.”
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As we were having our lunch, the young woman came up and pressed something into my hand.
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I had never noticed her. She was not the kind of girl who could draw attention. She was not tall and just plain. In class, she liked sitting at the back, reading or taking notes. It was once I asked her to read aloud the text that I looked at her with new eyes when I heard her standard American pronunciation. Later on, the National College English Speech Contest would be held. I thought it over and filled in her name with a smile. I red-penciled her draft of speech, corrected her pronunciation, and even adjusted her body language.
However, I was always kind of worried because she was too introvert(内向的)and too quiet. Could she seize this rare opportunity?
On the night of the contest, I told her to take it easy. Blushed(脸红的), she looked at me and said nothing.
My heart sank. It seemed that she did tense up. I pated her and let her go to draw lots(抽签). As a result, what she drew was No. 9 while No. 8 was recognized English master-hand(高手).
Sure enough, the English master-hand was fairly successful in the speech with his humor and highly personal style. The whole audience would make a warm applause almost every 30 seconds until she appeared on the stage, still talking over his speech with excitement.
My palms began to sweat. I sat there, with no courage to look at her. It was the first time that she went up the stage, so I couldn't blame her for any slips. But at that moment, I found I was so scared of her failure.
The strong spotlight made her so small and so insignificant that nobody seemed to notice she had been on the stage, I said to myself, no hope.
But the moment that shocked me occurred. I clearly heard a voice, a very loud voice, “Now, please focus on me.” She said this sentence three times in all, louder and louder.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150词左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The whole audience fell silent.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After her speech ended for a long while, a thunderous applause sounded in the whole audience.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5 . We all know that “Practice makes perfect (熟能生巧) ” is a very popular saying both in Chinese and English. It means that if you want to learn
We can take English study
We can look at
| A．nothing new | B．anything new | C．something new | D．something easy |
| A．how | B．what | C．when | D．why |
| A．better | B．the best | C．the better | D．best |
| A．useful | B．bad | C．difficult | D．useless |
| A．like | B．as | C．with | D．without |
| A．after | B．if | C．when | D．until |
| A．spend | B．take | C．cost | D．pay |
| A．try | B．tried | C．trying | D．will try |
| A．look | B．meet | C．see | D．watch |
| A．on | B．at | C．in | D．for |
| A．must | B．need | C．can | D．may |
| A．other | B．another | C．others | D．the others |
| A．very | B．too | C．so | D．such |
| A．build up | B．make up | C．cut up | D．turn up |
| A．hand | B．eye | C．head | D．mind |
6 . I stopped at a local store the other day after a fitness class to buy some food. After I got the food, I got in
I was walking out to my
As the shop assistant gave the card to me, the lady was still
The bill was about $52. However, the feeling inside me was
| A．public | B．need | C．crowd | D．line |
| A．sent | B．handed | C．displayed | D．held |
| A．hoped | B．insisted | C．suggested | D．required |
| A．call | B．search | C．beg | D．visit |
| A．Otherwise | B．Meanwhile | C．Instead | D．However |
| A．help | B．pull | C．count | D．check |
| A．car | B．bike | C．home | D．store |
| A．decision | B．mistake | C．fortune | D．promise |
| A．came | B．returned | C．walked | D．dropped |
| A．silly | B．worried | C．mad | D．tired |
| A．shook | B．covered | C．lowered | D．nodded |
| A．looking at | B．looking up | C．looking for | D．looking over |
| A．guessed | B．realized | C．thought | D．remembered |
| A．satisfaction | B．regret | C．thanks | D．concerns |
| A．worthless | B．harmless | C．priceless | D．helpless |
7 . It was June 14 and the last day of middle school had arrived.
I had spent the past couple of months trashing and treasuring all the things that I had accumulated in my classroom over the past 19 years. Looking into my classroom, you can see about two dozen boxes and bins inside, piled nearly three-quarters high to the ceiling, all packed and ready for the big move. The 22 million dollar restoration work was only days away from starting and we were instructed that everything must go.
My parents Michael and Donna, wife Laura and newborn baby Summer had arrived that day. The students had heard so much about my daughter and were excited to meet her for the first time. My mother was there to help organize my classroom nearly 19 years ago and hadn’t seen it since. My father had visited on a few occasions, as had my wife. That day marked not only the end of an era for me, but the dawning of a new beginning.
The day before, I had thrown a party for my students. The feelings were mixed, as I knew that this would be the farewell (告别) party in my classroom of 19 years and the last time I would see all of these students together. I thought back to when they were all in middle school and would visit me in my classroom on my birthday. They made it an annual tradition.
I will treasure these moments for the rest of my life.
Change, like sunshine, can be a friend or a foe (敌人), a blessing or a curse, a dawn or a dusk. I’ve learned over the years in working with over 2, 000 children that looking at things through an optimistic lens and taking the time to foster relationships with people make the world a happier and safer place. No matter what a person’s life circumstances may be, you can be the change in their life that will bring them a sense of self-worth, which will ultimately provide them with the opportunity to become who they are meant to be. They might go on to change the world.
1. Why did the author clear up the things in the classroom?| A．He would no longer be a teacher. | B．The classroom would soon be restored. |
| C．His stuff made the classroom crowded. | D．The summer vacation was approaching. |
| A．Their interest in teaching. | B．Their appeal to the students. |
| C．Their longings for a new beginning. | D．Their connections with the classroom. |
| A．Bittersweet. | B．Confused. |
| C．Excited. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．A life free of pain is a blessing. |
| B．Don’t let others define who you are. |
| C．It is unhealthy to feel attached to a place. |
| D．A positive attitude brings forth good changes. |
8 . I was a recent graduate of a leading business school and I was to join a big company in Gomia, Bihar. The company chose only the best, and I was full of it.
The night train from Calcutta would reach Gomia in the morning. I had a letter that said there would be a car to pick me up from the station and take me to the Guest House. However, I found no person in sight to receive me when I got off the train. I felt let down. I carried the luggage on my shoulder and came to the exit. There I saw a nice car. The driver was walking towards the car .Ah, my driver, there he was!
I went up to him and asked him to carry my luggage. He asked me who I was and I introduced myself. The driver opened the back door and had me seated. Along the way, he asked me some questions about me and my family. I was angry with the driver who asked too much and answered him in monosyllables (只言片语). After reaching the Guest House, we said goodbye.
The next day was a big day. I was to meet the boss of the place, Dr. S. K. Kamat, and I was nervous. I knocked on the door and walked into the large office. The big man had his back to me and as he turned, I recognized the man immediately. He was the driver!
He gave me a broad smile and said he was S. K. Kamat. I could have died at that moment. I apologized for my behavior and was at a loss for words. He said that he had come to the station to see off a friend. And he had seen me and wanted to be of assistance. He never referred to the incident almost as if it didn’t happen. When I walked out of the office, I learned a great lesson.
1. What do we know about the author?| A．He was a little cocky at first. |
| B．He was going to change his job. |
| C．He took the initiative in talking with the driver. |
| D．He saw the driver as soon as he got off the train. |
| A．Confused. | B．Warm. | C．Embarrassed. | D．Anxious. |
| A．He thought it was impolite to do that. |
| B．He didn’t want to make the author sad. |
| C．He was willing to offer help to the author. |
| D．He wanted the author to be grateful to him. |
| A．Love brings hope to the needy. | B．Be kind whenever possible. |
| C．Education is the key to success. | D．Continuous learning is vital. |
9 . Recently, the dog my aunt had been keeping for almost 18 years died of old age. So
For sure, the loss of something precious is in no way a
I myself have also had dogs that I’ve lost three
| A．busy | B．heartbroken | C．excited | D．popular |
| A．hear | B．avoid | C．express | D．suffer |
| A．common | B．bad | C．pleasant | D．real |
| A．sympathy | B．love | C．respect | D．support |
| A．favorite | B．angry | C．inspiring | D．regretful |
| A．risk | B．pain | C．possibility | D．difficulty |
| A．sadness | B．apology | C．smile | D．concern |
| A．wonderful | B．normal | C．sleepless | D．lonely |
| A．arguments | B．words | C．dreams | D．moments |
| A．luckily | B．possibly | C．actually | D．particularly |
| A．raising | B．adopting | C．selling | D．training |
| A．waste | B．value | C．shorten | D．limit |
| A．excuse | B．answer | C．idea | D．opportunity |
| A．reminds | B．surprises | C．disappoints | D．bothers |
| A．accept | B．understand | C．enjoy | D．change |
10 . Family love is one of the most valuable gifts in life and one that you cannot buy anywhere. Whether you have a close relationship with your family depends on you.
You’ve probably heard the song lyric, “A house is not a home, when there is no one there to hold you tight”. What changes a house into a home is true love. Love strengthens the connection, while anger tears it apart.
Give Freedom
It doesn’t matter whatever position you have in a family; you need to give freedom to the other members of it.
Learn to Forgive
There will always be differences in personalities and preferences between family members. Because of these differences, disagreements happen. And it’s unwise to react straight away, to jump to conclusions and start an argument.
This gives you a better understanding and the ability to forgive more easily.
Look for Solutions
Family life is not a battlefield. Do not focus on problems; instead focus on the solutions. Although we are all expected to be responsible for our actions, it still feels more comfortable for some to put the blame on others.
| A．No one likes to be ruled all the time. |
| B．Stop the blame game, and look for solutions. |
| C．Increase Your Love. |
| D．When disagreements happen, put yourself in the other person's shoes. |
| E．Here are four ways for you to become closer to your family. |
| F．In a close relationship there will definitely be a lot of arguments, disharmony and disagreements. |
| G．Spending some time with family members is one of the factors that can strengthen our family connections. |
